A few weeks back I posted that I’d started writing a Milan Jacovich book centered around harness racing, but I didn’t have a title for it yet.

I went through a lot of them.  “Trifecta” intrigued me, but its root is in the word “three,” which has nothing to do with the actual story so I decided against it.  “Back Stretch” sounded good to me until I discovered that there have been several books written with the same title.  For a bit I really liked “Backside,” which refers to what goes on in the barns and training areas that the paying customers at a harness racing track never see, which is more pertinent—until I remembered there was ANOTHER meaning to “backside,” and I didn’t want readers to think I’m penning an entire novel about someone’s butt!

Titles, of course, can’t be copyrighted.  Two of my previous Milan Jacovich novels were “The Cleveland Connection” and “The Lake Effect,” and other people’s books were published under the same title some years later, one of them actually a mystery, albeit a period Western mystery.  And I confess that the title of my forthcoming Milan Jacovich novel, “Whiskey Island,” was also the title of a book of poetry a while back.  However, you’ll notice that I’ve never entitled my novels anything even remotely close to “The Maltese Falcon” or “The Big Sleep,” or, for that matter, “War and Peace.”

Back to harness racing, though.  A friend of mine, Trudy Brandenburg, who is now a fervid kayak enthusiast, used to work “backside” at race tracks in southern Ohio, and sent me a list of vocabulary words and expressions frequently used by those in the business, and one caught my eye.  It refers to a horse that everyone KNOWS doesn’t have a chance in hell of winning a race, and since in my book someone gets killed—not a horse, naturally, but a person, because someone ALWAYS gets killed in my books, don’t they?—this phrase sounded absolutely perfect.

So at the moment—and one never knows when and if a working title might be changed—at the moment, MAYBE—the tentative title will be “Dead Money.”

Meantime I’m working on the third chapter, and so far am very pleased with it.  So when “Whiskey Island” appears later this year, I hope that if you enjoy reading it, you’ll be looking forward to the one after that: “Dead Money.”

MAYBE.

I had so much fun reviewing all the comments and suggestions from the “Milan in the Movies” contest. Jim S. from Mentor, Ohio is the contest winner. His name was picked in a random drawing held last week.

It’s obvious all of the contest participants put a lot of thought into their actor picks. I feel truly honored to have so many wonderful readers.

So, who did my readers choose for playing the role of Milan Jacovich if a movie were to be made based on my books? Here’s a list of actor picks  (pardon me if I left anyone out):

• Dennis Franz
• Brian Dennehy
• Chris Meloni
• Clint Eastwood
• Gary Oldman
• Gene Hackman
• Harrison Ford
• Jason Clarke
• Jeremy Renner
• John Cusack
• Jon Voight
• Josh Duhamel
• Kevin Spacey
• Les Roberts (I’m flattered!)
• Liam Neeson
• Matt Waldeck
• Michael Madsen
• Philip Seymour Hoffman
• Robert De Niro
• Sean Penn
• Sylverster Stallone
• Thorsten Kaye
• Tom Selleck
• Val Kilmer
• Vincent D’Onofrio
• Whoopi Goldberg (yes, you read that right!)
• Nick Nolte
• Matt Damon
• Clive Owen
• Mandy Patinkin
• Justin Timberlake
• Peter Falk (deceased)
• Ray Liotta
• Ed Harris
• Dennis Quaid

And now for some of  the wonderful comments sent in by contest participants, describing why these actors would be suitable:

Many thanks to everyone who participated in the “Milan in the Movies” contest.

And, congratulations to the contest winner, Jim S. from Mentor, Ohio– selected in a random drawing held earlier this week.

I LOVED all your suggestions and comments and will be sharing them soon in a future post on this blog. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, allow me to share my own personal thoughts about which actor might be suitable for playing Milan Jacovich in a Hollywood movie based on my books.

Chris Meloni (photo courtesy Rachel Lovinger)

I really think that Christopher Meloni, late of “Law and Order SVU,” is almost perfect—NOT Brad Pitt handsome, but rugged, slightly balding (as is Milan Jacovich), and looking tough enough to remove your lung!  An excellent actor.  Another choice: Jeremy Renner, who was amazing in the Oscar-winning film “The Hurt Locker.”  He’s not as physically big as I’d choose, but again with an imposing presence you must give your full attention.

Two other fine actors have the look and size I appreciate:  Liam Neeson and Gerard Butler.  Neeson, who played Oskar Schindler in “Schindler’s List,” waited until well into middle-age to begin playing tougher-than-tough action heroes in “Taken” and some of his newer ones.  Gerard Butler is also big and imposing, and I like him better in the action roles than in his comedies.  However, both these men are NOT American born, and would have to do some work on their British and Aussie speech accents in order to sound like a Clevelander.

Looking back on actors no longer with us, I must say Robert Mitchumwould have been my first choice to play Milan. If Mitchum were still alive he’d be somewhere in his middle nineties, too old to play the character.  But he was a terrific actor, often unappreciated—and next to Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs,” Mitchum portrayed the scariest villain on film I can remember, the vicious Max Cady in the original film version of “Cape Fear.” (1962)

Robert Mitchum

I have two other choices of deceased actors who would have made a great Milan. Robert Ryan was often cast as a bad guy, but even when he was the protagonist he was always plagued with insecurities and fears—and the superb Burt Lancaster, even though in later life he grew a bit too sophisticated to play Milan.

The great thing about all these actors, for me, was their size.  Not HUGE men, naturally, but when they appeared on the screen they filled it up, and sucked all the oxygen out of the room just by being there. Milan, as I’ve written him, was six-foot three and 230 lbs.   Oddly enough, the movie tough guys of old were all quite SHORT—James Cagney, George Raft, Edward G. Robinson, Alan Ladd, even Marlon Brando, and my favorite movie actor of all time, Humphrey Bogart.

Remember to check back soon when I’ll share some of the entries from the “Who should play Milan in the movies” contest.  In the meantime, if you have about $20 million burning a hole in your pocket and want to finance a film, please let me know.  (No, I will NOT direct it myself.)

We’re ALL April fools, I guess—especially those of us who just lived through a balmy, summer-like March and became convinced the weather was ALWAYS going to be as great as that.  But as April 2012 looms upon us, I wanted to remind all of you who haven’t yet told us what actor you’d like to see playing Milan Jacovich in the movies (assuming they will eventually MAKE a movie some day!), you have until April 3 to make your suggestions.

I should remind all of you, though, that if Hollywood does film one of the Milan books (for which they’ll pay me a nice chunk of change, I hope), I won’t have a single thing to say about whether they decide their movie Milan is gay, female, African American, Irish, too short—-or ALL of these!

As a true example: about fifteen years ago Hollywood made a film called “The Burglar,” based on a series of novels by the wonderful Lawrence Block—a literary mystery icon.  In his novels, the protagonist was named Bernie—Jewish, VERY New York, ran a used bookshop by day and was a skilled cat burglar at night.  When the Hollywoodies made the film, they set it and filmed it in San Francisco instead of New York, Bernie was renamed Bernice, and was played by Whoopi Goldberg!  Larry Block is a much more famous writer than I, and HE had no say in the matter; imagine if Milan Jacovich became the lead in a movie.  Nobody’d ask ME, either.

Thank you to everyone who submitted an entry so far for the “Milan in the Movies” contest. We received lots of great suggestions but the contest isn’t over yet!

So far, these two actors are polling strong for playing the role of Milan, but you still have the chance to send in your entry.

Harrison Ford

Liam Neeson

Again, here’s the contest question:

If you were casting director for an upcoming movie based on my Milan Jacovich mystery series, who would you choose to play the role of Milan.

Send your suggestion, along with your name and email address to publicity@grayco.com. One entry per person. Contest deadline is Monday April 2 at 12 noon EST. One winner will be chosen by a random drawing to be held on April 3, 2012. The winner will be notified by email. Prize is a copy of a Milan Jacovich mystery book of your choice.

With the Cleveland International Film Festival underway, I thought it would be fun to hold a movie-themed contest based on my Milan Jacovich series.

Here’s the contest question:

If you were casting director for an upcoming movie based on my Milan Jacovich mystery series, who would you choose to play the role of Milan?

I have a few ideas of my own (more on this later), but I thought I’d poll my readers first.

Submit your suggestion and be entered for a chance to win a copy of a Milan Jacovich mystery book of your choice.

Send your suggestions along with your name and email address to publicity@grayco.com. One entry per person. Winner will be chosen on Tuesday, April 3 at 12:00pm, and will be notified by email.

Prize Details: One lucky fan will win a copy of one of my Milan Jacovich mystery books.

Prize Eligibility: Only persons residing in the United States who are at least 18 years of age can enter.

Contest runs: March 27, 2012 at 12:00noon (EDT) through April 2 12:00 noon. (EDT).

One winner will be chosen by a random drawing to be held on April 3, 2012.

The winner will be notified by email.

Today, St. Patrick’s Day blessed us with the finest March 17th weather in my lifetime. So, all dressed in green—not a “costume,” but stuff I have around the house (including green socks that I only wear one day each year), I was proud to be part of the 145th Cleveland St. Patrick’s Day Parade! I marched with one of the groups to which I belong, the Greater Cleveland Police Emerald Society, through which I have met some inspiring, terrific police officers. Having a bum leg, I showed up with a walking stick to help me march, which immediately got me out of the ranks and into a beautiful Chevrolet Impala convertible (thank you, Serpentini Chevrolet of Greater Cleveland) along with my good friend Chief of Police James T. McBride (Ret.), who was awarded Irishman of the Year in December! Instead of just sitting in the back seat, we perched up atop the seats and waved to the people as if we were someolbyd important! Two of Jim’s grandkids—Ember, age 6, who rode with us and waved too, and Scarlett, whose fifth birthday was today, who scampered along the sidelines and gave high fives to everyone along the route.

And yes, the people—I think more than 100,000 of them—waved back, smiled, danced, blew horns, rang bells, beat drums, applauded and shouted “Happy St. Patrick’s Day!” (Some of them even yelled “Nice car!) Everyone looked beautiful in their varying shades of green. Green outfits, green headgear, green HAIR, green faces, and even some of the most beautiful horses IN the parade had green feet for the occasion. There were other four-footed celebrants, too—Irish setters, Irish wolfhounds, and a lot of dogs of indeterminate ethnicities who were wearing green blankets and even green deely-bobs on their ears. It was a most festive occasion—and it didn’t matter whether you were Irish or not. At an astonishing parade like this one (there were more than 10,000 participants marching or riding or playing an instrument), EVERYBODY is a little bit Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.

Looking at all those faces, at all the buildings which I normally drive past but during the parade I went slowly enough to take time to look at all of them, it reminded me once again how much I love Cleveland and how much this city energizes, inspires, and turns me on to write about it.

And you know what? March 18th—or April 7th—or August 23rd—will also be a great day for me in what, after twenty-one years, I truly feel is MY town.

I’m very JAZZED that I have begun writing my NEXT Milan Jacovich novel this very morning. No, not “Whiskey Island,” which has not yet been published. (Look for it late this summer.) This is the NEW new one—all about harness racing! And the title of this post, “And they’re off and racing!” happens to be the very first sentence in that book.

I don’t know yet what I’ll name the novel. Sometimes I do, of course. The last three Milans were titled before I ever typed a word (“The King of the Holly Hop,” “The Cleveland Creep” and “Whiskey Island”). The eventual title of this one, I’m hoping, will have much to do with harness racing.
I didn’t know the first thing about the subject until Dan S. Kennedy, who is a horse owner AND driver, approached me with the idea. He will be helping me write this book—the first time I’ve ever collaborated with anyone. But I’ll do most of the actual writing, and he’ll help me along and tell me what I need to know—and keep me from making ridiculous mistakes! In the past two months he’s sent me so much research to study and absorb, and I look forward to finding out more as I go along.

For instance, until I read some of the vocabulary he sent that is unique to the sport, I always thought the guys sitting in the sulkies were JOCKEYS, just like in thoroughbred racing (THAT, as Meredith Willson once wrote about in “The Music Man,” is a sport where they sit down right on the horse). Well, harness racing refers to them as DRIVERS. Also, they don’t wear SILKS, as the jockeys do, but COLORS. Before I began writing today I spent about an hour poring over some of the other research material. I’m certain I’ll learn several new things every morning!

Dan has also included some character studies of the people who hang around at Northfield Park, in a southeastern Cleveland suburb. Some of their stories and peccadilos I couldn’t have made up if I tried, and they’ll be in this book, too.

Have no fear, there will be the usual cast of regular characters along for the ride. For all of you who read “The Cleveland Creep,” Milan Jacovich’s new assistant, Kevin O’Bannion (“K.O.”) is now a permanent part of the series—with the young woman with whom he became so entranced, Carli Wysocki. And oh yes—this time Milan has a special woman as well—but you’ll have to read “Whiskey Island” this summer to find out more about her.

I’d write a longer blog but I have to get back to my REAL work—writing this harness racing novel. I just wanted to give you a little taste—and I hope it excited you, as it has ME.

It’s been a long haul, but a few days ago I happily typed THE END to my latest novel, “Whiskey Island.” My readers so often ask WHEN it will appear; here is an approximate estimate. As of now, Holly Albin—my best friend, longtime significant other, and first editor—is going through the manuscript relentlessly with a red pencil, correcting typos, making suggestions, etc. Of course they are JUST suggestions; as the author I have the final decision, but I generally pay attention to at least three quarters of her comments—including that I sometimes repeat myself as I write. She’s done this, by the way, for my last several books, and she’s made me a better writer.

So—after Holly returns the manuscript to me and I go through it again and make the changes, I ship it off to my publisher—probably by the end of February. Then THEIR editor goes through the book again, making more suggestions, and again I change or reject them. The best part of editing for the author is that everyone accepts it IS the author’s book; nobody ever tries to change my writing—probably because editors are not themselves writers. If they were, they’d be writing their own stuff and not editing mine. But so far, especially since I’ve been working with Gray & Company, they are GREAT editors and have literally saved my butt on a number of occasions!

Okay—now it’s in their hands. When my New York publisher accepted my last book, “The Strange Death of Father Candy,” it took NINETEEN MONTHS between the time they sent me a contract and the first appearance of the novel on the shelves of bookstores. But that’s New York, I guess, and “The Cleveland Creep,” which Gray published in early spring of 2011, was out and about in approximately five months. I”m hoping “Whiskey Island” will be in your hands by late summer of 2012.

At the beginning of October, the largest and most exciting convention in the world of mystery fiction, called Bouchercon (BOW-cher-con) and named after the late great mystery critic, Anthony Boucher, will take place in CLEVELAND. I’m enormously flattered and proud that along with Robin Cook, Elizabeth George and Mary Higgins Clark, I am to be one of the guests of honor! Naturally I’m hoping “Whiskey Island” will be out by then, stacked up high at the convention so everyone will buy it—along with my many other books. (“Whiskey” is overall Number 27!!! Whew!)

I’ll talk about the plot more when it’s published, but a few hints now: YES, it IS all about corrupt Cleveland politics—so much of it comes right out of the newspaper! YES, Kevin O’Bannion (“K.O.”) is back again as Milan Jacovich’s young assistant. YES, there’s a murder—after all, murder is how I make my living. And YES—there’s romance involved, too. What’s a really good novel without a little lovin’?

About two weeks off for me now while I read and research for the NEXT Milan Jacovich novel. Don’t know the title yet. Sometimes I figure out the title before I type a single word, as I did for “Whiskey Island,” and sometimes I have no idea what to call the book until it’s about half-finished. But I WILL eventually name the damn thing; why would I publish it without a title at all?

Happy reading.