I like hookers. You know, the opening line of a story, the one designed to “hook” people in and make them keep reading? What kind of hookers did you think I was talking about?

Private detective fiction in particular is known for its hookers. Here’s a few goodies…

From Goldfish, by Raymond Chandler:

I wasn’t doing any work that day, just catching up on my foot-dangling.

From Nightmare in Pink, by John D. MacDonald:

She worked in one of those Park Avenue buildings which tourists feel obligated to photograph.

From Find a Victim, by Ross Macdonald:

He was the ghastliest hitchiker who ever thumbed me.

I’ve tried to do the same with my Felix Renn stories.

From “Temporary Monsters”:

The waiter got killed before he could drop off the bill.

From “The Ash Angels”:

It was 7 P.M. on Christmas Eve and I was just getting into the holiday spirit – a bottle of Glen Breton single malt whiskey.

At events where I’m signing, I’ve even been known to write an original Felix Renn hooker in a random person’s book. It’s all part of the fun.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting a few previews of the new Felix Renn chapbook, leading up to its release at the end of the month. I thought what better place to start than with the opening line. So here it is, the hooker from “Black-Eyed Kids”:

I spent the night in my car waiting for Mandy Clarke to commit adultery.

I know it’s not much, one freaking line, but I promise it will be worth the wait. I’m pretty excited about this one. For those of you who enjoyed the first two chapbooks but wanted a longer story, you’ve definitely got one this time around. And you won’t have to wait much longer to read it. “Black-Eyed Kids” will be out from Burning Effigy Press on September 25th!