Elmore Leonard Delivers the Goods in The Moonshine War

Anyone familiar with his work will probably agree that the late Elmore Leonard (1925-2013) was one of the great writers of crime fiction. The characters and situations he creates are memorable, and there is always a payoff. 

I first became aware of Elmore Leonard while attending a 1985 writer's conference in Mankato. During one of our lunch periods I was seated with Joe Soucheray who told us about a novel he was working on. He was about six chapters in at the time, trying to write like Elmore Leonard, whom he considered the gold standard when it comes to this kind of storytelling. 

Over the next two decades I probably read half of his 50 or so novels as well as some of his short story collections. When I later wrote my own first novel, The Red Scorpion, there were elements of the story patterned after Leonard. Create interesting characters and put them an in interesting situation. The hero must be heroic and the bad characters truly scary and -- assuming the reader still cares about your hero -- there's something at risk, usually life and death.

This week I picked up The Moonshine War, which Leonard wrote earlier in his career. As has often been the case, I could hardly put it down. It takes place in the hills of Eastern Kentucky, a region that Leonard must have been familiar with because he's had stories there before and he knows both the setting and the moonshiner's world so well. My own grandfather was a moonshiner. When the revenuers (Federal agents) came to bust the stills he fled to West Virginia with his seven-month-pregnant wife. My father was born there two months later.

* * *

The central hero in The Moonshine War is Son Martin, a quiet man who makes good shine. His father has passed away, and he also lost his wife previous to the beginning of this story. He's a respectful and respected young man with a few quirky habits. Early on we learn that he also has secrets.

During the war (WWI, not this moonshine war) he confided to another man--Frank Long--a secret that he immediately regretted sharing. His father had produced 150 barrels of primo moonshine to be aged for eight years that he'd hidden somewhere, and now Son Martin was to be the heir. Its value would be astronomical.

Frank Long had a memory like an elephant, and the notion of acquiring Son Martin's fortune was eating him alive. Son Martin's moment of weakness was now coming back to bite him, like a rattler in those lush Kentucky hills.

Long has made a plan. His scheme: to pose as a Federal agent and bust Son Martin's neighbor moonshiners to pressure Son into yielding up his treasure. Things go awry when Long recruits some bad men be his "muscle" on this scheme. Very early in the story you encounter a couple of truly scary bad guys, and Frank Long lives to regret what he has set in motion. Lesson here: Don't play with fire.

* * *

Elmore Leonard is skilled at building the kind of tension that keeps readers turning the pages. His characters and stories feel authentic, so much so that in this case some readers will have a problem with the book. It takes place in the summer of 1931 and Son Martin has a black man named Aaron helping take care of his place. In Eastern Kentucky during those days Aaron would be been referred to with the n-word. Modern readers may disregard the heroic nature of the man Leonard paints here, or the special bond Aaron and Son share. They will stumble over the fact that this word is used in the book. 

For what it's worth, Elmore Leonard is a master. Hollywood must think so as so many of his books have been turned into films. If you like liked the movies--3:10 to Yuma, Hombre, Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Mr. Majestyk, and nearly two dozen more--you will love the books.

A New Thought Regarding Agatha Christie's Crime Stories

Many years ago I had a friend who was going through an Agatha Christie binge. Actually, both he and his wife were thoroughly absorbed in reading her crime novels, ever trying to solve the crimes before Miss Marple or the little grey cells of Hercule Poirot could. 

At the time, I was involved in other pursuits, reading “serious literature” in preparation for a writing career. I can’t lay all the blame on Covid, but my reading in 2020 has included a long list of books from the John Sanford and Agatha Christie catalogs. In reading the latter, something dawned on me that I hadn’t noticed before.

“Ah, my friend, one may live in a big house and yet have no comfort.” — Hercule Poirot

How many of you grew up in a home with maids and butlers? As I reflect on the numerous Christie stories I’ve read, I can’t seem to recall any involving a family like my own. In addition to murders taking place in exotic places, such as the Nile or on the Orient Express, we have countless stories of people with wealth, whose servants are under suspicion, or who have both city and country homes. 

I can only guess that part of the appeal of her work may have been the voyeuristic aspect of peeking in on the lifestyles of the rich and, sometimes, famous. It was easy for her to write accurately about this lifestyle, for it was the lifestyle she was acquainted with. She didn’t have to make it up. In her autobiography she states that she herself grew up with three servants in her household.

“Servants, of course, were not a particular luxury–it was not a case of only the rich having them; the only difference was that the rich had more,” she wrote in her autobiography. 

This is a very different set of life circumstances than my father’s grandparents were experiencing in Eastern Kentucky at the time. (Agatha Christie was born in 1890.) They were illiterate and poor, but resourceful, scratching out a livelihood halfway up the side of a mountain, and even being generous.

Yet, even growing up with a nurse and nanny, Ms. Christie claims that her family was not rich. Rich people had cars. Her family did not. 

Two other areas of expertise show up in her stories. When it comes to poisons, her knowledge is vast. That is, the more stories you read, it’s surprising how many ways to poison people there are. She gained this knowledge first hand. No, not first hand by poisoning people, but by working in a dispensary during the two world wars. 

Another area of specialized knowledge came from marrying an archaeologist in 1930. While her second husband was actively exploring digs in the Middle East, she was no doubt picking his brain and digging for details that would give veracity to her murders in Egypt and elsewhere. 

She’s to be commended for her tenacity. Her first six books were rejected by publishers. Nevertheless, she persisted despite the lack of interest from editors, until a door opened in 1920 and “the rest is history.” She became a master of the craft. One title alone, And Then There Were None, sold 100 million copies worldwide.

If these are not new thoughts for you, then I suppose I'm just late to the parade. One of the first bits of advice that young writers are frequently given is this: Write about what you know. This may be why you don't find butlers and housemaids in my stories. More often than not it's just a character trying to figure out the meaning of his life.

* * * 

Claudia Oltean Talks About Writing, Crime Fiction and Prohibition-Era Detroit

This is a follow-up to yesterday's blog post about the crime thriller Another Chance to Die. Claudia N. Oltean is a lifelong reader and writer. She's co-author of the LexisNexis-published book, Media Skills: The Lawyer As Spokesperson, and former columnist of Vines By The Glass, a wine column. The catalyst for this new direction as a writer was this: both of Ms. Oltean's grandfathers were newspapermen in Detroit, Michigan. Her paternal grandfather, Allen J. Nieber is the inspiration for her first novel, Another Chance to Die, historical crime fiction set in Detroit during the tumultuous, danger-filled Prohibition years.

Since 2003, Ms. Oltean has been a partner and co-founder of LegalPR, a public relations firm representing lawyers, their clients and other professionals in their interactions with the court of public opinion. She works closely with local, state and national media. I'm guessing that this proximity to legal processes has also been an informative influence on her new project.

Ms. Oltean is also a prolific business writer, particularly related to news stories and public relations, business development and organizational development. She's written and published national surveys on customer satisfaction and has acted as corporate spokesperson on marketing and customer satisfaction. She has extensive experience with video scriptwriting and production. 

Having crossed paths on Twitter, I quickly found myself drawn in by the work she was doing.

EN: You inherited your grandfather's reporter notes and physical articles. Were you already a writer yourself, or did this inspire you to develop the craft?

Claudia N. Oltean: I have been a lover of words and books since I was about four. My grandmother was English and a great lover of literature. She read to me from many genres and encouraged me to read widely. In school I found English and Lit to be among my favorite courses and I started writing poems, short stories and even a detective novel I’m certain was dreadful. I did a column for my high school newspaper and later wrote and published some magazine articles. My life and career took me into the corporate world, where I wrote many business pieces, including corporate video scripts. Several years ago I did a wine column for my local newspaper (great fun) and then co-wrote the nonfiction “Media Skills: The Lawyer as Spokesperson,” published by Lexis-Nexis. I have always wanted to return to my roots in fiction and inheriting an amazing archive in words and pictures of my larger than life grandfather’s life and times, especially during Prohibition, was the catalyst to starting this project – a labor of love on several levels.

EN: It's an ambitious project to write a novel, and more so a series of novels. When did you take a serious interest in writing how did it happen?

CNO: As described above, I got serious when presented with a wealth of information about a fascinating man in a time so crazy it’s hard to believe. You’re right, it is an ambitious project. I have written in whole the first book, “Another Chance to Die” and worked with a professional editor. I am now in the process of doing some reconstruction based on learnings I’ve accumulated during this process. Novels are a very exacting and complex form of writing, as I’m sure you know, and I keep learning and honing my skill by inches every day. I still hope to write the Man in the Middle series of three books, but realize it’s quite a task I’ve set for myself!

EN: Based on your opening chapter, I get the impression that your grandfather was a pretty tough cookie. Did you know him while growing up and what did you see in his notes that cast him in a different light from the man you knew?

Grandfather's badge.

CNO: My grandfather was one of the strongest willed, most formidable and yet charismatic men I’ve ever known. I was fortunate to be very close to him and my grandmother during my formative years. He made a big impression on me. And yes, he was a tough cookie. As a crime reporter he walked and worked in danger on a daily basis. He investigated, instead of just reporting obvious facts. He was deputized by Detroit’s Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and The Michigan State Police, so he carried a badge and a gun, along with a notebook – not something reporters are generally known for. Reading his notes brought him back to life for me and gave me new details about some of his escapades, but they very much reflected the man I had known.

EN: Detroit is one of those cities with a history... Henry Ford, unions, Heartbeat of America. Your book will unearth an underside that people are quite unfamiliar with. Can you tick off a few of the insights that will be revealed through Another Chance to Die?

CNO: Many people don’t realize that Detroit and SE Michigan were a major hub for Prohibition activity. Here are some interesting facts:

With its immediate proximity to Canada (in some places less than a mile across the Detroit River), this area is credited with bringing in 75% of all booze smuggled into the U.S. during Prohibition.

Michigan went dry almost two years before the Volstead Act was brought into law nationally. Michigan criminals had a tremendous head start in organizing ways to break and monetize the ban on alcohol. The most successful and notorious Detroit-based gang was the Purple Gang. They brutalized, intimidated and murdered their way to great wealth and a fearsome reputation. Al Capone made a move on their territory, but they scared him so much, he backed off and made a deal to split up the state, east to west. He also used them as distributors of his private label whiskey. The Purples are credited with 500 kills, more than Capone and his outfit could have claimed. It is believed that a few of the Purple Gang were among the shooters in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Working on another scoop.

Before Prohibition took effect, there were something like 2500 places to get a drink in Detroit. During the ban that number mushroomed to 25,000 places to drink – from little dives to swanky clubs complete with music, dancing and gambling.

Prohibition in Detroit spawned the mixing of the sexes and races in public, out drinking together and thumbing their noses at a law they thought was a joke. My grandfather’s notes indicate he felt that women were out in an unprecedented way and, in his experience, were open to sexual encounters. I don’t know if this was generally true, but I do know my grandfather was a player.

There was plenty of police and public official corruption during Prohibition. A number of them chose to participate in rather than prosecute illegal activities. In one year, 1925 I think it was, both the Detroit Mayor and Sheriff were arrested at a speakeasy.

EN: What made your grandfather tick? That is, what was it that drove him to put himself in such risky situations?

CNO: My theory on that is based on what happened to his mother and what kind of person his father was. When my grandfather was about 6 his mother was killed before his eyes. They were on the streets of Detroit and a runaway motorcycle trying to avoid collision with a trolley slammed dead on into her and grazed my grandfather. She died instantly, and he received a wound in the hip, which caused him a slight lifelong limp. I believe he felt responsible for not having saved her and did not like the sense of losing control. Control was a central element of his character and in his relationships. His father was Detroit’s top commercial photographer and owner of Colonial Studios. By all accounts he was a very exacting Dutchman and may have been emotionally distant. He was the son of a hard core Dutch Reform guy (my great-great grandfather) who emigrated to Michigan in the 1800s and was a founder of Detroit’s first church of that faith. Looking at my GG grandfather’s photo is enough to scare you, he appears so stern and unmoving. One interesting thing, my great grandfather was very dapper, and he passed that proclivity along to my grandfather – he was a tremendous clothes horse.

EN: What is your main character's quest in this series of stories in The Man in the Middle Series?

The Rum Runners were operating with impunity
while Federal agents looked the other way.

CNO: In the first book his drive is all about being the top guy on his paper and against the competing newspapers to uncover and report the big stories. As crime reporter there was an abundance of those during and after Prohibition. He goes through a big change however when his actions result in the death of his colleague and best friend. Then he is interested in working in cooperation with law enforcement to stick a wicket in the operations of the gangs, while being seen as the same old hale fellow well met reporter. It’s a dangerous path he has chosen to pursue, as it is for all double agents.

EN: Will there be some inside dirt on the auto industry? What other historical figures will show up in your pages?

CNO: My grandfather knew everyone who was anyone. He had a close relationship with the Kelley family – my father’s contemporary was Frank Kelley who was Michigan’s Attorney General for 38 years. His uncle Tom was chief of detectives for the Wayne County Sheriff’s office and a close associate of my grandfathers. He knew and interacted with various mayors and governors and yes, he had association with some of the famous automakers, especially the Dodge brothers. There is a kidnapping episode related to the Dodges that could show up in book 2. Al Capone is an active character in book 1 and will probably show up in book 2 as both he and my grandfather had a connection to the alcohol production industry in Montreal, Canada.

* * * *

Ms. Oltean is a member of the Historical Novel Society, The Florida Writer's Association and the National and Florida Sister's In Crime Organizations. She is active on social media, particularly Twitter. You can follow her on Twitter: @claudia_oltean

* * * *
RELATED LINKS
Last of the Capones Talks About Uncle Al

Another Chance To Die: Prohibition-Era Detroit Comes to Life

Writing involves decisions. In memoir writing, how much do I leave in and what should be left out. In fiction, how far do we develop the scene and how much detail causes the story to drag. In converting a story to film, how much is essential and how much can be extracted without losing the main aim of the story itself. There are always decisions to make and always limitations. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

This morning I am trying to decide whether to turn my interview with author Claudia Oltean into one blog post or two. Ms. Oltean is author of the book Another Chance to Die, historical crime fiction based in Prohibition-era Detroit and the first of several volumes in her upcoming Man in the Middle Series, which itself seems to be hitting all the right notes to become a new series in this third Golden Age of Television.

The story's appeal is in part due to its being something readers are familiar with (Prohibition-era crime a la Chicago, Eliot Ness and Al Capone)) combined with something we're totally unfamiliar with (1920s Detroit). The title of the first book effectively echoes McCartney's Band on the Run and a pair of Bond titles -- You Only Live Twice and Die Another Day.

* * * *

The author with her grandparents.

Claudia Oltean's grandfather was a crime reporter for The Detroit News during Prohibition. He was one of the original investigative reporters. Abe Bernstein, leader of The Purples, a murderous, top criminal gang, was his CI -- how that came about is a long story. Conversely, he was, conversely deputized by the Wayne County (Detroit) Sheriff's Office and the Michigan State Police. He carried both a badge and a gun, not your garden variety reporter. This larger than life figure knew everybody who was anybody.

The Purples were rivals and associates of Al Capone and Capone appears as a character in the book. Ms. Oltean had the great fortune of inheriting her grandfather's reporters notes as well as his physical articles in scrapbooks dating back to 1920.

Detroit and SE Michigan were known to be where 75% of all smuggled booze came in, due to its immediate proximity to Windsor and Canada, thereby acquiring the nickname the Windsor Funnel. The stories in her grandfather's materials and the vast amount of research she herself did are mind-blowing. When I inquired about the project, Ms. Oltean explained, "I used all this as a springboard to write a fictionalized account as a novel. The book is complete and I am working on some more revisions, the bane of a writer's life, as I'm sure you know."

If you'd like more background, you may visit her website at oltean.com. Her grandfather's obit is there, along with some of her background as a writer, and the first chapter of the novel.

* * * *
It appears that I've made up my mind. I am posting this bit of backstory today, and look forward to sharing our interview tomorrow. What follows is the storyline. Looks like a perfect follow up for anyone having grown up a fan of the Untouchables.


ANOTHER CHANCE TO DIE 
by Claudia N. Oltean

Storyline

In the Prohibition-fueled Roaring 20’s, Detroit is a major hub for bootlegging and racketeering. The gangs are at war and so are the newspapers, spilling ink instead of blood. Allen Nieber, a young, tall, charismatic Detroit News crime reporter works both the cops and crooks to land front-page stories. Popular at every precinct and speakeasy in town, he’s enjoying grand adventure, female attentions and printed glory. Just as his conscience begins to niggle him about the integrity of his singular methods, his News colleague and best friend is killed. It happens on a late night rum run across the Detroit River. Nieber and his buddy are passengers in the super-charged motorboat of the notorious Purple Gang when a rival gang seems to come out of nowhere, automatic rifles on point. A chaotic shootout breaks out, with kills on both sides, including Nieber’s closest friend. As he himself had engineered this outing as part of a quid pro quo with the Purples, Nieber is wracked by grief and guilt. He also must face a hostile, suspicious chief of detectives and the displeasure of his bosses. His high-flying position and solid reputation are in jeopardy. So is his relationship with the one woman he thinks he can love. Trying to stay ahead of an official police investigation, Nieber works to unravel the confused circumstances of that tragic night. A murky picture emerges and it’s not pretty. He feels like a fool and questions what kind of man he is. Determined to somehow make things right, he strikes a deal with the chief of detectives. In a bold new direction, Nieber will continue to cover all the sensational Prohibition stories while secretly collaborating with law enforcement. Their mission will be to foul the ever more vicious and lethal operations of Detroit’s gangs, including the formidable Purples.

* * * *
When all is said and done, it seems that to not read this book would be criminal.