Peter Vonder Haar has never been good at self-promotion, or writing about himself in the third person. So let’s cut that crap out right now.
By way of introducing myself, I’ll tell you a little about why I decided to write about these particular characters in this particular city.
I’ve called Houston home for 23 years now but I’ve lived in Texas pretty much constantly since the age of 10 (two years of grad school in Washington, DC notwithstanding). I’ve been an avid reader almost my whole life, and have always gravitated towards suspense and detective stories.
One thing I noticed about the latter is that many of the most memorable stories made use of a specific location. George Pelecanos uses the DC area, while some of Dennis Lehane’s best works are set in Boston; Raymond Chandler and Walter Moseley have Los Angeles; Ft. Lauderdale is a city I’ve never visited, but I feel like I know if having read John D. McDonald’s Travis McGee novels (Carl Hiassen is another Florida original); Kathleen George has Pittsburgh, and too many writers to count have New York City.
But Houston? Not so much.
This isn’t too say there aren’t any novels set here. Alicia Erian lives in Syracuse, NY, but nevertheless chose Houston as the setting for much of her excellent Towelhead. There’s also Kim Wozencraft’s brutal Rush and Larry McMurty’s Terms of Endearment. Even horror icon Joe R. Lansdale set Act of Love, his first novel, in Houston. His Hap Collins also makes the occasional sojourn south from the Piney Woods.
To be clear, I’m not claiming to be as good a writer as these folks, but the more I bounced ideas for novels around, the more certain I became that I wanted to tap into the atmosphere and … let’s call it “unique” perspective of Houston residents for my first novels.
Geographically as well as spiritually, Houstonians occupy a midpoint on the spectrum between New Yorkers, who complain about everything but are fiercely loyal to their city, and Los Angelenos who crow about SoCal yet secretly loathe L.A. We’re grudglingly affectionate towards a city that is admittedly very hard to love. The traffic here is murder, the air often foul, and the weather has charitably been described as “Satan’s armpit.” But Houston is also the most diverse city in the country, as well as one of its most progressive, with a thriving artistic community and some of the best food around.
Time will tell how successful this endeavor will be, but I’m glad y’all are along for the ride.