Twin Cities Noir (28 page)
“
Shit,
” I whisper.
“That’s right,” Curtis says. “Benno didn’t give you no lunch break.” He steps away and tells Heavy, “Pop this jerk so I can get to work. I got deliveries to make.”
It’s all clear to me now. “Go ahead and take the fucking job, Curtis. I’m sick of it anyway. And by the way, the fringe benefits suck.”
Heavy pushes the gun against the back of my head and squeezes the trigger. Ah, what the hell, it was worth it—that’s one hell of a chili dog.
G
ARY
B
USH
recently finished a novel featuring private detective Max Coppersmith. He is currently working on a second Coppersmith novel and researching a historical mystery. His short fiction has appeared in
Flesh and Blood
Volume 3,
Fedora 2, Small Crimes
, and
MXB Magazine
. Bush lives in Minneapolis with his wife Stacey.
K.J. E
RICKSON
writes the Marshall Bahr mystery series, set in the Twin Cities. The fourth title in the series,
Alone at Night
, won a 2005 Minnesota Book Award.
C
HRIS
E
VERHEART
, a Minnesota native, is a fiction and screen writer. He has worked in film and advertising in Minneapolis, where he lives with his wife and stepson.
J
UDITH
G
UEST
has lived since 1976 in Edina, Minnesota, where she has been gathering lots of material, which could take another thirty years to be disseminated. She is the author of five books, including
Killing Time in St. Cloud
and
The Tarnished Eye
. She has one husband, three sons, and three daughters-in-law, plus seven of the best grandchildren known to man (or woman).
P
ETE
H
AUTMAN
has written novels for both adults and teens. His poker-themed crime novels
Drawing Dead
and
The Mortal Nuts
were selected as
New York Times Book Review
Notable Books. His latest novel,
Invisible
, is about model railroads, pyromania, friendship, and window-peeping. Hautman lives with novelist and poet Mary Logue in Golden Valley, Minnesota, and Stockholm, Wisconsin.
E
LLEN
H
ART
, five-time winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Mystery and two-time winner of the Minnesota Book Award for Best Crime Fiction, has written twenty-one mystery novels in two long-running series, all set in the Twin Cities. She teaches crime writing at the Loft Literary Center, the largest independent writing community in the nation, and lives in Minneapolis with her partner of twenty-eight years.
S
TEVEN
H
ORWITZ
has worked in publishing for twenty-five years. He lives with his wife and two dogs in St. Paul, Minnesota.
D
AVID
H
OUSEWRIGHT
is a former newspaper reporter and advertising copywriter, who was born, raised, educated, played hockey, discovered girls, and currently lives in St. Paul. He is the author of several Twin Cities–based novels, including
Dearly Departed, A Hard Ticket Home, Pretty Girl Gone, Dead Boyfriends
,
Penance
, which won an Edgar Award for Best First Novel, and
Practice to Deceive
, which earned the Minnesota Book Award.
W
ILLIAM
K
ENT
K
RUEGER
writes the award-winning Cork O’Connor mystery series set in Minnesota’s great Northwoods. With his wife and family, he lives in St. Paul, a wonderfully noir city that he dearly loves.
M
ARY
L
OGUE
was born and bred in the Twin Cities. A poet and writer, she has strayed occasionally, but always manages to find her way back home. A new book of poetry,
Meticulous Attachment
, and a new Claire Watkins mystery,
Poison Heart
, were published in 2005. She lives with Pete Hautman on both sides of the Mississippi.
