What about the Title?

The working title for "Black's Beach Shuffle" was "The Dead Geek", which I think most people will agree isn't nearly as good. Descriptive, yes, but not nearly as interesting.

So how did I get to "Black's Beach Shuffle" from the previous title? Although the first drafts didn't start off that way, much of the action eventually moved to the area around Black's Beach, be it the mansions above, the cliffs they sit on, the ocean below, or the tech company headquarters that dominate the mesas just inland from it. That's how it got into the title.

And, I'll admit it, using "Black's Beach" in the title seemed like a good marketing move. Residents of San Diego all know this, but for those from out of town, Black's is San Diego's "clothing-optional" beach. It was one of the first legally nude beaches in the United States, written into the San Diego municipal code in the mid-1970s. That legalization was eventually rescinded, but enforcement is still rare.

Black's became an unofficial nude beach in the 1970s, when counter-culture types decided that Black's remote access made it a perfect place for beach-going au-naturel. Pretty soon word got around and Black's became a real scene. Down through the years, it's become more associated with gay culture, but it's still used by all sorts of people, straight or gay, naked or not. And as I understand it from my surfing friends, it's got a killer beach break, in all senses of the word.

Enough about Black's. What about the "Shuffle" in the title? Well, if you've read the book, that part of the title is pretty obvious. People and things get shuffled around (I won't give it away for those of you that haven't read the book yet). But the other reason for the title is musical. Since my protagonist is a guitar player, I wanted something that reflected that part of his story.

A "Shuffle" is a type of blues, perhaps the most common form of electric blues. It's that bump ba-bump ba-bump ba-bump rhythm that everyone knows, usually played in its 12-bar, three-chord form. It's not exactly the acid test for a musician, but it certainly is the entrance exam for most band auditions. If you can't swing, you ain't got that thing. Next, please.

Anyway, I'm planning to stick to this format for my next couple of books, combining a real place name with a musical reference. Black's Beach Shuffle is the first in a trilogy. The next two novels are "Border Field Blues" and "Slab City Rockers."

Links:
Wikipedia entry on Black's Beach
Black's Beach Bares, a volunteer organization
Shuffle in E guitar lesson

Calamity Fair

"Calamity Fair" is one of the Max Thursday series of hard-boiled detective novels written by Wade Miller, the pseudonym for the writing team of Robert Wade and Bill Miller. When I first got the idea for writing "Black's Beach Shuffle," I wondered how many other San Diego-based detective novels were out there, and discovered these classics of the post-war private-eye genre.

Aside from the fine plotting and brisk writing style, both of which had a real influence on my approach to "Black's Beach Shuffle", these novels are a lot of fun for San Diego readers. Wade and Miller were (and Mr. Wade continues to be) longtime San Diego residents, attending San Diego State together, where they edited the literary magazine and newspaper.

Location descriptions are kept to minimalistic impressions, but there are references to the U.S. Grant and Pickwick hotels (both still around), as well as the Fremont Hotel, which I've never heard of, so I assume it's a fictional invention or was torn down many years ago. There are also references to well-known San Diego neighborhoods, such as Middletown, Loma Portal, Point Loma, and Del Mar.

Most interesting is the Molyneux Alligator Farm, where some greusome action takes place. I assume this a fictional invention, but I'm intrigued by the possibility that there might have been an Alligator Farm theme park located in San Diego County back in the 1940s. If anyone knows of such a thing, I'd like to hear about it.

Wade Miller's best-known book is probably Badge of Evil, which Orson Welles used as the basis for the film "Touch of Evil." Some interesting critical discussion, along with reproductions of the original lurid paperback book covers can be found at MYSTERY*FILE The Crime Fiction Research Journal.

That reminds me, I need to pick up a copy of "Kitten with a Whip".