What do I write?

I’ve always been a fan of the noir detective/mystery novel, especially those written by the authors Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, both of whom I consider to be the best pop-fiction writers of their day. Now, while I haven’t consciously tried to emulate them, I do think my writing resembles their style, in so far as the cynical, trust nobody theme is concerned. The glaring difference between their work and mine is the language used and the notion that only the good come out on top. To the old guard “f___k” was said through "clenched teeth" on the street, (perhaps they even paid for a good one occasionally) but it, along with the remainder of George Carlin’s list of untouchables, were never ever put into print. (Nixon favored a few on the list, as did Kennedy and Clinton, and those words no doubt have passed the lips of the God fearing Georgie Dubya, especially when he was doing the Texas Two-step at Billy Bobs in Fort Worth.) To me they’re more than just four-letter words used to shock and awe; they represent the vernacular of our times and must be used if pop fiction of today is to be truly representative. The same holds true with the good and the bad; the bad sometimes come out on top. (Osama bin laden is still at large, is he not? Well, for that matter, so is Clinton.)

If the language used by the characters, especially the mobsters, in my novels were edited to accommodate those on the far right, those characters would be about as realistic as a hippo in a tutu. As well, most of the humor would be lost.(Rap musicians have one thing right. If we don't like it, we don't have to listen to it--but we don't have a right to censor it.)

Nobody has ever accused the “old guard” of literary genius, particularly when they were first published, but today their works are heralded as genre classics. I would imagine this honor alone would be enough for Chandler and Hammett—and quite the kudos for me as well.