Just before Christmas I received an email informing me that Amazon Kindle had ranked my novels #1, #2, and #4 in their Top 10 list of Rock and Roll Mystery Novels. It got me wondering about the overall popularity of rock fiction. So I did a little research to get a feel for what is happening within this subgenre.

I realized that a few mainstream fiction authors, such as Carl Haaisen and Nick Hornby had written popular rock novels. In my opinion, Hiaasen’s best was “Basket Case.” Most of you probably know of Hornby’s “High Fidelity,” which was made into a film starring John Cussack. I hadn’t realized that Jackie Collins wrote “Rock Star” and Salmon Rushdie received high praise for his rock novel, “The Ground Beneath Her Feet.”

I was aware that fellow rock novelist, Susan Helene Gottfried, keeps a list of Rock Novels on her website, West of Mars. A quick count told me she lists over 275 rock novels on the site, and has reviewed several. A little more digging revealed that there are several subsets to the subgenre: 80’s Rock, British Rock, Punk Rock, Alternative Rock and even Sci-Fi Rock each have several titles to choose from in the world of rock fiction.

What’s the appeal of rock fiction? It offers insights into the life of the musician as well as some of the unique experiences that fans merely glimpse when viewing a rockumentry. Nonfiction approaches to the lives of musicians traditionally attempt to normalize the lifestyle by playing down the difference between the stars and their fans. Rock fiction takes the opposite approach. It focuses on those differences as they relate to the story being told.

As a writer of rock mysteries, I attempt to expose the reader to experiences that don’t make the television gossip shows.  “Rock & Roll Homicide” gets into the issue of creative control; “Rock & Roll Rip-Off” has revealing scenes at a multi-band practice facility; and “The Concert Killer” gets into everything from backline techs to the wannabe groupie point of view. All of these elements fall within the confines of mystery reader expectations as they relate to fair play with clues. The difference is that the detective is a former club musician, and all of the cases in the series relate to the rock music industry.

The same principles hold true for rock fiction written in other genres. Romance readers have certain expectations, as do Horror, Sci-Fi, etc. The differences are the characters and the situations they find themselves in as a result of being professional musicians. While the main purpose of novels is to entertain, most readers report enjoying novels that teach them something they don’t know about the real world. Rock fans who also enjoy reading get the best of both worlds with rock fiction.

So, who is reading rock fiction? About four months after “Rock & Roll Homicide” was released, a national newspaper wrote an article about it based on an unusual demographic profile the received from MarketWatch. It said that half of my readers were traditional mystery fans who were over 40 years old. The other half was 18- to 35-year-olds who rarely read books. A little digging revealed that many of these readers were given the book after their parents or grandparents had read it, in hopes of generating an interest in reading. The article inspired a library book tour that I did in 2010 to help parents get their non-reading adult children into a subject that would hold their interest long enough to complete a book. The feedback from participants was very encouraging.

If you’re over 40 and love the rock experience but no longer have the time or desire to go to a show, rock fiction may be for you. If you’re an aspiring musician who wants to know more about the lifestyle than what is shown on MTV, rock fiction may be for you. If you’re an avid reader who likes to learn about unique aspects of life, rock fiction may be for you. With e-readers exploding in popularity and many titles priced around $2.99, it’s easy to find out if this subgenre rocks your world.

I just spent the last hour looking over Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services website. There is a great deal of information relating to the reporting of child abuse, which is why universities designate specific individuals to serve as the point of contact for filing reports. Joe Paterno’s point of contact was his boss, Athletic Director Timothy Curley.

According to the grand jury, Joe received the eye witness report from Graduate Assistant, Mike McQueary, on a Saturday and reported it to Curley the following morning. The grand jury had no problem whatsoever with Joe acting in a timely manner.

The law mandates that Curley was to have reported the abuse immediately to the police and/or Child Protective Services. As we know, Curley was arrested for failing to do so, even though that particular responsibility is part of his job description, and he was presumably trained in the laws relating to his obligations.

Joe was supposedly fired for failing to follow up on the reported abuse. But, was that a realistic expectation?  If Joe noticed Sandusky continuing to enjoy his professor emeritus privileges on campus could he have contacted Child Protective Services to follow up? Absolutely not!

Child Protective Services functions as an independent entity within the social services system. They are afforded that status for one reason – confidentiality. By law, Child Protective Services workers are prohibited from discussing cases with anyone outside of their immediate circle of supervisors, coworkers, the police and the district attorney’s office.

To find out if there was any flexibility to this mandate, I contacted the former director of a Pennsylvania social services agency. She told me that even in her role as Director she was never able to get any information from Child Protective Services once the referral was made. Any CPS worker who divulges information on an open or closed case would not only be fired, but also arrested and prosecuted.

In other words, if Joe was fired for failing to follow up with Child Protective Services, or with the police to discuss a child abuse case, then he was fired for failing to do the impossible.

The way the system was supposed to work was that Curley was mandated by law to report the abuse. Then Child Protective Services and the police were to conduct an investigation, and hopefully find enough evidence to make an arrest. There is no specific timetable for how long an investigation will take before an arrest is made or the case is closed. If Joe confronted Sandusky after filing his report with Curley, he could have been cited for interfering with a police investigation. Such a confrontation would have tipped the predator that he was being watched.

The Child Protective Services laws are written this way to encourage witnesses to come forward without having to worry about reprisals from the abusers. In effect, it is a team effort. The reporter of abuse performs a specific function, then is cut out of the loop entirely. Joe did his job by immediately reporting the abuse to the designated liaison. It was completely unrealistic for the board of trustees to expect Joe to assume that his boss would commit a felony by failing to pass the report on to the police or CPS.

Once the grand jury report was released to the media, and they learned that Joe had knowledge of the abuse, they went into their usual sensationalist mode to milk the story for all it was worth. The fact that Joe did all that the law would allow him to do was never mentioned. It would not have bolstered TV ratings, sold newspapers, or generated Internet hits.

The media could have used this case as a way of informing the public on how abuse cases are designed to work, and in the process, may have encouraged some victims to come forward and seek justice. Instead we are reminded of just how low the media will go to find the sensational slant. If a good man is sacrificed in the process, so be it.

How has Joe acted throughout this ordeal? As expected. His focus is on the victims and not himself. When the board of trustees fired him, he never attempted to take the focus off of them to plead his case. I’m proud to be a Penn State alumni, and privileged to have enjoyed the benefit of Joe’s hard work on behalf of the university. It’s a shame that the board of trustees did what was popular instead of what was right.

As a Penn State alumni, I can’t tell you how many times Joe Paterno has held key players out of important games because they didn’t follow the rules. He’s never been one to sweep infractions under the rug for the sake of enhancing the team’s win/loss record, or his own legacy. This season senior Stephfon Green, who was expected to be the #1 running back, was suspended for the first five games. Last season it was our top defensive back who received a similar punishment. Joe has always been known for consistently following and enforcing the rules.

I believe JoePa is every bit as consistent when it comes to criminal laws as he is with the rules of the university and of his football program. When it came to his actions after receiving the disturbing report about Sandusky from graduate assistant Mike McQueary, he didn’t go off half-cocked on a personal vendetta. Instead, he complied with one of the fundamental guiding principles of the US Constitution: Innocent until proven guilty. I know how outraged and sickened I felt after reading the 23 page grand jury finding. Imagine how difficult McQueary’s report must have been for the man who placed his trust in that predator for all of those years.

Of course there is the possibility that McQueary’s description to Joe had much less graphic detail than what was revealed to the grand jury. After all, the assistant was meeting with a 73-year-old man who’s regarded as a living legend. Also, McQueary was probably feeling guilty about his total failure to intervene on behalf of the young victim. The fact that McQueary is still on the coaching staff leads me to believe there was a fair amount of spin on his account to Joe.

Paterno has been living and breathing team sports his entire life. Each team member has a specific set of responsibilities. As head coach, Joe’s list probably includes hundreds of items relating to game planning, operations, recruiting, fundraising, and meeting with other members of the university. The only way he can possibly do his job effectively is to delegate responsibilities to those below him, and expect that those above him follow through on their assigned duties. After receiving McQueary’s account, Joe immediately reported it to his boss, Athletic Director Tim Curley, with the expectation that Curley would follow protocol regarding an investigation by the proper authorities.

As the head coach of a major college football program, JoePa has probably been told how to do his job practically every day since assuming that role. Alumni, fans, sports reporters, students, and supporters of other programs are never shy about offering opinions. So, I didn’t find it at all surprising that Joe didn’t try to micromanage his boss by requesting follow-up on whatever McQueary had told him about Sandusky.

Several years ago Billy Crystal starred in a film called City Slickers. Jack Palance played a legendary cowboy. Billy asked him how he attained that status and Jack held up one finger. We later learned that he meant a person becomes truly proficient by focusing on one thing. I’m the author of the Rock & Roll Mystery Series. In interviewing musicians, I have discovered that the best of the best have that single-minded perspective. With the exception of family relationships, music is their world. I imagine JoePa has a similar focus on his football program. Had Joe delegated the report to an underling, he definitely would have been responsible for following up. But protocol dictated that the matter move up the chain of command. At that point I’m sure his focus returned to the multiplicity of duties that regularly burn out men half his age. Expecting Joe to assume the role of amateur detective on top of all of his other responsibilities was ridiculous.

Throughout this ordeal Joe’s focus has been on the victims. Firing him for not attempting to oversee his bosses was a very poor decision. The board of trustees decided that they needed a scapegoat, and threw Joe to the media wolves while keeping Curley on paid leave. I believe the board needs to be held accountable for that deplorable decision. It’s unfortunate that my alma mater is currently being led by a group that would rather sacrifice the legacy of an exemplary man than show a little backbone by standing up for one who has given so much to so many.

Action mysteries are usually plot driven stories with strong male protagonists overcoming numerous obstacles to uncover murderers and save attractive females in the process. The protagonists are typically police detectives or private investigators who are either single or divorced, creating the opportunity for sexual tension with the damsels in distress.

I freely admit to reading and enjoying novels with this dynamic for many years.  But after two years of writing for television, where winning formulas get done to death, I longed for something fresh. So I created Jason Duffy, a young private investigator in a serious relationship, who is slowly mending fences with his retired police detective father through a mother who quietly serves as the catalyst for healing.

Jason’s relationship with his father changed dramatically at the age of 12 when he told his parents he’d saved up enough money to buy an electric guitar. His father had seen too many rockers get involved with drugs to go along with his son’s request. But his mother felt he had the benefit of good parenting, knew the difference between right and wrong, and should be allowed to pursue his dream. The bottom line was that Jason got the guitar and, from that point forward, his dad spent a great deal of time at the local
Irish cop bar. Jason resented how his father’s frequent absences adversely affected the family.

A grudge formed between the two of them that went well beyond the discord affiliated with the leaving the nest syndrome. Those of you who are familiar with Irish Americans (like myself) know that grudges can qualify for Lifetime Achievement Awards in some families.

Jason worked his way through college as a club musician in a rock band. He continued playing with his band for two years after graduation while he held a day job as an outpatient mental health counselor. But counseling wasn’t in his blood. During the Cold War years, while Jason was still living at home, the only thing he and his father had in common was their mutual interest in watching crime dramas on television. Jason also closely followed his father’s cases, and never missed a backyard barbecue with his dad’s Irish cop buddies. When Jason decided that counseling wasn’t right for him, he started a PI internship and left the band.

The first novel in my series, Rock & Roll Homicide, opens with Jason very much over his head after accepting his first murder case. Mom recognized the fence mending opportunity and engineered a truce. Since that fateful day, Jason’s relationship with his father has consisted of a number of two steps forward, and one step back maneuvers; like a dance routine where both partners insist on leading.

A major step backwards involved Jason’s girlfriend, Kelly, in the second novel of the series, Rock & Roll Rip-Off (winner of an indie 2010 Mystery/Thriller of the Year Award). For the first time ever, Jason is dating a woman of Irish descent, and Dad is thrilled. In his exuberance, Dad made the mistake of asking, “When are you two getting married?”

Kelly is a second grade teacher who is passionate about her job and very supportive of Jason. Dad’s awkward question enabled me to flesh her out in a much more three dimensional supporting role. In this novel, the reader discovers more about Jason and Kelly as individuals and as a couple. Of course, there is a compelling criminal case going on at the same time that places huge demands on Jason’s attention. Once
again, he relies on his father’s assistance after Mom steps in to avert a return to the Cold War years.

Most people don’t think of family when they hear that I write the Rock & Roll Mystery Series. Yet it plays a major role in all of my novels. Every book in this series relates to some aspect of the music business. But if you’re looking for a key theme that ties them all together, pay attention to the family dynamics and you’ll see Jason and the main subplot characters grow and mature from one book to the next.

I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that I use a bit of humor in between action scenes. If you enjoy a good whodunit with a few smiles and a musical twist, I’d love to introduce you to my fictional family. They may be a bit dysfunctional at times, but they never let a grudge completely block their deep seeded love for one another.

Many mystery/thriller writers hammer their readers relentlessly with non-stop tension. I use a bit of humor in between action scenes to give my readers a break. Following is an example of a light moment between my 28-year-old private investigator, Jason Duffy, and his girlfriend, Kelly:

Kelly reminded me at least three times during the month that her high school friend, Lynette, was working at a haunted house in downtown San Diego throughout the Halloween season. I called at lunchtime and asked if she wanted to go see Lynette tonight. She was thrilled that I was paying attention. Lynette told her that if we went through the haunted house at the back end of the first group, she’d be able to chat for a minute and was looking forward to meeting me. Kelly thought the box office opened at 6:00 and the first tour went through at 6:30. I made reservations at a nice Italian bistro in the Gaslamp Quarter, not far from the haunted house, for 7:30.

Kelly suggested we wear Halloween costumes in keeping with the spirit of the weekend. But, knowing that the restaurant would not be catering to revelers, I told her we shouldn’t compete with Lynette’s outfit and should probably dress in the kind of casual clothes that horror movie victims wear.

Just before 6:00 we arrived at the box office, only to read a sign that it opens at 6:30. After a quick scan of the immediate area, I spotted a Hooter’s nearby and suggested we kill the half-hour by getting a drink.

“You were doing so well, up to this point,” Kelly said.

“Oh, c’mon. It’ll be fun.”

“Fun for you. This was probably part of your plan all along”

“I’m not the one who said the box office opens at 6:00. I’ll bet the waitresses are dressed up for Halloween.”

Kelly reluctantly went along with my plan and, sure enough, the waitresses were in Halloween costumes. Our waitress was dressed in what appeared to be official USMC underwear, with a few cuts and tucks to the boxer shorts. Kelly landed a kick to my shinbone after I saluted her and said, “Private Pleasure reporting for duty, sir!”

After she took our orders and retreated to the bar, Kelly said, “I’ll bet you’re a riot at the tittie bars.”

“I don’t go to those places, except when I’m tailing someone for work or providing moral support at a bachelor party.”

“I saw how you looked at her,” Kelly said in a teasing manner.

“Just because I’m on a diet doesn’t mean I can’t look at the menu.” Classic quotes, like classic rock, can be timeless.

“Unless you want to switch to the No Fun Diet I suggest you be mindful of your eyes when she returns with our drinks.”

“I’ll stare at the floor as a sign of my true devotion to you, my love.”

Five minutes later our saucy soldier returned. True to my word, I held a $20 bill in my hand as I stared at her feet. “What color nail polish is that?” I asked.

“It’s camouflage, to go with my outfit,” she replied. “Do you like it?”

“I don’t think it’s such a good idea.”

“Why not?” she asked.

Looking into her eyes for the first time since she returned, I replied, “You don’t want the boys calling you camo toes, do you?”

My smile turned to a grimace as blood rushed to my shinbone.

I bought my first album at the age of ten. It was called Meet the Beatles. My big purchase happened on a school night, and my mother removed it from my room an hour past my bedtime after repeatedly telling me to turn it off. Being a kind soul and a music lover, she returned it first thing in the morning, and I listened non-stop until Dad drove my sister and I to school.

Mom didn’t look particularly surprised when the school nurse drove me home a half hour later with a phantom belly ache. She also wasn’t surprised to hear the album playing before the nurse left the house. But she was at a loss for words when they heard me trying to pick out the chords to I Wanna Hold Your Hand. It helped that the nurse lived less than a block away, and was friends with Mom.

In those days stay-at-home mothers were the norm, and our family budget didn’t allow for guitar lessons. But in my late teens I did manage to pick up quite a bit from the garage band down the street. I was a couple of years older than most of the band members, and on the concert committee at our local Penn State University campus. I took on the role of managing the band while playing in a trio on the side. At the time I was a bit overwhelmed. One of the guitarists from the garage band was progressing at an exceptional rate. In fact, most of the band members were sounding like pros. As it turned out, Robbie, the guitarist, and Jiggs, the drummer, went on to form a trio with Noel Redding, the bass player from The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

My skill level improved over time, and I moved from Northeastern PA to San Diego hoping to earn a living as a musician. Within days of my arrival I met a talented lead guitarist with some local connections, and it looked as though my rock & roll dreams were about to come true. But sometimes fate has a way of hitting a sour note at the least opportune moment. Just as our band was coming together I shattered my left wrist playing a pickup game of football. I had bone graft surgery and spent 23 of the next 24 months in a cast.     Rehab brought back most of my dexterity, but I couldn’t grip a guitar for more than 15 minutes without getting shooting pains and losing power. Over the next five years I tried to rebuild the strength, but kept hitting a wall around the 15 minute mark.

Eventually, I gave up trying and focused on my job as a writer. I wrote resumes, newspaper articles, a careers column, and even wrote scripts for a comedy television program for two seasons. But my passion for music never died.

I transitioned into writing novels in 2004. My police detective father got me interested in mysteries at an early age. In crafting my fictional series PI, Jason Duffy, I incorporated some of my own history. Jason’s reason for ending his career as a club musician was the band’s inability to write original material. So he left the band and entered into a PI internship at the age of 25.

The year after I completed the first novel in the series, Rock & Roll Homicide, I moved back to PA and ran into Robbie. He was giving guitar lessons at a local studio. I decided to see if my 20 year layoff from playing guitar had improved the strength in my wrist. To my surprise I was able to play pain free for over an hour, so I took lessons for the next two years.

By the time Rock & Roll Rip-Off was released, I incorporated a dozen classic rock cover songs into my presentation at bookstores, record stores, and libraries. I described characters and scenes from my novels by relating them to well-known songs. My rock & roll road not taken was finally converging with my writing career.

On 9/1/11 The Concert Killer was released. This is my PI’s first serial killer case, and opens on the 4^th murder. To introduce the novel I developed a unique book trailer that features an original song by the same name. The verses describe the first three murders and serve as a prequel to the book. The accompanying trailer  photos depict what is happening in the verses.

For the first time since my accident I feel like I’ve moved musically beyond my skill level on the day my wrist was shattered. The fork in my road of life has reached a nexus point where my passions for writing and music have fused. I’m hoping that you will take the time to contact me and share a story of how you overcame obstacles for the sake of your passion, whatever that may be.