Friday Noir: A Real Cool Killer Car
I often pass her.
Had no idea what her story or history was.
The overgrowth, the ravages of life just strangling her…
Kinda sounds like the start to some contemporary crime fiction / noir, eh?
Truth is, I often pass this car. Don’t know it’s story or it’s history. I’m not even sure what kind it is (though I think it’s in the mid 1970’s era Gran Torino family)
So…to flesh it out a bit more…to create said history,,,I enlisted some professionals to help me. I put it out there to a bunch of my writer friends:
Here’s your story starter. Give me a story. Flash fiction style, 1,500 words or less.
Three came home. Read ’em below.
Wait! Before you go a-clickin’ and reading…these stories aren’t for all. There’s crime. There’s violence. There’s words you won’t hear in Sunday school (though maybe in the 700 Level of the old Vet Stadium in Philly.) Be forewarned.
But these gents put together stories of this car. Around this car. As this car.
My challenge to you, dear readers, is to read these stories. And by power of the comments section, the story that gets the most votes, that author will get a 16×22 JerseyStyle Photography print of their choice.
Their fate (and their potentially bare walls) is in your hands.
So, give a read, and enjoy some delicious crime fiction as we fling off summer to start this long holiday weekend here in the United States.
Boys…the JSP blog is yours.
* Bill Baber with What’s Right (PDF)
* Chuck Regan with Regret (PDF)
* Ryan Sayles with Brad and Meg and the Big, Bad Fight (PDF
_________
There you have it. Three tales. Tell me below with one you like best and that guy gets the goods.
And if your comment is exceptional as to why you like a particular story, you’ll get a print as well.
A real cool deal, no?
(By the way…the title of this post…a riff on this classic…)
(c) Mark Krajnak | JerseyStyle Photography | 2015
JerseyStyle Photography 
Mark- awesome job of coming up with this idea! Man, I feel like I’ve been treated to three artist who sat looking at a model with sketchpads in hand and came away with three unique interpretations based on the lighting and angles they viewed it from. But here’s the deal, I feel like I’ve just partaken in a can of Pringles taken off a mule in handcuffs at customs. Chuck delivered a can that says “Pringles- you don’t just eat ’em”- drawing me in and, well, making me want to eat ’em but left me hanging. With Bill, I popped the top and chowed down, crunchy and tasty. Finger licking good. Then with Sayles, ah with Sayles… as I dug down through I found that the can contained that surprise ending that makes you high five the DEA agent standing by with raised eyebrow. Kudos to all three, but my vote goes to the reigning master of noir, Mr. Sayles.
Strong work, gentlemen, but I will cast my vote for Bill’s story – that one really hit the spot for me. (Great idea, by the way, Mark – I look forward to the next dose of Friday Noir.)
1970/72 Plymouth Satellite/Dodge Charger
You’re asking us to choose between Mantle, Mays, and Aaron. Yes, I’m showing my age. All three authors nailed it. But, only one mentions A-Rod in a noir story. Despite the fact that I disagree with the narrator….there is NO such thing as a brunette with too much make up…my vote is for Bill Baber’s, “What’s Right.”
After much deliberation, I have to vote for “Brad and Meg and the Big Bad Fight” by Ryan Sayles. It was a tough call, because all the stories are great. But as usual, Ryan brought the painful truth of humanity.
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In reading all the stories Bill did some really good storytelling but Ryan Sayles nailed it with his story about what really happens in everyday life. It’s all about the choices you make.
I agree with Rick on this one. Bill’s story hit home on multiple levels. Italian, “the family” theme of most Italian families (whether or not they have roots in the mob) baseball, enough said. This was a very difficult vote for me, but Sayles never disappoints. From the moment he writes, he sets the stage of the setting, takes you deep into the twisted and dark situation, the climax is usually coupled with another twist, and the whole story comes to conclusion, intricately supported by the events every step of the way. Chuck, I think you had a good idea going, but you just seemed to come to a halt. My vote is for Sayles.
I have to say that all three stories were good, but my favorite of the three was Bill’s. I liked the family angle, the subtle Cosa Nostra reference, the way there was just enough backstory to give it throw weight. To me, it read like something by George V. Higgins, my favorite writer.
Regan’s Regret is so haunting! The narrator knows, kind of, that something is seriously wrong. But he’s probably in shock from being shot and can’t quite process it all…but he knows enough to know Cory isn’t coming back for him. Knows he gonna die out there.
Cory is a coward, leaving his friend out there too!!!
And Regret is the perfect title, as the narrator watches his friend leave, forever!
Sent chills down my spine!
Friday Noir! So much fun.
All three were incredible and had that haunting quality that’s so ubiquitous in top notch noir. Regan’s was short but psychological. Baber’s was full of family drama and Sayles’ was as intense as unused Saw footage. It’s a tough call, but I have to go with Sayles on this one–I like my violence gratuitous.
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