“Fadeaway Joe is the kind of noir I love: smart, tight, and just the right amount of gritty before giving way to the depths of human connection. The way Hugh builds the relationship between Joe and Paula is excellent, and by the end you’ll be hoping this isn’t the last we see of them together.”
— Rob Hart, award-nominated author of "The Warehouse" and "The Paradox Hotel"
Hello everyone, and welcome back to "1 on 1 with Me!"
Life is hectic, and I had to take some time off. Honestly, I knew I needed to slow down the publication of interviews so as not to overload you all, and well…I really slowed it down. So, after a few months’ break, we are back for more Author Interviews.
What are these Author Interviews I speak of? Well, let me tell you. The world can be a pretty bleak place, and I believe the best place to start changing things (beyond yourself) is by investing in your community, and that is where these interviews come from.
For those returning, in this series, I highlight a new author and engage in a thoughtful conversation about who they are, what they care about, and their perspectives on various topics. I start with standard questions and then move into tailored follow-ups based on their responses. I like it because I find the format conversational and genuinely enjoy it. My primary focus is to highlight the author I am interviewing.
If you are interested in being a guest, please reach out to me on social media or email me with the subject line "Author Interview." This initiative is my way of giving back to the writing community. The guests you’ll hear from in these interviews come from diverse backgrounds and may or may not be familiar voices in the writing community. That’s the beauty of this platform on Substack—it's free!
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On to the interview!
“Hugh Lessig grew up in a blue-collar household in eastern Pennsylvania. As a child, he listened to his father and uncle tell stories of the road. They were truck drivers who hauled slate, dry goods, and cement into New Jersey and New York. Along the way, they met plenty of characters and saw people do weird things behind the wheel. To them, it was shop talk. They were better storytellers than they realized.
Lessig longed to tell stories, too, but he found life safer behind a keyboard than a steering wheel. After graduating from Moravian University, he embarked on a journalism career and worked at newspapers in Lebanon and Bloomsburg, Pa. He enjoyed finding his own characters: the good guys, the ne’er-do-wells, and the just plain odd.
After 12 years in Pennsylvania, he continued his newspaper career in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Writing about state government, he shared cars with governors and senators. As a military reporter, he covered the Navy’s relief effort for the 2010 Haiti earthquake, spent time onboard aircraft carriers, and sailed under the ocean on a Virginia-class submarine.
But characters always made the story, and that helped fuel his love for writing fiction.
When you work in newspapers for 30 years, you see what happens when regular people are placed in extraordinary situations. They win the lottery or get caught in mass layoffs. They rescue a child from a burning building or find their spouse in bed with a lover. That’s what drives Lessig’s fiction, not the criminal geniuses or serial killers, but the guy next door.
His initial short stories were published in Thuglit, Plots With Guns, Crime Factory, and Needle: A Magazine of Noir. More recently, his stories can be found in anthologies from Down & Out Books. Those include the first two volumes of “Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir”; and “Groovy Gumshoes: Private Eyes in the Psychedelic Sixties.”
His first novella, “Refried Beans and Snub-Nosed .44,” is part of the Guns + Tacos series, also from Down & Out.
“Fadeway Joe” is his debut novel.
Today, Lessig works in public communications for Newport News Shipbuilding. He lives on the grounds of Fort Monroe, Virginia, a former Army base, with Shana, his companion and best friend ever, and their dog, Gus.”
Gus says you need to read Hugh’s book
Now, all that is the Amazon bio, and since I suck at writing marketing material, I just copied and pasted it because it’s always great to learn about the credentials and biographies of these people. It’s important, but what is more important is word of mouth.
I heard about Hugh’s book through one of Jim Thomsen’s great quote posts and reviews on social media. If you aren’t following him, please do. If you are a writer, use him as your editor. I know I want to—so much! Jim isn’t shy about sharing books he likes, so I thought I’d check out Fadeaway Joe, and man, oh man, was it great.
Like Scott Blackburn’s debut, Fadeaway Joe doesn’t easily fit into the publishing world’s self-developed categories. Both of these are crime novels, but that’s about as close as you will get to labeling them, and I believe that’s what has made them great. Crime itself, a broad term, should be a category that isn’t a dirty word for the publishing world.
Hugh is a kind man for doing this and putting up with me, and I am so happy to share this conversation with you. It hits close to home because I thought I would go into journalism (I’m classically trained?), but I decided I wanted to tell the truth in other ways.
Who are you, and can you tell me a little about your work? What drives you? What do you hope to accomplish?
I grew up in a small slate quarry town in eastern Pennsylvania. Dad was a truck driver and mom worked in a garment factory. I grew up largely alone with a few close friends. I read voraciously. I started writing during my senior year in high school when I joined the yearbook staff. I decided I liked it and went to college to study journalism. In 1976, this seemed like a good way for a writer to earn a steady paycheck. Thanks to hedge funds that bought newspapers and chopped them to bits, this is no longer true.
I came of age during Watergate. It prompted a new generation of men and women to enter journalism. Thank God for them. My motivation for being a newspaper reporter was different. Back then, there was a TV character named Carl Kolchak. He was a newspaperman in Las Vegas, and was always coming across strange things: Bigfoot, vampires, voodoo queens, you name it. I wanted that job. I wanted to write about characters.
I never read mysteries as a kid. I read sci-fi. I entered the world of mystery writing through Star Trek. Allow me to connect those dots. In the 1980s, me and a fellow newspaper reporter started an online Star Trek fanzine called The Federation Foil. It was irreverent and fun. We gave our reporters fancy bylines. After a while, I wanted to write short stories that featured Foil reporters. For some reason, it made sense to write them in an old-fashioned hardboiled, pulpy style.
I knew nothing about this style, so I went on eBay and bought a copy of “The Black Mask Boys,” which featured not only Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, but Frederick Nebel, Erle Stanley Gardner, Horace McCoy, Carroll John Daly, Raoul Whitfield and Paul Cain.
I was hooked. Some of their stuff was over the top (“I tumbled from my jalopy as a lead messenger whizzed past my noggin. My gat barked death.”) But it was also like finding diamonds in the rough.
Online markets started to emerge. My first placement was with The Thrilling Detective around 1999. Kevin Burton Smith accepted it, and I met him in person for the first time at Bouchercon 2023 in San Diego. He still has the website and is one of my heroes. Other acceptances followed, including Thuglit and Plots with Guns. Looking back at the table of contents for those issues, I see names that are now familiar to thousands of readers. Thuglit deserves a space on anyone’s hallowed shelf.
As for what drives me? I have no idea. I’ve always written and have always wanted to write. It’s what I must do. I spent 35 years as a newspaper reporter, crafting and polishing and learning from others. In that sense, it hasn’t been a bad life.
What do I hope to accomplish? I plan to retire in May, and I hope to devote more time to learning how to write. That may sound strange, but you can never stop learning. Classes, webinars and workshops abound. I feel I can learn so much more. I also want to learn more about how to market myself. I do a lousy job – probably because I hate doing it – but I owe it to myself to get better.
How do you see your relationship with the reader?
I want readers to see the gray in people. After reporting the news for 30 years, much of it in politics, I came to realize that things are seldom black and white. We are ruled by imperfect people, most of whom have made compromises to get to where they are. I want readers to see the complexity of looking at people in three dimensions.
Most of my fiction writing has been in short stories that appear in anthologies. Readers react to the anthology, not always the individual story. So my feedback is limited. I’ve been fairly pleased with the comments on my debut novel, “Fadeaway Joe.” People seem to like it, even though the story deals with early-onset dementia. That’s not an easy issue to feel enthusiastic about, especially if it affected your family, as it did mine.
How do you view your characters? What has changed over time, and what has stayed the same? How do you develop complex characters?
When I first started writing short stories – especially those old hardboiled pieces – my characters were always older white guys. I wonder why? As I’ve progressed, I felt the need to get out of my own head. Writing short stories has allowed me to experiment with different points of view, chiefly women and young people. (When I say young, I mean around 20 years old. I’m 66.) I’ve enjoyed this, and my hope-to-be second novel is about a famous woman burglar who returns to her small hometown. It is almost entirely from her point of view.
In developing characters for a novel, I write a bio and plot important dates in their lives: marriages, kids, if they went to college, what jobs they’ve had. It usually amounts to a couple of thousand words. But the real growth occurs on the page. I enjoy writing dialogue, and the characters grow by talking to each other. I’ve heard of writing exercises where you get a character to write a letter to another character, or you write scenes where two characters are talking that have no relation to the novel. That sounds like a good idea, although I’ve never tried it.
What is your version of success? Has it changed during your writing journey? How so? What’s different now versus when you started?
I’m 66 going on 67. Did I say that? Yeah well, old people repeat themselves. I plan to retire soon. I’m not out to build a brand, be a best-seller or make a lot of money by writing. That said, I want to keep pushing out short stories. I have a supportive editor, Michael Bracken, who has been a true mentor. And more marketing, like I said. If I can’t be a best-seller, I at least want my peers to know who I am. Writing takes up so much of my spare time that it seems silly not to want that.
My writing journey is tangled up with my career in journalism. Not all news stories are creative or literary, but some can approach that level. In my career, I covered the administrations of three Virginia governors. I was embedded with the Navy on the USS Bataan during earthquake relief in Haiti. I spent a couple of weeks in pre-war Ukraine on a journalist exchange and traveled with doctors who helped people Ecuador, fixing all the things that normally get fixed in the United States at an early age.
There is a reason why journalists turn to novels. Journalism provides discipline. You must file stories when you’re tired, rushed, sick, hungover or depressed. There is no choice. Writing a novel is a marathon, and discipline is crucial.
Being a reporter also gives you an ear for dialogue. You become an active listener. You’re waiting for the disgraced politician to say something that sounds like an apology, or for the governor to deviate from his previous statements. Now I enjoy writing dialogue more than anything. That’s useful, because readers don’t give a damn about your sunsets.
What type of reader are you? How do you view books you read, and how do they affect you and your writing?
This is a great question. I used to read for pure enjoyment. Now I find myself looking at an author’s construction and pacing, how they handle flashbacks, and wondering “how did they do that?” I can still enjoy a book, but now it also serves to inform me. I very much enjoy reading outside the mystery/thriller genre. I’m a big fan of spy novels and horror. I love steampunk graphic novels and near-future science fiction.
How do you find readers? What works and hasn’t worked for you? What resonates with you when readers share thoughts about your work? And where do you see yourself in the writing community and publishing world?
On my second novel – still in the manuscript stage – I used beta readers for the first time. They are members of a local book club that liked Fadeaway Joe and invited me to one of their meetings. Their feedback was impressive, and it caused me to make a couple of major changes. I am using beta readers from now on. I didn’t use them with Fadeaway Joe and probably should have.
I enjoy it when readers say they want to root for my characters, because most of my characters are not likeable on the surface. They have flaws. They’ve made mistakes. Sometimes they say hurtful things, but their heads are pointed in the right direction. They want to help. They just don’t always do it in the most efficient way.
—Please provide a brief blurb about yourself, and feel free to promote your recent book or work.
I live in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. After a long career as a newspaper reporter, I was hired by Newport News Shipbuilding, a major defense contractor, to work in corporate communications. I plan to retire from there in May. I live with my best friend and companion, Shana, and our two dogs, Gus and Daisey.
—Tell me something interesting about yourself that these questions stimulated thought about. And tell me something you want others to know.
These questions are extremely useful. I don’t think of readers enough. I envision them as a big blob somewhere in the public ecosphere. These questions made me think more seriously about them, and I should do more of that.
As for something I want others to know? This is a strange factoid, but I’ll just put it here.
In 1926, my grandfather, Claude Lessig, was killed in a head-on collision of trains in New Jersey. He was the engineer. We have no photos of him, no words, no stories. I have the newspaper account of his accident, but that’s it. His body was brought into the front room of my grandmother’s house for the funeral. My grandmother died when I was 10, an age where you are not interested in the past. I never asked about her husband. My dad was only three years old at the time. He remembers the funeral, going behind chairs to grab women by the ankles.
I’ve researched that accident, and kind people from a railroad FB group provided me with the accident report and photos of the original engine. I don’t know why this fascinates me, but it does. One day, I’ll drive to New Jersey and find out where the accident happened. What then? I have no idea. Maybe I’ll just sit there and think.
What sparked your interest in journalism and how did you enter the field professionally after completing your studies? Also, what has motivated you to continue in journalism and weather the turbulent nature of the “business” over the last 20 years?
It came down to process of elimination. I sucked at math and science. I loved history but couldn’t figure out how to earn a paycheck except for teaching, and I had my fill of teachers. Pursuing a journalism degree would allow me to write and make a modest living, so that’s what I did. After getting my degree, I latched on to a PR agency for a while. But I also became a stringer for a newspaper. I covered far-flung local government meetings that the full-timers didn’t want to touch. I did that for a couple of years, and they finally hired me.
My first full-time job came in 1983. The business didn’t start to tighten until the early 2000s, so by then I was a veteran and determined to stick it out. Being a reporter is one of those jobs – police officer, teacher, nurse – where you follow a calling. I simply couldn’t imagine being anything else, even when the layoffs started coming. Most of my best friends were in the news business.
Things changed around the 2010s when hedge funds started buying up newspapers. The cuts kept coming and there was no clear vision as to how to improve coverage. The newspaper I worked for – the Daily Press in Newport News, Va. – started offering buyouts to senior staff. I finally took one in early 2020 and went to work for Newport News Shipbuilding, a huge defense contractor in our area, which was also part of my beat. I spent five good years there and retired in May.
One aside about journalism, and then I’ll stop.
I became a reporter during the Watergate generation. We looked up to Woodward and Bernstein, but I was less about uncovering corruption and more about finding quirky characters and weird stuff to write about. My hero was Carl Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin on a TV show called The Night Stalker. He was always running into vampires and Bigfoot and other monsters on the streets of Las Vegas. He wrote stories that never got published. Maybe that’s why I went into fiction.
I personally loved Fadeaway Joe. What was the genesis of the book? The inspiration? How hard or easy was it to put down on paper? Did you accomplish what you had set out to do in the book?
The idea came from two directions. In 2018, I wrote a piece of flash fiction for Shotgun Honey about an aging criminal and his young apprentice. The kid was on death row for killing someone in defense of the old guy, and the old guy regretted bringing the kid into that world. I started thinking about how criminals view their lives as they get older. I’m not talking about killers, rapists or abusers, more like the hustlers, fraudsters and con men who have chosen to take shortcuts. Do they regret it? If a young man wanted to follow in those footsteps, would they be a teacher or turn them onto a different path?
The second source for Fadeaway Joe was my dad, who passed away in 2003 after diagnosis of dementia. I struggled for years with how to write about it. My dad was a Marine in World War II who served in the Pacific Theater. He was a star baseball player in high school and a career truck driver. But the disease took him.
I combined the two sources. What if an aging criminal suffering from early-onset dementia faces a choice: exact personal revenge against your boss for dumping you or help a young person turn their life around, knowing that your life clock is ticking?
The story wasn’t easy. The first draft had the main character, Joe, befriending a young man who needed help. The story took off when I changed the gender to a young woman. It increased the tension, made Joe very uncomfortable and provided the kind of dysfunctional relationship I was looking for. After making that change, I put it aside for a few months, worked on short stories, then brought it back to an online class from LitReactor. Rob Hart, currently making the rounds with a novel titled “The Medusa Protocol,” which is a sequel to “Assassins Anonymous,” taught the class and I hired him to edit the manuscript when I finished it.
Did I accomplish what I set out to do? Beats me. I wish sales had been better. My marketing skills suck. But people who read it seemed to like it, and I’m thankful for every one of them.
Clearly, I got delayed in publishing these interviews, and I apologize for making you wait. May has come and gone. Did you retire? How have you been? Are you enjoying this new chapter in life and what’s changed?
I retired in early May. First off, let me say retirement is a scam. Everyone says you’ll have more time to do things you want. Nah. Ain’t happening. I work part-time at an independent bookstore. I write in the mornings and fix things around the house in the afternoon. Shana and I made the curious decision to become first-time home buyers later in life. So write, I mow the lawn and go to the hardware store to fix stuff that I break.
Did I mention I’ve become a grumpy old man? Retirement is fine, really. You do have more time to write and do other things, although not as much as I thought. Figuring out money is a bit strange, especially with all the news swirling around Social Security and Medicare. I’m staying away from Bouchercon this year, mostly for financial reasons. I’ll miss it terribly. We recently took an overnight trip to Yonder, a bar in North Carolina, for a Noir at the Bar. It was a blast.
You mentioned it, why did you feel you should have used beta-readers with Fadeaway Joe? What growth have you noticed from transitioning from short stories to a novel to a second novel (and more—I hope)?
Writing about a character with dementia is a tricky thing. I observed my dad’s experience. I read a couple of books from people who had early-onset dementia but could still write about they were going through. Still, I was stressed that my depictions might be off base. I’ve since heard from readers who said the character rang true, so I feel better now.
I’m currently querying agents for what will hopefully be my second novel. It’s called “Ten Days in Red Bend,” and the main character is a 43-year-old woman who burglarizes rich people while working as a waitress in a diner. (She has her reasons, which I won’t explain here.)
The story is written from her POV, and I used beta readers – a local book club, all women – to ask them if the female voice sounded right. I received great feedback on that issue and other parts of the story, so I’m using them if I ever get around to writing another novel.
How important is it to have a mentor like Michael? Especially to an emerging voice, such as you.
Michael Bracken picked me off the slush pile in December 2018 for the first volume of Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir. The series has extended to five volumes and I’ve been fortunate to have been selected for a few of those. Michael is a meticulous editor as well as a role model. He’s incredibly productive, constantly juggling multiple projects. Whenever I start pitying myself for being too busy, I think about all the work he’s done. It’s impressive. He has all sorts of ideas for themed anthologies If you look at the contributing writers, I’m honored to be included.
More than that, it incredibly helpful to have someone believe in your work.
I loved your dialogue and you have a great ear for it.
I enjoy your dialogue as well, and I’m wondering if we have something in common. Newspaper reporters and police officers spend time interviewing people, right? You learn to be an active listener, waiting for a slip-up, an inconsistency, gauging people’s emotions and credibility, thinking ahead to what you should ask next.
In my case (probably not yours) I’m listening for that money quote that goes near the top of the story. All that probably helps a lot when it comes to writing dialogue in fiction.
Hugh nothing makes an affidavit better than a key-money quote.
These aren’t my pants?
Says the man wearing the pants with pocket full of…insert whatever nefarious object you want.
Mark Atley is an author known for writing crime fiction. His works include "Too Late to Say Goodbye," "Trouble Weighs a Ton," and "The Olympian." Atley has been recognized for his storytelling through complex characters, engaging dialogue, and narratives centered around crime themes. He is also a member of the International Thriller Writers (ITW).
Mark Atley fiction is often characterized by complex characters, engaging dialogue, and narratives that build tension towards explosive climaxes. Atley's approach to writing often involves creating intricate plots where characters' histories and motives are deeply interwoven, providing readers with both entertainment and a commentary on crime and morality. Mark Atley also engages with his audience through social media, where he can be followed for updates on new releases and insights into his writing process.
If you are interested in being a guest, please reach out to Mark on social media or email with the subject line: Author Interview.
What a great interview.
Excellent interview. I've read Hugh's short fiction but somehow I missed 'Fadeaway Joe", I'll go fix that right away ... I expect to be poleaxed. Dementia ... I saw my Mom disappear. It's been 5 years.