And so, here they are, the two relatively young male writers sitting in a tavern, drinking hard liquor and talking about books, their own and those of others, and if you are not careful you might think that it is 50 years ago and you are listening to Nelson Algren and James Jones, or Willard Motley and James T. Farrell. But there are things that snap you back to the new reality and one of them is that there are no jealousies or insults being flung. There are no fists flying.
Novelists Marcus Sakey and Sean Chercover are pals, in the best sense of that old-fashioned word. They admire one another’s work, help one another through the inevitable plot problems that bedevil writers, meet for drinks and coffee, bitch and moan about the publishing business and baseball, and, maybe, even their wives.
“I guess we have formed another sort of marriage,” says Sakey, he of the curlier hair. “We are a team and that came, I think, as the result of the aggressive nature of modern publishing.”
Though they lived only three blocks apart on Chicago’s North Side, they did not meet until both attended Love Is Murder, an annual gathering of crime/mystery/thriller writers, in 2006.
“We were introduced by Jon Jordan [the editor/publisher of Crimespree magazine],” says Sakey. “He told us we should know each other, that we both wrote dark and gritty and very much Chicago. And our first books were being published on the exact same day.”
They talked. They read each other’s novels. They realized they shared certain sensibilities. They liked each other. In time, they decided-for the sake of conversation and camaraderie (and maybe to save a few bucks) on long drives and while staying in strange towns-to pair up for book signings and other literary events.
“Our first ‘dates’ were kind of rocky,” says Chercover.
But they have managed to make it work and they are now something of a sensation on the circuit. Arlene Lynes is the owner of Between the Lynes, a charming independent bookstore in Woodstock. “Writers have been given the image of reclusive and distant. Marcus and Sean are exceptions to that rule,” she says. “Having them in for a book signing is a great deal like having a cocktail party. I haven’t met Sean yet but that’s what I’ve heard and I have seen Marcus maneuver through my store, making connections with everybody. I can’t wait to have them in together.”
That’s imminent. Each has a new book.
Sakey’s “Good People” arrived in bookstores this month. It is his third novel, following “At the City’s Edge” and “The Blade Itself.” It is the story of what happens when a young Yuppie (for lack of a better word) couple find a great deal of money that is not theirs, decide to keep it and run afoul of some very nasty people who want the dough.
Chercover’s “Trigger City” is due in October. It is his second novel, following “Big City, Bad Blood,” and, like that book, features Ray Dudgeon, a former newspaper reporter turned private eye (now, there’s an idea in these perilous newspaper times) whose investigation into a murder gets him tangled up in the war on terror and the world of military intelligence and lack thereof.
Their previous novels received a great deal of critical acclaim and attracted the interest of movie makers. Still, they are not yet comfortable in the literary mantle.
“Because I have done a lot of different kinds of writing, I have no problem saying I am a writer,” says Chercover. “But I have a hard time saying I am an author. There’s something too lofty about that. I’m not comfortable with it.”
Sakey says, “With this book I think I’m at the place where I can say, ‘I’m a writer.’ “
Chercover smiles and says, “It’s like that old joke, ‘What do you call a dead reporter? A journalist.’ So, ‘What do you call a dead writer?’ ” The answer, “An author,” goes unspoken.
These two authors are part of what has become a large literary community. You can’t turn around in Chicago these days without bumping into a crime/mystery/thriller writer.
“Crime fiction has become the social novel of the times and, I think, the genre in which many, many writers believe it might be easiest to make a living,” says Chercover.
He and Sakey were among the 21 Chicago-based crime writers novelist Libby Hellman gathered for a collection titled “Chicago Blues.” (I wrote an introduction for the book.) And they are among the seven crime-writing members of an Internet site known as The Outfit (theoutfitcollective.blogspot. com).
They have come to this world from very different places.
The 34-year-old Sakey is a native of Flint, Mich., and spent more than a decade working in advertising here. He has known his wife, G.G., a hairstylist, for 11 years and they’ve been married for four. Chercover, 41, a native of Toronto, first came to Chicago to attend Columbia College in 1987 and has since worked as a private investigator here and in New Orleans, and written and produced TV documentaries in Canada. He has lived here full-time since 2006, but spends a great deal of time in Toronto, visiting his and wife Martine’s families.
They have a deep affection for their adopted city.
“This place, the Billy Goat, is in my new book,” says Chercover, about the tavern in which he and Sakey are sitting. The Old Town Ale House, a setting in his first book, is where the striking photo accompanying this story was taken. “When I first got here, I immediately fell head over heels in love with Chicago. The story of Chicago is the quintessential American story, complete with the inherent contradictions: the corruption and violence and racism, right alongside the optimism and opportunity and beauty. I’ve lived in a bunch of places, but Chicago inspires me in a way that no other city has, or ever will, I imagine.”
Sakey too is hooked: “I love writing about this town. Other cities have themes. New York is fashion and finance. L.A. is the world’s shallowest lounging pool. Chicago is much more a microcosm of America as a whole, with all our contradictions: blue collar vs. white collar, North Side vs. South Side, liberal ideals vs. political machine realities, even Cubs vs. Sox. Two teams and the fans can’t stand each other. How can you beat that?”
They are diligent and precise about their work. After dropping his 2-year-old son, Finn, at pre-school, Chercover bangs out 1,000 words a day. Sakey keeps a weekly count and isn’t happy unless he hits 5,000 words.
“This is the best job I have ever had,” says Sakey.
“This is what I have always wanted to do,” adds Chercover. He means writing, not sitting in bars, though there’s nothing wrong with that.
