The Good WRDS
Winding Road Stories Newsletter
Cassandra Myers Debut Novel Launches!
Can the most dangerous man in San Francisco survive the threats inside his own crime family? They Shut Me Up, the debut crime fiction novel by Cassandra Myers launches today! We talked to Cassandra about how the novel came to be.
What is They Shut Me Up about?
It’s about John Callaghan, the head of an Irish crime syndicate who’s killed in San Francisco. The story then flashes back six months to fill in the gaps.
There are three narrators: his violent nephew, his skeptical, world-weary lawyer, and his seemingly inept actor son-in-law. And there are a whole host of other complications, too, including an ambitious young upstart looking to move up, a rumored rat in the union crew, and a greedy widow. As it turns out, a lot happens in that six months.
The story is based in Northern California, where you currently live. How much of a role does the setting play in the story?
The setting came to me almost in lockstep with the idea. I haven’t seen many gangster stories set in San Francisco (although I’m sure there are more than I’m aware of) and I think it’s a great setting for this type of crime story because it has so many glossy, modern, progressive ideals that are reflected in its culture and its architecture, but it also has this other side of poverty and grimy, seedy areas.
I’ve never lived in San Francisco, but I visit all the time, and I’m always struck by the older parts of it like the warehouses on the Embarcadero, or corner stores that have neon signs that look like they’re from the fifties. They’re all hints of a less shiny history. There are really expensive coffee shops and tech companies cheek by jowl with this old Gold Rush-kind of Wild West town, and I think that’s a perfect setting for a gangster story, particularly one about the illusions so many of us live with. Most of the locations in the book are real, and I hope that adds to the feel of the world of the book.
Plus, there’s a lot of fog in San Francisco, and that always feels appropriate for a crime novel.
Are there other authors whose work you admire who influenced you while you were writing this book?
Tana French is my favorite mystery writer, and she was a huge influence on me It’s probably not immediately obvious if you read my book, but Tara writes very lyrical Irish mysteries. She is wonderful at writing characters who feel like living, breathing humans, and she also builds such complete, authentic worlds. I hope that They Shut Me Up shares some of those qualities.
Other, maybe surprising influences are a few of my favorite 19th-century writers: Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. Dickens for his incredible ability to write memorable, absurd side characters who, again, feel human and alive, and Austen for her comedy of manners. My gangsters are obsessed with status, the pecking order, and perceived social slights, and that is very much connected to her Regency drawing rooms, whether they’d admit it or not.
I was also hugely influenced by television, including the writers of Seinfeld in particular, for very similar reasons to Jane Austen. I love writers who write about how ridiculous human beings can be.
What do you hope readers take away from reading They Shut Me Up?
Without spoiling anything, I hope the book helps people question some of their assumptions. It’s playing a lot with the crime fiction genre and how people interact with fictional images of themselves. My characters all think they’re in a movie like The Godfather, but it turns out they’re actually in a very different movie.
I also hope it makes people laugh and maybe makes them think a little. I’d love people to finish reading it and say, Well, that felt like a new angle on mob fiction. But mostly I just hope they love reading it, for one reason or another.
They Shut Me Up is on sale now.
Author Appearances
Charleigh Frederick - Rule 25: Don’t Fall for the Target
At Lauren Kay’s Author Guide this week, Charleigh Frederick shares her query letter for Rule 25: Don’t Fall for the Target. Lauren’s project is to help emerging writers better understand the query process by sharing successful queries from other authors. You can see Charleigh’s query here.
Cassandra Myers - They Shut Me Up
Cassandra Myers will appear at the Left Coast Crime conference in Seattle, Washington, on Friday, April 12. Cassandra will appear at the New Authors Breakfast (7:30-8:30 am). She will also be moderating the panel: This Ain’t Perry Mason: Getting Legal Details Right in Fiction (9:00-9:45 a.m.) Cassandra will be signing copies of her debut crime fiction novel, They Shut Me Up, which debuts April 2nd and is currently available for pre-order.
Cassandra Myers - Left Coast Crime
April 11-14th
Hyatt Regency Bellevue
900 Bellevue Way, NE
Bellevue, WA 98004
leftcoastcrime.org
Greg McLaughlin - Heading for Home
Greg McLaughlin will be signing copies of his sports romance novel, Heading for Home, at Barnes and Noble in Danbury, CT, on Saturday, April 13th, from 12-2 pm.
Greg McLaughlin signing
Saturday, April 13th, 12-2 p.m.
Barnes and Noble - Danbury Fair
7 Backus Avenue, Space E110
Danbury, CT 06810
Karen Leigh Charles - Murder in Plein Air
Karen Leigh Charles will be appearing at the Malice Domestic conference in Bethesda, Maryland, on April 26-28th. Karen will be appearing on the panel: How do Authors Pick Careers for Amateur Sleuths? Karen will also sign copies of her book, Murder in Plein Air.
Karen Leigh Charles - Malice Domestic
April 26th-28th
Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Convention Center
5701 Marinelli Road
Rockville, MD 20852
malicedomestic.net
Follow WRDS authors on Substack
Brieanna Wilkoff – Imperfectly, Beautiful Human
Clare Castleberry – Clare’s Little Black Book
Sarena Straus – All These Worlds
Vanessa Lanang – Raining Cats and Words
JR Luis – Who’s Got Time for Romance?
Cassandra Myers - Authoress
Jessica K. Foster - Foster Fiction
Catlyn Ladd - Catlyn’s Substack
Brian Bowyer - Brian Bowyer
Michael Dolan - Connections
Thank you for supporting Winding Road Stories!