When con-man Ralph does a runner on the check at a shabby diner in an unfamiliar town, he doesn't expect it to catch up to him. But the waitress Arlene tracks him down and ropes him into a bizarre heist involving ugly family secrets, a violent stepfather, a well-secured safe, and most of all Arlene's mother Gracie—a sultry karaoke queen who tickles Ralph's fancy for older women. Ralph will need all his guile to make it through a job that has him wishing that he'd just paid for his meal.

The Blind Rooster offers a crude slice of American small town Noir, sunny side down, with echoes of Jim Thompson and Elmore Leonard.

Preston Lang lives in New York, where he writes for a living (in between teaching and shoveling snow!), and it was great to chat to him about the evolution of "The Blind Rooster" from a 90,000 word novel on Lionel Ritchie into what it is today. Preston's written a lot of plays, articles and various bits and pieces over the years, so it was fun to pose some of the fundamental questions about writing to him.

You can find out more about Preston and The Blind Rooster at:

http://www.crimewavepress.com