In Venice, California, the sun always shines, but that’s not much help if you’re a homeless drunk like James Murphy, a man with a past of shattered dreams and empty bottles. Murphy’s life in the gutter was bad enough, but now bad gets worse. Murphy has one week to solve a cold-case murder that has police detectives stumped, or else his best friend dies. 

Inspired by Chandler, Steinbeck, and Quentin Tarantino, this darkly comic crime/detective saga is filled with sex, violence, booze, and plenty of foul street talk. It is hard-boiled, heartbreaking, gritty as hell, and thoroughly immerses the reader in the squalid yet resourceful underworld of the down-and-out. By juxtaposing the cruel realities of life on the street with the obscene wealth of the Hollywood elite, Coyote creates an ultra noir masterpiece for the ages. THE LONG DRUNK will leave you crying, laughing, and begging for more.

Tell us about The Long Drunk.

The Long Drunk is my attempt to reinvigorate a tired, cliched genre that’s been ruined by a million formulaic books and TV shows like the CSI franchise. I want to shock readers out of their complacency of expectation and make novels exciting and, dare I say, dangerous again.

What genre is it?

I bill The Long Drunk as an “ultra noir novel.” Ultra f**king bleak, yet ultra f**king humane as well. To paraphrase one reviewer, after you read my novel, you’ll want to take a long hot shower and hug your dog.

What kind of reader was that? What demographic do you reckon it’ll appeal to?

Readers with a strong constitution who like good stories well told. I’ll admit, as with any worthwhile creative endeavor, I have my detractors. I wear their revulsion as a badge of honor. Great art should be polarizing. If you’re not pissing people off, you’re doing something wrong.

Complete this sentence for us: If you like ___________, you’ll love The Long Drunk

If you like The Big Sleep, you’ll love The Long Drunk. Every author who writes a detective novel set in Los Angeles inevitably gets compared to Chandler. None measure up. I do. I’ve literally walked over ten thousand miles in L.A., exploring the city from a vantage point you’ll never see from the comfort of your car. That worldview can’t be faked.

Tell us a bit more about James Murphy. And how can anyone even attempt to solve any crimes if they’re perpetually drunk?

 Churchill was a drunk and he beat back the Nazis! Murphy is just trying to solve a simple murder. Sure, he’s a homeless brain-damaged f**k up — playing football will do that to you — but it’s not like homicide detectives are rocket scientists, no matter what you see on TV. Half of them are alcoholics themselves, just like Murphy. But living on the street gives Murphy one big advantage over the cops, even the drunk ones: he thinks outside the box.

When is the next book in the series coming out and what can you tell us about it?

Ah, the million dollar question! I’m working on a completely different book right now, one not set in the Murphy universe, so Book Two is probably coming out mid-2014. I wish I could write these things faster, but my writing is like good whiskey and it takes time for my novels to properly mature.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

My least favorite topic. Feels like an online dating profile. The best way to get to know an author is to read their books. I will say this: when I got my ass tattooed, I was surprised to discover my left ass cheek was far more sensitive than my right.

Just one sentence and we already know more about you than we know about ourselves! Have you got a blog where readers can keep up with your work? And how can we follow you on Facebook and/or Twitter?

I don’t blog, I don’t Tweet. Social media is death to a novelist. I refuse to waste my creative time and talents churning out such fleeting content. That said, I do have a website, www.ericcoyote.com, and a Facebook fan page that I update with funny shit, cool dog photos, and poignant quotes (mostly about writing and art). That’s the best place to follow me. Go to www.facebook.com/EricCoyote to “like” me. If you email me your address, I’ll send you a free limited edition Long Drunk poster. I also have a YouTube channel where I post videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/EricBCoyote?feature=watch.

Where can we buy The Long Drunk?

The ebook is available on Amazon (US, UK), Barnes & Noble, and iBookstore. Hopefully, if all goes well, a paperback version will be available on Amazon in early spring, 2013.

Tell us a bit more about what you say is coming next.

Working on a creating a new series character more in the lines of Travis McGee, then finishing the second Murphy novel. In the meantime, I’ll keep walking dogs and picking up shit. Gotta stay active or the body goes to rot and the mind to mush.