Hi, Stage 32 folks! This is always a fun weekend to check in and see what everybody's up to.
I'm writing stuff, as I always am, and also doing some freelance copy editing. Weirdly, I have two new books coming out this month, even though I wrote them ages apart.
One is FLESH OF ALL SORROWS, a dark thriller that's garnering some rave reviews from unexpected places. It's already out in Italy, and a reviewer there said, "Jeff Mariotte thus crafts a dark, cinematic thriller with a strong investigative element, skillfully balancing mystery, violence, and personal conflict. He does not merely aim to surprise the reader with the mystery of the Bookbinder; he also compels them to constantly question the relationship between truth and memory."
The other is CHEAT THE HANGMAN: A TALE OF BILLY THE KID. I wrote this for the publisher's America 250 project--one book for each month of 2026 featuring one of the most significant historical figures from the American West. To write it, I made a trip out to Fort Sumner, NM, where Billy spent the last weeks of his life and is buried, to study the landscape and surroundings and to commune with Billy in his grave. I also spoke with some pals who are Billy experts, including Bob Boze Bell of True West Magazine, and John Fusco of Young Guns fame. Mine is a different take on Billy than what you might have seen before.
It's been a busy season--but that's better than a quiet one, I guess.
5 people like this
Have you seen the film "Old Henry?"
5 people like this
I watched several of the Billy movies before writing the book, but I haven't seen that one yet. It's on my list. I don't buy the idea that Billy survived. Too many people in Fort Sumner knew him, and they weren't all friends. His corpse would have been recognized. But I'm interested to see how it plays out in the movie.
6 people like this
Jeffrey, congratulations on both releases — what a fantastic month to have two very different books arriving at once. Flesh of All Sorrows sounds especially intriguing, and that review about truth and memory really caught my attention.
I also love the amount of firsthand research behind Cheat the Hangman. Traveling to Fort Sumner and speaking with people deeply connected to Billy the Kid’s history must have added a completely different texture to the writing.
Wishing you a wonderful launch for both books — and yes, a busy creative season is definitely better than a quiet one.
5 people like this
Congratulations on the releases and all the great feedback, Jeffrey Mariotte. Would love to hear more about your creative journey with the books.
6 people like this
Hi. How are you doing? What are you working on?
6 people like this
I LOVE your titles!
6 people like this
Congratulations, Jeffrey! Two very different projects coming out at the same time and both sound fascinating. Wishing you a great launch for both books!
6 people like this
Congratulations Jeffrey Mariotte
5 people like this
Hi, Jeffrey Mariotte! Congratulations on having two books coming out this month! I gotta get a cowboy hat.
6 people like this
Maurice Vaughan, cowboy hats are the second best hat there is, after top hats!
4 people like this
Cowboy themed top hat, Jeffrey Mariotte?
4 people like this
Some of the old sugarloaf sombreros almost qualified as that! This was the hat I wore most in my college days (early 70s).
3 people like this
I like it, Jeffrey Mariotte. Have you ever thought about writing a hat story?
5 people like this
I haven't, Maurice Vaughan, but maybe I'll work on that...
5 people like this
Two very different journeys, RB. I spent more time on FLESH. OF ALL SORROWS, over the course of six or seven years, than I've ever spent on a single book before. I don't even remember what the original inspiration was, or the seed of it, but the process of building it out meant going back to it again and again--while also working on multiple other projects, until it was finally where I wanted it to be.
The Billy the Kid book was much different. I was approached by the publisher that was putting together this 12-book event. I had to choose my historical figure almost immediately, and picked Billy because he's one of the most well-known names from the old West--probably him and Jesse James, and maybe Wyatt Earp, are the ones most recognized by people today. I only had a few months to write it--it's relatively short, a 60K-word novella. I knew I wanted to travel to Billy country to touch the landscape, see what would''ve surrounded him, etc., but I didn't know what the story would be. John Fusco and Bob Bell were doing an event at the Scottsdale Museum of the West, and I knew they both knew more about Billy than me. I drove up to Scottsdale and looked at some of the Billy stuff on display, and the idea came to me to use Billy's famous ferrotype--the only confirmed image of him that exists (it appears on the cover of the book).
Four exposures were made, but only one is known today. Billy probably gave one to Paulita Maxwell, his girlfriend in Fort Sumner (in whose house he was killed not long thereafter), but nobody knows what became of the rest. There's only one known copy left now, and again, no one knows if that was Paulita's or one of the other three.
So that was my entry point into the story. Who did Billy give one of those images to, and how did that gift ultimately lead to his death? I spoke with John and Bob about it, and they both agreed that it was an original and interesting take, so I pushed forward. I think it turned into a pretty good tale.
5 people like this
Congratulations on the publishing of your two books Jeffrey Mariotte! Are you working on anything you're excited about right now while you shepherd these two out into the world?
5 people like this
Delenn Kerkhof, always. At the moment I'm writing issues of a comic book series (and waiting for my lawyer to finalize the contract), and writing a series of short stories about a private detective working around the Sunset Strip/Laurel Canyon area in the late 1960s/early 70s. This coming week I'll also get edits back on another novella to be published this year, an authorized sequel to a science fiction novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
3 people like this
Jeffrey Mariotte!
So glad to see you jump back in for IYW! It’s always wonderful when familiar faces make time for this weekend, and I appreciate you sharing everything you’re up to.
Two new books coming out in the same month is genuinely thrilling! CHEAT THE HANGMAN: A TALE OF BILLY THE KID is such a fascinating project too, and I love that you traveled out to Fort Sumner to research it directly. There’s something so meaningful about physically standing in the landscape where your subject lived AND died, and I have no doubt that kind of immersive research shows up in the depth of the book.
A few resources that might be genuinely valuable for you as you continue navigating the launch and building on this momentum:
- Stay active in the Authoring Lounge! Members there would love to hear about your experiences writing, publishing, and marketing both of these projects. Your insights (from research approach to publisher relationships to reception across international markets) would spark such valuable conversation. You can find it here: https://www.stage32.com/lounge/playwriting
- Consider joining RB’s State of the Industry Ask Me Anything, now available on-demand in the Writers’ Room! RB spent nearly 3 hours answering member questions with genuinely incredible insight about the current state of the industry, including where adaptation opportunities are trending right now. You can access it (and everything else in the Writers’ Room) with a FREE first month: https://www.stage32.com/writers-room/plans-vip
- Reach out to our Success Team at Success@Stage32.com to tell them about your projects and career goals! With FLESH OF ALL SORROWS having strong reviews AND your body of work overall, our Success Team can help connect you with Stage 32 Executives who might be interested in adaptation opportunities, exploring options for your material with producers, or providing curated guidance for your next steps.
Wishing you an incredible launch month for both books, Jeffrey! Busy seasons are definitely the good kind of hard.
2 people like this
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with if you write a hat story, @Jeffrey.