At our July meeting, Richard Levesque joined us for dinner and discussion of his Dieselpunk novel, The Blacktop Blues. He explained his writing process, from idea to publishing, and clued us in to the business side of self-publishing with Amazon. A paperback copy of the book ordered in May says: Made in the USA, Las Vegas, 13 May 2001. Printed to order and delivered in a couple of days.

Blacktop Blues, the first novel in Levesque’s “Crossover Case Files” tetralogy, features Jed Strait, a WWII veteran who becomes a hard-boiled detective in 1940s Los Angeles. The series incorporates parallel realities and inventive twists into its plot. Levesque has just added another two or three novels to the series.

Relaxing with the author after an outdoor dinner and wide-ranging discussion.

“Just what is Dieselpunk?” we asked Levesque. Turns out that “diesel” is the key word, describing the level of technology in the era in which the story is set. So “Steampunk” features steam-powered transportation. We didn’t ask what the “punk” part of the title means. Next time?