Jeff Markowitz- "Jewish Noir II"
Dear Reader-
“When you die, I believe, God isn’t going to ask you what you published. God’s going to ask you what you wrote.” (McNally, T.M. “Big Dogs and Little Dogs,” in Martone, Michael, and Susan Neville. 2006). Fortunately, my contribution to the Jewish Noir II anthology was published.
There’s a certain wisdom to the above remark, but, with all due respect to McNally and to God, the Almighty isn’t in my target demographic. God, perhaps, will read my unpublished manuscripts, but the ladies in the Hungry Readers Book Club won’t read my books unless they’re published.
Currently, I’m focusing on writing shorter fiction. In my “The Black and White Cookie” story published in Jewish Noir II (edited by Ken Wishnia and Chantelle Aimee Osman) an old man comes to grips with a profound loss that occurred when he was a boy of thirteen. Needless to say the outcome is intriguing. Jewish Noir II is a unique collection of new stories by Jewish and non-Jewish literary and genre writers, including numerous award-winning mystery authors.
For nearly twenty years, I’ve written mystery novels, including three books in the Cassie O’Malley series and then a couple of standalones. I’m not as prolific as some authors, but, for most of those years, I wrote at 5:30 in the morning before heading out to my “real” job.
I retired in 2018, intending to devote more time to writing. I finished, Hit or Miss, and began thinking about what would come next. Then, the pandemic struck. Although I remained healthy, I found that my attention span could barely allow me to finish reading a book, let alone write one. I turned my attention to short fiction.
In 2021, I was commissioned to write a novella. The result was Motive for Murder which served as the foundation for an epic late-night puzzle hunt. For twelve hours, teams raced through the streets of Manhattan, solving fiendishly difficult puzzles (and adhering strictly to Covid protocols). I'm proud to have been part of this amazing event that raised more than one million dollars to support services to at-risk children and families in NYC.
I believe you’ll find some fabulous stories in Jewish Noir II that will be both edgy, uplifting and inspiring. It will give you a different perspective on the history of prejudice, and the contradictions of ethnic identity and assimilation into American society.
- -Jeff Markowitz
Jeff Markowitz is the author of six mysteries, including the award-winning dark comedy, Death and White Diamonds. In October 2021, a puzzle hunt based on Jeff’s novella, Motive for Murder raised more than $1 million for at-risk children in NYC. Jeff spent more than forty years creating community-based programs and services in New Jersey for children and adults with autism, including twenty-five years as President and Executive Director of the Life Skills Resource Center.Jeff is a past President of the New York Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. He lives in Monmouth Junction NJ with his wife Carol and two cats, Virgil and Aeneas.