Shitamachi Scam received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Michael Pronko.
What is the name of the book, and when was it published?
Shitamachi Scam. Published in December 2023.
What’s the book’s first line?
“Takuya leaned against a brick wall on an old shitamachi “lower town” street in eastern Tokyo, vaping his favorite Cuban rum and cigar flavor. The thick trunks of cherry trees, their branches propped up with wooden braces, blocked a clear view of the convenience store, optical shop, and apartment building that broke up the row of wood-fronted shops. Across the street was the bank. It would open at nine.”
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
Detective Hiroshi tracks down scammers who are taking advantage of retired people, but discovers what’s behind Tokyo’s clean façade and how street-level scammers are not the only ones scamming. The novel is set in ‘shitamachi,’ the older side of Tokyo near the Sumida River.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
The crime of ‘sagi,’ or scams targeting older people, is a real problem in Japan. And in other countries, too. It’s really an outrage. That social problem—that crime—connects to others at higher levels. Seeing warning posters at every ATM about being careful of scams made me realize how common and how serious the problem is. It’s in the news every day. At the same time, there’s a faded elegance, a beauty, in the ‘shitamachi’ side of town that I really love and want to share.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
It’s a compelling novel about a current problem, and a tour of Tokyo. It offers a view into how Tokyo operates and the different sides of Japanese culture. The characters interact with a lot of energy, and it’s also a tightly plotted detective novel.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
My characters are almost always composites. The main older characters will probably remind people of older people they know. Even in a different culture, the problems of older people are similar. The main detective, Hiroshi, has the same conflicts most people have, work-life and fitting in. Some reviewers noted a similarity to Detective Harry Bosch, but that’s more the Stoic approach and deep set of values.
When did you first decide to become an author?
I wrote a play for my fifth-grade class, which we performed at school for our parents, so I guess authoring must have been in my head then. While teaching for many years, I wrote a lot of academic papers and editorials, music reviews, and pieces on Japanese culture. But I think I finally decided to spend more time writing fiction ten years ago, and started to spend more time on novels.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
No, this is the sixth in this series. I have three collections of writings about life in Tokyo. And I’ve done a couple of textbooks, too.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
My day job is teaching American Literature in Tokyo, which keeps me pretty busy. Of course, preparing for classes involves a lot of close reading, outlining, and thinking, but that transfers over to writing. It helps to internalize the structure of stories and examine how they work. I also get to teach poetry, music, and film, which all contribute to writing, too. Being with young people lets me learn a lot about Japanese culture that I might not see by myself. So, it’s work, but getting paid for discussing Cormac McCarthy, Allen Ginsberg, Chuck Berry, or “Some Like It Hot,” I often think, is this a real job? It’s a delight. I’m less enthusiastic about faculty meetings, of course.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
As much as I can squeeze out of the day. During the end of the semester, it’s pretty much all university work, but then during the breaks, I manage longer stretches of time to write. But most days, I get several hours every morning. I also carry a notepad with me always, to jot down ideas while riding the train or after seeing something interesting. I also like to rewrite on the train, when I can get a seat. Something about the rhythm of the train and the press of humanity makes me think about writing.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
You can do things your own way without hassles from outside. That freedom is great. But freedom is hard to manage, too. It can leave you flummoxed about next steps, either in creating or business. It takes a lot of effort to keep up with both sides of the process. I find the business side a lot less interesting, but it contributes to creativity in its own way, giving it all a reality check.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
I subscribe to the BIC school of writing—butt in chair. I think that is what it’s all about. “There’s no anchor tied to your ass,” my father used to say, but in fact, you create your own anchors, need them to get things done. Making writing a habit really helps, but you must make all aspects of writing a habit—reading, outlining, note-taking, imagining, self-care, and feeding the creative font. To me, outlining flexibly is very helpful. I think of outlining as being a dynamic, ongoing process, not a straitjacket, but I think having a conception of how to write, which is very individual, helps immensely.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
Maybe, but it depends. Not on the money so much as the help with marketing or having more time to write. I’m reading Big Fiction by Dan Sinykin, and it doesn’t paint a pretty picture of traditional publishing. Staying indie works for me because I have a day job that involves working with novels, stories, poems, and films. But if a traditional publisher enabled more time to write, I’d have to consider it, but that doesn’t resolve the fundamental problems of creating.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
I wonder about that a lot. So does my wife. But I think it’s a mix of things at different levels. I love getting good reviews or messages from readers. So there’s that. But I think at a deeper level, stories are a way of processing the world. I was a philosophy major, so digging for meanings and connections is an ongoing compulsion. I think the world runs on stories, true ones, false ones, true fictional ones. So, working with that basic structuring principle of story-making is enough motivation, and a deep satisfaction.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
“Most” is hard to say, because there are so many. I’m thoroughly amazed by writers like Dostoevsky, Dickens, and Balzac. They wrote massive volumes of complex narratives. Their deft way of packing so many details, characters, and settings into their novels while still keeping the story rolling forward astonishes me. I also admire novels with smaller frames and faster paces. Writers like Jim Thompson, Elmore Leonard, and other crime and noir writers get right to the essence of a tale. They amaze me, too. Then again, I love writers like Donald Barthelme and John Barth and am struck by their meta-narrative cleverness and playfulness. I can’t pick just one, or even one style.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow and Nikos Kazantzakis’ Zorba the Greek stun me. In fact, just writing that makes me want to reread them.