Welcome to my blog. I'm Steve Monroe, Chicagoan and author of the crime noir novels '57, Chicago and '46, Chicago.  I'm finishing the novel, Pursuit, now and hope it will be available later this year.

As I discussed on Rick Kogan's Sunday Morning Papers show on WGN a couple of weeks ago, tomorrow night is the 20th anniversary of the sports awards dinner benefitting the March of Dimes.  The Comcast SportsNet Sports Awards dinner will be televised live, on Comcast SportsNet, at 7:30 p.m.  I've run the silent auction for 15 years and tomorrow night will be the first time I've ever sat down at the dinner! I'm really looking forward to it.  Tickets are still available, so join me! Honorees include Andre Dawson, Ted Lilly, Joe Thome, Robbie Gould, and Inspirational Athlete of the Year, Ericka Jackson.  There will also be a special tribute to Bill Wirtz, whose son Rocky (who has done such an amazing job with the Blackhawks this year) will accept an award.  The emcee is Chicago radio legend Steve Dahl!!  He's a stud -he has really stepped up to the plate and is vying to become the best emcee we've ever had!

Looking forward to watching The Wire tonight on HBO.  That show has such nuanced characters and is complex but easy to follow. It is a real eye opener for storytellers.  The impact of deep characters is much more so than, say, those on 24 (which I also really enjoy).  I believe the challenge for authors such as myself is to write with a sense of urgency but also show depth to our characters through their words and actions.  Too often, we opt to use a character's history to show why they act as they do -when brief spurts of action or language can give our readers better insight.

Finally, I'm heading to Costa Rica later this week. Can't wait.  I've never zip-lined, but may do so, and if the weather is nice (uh, five days of rain forecasted) we also plan on deep sea fishing a couple of days.  Frankly, with the real estate market tanking, I simply need a few days in the sun with no cell phone or Blackberry service.  Enjoy!! SM