William Kotzwinkle

• Biography

  William Kotzwinkle has sold over ten million books. Two-time winner of the National Magazine Award for Fiction, he came to prominence with his cult classic The Fan Man. His novel Dr. Rat won the World Fantasy Award, and his children’s series Walter the Farting Dog sold two million copies. Movie credits include Book of Love and Nightmare on Elm Street 4. He also wrote the narration for Michael Jackson’s E.T. record, which won a special children’s Grammy. His books have been praised by such diverse luminaries as T. C. Boyle, Stephen King, Joanna Lumley, Ian McEwan, Terry Pratchett, Ram Dass, and Kurt Vonnegut. He divides his time between rural Arizona and the coast of Maine.

• Connect

  Sign up and keep informed of the latest on William Kotzwinkle and Blackstone Publishing

  Email* Person CID Person Name

  Sign Up

• Praise for Books

  “The unflinching Zen master of all trades in fiction reveals some of his best, most disarming magic in the epic sequel to Felonious Monk, proving again that no one does a gumshoe thriller quite like William Kotzwinkle. Here is a damn-near miraculous and grimly hilarious two-gun rocket ride through a mystic labyrinth of passion and crime, populated by a seemingly never-ending cast of quirky guys and dangerous dames, sadistic gangsters and salacious street toughs—there’s even a Kung Fu hairdresser!—all running on fumes from hell’s own refinery, circled by the one man who might save them, and yet is the most tragic and fated of all: the renegade monk Tommy Martini. In Kotzwinkle’s masterful hands and through Tommy’s unflinching eyes, we face the evils of our times and the most desperate and important questions of god and man in a constant battle for our own soul, all the while taking it on the chin for so many other sinners. From its first explosive chapter to the last stunning sentence, Bloody Martini is a tour-de-force that will force you to stay up very late, gazing deep into a black, yet profoundly illuminating night.” —Stephen Romano, author of Resurrection Express and The Riot Act

  “Up till now, the lonely literary crossroads where monastic life intersected with criminality has been occupied mainly by Donald Westlake’s jolly novel Brothers Keepers. But William Kotzwinkle’s Felonious Monk—what a mad, pitch-perfect title!—blows away the Westlake novel in much the same manner that our hero, Tommy Martini, ruthlessly deals with a skeavy spectrum of would-be assassins out to revenge the various sins that Tommy inherits from his bent priest uncle. Bigger than life and twice as punishing, Tommy Martini, in search only of inner peace and the contemplative life, finds himself forced to wade through a deadly sea of hired killers, mad UFO priestesses, jealous cousins, and haughty crime lords just to keep his head above the dirt. Continually surprising, endlessly shocking and mesmerizing, Martini’s exploits across the brilliantly limned gaudy and grotesque landscape of the Southwest are replete with the trademark Kotzwinkle droll observations, effervescent dialogue, and off-kilter insights. Robert Parker and James Crumley come to mind—then quickly get left behind in the rearview mirror. You want Tommy Martini in your corner, not on the other side, and thanks to Kotzwinkle’s unique verve and talents, every reader can be the ex-monk’s best friend—if they dare!” —Paul Di Filippo, author of The Big Get-Even and others

  “Winning…There’s lots of action, much of it violent, in Mr. Kotzwinkle’s second Felonious Monk novel.” —Wall Street Journal

  “A great legend of the written word has returned with a mighty shotgun blast that proves yet again why we call him a legend. The yen and yang of two-gun holy man Tommy Martini is a story for the ages, and he’s just the kind of battered, beleaguered, tough-as-nails-and-twice-as-bizarre anti-hero/anti-scoundrel who could have only come from the neo-Zen imagination of William Kotzwinkle. Refreshingly original, ever-inventive, and deeply moving in the most unexpected moments, Tommy’s one-damn-thing-after-another rocket ride through the dizzying heights of fated love and lowest canyons of mafioso madness will have you doubting your own world and smiling in recognition, leading you into places you never knew existed and providing you with lessons you never knew you needed. A virtuoso symphony from one of fiction’s master maestros.” —Stephen Romano, author of Resurrection Express and The Riot Act

  “This wry, extremely funny, character-driven novel will remind readers of classic LA noir…Kotzwinkle is sure to win new fans with this one.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  “Sharp as a razor, wryly humorous, and bursting with breathless action, Felonious Monk is William Kotzwinkle at the top of his game. If you’ve never read him before, this is a great place to start!” —Nicholas Kaufmann, Thriller Award–nominated author of Chasing the Dragon and The Hungry Earth

  “Kicks major ass…A fitting memorial to the wisdom of the hero’s late grandfather: ‘I’m always angry. It saves time.’” —Kirkus Reviews

  “A savage, white-hot noir overflowing with humor darker than Vantablack. Uncompromising, page-turning, genre-bending—James Cain on nitrous and LSD. Kotzwinkle firing on all cylinders = the best thriller of the year.” —John Altman, author of The Korean Woman and others

  “There is plenty of suspense, danger, violent confrontations, unexpected revelations, romance, and above all: originality…The novel is replete with bizarre characters who seem real and intensely alive, because William Kotzwinkle is incapable of writing about stereotypical characters…Kotzwinkle is a philosopher and theologian in addition to being a novelist.” —Len Levinson, author of In the Pulp Fiction Trenches and The Rat Bastards

  “A wild ride of double-crossing crimes…This hard-boiled mystery benefits from its frequent injections of humor and its appealing characters, who are never quite what they seem. Tommy’s interior dialogue is entertaining; his struggles to reintegrate with normal life are thought provoking…A character-driven thriller.” —Foreword Reviews

  “A savage, white-hot noir overflowing with humor darker than Vantablack. Uncompromising, page-turning, genre-bending—James Cain on nitrous and LSD. Kotzwinkle firing on all cylinders = the best thriller of the year.” —John Altman, author of The Korean Woman and others, on Felonius Monk

  “[A] nimble comic thriller…Fans of Donald Westlake’s action-packed, screwball crime fiction will hope Martini will be back for an encore.” —Publishers Weekly

  “Tommy Martini shows his hard-boiled PI creds right off in this riot of a novel…One has a sense of a writer gleefully deploying a splendid gift for creating bright images that illuminate a moment without distracting from it.” —Booklist

  “Kotzwinkle…brings [an]…engagingly outre vibe to this tale of a conscience-stricken mob scion who finds peace as a Benedictine monk…The amiably satirical novel takes place in Paloma, Arizona (read Sedona), a world gathering place for ‘cartoon spirituality’ and New Age hustlers.” —Washington Post

  “[A] dynamic mystery thriller.” —Shelf Awareness

  “Seasoned novelist William Kotzwinkle tempers the blood-soaked brutality in Felonious Monk with tough-guy witticisms…Kotzwinkle’s writing draws readers into the righteous violence rather than push them away.” —Shelf Awareness

  “Fans of this series will be praying that next chapter arrives soon.” —January Magazine

  “Mr. Kotzwinkle has been concocting compelling fiction for decades. With Felonious Monk, he’s produced a whiplash adventure that tests the courage and character of its fallible protagonist. Can Tommy Martini emerge from this maelstrom with his soul intact? In the words of his late uncle: 'The Lord moves in mysterious ways'.” —Wall Street Journal

  See All +See Less -

• 

  • Bloody Martini

  • By William Kotzwinkle

    Read by Chris Henry Coffey

  • Release Date: 2/14/23

  • Formats: Hardcover, Trade Print ARC, Trade Paperback

  Award-winning and bestselling author William Kotzwinkle is back with the second in the darkly comedic Felonious Monk series featuring Tommy Martini, a Benedictine monk with an anger management problem. Felonious Monk was praised as “amiably satirical” (Washington Post) and “a whiplash adventure” (Wall Street Journal).

  Coalville is on fire—from below. The old mines are burning, and everyone has poison gas in their brain. Maybe that’s why the town is so corrupt. Now that he’s a Benedictine monk, Tommy Martini never wants to see the place again—hell-raisers there hold a grudge till they die, and he’s on their wish list. But a girl he once loved has gone missing, and his best friend from childhood has been murdered. Among the living is a shy girl from Tommy’s past, who wants to help. Together, they learn the secret of the elephant’s graveyard, and it’s not in Africa.

  At the heart of Coalville is Parade Square, with plenty of pigeons, drugs, and child prostitution. It’s the new small-town America, where Dionysus is dancing once again. William Kotzwinkle’s insight into this paradigm shift is shot through with the humor he is famous for, and the result is a spicy brew, a bloody martini—just one sip may keep you up all night.

  • Bloody Martini

  • By William Kotzwinkle

    Read by Chris Henry Coffey

  • Release Date: 2/14/23

  • Formats: Hardcover, Trade Print ARC, Trade Paperback

  Learn More
• 

  • Felonious Monk

  • By William Kotzwinkle

    Read by Chris Henry Coffey

  • Release Date: 8/31/21

  • Formats: Hardcover, Trade Paperback, Trade Print ARC

  Meet Tommy Martini, the monk with an anger management problem. Since killing somebody with a single punch is not a needed talent in a monastery, he spends his time praying, meditating, and taking his anger management medicine. But his meditations are interrupted by a legacy from his uncle, a crooked priest. Arriving in a New Age Arizona town to claim his inheritance, Brother Tommy meets a charismatic, smoking-hot cult leader who claims that women are being impregnated by alien beings while they sleep. Tommy’s own sleep is disturbed—by cartel hitmen, Mafia bill collectors, and women intrigued by his vow of chastity. He loses his anger management medicine in time to deal with the hitmen, but the women present an uphill battle.

  William Kotzwinkle’s quicksilver touch has produced an effervescent piece of entertainment filled with suspense, turns you won’t see coming, and the humor for which he is famous.

  • Felonious Monk

  • By William Kotzwinkle

    Read by Chris Henry Coffey

  • Release Date: 8/31/21

  • Formats: Hardcover, Trade Paperback, Trade Print ARC

  Learn More

Coming Soon

Coming Soon

Coming Soon