I have a thing for detectives with a supernatural bent. If you like the Dresden Files, you’ll enjoy the Joe Pitt books by Charlie Huston. Huston’s characters speak in monologues even if they only have quick vocal bits here and there. It’s apparent from their clothes, to the entrance, to the accoutrements that create the sound of their voices in our minds.

A spoiled rich kid is at home in a limo and on the street with her bleach blonde arrogance. The, uh, kindly vampire peacenik is a beatnik without the finger snaps. And the main character is a hardboiled vampire detective who breathes life in to the story even if his body doesn’t.

So how did Huston get here? I honestly have no idea. I have one supposition – his background includes playwright. The novel gives one the freedom to move about the universe and more importantly, to settle in a particular set of molecules for a length of time. It is the only form that allows for that solid rumination. Because of the peculiarities of this style, Huston has the opportunity to create the perfect actor to inhabit the space of the character he is attempting to portray.

Read a few plays. We’ve all suffered high school Shakespeare. Now watch some video portrayals if you can’t watch a play in person. Sure, we can call them movies. But plays exist in a different sphere.

You can also try this: who is the actor currently portraying your character?
Now what if someone else inhabited that skin?