Labor Day 2009, I’m checking my inbox and sitting there is an email from James Reasoner... with a story. Now, it wasn’t completely unexpected because we had talked about it before but still... it’s a story from James Reasoner! I’ve been a fan for years, so I let the moment soak in and then wondered: Is it a western or a crime story or maybe another sea yarn like he wrote for Dave Zeltserman’s superb final issue of Hardluck Stories. The title, One Night Near Hangtown, might suggest a western, right? And while James had mentioned to me that it involves early western movie star, Buck Jones, it’s not what you’re thinking when he pairs up Buck with an unlikely friend, just in time for more Halloween thrills. He called the story "whimsical"—I call it truly unique.
It’s a great honor to have James Reasoner at BEAT to a PULP with One Night Near Hangtown.
Next week: "Mortification" by Sophie Littlefield