The Dead Walked

I always look forward to Gary Dobbs/Jack Martin's next writing adventure and this time he is taking me to the land of the undead:

September was her favourite time of the year, and late September, when the autumn was just preparing to hand over to winter, when there was still a residue of the late summer warmth in the air, as well as the crisp promise of the iciness to come, had always been, as far as Missy was concerned, the finest chunk of that particular month.

Not for her was the spectacle of high summer, nor the morose beauty of mid winter. Of course they both had their fineries but these paled next to the season when the leaves glittered with reflected sunlight. It was the autumn, with September being the highlight of that season, which she loved – a time when nature put on its finest display as the lush summer growth was magically transformed as if by a sepia wand spewing gold dust into the air.

The sky itself seemed to glow at this time of year.

September was a time of promise.

A time of rebirth.

Not this September, though. This September, Missy would remember as, the time the dead walked.

Come visit a Scary Muther.

Available: A RIP THROUGH TIME

Dr. Robert Berlin has created The Baryon Core, a powerful device with the ability to predict the future and retrodict the past by tracking the position and vector of every particle in the universe. Berlin swipes his own creation from The Company and disappears into history. The Company's time-cop Simon Rip and the sexy, brilliant Dr. Serena Ludwig join together to track Berlin and return the device. Their pursuit will take them back to the ice age and forward to the end of time.

A Rip through Time follows the time-cop's travels in a series of five short stories written by several of today's top pulp writers. Chris F. Holm opens the collection with the fast-paced "The Dame, the Doctor and the Device." Charles A. Gramlich's "Battles, Broadswords, and Bad Girls" and Garnett Elliott's "Chaos in the Stream" breath new life into the time travel story. Bringing the saga to a gripping conclusion in "Darkling in the Eternal Space" is Chad Eagleton, who then takes it a step further with a mesmerizing coda, "The Final Painting of Hawley Exton." And for all the time-traveling enthusiasts, Ron Scheer provides an insightful essay, "Are We Then Yet," which explores the mechanics of time travel in popular fiction.

A RIP THROUGH TIME is now available at Smashwords for $0.99.

BEAT to a PULP #154: Papercut Pete's Blood-Stained MacGuffin by Cameron Ashley

Cameron Ashley is the chief editor of Crime Factory and a regular contributor to Criminal Complex. His most recent fiction can be found in the Noir at the Bar, D*cked and Crime Factory: The First Shift anthologies. He's upcoming in The One That Got Away and is currently working on several shorts, a comic book and a really messed-up novel set in the world of Japanese porn.

And I'm proud to say, Cameron Ashley is at BEAT to a PULP with (I love this title!) Papercut Pete's Blood-Stained MacGuffin.

Buy Bill's Book

Amazon.com: Gator Kill (Truman Smith Private Eye) eBook: Bill Crider: Kindle Store

Frank Bill Video Interview

Frank Bill with Keith Rawson on Vimeo.

New Reviews

Review: Adventures of Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles + That Damned Coyote Hill.

The Real Edward A. Grainger

I'm over at Heath Lowrance's top Psycho-Noir blog today with a few thoughts on the real Edward A. Grainger. I hope you can stop by when you get a chance. Thanks.

THE BIG STEAL

Tony's Thoughts

Tony doesn't normally read westerns but he took a chance on ADVENTURES OF CASH LARAMIE AND GIDEON MILES. Here is his review.

BEAT to a PULP #153: Stalker by Ed Gorman

The legendary Ed Gorman is at BEAT to a PULP with "Stalker."

Sheriff's Department reopens Natalie Wood case

The coroner originally ruled the actress' 1981 death an accident, but... Read full article here.

The Cutman

Thanks to Mel Odom, I have five pdf copies of THE CUTMAN to hand out. So leave your name and e-mail and I will toss 'em into that hat you see me wearing. I'll draw five lucky winners this Saturday.

Mel Odom on Fight Card books debut.

Steampunk powers female characters forward

Article over at CNN.

Penguin moves into self-publishing

Venerable publisher's US arm offers 'direct path' into print for aspiring authors. [The Guardian]

My Mom

Chudney Thomas asked me to guest blog over at her wonderful site and I wrote a short piece on my mom. I hope you can stop by when you have a minute. And a BIG thanks to Chudney!

Cathode Angel On...

Things To Come.

Austen 'died from arsenic poisoning'

Lindsay Ashford bases claim on reading of author's letters and claims murder cannot be ruled out. The Guardian.

BEAT to a PULP #152: In the Hard Nowhere by Chris Rhatigan

Chris Rhatigan is the co-editor, along with Nigel Bird, of the crime anthology Pulp Ink. He has a story in Pulp Metal Magazine's Laughing at the Death Grin, and will have a piece in Luca Veste's collection, Off the Record.

Mr. Rhatigan has our Weekly Punch with "In the Hard Nowhere."

Excerpt from “The Last Celluloid Desperado”

I'm reading the insightful and thoroughly entertaining Lee Server bio on Mitchum. He mentions a Rolling Stone interview and I found an excerpt written by Grover Lewis.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle: Excerpt from "The Last Celluloid Desperado."

A Rip Through Time eBook

Here's the cover for the soon-to-be-released eBook A RIP THROUGH TIME, which has been over a year in the making. The eBook will combine four edge-of-your-seat tales previously presented as a BEAT to a PULP Weekly Punch along with a brand new title, "The Last Painting of Hawley Exton" by Chad Eagleton. The other top writers in this scintillating collection are Chris F. Holm, Charles A. Gramlich, Garnett Elliott, and an essay on time travel in the movies and books by Ron Scheer.

Don't be surprised when the series time cop shows up again. Mr. Eagleton is putting the finishing touches on a Simon Rip novella to hit your local cyber store in early 2012.

In the meantime, the eBook A RIP THROUGH TIME will be released in a couple of weeks at the very reasonable price of $0.99!

Stephen King raising money for heating bills

Stephen King has a pretty good idea of what's scary, and the author is telling residents of his home state of Maine that freezing is one of them.

Click here for full story.

Author sues reviewer over comments on Amazon

A self-published author is suing a reviewer alongside Amazon and Richard Dawkins after unfavourable comments were posted about his book.

--The Telegraph

New Review For Pulp Modern And Cash Laramie

"The Wicked" by Edward A. Grainger is another excellent outing for US Marshall Cash Laramie. Used to seeing a younger Cash, Grainger gives the reader a glimpse of what the grizzled lawman is up to in 1911 New Orleans.

Read the full review by Elizabeth A. White.

Free Copies of Cash & Miles, Vol. II

Leave your e-mail address in the comments and I will send you a free Kindle version of ADVENTURES OF CASH LARAMIE AND GIDEON MILES, Vol. II. Or e-mail me at paladin-1@hotmail.com. Sorry, no other formats currently available. Offer good through this Sunday at midnight.

Criminal Thoughts of R Thomas Brown

Beat to a Pulp: Hardboiled The Death Fantastique by John Hornor Jacobs.

The Latest Plagiarist

Read about a recent spy novel and its author at Reluctant Habits.

Award

I'll be damned! My short story has been nominated for an award.

Z-7's Headquarters

Tim Mayer with a review of HARDBOILED.

Chad Eagleton...

Chad Eagleton's thoughts on writing the fourth Simon Rip adventure.

BEAT to a PULP #151: A Rip through Time: Darkling in the Eternal Space by Chad Eagleton

Chris F. Holm, Charles A. Gramlich, and Garnett Elliott have all gone a round with the BTAP Simon Rip saga, and all three have done an amazing job fleshing out
the worlds and characters I had imagined with breathtaking elements I never would have dreamed of creating.

Now, Chad Eagleton takes us to the next stop beyond. To reveal even a small part of this beautiful piece would be a crime, so I won’t, though I will tell you this latest Simon Rip adventure brings the story thread--that began over a year ago--to a conclusion.

However, Mr. Eagleton is just brimming over with ideas, so much that he has written another Rip story in a novella! More on that another day. For now, here is the return of the time cop hero in "Darkling in the Eternal Space".

A Nice Way To Start The Day

Loitering with intent. Thanks, Eva!

My Dark Pages

I'm at Dead End Follies with a pithy remembrance of Frank and Joe Hardy. Stop by when you get a second.

Photo-Finish Friday -- Teaching Ava to Drive

She's already doing the Jeep wave.

Leah J. Utas is the force behind PFF.

Hope everyone has a top weekend.