Remembering Ron Scheer

Lynda Scheer​ asked me to write a final post for Ron​'s Buddies in the Saddle blog. A very deep honor for a friend I loved very much. I hope you can take a few moments to join me over there in remembering Ron.

The Gadgetless and Tired Assassin

My article, The Gadgetless and Tired Assassin: James Bond’s Short Stories, is live at Criminal Element.

Little Shutterbug

Ava was playing photographer today, and then her daddy snapped a picture of the little shutterbug.

My West: The Sandhills of Nebraska by Ron Scheer

My West: The Sandhills of Nebraska by Ron Scheer. (I enjoy hearing Ron talk about the land he loves so much.)

A Fistful of Beetner by CT McNeely

Eric Beetner gets a glowing review by CT McNeely from Dark Corners ...

Eric Beetner is a good old-fashioned pulpster. He spins a rip-roaring yarn like nobody's business and this year is one of the best years to introduce yourself to his work if you're not already on Team Beetner. I am going to talk to you about two of the things Mr. Beetner has coming this year: Rumrunners and The Year I Died Seven Times.

If you have your hand on the pulse of pulp, you know what an amazing operation David Cranmer is running over there at Beat to a Pulp. If so, you may be aware of The Year I Died Seven Times already when it was released in serialized installments. Regardless if you've read it serialized or not, this is your chance to see the whole funny, sordid, wild tale in one volume.

The Year I Died Seven Times tells the story of poor, unfortunate Ridley as he, well, it's pretty much in the title. What isn't in the title is all of the times that Beetner will make you cringe, laugh, cry, and all the sleep that you will lose staying up to read this one to its thrilling conclusion.

Also coming this year is Rumrunners. Rumrunners is Dukes of Hazzard meets Fargo, pissed off and mad about it. It's an alcohol fueled rollercoaster ride of backcountry badassery.

Rumrunners, like all the best backcountry crime tales, focuses on a family. In this case, the McGraws. You need only look to the title to see how they get by. That is, until now, when Tucker McGraw decides to go straight. Of course, it's not that simple. These things never are.

Rumrunners is every bit as good as you want these books to be. It succeeds in pulp revelry where so many other great works of Southern crime fiction fall flat. It is one damn fun book and you'll find yourself returning to it like a favorite movie over and over.

The same can be said, of course, for everything Beetner has ever written. This will be a year of good fortune for Beetner, with many new releases, and that means it will be a great time for all you crazy fiends out there in Pulpsville. Get ready with them wallets, folks. The Year of the Beetner has arrived.