The Education of a Pulp Writer

Watch You Drown by Chris Rhatigan

2012-01-28T16:59:00.000-06:00

I just added this collection to my Kindle and am looking forward to the read.

From the mind of Chris Rhatigan, Watch You Drown includes fourteen tales of modern crime. Kleptos stealing, dealers dealing, grifters grifting.

These characters drift through ordinary places -- gas stations and big-box stores, shabby apartments and urine-soaked alleys -- screwing everything up as they go, leaving behind the nauseating stank of desperation. In Rhatigan's world, there are no winners, only people who haven't lost yet.

Watch You Drown is sometimes wrenching, sometimes surreal, sometimes disgusting, and always noir.

Z-7's Headquarters on...

2012-01-28T08:27:00.000-06:00

Beat To A Pulp: A Rip Through Time, edited by yours truly.

Miles Review

2012-01-27T21:09:00.001-06:00

U.S. Marshal Gideon Miles finds himself in the sleepy town of Little Ridge, Montana, on the search for a wanted man. But just as Miles enters town, he's spotted by... read the full Western Fiction Review.

Fires On The Plains

2012-01-27T19:18:00.000-06:00

Fires on the Plain is now open for submissions!

Photo-Finish Friday -- Basic Training Gradution

2012-01-20T20:07:00.000-06:00

This is my Army basic training graduation from eighteen years ago. That's my dad in the red flannel shirt watching and my mom in the long jacket. I'm directly in front of my dad with the private first class on my shoulder. My parents were so proud of this moment and it brings tears to my eyes looking at this old photo.

Leah J. Utas is the force behind Photo-Finish Friday.

Angie Dickinson

2012-01-19T17:42:00.002-06:00

Angie Dickinson: Sweet memories of Sinatra, Wayne.

Howard Hopkins

2012-01-16T08:33:00.002-06:00

I just heard this sad news. Our condolences to Howard's family.

Cold Blood: On Jim Thompson and Stanley Kubrick.

2012-01-14T15:32:00.000-06:00

Michael A. Gonzales has a great piece over at Mulholland Books.

7 Questions: Thomas Pluck

2012-01-13T15:20:00.001-06:00

Thomas Pluck seemed to shoot out of nowhere in 2011. When did you start writing?

Sorry for the longwinded answer. They say writers have a million words of crap in them, or have to work 10,000 hours before they get any good... and I've been writing a long time.

The first book I wrote was in 2nd grade, about two endangered Komodo dragons defeating a poacher. Through high school I kept a "Journal" where I'd write bizarre humor in homeroom and pass it around, and I wrote 400-odd hand-written pages of an awful science fantasy novel before turning to crime fiction in college. I wrote a dozen or so short stories and began a novel about a recovering heroin addict who hunts down a missing girl for his old boss, but I never completed it. One of my college stories, was accepted by Pulphouse Magazine, which promptly folded; I hunted around and found Blue Murder magazine, which published my first story. So if you've been in online crime for a dozen years, you'd have seen my original, tiny splash onto the scene. Kevin Burton Smith of Thrilling Detective found me a copy of Blue Murder #11, and sent it to me. Felt good to see it again.

I wrote more, but I let doubt get to me- something no writer should permit- and stopped writing for years. Then my grandmother, who raised me after my parents were divorced, passed away from cancer and mortality reared its head. I was a morbidly obese computer gamer at the time. I quit gaming, and started dieting, hiking, weightlifting and practicing mixed martial arts. I lost 140 lbs. in just over a year, and found my confidence again. I started dating and met the woman who would become my wife, and she lived in Brooklyn at the time. A long drive or a couple train rides. And let me tell you, crossing two rivers to meet someone, in New York, that's true love.

Those drives gave me a lot of time to think, and I started tossing around ideas for a novel about kids who were bullied in school, who commit a terrible crime, and only one of them pays for it. Someone told me about National Novel Writing Month and a backlog of words exploded out of my brain, 115,000 words in two months, a novel called THE GARAGE, which I'm rewriting into a crime novel titled BURY THE HATCHET. This time it's from the perspective of the guy who went to prison, not the everyman. The guy is out for revenge. It's a very dark and intense tale of small town corruption, familial anger and betrayal, and strong friendships bonded in crisis. After I wrote the "zero draft" I took a rest from it to thing it out, and short story ideas kept popping in my head.

I heard about Flash Fiction Friday, and began participating. I had a humor, food, movie and beer blog that had been my outlet for writing, and I channeled that into stories. On twitter I met Fiona Johnson, and she read my story "The Last Sacrament," and suggested I send it to a few venues including a new one called Shotgun Honey. They accepted it, and I let the ego boost from that first acceptance carry me into writing more and more, submitting to different markets and treating it as a sort of challenge, to reach as many readers as possible. I can't say I've written a story for a particular magazine unless the editor asked me to do a guest spot, but I am very meticulous in reading venues to choose the right story to send them. Duotrope.com, a great tool for writers to keep track of where you've sent your work, says I have a 38% success rate, which is very good. But a big part of that is reading stories the editors have accepted.

Though I'd only read one or two from BEAT to a PULP before sending "A Glutton for Punishment." It was a fighter story and you have that great boxer art on your splash page. So I took a chance.

Lets jump back. What was it like growing up T. Pluck?

I had a wild imagination and was a daydreamer, still am. It's where my stories come from. We had HBO, so I watched dozens of inappropriate movies for my age, from Conan the Barbarian to Alien, Patton and The Stunt Man, The remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice, Night of the Juggler, Vice Squad and Magnum Force... it wasn't quite like growing up in a grindhouse theater but at times it was close. Back in the day HBO played movies, and most of them were cheap exploiters. They fueled my imagination, and I'd daydream about fighting laser tanks with crystal swords and my James Bond career, flying a supercar, wearing a tuxedo, and pursuing beautiful women. This doesn't play well on the schoolgrounds, so I got pushed around a lot as a kid. My parents split- my father was a hell of a character, and he influences a lot of my writing- and life was a bit chaotic. We moved into my grandparents place and I spent a lot more time with that side of the family. Storytellers, jokesters, mechanics, horse bettors, sailors, bar owners who ran bars for the mob, veterans, bikers... and a few hard working stiffs thrown in. They told enough stories to last a lifetime, and I still spend Sunday mornings having coffee with my mother and my uncles, average age 80-something. They come from a time when we'd tell stories around the table, and it rubbed off. Getting knocked around a bit made me a weightlifter, and years later, I train in mixed martial arts. The fear's still there, sometimes. I'm built like a gorilla but I couldn't walk into a room without sizing people up in case they turn on me. And that fuels great fight scenes, in your head. I've calmed down a bit. But the sizing up is a habit. Be prepared, the scouts say.

How do you feel about social media and promoting books? Do you feel comfortable using Twitter, Facebook, etc to sell your work?

I joined Twitter as a jokester, and broke 1000 followers before I wrote a single story. It's where I learned about #flashfriday and #fridayreads, and I think it's an excellent tool for reaching readers. Facebook could be, but it lags behind. Facebook started as a stalking tool, Twitter began as a broadcast tool. They're both aimed at data mining now. Google+ began as a data miner, so it's the least useful, in my opinion. Books live and die on word of mouth. Promotion, ads, they help of course, but readers spread the word. Like the fabled "silent majority," I think most promotion blasts into the ether like radio waves into space, but the few people you do hook, you should ask to spread the word. Their friends will buy the book on their recommendation, not because a stranger tweets it regularly. I only have one book for sale, LOST CHILDREN: A CHARITY ANTHOLOGY. It benefits two children's causes, PROTECT: The National Association to Protect Children, which lobbies for stronger children protection laws, and Children 1st, a Scottish family support charity. I've tweeted long and loud about it, and so have many of the 30 contributors. We've sold 175 copies in about 75 days. I'm told that's pretty good, but I don't rest on my laurels. I want to sell a hundred times that, then maybe I'll think it's a success.

I think writers are still figuring out how to properly use social media, really. I like to connect with readers, not shout at them. I still think of stories as if I'm telling them after dinner, the tablecloth stained with spilled wine, children hiding underneath to eavesdrop, like I used to. Feedback is not essential to a writer, but it sure helps when you're tearing your hair out in the middle of a tough scene. I'd rather have five thousand twitter followers who spam the hell out of me with comments (that I try in earnest to respond to in my spare time) than 15,000 who just saw my name, read a book, and like hearing the occasional poop joke.

What is Christa Faust like in person?

Christa Faust is as vibrant in person as her writing is on the page. I met her at Bouchercon last year. I hadn't read her work yet, I just knew that CHOKE HOLD was about an MMA fighter and she told the truth, that it's a tough game not unlike being a porn star. Great book, by the way. We met in the bar, I didn't know anybody and she grabbed my arm and introduced me to a dozen people I was too shy to approach. I lightened up and had a great time, met a lot of great people. And I'm thankful, she didn't know me from Adam. Friendliness is common in the crime fiction community, but that kind of generosity is unique, and she's one of a kind.

Mitt Romney or President Obama? And Why?

Politicians give whoring a bad name. I like what Bernie Sanders and Al Franken are doing. Everyone is big government or a crank like Ron Paul, but those two guys aren't feeding us bullshit quite yet. Give them time, and money. Democrat, Republican, once they get a taste of the big money- Congress is legally allowed to insider trade, remember- they're one party, the Wolf party, and we're the sheep. I voted for Jesse Ventura, when I lived in Minnesota. He did some good and some bad, but at least he wasn't a stooge.

Tell us a little more about LOST CHILDREN. How did you become involved with this project and will there be more books in the series?

LOST CHILDREN began as a flash fiction writing prompt I asked Fiona Johnson to write for Friday Flash Fiction. She chose neglected children as the inspiration, and would donate 5 pounds her story to Children 1st, a Scottish charity who help families in need; I matched her donations to PROTECT, who lobby for stronger laws and enforcement against child abuse, and Living Water for Girls, who rescue women forced into prostitution. 44 writers responded, and we paid out over $600 in donations. We decided we could get more if we collected the best stories, so I formatted them into an e-book, and then again into a paperback. My wife Sarah designed the cover with the arresting photo by artist Danielle Tunstall, donated for the project.

The stories range from bittersweet to joyful to downright brutal revenge tales. Paul D. Brazill, J.F. Juzwik, Chad Rohrbacher, Ron Earl Phillips, David Barber of The Flash Fiction Offensive, Gutter's flash fiction arm, all contributed great tales. We have a story of a Lost Boy from Sudan, as told to his teacher J.P. Reese; a story from Vietnam from veteran James Lloyd Davis. Hardboiled legend Wayne Dundee gave us a rave review. A very generous and talented guy, that Wayne.

But I don't like to rest on my broad laurels. I have a second volume in the works, with a lot of heavy hitters interested in joining us this time around. We made a bit of a splash, and I won't name names until contracts are signed, but you will recognize them on the book's jacket.

Andrew Vachss- who's more than an influence, he's a personal hero- calls his fiction Trojan horses. Hardboiled gut punches that leave you thinking, but aren't "message stories." Oh, there's a strong message in his work, but he manages to share it without being preachy, you know?

I hope to do the same. I like that the cover has made people jump, and a local bookstore I've dealt with for 20 years, refuse to carry it. And that's just a child's eyes. But the stories within, and my own, are not salacious. No more than Weegee's photos of poverty, or bodies at a crime scene were. They're a wake-up call. A call to anger.

What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you?

You want me to pick just one? I had a kidney stone a few years back. Second one, but it was a lot worse. I haven't written a story about a man pissing blood yet, but I can accurately describe it. Thanks to an idiot nurse telling me not to drink water before my MRI, I was in the most pain I've ever experienced. The knife in the back shooting down to the testicles kind of pain. And mind you, I've broken bones, crushed my fingers, been stabbed in the thigh, kicked in the liver, sparred with 6'4" heavyweights, and had my heart broken by beautiful women, so you have something to judge this pain against.

By the time I crawled into a hospital bed, pain pills wouldn't touch it. Across the room, an old man lay in bed with his foot bandaged up. I paid him little mind. Women who've had kidney stones will compare it to childbirth. It's that bad, and this was an infection with a 104 degree fever. I felt like a child, delirious with the flu. I couldn't sleep, or move much without pain shooting from neck to nuts. So I press the buzzer and ask for painkillers.

It was not easy. I had my wisdom teeth pulled, and I flushed the Percocets down the toilet. I don't like admitting pain. So this tawny angel, a Latina nurse who don't take shit, comes in, rolls me over and sticks a needle in my butt cheek. And that sends me over the edge. I sob like a little bitch, for a brief moment. It felt like ages. Moments later I'm drooling into my pillow, and wake with the sun in my eyes.

The old man has the TV on, staring at the vast moronic wasteland of morning talk shows and infomercials. I say good morning, ask what he's in for. He has an infection in his foot, aggravated from a war wound he received on Omaha Beach. So I cried like a little bitch over a needle, in front of a veteran of Normandy. Now, I have no proof. Lots of guys say they were there, just like no one served in the rear ranks in Vietnam, when guys talk at the bar. Everyone was in the shit. But he didn't brag any, and reminded me of my great-uncles, who were loathe to talk about their service. It was a humbling experience, and no matter how much my kidney throbbed, as trickles of relief dribbled into my bed pan, I kept my mouth shut.

Then there was the time when I tried to prank call a bowling alley with the old, "Hey, do you have ten pound balls?" gag, and the lady said "Yes, would you like to lick them?" but that doesn't touch crying in front of a war hero, if you ask me.

JA Konrath Makes $100,000 In Three Weeks

2012-01-12T17:49:00.000-06:00

Author JA Konrath Makes $100,000 In Three Weeks On Self-Pubbed Books.

S.F. Film Noir Festival celebrates Dashiell Hammett

2012-01-12T16:54:00.001-06:00

SF Gate: San Francisco Film Noir Festival celebrates Dashiell Hammett. Hat tip: Ed Lynskey.

A Rip Through Time Update

2012-01-11T19:26:00.002-06:00

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

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.

Short, Sharp Interview: Patti Abbott

2012-01-11T09:55:00.000-06:00

Another great interview over at Mr. Braill's top site.

Stephen King Discusses Short Stories

2012-01-10T12:23:00.000-06:00

MJQ - Django

2012-01-09T21:32:00.000-06:00

Thanks to L.B. for reminding me of this gem.

More On Free Can Equal Sales

2012-01-09T18:50:00.001-06:00

Heath Lowrance has a short bit on sales for our MILES TO LITTLE RIDGE eBook. I had a post a few days ago called Free Can Equal Sales. Check that out and then read Mr. Lowrance's post here.

Chandler and Hitch

2012-01-09T15:56:00.000-06:00

Raymond Chandler's letter to Alfred Hitchcock.

From Dundee's Desk

2012-01-09T09:50:00.000-06:00

Wayne D. Dundee's thoughts on writing MANHUNTER'S MOUNTAIN.

Randy Johnson Reviews Manhunter's Mountain

2012-01-08T14:10:00.000-06:00

"His Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles tales are making waves in the new publishing world of ebooks."

Raymond Chandler Evening

2012-01-07T16:10:00.000-06:00

Noir Meets Superman

2012-01-07T16:00:00.002-06:00

"Superheroes, private eyes, alternative realities, robots.."

Heath

2012-01-07T09:35:00.000-06:00

How I Came to Continue a Series: Heath Lowrance.

Google salutes cartoonist Charles Addams

2012-01-07T09:30:00.000-06:00

In honor of the cartoonist's 100th birthday.

Tony's Thoughts

2012-01-06T20:34:00.001-06:00

MANHUNTER'S MOUNTAIN review

NYT Essay On Tweeting

2012-01-06T15:11:00.000-06:00

Why Authors Tweet.

Photo-Finish Friday -- Sandwich, Massachusetts

2012-01-06T00:01:00.002-06:00

Pictures taken Fall 2006 in Sandwich, Massachusetts.

Leah J. Utas is the force behind Photo-Finish Friday.

Manhunter's Mountain

2012-01-05T16:53:00.000-06:00

Manhunter's Mountain shows a powerful side to Cash Laramie as he makes his way down the side of a mountain with a prisoner in tow, and two prostitutes eager to flee a mining town that's gone bust, looking to make a new life for themselves. An early winter storm promises to make the journey more than a normal struggle. And, leaving town with two of its most precious gems, the prostitutes, puts Cash in the crosshairs of an angry gang of men who are willing to keep the women in town ... at any cost.

A fast, hardboiled Western that continues the Cash Laramie legend with swagger and good, solid writing. Wayne Dundee brings his masterful voice to the Western and tells a Cash Laramie story in perfect pitch. Manhunter's Mountain should be on every Western fiction reader's bookshelf.

-- Larry D. Sweazy, Spur Award-winning author of The Coyote Tracker.

Edward A. Grainger's outlaw marshal is on the trail again in this first full-length Cash Laramie novel written by hardboiled veteran Wayne D. Dundee.

Reviews: R Thomas Brown's Criminal Thoughts | James Reasoner's Rough Edges| Larry Sweazy's Tense Moments

Free Can Equal Sales

2012-01-04T10:20:00.001-06:00

Thanks to support from friends on Blogger, Google+, and Twitter, I was able to sell a few hundred copies off the bat with the June release of ADVENTURES OF CASH LARAMIE AND GIDEON MILES and it's sequel, VOL. II. Then after the excitement died down, sales puttered along at ten or so copies a day. Not bad, but how to reach a wider audience?

Give it away seems to be the answer!

Kindle now provides the opportunity to offer your book for free for a limited time -- no more than five days to be exact. So I did it, and I stared in amazement when I hit the refresh button -- nearly one hundred copies had moved in less than a couple of minutes. Then I hit refresh again and another sizable batch flew off the virtual shelf. It went on like that for two days nonstop. I eventually ended up moving just over 3k. Now if folks had bought that many of my books, I would have pocketed a cool grand *dreams a bit* but I know that wouldn't have happened.

So what good did the free offer do?

Three thousand readers who weren't familiar with Cash & Miles now have it on their Kindle. If only a quarter of them like my heroes, then that's an improvement on future sales when, hopefully, they purchase the next book for $0.99. Additionally, I sold two hundred copies of the first volume that most likely wouldn't have been purchased if I hadn't decided to offer my book for free -- more than one person on Twitter mentioned they bought the first collection after getting the second for $0.00.

I hope you don't mind me posting about this, not bragging here, and many other writers out there are way ahead of me on this, but I thought it may be of use to a few. In a nutshell: free is good and can equal other/future sales.

Agree? Disagree? What are your experiences?

'11 Reflections & '12 At A Glance

2012-01-01T11:36:00.000-06:00

This post is probably more for me than anything else but I got to thinking what a life changing past year this was for our family.

2011

*Most importantly, my daughter Ava was born on Valentine's Day. The sun now rises and sets for her as far as my wife and I are concerned. Being a father at forty-one has enlivened me with a new lease on life as only a child can. Our little coconut just began crawling in the last week of '11!

*My mother's dementia worsened and it has taken a toll on the family. The good news is one of my sisters is a retired nurse and is giving our mother the best possible care. I take heart that for a few months my mom and Ava were very close. They both enjoyed watching The Golden Girls together and making silly faces. Mom would whistle and big smiles would ripple from my daughter. Bittersweet.

*In June of '11, I released Adventures of Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles and then three other BEAT to a PULP collections. They continue to do well and by Dec 31st, I had sold more copies than I could have predicted at the start. Not bad, not bad for a beginner but at $0.35 a book, I obviously still need a day job. :)

*This was the year of new social networking for me. I joined Twitter and Google+. It comes easily, it turns out, because I enjoy what others have to say and interacting. Some Blogger friends have written to say they missed my meaty blogs here and I will try to improve the output.

2012

*Ava is learning so much on a daily basis, and Denise and I are eager to continue her education with books, music, etc. She loves being read to and reaches for books before we do. Gotta keep that momentum going.

*I want to do more around the home with repairs that are long overdue.

Upcoming books

*I'm releasing, very soon, the first full-length Cash Laramie novel written by hardboiled master, Wayne D. Dundee.

*BEAT to a PULP: ROUND TWO is a bit late because of some of the above life events but I'm shooting for March 1st. This collection contains some notable names in the literary and pulp circles, and James O'Barr has contributed another fabulous cover.

*Another, yet un-named, BTAP eBook is on the way. I want to keep the title quiet for now but it pushes the envelope just a bit and I'm excited about that.

*Chad Eagleton has written a Simon Rip science fiction novella.

*I also have another round of my short stories featuring Cash & Miles. This collection will reach from 1885 and all the way to 1930 when the outlaw marshal is seventy-five.

That's a little about me. And you? Was 2011 good or bad for you and what are your plans for 2012?

Happy New Year from Anthony Neil Smith

2011-12-31T20:43:00.000-06:00

A Supremely Disabused Writer

2011-12-31T19:49:00.000-06:00

Book review: All Our Worldly Goods By Irène Némirovsky.

The Raven Trailer

2011-12-31T17:30:00.000-06:00

Book Review: ‘Hemingway’s Boat’

2011-12-31T17:26:00.002-06:00

HEMINGWAY‘S BOAT: EVERYTHING HE LOVED IN LIFE, AND LOST 1934-1961.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Crumbling Home

2011-12-31T16:39:00.000-06:00

Sherlock Holmes and the curious case of the author's ruined mansion.

What does it feel like to fly over planet Earth?

2011-12-31T07:31:00.000-06:00

Hell on Church Street

2011-12-30T15:36:00.000-06:00

A small Baptist church in Arkansas should be easy pickings for a natural born con man like Geoffrey Webb. But after talking himself into a cushy job as a youth minister, he becomes obsessed with the preacher’s teenage daughter. When their relationship is discovered by a corrupt local sheriff named Doolittle Norris, Webb’s easy life begins to fall apart. Backed by a family of psychotic hillbillies, Sheriff Norris forces Webb into a deadly scheme to embezzle money from the church. What the Norris clan doesn’t understand is that Geoffrey Webb is more dangerous than he looks, and he has brutal plans of his own.

“I’m hard to surprise when it comes to plot, and I’m very hard to shock, but I read this book slack-jawed and drooling. There’s not a filthier, funnier, bloodier, more transgressive or more shocking book on the shelves this year. Or last, or next, probably, unless Hinkson writes another, which I certainly hope he will. An amazing debut from an instant star of the genre.”
— Scott Phillips, author of The Ice Harvest, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year

“Hell on Church Street has to be one of the best noir novels of recent years, an instant classic, as relentlessly twisted as anything by Jim Thompson and Charles Willeford.”
— Jason Starr, two-time Anthony Award winning author of The Craving

“Mr. Hinkson has created flawlessly etched characters inhabiting a bleak, noir landscape that’s recognizable and yet altogether unique. Go ahead and attend Hell on Church Street. You will not be disappointed.”
— David Cranmer, Editor and publisher of Beat to a Pulp

“If Jim Thompson’s skeletal hands could clap, you’d hear his round of applause for Jake Hinkson’s debut. Dark, depraved, and deadly, Hell on Church Street is a wicked story well told.”
— Hilary Davidson, author of The Damage Done

Order from New Pulp Press or Amazon.

Heath Lowrance Interview

2011-12-30T11:10:00.000-06:00

Dani Amore interviews Heath Lowrance.

FREE for Four Days!!

2011-12-29T08:00:00.001-06:00

FREE for four days!! ADVENTURES OF CASH LARAMIE AND GIDEON MILES, VOL. II.

The NOIR WESTERN collection that has garnered twenty-three Amazon 5-stars is now FREE for a limited time.

"The follow-up collection of Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles proves what I knew when I read the first collection: Edward A. Grainger is an enduring talent. If you're on the fence about reading this one, get off it, or you'll miss a great origin story, and the certain-to-be-star trajectory of one of the next generation of western writers that is proving the genre has a special place into the new century." --Larry Sweazy, Spur Award-winning author.

Bish's Hit List

2011-12-28T15:57:00.000-06:00

Bish picks his TOP 10 E-BOOK READS OF 2011.

Disruptions on Takeoff?

2011-12-27T06:35:00.001-06:00

Disruptions: Norelco on Takeoff? Fine. Kindle? No.

New Ebook Gifting Feature

2011-12-26T09:31:00.002-06:00

Smashwords Introduces New Ebook Gifting Feature. That's a great idea! Hat tip: Paul D Brazill.

Suggestions

2011-12-26T09:25:00.000-06:00

Writers to Fill Up Your New Kindle.

Amazon UK adds hundreds of Kindle books

2011-12-26T08:24:00.000-06:00

Amazon UK opens its doors for the Christmas sales, adds hundreds of Kindle books.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T00:01:00.000-06:00

For those who celebrate, Denise, Ava and I wish you a Merry Christmas.

Photo-Finish Friday -- Christmas In Belize

2011-12-23T00:01:00.000-06:00

This photo was taken a few winters ago when my Charmer and I were living in Belize. Man, I miss that weather!

Leah J. Utas is the force behind Photo-Finish Friday.

Hope everyone has the greatest of holidays!

Further Making My Day!

2011-12-22T13:30:00.000-06:00

LoiteringWithIntent: Top five books of 2011.

This Made My Day

2011-12-22T11:28:00.000-06:00

A very nice review from Steve over at Western Fiction Review.

Goshen Hole

2011-12-21T16:44:00.000-06:00

At one time, I used to read detective stories by the handful. Then, somewhere along the line, my interest waned. But there were two modern detectives I kept going back to: Parker's Spenser and Dundee's Hannibal. I could always count on these two standbys to deliver what I'd come to love from the hardboiled school built by Chandler, Hammett, and Macdonald.

So I was quite excited to see the first new Joe Hannibal novel in four years -- seventh in the series -- has just been released. It is called GOSHEN HOLE and it fits nicely in the top tier of the Hannibal canon.

I like the fact that Joe has relocated to Nebraska, is running a security service, and is driving a Honda Element -- regular guy stuff that always worked well for these books. In GOSHEN, he is asked to investigate the case of a missing woman, and you can bet as he pulls the thread to solve the case there will be a lot of tough guys to stop him.

Lots of action and excellent dialogue as we've come to expect from the talented Mr. Dundee.

GOSHEN HOLE is available at Amazon.

Why I Wrote Gallows Pole by J.D. Rhoades

2011-12-21T10:33:00.001-06:00

Ms. White hosts J.D. Rhoades at Musings of an All Purpose Monkey.

The Killing: My Tuesday Night Film

2011-12-20T20:58:00.001-06:00

BEAT to a PULP #156: The Stain Carrier by Sophie Littlefield

2011-12-19T20:42:00.000-06:00

Special thanks to Sophie Littlefield for closing out our third year in grand fashion with a sharp little gem called, "The Stain Carrier." Ms. Littlefield has also been kind enough to write the foreword to our forthcoming ROUND TWO.

In other news: You may have noticed that story links and the archive page are currently not working. This is because ColdFusion is no longer supported by our service provider. These pages will remain down until we resume February 1, 2012. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Some Very Kind Recognition

2011-12-18T13:45:00.001-06:00

Chris Rhatigan has been running a fabulous year-end best list with several notable writers tossing in their two cents. Benoit Lelievre had this to say about my "Clouds in a Bunker":

Another story about a terrible tragedy that nobody is able to avoid. Everybody grows old and withers away. It's incredibly sad and almost cringe inducing because you know the pain of this family might be your pain one day. The dialog in between father and daughter is nothing short of spectacular.

Earlier Nigel Bird, Sandra Seamans, and R. Thomas Brown all picked "Melanie" as a favorite. Thank you, all. Nothing beats being recognized by peers who I deeply respect.

Please stop by Death by Killing and check out all the posts and a big thanks to Chris for running this fine series.

Melancholy

2011-12-17T22:49:00.000-06:00

I'm working on a Cash & Miles that takes place during the early Jazz era. Enjoying the heck out of my research for the story.

At The Debrief

2011-12-17T11:00:00.000-06:00

Lawrence Block on Lenore Hart.

A Rip Through Time

2011-12-16T18:11:00.001-06:00

Charles Gramlich reviews A RIP THROUGH TIME and MILES TO LITTLE RIDGE. Note: TIME is now available at Barnes & Noble.

Chandler at Sotheby's

2011-12-16T10:01:00.001-06:00

A first edition of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep inscribed to his wife sells for over $250,000 at Sotheby’s M. Hat tip: Chris F. Holm.

Top Rated

2011-12-16T08:32:00.005-06:00

Thanks for all the reviews, folks. MILES TO LITTLE RIDGE jumped to number thirteen on Amazon's Top Rated in Westerns! A few more rungs and it joins ADVENTURES Vol. I and II.

Self-published authors find e-success

2011-12-16T07:10:00.000-06:00

In 2009, Michael Prescott's dream died, or so he thought.

Bloomberg: Publishers Are Still Missing the Boat on E-book Prices

2011-12-16T07:02:00.001-06:00

The short-sighted strategy of pricing e-books higher than real books will likely backfire—and give Amazon a big boost.

Kindle Fire sales

2011-12-16T07:00:00.000-06:00

USA Today: Despite criticisms, Kindle Fire sales remain on fire.

The Final Bough

2011-12-15T19:36:00.000-06:00

By Chris F. Holm at Angry Robot.

RIP: Joe Simon

2011-12-15T12:35:00.000-06:00

Joe Simon, legendary Golden Age co-creator of such characters as Captain America, the Sandman, and the Fly.

Life in Review

2011-12-15T12:12:00.000-06:00

"The other day I mentioned that I don’t have one favorite author, I have several. Well, here is another name on that list..."

Reaper Time

2011-12-15T08:52:00.000-06:00

Josh Bazell’s BEAT THE REAPER Heads to HBO.

Dance Noir, Anyone?

2011-12-15T08:14:00.000-06:00

Scheer Reviews Miles

2011-12-14T19:10:00.000-06:00

Ron Scheer reviews the latest Gideon Miles story.

Martello

2011-12-14T18:21:00.000-06:00

The Return of Oscar Martello. It's about time.

Death by Killing Review

2011-12-14T07:08:00.000-06:00

"In some ways, Volume 2 of Grainger's popular Cash and Miles series picks up where Volume 1 left off. Cash investigates crimes and exacts justice in a vivid, Western noir world. The stories are still told in Grainger's confident, no-nonsense style. But I felt like I got to..."

Finish Chris Rhatigan's review of ADVENTURES OF CASH LARAMIE AND GIDEON MILES, Vol II at Death by Killing.

From Dundee's Desk

2011-12-13T21:16:00.000-06:00

A DOUBLE-DOSE OF JOE HANNIBAL.

Criminal Thoughts

2011-12-13T19:11:00.000-06:00

Criminal Thoughts by R Thomas Brown that I really, really like.

Reading (and writing) Westerns

2011-12-13T17:42:00.000-06:00

Heath Lowrance with a very fine blog post on Reading (and writing) Westerns.

Men In Black 3 Trailer

2011-12-13T06:48:00.000-06:00

Readers Return to the Stores

2011-12-12T20:33:00.000-06:00

E-Books, Shmee-Books: Readers Return to the Stores.

Reasoner on Miles

2011-12-12T15:56:00.001-06:00

James Reasoner reviews MILES TO LITTLE RIDGE.

Up On Cedar's Mountain

2011-12-12T09:35:00.000-06:00

"To say it kept my interest all the way to the end would be an distinct understatement." Thanks, G!

Tony's Thoughts

2011-12-12T07:10:00.001-06:00

For somebody my age it is easy to forget that there was ever a time when racial segregation existed in mainstream society."

Julia Madeleine Says

2011-12-12T06:56:00.000-06:00

"There’s something about a cowboy that makes a girl’s heart pound a little faster."

Turning The Reins Of My Characters Over To Another Writer

2011-12-12T05:20:00.000-06:00

Ever since the first Cash & Miles adventure appeared in 2008, I've been asked when a novel would come out. I began working on one at once and abandoned it almost as quickly. Then, as now, I’m not a novelist—yet. I love writing short stories, and I have completed a novella, so the way I look at it, I’m edging my way up to the longer player. But, considering the speed at which I write, it'd be 2050 before I have a finished piece.

In the meantime, I'm very proud that several authors of both western and crime approached me inquiring if I was interested in them penning a Cash Laramie/Gideon Miles novel. It seems the outlaw marshal and his stoic partner had been cheating on me by providing these other wordsmiths with some tremendous plot ideas.

First up is Heath Lowrance who impressed the hell out of me with THE BASTARD HAND and THAT DAMNED COYOTE HILL. He sent me an outline idea for a Miles noir western and I immediately liked it. I added my two cents and the result is MILES TO LITTLE RIDGE.

Turning the reins of my characters over to another writer may seem seem strange to some, but after reading this novella, you'll see that Mr. Lowrance not only nailed the voice of Gideon Miles but delivered a thrilling, action-packed little gem. We hope you like it and we're very interested in your thoughts.

MILES TO LITTLE RIDGE is $0.99 at Amazon's Kindle store.

Maybe A Little Too Much Info

2011-12-11T12:47:00.000-06:00

Put It on My Marquee: I Just Watched ‘Creepshow 2'

"With clear and direct prose..."

2011-12-10T13:53:00.000-06:00

"I was nervous when I heard other authors were going to be writing tales featuring Grainger’s two heroes."

Tony's Thoughts

2011-12-10T13:15:00.000-06:00

"What I wasn’t expecting from this collection of short stories was to shed a tear."

"I've never read a Western before..."

2011-12-10T11:46:00.000-06:00

Heath Lowrance on writing MILES TO LITTLE RIDGE.

Now Available: Miles To Little Ridge

2011-12-10T07:17:00.000-06:00

Edward A.Grainger's Gideon Miles hits the trail in this fast-clip western novella written by Heath Lowrance. The U.S. Marshal finds himself in the sleepy town of Little Ridge, Montana, on the search for a wanted man. But just as Miles enters town, he's spotted by a hard case who recognizes Miles as the lawman that killed his friend. Now Miles must face the wanted man, who claims his innocence and is raising a daughter on his own, while the hard case and a ne'er-do-well partner are gunning for him.

MILES TO LITTLE RIDGE is at Amazon for $0.99 or FREE if you are a Kindle owner and Prime member.

Miles To Little Ridge: First Review

2011-12-09T20:56:00.000-06:00

Randy Johnson reviews the new Gideon Miles novella at Not The Baseball Pitcher.

Jerry Robinson

2011-12-09T07:06:00.001-06:00

Jerry Robinson, comic book legend and creator of Batman nemesis, the Joker, dead at 89.

Fund

2011-12-08T11:52:00.000-06:00

Amazon Unveils $6 Million 'Fund' to Pull Content Into Its Lending Library.

Musings of an All Purpose Monkey...

2011-12-08T06:49:00.003-06:00

"I have a confession to make. As a general rule, I don’t read Westerns. I find that too often the stories..." Read the rest of Elizabeth White's review here.

Miles To Little Ridge

2011-12-07T22:00:00.000-06:00

I think the secret is out of the bag that some top writers like Wayne D. Dundee, Chuck Tyrell, Heath Lowrance, and Nik Morton are writing Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles stories. I couldn't be more thrilled with the excellent work I've read from these authors... it's as if they've crept into my mind and delivered stories that one would expect from these characters that I've become quite fond of.

First up will be a Gideon Miles novella by Heath Lowrance called MILES TO LITTLE RIDGE, which is in the final proofing stage as we speak. If you're interested in reviewing the book, just leave a comment here with your email address or drop me an email at paladin-1@hotmail.com with MILES in the subject line.

Harry Morgan R.I.P.

2011-12-07T12:25:00.000-06:00

Harry Morgan, Colonel Potter on ‘M*A*S*H,’ Dies at 96.

Children’s drawings painted realistically

2011-12-07T07:14:00.000-06:00

What children’s drawings would look like if it were painted realistically.

Cullen Gallagher Reviews The Twisted Ones

2011-12-06T16:58:00.003-06:00

Vin Packer's THE TWISTED ONES (Gold Medal, 1959) is a superb novel and Vin Packer (Marijane Meaker) is one of my very favorite novelists. Check out Mr. Gallagher's in-depth review.

And I'm very excited to say Vin Packer will be in BEAT to a PULP: ROUND TWO... that is on the way.

EU opens antitrust probe into Apple's e-book deals

2011-12-06T09:16:00.000-06:00

EU opens antitrust probe into Apple's e-book deals.

Pulp Modern Review

2011-12-06T08:15:00.001-06:00

Bookgasm reviews Pulp Modern. Hat tip: Sandra Seamans.

Awards

2011-12-05T17:58:00.002-06:00

Dead End Follies Awards - Best Book Cover, Funniest Book and Best Short Story. Hey! That short story is by...

Dead End Follies Reviews...

2011-12-05T15:27:00.003-06:00

Benoit Lelievre reviews ADVENTURES OF CASH LARAMIE AND GIDEON MILES, VOL. II.

Rough Edges Reviews...

2011-12-05T15:22:00.002-06:00

James Reasoner was kind enough to review the new BEAT to a PULP eBook. What did he think? Click here.

Boat

2011-12-05T00:02:00.001-06:00

'Boat' an insightful look into Hemingway’s later years.

Charles Gramlich on Simon Rip

2011-12-04T00:02:00.000-06:00

Time Travel and Sword and Planet Action.

The Dead Walked

2011-11-30T07:41:00.001-06:00

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

2011-11-29T07:04:00.001-06:00

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.