Westerns director Andrew McLaglen dies aged 94

BBC: Director Andrew V McLaglen, who was best known for Westerns and action films including The Wild Geese and McLintock!, has died aged 94.

Murder and Mayhem Lineup

Crimespree announced the lineup for Murder and Mayhem in Muskego 2012. Hat tip: Chris F. Holm

Book Is Judged by the Name on Its Cover

Twelve publishers passed on Ms. O’Brien's THE DRESSMAKER. Then she adopted a pen name and her book sold in three days.

Hat tip: John Wilwol.

JA Konrath Makes $100,000 In Three Weeks

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

Noir Meets Superman

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

Google salutes cartoonist Charles Addams

In honor of the cartoonist's 100th birthday.

NYT Essay On Tweeting

Why Authors Tweet.

'11 Reflections & '12 At A Glance

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?

Disruptions on Takeoff?

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

New Ebook Gifting Feature

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

Amazon UK adds hundreds of Kindle books

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

At The Debrief

Lawrence Block on Lenore Hart.

Chandler at Sotheby's

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.

Self-published authors find e-success

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

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

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

Kindle Fire sales

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

RIP: Joe Simon

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

Reaper Time

Josh Bazell’s BEAT THE REAPER Heads to HBO.

Readers Return to the Stores

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

Maybe A Little Too Much Info

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