BTAP #76: Miles to Go by Edward A. Grainger

I came up with the character Gideon Miles after reading the unsung adventures of Bass Reeves, one of the first, if not the first, African American U.S. Marshals of the Old West. As a matter of fact, the scene where Miles plays possum is my homage to the true life Reeves who pretended to be dead to get the drop on a wanted man he was tracking.

This story I’m spinning (hero worship, on the trail of a bad man) is not new but I hope I’ve told it well and it's entertaining. Please let me know, by dropping over to BEAT to a PULP and leaving a comment on "Miles to Go."

Special thanks to Matt Mayo and dMix for their invaluable assist on this story.

On another note, the Edward A. Grainger pen name is a tribute to my grandfather who was also a writer. I got the idea from Gary Dobbs/Jack Martin and thought it was a marvelous way to pay my respect.

Coming soon: "The Little Boy Inside" by Glenn Gray

Photo-Finish Friday -- Early Autumn

Taken 10-21-2007 by dMix. My Charmer snapped this at the Shenandoah Hot Air Ballon Festival we attended one early and cold fall morning. You should definitly click on to enlarge this striking shot.

PFF is the creation of Leah J. Utas.

Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend.

The Return of Paul S. Powers

I'm getting ready to do the holiday shake and won't be blogging much this weekend. But I would be remiss if I didn't mention that tomorrow, A TWIST OF NOIR's editor, Christopher Grant, has a real gem from the late great pulp writer Paul S. Powers and his son, John. Thanks to Laurie, I had the privledge to read "Wine Without Music" beforehand and I recommend this tremendous story. I find it very cool that Mr. Powers is still in the game, hitting homers after all these years. And it's not everyday you get to leave a comment for a writer from the golden era of pulp. So, get over there and run those numbers up!

Forgotten Music: Distant Drums by Jim Reeves

My old man was a huge fan of Jim Reeves (August 20, 1923–July 31, 1964) and some of my earliest memories are hearing songs like "Danny Boy," "He'll Have to Go," and "Welcome to My World." But this Reeves song that came out of the hissing-n-crackling speakers of our 70s record player is the one that stuck with me most:



"Distant Drums was" a pothumous hit for Reeves. From Wikipedia:

In 1966, Reeves' record "Distant Drums" went to No. 1 in the British singles chart and remained there for five weeks, beating competition from The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" and "Eleanor Rigby" (a double-sided "A" release), and the Small Faces' hit, "All Or Nothing" as well as holding off various recordings from living artists already in the UK charts from the coveted No. 1 spot.

The May 2010 edition of the Forgotten Music Project is hosted by Scott D. Parker.

The Amazing BEAT to a PULP Stamp Giveaway!

Details forthcoming...

Two Sentence Tuesday

I have a western coming up this weekend at BEAT to a PULP with these lines:

A fur trader with his hand lassoed around a saloon girl clamored for a refill and Knox excused himself to oblige. Miles sipped his whiskey, enjoying his last bit of peace before his manhunt for Van Jones began.

*

Here are two from the Hard Case Crime I'm reading called The Corpse Wore Pasties by Jonny Porkpie.

"Porky, honey, baby, sweetheart, be careful what you accuse me of, especially in here," she whispered. "You could be on the sidewalk and bleeding in five seconds..."

On some more blatant self promotion, I'm very pleased to say BTAP will be publishing a short story from Hard Case guru, Charles Ardai, titled "A Free Man." His tale will be one of twenty seven in the upcoming anthology BEAT to a PULP: Round 1.

For more TwoFers, click on the Women Of Mystery.

Btw, what are you reading?

I Found Him At 39.070388 N,-76.545241W

Ladies and gentlemen, Shea. Kieran Shea.