Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Hudson woman 'attacks husband for being bad in bed' | News.com.au: "A US woman has been accused of stabbing her husband with scissors because she was unhappy with his performance in bed.

Michelle Thomas, 26, was arrested on Tuesday after police were called around 1am to the couple’s house in the east Texas town of Hudson, Lufkin Daily News reports.

The man told police Ms Thomas became angry with him after a sex session left her unsatisfied.

He said Ms Thomas grabbed a pair of scissors and began slashing him, according to court papers."

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Here's the Plot of the Next National Treasure Movie

Misplaced from space | Chronicle | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "They have been able to determine that 90 or so nations cannot account for the precious pebbles.

“The moon rocks are disappearing,” Gutheinz said. “Most of the ones that are now truly gone will probably be gone forever.”"

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Willie Nelson statue and boulevard planned for Austin | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "Country music great Willie Nelson is being honored in Austin with plans for a guitar-in-hand bronze statue and a street named in his honor.
The city council on May 27 is scheduled to vote on dubbing a stretch of 2nd Street “Willie Nelson Boulevard.”"

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Salad bowls?

Colleyville police: Salad bowls were part of bizarre bomb recipe |
Dallas - Fort Worth News | wfaa.com
| Crime: "Federal agents on Wednesday arrested the ex-husband of a Colleyville woman who found an explosive device on her front porch last Sunday.

The bomb — which police now say was manufactured using gunpowder, bullets and salad bowls — did not go off."

Today's Western Movie Poster

Top 10: Fictional Movie Foods and Drinks

Top 10: Fictional Movie Food and Drink - Los Angeles Restaurants and Dining - Squid Ink

And Stay off their Damn Lawns!

Six Movies With Violent Geezers | The Six Pack | Screen | Philadelphia Weekly

Hat tip to Jeff Segal.

Forgotten Books: EPITAPH FOR A LOSER -- James T. Doyle

Epitaph for a Loser (Walker, 1986) was James T. Doyle's second book (and as far as I know the last) about private-eye Paul Broder. I haven't read the first one, and I probably wouldn't have read this one if I hadn't seen it on the shelf at a thrift store the other day and picked it up. I wasn't familiar with Doyle and his work, and Broder's not listed among the p. i.'s on the Thrilling Detective website. So I figured this must be a genuinely forgotten book.

If Epitaph for a Loser had been published by in the '50s, it would have been advertised as being "in the Spillane vein" because it's about a private-eye with a .45, and there's some heavy-duty violence in it. It's set in Florida, and I detect a little John D. MacDonald influence, too. Broder's an ex-cop who's doing okay in the p. i. game, not getting rich but getting by. One night his former brother-in-law shows up with a story that Broder doesn't think is quite right. He needs to disappear, he says, because of his gambling debts. Broder gives him some cash, and the guy leaves. Soon his body's found, and Broder thinks the cops have closed the books on the murder too quickly. So does Broder's ex-wife, who hires him to look into things.

As you can guess, there are a lot of people who don't want the investigation to continue, including a bent cop, his Broder's ex-wife's new husband, and a bunch of mobsters. Broder, in the way that fictional p. i.'s have, is undeterred, even when he's savagely beaten and tortured.

You might be way ahead of Broder on the way to the final twist in the tale, but Doyle tells it all well, and Broder's a fine first-person narrator. If you're in the mood for a p. i. story like they don't write anymore, this is a good one.

Some Great Covers Here

Some good commentary, too.

KILLER COVERS: Brown Out

Curucu Beast of the Amazon

I Knew this Already

BBC News - Neanderthal genes 'survive in us'

Hat tip to Richard Prosch.

Top 10 Greatest Science Fiction Detective Novels Of All Time

Top 10 Greatest Science Fiction Detective Novels Of All Time - Books - io9

Link via Mystery Fanfare.

They Probably Needed the Money for Lawn Care

Houston man, 72, charged with drug trafficking | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "A 72-year-old man and three others 55 and older were arrested on drug charges after authorities found cocaine and marijuana at a home in Brazoria County earlier this week, authorities said."

Gator Update (Galveston Edition)

Big gator nabbed near Galveston's East Beach |
khou.com
| khou.com Local News: "A big alligator was captured near Galveston’s East Beach Wednesday morning.

It was spotted in the middle of Boddecker Road near Apffel Park."

10 Unfilmable SF Novels

Unfilmable SF Novels

I like #10, which proves the point, I guess.

Life Imitates "Art"

Wild goose chase nets emu near downtown Rock Hill | The Herald - Rock Hill, SC

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Soon to Be a SyFy Movie!

CMT : News : Piranha Reported Loose at Opry Mills Mall: "A pair of piranha reportedly escaped from their aquarium during Nashville's recent flood. According to police reports quoted by television station WKRN, at least two flesh-eating piranha slipped out of the huge 150,000-gallon tank at Aquarium Restaurant in the Opry Mills mall and are swimming in the flooded hallways, where water remains waist-deep to neck-deep in spots."

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Sounds Good to Me

Surprise superfoods: Forget blueberries. Dieticians say popcorn and pork scratchings are bursting with nutrients - and could be GOOD for you
| Mail Online: "Forget blueberries. Dieticians say popcorn and pork scratchings are bursting with nutrients - and could be GOOD for you"

Today's Western Movie Poster

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Girl catches Disney's grammar error - UPI.com: "A Texas fourth-grader who spotted a grammatical error at Florida's Walt Disney World said officials wrote back to her saying the mistake would be corrected.

Hannah Estes said she was waiting in line with her family for the Primeval Whirl at the park's Animal Kingdom when she saw a sign counting down to the ride read 'one seconds,' WESH-TV, Orlando, Fla., reported Wednesday.

'Because I learned in Ms. Bennett's class that a singular number can't be with a plural word, and so that's what it was, and it wasn't right,' Hannah said."

Croc Update (You're Not Safe Anywhere Edition)

NJ Woman Lauren Failla Fatally Attacked By Crocodile While Vacationing in India - WPIX: "A New Jersey woman vacationing in India was killed Tuesday in an apparent crocodile attack.

According to family and friends, 25-year-old Lauren Failla was fatally attacked by the reptile while snorkeling in Port Blair which lies off the coast of India."

Another of My Old Reviews Has Surfaced

� A 1001 MIDNIGHTS review: PETER O’DONNELL - Pieces of Modesty.

Caught on Tape

This is a very long article, but it has enough material for your next five police procedural novels.

The NYPD Tapes: Inside Bed-Stuy's 81st Precinct - Page 1 - News - New York - Village Voice: "Two years ago, a police officer in a Brooklyn precinct became gravely concerned about how the public was being served. To document his concerns, he began carrying around a digital sound recorder, secretly recording his colleagues and superiors."

The Night Walker

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

One partner's male birth status allows two women to get married - El Paso Times: "Can a person born a man but who is now a woman marry another woman?

Sabrina J. Hill and her longtime girlfriend, Therese 'Tee' Bur, were legally married Monday in San Antonio after being unable to get a marriage license in El Paso."

The Man with the Golden Gun

Diamond-Studded Guns Part of Mexican Drug Lord's Haul: "Police in Mexico's Jalisco state got quite a surprise when they raided a hideout that they believe belongs to Valencia drug cartel boss Oscar Nava Valencia, they found 31 diamond-studded handguns. The gold and silver plated handguns were studded with diamonds and ornately engraved. Some bore the word lobo (Spanish for wolf) and others are decorated with wolf pictures. One gun bears a Ferrari logo."

Photos at the link.

News from the Criminal Element

Dear Crime Fiction Fan:

You've been with us over the years, from Maisie Dobbs to Gretchen Lowell, and for every great crime in between. We'd like to express our gratitude for your continued interest and support.

We're launching a brand-new consumer e-newsletter to offer you more! More in-depth articles, intimate author Q&As, history about mysteries, exclusive content, and monthly sweep offers. To lead the charge, we've enlisted former Wall Street Journal reporter Robert Hughes. For over a decade, he served as the culture expert at the Journal. He was the paper's theater reporter, reviewed books, and wrote on publishing, the art and auction markets, television, music, film, and philanthropy. With Bob, we have an experienced journalist who can get to the heart of every crime we offer you!

What's more exciting is that we're widening our scope! Picador Crime and Minotaur Books are joining forces, along with the rest of Macmillan's imprints: St. Martin's Press, Henry Holt, andFarrar Straus & Giroux . Our goal is to be the preeminent source for mystery news.

The first issue is coming May 11th...

So be on the lookout!

For more information, visit: criminalelement.com

A Review of Interest (to Me, Anyway)

Ed Gorman's blog: Forgotten Books: Blood Marks by Bill Crider

I'm Shocked! -- Shocked!

Lawsuit slams Donald Trump's online business school as a ripoff: "The No. 1 lesson students learn at Donald Trump's online business program is How To Max Out Credit Cards 101, a new lawsuit charges.

A California businesswoman says that lured by the Trump name, she took bogus seminars at Trump University that destroyed her credit - and taught her almost nothing about real estate."

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Long Island Leads the Way

Long Island cops nearly gun down actors playing roles of robbers at Bellmore store

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Everybody Needs a Mummy

Pressconnects - Mummified baby corpse missing from NH grave site: "The mummified body of a baby, kept by a family for nearly a century before a judge ordered the remains to be buried, has been removed from a cemetery, police said Tuesday.

A cemetery visitor on Monday reported that a grave appeared to have been unearthed, police Sgt. John Thomas said. The corpse of 'Baby John' has not been recovered, he said.

The mummified body had been kept for years by Charles Peavey. He had said the family had the mummy, possibly the stillborn son of a great-great-uncle, for 80 to 90 years and considered it a family heirloom."

Today's Western Movie Poster

Dressed for Success

SLPD: Woman Wears Fuzzy Slippers In Robbery - Houston News Story - KPRC Houston: "Police need help to find a woman who robbed a Sugar Land drug store while wearing fuzzy slippers, KPRC Local 2 reported Tuesday."

Especially in Noir

Beautiful women can be bad for your health, according to scientists - Telegraph: "Beautiful women can be bad for your health, according to scientists"

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

Cinco De Mayo Games For Kids Party & Invitations

I Saw What You Did

Philly Leads the Way -- Part 2

Phillies reliever Ryan Madson needs toe surgery | Comcast.net: "Phillies reliever Ryan Madson will have surgery Tuesday on the broken right toe he injured when he kicked a chair after blowing a save."

Philly Leads the Way

Phillies Fan Gets Shock to His System - Write That Down - Comcast.net: "Ballpark security has officially taken a step in a new direction. Run onto the field and you no longer get tackled or forcefully pushed to the ground. Instead, you get Tasered. Welcome to the 2010 version of Philadelphia fan control.

At least that's what happened Monday night during a game between the Cardinals and Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. A teenage fan ran onto the field, made a couple Barry Sanders cuts in the outfield to elude officers and darted towards the infield. Then ... zap!

Down went the perpetrator, much to the delight of the crowd and the players. Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard had to bury his head in his glove to mask the laughter after a Philly police officer hit the youngster with some 50,000 volts."

A Great Baseball Story

Richard Justice: Negro Leaguer has a 'uniquely American life' | Richard Justice: Columnist | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "When it became clear that baseball’s color line was going to be broken, Negro League owners were in agreement on one thing.

“They said I’d be the perfect person to do it,’’ Monte Irvin said. “I was easy to get along with. I had a little education. I could play every position. But I went to the Service for three years. When I came back in 1946, I got an ear infection, and it took me awhile to regain my former talent.’’

Irvin is 91 now, living in a Houston retirement community, clear of mind, lively of spirit. He still has the arms, hands and presence of a great athlete. He has no regrets about how it worked out."

Must-See TV

History, Stan Lee Search for 'Superhumans' | TheCelebrityCafe.com: "The History Channel is jumping on the comic book bandwagon.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, History and comic legend Stan Lee will create a series that hunts for real life X-Men.

Stan Lee's Superhumans will look for real people with extraordinary abilities due to genetic differences. Lee will co-host the series with the world's most flexible man Daniel Browning Smith."

Hat tip to John Neal.

Peter O’Donnell, R. I. P.

Peter O’Donnell, Creator Of Modesty Blaise, Passes Bleeding Cool Comic Book News and Rumors: "Peter O’Donnell died last night, after celebrating his ninetieth birthday a week ago.

He’s best known for creating the classic crime character Modesty Blaise whith artist Jim Holdaway. The continuing thriller strips originally appeared in London newspaper, the Evening Standard in 1963 and ran for almost forty years."

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Houston tax office filing bogus returns for homeless people to make big bucks |
khou.com
| khou.com Local News

I'll Just Have a Burger, I Think

Korean restaurant's live Octopus dish has animal rights activists squirming: "The tentacles writhe on the plate, their suction cups latching on to chopsticks, fingers, or in the case of the colleague who joined me for dinner, the roof of one's mouth."

Hat tip to Art Scott.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

America's Fattest Cities : Men's Health Metrogrades: "Go to Google Maps, type in 'United States,' and you'll be reminded of just how big Texas is. But what you can't see is the size of the state's citizenry: Five Lone Star cities are among the nation's fattest, with Corpulent Christi at the top."

Hat tip to Doc Quatermass

Today's Western Movie Poster

Jonah Hex Motion Comics: Season 1, Episode 1 "Two-Gun Mojo - Chapter One"

Amazon.com: Jonah Hex Motion Comics: Season 1, Episode 1 "Two-Gun Mojo - Chapter One": Video On Demand

The Lansdale version.

11 Coolest Crossovers In Movies

11 Coolest Crossovers In Movies - Mania.com

Another hat tip to Toby O'Brien at Inner Toob.

Top 10 Most Expensive Sales on AbeBooks for April

Discover the Top 10 Most Expensive Sales on AbeBooks for April 2010

Trog

Not That There's Anything Wrong with That

Top Ten Almost-Gay TV Couples | Ranker - A World of Lists

Hat tip to Toby O'Brien at the Inner Toob.

News from Mystery Scene

Mystery Scene is welcoiming spring with a new issue and a brand new website. Go there for web-exclusive content like Tom Nolan's piece"Watchlist: A Serial Thriller"about the collaboration between 21 of the world's best thriller writers including Jeffery Deaver, Lisa Scottoline, and Joseph Finder.City of Dragons author Kelli Stanley was kind enough to dub the new site "really cool" when she stopped in at the Barnes & Noble Mystery forum hosted by Mystery Scene last week. We hope you like it, too!

For Ed Gorman

Jimmy Wakely - Comic Book Cowboys, by Boyd Magers: "Slightly different in approach from other cowboy comics based on western film stars, Jimmy was picturized as being a western movie actor who, off camera, gets involved with adventures in both the modern and real West; the editors didn’t seem to care which as long as it was a good story. The opening page in issue #1 (Sept./Oct. ‘49) even mentions Monogram, and many stories feature directors, cameramen and leading ladies (all of them fictional)."

Lots more info and a sample page from the comic at the link.

Lynn Redgrave, R. I. P.

Lynn Redgrave, 67, Is Dead - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com: "Lynn Redgrave, the theater, film and television actress and scion of the Redgrave acting clan, has died. She was 67. The death was confirmed by her publicist, Rick Miramontez, who said that Ms. Redgrave died Sunday night at her home in Kent, Conn. A cause of death was not immediately given."

Gutter Books: A New Publisher

This is good news. Check the link for more info.

Gutter Books: "The creators of Out of the Gutter magazine bring you Gutter Books, a new publisher dedicated to delivering the hardest and smartest crime thrillers and street novels available anywhere."

Old Dogs -- Donna Moore

If you've read Donna Moore's Go to Helna Handbasket, then you know how funny she can be, and now she's done it again. I'm not sure there'll be a funnier crime novel this year than Old Dogs. It's billed as a screwball mystery. While reading it, I was reminded a bit of What's Up, Doc, the film with Ryan O'Neal and Barbara Streisand from long ago. It's not rocks that keep moving around in this book, however. It's dogs. Not real dogs, but a couple of Tibetan statues of dogs. Along with the fake statues of dogs.

Another couple of old dogs are the two ex-hookers who want to steal the dogs from a Glasgow museum. La Contessa Letitzia di Ponzo and her sister Signora Teodora Grisiola. Okay, those aren't their real names. They're Letty and Dora, and since they're in their 70s they're a bit old for the hooking game. They're con artists now.

And they aren't the only ones after those dogs. Toss in their patsy, a Buddhist monk, a murderer, a couple of crematory workers, and a few others. Add a corpse that gets around almost as fast as the dogs (real and fake) or sometimes faster. There's more, but you need to read it for yourself. I see Judy Dench and Helen Mirren in the movie. Or Maggie Smith. They'd be perfect.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox

I really enjoyed this one. When he and his wife are caught in a trap after killing a couple of chickens, Fox promises he'll reform if they escape. That's the end of the scene, and when we pick them up two (human) years later, they're living in their hole with their son. Fox is a columnist for the local paper, but he wants more. He wants to live in a tree, and he wants to resume his criminal career. He has, of course a Master Plan. Things go pretty well, at first, but you know how capers go. Complications ensue.

I liked just about everything about The Fantastic Mr. Fox. The stop-action animation is excellent, the voice actors are great (especially George Clooney as Mr. Fox), and the movie never slows down for a minute. If you need a smile, this movie should give you a lot more than just one.

Today's Western Movie Poster

Happy Birthday, Pete Seeger!

Pete Seeger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Peter 'Pete' Seeger (born May 3, 1919) is an American folk singer and an iconic figure in the mid-20th century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably the 1950 recording of Leadbelly's 'Goodnight, Irene', which topped the charts for 13 weeks in 1950.[1] Members of The Weavers were blacklisted during the McCarthy Era. In the 1960s, he re-emerged on the public scene as a prominent singer of protest music in support of international disarmament, civil rights, and for environmental causes."

Donner Party Update Update

The Donner Party: yes, there was cannibalism - latimes.com: "Based on the comments of the survivors, there simply is no rational dispute about cannibalism at the other Donner Party sites. People at those locations stayed alive by eating the bodies of the dead — an act of necessity and courage.

In other words, even if there was no cannibalism at Alder Creek, there was still cannibalism in the tale of the Donner Party."

There's Nothing Like Good News to Start the Week

Prevent Alzheimer's? No evidence you can: panel
| Reuters: "Fish oil, exercise and doing puzzles may all be good for the brain but there is no strong evidence that any of these can prevent Alzheimer's disease, an expert panel concluded on Wednesday.

Nor can any other supplements, drugs or social interaction, the independent panel meeting at the National Institutes of Health outside Washington concluded.

The group of experts looked at the dozens of studies that have suggested ways to prevent Alzheimer's -- a devastating and incurable breakdown of the brain -- and found none were strong enough to constitute proof."

Torch Song

Furio Scarpelli, R. I. P.

"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" co-writer dies | pal-item.com | Palladium-Item: "The Oscar-nominated screenwriter Furio Scarpelli, who co-wrote some of the best Italian comedies of the post-war period and who ventured into the spaghetti-western genre with the 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,' died Wednesday, his family said. He was 90."

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Police shoot charging bull on I-30 in Arlington |
News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News
| Latest News: "Arlington police shot and killed a bull that found its way onto Interstate 30 on Saturday evening, brought traffic to a standstill and menaced animal control workers and others at the scene."

Needle

I've just finished reading the first issue of Needle, a new print magazine of crime fiction. Most of the writers in the issue were familiar to me, and will be to you if you read crime fiction in on-line zines, so I knew what to expect: straightforward stories of the dark side. No cozy stories, but no stories where the authors are going out of their way to shock the readers. I found one of the stories (Patti Abbott's) quite funny.

Needle's first issue isa solid outing, and I mentioned Hilary Davidson's story in an earlier post, but if you like hardboiled crime tales, you can't go wrong with any of them, though. I believe that one of them, Dave Zeltserman's, is a reprint, whereas the others are all originals.

You can't find the magazine on the newsstand, but you can buy it on Lulu. It's a classy production, from the cover to the interior illustrations to the contents. Check it out.

Stairway to Hell -- Charlie Williams

This is one of those books that's almost impossible to describe, but I'll give it a try. Let's assume that back in the '70s, Jimmy Page (yes, that Jimmy Page) was a warlock and that he discovered a way to switch souls from one body to another. And let's assume that he did it.

In the present day, the novel is narrated by Rick Sutton (aka Rik Suntan), a singer with a cleft lip (but a great moustache) and every little talent. He believes that he has great talent, great sex appeal, and lots more. This is a very funny book, and a lot of the humor comes from Rik's narration, as he's a guy sublimely unaware of his shortcomings, completely unable to see himself as others see him.

When Rik loses his job at a local club, things start happening, most of them bad, and all of them extremely odd. Ted, Rik's manager, is gathering the people who, like Rik, have other people's souls (Rik, in case you're wondering, has David Bowie's). Ted's plan is to reverse the process. It's complicated, completely nuts, and, as I've said already, very funny. You definitely won't read another book like this for a while. If ever. Check it out.

And Stay off His Lawn!

Pensioner fined €14,000 for 'ass bombing' pool - The Local: "A pensioner from the state of Rhineland-Palatinate has reportedly been fined €14,000 for repeatedly doing Arschbomben, or “ass bombs,” the German equivalent of cannonballs, at a public swimming pool.

The retired 74-year-old teacher, identified as Axel G., appeared before the Alzey district court this week to appeal the fine for what daily Bild on Friday described as years of terrorising the local pool, where “ass bombs” are forbidden."

Link via Dave Barry's blog.

Criminal Genius of the Day

Shooting suspect arrested while trying to 'dine and ditch' at a Pappas Seafood restaurant - 5/01/10 - Houston News - abc13.com: "Police say the man ate dinner at a Pappa's Seafood on the East Freeway, then he tried to leave without paying. Police came to arrest him and discovered he was a man wanted for a shooting just a couple hours earlier."

Agatha Awards from Malice Domestic

Best Children's/Young Adult:
The Hanging Hill, by Chris Grabenstein

Best Nonfiction:
Dame Agatha's Shorts, by Elena Santangelo

Best Short Story:
"On the House," by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Best First Novel:
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley

Best Novel:
The Brutal Telling, by Louise Penny

Today's Western Movie Poster

Drink This

LUGOSI WINES: "Bela Lugosi created his unique characterization of Count Dracula on the Broadway stage in 1927 and brought it to the screen in 1931. One of the first members of the Screen Actors Guild, he was a true American film pioneer. Although Count Dracula never “drank” wine, Bela Lugosi, the man, had impeccable taste in wines. With the creation of the Bela Lugosi brand wines, the Lugosi family pays tribute to their patriarch, a man of distinction, while acknowledging the icon that will forever be - Dracula."

Hat tip to Jeff Segal.

Michael Connelly Update

Michael Connelly’s devils are in L.A.’s details - latimes.com: "Michael Connelly is looking to stage a kidnapping."

Nice, lengthy article about Connelly at the link.

Hat tip to Rick Robinson.

Mildred Pierce

New Joe Hannibal Story at BEAT to a PULP

BEAT to a PULP :: Apache Fog (a Joe Hannibal story) :: Wayne D. Dundee

Spinetingler Awards Update

2010 Spinetingler Award Best Novel: Legend WINNER | Spinetingler: "Spinetingler would like to congratulate all of the nominees and thank all of the voters. Just a reminder that a summary post with all of the winners will available this evening.

With 631 votes cast in this category the winner of the 2010 Spinetingler Award for the Best Novel: Legend is…

The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly"

Spinetingler would like to congratulate all of the nominees and thank all of the voters. Just a reminder that a summary post with all of the winners will available this evening.

With 642 votes cast in this category the winner of the 2010 Spinetingler Award for the Best Novel: New Voice is…

The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville

Spinetingler would like to congratulate all of the nominees and thank all of the voters. Just a reminder that a summary post with all of the winners will available this evening.

With 530 votes cast in this category the winner of the 2010 Spinetingler Award for the Best Novel: Rising Star is…

50 Grand by Adrian McKinty

Spinetingler Awards Update

2010 Spinetingler Award Best Short Story on the Web WINNER | Spinetingler: "Spinetingler would like to congratulate all of the nominees and thank all of the voters. Just a reminder that a summary post with all of the winners will available this evening.

With 532 votes cast in this category the winner of the 2010 Spinetingler Award for the Best Short Story on the Web is…

"Insatiable" by Hillary Davidson from Beat to a Pulp

Spinetingler Awards Update

2010 Spinetingler Award Best Cover WINNER | Spinetingler: "Spinetingler would like to congratulate all of the nominees and thank all of the voters. Just a reminder that a summary post with all of the winners will available this evening.

With 806 votes cast in this category the winner of the 2010 Spinetingler Award for the Best Cover is…

Finch written by Jeff VanderMeer. Cover Illustrated and designed by John Coulthart"

Podcast Interview with Michael Bracken

Podcast interview with mystery and short story writer Michael Bracken: "The 22nd episode of the Reading and Writing podcast features an interview with Michael Bracken, author of 11 books, including the novel All White Girls, and 1,200 shorter works."

Bracken's one of the busiest short story writers around. Check it out.

Spinetingler Awards Update

Special Services to the Industry and Community - Bookgasm

Best Reviewer - Lesa Holstine

Guest Blogger Jeffrey A. Cohen

The Killing of Mindi Quintana, by Jeffrey A. Cohen—An excerpt

The following is an excerpt from my new Philadelphia-set legal thriller, The Killing of Mindi Quintana. The scene takes place after Mindi’s murder, at the tail end of reporter Manny Sykes’s jailhouse interview with Freddy Builder, the accused. The crime was brutal, sensational and newsworthy. Media coverage of Freddy, a formerly obscure department store manager, is captivating the city. And Freddy is blossoming in the light and heat of public fascination. A new celebrity murderer is taking the stage—and rising to his role.

Excerpted from Chapter 16:

Freddy moved so that his back was against the cool wall again. He relaxed against it, enjoying the contrast to the overly heated cell while he listened to himself answer the reporter’s question, and his next and next, until he was sure the sun must be up though it was dim as ever where they were.

He sensed the reactions his answers engendered and knew they didn’t depend on Sykes’s belief in their truthfulness. In fact, Freddy was sure that much of what he said Sykes didn’t believe at all. Freddy didn’t need him to.

Because despite the dispassionate questioning, the crime Sykes had already written about was the alleged passionate one of a lover, a roar of revenge against beauty’s rejection, the explosion of an artist in corporate-American bondage. The buds of it all were in his stories so far. They were there in his hinting that Mindi was promiscuous. In his repetitious allusion to her father’s criminality. In the unquestioning acceptance of Freddy as blossoming writer. In his rendering of Chanet’s and the sympathetic credence given Freddy’s hatred of the store.

“To feel that much!” seemed to seep from the pauses in Freddy’s reconstructions, as Manny pointed and Freddy watered the buds. “Enough to kill her!” It obviously fascinated him. It fascinated them both.

And Manny would have had to admit, had he been privy to Freddy’s thinking, that he did see his stories in epic terms, and that when he didn’t, he figured out how to. It was how he made sense of things, how he knew he’d gotten them right. It was when the elements fell into place, and he knew he’d seen all the way through. It was how he had gained a readership and professional acclaim. How he got to the truth, since all truth was epic.

For both of them now, as they talked through the night, the antihero emerged further and was a type of tragic hero nonetheless. The type Manny appreciated and wrote about, and the type, without realizing it before, Freddy had known how to be.

He remembered thinking in the store that when he made it into gear he would know what to do. That he would be witty for reporters, pensive when appropriate, insightful always, and clever sometimes—and he was. That when people cared what he thought, he would think great things—and it was true. That when they came to him, he would know what to say—and he did. That when there was no question of his stature, they would admire his work. And he was sure now they would. He would be accepted as a writer now. He was sure of it.

Two weeks ago, Manfred R. Sykes would have sneered at a man forced to live his life in a department store. Now he was squinting in the dark hoping Freddy wouldn’t throw him out.

© Jeffrey A. Cohen 2010

For more information or to contact Jeffrey A. Cohen, author of The Killing of Mindi Quintana:

Website: www.JeffreyACohenBooks.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/JeffreyACohen

Twitter: www.twitter.com/jeffacohen

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2010 Spinetingler Award Best Mystery/Crime Fiction Press, Publisher or Imprint

2010 Spinetingler Award Best Mystery/Crime Fiction Press, Publisher or Imprint WINNER | Spinetingler: "Spinetingler would like to congratulate all of the nominees and thank all of the voters. Just a reminder that a summary post with all of the winners will available this evening.

With 516 votes cast in this category the winner of the 2010 Spinetingler Award for the Best Mystery/Crime Fiction Press, Publisher or Imprint is…

Busted Flush Press"

The Lineup 4 Now Accepting Submissions

If You Want to Know About My Life...: The Lineup 4 (2011) Submissions Open: "The general submission period for The Lineup 4 opens today and runs through July 31, 2010. We are open to poems 50 lines or less. Keep in mind that our chapbook pages are 6x9 inches with 1-inch margins all around."

Details at the link.

Derringer Award Winners

Short Mystery Fiction Society: 2010 SMFS Derringer Award Winners

Nominees and winners listed at the link.

YES They Can

High School Graduation: YES Prep Sends Every Senior To College - KIAH: "YES Prep Public Schools celebrated a momentous occasion Friday, graduating 100 percent of its seniors. Not only that, but for the 10th year in a row every single one of them is accepted to a four-year college or university.

For that reason, YES Prep doesn't just call it graduation, the school calls it college signing day.

However, this achievement isn't because the school is flooded with top performing public school students with private school money. YES Prep is a free public school. Ninety percent of the kids are first generation college bound students and 86 percent of them are low-income. Furthermore, most students enter the YES system at least one grade level behind in math and English skills."

Today's Western Movie Poster

Worst Movie Remakes?

Are these worst movie remakes of all time? - CNN.com

I kind of liked one of these.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Houston police beat Chinese diplomat - Washington Times: "China said Friday that a Chinese diplomat in the U.S. was beaten and injured by Houston police and urged an investigation to ensure diplomatic practices are not violated."

The 10 Most Expensive Poetry Books Ever Sold by AbeBooks

The Most Precious Poetry: "Even during national poetry month, we all to often hear there is little demand for poetry from today’s readers. But in the world of rare books, poets are revered by bibliophiles and collectors, and AbeBooks regularly sells examples of their finest work for four-figure prices. T.S. Eliot, Wilfred Owen, Charles Bukowski, Robert Frost and many other famous poetic names from the 20th century are in steady demand, while Robert Burns, William Blake, Lord Bryon, John Keats and William Wordsworth ensure 19th century poetry is not forgotten. And then there is Shakespeare and the two Johns – Milton and Donne.

From haikus to epics, from limericks to sonnets, from strict rhyme schemes to free verse, poetry is a vast genre covering countless subjects. Dip into the world of collectible poetry and also discover the 10 most expensive poetry books ever sold by AbeBooks."

Westworld