Saturday, February 18, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
This one got the "Best Thriller" award from Preditors and Editors. Check it out.Amazon.com: The Bitch eBook: Les Edgerton: Kindle Store: The Bitch explores the dark choices that Jake, as a two-time offender faces to save both his life and his soul—life imprisonment if caught for the third time under the federal ha-bitch-ual criminal law—known to outlaws as "The Bitch." Choices that may cost him everything and everyone he loves. What are the limits of loyalty? What is the spiritual process by which a savvy hair designer deteriorates into a mass murderer? A work in the cold existentialist tradition of Sartre and Camus, and the transgressive fiction of Celine, The Bitch struggles for answers and, on finding them, a way out.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Les Edgerton is an ex-con who spent two years in prison for burglary at the Pendleton Reformatory in Indiana. Since his release, he has earned a B.A. from Indiana University and an MFA in Writing from Vermont College. This will be the thirteenth book he has published, with several more forthcoming later this year and next, including a short story collection, an existential noir novel, a new black comedy novel, and his memoir. His career for many years as an outlaw and criminal lend an air of rare verisimilitude to his crime novels.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Les Edgerton is an ex-con who spent two years in prison for burglary at the Pendleton Reformatory in Indiana. Since his release, he has earned a B.A. from Indiana University and an MFA in Writing from Vermont College. This will be the thirteenth book he has published, with several more forthcoming later this year and next, including a short story collection, an existential noir novel, a new black comedy novel, and his memoir. His career for many years as an outlaw and criminal lend an air of rare verisimilitude to his crime novels.
Redemption: Hunters -- James Reasoner
As most of you know, I've known James Reasoner for a long time. And sure enough, that's a blurb from me on the cover of this book. Neither one of those things has influenced this review, however.Hunters is the second book in Reasoner's series about the town of Redemption, Kansas. It's not a big place, but it's big enough for a lot of things to happen there. In the first book, Bill Harvey, through a series of events not exactly within his control, is appointed marshal of the town, even though he's very young and just a fiddle-footed cowboy. He's started to settle into the job, but he's not really secure in it. He's about to find out just how complicated the job and be and how much responsibility he has.
That's enough about that. The book is packed with color and action. Buffalo hunters, the U. S. Cavalry, and some seriously angry Indians are involved. The whole town is at risk. And if that's not enough, there are some really bad men in town who plan to take advantage of the situation and pull off a big score. The tension and the stakes are high, and Harvey's going to need a lot of help to save the town.
There's more than action here, however. The townspeople from the previous book are back, including Harvey's wife, Ellen. More is about the character of several of them. Some new folks come to town, too, and I'm particularly fond of one of them. I'm ready to take another trip to Redemption and see what happens there next, and everybody who reads this one will likely feel the same..
Heres the Plot for Your Next Noir Thriller
I’m paid to see if your woman cheats | The Sun: Jack Knowles is a honey-trapper — a master seducer paid to prove someone's other half is two-timing. Suspicious men hire Jack to catch out their unsuspecting partner — and these jealous men dish out a lot of dosh for his service.
Friday, February 17, 2012
No Comment Department
Astros' Colt .45 Throwback Jerseys Will Not Include the Pistol - Houston News: The Astros are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, and it will include wearing Colt .45 throwback jerseys for Friday home games.
The shirts will look just like those worn during the club's first season, except for one thing: They won't include the distinctive pistol that was part of the logo.
The shirts will look just like those worn during the club's first season, except for one thing: They won't include the distinctive pistol that was part of the logo.
Double-D Double Cross -- Christa Faust
Because of the subtitle (Butch Fatale: Dick Dyke) I'm guessing that Double-D Double Cross is the first book in a series. It's Christa Faust's hat tip to the Shell Scott adventures of Richard S. Prather, so that gives you an idea of what to expect. But only an idea, because the winking sex in the Prather novels is replaced with the real hardcore thing. In fact, this book opens with a bang (so to speak) in a truly in-your-face (so to speak) sex scene. When Butch is hired to find a missing woman, things, as you might expect, don't go exactly as planned. The result is fast, dirty, and funny, with a complicated mystery plot and an over-the-top climax (so to speak) that will leave you limp (so to speak). If you have an e-reader, and if you aren't easily offended, this one's a must-read.
Con DFW
By the time you read this, Judy and I will be on our way to Dallas for Con DFW, a dandy regional SF convention that we've been attending, weather and health permitting, for a good many years now. We always have a great time, and we're looking forward to seeing some friends and hanging out. The blog will go on as if I'm still paying attention, thanks to the magic of being able to schedule things in advance. I won't be getting to much e-mail, however, and the spambots might have a field day. Or maybe not. Out of the blue, Google has made it much tougher to sign in and comment. I'm sure that will discourage regular commenters as much or more than it will discourage the spambots. Drat. At any rate, things should get back to normal (whatever that is) around here on Monday.
John Carter in Comics
The SF Site: Nexus Graphica by Rick Klaw: Four-Color Skies Over Barsoom: John Carter in Comics
Forgotten Books: Campus Doll -- Edwin West (Donald E. Westlake)
Today's "Forgotten Books" posts are about Donald E. Westlake, in anticipation of the publication The Comedy is Finished by Hard Case Crime. Westlake could (and did) write just about everything, including a number of sleaze books. This is a repeat of an earlier post, but I felt it fit today's theme well.
I don't know if Donald E. Westlake used the Edwin West name often, but he used it on at least five books for Monarch in the early '60s. One of them was Campus Doll.
Westlake and Lawrence Block wrote a lot of books like this for various sleaze publishers, and they (and others) shared a few in-jokes. For example, the setting of this book is Clifton College, which figures in many of Block's novels from around the same time. If you can believe these books, Clifton was indeed a swinging campus. There's also a mention of a lousy movie called A Sound of Distant Drums, which turns up all the time. Charles Ardai even pays homage to it in his recent Fifty-to-One. [It's mentioned in The Comedy is Finished, too.]
The plot here is similar (very similar) to numerous other books from this period by Westlake and Block. Jackie's a not-so-nice girl whose parents can suddenly not afford to send her to Clifton. Her date for the evening, the rascally Rick Marshall, suggests that she start charging for what she used to give for free. "That'll be ten dollars, Rick," she says, and her new career has begun.
Jackie is quite the businesswoman, and Rick turns into a brutal pimp. When the business expands, Jackie takes in another woman, Rita, and Jackie suddenly realizes that all her trouble is caused by men. She decides that what she needs is a good woman. Before long (this is a short book, and nothing takes long), Jackie has a house full of women, one of whom is working with Rick to sell (gasp!) marijuana. One of the profs from Clifton falls for Jackie. Then things start to go wrong all at once. Jackie decides that the way out is to have the prof kill Rick. And so on. There's no happy ending here, folks. It reminded me of nothing so much as the ending of a hot-rod novel by Henry Gregor Felsen.
It's always interesting to read something by a favorite writer from the period when he was starting out. Campus Doll isn't going to win any literary prizes, and it's not going to do a thing to increase Westlake's reputation. It was probably written very quickly. Maybe over the weekend. But it's slick and short and fun to read as a literary and cultural artifact. It has a nice cover, too.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Uh-Oh
Flavorwire: That goofy, 1980s-riffic story about romance on the wrong side of the tracks, Valley Girl, is being remade into a musical feature film. Deadline is reporting that commercial director Clay Weiner will be shooting the story that follows a punk-esque guy and a bubbly Valley girl (with a jerky boyfriend) as they try to navigate their mismatched love connection.
Gary Carter, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Gary Carter, the slugging catcher known as Kid for the sheer joy he took in playing baseball, who entered the Hall of Fame as a Montreal Expo but who most famously helped propel the Mets to their dramatic 1986 World Series championship, died Thursday. He was 57.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Guys, Do Not Read This
thetelegraph.com.au: A BRITISH tourist was bitten "down under" by a killer snake while answering a call of nature in the bush.
The reptile sunk its fangs into Jackson Scott's testicle as he squatted in the dark.
But when he begged best mate Roddy Andrews to suck the venom out, his pal refused, reports The Sun.
The reptile sunk its fangs into Jackson Scott's testicle as he squatted in the dark.
But when he begged best mate Roddy Andrews to suck the venom out, his pal refused, reports The Sun.
Russell Arms, R. I. P.
News: Actor, singer and author Russell Arms, 92, of Hamilton, Ill., died Monday at his home.
Arms began his career on radio, moving up to minor screen roles during World War II as a contract player with Warner Brothers and later as a freelance performer, mostly in Westerns.
He was well-known for his 1957 hit single, “Cinco Robles (Five Oaks),” which entered the charts on Jan. 12, 1957, and stayed for 15 weeks, peaking at No. 22. He also released an album “Where Can A Wanderer Go” in 1957.
From 1952 to 1957, Arms was best known as a vocalist on “Your Hit Parade,” an NBC television series that reviewed the popular songs of the day and on which a regular cast of vocalists would perform the top seven songs of the week.
Arms began his career on radio, moving up to minor screen roles during World War II as a contract player with Warner Brothers and later as a freelance performer, mostly in Westerns.
He was well-known for his 1957 hit single, “Cinco Robles (Five Oaks),” which entered the charts on Jan. 12, 1957, and stayed for 15 weeks, peaking at No. 22. He also released an album “Where Can A Wanderer Go” in 1957.
From 1952 to 1957, Arms was best known as a vocalist on “Your Hit Parade,” an NBC television series that reviewed the popular songs of the day and on which a regular cast of vocalists would perform the top seven songs of the week.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog: Democratic Party candidate for Hidalgo County Precinct 1 Constable Robert “Bobby” Maldonado has a little problem. He’s been charged with money-laundering, as police found money in the trunk of his car.
Kasey Lansdale Update
Everything Nac: Singer, songwriter Kasey Lansdale will host a three hour workshop designed to give performers, producers, & songwriters a unique learning experience opportunity to work with multiple Grammy Award winner, and the only son of John R. Cash and June Carter Cash, John Carter Cash.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Keep off our lawns!
No Comment Department
The Chronicle of Higher Education: "Wikipedia is not 'truth,' Wikipedia is 'verifiability' of reliable sources. Hence, if most secondary sources which are taken as reliable happen to repeat a flawed account or description of something, Wikipedia will echo that."
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
If you've ever dreamed of Paul Levine, Lee Goldberg, and Joel Goldman in a threesome, here you go. Three novels in one package. Check it out: Amazon.com: Three To Get Deadly eBook: Lee Goldberg, Paul Levine, Joel Goldman: Kindle Store
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . . .
Valentine’s Day Snub Prompts Boyfriend Attack | The Smoking Gun: FEBRUARY 15--Angered that her boyfriend did not buy her a Valentine’s Day gift, an Ohio woman last night attacked the man, who barricaded himself inside a bedroom as she threatened to stab him with a kitchen knife, police allege.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Free for two days only!
One afternoon 13 year-old Billy Shannon comes home to a living nightmare. His mother being brutally murdered is only the beginning...
20 years later, Bill Shannon is now a cop in Cambridge, Massachusetts. As the twenty-year anniversary of his mother's death is approaching, women are being murdered in the same horrific grisly fashion. And while this is going on, he's having blackouts which only seem to be getting worse...
Everything seems to be pointing to one of two possibilities: Shannon has gone insane or his mom's killer is back to his old tricks. Except if it's mom's killer, he's come back a long way to do these new killings... all the way from the grave.
I'm Shocked! -- Shocked! . . .
. . . that drugs are being sold on and off a college campus! 17 Students Arrested in TCU Drug Bust
Well, Duh
The Sun |News: A WOMAN who has eaten only cheese and tomato pizza for 31 years has been told she could DIE unless she quits her bizarre dining habit.
Dory Previn, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Dory Previn, the lyricist for three Oscar-nominated songs who as a composer and performer mined her difficult childhood, bouts of mental illness and a very public divorce to create a potent and influential personal songbook, died on Tuesday at her home in Southfield, Mass. She was 86.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Give a Guy a Break
The Mercury - The Voice of Tasmania: Despite his background, Read said he believed it was insulting he was considered a risk to children.
I'll Have What He's Having
Mail Online: President Eisenhower had three secret meetings with aliens, former Pentagon consultant claims
Ex-President met with extra-terrestrials on three separate occasions at New Mexico air base
Eisenhower and FBI officials organised the meetings by sending out 'telepathic messages'
Ex-President met with extra-terrestrials on three separate occasions at New Mexico air base
Eisenhower and FBI officials organised the meetings by sending out 'telepathic messages'
Uh-Oh
EW.com: Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal project just got a direct-to-series order. NBC has picked up 13 episodes of the thriller TV series based on Thomas Harris’ classic cannibal serial killer.
Logline: “One-hour contemporary thriller series featuring the classic characters from Thomas Harris’ novel Red Dragon – FBI agent Will Graham and his mentor Dr. Hannibal Lecter – who are re-introduced at the beginning of their budding relationship.”
Logline: “One-hour contemporary thriller series featuring the classic characters from Thomas Harris’ novel Red Dragon – FBI agent Will Graham and his mentor Dr. Hannibal Lecter – who are re-introduced at the beginning of their budding relationship.”
Uh-Oh
EW.com: CBS has found its Sherlock Holmes. The network has tapped Jonny Lee Miller to play the iconic detective in its modern-day reboot of the character.\
The former Eli Stone star will play Holmes in the CBS drama pilot Elementary, which has Holmes solving crimes in New York City. Miller also recently did an arc on Showtime’s Dexter.
The former Eli Stone star will play Holmes in the CBS drama pilot Elementary, which has Holmes solving crimes in New York City. Miller also recently did an arc on Showtime’s Dexter.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
CBS Dallas / Fort Worth: A Dallas woman says TSA agents repeatedly asked her to step back into a body scanning machine at DFW International Airport. “I feel like I was totally exposed,” said Ellen Terrell, who is a wife and mother. “They wanted a nice good look.”
No Comment Department
The Washington Post: In text message after text message, FBI agents and their key informant joked about sex, booty calls, prostitutes, cigars, the Village People, the informant’s wives and an agent’s girlfriend. They even pondered who might play their roles in a movie based on their sting.
Psssst, Kid . . . Want a Free Magazine?
Request your copy now. Just send an e-mail fightcardseries@gmail.com and enclose three box tops from any Ralston cereal. (Okay, I'm kidding about the box tops.)
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Zina Bethune, R. I. P.
Zina Bethune Dead: Former Ballerina And Actress Killed When Attempting To Help Wounded Animal: Renowned former ballet dancer, actress and teacher Zina Bethune was hit by two vehicles and killed after getting out of her car in an apparent attempt to help a wounded animal, authorities said Monday.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Valentine's Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day,[1][2][3] is a holiday observed on February 14 honoring one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines").[1][3] The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. It was first established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD, and was later deleted from the General Roman Calendar of saints in 1969 by Pope Paul VI.Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.[4]
Criminal Genius of the Day
Fugitive found on Facebook - Crime - UK - The Independent: A Sicilian drug dealer on the run from a five-year prison sentence revealed his location by posting photographs of himself on Facebook, posing at London landmarks.
Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.
Overlooked Movies -- Wild at Heart
Okay, I'll admit it, this movie's not overlooked. But, hey, it's Valentine's Day, and I wanted a tender love story to talk about. What better choice could I make?As we all know from our close reading of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, the course of true love never did run smooth, and that's what Wild at Heart is all about. Obviously Sailor (Nicolas Cage, wearing a snakeskin jacket that represents his individuality and belief in personal freedom [I'm looking at you, Driver]) and Lula (Laura Dern) are clearly meant to live happily ever after. Are they going to let little things like a jealous witch (Lula's mother), a beating death, a prison term, a hit team, voodoo, outrageous violence, a botched bank robbery, the first of several Cage Elvis impressions, and the craziest cast of characters ever assembled (except maybe in other David Lynch movies) stop them? Of course not.
There's probably someone who could summarize the plot for you, but that someone isn't me. All I can say is that it's hilarious, surreal fun and that while it may not be the perfect Valentine's Day movie, I can't think of a better one at the moment.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Woolly Mammoth Update Update
Watch the original footage of the "live woolly mammoth" video: "I don't recall seeing a mammoth," explains Petho. "There were bears, deer, and sable...But no woolly mammoths."
"I had no idea my footage was used to make this fake sighting."
"I had no idea my footage was used to make this fake sighting."
Blues News
The Raw Story: A few blocks from the Mississippi River levee where a homeless W.C. Handy composed “St. Louis Blues” more than 100 years ago, the first national blues museum in the United States is taking shape.
While several regional blues museums have popped up around the country — Memphis, Tennessee; Clarksdale, Mississippi; and Helena, Arkansas — the St. Louis institution will be the first to tell the national story of the unique American musical form.
While several regional blues museums have popped up around the country — Memphis, Tennessee; Clarksdale, Mississippi; and Helena, Arkansas — the St. Louis institution will be the first to tell the national story of the unique American musical form.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Currently, it's free! And it's a heck of a ride. My review is here.Amazon.com: The Devil's Right Hand (Jack Keller) eBook: J.D. Rhoades: Kindle Store: Booklist
*Starred Review* Rhoades slaps this supercharged crime-fiction debut into overdrive in the first paragraph and never lets up through nearly 300 pages of nonstop action.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Free for the Kindle through Valentine's Day.
Amazon.com: Addicted To Love eBook: CJ West: Kindle Store: Wes Holiday sells his landscaping business and retreats to a quaint mountain town to heal after ending a ten year relationship with a woman he couldn't bring himself to marry. In three weeks he is so captivated by a hair stylist that he deprives himself of food and sleep to be near her. When the local sheriff is murdered, Wes is recruited to keep the peace in the town his parents built, but he knows nothing about law enforcement and he's struggling to understand how a woman he just met can dominate his every waking thought. Soon the idyllic town with a penchant for romance is rocked by a bizarre series of murders that defy explanation and it is up to Wes to stop a raging epidemic of violence.
Gone Reading
Should you shop in the Gone Reading store and use this code (BILLCRIDER25), you'll get a 20% discount on everything other than bookends. I'm not getting a cut or anything, just promoting the cause of reading.
That’s why Gone Reading International donates 100% of after-tax profits to fund new reading libraries and other literacy projects in the developing world. By purchasing GoneReading brand gifts and merchandise, you’re treating yourself and the world at large to a wonderful gift. All purchases from GoneReading – from our book lights to our book club gifts – help contribute to our philanthropic work.
Should Attract Some Interesting Visitors
History museum might want your old underwear for upcoming exhibit: It's time to get your panties in a bunch — along with bras, corsets and girdles of historical note — and offer them to the Missouri History Museum.
The museum is planning a major exhibit on the evolution of women's underwear and needs the public's help to round out its collection of old-fashioned and modern unmentionables. The "Underneath It All" exhibit is slated to open July 1.
The museum is planning a major exhibit on the evolution of women's underwear and needs the public's help to round out its collection of old-fashioned and modern unmentionables. The "Underneath It All" exhibit is slated to open July 1.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
San Bernardino County Sun: A father and son stabbed a Hesperia store clerk and then hit him with an 18-pack of beer when their credit card was declined in the store, sheriff's officials said.
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