Saturday, March 17, 2012

Another Kindle Freebie for the Weekend

The Man In The Seventh RowAmazon.com: The Man In The Seventh Row eBook: Brian Pendreigh: Kindle Store: Roy is a film fan. He loves the cinema. What happened that turned his world inside out?


Maybe he loves the cinema a little too much. Lately, things have been going wrong. He settles into his favourite seat to watch an old movie, but he's not seeing what he expects to see. No matter the film – The Graduate, Brief Encounter, The Magnificent Seven – he finds himself sucked from his seventh-row seat into the heart of the action on the big screen.


Roy's everywhere. Playing lead roles in dozens of classic movies. A fantasy come true? Or a living nightmare?
 

Song of the Day

Epic Kindle Giveaway: Free books

Epic Kindle Giveaway: Free books: Jeff Bennington, Scott Nicholson

Available for Pre-Order

King City: Lee Goldberg: 9781612183176: Amazon.com: Books


I read an advance copy of this one, and it's terrific. Non-stop action, humor, great characters, and a great concept. Highly recommended.

Sounds Reasonable to Me

The Ouija board made me do it: Teen tells cops the spirits told him to stab his friend

Today's Vintage Ad

Free for Kindle this Weekend!

The Crime Time Cafe: Free E-book Ploy, Part VIII: If you're looking for a free Kindle e-book to fulfill your need for hardboiled, noir type fiction Steven Torres' novel, THE CONCRETE MAZE is free today and tomorrow (March 17-18).

Chaleo Yoovidhya, R. I. P.

World News: The self-made Thai billionaire who created the renowned Red Bull energy drink three decades ago has died, state media in Thailand reported Saturday. He was 89.

PaperBack


Robert E. Howard, The She Devil, Ace, 1983




Yet Another List I'm Not On

9 Famous Professors Who Rarely Teach

5 Movies That Accidentally Killed Innocent Characters

5 Movies That Accidentally Killed Innocent Characters

Texas Is on the LIst Twice

The 10 Largest Prostitution Rings in American History

Today's Western Movie Poster

10 Notable Irish Texans

For St. Patrick's Day: 10 Notable Irish Texans

9 Nutty Irishmen to Celebrate on the 17th

9 Nutty Irishmen to Celebrate on the 17th

18 Everyday English Words That Come from Irish

18 Everyday English Words That Come from Irish

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Saint Patrick's Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Saint Patrick's Day[2] is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick (c. AD 387–461), the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.[1] It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland),[3] the Eastern Orthodox Church and Lutheran Church. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official feast day in the early seventeenth century, and has gradually become a celebration of Irish culture in general.[4]

The Quiet Man

Friday, March 16, 2012

Fun Times in Upper Darby

4 members of family busted in nude romp in parking lot of Upper Darby High

Comforting Thought for the Day

Mail Online: When people download a film from Netflix to a flatscreen, or turn on web radio, they could be alerting unwanted watchers to exactly what they are doing and where they are.

Spies will no longer have to plant bugs in your home - the rise of 'connected' gadgets controlled by apps will mean that people 'bug' their own homes, says CIA director David Petraeus.

The CIA claims it will be able to 'read' these devices via the internet - and perhaps even via radio waves from outside the home.

Never Fly When Drowsy

DHS Terror Document Lists Yawning, Goose Bumps As Suspicious Behavior

Here's the Plot for Your Next Spring Break Thriller

Spring breaker finds lungs on beach

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Croc Update (Papal Edition)

Pope sends people of Cuba one of their missing crocodiles as a gift

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Police: Lack of 7-Eleven sausages sends Bridgeton woman into frenzy

25 Literary Quotes About Luck

25 Literary Quotes About Luck

25 Rare And Beautiful Photos Of Marilyn Monroe

25 Rare And Beautiful Photos Of Marilyn Monroe

No Comment Department

guardian.co.uk: Abandon all hope, ye who enter here: Dante's medieval classic the Divine Comedy has been condemned as racist, antisemitic and Islamophobic by a group calling for it to be removed from classrooms.

Song of the Day

Why Does It Always Have to be Snakes?

JackieBibby2011
Rattlesnake Round-Up This Weekend: The Lone Star Fair and Expo featuring the 48th Annual Rattlesnake Round-Up will be at the Brownwood Coliseum this weekend, Friday through Sunday. Hours of the show are Friday 3pm-8pm, Saturday 10am-8pm and Sunday noon-5pm. Tickets are $4 for adults and $1 for kids under 12.


Organizers state that Jackie Bibby, “The Texas Snake Man” and star of Animal Planet's "Rattlesnake Republic," will be the featured in “death defying feats of courage with rattlesnakes.” “Cowboys Last Ride” rattlesnakes in the coffin, “Most Rattlesnakes in the Sleeping Bag”, and Longest Snake Contest competitions will be on the schedule of events along with the Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Vendors will also be on hand buying snakes.

Today's Vintage Ad

So Congress Could Be Even Worse?

Fight Club -- Now I Know Archives

The Decline of Western Civilization Continues Apace

January Magazine: “Mommy Porn” Will Be Movie

New Story at Fires on the Plain

“Jingle Bob” by Ron Scheer | Fires on the Plain

Lizzie Borden Update

ABC News: The notorious 19th-century trial of Lizzie Borden, a wealthy New England woman accused of killing her parents with an ax, is back in the spotlight with the discovery of her attorney's handwritten journals, providing fresh insight into the relationship with her father.

PaperBack


Lawrence Easton, The Driven Flesh, Ace, 1955




Top 10 Hotspots For Human Longevity

Top 10 Hotspots For Human Longevity

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

I'd Like to see This

Golden Age of Science Fiction Trailer from Eric Solstein on Vimeo.

Texas Places 3 Cities in the 10 Worst

Metrogrades: Car Crash Hotbeds

Today's Western Movie Poster

15 Scandalous Stories of College Athletes Behaving Badly

15 Scandalous Stories of College Athletes Behaving Badly

7 Scientific Reasons You'll Turn Out Just Like Your Parents

7 Scientific Reasons You'll Turn Out Just Like Your Parents

The First Films of 10 Famous Directors

The First Films of 10 Famous Directors

Forgotten Books: Adios, Schehrazade -- Donald E. Westlake

Adios, Scheherazade is a book about writing dirty books. The narrator, Ed Tipliss, has been writing them for a little over two years. He's ghosting them for another writer, and he's produced one a month for twenty-eight months. Now he finds himself blocked. He just can't write another one. He keeps trying, but when he starts a chapter, it becomes a stream-of-consciousness account of his personal life, which is pretty much going to hell.

In the course of the novel, we find out a lot of things, including how to write a dirty book. There's a guide to the four basic plots, and there's even a complete outline for a book, except for the last chapter, which is, shall we say, a bit exaggerated.

Some have seen the book as a sort of roman à clef, and if you're familiar with the agency Westlake worked for and some of the people associated with it, you can play that game. I don't know if it's worthwhile, but, after all, the narrator's name is Ed, and Westlake did write as Edwin West. (Edwin was his middle name.) It's funny and sad and even a little bitter. Certainly Westlake didn't wind up like Ed Tipliss, though maybe he imagines that he could have.

Decent copies of the edition pictured here are a little hard to find these days, but you can get a beaten up hardback on abebooks for about five bucks. It's worth it if you just want a reading copy. If you read French, you can pick up a nice copy for only a little more. But if you just want to know about how real it all is and to learn something about Westlake and the other writers who produced the kind of books Topliss wrote, what you really need to do is to read this great essay by Earl Kemp. Kemp quotes liberally from the novel and it's all entirely fascinating. Trust me.

The Premature Burial

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Right On!

JOHN CARTER FANS IN REVOLT! 

Note to Self: Don't Hold Press Conferences

Rare bunny stepped on, killed at his own press conference
Hat tip to Mel Odom.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

MTA Employee Phylathia Monroe Arrested For Allegedly Punching Bronx Straphanger

PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention

She sees dead people!

Amazon.com: Wild Wild Death (A Pepper Martin Mystery) (9780425245828): Casey Daniels: Books: Her job has been cut, she's low on cash, and her detective sometime- boyfriend refuses to even talk about her ability to see the dead and solve their murders. So Pepper is most certainly down for a vacation to get her spirits up. But when her cute scientist friend Dan is kidnapped, Pepper soon stumbles upon another deadly mystery that brings her to New Mexico. And she's after a clever murderer-one whose idea of Boot Hill has nothing to do with Jimmy Choo.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Teen Dies At A "Project X" Inspired Party

I'll Bet Snooki Can Float

Study: Sea Levels Rising; Storms Could Wipe Out Jersey Shore 

Song of the Day

Epic Kindle Giveaway: Free thrillers

Epic Kindle Giveaway: Free thrillers: Marissa Farrar, Russell Blake, Jeremy C. Shipp

Today's Vintage Ad

One Essential Way You Can Help Your Favorite Writers. . .

One Essential Way You Can Help Your Favorite Writers…

An Introduction to Orrie Hitt

Prologue Author Spotlight- An Introduction to Orrie Hitt

6 Historical Events That Are Way More Modern Than You Think

6 Historical Events That Are Way More Modern Than You Think

PaperBack


Ledru Baker, Jr., The Preying Streets, Ace, 1955






William Ambler: 9 Pulp Adventures To Take Instead Of "John Carter"

William Ambler: 9 Pulp Adventures To Take Instead Of "John Carter": March 9th witnessed the release of Disney's mega-budget blockbuster hopeful John Carter. It's adapted from Edgar Rice Burroughs 1917 novel "A Princess of Mars" and it represents the first cinematic sally for the Tarzan author's other great creation. For fantasy aficionados, it's a chance to see a work that has been scavenged by countless imitators for nearly a century finally strut its stuff on the big screen.

If the film in question should whet your appetite for all things sword, sorcery, and spaceship, the obvious place to start reading is with Burroughs' eleven novels set in the world of Barsoom aka Mars. If you've already read those (or just hate being obvious), here are nine other pulp adventures to stir the blood and strain the mighty thews.

Hat tip to George Kelley.

Houston is #2

9 Alt-Weekly Papers That Changed Journalism

15 Books That Should Be on Every Grammar Geek's Bookshelf

15 Books That Should Be on Every Grammar Geek's Bookshelf

Today's Western Movie Poster

The Decline of Western Civilization Continues Apace

Please Read This Story, Thank You : NPR: Other polite phrases also seem to be falling by the wayside. "You're welcome," for instance. Say "thank you" to someone these days, and instead of hearing "you're welcome," you're more liable to hear: "Sure." "No problem." "You bet." "Enjoy." Or a long list of replies that replace the traditional "you're welcome."

Naturally I Have a Particular Fondness for the 10th One

10 Scariest Warning Signs

Cover Designs

Recovering Lolita

Hat tip to Art Scott

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Metro.co.uk: A letter written by primary school student Flint, from Austin in Texas, has been hailed as the best thank you note of all time after he told a local weatherman who visited his school that he was 'more awesome' than a monkey, in a bacon tuxedo, riding a unicorn, on a space shuttle, heading for Mars.

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

The Mystery Of Marie Roget

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Hello My Baby, Hello My Honey, . . .

The Raw Story: Amazed biologists have uncovered a new species of frog in the jungle — New York’s concrete jungle.


The mottled green creature was for years mistaken as belonging to a widespread variety of the leopard frog. But now scientists realize this is new.

Here's the Plot for Your Next Cable Spy Series

CIA divorces: The secrecy when spies split 

Archaeology Update

The Associated Press: Researchers scratching in the sediment during the historic expansion of the Panama Canal say they have discovered the fossils of a small camel with a long snout that roamed the tropical rainforests of the isthmus some 20 million years ago.

Have These People Never Seen a '50s SF Movie?

Lizards Being Trained for Space Mission

Needle: A Magazine of Noir

First Issue of 2012 is LIVE! | Needle: A Magazine of Noir

Listen to Dearly Departed Authors Reading Their Work Aloud

Listen to Dearly Departed Authors Reading Their Work Aloud

Archaeology Update

LiveScience: Mysterious fossils of what may be a previously unknown type of human have been uncovered in caves in China, ones that possess a highly unusual mix of bygone and modern human features, scientists reveal.

Song of the Day

J

These Are Great

Ads We Will Never See Again

Hat tip to Chuck Genoe.

Say It Ain't So, Clint!

Move over, Kardashians: The Eastwoods are heading to E!

Today's Vintage Ad

14 Pi Pies For National Pi Day

14 Pi Pies For National Pi Day

As Usual, Sheriff Rhodes Was ahead of the Curve

Kill Wild Hogs, Get Money! - Houston News - Hair Balls: ​They're nasty, mean and do $400 million in economic damage to the state every year. No, they're not the dreaded chupacabra -- they're worse: feral hogs.

Sure, killin' 'em is necessary. But getting money for killin' 'em is necessary and fun, which is why Wulf Outdoor Sports of Center is paying out $28,000 in prizes for hunters who nab the most hogs between April 11 and 21. The contest is also sponsored by Farmers and Shelby Savings banks, Nikon and others.

Free Kindle thrillers: Libby Fischer Hellman, Micheal Rivers, Doug Dorow, Jeff Bennington

Epic Kindle Giveaway: Free Kindle thrillers: Libby Fischer Hellman, Micheal Rivers, Doug Dorow, Jeff Bennington

PaperBack


Norman Herries (Norman Hershman), Death Has 2 Faces, Ace, 1955




Why Being Sleepy and Drunk Are Great for Creativity | Wired Science | Wired.com

Why Being Sleepy and Drunk Are Great for Creativity

Me, I'm Counting on Bruce Willis

Scientists: nuclear bomb could stop asteroid from striking Earth

I'll Bet George Kelley Is

10 Contemporary American Essayists You Should Be Reading Right Now

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Gwinnett Daily Post: Police arrested a Duluth woman Sunday on charges she hacked through a door and attacked her husband with a machete at their home.

Terry Teachout Visits the Dr Pepper Museum

About Last Night:: I recently spent a few days in Waco, Texas, the home of Baylor University, where I gave a lecture on Louis Armstrong, taught a class on Waiting for Godot, and spoke to two groups of exceedingly bright and delightfully polite students about various culture-related subjects. I also made two side trips, one to Baylor's Armstrong Browning Library and one to the Dr Pepper Museum in downtown Waco.

Hat tip to Art Scott.



10 Forensic Myths Spread by TV

10 Forensic Myths Spread by TV

Abilene Town

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The Times They Have a-Changéd

Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops Printing after 244 Years: After an impressive 244-year run (since 1768!), the oldest continuously published encyclopedia in the English language, Encyclopaedia Britannica, is going out of print. The company will be shifting its focus to their online resources and educational curriculum for schools.

Paging Dan Brown

Lost Leonardo da Vinci Mural Behind False Wall?: By poking high-tech instruments through the wall of one priceless 16th-century mural in Italy, researchers announced Monday that they think they've located the first "encouraging" evidence that a second masterpiece—this one a lost Leonardo da Vinci—is hidden beneath.

Michael Hossack, R. I. P.

The Washington Post: Longtime Doobie Brothers drummer Michael Hossack has died at age 65.


The band’s manager, Bruce Cohn, said in a statement that Hossack died of cancer on Monday in his home in Dubois (DO’-boys), Wyo.


Hossack played with the group from 1971 to 1973 and rejoined in 1987. His drumming can be heard on early hits including “Listen To The Music,” ‘’China Grove” and “Blackwater.” He stopped performing with the band two years ago while struggling with cancer.


Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Woman arrested for beating boyfriend with jar of jellyfish

Free for Kindle -- 3 Days Only!


This is a good one. My review is here.

Amazon.com: Here Comes Mr. Trouble (The Trouble Family Chronicles) eBook: Brett Battles: Kindle Store: ARE YOU LOSING THINGS?
ARE PEOPLE YOU KNOW ACTING STRANGE?
IS SOMEONE CLOSE TO YOU MISSING???
DO YOU FEEL LIKE THINGS ARE BEYOND YOUR CONTROL?


ARE YOU IN…TROUBLE?


When Eric Morrison sees the advertisement, he doesn’t know which is more surprising—the ad’s sudden appearance or the fact that his answer to every question is YES!


Not only can’t he find things, but the bullies at school are suddenly picking on him for no reason, and, worse yet, his mother has disappeared but he seems to be the only one who’s noticed. Even his best friend Maggie thinks he’s only run into a little bad luck.


But if Eric thinks his life is upside down now, it’s nothing compared to what’s about to happen when Mr. Trouble and the Trouble family arrive to assist him in solving his problems.


One thing’s for sure—Eric will never see the world in the same way again.

They're Organizing a Sting

Chron.com blog: Police continue their search for suspects who stole a 3-foot-tall active beehive from a Houston restaurant.

Song of the Day

A

Today's Vintage Ad

Dude!

The Dude abides: Jeff Bridges to co-write book of Zen teachings

The 10 Worst Dressed Sci-Fi Film Characters | Complex

The 10 Worst Dressed Sci-Fi Film Characters

Link via SF Signal.

I For One Welcome Our New Apini Overlords

Study: Honeybees Have Distinct Personalities

PaperBack


Milton K. Ozaki, Too Many Women (abridgment of The Cuckoo Clock), Handi-Books, 1946




An Old-School Book Scout

The Book Bench: An Old-School Book Scout

Link via Lawrence Person's Futuramen.

I For One Welcome Our New Wiggly Overlords

Sperm Discovered Doing Basic Calculus

Gator Update (Contest Winner Edition)

Alligator rider wins photo contest

Photo at the link.

Today's Western Movie Poster

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Everything You Need To Know About Stonehenge II: Did you know there's a huge replica of Stonehenge appropriately named Stonehenge II located about 100 miles outside of Austin, Texas?!?! Well, there is — and here's everything we learned about it.

BFI Discovers World's Oldest Surviving Dickensian Film

'The Death Of Poor Joe': BFI Discovers World's Oldest Surviving Dickensian Film - Deadline.com: The Death Of Poor Joe is a 1901 UK production, directed by G.A. Smith, and was uncovered the day after the British Film Institute celebrated the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ birth.

The Most Bizarre Theme Parks in the World

The Most Bizarre Theme Parks in the World

Overlooked Movies -- The Hill

Right from the start of his career as James Bond, Sean Connery enjoyed taking on roles that were as far removed from Bond as possible. The Hill is a black-and-while movie set in North Africa in WWII. Connery is a Sergeant Major sent to a prison camp because he disobeyed a direct order and hit an officer. The camp commander believes in breaking men down so they can be built up into proper soldiers.

The sadistic staff sergeant in charge of punishment has men run up a steep sand hill in the heat of the African sun. They run while carrying a full pack, and they go until they can go no longer. Along with Connery, several other prisoners are singled out for this ordeal. One of them dies, and that sets off some real problems for the commander and others. Somebody has to take the blame.

There were a number of movies like this in the '60s. Cool Hand Luke and One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest come to mind. The Hill somehow gets overlooked, but it's well worth a look. Connery gives a great performance, and so does the rest of the cast. As I recall, it got great reviews when it appeared but didn't do too well with the public. Now it seems to be almost forgotten. It's a good one, though.

The Hill

Monday, March 12, 2012

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Police: Losing Coach Bites Ear Of Winning Coach 

Criminals are Cleaning Up

Grime Wave: Thefts of Tide laundry detergent across the US baffle police


Hat tip to Art Scott.

No Comment Department

Chess tournament bans cleavage; two-button limit due to crude comments from spectators


Hat tip  to Art Scott.



Song of the Day

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Cop: Girlfriend Attacked Me With Justin Bieber Doll 

The Best of the Worst TV Cast Feuds

The Best of the Worst TV Cast Feuds

Today's Vintage Ad

Edge of Dark Water -- Joe R. Lansdale

It's Texas, sometime during the Depression. One day a girl named Sue Ellen and her friend Terry are poisoning fish with Sue Ellen's father, and they find the body of May Lynn, a young woman who had hoped to go to Hollywood and become a movie star. After May Lynn is buried, Sue Ellen, Terry, and a third friend, Jinx, dig up the body and burn it. Their plan is to take the ashes to Hollywood.

This isn't exactly the most rational plan in the world, but it gets even less so. They live in Texas. To get to Hollywood, they're going to steal a some money, build a raft, and float down the Sabine River. They realize the river doesn't go to Hollywood, but "'We'll get there somehow.'"

Naturally it's not an easy trip. The three friends are joined by Sue Ellen's mother, and they're being chased by Sue Ellen's murderous uncle, a constable who's not a good representative of law and order, and a mysterious, almost supernatural, hired killer named Skunk.

You'll probably read some reviews that will compare this book to something by Mr. Mark Twain. Okay, there's the river and the raft and some other superficial stuff, but don't let that fool you. Joe Lansdale's not Mark Twain. He's his own man. Twain couldn't have written this book. Only Lansdale could do it, and he's not like anybody else. Edge of Dark Water is funny, scary, suspenseful, and just plain entertaining. It's a Lansdale book, so what else would you expect? Check it out.

Six Comebacks for Directors After Long Hiatuses

Six Comebacks for Directors After Long Hiatuses | The Six Pack | Screen


Hat tip to Jeff Segal.

PaperBack


Dana Chambers, Darling, This is Death (abridged), Handi-Books, 1946




The Most Beautiful Fast Food Restaurants in the World

The Most Beautiful Fast Food Restaurants in the World

Cavalcade Of Literary Jerks: Part 1

Cavalcade Of Literary Jerks: Part 1

The 6 Worst Hiding Places in the History Of Crime

The 6 Worst Hiding Places in the History Of Crime

The Last One Is the Best

Trinity, Texas: Home of the Best Mugshots in the Lone Star State

Today's Western Movie Poster

Ummmmmmmm! Burgers!

12 Weirdest Burgers

5 People From History Who Were Absurdly Hard to Kill

5 People From History Who Were Absurdly Hard to Kill

9 Awkward Celebrity TV Cameos

9 Awkward Celebrity TV Cameos

All Righty, Then

Godin to authors: You have no right to make money any more — Tech News and Analysis: But this explosion of amateur authors and publishers also means a lot more competition for an audience. So how do writers make money? First of all, according to author and marketer Seth Godin, they have to give up the idea that they somehow deserve to be paid for their writing.

Fast Workers

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Texas No Longer Leads the Way

Fort Stockton: Home Of The World's Former Largest Roadrunner

PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention

I love five and dime stores, and I'm betting this is a dandy new series.

Amazon.com: Little Shop of Homicide: A Devereaux's Dime Store Mystery (Devereaux Dime Store Mystery) (9780451236180): Denise Swanson: Books: Dev Sinclair is the happy new owner of the old-fashioned shop in her small Missouri town. But if she doesn't focus on finding the killer of her ex's fiancée, this five-and-dime owner may find herself serving twenty-five to life...

Will the Persecution Never End?

Jon Hamm Slams 'Idiots' Kim Kardashian & Paris Hilton: 'Stupidity Is Certainly Celebrated'

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Two Texas teens busted for stealing cash from Girl Scouts selling cookies 


Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Background Check on Bone Polisher with TImothy Hallinan

Background Check on Bone Polisher with TImothy Hallinan

Free Today for Kindle!

Amazon.com: Children of Salem eBook: Robert W. Walker: Kindle Store: INTRIGUE, SUSPENSE, AND ROMANCE IN THE TIME OF THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS


A spy working for religious organizations, Jere Wakely is summoned to Salem Village Parish, where it has become obvious to church authorities that there is serious trouble.


He is reluctant to return to his hometown for many reasons, not the least being that his heart is broken and he's worried about running into his former lover, Serena Nurse.


During his investigation, he has no expectation that their love will be rekindled. But their renewed passion parallels a greater fire--one of terror amid the infamous Salem Witch Trials.


A witch hunt in this important election year of 1692 is backdrop to a romance filled with intrigue and mystery; the history is accurate, and the truth is disturbing yet fascinating.

Free for Kindle for 4 More Days!

Amazon.com: Slumber eBook: Pablo D'Stair: Kindle Store: Ezekiel Rag, a writer of mediocre talent and more than slightly paranoiac, discovers someone has entered his apartment and used his typewriter to produce several pages of manuscript. Jealous of the quality of the writing, he assumes a prank is being played. But when several weeks later he returns home to find not only more writing, but signs someone has spent considerable time in the apartment—food cooked, bourbon consumed, shaving razor used, toilet un-flushed—he becomes increasingly wary.


A novella by Pablo D'Stair (author of "they say the owl was a baker's daughter: four existential noirs")

End Day Light Saving Time

You can sign the petition here: End Day Light Saving Time

Song of the Day

Clawback -- Mike Cooper

Mike Cooper is the pen name of Shamus winner Mike Wiecek. In his new disguise he's written Clawback, a financial thriller in which someone's killing hedge fund managers. Not just any hedge fund managers, though. The ones being singled out are the very worst ones, meaning the ones who've managed to lose the most money for their clients. The narrator of the story calls himself Silas Cade, a former black ops guy who now collects "clawback" from hedge fund managers.

Clawback is defined as "the mandatory return of compensation paid on a deal that later goes bad." Sometimes people don't want to pay. Cade sees to it that they do. When one of them dies, he's hired to find out who's doing the killing.

It's not an easy job, but it has its compensations, as Cade meets a beautiful blogger who's just as savvy as he is. On the other hand it leads to lots of other deaths, not to mention a series of action scenes that are clearly aimed at the big-screen.

Cade's breezy narration carries everything a long at a brisk pace, and we meet a number of interesting and entertaining minor characters (not all of whom survive) along the way. There's a ton of insider info about the world of high finance and the difficulty of living off the grid, too. Entertaining all the way. Check it out.

Today's Vintage Ad

Let the Excitement Build!

TV Pilots 2012: The Complete Guide 

The QWERTY Effect

Words You Type With Your Left Hand Suck; Words You Type With Your Right Hand Rock: Cognitive scientists have found that people attach more positive meanings to words made up of letters from the right side of keyboards than to words made up of letters from the left side. They're calling it "the QWERTY effect."

Criminal Genius of the Day

Teen talked out of robbing sex shop after being offered a job and putting his real name on application 

PaperBack


Malcolm Knight, Kiss of Death, Merit Books, 1960




I Can't Wait for the Movie

Telegraph: Three thousand Iranian women being trained as ninja warriors say they will use their martial arts skills to defend the country if necessary.

Yikes!

Double Barrel 1911

Audiobooks and the Celebrities Who Were Born to Read Them

Audiobooks and the Celebrities Who Were Born to Read Them

Today's Western Movie Poster

10 Movies That Totally Changed the Plot of a Book

10 Movies That Totally Changed the Plot of a Book

10 Evocative Writers of Place

10 Evocative Writers of Place

Daylight Saving Time

Daylight saving time — still mostly a scam - The Washington Post: So there you have it. Daylight saving: It kills people, it seems to be an energy-loser, and it leads to a slight uptick in road accidents in early March.

How Dooo You Do