latimes.com: Actress Kathryn Joosten, best known as the cranky neighbor on "Desperate Housewives," died Saturday of lung cancer at her Westlake Village home, her daughter-in-law, Jeremy Joosten, told The Times. She was 72.
Joosten won two Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Mrs. McCluskey, the cranky but lovable senior who kept a close eye on her Wisteria Lane neighbors on "Desperate Housewives." The hit show ended its run on ABC last month with a series finale in which Joosten's character passed away. Her character's battle with cancer was a story line in the show.
Saturday, June 02, 2012
Free Today for Kindle
Amazon.com: Russian Roulette (Hannibal Jones Mysteries) eBook: Austin S. Camacho: Kindle Store: Washington D.C.'s professional troubleshooter, Hannibal Jones, is enraged when he is forced to take a case at gunpoint. His client is a Russian assassin who will kill Hannibal's beloved, Cindy Santiago, if Hannibal refuses to help him. With no choice, Hannibal agrees to investigate the smooth, wealthy Algerian who has stolen the heart of the woman his new client loves. At first the case looks simple - what woman would not choose a rich African businessman over a professional killer? His view changes when evidence surfaces connecting the Algerian to Russian mob money and the apparent suicide of the girl's father several years earlier. Further investigation reveals that the Algerian may not be who he says he is. Then more deaths follow, closing in on the Algerian and the girl. At first working only to protect Cindy's life, Hannibal is soon chasing the truth for its own sake and must fight his way through past lies, present jealousies and the Red Mafiya to learn the real reason that death is stalking the couple. Hannibal peels the Algerian's history like an onion, each layer revealing a false identity. His search for the truth leads to a dramatic shootout on Roosevelt Island, side-by-side with his murderous client.
London, France's sixth biggest city
BBC News: More French people live in London than in Bordeaux, Nantes or Strasbourg and it is now thought to be France's sixth biggest city in terms of population.
Sigh
Slate Magazine: Can I let you in on a secret? Typing two spaces after a period is totally, completely, utterly, and inarguably wrong.
Friday, June 01, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Amazon.com: Laughing at Dead Men eBook: Keith Rawson: Kindle Store: Laughing at Dead Men is a brand new story collection from the dark mind of Keith Rawson.
Come Again: Literary Sequels
Come Again: Literary Sequels on AbeBooks: What's better than a gripping, captivating, riveting read? Another one, of course. That's where the sequel comes in. A sequel is a piece of work complete in itself, but continuing the story or narrative of a work that came before it. Sounds pretty simple but it can become complicated. A literary sequel can occasionally be more loosely defined. For instance, some books that contain the same or related characters as the previous work, while focusing on an entirely different narrative or theme, can still be considered sequels. Sometimes an author will write a book introducing earlier, backstory of a work he or she has already written. The book is written after the original, but takes place earlier in the story (think the Star Wars movies). This is a prequel.
Joy Chant, Red Moon and Black Mountain, Ballantine, 1973
Okay, Here's Your Big Opportunity!
You Can Write a DEAD MAN Novel - A Writer's Life: How would you like to become a PUBLISHED AUTHOR...and win $1000 in cash and prizes?
Peacemaker Awards
Western Fictioneers (WF) is pleased to announce the WINNERs for the first annual (2011) Peacemaker Awards.
LIFE ACHIEVEMENT PEACEMAKER:
Jory Sherman
BEST WESTERN SHORT STORY
WINNER:
Troy D. Smith -- “The Sin of Eli” Publisher: WF anthology Traditional West
FINALISTS:
“Planting Season” by Johnny D Boggs (Cactus Country Anthology, Volume I – High Hill Press)
“The Way of the West” by Larry J. Martin (The Traditional West anthology, WF)
“The Sin of Eli” by Troy D. Smith (The Traditional West anthology, WF)
“Panhandle Freight” by LJ Washburn (The Traditional West anthology, WF)
“The Death of Delgado” by Rod Miller (The Traditional West anthology, WF)
“Stay of Execution” by Lucia St. Clair Robson (Cactus Country Anthology, Volume I – High Hill Press)
BEST WESTERN NOVEL:
WINNER:
James Reasoner -- Redemption, Kansas Publisher: Berkley
FINALISTS:
The Sonora Noose by Jackson Lowry (Berkley)
Blood Trails by Lyle Brandt (Berkley)
The Assassination of Governor Boggs by Rod Miller (Bonneville Books)
Between Hell and Texas by Dusty Richards (Kensington Pinnacle imprint)
BEST WESTERN FIRST NOVEL:
WINNER:
Wayne Dundee -- Dismal River Publisher: Oak Tree Press
FINALISTS:
Unbridled by Tammy Hinton (Roots and Branches Publishing)
The Black Hills by Rod Thompson (Berkley)
Bullets And Bad Bad Men by B.A. Kelly (Oak Tree Press)
The Guerrilla Man by Steven Clark (Solstice Publishing)
Western Fictioneers (WF) was formed in 2010 by Robert J. Randisi, James Reasoner, Frank Roderus, and other professional Western writers, to preserve, honor, and promote traditional Western writing in the 21st century. Entries were accepted in both print and electronic forms. The Peacemaker Awards will be given out annually. Submissions for the 2012 awards will be open in July, 2012. Submission guidelines will be posted on the WF web site. For more information about Western Fictioneers (WF) please visit:
Forgotten Books: Mike Shayne's Mystery Magazine 12/71
Yes, I know it's not a book. Still, I'll bet you don't remember it, so it halfway fits here. When I saw this a while back, I couldn't resist picking it up, mainly because it reprints the first Ed Noon story by Mike Avallone, originally published in 1949 (don't ask me where). I'd never read the story, so I thought I'd take a look. Appropriately enough, there's a headnote by "The Editor's" (sic) that promises "the kind of fast, cracking action that has made Mike Avallone one of the very top crime writers today.""A Bullet for Big Nick" is a revenge tale. Ed Noon, cop turned private-eye, is after the guy who had is former partner killed. That's pretty much it. Lots of violence, with Noon taking enough punishment to put a bull out of commission, while dealing out an equal or greater amount.
For those of you who are wondering, yes, the Avallone writing style was already in full flower: "Big Nick Torrento was staring at me curiously from the depths of a large, square desk."
Avallone's storytelling ability is there, too. The action never slows down, and Noon's first-person narrative takes you right along.
The stories not listed on the cover are by names you'll recognize. Well, I did. Edward Wellen, Jeffrey Wallman, Richard Deming, and Edward D. Hoch.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Collectible Exhibition Catalogs
AbeBooks: Guggenheim to the Tate: Collectible Exhibition Catalogs: The world’s greatest galleries and art museums support their major exhibitions by publishing beautifully illustrated catalogs that serve two purposes – they are a lingering reminder for visitors and an object of beauty for anyone’s bookshelf.
Lee Rich, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Lee Rich, the creative force behind Lorimar Productions, an independent studio that spawned two of television’s most enduring (and archetypally opposite) fictional American families — the poor but happy kinfolk of “The Waltons” and the rich but tortured Ewing clan of “Dallas” — died on Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 93.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Forgotten Music
I can remember exactly where I was the first time I ever heard Robin Luke's "Susie Darlin'." I was in Margaret Stubbs' classy '54 Pontiac. Margaret was driving East on Titus Street in Mexia, Texas, and we were just about at Little's Sewing Machine place. When the song came on, I made everybody be quiet so I could listen. As soon as I could, I bought the single. You can listen to it here. I don't know why I liked it so much, but I can still listen to it any time and enjoy it.I thought Luke might to on to be a big star, but it didn't happen. Still, I enjoyed some of his other singles, including "Bad Boy," a cover of a big hit in England by, I believe, Marty Wilde. My favorite of his follow-up recordings, however, was what I thought should've been a two-sided smash, "Everlovin'" and "Well Oh, Well Oh." The former did become a smash, all right, but not by Luke. It was covered by Ricky Nelson, and that did the trick. His final recording was "Foggin' up the Windows." His partner on that one was Roberta Shore. (Remember her? Here's a update.)
Luke didn't have a long recording career, but he was okay with that. He's one of the few singers of that era who was academically inclined, and he went on to become a college professor and head of the Department Marketing at a Missouri university.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Amazon.com: Thugbook eBook: CJ West: Kindle Store: A Digital Short19,000 words
Blaine Stevens and his friend Jones team up to build a new kind of social network. Thugbook arms citizens with cameras and gives them the power to take back the streets.
At first only the brave dare photograph a crime in progress, fearing retaliation, but soon gang members are the ones who are afraid.
Criminals appear on the web by the hundreds, their pictures on a city map identifying them and their turf. The cops ignore the crime-stopping technology, but a more sinister group embraces Thugbook and begins stopping criminals permanently.
Thugbook is engulfed in a swirl of lawsuits and threats to shut the company down. As the stock soars skyward and the site rivals the popularity of Facebook and Google , two founders with very different agendas battle to fulfill their mission.
Kathi Kamen Goldmark, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Kathi Kamen Goldmark had made a lot of friends in the literary world by shepherding authors on book tours when one day inspiration struck: what the very best authors yearn to be, she realized, are rock stars.
So was born the Rock Bottom Remainders, a musical group named for the booksellers’ term for books that languish on the shelves so long they have to be dumped at a discount. Composed of a shifting cast of literary luminaries that include Stephen King, Amy Tan, Scott Turow and Dave Barry, the Remainders have come together once a year or so since 1992 to play gigs — how they love that word! — in big halls around the country, raising $2 million for charity. In an interview, Mr. Barry said the group aspires to mediocrity and has sometimes achieved it.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
So was born the Rock Bottom Remainders, a musical group named for the booksellers’ term for books that languish on the shelves so long they have to be dumped at a discount. Composed of a shifting cast of literary luminaries that include Stephen King, Amy Tan, Scott Turow and Dave Barry, the Remainders have come together once a year or so since 1992 to play gigs — how they love that word! — in big halls around the country, raising $2 million for charity. In an interview, Mr. Barry said the group aspires to mediocrity and has sometimes achieved it.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Astrology, Weather, Medical Cures & More
Collectible Almanacs: Almanacs are books published annually that can contain a host of useful information including a calendar of holy days, holidays, farmer's planting dates, weather forecasts, astronomical data and various statistics. The times of the sunrise and sunset as well as tide charts can also be included. Almanacs, in various forms, have been in existence for hundreds of years. It has been stated in the Encyclopedia of Ephemera that the first printed almanac was published in Vienna in 1457 and the Almanack Calculated for New England - the first American almanac was published in 1639 in Cambridge Massachusetts. The Old Farmer's Almanac has been published since 1792, making it the oldest continuously published periodical in North America.
Dick Beals, R. I. P.
Dick Beals - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Richard "Dick" Beals (born March 16, 1927 Detroit Michigan- died May 29, 2012 Vista California) was an American voice actor. He performed many voices in his career, which spanned from the early 1950s into the 21st century. He specialized primarily in doing the voices of young boys.
Perhaps his most recognizable characterization was the voice of the stop-motion animation figure called "Speedy Alka-Seltzer", featured in TV ads for more than 50 years.[1][2] Beals graduated from Michigan State University (MSU) in 1949, where he majored in radio broadcasting and puppetry. He covered intramural sports and performed in weekly radio dramas for the campus radio station WKAR. Beals was also a member of the Michigan State cheerleading squad.[3]
Hat tip to Art Scott.
Perhaps his most recognizable characterization was the voice of the stop-motion animation figure called "Speedy Alka-Seltzer", featured in TV ads for more than 50 years.[1][2] Beals graduated from Michigan State University (MSU) in 1949, where he majored in radio broadcasting and puppetry. He covered intramural sports and performed in weekly radio dramas for the campus radio station WKAR. Beals was also a member of the Michigan State cheerleading squad.[3]
Hat tip to Art Scott.
Hard Case Crime Update
New Stephen King Novel Coming
from Hard Case Crime
JOYLAND to be published in June 2013
New York, NY; London, UK (May 30, 2012) – Hard Case Crime, the award-winning line of pulp-styled crime novels published by Titan Books, today announced it will publish JOYLAND, a new novel by Stephen King, in June 2013. Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, JOYLAND tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever. JOYLAND is a brand-new book and has never previously been published. One of the most beloved storytellers of all time, Stephen King is the world’s best-selling novelist, with more than 300 million books in print.
Called “the best new American publisher to appear in the last decade” by Neal Pollack in The Stranger, Hard Case Crime revives the storytelling and visual style of the pulp paperbacks of the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. The line features an exciting mix of lost pulp masterpieces from some of the most acclaimed crime writers of all time and gripping new novels from the next generation of great hardboiled authors, all with new painted covers in the grand pulp style. Authors range from modern-day bestsellers such as Pete Hamill, Donald E. Westlake, Lawrence Block and Ed McBain to Golden Age stars like Mickey Spillane (creator of “Mike Hammer”), Erle Stanley Gardner (creator of “Perry Mason”), Wade Miller (author of Touch of Evil), and Cornell Woolrich (author of Rear Window).
Stephen King commented, “I love crime, I love mysteries, and I love ghosts. That combo made Hard Case Crime the perfect venue for this book, which is one of my favorites. I also loved the paperbacks I grew up with as a kid, and for that reason, we’re going to hold off on e-publishing this one for the time being. Joyland will be coming out in paperback, and folks who want to read it will have to buy the actual book.”
King’s previous Hard Case Crime novel, The Colorado Kid, became a national bestseller and inspired the television series “Haven,” now going into its third season on SyFy.
“Joyland is a breathtaking, beautiful, heartbreaking book,” said Charles Ardai, Edgar- and Shamus Award-winning editor of Hard Case Crime. “It’s a whodunit, it’s a carny novel, it’s a story about growing up and growing old, and about those who don’t get to do either because death comes for them before their time. Even the most hardboiled readers will find themselves moved. When I finished it, I sent a note saying, ‘Goddamn it, Steve, you made me cry.’ ”
Nick Landau, Titan Publisher, added: “Stephen King is one of the fiction greats, and I am tremendously proud and excited to be publishing a brand-new book of his under the Hard Case Crime imprint.”
JOYLAND will feature new painted cover art by the legendary Robert McGinnis, the artist behind the posters for the original Sean Connery James Bond movies and “Breakfast At Tiffany’s,” and by Glen Orbik, the painter of more than a dozen of Hard Case Crime’s most popular covers, including the cover for The Colorado Kid.
Since its debut in 2004, Hard Case Crime has been the subject of enthusiastic coverage by a wide range of publications including The New York Times, USA Today, Time, Playboy, U.S. News & World Report, BusinessWeek, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Houston Chronicle, New York magazine, the New York Post and Daily News, Salon, Reader’s Digest, Parade and USA Weekend, as well as numerous other magazines, newspapers, and online media outlets. The Chicago Sun-Times wrote, “Hard Case Crime is doing a wonderful job publishing both classic and contemporary ‘pulp’ novels in a crisp new format with beautiful, period-style covers. These modern ‘penny dreadfuls’ are worth every dime.” Playboy praised Hard Case Crime’s “lost masterpieces,” writing “They put to shame the work of modern mystery writers whose plots rely on cell phones and terrorists.” And the Philadelphia City Paper wrote, “Tired of overblown, doorstop-sized thrillers…? You’ve come to the right place. Hard Case novels are as spare and as honest as a sock in the jaw.”
Other upcoming Hard Case Crime titles include The Cocktail Waitress, a never-before-published novel by James M. Cain, author of The Postman Always Rings Twice, Mildred Pierce, and Double Indemnity, and an epic first novel called The Twenty-Year Death by Ariel S. Winter that has won advance raves from authors such as Peter Straub, James Frey, Alice Sebold, John Banville, David Morrell and Stephen King.
For information about these and other forthcoming titles, visit www.HardCaseCrime.com.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Doc Watson, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Doc Watson, the guitarist and folk singer whose flat-picking style elevated the acoustic guitar to solo status in bluegrass and country music, and whose interpretations of traditional American music profoundly influenced generations of folk and rock guitarists, died on Tuesday in Winston-Salem, N.C. He was 89.
I Missed It
NBC New York: Manhattanhenge, the phenomenon of the sunset aligning precisely with the grid of streets in Manhattan, is set to happen Tuesday night at 8:17 p.m.
Hat tip to Art Scott.
Hat tip to Art Scott.
New Dead Man Available Now!
Amazon.com: Slaves to Evil (Dead Man #11) eBook: Lisa Klink, Lee Goldberg, William Rabkin: Kindle Store: Matt Cahill has an unusual gift: he can see the corruption in people’s souls, making the afflicted appear as walking corpses to his eyes. This macabre ability has set him on a one-man crusade to eradicate these servants of an ancient and powerful evil, embodied by the aptly named “Mr. Dark.”On his way through the small town of Breckenridge, Minnesota, Matt sees the unmistakable signs of corruption in the chief of police and numerous cops. The evil that has consumed them now terrorizes innocents and allows drug and sex trafficking to run rampant. Just as Matt confronts the enslaved cops, a gun-toting teen appears, looking to make Matt pay for murdering her brother. Of course, Matt did kill her brother—he was another corrupted soul who’d been planning a bombing. But how can Matt convince Elena of the truth without any proof?
Trapped between Mr. Dark’s forces and a girl hell-bent on revenge, Matt faces an impossible choice: remove Elena—permanently—or let her kill him and doom the town.
Leo Dillon, R. I. P.
Leo and Diane Dillon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Leo Dillon (born March 2, 1933, died May 26, 2012) and Diane Dillon (born March 13, 1933) are an American husband and wife team of illustrators. Among their awards are two consecutive Caldecott Medals for the children's books Why Mosquitoes Buzz In People's Ears and Ashanti To Zulu: African Traditions.
Hat tip to Steve Stilwell.
Hope Mirrlees, Lud-in-the-Mist, Ballantine, 1970
And Keep Off His Lawn!
If you look at the mug shot, you'll stay off the lawn for sure.
Overlooked Movies -- The Tiger Woman
As you can see in the image on the left, The Tiger Woman is also known as Perils of the Darkest Jungle. The jungle, in this case, looks a lot like the jungles of Southern California with all the flora native to that area, but who cares? You have Allan "Rocky" Lane, Linda Stirling, Duncan Reynaldo, a bunch of villainous oil men, nonstop action, the Republic cave set, and lots of great stunt work. That's good enough for me. By the way, I like to think they changed the name of the serial when someone pointed out that the Tiger Woman was wearing leopard skin and really should've been called the Leopard Woman. Besides, the serial's set in South America, and there aren't any tigers there, right? The serial was even released as a short movie called Jungle Gold. So it's really pretty popular rather than overlooked. Still, how many of you have seen it? That's what I thought.
Since you've overlooked it, it's time you saw it. Check it out.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Johnny Tapia, R. I. P.
The Washington Post: Johnny Tapia, the five-time boxing champion whose turbulent career was marked by cocaine addiction, depression and run-ins with the law, was found dead May 27 at his home in Albuquerque. He was 45.
No Comment Department
Self-Publishing Is a $500-a-Year Gig: How Kindle Is Losing You Money | Observer: Bad news for anyone who thought they were going to be the next EL James: As it turns out, half of self-published are making less than $500 a year off their books. Now, the numbers are skewed a little bit higher for the first comprehensive study ever done on the subject, with the average pull-in for self-publishers at $10,000. But that’s only because–much like in the rest of America– 10% of the market was bringing home enormous figures, leaving the other 90% with very low sums…and half with less than a grand a year for their work.
Free Today for Kindle
Amazon.com: Gallows Pole eBook: J.D. Rhoades: Kindle Store: Someone is killing entire families, forcing fathers to hang their wives and children before taking their own lives. How does the killer do it? And what is the meaning of the small iron horse the killer leaves at every murder scene? FBI agent Melissa Saxon and her handpicked team are racing against time to solve the mystery before more families die.Former anti-terrorist operative Colonel Mark Bishop and the survivors of his command think they know. One of their own, a stone killer who calls himself the Hangman, has come out to play, and he's trying to draw out not only Bishop, but his former comrades—the elite team known as Iron Horse.
Only the Horsemen can stop one of their own. But the team is disbanded, the survivors scattered. Bishop himself is tormented by guilt for the things he had to do to keep one of his men from suffering an agonizing death. Their adversary is not only a skilled assassin, but a master at creating fear. Behind the scenes, shadowy and powerful figures pursue their own plans for Bishop and the Hangman.
Mark Bishop, Melissa Saxon, and the last of the Iron Horsemen will have to use all their courage and every resource, including an array of high-tech weapons, to stop the Hangman. What they have to do will put everything they ever believed in to the ultimate test and push Bishop to the edge of sanity.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
I'm one of the writers who has a story in this swell collection, so you know it's bound to be good.Amazon.com: Murder Here, Murder There (9781606192412): R. Barri Flowers, Jan Grape: Books: Murder Here, Murder There is an eclectic set of murder mystery tales by an all star group of award winning and nominated, bestselling authors from the American Crime Writers League. It is the organization's second mystery anthology, following the bestselling Murder Past, Murder Present. The anthology features nineteen gripping stories from such authors as Bill Crider, Margaret Coel, Edward Marston, Twist Phelan, Jay Brandon, Dakota Banks, and Robert Randisi, with plenty of twists, turns, and surprises from coast to coast as well as exotic locales. In short, murder is coming at you from here, there, and everywhere... A collection that promises to enthrall from the first page to the last. "Murder Here, Murder There, the new American Crime Writers League anthology, is an exceptionally fine collection of mystery stories spanning the globe--vivid, fast-paced, literate and unforgettable. Not to be missed!" --Douglas Preston, #1 bestselling author and co-creator of the famed Pendergast series
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Make My Bed and Light the Light . . . .
Los Angeles Times: A long-forgotten neon lamp that was switched on during the Great Depression and left burning for about 77 years has been discovered hidden behind a dusty partition at Clifton's Cafeteria. The find was made amid an extensive renovation of the downtown eatery, according to the building's owner, Andrew Meieran.
Link via Neatorama.
Link via Neatorama.
Free Today for Kindle
Amazon.com: The Hunted (The Hunted Series) eBook: Dave Zeltserman: Kindle Store: Will you be able to figure out the mind-blowing secret of THE HUNTED?From the author of the groundbreaking 'man out of prison' noir trilogy (Small Crimes, Pariah, Killer) comes an exciting new novella series mixing hardboiled crime with government conspiracy. In this first explosive novella, THE HUNTED, Dan Willis is unemployed and desperate when he is recruited by The Factory. Trained to hunt down and kill insurgents hellbent on destroying the country, Willis methodically and efficiently performs his job. But there's a dark secret behind The Factory, and when Willis discovers it no one is safe...
Free Today for Kindle
Amazon.com: Cold Rifts eBook: Sandra Seamans: Kindle Store: Country and rural noir is largely a male dominated type of fiction. With this collection Sandra Seamans' gives us country noir with ovaries with an authentic rural/small town voice."Cold enough to blister, but compassionate enough to heal, Seaman’s Cold Rifts is a fierce, sorrowful, and impressive debut collection of short stories." - Benjamin Whitmer, author of Pike and Satan Is Real: The Ballad of the Louvin Brothers
Carrie Smith, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Carrie Smith, a jazz and blues singer who brought a warm stage presence and lustrous voice to Broadway in the musical revue “Black and Blue,” died on May 20 at the Lillian Booth Actors Home of the Actors Fund in Englewood, N.J. She was 86.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Gruesome Crime of the Day
I'm not kidding. Really gruesome. Don't click the link if you're faint of heart.
Naked man killed by Police near MacArthur Causeway was ‘eating’ face off victim
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Naked man killed by Police near MacArthur Causeway was ‘eating’ face off victim
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
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