Saturday, October 06, 2012
Bigfoot Update
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Friday, October 05, 2012
Croc Update (Good News Edition)
Shock Till You Drop: The Chinese production, Million Dollar Crocodile, the story of a giant crocodile who devours a bag of cash, has secured North America distribution with Screen Media Films acquiring all domestic rights.
Free Today for Kindle
CRIME THRILLERS-A Box Set: Billie Sue Mosiman: Amazon.com: Books: This is an omnibus edition of two complete novels and a novelette consisting of 155,000 words. The books included are the Edgar-nominated novel, NIGHT CRUISING, KILLING CARLA, and the story, PRETTY KILLER BOY. NIGHT CRUISING-She ran away from home and needed a ride from the truck stop, but the handsome man who offered it to her was one of the deadliest and most cunning serial killers since Ted Bundy. They were going to cruise the night.
KILLING CARLA-He came out of nowhere and murdered Sully's wife, Frannie. Due to police negligence, the case is thrown out of court, and the killer never prosecuted. Sully wants revenge. Yet it's Carla, Frannie's sister, who means to right the wrong and make sure this killer doesn't get away with it. Now Carla is in the killer's spotlight and he's watching her, he's studying her, he's thinking about KILLING CARLA...
PRETTY KILLER BOY-A handsome young man stole the heart of a girl during 1967 and offered to drive her to California to Haight-Ashbury to join the hippie movement. What she didn't know was he was as revengeful as he was good looking and as unrelenting as he was pretty.
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The '60s at 50: Friday, October 5, 1962: 'Dr. No'
The '60s at 50: Friday, October 5, 1962: 'Dr. No': The first movie featuring British secret agent James Bond premieres in London. Based on the 1958 book by Ian Fleming, "Dr. No" Sean Connery stars as 007, a role he would play six more times.
Uh-Oh or OK?
The Wizard of Oz 3D: Will it spoil a cinematic classic? To celebrate its 90th anniversary, Warner Bros. announces a 3D re-release of the classic family film.
AbeBooks’ Most Expensive Sales in September 2012
AbeBooks’ Most Expensive Sales in September 2012: Last month AbeBooks sold three historic bibles with a combined age of 1,296 years and a combined value of more than $66,000. The most expensive sale was a Latin bible from 1491 for $26,200. It’s a so-called ‘Poor Man’s bible’ printed by Johannes Froben in Basel. The nickname comes from its smaller size as bibles were printed in a large format with no expense sparred prior to Froben’s edition.
Forgotten Books: Isaac Asimov presents The Great SF Stories 25 (1963) -- Martin H. Greenberg and Isaac Asimov, Editors
In my dark moments I sometimes think that a lot of younger SF readers don't care much about the history of the field and that they don't want to read anything that wasn't published within the last five years. In my even darker moments, I think it doesn't matter. When I read the stories from any book in this series, I think what a great past SF has and what fine storytellers the field produced, and I'd like to require everybody to read every story in every volume. Fat chance. At any rate, I'm glad I have them all and can open one up and read a great story anytime I feel like it.
Some of the books in the series can be found on the 'Net for very little (the higher-numbered volumes are usually a bit more). Check 'em out.
Thursday, October 04, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Praise by other authors: ''The writing is fresh and vivid and lively, paying homage to the past while standing squarely in the present." -James W. Hall, author of Silencer.
Feeling Safer Now?
PressTV: A former TSA worker has pleaded guilty to stealing over $500 in cash from a man who complained about the TSA’s invasive pat down procedure, with the TSA agent admitting the theft was a punishment for the man’s lack of obedience.
Bullet for a Virgin! -- Peter Brandvold
Spicy Western Stories hasn't been published in what? Sixty years? But if it were still being published, "Bullet for a Virgin" would fit right in. It features The Rio Concho Kid, who lives in Mexico because in the U. S. he's still being pursued by the army for killing the soldiers who killed his wife. He's fast with a gun, of course, and he's a sucker for defending a beautiful woman from a fate worse than death. Or from death. He's up against a wonderful villain, El Leproso, and the action never stops. Check it out.
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Wednesday, October 03, 2012
This Never Happens to Christian Bale
Man In Batman Costume Busted By Cops. Again: -A Michigan man who patrols the streets in a Batman costume is facing a felony charge after he allegedly interfered with a police investigation.
Not Bouchercon Bound
This is the day Judy and I would have been flying to Cleveland for the Bouchercon. Right about now we'd be at Houston's big airport, waiting to board our plane. This year, however, we won't be going. As the old saying goes, circumstances beyond our control have prevented us. Not that the rest of you shouldn't have a wonderful time without us. Don't forget to buy plenty of books in the Dealers Room and go to a lot of panels. Hang out and talk. I'm planning to read all about it on various blogs and twitter streams so I can have a few vicarious thrills. At my age, that's probably the best kind.
How To Help Tom Piccirilli
Tom Piccirilli's surgery is over, but it appears that he has a long, tough fight ahead. He's not in good shape, folks. If you'd like to help, here's a link that will point you to four different ways: How To Help Tom Piccirilli (UPDATED) – Brian Keene
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Once Again Texas Leads the Way
Fox News: The State Fair of Texas and a crew from Frito-Lay on Monday set a new Guinness record by building the world’s biggest Frito pie.
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Killer Reads features a couple of volumes of Dead Man novels. Check 'em out.
Free on Kindle for Three Days
How to Write a Dick: A Guide for Writing Fictional Sleuths from a Couple of Real-Life Sleuths: Shaun Kaufman,Colleen Collins: Amazon.com: Kindle Store: The private eye genre has come a long way, baby, with new subgenres — from teenage PIs to vampire gumshoes to geriatric sleuths — attracting new readers every year. Unfortunately, most writers are not aware of the state-of-the-art developments that shape today’s professional private investigator, which sometimes leave writers floundering with impossible and antiquated devices, characters and methods in stories. Which is why we wrote How to Write a Dick: A Guide for Writing Fictional Sleuths from a Couple of Real-Life Sleuths, whose material we culled from our combined 14 years as private investigators, and also from our teaching online classes and conducting workshops at writers’ conferences about writing private investigators. How to Write a Dick isn’t about how to write a novel, but what you need to know to write an authentic, compelling 21st-century sleuth character or story.R. B. Greaves, R. I. P.
R. B. Greaves - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Ronald Bertram Aloysius "R. B." Greaves III (born November 28, 1944, Georgetown, Guyana, died September 27, 2012) is a singer who had chart success in 1969 with the pop single "Take a Letter Maria". A #2 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, this single sold one million copies and earned a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. Greaves also had a Top 40 pop hit a year later with "Always Something There to Remind Me". R.B. Greaves passed away in Los Angeles, California on September 27, 2012 at the age of 67.
Happy Birthday to the Peanuts Gang
Readers of This Blog Will Not Be Surprised at the Gator's Presence
Though Jeff Meyerson might be surprised that it was in Brooklyn.
Two People Arrested on Possession of Weapons — And an Alligator
Two People Arrested on Possession of Weapons — And an Alligator
The Persuasive Books of Jane Austen
AbeBooks: The Persuasive Books of Jane Austen: It can be safely said that Jane Austen is one of the best-loved English authors of all time. Born December 16, 1775, Austen made a mark on the literary world with her romantic fiction set among the landed gentry in England. Although she is one of the most popular and well known authors, there is little known about her private life.
Overlooked Movies: Tarzan and the Lost City
The "lost city" of the title is, of course, Opar. Tarzan is in England about to marry Jane, when he has a vision that there's trouble back in Africa. So off he goes to set things right. Some bad guys are looking for the lost city, and if they find it, more people will come to Africa and mess thing up. Not an unusual plot for a Tarzan movie. Jane follows Tarzan back to Africa, which introduces another not unexpected complication.
The movie was filmed in Africa, which is a big improvement over some of the backlot Tarzan movies. The scenery's great. Van Dien (not counting the accent) is just fine, and so is Jane March as Jane. The action's not bad, and while I was a bit bothered by the use of magic at the conclusion, I didn't let it keep me awake at night. Check it out.
Monday, October 01, 2012
Happy Birthday to the Continental Op
"Your fat chief of police tried to assassinate me.... - The Barnes & Noble Review: "Peter Collinson" published "Arson Plus" in Black Mask magazine on this day in 1923, introducing a nameless hero called “the Continental Detective.” Soon the hero was “the Continental Op,” and soon Dashiell Hammett was signing his work with his real name.
More at the link.
More at the link.
Free for Kindle for a Limited Time
The Long Black Train: Heath Lowrance: Amazon.com: Kindle Store: It's Hell on Wheels. A simpering madman, possessed by dark magic, transforms the night train into a rolling charnel house. And Hawthorne is about to come face-to-face with an evil beyond imagining.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Writing Crime Fiction: Naomi Hirahara,Max Allan Collins,Stephen Gallagher,Dave Zeltserman,Ed Gorman,Paul Levine,Lee Goldberg,Joel Goldman,Vicki Hendricks,Libby Hellman: Amazon.com: Kindle Store: Are you a crime fiction writer? Are you a crime fiction reader? If your answer to either question is yes, you've got to have Writing Crime Fiction, the latest book from the award winning authors of the Top Suspense Group!
Happy Birthday to the CD
The CD, At 30, Is Feeling Its Age: Today marks the 30th anniversary of a musical format many of us grew up with: the compact disc. It's been three decades since the first CD went on sale in Japan. The shiny discs came to dominate music industry sales, but their popularity has faded in the digital age they helped unleash. The CD is just the latest musical format to rise and fall in roughly the same 30-year cycle.
There had been compact discs pressed before 1982. But the first CD to officially go on sale was Billy Joel's 52nd Street.
There had been compact discs pressed before 1982. But the first CD to officially go on sale was Billy Joel's 52nd Street.
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Sunday, September 30, 2012
Tom Piccirilli - fundraiser | Indiegogo
As some of you have heard, Tom Piccirilli is about to undergo surgery for a brain tumor. After the surgery will come chemo, radiation, and rehab. This is a frightening thing, as I know all too well. My wife, Judy, had a brain tumor removed 20 years ago. Hers was benign, but the 12-hour surgery and the recovery were nevertheless an experience neither of us would care to repeat. Tom Piccirilli's surgery is more serious, and his recovery will be more difficult. He's a fine writer with a strong voice, as you know if you've read his books or his short stories. I've mentioned some of them here on the blog. If you'd like to help out with a contribution to his fundraiser, here's a link: Tom Piccirilli - fundraiser | Indiegogo. If you can't contribute but can help spread the word, I'm sure it would be appreciated. If you can do both, that would be great.
The Sun Worshippers -- A. S. Fleischman
Gamage is an ex-newspaper reporter who's come to a small southern California town named Thebes near the Salton Sea to write the official biography of Colonel Martinka, the town's wealthiest citizen, a man who made a fortune as a date farmer, but who now seems to be interested in getting rid of his crops and turning into a land developer. The people of the town aren't too thrilled with this idea, especially the publisher of the local newspaper.
Gamage is just interested in the fee he's going to get for the biography, at least at first, but things don't turn out to be what they'd seemed. Martinka's son, Frank, is married to Gamage's old flame, who's very interested in rekindling the romance. Accounts of the past don't square up with each other. Frank is intent on keeping Gamage from meeting his father and mother. Martinka has secrets in his past that nobody's talking about.
Fleischman kept me guessing all the way through, and there are some surprises along the way. This is good reading from a fine storyteller.
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Win a DVD
Thrilling Days of Yesteryear is giving away Dark Night of the Scarecrow to one lucky winner. Click the link to go to the blog and get instructions on how to enter the contest.
Free Today for Kindle
Robbers Roost: James Reasoner: Amazon.com: Kindle Store: Originally published as Powell's Army: #4 by Terence Duncan Three-fingered Jack and his gang of road agents had a craving for money and a place to spend it. After hijacking an rmy payroll wagon and killing the troopers riding guard, they hightailed it into Virginia City, where anything could be had for the asking by a hardcase with a fat poke. But hot on their trail was hard-hitting trio of undercover agents known as Powell's Army. They knew Montana lived by the law of the gun. And that meant bracing Jack's killer gang before the vigilantes did---to make sure they stretched hemp the legal way!
Thundering out of the past. A trio of deadly enforcers ride the range to adventure with one military misfit. Three men and one red-headed woman unchained lightning in a savage, lawless land, the U.S. army's secret weapon, dispensing their own fiery brand of frontier justice throughout the American west, Violent, untamed, and unpredictable--nothing can stop them.
And You Wondered Why You Paid More for Gasoline the Next Week
The Daily Caller: Upon sobering up and presumably realizing what he had done, Perkins messaged his boss that he would not be able to make it to work due to an unwell relative.
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