Thursday, April 05, 2012
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
Duncan Kyle Update
Ostara Publishing: The Guile of Duncan Kyle
Also: Ostara Publishing’s Top Notch Thriller imprint is proud to announce the reissue of two bestselling novels from the man once described as “the thriller-writer discovery of the Seventies”, Duncan Kyle.
Also: Ostara Publishing’s Top Notch Thriller imprint is proud to announce the reissue of two bestselling novels from the man once described as “the thriller-writer discovery of the Seventies”, Duncan Kyle.
Duncan Kyle (John Broxholme, 1930-2001) shot to fame in 1970 with his debut thriller A Cage of Ice and by the time Terror’s Cradle was first published in 1975 he was being ranked alongside Alistair Maclean and Desmond Bagley and by 1976 was Chairman of the Crime Writers Association.
Sigh
In Defense Of "Bad" Baseball: For instance, the Houston Astros — a team that has made maybe two good baseball decisions since Barack Obama was elected President — are a bummer. They don't put out a competitive product, but they charge fans competitive prices for the right to consume it; their domed stadium features so much fake old-timey gimmickry and inauthentic quirk that it might as well be a gated community called Olde Baseballe Acres; much of Houston's Major League roster appears to have been spit out of a Random Athlete Name Generator, and the organization's player development strategy in recent years has been 1) short guys, 2) players who are related to former Major Leaguers, and 3) short guys who are related to former Major Leaguers. This is unfair to their fans for a bunch of reasons. It's unfair, too, to people like Chris Johnson and J.D. Martinez — real baseball players on the Astros, promise — who are good enough at a very difficult sport to make it to the Major Leagues, but still get goofed on at BuzzFeed for their implausibly generic names. Broadly speaking, this is not good. It's bad.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
A historical mystery with an interesting detective. Check it out.
A violent murder has left the village of Witherley aghast. The locals are convinced that a witch doing the devil's work is to blame-a young woman believed to have second sight. The new vicar, Aidan, taking up the cudgels in her defence, fears the witch hunt is escalating out of his control. But help is at hand.
The bright and perceptive Ottilia, once a lady's companion and now bride to Lord Francis Fanshawe, is drawn to Witherley by an insatiable curiosity. Ottilia rapidly uncovers a raft of suspects with grudges against the dead man, one of whom is determined to incriminate the "witch." And as foul play runs rampant, Ottilia must wade through the growing hysteria to unravel the tangle and point a finger at the one true menace...
Free for Kindle Right Now!
Amazon.com: Harvest of War eBook: Charles Gramlich: Kindle Store: Victory rewards the most brutal. But in a war fought between Orcs, Humans, and the monsters known as the Reapers, who best deserves that title? And will any of them fight for the weak? Or are the weak doomed always to be prey?
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This Is for You Gillian Anderson Fans . . . You Know Who You Are
LRB 8 March 2012: In this podcast Gillian Anderson reads Charlotte Bronte’s ‘Ingratitude’.
I Myself Have No Comment
Judge comments on pimp's 12 children by 10 women - JSOnline: U.S. District Judge Rudoph T. Randa looked up at Patrick with disgust and a bit of curiosity.
"How do you satisfy 10 women?" he asked. "I can't even satisfy my wife."
"How do you satisfy 10 women?" he asked. "I can't even satisfy my wife."
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Amazon.com: The Cat, the Wife and the Weapon: A Cats in Trouble Mystery (9780451236470): Leann Sweeney: Books: When quilter Jillian Hart returns to her lake house in Mercy, South Carolina, she discovered her friend, Tom, is missing-and his estranged half-brother has moved into Tom's house. Jillian doesn't trust the guy, especially since he allowed Tom's diabetic cat to escape. When police officers find Tom's wrecked car with a dead stranger inside, Jillian is determined to find out what happened to Tom-before someone else turns up dead.
Free Today for Kindle
He was the most talented undercover agent in FBI history, until he dropped completely off the grid, and hasn't been heard from in years. Did he go native, or was he discovered and killed? When Tony Wolf is finally driven out into the open, torn from deep cover during the rescue of two kidnapped children, he becomes the number one target of both the vicious biker gang he double-crossed and a massive Federal manhunt.
But Tony’s tired of being the hunted, and as both the gang and a traitorous FBI agent converge on a small southern town, they’re all about to learn a hard lesson: When the Wolf breaks cover, he doesn’t always run away.
Sometimes he comes straight at your throat.
Free Today for Kindle
The Destroyer Series centers around the adventures of Remo Williams. Remo is a Newark, N.J. police officer who gets framed for a drug dealer's murder. Sentenced to death and on Death Row, he is offered the chance to stay alive by going along with plans to fake his death. Surviving his death sentence, he wakes to find he's been recruited to be a highly trained enforcement arm for a secret government organization called CURE. Remo is trained in a style of martial arts called Sinanju named after the Korean village where it was created. His mentor is a wizened, old Korean named Chiun. Chiun is the single most lethal force on the planet.
Hilariously funny, the series details the exploits of Remo and Chiun as Remo attempts to save the country, one crime at a time with Chiun along to continue training Remo.
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Archaeology Update
The Guardian: The discovery in Africa of a one million year old fireplace may enable us to identify when humans first began using fire
Overlooked Movies -- The Lawless Frontier
I have this movie on a compilation DVD. The quality is, to say the least, poor. The movie's not much better. The frontier of the title is an interesting place, though. One minute you can be in trees beside a wide river, and the next you can be in the middle of a trackless desert. John Wayne plays a guy who comes home to find that his parents have been murdered by an outlaw called Zandri (Earl Dwire) and his gang, who steal all their cattle. It's a lot of cattle, and how one old man and woman could have taken care of them isn't explained. For that matter how Wayne knows that Zandri is responsible isn't explained, either. Nor is what Zandri does with the cattle. We're told that Zandri is half Apache but that he pretends to be Mexican and speaks the language like a native. That's the first big laugh of the movie as soon as you hear him talk.
Gabby Hayes plays a rancher with a beautiful daughter, Ruby (Sheila Terry). Zandri plans to kill Gabby and kidnap Ruby, but she overhears his fiendish plan. She and Gabby escape and meet up with Wayne, who decides to get Zandri.
But enough about the plot, such as it is. What about the good stuff? Well, there's a secret tunnel, which is always good to have. There are some good stunts (Yakima Canutt is on hand), including Wayne does himself when he rides a log down a long aqueduct. Or something. And the bad stuff? The dumbest sheriff in movie history. A stunt with a horse that involves a tripwire. I wouldn't have thought twice about this as a kid, but it was terrible to see this time.
[SPOILER ALERT]
The best part of the movie involves Gabby, who's felled by knife thrown by Zandri. Gabby collapses with the knife buried in his back. Wayne finds him and knows he's dead. But he's not. Imagine the surprise of the audience when Gabby shows up later on. Wayne asks him about the knife. "Just a scratch," Gabby says.
[END OF SPOILER ALERT]
There are some more amazing things, but I don't think I'll write about them. The Lawless Frontier was never intended to be a good movie, just a disposable item for the bottom of the bill. If you're desperate for some western action or to see John Wayne as he starts to build the screen persona that served him so well, it's worth a look. You can watch it on your computer. Otherwise, skip it.
Monday, April 02, 2012
Flash Fiction Challenge Results
Patti Abbott has the results of her latest flash fiction challenge posted on her blog. First you get her own cool story and then links to the others. Check it out: Flash Fiction Challenge: At Large in the Monkey House
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Free through Wednesday!
Amazon.com: Little Girl Gone (A Logan Harper Thriller) eBook: Brett Battles: Kindle Store: Logan Harper isn't looking for redemption. He just wants to live in peace and forget his troubled past. But one morning his quiet life is upended when he interrupts the attempted murder of his father's best friend Tooney.
The next thing he knows, Logan is on his way to Los Angeles, searching for Tooney's missing granddaughter and uncovering a sinister plot connected not only to Tooney's past, but also to the boardrooms of corporate America.
As the odds stack up against him, Logan must fall back on old skills from the life he'd rather forget. He's made a promise, and the only way to fulfill it is to bring the girl home alive.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . . .
And keep off her damn lawn!
Telegraph: A grandmother, Margaret Perry, admitted "hydrangea rage" after a foul-mouthed outburst against her neighbours, a court heard.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Telegraph: A grandmother, Margaret Perry, admitted "hydrangea rage" after a foul-mouthed outburst against her neighbours, a court heard.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Robot Shuts Down Love Field msnbc.com: "It was determined that the device was not dangerous and was a student's science project," the statement said. "The student was traveling with fellow students and a professor. That student told authorities the robot was accidentally left on the plane."
Sunday, April 01, 2012
The Thrilling Detective 14th Anniversary Issue
The 14th Anniversary Issue of The Thrilling Detective Web Site is up.
The Reverend Walter Burton Funk, R. I. P.
Walter Funk and I met the week I entered The University of Texas in 1959 and began a lifelong friendship. We lived next door to each other on the fourth floor of Brackenridge Hall. Neither of us was thrilled with his roommate, so the next semester we took up residence in the penthouse, the only room on the fifth floor of the dorm. It was such a large room that we had a third roommate, Jimmy McConnell. There were no elevators in Brack Hall. We were in great shape.
Jimmy moved into an apartment the next year, and Walter and I moved to Prather Hall. I believe we were on the third floor there. Still plenty of exercise. We loved visiting the observation deck of the Tower at UT. Here's a snapshot of us there in 1960 or so. That's Walter on the right.
When we graduated, Walter went to the Presbyterian seminary in Austin, and I went to Corsicana, Texas, to teach school. I still remember packing his things in my old '53 Ford to move them to the seminary before I left Austin. I visited him there once before he graduated.
When I returned to grad school at UT, Walter was minister of the Presbyterian church in Round Rock and dating Eleanor Newton, a Pi Phi from Round Rock who was working on her M.A. I was the best man in their wedding in December, 1968.
We always kept in touch over the years, and one year when I was teaching at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, he served as the interim pastor of the Presbyterian church there. It was great to see him, hear his sermons, and visit with him after church every week. Later we got to visit him briefly in Princeton, New Jersey, when he was living there.. We were in New York for the Edgars, and he drove over and picked us up. He loved living in Princeton.
For years now we've been in touch by telephone and e-mail. Usually it was Walter who called, and we always had some laughs as we reminisced about the old days and talked about what was going on in our lives.
Walter had some tough times in the last few years, but lately he'd been happy and chipper when we talked. Things seemed to be going well for him, and I was glad to hear it. The last time I talked to him was a little over a month ago.
Today, I got an e-mail from his daughter. She told me that Walter had passed away. It must have been not too long after I talked to him. She didn't have a number for me and couldn't call, but I'm glad she let me know. It was all very sudden. He'd gone to the hospital with labored breathing, and they discovered that he had massive infections in his kidneys and spine. He died not long afterward.
It's been a sad day around here for both me and Judy, who's known Walter almost as long as I have. We'll be miss him a lot.
Jimmy moved into an apartment the next year, and Walter and I moved to Prather Hall. I believe we were on the third floor there. Still plenty of exercise. We loved visiting the observation deck of the Tower at UT. Here's a snapshot of us there in 1960 or so. That's Walter on the right.
When I returned to grad school at UT, Walter was minister of the Presbyterian church in Round Rock and dating Eleanor Newton, a Pi Phi from Round Rock who was working on her M.A. I was the best man in their wedding in December, 1968.
We always kept in touch over the years, and one year when I was teaching at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, he served as the interim pastor of the Presbyterian church there. It was great to see him, hear his sermons, and visit with him after church every week. Later we got to visit him briefly in Princeton, New Jersey, when he was living there.. We were in New York for the Edgars, and he drove over and picked us up. He loved living in Princeton.
For years now we've been in touch by telephone and e-mail. Usually it was Walter who called, and we always had some laughs as we reminisced about the old days and talked about what was going on in our lives.
Walter had some tough times in the last few years, but lately he'd been happy and chipper when we talked. Things seemed to be going well for him, and I was glad to hear it. The last time I talked to him was a little over a month ago.
Today, I got an e-mail from his daughter. She told me that Walter had passed away. It must have been not too long after I talked to him. She didn't have a number for me and couldn't call, but I'm glad she let me know. It was all very sudden. He'd gone to the hospital with labored breathing, and they discovered that he had massive infections in his kidneys and spine. He died not long afterward.
It's been a sad day around here for both me and Judy, who's known Walter almost as long as I have. We'll be miss him a lot.
2012 SMFS Derringer Award Winners
Congrats to the winners! My Little Corner: 2012 SMFS Derringer Award Winners
AbeBooks: Jokes, Hoaxes & Other Literary Frauds
AbeBooks: Jokes, Hoaxes & Other Literary Frauds: Literary hoaxes, pranks and frauds have been around since the early days of the printing press. One well documented example was in the late 18th century when Thomas Chatterton wrote a number of poems and then claimed that they had been written by a 15th century monk named Thomas Rowley, and that he had merely transcribed them. Chatterton maintained the ruse until his death when scholars took a closer look and realized they were Chatterton’s work.
Pulling off a hoax of that magnitude requires gall and skill – and it doesn’t always succeed. In the early 1970s, Clifford Michael Irving tried to use a series of handwritten letters, that he had forged, to convince a publisher that he had an “autobiography” written by movie producer and infamous recluse Howard Hughes. The publisher jumped at the opportunity but unfortunately for Irving it turned out that while Hughes was reclusive, his lawyers were not and he found himself on the wrong end of a law suit rather quickly. Books offered as non-fiction but in reality are pure fiction are a common literary fraud.
Pulling off a hoax of that magnitude requires gall and skill – and it doesn’t always succeed. In the early 1970s, Clifford Michael Irving tried to use a series of handwritten letters, that he had forged, to convince a publisher that he had an “autobiography” written by movie producer and infamous recluse Howard Hughes. The publisher jumped at the opportunity but unfortunately for Irving it turned out that while Hughes was reclusive, his lawyers were not and he found himself on the wrong end of a law suit rather quickly. Books offered as non-fiction but in reality are pure fiction are a common literary fraud.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Luckily, fellow volunteer Gretchen Burkholt agrees to sub for her. The signing goes well, but Gretchen interrupts the event multiple times, leaving voice mails about scandalous news she's dying to share. Even though Gretchen tends to be excitable, Annie heads over to Better Tomorrow, where she finds Gretchen dead on the floor, an axe by her side.
Annie enlists the help of her husband, Max, to piece together a puzzle involving an overturned kayak, a stolen motorboat, a troubled love affair, and a reckless teenager. And she must tread carefully in her investigation, because a killer is on the loose, and that killer works well in the foggy days of winter...
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Holy Grail Update
BGR: When scratched or cracked, the new plastic responds on a molecular level and regenerates to repair itself without leaving any signs of damage. According to some scientists, the material is considered the "Holy Grail of Material Science."
Here's the Plot for Your Next Spy Thriller
Fox News: The family of a British codebreaker whose naked and decomposing body was found inside a padlocked sports bag believes the country's intelligence agencies may have interfered with evidence that could explain the spy's puzzling death, their lawyer said Friday.
Lawyer Anthony O'Toole told a hearing that relatives of Gareth Williams, who was discovered inside the bag in the bathtub of his central London home in August 2010, do not accept a claim by British authorities that his death was unconnected to his work.
Lawyer Anthony O'Toole told a hearing that relatives of Gareth Williams, who was discovered inside the bag in the bathtub of his central London home in August 2010, do not accept a claim by British authorities that his death was unconnected to his work.
Yet Another List I'm Not On
Commentary Magazine: Here are the top 25 American writers as determined by the amount of scholarship on each. In brackets is the rise or fall of each writer when compared to his or her ranking since 1947.
Hat tip to George Kelley.
Hat tip to George Kelley.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Houston News: A Chambers County woman has pleaded guilty to owning 122 illegal homemade bombs she assembled with ingredients bought on eBay, the U.S. Attorney's Office says.
Pamela Leggett, 31, was arrested after a dramatic confrontation at her Anahuac home in which a cop was killed and her husband, who had done the shooting, killed himself.
Pamela Leggett, 31, was arrested after a dramatic confrontation at her Anahuac home in which a cop was killed and her husband, who had done the shooting, killed himself.
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