Amazon.com: The Last Praetorian (The Redemption Trilogy Book 1) eBook: Mike Smith: Kindle Store Commander Jonathan Radec is a man desperately trying to escape from the mistakes of his past.
Now the owner of Vanguard Shipping, his primary concerns are trying to keep his ships flying and his crew alive. However, the shadowy Syndicate organisation has set their sights on the Commander and his business, having sent a beautiful assassin to kill him. To make matters worse, she’s become the target of his infatuation, much to the dismay of his ex-girlfriend. Recently elevated to President of the Confederation, she’s still very much in love with him and capable of making his life a living hell.
Surrounded by a galaxy beginning to tear itself apart, with enemies on all sides, he’s now also unwillingly tasked with trying to save the Confederation – for which he has little regard. Jon has little going in his favour, except a crew consisting of the elite of the old Imperial Navy, all of whom would fight to the death for him, and a past that possibly makes him one of the most dangerous men alive.
The Last Praetorian is a Science Fiction adventure/romance, which tries to answer the question: “Can you ever find redemption for the mistakes of your past?”
“Books to Die For” (by Jeffrey Marks) | SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN: Jeffrey Marks is one of the best-known contemporary biographers working in the mystery genre. After writing numerous short mystery-author profiles he produced his first book-length biography, Who Was That Lady?, in 2010. It chronicles the life of mystery writer Craig Rice, and the research for it inspired him to write about other authors from the same era in Atomic Renaissance: Women Mystery Writers of the 1940s/1950s. His more recent biographical works include Anthony Boucher, which won an Anthony Award and was nominated for an Agatha; a newly completed biography of Erle Stanley Gardner; and his work-in-progress, a biography of Ellery Queen, which he draws on for this post.
Kay and Warren Ivie were my students when I first began teaching, way back in 1963-65 in Corsicana, Texas. I wish I could take credit for what they've accomplished (and there's a lot more to it than there is in this article), but I can't. They were great kids who turned into great adults, as so many from those classes did.
Ivie & Associates, Inc.: Company Condenses Business to Four Words: We’ll Find a Way
John Underwood, Tempting Tigress (Bedtime Blonde), Carnival, 1952
A Whale Inside A Whale, That Was Eaten By A Shark, Discovered In Egypt: It's like a prehistoric turducken, but on a colossal scale: Scientists in Egypt have discovered the remains of a 40 million-year-old whale with another whale inside it, and researchers believe the two were then eaten by sharks.
NYTimes.com: Vincent Musetto, a retired editor at The New York Post who wrote the most anatomically evocative headline in the history of American journalism — HEADLESS BODY IN TOPLESS BAR — died on Tuesday in the Bronx. He was 74.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
The Spy Who Billed Me: Like every other business, clandestine operations have a budget and like every federal agency, that budget is examined by scores of government workers. But how do expenses work if you're a spy, doing secret work?
John B. West, Death on the Rocks, Signet, 1964
Shortly before he died Brendan Gill (THE NEW YORKER) wrote a book called LATE BLOOMERS. I was lucky enough to hear him speak at Politics and Prose Bookstore in D.C. I'm quite sure he had no idea how inspirational that book and what he said would be to me. As he gave example after example of men and women who came into their own late in life, I said, "Why not me?"
And it was the next semester, when a course I was taking (yes, I was a late bloomer in finishing my B.A. too) proved too reading-heavy to fit into my work schedule that I signed up for a poetry workshop instead. I'd always harbored a secret desire to write but pursued it in fits and starts that never seemed to go anywhere.
The instructor in that poetry workshop was encouraging and I was able to publish some of those poems, but I took no real joy in it. I like fiddling with the words that I loved, but lacked the profundity that good poetry requires. One day, I got a letter from a editor at one of those poetry journals. The editor said that after looking at the three poems I sent them, he/she had come to the conclusion I was writing outlines for stories. Not poems.
And with those words, I took one of those wretched poems, and using it as an outline, wrote a story.
The next semester, I signed up for a fiction-writing class and went on to take three more. It took me a long time to gather the courage to submit the stories. I worked my way into it by placing copies of stories on the front desk at the office where I worked. They disappeared and a few people offered me some encouragement and I began sending them out. Some got published.
And eventually over 150 stories were published. Moving from there to a novel required summoning up courage again. The gates were higher and greater in number for a novel. And I had a daughter who was writing some pretty great ones. Whereas earlier my parents had intimidated me, now it was my children.
I wasn't raised to have high aspirations. I was raised to find a steady job with good benefits, to raise a family, to be a good citizen. I think that is why it took me so many years-nearly fifty-to have any confidence that I could be what I secretly always wanted to be--a writer. I would still not identify myself as one--except to you.
Thanks to Bill Crider for letting me get this off my chest. For letting me admit that I do have aspirations--late bloomer or not.
'Lethal Weapon' 'Goonies' Actress Mary Ellen Trainor Dies At 62: Mary Ellen Trainor, an actress known for her prolific career in film, has died. Trainor had been in a number of movies including all four installments of Lethal Weapon, The Goonies, and Scrooged. Mary Ellen passed away in her home in Montecito, California, on May 20.
Yahoo News: LOS ANGELES (AP) — Vincent Bugliosi, a prosecutor who parlayed his handling of the Charles Manson trial into a career as a bestselling author, has died, his son said Monday night. He was 80 years old.
When I was writing about Bulworth last week, I thought about Dave, another political move and one that I really enjoyed. It's a fantasy, of course, but it's one of those movies that I watched and thought, "Too bad life isn't really like that."
Kevin Kline is Dave, an ordinary guy who just happens to look exactly like the president of the U. S. and who does impersonations of him on the side. The president is a total rat, and while he's in the midst of a sexual encounter with a staffer, he has a massive stroke. Kline is recruited to step into his shoes for what appear to be good reasons but which are really part of a plot by the president's chief of staff. As you might guess, complications ensue. Lots of them.
For one thing, Dave turns out to be a wonderful president. For another thing, the president is married. His wife is amazed that her "husband" has suddenly changed personalities.
But not to worry. [SPOILER ALERT] This is a feel-good movie. Everything works out just the way you'd want it to. The bad guys are punished, the American people are benefited, and true romance blooms. [END OF SPOILER ALERT]
I got a lot of laughs from this one, and the cast is uniformly excellent. Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Ben Kingsley, Ving Rhames, and of course Charles Grodin. Check it out if you're feeling down about the current political situation. As Binx Boling could tell you, movies are so much better than reality.
The 'magic cheese scam'
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
One Too Many Blows To The Head (Ray & Fokoli Series Book 1) - Kindle edition by JB Kohl, Eric Beetner. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. Kansas City, 1939
In a world of fixed fights and mob influence, Ray Ward and his brother Rex are two of the only clean fighters in town. With Ray in the corner and Rex in the ring they are headed for the big time. Until that fateful night. Now Ray has a score to settle using a lifetime of lessons in how to fight back.
Dean Fokoli is a detective with a new partner, an alcoholic wife and a guilty conscience. At least the boxer on the radio who just got beat to a pulp won't end up in his homicide file. But when the dregs of the crooked fight world start turning up dead, Fokoli is on the hunt for a killer. The chase will take him to the underbelly of the Kansas City night and hopefully keep him one step ahead of his past.
Shane Black to adapt 'Edge' novel series for Amazon pilot: According to Deadline, Amazon signed Black to develop a pilot based on Terry Harknett's ultraviolent Western novel series, Edge, penned under one of his many pseudonyms, George G. Gilman.
New York Times: The multi- talented songwriter who wrote the lyrics for multiple top 40 pop and country hits has passed away, after a short illness. He was 84. Mr. Kolber wrote the lyrics for I Love How You Love Me with his collaborator, Barry Mann, penning the music.
Dev Conrad, a political consultant, is working on a number of campaigns, but the one taking up most of time is that of Jessica Bradshaw, a left-leaning candidate who's trying to hold onto her congressional seat in the face of tough opposition. Her dysfunctional family seems to be the least of her problems, especially after there's an assassination attempt. Naturally Conrad, who's a former Army investigator, starts to do a little sleuthing, and he finds himself in opposition to the local cops and especially the chief of police, who doesn't appear to be exactly the nicest guy around.
But then hardly anybody's a nice guy here. The candidate's no prize, herself, and the man who's holding onto the MacGuffin decides he'd rather cash in than help out. Gorman has several surprises in store, and at the end there aren't really any winners, much less the voters.
Gorman's writing and political observations are sharp and calculated to sting, no matter which side of the political aisle you prefer, but as usual in Gorman's work, no matter how flawed the characters are, they're treated with humanity and compassion. Okay, not all of them. Some of them are just too undeserving. But most of them. This is a fine book in a fine series. Check it out.
James McKimmey, The Perfect Victim, Dell, 1959
Telegraph: Richard Johnson, the star of several British films in the Sixties, has died at the age of 87, his family have announced.
Johnson made his name in movies such as Robert Wise’s The Haunting of 1963. This was followed by Khartoum, in which he co-starred with Laurence Oliver and Charlton Heston.
LaSellen Gilman, The Red Gate, Ballantine, 1952
