Lew Shiner and the Fiction Liberation Front

I'll let Lew speak for himself: "Short fiction endures because it provides a way of introducing writers to new readers, and because there are stories that need to be told at that length.

"For all these reasons I've decided to open myself to this uncertain future. Starting now, I plan to make all my short fiction and articles available on the web, both in HTML for easy browsing and in typeset PDFs for those who might want to print them. The process of conversion will take a while, but I hope to get to everything eventually, including a number of previously unpublished pieces and even some unsold screenplays.

"I'll also be adding new short fiction, music reviews, and articles from time to time, though I won't guarantee that I won't also publish short pieces elsewhere. I'm launching the site with three previously unpublished stories ("Straws," "Fear Itself," and "Golfing Vietnam") plus a major story from 2004 ("Perfidia") that's had only limited circulation."

Hat tip to Lou Antonelli.

Here Come the Machines

Millions of books to choose from – yours will take only minutes to print - News, Books - The Independent: "Blackwell bookshop announced yesterday that it is to install an 'Espresso Book Machine' that will allow customers to print out a novel in just seven minutes.

The self-service machine, which will eventually be installed in 50 stores across the country, offers a choice of around one million titles. The fully-bound books are printed to library quality, including a front cover.

A more sophisticated version of the machine is smaller and prints books in just three minutes. The older version has already been installed in 11 sites worldwide and Blackwell hopes to eventually have the faster machine in its stores."

Small Crimes -- Dave Zeltserman

Dave Zeltserman created a bit of buzz with his earlier books, and this might be the one to break him out of the pack. It's Jim Thompson for the new century.

Joe Denton is an ex-cop, leaving jail after seven years served for stabbing and disfiguring the local D.A., who's still around and looking for payback. Denton let cocaine, a gambling habit, and a talent for self-deception take him down a dark path. He tells himself that he's going to do better, but he finds that everything conspires against him. Or at least that's his take on it. A local crime boss is dying and seems to be on the verge of confessing. If he does, a lot of people will suffer, including Denton and the local sheriff, who must be a relative of Lou Ford. The sheriff gives Denton a choice: kill the crime boss or be killed himself.

Denton's downward spiral involves everyone around him: his parents, his ex-wife, his daughters, a nurse he meets in the hospital. Though Denton keeps pulling rabbits out of hats, you know things aren't going to end well, but Zeltserman comes up with a conclusion that's both stunning and surprising. Check it out.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

If it's bad TV, it must be good | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "There's a revolutionary idea for television — a station that puts on crummy shows.

Wait, I know what you're saying.

They all put on crummy shows.

But here's the difference.

This one is doing it on purpose.

'We're going to call it a night of Bad TV, and we're going to run it for three hours, maybe four, on Saturdays starting in October,' said Channel 55 president Matt Reiff."

War of the Colossal Beast

ApolloCon

Today Judy and I are heading over to Katy, Texas, for lunch with George Kelley, an occasional commenter here and a long-time member of DAPA-Em, the only apa devoted to crime and mystery fiction. George's lovely wife, Diane, will be joining us, too. They're from New York, but they're in town for the wedding of a relative. And to enjoy Houston's mild and temperate summer climate, too.

After lunch, Judy and I will hie ourselves all the way across Houston to the DoubleTree Hotel at George Bush Intercontinental Airport for the annual ApolloCon. I've posted my schedule here, and if you're in town, drop by and say "hey."

It Was 40 Years Ago Today . . .

. . . or at least this year. A slideshow of images from 1968.

Time for the Persecution to End!

iWon News - Paris Hilton donates to LA's Childrens Hospital: "LOS ANGELES (AP) - Paris Hilton is making good on her promise to become a better person.

The 27-year-old socialite made an 'extremely generous' donation toward the construction of a medical building at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, hospital officials said Thursday, although they did not specify the amount.

'The children I have met through my involvement with Childrens Hospital have truly touched my heart,' Hilton said in a statement. 'I am proud to make a donation and lend my name to the fundraising effort to help children who are facing terribly serious illnesses.'"

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Forgotten Books: WOLF HOUSE -- Jack Lynch

It wasn't so much that I forgot about Wolf House. I didn't even know it existed until I read the bad news about Jack Lynch's death on Jiro Kimura's Gumshoe Site. (I highly recommend that you read this obituary. Lynch was an interesting guy.) At any rate, as soon as I learned about Wolf House, I bought it. After all, and we're getting to Forgotten Books now, I'd read all seven of Lynch's previous books about p.i. Peter Bragg. They were published first by Gold Medal and then by Warner Books. One was nominated for an Edgar. Two were nominated for Shamus Awards. But Lynch is pretty much fogotten now. That's too bad, because his books are quite good.

That being said, Wolfe House isn't the best of them. It was published only a few years ago by some imprint of iUniverse. I suspect that it was written earlier and that Lynch finally decided to publish it himself if he couldn't interest a mainstream press in it. There are some attitudes in the book that seem to date it back to an earlier time, though not everything does.

Some people will be put off immediately because the book begins when Bragg gets a call from a psychic who believes that someone is killing people and dumping the bodies in Jack London National Park, the location of Wolf House, a home London had begun building but which was mostly destroyed by fire. Only the shell remains. The psychic turns out to be correct, and Bragg is drawn into the search for the serial killer. There are a few holes in the plot, but this is a perfectly serviceable p.i. novel of the kind they don't write anymore. It's now gaudy or showy, but Bragg's a good narrator, and the characters and the local color ring true. If you don't want to read this one, why not try one of Lynch's earlier books? I recommend them all. I'm sure you can find them on-line for next to nothing. That's what happens when books are forgotten. I'm sorry it's happened to Lynch's work.

Gator Update (Cop Killer Edition)

HeraldTribune.com - AP - Nation - - HeraldTribune.com: "BAYOU GEORGE, Fla. — A 10-foot alligator attacked and killed a 5-year-old bloodhound used as a tracker by the Bay County Sheriff's Office.

Investigator Doug Pierce's wife had taken Datsi and the family's two other dogs for a run on Monday when Datsi jumped into a lake to cool off. That's when she was attacked by the alligator."

Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla

Keep this Guy off the Streets

MyWestTexas.com > Ap > Strange: Inmate leaves toilet paper rose after jail escape: "VAN BUREN, Ark. - Crawford County authorities say an inmate escaped the county jail and left behind a rose fashioned out of toilet paper because he felt sorry for breaking out.

Luis Camacho-Mendoza was recaptured a day later on Wednesday in a Van Buren home after police received a tip. Investigator Ken Howard said Camacho-Mendoza was found hiding in a closet in a pile of clothes with a pillowcase over his head."

Thanks to John Duke for the link.

Yet Another List I'm Not On

EW's 100 Greatest Reads, 1983-2008.

Hat tip to Linda Richards at The Rap Sheet.

Superbad in 30 Seconds. . .

. . . with bunnies.

Top SF Movies since 1991?

John Scalzi picks five and offers you a chance to name your picks (and defend them). Click here.

Cross -- Ken Bruen

Ken Bruen's Jack Taylor novels have become less about the plot than about the nightmare that is Jack Taylor's life. Although Taylor is a survivor, you can't say the same for his friends, associates, and companions. The guy is toxic, and it causes him more suffering than most of us can imagine.

I suspect that there are a number of spoilers in what follows. Just thought I'd warn you. You might want just to read the book and skip the comments below.

Cross picks up right where Priest left off, which the young man named Cody, whom Taylor had hired as an assistant and who took a bullet meant for Taylor, in the hospital. Taylor had come to think of Cody as the son he never had. This doesn't bode well for Cody.

Not that crimes are missing from the book. A young man has been crucified, and Ridge, Taylor's former associate (uh-oh) asks Taylor to help out. Meanwhile dogs have begun to disappear, and a client asks Taylor to look into things. Taylor hires a gent named Heaton (uh-oh) to do the legwork. These crimes are resolved, but the focus is on Taylor and his so-called life. It appears that he might have made the big score that will allow him to escape Galway forever. (While this isn't resolved, I'm betting he never does.) The back cover of the paperback claims that the book is a "trip to Hell, and back." Where the blurb writer got the last half of that comment is beyond me. Taylor never comes back. He just circles deeper into the inferno. As for me, I've followed him this far, and I'll follow him farther. I believe Sanctuary is the next book in line. I, for one, will be reading it.

The Angry Red Planet

Croc Update (Barfly Edition)

A crocodile walks into a Top End bar | NEWS.com.au: "A CROC walked into a Territory pub for a quiet evening brew.

And the male saltie nearly made it to the bar too - but was bailed up by three punters in the car park of the tavern in Darwin's rural area on Sunday night.

The Territory's most feared icon was then wrestled in to the Noonamah Tavern for a couple of happy snaps with the locals and tourists.

Noonamah Tavern barmaid Sarah Sparre, 22, said the toothy visitor was a momentary diversion from general beer swilling.

'It's not every day you see something like that,'' she said."

Thanks to Jeff Meyerson for the link.

Tarzan Would be Proud

Spanish parliament to extend rights to apes | Science | Reuters: "MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's parliament voiced its support on Wednesday for the rights of great apes to life and freedom in what will apparently be the first time any national legislature has called for such rights for non-humans.

Parliament's environmental committee approved resolutions urging Spain to comply with the Great Apes Project, devised by scientists and philosophers who say our closest genetic relatives deserve rights hitherto limited to humans."

The I, Libertine Hoax

WFMU's Beware of the Blog: The I, Libertine Hoax: "Over 50 years ago, one of the greatest media hoaxes ever was foisted upon New York City and the world at large. Overnight WOR-AM radio show host Jean Shepherd asked his listeners ('the Night People') to go into bookstores and ask for a book that didn't exist. Armed with a fictitious title and author, along with a vague plot outline, the Night People got their hooks in wherever they could. Fueled by bewildered bookstore owners and distributors, I, Libertine eventually did end up as a genuine bestseller. The crazy tale is recounted here in Shep's own words on Long John Nebel's radio show from 1968."

Hat tip to Boing Boing.