Jeffery Deaver to write the next James Bond novel

This past Friday, the 102nd anniversary of Ian Fleming's birth, Fleming's estate announced American thriller writer Jeffery Deaver as author of the next James Bond novel (after 2008's Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks). While Faulks's novel was set in 1969, Deaver's novel will be set in present day, take place over a short period of time, and find Bond in three or four exotic locales.

Deaver also said it would, "maintain the persona of James Bond as Fleming created him and the unique tone the author brought to his books".

Holiday Weekend?

I've been busy this past week into Memorial weekend as the Short Mystery Fiction Society prepares to elect officers to succeed me and Jim Doherty as president and VP respectively. The past two years, we've worked to strengthen the Society's rules and procedures and better connect with the general public. These goals largely met, Jim and I opted not to run for second terms.

I personally feel it's important for the SMFS to develop as dynamically as possible, and I welcome successors with the best ideas for its future.

Gary Coleman Dies

Gary Coleman, probably the biggest child star of my youth, has died after an apparent brain hemorrhage caused him to fall and suffer a serious head injury.

His death brings a fond memory of mishearing the "Diff'rent Strokes" lyrics:

A man is born,
he's a man of means.
Then along come two,
they got nothin' but his genes.

Yes, I thought Mr. Drummond was Willis and Arnold's biological father. Early in the series, the boys called Drummond "Mr. D.," but I originally missed these episodes, including Drummond's official adoption of Willis and Arnold, so I only heard them call him "Dad."

NCIS: Los Angeles Season 1 Reviewed

Links to my full-season review coverage at BSCreview. Thanks once again to editor-in-chief Elena Nola.

Identity
The Only Easy Day
Predator
Search and Destroy
Killshot
Keepin' It Real
Pushback
Ambush
Random on Purpose
Brimstone
Breach
Past Lives
Missing
LD50
The Bank Job
Chinatown
Full Throttle
Blood Brothers
Hand-to-Hand
Fame
Found
Hunted
Burned
Callen, G.

NCIS Season 7 Reviewed

More of my season-long review coverage as seen on BSCreview. Thanks again to editor-in-chief Elena Nola.

Truth or Consequences
Reunion
The Inside Man
Good Cop, Bad Cop
Code of Conduct
Outlaws and In-Laws
Endgame
Power Down
Child's Play
Faith
Ignition
Flesh and Blood
Jet Lag
Masquerade
Jack Knife
Mother's Day
Double Identity
Jurisdiction
Guilty Pleasure
Moonlighting
Obsession
Borderland
Patriot Down
Rule Fifty-One

The Big Bang Theory Season 3 Reviewed

Last night I finished my review coverage of The Big Bang Theory Season 3 at BSCreview. Special thanks to content editor Elena Nola.

The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation
The Jiminy Conjecture
The Gothowitz Deviation
The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary
The Cornhusker Vortex
The Guitarist Amplification
The Adhesive Duck Deficiency
The Vengeance Formulation
The Gorilla Experiment
The Maternal Congruence
The Psychic Vortex
The Bozeman Reaction
The Einstein Approximation
The Large Hadron Collison
The Excelsior Acquisition
The Precious Fragmentation
The Pants Alternative
The Wheaton Recurrence
The Spaghetti Catalyst
The Plimpton Stimulation
The Staircase Implementation
The Lunar Excitation

Bones Season 5 Reviewed

Last week I finished my review coverage of Bones Season 5 at BSCreview. Special thanks to content editor Elena Nola.

Harbingers in a Fountain
The Bond in the Boot
The Plain in the Prodigy
The Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
A Night at the Bones Museum
The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken
The Dwarf in the Dirt
The Foot in the Foreclosure
The Gamer in the Grease
The Goop on the Girl
The X in the File
The Proof in the Pudding
The Dentist in the Ditch
The Devil in the Details
The Bones on a Blue Line
The Parts in the Sum of the Whole
The Death of the Queen Bee
The Predator in the Pool
The Rocker in the Rinse Cycle
The Witch in the Wardrobe
The Boy with the Answer
The Beginning in the End

Needle's First Flash Fiction Contest Entries

Links to all the entries are now posted at Needle's Web site. The prize drawing is this Friday. Wish me luck.

Fave Four

I've entered The Rap Sheet's Mike Hammer Contest with a list of my four favorite P.I. novels of all time. They are, in alphabetical order:

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
Blunt Darts by Jeremiah Healy
Promised Land by Robert B. Parker
No Colder Place by S.J. Rozan

Click the link above to find out how to send your entry by midnight Pacific May 21.

Castle: "A Deadly Game"

I don't get to watch Castle as regularly as some shows, but I have watched enough to know that for a chunk of the season, Beckett has been dating fellow cop Tom Demming (Michael Trucco), and in last night's finale, Castle seemed to realize the relationship was getting serious. Yes, there was a main plot involving a spy game, but I cared more about the Castle/Beckett relationship.

So Castle is past deadline on his book, and his writer friends (Cannell, Connelly, and Patterson) suggest that perhaps Beckett has been more a distraction than a muse. Castle considers backing off his observer role, letting Beckett work more cases without him.

While none of the cops say they will miss Castle. shots of his usual chair sitting empty give us a sense of what his absence will mean. The cops also tell Beckett that, by now, Castle has done enough research to write a dozen books. He's sticking around because...

So Beckett decides to break up with Demming and is ready to take Castle up on his Memorial weekend invitation to the Hamptons. The problem: By this time, Castle has decided to take his agent/ex-wife with him so he can finish his book. He'll be gone all summer.

And, significantly, as Castle walks off, Beckett calls out hopefully, "See you in the fall?"

The plots and police procedure on Castle don't hold together that well, but the show has always had chemistry. This episode proves they know what to do with it.

FAULT LINE by Barry Eisler

When Richard Hilzoy, creator of revolutionary encryption software, is murdered, his patent lawyer Alex Treven fears he may be next. When those fears start to bear out, Alex sends an urgent message to his brother, covert operative Ben Treven.

Alex and Ben have been estranged since a fateful decision resulted in a car accident that killed their sister Katie, the family peacemaker. For much of the story, Eisler switches viewpoints among Alex, Ben, and Alex's colleague, Sarah Hosseini, who gets between the brothers. Eisler takes these opportunities to get into each character's psyche and win readers' empathy. Realistically, the brothers' conflict is not resolved in one doozy of an argument. Nor is Fault Line the simple tale of a man of action saving a milquetoast. Each character is equally instrumental to the outcome.

Fault Line was originally billed as a standalone, but a second book featuring Ben Treven, Inside Out, goes on sale next month. Here's hoping it's just as well balanced and psychologically deep.

Smallville: "Salvation"

I hadn't watched the previous six or so episodes of Smallville. The show is well past its original five-year plan, but the occasional story catches my eye. Whatever my pet peeves with Smallville, one thing has always been true: The show knows how to put on a season finale.

In short, Clark finally had a way to send Zod and the Kandorians to a new planet, halting their invasion of Earth. The catch: As a fellow Kryptonian, Clark would be sent to the same planet. To me, the greatest contribution Clark/Superman can make is to inspire people, to fight no matter the odds, indeed to make the ultimate sacrifice. So, though Smallville will be back for a tenth season, this was a good note to end on.

I also liked Lois's confusion over which Blur to believe in, Zod or Clark. When she realizes who to trust, Zod attacks her and Clark saves her. Resolved to sacrifice his life on Earth, Clark still doesn't tell Lois he is The Blur, but he kisses her, and she figures it out.

In the climactic battle, Zod uses a blue Kryptonite dagger to avoid being sent to the new planet. He intends to rule the world, but when he drives the dagger into Clark, he is taken up by the transporter beam, and Clark falls. To be continued...

Will Clark start next season with amnesia, having to re-learn his powers? That might work, but I hope they don't do it for long.

Needle's First Flash Fiction Challenge: "Rimbaud's Request"

Five days before deadline, here is my entry. The challenge called for a story up to 1,000 words that must have a needle in it. At stake are a random drawing for a Needle t-shirt and possible publication in Needle. Wish me luck.

Rimbaud's Request

by Gerald So


Reneé Roberts was tired, but she was used to feeling worse than she looked. Her figure filled out at fourteen. She hadn't changed her hair (a long light brown) or anything since, and men and women found her stunning.

She knew this from a softening in their eyes. Everyone had to be massaged, more time spent on some than others, but that first sign of willingness showed right away. Maybe something in her eyes brought it on.

On a tax return, she would've listed her profession as "Masseuse," but in eight years she hadn't made enough for the IRS to care.

She was counting years because Prof. Rimbaud still lived five blocks from campus. In Intro to Psychology, he sparked her fascination with everything from IQ to body language. She constantly read people, got to know what they needed before they asked.

What did Rimbaud need, she wondered. They did everything imaginable back then, but both knew when it was over. She never expected to see him again.

Walking the path to his door, she noticed the vines climbing to his windows. She pressed the doorbell, waited half a minute longer than expected. Her thoughts wandered, yanked back by his voice.

"Miss Roberts."

"Professor."

They took each other in. She put his age at sixty. His hair was close-cropped and all white. His words had more gravel. His eyes were still clear blue and mischievous.

"Follow me."

He seemed a step slow. An injury, maybe, but how recent?

He stopped at the bedroom. Looking sideways at her, he showed the sliver of a smile. She had to smile, too. Rimbaud wasn't her first—that was at fifteen—but he was the man to whom she compared the rest.

"Professor?"

"Yes, Miss Roberts." Always Professor and Miss Roberts.

"I'm not sure what you'd like me to do."

"Let's start with a massage."

She blushed. "Okay."

From an overnight bag, Reneé set out two body towels and a box of surgical gloves. Going through her oils, she wondered if Rimbaud had followed her career since college. Did he know...? No, he couldn't.

She chose the bottle of Desert Essence Love Massage and Body Oil. He undressed and lay on his stomach on the bed. Still had a great body.

She straddled him and spread the oil, palms flat, fingers feeling for tense spots. She found many. His breathing slowed.

As she moved to a deeper stroke, he said, "Miss Roberts, have you learned acupuncture?"

It wasn't her favorite treatment. More invasive than a massage. More blatant.

But she said, "Yes."

"I'd like that."

Reneé got out her needles. "Where is your pain?"

And the dam burst. "I'm dying. Slowly. Too slowly. I hear deep needling at the base of the skull can cause a stroke."

"It can. There's no guarantee it will."

"What would you suggest?" The way he said it, Reneé realized he had followed her career.

She glanced at her box of surgical gloves. "I can mix a strong relaxant. Make it look like you died in your sleep."

"I'd like that," he said again, his last words to her.


###

Reneé Roberts debuted in my first-ever blog flash fiction entry, "Soft Sell".

Flash of Inspiration

You may have seen my name on several flash fiction contests over the years. I actually participate much less often than the average blogger. My other goals, creating a novel protagonist and staying open to poetry, seem to require different mindsets from flash fiction.

That said, sometimes an idea grabs me and I have to run with it. Such was the case last Thursday with Needle Magazine's first flash fiction contest. Due May 18, the entries have to involve a needle of some kind.

This inspired me to revisit a character I last wrote about five years ago, which led me to respond to a post Saturday by Do Some Damage blogger Scott D. Parker, mired in a creative dry spell and wondering, "What do you do when you think everything you write sucks?"

I commented:

I've been through similar dry spells, and for me the answer is not to think about what I'm writing; just write it. This is not a radical notion. Every story starts as a super-creative brainstorm. Only after this first, nonjudgmental stage do I begin self-editing. Self-editing too early of course cuts creativity short.

If I break the creative process into smaller steps, I avoid thinking my writing has to be too good at any one point. The only time it has to be excellent is when I finally post or submit the story.

That's the approach I'm taking with my character from five years ago, and I finished a first draft this morning.

IRON MAN 2

I walked to Roosevelt Field to watch a matinee of Iron Man 2 yesterday. While I hesitate to compare it to the first movie on the whole, I will mention elements I thought were better, equal, and worse.

Don Cheadle is a better, more confrontational James Rhodes than Terrence Howard, who I felt played the role too softly.

Mickey Rourke's character Whiplash/Blacklash was on par with Jeff Bridges' Obadiah Stane. I thought Stark's business rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) was naive to think he could control Whiplash, but I suppose powerful people do get used to things going their way.

Robert Downey Jr. still plays Stark so naturally, and best of all were the internal conflicts Stark faced: the miniature reactor in his chest rapidly killing him, the strain caused by keeping this a secret from Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey, Black Widow operating undercover at Stark Enterprises. While many sequels have flown out of control, these human problems kept Iron Man 2 grounded.

Finally, I thought the soundtrack to Iron Man was excellent. None of Iron Man 2's songs jumped out at me.

Marvel's unique attempt at continuity between their superhero movies is working. Iron Man 2 is a good movie on its own and serves to hype next year's Thor and 2012's The Avengers.

Today is Cinco de Junius

Are you a fan of gritty crime fiction? Have you enjoyed The Lineup's two episodes of CrimeWAV? Join me in thanking CrimeWAV host Seth Harwood by pre-ordering a special edition of his novel Young Junius today at noon Eastern.

You'll also be supporting fast-rising independent publisher Tyrus Books, home of intriguing works such as Hello Kitty Must Die by Angela S. Choi, The Deputy by Victor Gischler, and Day One by Bill Cameron.

Use our promo code "Poet" and you'll support The Lineup while saving $3 on Young Junius.

"Sweet Dreams" Flash Challenge

Back on April 1, Patti Abbott came up with this starter for a story up to 1,000 words:

It begins in a food/drink establishment of some sort. The radio/jukebox/band is playing "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurythmics. A red-headed woman in an electric blue dress comes through the door. And then what?

The story doesn't have to center on these elements. I'm just giving you the initial setting.

You can take it from there.

And so I did:


Bad Timing

by Gerald So


Tom and I were at the Carle Place Diner, on lunch break from Formed Plastics. I was two bites into a massive turkey burger when a gaggle of teens bustled in. They looked sleepless and smelled of red wine. Must have had prom the night before.

They clung together conspicuously, but one of them stood out to me, a redhead in an electric blue prom dress. I noticed her hair more than the dress. I've always had a thing for redheads.

None of them seemed to be paying attention to anyone else, so the waiter tossed his question into the air: "How many?

The group giggled for a good five seconds before the redhead said, "Nine?"

The waiter led the group toward Tom and me, stopping to to pull three tables together. The teens sat four-facing-four, with the redhead on the corner. If I looked past Tom, I could see the back of her dress, her freckled arms, her long red hair.

Beth Duncan.

I knew it couldn't be, but every redhead since high school had reminded me of Beth, how hard I crushed on her, how much of our future I saw. The Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams" was playing either in the diner or in my head, and I held on to the fantasy.

I forced myself to eat the turkey burger, just to pretend I wasn't looking past Tom. With all the other conversation going on, I couldn't hear what the teens said to each other.

Tom was talking about something between bites, too, but I'd forgotten what. I just nodded or shook my head at him.

I did notice when one of the teens shot out of his chair. He looked at least six-three, two-fifty. He tossed bills onto the table the way game show hosts used to give away cash. Then he trudged out, people moving aside like there was a force field around him.

The redhead slouched. Her friends closed in around her. I made to get up.

"Whatsa matter?" Tom said. He checked his watch. "We got plenty of time."

His face came into focus. "Sorry," I said. "Guess I shouldn't have gone with a burger today. Think I'll hit the little boys' room."

"Sure," Tom said, but his expression said, Little boys' room?

I really did go to the men's room, splash water on my face, wash my hands. On my way back, I still felt like comforting the girl. Like I would have comforted Beth if she had only let me. I broke my stride. The room didn't look right. The teens were gone.

Tom got up. "Man, don't take this the wrong way, but I wish I'd gone to the little boys' room with you. Second you leave, prom queen rips off her wig and starts bawling. Sounds like a wounded seal. Everyone in here looks at her. Finally, her and her friends split."

Wig? "Shit."

"I know," Tom said. "Like a freakin' episode of 90210."

"You watch 90210?"

"Fuck you. Back to work."


###

Notes

I know several of my stories feature a guy pining unrequited for a girl. I didn't want to write another of these, but I've always had a thing for redheads. I also remember a friend who returned from Peace Corps service in Namibia and scarfed a Carle Place Diner bacon cheeseburger—her first in two years—while 80s music played.

The story had to start in an eatery. With The Eurythmics playing. When a redhead walks in. So you see, I had to write this.

What I didn't do was let the narrator have his full fantasy. The more details he wanted, the more I wanted him to miss. Finally I decided he should miss the turning point of the redhead's story.


###

Others Tackle The Topic

Patricia Abbott, "A Good Day for Redheads"
Cameron Ashley, "Super Enka Redhead Blues"
David Barber, "In an Instant"
Fleur Bradley, "Strapped"
Paul D. Brazill, "Close-Up"
Cormac Brown, "Type"
Jimmy Callaway, "Everybody's Looking For Elisa Ortiz"
Loren Eaton, "Sum"
Christopher Grant, "Family"
Evan Lewis, "Skyler Hobbs and the Sweetest of Dreams"
Kassandra Kelly, "Beadie and The Blesser"
R.L. Kelstrom, "Looking for Something"
Dana King, "Lily in Blue"
Rob Kitchin, "Sweet Dreams"
Eric Peterson, "Electra Blue"
Ron Earl Phillips, "On the Sly"
Richard Prosch, "A Paradigm is Twenty Cents"
Keith Rawson, "Taking Out The Trash"
Randy Rohn, "What He Deserved"
Kathleen A. Ryan, "To Go"
Sandra Scoppettone, "Yesterday"
Sandra Seamans, "Repeat Offenders"
Kieran Shea, "Bulls"
Deegan Stubbs, "Sweet Dreams of Red and Electric Blue"
Katherine Tomlinson, "Dude Looks Like a Lady"
John Weagly, "Friday Night With A Femme Fatale"
Steve Weddle, "The Favor to Sawyer"
WellesFan, "Cool Blue"

The Lineup 4 (2011) Submissions Open

The general submission period for The Lineup 4 opens today and runs through July 31, 2010. We are open to poems 50 lines or less. Keep in mind that our chapbook pages are 6x9 inches with 1-inch margins all around.

This year, we are also accepting photography submissions for our cover.

Read the full submission guidelines.

Take special note of our new submission e-mail address, poeticjusticepress AT yahoo DOT com.

We look forward to reading your work.