There Will Be Blog (Get It?)

In case you don't get it, the entry title is a pun on There Will Be Blood. In past years, I've changed my Blogger profile photo to Superman, Clark Kent, Green Lantern, Spock. My current blog layout doesn't show a profile pic on the homepage, but I am Force Ghost Obi-Wan on Twitter, and I have made a few simpler blog tweaks to get into the spirit:

No trick-or-treaters yet, but they'll be getting Reese's Pumpkins and Almond Joy.

I invite you to read and comment on my 2008 Halloween story "Only For Good".

Fall 2010 Mysterical-E

The issue has been live a day or two now, featuring my latest TV column, "Thinking Outside The Box". My thanks again to editor Joe DeMarco.

My DISCOUNT NOIR Video

Order now.

"Come out to the Coast..."

Yesterday my friend Christine Boylan, once rookie-of-the-year at Hofstra's literary magazine Font, now writer of such memorable Leverage episodes as "The Miracle Job", "The Bottle Job", and "The Three-Card Monte Job" and working on the Shonda Rhimes series Off The Map, married Eric Heisserer, co-writer of the new Nightmare on Elm Street and 5inal Destination.

I couldn't be there, but I remember fondly last Thanksgiving, when Christine and Eric came east, and Christine treated us to pizza:

L to R: Deshant Paul, Christine and Eric, me, John Ricotta and his daughters

Meanwhile, Deshant and John did make the trip west, and Deshant snapped a photo he knew I'd enjoy:

And I'm almost certain this wasn't their wedding song, but it was the one playing in my head:



Congratulations, Christine and Eric. Go forth and be awesome.

Smallville: "Isis"

This final season of Smallville began with Lois confirming her suspicion that Clark was a strange visitor from another planet known for now as The Blur. For the past five episodes, Clark has been struggling to tell Lois while Lois has been struggling to tell Clark she already knows.

After Lois was possessed by the spirit of Egyptian goddess Isis, giving her Blur-like powers but threatening her life, and making Cat Grant believe Lois was The Blur, this is how the big scene in the supply room unfolded:

LOIS
I know the pen is mightier than the sword, but Cat was off her rocker. I mean Lois Lane is amazing, but you and I both know that I'm not the world's greatest superhero.

CLARK
Lois, I'm sorry you had to get a ballpoint in the hand for the truth to come out.

LOIS
The truth. Right. About The Blur, who he is, the big mystery. Of course he never told me his identity, so I guess I don't even really know him. But I feel like I do. The thing is, Clark, The Blur and I, we have this special bond. Actually it's kind of like what you and I have together because I...I wish you were a mirror. (Clears throat.) What I'm really trying to say to you is that I know you.

CLARK
But you don't know The Blur. He's probably keeping it a secret for a reason.

LOIS
He's never gonna tell me, is he?

CLARK
Not if it means putting your life at risk.

LOIS
I wish he knew that I was willing to take that risk.

LOIS walks away, calls the elevator.

CLARK
All my life I've been afraid, Lois. Afraid of people knowing the truth about me, afraid of them rejecting me, and even if they didn't, still losing them. I've been afraid of everything I can't control. But when I was faced with the idea of losing you forever, it made me realize there's something that I would regret more than anything else. And that's not telling you the truth about me. Because that's the only way we could share a life together. I know the odds are stacked against us and we'd be risking everything, but if you're ready to take that leap, there's no one else I want to take that leap with.

Elevator opens. LOIS turns back.

CLARK
Lois, you've had a lot of questions about The Blur. It's me. I'm The Blur.

LOIS tackles CLARK to the floor, kisses him.

LOIS
What took you so long?

CLARK
What? You...? (Smiles.)

Well done.

Open For Business

I've added a Store page to showcase Discount Noir, The Lineup, Lineup merchandise, and future writing for profit.

DISCOUNT NOIR On Sale Now

Conceived as a blog flash fiction challenge last year, the eBook Discount Noir is on sale now.  Here's the cover image and description from publisher Untreed Reads:

If you thought standing in line at your local warehouse store was murder, then you haven't been to Megamart. These flash fiction tales of superstore madness and mayhem will make you think twice the next time you hear, "Clean up on Aisle 13."

This anthology contains works by: Patricia Abbott, Sophie Littlefield, Kieran Shea, Chad Eagleton, Ed Gorman, Cormac Brown, Fleur Bradley, Alan Griffiths, Laura Benedict, Garnett Elliot, Eric Beetner, Jack Bates, Bill Crider, Loren Eaton, John DuMond, John McFetridge, Toni McGee Causey, Jeff Vande Zande, James Reasoner, Kyle Minor, Randy Rohn, Todd Mason, Bryon Quertermous, Sandra Scoppettone, Stephen D. Rogers, Steve Weddle, Evan Lewis, Daniel B. O'Shea, Sandra Seamans, Albert Tucher, Donna Moore, John Weagly, Keith Rawson, Gerald So, Dave Zeltserman, Dorte Hummelshoj Jakobsen, Jay Stringer, Anne Frasier, Kathleen A. Ryan, Eric Peterson, Chris Grabenstein and J.T. Ellison.

Buy from The Untreed Reads Store.

The Return of Hard Case Crime

The future of Charles Ardai's popular line of classic and new pulp novels was in doubt earlier this year when Dorchester went digital. Today, Ardai announces Hard Case Crime's new home, U.K.-based Titan:

We've got some big news to announce today: After a year's hiatus, Hard Case Crime will be returning to bookstores with new titles in 2011, thanks to a deal we just signed with UK-based Titan Publishing.

Titan is a publisher both of fiction and of gorgeous art books focusing on pop culture such as movie poster art, pin-ups, newspaper comic strips, and Golden Age comic books, and has worked with filmmakers such as J.J. Abrams, Joss Whedon, and George Lucas. Titan has been around for 30 years, has more than 200 employees, and in addition to publishing books also has a magazine division, a retail division (Titan owns the famous Forbidden Planet bookstore in London, and until recently co-owned the Murder One mystery bookstore with Maxim Jakubowski), and a merchandise division that produces items such as t-shirts, sculptures, and accessories. We look forward to exploring ways we might develop some cool Hard Case Crime products with them!

But first things first: books.

Hard Case Crime will relaunch in September/October 2011 with four new books, including CHOKE HOLD by Christa Faust (sequel to her Edgar Award-nominated MONEY SHOT), QUARRY'S EX by Max Allan Collins (the latest in the popular series of hit man novels by the author of "Road to Perdition"), and two never-before-published novels by MWA Grand Masters (names to be announced shortly).

Additionally, Titan Publishing plans to acquire all existing stock of Hard Case Crime's backlist from Dorchester Publishing and to resume shipping these titles to booksellers immediately.

New books will be published in paperback (possibly some in hardcover as well!); ebook editions will also be released across multiple platforms. Titan is distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Random House.

We're very excited about working with Titan (indeed, we had offers from five publishers and chose Titan over several that were much larger and better-known) -- they love pulp fiction as much as we do and appreciate that in books like ours the visual dimension is just as important as the storytelling. It's hard to imagine a better home for Hard Case Crime.

Many thanks in advance for helping us to get the word out that Hard Case Crime is coming back!

E-mails (Blogs, Tweets, Etc.) Are Letters, Too.

Today on Murderati, Tess Gerritsen ponders an apparent rise in disgruntled readers and how writers ought to respond.

I commented:

I think we're seeing more of one another's raw emotion because, as others have commented, it's easier to send an e-mail or post a blog entry than to write a letter. As a result, senders don't respect e-mail much as a form, nor do they respect its recipients. As you say, Tess, letter writing used to require people to ensure their arguments were logical and persuasive.

As a writer, I'm always mindful that--be it by letter, e-mail, blog, or speech--I'm communicating with people who deserve as much respect as I'd like to receive. That said, if I receive angry messages founded on faulty logic, I'm within my rights not to respond. Some angry senders don't care who/what's right; they only care that they get under your skin.

DISCOUNT NOIR on sale Friday

Conceived as a blog flash fiction challenge last year, the eBook Discount Noir goes on sale Friday, October 22nd, from Untreed Reads—forty-two stories in all, including my tale of a man lured to the Seasonal section of a superstore on the promise of sexual stimulation, "Need a Hand?"

This is a slight delay from the original sale date, today. In any case, my thanks again to Patti Abbott, Steve Weddle, and Stacia Decker.

Get your copy for $4.49, a 25% discount, through October 31.

THE GRADUATE by Charles Webb

The last few books I've read (or tried to read) have dragged on for months, so yesterday I picked something off the shelf on a whim and dived in. I finished The Graduate this morning, not just because it's dialogue-heavy and bare of description, but also because the characters act without a show of reasoning. When Ben Braddock and, later, Elaine Robinson are asked to explain themselves, they can't. I had to read and see what they did, then speculate why they did it.

This was a refreshing change from the bulk of books that delve into characters' thoughts. I appreciate that style, but it's good to remember I don't need characters' actions explained. Not employing the usual reflection, Webb allows readers to make what they will of what takes place—much the way a play doesn't lean heavily on stage direction, allowing a director and actors' interpretation.

The one drawback was, in lieu of detailed descriptions, my mind filled in Dustin Hoffman, William Daniels, Anne Bancroft, etc. in their movie roles. I wanted to see the characters as Webb saw them before the movie was made.

Thrilling Detective Web Site Update

From Editor-in-Chief Kevin Burton Smith:

Okay, so welcome to the site (again).

To those of you who've followed The Thrilling Detective Web Site through the years, and to those of you who just wandered in off a Google search, welcome to this special transitional issue.

Unfortunately, due to severe time constraints, part of our previous concept (or was it conceit?) of semi-regular "issues" featuring a handful of original stories and selected excerpts, has -- after a lot of personal soul-searching and hand-wringing -- been abandoned. Temporarily or forever, I'm not sure, but currently I just don't have the dime or the time to devote to the fiction side of this site. Or at least in any sort of way that will ensure the quality you've come to expect.

I will, however, continue to try to keep -- with renewed energy, I hope -- the reference portion of the site going. That, in fact, was the original idea for the site: a big P.I. reference site. And actually, it's always been the less glamorous but major portion of this site -- and plenty time-consuming in its own right. But I intend to keep it going for as long as I can. Or until the wheels inevitably fall off.

To keep this site current and moving along -- and to make sure I don't slack off -- I intend to maintain a short list (see below) detailing happenings in the P.I. world. They'll be short, mostly snappy blasts (I hope), with appropriate links, that will direct you to -- or give you my take on -- some of the things that have caught my eye lately and that may be of interest to you.

For those of you who despair that you'll never read fiction in these pages again, please note that, like Sean Connery, I never said "never".

At this point, I'd like once again to thank current fiction editor Gerald So and my original co-editor Victoria Shea-Esposito for all their hard work over the years. My decision to ditch fiction in no way reflects upon Gerald's tireless work for so many years.

And I would like to thank Victoria Esposito-Shea, all the authors I worked with, and most of all, Kevin, who believed before I did that I could do the job and whose demanding eye made me a better editor.

Bouchercon 2010

I can't attend this year, but as a past president of the Short Mystery Fiction Society, I want to bring attention to the short story panel "In Case of Madness", Friday, 4:30-5:30 PM in Grand Ballroom A, after which there will be a plaque presentation to the 2010 SMFS Derringer Award winners.

I've heard that, as of October 5, none of the winners is attending the con. I would still urge any SFMS members in attendance to take in the panel as a show of support. The Derringer presentations of the past two years, owed largely to the work of my vice president Jim Doherty, have helped raise the profiles of the SMFS and, more importantly, the short mystery form.

Doing Some Damage

Live today is my chat with Jay Stringer and Russel McLean of Do Some Damage. Recorded from a Skype call, topics include The Lineup: Poems on Crime and the novels of Reed Farrel Coleman.

F___in' Language

Earlier this week, author Karen E. Olson blogged about getting flak from readers over one protagonist's use of profanity. Partly in response, her second series protag doesn't use profanity at all. And yet Karen has still seen a content warning as part of a review and surprising editorial suggestions.

Summing up her blog post, she writes, "Are you easily offended by language in a book? Or do you take it all in context?"

I commented:

Language only bothers me when it sounds "off" for the character or the situation. Profanity seldom bothers me because a lot of people use it. Writers have a responsibility to reflect reality to an extent.

I was bothered recently reading a book in which the protag used the word "perhaps" far too often, making her sound overly mannered, not fitting my image of her otherwise.

Several crime novelists have pointed out that some readers are more offended by language than by depictions of violence and murder. Yes, violence and murder are givens in crime fiction, but no writer intends readers become desensitized to them. They are at heart the vehicles by which crime fiction comments on reality.

Neither should anyone become desensitized to language. Writers want readers to feel characters' anger, fear, anxiety, shock when they use profanity.

62

I happen to be up in the wee hours of my birthday. Above is one way to express my age. Four hours after I was born, I stopped breathing. Fortunately, I started again four minutes later. Every second since has been a bonus never lost on me.

Stephen J. Cannell Dies

Stephen J. Cannell, writer-producer of many of my favorite TV shows (The Rockford Files, The A-Team, Hunter, Booker...), died last night of complications from melanoma. He was 69. Since the late 1990s, he had become known as a novelist, most notably for the Shane Scully novels. He frequently guest-starred on Castle as himself. I've often tweeted my admiration for him, and I hope he saw some of those posts. I will always remember his enthusiasm and encouraging words.