Adventures In Writing

FREE Today, Tomorrow, and Friday!

2012-02-01T08:36:00.002-06:00

The fourth book in the Truman Smith series is free from my good buddy and fellow Rancho Diablo author, Bill Crider. This series is great fun and good reading. And you can't beat the price with a stick.

About the book:

From Publishers Weekly

In this enjoyable fourth series entry, Galveston PI Truman Smith (When Old Men Die, 1994) is hired by Lance Garrison, his still unpleasant but now rich high-school classmate, to investigate the shooting of a prairie chicken (really a kind of grouse) on Garrison's federally protected land in Picketville, Tex. Smith reluctantly agrees, largely because his high-school sweetheart, Anne Lindeman, now lives in Picketville.

A prime suspect is Ralph Evans, an antigovernment local talk-radio host who declares his concern for endangered species by advertising Spotted Owl in a Can. When Smith and Anne's father-in-law, Red Lindeman, explore the scene of the crime, a sniper in a crop duster opens fire on them's a "fly-by shooting," Smith calls it. Then Anne's husband, manager of the radio station, is shotgunned to death. Police chief Ward Peavy eventually charges local birdwatcher Martin York.

When Smith discovers that a previous prisoner died in Peavy's jail, the big picture takes shape. Truman Smith would rather laze in his lawn chair, sipping Big Red and reading Tobacco Road, but when he gets on a case, he's methodical. So's Crider, who fashions a tight plot filled with laconic charm and idiosyncratic characters.

And don't forget his Ranch Diablo book, only $2.99!

And coming next:

McGRAVE by Lee Goldberg Coming Friday!

2012-02-01T00:00:00.001-06:00

Remember those 1980s tough guy cop shows filled with violence and mayhem? Lee Goldberg does!

In his words:

Los Angeles copJohn "Tidal Wave" McGrave is an unstoppable force of nature whoalways gets his man...even if it means laying waste to everything around him,including his own career...which is exactly what happens in his pursuit ofSebastian Richter, the ruthless leader of an international gang of violentthieves. When Richter flees to Berlin, McGrave chases after him...even thoughthe cop doesn't know the language, the laws, or the culture. But McGravedoesn't care...he speaks the universal language of knee in the groin and fistin the face...and he won't let anything get in his way.

What follows is, I hope, a wild,action-adventure novella that captures all of the fun, excitement, humor andpure escapist pleasure of the DirtyHarry, Lethal Weapon and Die Hard movies...

McGrave is an experiment for me. Iset out to write something specifically for the Kindle that would takeadvantage of the way people read on the device...but that would also capturethe pure, escapist fun of watching an action movie. I thought these werevery compatible goals.

With a Kindle, readersare swiping/clicking their way through a story. And because font sizeis adjustable, pages aren't really relevant any more.

A lot of people are using theirKindles to read on subways, buses, and planes. They are moving from oneplace to another as they are moving through a story. SoI wanted to give them a story they could finish in a single journey...andto tell the story in such a way that they'd be swiping or clicking their waythrough it as fast as they could.

To achieve that goal, I chose anaction adventure...which by nature has to move at a breakneck pace...and Ieliminated chapters altogether, breaking the story into scenes, adopting astyle that's closer to a screenplay than a novel (akin to the style Don Winslowadopted in his book Savages). I thought that would keep the story moving...and the reader movingthrough it.

Don't Forget the Big Kindle Boogie!

2012-01-31T23:30:00.000-06:00

Caught My Eye

2012-01-31T06:00:00.002-06:00

Love the fantasy aspects of this one, but the guy's face tooks too realistic, photoshopped into place and not as fantasy as the giant lumbering after him. Love the architecture, the lantern, and the blues.

Caught My Eye

2012-01-31T06:00:00.001-06:00

This cover wins me over through subtle imagery. I love the commonplace and everyday look of the place and the heroine. She's just a working girl in a blue collar job, but she's walking in magic.

Caught My Eye

2012-01-31T06:00:00.000-06:00

Love the cover. The mystery, the feel of gritty suburban life. The way the perspective drops away in the background. Oh yeah, and the wolf seriously grabs my attention as well. This is the fourth book in a series, and Kelly Meding has been getting lots of good press.

SONGBIRD! New Rancho Diablo Cover Coming!

2012-01-30T00:08:00.002-06:00

Featuring beautiful and talented singer Kasey Lansdale!

Coming soon!

Enter Contest for 10 FREE KINDLE FIRES and 75 eBooks!

2012-01-29T16:14:00.002-06:00

Free giveaway info here.

HELLGATE: LONDON

2012-01-28T09:00:00.000-06:00

And I just noticed my Hellgate: London books are out on Kindle as well! I had a blast writing these. Too bad the game went under. We were planning on doing three more books when we got the news.

Hunters of the Dark Sea

2012-01-27T15:25:00.001-06:00

Quite possibly the best novel I've ever written, and certainly one of my favorites. Now on sale as a Kindle book!

If you've read my books before and enjoyed them, or if you like historical action and aliens, this is the book for you. Joe Lansdale was kind enough to blurb this one for me.

X-Men Pulp Cover

2012-01-27T15:11:00.005-06:00

Saw this over on Paul Bishop's site and almost missed the fact that this was an X-Man pastiche. Caught the Chris Claremont name first, then the revelation this was Emma Frost sitting on a desk with Cyclops' silhouette in the doorway.

The Rover Books On Kindle

2012-01-27T12:09:00.001-06:00

I just noticed three of the four ROVER books are up on Amazon as ebooks! I'm assuming the last one will follow suit soon.

Man On A Ledge

2012-01-27T06:00:00.001-06:00

I'm interested in seeing how this one plays out.

Stephanie Plum Is In Theaters!

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-06:00

Loved the book. Love Katherine Heigl. My wife, son, and I are gonna be there.

Caught My Eye

2012-01-21T06:35:00.001-06:00

Sharon Sala A Field of Poppies Available on NOOK!

2012-01-20T10:05:00.002-06:00

Click here to get Sharon's latest bestseller on the NOOK!

Style?

2012-01-20T08:27:00.002-06:00

Hat tip to Bill Crider, who obviously has questionable fashion sense. :)

More info.

The Hunger Games Movie

2012-01-20T08:05:00.001-06:00

I'm getting more and more excited.

Underworld Awakening

2012-01-20T06:00:00.002-06:00

Women action stars are making bank this week!

Haywire

2012-01-20T06:00:00.001-06:00

This one just looks like fun. A real shoot-em-up.

Movie I Want To See

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-06:00

World War II flying action. Cuba Gooding Jr. What's not to love? I'm there!

Stealing Souls Now 99 Cents!

2012-01-19T13:12:00.000-06:00

Paul Bishop & Felony Fists Nominated for Pulp Ark Award

2012-01-19T13:03:00.000-06:00

Up for two awards now! Definitely a contender!

Arron of the Black Forest Up for Two Pulp Ark Awards!

2012-01-19T12:58:00.000-06:00

Pulp Ark has the book listed in the NOVEL category as well as the COVER category!

See the list!

Joe R. Lansdale Interview

2012-01-19T11:32:00.000-06:00

Good, informative interview with my buddy, Joe Lansdale.

Click here.

Paul Bishop/Fight Card: Felony Fists Up For Award!

2012-01-19T10:16:00.000-06:00

Paul is up for the Spinetingler Award, which also counts votes from people who drop by and vote. If you like what you see, if you like what you read, log on and do Paul a solid. Thanks!

Vote Here!

A FIELD OF POPPIES by Sharon Sala

2012-01-19T00:33:00.001-06:00

My buddy Sharon Sala's new book is on sale for the Kindle today. Paperback and Nook version coming soon.

Two families. One secret.
Separated by a river and twenty years of lies.

Five minutes changed Poppy Sadler’s life forever. Tick. The hospital called. Her mother’s battle with cancer was finally over. Tock. The police showed up at her door. Her father’s body has just been pulled from the River. Tick. Murdered.
Tick, Tock. Five minutes and a secret is coming undone.

Across the river, Justin Caulfield’s vast fortune can buy him anything but more time. Tick. A deadly disease is stealing his daughter’s life. He needs a miracle. Tock. The person he never doubted names the price he never knew he owed. A price more than one man can pay. Tick. Betrayed. Tick, Tock. Twenty years of lies may cost him his very soul.

DEAD MAN: FIRE AND ICE Out Today

2012-01-17T11:29:00.002-06:00

The latest release from the DEAD MAN!

The saga of Matthew Cahill continues as the man who sees a nightmarish netherworld nobody else does fights to save us all—and his own soul—from the clutches of the purely evil Mr. Dark.

On Matt’s third day of temping at a plant, disgruntled former worker Kevin Radowski (aka K-Rad) walks in and starts shooting. As the day progresses and the body count rises, Matt finds himself locked inside with four fellow employees—and no discernible way out. Matt soon realizes K-Rad has more in mind than killing his co-workers…he’s using the chemicals available to blow the plant, and several square blocks of surrounding businesses and residences, sky high. But just when Matt thinks things can’t get any worse, Mr. Dark steps into the game, raising the stakes in a gruesome and horrifying way.

Fire and Ice delivers the non-stop action, high body count, and edgy thrills that make The Dead Man series impossible to put down.

Paul Bishop & Fight Card

2012-01-17T09:02:00.000-06:00

LISTEN to my buddy Paul Bishop talk about writing and about Fight Card.

Click here.

Things That Should Be Bright And Beautiful

2012-01-17T06:00:00.000-06:00

Since I had a post yesterday about things that should not be colorized, let me mention that I'm a fan of color...andthe amazing Joe Jusko.

People, real life will never look like this, and it shouldn't. This is the stuff adventures are made of, along with Red Sonja!

Free Book Today Only!

2012-01-17T00:01:00.000-06:00

PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED AS THE AFFAIR OF THE WOODEN BOY

In Drummond, James Stark and his pretty wife Mina run a discreet inquiry agency and are used to laying their lives on the line to see that justice and the truth prevail. The city is rife with dark creatures, great monsters and men who are beasts, and fantastical foes live in the shadows, waiting for victims.

When a puppet knocks on their door in the dead of night claiming to be a real boy who has had his body stolen through black arts, James takes up his pistol and sets out to balance the scales. Mina accompanies her husband as they investigate the dangerous affair of the wooden boy.

Arron of the Black Forest

2012-01-16T17:09:00.000-06:00

New Year! Time to get pimping again! My buddy Phil Athans wrote a great sword & sorcery novel to introduce our character, Arron of the Black Forest. Give it a read. You'll enjoy it.

Mine's coming soon!

Covers are by the fabulous Keith Birdsong.

The Shadow Is Coming!

2012-01-16T14:09:00.002-06:00

Now this looks awesome! Coming in April!

Some Things Should Not Be Colorized

2012-01-16T10:05:00.002-06:00

I got a link to this from my buddy Bill Crider's blog. I know the details in the colorized picture are much clearer, but it takes away so much from the romance of that early shot. With the black and white rendering, the image looks like a snap shot out of time.

This is one of those iconic pictures that has been part of American history for generations. I'm glad we have the technology to do these things for people that want it, but you can have too much of a good thing.

I've seen The Maltese Falcon in the original black-and-white and as a colorized version. I would much rather see the black and white version. The same goes for Casablanca.

And there's a wonderful movie that perhaps some of you have not seen called Portrait of Jenny that makes magnificent use of black-and-white imagery that would not stand out if colorized. In fact, the film is one of the first that started using color, but only in the last few frames of the movie, and that is done to stunning effect.

Alcatraz Premieres Tonight!

2012-01-16T09:29:00.001-06:00

I've been anticipating this one. Can't wait to wrap my head around it, and I hope it makes more sense to me than Lost. I know a lot of people liked that show, and I hung with it for a while, but I got tired of waiting to see something happen. This one looks really cool.

Who's New (Again) In The DCU?

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000-06:00

And here are the six new titles coming from DC's New 52 in the coming months to replace the six that got axed.

Batman Incorporated is a no-brainer to a degree. It met with a lot of acceptance and fans were miffed when it got retconned. However, the plans are for a LONG story arc that could potentially cheese off as many readers as it makes happy. Batman and and his newly franchised legions square off against Talia Al Ghul and Robin (Damien) is caught in the middle.

It'll get a good run, but then what do you do after that story wraps?

The Haunted Tank is one of my favorite strips, and this is going to be a return to World War II stories from what I see. The main headliner is gonna be The War That Time Forgot, which could offer enough science fiction goodness to keep readers coming back. Besides the Haunted Tank back up, Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti are gonna write some Unknown Soldier stories, and they've got the chops to deliver done-in-one tales as well as multi-parters that will deliver in action. This new incarnation of GI COMBAT could work.

Duh! Everybody was wondering when this one was gonna be done. James Robinson is gonna write it, so it should be good. Gonna be interesting to see who's in the line up on Earth 2, which is what the book is gonna be called this time out.

Now this one is interesting. Power Girl and the Huntress were both original Earth 2 creations that got lost along the way with the Crisis storyline that brought everything back down to one earth. Now, with multiple earths again, the two are going on a road trip to figure out their true origins and where they fit into things. It's a great premise, but unless the characters really gel, what are you gonna do after that? This one's called World's Finest, which originally featured Superman and Batman teamups.

Don't know about this one. The Ravager, Deathstroke's daughter, gets her own team and has ties to both the Teen Titans and Superboy strips in The Ravagers. I like Rose. Gotta see who she gets paired up with, but the idea of fighting against supervillains out to make them part of their organization is kinda cool. But, again, for how long?

And is this one gonna depend on the survival of the Deathstroke strip?

I'm of mixed feelings about this one. When I was a kid, I loved the idea of the H Dial and being able to just change into a hero but not knowing what you were gonna get. ("Becoming a hero is like a box of chocolates...") China Mieville is slated to write this one, but his take on the Swamp Thing got nuked so I wonder how neatly he's gonna fit into the DCU. He's a great novelist. If he could do his own thing, unfettered, it would probably be really neat.

So? See any favorites? Sure bets?

Free Book!

2012-01-15T22:44:00.001-06:00

Great crime novel by a real LAPD detective and star of Take the Money and Run.

A Calico Jack Walker / Tina Tamiko L.A.P.D. novel . . .

It’s 1977 and veteran L.A.P.D. cop Calico Jack Walker and his rookie partner, Tina Tamiko, are planning to make Calico’s last shift on the job something special – but plans, as they do, come apart because Walker and Tamiko are good cops no matter what the cost . . . even if they're L.A. cops, in uniform, in their patrol car, on duty, and way out of their jurisdiction on the Las Vegas Strip.

When a major crime is going down, good cops never hesitate.

PRAISE FOR HOT PURSUIT

“The closest equivelent to Joe Wambaugh yet . . . Hot Pursuit could hardly be better.” — The Los Angeles Times

"A full-throttle reading experience that sweeps you aboard with its opening sentences, speed shifts into high gear, and doesn't give you a chance to catch your breath until you've reached The End . . . the most exciting caper you're likely to find in print this year." — Wayne Dundee, Editor, Hardboiled

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A thirty-five year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, Paul has twice been honored as Detective of the Year. Aside from his numerous novels, he has written scripts for episodic televison and feature films. As a nationally recognized interrogator, he appears regularly on the hit ABC reality series Take The Money And Run.

He categorically denies ever making an on-duty run such as the one described in this novel and will continue to do so until the statute of limitations has expired . . .

First Casualties in DC's New 52 Line-Up

2012-01-15T06:00:00.000-06:00

Well, the cancellations are starting to arrive. I knew it would. Everyone did. No way was DC Comics gonna rearrange the worlds and come up with 52 lightning strikes in their new titles. However, I really thought some of these would make it.

Hawk & Dove was one I thought might make it. Solid writer (Sterling Gates), and the concept is still playable in today's world. But Rob Liefield is the catalyst for this one, in my opinion. Fans either love his stuff or they hate it. I just didn't care for it. The artwork was too sketchy, and didn't draw the eye well enough. Look at Hawk's head on this cover -- way too small for the body, and everybody has those rounded hips.

Interestingly enough, Liefield is being left on the last three books for the art and the writing. And he's being shuttled onto three of the surviving books, The Savage Hawkman, Deathstroke, and Grifter. He's doing the art and writing on Deathstroke, and plotting the other two. Gonna be interesting to see what happens to those titles.

This was another potential survivor in my books. DC Comics has a successful history with war books, and these issues were about today's military. Maybe too real? People want more fantasy in their war stories?

Don't know what went wrong with this one either, so now I'm curious enough to read the books. Shoulda been a contender. The new Mr. Terrific has been a fan favorite from the JSA title, and there's a lot of science background that can be used.

Honestly, I don't know why they revamped this title. Never cared for the concept even when Jack Kirby did it with that outlandish mohawk hairstyle.

I was really surprised at losing this one. My son is really disappointed. Static Shock is one of his favorite heroes. I didn't particularly care for the artwork, but Chandler was okay with it. This one should have made it with the younger readers, but maybe there aren't enough younger readers, or readers young at heart?

Loved the idea of the Blackhawks, and I loved Lady Blackhawk in the Birds of Prey title that Gail Simone wrote. In the 1980s, DC Comics tried to update the concept and move the series into the present. It was interesting, but it didn't work. Howard Chaykin did a three-issue prestige series that performed a little better. I think this is one of those series that will always touch the hearts of old readers and when pulled out for special stories, not an ongoing series, the 'Hawks can fly again.

So what are the six books replacing these? Glad you asked! Tune in tomorrow!

UNDER THE MOONS OF MARS

2012-01-14T14:24:00.001-06:00

This all-new anthology is coming out on February 7, but I got an ARC (advance reader's copy) in the mail today from the publisher. This is one of the books I've been most anticipating. I grew up reading the John Carter of Mars books, and I have even read A Princess of Mars to my youngest son, who has had the most patience of all my children with listening to Dad read. He enjoyed the book and were both looking forward to John Carter the movie in theaters soon.

I couldn't help myself. The book is absolutely beautiful and well laid out. I sat down and devoured the first three stories, trudging once more through the sands of Mars with a sword in my fist. Joe Lansdale's "The Mechanical Men of Mars" is a real throwback to the halcyon days and reads like Edgar Rice Burroughs himself could have written it. David Barr Kirtley (whom I've never before heard of) has written a truly elegant and emotional story full of wonder and honor in "Three Deaths." And Peter S. Beagle has penned a story that pays homage to Tarzan of the Apes as well as John Carter and plays with American and English history at the same time.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the stories. John Joseph Adams has gotten a wonderful group together to do this book, and I can only hope there will be another. Surely one will not be enough.

THE LONE EAGLE Flies!

2012-01-10T16:27:00.001-06:00

One of the best flying pulps of the 1930s returns! This collection features the first two high-flying adventures of the Lone Eagle! Pulp enthusiasts will have a blast with this one.

This One REALLY Caught My Eye

2012-01-09T06:00:00.000-06:00

What? A LOVE STORY?

It's only $1.99, so I'm gonna take a look.

Happy Birthday, King! TCB!

2012-01-08T13:37:00.001-06:00

Mountain Dew and the Dead Mouse

2012-01-08T06:00:00.000-06:00

I've got a lot of friends that swear by Mountain Dew. It's too sweet for me, and evidently much more interesting than I'd believe. Want to know how a mouse necropsy was involved with Mountain Dew in a court case? Click here.

Hat tip to Criminal Element.

Rancho Diablo Coming Soon!

2012-01-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

Bill Crider is up to bat in this one, and he's promising a fine tall tale!

John Cusack Is Edgar Allan Poe in THE RAVEN

2012-01-06T18:52:00.002-06:00

I'm looking forward to this one.

The Bride Wore Black Leather

2012-01-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

How can you NOT pick up a book with that title, and with a cover that sports a woman in black leather packing a shotgun?

The newest release in Simon Green's NIGHTSIDE novels.

Wonderful Review of the The Cutman -- STILL FREE At Amazon!

2012-01-06T05:26:00.001-06:00

Read the ALL PULP review here!

Caught My Eye

2012-01-05T15:18:00.002-06:00

Okay, the girl in the matching outfit packing a gun, a sword, and a knife catches my eye immediately, but I LOVE the greens and blues that hang over the city. The art is realistic with just a hint of anime, which also catches my attention.

The author is someone I've read before (the October Daye books), so picking this one up is a no-brainer. Doesn't come out till March, but I'm intrigued.

Still Free Today!

2012-01-05T08:37:00.000-06:00

In case you missed it yesterday, THE CUTMAN is still being offered for free!

Manhunter's Mountain

2012-01-05T08:21:00.003-06:00

Out today! I read this one in its early stages and had a good time with it. Evidently Edward A. Grainger's US Marshal franchise is expanding, and it's in good hands with this one.

And at 99 cents, it's almost like getting this one off the old spinner racks I used to haunt when I was a kid.

Werewolf Western

2012-01-05T06:50:00.000-06:00

Well, we've got a movie coming this summer that depicts Abraham Lincoln as a vampire killer. Who knew he enlisted a band of werewolves to help fight the Civil War? This one just sounds too strange to pass up.

Mankind has fought the war against ghouls of all kinds since the beginning of time. The last stronghold of evil in the known world is the American frontier, but for how long? Bounty hunter Uriah Zane and US marshal Aubrey Coffin are humanity's last hope to rid the world, once and for all, of this demon scourge...

The Hell's Angels are a gang of werewolves who have escaped from Hellsgarde Federal Penitentiary. Originally they were recruited out of eastern Europe by Abraham Lincoln to mercilessly tear the Confederates into submission at Gettysburg, thus ending the Civil War. But the Hell's Angels never returned home. They headed west-to join the legions of other ghouls...

Armed with an arsenal of weapons, the deadliest being Marshal Aubrey Coffin, notorious ghoul-hunter Uriah Zane must stop the hordes of shape- shifting creatures pushing west. Aided by a beautiful Mexican witch and necromancer, werebeasts are searching the deserts for a coveted key, a key that could give the ghouls everlasting life and final dominion over the earth-with humans as their servants.

But first they must face the wrath of Zane, a man who understands better than most the twisted soul of the wolves....

FREE BOOKS! BOXING NOVELS!

2012-01-04T06:24:00.002-06:00

As part of the new Amazon marketing program, FIGHT CARD: THE CUTMAN is being offered as a free download for the next three days. Get one for yourself. Gift one to a friend.

For a limited time, FIGHT CARD: FELONY FISTS is also being offered as a free download.

Fight fans/hardboiled fans will find a lot to enjoy with these books.

Next Evolution Already Underway!

2012-01-03T09:57:00.001-06:00

Yep, these animals are adapting pretty quickly these days!

Shark Evolution?

2012-01-03T09:15:00.004-06:00

Just read an article that was linked to over on Bill Crider's blog about the world's first hybrid shark being found. Well, I guess it's better for you to find the world's first hybrid shark than for the world's first hybrid shark to find you!

But I digress. You can read the full article here.

This eye-opening (jaw-dropping, actually, as you can see from the above picture) presents a lot of new possibilities to my creative side.

First of all, I -- like the scientists -- am now wondering if this hybridization has been going on since sharks first start hunting in the oceans around the world. Sharks are already considered some of the fiercest predators ever created, and if they have a way of evolving, of making themselves more dangerous, then we could be in trouble. Of course, we still have nuclear weapons.

But why are we just seeing this now? Hasn't there been some indication in the past? And if there aren't any prior cases, then why is this happening now? Part of the Global Warming trend? Still gotta prove that one to everyone's satisfaction as well.

If this is part of the evolutionary change going through the world, are we going to see more hybridization? How many other animals, particularly predators, are going to have to "upgrade?" There's a story right there for fertile minds, people!

Okay, let's go utterly fantastic for a moment. The Australian blacktip shark lives in tropical waters while the common blacktip shark lives in the ocean, and much cooler waters. The hybridization allows the Australian blacktip much greater range. The Australian blacktip population was hunted heavily for a time, reducing its numbers by fifty percent. Maybe the Australian blacktip decided it needed the adaptability of the common? Or maybe with the cutback of potential mates they had to cruise other neighborhoods?

Or maybe the sharks know that the ice caps are going to melt and prehistoric predators that even the sharks feared are going to be released back into the water!

I like that one. Just like birds are affected by land disturbances, earthquakes and volcanoes (and fireworks displays on New Year's Eve in Beebe, Arkansas -- click here), maybe these sharks are affected by the polar ice caps melting!

I don't know for sure what's going on, but I'm willing to bet that horror/thriller writers start playing with the idea of hybridized sharks in stories before long. And since sharks may be so genetically adaptable, maybe evil scientists will start mutating them too.

However, I just can't see this happening. Ever.

Justified Season 2 On DVD Today

2012-01-03T06:00:00.000-06:00

If you haven't started watching Justified, one of the coolest shows on television these days, you need to start. Timothy Olyphant plays Raylan Givens, a US Marshal created by Elmore Leonard in his novels and given new life on the small screen.

My son and I enjoy the show whenever it's on, and we pick up the DVDs as well. Today you can pick up the second season set, and several places have special offers for the first and second seasons (if you're really far behind in picking up this great show).

I really can't recommend the series enough. There's action and adventure, and a bromance that has to be seen to be believed, and settings/plot complications that remind me of the small Oklahoma town I grew up in. The third season starts later this month, and Chandler and I can't wait.

Kasey Lansdale Music Video

2012-01-02T10:21:00.001-06:00

I've known Kasey for a few years now. She's Joe Lansdale's daughter, a wonderful singer, an awesome person, and an upcoming model for a Rancho Diablo cover/character!

What's Coming In 2012

2011-12-31T15:04:00.002-06:00

2011 has seen a lot of changes in the book industry as well as in my personal life, so everything's changing. :)

The ebook market has really changed the game. I first started dabbling in it in 2010 so I could teach the setup to my Professional Writing students at the University of Oklahoma. With the way New York has downsized, there are fewer and fewer editors able to look at undiscovered writers. More of the burden is being put on agents, who have always been trying to sell new writers to publishers. The creative process got a little more bottlenecked at the same time that technology has allowed anyone to become a published writer -- and some of them very successful.

I grew intrigued by the sheer ease (after some learning curves that were incredibly tough) by which a writer can get a book out there. I started out learning stuff for my students and ended up becoming blown away by what was possible.

I've always loved genre books, but some of those can be tough to sell these days. Especially the Western, which people have said has been dead for decades. I think it's making a comeback of a type because many of today's young readers view the West as something almost as magical as a fantasy novel. My fourteen year old son has gotten to where he loves them and the way that a lot of cowboys have codes by which they live. He's fascinated by the morality landscape that is out there (and that is echoed by Raylan Givens in Justified), and I think that's probably because that code is as binding as the rules for magic in fantasy.

I've always wanted to write a Western, one of the true Westerns instead of a mystery or detective story set back in the Old West. A man against man or man against nature story. So I contacted a couple friends of mine who also share a love for Westerns, and we came up with Rancho Diablo, a fine little series now five books long and counting.

During the 1980s, a lot of Westerns got mixed up with sex novels along the way, and while those were interesting reads and remain popular, I wanted to do something different. Bill Crider, James Reasoner, and I sat down and hashed out what as become the backbone of our series as well as some future plans (including an upcoming cattle drive that will span several months). We remembered great shows like Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The High Chapparral, Sugarfoot, Cheyenne, and even Maverick. We talked about how we'd loved those shows and the moralistic values they had, but we also wanted the action and adventure we'd become accustomed to in other stores we'd read and written.

Rancho Diablo primarily centers on the Blaylock family, but the stories are growing along with the cast of characters. Bill Crider is currently working on a book that will tell some of the "almost-true" adventures of Gabby Darbins, the ranch's "town character." I enjoy writing the stories a lot because I get to dip back into all those Westerns I grew up on (Louis L'Amour, Luke Short, Max Brand, etc.) and mix it up with growing up in southeastern Oklahoma. I was something of a cowboy myself when I was a boy and a teenager. I rode horses long before I rode motorcycles. I'm pretty sure Bill and James feel the same way.

Another series that I've put together with a fellow writer (Paul Bishop) is Fight Card. Paul and I got to talking about a novella I'd done (Smoker) and how much he enjoyed the old boxing stories in the pulps, especially ones written by Robert E. Howard. We kicked things back and forth for a while, then came up with the series idea for 1950s boxing stories. After we did that, several other writers (Eric Beetner, Robert J. Randisi, Wayne D. Dundee, Gary Phillips) contacted Paul and told him they'd like to climb into the ring with us as well. The first three books are out and more are coming. Paul and I are both penning second books about our characters, so 2012 should have plenty of fights in store for fans of the "sweet science."

My artist buddy Keith Birdsong has started drawing cowboys lately, probably because he got interetested while doing the Rancho Diablo covers. He did a painting of a Confederate soldier that was just the bomb, and it got me to thinking that we could do books about that guy as well, so we're cooking up Cullen's first adventure too. This one is going to be a hell-for-leather ride about a guy trying to find something to live for and a place to carve a new life after the Civil War. He's lost everything, doesn't believe in anything, and has nothing except an iron will to survive, to kill or be killed.

My friend Phil Athans and I have got some projects going on as well. Two series, in fact. The first is called The Fathomless Abyss and is an SF series with true greats in the field: Mike Resnick & Brad Torgersen, Jay Lake, J. M. McDermott, and Cat Rambo. The intial anthology springboards into individual novellas about a group of humans and aliens trapped/living within an impossible world and what they make of that and their lives.

Since we grew up on great SF and sword and sorcery barbarian novels, Phil and I have also created another series, Arron of the Black Forest. The first book is out, and the second one is coming, and it's sporting one of the niftiest titles I've ever created.

I love the fact that ebooks are so versatile and that I can write some of the stuff I've always wanted to write. The coolest thing of all, though, is that the ebook has brought back the novella. Some stories just don't fit in a 5,000 word short story or an 80,000 word novel. Plus, I like reads (and writes!) that take less time. I have trouble fitting a big novel into my schedule. I like to read a book pretty much cover to cover when I it down with it, but that's just becoming harder and harder to do. And if I let a week go by, I tend to forget who is who and why I should care. I think a lot of readers will favor these shorter (30,000 word) reads. An adventure in a night that costs less than a movie ticket and about as much as a video rental. How awesome is that?

I'm also working hard in the New York publishing market because I love the opportunities I've got there. At first blush, there appears to be something of a segregation between New York "legacy" publishin and the emerging ebook phenomenon, but I think after a while readers won't notice the lines between them. They'll be looking for favorite authors in whatever venue they can find them, and hardworking authors will have plenty of stories to tell!

I've got a new military series coming from Tyndale publishing, home of the Apocalypse Dawn books and the NCIS books I wrote, and I'm really excited about that new cast of characters and the stories I'm writing. The first one is called A Thousand Deaths and will be out sometime in 2012. More on that as the pub date finalizes.

I'm also working on the second book in the Identity trilogy for Fantasy Flight Games. The first book is out now and was a lot of fun.

My agent and I are also putting together a military-SF trilogy called Warlord of Makaum that I've been wanting to do for a couple years.

I've got other projects I'm working on as well.

This is my 1,000th post on this blog. I'm pumped about that as well. I hope our venture into the new year brings hope, health, and happiness to everyone.

Daily Science Fiction For Free!

2011-12-29T01:40:00.005-06:00

Just found this and some of the stories are fabulous. They can all be read in just minutes to give you a chuckle or something to think about, or just to kill time.

Click here.

Free Ebook!

2011-12-28T13:47:00.000-06:00

For five days only!

Cullen: Gray Warrior Coming Soon

2011-12-28T13:40:00.003-06:00

Coming soon! Western action!

Joe Golem!

2011-12-28T06:00:00.000-06:00

From Amazon:

In 1925, earthquakes and a rising sea level left Lower Manhattan submerged under more than thirty feet of water, so that its residents began to call it the Drowning City. Those unwilling to abandon their homes created a new life on streets turned to canals and in buildings whose first three stories were underwater. Fifty years have passed since then, and the Drowning City is full of scavengers and water rats, poor people trying to eke out an existence, and those too proud or stubborn to be defeated by circumstance.

Among them are fourteen-year-old Molly McHugh and her friend and employer, Felix Orlov. Once upon a time Orlov the Conjuror was a celebrated stage magician, but now he is an old man, a psychic medium, contacting the spirits of the departed for the grieving loved ones left behind. When a seance goes horribly wrong, Felix Orlov is abducted by strange men wearing gas masks and rubber suits, and Molly soon finds herself on the run.

Her flight will lead her into the company of a mysterious man, and his stalwart sidekick, Joe Golem, whose own past is a mystery to him, but who walks his own dreams as a man of stone and clay, brought to life for the sole purpose of hunting witches.

Dean Koontz's 77 Shadow Street

2011-12-27T12:56:00.002-06:00

77 Shadow Street

The new Dean Koontz thriller comes with an online immersive site. Click here to go there.

I am the One, the all and the only. I live in the Pendleton as surely as I live everywhere. I am the Pendleton's history and its destiny. The building is my place of conception, my monument, my killing ground. . . .

The Pendleton stands on the summit of Shadow Hill at the highest point of an old heartland city, a Gilded Age palace built in the late 1800s as a tycoon’s dream home. Almost from the beginning, its grandeur has been scarred by episodes of madness, suicide, mass murder, and whispers of things far worse. But since its rechristening in the 1970s as a luxury apartment building, the Pendleton has been at peace. For its fortunate residents—among them a successful songwriter and her young son, a disgraced ex-senator, a widowed attorney, and a driven money manager—the Pendleton’s magnificent quarters are a sanctuary, its dark past all but forgotten.

But now inexplicable shadows caper across walls, security cameras relay impossible images, phantom voices mutter in strange tongues, not-quite-human figures lurk in the basement, elevators plunge into unknown depths. With each passing hour, a terrifying certainty grows: Whatever drove the Pendleton’s past occupants to their unspeakable fates is at work again. Soon, all those within its boundaries will be engulfed by a dark tide from which few have escaped.

Dean Koontz transcends all expectations as he takes readers on a gripping journey to a place where nightmare visions become real—and where a group of singular individuals hold the key to humanity’s destiny. Welcome to 77 Shadow Street.

The Hobbit!

2011-12-27T11:13:00.003-06:00

It's coming next December!

New Series

2011-12-27T06:00:00.000-06:00

His name is Cullen, and he's from South Carolina, where the Civil War kicked off at Fort Sumter. Grant and Lee may have laid down their swords, but Cullen's still fighting for survival.

Look for the books early in 2012.

Art is by Keith Birdsong.

Covers That Sell Books!

2011-12-26T06:00:00.000-06:00

I love the blues on this one, how it starts out dark at the top and gradually gets lighter. The uniform really makes this one pop, and the SF background nails it, but doesn't overpower the military influence. I also love the familiar slug line: The few. The proud...

Yep, I downloaded it, and will be getting to this one soon.

Covers That Sell Books!

2011-12-25T06:00:00.000-06:00

I love the use of the red and the black, and the way the gray brings out the mystery guy in the background that you have to look twice for. This is one of those covers that makes me pick up a book. If the back cover copy or jacket copy wins me over, I'm sold. In this instance, this is a book in the Hollows series, which I enjoy a lot.

Free Books -- It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This!

2011-12-24T13:50:00.002-06:00

My buddy Paul Bishop (and co-creator of the Fight Card series) has generously put up a couple of his books for free on Amazon. One is a Detective Fey Croaker novel, and the other is a standalone suspense novel involving one of his passions: soccer.

This is the perfect opportunity to give a little something extra to anyone you put a Kindle under the Christmas tree for! Or if you know someone that has a Kindle, here are two FREE gifts you can send them today!

If you love suspense and crime, or you've GIFTED someone who does, you're in good hands with these two books.

A Cover That Made Me Order The Book

2011-12-23T23:28:00.001-06:00

I love covers like this. Makes me wanna turn pages. :)

Fangbone Third-Grade Barbarian

2011-12-21T16:19:00.000-06:00

I review a lot of books, all kinds of books, and editors are kind enough to send them to me, which makes life pretty sweet. It's like having Christmas every week!

I just got this one in today from Timothy Travaglini from Putnam Publishing. The book is going to be released next month and I'm already grooving on it. It's a kid's book told in graphic novel format, and it's a hoot. This is one of those that I look at, read, then kick myself and go, Why didn't I think of this? Well, obviously because writer/artist Michael Rex was supposed to.

I'll be reviewing the book over the next couple days, and I'm going to be looking forward to the next book out as well.

Too bad it's not out in time for Christmas but this is definitely one you'll want to get for your little barbarian around the house who's into graphic novels and cartoons. And I'm betting your big barbarian won't turn his nose up at it either. :)

Ebook Design Conference 2012

2011-12-20T16:57:00.002-06:00

Got a novel/short story that you've been keeping hidden away in a sock drawer or in the back of the closet because New York doesn't seem interested? Do you believe in your skills as a writer and just want to get your stories out there?

My colleague Michael Kent (professor of rhetoric at the University of Oklahoma and author of Microsoft Word(PC) to Kindle: Secrets and Lies of Perfect Formatting and MAC to Kindle: Secrets and Lies of Perfect Formatting) are putting together a seminar that we plan to host in April of 2012. We will offer instruction on formatting your manuscript for ebook publication, discuss book cover construction, and cover marketing strategies.

At this point we're planning to keep the venue small enough to manage and still give individual attention to participants. I'd like to encourage all local writing groups/individuals to contact us regarding potential attendance.

Contact me here at your convenience. We want to get a headcount on interested parties. Thanks!

Blood Dreams by Jack MacLane Review

2011-12-20T16:21:00.000-06:00

I've been reading some old school treats lately, horror, private eye, Westerns, all the stuff I grew up on and loved. A return to my childhood? I dunno. But I'm enjoying myself.

This book is by Texan and friend and Rancho Diablo writer, Bill Crider under an infamous pseudonym.

Review here.

Free E-Book

2011-12-20T10:14:00.002-06:00

Archer Mayor is a solid, entertaining writer. Been reading him for years. He's got over 20 books out in his Joe Gunther mystery series. He doesn't disappoint.

And now you can get the first book FREE on your Kindle. Or you can GIFT someone a free book who has a Kindle. Or you can add to the Kindle bling when you get someone a reader for Christmas.

Crime Square Short Story

2011-12-20T10:05:00.003-06:00

On March 1, 2012, Crime Square arrives in bookstores. The anthology features crime stories scattered all through the history of New York City's Times Square. I wrote one of those stories and it features a pulp writer living in the 1930s that I've written about before, a series I'm calling Pulpsmith.

The line up looks great, so if you like mystery in your history and a delivery in short doses, I'd definitely recommend this one. I'm in good company.

You can find the first Moses Crawford, Pulpsmith mystery for the Kindle and the Nook.

Free Joe R. Lansdale Story

2011-12-20T09:45:00.001-06:00

One of his dark fantasy stories published by Fantasy Magazine is now on-line and can be read for free.

Click here.

Take Me To The Future!

2011-12-20T07:33:00.004-06:00

Although we've been given some marvelous tech and really cool stuff, a few of the SF basics are missing.

Click here.

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter?

2011-12-19T11:17:00.000-06:00

I saw the book when it came out. Never read it. I can't believe they're making a movie. But now I'm curious.

Robert J. Randisi New

2011-12-19T07:49:00.002-06:00

Prolific writer and friend Robert J. Randisi has got two of his adult Western series coming back in print and digital release.

"JUST TRACKER, MA'AM" It took just one hard-drinking, high-rolling poker game to make Tracker the owner of one of the fanciest hotels in San Francisco. With his buddy Duke Farrell, one of the West's slickest con men, Tracker took off to see his new merchandise. Tracker barely had time to get used to San Francisco's city ways before he was caught up in a boxing match, a couple of gunfights, too many fistfights, and more pretty women then even he could keep track of. But then, Tracker was always good with his hands.

Christmas Past

2011-12-14T21:07:00.002-06:00

I think I was 21 or 22. The pistol is a Kentucky .45 black powder muzzleloader. Awesome replica.

Toby Peters Mysteries by Stuart M. Kaminsky

2011-12-13T15:17:00.001-06:00

I just found out that Stuart M. Kaminsky's Toby Peters series has a large release today that features new paperback editions and ebooks.

The books are about Toby Peters, a down on his luck Hollywood private eye living during the 1940s when the Second World War was looming and Tinsel Town was in full bloom. Kaminsky was a film authority and brought his considerable knowledge to these books, offering up all kinds of tidbits about movie stars and the studios themselves.

I started reading these books when I was twenty or so, and continued reading them till Kaminsky died a couple years ago. I also followed his Lou Fonesca series, which was brilliant and a lot of fun as well.

Toby Peters is one of those classic private eyes, not to terribly hardboiled, but a guy who will stick till the job is done, even his he has to take a beating from his brother, an LAPD detective and later officer. I've missed the sense of humor Kaminsky brought to these books, as well as the feeling of listening to a true Hollywood insider.

If you haven't discovered these books before, you're in for a treat. And, if you're like me, an ebook version of these novels is probably the only excuse you need to sit down with them again.

FIGHT CARD: SPLIT DECISION Is Out!

2011-12-13T14:51:00.001-06:00

Kansas City, 1954.

Jimmy Wyler is a fighter punching his way straight to the middle. All he wants is to make enough dough to buy his girl, Lola, a ring. And maybe make the gang back at St. Vincent’s orphanage proud.

A slick mobster named Cardone has an offer for Jimmy – money, and lots of it – for a fix. Jimmy takes the fight. The ring is almost on Lola’s finger, until Jimmy collides with Whit – another mobster with another up-and-coming fighter.

Whit has an offer of his own. Same fight, different fix. Now Jimmy is caught between two warring factions of the Kansas City underworld. He can’t make a move without someone getting mad, getting even, or getting dead.

From sweat-soaked fight halls to darkened alleyways, the countdown has begun. With his girl and his manager in the crossfire, everything Jimmy ever learned about fancy footwork and keeping his defenses up may not be enough …

Fight night is approaching and nobody is going to be saved by the bell.

Fight Card Interview With Paul Bishop

2011-12-12T16:10:00.000-06:00

For interview with Paul Bishop, go here.

Unusual Weapons Through History

2011-12-12T10:10:00.003-06:00

A repeating crossbow!

Hat tip to Bill Crider.

More info here.

DRIVEN -- Coming In April!

2011-12-10T09:00:00.000-06:00

Loved the book but still haven't seen the movie. Got it ordered on Blu-ray. Can't wait!

As we exit the initial novel, Driver has killed Bernie Rose, “the only one he ever mourned,” ending his campaign against those who double-crossed him. Driven tells how that young man, done with killing, later will become the one who goes down “at 3 a.m. on a clear, cool morning in a Tijuana bar.” Seven years have passed. Driver has left the old life, become Paul West, and founded a successful business back in Phoenix. Walking down the street one day, he and his fiancee are attacked by two men and, while Driver dispatches both, his fiancee is killed. Sinking back into anonymity, aided by his friend Felix, an ex-gangbanger and Desert Storm vet, Driver retreats, but finds that his past stalks him and will not stop. He has to turn and face it. At a garage in Guadalupe, an Hispanic and Native American community on the edge of Phoenix, he rebuilds a Seventies Ford Fairlane.

Caught My Eye

2011-12-09T09:00:00.000-06:00

Murder is such a dirty word...

New York Times bestselling adult true crime author Gregg Olsen makes his YA debut with EMPTY COFFIN, a gripping new fiction series for teens based on ripped-from-the-headlines stories...with a paranormal touch.

Crime lives--and dies--in the deceptively picture-perfect town of Port Gamble (aka "Empty Coffin' ), Washington. Evil lurks and strange things happen--and 15-year-olds Hayley and Taylor Ryan secretly use their wits and their telepathic "twin-sense' to uncover the truth about the town's victims and culprits.

Envy, the series debut, involves the mysterious death of the twins' old friend, Katelyn. Was it murder? Suicide? An accident? Hayley and Taylor are determined to find out--and as they investigate, they stumble upon a dark truth that is far more disturbing than they ever could have imagined.

Based on the shocking true crime about cyber-bullying, Envy will take you to the edge--and push you right over.

Chuck Norris and Warcraft!

2011-12-09T00:11:00.001-06:00

My new favorite commercial!!!!

New JOHN CARTER Trailer

2011-12-08T09:00:00.000-06:00

I can't wait!

New trailer.

THE FATHOMLESS ABYSS Is Available For the Nook!

2011-12-08T07:52:00.001-06:00

Nook link here.

“At the heart of it, science fiction and fantasy authors are at play in the fields of wonder, fueled by “what if” and held hostage by the people, places and problems that populate our wacky, slightly-offset imaginations and spill out of us in Story. And if you love Story, you’re in for a solid meal here. And this is just the appetizer. Over the next few months, the real meal begins as the individual titles make their way into the world.”
--Ken Scholes, from his introduction

Descend into the world of the Fathomless Abyss, a bottomless pit that opens who-knows-when onto who-knows-where, just long enough for new people from a thousand different worlds and a million different times to fall in and join the fight for survival in a place where the slightest misstep means an everlasting fall into eternity.

Tales from the Fathomless Abyss features six new short stories, and it’s only the beginning. From here, each author will branch out to spin a series of new books sharing this impossible, explosive, infinite setting.

Your fall into the Fathomless Abyss begins here.

Steampunk Western!

2011-12-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

I bought it. Couldn't help myself.

They're the Chosen—Winchester, Remington and Colt—brothers trained to hunt down supernatural beings using the latest steam-powered gadgetry. It's a hard legacy to shoulder, and it's about to get a lot more dangerous. . .

A Devil Of A Job

Colt Jackson has gotten his name on many a wanted poster with success in the family business: hunting supernaturals across the frontier. Lately, though, there's a sulfur stink in the wind and the Darkin population is exploding. A rift in the worlds is appearing. To close it, Colt will have to do the unthinkable and work with a demon to pass arcane boundaries no human alone can cross.

Except when he summons his demon, he doesn't get some horned monstrosity: he gets a curvy redheaded succubus named Lilly, who's willing to make a bargain to become human again. He also gets Lilly's secret expertise on the machinations on the dark side of the rift. And her charm and cleverness help to get them out of what his silver-loaded pistol and mechanical horse can't. Of course, when all hell breaks loose, he might have to sacrifice his soul. But what's adventure without a little risk?

"Meyers puts the steam in steampunk." —Cherry Adair

THE FATHOMLESS ABYSS Is Waiting To Swallow You Up!

2011-12-06T15:41:00.001-06:00

--Ken Scholes, from his introduction

Combine six of the finest fantasy authors working in the genre today: Mike Resnick & Brad R. Torgersen, Jay Lake, Mel Odom, J.M. McDermott, and Cat Rambo, and mix in veteran editor and New York Times best-selling author Philip Athans, and what comes out is the Fathomless Abyss: a wild new fantasy world where the laws of physics only work against you, there’s no way out, and time means nothing.

This is the world of the Fathomless Abyss, a bottomless pit that opens who-knows-when onto who-knows-where, just long enough for new people from a thousand different worlds and a million different times to fall in and join the fight for survival in place where the slightest misstep means an everlasting fall into eternity.

Tales from the Fathomless Abyss features six new short stories, and it’s only the beginning. From here, each author will branch out to spin a series of new books sharing this impossible, explosive, infinite setting.

Your fall into the Fathomless Abyss begins here.

Read Philip Athans' blog about the book here, as well as get contact info on the authors.

THE NIGHT AND THE MUSIC by Lawrence Block

2011-12-06T08:32:00.001-06:00

Review here.

Caught My Eye

2011-12-04T17:39:00.001-06:00

BLACK MAGIC WOMAN Review

2011-12-04T17:38:00.001-06:00

Review at Bookhound.

Justifed Season 3 Coming January

2011-12-03T17:12:00.001-06:00

Can't wait until January when Raylan Givens comes back to deliver justice with guns blazing. My son and I love this series.

So just put your feet up, partner. You'll be in good hands.

Arron of the Black Forest Excerpt

2011-12-03T14:37:00.001-06:00

Phil Athans and I wanted to do a barbarian character in the vein of Conan, so we came up with Arron of the Black Forest. We hope you enjoy his adventures.

Chapter 1

With Hounds on His Heels

The driving rain made the dog’s feral snarl gurgle before itwas lost to another deafening crash of thunder. Arron’s stolen horse kickedback at the dog close on its hooves, and both animals stumbled.

The dog was fast, and of a breed Arron had never seenbefore. It resembled the big white wolves of the Frozen Vast, but its coat wasdarker—a mottled red-brown. Its fangs shined white in the darkness in a long,pointed snout under big, sensitive, upright ears. Its long legs were a blur ofmotion, and it was surprisingly surefooted even in the patently awfulconditions. Someone had bred this dog carefully and trained it well.

Arron tilted precariously in his saddle but dragged himselfback to center with both strong arms.

“Sovitta-Maton awaits you if you fall!” Arron shouted at thehorse, invoking the name of the God of Darkness, Cold, and Cruelty that hislost people both hated and honored. The horse didn’t pay any attention to hiscurse.

The hound tripped, too, giving Arron’s horse a stride’slead, but that wasn’t going to be nearly enough. The barbarian gritted histeeth and squeezed the horse’s flanks with thighs like temple columns. Theanimal grunted, but it obeyed. Arron allowed a quick smile for both the horseand himself as the beast put a few more strides between itself and the pursuinghounds.

A brilliant flash of lightning revealed the wide-scatteredtrees, still mostly bare of leaves in the first few weeks of spring. Arron hadlost track of anything like a trail long ago, and he’d done so on purpose. Themen who followed them meant to take him back to Townshend dead or alive, andsince Arron had no intention of going back there alive, he was once again in afight for his life.

***

He’d gone to Townshend, the Heteronomy’s stinking littlefishing village, a thousand miles south of the southern edge of the BlackForest, having hired on to guard a trade caravan. It was the first such thinghe’d ever seen: a line of ox-driven carts half a mile long. He was used to thesea, the bogs, and the wild lands.

Arron didn’t get on well with the other guards, or thecaravaneers. They constantly harangued him about the color of his hair,insisting he’d dyed it—likewise the first time he’d heard of such a thing.

It was hard enough for Arron to work alongside even thecommon folk of the Heteronomy, the faceless empire that had destroyed hispeople, his home, his way of life. But what made it harder still was that thecolonists seemed barely to remember the war at all, as though it was but adistant memory.

Arron had no idea how long he’d lay in the mud—long enoughfor the Heteronomy’s magi to conjure the great glacier—but it couldn’t havebeen as long as it seemed. It couldn’t have been years. Could it? His people—forest hunters and coastal seamen withonly a rudimentary written language—didn’t share the Heteronomy’s complexcalendar. Their dates were of no use to him.

Regardless, he’d found himself in Townshend, among fishermenhe grudgingly recognized as simple folk, not his enemies, not warriors, and notthe magi who’d entombed his people in ice. He sat with them in their tavern,drank with them, and learned more of their language. Every once in a while ascuffle broke out, but Arron always held back. He broke a few noses, blackeneda few eyes, but always his opponent crawled home to sleep it off—until thatnight.

The man was drunk when he came in, as were his men. To Arronthey seemed no more sensible than the bog apes he’d challenged months before.They sang songs Arron didn’t understand, were coarse with the serving wenches,and drunkenly confronted one fisherman after another. The commoners onlynodded, forced smiles, and got the hell out of there.

Arron didn’t like that at all, but was willing to ignorethem, even when the insults were finally hurled his way. They commented on hisrough hide clothing, the homespun wine-colored cloak on his back, hisworked-leather bracers, his notched and well-used axe … But most of all theyhated his red hair, held up with a beaded band that had been a First Hunt giftfrom his mother. The people of the Heteronomy didn’t dress like that, and theydidn’t have red hair.

Then he said it, the leader of the drunks: “Oi, Ginger!You’ve the look of a barbarian of the Black Forest!”

That got a laugh out of his men, and Arron tightened hisgrip on his heavy pewter mug.

“I thought we took care of the last of them forest monkeysyears ago!”

Though he had no idea what a monkey was, Arron clenched hissquare jaw.

“Guess them brutes’re like fish—there’s always one getsaway!”

That’s when Arron hit him, and hit him hard.

Whether or not he meant to kill the man, he did—caved in theside of his skull and dropped him right there in the middle of the drinkinghall. His own men, staggering drunk, just stood there and watched their bossshudder to a stop on the floor.

“General?” one of the men slurred.

“Holy stinkin’ shite, you killed the general!” another ofthe men—soldiers, then—accused.

Arron shrugged, then he had to kill a couple more of them tomake good his escape. He stole a horse and headed south only because it was theshortest way out of town. He wasn’t headed anywhere in particular because hehad nowhere in particular to go.

It took the better part of a week before they even startedto chase him, and even though Arron hadn’t been moving too fast, he couldn’thelp but be at least a little impressed that the posse had caught up to him asfast as they had. They chased him for a month, at turns getting a little closerthen a little farther behind him, as Arron rode ever south, hugging the eastcoast of the second of the four Hooks: great peninsulas that curled out fromthe east coast to reach a few hundred miles out into the Sea of Ghalon.

It wasn’t necessarily the smartest path. He should have gonewest, deeper into the colonies. As it was, he figured he had a few days at mostbefore he literally ran out of land. If he made it to the tip of the Hook, he’dbe trapped—and he’d have to fight his way out.

***

Lightning flashed and Arron smiled.

Thunder rattled his ears, and as it faded he heard the doggrowl behind him.

Then a flash of brilliant blue-white light stabbed intoArron’s eyes. He winced and squinted while a bolt of lightning as big around ashis solid-muscled waist dug into what was left of a tree. Sparks flew and Arroncould feel the heat of it—it felt as though his skin was lifting off his body,every little hair first.

The dog behind him yelped and the horse reared up, echoingthe dog’s scream, only louder. The horse’s hooves slipped in the mud and itsnext scream was overwhelmed by thunder that rattled Arron’s teeth.

The horse began to fall on him.

Book Drawing

2011-12-03T12:22:00.001-06:00

With Christmas right around the corner and ebook all the rage, I'm setting up a drawing for free ecopies of the new FIGHT CARD: THE CUTMAN. Simply email me at mel@melodom.net to enter the drawing. I'll give away three copies every Tuesday between now and December 20. You can keep it for yourself or give it as a gift to someone you're getting an ebook reader for.

The Fathomless Abyss

2011-11-29T17:02:00.001-06:00

This is the first of a fun anthology project I'm doing with a friend of mine who's also an editor. For more info, click here.

2011-11-29T16:58:00.001-06:00

This was a fun book I got to do for Fantasy Flight Games. For an interview with me about the book, click here.

Black Dog Books Has A Sale Going On!

2011-11-27T18:05:00.001-06:00

Black Dog Books has a host of pulp reprints as well as critical essays on the pulp market and characters. The sale will continue through Christmas.

To visit the site, go here.

New From BEAT TO A PULP!

2011-11-27T17:57:00.001-06:00

Click here.

Dr. Berlin hascreated a powerful time-travel device with the ability to predict the futureand retrodict the past. He swipes his own creation from The Company anddisappears into history. The Company's time-cop Simon Rip and the sexy,brilliant Dr. Serena Ludwig join together to track Berlinand return the device. Their pursuit will take them back to the ice age andforward to the end of time.

Deal of the Day: Max Allan Collins' CHICAGO LIGHTNING!

2011-11-23T13:55:00.000-06:00

If you've enjoyed the Nate Heller stories, or are a new reader, you can't beat this deal. Great period piece detective stories from a master.