New and Experimental!

I'm always looking for new ways to get stories out.  This story is one of my favorites, and intended from the start to be the first of a series.  Keith Birdsong did the awesome cover.  I used the pseudonym Ian Doyle so the books will be easier to find.  Yes, there will be more.  I love the characters.

But I'm also a big audiobook lover.  I thought this one would be a natural.  At the University of Oklahoma, I'm blessed with meeting some truly intelligent young people with several talents and drives.

One of those is graduating Professional Writing (Journalism) senior, Jaimie Krycho.

As a PW project, Jaimie did an audio interview.  I think she has a beautiful voice and could probably work in the audio arena if she chose.  She also did a Wheel of Time original song on her blog.

She also writes fiction under the name Morgan Locke.



I thought she would be an awesome narrator for the audio version of the story (which we're currently trying to get up on Amazon--stupid internet gremlins).

But, for your listening pleasure, we now have the first chapter of the story here for free.


http://www.archive.org/download/TheAffairOfTheWoodenBoyChapter1/AWB_Chapter1.mp3

Be Social Pepsi Vending Machine

Pepsi has just revealed a brand new vending machine that's going to change the way we buy drinks and relate with each other.  Their new "Be Social" machines allow a purchaser to buy a soft drink in one state for a friend in another -- and send that friend a brief video message.

On the surface, that's really cool technology.  But what do we really have to say to each other that we don't cover with the phone, texting, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook?  All of those other communication avenues also involve video input.  You can already send a video to your friends via your phone or the Internet.

Here's how it works: you buy the soft drink, record a message, get a vending machine transaction number, then phone, text, Facebook, Tweet, YouTube your friend to let them know you have bought them a soft drink.  By that time, isn't the message already redundant?  Did you purposefully not tell them the information you want them to have?  Is this some kind of sadistic scavenger hunt?

Not only that, but your friend has to drive to some vending machine (hopefully a map has been provided to the nearest one) to receive the message.  Maybe the soft drink and message are cheap, but gasoline prices continue to soar.  And in this age of instant gratification, I don't see many people waiting to pick up their free soft drink and message till the next time they go shopping.

I can't help thinking about the kind of messages that will be recorded on these new vending machines.

1)  the breakup call

2)  the "do-you-want to go out" call

3)  the "we're pregnant" call

4)  the "you're fired" call

5)  the booty call

6)  the "do-you-want to get married" call

I mean, the possibilities are endless.  And that's before people start paying for the privilege of mooning the next vending machine customer.  Of course, that will probably entail video footage being shot with a cell phone or camcorder, then getting the whole thing uploaded to YouTube.

Do we really want to risk setting this technology free in the hands of the same generation that brought us  "sexting?"

Can you imagine the Hollywood stars that will be brought low buying soft drinks while inebriated?  Or in some stage of undress?

I'm waiting to see how long this latest release remains "A Good Idea."

UPDATE

For those of you who can't wait to see how this works:



DEVIL RED by Joe Lansdale

Review posted here.

My Favorite Thor Quote From the Movie!

In this scene, Thor is looking for a way out of town.  He stops at a pet shop.

L. A. Noire Anthology Only 99 Cents!

There's already a tremendous amount of buzz surrounding Rockstar Games' new interactive crime thriller videogame, but this collection of stories based on that game has a stellar lineup of authors:  Megan Abbott, Lawrence Block, Joe Lansdale, Joyce Carol Oates, Francine Prose, Jonathan Santlofer, Duane Swierczynski, and Andrew Vachss.

Now, to top off that great deal, the book is being offered for only 99 cents!

Yeah, 99 cents!

Kinda pricey for 1940s Hollywood, when the game and the stories are set, but incredibly cheap for today.  And it's only going to be offered on a digital platform (at least, that's all I've seen so far).

Old school storytelling wedded to the latest in book technology.  I've already ordered mine and I can't wait for the game or the book.

And the game looks truly amazing.  I'm picking it up as well.

The Mighty Thor

Of all the Marvel movies coming out this year, I truly believed Thor would be the one that got screwed up.  The trailers I saw truly didn't do the movie, or the star, justice.  I thought I was going to be watching a paramilitary movie that might have some Asgardian overtones.  I figured that we'd be lucky to see any godly powers and special effects.

Instead, the movie blew me away.  I absolutely loved every minute of it.  We were treated to true Norse lore mixed with all the Marvel Comics history (Stan Lee as well as the Ultimates' Thor).  The way the line was skirted on whether the Asgardians were gods or aliens jarred me a little, but I accepted it and went on.  It wasn't a big deal overall.

Chris Hemsworth stole the show as Thor.  I was rooting for him from the very first time he was introduced into the story.  Natalie Portman was amazing as Jane Foster, showing her intelligence as well as her femininity as she was captured by Thor.

The Mighty Thor was alway the brooding sort in the early comics, but in this movie he's a rip-roaring adventurer and a guy who loves to laugh.  This is the Thor I'd want to hang out with and swap stories with.

Tom Hiddleston was magnificent as Loki and revealed the God of Mischief's dual and twisted nature.  I alternately sympathized with him and hated him, understanding all the forces that tore at him.  Great character.

The Warriors Three and the Lady Sif were all well represented.  But the guy who completely stole the show was Idris Elba as Heimdall.  Man, this guy is spooky and eerie and noble all at the same time.  He played Roque in The Losers, a DC Comics property that came out last year, but I didn't even recognize him till I looked him up later.

If you've been hesitating about going to see this one, go fearlessly.  It's a fantastic movie with humorous moments, drama, and some soul-searing cliffhangers that will touch you in spite of your belief that everything will work out.

Colombiana

Luc Besson films are a guilty pleasure of mine.  Rollicking action and larger-than-life heroes are staples of his stories.  I've been fascinated since the original La Femme Nikita came out.

Zoe Saldana is starting to turn into quite the action heroine.  Loved her in The Losers.

Saw this film mentioned on Paul Bishop's blog and had to plug it as well.  Comes out in October.  I'll have a seat.

Rancho Diablo Rolls Along

I don't know how many of you guys have tried the Rancho Diablo books James Reasoner, Bill Crider, and I have written, but they're flying off the e-shelves!  We've tapped into something that evidently found a home with several readers.

We currently have three short novels out for the Kindle.  The books focus on the Blaylock family as they struggle to make their home on the Brazos River near Shooter's Cross, Texas, in 1870.  They have to fight men, nature, and circumstance just to survive, and I think we've told some interesting stories with plenty more to go.

In fact, we've gotten so enthusiastic about the series, because there has been a lot of interest in the books, that we're planning on doing supplemental stories to tell all about our sprawling Western epic.  Future stories will relate more adventures, the Blaylocks' first cattle drive, and solo adventures about Mike Tucker (epic gunslinger) and Gabby Darbins (tall taleteller).  And I'm planning to do a prequel about Shooter York, the man who gave Shooter's Cross its name during the Mexican War.

We do hope you join us for the adventure as we sit around the campfire and tell these stories, and let us know what you think about them.

Bill Crider
James Reasoner

Coming Soon:

Art is by the awesome Keith Birdsong.

Lynn Abbey Conducts Writing Workshops at SoonerCon June 3 and June 4

Fantasy author and co-creator of Thieves' World, Lynn Abbey is providing a special hands-on seminar at SoonerCon this year for writers who feel they are ready to publish.  This isn't for beginners.

On Friday, June 3, Abbey will work with each of eight (only four slots left) writers for a half-hour, and will finish up with a group session on Saturday that will last at least an hour.  The workshop is $40 total for both days, and you do have to have a con membership ($70 for both days as a special price for workshop attendees).

I've known Lynn for years and she's a marvelous writer, and a very generous person.  You can learn a lot from her.

For more information about Lynn, go here.

Want A Free Read?

At least for the time being, Joseph Finder's new short story featuring spy Nick Heller is being given away for free on the Kindle.  I've read Finder's books and enjoyed them, so I'm recommending this one.  Especially since the price is so right!



Sixkill by Robert B. Parker

It's the end of an era, and a big, BIG chunk of my life.  Robert B. Parker's last novel (and last Spenser novel) came out yesterday.  It arrived in the mail, preordered from Amazon, and I just haven't had the heart to sit down with it to read it.

When I do, a piece of me will be gone.

I started reading the series back in 1978, starting with Promised Land.  For the next 32 years, I hung with Parker through thick and thin, and I learned a lot about being a writer and a lot about being a man.  My father was often never around when I was a kid, and he wasn't a guy you could connect with.  He had some hard things go on in his life (one of them was the Korean War) and those experiences left him distant.

So I had books like Mortal Stakes, Looking for Rachel Wallace, and Early Autumn to help me build a foundation for the man I wanted to become.  For the most part, it's all worked out.  Never got that growth spurt I was counting on, though, but I've done okay for myself.

I just found out last week that the Spenser series will continue with Ace Atkins at the helm, but it's not going to be the same.  That's one of the things I learned about real life all on my own:  things are very seldom the same for long.

In Parker's worlds, though, you could count on fundamentals being there every time.  I'm counting on it in this book, but I know it's going to slip right through my fingers.  I can go back and re-read them (I usually do that with one of those three previously mentioned novels or Love & Glory every year anyway) but it's just not going to be the same.

Game I'm Most Looking Forward To Right Now

I am so thankful this one comes out after OU is finished for the semester and my workload will be a little lighter.  The game looks fantastic.  Really looking forward to it.

DEAD MAN #3 Is Out Everywhere!

Book #3 is out now, folks, and Matt Cahill's dark journey into the heart of the supernatural is picking up steam.

Yeah, I know I'm writing one of these books, but I do enjoy them for the action, one-liners, and the fact that they can be read in an evening or two of guiltless pleasure.

If you haven't tried them, jump on board anywhere you want to.  I'd recommend starting with the first one, but they don't have to be read in any order.

On Sale Now! DEAD MAN #2: Ring of Knives!

BOOK #2 in the THE DEAD MAN, the new monthly action/horror series that readers and book critics alike are already hailing as "an epic tale" that compares to the best of Stephen King and Dean Koontz...

Matthew Cahill is an ordinary man leading a simple life until a shocking accident changes everything. Now he can see a nightmarish netherworld that nobody else does. Now for him each day is a journey into a dark world he knows nothing about, a quest for the answers to who he is and what he has become...and a fight to save us, and his soul, from the clutches of pure evil.



RING OF KNIVES



Matt believes a madman may hold the secret to defeating Mr. Dark, the horrific jester with the rotting touch. But to reach him, Matt must infiltrate a lunatic asylum, where he is soon caught up in a spiral of bloodshed and madness. His only chance of escaping with his life and sanity intact is to face the unspeakable terror that awaits him deep in the asylum's fog-shrouded woods...within the Ring of Knives.



BONUS FEATURES include:



* an excerpt from DEAD MAN #3: HELL IN HEAVEN by Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin



* an excerpt from GHOST BRIDE, the new novel by James Daniels.



ABOUT THE AUTHORS



James Daniels lives in the Midwest, where he raises a tribe of tailless geckos, three-legged dogs, and eight-year-old daughters. He has performed Shakespeare in London, was nominated for a Grammy for his audio book narration, and wrote the hardboiled noir mystery "Ghost Bride".



Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin's TV writing and producing credits include MONK, DIAGNOSIS MURDER, MARTIAL LAW, NERO WOLFE and THE GLADES. They are also the authors of SUCCESSFUL TELEVISION WRITING. Lee Goldberg's books include THE WALK, MAN WITH THE IRON-ON BADGE, MY GUN HAS BULLETS and the bestselling MONK original mystery novels, based on the hit TV series. William Rabkin is the author of the hugely successful PSYCH series of original mystery novels based on the hit TV series.

Rancho Diablo #3 Is Live!

The third book in the Rancho Diablo series I'm co-authoring with Bill Crider and James Reasoner is now on sale at Amazon for $2.99.  It's a steal, folks, and the series is getting great reception from Western fans.  Our cover artist is the amazing Keith Birdsong, who has knocked himself out to provide some absolutely stellar.

This is Bill Crider's first book in the series, and it's a good one.  Yeah, I know, I'm not exactly an unbiased source.

If True Grit has reawakened your taste for the Old West, hop on board for another fast-paced and action-packed tale set in Shooter's Cross, Texas where the Blaylock family is struggling to carve out a home for themselves against all odds.

Evil Is Suddenly Cheaper!

To celebrate the release of the SECOND book in the exciting new THE DEAD MAN SERIES, the first volume is being priced at 99 cents for the next two weeks.  You wanna know who Mr. Dark is?  And what all thos lesions on people around you mean?  You wanna know how hero Matt Cahill can be frozen solid for months, then pick up his grandfather's axe and start hunting evil?

It all begins here, pilgrim!

And you can dive right into Book 2!



And check out THE DEAD MAN blog here!

Mike King Titles

One of my students at the University of Oklahoma has thrown his hat (eh, fedora) into the Kindle market.  He's written two period piece gangster stories set in and around Maine (his home state) and the Northeast.  I worked with him on both stories, so maybe I'm leading wth my heart a little here, but I think he did a great job.

If you're looking for some tough guy/gangster fiction for your Kindle, give it a try.  He blogs at http://www.crimetypeguy.blogspot.com/.



Get a FREE eBook!

Tyndale Books is currently putting ebook versions of the first book in my NCIS series out for FREE!  You can download it to your Nook or your Kindle in seconds at Barnes & Noble or Amazon respectively.

Special Price!

For the next week, The Colossus of Mahrass is specially priced at 99 cents.  Lemme know what you think.

Joe Lansdale's New Hap and Leonard Novel!

Joe Lansdale writes some of the finest small town crime fiction around.  I've been hanging with Hap and Leonard, his two good ol' boys with a gift for staring down Texas-sized trouble, for years.  Y'all pick up a book and read.

Redemption, Kansas



My buddy James Reasoner's new book is out today!  Give it a whirl!

Review coming soon.

DEAD MAN

Just agreed to do one of the upcoming DEAD MAN books sometime in the summer.  Looking forward to it.  For more information, go to the Facebook page:

here

And if you'd like to read an in-depth review:

here

Green Lantern Game

Not only do we have a cool movie to look forward to, but this game actually looks pretty nice too.



Coming Movies I'm Going To See

This one looks awesome.  Coming in April.



And I'm starting to warm up to this one.



Raylan Givens Is Back And Looking For Justice!

Chandler and I will be glued to the tube tonight!

The Chicago Code Premieres Tonight

So far everything I've seen concerning this new show appeals to me.  Tonight we'll see how it rolls.  Looks like plenty of action and lots of drama.



John Carter of Mars

I grew up on Edgar Rice Burroughs novels, and John Carter of Mars was probably my favorite.  Even over Tarzan.  Carter was an eternal warrior and I loved the science fiction background, especially while I was growing up in the 1970s and the space race was the thing.

I read an article today that talked about the upcoming movie (2012).  I hadn't really paid attention to Taylor Kitsch, the guy playing John Carter, because I'm going to see the movie anyway, no matter who's starring.  But I have to admit, Kitsch has a good look for the character.  I can definitely see him as John Carter.

Bill Crider's Dead On The Island Now in Print and Eprint

Bill is currently working on the third book in the Rancho Diablo series he's doing with James Reasoner and me.  This is Bill's first Truman Smith novel, and it's a gentle exploration of character and a confounding mystery.  I read it years ago and now have it loaded up on my Kindle to reread.

Covers That Make Me Take Books Home

Yep, I picked it up, but I also read the back cover copy.

The man of her dreams might be the cause of her nightmares.



Six months ago, Abby Sinclair was struggling to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Now, she has an enchanted iPod, a miniature unicorn living in her underwear drawer, and a magical marketplace to manage. But despite her growing knowledge of the OtherWorld, Abby isn't at all prepared for Brystion, the dark, mysterious, and sexy-as- sin incubus searching for his sister, convinced Abby has the key to the succubus's whereabouts. Abby has enough problems without having this seductive shape-shifter literally invade her dreams to get information. But when her Faery boss and some of her friends vanish, as well, Abby and Brystion must form an uneasy alliance. As she is sucked deeper and deeper into this perilous world of faeries, angels, and daemons, Abby realizes her life is in as much danger as her heart—and there's no one she can trust to save her.

Then I took it home with me.  :)

Johnny Depp Is Tonto?

Johnny Depp has signed on to star as Tonto in an upcoming Lone Ranger movie.  The mind boggles.  There's some mention of a comedic approach, but I just can't see this character getting a good treatment if that's what they do.

Of course the recent Green Hornet movie didn't meet my approval either.  It was Seth Rogen playing a superhero goof.  I liked it for that, but I immediately discounted that the film had anything to do with the Green Hornet character I love.

How many of you know that the Lone Ranger and the Green Hornet were created by the same creator and writer?  George W. Trendle and Fran Striker.

Did you know that John Reid (the Lone Ranger) is the great-uncle of Britt Reid (the Green Hornet)?  I'm beginning to suspect that today's filmmakers don't respect the Reid family tree.

I used to watch the old television series in reruns every day after school.  They were thirty minutes of sheer pleasure for me.  A true hero for a boy that wanted to wear a mask in his grownup job.

I mean, the Lone Ranger was totally cool.  It was one thing to talk to a dog for an animal sidekick, but you could ride a horse and believe it could haul you out of a well.  I struggled to believe that Lassie could pull that off.

Now Gentle Ben could have managed that with one big paw tied behind him.  Moving the bear from Alaska to the Florida Everglades flew in the face of the original book, but I loved Dennis Weaver on that swamp boat.  I wanted one of those when I grew up.



Probably could have rode him too.

I also enjoyed the cartoon series that came out and shared time with Zorro.

But for an absolutely fantastic treatment of the Lone Ranger in present day media, check out Dynamite Comics' series.  Several of the issues have been put out as graphic novels which have amazing writing and art.

And for those of you that still believe in heroes, I leave you with this, one of the most iconic voices in all of TV land.



A Holiday Every Day of the Year?

Did you know that every day of the year is a holiday?

I didn't, but it is.  I recently met a college student at OU who is doing a celebration every day of holidays she discovers.  The days are fun and quirky, and The Celebrationist enjoys them.

She's a wonderful and bright personality, and can fill a room with charm.  I've been enjoying her blog and I think you might too.



Did you know that Jan 31 was Bubble Wrap Day?  Me neither!  But I do now.

Go to http://www.thecelebrationist.com/ to find more days to celebrate!  Go now!

THIS Is Oklahoma?

You can ONLY say WOW! and shake your head in disbelief.