Pulp!

 

I'm spending part of the winter break getting back in touch with my pulp roots.  I had forgotten how well written some of these were.  Read this Spider book, the third one Norvell W. Page wrote in the series and was blown away by how well-paced the story/action was.

 

 

I was not so happy with this one.  I'd waited a long time to see the Shadow reveal his true identity as Kent Allard, and it was all weird and convoluted.  I know Walter B. Gibson usually knocked these things out in a week, but I was really disappointed.  The plot was all over the place and there was no real build-up to this REAL identity.

 

 

If you haven't read Paul Malmont's brilliant novel about real-life writers Lester Dent (Kenneth Robeson, Doc Savage) and Walter B. Gibson (Maxwell Grant, The Shadow) you should.  H. P. Lovecraft (Cthulu), Ron L. Hubbard (Scientology), and Louis L'Amour (Sackett Family) are also in the pages.  I loved how Malmont brings those old pulp days to life and puts in a lot of the history at the same time.

 

 

Ever Wonder How The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Got Started?

Well, here you go.  With a hat tip to Bill Crider.

And for the official website.

World of the Rover

I've lately been itching to return to the world of the Rover.  Edgewick Lamplighter, Wick to his friends, has got a rich and varied world, as well as an adventurous life (though he would never want to embrace that), and there are yet stories to be told about him.  How did he and Craugh the wizard become friends?  What was in that mysterious package the Warden carried off in the first book?  How was it that Wick rescued Juhg?  How did Wick help Brant reclaim his ancestral lands in the Sweetgrass Valley?  What became of that mysterious cap that Wick put on during the cemetery puzzle?

Well, you see what I mean.

One of my favorite stories I want to tell is about when Wick met the Embyr again.  You see, he was simply reading in Hralbomm's Wing, a Taurak Bleiyz romance if you must know, when the Embyr came calling on the Vault of All Known Knowledge...

Coming Soon

 

 

Jumping the Shark! Hoo-ahhh!

 

This one is FREE today at Amazon, and it made me think of my buddy, Bill Crider.

Are You Kidding?

 

Of course I now own one!

Tarzan by way of Avatar?

 

My buddy Bill Crider just posted about this movie, and I have to say that I'm underwhelmed.  This isn't the Tarzan that I grew up with, and if they're going to reinvent the character, why not just create a new one and be done with it?

 

Maybe no one really wants another Victorian era Tarzan besides me, but Tarzan, like Sherlock Holmes, occupies a certain time/space continuum.  I know Sherlock is enjoying success in the UK and in the US (and I'm enjoying both takes), but the convention there remains the same:  a guy smarter than the police and the bad guys he chases.  Is he really Sherlock?  No, not in my opinion because the Victorian era is missing in one, and the era and London is missing in the other.  But he's a good Sherlock in both places.

 

This might be a good Tarzan in the long run, but it's a take on Tarzan, not the original story.  Maybe the only true way to get Tarzan these days is by reading the books.

 

 

 

Trilogy Returns!

 

Gil Tyner has plans for the future: he’s going to be a computer programmer in the bustling technology Mecca of Silicon Valley. And as his 21st birthday approaches, he’s on the cusp of realizing his goals.

But fate has other plans. A note from his mother on his birthday propels Gil into The Buffer Zone, seven magical kingdoms that stand between our world and the realm of the immortal elves.

Gil’s about to learn that plans can change. When destiny calls, he’ll discover that the life he’d imagined and the life he’ll lead will be very different.

 

 

PARANORMAL UNIVERSITY: NEXT DAY DELIVERY

 

This is written by one of my OU students and is the launch of a new series.

 

Midterms, Martians and monsters.

Two student employees who work for the Campus Mail office of Paranormal University find a mysterious package that turns their world upside down. Collie and Drew are racing against the clock-- not just to deliver the mail on time, but to save the entire university as well.

 

 

Paperback edition coming soon!

 

 

You can catch short film episodes here.

 

And more info about the series here.

This series sounds interesting

 

There are only three books out in this series and I snatched them all up to read over the holidays.

New Esther Diamond

 

Another series whose covers sell me, but Laura Resnick is a FUN author!

Caught my eye

 

Premise sounds intriguing, but the cover SOLD me.

Zombie Archie Comics?

 

Seriously -- they're out there.  And I'm insanely curious.  The first issue just hit the shelves!

Free for Kindle!

 

 

Ratfish is a classic tale of sex, violence, and mutated animal parts in a blender.

Dr. Dunwiddy's not a mad scientist, but he is an angry one. His daughter is a cripple, her wannabe boyfriend is a stalker, and he has been forced to conduct his genetic experiments in a cinder block lab on a backwater Caribbean island because of stringent laws on stem cell research in the United States.

Chico's just like any other local Caribbean Community College student, stalking the legless girl of his dreams from the cover of the jungle as she maneuvers her wheel-chair down the dirt road toward the homestead where her geneticist dad experiments with various animals with the power of regeneration.

Marinda has dreams like any other college girl. She dreams her father wasn't so over-protective. She dreams she had a normal social life. She dreams her dad wouldn't track blood into their pristine, clean home when he comes back from working in the lab. She dreams of having sex in the tub with a hunky college guy who treats her with respect. And she dreams she could walk again.

Tony is the big man on campus, even if he is a big fish in a very small, brackish pond with plenty of scum. He does whatever he pleases, whoever he pleases. He loves sex, violence, himself, and anything he can't have. If only his henchman and lackeys weren't so stupid, he would rule this island.

The Ratfish didn't ask to be here. But now that they are, they intend to spawn and mutate and kill and eat and spawn and multiply and chow down on the local population until they are the only local population. Then, they'll either turn on each other or conquer the world.

Sounds like a bitchin' weekend.

Ratfish is just one in a series of Schlock Zone Drive-In novellas, including: Worms, by J.E. Mooney; Stripper Pole at the End of the World, by Eric Beetner; Dawn of the Chupacabra, by Kyle Bergersen; American Slayers, by Sean Dalton; and Dead Records, by Steven Saville and Jordan Ellinger. More are on their way.

Kyle West Has A New Book Out

 

This is Kyle's fourth book in his series, so he's been staying busy!

 

Alex and friends return to a Wasteland in turmoil. The Raiders are scattered, the Exiles hunted, and the feuding Vegas gangs plot one another's destruction. Makara, head of the New Angels, has the difficult task of convincing disparate groups to work together before Emperor Augustus and his legions arrive.

But while humanity fights amongst itself, the Great Blight prepares its final onslaught - and at the center of it all, there is a secret that could spell the end of the invasion. It is a revelation only Alex can discover, and it might cost him everything.

 

 

Out Today

 

 

I enjoy these books a lot.  If you haven't read them, you're in for a treat.  You don't really have to read them in order.  Just jump in.

 

IS THIS THE END OF JAKE LASSITER? Jake's law practice is booming... He's crazy about the new woman in his life... His delinquent nephew Kip is getting A's in school... What can go wrong? Oh...how about a charge of first degree murder? When money goes missing from client accounts, Jake confronts his banker, Pamela Baylins...who also happens to be his lover. She accuses Jake of skimming client funds and threatens to report him to the State Attorney...and within hours is killed. All the evidence points to Jake, who is charged with murder. Is this the end of the linebacker-turned-lawyer?  

The Undying Fire

This is Steven's second book in the series!

After the traumatic events on Mithris, Natalie Bliss struggles to recover her memory and power. She returns to Arcadia, the planet of the gods, to reunite with the Phoenix Guardians.

Natalie’s peaceful homecoming is ruined by the alarming behavior of her golem housekeeper, Florentina. Obsessed with tales of the legendary Golem Army of Calypso, Florentina sends Natalie and her friends on a dangerous quest to find the army.

But they're not the only ones looking for this powerful force. A mysterious enemy is planning an attack on the capital city of Calypso, which is about to host the famous Arcadian Games.

Natalie’s worries intensify when something precious is stolen from her—a theft that could endanger not just her life, but her soul.

The seconds are counting down to the beginning of the Arcadian Games. Time is running out for Natalie and her friends to save the city from a monstrous threat.

But even if Natalie can save Calypso, it may be too late to save herself.

 

 

My buddy Phil Athans has a story out in this one.  Looks like great fun!

 

 

 

 

Accursed RPG Kickstarter!

 

This one looks REALLY cool!

 

Kickstarter here.

Rogue Angel: The Babel Codex

 

Currently free at Amazon!

 

 

 

And it's currently free at Barnes & Noble!