ECLECTIC MEANDERINGS ON BOOKS, PULPS, NOIR, '60S SPY SERIES, SOUNDTRACKS, JAZZ, THE RAT PACK, THE LOUNGE LIFE, Y/A NOVELS, COMICS, AND ANYTHING ELSE OF MILD AMUSEMENT . . .
I VERY MUCH ENJOYED THE FIRST BOOK IN THIS SERIES …
Evildoers beware! Retribution is at hand, thanks to Britain's best-kept secret agents!!
Certainly no strangers to peculiar occurrences, agents Wellington Books and Eliza Braun are nonetheless stunned to observe a fellow passenger aboard Britain's latest hypersteam train suddenly vanish in a dazzling bolt of lightning. They soon discover this is not the only such disappearance . . . with each case going inexplicably unexamined by the Crown.
The fate of England is once again in the hands of an ingenious archivist paired with a beautiful, fearless lady of adventure. And though their foe be fiendishly clever, so then is Mr. Books . . . and Miss Braun still has a number of useful and unusual devices hidden beneath her petticoats.
A new crime fiction journal that mixes interesting, hard-hitting non-fiction with some of the best short fiction in the genre.
THE LINEUP:
• Scott Phillips on the Factory novels of Derek Raymond • Ray Banks on film adaptations of Charles Willeford’s books • Lawrence Block on his various experiments with storytelling styles • Chris Rhatigan’s long interview with author Julie Morrigan • John Kenyon's interview with author Chris Offutt • John Kenyon's review of the three novels of John Rector
It also features brand new crime fiction stories from Jack Bates, Ken Bruen, Alec Cizak, Matthew C. Funk, Chris F. Holm, Craig McDonald, Court Merrigan, Thomas Pluck, Keith Rawson and Todd Robinson.
IT’S A RUNNER’S WORLD! THIS MORNING IS WHY I AM A RUNNER ... FOUR FAST-PACED MILES INTO THE TEETH OF THE WIND AND POURING RAIN ... IN CALIFORNIA NO LESS ... EXHILARATING!
DAVID FOSTER PULLS NO PUNCHES IN HIS REVIEW OF FIGHT CARD: COUNTERPUNCH OVER AT HIS BLOG, PERMISSION TO KILL . . .
…Of the elements I have enjoyed about the Fightcard series so far, is the diversity of the stories. Each writer has brought something new to the plate. If you’ll forgive the cinematic comparisons – but totally appropriate, because the stories are very cinematic – Felony Fists was like a cross between LA Confidential and Rocky – The Cutman was like a wartime Robert Mitcham film, crossed with the Godfather Part II – and Split Decision was like The Grapes of Wrath crossed with Robert Siodmak’s The Killers.
What does Counterpunch remind me of? The Big Heat. Fritz Lang’s The Big Heat, starring Glenn Ford as a relentless police detective, Dan Bannion, is one of my favourite crime films from the 1950s. Counterpunch shares more than a few similarities. At the start of The Big Heat, Bannion shares a steak and a beer with his wife. In Counterpunch, after winning a fight, Danny would always head back to Packy’s for a steak and a beer. Another similarity, is the almost relentless decency, that both men share, despite being drawn in to a corrupt world. And both men, refuse to back down, fighting for what is right – their way …
He didn't want a fight, but there are some fights you can't walk away from...
Irish Jimmy Gallagher just wanted to have a little fun at a carnival with his best girl, Ruby, and his bulldog, Steve. He wasn't looking for trouble.
But sometimes trouble comes looking for Jimmy Gallagher.
It's 1955, and Jimmy is a boxer who makes hay in the club smokers and a legit fight when he can. But Ruby, a waitress at Charley's diner, would like Jimmy to give up the fight game for good.
It's all cotton candy and hot dogs at the carnival, until they see a carny pug. That's a journeyman boxer who makes a living fighting all comers. It's not much of a life -- in fact, Jimmy did some time like that himself. But there's something about this boxer that will jolt Jimmy to the core and threaten to disrupt his life for good.
Irish Jimmy Gallagher is a new sensation and an old fashioned hero. "King Crush" is a 6300 word short story in the best tradition of the classic pulp boxing stories. Here is a fighter who is quick with a jab and with a laugh.
But if you cheat him, all bets are off.
"Vintage Los Angeles, '50s pulp fiction, it's both a complete tale ... and an open door to more adventures with Jimmy Gallagher, the pugilist who throws punches with Irish wit and wisdom." - Reader review of "Iron Hands"
AND DON’T FORGET THE FIRST JIMMY GALLAGHER FISTICUFF . . .
IRON HANDS
KINDLE EDITION $0.99
His name is Irish Jimmy Gallagher, and he checks in at 6'3" and 225 pounds. A boxer with dancing green eyes and a wit born of the Blarney Stone, Jimmy is a hell of a fella, quick with a laugh and quicker with the jab.
But if you foul him, stand back, because all the laughs will die in fury.
It's Los Angeles, 1955. A time of relative peace in the nation. The Korean War has ended, Eisenhower is in the White House and in the City of Angels life goes on.
And down by the river is a "smoker," a privately set-up boxing match where Jimmy hopes to make a couple hundred bucks. With his girl, Ruby, waiting tables at Charley's, Jimmy can always use a little extra scratch. What he can't abide is a mobster trying to fix a fight. But what can one man do against a local crime boss and his team of thugs? Especially after they've arranged to have Jimmy Gallagher clobbered by Iron Hands?
This 5700 word story is written in the style of the old action pulp magazines of the 1930s.
The Uchronic Press is proud to announce “Uchronic Tales: The Horn,” our second release. This thrilling 17,000 word novella by W. Peter Miller has a stunning cover by the talented Mike Fyles (Amazing Spider-Man and Iron Man Noir covers) and features the Ace Insurance investigator Clark Tyler, a man that trouble seems to find. Or perhaps he is just good at finding it. This story is available now on Kindle, with Nook and all other formats to follow.
The Uchronic Press is here to serve all readers that crave action, excitement, and a bit of an edge in their pulp adventure fiction. Our stories take place in an alternate past, a Uchronic world greatly like our own, but with a dash more mystery, danger, and the macabre. Here you will find heroic adventures, outlandish science, ferocious alchemy, mystic forces, and an alternate history just slightly larger than our own.
Uchronic Tales: The Horn follows Clark Tyler, an investigator for the Ace Insurance Company, as a simple job spirals toward an Earth-shattering conclusion all set against the backdrop of the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles.
What is the Horn and why do some distinctively nasty visitors want to get their hands on it? What would happen if someone decides to give it a blow? Clark is there to stop that from happening. Clark is joined in “The Horn“ by a daring aviatrix, a charming archaeologist, and a strange mercenary from Clark’s past.
Join us for the mysteries, the thrills, and the startling conclusion of ...The Horn.
The Tannhauser customs fans out there may recognize the guy riding the motorcycle on the cover - that is none other than . . . The Jackal! He is also briefly in The Zeppelin, but he has a much bigger role to play here, along with his two pets!
In the months ahead, danger will put Clark in middle of many Uchronic Tales. Look for stories featuring the classic days of Hollywood, earth-shattering danger, lost civilizations, and bizarre visitors from the unknown aether.
Welcome to Uchronic Tales
Uchronic Tales: The Horn should be available for Kindle and Nook by Monday Night at the special introductory price of 99 cents! The introductory pricing on The Zeppelin will end on Friday, March 23rd, so pick up both titles while they're cheap!
IF YOU LIKE LISTENING TO MARTINI IN THE MORNING, TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS TO LISTEN! TO TO JOIN FELLOW LOUNGE LIZARDS AND LISTEN TO THE CONTEMPORARY STANDARDS OF MICHAEL BUBLE, RENEE OLSTEAD, STEVE TYRELL, AND THE CLASSIC STYLINGS OF SINATRA, DEAN MARTIN, JULIE LONDON, AND SO MANY MORE CHECK OUT:
