MI6 Confidential
55 minutes ago
Monday, March 7, 2011
FREE E-BOOK: HALLAM!
IF YOU HAVEN’T MADE THE AQUAINTANCE OF 1920’S HOLLYWOOD STUNDTMAN/P.I. LUCAS HALLAM, YOU ABSOLUTELY SHOULD. AND NOW YOU HAVE THE PERFECT CHANCE FOR AN INTRODUCTION – HALLAM’S CREATOR, AUTHOR L. J. WASHBURN, IS OFFERING A FREE E-VERSION OF THE SHORT STORY IN WHICH HALLAM MADE HIS FIRST APPEARANCE . . .
Hallam was the first appearance of Lucas Hallam, 1920's Hollywood stuntman/PI. This 10,000 word novelette appeared in the first Private Eye Writers of America anthology THE EYES HAVE IT in 1984 and hasn't been reprinted since. The day I came up with the idea of Lucas Hallam, I called my husband, James. I was so excited that I couldn't wait for him to come home from our bookstore. After I told him about my idea, he said, "It sounds like it would be a lot of fun to write, but you'll never sell it." Ha. I've been selling Hallam stories for almost 30 years, and while I haven't gotten rich off the ol' cowboy, James was right about one thing, I sure have had fun writing about him . . .
FOR THE FULL DETAILS CLICK HERE
FANTASY CORNER: TRIUMFF ~ HER MAJESTY’S HERO!
DAN ABNETT
It is the year 2010. No, really . . .
Her Divine Majesty Queen Elizabeth XXX sits upon the throne. Great Britain's vast Empire is run by Alchemy and Superstition.
Sir Rupert Triumff. Adventurer. Fighter. Drinker. Saviour? Pratchett goes swashbuckling in the hotly anticipated original fiction debut of the multi-million selling Warhammer star.
Triumff is a ribald historical fantasy set in a warped clockwork-powered version of our present day! A new Elizabethan age, not of Elizabeth II but in the style of the original Virgin Queen. Throughout its rollicking pages, Sir Rupert Triumff drinks, dines and duels his way into a new Brass Age of Exploration and Adventure.
FAUX COVERS: THE SUNBURNED MISTRESS!
ANOTHER COOL FAUX PAPERBACK COVER FROM THE PEN OF ILLUSTRATOR ROB KELLY . . .
FOR MORE CLICK HERE
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Y/A CORNER: TORTALL AND OTHER LANDS!
A COLLECTION OF TALES
TAMORA PIERCE
PIERCE HAS LONG BEEN ONE OF MY FAVORITE FANTASY WRITERS AND IT’S NICE TO HAVE THIS COLLECTION OF TALES CONNECTED TO HER SEVERAL SERIES . . .
Collected here for the first time are all of the tales from the land of Tortall, featuring both previously unknown characters as well as old friends. Filling some gaps of time and interest, these stories, some of which have been published before, will lead Pierce's fans, and new readers into one of the most intricately constructed worlds of modern fantasy.
Y/A CORNER: CROWN DUEL!
SHERWOOD SMITH
Over their father’s deathbed, young Meliara Astiar and her brother Branaric promise to lead their people against the evil King. The impoverished count and countess discover that even when the cause is right, leading a war is much tougher than it appears. When Meliara falls into the hands of the elegant Marquis of Shevraeth, the enemy commander, she knows she has to either escape or die. After a desperate chase across country, she discovers that she and Bran are not alone — but the alliance is offered by the person she hates the most.
Once the king is gone, she faces a new type of battlefield: not muddy fields and sharpened steel, but marble palaces. The weapons now are fashion, manners, and the subtle and secret language of fans. Finally, there is the toughest challenge of all, courtship. For how do you defend yourself when the one who draws your eye, and your heart, is your worst enemy?
Crown Duel, once published as Crown Duel and Court Duel, was put together with an added story by Firebird in 2003, and has remained in print ever since. This new edition has been edited, with the addition of several scenes from the hero’s point of view.
SOMETHING DIFFERENT: KINGDOM UNDER GLASS!
A TALE OF OBSESSION, ADVENTURE, AND ONE MAN'S QUEST TO PRESERVE THE WORLD'S GREAT ANIMALS
JAY KIRK
A sweeping historical narrative of the life of Carl Akeley, the famed explorer and taxidermist who changed the way Americans viewed the conservation of the natural world
During the golden age of safaris in the early twentieth century, one man set out to preserve Africa's great beasts. In this epic account of an extraordinary life lived during remarkable times, Jay Kirk follows the adventures of the brooding genius who revolutionized taxidermy and created the famed African Hall we visit today at New York's Museum of Natural History. The Gilded Age was drawing to a close, and with it came the realization that men may have hunted certain species into oblivion.
Renowned taxidermist Carl Akeley joined the hunters rushing to Africa, where he risked death time and again as he stalked animals for his dioramas and hobnobbed with outsized personalities of the era such as Theodore Roosevelt and P. T. Barnum.
In a tale of art, science, courage, and romance, Jay Kirk resurrects a legend and illuminates a fateful turning point when Americans had to decide whether to save nature, to destroy it, or to just stare at it under glass.
JAZZ CENTRAL: JUST GROOVIN’!
DIANE MARINO
A GREAT JAZZ/POP BLEND ON SOME NOT SO STANDARD STANDARDS, JUST GROOVIN’ SHOWCASES MARINO AT HER BEST – WHICH IS VERY, VERY GOOD . . .
TRACKLIST:
1. Baby, I'm Yours
2. So Much In Love
3. Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye
4. Groovin' (vocal duet with Felix Cavaliere)
5. Anyone Who Had A Heart
6. Baby It's You
7.The Warmth Of The Sun
8. Walking In The Rain
9. Dedicated To The One I Love
10. Hello Stranger
11. Yes I'm Ready
12. Never My Love
FOR MORE CLICK HERE
TAKE A CHANCE E-BOOKS!
AN ONGOING SERIES HIGHLIGHTING POSSIBLY DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH E-BOOKS BY RELATIVELY UNKNOWN AUTHORS, FOUND WHILE CRUISING THE E-BOOK SHELVES ON AMAZON WITH PRICES THAT MAKE THEM WORTH TAKING A CHANCE ON . . . SOME MAY BE CRAP, SOME COULD SHOW POTENTIAL, OTHERS (I SUSPECT VERY, VERY, FEW) MIGHT BE GREAT – TAKE A CHANCE . . .
TODAY’S FIND . . . FANTASY!
EARTHSHAKER ~ $3.82
GAIA CHARMER, WORLD WARRIOR
ROBERT T. JESCHONEK
Sexy private eye Gaia Charmer brings new meaning to the words "Earth Angel." This mysterious (and bipolar) bombshell has the power of the Earth itself at her fingertips, but the murder of her best friend knocks her world off its axis.
Out for blood on the killer’s trail, Gaia and a tough-as-nails rock hound sheriff must overcome Landkind – a secret society of movers and shakers with the hearts and minds of landforms (mountains, rivers, valleys, etc.) – and a vicious enemy with the key to her true identity: Mother Earth herself in human form . . .
CAMELOT!
This historical fantasy series is set to premiere on Starz April 1st at 10pm. Based on the classic Arthurian legend, which has had no shortage of prior renditions, Starz will no doubt pump it up with their usual intensity and dramatic license and aim it at a mature audience.
In the wake of King Uther’s sudden death, chaos threatens to engulf Britain. When the sorcerer Merlin has visions of a dark future, he installs the young and impetuous Arthur, Uther’s unknown son and heir, who has been raised from birth as a commoner. But Arthur’s cold and ambitious half sister Morgan will fight him to the bitter end, summoning unnatural forces to claim the crown in this epic battle for control.
These are dark times indeed for the new king, with Guinevere being the only shining light in Arthur’s harsh world. Faced with profound moral decisions, and the challenge of uniting a kingdom broken by war and steeped in deception, Arthur will be tested beyond imagination. Forget everything you think you know…this is the story of Camelot that has never been told before.
If the below trailer catches your interest, you can already check out the the pilot episode on the STARZ WEBSITE
Saturday, March 5, 2011
QUIET VILLAGE PODCAST: THE MUSIC OF 007, PART 2!
Agent Joe Banks returns to the Quiet Village as we sip vesper martinis and geek out of the world and music of Agent 007.
PLAYLIST:
• Intro (Theme from The Tiki Wonder Hour / Combustible Edison)
• Mister Kiss Kiss Bang Bang / Elliot Fischer / Ultra Lounge 7: Crime Scene
• Baron Samedi's Dance of Death / George Martin / Live and Let Die
• The Man With The Golden Gun / Alice Cooper
• Bond '77 / Marvin Hamlisch / The Spy Who Loved Me soundtrack
• Bond Arrives In Rio & Boat Chase / John Barry / Moonraker soundtrack
• For Your Eyes Only / Blondie
• A Drive In The Country / Bill Conti / For Your Eyes Only soundtrack
• A View To A Kill / Skye / Hollywood Mon Amour
• Hercules Takes Off / John Barry / The Living Daylights soundtrack
• Goldeneye / Mr. Bond / A Jazzy Cocktail Of Ice Cold Themes
• One In 007, Your Time Is Up / David Arnold / The World Is Not Enough
• Casino Royale (trailer score) / Pfeifer Broz. Music
• Dream On James Bond, You're Winning / Herb Alpert / Casino Royale '66
• Casino Royale main theme / Ohio State University Marching Band
• No Body Does It Better / Marvin Hamlisch / The Spy Who Loved Me
TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD CLICK HERE
SHERLOCK’S CORNER: THE SHERLOCKIAN!
GRAHAM MOORE
In December 1893, Sherlock Holmes-adoring Londoners eagerly opened their Strand magazines, anticipating the detective's next adventure, only to find the unthinkable: his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, had killed their hero off. London spiraled into mourning – crowds sported black armbands in grief – and railed against Conan Doyle as his assassin.
Then in 1901, just as abruptly as Conan Doyle had "murdered" Holmes in "The Final Problem," he resurrected him. Though the writer kept detailed diaries of his days and work, Conan Doyle never explained this sudden change of heart. After his death, one of his journals from the interim period was discovered to be missing, and in the decades since, has never been found.
Or has it?
When literary researcher Harold White is inducted into the preeminent Sherlock Holmes enthusiast society, The Baker Street Irregulars, he never imagines he's about to be thrust onto the hunt for the holy grail of Holmesophiles: the missing diary. But when the world's leading Doylean scholar is found murdered in his hotel room, it is Harold – using wisdom and methods gleaned from countless detective stories – who takes up the search, both for the diary and for the killer.
Friday, March 4, 2011
PULP NOW: SHADOWS OF NEW YORK!
T. J. GLENN
NOW AVAILABLE!
In the 1930s, the world stands at the brink of war, Japan is intent on its conquest of China, and criminal masterminds are using the confusion to carve out their own empires. Into this world strides Dr. Shadows.
When his plane was shot down over Korea by the Japanese, Dr. Shadows was nearly killed, being rescued by Korean monks who nursed him back to health with an herbal treatment that turned his skin an ashen gray, but that also gives him a speed and agility unmatched by others. After years of healing and martial arts training, Dr. Shadows is back in New York where he's established the Shadows Foundation for Justice. Through this organization (and with the help of sidekicks Slugger Harris and monk and martial artist Dr. Hoon and perky Lee Han Ku (Hank)) he'll attempt to right wrongs, solve crimes, and defeat crimelords whose greed is spurring the world toward war.
Author Teel James Glenn creates a pulp-fiction hero who would have been at home with the pulp action characters of the 1930s--Doc Savage, Batman, the Shadow, and Secret Agent X, and who would have battled arch-fiends like Fu Manchu. Glenn's New York is not the glamorous stage for theater and the super-rich, but bars, Chinatown, and secret societies.
Fans of pulp fiction will enjoy the name-dropping of mostly-forgotten characters, and the careful reconstruction of an era that is now in the past and perhaps never fully existed.
As an added incentive, the book is only One Dollar for the remainder of March at booksforabuck.com!!!
BOOKS FOR A BUCK
PULP NOW: COLD WAR HEROES!
TOM JOHNSON
NOW AVAILABLE!
Pulp goes Top Secret in this military comedy drama set in Europe during the height of the Cold War. A group of misfit MPs must confront spies and the black market while dealing with a boxing tournament on Post! Not since M*A*S*H* and Soldier In The Rain have we been treated to an inside look at military life with a touch of humor by a soldier who actually experienced it.
COLD WAR HEROES by Tom Johnson is loosely based on the author’s experience with the 202nd Military Police Company in France during the 1960s.
AVAILABLE FROM NIGHT TO DAWN BOOKS
PULP NOW: BLOOD ‘N’ THUNDER #28!
WINTER 2011
NOW SHIPPING!
The latest issue of Blood ‘n’ Thunder has just been shipped to subscribers and is now available for single-copy purchase. It offers two articles for Doc Savage fans: one covers the 1985 Doc radio series broadcast over National Public Radio, the other reveals sources used (and even plagiarized) by primary series author Lester Dent while writing about the exotic locales in Doc's adventures. A lengthy and detailed piece by Robert O. Erisman, editor of the pulp line published by Marvel Comics owner Martin Goodman, explains how to build a salable pulp story “brick by brick.” BnT editor Ed Hulse writes about Patria, the 1917 movie serial that sparked an international incident. Gary Lovisi and Mark Trost contribute pulp and paperback reviews, and the little-known 1940 comic-book story featuring a thinly disguised Captain Future (renamed Major Mars) is reprinted for the first time anywhere.
With this issue Blood ‘n’ Thunder returns to a quarterly publication schedule, so the price of yearly subscriptions has increased to $40 postpaid – but that’s still 30 percent less than it would cost to buy the four issues separately.
Single copies are available at $11.95 from Ed Hulse at 2467 Route 10, Bldg. 15, Apt. 4B, Morris Plains, NJ 07950. Ed also takes payments via Paypal at bnteditor@yahoo.com
NOIR NOW: ONE TOO MANY BLOWS TO THE HEAD!
ERIC BEETNER / JB KOHL
Kansas City, 1939. One story from two points of view: the hunter and the hunted. Ray Ward - seeking revenge for his brother’s death in the boxing ring. Detective Dean Fokoli - hot on a killer’s trail.
Ray’s hunt takes him underground into Kansas City’s criminal nightlife. Dean Fokoli lives there full time but he’s on the run from his own troubles. Two men racing forward to collide like a knockout punch.
A razor-edged story of revenge, redemption and what happens when you confront the ghosts of the past.
PULP NOW: JASON DARK ~ GHOST HUNTER!
BOOKGASM’S SLADE GRAYSON HAS A COOL REVIEW TODAY OF THE PULPILICIOUS JASON DARK: GHOSTHUNTER TALES . . .
Jason Dark is a Victorian-era occult detective, part Sherlock Holmes and part Fox Mulder. He comes from a long line of Geisterjägers, which I thought was a drink enjoyed by college kids, but turns out it’s a German phrase that means “ghost buster” or “ghost hunter.” Jason carries a cane that conceals an enchanted silver sword, and is accompanied by his trusty sidekick, Siu Lin, a beautiful Chinese woman who is proficient in Wing Chun kung fu and Chinese magic.
HORROR CORNER: OLD SCHOOL!
TIRED OF SEXY, HELPFUL, VAMPIRES? TIRED OF EMPATHETIC HEROINES WHO BOND WITH THE SPAWN OF THE DEAD? THEN IT’S TIME TO RETURN TO SCHOOL – OLD SCHOOL . . .
Old School, a traditional horror collection born of seven twisted minds, invites you back to a time when vampires and werewolves were monsters who made humans quiver in terror. Fourteen short tales offered by David Dunwoody, Jackie Gamber, R. Scott McCoy,Natalie L. Sin, Horace James, Gregory L. Hall, and Louise Bohmer, all tied together by selected poems from Zombie Zak.
Old School reminds one of terrors best not forgotten. Within these pages, evil children terrorize, witches gather the teeth of the young, cosmic blobs eat the world, while creepy crawlies ruin a man’s life and a headless ghost seeks revenge. Wander down this spooky path with poems and stories that revive our nightmares about golems, harpies, and other forgotten creatures.
MARK HARMON TO BECOME PREY!
PER USA NETWORK PRESS RELEASE:
USA Network has acquired the rights to develop a two-hour movie starring Mark Harmon based on the best-selling series of PREY novels by Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Sandford. The announcement was made today by Jeff Wachtel, president, USA original programming and co-head of original content, Universal Cable Productions. Michael Jaffe and Howard Braunstein of Jaffe-Braunstein Films, LTD (“The Informant,” “The Client List“) will produce the movie set to begin production in May.
Chris Gerolmo (“Citizen X,” “Mississippi Burning”) adapted the script from the novel. In addition to starring, Harmon will also executive produce alongside Jaffe and Braunstein.
“Mark Harmon could read the phone book and we’d probably want to put it on the air!” said Wachtel. “With Mark, Chris, Howard and Michael bringing to life the iconic character of Lucas Davenport – that really promises to be something special.”
There are over 20 bestsellers in the PREY series of novels. The movie is based on the 10th novel, CERTAIN PREY, where writer John Sandford pits his popular antihero, Minneapolis Deputy Police Chief Lucas Davenport, against a duo unlike any he’s ever encountered; a lethal hit woman and a ferociously cunning killer determined to hunt him down.
MEAN STREETMAPS!
WRITER, INDEXER, PRESERVATIONIST EXTRODINAIRE STEVE HOLLAND GIVES US THE LOW-DOWN ON A FORTHCOMING PROJECT . . . I’M BUYING IT SIMPLY ON THE STRENGTH OF THE GREAT TITLE . . .
The long-time-coming Mean Streetmaps collection, which has been sitting on my list of upcoming books since 2009, was always intended as a Bear Alley Books project, something I was going to slip in amongst the comics' reprints. Then that plan imploded and I've had the book sitting around waiting to be finished ever since.
Mean Streetmaps is a collection of essays, most of them originally written for Crime Time magazine. As I was rarely given an editorial brief, I ended up writing on a range of subjects that interested me on the broad theme of crime in books and movies. So there are pieces about the origins of Black Mask and hardboiled fiction, essays on Mickey Spillane, W. R. Burnett, Len Deighton, James M. Cain and some of the British gangster writers of the 1950s: Griff, Ben Sarto, Dail Ambler and Pete Costello. Then there's the films of Joe Eszterhas, David Fincher and Edward D. Wood (Hollywood's worst ever filmmaker), the story of Sexton Blake's most infamous enemy, Zenith, and my take on George Orwell's famous rant about "Raffles and Miss Blandish".
I'm doing this as a very low print run hardback, so it'll be pricey. But I hope a few of you will give it a try. 240 pages, hardback in dustjacket. You can see the dustjacket cover at the top of this column. The price and ordering information will be sorted out within the next week or so. You'll know about five minutes after I've figured it all out.
TO CHECK OUT STEVE’S BEAR ALLEY BLOG CLICK HERE
PULP NOW: PULP 1ST!
A NEW PULP SPECIFIC COLUMN BY MARK HALEGUA DEBUTS TODAY OVER AT THE COMICS RELATED BLOG WITH A BIT OF PULP HISTORY . . .
Frank Munsey published the first pulp magazine in 1896, Argosy. The last pulp magazine, Ranch Romances, was published in 1972.
Between those two years, pulps were in their heyday roughly from 1915 through 1941.
And, in those years there was mayhem, action, murder, romance, mystery, adventure, and thrills.
Mostly for a dime.
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