JackBludis

Male

United States

Profile Information:

Hometown:: Baltimore
About Me:: I am the author of more than 70 published novels and novellas, and almost 900 published stories in various genres and sub-genres. My best works are private-eye mysteries under my own name mysteries set in various historical periods. New issues and reprints will be out shortly from Pageturneditions.com

As all writers, I am also a reader.

This updated on 9-8-2011
I Am A:: Reader, Writer
Website:: http://Jackbludis.com But crimespace tells you what you need.
Books And Authors I Like:: Chandler, Hammett, Ed McBain, Hemingway, Faulkner, Joyce, James Lee Burke, Cormac McCarthy; the Moe Prager series and the latest two Robert B. Parker's by Reed Farrel Coleman, and Richard Helms (the novelist not the spy), Laura Lippman, Vicki Hendricks, Megan Abbot--and indispensable for a writer, "Strunk and White's, The Elements of Style." And how did I forget Will Shakespeare the first time around? Him too. And may I also add Steig Larsson of "The Girl who ..." Series, may he rest in peace.
Movies And TV Shows I Like:: The Big Bang Theory, Casablanca, Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, Murder My Sweet, the Godfather I, Chinatown, LA Confidential. I never tire of seeing and dissecting Casablanca.

Saturday Night Live--although I don't get all the humor anymore, it's an age thing. This show for 40 years has kept up with what 20-somethings are laughing at. It has also turned out some damn good actors as well as comedians. The constant reruns are a drag because topical material out of date is stale.

Favorite Networks AMC, TCM, TNT, and USA.

Letterman, yes. Leno, no. The Daily Show, and some things on the History Channels (The first time I see them.)

Comment Wall:

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Lynne LeGrow

Thanks for the welcome Jack.
I'm intrigued by your comment that lately readers are in short supply. I work for a large public library system and we seem to busier than ever. Is it just that book SALES are not what they once were? Is it the marketing, the prices, or what?

Jul 10, 2008
JJ Cooper

Hello Jack,

Thank you for leaving a comment. Much appeciated. I guess writing never entered my mind until I finished being an interrogator. I missed it and wanted to write about what I missed. Secrecy Act and all kept me away from writing what I did, so I went straight to fiction. And loving it.

Thank you, Jack for your comments and I look forward to hearing from you again.

Kind regards,

JJ

Jul 10, 2008
Girl Arsonist

Hi Jack, thanks for your comment. I think? LOL. My reading habits mirror my life...never down one distinct patch, always taking detours!

Jul 10, 2008
Katherine

I loved The Road (amazing book) and No Country as well. Generally I'm keen on disenfranchised characters -- I like when life doesn't turn out all that well. Unresolved issues. Don't know why... it's just a bit more interesting to me I guess.

And probably I don't watch TV as I lost the habit after living in Ethiopia for a year. Although we could get five year old seasons of Friends on satellite -- we'd race to congregate for that bit of English entertainment -- at least when we had electricity. I like watching things on DVD maybe as well as it's on my schedule, not the stations! :)

Jul 10, 2008
Lynne LeGrow

I guess what I am asking is WHY?
Not being an author myself, I would think that if I was to write a novel, I would be so proud of it that I would want my name attached...
Is it a sign of great success to be able to use a pseudonym?

Jul 10, 2008
Patricia Abbott

Hi Jack-I wonder if you'd be willing to write about a favorite "forgotten book" for my blog project in August. You can see it at http://pattinase.blogspot.com
If it's not your thing, I understand. Patti

Jul 12, 2008
Paul McGoran

Jack,
I'm in awe after reading your bio and checking out your website. Could you recommend two or three of your books as representing your best? Otherwise, I don't know where to start. Also, I quoted you in a Forum I started in the Writer's Den called "Defining Noir." You might want to check it.

Jul 14, 2008
Maria

Hi Jack,
I'm still feeling my way around this wonderful website. How fortunate you only have one procrastination...wish that mine were limited to one! I'm about to explore your website.
M

Jul 14, 2008
Matthew Quinn Martin

Thanks Jack. Same to you. I also tend to think of myself as a craftsman...maybe someday I'll write a book in a week.

Aug 1, 2008
Luis

JackBludis, thank you for accepting my request! I look forward to reading your published, and unpublished work. Even though I write everyday and complete reports every week, I still marvel at the difficulty of it all.

p.s. I wish I could rise to the level of hack, especially if you're an example of one!

Aug 17, 2008
Jean Henry Mead

Thank you, Jack, for your kind words. I'm flattered that you like my website and interviews with Louis L'Amour, etc. You have quite a website, yourself. And 40 books blows me away. Thanks also for adding me as your friend. :-)

Aug 18, 2008
Ovidia

Thanks for your comment, Jack--will definitely 'get back to work' on that! Very impressed by all your writing and articles but I think one thing you said is going to help the most: 'most learn (voice) by assimilation'. Think I've been trying too hard to write like 'real, published (& probably American) writers & reading more 'how to write' pieces than pieces I read for pleasure, so no surprise it's been easier to turn out non-fiction--think it's time to go back to reading the kind of stuff I want to write!. So--thank you!

Aug 19, 2008
Bluedaizy

Hey! Thanks for the comment regarding my avitar. I can't take credit though. It's an image of a Tiffany stained glass window. It's HUGE and much more beautiful in person.

Sep 4, 2008
Ray Paterson

Thanks for the comments Jack. Like Bluedaizy, I cannot take credit for my avitar...ain't THAT clever, and I have no idea where I found it, I just hope it isn't breaching copyright. Knowing my luck though it is. I'll have to baricade the door to the flat (apartment).

Sep 8, 2008
Leian

Okay, I am AWFULLY late in replying to your comment. All of this "social networking" gets awfully busy! Yes, I love a good British mystery. But that isn't to say I only read those, not by a long shot.

Well now that I'm here, I'm going to check out your site...

Sep 17, 2008
Timothy C. Phillips

Thanks Jack, your opinion means a lot to me. I'll be dropping you a line after I pick up a couple of your books, which I am looking forward to reading.

Sep 18, 2008
KevinWHolland

Yes, I'm afraid that for Ocean City it's merely a matter of time ....

Sep 22, 2008
Angela

Thanks, I thought it was unique.

Sep 22, 2008
Jason Hunt

Me and Jack, we go back a long way. I was his writing coach when he churned out hundreds of pages with "red rum" on them. :-)

Thanks for the comment. I'm gonna pick up a copy of The Big Switch and a pint of Jack Daniels, and I'll let you know what I think.

Sep 25, 2008
Linda Frank

Hi, thank you for adding me as a friend

Sep 29, 2008
D.R. MacMaster

Thanks for the add, and the nice you said about my talk about noir.

Oct 15, 2008
Bob

Life on Mars - The last episode showed promise.

Nov 3, 2008
Carole Parker

I see you like Chandler, too. I also love Ross MacDonald's LA tales. And of course, there's James Ellroy. My PI Carrie Love has read them all, and is known to quote them during the course of working a case ...

Dec 1, 2008
Carole Parker

Don't worry about it, doll. I never shoot fellow writers ...

Dec 2, 2008
Barbara DaCosta

Hi there,
Mark Salzman...he's the author of Iron & Silk (one of the first post-Mao travel-to-China memoirs), The Soloist, and other interesting novels.

Barbara DaCosta

Dec 2, 2008
Meredith S. Cole

Thank you! It's a bit intimidating to be in such great company, but I hope to live up to the contest's reputation...

Dec 3, 2008
Loretta Wheeler

Thank you Jack:) I haven't really done anything to it recently...we just moved into a house and right on the heels of that the hurricane Ike descended on us...God what a couple of months!:)

Dec 10, 2008
Loretta Wheeler

What an interesting bio...and points of view on writing:) All good:) Hack away!...Wear the title like a hat...make it your own style:) (Which I have no doubt you have long established, as well as your own voice...

Dec 10, 2008
crimogenic

Hi, thanks for the friend's request. Cormac McCarthy's writing is amazing. I'm totally smitten with his style.

Dec 10, 2008
Angela

The predictablity of the genre really bores me, so I really appreciate the suggestion. I feel as though I have to weed through so many duds to find a gem.

Dec 10, 2008
Vikki Petraitis

Hey Jack,

What did you want an Australian opinion of?

Dec 11, 2008
Dash Courageous

Ah, a man after my own heart. AMC and TCM were my favorite channels, now its old time radio & republic serials.

If you want a copy of Blazing #9, le me know. You may like the stories.

Regards.

Dec 11, 2008
Vikki Petraitis

Hi Jack,

I saw it and I liked it. I think the little Aboriginal boy was brilliant. I was moved in the end and it was indeed an epic. As for whether it borrowed from other epics, aren't they all the same anyhow? A great love story, a hardship, happy ending. Some people have lost the ability to simply enjoy a film.

Dec 12, 2008
Carole Parker

When I met Eddie, I was at a book expo, and speaking with another author, Christa Faust (I wanted to option her book MONEY SHOT). I heard a familiar voice nearby. Christa said, 'oh, and Eddie Muller is here, too.' I turned around, and there he was. I shook his hand and said, 'it's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard your voice in my home for years now, and it's nice to meet the man behind it.' Of course I had seen many films with his commentaries. He said it was the most original compliment he's ever received. We, along with Max Allan Collins, chatted for the next few hours, and had a great time. Eddie and I have kept in touch since then, and to this day I am honored to know him ...

Dec 13, 2008
Carole Parker

Christa is a doll. She promised that someday soone we could both 'get in a little trouble.'

I can't wait.

Dec 13, 2008
Dash Courageous

FYI, when you read Moses Gunn, he's the legacy of Carroll John Daly's Race Williams. I created a modern version in Moses.

Dec 13, 2008
jKathleen

Thanks for the add, Have a good week, year what ever is left.

Dec 15, 2008
JackBludis

Cynde--
Thanks for the card and comment.
Because of Space I'm going to remove it though.
God bless you too.
Jack

Dec 17, 2008
Chuck Hustmyre

Yes, you are correct, sir. I spent a lot of time in law enforcement.

Chuck, fellow hack

Dec 17, 2008
J.R. Lindermuth

Thanks Jack. Happy holiday.

Dec 22, 2008
Jack Quick

If you go to Alabama Jacks expecting normal restaurant-level service, then your expectations couldn't be more out of tune with what Alabama Jacks is all about. The service is quick, the beer is cold and the food is incredible. Conch salad, conch fritters and a Red Stripe in the sun, staring at the mangroves and listening to live music are what this place is all about. It smells like the Keys, it looks like the Keys, and you can't put a price on this kind of atmosphere. I don't need a busboy with a crumber or a sommelier standing in the corner with a white towel over his arm to enjoy the food and libations. Just take my order, throw the paper bowl of fritters in front of me and make sure my beer doesn't dry up. Everything else would just be stuff I don't need when I dine al fresco in the Keys.

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And then there is me

Dec 22, 2008
Vicki Hendricks

Hi, Jack,
I don't know what you're talking about, so it must not be me.
Anyway, have a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!
Vicki

Jan 3, 2009
Beth Fish

Thanks for "friending" me.

Jan 25, 2009
Deborah J Ledford

I look forward to reading your work, Jack.

Jan 25, 2009
Beth Fish

I don't smoke -- but that is a drink! I just liked the image -- it comes from an old book illustration, but I don't remember which one anymore.

Jan 25, 2009
Gitte

Thank you very much!

Feb 1, 2009
Mike Chomko

Jack, I've enjoyed many pulp authors since I was a kid. I only wish that I could afford to collect more of the great detective pulps like BLACK MASK and DIME DETECTIVE, but with two kids in college, I have to limit what I purchase along those lines. Thankfully, one of my favorite pulps, ADVENTURE, is still reasonably priced. I can still pick them up for around twenty bucks, even issues from my favorite period of the magazine, the 1920s.

Feb 1, 2009
Doug Miller

Thanks for the comment. I've always loved to read and thought it would be fun to write something but I could never come up with a starting point or a plot. My dad got about halfway through writing his first novel when he died and so far it's a really good book so I thought this would be a good way to get my feet wet ;)

Feb 1, 2009
Joseph R.G. DeMarco

Please do take a look! Mysterical-E has grown and we're always looking for new ways to improve.

Feb 3, 2009
Shannon

Thanks for the friendship, Jack. Impressive body of work you've got there!

Feb 7, 2009