Digital short Saturday ( on Friday no Less) B.R. Stateham Deadly Intent

[Giovanni Gelati]

Really I promise this will be my last post for a while. Sincerely,  at least until tomorrow. Here is the last thing I need to get out of my system before I call it a day posting. Next week I will only be posting on Self-Published authors and /or Independent Publishers, basically no one from the Big 6. To make my point, on Vincent Zandri’s  Vox ( if you do not read his blog I suggest you do, great stuff),  I was lucky enough to guest post on there Sunday, or was it Saturday, they all meld together after a while.  Anyway, my rant was on “What really is Traditional publishing now anyway” or something along those lines. I am including it in the post today for those of you that may have missed it. Check my Goodreads wall for all the good stuff that is coming your way next week on Sunday. Thanks. Let’s get into Call Me Smitty. This series is in my top twelve for this quarter, if you have not had a read on this hard boiled assassin series, I suggest you drop the $.99 on one and get the feel and essence of this incredible character. Here we go, what is between the virtual pages:

“From the mind of B.R. Stateham, author of Death of Young Lieutenant, comes Call Me Smitty. This is a three part digital short story series that is dark, violent, emotional and heart wrenching. The second installment in the series begins to give us more of a glimpse into what makes Smitty, well Smitty. This is a series and a character that is not to be missed. This is Hard-Boiled action at its best! 

      The name is B.R. Stateham.  Yes, I have a face only a mother could love.  And I have been accused of having a distinct familial resemblance to a certain man-made Frankenstein critter from olden days.  Be that as it may, I am a sixty year old kid who has been married happily to the same wife for almost a quarter-century (bless her tormented soul!).  We have three grown kids, five grand kids, two dogs, and a Dodge pickup truck I call 'Baby.'

I like to consider myself a writer.  A writer of speculative fiction.  My reading tastes run toward Fantasies, Histories, Mysteries, and Science-Fiction.  But really, it doesn't matter.

I'll read just about anything. Writing, however, revolves around the four genres mentioned.

I don't know about you, but to me, today's writing seems so blasé.  Like tasting vanilla pudding without much vanilla.  Clones of clones.  Gone, it seems, are the writing styles found in writers like Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett.  The two literately created the modern-day hard-boiled detective/cop.  Every writer since who has played in this genre has copied, in one way or another, their styles.  They brought a life to their words, animating their characters with a living, breathing presence.  Today's writers of this genre go for fast paced action, unbelievable plots, and damn little description.

So my goal is to blend the modern with the old; bring more 'color' back into the art of writing--to stimulate the imagination, yet leave free enough room for each reader to paint that verbal portrait all their own. Join me in this endeavor. Let us be stalwart heroes and walk the dark alleys and back streets of murder and mayhem together.  Or soar into galaxies unknown in search of adventures unparalleled.”

Is this guy just one of your run of the mill cold hearted killers? Does he even think about what he does before he does it? Does this guy have a conscience and a soul? Incredibly the answer is no, yes and yes. He is a different kind of killer, one that is unpredictable , yet unyielding and unrelenting. At times he will surprise you with random acts of kindness and at other time with his cold brutality. B.R. Stateham has put together a character that is going to stand the test of time because this is a quality read: well-constructed, great plotline, intense drama, unpredictable pacing, snappy dialogue, and a gift of gritty description that is unique to him. I do not hesitate to suggest this series for these reasons and many more. Drop the $.99 on this author and this series and tell me if I am wrong. I feel that strongly about this authors work.

Here is my Guest post for Vincent Zandri’s Vox

 

I have to say I was taken aback by Vincent Zandri when he said to me, “Yo G, How about you guest post on The Vox?” I mean let’s face facts, I am not in the man’s stratus when it comes to the written word and I don’t really mean to bring down everyone to my reading and writing ability, but here goes:  I have heard the word “traditional”, associated with publishing a lot lately. Seriously! Since I am coming up on my 500th post sometime in the next week or two, I have witnessed a transformation in what is to be called publishing, and I for one love it.

There seems to be three different camps or groups of people wandering around out there: The Big Six in their castles, or skyscrapers looking down on everyone shouting this is “traditional”, shaking their fists and clubs. They have the drawbridge up, the oil is ready to be spilled down from the parapets, on those who oppose their rule. Then you have the self-published & “independents” (meaning not as big as The Big Six), and then there is the camp in which I reside, the readers. Now I have loved being a reader and will remain so, but I am getting my fill of the pabulum being spoon feed, or should I say trying to be spoon fed to us, by the castle dwellers. The packaging of traditional books is good. Being simple minded, I love fancy book covers, but I have found the interior of the novels to be wanting: cookie cutter, mass produced, edited down, formulated, the same old same old. Do you get my point?

Okay the other side is the underdog, self-pub & independents are gaining strength in numbers and dollars. We readers have become the gate keepers; we get to make or break this. What do you want to load that e-reader with, huh? I have a Kindle, don’t throw any stones if you are a Nookie or iPad person, I’m not; we are in this together, platform sameness or not. We get to now read work that has so many fewer layers to it. It’s practically right from the source, kind of like tasting fruit right from the vine. Doesn’t it taste sweeter, fresher, have a better aroma?  Me, I am a bit tired of staleness, so I have been on a track to discover fresh fruit, beat the bushes more per say. I want to find that previously forbidden fruit that the castle people told me sucked, it isn’t fit for consumption or purchase; it isn’t “traditionally” published. Well my friends the lid is off that. I think we have all come to understand that, so I am going to beat that drum; many others have. My question is this then: I have come to check out, discover and enjoy many new (Okay they have really been around, but I didn’t see them, really sorry) authors like B.R. Stateham, Thad Brown, Big Daddy Abel, Amy Faircloth, Joanne Lewis, Vincent Zandri (remember a year ago he wasn’t a rock star like he is today!), Jason McIntyre, and publishers like my sponsor Trestle Press or good friends at Stonehouse Ink, and on and on. Happy? As a reader I am totally amped.

The big question I have is why aren’t the big name authors jumping over the walls in droves? Why not? Are they afraid that we the readers aren’t going to support them? Don’t they see that we want to? Are they afraid that without the castle dwellers’ support system they will fail? Why do they want to stay behind the wall?  When their novels hits Kindle and they have more one star reviews than five star reviews because of price, does that not speak to them? Maybe some of them fear the fact that, that rawness, that honesty the reader has gained, that heart and soul that is displayed by the radical new group that is made up of the self-published and independents is gaining strength, readership and favor. Do they possess those traits or have the castle dwellers beaten it out of them and made them mere servants to their “traditional” system? Are they reliant solely on those that edit their stories to death, make their covers, tell them where they can aggregate (yeah, I know aggregate this!) and publicize their work(I think that one is oxymoron or are some of the publisists,haha.)? I for one enjoy being outside the walls , having freedom of choice, freedom of movement and freedom to read what I want to read when and on what type of e-reader I wish (laptop,Kindle,computer, Smartphone), at the price I choose. I say join me and tell the castle dwellers that it is time to let down the drawbridge, freedom for all, including fair pricing, inclusion and stop the rhetoric of hate and bull@#$. Embrace those brave enough, heart strong, and willing to put themselves out there without any type of safety net, the self-published and the independent publishers. They for me are the new “traditional”. The old “traditional” is about to go the way of the cave man’s club used in war, the Edsel, and the Slap-Chop, but maybe not the Snuggee(Do you Have yours?).  

I am going to be bold and only post on the new “traditional” authors the week of April 11th. Join me if you are someone that leaves a review on any platform, blog, or social network. Be bold! Be loud! Let the castle dwellers know that it is time to change or face extinction. Did I get my point across? Do you wish to challenge my viewpoint?  Do you need recommendations on what to read from some new “traditional authors”? I can help; I would love that! Remember I am kind of tall and push over large buildings with only one leg. But if you want to personup and get in touch with me, I don’t think that is too hard to do. Check me out at my blog, Gelati’s Scoop(www.gelatisscoop.blogspot.com ), my blogtalk radio show, The G-ZONE ( Vincent Zandri will be my guest this Thursday @ 12pmEST.) call in and give me a piece of your mind, I dare you. Okay I don’t, but I would like to talk to you. Or just take a direct route and tell me just how simple minded I am at [e-mail]

Thanks again to my friend that has forgotten me after I helped him become famous, the one, the only; you guessed it, Vincent Zandri!              

What are you reading today? Have you checked out our new blogtalk radio show The G-ZONE? Check us out and become our friend on Shelfari, The Novel Spot &Twitter. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Amazon Banner on our blog?  Thanks for stopping by today; We will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.   http://www.gelatisscoop.blogspot.com