Brian Drake's Posts - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T06:28:25ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrakehttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/60995672?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://crimespace.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=2ufpofe0ra555&xn_auth=noBULLET FOR ONE Gets Five Star Reviewtag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-08-01:537324:BlogPost:3077722011-08-01T22:18:06.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
<p>I thought y'all might like to see the FIVE STAR review that my new ebook <i>Bullet for One</i> received at Amazon over the weekend. Here it is:</p>
<p> </p>
<p><font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Remember the Batman cartoon from the 90s? In that cartoon people carried cell phones and used computers but the cars all had chrome and the thugs wore pinstriped suits. It took place in it's own world which was grounded in several time periods of noir.…</font></p>
<p>I thought y'all might like to see the FIVE STAR review that my new ebook <i>Bullet for One</i> received at Amazon over the weekend. Here it is:</p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2" face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Remember the Batman cartoon from the 90s? In that cartoon people carried cell phones and used computers but the cars all had chrome and the thugs wore pinstriped suits. It took place in it's own world which was grounded in several time periods of noir.</font><font size="2" face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font><font size="2" face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br/></font><font size="2" face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br/></font><font size="2" face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Brian Drake's "Bullet for One" takes place in a similar hardboiled world. The action is contemporary but the attitude is pure postwar paperback. PI John Coburn's partner, Felix, has been murdered while protecting a witness and Coburn is gunning for the ones who did it. He's got connections with the local police who help keep the FBI investigation from getting in the way while he also protects witnesses and Felix's family. What Coburn uncovers involves government corruption, mob ties and a stolen videotape full of women who have turned up dead.</font><font size="2" face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font><font size="2" face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br/></font><font size="2" face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br/></font><font size="2" face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif">This might've read like a men's adventure retread but Drake gives the supporting characters personalities of their own and a plot more complex than any old time paperback.</font><font size="2" face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font><font size="2" face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br/></font><font size="2" face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br/></font><font size="2" face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif">What the author really excels at is action sequences. Fights with fists, guns and knives are expertly described in a way that really draws the reader into the action and makes these scenes come alive.</font><font size="2" face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font><font size="2" face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br/></font><font size="2" face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br/></font><font size="2" face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif">This book makes a perfect companion read to Drake's heist/doublecross/massacre novel "Justified Sins."</font></p>Ebook Format Problems = Free Ebook (x2) Replacement!tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-07-25:537324:BlogPost:3016742011-07-25T01:30:25.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
Hi, everybody. I recently had to re-upload some of my ebooks because of format errors related to the text. Lines were jacked up and out of place, etc. My sincere apologies. If you have purchased one of the books and found that the offensive errors ruined your reading enjoyment, please contact me at briandrake88 at yahoo dot com and I will send you a replacement of the book you bought and a free copy (your choice) of one you haven't bought. All you have to do to prove your purchase is quote the…
Hi, everybody. I recently had to re-upload some of my ebooks because of format errors related to the text. Lines were jacked up and out of place, etc. My sincere apologies. If you have purchased one of the books and found that the offensive errors ruined your reading enjoyment, please contact me at briandrake88 at yahoo dot com and I will send you a replacement of the book you bought and a free copy (your choice) of one you haven't bought. All you have to do to prove your purchase is quote the last line of the book in question. Thanks!BULLET FOR ONE--Now Availabletag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-06-27:537324:BlogPost:2967662011-06-27T06:22:07.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
<p>I am pleased to announce the "publication" of <i>Bullet for One</i>, my new crime novel featuring private eye John Coburn. Find it on Amazon or Smashwords. Special thanks and acknowledgement to <a href="http://www.rebeccaforster.com/">Rebecca Forster</a> for designing the cover.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Here's the description:</p>
<p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ylN8mSsYq0E/Tggd6ws5V-I/AAAAAAAAAJM/ac3hxXA8bgk/s1600/bfo5.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ylN8mSsYq0E/Tggd6ws5V-I/AAAAAAAAAJM/ac3hxXA8bgk/s1600/bfo5.jpg?width=200" width="200"></img></a></p>
<p>JOHN COBURN IS A PRIVATE EYE WHO…</p>
<p>I am pleased to announce the "publication" of <i>Bullet for One</i>, my new crime novel featuring private eye John Coburn. Find it on Amazon or Smashwords. Special thanks and acknowledgement to <a href="http://www.rebeccaforster.com/">Rebecca Forster</a> for designing the cover.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Here's the description:</p>
<p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ylN8mSsYq0E/Tggd6ws5V-I/AAAAAAAAAJM/ac3hxXA8bgk/s1600/bfo5.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ylN8mSsYq0E/Tggd6ws5V-I/AAAAAAAAAJM/ac3hxXA8bgk/s1600/bfo5.jpg?width=200" width="200" class="align-left"/></a></p>
<p>JOHN COBURN IS A PRIVATE EYE WHO WON'T LET THE LAW STAND IN THE WAY OF JUSTICE.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Five years ago John Coburn watched as his father was gunned down by a masked man. Tortured by the fact that the killer was never caught, Coburn fights the feelings of failure that haunt his every waking moment.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Now, history has repeated itself. When his best friend Felix is murdered after agreeing to protect a witness, John Coburn dives in to catch the killer before the police and FBI. Battling official law enforcement and his own demons, Coburn turns over every lead, rattles every cage, and stretches his own moral code to the breaking point. As he digs deeper into a mystery that involves team of thieves, corrupt businessmen, and a mafia kingpin with a price on his head, Coburn realizes that revenge has a cost he cannot calculate.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If he fails, can he live with another ghost?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If he succeeds, can he live with the consequences?</p>Show No Mercy Available Now!tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-02-13:537324:BlogPost:2708262011-02-13T06:48:48.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
<p>I am pleased to announce the release of <em>Show No Mercy: A Michael Dodge Thriller</em>. This is my third ebook and it's a spy thriller. Here's the story description:<br></br><br></br><span>"Could you kill your father?</span><span><br></br><br></br>Michael Dodge owes Harry Ames, his surrogate father. But his CIA mentor is accused of murdering a comrade and joining forces with an enemy planning to unleash a lethal biological weapon on the United States. Dodge may have to kill Harry, but can he do…</span></p>
<p>I am pleased to announce the release of <em>Show No Mercy: A Michael Dodge Thriller</em>. This is my third ebook and it's a spy thriller. Here's the story description:<br/><br/><span>"Could you kill your father?</span><span><br/><br/>Michael Dodge owes Harry Ames, his surrogate father. But his CIA mentor is accused of murdering a comrade and joining forces with an enemy planning to unleash a lethal biological weapon on the United States. Dodge may have to kill Harry, but can he do it?"</span><br/><span> </span><br/>You can click the cover photo on the right to see the Amazon page; thank you for looking. I hope you enjoy it! I'll be embarking on an extensive "blog tour" to promote the book so you'll see me pretty much everywhere...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Meanwhile you can check out <em>Show No Mercy</em> yourself by clicking <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004MDLVPY">here</a>.</p>My eBook, Justified Sins--FREEtag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-01-07:537324:BlogPost:2603552011-01-07T23:48:29.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
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</span><div style="width: 488px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5; xg-p: relative;" class="post-body entry-content"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><a style="text-decoration: none; color: #cc3300;" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1xf7URcU9WI/TSd0TczywwI/AAAAAAAAAHo/Rn3X6tRDmzg/s1600/Copy%2Bof%2Bjs1.jpg"><img style="xg-p: relative; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; float: right; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 120px; height: 160px; background-xg-p: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 8px; border: initial none initial;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559540142511932162" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1xf7URcU9WI/TSd0TczywwI/AAAAAAAAAHo/Rn3X6tRDmzg/s320/Copy%2Bof%2Bjs1.jpg" name="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559540142511932162"/></a>We're getting ready to kick off SHOW NO MERCY here at the writing ranch and to get things going I'm going to let you have my previous novel, JUSTIFIED SINS, free of charge. This offer is good until January 14th and you have to visit my page at Smashwords.Com and enter this code: <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; font-size: large;"><b>TR66G.</b></span></span><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; font-size: large;"><b><br/></b></span></div>
<div>Here is the link to my Smashwords site:<a style="text-decoration: none; color: #cc3300;" href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/21475">http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/21475</a></div>
<div>In return, if you could leave a review on Amazon that would be great.</div>
<div>The book has a new cover to match the layout of SHOW NO MERCY, by the way, which is ten times better than the previous drawing I had used.</div>
<div>Have fun with it.</div>
<div>And check out SHOW NO MERCY when it's released later this month. I'm going to do some excerpts here on the blog so you can have a taste...</div>
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<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Was Santa nice to you and yours? I hope so, and as we gear up to kiss 2010 good-bye, and none too soon (what a rough year!), I also hope you plan to make the new year ten times better than the old one. Heaven<br></br> knows it can't be any worse.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">So waiting for me under the tree this year was a new Steve McQueen biography by Marshall Terrill, which is, in fact, a rewrite of another McQueen bio he wrote back in 1993.…</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Was Santa nice to you and yours? I hope so, and as we gear up to kiss 2010 good-bye, and none too soon (what a rough year!), I also hope you plan to make the new year ten times better than the old one. Heaven<br/>
knows it can't be any worse.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">So waiting for me under the tree this year was a new Steve McQueen biography by Marshall Terrill, which is, in fact, a rewrite of another McQueen bio he wrote back in 1993. This one is better, he says. What the heck, I'll read it, as I'm a sucker for McQueen, who not only inspired me to be an actor myself, but led such a life that, in most cases, is a good example for others (minus the drug use and philandering, of course--but, hey,<br/>
nobody's perfect).</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">In one of the indexes Terill lists the movies McQueen didn't make, and one of those was Robert Altman's <em>The Long Good-Bye.</em></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">McQueen as Marlowe? Wow.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Just... wow.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">McQueen played the world-weary, vulnerable, never-give-up type time and time again, and did it better than anybody before or since. For example:</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><em>Bullitt</em>. McQueen against authority. He solved the mystery his way while avoiding interference from the suits who stood in his way.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><em>Papillon</em>. McQueen, trying to escape a French prison over and over again, without success, beaten time and again, buried in a solitary holding cell clinging to whatever sliver of light allowed him to see outside. Best line<br/>
from the movie: "I'm still here, you bastards."</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><em>Junior Bonner</em>. He refused to give up his dreams of rodeo glory despite his age and pressure from his parents and others. He forged his own way.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><em>The Great Escape</em>. Need I say more?</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Philip Marlowe never gave up, no matter how many times he was sapped (by crooks and cops alike) and when nobody else would stand up for what was right, or his client, Marlowe stood up. He stood up for Terry Lennox, when he probably shouldn't have. He paid for his choices. But he took the licking and kept going. If he didn't, nobody would.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">With his qualities, McQueen would have given us the definitive portrayal of Philip Marlowe no matter how the screenwriters and Altman updated the novel.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Can you imagine the final scene between Marlowe and Terry Lennox with McQueen behind the desk? Oh... My... Gosh...</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">But it didn't work out, and <em>The Long Good-Bye</em> starred Elliot Gould.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Not that there is anything, you know, wrong with that...</p>Justified Sins Receives Four Star Review!tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-08-28:537324:BlogPost:2480682010-08-28T02:23:53.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman'; font-size: 18px;">I woke up this morning to a wonderful four-star review of my new e-book, <em>Justified Sins</em>. Writer Debra Martin read more into the story than I think I intended to be there, but it's made me rethink my opinion that <em>JS</em> was going to be a one-off novel. Mr. Pierce…</span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman'; font-size: 18px;">I woke up this morning to a wonderful four-star review of my new e-book, <em>Justified Sins</em>. Writer Debra Martin read more into the story than I think I intended to be there, but it's made me rethink my opinion that <em>JS</em> was going to be a one-off novel. Mr. Pierce may have further adventures after all! Here is a sneak peek:</span><br/><br/><em><span style="font-family: 'times new roman'; font-size: 18px;">With its clipped writing style, this novella sets you on a bullet train of nonstop action and doesn’t let you off until the last word is read. The story centers around Freddie and Sheila Webster and Sheila’s foster brother, Pierce. Freddie is an ex-con who has promised his pregnant wife that he is done with his old life of crime, but with a baby on the way money is tight. When Freddie is confronted with a proposition to make some easy cash, he makes a decision that sets into motion a series of events that he could not have anticipated. The story twists and turns with a full cast of ex-cons, mobsters, cops, politicians and a vigilante who goes about his business with a wink and a nod from the police. On the surface, Pierce is the usual vigilante type—likes to play with guns and explosives and hunts bad guys, but throughout the story the author throws in snippets from his back story. This is what captivated me.</span></em> <br/><br/><span style="font-family: 'times new roman'; font-size: 18px;">For the rest,</span> <span style="font-family: 'times new roman'; font-size: 18px;"><a href="http://twoendsofthepen.blogspot.com/2010/08/review-justified-sins-by-brian-drake.html">click here</a></span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman'; font-size: 18px;">.</span></span>The Wonderful Saint Templar; or, Can Anybody Spare a Halo?tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-08-25:537324:BlogPost:2477222010-08-25T05:23:57.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
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<div class="post-body entry-content" style="width: 488px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5; xg-p: relative;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1xf7URcU9WI/THSPqB8ZHpI/AAAAAAAAAFg/k_iY2xcLlYM/s1600/the+saint.jpg" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(204, 51, 0);"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1xf7URcU9WI/THSPqB8ZHpI/AAAAAAAAAFg/k_iY2xcLlYM/s200/the+saint.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509186196419976850" style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; xg-p: relative; padding-top: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 8px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); -webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 1px 1px 5px; float: right; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 170px; height: 170px; background-xg-p: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" name="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509186196419976850"/></a><br/></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Just when you think you have read everything and will no longer find anything interesting (which is fine, you can read</span></span> <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Maltese Falcon</span></span></i> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">once a year and never get bored), you find a gem. In this case, that gem is Leslie<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Charteris</span> and his terrific creation, Simon Templar, aka The Saint.</span></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It took me a while to get to The Saint. My first exposure to the character was the Vincent Price radio show, where Templar is an American in New York City experiencing various adventures and getting hit over the head....a lot. I didn't like the show, so I had no interest in reading the books.</span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Then Max Allan Collins writes a coffee table book called</span></span> <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The History of Mystery</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">, and The Saint gets a few lines, where Collins says he's more hard-boiled than he's given credit for. Light bulb time! I found a couple of Templar adventures at a used book store, went out on my deck with the accompanying cigar and Coca-Cola, and found a whole new world of adventure that I had no idea existed.</span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">With The Saint you get mystery, comedy, adventure; thrills, chills, cliff-hanger escapes. Great characters who are full of life and humor and great dialogue. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Charteris</span> knew how to use the English language better than anybody--</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman'; font-size: large;">he dedicated a book to P.G. Wodehouse, saying P.G. could have written The Saint better than him, and now I think I'll have to track me down some P.G. Wodehouse. The drawback to how <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Charteris</span> made English talk is that you get lost in some really big words--who cares, a dictionary isn't hard to find and he carries you along so well that you let it go because if you stop to look up a word you won't see how The Saint gets out of trouble.</span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">So far I've read <i>The Saint's Getaway</i>--a laugh-out-loud adventure with a great twist at the end. Right now I'm reading <i>The Saint in New York</i>--and Collins was right! Simon Templar is more hard-boiled than he's given credit for. There's less humor in "New York" so far, but a ton of slam-bang action and hold-your-breath moments, and I can't put it down.</span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Up next is a paperback collecting two Templar short stories, and I can't wait to get into that one. I bet <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Charteris</span> is</span></span> <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">really</span></span></i> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">good in short form.</span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">If you haven't read Simon Templar, give him a try.</span></span></div>
</div>Justified Sins Now Available!tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-08-15:537324:BlogPost:2463002010-08-15T01:00:38.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
<div>Hey, gang--</div>
<div><br></br></div>
<div>My book, <i>Justified Sins</i>, was published yesterday as a multi-format ebook at Smashwords; the Amazon Kindle edition is pending. This is my second assault on the ebook citadel.</div>
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<div><i>When Sheila Webster’s husband is killed a after double-crossing the men who hired him to crack one last safe, she finds herself the next target. What her husband stole, he managed to hide, and now the men who hired him are after her to get…</i></div>
<div>Hey, gang--</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>My book, <i>Justified Sins</i>, was published yesterday as a multi-format ebook at Smashwords; the Amazon Kindle edition is pending. This is my second assault on the ebook citadel.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>When Sheila Webster’s husband is killed a after double-crossing the men who hired him to crack one last safe, she finds herself the next target. What her husband stole, he managed to hide, and now the men who hired him are after her to get the stolen goods back. There’s only one person she can turn to. Her foster brother. A dangerous man named Mr. Pierce.</i></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Here's the link to my book page, where you can sample the first half of the book free of charge or make a purchase: <a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/21475">http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/21475</a></div>
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<div>I've decided to have a sale on the new ebook to get things going. If you go to my page at Smashwords.Com and use the promotional code below, you can snag Justified Sins for $.99 until September 14th. Here's the code you'll need to type in when you place your order: CG36G.</div>
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<div>Smashwords, unlike the Amazon Kindle Store, allows you to download in multiple formats, including .pdf for your computer if you do not have an e-reader, to accommodate whichever ebook reader you may have.</div>
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<div>I’d appreciate y’all taking a peek. And please help me spread the word.</div>
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<div>Thank you for your support!</div>
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<div>Until we meet under the big Montana skies,</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Brian Drake</div>Brian Drake Interviewed on The Indie Spotlight!tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-07-23:537324:BlogPost:2432722010-07-23T19:08:11.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;">A few months ago when my e-book <i>Reaper's Dozen</i> came out I answered some questions from the good folks at The Indie Spotlight, which highlights "indie" authors. If any of you Kindle owners subscribe to the newsletter you've probably already seen this; if not, click away!…</span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;">A few months ago when my e-book <i>Reaper's Dozen</i> came out I answered some questions from the good folks at The Indie Spotlight, which highlights "indie" authors. If any of you Kindle owners subscribe to the newsletter you've probably already seen this; if not, click away!</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://www.theindiespotlight.com/?p=2084">http://www.theindiespotlight.com/?p=2084</a></span></div>You Too Can Be A Kindle Millionaire...or Nottag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-07-20:537324:BlogPost:2424742010-07-20T01:30:00.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
<h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="margin-top: 0.25em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 18px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 20px; font-size: 13px;">Not too long ago, back in…</span></span></h3>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="margin-top: 0.25em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 18px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 20px; font-size: 13px;">Not too long ago, back in May, I put up an e-book called <i>Reaper's Dozen</i> at the Amazon Kindle store and Smashwords.Com. I figured I would give it a shot as others, some notable but others less so, weren't doing too badly with their e-books and bringing in some extra cash besides. Reviews have been kind (on Amazon); in fact, amazingly kind, as Evan Lewis was over at his blog<a href="http://davycrockettsalmanack.blogspot.com/2010/07/reapers-dozen-brian-drakes-salute-to.html" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: none;">http://davycrockettsalmanack.blogspot.com/2010/07/reapers-dozen-brian-drakes-salute-to.html</a>.</span></span></h3>
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<div>Do note that <i>Reaper's Dozen</i> is a collection of short stories, and I think that's the reason sales have been so <i>bleh</i> since we started this. My other writing pals, one of whom is pulling in around $300 a month for her work (I could sure use that!), are doing far better, and they think it's because my book is note a full novel and readers would rather have that. I don't blame them as I myself am less likely to try out a new author unless it's a novel I can really invest in; after that, if short stories come out, I'll snatch those up, too.</div>
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<div>So it's too early to call the Brian Drake E-book Experiment a failure, as I'm sure that once my spy novel <i>The Eagle Intercept</i> goes up, sales for <i>Reaper's Dozen</i> will pick up. Heck, my other pals have more than one title available, so it makes sense.</div>
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<div>If not...</div>
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<div>Well, I would rather not think about "if not" at this point, because it usually ends with my jumping off the roof.</div>
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<div>Granted I'm only two stories up, and would cause far more embarrassment to myself than damage (what else is new?) but you know what I mean.</div>
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<div>And if you haven't been over to Amazon to check out the action, here's a convenient link:</div>
<div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Reapers-Dozen-ebook/dp/B003OIBH8O/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1279591061&sr=1-1" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: none;">http://www.amazon.com/Reapers-Dozen-ebook/dp/B003OIBH8O/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1279591061&sr=1-1</a></div>
</div>Kiss Tomorrow Good-bye by Horace McCoy = Save Your Moneytag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-07-03:537324:BlogPost:2404502010-07-03T02:10:01.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;">I don't often mention a book with the caveat "save your money" at the end of the title, but this time I am. McCoy's "Kiss" is a famous novel that later became a James Cagney movie, and I liked the movie so much that I bought the book when the opportunity arose. It was awesome and totally spectacular... until the end. I don't want to go into too much detail about the misadventures of…</span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;">I don't often mention a book with the caveat "save your money" at the end of the title, but this time I am. McCoy's "Kiss" is a famous novel that later became a James Cagney movie, and I liked the movie so much that I bought the book when the opportunity arose. It was awesome and totally spectacular... until the end. I don't want to go into too much detail about the misadventures of Ralph Cotter because it would give too much away, but I think McCoy rushed the ending and robbed readers of a more satisfying finish. Maybe he ran out of typing paper, and his deadline wouldn't allow a quick run to the Typing Paper Store for more, so he used what he had to rush the ending and mailed off the manuscript and mixed some Captain and Coke.<br/><br/>Other than the ending, it's a fine book. McCoy's writing is sharp, the characters well-drawn, and the first chapter grabs you by the throat, but I really wish it hadn't been ruined by the ending. <br/><br/>Endings are important, because, as Mickey Spillane has pointed out, the ending sells an author's next book. Harry Whittington called a story's ending the punch line, and if it wasn't worth the trip, the audience may not listen to your next joke.<br/><br/>Oh, well. "Kiss Tomorrow Good-bye" is another classic of the hard-boiled school I can check off my list, at least.</span>Joseph T. "Cap" Shawtag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-05-31:537324:BlogPost:2361512010-05-31T05:59:48.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
<h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="margin-top: 0.25em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 18px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br></br></span></h3>
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<div class="post-body entry-content" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1xf7URcU9WI/TANPvFeehrI/AAAAAAAAAEI/NO8KEtS-42E/s1600/hardboiledomni.jpg" style="color: rgb(85, 136, 170); text-decoration: none;"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1xf7URcU9WI/TANPvFeehrI/AAAAAAAAAEI/NO8KEtS-42E/s200/hardboiledomni.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477309242155108018" style="border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; padding-top: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); float: right; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 129px; height: 200px;" name="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477309242155108018"/></a><br/>I wish I could have worked with Joseph Shaw during the heyday of Black Mask.<br/><br/>Someone, when they saw that my new e-book <span style="font-style: italic;">Reaper's Dozen</span> is dedicated to him, asked who he was and why he deserved my mention. A couple of reasons...<br/><br/>I think he's the one who realized that the American detective story needed to go in a direction different than the traditional style at the time, one where bodies turned up in libraries and the butler did it and all that. None of those stories, we are told, spent much time on characters, but used "symbols" instead. I think Hammett's work was Shaw's inspiration, but Hammett had left the Mask by the time Shaw arrived. If he hadn't been able to lure Hammett back, perhaps one of the other regular contributors would have paved the way; but since so many were inspired by Hammett, who knows if that would have happened. The American detective story as we know it may not have developed as it did under Shaw's tutelage. <br/><br/>He said as much in the introduction to <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hard-Boiled Omnibus</span>, where he stressed that character mattered more than story, and used a Hammett quote to back it up. Hammett was of the opinion that when you kill a symbol instead of a character, no crime has been committed; kill a person, and you have something to be concerned about.<br/><br/>I'm not sure I agree with Shaw or Chandler that if you take away the crime, you still have a good story because of the characters and their conflict; for me, not only are characters the thing but the plot's the thing. I can't see any of the classic hard-boiled stories working without the crime and resolution. But they believed it, so that's fine.<br/><br/>Shaw was at the right place at the right time, with the right idea, and the right writer to carry out the idea, who then, I say, inspired many others. Take away either one, and you have no revolution. <br/><br/>So that's why I dedicated <span style="font-style: italic;">Reaper's Dozen</span> to Cap Shaw. I think he would have liked my stories, and I think I would have found a home in his camp. If time travel were possible I'd certainly go back and find out.<br/><br/>And if you've never read <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hard-Boiled Omnibus</span>, it's a must read for fans of the genre. Not only is Shaw's introduction priceless (for writers) but you get some great stories, too. Unfortunately I have the Pocket Books version which chopped two stories that originally appeared in the hardcover version; maybe someday I'll get the original and have them all together.<br/><br/>And if you want to see how a student has learned from the masters, check out <span style="font-style: italic;">Reaper's Dozen</span>, available for download on Smashwords.Com and at the Amazon Kindle store. You can read a sample to see if you like it. At $1.99, it costs less than one of those triple frap lattes you buy every day.</span></div>My Book, Reaper's Dozen, Is Now Availabletag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-05-30:537324:BlogPost:2360462010-05-30T07:16:10.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Hey, gang:…</span></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><br></br></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Hey, gang:</span></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Following the example set by you-know-who, I have decided to take the guerrilla route to getting my written work "out there"--wherever "there" may be. My book,</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Reaper's Dozen</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">, is a collection of short stories written over the last ten years, and was published today as a multi-format ebook at Smashwords, and will soon appear on Amazon for the Kindle e-reader.</span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Here's the description:</span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">"Twelve thrilling tales of crime and suspense by a writer whom USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Forster says is “a fresh, new voice in modern crime that shouldn’t be missed.”</span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Meet Tony Fallon, a rookie cop who learns a hard lesson when he must save a woman kidnapped by an ex-boyfriend; private eye John Coburn, who won’t let the law get in the way of revenge; Jack Rose, who helps a ghost solve her murder; David Hood, who must protect his son when both are taken hostage in their own home; Roger Flynn, who receives a ransom note for a wife he doesn’t have; Alan Fargo, who commits murder to cover-up another crime; and Matt Webb, a hit man who considers himself just another working. . .stiff.</span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Brian Drake has been a writer of mystery and crime fiction since his first publication at age 25, and discusses important contributions to the hard-boiled canon at his blog, “Brian Drake Explains It All” (<a href="http://www.briandrake88.blogspot.com">www.briandrake88.blogspot.com</a>). In his spare time, Brian, a California native, can be found racing through the back canyon roads of the Central Valley in a bright red hot rod. Someday he may get a dog."</span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">I hope you'll take time to check it out at Smashwords, where you can sample the first 15% of the book free--that means, no charge.</span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Here's the link to my Smashwords author profile:</span></span><a href="http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/BrianDrake" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/BrianDrake</span></span></a></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Here's the link to my book page, where you can sample or purchase the book:</span></span><a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/15603" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/15603</span></span></a></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">What's nice about this is, with Smashwords, you don't need to have an ereader to read the book; you can download it directly to your computer. Amazon doesn't give you that option.</span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Please help me spread the word.</span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Thank you for your support!</span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">In the meantime, I remain.....</span></span></div>
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<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Obediently yours,</span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Brian Drake</span></span></div>
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<div><p style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70750784?profile=original" alt=""/></span></p>
</div>Trial Cover for My Short Story Collectiontag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-05-22:537324:BlogPost:2354682010-05-22T04:19:00.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Well, I'm going to put out some work for the Kindle market but I'm not using any of the manuscripts I currently have in circulation. I've collected my best short stories (seven of which have already been published) and that will be what Kindle readers will…</span></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Well, I'm going to put out some work for the Kindle market but I'm not using any of the manuscripts I currently have in circulation. I've collected my best short stories (seven of which have already been published) and that will be what Kindle readers will get. I'm calling the effort "Reaper's Dozen--12 Tales of Crime and Suspense". If this works I'll write some original stuff as a follow-up, and have several outlines in progress. My goal is to build an audience so I can go to publishers and say, "I have a following that will pay money for my work." Not only am I making this effort, but I am also in negotiations with an east coast newspaper to write a column, which will offer further exposure. We'll see how that goes. In the meantime, I thought you all would like to see the cover. It's the first version, with changes to come, but I'm so excited by it I couldn't resist showing off.</span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Special thanks and acknowledgement to my friend a fellow writer Rebecca Forster for the grunt work, and my brother-in-law Robert for taking the scary picture of me and my gun. Yum.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70750697?profile=original" alt=""/></span></span></span></div>FORGOTTEN BOOKS: Two-Way Split by Allan Guthrietag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-05-17:537324:BlogPost:2352432010-05-17T22:25:19.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
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<div class="post-body entry-content" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1xf7URcU9WI/S-5jNYViqRI/AAAAAAAAADI/457tTXlnGZQ/s1600/twowaysplit.jpg" style="color: rgb(85, 136, 170); text-decoration: none;"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1xf7URcU9WI/S-5jNYViqRI/AAAAAAAAADI/457tTXlnGZQ/s200/twowaysplit.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471419678823983378" style="border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; padding-top: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); float: right; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 125px; height: 200px;" name="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471419678823983378"/></a><br/><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">My pal Allan Guthrie will not be sending me any "cheers" for the title of this post, but I thought it a good time, if possible, to bring the book back to the forefront. Al would probably prefer I talk about one of his newer efforts, or even have him share a few words about what's coming down the pipe, but I think his first book is so terrific that it deserves a wider audience than it first received. When this novel came out several years ago, Guthrie and I had already been corresponding for a spell, and I even wrote a few articles for his Noir Originals web page (one, on Paul Cain's work, remains a favorite of mine). If you've never read</span></span> <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Two-Way Split</span></span></i> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">or anything else by Guthrie, correct that error at once. The book is still very much in print and available at Amazon, and you're in for the ride of your life.</span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When I finished the book the first time around, I felt that Guthrie had, basically, restored my faith in contemporary crime fiction. After being burned by too many of today's crime writers who seem to be turning out nothing but repetitive, formulaic junk, Guthrie produced a book full of non-stop action, great characters, and a story that will leave to gasping. After reviewing the novel again, I see no reason to revise that opinion; in fact, I cannot emphasize it enough. It's a hell of a book.</span></span></div>
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<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It's not a long book, but there's enough packed into it that you'd think it was 500 pages (if nothing else,</span></span> <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Two-Way Split</span></span></i> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">is proof novels don't need to be a doorstop to be exciting).</span></span> <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Two-Way Split</span></span></i> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">brings a new twist to the usual caper novel, and the actual "split" will have you thinking of another crime writer named Jim Thompson, recently spotted in Ohio but reportedly deceased, which makes the sighting strange, but you'll see how much better Guthrie handles that particular motif than Thompson ever could.</span></span></div>
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<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Cheers, Al.</span></span></div>
</div>The Big Bang, or: Welcome Back, Old Friendtag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-05-01:537324:BlogPost:2340502010-05-01T08:20:17.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Is everybody talking about the new Mike Hammer or what????…</span></font></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Is everybody talking about the new Mike Hammer or what????</span></font></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There’s something about this Spillane/Collins novel that’s like comfort food. It’s like your favorite chair or jeans or pair of shoes. The world around you may be turning upside down, you may be going through some of the worst crap ever, but here’s Mike Hammer, Velda (before we learned her unlikely last name), Pat Chambers, and, of course, the .45, to make all the bad stuff go away.</span></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I like</span></font> <i><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Big Bang</span></font></i><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">. From the opening pages you know you’re in familiar territory. I don’t know why Spillane didn’t finish this book the first time around, but part of me is glad we have it to savor now. The last Hammer novels Spillane wrote (</span></font><i><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Killing Man</span></font></i><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">,</span></font> <i><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Black Alley</span></font></i><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">), were like watching an old friend get old. They didn’t have the punch the young tiger had. He was starting to slow down, and you hated to see him decline after so many great battles.</span></font> <i><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Goliath Bone</span></font></i> <font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">was terrific, but you knew from page one that it was the end of the road. There would be nowhere to go after Hammer solved that particular mystery, and you almost didn’t want him to. You wanted it to go forever, because this time “the end” meant good-bye, and the subtle sadness that accompanied the last line was almost too much for you.</span></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">But now we have</span></font> <i><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Big Bang</span></font></i> <font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">and it’s a throwback to the days when your hero was young and ready to tear the head off of any punk who crossed his path and you’re happy to remember him this way because this is how he should have always been.</span></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You read it carefully. You know that every character, every line of dialogue, every seemingly innocent event actually means something in the story’s grand scheme, and you can’t wait to see how the tiger puts this one together. You can predict the surprises, and that’s part of the fun, but there’s always a twist that catches you off guard (you’re never quite as smart as the tiger.) The formula is there, it works, and you breathe a sigh of relief because this is like Mom’s meatloaf and mashed potatoes with a cold beer on the side. It never fails, and you never get tired of it.</span></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height: 18px;"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Big Bang</span></font></span></i> <span style="line-height: 18px;"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">is a double treat because Max Allan Collins is riding shotgun, and there’s great fun in trying and guess where Spillane ends and Collins begins and where they mix together. Sometimes you think you know, because sometimes Hammer comes off sounding like Nate Heller, but just sometimes. And you don’t care. Nobody but Collins could complete Spillane’s work, and only a fool would try. And who knows? One likes to think that, because of their relationship, some of Collins rubbed off on Spillane, because Spillane doesn’t strike you as somebody who ever stopped trying to learn something new and</span></font> <i><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Big Bang</span></font></i> <font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">is the result.</span></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">So get out and get</span></font> <i><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Big Bang</span></font></i><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'times new roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">. Race along with Mike Hammer as to cracks another case with Velda and Pat Chambers providing back-up. The book is short and you’ll be sorry it’s short but your old friend is back. For a little while, the tiger is alive and kicking, just how you remembered; for a little while, you can forget about good-bye.</span></font></span></p>Good news from Kensingtontag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-03-26:537324:BlogPost:2309142010-03-26T06:56:19.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
Greetings. I have been away too long, mostly posting sections of a new short story on my other blog, but I wanted to let y'all know that I heard from an editor at Kensington this week about a partial that they have had for a few months now.<div><br/></div>
<div>The news is, he has yet to read it. He wanted to let me know that it's still on his desk, however.</div>
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<div>That's great news! Why? It means he hasn't rejected it yet. I'm still a contender!</div>
Greetings. I have been away too long, mostly posting sections of a new short story on my other blog, but I wanted to let y'all know that I heard from an editor at Kensington this week about a partial that they have had for a few months now.<div><br/></div>
<div>The news is, he has yet to read it. He wanted to let me know that it's still on his desk, however.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>That's great news! Why? It means he hasn't rejected it yet. I'm still a contender!</div>Yup, We're Going to Try Thistag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-01-31:537324:BlogPost:2259182010-01-31T20:35:07.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
At this point it indeed looks like I'll go the Kindle route with my "trunk novel" in an effort to experiment with using Facebook, Twitter, my blogs, and other avenues to raise interest. Currently the manuscript is being read by a few partners in crime who are making sure I won't doing the equivalent of running outside without my clothes on, and so far all reports indicate all is well. Of course, they haven't reached the end yet.<br />
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I have decided that if ebooks are the way of the future…
At this point it indeed looks like I'll go the Kindle route with my "trunk novel" in an effort to experiment with using Facebook, Twitter, my blogs, and other avenues to raise interest. Currently the manuscript is being read by a few partners in crime who are making sure I won't doing the equivalent of running outside without my clothes on, and so far all reports indicate all is well. Of course, they haven't reached the end yet.<br />
<br />
I have decided that if ebooks are the way of the future (something I'm still not convinced of, though they may be a big part of the future) I had better get comfortable with the format, and if Amazon is taking material, why not? Plus, if I can build some sort of following, that will help when the ink-and-paper books come out. (The spy novel I just finished will continue to circulate via traditional submissions.) If nothing else, I can learn, without spending any money, how to use all of todays resources in promotion efforts, and actually have something to promote. I'm expecting one heck of an education. Amazon provides help in this area, so I'll take advantage of that, too. I also have a few other tricks, learned from actor friends, that I'd like to modify for this effort.<br />
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Of course, if this does more harm than good, I guess I'll have to find another name to write under. Maybe I'll go back to my real name. Then I can say my real name is actually my pen name. How cool is that? It's a bitch to spell, though; don't even try to pronounce it.To Kindle or Not to Kindletag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-01-25:537324:BlogPost:2253372010-01-25T01:03:56.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
I just wrapped up a chat with one of my writer friends, Rebecca Forster, author of a great number of books including <i>Silent Witness</i>, which is one of the... best... legal thrillers... EVER... written. I swear I could not put that book down. Anyway, she's hit a set-back of sorts in her career and, for a lark, decided to put some of her back list on Kindle and she's actually doing very well. As experiments go, it hasn't been a disappointment. She suggested that I do the same with a novel I…
I just wrapped up a chat with one of my writer friends, Rebecca Forster, author of a great number of books including <i>Silent Witness</i>, which is one of the... best... legal thrillers... EVER... written. I swear I could not put that book down. Anyway, she's hit a set-back of sorts in her career and, for a lark, decided to put some of her back list on Kindle and she's actually doing very well. As experiments go, it hasn't been a disappointment. She suggested that I do the same with a novel I wrote two years ago called <i>Justified Sins</i>. It's a crime novel that I've had some nice comments on, especially from Charles Ardai at Hard Case Crime (super guy!), but nobody has bitten, and then I wrote my spy novel, which I'm now pushing as my break-through. Rebecca suggested that I put the crime novel on Kindle just for grins and giggles.<br />
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I'm not expecting a best-seller or anything like that. I'd almost rather put it in the trunk and do something else with the characters involved, but who can it hurt?<br />
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Anyway I thought I'd put the question out to your, faithful readers. Should I put Justified Sins on Kindle or not?<br />
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The story involves a modern-day Paladin named Steve Dane in his quest against crime. He must protect his foster sister from a crime syndicate after her reformed-thief husband pulls a double-cross on the Outfit and ends up dead for his efforts. Dane tears into the Outfit gang and blows the hell out of their operations. Think a cross between Mack Bolan and Batman minus the tights.<br />
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What do you think?Another Quarry?tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-01-15:537324:BlogPost:2245912010-01-15T04:25:59.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
We are excited to note that 2010 will be a big one for fans of Max Allan Collins. While looking at the Hard Case Crime website tonight, I spotted the cover shot of yet another new Quarry novel, this one entitled Quarry's Ex. This is terrific news and the only bad thing is that we must wait until October before the book drops. What the heck are we going to read until then? Oh, right, Collins has the new Mike Hammer book coming out, among other things. We should be okay.<br />
<br />
But we must ask one,…
We are excited to note that 2010 will be a big one for fans of Max Allan Collins. While looking at the Hard Case Crime website tonight, I spotted the cover shot of yet another new Quarry novel, this one entitled Quarry's Ex. This is terrific news and the only bad thing is that we must wait until October before the book drops. What the heck are we going to read until then? Oh, right, Collins has the new Mike Hammer book coming out, among other things. We should be okay.<br />
<br />
But we must ask one, simple question: Is Max Allan Collins a real person, or several people working under one name? Who, after all, can write so much, so quickly? It's like he doesn't have a real job or something. He can spend, like, twelve hours a day writing. Does he have a toilet built into his desk chair? Because that would be really cool.<br />
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Irregardless if Collins is of one or of many (and I know irregardless is not a real word, but I like using it, especially with people who don't know it's not a real word), a new Quarry is always something to look forward to, and we shall celebrate this news with a glass of milk. In a dirty glass.Raymond Chandler's "Red Wind"tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-01-03:537324:BlogPost:2235992010-01-03T02:48:51.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
You don’t get very far as a reader of hard-boiled literature without hearing how “great” Chandler’s “Red Wind” is. The first paragraph gets all the attention and is, I think, the highlight of the story. It reads:<br />
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<i>There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of…</i>
You don’t get very far as a reader of hard-boiled literature without hearing how “great” Chandler’s “Red Wind” is. The first paragraph gets all the attention and is, I think, the highlight of the story. It reads:<br />
<br />
<i>There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.<br />
</i><br />
Chandler maintains the wind motif throughout the story. The wind is always banging against window, kicking up dust in the streets. You get the sense that such a condition is really a detriment to the city and its inhabitants. Throughout the mayhem Philip Marlowe (or whoever the original detective was, my version has Marlowe’s name in it) solves a murder and tries to track down some missing pearls.<br />
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My copy of “Red Wind” comes from the “Trouble is My Business” collection; I also have it in the Everyman’s Library edition which contains every short story Chandler wrote (an excellent volume; if you don’t have it, you should, it’s a great way to see how Chandler developed as a writer). Overall, I think Chandler wrote better short stories than “Red Wind”; after the hook of the first paragraph, you'll find the rest of the story a by-the-numbers caper. Chandler’s characterizations are terrific (the cop, Copernik, for example, always combing his unruly hair and behaving like a corrupt punk), but Chandler always excelled in making you see his supporting characters, probably better than we can see Marlowe.<br />
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You have to give a guy some slack while he’s learning and finding his voice, and by “Red Wind” Chandler didn’t totally have it. Jump over to the first Marlowe novel, and you can see how much he learned and improved over time. Read through the short stories Chandler used to partially construct that first novel, and you can see even more improvement, but for a good murder mystery and a good pulp story and a great slice of life in Southern California when those hot winds are blowing, “Red Wind” is as good a read as you can find.<br />
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I have also listened to the radio versions of "Red Wind", both with Van Heflin and Gerald Mohr playing Marlowe, and it doesn't translate very well. The Heflin version is quite boring. Gerald Mohr excelled as Philip Marlowe and his appearance in the rest of the Marlowe radio series is a treat. He sounds like Marlowe should sound, but he’s the young Marlowe, and not the man we later meet in The Long Good-bye. But don't get me started on The Long Good-bye. We'll be here all night.Mickey Spillane Favoritestag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-12-27:537324:BlogPost:2231432009-12-27T05:59:15.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
The Blackstone Audio Mike Hammer plays showed up in the stocking Friday, and listening to the stories put me on a Mickey Kick like I haven’t been on in several years. Hammer was the first hard-boiled P.I. I read about back in the day, so when I started writing my own private eye stories, of course the hero vaguely resembled Hammer. I read anything I could get my hands on that had Spillane’s name on the cover—still do—but in the last few years I’ve moved on to other authors and Mickey has fallen…
The Blackstone Audio Mike Hammer plays showed up in the stocking Friday, and listening to the stories put me on a Mickey Kick like I haven’t been on in several years. Hammer was the first hard-boiled P.I. I read about back in the day, so when I started writing my own private eye stories, of course the hero vaguely resembled Hammer. I read anything I could get my hands on that had Spillane’s name on the cover—still do—but in the last few years I’ve moved on to other authors and Mickey has fallen by the wayside; with the posthumous Spillane material Max Allan Collins is working on, that won’t be the case for long.<br />
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The audio plays made me think of the two last Hammer books Spillane wrote before he died, 1989’s “The Killing Man” and 1996’s “Black Alley”. “The Killing Man” is my favorite of the two, so that’s what I’ll start with. That’s also, incidentally, the order in which they were published, in case you didn’t realize.<br />
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When we meet Hammer in “The Killing Man” not much has changed since the novel that preceded it ten years earlier, “Survival…Zero” (one of the best Hammer books, by the way—what an ending!). He’s on his way to the office, a rare Saturday appointment, and when he gets there he finds his secretary Velda on the floor, wounded from a blow to the head and near death, and a dead man in his office chair with a note staked on his chest that reads YOU DIE FOR KILLING ME.<br />
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Hammer proceeds to beat the tar out of bad guys; verbally spar with politicians, federal men, and a feisty district attorney; and dishes out some .45-caliber punishment as he tracks down the man who nearly killed Velda.<br />
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I think the first chapter should be memorized by anybody who writes and wants a lesson on how to create tension. That first chapter is nothing but tension and Spillane carries the mood through the rest of the book. The first time I read it, I thought, “Wow, what a great book!” After reading it the third time, flaws started popping out. Hammer doesn’t really do much other than talk to sources who provide information and argues with members of law enforcement who think they know more about crime busting than he does. He really doesn't do any real detective work. The solution comes out of thin air and I don’t think is properly set-up, but it’s a decent ending as endings go. We learn that the killer wants to murder Hammer for something Hammer did to the killer’s family, and it’s the last bit of righteous firepower Hammer dishes out since when we see him again in “Black Alley” he barely does any shooting. “Black Alley” is not my favorite book; I hated it so much, I read it three times. It’s a good book but it’s not a real Mike Hammer book. (And that concludes my comments on “Black Alley”.)<br />
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Mickey Spillane will always be a favorite, and forever an inspiration, but I think he was at his best with his original seven books. The stuff he wrote post-The Deep doesn't have the same impact; one or two are good, the rest are formulaic. My absolute favorite of the latter-day efforts is The Delta Factor, it’s just a rip-roaring adventure, and I’ll write about that soon, and meanwhile hope that one day we see the rumored sequel to Morgan the Raider’s first adventure (any word on that, Max?). Then again, The Delta Factor has some competition, and that book would be The Erection Set. And anybody who admits that they enjoy The Erection Set is a Spillane fan indeed.The Whirlwind Concludes + Erle Stanley Gardnertag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-12-21:537324:BlogPost:2229252009-12-21T19:28:31.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
Well, friends, I am happy to report that my new spy novel, now entitled The Eagle Intercept, is complete at 70,000 words. For those of you just joining us, this manuscript started out as my NaNoWriMo project and almost didn't get finished (I had a hard time with the first draft) and when it was finished, was far too short (about 40,000 words). The first read-through and subsequent revision netted a ton of material I hadn't realized was there to tap, and as spy thrillers go I think it's pretty…
Well, friends, I am happy to report that my new spy novel, now entitled The Eagle Intercept, is complete at 70,000 words. For those of you just joining us, this manuscript started out as my NaNoWriMo project and almost didn't get finished (I had a hard time with the first draft) and when it was finished, was far too short (about 40,000 words). The first read-through and subsequent revision netted a ton of material I hadn't realized was there to tap, and as spy thrillers go I think it's pretty good. I do not like being out of my preferred crime fiction arena, and as long as I don't get type-cast as the next Vince Flynn I suppose we'll be okay. After all, how many different subjects has Dan Simmons written about? Or, as Donald Westlake might have said, that's why we have pen names.<br />
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I wanted at least three chapters ready to mail out by January and I have more than met that goal; after the next read-through this coming week, the whole thing will be ready. Now I just need a bloody synopsis. Hate those things.<br />
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Not on to other items like what I've been reading lately.....<br />
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I'm a fan of Erle Stanley Gardner, but not all of his books turn me on. I'm not crazy about Perry Mason. I like the character, but by the time he was doing Mason, Gardner seemed to be phoning it in and I've never seen as much effort put into the Mason books as there was in the Ed Jenkins series, and that's just one example, and an appropriate one since this note is about Jenkins.<br />
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I like the Phantom Crook. He's totally on his own. No gal Fridays, no side-kicks (except for his dog, maybe), and everybody from other crooks to the cops is somehow out to get him. But he always comes through in the end, and you have to dig that. The stories are fast an exciting and really carry you along. I have one collection of Jenkins material, Dead Men's Letters and Other Stories, and had the second collection, The Blonde in Lower Six, but the second book was stolen when some dastard broke into my shed at one of those pay-to-store-your-crap places. Oh, well. That's what ABE is for.<br />
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Back when Gardner was doing Jenkins stories for the pulps, he was often critizised for having his gun battles end as soon as the very last round was fired from the hero's gun. Gardner commented that when a writer only gets paid a penny a word, he's a fool to leave four-cents worth of ammunition in the hero's gun. I cannot disagree with that statement, hacked as much as it is because I don't have the actual quote handy. But gunfighting is not the only place where Gardner stretched out his word count.<br />
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Has anybody ever noticed, not only in Gardner stories but in those of Dashiell Hammett and Carroll John Daly, that the Big Bad Guy or Other Character of Note in their stories (often lawyers) were often referred to by their first, middle, and last name? I thought it was just a joke between then, since, allegedly, they all knew each other, but now I see it as a conspiracy of sorts to get even more money out of various editors, and one wonders why said editors allowed the conspiracy to exist. Somebody call Kevin Costner and Oliver Stone. This one's bigger than JFK and would probably be told just as truthfully.<br />
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Anyway, Gardner never fails to entertain with the old pulp stories. And Mason is entertaining, too, but Gardner's writing is far too anorexic for me to be a real Mason fan. That's why I'm glad that there is so much pre-Mason material available, not just Ed Jenkins but also Ken Corning (of whom more later will be written) and many, many others....Road to Paradise by Max Allan Collinstag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-12-18:537324:BlogPost:2227102009-12-18T01:05:13.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
Over the last ten years or so, work, life in general, and work has required me to move around a lot, and sometimes, as you can imagine, things get lost in the shuffle. One of those things was a book I bought in 2005 and only recently discovered that I had never read. That book was the third in the "Road" series by Max Allan Collins, one of the prose sequels to the "Road to Perdition" saga that began with the famous graphic novel of the same name.<br />
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So I set aside other reading material and dug…
Over the last ten years or so, work, life in general, and work has required me to move around a lot, and sometimes, as you can imagine, things get lost in the shuffle. One of those things was a book I bought in 2005 and only recently discovered that I had never read. That book was the third in the "Road" series by Max Allan Collins, one of the prose sequels to the "Road to Perdition" saga that began with the famous graphic novel of the same name.<br />
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So I set aside other reading material and dug into "Road to Paradise", and five days later I finished. This (for now) concluding episode in the "Road" saga is a heck of a read and packs the usual Collins punch, though some might say it's the most predictable book he has produced. There are only one or two ways to get the action going in a story like this, and the ending is already set in stone for those who read the graphic novel, so predictability can be forgiven because the result is very, very satisfying.<br />
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There is one gripe I have, however. This is probably the first book Collins has written that does not contain a graphic sex scene. What the heck else does anybody read Collins for, I ask? Certainly it's not the thrilling stories and punchy plot twists. There is an off-stage sexual encounter between the hero's high school-aged daughter and her boyfriend, and methinks that was indeed best left off-stage, but I will raise holy hell if the upcoming Nate Heller book and maybe even the forthcoming Mike Hammer novels do not include two or three extra graphic sex scenes to make up for the lack of same in the final "Road" book.<br />
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I kid, of course.<br />
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What I like the most about "Paradise" is that the story takes place not only within my lifetime but in places I have actually been. It's always neat to read stories like that (which is why I like Hammet's Continental Op tales so much; San Francisco was once a stomping ground of mine), and Collins provides the added benefit of historical background, some of which I had not known.<br />
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As always, Max Allan Collins provides an action-packed thrill ride that makes you eager for his next effort.Coming up for air.....tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-12-12:537324:BlogPost:2222482009-12-12T03:39:34.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
I haven't posted much the last few days because I've been frantically scribbling the final pages of the new manuscript, typing them, and getting the first draft out of the computer. Today I edited and did some revision on the first 50 pages, and the excitement I'm feeling over these pages is coming out my ears.<br />
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I don't care for my title, but I can fix that later. I'm trying to a Ludlum-style "The [noun] [proper noun]" style, but it's tough. Right now I have "The Lassen Agenda" which refers to…
I haven't posted much the last few days because I've been frantically scribbling the final pages of the new manuscript, typing them, and getting the first draft out of the computer. Today I edited and did some revision on the first 50 pages, and the excitement I'm feeling over these pages is coming out my ears.<br />
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I don't care for my title, but I can fix that later. I'm trying to a Ludlum-style "The [noun] [proper noun]" style, but it's tough. Right now I have "The Lassen Agenda" which refers to the villain's plan. I do not want a generic title that makes the book sound like the usual bookstore cannon fodder. Anyway that's for the future. Right now it's fun to play in the world I just created and see how this comes together. I want 50 pages in shape to start submitting in January.<br />
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I've been reading some good books lately so I plan to post on those soon. One of the books has been sitting on my shelf, unread, since 2005, and when I realized that I started reading right away and it's been a thrill, the last of the "Road" books by Max Allan Collins. Details to follow, but as usual Collins has done quite well.Casey Affleck as Lou Ford, or: Here Comes Another Thompson Revivaltag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-12-08:537324:BlogPost:2219282009-12-08T20:16:22.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
I just learned that in 2010 we will see a new film adaptation of Jim Thompson's "The Killer Inside Me". I have several reactions. One, an anticipation to see the final product; two, a fear that the final product will be sludge; three, boy, I sure love that book.<br />
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I first read "Killer" back in 1998 when I had decided to abandon spy fiction (reading and writing, only to return to writing it recently) and take a whirl-wind tour through hard-boiled literature. What a great place to start! "Killer"…
I just learned that in 2010 we will see a new film adaptation of Jim Thompson's "The Killer Inside Me". I have several reactions. One, an anticipation to see the final product; two, a fear that the final product will be sludge; three, boy, I sure love that book.<br />
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I first read "Killer" back in 1998 when I had decided to abandon spy fiction (reading and writing, only to return to writing it recently) and take a whirl-wind tour through hard-boiled literature. What a great place to start! "Killer" is a love-it-or-hate-it novel but you can't argue with how authentic Thompson wrote the interior character of Lou Ford, giving us the ability to watch this man break down in a way that is almost like watching a house fall apart from neglect. And the twist at the end always makes me smile. Lou thinks he's pulling a fast one on everybody but not so fast. His "prayer" at the end, as I think Ed Gorman once mentioned, is moving and tragic at the same time, and speaks for a lot of us who feel like we started life with our own crooked cue (or were handed the crooked cue later in life).<br />
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I know nothing about the movie other than that Casey Affleck and Jessica Alba star. I'm not sure Casey Affleck is the best choice, but I didn't think Daniel Craig would make a good James Bond, either; now, I think Craig is a terrific Bond. Thompson described Lou Ford in such a specific way, though, that it's hard to see anybody step into that mental picture. I hear Stacey Keach played the role once, and if anybody could do it, he sure could, but having not scene the Keach film I cannot comment further.<br />
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Thompson is one of my favorites but I never did get around to reading all of the books when Black Lizard/Vintage Crime reprinted them twenty years ago. I have a few on the shelf along with "Killer", though. As for my second favorite Thompson, it's really a tie between "The Grifters" and "A Hell of a Woman" and "The Nothing Man" and I'll be hanged if I can decide which one belongs in the second slot. Oddly enough, I don't care much for "The Getaway" probably because the movie, I think, ruined the book; Thompson's writing wasn't terribly coherent, at least when I read it the first time; and his choice for an ending always leaves me scratching my head. If you have a comment on that ending, and I'm sure you do because how could you not, I'd appreciate your opinion. I think now that it's been a few years I can read the book again and not see Steve McQueen as Doc (forget that other version), but we'll see. Once my TBR stack gets lower, maybe I'll go back to it.<br />
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In the meantime I wish the participants in the new "Killer" movie the best and hope it brings Thompson more attention and puts his books back in stores so I can snatch 'em up. He's a writer who should be rediscovered every few years.<br />
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If you're interested in reading more about the new movie, here's the link on the IMDB. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0954947/">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0954947/</a>Moving Right Along...tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-12-04:537324:BlogPost:2214762009-12-04T06:22:37.000ZBrian Drakehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianDrake
For NaNoWriMo I worked on a spy novel in the James Bond vein and not only failed to reach the 50,000 word goal, I also failed to even get close to the longer length I wanted. Now the rewriting process begins, and new material is suggesting itself, and I'm enjoying the process, but this isn't the crime novel I've dreamed of writing. I have decided to put my name on it, but I hope the market and publishers will let me dabble in both action thrillers and crime novels--heck, it works for Dan…
For NaNoWriMo I worked on a spy novel in the James Bond vein and not only failed to reach the 50,000 word goal, I also failed to even get close to the longer length I wanted. Now the rewriting process begins, and new material is suggesting itself, and I'm enjoying the process, but this isn't the crime novel I've dreamed of writing. I have decided to put my name on it, but I hope the market and publishers will let me dabble in both action thrillers and crime novels--heck, it works for Dan Simmons, right? What genre DOESN'T he write?<br />
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Anyway I wanted to include a shameless plug for my blog, Brian Drake Explains It All at <a href="http://www.briandrake88.blogspot.com/">http://www.briandrake88.blogspot.com/</a> where I comment on hard-boiled novels I read. I would love to see you all add your comments to the discussion. Lately the updates have been writing-related but (to let you in on a secret) I'm working on a review of Raymond Chandler's "The Long Good-Bye" which is probably the best novel I've ever read. Not the best detective novel, per se, but best novel. Ever. Period.<br />
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Thanks for looking at my page!