From the Factory floor

Crime Factory - that fresh Spinetingler-winning publication - is out with a new issue. It is, once again, a behemoth.


How did they become the award-winning juggernaut they are? Well, in addition to having people like, oh say me, blog on their website, they have insightful articles, great fiction and prescient reviews. How prescient? Well, they said in the new issue, a few things about Dig Two Graves. Things like:

"It’s joyfully wrong and wonderfully sick. It pulls no punches, tosses taboo aside and focuses on a dark, violent, action filled, and sometimes funny tale."

They also said:

"It’s a wild ride, filled with humour, emotion and bad choices."

See what I mean? Obviously these are folks at the top of their game, taste-wise. They know how to keep it short and pithy too.

"Great read. Pick it up and enjoy the bloody ride."

Who am I to argue with award-winners?

Shooting Off

I have a new blog post over at the always entertaining Crime Factory site where I discuss my love/hate relationship with guns. Mostly, I talk out of my ass and make snarky comments. Good thing for Thomas Pluck. We knew he was a good writer of fiction, but he weighed in with a comment that is better than my post. You should check it out.

Cover artist

I haven't really talked about my new position as Art Director for Snubnose Press mostly because it would involve uploading a lot of images and I'm too busy writing. (Don't believe me? I just finished A Mouth Full of Blood 1st draft and submitted my story for Pulp Ink 2 for consideration. See? I'm working)

Now, the good folks at Snubnose (in other words - Brian) have uploaded a Pinterest board of the range of Snubnose covers. Included are mine as well as the covers of original artists Boden Steiner, Ben Springer and John Horner Jacobs. The real fun is that Brian did what I kept meaning to do here on the ol blog, which is to put up alternate covers and unused versions of things that evolved or changed completely. I have a few more in my archives that I'll put up here, I guess starting now.

Below is the first draft of the cover of what would become Dig Two Graves. I still like this design, but obviously the name changed so this was out. Then below that was my minimal Saul Bass-esque take on Dig Two Graves, which again, I still have fond feelings for. Love to know what people think. I keep flexing my muscles with cover design and I feel like I'm getting the hang of it, knowing what works, what doesn't.

What's in a name?

You can't copyright a title, and that's a good thing. Sometimes a title works perfectly for more than one novel, especially years apart. I'm not precious about it.

When I decided on Split Decision it fit the story of a boxer caught between two difficult decisions. It echoes the outcome of a boxing match and the quandary Jimmy finds himself in. Perfect.
I haven't mentioned it here before, but there are other Split Decision's out there. A new one just went up. I find it fascinating.

I haven't read any of the others, but it's fun to think how utterly different books with the same title can be. And did the other authors feel as perfectly in sync with their titles? I'm sure they did.

The new one seems to be squarely in the 'Chick Lit' category. The brightly illustrated cover says it all.

There are two YA novels, one about gymnastics and one about baseball or something. One is some sort of psychic bondage novel. (?)

The one I'm really fascinated with is this one. While I wholeheartedly endorse the cover, the book description sounds horrifying. Did anyone else know there was a whole subgenre of "stepdad" erotica? What kind of weird fetish is that? It takes all kinds I guess. Again, I haven't read it. The writing might be great, y'know if you like stories about young girls and their stepdads having sex. Weird.

The sad thing about all this is that as of this writing, three out of five of those books are selling better than my Spit Decision. Yes, even that one.

Sheesh, I feel like I got gut punched worse than Jimmy did in chapter 6. Good news is I have way more reviews than they do. All 5-star too. Not that we couldn't use a few more. Just sayin', if you've read it - chime in.

Undaunted, work continues on my second Fightcard book, A Mouth Full Of Blood. I hit the 25,000 word mark and I'm almost done. I'll have a first draft by the weekend and then I can turn to a few other things that are pending, then go back and revise with fresh eyes and get this thing out by summer.

Free Fightcard!

For the rest of March we at the Fightcard team are giving away books! That's right, if you order either of the first two Fightcard entries, Felony Fists by Paul Bishop or The Cutman by Mel Odom, you get the other one free! Buy one, then mail your receipt to fightcardseries@gmail.com and you'll get a Kindle file by return mail. What a great way to get into the series with two excellent books for 2.99!
As a bonus you also get the first issue of Fight Fictioneers, the Fightcard and sports pulps round up.


And since we're talking Fightcard, I figure this is a good opportunity to debut the cover for my new entry, A Mouth Full of Blood. Can you believe I got away with that title?
It's a sequel to Split Decision and I'm almost done writing it. I really put Jimmy through the paces this time. There are back alley brawls, a missing girl, some unregulated fights, an innocent boy and some very guilty men. Look for it later this summer.

Want to write?

I have a few weird things in my office. Okay, more than a few. (Heart in a jar? Check. Human skull? Yep. Fetal pig wrapped in a snake? Sure do!)

I don't even know when I got two old issues of Popular Mechanics but I find them fascinating. In leafing through them for possible book cover fodder I found this and it entertained me to no end. Who knew it was so easy? 

Another rave for the Grave

It's always nice to get a genuine review from someone with no vested interest in me or my book.  Benoit Lelievre is someone I "know" only tangentially through blog/crime fiction online circles. Everything I know about him is positive, but as you can see from his initial reaction to picking up Dig Two Graves, he has no dog in this fight. So when he says kind things like, "I can't find any reasons not to read DIG TWO GRAVES." Well, that will make your day, won't it?


Read the rest here. And then, for pity's sake - go read the book!


P.S. My good pal and all around nice guy Greg Bardsley has unveiled the cover for his upcoming debut novel Cash Out and holy crapola, is it cool as hell. Go make friends with the man on Facebook and sneak a peek at one of my favorite covers in a long damn time. That includes the stuff I'm designing. 

Friday roundup

Another week. Where do they get to so quickly? My latest blog post for Criminal Element is up HERE. I ask the question, Where have all the cool cars gone? in TV cop shows. Check it out. Also over at Criminal Element is my Fesh Meat assessment of Dead Harvest by Chris F. Holm. This book is a crazy genre-bending tale that kept me guessing. Really inventive work that should get Chris some much deserved attention. Also loved Gar Anthony Haywood's Assume Nothing, did I mention that? And I'm deep into Dove Season by Johnny Shaw and loving it. Both writers will be at our next Noir at the Bar event on March 25th along with Hilary Davidson with her new book, The Next One To Fall and Gary Phillips reading whatever he damn well wants. I went ahead and started the new novel not really certain I was fully invested. A week and 15k words later, I think I'm in. This is an idea I've been kicking around for a long time and I think I finally cracked the story. We shall see. So far 2012 has been a shitty year personally and a non-event writing wise. I'm hoping things pick up and I have some news on something at some point. Not much to go on, I know. Writing in a vacuum is hard. Time to go make more opportunities for myself. No one is coming to my rescue, and never will. Time to write my own story, as it were. Damn, that sounded like a cheap self motivational book. Aw, what the hell, that would probably sell a million copies...

Busy times

I just moved so I haven't been around much so allow me to catch up.

The kind editors over at Thrillers, Killers n Chillers have saved a lost story of mine from the cobwebs. Mexican Souvenirs was written for an anthology that never happened, but now it lives again.

I was also kindly interviewed over at Julie Morrigan's website. She had some great questions so check that out.

Holly West also asked a question out there to writer types and I weighed in here.

I really should post more about the Noir at the Bar readings we do. Let me just say the last one was possibly our best yet with readings from Stephen Blackmoore (whose City of the Lost was a wonderful surprise and one of the best reads in a while) Bob Ward who definitely sold me a book that night with his great reading. Aaron Clark who won over some new converts to The Science of Paul, Aj hayes who never disappoints and Travis Richardson who started us off right.

March 25th will feature none other than Hilary Davidson reading from her new one The Next One To Fall, Johnny Shaw reading from Dove Season, Gar Anthony Haywood reading from Assume Nothing which I am almost done with and I friggin love it. Maybe better than Cemetery Road? Gary Phillips will be reading whatever he damn well wants and maybe even one more reader. Hot stuff. I'm impressed with my own organizing skills.

I officially started a new novel. I wasn't sure which of several ideas to write so I just sucked it up and started one. Not sure if my fickle nature will pull me away to another idea before I am done. I need to buckle down and start hitting the keys again though. Speaking of . . . good night.

Nerd approved

Imagine my joy when I saw that the one and only Nerd of Noir had reviewed Dig Two Graves over at Spinetingler. The Nerd has the most unique book reviews out there and also happens to be someone who I can always count on for books I know I will like so to get a positive review like this is really amazing. This review has so many lines that make me so pleased I'm tempted to reprint the whole thing here but better to follow the link and check out some of the other reviews and all the great content on Spinetingler.