The Double-D...Reissued

Christopher Pimental accepted the second story I ever sent out, “The Double-D.” It’s a twisted piece about John Dillinger’s pickled penis. In the story a nameless narrator is working for a rich eccentric who likes to collect seedy and one-of-a-kind memorabilia from figures involved in crime. You see, according to legend, Dillinger had a monster schlong. Supposedly, after the gangster's death by cop, J. Edgar Hoover had his manhood amputated and put in a jar he kept on his desk.

The idea came to me after details of the Marilyn Monroe sex film surfaced. If I remember correctly, the footage was purchased by an individual working for an unnamed private collector. I thought the whole thing was fascinating. How do you find out something like that exists? Who do you send after it and why? Monroe’s fellatio performance sent my imagination working in overdrive.

I was proud of this story when I sent it out.

When it saw the light of day, I was even more proud of it—thanks to Christopher Pimental. I owe him a debt I can probably never repay. He was an amazing and thought-provoking editor who took an interesting story with tons of promise and helped me turn it into something stunning. Pimental not only taught me more about writing than anyone, but he was the one to finally break through all the bullshit to show me how to think about writing as a process.

Recently, Christopher has morphed what used to be his Bad Things Pulp Pages into a slicker, streamlined and visually appealing site. I suggest you go check out. Not only can you read some of the best stories from back in the day, but there are links to Pimentals’ own noir and hard boiled writings.

Pimental: Pulp & Hard Boiled | True Modern Noir