Dime Store Riot

Another Contest: In yesterday's post, I mentioned The Lincoln Lawyer Giveaway hosted by Crimefactory. Now, Keith is also hosting a contest at his personal site, Bloody Knuckles, Callused Fignertips . Head on over and check it out. Dogfight: You've probably forgotten about Dogfight , the serial I had been writing with Brian S. Roe of R Squared Studios . It has been a while, but the grudge between Heckler and Doyle is far from finished. Our schedules have lightened a bit, so we're discussing the final chapter now. When the 13th Chapter hits, that's not the end. Next, there's the upcoming, special kung-fu issue of Crimefactory with my story, "Down By The Water". Echo, my kung-fu heroine, has her own individual story, separate from Heckler and Doyle, but her tale does offer a surprise for readers of our two-fisted, bullet-fueled grudge match. After that, you'll just have to wait and see...

To celebrate the upcoming theatrical release of The Lincoln Lawyer , the Crimefactory masterminds are giving away free stuff. For your chance to win either a copy of the movie poster or a copy of Michael Connelly's novel, head over to Day Labor now. All you have to do is leave a comment with your e-mail address and it could be you who gets some free swag.

I mailed this a couple of weeks ago. Now, I'm waiting.  

Writing is solitary. At the computer, it's just you and whatever it is you can manage to charm, bribe, or beat out of the goddamn ether. Chances are when you send it out into the world, you're not doing it in person. It's just a mouseclick  or an envelope drop. Then waiting. Alone. Most of us aren't outgoing. We're not that guy you invite to the party because you know, we'll be the one to keep it going, lively and rocking until dawn or the cops. We're not the one you run into constantly on the street, heading to the big concert, the art show, the grand opening of that trendy restuarant downtown and right in the middle of it all. We're not there, because we don't get out much. After our paying gigs gorge on  the day and all those little things (dinner, cleaning, mowing the lawn, cleaning the gutters, the occasional shower), we take those minutes that are left and we seize them for ourselves. Hoping for a sentence or two. Maybe a paragraph. Pray

For stories 600-700 at A Twist of Noir, Christopher Grant issued a challenge. The number of your story is the number of words you have to tell it. After some unfortunate delays, The Death March resumed today with stories from Liam Jose, Kelley Whitley, and R.S. Bohn. Head on over there now for a fearsome threesome of hardboiled.

Go Down Dead , Way Uptown In Another World , and The Rat Pack all center on the lives of young, African-American characters pushed to the edges of society by poverty, the illusions of the American Dream, and the lure of crime-fueled exchanges of power. In addition to his novels, Stevens reviewed a number of books by African-American authors and frequently wrote about race relations as the Civil Rights movement flared and flamed to life. A number of people assumed that Stevens was an African-American writer. He's not. He's white. A number of African-American writers and critics didn't appreciate Stevens, as a white man, offering his opinions on either "their" literature in particular or race relations in general. Ishmael Reed expressed his distate of Stevens' opinion in a poem called "White Hope". Read it here. For more on Stevens, the African-American cultural identity, and Chester Himes defense of Shane's writing, you'll have t

If you head on over to Let's Fight Everybody!  you can read my review of Hannie Caulder , a western revenge flick starring Raquel Welch. This piece of lady gunfighting action from 1971 doesn't seem to get much love anymore, so I decided to give it a little. Have you seen it? If you have, read my review and tell me what you think. If you haven't, read my review and see if you want to. Hannie Caulder

One of the things I discuss in my piece on Shane Stevens is whether or not the name is a pseudonym. Several things seem to have contributed to this idea. First, there is the lack of information on Stevens. He seems to have rarely spoken about himself and went out of his way not to reveal anything.  This lack of info is complicated by the fact the existing info is full of what appears to be "inconsistencies." And finally, there's the matter of him virtually disappearing. I know what I believe about Shane Stevens and I think by the time you read my lengthy essay, you'll agree. But what about now? If you're familiar with Stevens, what do you think?

One of the things I pride myself on, normally, is my patience. Patience and the ability to remain calm are two of my biggest personality traits. They helped me get the current job I have; easily, I think, distinguishing me from the other canidates. Both are important characteristics for dealing with potential crisis situations. However, when it comes to writing, I have trouble remaining patient. Beyond all the other frustrations surrounding this writing thing, the waiting is the part I hate the most. Rationally, I grok that something seeing print (whether online or in actual print) isn't a quick process. I know that if there is one certainty in life, it's that it will get in the way of your plans--like bringing a story out. But, man, does the waiting drive me fucking crazy.

In 1989, I read Stephen Kings' The Dark Half . King borrowed the name Alexis Machine from Shane Stevens' Dead City . In his afterward, King heaps an enormous amount of praise on Stevens' work. Thanks to King--I had to find and read those books. And I did--eventually. It wasn't easy. Despite King's homage and kind words earning several of his novels a reprint, Stevens work has been notorious hard to find. Any personal information on Stevens, the man, is non-existent and never more indepth than his meagre biography on Wikipedia. He appears to have spent his life walking, namelessly and silently, purposefully in the shadows. After the publication of his last novel, The Anvil Chorus , Stevens vanished. Today, he's nothing but a ghost. I owe a number of writer's thanks. They've influenced me in a variety of ways, not just stylistically or themetically. But very few have affected me the way Shane Stevens has. His books, while brutal and savage, dark a