Dime Store Riot

My parents when they first started dating. Music is important to me. There's not a day that goes by that I don't listen to music. When I write, I always make a playlist to help put me in a certain mood. I'll listen to just about anything: punk, metal, goth, industrial, techno, rap, soul, pop, country, folk, and rock. Honestly, about the only thing I don't listen to is jazz--except for swing music. But, man, the style I've always liked is rockabilly. The slapback sound and the driving beat. Cuffed jeans. White T-shirts with a pack of smokes rolled in the sleeve. Slicked hair. Sideburns. Leather jackets. Fast cars. Girls in tight sweaters.  Rockabilly is a portmaneau of "rock" and "hillbilly," and began as kind of insult -- "Listen to those hillbillies trying to play rock music." The first written use of the word was probably a press release for Gene Vincent's "Be-Bop-A-Lula" in the summer of 1956. While the Burnette

I've been dark on the social media for a while. Here's what I've been up, what you can expect to see real soon, and what's still coming down the pipeline — Forthcoming: In The Clear, Black Fields Of Night  — The Simon Rip novella. Our daring time-cop assembles a team to accompany him on a bold frontal assault against The Company, trace the conspiracy to rewrite time, and prevent its inception.  Black Fields  picks up shortly after the events of "Darkling In The Eternal Sky" and reveals "The Final Painting of Hawley Exton" to be more than just a simple coda. Loose ends are tied up, character backstories are explored, the true mastermind is revealed, and the stage is set for the biggest battle yet in the adventures of Simon Rip. My love song to Michael Moorcock and Grant Morrison features Time Devils, Space Vikings, Nazis, Ada Lovelace, Allegra Byron, John Whiteside Parsons, Elvis' dead twin brother Jessie Garon, and a mysterious young boy na

Jacket by S.A. Summit. To the right you can see my copy of Shane Stevens' Go Down Dead . It was originally published in 1966, but occasionally you'll see it listed as 1967 due to the month of release. The cover is very striking and the back jacket carries high praise from Hubert Selby, Jr., and John Howard Griffin. It's also the source of the Stevens' Birthdate Debate. The lengthy about the author on the rear inside flap claims Shane Stevens is 28 years old. That would place his birthdate in 1938. Three years prior to the 1941 date later listed on what little biographic information was circulated. The book follows King Henry, a 16 year old Harlem gang leader, as he tries to score enough cash to get his hands on a stick of dynamite for an upcoming showdown against a rival white gang. It's an engaging first novel,  but not quite up to par with Shane's later works.The major flaw with Go Down Dead is the first person narration. It's extremely difficult t

Been busy in the word mines, so it's mostly blackout on the social media lately. Expect news, blog posts, and several stories to begin appearing very soon.