Wednesday, October 19, 2011

The Beat On The Street

Nobody played the "rich kid A-hole" in the 80's like James Spader. In this particular pivotal scene from "Less Than Zero", he's being a real pal to Robert Downey Jr, as well as life coach and occupational, er, counselor (if you know what comes next. Yikes!). Things were a little bit different for me and the high school crew I rolled with, compared to LTZ crowd. It was more like "Dazed and Confused" (one of Matt McConaughey finest performances)

Anyway...plenty happening over the last week:

- Detectives Beyond Borders host, Peter Rozovsky, has a very good entry on display for Patti Abbott's Reginald Marsh Flash-Fiction Challange. Check out "Smithers Should Have Listened" HERE, and then check out the links to all the other entries at Patti's site HERE

-BSTSLLR.com is an exciting new digital publisher, who from what I can see, are on the right track, with a goal of publishing "established authors and promising new authors in eBook format across various plaforms". If their first debut, pictured below, is any indication, I'm already digging them. I just purchased WCCW and can't wait to get into it. You can check out their web site HERE

- Tony Black's site, Pulp Pusher has a nice interview with Declan Burke HERE

-Speaking of Mr. Burke, he's talking about Gerard Brennan's new novelette, "The Point", which has a great cover  HERE.


- Adrian McKinty has a nice little rant about NYC publishers HERE, the title of which might have fit in nicely with The Stones' "Shattered', at least that's what popped into my head.

-Charles Gramlich, writer and host of the Razored Zen blog, keeps meticulous track of what he reads. He shared some very interesting stats HERE

- Joe Konrath is on sabbatical, but his eBook designer, Rob Siders, has the floor as guest blogger and shared some very usefull insight HERE

- Over at Blackwatertown, there is another entertaining segment of "The Day I met..." series. This time it is actor James Nesbitt, who was in among other things, "Waking Ned Divine, "Bloody Sunday", and "Resurrection Man". Enjoy HERE

- Over at Do Some Damage, Steve Weddle shared some pics and a recap of his time at the "Whodunnit: A Day of Mystery Madness for Mystery Fans" HERE

Finally, I posted the following reviews at Smashwords, B&N, and Amazon.

HEARTBREAKER: Julie Morrigan
5 Stars: A Great Trip for Rock Music and Mystery Fans 
I'm all about Rock-n-Roll and this novel more than met the high expectations I had going in. Although Heartbreaker is a fictional band, it didn't take long for the author to have me thinking they were real. And when I finished, I was wishing I could go out an buy their CD's. The transitions from the interview style passages to flashback scenes were handled superbly. Along with being an excellent chronology of blues based RnR, there are a few nice subplots, as well as a damn good mystery that runs throughout and kept me guessing until the end. This was an excellent introspection into the behind the scenes world of all that is real rock n roll...the good, the bad, and the ugly. I Could easily see this novel being used in the classroom for courses related to post 1960's rock music history. Just like getting a bonus track on a CD, there is an excellent short included at the end titled "Shadow Man" which in itself, would have been worth the price of admission. The overall presentation and editing were flawless. Highly recommend this to both music and mystery fans.

THE BIG WINK: Steve Brewer
5 Stars: Brewer Delivers Again
As soon as I finished the author's latest novel, LOST VEGAS, it was so good, I jumped right into THE BIG WINK and was not disappointed. A great, fast moving caper tale for sure, with a terrific cast, lots of plot twists, and many riotous laughs. The way the story is told and the characters are top notch. Uncle Graybeard and Detective Holland's boss were just a few of the supporting characters who really added to the enjoyment of the read. I'm finding that a Steve Brewer story not only provides great entertainment, but can actually make a bad day, a good one. As mentioned by another reviewer, this story begs for a screen adaptation, ala, "The Big Lebowski".

 




12 comments:

  1. Although I'm missing Michael Scott on The Office, James Spader as Robert California is an absolute trip. What was the name of one of his early movies, a werewolf flick from the 80s? I remember thinking, "What a creepy guy," LOL.

    Have you watched "Waking Ned Devine"? One of my favorites. I've got it on DVD. Off to check out the segment.

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  2. Hey R.S,- That would be "Wolf" with Jack Nicholson. I have figgin' love Spader, since "Endless Love", and lets not forget "Tuff Turf" which also co-starred one of my fav 80's hearthrobs, Kim Richards (Dear little Prudence on Nanny & The Professor. Good old Kim has had some troubles of late, but nothing compared to Mrs. Beasly's owner Buffy (very sad, tragic story) I have seen WND many times, and love it!

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  3. Thanks for the mention, Sean! You asked about the kindle release on Dec's blog. Here's a link to the US version -- http://amzn.to/pJUvhv

    Cheers

    gb

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  4. Gerard- Thanks for the follow up. Just purchased it. really looking forward to this one. A review will surely follow. Best of luck with it, and your schoolwork!

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  5. Great links. And thanks for the shout out. I've gotta check out a bunch of these things.

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  6. Brilliant - some great stuff in there (not least of which is SpaderMan!). Thanks for the mention and the review, too, Sean. Much appreciated!

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  7. My pleasure Charles, and thanks for sharing the valuable info in the post of yours I referenced. We are all in this together, at least that's how I operate.

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  8. Hi Julie- My pleasure and thank you as well for the recent review of Mindjacker!

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  9. Sweet! That would be awesome, man. Thank you. Hope you enjoy it.

    gb

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  10. Thanks for the kind words. Second billing to James Spader is not too bad. And thanks for that link to West Coast Crime Wave. I had not heard to it, but I've saved a link and will investigate further.
    ======================
    Detectives Beyond Borders
    "Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
    http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/

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  11. Was just about to click on one of your links when I noticed myself there. Thanks.
    Meanwhile, at least you've got rid of the odd hat profile picture. Oh... er... never mind.
    Must rush.
    Off to visit Adrian McKinty and Smither.

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  12. Peter,
    That was a great story you came up with. I'm in the middle of reading WCCW, and am really liking it.

    Paul,
    Yeah, it was time for the hat to go, especially as it was my lucky Notre Dame football hat, which as it turns out this season, did not bring much luck to my beloved team.

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