A Sad Day At The Bijou

I received an email this morning from Absolutley * Kate that her Mother has passed away. Those who are lucky enough to know A*K, including myself, are aware of the what a tremendous, talented, and just overall great person she is. She's a had a rough go of it of late, losing her Dad and now her Mom. I don't feel comfortable giving out her email, but I would hope anyone who reads this and knows Kate, would stop by her excellent site AT THE BIJOU HERE and let her know she is not alone in the comment section of her last post. She comes from a close knit family just like me and although I am lucky enough to still have my parents, it is my biggest fear of them passing and I dread that day. My deepest, heartfelt, thoughts are with Kate, and anyone else who has had to deal with the loss of a loved one.

This one is for you Kate.

I'm In Like Flynn & The Beat On The Street

- Over at Absolutely * Kate's blog At The Bijou, she's been hosting The Rat Pack Review. The star of the event has been crime writing machine Robert Randisi, who's latest venture is crime novels featuring those ultra-cool, swinging cats of the infamous Rat Pack.  There's a great lineup of writer's who chose members or associates of the pack and wrote stories in their persona. I'm very proud to say I was included (as Errol Flynn) along with A*K, Anthony Venutolo, Kevin Michaels, Julie Morrigan, Paul Brazill, Eric Beetner, and of course Mr. Randisi. You can check out my story "Bung Ho!" as well as all the others HERE

- Speaking of Kevin Michaels, I am in the middle of his debut novel "Lost Exit" and it is very good. I'll be posting a review when done, but you can check it out HERE

- "She's no Agatha Christie". That's how an excellent feature story on Julie Morrigan (wink, wink) Lewthwaite's "Gone Bad" collection stars out in the Newcastle Journal HERE

- One of my fav crime writers, who's style I love, John McFetridge, has landed a TV gig and I could not be happier for him. Find out more HERE

- Another crime writer, I really dig for both story and style is Allan Guthrie. He's got a cool new blog focusing on ebooks HERE

-Finally, Glenna has another great review and excerpt up at her blog. This time it is Adrian McKinty's latest "Falling Glass". To be honest, I didn't  read it because I am waiting for my copy to arrive and hate to find out any details of a novel that I am so looking forward to read. If you have not read any of Adrian's crime novels, you don't know what you are missing out on. He's also got a great BLOG and actually interacts with his followers, which I find is not very common with other big-time writers, who love to post about themselves, yet never take the time to interact with fans.  Check out Glenna's review HERE

Absolutely * Fab Story & Great News for Declan Burke

Declan Burke shared some really great news over at Crime Always Pays. His tremendous new novel, which I had a chance to read, has found a publisher. Details HERE

Over AT THE BIJOU,  where a story isn't just a story, it's an extravaganza of the highest order ( I almost feel bad for not having to fork over an admission fee)  Absolutely*Kate's Fab Feb Film Fest is featuring  a tremendous story, "Chopper John" by Colin James. You have to read this. I burst out laughing in my veal cube today. Read it and enjoy  HERE