The Beat On The Street

No, this is not a picture of Heartbreaker, before they hit the big-time. And if you don't know who they are, well, you ain't up to speed on your pop culture history. Mrs. Howell certainly would have had a field day chasing the Heartbreaker lads around with the scissors though.

In other news:

- I finished Steve Brewer's novel, LOST VEGAS, and posted the following review at Amazon and Smashwords.

5.0 out of 5 stars Dig Heists?...You'll Love This.
"I am a huge fan of heist style stories and this one certainly delivered the goods, and then some. The writing style is smooth as silk. This was a very entertaining read and the pages seemed to fly by. A terrific plot, tremendous characters, lots of action, and many laugh out loud moments. The style is surely reminiscent of Elmore Leonard, but the author adds a Stephen King like touch to it, that makes it his own. This story begs for a movie adaption ala, Oceans 11, Get Shorty etc...Already started reading The Big Wink by the author and am loving it."

I am well into Steve's medical marijuana heist story, THE BIG WINK, and as mentioned, loving it. Couldn't resist taking a sneak-peek at his Hillbilly Noir crime story CALABAMA, which opens with, "Never argue with a man whose tattoos outnumber his teeth".

- Adrian McKinty just announced his next novel, COLD, COLD GROUND is coming out in January. I'm all  over that one. Details HERE

- Luca Veste unveiled the cover for OFF THE RECORD HERE

- Found a pretty cool interview Christa Faust did HERE

- The latest edition of Needle Mag is out. Steve Blackmore fills you in  HERE

- Speaking of Needle, you can try and win yourself a copy over at Do Some Damage HERE

-While you're over at DSD, be sure to check out the interesting posts and associated comments that have been made the last few days.

- Over at Ashedit, find out how author Rebecca Forster got her novel HOSTILE WITNESS to # 1 on the Kindle charts HERE

Do Some Damage News

One of my many fav blog sites is Do Some Damage. The talent and diversity of the authors who share the daily posting duties is tremendous as is the subject matter. I have learned a lot about crime writing and the authors during year I have been following the site. Here's a couple items that might be of interest.

- John McFetridge, who writes the type of stories I really dig, is taking a hiatus from his DSD Weds slot. Find out why HERE

- Thanks to Sandra Seamans, I found out Steve Weddle, who's also one of the people behind Needle Magazine, has a highly entertaining interview over at the Ginger Nut Case blog HERE

If you can string together 78 words by Friday night, you just might end up in Esquire. Again, thanks to Sandra, you can give it you best shot HERE

Finally, just got a nice note from Steve Brewer after I sent him an email letting him know how much I am digging his latest "Lost Vegas".  He's graciously agreed to a Q & A session and I'm stoked about that. Already have "Calabama" and "The Big Wink" on the nook ready to go, while I wait for a couple Pelacanos novels to arrive at my town library (thanks to The Nerd of Noir's recommendations)

To The Victor, Goes The Free Shit

I am not a lucky guy in terms of winning stuff. As long as the kids and extended family are healthy, I don't ask for much more out of life. I have been fortunate to win some great writing related prizes over the past year though, like:

- "Three Seconds" by Roslund & Hellstrom from Declan Bruke's site

- "The Lincoln Lawyer" by Michael Connelly from Jed Ayres' site. He even included the movie poster.

- "Needle: Issue 2" from Stephen Blackmore's site

- $5.00 Amazon gift card from Laurita Millers' site

And most recently, courtesy of Chris La Tray,  the "Noir at the Bar" anthology and two Chris Farnsworth novel's are on the way to Massachusetts.

I sincerely thank all of you for hosting the contests, being such good writers, and most of all, whether you know it or not, teaching me the game.

When I received the Needle: Issue 2 a while back, the first thing I noticed was how cool the cover is and all the big-time names (at least to me) listed as contributers. I read a few stories, got side-tracked, and hadn't re- visited it until last night. I read the entire issue and there is not a bad story in the lot. If I had to go with one story that I dug the most (totally subjective), it would be Nolan Knight's "Tip The Barkeep".

Big time kudo's to all the players who run Needle and of course, the authors. It is a tremendous offering in every catagory (presentation, content, and editing). Can't wait order the back issues and future releases. What the fuck was I waiting for!

Now, I cannot friggin' wait for '"Noir At The Bar" to arrive.  Have a great weekend everyone!!!

The Beat On The Street

Over the last few weeks I was lucky enough to win some free items from other great blogs I follow.

- Over at Crime Always Pays, I received "Three Seconds" by Roslund and Hellstrom from host Declan Burke. About twenty pages in and I really like it. Glenna over at Inspirations blog did a great review ot the novel HERE

- Stephen Blackmoore host of the L.A. Noir blog sent me a copy of Needle Magazine # 2. Half way though it and there are some tremendous stories. Going to do a reveiw once I finish.

- I got Michael Connelly's "The Lincoln Lawyer" and poster from Jebidiah Ayres, who hosts the Hardboiled Wonderland blog. First time I have read Connelly and I really like his style so far.

Now playing at the RAT PACK REVIEW....Kevin Michaels HERE

Thrillers Killer-n-Chiller's has temporarily closed for submissions. Details HERE

Some familiar names have made it into the Radgepacket 5, including Paul Brazill, who can provide the details HERE