Noir At The Bar, Go Git It!

As mentioned in a prior post, I won a copy of Noir At The Bar from Patti Abbott's blog via a guest post by Chris La Tray.  Everyone has jumped on the ebook bandwagon, but this collection is a great example why we still need paper. The cover, blurbs, and foreward by Jedidiah Ayres had me laughing my ass off ( not easy to do) before I read a single story. When it arrived, I opened the package, wife and kids all anxiously waiting to see my winnings. The wife says 'you won a used book?' It is not used, but the cover is made to look like it. It's all part of the presentation, along with every blurb that basically shits all over it. Fucking Brilliant!!!

Every story is a keeper in this collection. I enjoyed everyone of them. I hate spoilers so I'm not going to go into details, but if I had to pick one story that is still stuck in my head for various reasons, it would be "They Take You" by Kyle Minor. Like I said, not a bad tale in the lot and this collection is superb.

You can get yourself a copy, as well as read the blurbs I was talking about HERE

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!!!