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

HEARTBREAKER: Has The Moves Like Jagger

If you have not read any of Julie Morrigan's writing, you don't know what you are missing. I've known Julie for about a year now and she is one of top writers that I really, really dig.  Last year, just about this time, I read an interview Julie did with Paul Brazill HERE which I posted about, HERE

I had read a few chapters of what would eventually become Heartbreaker a while back over at Julie's blog, and loved it. So, when she announced that it was just released a couple days ago, it was a big suprise and I downloaded it for ONLY 99 CENTS. What a great read it is. I can't put it down. Even though Heartbreaker is a fictional band, Julie has brought them to life. If you know anyone who digs Rock-n-Roll, this will knock their socks off. The novel also has very good cross over appeal; the story is one that both men and women, who aren't hard core crime lovers, will really enjoy

A full review will be forthcoming (only 100 pages left), but why wait. Go download yourself a copy at Amazon HERE or Smashwords HERE 

Julie had a great interview regarding music and Heartbreaker over at Luca Veste's joint 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)

The Beat on the Street

A well known literary agent recently pontificated about 10 things writers must do HERE, which in turn ended up the subject of a great post, and lot's of reader feedback over at  Joe Konrath's blog HERE

-Now,  if you are looking for some advice  / tips that might actually help you, Allan Guthrie has 10 excellent points over at Criminal- E HERE

- Over at Do Some Damage, guest blogger Brian Lindenmuth has some excellent observations on the e-book cover HERE

- Patti Abbott is looking for your take on the best TV cast ensemble HERE

- If you think stock traders have your best interests at heart, might want to check out the post over at Paul Waters' site HERE

- Lot's of new stories have been posted over at A Twist of Noir HERE and Thrillers Killers-n-Chillers HERE

- Big time congrats to FFO head honcho Dave Barber, and William Dylan Powell. Both got some well deserved recognition for their recent short stories. Details HERE

- Jeanette Cheezum is Paul Brazill's guest for his Short Sharp Interview feature HERE