Hard Times for Hard Case

The title of this post probably isn't accurate. It ought to say tough times for Dorchester, since it's Dorchester publishing, the company that's been putting out Hard Case Crime, that's dropping mass market paperbacks in favor of electronic publishing paired with print on demand for certain titles. "Hard Times for Dorchester" isn't alliterative, though, so screw it.

As a long time member of the Hard Case Crime book club, I was surprised when I read this news last week, as I had just received my copy of Murder Is My Business in the mail along with a new Dorchester catalog, which made no mention of the switch as far as I can remember. (I threw it out, so I can't go back and check). After Hard Case's earlier decision to scale back in the face of the economic difficulties that face us all, I was kind of disappointed. Now the news comes that Dorchester's decision has pushed publication of any further Hard Case Crime titles back until late next year. This is a bummer, and I hope not an ominous portent of things to come.

Publishing is definitely in flux at the moment, and it's hard to tell how I feel about it. On the one hand, the idea of a Kindle or Nook appeals to me. After all, I ran out of space for books in my old place, and then, when it caught fire, I ended up losing about four-fifths of my collection. If I had had an e-reader, insurance would have covered replacing the device, and I would have still had all of my collection. On the other hand, the part of me who likes owning books, the physical object, isn't ready to give them up. The whole point of Hard Case is that they're objects with original artwork that you can collect and keep on a shelf. It wouldn't be the same if they were just e-books. And that doesn't just go for Hard Case. I like having books around, even if they take up too much space, and I don't know that I'm thrilled with where it looks like publishing is going. Perhaps this makes me some sort of old crank, and I'm now in the same category as septuagenarians who get nostalgic for rotary phones, but I guess we all get old eventually, if we're lucky.

Thuglit Folds

Be sure to check out what may be the final issue of Thuglit, which is going on "indefinite hiatus." This is a bummer because they were the first place to publish a story of mine. On the upside, I guess the T-shirt I've got is now a collector's item.

Review of Johnny Porno

In the Internet age, it's hard to imagine (at least for those of us of a certain age), that viewing pornography was once a collective experience, done in theaters. It's also hard to believe that one reel of celluloid featuring a rather commonplace sex act could cause a legal uproar, and become a cultural touchstone of sorts. But in 1973 that's exactly what happened in 1973 when a young lady who went by the stage name Linda Lovelace starred in a nasty little film called Deep Throat. Directed by a former hairdresser and financed by the mafia, the film became an unlikely success, ended up the subject of an obscenity case, and made the bad guys an obscene amount of money.

Charlie Stella's novel Johnny Porno (Stark House, 2010) is an entertaining snapshot of this particular period in history, chronicling the tough times of an out of work carpenter who has been reduced to ferrying around illicit copies of the film and collecting money for the mob as a way to pay the child support for his only son and keep his harridan of an ex-wife off his back. Porno suffers a little from having a huge cast of characters, which requires Stella to engage in a lot of setup, but once the book hits its stride, it doesn't fail to deliver.

John (who's last name is Albano, not Porno), has a lot to deal with. In addition to his wife, he has to deal with a loser wiseguy who hates him, the cops, his ex-wife's other ex-husband and a strung out ex-cop who wants him dead. All while trying to hold what's left of his life together and making sure the mob gets its money. Stella has a knack for dialogue, and the influence of The Friends of Eddie Coyle is evident. Stella even manages to work the novel into the book. The entire novel lacks glamor, and has the gritty feel of a 70's crime film with dirt under its nails and nicotine stains on its fingers. In a world where pornography has become mainstream, Stella reminds the reader that things weren't always that way, and that smut isn't pretty, and that sometimes there's no way for a good man to avoid getting his hands dirty.

The Internet and Self Publishing

I've only been half paying attention to the publishing world lately, but it seems like more established authors are moving toward Seth Harwood's model of releasing their material into the wild on their own. Dave Zeltserman has recently taken a lighter turn by trying to expand on his novella Julius Katz, which originally appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. He briefly released the novella as a PDF, although the link now seems broken, and he has even started a blog where he interviews the character.

And yesterday, I found out that Allan Guthrie will be self-publishing his next novella Bye-Bye Baby, which is certainly an interesting turn of events. Are these signs of things to come?

Also, if you haven't read Dennis Tafoya's story "Doe Run Road," you really ought to.

Man out of Prison Sampler

Almost as good as a seafood sampler, Dave Zeltserman has made sample chapters of his three "man out of prison novels" (Small Crimes, Pariah, and Killer) available in PDF format. If you have yet to check out these novels, head on over and download it. You're missing out.

Wednesday Paperback Cover

I only see one.

Review of Shoot the President, You Must be Mad

I know I've been neglecting the blog for quite some time, but the past 12 months have been rather a lesson in how to take a metaphorical beating, and despite the pain, I find I'm coming out all right. Still, it's been a while since I've been jump up and down excited to receive a book in the mail. That all changed when I ordered a copy of Frank McAuliffe's unpublished Augustus Mandrell novel, Shoot the President, You Must be Mad (The Outfit, 2010), a book that has unfairly languished unpublished for decades.

It is the final novel chronicling the humorous exploits of well heeled killer for hire Augustus Mandrell, and it's quite funny and entertaining, even if it doesn't rise to the heights of Of All The Bloody Cheek. This novel, unlike Cheek, is not divided into "Commissions" as the droll Mandrell calls them, but constitutes one long tale of Mandrell setting up and executing a rather involved assassination in America. As such, the book drags a little in places, but it is filled with McAuliffe's singular wit, and his observations about American culture are surprisingly timely for a book that's been moldering in a drawer for years. Mandrell, to accomplish his goal, assumes the identity of one Clifford Waxout, a member of a right-wing group known redundantly as America's Americans. It was no doubt based on the John Birch Society, but it doesn't take much imagination to see a connection between the old right and the new Tea Party's yammering on about socialism. The more things change, the more things stay the same.

The story gets off to a bit of a slow start, with Mandrell putting in a lot of time and effort to seduce and opera singer in order to get an invitation to an event where the President will be present. While amusing, it is a little tedious. The good news, however, is that once the mayhem starts it is outrageous and laugh out loud funny. McCauliffe once again succeeds in bringing some much needed humor to the grim world of the contract killer.

(Let me apologize for a lack of a cover image. I seem to be experiencing technical difficulties in that department.)

OSS 117 Lost in Rio

Oh, God, there's a sequel to OSS 117 Cairo: Nest of Spies. I know what I'm doing tomorrow. And, this is totally NSFW BTW.

Wednesday Paperback Cover

Is he holding a paintbrush?

More Good News

I've been stricken with a summer cold this weekend, so I've been sitting around feeling miserable, but I have had some good news. My story "Blown a Wish" (bonus points if you guess the title reference) has been accepted for publication in Crimefactory, although it won't be showing up for a while.