The Return of Hard Case

Here is the latest news from Charles Ardai regarding the return of Hard Case Crime. I'm just gonna reprint the entire statement in full since I'm sure it's of interest.

We've got some big news to announce today: After a year's hiatus, Hard Case Crime will be returning to bookstores with new titles in 2011, thanks to a deal we just signed with UK-based Titan Publishing.

Titan is a publisher both of fiction and of gorgeous art books focusing on pop culture such as movie poster art, pin-ups, newspaper comic strips, and Golden Age comic books, and has worked with filmmakers such as J.J. Abrams, Joss Whedon, and George Lucas. Titan has been around for 30 years, has more than 200 employees, and in addition to publishing books also has a magazine division, a retail division (Titan owns the famous Forbidden Planet bookstore in London, and until recently co-owned the Murder One mystery bookstore with Maxim Jakubowski), and a merchandise division that produces items such as t-shirts, sculptures, and accessories.

We look forward to exploring ways we might develop some cool Hard Case Crime products with them! But first things first: books. Hard Case Crime will relaunch in September/October 2011 with four new books, including CHOKE HOLD by Christa Faust (sequel to her Edgar Award-nominated MONEY SHOT), QUARRY'S EX by Max Allan Collins (the latest in the popular series of hit man novels by the author of "Road to Perdition"), and two never-before-published novels by MWA Grand Masters (names to be announced shortly).

Additionally, Titan Publishing plans to acquire all existing stock of Hard Case Crime's backlist from Dorchester Publishing and to resume shipping these titles to booksellers immediately. New books will be published in paperback (possibly some in hardcover as well!); ebook editions will also be released across multiple platforms. Titan is distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Random House. We're very excited about working with Titan (indeed, we had offers from five publishers and chose Titan over several that were much larger and better-known) -- they love pulp fiction as much as we do and appreciate that in books like ours the visual dimension is just as important as the storytelling. It's hard to imagine a better home for Hard Case Crime.

Vertical Covers and and Interview

J. Kingston Pierce over at Killer Covers has a great interview with Charles Ardai. Where does he find the time every week for KC? Seriously.

Review of Fifty-to-One

To commemorate the publication of the fiftieth Hard Case Crime title, publisher Charles Ardai has penned a comic what-if novel set fifty years ago about a not-too-ethical paperback pubisher who stirs up some trouble when he publishes a supposedly true account of the robbery of a mafia owned nightclub that was actually penned by a young dancer from South Dakota. Hijinks ensue when it turns out there really was a robbery at the club in question, and the owner is out for blood. To make the novel a bit more fun, Ardai has used the titles of each of Hard Case's fifty titles in chronological order as chapter titles. The result is an entertaining, if overly long, caper. Ardai does a pretty good job in working the book titles into the story, although there are some groaners (the Zero Cool chapter, for instance).

Fifty-to-One is not as good as the novels Ardai has published under his Aleas pseudonym, but it's not meant to be a masterpiece. It's meant to be a love letter to the golden age of paperback novels and a thank you note to the loyal fans of his publishing venture. With cameo appearances by some writers Hard Case aficianados will appreciate, joyful deployment of genre cliches and a color insert of Hard Case covers, this is a book for people who have shelves crammed with paperbacks old and new.

More on Hunt for Adventure

So Charles Ardai has gotten around to releasing some more information about the forthcoming Hunt For Adventure series. The excerpt below comes from the latest Hard Case newsletter. I'm thrilled to see James Reasoner on the list, although I think his output is somewhere north of two dozen books.


One last tidbit, and then I'll let you get back to your regularly scheduled summertime activities: Our pulp adventure series, THE ADVENTURES OF GABRIEL HUNT (www.HuntForAdventure.com),

continues to rev up, and I'm pleased to announce that the authors contributing books to the series will include Hard Case Crime veterans Christa Faust (MONEY SHOT) and David J. Schow (GUN WORK) as well as James Reasoner (author of the cult classic TEXAS WIND and two dozen other books) and Nicholas Kaufmann (Stoker Award nominee for GENERAL SLOCUM'S GOLD). And me, of course. How could I miss the chance to write of these myself?

Hunt for Adventure

Behold the latest project from Charles Ardai and company, the Adventures of Gabriel Hunt. Starting next year Ardai will be launching a pulp adventure series, which, according to Crimespot, is going to use a house author name, but will be written by various contributors to the Hard Case series as well as other authors. I suppose the main question I have about this is, will there be a way to find out who ghosted the books or will people be reduced to endless speculation?

Spinetingler Awards

I've been living under a rock since Thanksgiving, so much to my surprise, when I finally peek my head out and take a look around, there's all kinds of activity. First and foremost, the nominations for the Spinetingler Awards have been announced. They are gratifying on more than one level. First off, a lot of independent publishers got a lot of love, more than they usually do from more established awards. Just check out the nominations in these categories:



Best Publisher:

Bitter Lemon Press; Europa Editions; Hard Case Crime; Poisoned Pen Press; and Text Publishing



Best Editor:

Charles Ardai, Hard Case Crime; Stacia Decker, Harcourt; Alison Janssen, Bleak House; Barbara Peters, Poisoned Pen Press; and Dave Thompson, Busted Flush



I am also thrilled to note that James Reasoner's novel Dust Devils has been nominated for Novel of the Year in the Legends category. (I note that it hasn't yet shown up on the Edgar submissions list. (Point Blank Press isn't on the MWA approved publisher list. Why that is I don't know.)
Suffice to say, if you don't vote for Mr. Reasoner's book, I will punch you or at least make fun of your clothes and haircut.



I also note, with a certain degree of humility, that my story, Amphetamine Logic, is up for Best Short Story on the Web. The competition is stiff in that category. Charles Ardai has a story in that category, and he's already won an Edgar. I won't threaten you into voting for my story, the same way I'm threatening you to get you to vote for James Reasoner, because that wouldn't be kosher, but I'd appreciate the vote.



How do you vote, you ask? Well, I'm just going to let Sandra Ruttan, who organized this whole enterprise speak to that:



Voting is open. ONE E-MAIL PER PERSON ONLY. You cannot send another vote in, even for a different category – multiple votes from the same sender will not be counted. Take the time to consider your votes carefully. E-mails must be received by December 30, 2007 - authors, if you're putting this in your newsletter make sure you are clear about the deadline for voting. Many recommendations were not considered in the first round because they were sent late.You may vote for one winner in each category as long as all votes are submitted in one e-mail. Simply state the category and your chosen winner for each of the eight categories. Any votes that contain more than one selection per category may be removed from consideration completely. No ties. Send your e-mail to sandra.ruttan@spinetinglermag.com with AWARD NOMINATIONS in the subject line. It is not necessary to explain the reason for your vote.



While I'm at it I should note that it seems that Ardai's novel Songs of Innocence, seems to be ineligible for and Edgar because it is, under the MWA's new rules, "self-published." Sarah Weinman broke the story, and has an interesting discussion about the topic. I can see both sides, myself. I suspect that what it boils down to is the MWA is afraid that allowing Ardai's novel in will open the door for anyone to join, and that would pretty much make the MWA's existence moot. The entire point of clubs is to exclude people. Of course, Ardai's already got an Edgar, so it's not like he can't slap "From Edgar Winning Author" on everything he writes from here on out.

Review of Songs of Innocence

The private investigator is seldom an integral part of a detective story. He serves as a catalyst, stirring up other characters and prompting them to act, but never has any personal stake in the action. If the detective didn’t stir things up, someone else would. Sure, Lew Archer liked some characters more than others, and he even liked one enough to sleep with, but much of the time Archer is almost invisible, and even when he isn’t, the terrible secrets he uncovers never affect him personally. It’s always someone else’s life falling apart.

With private investigator John Blake, Richard Aleas (aka Charles Ardai), has made it personal. Blake’s first outing, the Edgar nominated Little Girl Lost, had him trying to find out who killed his high school girlfriend on the roof of a strip club. The sequel, Songs of Innocence (Hard Case Crime, 2007), finds Blake retired from sleuthing and deeply emotionally scarred by what he found during his search for Miranda Sugarman’s killer. He finds himself attracted to a woman who is his equal in the emotional baggage department.

Dorothy Burke ran away from an unhappy childhood, and straight into an unhappy adulthood. She earns living jerking men off and she hates herself for it. She and Blake form their own two person support group, telling each other the dark secrets they would never tell anyone else. They have an agreement to call each other when they’re thinking about suicide. When Blake finds Dorothy dead in her bathtub with a plastic bag over her head and a copy of Final Exit nearby he’s hurt. She didn’t call. Blake is convinced someone killed Dorothy, and he is soon sucked into New York City’s sex trade, trying to find out the truth.

As he gets closer to the truth, however, the already fragile Blake begins to fall apart. He is beaten up, threatened, chased and framed for murder. It’s more than he can handle. In the end, Songs of Innocence is a portrait of mental disintegration as much as it is a detective story. Blake’s descent is what sets the story apart from others in the genre. In Blake, Aleas blends the self-destructive streak found in protagonists of noir masters like Goodis and Cain with the relentless drive to uncover the hidden that motivates the likes of Marlowe and Archer.

The detective aspects are competent, with the right revelations in the right places, leading to the uncovering of a secret that would fit nicely into a Ross MacDonald novel. No one familiar with PI tales will be shocked by the final secret. It’s the denouement that will shock. Aleas makes a bold move at the end of the book, one that is probably unprecedented in a private eye novel. It won’t sit well with many readers, but ultimately it makes sense.

Charles Ardai at Murderati

Mike MacLean interviews Charles Ardai over at Murderati. They don't talk a lot about Ardai's new novel, Songs of Innocence, however. I finished SOI a couple of days ago, and I have a feeling it's a novel people are going to be talking about a lot in short order. I haven't even tried to write a review yet. I'm not at all sure how I feel about it.

Awards and Alter Egos

A question I've had for a while now has been answered.
As you probably know, Charles Ardai won an Edgar in April for his short story "The Home Front." That story was published under his real name. He also writes under the pen name Richard Aleas. So, naturally, I wondered if Ardai's alter ego was also an Edgar winner. Apparently so. I got a copy of his latest John Blake novel, Songs of Innocence in the mail yesterday and, sure enough, Mr. Aleas is billed as an Edgar winner on the cover.

Read Charles Ardai's Edgar Winning Story

Here.

Another Ardai Interview and other things of interest

There is a new interview with Charles Ardai over at Things I'd Rather be Doing. The most interesting thing I learned reading it is that they have ARCs of Slide, and they're going to be giving away a dozen copies to people on the Hard Case Crime mailing list. You can go to Hard Case's Web page to sign up if you want a chance to win. Just scroll down to the bottom of the page and put your email address in the box.

I will also take this opportunity to remind those of you in New York City that you will be able to see Jason Starr read from Slide at 7 p.m. April 22, at KGB (85 East 4th Street), as part of a Hard Case Crime reading event. Peter Pavia, Max Phillips, and Charles Ardai will also be on hand.

Speaking of Starr, I'm about halfway through The Follower, which comes out in August from St. Martin's Minotaur. No one does shallow and callow characters better than Starr. If you don't believe me read this, or this, and then get back to me. He reminds me of Bret Easton Ellis without the hype, and with more believable characters and plots. His characters are often unsympathetic, which I think has limited his appeal, but I think The Follower is going to change that. It's got a sympathetic character at its center and it's about beautiful young people in Manhattan. It's still got plenty of the self absorbed and completely oblivious characters that are Starr's trademark, but I think a lot people will find it more palatable than, say, Hard Feelings, which is my favorite Starr novel. I'll also be very surprised if The Follower doesn't get made into a movie.

Moving right along, Ray Banks has a redesigned Web site and is blogging again. I've got Donkey Punch on my to be reviewed pile, and I'm planning on starting it this week. It's getting released in the UK in May.

Little Girl Lost, The Movie

According to Variety, Charles Ardai and James Polster have entered into a deal with Papazian-Hirsch Entertainment, producers of HBO's Rome, to make feature projects based on Hard Case titles. The first such project, according to the article, will be Little Girl Lost. Ardai and Polster will collaborate on the screenplay. This is very cool.

(Thanks to Mike Burch who posted this to the Rara-Avis mailing list.)

Another Ardai Interview

Here's another Charles Ardai interview to go with the one I mentioned here.

Interview with Charles Ardai

Behind the Black Mask: Mystery Writers Revealed has a great, hour long interview with Charles Ardai of Hard Case Crime. The first half covers Hard Case itself, and the second half is about Ardai's novels Little Girl Lost, and the forthcoming Songs of Innocence. Good stuff if you've got some time.