Plots with Guns #10

The latest issue of Plots with Guns, featuring my story "Bugs" is now online. Anthony Neil Smith has done a good job with this one. Not only are the stories of their usual caliber, but he's made the site look good. The pictures of me up there were taken by my colleague and buddy Janssen Robinson. The Glock was generously provided by zombie Charlton Heston. And this issue is dedicated to David Thompson of Busted Flush Press and Murder by the Book. RIP.

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.

Goodbye Baby at A Twist of Noir

I know I said I was shuttering the blog for a couple weeks during my vacation, but I just wanted to point out that my story "Goodbye Baby," which was available for about 5 minutes in the final issue of Demolition, is up at A Twist of Noir. I am rather fond of this story because it turned out to be something more than what I intended. It ended up being much more quiet than what I originally set out to write, and I think that made it a much better story than it would have been otherwise. I was quite sad when Demolition disappeared from the Web and this one went down the memory hole. Anyway, I hope you like it.

Amphetamine Logic at Crimewav

I know you've been dying to hear the sound of my voice. Well, your prayers have been answered. You can hear me reading my short story "Amphetamine Logic" at Crimewav.com. A big thanks to Seth Harwood, for 1) asking me to read it and 2) taking the time and effor to put it up. And no, that's not my pipe in the picture. Must be Seth's.

The Summer Issue of Demolition

The long delayed summer issue of Demolition is out. It features my heartwarming story of family reconciliation Goodbye Baby. I expect someone from The Hallmark Channel will be calling shortly.

You can also read stories by Christa Miller, Kieran Shea and Doug Perry.

Spinetingler Awards

Sandra Ruttan has announced the winners of the Spinetingler Awards at her new Web site At Central Booking. Alas, my story did not win, which is a little disappointing, but then most things in life are. Congratulations to everyone who won, especially Chris F. Holm, whose story Seven Days of Rain won in the Best Fiction on the Web category.

It doesn't matter who you vote for as long as you vote...

As you know, my short story 'Amphetamine Logic' was shortlisted for a Spinetingler Award in the Best Short Story on the Web category. Well, I finally got around to reading (in some cases rereading) the other stories that were nominated. They're all good. Very good, in fact. If you haven't read them, and you haven't voted in the awards yet, you should. Even if you don't want to vote in all the categories, there is no reason why you can't read the online stories and vote for one of them. It's not that big of an investment of time, and you might find yourself surprised. The stories are:

Amphetamine Logic-Nathan Cain

The Leap-Charles Ardai

Breaking in the New Guy-Stephen Blackmoore

The Switch-Lyman Feero

Seven Days of Rain-Chris Holm

Shared Losses-Gerri Leen

The Living Dead-Amra Pajalic

Convivium-Kelli Stanley

For a list of nominees in other categories, along with instructions on how to cast your vote, go here. The deadline is Dec. 30, so you've got 10 days. You can read one story a day and still take two days to make up your mind.

Amphetamine Logic-The Movie Update

As you may well remember, I optioned my Spinetingler Award nominated short story Amphetamine Logic to an independent film producer back in August. Well, Mitchell Cohen, the guy making the movie, just got his first short fim, Peter's Price, picked up for worldwide distribution. The article happens to mention that Mr. Cohen is currently in preproduction for the movie version of my 'acclaimed' story, so I take it the project is still on track. Just one more reason to vote for my story in the Spinetingler Awards, really. Who among my competition can say they sold the movie rights to their story?

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.

Amphetamine Logic Featured at Chatterific

Gerald So, fiction editor for Thrilling Detective, has decided to feature my short story Amphetamine Logic at his blog Chatterific on his DetecToday discussion list, to which Chatterific is a companion. This is a pleasant surprise. He's also featuring the novel, When One Man Dies, by Dave White. (Thanks to Seth Harwood for pointing this out.)

The Story So Far...

I recap The Story So Far, for the latest episode of Seth Harwood's podcast Jack Palms II: This is Life. You can read my interview with Seth, whose first novel is coming out in March, here.

The Long Weekend

As I predicted, it was a busy weekend. I went to the Decatur Book Festival on Saturday, where I bought a copy of Wall Street Noir, from Akashic's booth and picked up some vintage paperbacks. I left my credit card at home, fortunately, otherwise I would have likely ended up with first editions of Miami Blues and Night of the Jabberwock. While I would love to have them, they would have set me back a total of $450. Someday.
I also attended a panel with James O. Born, Con Lehane, and a woman whose name I can't remember. It was getting late in the day by that point, and my blood sugar dropped suddenly and I had to get out of there and get some food, so I didn't stick around to make small talk or get a book signed.

On Sunday I went downtown to DragonCon and met Seth Harwood. We had a long, wide ranging conversation about all things crime fiction and podcasting, including Seth's podcast novels, one of which is being published in March. At Seth's invitation I attended a panel he was on about podcasting fiction. It was an eye opening experience. The room was packed. DragonCon is huge, and people have no shortage of choices when it comes to attending panels. A lot of them chose to come to this one, and they were very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about podcast fiction, most of which is science fiction and fantasy. Seth is, as far as I know, the only crime fiction writer making a go of podcasting.

Be sure to stay tuned. My interview with Seth will be up soon.

Based on An Original Story by Nathan Cain

In July, my story "Amphetamine Logic" was published in Thuglit, where it got the attention of an aspiring filmmaker named Mitchell Cohen. He's already made one neo-noir short film, Peter's Price, and he wanted to use my story as the basis for his next effort. Needless to say, I was flattered and, after seeing Peter's Price, I was certain he would do a good job interpreting my story. To make a long story short, it's official now, as we've come to an agreement, and a contract has been signed. I'm excited, and I can't wait to see how it will turn out.

The Greatest Issue of Thuglit Ever

Issue 17 of Thuglit is now online. It features my short story "Amphetamine Logic," which will surely be called a watershed moment in 21st Century Literature. Seriously. Read it.

I'm Moving

There are going to be some changes in my professional life. I took a job tonight that allows me to call myself a "former journalist," which feels really, really good. Let me tell you. To make a long story short, I have to find a place in Atlanta in the next three weeks, and then I'm going to be learning the ins and outs of a new job.
This means the my attentions to this blog may be spotty for the next few weeks, or even months, but I'm not going away. In fact, I've got plans to introduce interviews and other features to this blog which will make it even better, but right now most of my energy will be focused elsewhere. Please be patient and bear with me. You will be rewarded.

I got the T-Shirt in the mail today so it must be official

My story "Amphetamine Logic" will appear in the July issue of Thuglit. I'm pleased. I just started writing fiction again in the last few months. I was an English major back in the day, and I considered going the academic route, but I was put off by the idea of self-consciously trying to write "literature." Of course, if I had known about people like say, Victor Gischler or Anthony Neil Smith, who went that route and still turned into crime writers, I might have had a different point-of-view. I have tried a couple of novels over the years, but they've not worked out, largely because I was young and lacked the discipline necessary to get something that huge together. I would sit down and get frustrated that I couldn't knock off 5,000 words at a pop. Now I know that that's an unrealistic expectation unless you're some kind of machine, which I am not.

Bleak House podcast featuring me

Ever wondered what I sound like? No? I didn't really think so, but if you are curious you can listen to yesterday's Bleak House Books Podcast, where I was the guest. You will find that I am both incoherent and clumsy, as I managed to accidentally bang my head against the wall while talking to Ben LeRoy. There you have it: I'm inarticulate and accident prone. Now you know why I'm so popular with the ladies.

Keeping company that's too good for me

My selection for The Rap Sheet's One Book Project has been posted in the latest update. I'm definitely the least illustrious person to offer an opinion. You can tell because I misspelled Meursault when referencing Camus' The Stranger. No, that's not the book I picked. You'll have to go here to see what I chose. And, while I'm at it, I guess I should say happy birthday to The Rap Sheet, since this entire One Book deal is part of their first anniversary.