Shots Ezine now has a blog...

The great UK based ezine SHOTS has a new blog.

Check this out...

http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.com/

Powder Burn Flash # 6 - Is now Live

I just posted Stephen D. Roger's ICED on Powder Burn Flash.
http://powderburnflash.blogspot.com. If you are not familar with Stephen's work, here is a brief bio:

Over four hundred of Stephen's stories and poems have been selected to appear in more than a hundred publications. His website, http://www.stephendrogers.com/, includes a list of new and upcoming titles as well as other timely information.

Powder Burn Flash # 5 is now LIVE

I just posted JH Bogran's THE SHOOTOUT on Powder Burn Flash. http://powderburnflash.blogspot.com.

If you are not familar with JH, here is a brief bio:

Born and raised in Honduras , J. H. Bográn has always been interested in writing. Son of a journalist, he ironically prefers to write fiction rather than fact. In his professional life he has worked in the garment industry for the past 15 years, in the areas of Quality and Merchandising. In true Honduran tradition, where college classes start after 5 p.m. so students can hold down day jobs, he went to work fresh out of high school, and took night classes to finish college.He currently resides in his hometown, happily married, and looking after his three sons.

His debut novel Treasure Hunt was recently released through Chippewa Publishing LLC, the first chapter is a free read HERE! You can find out more about J. H. Bográn by visiting his Website, Blog or My Space!

Powder Burn Flash #4 - Patti Abbott

Patti Abbott has submitted a great story called A PHILADELPHIA STORY.

Take a peak at Patti's offering at http://powderburnflash.blogspot.com/ and read her excellent blog Pattinase at http://pattinase.blogspot.com/

New Noir Original eZine is now LIVE!!!!!!

Al Guthrie's wonderful eZine NOIR ORIGINALS is now up after a long awaited delay. I guess Al has been busy writing or something over the last year. He does have anew book coming out soon called HARD MAN, but you think he would send me a taste?????

That's not important, I mean the begging for a preview. You know when HARD MAN hits the street you will be buying it and sneaking off to the dark corner of your own little world and reading his excellent prose....

In the mean time hop over to NOIR ORIGINALS and read Noir Zine #7 featureing interviews with Charles Ardai (mastermind of Hard Case Crime), Duane Swierczynski (The Pole with Sole), Charlie Williams (The Mangel King) and returning for a repeat appearance Jason Starr (New York's top Noirist). When your finished with that, scroll down the page and check out the NEW WRITERS #7 - featuring Gary Carson, Joseph Faria, Raymond Embrack (LA cool dude), Harry Shannon (Horror, Thriller writer and all around nice guy) and Pearce Hanson (Buy STREET RAISED - One my favorite novels of the year!).

SLIDE

Jason Starr has announced that the cover for his next project, the follow-up to BUST is now up at Hard Case Crime http://hardcasecrime.com/books_bios.cgi?entry=bk36. Unfortunately, we are going to have to wait until October to read it.

The is the sequel to the team writing that Jason did with Ken Bruen. I'm looking forward to reading what these two guys have up their sleaves.

Back to Work Monday Blues......

Well, I'm back at work after having a nice 2 week vacation. It was a good opportunity to charge my batteries, do some reading, do some writing and put up a new website for crime fiction (http://powderburnflash.blogspot.com) .

This year I have set a goal of reading and reviewing at least a book a week and writing 5,000 words a week. I have about 5,000 words after 10 days. I guess I need to pick up the pace. The problem is that the characters talk to me in the middle of the night when I should be sleeping and resting for the workday ahead.

I have finished reading a few ARC's this past week in preparing for some signings later on in the month.

Theresa Schwegel's PROBABLE CAUSE is her second book and in my opinion better than Edgar Winning OFFICER DOWN. You would think it would have been the safe bet to continue with the success of the first novel but Schwegel moves on to another main character who is fascinating and more complex.

Megan Abbott's THE SONG IS YOU deal with the real life disappearance of Jean Spangler. Her whole situation got sort of lost in the day behind a another famous murder of a wanna-be starlet - The Black Dahila. I read it in one sitting - yeah that good.

I'm also planning on spending some quality time this coming Sunday with Jim Fusilli who is teaching a one seminar in writing short stories. Jim, if you're reading this, we're heading over to that bar after the session.....

From the Mystery Bookstore site :
Jim Fusilli presents A WRITER’S WORKSHOP: The Art of the Short Story

Award-winning novelist JIM FUSILLI returns to the store at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 14 to lead a free writers’ workshop on The Art of the Short Story. A couple of years ago Fusilli, who writes the Terry Orr series, decided he wanted to improve his writing by taking on the challenge of short fiction. He mastered the discipline so well that eight of his short stories were published in 2006, many bridging genres between crime and “literary” fiction. Jim will spend two hours discussing the Art of the Short Story with aspiring writers, drawing on examples from his own stories and exploring the ways his short story work has strengthened his novel writing. “Serpent’s Dance,” a short prequel to his first novel, CLOSING TIME, aired on KCRW as part of its “Mean Streets USA” series; you can listen to it online at www.krcw.org.