Summer Reading: Capsule Reviews

Finally, with school behind me for the summer, I’ve been able to get to some reading. First up was catching up on some of the friend/colleague books that I had piled up on my Kindle. I realized I have some talented friends. Here are some capsule reviews, in reverse order to the time frame in which I read them.

The Drifter Detective, by Garnett Elliott:  This is from Beat to a Pulp, a small press publishing juggernaut.

Jack Laramie is a descendant of Cash Laramie, known as the Outlaw Marshall. Cash was a lawman and Jack is in a similar business, working as a private eye. He limps into a small Texas town with a truck that's falling apart under him and gets a job working for the local sheriff. Everything is not as it seems, though, and those who try to use a Laramie soon find they've got a tiger by the tail. Note, in length, this is between a long short story and a novella.

Link is Here: http://www.amazon.com/Drifter-Detective-Jack-Laramie-ebook/dp/B00BVRQWMQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1369599023&sr=1-1&keywords=The+drifter+detective

Hard Case, by Bernard Lee DeLeo:

This is the kind of book they mean when someone says a book is "action packed." Seldom does the main character, John Harding, sit still. Whether fighting brutal bouts in ultimate fighting style arenas, or fighting terrorists or modern day pirates, Harding moves quick and hits harder. He'd be a good friend to have, and a terrible enemy. Of course, he wouldn't be your enemy for long. You'd pretty quickly be dead.  Note: This is a full length novel. Link is Here: http://www.amazon.com/HARD-CASE-Book-Harding-ebook/dp/B0083NUPY2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1369599755&sr=1-1&keywords=hard+case

Deadlock, by James Reasoner: A Judge Earl Stark tale. (Nuff Said, but I’ll say a little more.):

I'm a huge fan of the Judge Earl Stark series by James Reasoner. This current entry is top notch. In length, it's a long short story, and a quick and entertaining read. Reasoner knows how to get the action going instantly as Stark arrives in a town where a lynching is threatened. As usual, he's instantly in the middle of the drama. Highly recommended.

Link is Here: http://www.amazon.com/Deadlock-Judge-Stark-Western-ebook/dp/B00B0JLIW4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1369599858&sr=1-1&keywords=deadlock%2C+reasoner

Mistik, by O’Neil de Noux:

I'm not quite sure how to categorize this one. A young man in New Orleans begins to discover that he has superpowers and becomes a masked crime fighter. Then he meets a girl with similar powers. They fall in love. Or do they? There's a pretty big mystery behind it all, which is revealed in the end. Good stuff.  Note: This is novella in length. Link is Here: http://www.amazon.com/Mistik-Superhero-ebook/dp/B00AAIKVW4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1369599996&sr=1-1&keywords=mistik%2C+de+noux

Blood and Skin, by Steve Malley:

An exciting thriller with some nice twists and turns at the end. I particularly didn't see coming the identity of the primary villain, although after the reveal it made perfect sense. The hero of the story is a tattoo artist with an interesting back story. I also know the author is a tattoo artist as well, so there is some really interesting insider information in the work. How much of the rest of the protagonist's back story is based on the writer's own life is open to question, I suppose. Note: This is a full length novel. Link is Here: http://www.amazon.com/Blood-and-Skin-ebook/dp/B009FUA434/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1369600108&sr=1-1&keywords=blood+and+skin%2C+malley

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Coming Back to Life

From late Thursday through Tuesday morning I spent the majority of time grading, but I’m now 99% done until Friday, when my next test hits. Yesterday afternoon felt like coming back to life after a period in a coma. I cleaned up my home office in preparation for a summer of writing, created an inventory for all my for-sale books, and actually sat down and did some reading of my own! This afternoon I will start back on Wraith of Talera, but this morning I’m going to put up a blog post and try to visit some blogs I’ve ignored for the past few days.

 

Just as I came back to life I found out that Under the Ember Star had gotten a very nice review over on The Post Modern Pulp Blog,, by Jack Badelaire. My favorite line from the review was: “Overall, Under the Ember Star feels like a much older work, like a battered old gem of a pocket paperback from the 60's or 70's dug out of the stacks of a used bookstore and bought for a dollar.”

 
 

That’s exactly the kind of books I like to read, and remember the excitement of making such finds many times in my bookstore life. I hope you’ll check out the review, and much thanks to Jack. http://postmodernpulps.blogspot.com/2013/04/book-review-under-ember-star-by-charles.html?spref=tw

 

In getting a chance to read myself last night, I finally got to finish a really good book I was working on by Steve Malley, called Blood and Skin. Here’s what I had to say about it on Goodreads and Amazon.

 

“An exciting read with some nice twists and turns at the end. I particularly didn't see coming the identity of the primary villain, although after the reveal it made perfect sense. The hero of the story is a tattoo artist with an interesting back story. I also know the author is a tattoo artist as well, so there is some really interesting insider information in the work. How much of the rest of the protagonist's back story is based on the writer's own life is open to question, I suppose.”  I will add here that I doubt Steve has any ghost companions and probably hasn’t killed as many people as the story’s protagonist has. One can never be sure, of course.

 

Below are the Amazon links. I can't get the widget thing to work today. 
Print version:

http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Skin-Steve-Malley/dp/0987659952/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367419802&sr=8-1&keywords=blood+and+skin%2C+malley

Kindle Version: http://www.amazon.com/Blood-and-Skin-ebook/dp/B009FUA434/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1367419802&sr=8-1

 

And now, off to visit blogs.
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Ebooks and Paying Markets

In case you didn't know, two of our Blog Colleagues have published with Kindle in the past few days. They are Avery Debow with Resonance, and Bernardl (Bernard Lee Deleo) with Monster. I've got my copies.

Also check out Full Throttle Steve for an ebook offer HERE.

And our friend Rick over at The Writer and the White Cat has some very exciting news for the writers among us.

Just a little Linky Love for everyone.

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Interview Part II

The second half of Richard Prosch's interview with me is up over at Meridian Bridge. T'would appear I'm fairly long winded. But you all knew that.

I just finished reading Crossroad Blues by our own Steve Malley and, let me say, I enjoyed it immensely. I highly recommend it. Here's what I had to say on Amazon and Goodreads:

In Crossroad Blues we have wonderful characters full of heart and emotion, one of the nastiest villains I've ever come across in fiction, and a setting that is both exotic and very real. We have joy and despair, and gain and loss. And all of it is written in a highly charged and highly visual prose.

The ending was one of those where you just sit for a few moments after the story is over and let the fullness of your emotions wash over you. It will be an ending that lingers in my mind for a long time, not because it was some special effects extravaganza or some impossible to see twist, but because it touched my emotions at a level far deeper than my eyes.

I highly recommend this book.


Another book I enjoyed recently was Slick Time by O'Neil De Noux. Here's my review of that one from Amazon:

This is a sexy caper novel, and it's a lot of fun. We've got New Orleans, the Caribbean, a sexy movie in the making, and a con. We've got a fake kidnapping, and a real one. We've got beautiful people, great food, and crystal waters cluttered up by modern day pirates. We've got some edge of your seat suspense and some excellent wry humor. And there's some steamy sex thrown in.

De Noux knows his way around New Orleans and around police procedures, and his settings are spot on.

I read this in the Kindle edition but there is also a print edition. I highly recommend it.

Monday Morning Stoned Blogger

Up early this morning to help Lana get her car to the shop. Her air conditioner isn’t working, which is almost life threatening in southern Louisiana during June/July. I thought I might as well get my blogging done early, but alas the internet is running very slowly for me this morning.

I spent a good part of yesterday reading stuff from folks right here in blog land, and I have to say we have some amazing talents at work right next to us. First I read “Corpse Candles,” the new Lillie St. Claire tale by Bernita Harris, which you can find in the collection Weirdly II. Bernita’s story is the only one I’ve read so far, but it was excellent. Some lovely writing, as I always expect and always get from Bernita. This is what I meant in my post yesterday about pining for some beautiful prose. The story is not sacrificed, but there is that little extra that sings.

Next I read some virtually impossible to get graphic novels from Steve Malley. Full Throttle Steve, that is. Wow these were good. The first was Templar, a story of modern day “Knights Templar,” featuring a kick ass heroine named Maddie Sinclair. This should be widely available and I don’t know why it isn’t. Then I read Serina by Steve, which is set in New Orleans. This isn’t an action story. It’s a story about relationships, but the pacing and dialogue were so outstanding that I turned the pages to the finish far too quickly. This one I’ll probably reread at a slower pace later. However, Steve (and I’m looking directly at you out of my computer screen now), talk about leaving a guy “hanging” with the end of volume 2. I sure would love to know what happens in that volume 3 that you say you might never write. Great characters.

That's, that's all, folks.
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More Dreams

Steve Malley has another great blog post on writing. Well worth checking out. As for me, I'm putting the finishing touches on my dream presentation for tomorrow, but between that and turning in mid-terms this last week I haven't had much time for my own writing.

Here's another of my weird dreams:

I'm planning to kill someone and creep up to their house to look through their windows. My vision wavers and is discolored, like looking through a flame and seeing objects on the other side. I seem to be hallucinating. I find an open window and slip inside.

My point-of-view shifts and I find myself in bed upstairs in my house. A sound has awakened me and I get up and go out to the landing. I see a man at the bottom of the stairs. He's holding a knife. With a shock of terror I realize that the man is me. But this me looks bestial; body hunched, hands curled, drool sliding from his lips.

My viewpoint switches again, and now I'm looking up the stairs. I see myself at the top of the stairs, without a knife, but again everything is distorted and wavering. I growl and rush up the steps toward my other self.

Viewpoint switch. I'm the me at the top of the stairs. I realize I can't escape. I leap down to meet myself. The bestial side of me slashes with the knife but I close with him, grabbing his wrist to stop the blade. We struggle, and I get a foot behind his leg, tripping him. He pulls me down on top of him and we go thrashing down the stairs. I switch personalities and viewpoints back and forth as we roll down and down, our limbs windmilling.

We hit the pine-wood floor at the bottom of the stairs with a whumpf that shakes the house. One me stands up, chest heaving, breathing wildly. The other lies still, legs and arms akimbo, the blade of the knife standing up from his chest. I look around the house. Although I don't see any visual distortions it occurs to me that I'm not sure which of us survived.

Somewhere in the house there is wild laughter.

Reading and Referral

Like the obsessive compulsive that I am, I keep records of what I read each year, and I date my reading year from my birthday rather than January 1. Said birthday being today, October 14. (Lana's is October 13, btw.) The 06-07 year was a good one for me. I read 100 books, which is above my usual average. But my total was helped by deciding last year that I was going to read some shorter books and more poetry. The 9 poetry collections I got through didn't take a lot of time. Other than that, nonfiction was my highest category, with 19. Mystery/thriller followed at 18, and then 17 and 14 respectively for fantasy and horror.

The best book I read this year was Gently into the Land of the Meateaters by Jim Sallis, which is a collection of his essays. The worst one was the Werewolf one that I blogged about on September 3 under the title "Altering Point of View," and another weak one was a collection of Japanese Cthulhu Mythos stories that I had to read for a review. The most interesting poetry collection I read was Charles Bukowski's Love is a Dog from Hell.

For the new reading year I've decided to focus on big books, and, accordingly, have started Red Mars, at over 570 pages, by Kim Stanley Robinson. The first 15 pages nearly wrecked it for me. It was essentially an "epilogue" to the story, and I was within a page or two of tossing it before it started to get interesting. Once he went back and started on the beginning of the story on page 26 I quickly found myself hooked and am reading avidly.

As for writing today, I'm going to simply refer you to an excellent piece by Steve Malley entitled "As Above, So Below." Lot of good stuff in this one.

Notes from the Blogworld

A couple of notes from around the blogosphere today. One of my links is to Bernita Harris who has recently had a story published in Weirdly: A Collection of Strange Stories. I picked up this collection in ebook format yesterday and immediately turned to Bernita's story, which is entitled "Stone Child." I had read and very much enjoyed snippets of Bernita's fiction on her blog and was curious how she would handle a complete piece. I'm happy to say I found it a truly fine work. I felt immediately comfortable with her characters. Although there is obviously considerable backstory with the characters, the reader gets only enough to develop a liking for them and to realize that there is more that could be revealed in future stories. I see so many pieces that bog the tale down with character details at the expense of "getting on with the story." This didn't happen here.

Two other strengths of "Stone Child" deserve mention. The setting, a northern forest wreathed in mist, is strong. I love stories set in wild natural environments. Cold in the Light is an unapologetic ode to the woods I grew up running. Bernita captures precisely the feeling one sometimes gets even in relatively tame forests of being watched, followed, haunted. Finally, it's rare to find so much fresh language in modern stories. This was the main reason I wanted to get this piece. From Bernita's blog I've seen that she has a wonderful facility with language and imagery and I hoped she could bring that talent to bear on a complete story. I wasn't disappointed, and I highly recommend "Stone Child."

Also from around the blogosphere, Steve has a great post on setting. I don't think setting gets its due in most work written about writing, but it's incredibly important to me, and not just as a writer. As a reader I adore a good setting and will, frankly, devour paragraphs that simply put me in an interesting "place." I want to post on setting myself at some point, particularly about how important it is in SF/Fantasy/Horror. Steve has some great thoughts about it and it looks like he may post some more on the topic as well. I'll certainly be following that thread.