Once upon a time in the West

I remember thinking, a long time ago, that the private eyes of the 30s, 40s and 50s and the Dirty Harrys and Paul Herseys of the 70s - and all the hardboiled characters in the middle and since - all these guys are the descendants of the gunslingers who roamed the Old West. They traded their trusty steeds for muscle cars and their Walker Colts for Smith and Wesson .44 magnums, but deep down, they are the same guys.

So it makes sense I am now writing a Western. Deke Rivers, my country music songwriter turned detective, is taking a hard-earned hiatus (after two novels and a dozen short stories), and my new guy, Kyle Williams Lees, is riding into town with a gun on his hip, a chip on his shoulder and a score to settle.

I've been rewatching all the old films - lots of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood - and rereading all the old books - Grey, L'Amour, Shaeffer, Kelton, Boggs, Randisi - and I am having a blast.

I am interested to see how things turn out. I'll let you know. :-)

What's out there:

• "Are You Lonesome Tonight" at Thrilling Detective (7/31)
• "Publish or Perish" at Thuglit (11/3)
• "Twenty-Ten" at Spinetingler (10/30)
• "Drainpipe," "Shoes," and "Trunks" at Alfred Hitchcock (various)
• "Hate Crime" soon to be at Writer's Digest Short Short Contest
• "Unmarked Grave" at Fear and Trembling (9/30)
• "The Growth" with Birds producer for possible screenplay adaptation

The drawing board is cluttered with stuff, too, but no point listing it.

The new novel, Didn't Hear Nobody Die, is between 15-20,000 words, but a little too rambling. I am going to cut some fat and (for the first time) intersperse some third person chapters, ala Patterson. I really want this to be a lean, fast-paced, laser-focused race to the finish.

Songs? One. "Don't Bury Me," a blues number for my old friend John D'Amato.

That's the contents of the nutshell. For now.

"Bad to the Corps" published in A Twist of Noir

Nick Xenagos is an ex-Marine working as a private detective in Boston. His client, Claire, is a breathtakingly beautiful babe with a troubled past that has come back to haunt her. It's Nick's job to perform the exorcism.

Check out "Bad to the Corps" on the ultra-cool A Twist of Noir.

Recent Publications and Possibilities

Here are the recent publications:

• "Nothing You Can Do" in Beat to a Pulp
• "Avenging Angel" in Plots with Guns
• "C. C. Rider" in Pulp Pusher
• "Number One with a Bullet" in Hardboiled

Not so recent, but cool:

• "Redhead and Dead" in Lunacy: The Best of the Cornell Lunatic
• "Detestable Vegetables" in I Invited a Dragon to Dinner

What's out there now:

• "Bad to the Corps" being considered by A Twist of Noir
• "Are You Lonesome Tonight" being considered by Thrilling Detective
• "Twenty-Ten" being considered by Esquire

Novels, done or in the works:

• Cold, Cold Heart
• So Lonesome I Could Die
• Didn't Hear Nobody Die (work in progress)

So that's what I've been up to. More to come.

"Nothing You Can Do" published in Beat to a Pulp

What happens when a corporate badass hooks up with his ultra-sultry assistant to rescue her sister out of an abusive relationship? Read "Nothing You Can Do" in Beat to a Pulp to find out.

The story takes place in Boston, and it provides a powerful lesson is the art of problem solving -- the old-fashioned way.

The moral of the story? There are certain people you should never tell "There's nothing you can do."

"Avenging Angel" published in Plots with Guns

I'm a little late putting this up (it's been about seven months since I posted anything, actually), but better late than never.

Check out "Avenging Angel" is the ultra-hardboiled Plots with Guns.

The story features my old pal, Deke Rivers, and his schizophrenic sidekick, Jeremiah Folsome. There's a man in need of killing, a bad man who does bad things, so Deke takes it upon himself to patch a little loophole in the law with a .50 caliber hunk of lead.

Case closed. :-)

"C.C. Rider" published in Pulp Pusher

My story, "C.C. Rider" is now live on PulpPusher.com.

It's a little ditty about a girl and a guy and a gun. Actually, there are lots of guns. The girl is Clarissa Carrington, who graced many an old story of mine. The guy is Jefferson Thomas, a guy with a big heart and an IQ that pales in comparison.

Check it out. It's not bad, if I say so myself.