Tuesday, November 14, 2006
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I was about to go to bed at around ten last night when I saw Michael Connelly's face staring up at me from the bedside table. What with Echo Park unread and due back at the library today, I decided to give it a look and see if it would be worth the fine to keep it a few extra days.
At half past midnight, with 150 pages to go, I thought, "Screw it, I'm finishing this book."
But I'm not here to talk about Connelly's sustained excellence. I found something profoundly disturbing there in the pages of Echo Park - specifically, on page 211. Detective Harry Bosch was trying to convince a reporter friend to swap some information. If she didn't want the tip, he said, maybe "...Sarah Weinman or Duane Swierczynski would be interested."
So I thought to myself, well, something highly unprintable. Then I realized I had a new mission in life. If those losers can do it, so can I.
Here's where you come in. Please kill me in your next book, story, whatever. Make me the sidekick, the fall guy, the villain, whoever you want. Shoot me, stab me, tickle me to death, I don't care. Just make sure you spell my name right. Speaking of which, my full name is Edward Graham Powell, Jr. Be sure to use at least two of those elements. And let me know about it so I can gloat in this space.
Bob's Back. When I wrote about Nasty, Brutish, Short, I mentioned that Bob Tinsley's blog "The Short Of It" was a big inspiration. Turns out Bob's been keeping busy since then. He was an early proponent of what's now known as podcasting, and he's been writing audio scripts for an outfit called Darker Projects Productions. His first project in their Five Minute Fears series is available for download - just scroll down to "Five Minute Fears #5: Black Angels".
Ed's back, too. Itinerent blogger Ed Gorman has returned with his latest site, New Improved Gorman. I think I speak for everyone when I say Ed, we're glad to have you back.
Faust makes a deal. I'm a bit late to this party, but hardboiled crimewriter Christa Faust recently sold a book to Hard Case Crime, making her the first woman they've published. Now I've never read anything by Ms. Faust, but I have a stack of Hard Case paperbacks on the shelf, and I can say with conviction that she must be good.
Demolition. The new issue of Demolition is out, with stories by the likes of Dave "Dave White" White, Russell MacLean, and David Terrenoire, but to me the highlight is a new "Crip and Henrietta" story by Tim Wohlforth. I wish I knew why I like these stories so much. Wohlforth has written a lot of good stories but Crip and Henrietta just jump off the page.
Complete contents:
"Duck Hunt", by Dave White
"Plan C", by Jordan Harper
"The Crypt", by Tim Wohlforth
"The Old Ice Down The Back Stunt", by Patricia Abbott
"Things Could Be Worse", by David Terrenoire
"Good Time Charlie", by Chris Everheart
"The Thug And The Three-Handed Lady", by John Weagly
"Wee Eck", by Russell D. MacLean
"Ticket Out", by Colin C. Conway
(Doesn't "Ms. Faust" sound like a crime novel? I'm so using that title.)
posted by Graham Powell at 10:59 AM
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