Max Allan Collins's Blog, page 66

Get Together Now

Last week Barb and I met with Ed and Carol Gorman and Bob Randisi and Marthayn Pelegrimas for one of our periodic get-togethers at a restaurant in the toursity/rustic Amana Colonies. Every one of us is a published writer, though the “girls” tend to gather at one end of the table (after a family-style repast) and the “boys” at the other. Too bad both ends of the table aren’t recorded secretly, because the conversation is quick and funny and very “inside baseball.”

Ed and Bob are my two oldest and best friends in publishing (not counting collaborators). We were all three involved in the creation of MYSTERY SCENE magazine (me the least – I was the movie reviewer there, serving in that capacity for almost a decade….Being in at the beginning and helping mold MYSTERY SCENE has not led me to a cover story there, more’s the pity). What a pleasure spending time with working writers, discussing the current ever-shifting state of publishing. Anecdotes of recent and fairly ancient vintage got shared, and all of us – with large backlist catalogues – are seeking various ways to get our stuff back out there. Mostly it’s e-book-driven, of course.

Speaking of Ed, he later e-mail interviewed Barb for his terrific blog, and Barb is very hard to nail down for that sort of thing, so enjoy.

Otherwise a slow week for M.A.C. news/attention on the web, with the exception of this very nice WHAT DOESN’T KILL HER review.

On Labor Day (today, as I write this), Matt Clemens came down to deliver some materials on the in-progress thriller, SUPREME JUSTICE. We also explored possible new thrillers and discussed the possibility of publishing an expanded version of our long-out-of-print short story collection, MY LOLITA COMPLEX.

It’s been a while since I commented on movies here, so let me give you a very brief rundown on what Barb and I have seen lately:

Les Daniels’ THE BUTLER – a mess, but fun, unless you are an Obama hater.

ELYSIUM – a mess but no fun. We walked out.

THE WORLD’S END – a wonderfully funny, quirky Brit beerfest and a perfect conclusion to the trilogy that also includes SHAUN OF THE DEAD and HOT FUZZ. I met Simon Pegg and Nick Frost at Comic-Con a few years ago and they were swell blokes.

M.A.C.

Laughing On The Lam

The ON THE LAM conference, put on over the weekend in Seattle by Amazon’s Thomas & Mercer crime/mystery imprint for their authors, was unlike anything I’ve experienced in forty years of publishing. The T & M crew flew in 75 authors from hither and yon – “yon” being the UK, and hither being places like “Iowa” – simply to give those authors a chance to interact with each other, and the T & M editorial and marketing team. Editors have taken me out for lunch or breakfast many times, and publishers often have cocktail parties at Bouchercon and/or take authors out for a group dinner. But this was different.

For one thing, this conference was almost exclusively attended by one publisher’s writers. For the Saturday panels, family and friends and some local writers group members were in the audience, but mostly this was writers talking to other writers (and to editors). All weekend, the kinds of conversations usually only heard in secluded corners of bars at Bouchercon hotels was the up-front order of the day.

Barb and I both found it interesting and illuminating, and the generosity of T & M toward their authors was damn near mind-boggling. Everybody had a gift bag with a Kindle Paperwhite in it, for example. A Friday morning visit to the Amazon HQ proved the place not to be the stronghold of a Bond villain, rather a campus that reminded me of a well-funded community college right down to friendly students eager to help (and to herd). A fun, tasty lunch on a tour boat on Friday morning was followed by various Seattle touristy options in the afternoon, after which came perhaps the best buffet supper I’ve ever eaten at an event with a Clue-theme (no “mystery game” aspect, thankfully) in the Glasshouse of the frankly eye-popping Chihuly Garden and Glass museum. The next evening, small groups of authors with a T & M editor or other staffer or two woven in, were treated to terrific dinners at a variety of top Seattle restaurants.

What was perhaps most impressive were the Saturday panels. I was on one, and saw two others, and they were as good as anything I’ve seen at a Bouchercon. The lead-off panel, with Lee Goldberg, Marcus Sakey, Johnny Shaw and Greg Widen, was a hilarious inside look at Hollywood’s treatment of writers, but also an insightful discussion of adapting one’s own work (as well as the work of others) to the screen. I was on the following panel, and the topic (as I revealed here last week) was branding. After the incredible first panel, I decided the only thing I could do to compete was be an outrageous ham, and I opened by pretending that I was wholly unprepared, because I’d thought I was going to be on an S & M panel – “but I guess this is a different kind of branding.” I shamelessly went for laughs, and got them, but the panel was informative as well. T & M’s Gracie Doyle had done her homework and her questions were spot on. My fellow panelists, Barry Eisler and L.J. Sellers, explored the topic with insight and humor. Eisler is a charming guy with a sharp mind, very serious about his work but always ready with a winning smile. Sellers had a lot of focus on the branding issue and shared her approach of really staying in touch with her readers.

As far as branding is concerned, I came to a couple of conclusions during and after the panel. Because I’m lucky enough to have created something famous – ROAD TO PERDITION – that becomes a brand: BY THE AUTHOR OF. And thanks to PERDITION being historical crime fiction (never mind that it’s a graphic novel), that’s helpful to my historical- crime-fiction brand. I also think individual series are “brands” – and certainly not all readers who consider themselves Max Allan Collins fans read everything. Some Quarry readers are not (surprisingly) at all interested in Nate Heller, and (surprisingly) vice versa. Plenty of my regular readers ignore anything that smacks of tie-in. And a good number haven’t tried the Barbara Allan ANTIQUES fare, while the considerable number of readers that series has generated are unlikely potential Quarry or even Nate Heller fans.

But it was Barb who nailed it: “Your brand is ‘Max Allan Collins.’” Thank you, doll. (Yes, I call Barb “doll” – I am the guy who collaborates with Mickey Spillane, you know.)

Anyway, the T & M event was both fun and educational, our hosts unfailingly warm and generous, and I had a number of conversations with editorial, PR and marketing folks who make me feel that WHAT DOESN’T KILL HER is in good hands.

Which brings me to Amazon reviews. One thing I come back from the On the Lam conference with is a better understanding of how that system works. So I’m going to repeat something I’ve said before: if you like my stuff, please post reviews at Amazon. A sentence or two will do, though by all means express yourself at length if so inclined. If you review a book of mine at your blog, post it as an Amazon review as well. Four- and five-star reviews really boost sales (they are averaged, so a book gets an averaged star rating). Marking good reviews as helpful and bad ones as not helpful is also beneficial.

This doesn’t just go for me. Any book by any writer whose work you enjoy will benefit from your positive review at Amazon (and at Barnes & Noble). Do an Amazon search for a writer you like (for example, Max Allan Collins) and look at the averaged star-rating of individual novels. If the overall rating is under four stars, that book could use some love. By the way, what often brings the ratings down is another Amazon practice that is mostly positive – offering a title at a (temporary) bargain e-book price. The bargain pricing of TRUE DETECTIVE, when the Amazon reprints/e-books first came out, helped get a 1983 novel to number one on the Kindle fiction list. But the low price brings in readers who are looking for a cheap thrill and who are not necessarily a good fit for a given book – readers who don’t like mysteries say, “What the hell, I’ll try this.” Sometimes you get a new reader; but lots of times you don’t. Not a good author/reader fit. So an author winds up with a bunch of one- and two-star ratings. Anybody reading this blog knows that TRUE DETECTIVE is not a novel that deserves that kind of rating.

So go back and see what kind of ratings your favorite writers have racked up for their various books, and when it strikes you a book has been under-valued, drop in a review – again a sentence or two will do: it’s the star rating that matters most. Give your favorite books a nice boost. It’s free.

Which brings us to EARLY CRIMES. Right now EARLY CRIMES, not a T & M publication, has no reviews. Nada. I was told by an Amazon marketing expert that books with terrible reviews and lousy star averages do significantly better than a book that has no reviews at all.

A while back, I offered ARCs (bound galleys) of WHAT DOESN’T KILL HER to a limited number of readers willing to do an Amazon review. I screwed up a little, because those reviews can’t be posted till the book is out – September 17, kids! Well, EARLY CRIMES is out now, and is, so far, decidedly a non-event.

So I am offering copies of the book to the first ten readers of this blog who are willing to do a review. (If you read it and hate it, you are excused from class.) Request one at my e-mail address: macphilms@hotmail.com. But this is only for readers who live in the United States. The overseas and Canadian postage damn near broke me last time I tried this. My apologies.

I want to emphasize that readers should get in the habit of supporting their favorite authors and books by writing these short reviews for Amazon and Barnes & Noble. And don’t forget Goodreads. The more reviews that appear, the more important the book seems to potential new readers; the higher the star rating, the more new readers will be attracted. This is an easy grass-roots thing you can do for all of your favorite writers.

* * *

I was one of many authors who noted the passing of the great Elmore Leonard last week for J. Kingston Pierce at his fine Rap Sheet blog.

My old buddy (and editor) Chris Mills did a nice post about the forthcoming THE WRONG QUARRY, including the cover shown without cover copy – nice.

Here’s a fun review of SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT.

And here’s an interview I did that I’d forgotten about, from a December 2004 sitdown for a documentary about crime in Chicago that never happened. I talk a good deal about DICK TRACY, Ness, Capone and Frank Nitti.

M.A.C.

Branded?

Barb and I are preparing to attend On the Lam, a conference in Seattle next weekend put on by Thomas & Mercer, the mystery/suspense publisher that’s part of Amazon. The attendees are authors published by T & M, with some fans and writer’s groups in Seattle receiving invites to the Saturday panels.

I’m on one, and the topic is “Building Your Brand.” Usually when I’m on a panel – I’m scheduled for two at this year’s Bouchercon – I frankly give the topic little if any thought. I prefer winging it. But this topic really has me thinking. In fact, it’s giving me fits.

Why? Because I’m pretty sure I don’t have a brand. I think “Barbara Allan” has already developed a brand as a humorous cozy author, and of course that penname for Barb and me was very calculated, from its folk-tune resonance to the female nature of the byline. Otherwise, I have rather stubbornly written almost everything else as by M.A.C.

And, accordingly, I have no overall brand-name. There’s a group of readers that thinks “Max Allan Collins” is a guy who writes movie and TV novels. There’s another that thinks I’m a hardboiled writer. Yet another considers me a historical thriller specialist. Some think I’m a comics writer or maybe graphic novelist. The most successful of my series – Nathan Heller, Quarry, and Mickey’s Mike Hammer – are their own brand names. For stuff I’ve done – like the upcoming WHAT DOESN’T KILL HER – that doesn’t fall conveniently into any of those boxes, I don’t have a brand at all…other than (judging by some of the advance Amazon reader reviews) my historical brand serving to piss some readers off when I do a straight thriller. I started noticing this on the two J.C. Harrow thrillers that Matt Clemens and I did for Kensington.

Thomas & Mercer have done a really good job in packaging my novels to suggest a sort of brand – starting with the Hellers, they have used typeface, photography and overall design to create a look that is less than uniform but still connective. This has extended chiefly to their reprints of the Disaster series, but also Mallory and even the “Barbara Allan” reprints, REGENERATION and BOMBSHELL (the latter an historical thriller). Amusingly, Amazon often lists Mallory novels among “historicals,” due to the books being so firmly entrenched in the ‘70s and ‘80s.

I should note that a few Amazon reviewers, attracted to REGENERATION by the “Barbara Allan” byline of ANTIQUES fame, were outraged at finding themselves stuck with a rather nasty thriller. Was it asking too much for them to read the description and look at the cover, before ordering? Here is where “brand” is a hindrance.

If you are Stephen King or Dean Koontz, and work at least vaguely in the horror/suspense area, you can publish any damn thing you like and your brand holds up. Interestingly, J.K. Rowling’s pseudonymous mystery novel sold squat before she was outed, but once exposed, her brand has carried it into bestsellerdom, cushioned and boosted by the way the secret came out.

I’m not sure a writer below King/Koontz level can have a brand, not unless that writer creates stories in a very narrow way. I suppose I could have used pseudonyms for each area I explored, but the one time I was talked into using one – Patrick Culhane – the results were near disastrous.

My wife invokes Bobby Darin here, who many of you know is my favorite pop star and an obsession of mine equal to my Spillane one. Darin was a chameleon, who was (as DOWNBEAT magazine put it) “the only real competition Sinatra ever had,” a rock ‘n’ roller whose “Splish Splash” and “Dream Lover” are classics of the form, an exponent of “blue-eyed soul,” a singer-songwriter pioneer in country rock, folk rock, and even a credible protest singer…and an actor whose small body of work includes some incredible performances, like those in PRESSURE POINT and CAPTAIN NEWMAN, M.D” (for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor). Still, he is often dismissed as dilettante by fans of each of those kinds of music (and largely forgotten as an actor), though I have been pleased to see him in the last decade or so reassert himself in the public consciousness. Often he’s mistakenly referred to as part of the Rat Pack, and it’s clear his big-band vocalist persona is the lasting one (fine by me). If you could choose only one singer/musician to represent popular music in the Twentieth-Century time capsule, Darin is the only logical choice, because only through him would you find excellent examples of just about every kind of pop music that that century provided (such British Invasion groups as Gerry and the Pacemakers and the Seekers covered songs of his). But he will never be a superstar in the way Elvis, Sinatra, the Beatles or even Sammy Davis Jr. or Dean Martin are.

His only brand was talent. Oh, and excellence.

* * *

Bill Crider, that terrific writer who runs my favorite site on the Net, has given WHAT DOESN’T KILL HER a lovely and (in my opinion) insightful review. Check it out.

My work as Mickey’s collaborator is discussed in an article about ghost writers in the AV Club. Worth a look, even if I am not exactly a ghost writer in this case. Scroll down to page 3 (page 4 now) for some comments by me and others.

Ed Gorman, another fine writer with a great blog, has published a short but solid interview with me, discussing the newest publications (including forthcoming ones).

Kevin Burton Smith at Thrilling Detective, the definitive private eye web site, has a Quarry entry up. I consider Quarry a private eye of sorts, so I’m glad to see him included.

I think this great video review of TARGET LANCER has been posted before, but it got a new lease on life recently.

I will report next week on the Seattle trip.

M.A.C.

August E-Book Sales: ANGEL IN BLACK, ANTIQUES BIZARRE $1.99

I’ve got the word on a couple e-book sales this month, with two very different (though both excellent) novels.

First up is ANTIQUES BIZARRE by Barbara Allan (that’s the husband and wife duo of Max and Barbara), for $1.99 on the Kindle, Nook, and Sony Reader (check on other retailers for possible price matches). This sale runs until August 20th. Don’t miss this fan favorite cozy! If you need a push from someone who’s not related to the authors, here you go:

Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (on Antiques Bizarre): “The Trash ‘n’ Treasures books have to be the funniest mystery series going.”

Mystery Scene: “You’ll laugh out loud.”

Crimespree: “Antiques Bizarre is fun reading and the mystery is terrific.”

Amazon’s Kindle storefront is featuring ANGEL IN BLACK as a deal of the month. ANGEL IN BLACK, a Shamus nominee and rated 4.3 out of 5 stars by Amazon readers, has Heller solving the famous 1947 Black Dahlia case. Also, buying ANGEL IN BLACK on the Kindle will drop the price on the Audible download of Dan John Miller’s fantastic audiobook reading to another $1.99, which is a steal.

Continue below for your regularly scheduled update…

Early Crimes

A new book of mine has just been published, and though I haven’t held a copy in my hands as yet, I’m told it’s available at Amazon and other outlets, as well as directly from the publisher, Perfect Crime Books.

Perfect Crime, as some of you know, is where the first five Quarry novels are available in handsome trade paperback editions (and on e-book) as well as all of the Nolan novels but for the first two, which are available as TWO FOR THE MONEY from Hard Case Crime. Since the Quarry and Nolan novels the publisher carries represent the first phase of my career, it’s fitting that Perfect Crime is now offering EARLY CRIMES.

The book is a collection of sorts, though primarily represents the first publication of my 1974 or ‘75 novel SHOOT THE MOON (aka WYNNING STREAK). The rest of the contents are two very early stories, written when I was in a creative writing class at Muscatine Community College from 1966 through 1968. The short story “Public Servant” reveals my heavy Jim Thompson influence, and “The Love Rack” is a novella that combines Spillane and James M. Cain techniques. These are very hardboiled stories, whereas the novel SHOOT THE MOON reveals that I was at the time as much in the thrall of Donald E. Westlake as I was of his alter ego, Richard Stark.

The short story and novella were first published, back in the mid-‘80s, in HARDBOILED, the prozine whose then-editor, Wayne Dundee, had requested short fiction from me. I didn’t have time to whip anything new up and offered him these two unpublished early stories on the proviso that they be labelled as such. “Public Servant” was later reprinted by Lawrence Block in his collection OPENING SHOTS (2000). Wayne, interviewing me, learned of the existence of the unpublished first Nolan novel, MOURN THE LIVING, and talked me into serializing that in HARDBOILED. Since then, it’s appeared in book form several times, most recently with the other Nolan titles from Perfect Crime.

SHOOT THE MOON is another matter. After over forty years of this, my memory is shot. But I believe I wrote the novel just before QUARRY (aka THE BROKER) sold. It was absolutely a spec novel, and it was as shamelessly a Westlake homage as BAIT MONEY had been a Stark one. When I was finished with it, I sent the novel to Don Westlake, who was a mentor at the time, and he had complained about my overdoing the discursive humor. The version that Perfect Crime is including in EARLY CRIMES reflects me revising according to Don’s notes.

My agent at the time was the notoriously crusty Knox Burger, of legendary Gold Medal Books editorship fame. He did not like the book and didn’t want to handle it. I didn’t even know an agent could reject a book and was stunned. Finally, after my Westlake-advised rewrite, Knox took it on, but I don’t believe he ever really showed it to anyone. (Keep in mind he later also rejected TRUE DETECTIVE, at which time I fired him.) I had all but forgotten about the novel until a few years ago when, after Burger’s passing, some of my manuscripts were returned to me by his widow. Among them was a suspiciously fresh-looking copy of WYNNING STREAK, aka SHOOT THE MOON.

John Boland, the editor at Perfect Crime, originally intended to publish SHOOT THE MOON by itself. I felt the book would be better served in a collection that included the other two early stories. It would take the burden off the book being viewed as the “new” Max Allan Collins novel. But in the context of a collection, it works pretty well. The comic nature of it is slightly offset by the extreme noir of the other two pieces. Or anyway, that’s my opinion.

SHOOT THE MOON, which is a comic caper novel with a klutzy young hero, may be a kind of missing link to the ANTIQUES novels. Certainly it’s the most overtly funny novel I wrote before Barb and I began the Trash ‘n’ Treasures series (many decades later); and it shares a small-town sensibility. But for those of you who don’t follow the ANTIQUES books, because you wouldn’t be caught dead reading a cozy, not to worry – SHOOT THE MOON is very much a crime novel, with dangerous felons, jailhouse doings, bank robberies, and some satisfying plot twists. Again, in my opinion.

I hope my readers will support Perfect Crime in the publication of what is clearly the most esoteric book of mine out there. It includes an introduction, by the way, that covers much more than I’ve touched on here. It’s a bargain, too – just ten bucks. (I believe ordering from Perfect Crime directly gets you 20% off.) I hope you’ll give it a try, and if you like it, post reviews at Amazon and elsewhere; and if don’t like it, surely you have something better to do than say bad things about me in public.

* * *

ASK NOT, the new Nate Heller, which comes out in a little over two months, is getting some great advance reviews. Check this out, from Publisher’s Weekly:

“In the solid 17th Nate Heller thriller Ask Not, a sequel to 2012’s Target Lancer, Collins skillfully integrates fact with fiction in service of a plot centering on the suspicious-to-some numbers of witnesses to President Kennedy’s assassination who died in the months after November 22, 1963. In September 1964, a Cuban that the PI knows was involved in an attempt on J.F.K.’s life in Chicago three weeks before Dallas tries to run down Heller and his 16-year-old son on a Chicago street after a Beatles concert. With the permission of senatorial candidate Robert Kennedy, an old friend, Heller joins forces with journalist Flo Kilgore, a fictionalized version of Dorothy Kilgallen (1913–1965), to investigate an apparent conspiracy. Having played a part in facilitating the CIA-Mafia plots to knock off Castro, Heller is well-positioned to talk to those who might know why he’s been marked for death. Warren Commission skeptics will find some innovative theories of interest.”

And this starred review from Booklist:

“The third in Collins’ trilogy of Nathan Heller novels about JFK, this one jumps from a few weeks before the assassination (Target Lancer, 2012), when a planned attempt on the president’s life in Chicago was aborted, to several months after the events of November 22, 1963. Heller becomes involved when he and his son are nearly run down as they leave a Beatles concert. Recognizing the driver as one of the Cubans involved in the Chicago plot, Heller sets out to take his family off the assassins’ radar and soon finds himself even deeper in hot water, as he follows the trail of a host of spurious suicides by witnesses of the shooting in Dallas whose versions of what happened conflict with the official, “one-man, one-shooter” version being promulgated by the Warren Commission. Teaming with TV star and investigative reporter Flo Kilgore (read Dorothy Kilgallen), who is on the verge of exposing the cover-up – and its ties to several LBJ cronies – Heller ruffles feathers at the CIA, in the Mob, and possibly even in (or very near) the White House. A master at thoroughly believable historical re-creations of unsolved or covered-up crimes, Collins is the perfect fiction writer to tackle the JFK assassination, and he does so brilliantly, working the edges of the story by focusing on the little-known raft of questionable suicides – all documented in the historical record – and making great use of the Kilgore/Kilgallen character, who was herself one of the unlikely suicides. Even readers who aren’t conspiracy theorists will find themselves utterly drawn into the story and convinced by Collins’ version of what happened. And, best of all, it’s a terrific detective novel, compelling and well constructed even without the historical connection.”

M.A.C.

Quarry in Memphis

Nate will be providing an array of photos that will tell the story better than I ever could, but I will say our four days in Memphis were a real adventure and a wonderful experience.

I’ve been on my share of movie sets – admittedly, mostly my own – but I never fail to get caught up in the excitement of filmmaking, whether it’s Phil Dingeldein and me shooting a movie in a week using security cameras or sitting next to Richard Zanuck watching Sam Mendes trying to get Paul Newman to emote in the master shot. Some people find the process boring, but not me – at least, not when it’s my material being filmed.

Virtually everyone we met on set was great. The crew is a friendly, hardworking bunch from four states – California, Mississippi, Tennessee and (I think) Louisiana…though it may be Arkansas. I immediately got hugs from both director John Hillcoat (LAWLESS) and a particularly warm one from director of photography Javier Aguirresarobe when I complimented him on his terrific work on WARM BODIES. Producer David Kanter of Anonymous was essentially our tour guide, a warm and friendly one at that. But best of all was getting to know and really talk Quarry with writers Michael D. Fuller and Graham Gordy (both of RECTIFIED). Before going to set, I delivered to their trailer complete sets of the first editions of the original 1970s Quarry paperbacks THE BROKER, THE BROKER’S WIFE, THE DEALER and THE SLASHER. I don’t have many of these left, and Michael and Graham were like fanboys reacting to receiving them. These are smart, talented guys who know the Quarry series inside out. I’m very lucky to have them (as they put it) “playing in my sandbox.”

The actors were friendly, warm, and very interested in meeting Quarry’s creator (and his family). Logan Marshall-Green and I immediately started talking about Quarry, and watching him play the character showed me how much homework he’d done. My first sight of him on set, actually, was him talking to a wheelchair-bound Vietnam vet who had found his way to the set. Logan is a charismatic, intense actor but not pretentious. He has the young Quarry nailed, and you have a real sense that this committed actor is the linchpin of the production.

Nate, Barb and I are all big fans of SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD, so meeting Mary Elizabeth Winstead was a big deal. She turned out to be as friendly and approachable as someone you’ve known for years. She plays Quarry’s wife Joni and seems anxious to come back for more.

And Stellan Skarsgard is supernaturally right as the Broker. He’s also friendly and funny, a very charming guy. I pointed out to him that the Broker wasn’t as evil as the guy he played in GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, and he said, “So I am progressing.” I brought him a vintage copy of THE BROKER and he was quite taken with the sleazy paperback edition (and pleased to see his character get top billing). He was fascinated by the terrible mustache worn by the Broker on that cover.

The cast is amazing. Kurt Yaeger (SONS OF ANARCHY) plays a Quarry adversary and had done incredible homework, bringing a well-read copy of the Foul Play Press paperback edition of QUARRY for me to sign. He’s friendly and fun and an awesome athlete (“awesome” in its true meaning). Nikki Amuka-Bird (LUTHER) was pleased and amazed to find out that Barb and I were fans of the outrageous UK series BAD GIRLS, on which she was a regular in season six. She was a delight to chat with, and she too had been reading the Quarry books. She plays the wife of Quarry’s Vietnam buddy, Jamie Hector (THE WIRE), who I met briefly. Very friendly, and I watched him tear it up with Logan on several scenes. Just before we left, I was able to shake hands and briefly talk with Noah Taylor (GAME OF THRONES), who plays Buddy, a character based on Boyd from QUARRY aka THE BROKER. (My understanding is Boyd became Buddy to avoid confusion with the Boyd Crowder character on JUSTIFIED).

The first of two on-set days began mid-afternoon at a ranch-style home in Mississippi that stood in for Joni and Quarry’s house (there’s a pool where Quarry loves to swim). Warm, but nothing Iowans aren’t used to. The rest of that day was spent at a gravel and stone quarry, where Quarry and the Broker confab (we had brought our bug spray). The second day was in Memphis at several funky bars, only a few blocks from our hotel.

Memphis is a great town. I much prefer it to Nashville, even if the latter is where I recorded “Psychedelic Siren” with the Daybreakers back in 1967. I despise country western, as is fairly well known (exceptions: rockabilly and Patsy Cline), and a town where both rock ‘n’ roll and soul music have such deep roots holds huge appeal to me. We did not go to Graceland – it’s very hard for me to do things I’m expected to do – but we made the Sun Records tour, which I enjoyed very much…standing in the same space as Howling Wolf, Elvis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee was like being a believer in church. No remodeling to speak of has been done in the studio, where bands are still recording to this day (or night…it’s evenings only, due to the tours). Next time we will hit the Stax Museum, highly recommended to me by my Crusin’ bandmate Brian Van Winkle.

It was hard to leave Memphis, and not just because of the food there or the ten hours that lay ahead on the return voyage to Muscatine (we broke that in two on both ends of the trip, to spend time with Nate and Abby in St. Louis).

I haven’t spent this much time on set since ELIOT NESS: AN UNTOUCHABLE LIFE, and it really reminded me of how much I miss filmmaking. I am hopeful that I will be part of the process, when…you can’t make me say “if”…this pilot is picked up. Working with these people would be a blast.

And that dated usage reminds me to comment on just how much fun seeing QUARRY produced in ‘70s period is. The costumes and art direction takes you back to an era that remains vivid in my memory, and yet has somehow how become a long time ago.

As I write this, they are still filming, with two days to go. I do wish I were there.

* * *

Something wonderful and wonderfully strange popped up on the Net recently. Somebody posted at Harlan Ellison’s chat site, complaining about writers continuing the work of other writers, included me on the list of infamy, for finishing Mickey’s work. Harlan stepped up and defended me loud and long in his own inimitable fashion. He and I don’t agree on Mickey as an artist, but I can’t tell you what it means to me to see one of my favorite writers – and Harlan is that, all right – defending me and saying I’m a terrific writer myself. For a guy like me, it doesn’t get any better. This sparked some interesting responses (including one from our friend Mike Doran), so scroll down to Harlan’s piece, then take in the responses. [Nate here—New posts will push the older ones down, eventually into an archive. Look for "A VERY FRIENDLY BUT VIGOROUS TAKING-BY-THE-SHOULDERS AND SHAKING FOR JIMMIEJOE IN KOKOMO" on Sunday, August 4 2013]

David Williams is a smart, straightforward reviewer who has been systematically reviewing the Heller novels. He usually likes them a lot (not always), but he has been a huge supporter of the series and of me. This link will take you to a TARGET LANCER review, and this one will take you to a very nice overview of the series from this reliable reviewer.

Another of those “movies you didn’t know were from comic books” has popped up. Not bad of its kind.

This is an interesting, somewhat positive review damaged by the reviewer’s agenda (a rather stunning misreading of the women in COMPLEX 90). It’s intelligent, though, and worth reading, if for no other reason than seeing how political correctness can spoil a book for you. Velda is called “Thelma” by the female reviewer at one point, and considering THELMA AND LOUISE, that’s an interesting Freudian slip.

This look at graphic novels properly credits ROAD TO PERDITION for its historic role in the rehabilitation of the art form.

Here’s a look at Hard Case Crime and THE FIRST QUARRY from a reviewer who likes my work but isn’t crazy about the tough, nasty, sexy nature of my books there (and other books as well). Interesting stuff, showing how you can not like something and do so in a measured, non-hysterical way.

Keep an eye out for VCI’s new DICK TRACY serial releases (DICK TRACY – COMPLETE SERIAL COLLECTION, DICK TRACY – 75th ANNIVERSARY EDITION ORIGINAL SERIAL). Phil D. and I prepared new video documentary material for these (and they include older doc material by us, as well, plus a commentary by me on the first several chapters of DICK TRACY).

And now I’m going to turn the update over to Nate for some more Memphis pictures.

M.A.C.

All signs point to a series pickup

with Nikki Amuka-Bird

with Director John Hillcoat

with Logan Marshall-Green aka The Right Quarry

with Graham Gordy and Michael D. Fuller (and the mad photobomber)

Pure 70s

Kurt Yaeger says “See you next week!”

I’m From Hollywood

Remember when Andy Kaufman did his wrestling schtick, and said, “I’m from Hollywood – not Mem-fis Tenn-a-see!”

Well, Barb and I and Nate are in Memphis, and so is Hollywood. The QUARRY production is starting its second of two weeks, with its stellar cast and director, and we are here to visit. It’s a split day/night shoot, so we haven’t been to set yet. We leave for Mississippi in about an hour. Don’t know what if any pics we can get, but maybe Nate will be able to attach something to this very update. [Nate here: Yep! And there'll be more next week.]

M.A.C. with Logan Marshall-Green (Quarry)

M.A.C. with Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Joni)

M.A.C. with Stellan Skarsgård (The Broker)

Of course, I hope (who am I kidding? I’m praying) this pilot goes to series. But even if this is it, it’s a wonderful surreal event. Think about it. Quarry was created around 1971 when I was in college. And tonight I will be seeing Quarry and his wife Joni, and Broker and Quarry meeting at a working stone quarry.

As for Memphis, we have already walked Beale Street where we ate barbecue and picked up two t-shirts for me to wear in the band. Nate got a very cool pair of SUN and STAX records pins. As tourist traps go, Beale Street is likely the coolest. In one nostalgia shop they had autographed photos.

One was of Andy Kaufman.

I will report back next week.

In the meantime, great news – Recorded Books, at my prompting/cajoling/begging, has hired Dan John Miller to continue on as the reader of the Nate Heller series. Yes, very soon Dan will go in to read ASK NOT.

If you’re a Heller fan – maybe one who read the books as they came out, starting in 1983 – you really need to experience them through the artistry of Dan John Miller. He is Nate Heller the way Sean Connery is James Bond. Trust me on this one.

M.A.C.

Mike Hammer News

It’s very late Monday night as I write this. Just returned from the San Diego Comic Con. Funny thing: I was trying to connect with my friend (and Seduction of the Innocent bandmate)(and great artist) Steve Leialoha all through the con, and failed…then our taxis pulled up to the curb outside the airport and dropped us off simultaneously. Once through security check, we sat and talked for an hour.

I am saddened to learn of the passing of one of my favorite actors, Dennis Farina. He almost played Nolan once, though I never got to meet him (for a William Lustig-directed version of my script for SPREE…still unfilmed). CRIME STORY is very high on my list of all-time favorite TV shows, and I always hoped to work with him. Just last week I was talking with a producer about using him in an indie film, if we could get him. Well, we can’t get him now, damnit. An ex-cop who really made his work credible, Farina was a remarkable actor, and Chicago through and through.

Okay, here’s the news, straight from my meeting with Titan’s publisher at San Diego con: I am signing on to complete three more unfinished Mickey Spillane “Mike Hammer” novels. These are smaller fragments (in one case, two fragments combined), but all are significant…usually two chapters or so with notes. What I am really excited about is the era of these novels: it’s the lost years between KISS ME, DEADLY in 1952 and THE GIRL HUNTERS in 1961.

Of course, the recently completed KING OF THE WEEDS will come out first.

I am thrilled about this, to say the least.

By the way, if you check this update once a week, you may have missed my daily updates from the Comic Con. Scroll down and see what a great time we had – lots of cool pics.

M.A.C.

[And here's the Scribe Awards pics from this year.—Nate]

Kevin J. Anderson receives the International Association of Tie-in Writers “Scribe” award for Best Novel

Peter David accepts the Faust life achievement award for Ann C. Crispin.

Comic Con: Final Day

Another fun day at the con, though it started off at the Marriot Marina restaurant, where Barb and I had breakfast with Titan publisher Nick Landau from the UK and Titan’s USA editor Steve Saffel (who edited the DARK ANGEL books years ago). Many projects were bandied about, and news flowing from this meeting will appear here soon.

At the con, I wrapped up two art deals (cash plus trade) that pleased me greatly, and snagged a couple more books. I collect mostly hardcover collections of classic strips and comics, which makes getting the swag home tricky. The dealer’s hall was the most crowded I’ve seen on a Sunday, possibly because there are no gigantic Hollywood roll-outs on the last day. I was able to meet a hero of mine, Neal Adams, who is not only an iconic artist but the guy who got Siegel and Shuster their monetary due from DC. Nice man.

Our two signings – including the first ever all-3 Collinses signing, at the Mysterious Galaxy booth – went very well. We sold books, and signed books brought along to the con by fans, at each. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the Hermes Press signing of the MIKE HAMMER comic strip collection went – it’s an expensive book ($50, discounted to $40) and quite a few sold. I even encountered a major DICK TRACY fan, dressed as the man himself. Lots of fun discussions with fans and pros.

The con, overall, was a very positive experience, both for the fan in me and the pro as well. I witnessed one unfortunate episode. All of the cast (sans Kristen Bell) of VERONICA MARS was signing at the Warner booth. They were friendly and affable and having a great time. As some of you know, I’m a huge fan of VERONICA MARS, and even kicked in handily to the Kickstarter campaign that has made a MARS movie possible. A row of yellow-shirted guards were belligerently forcing con attendees along, not allowing anybody to slow for a peek (the line had long since been cut off) or stop to snap a pic. These security people were near thugs. A guy right in front of me paused to take a pic and the nearest guard laid hands on him and shoved him along. Had he done that to me, I’d have made the news – I promise. Overall the security people were much better at the con this year, pleasant and rarely abusive. This incident was borderline battery, and director/MARS creator Rob Thomas should have a talk with whoever was responsible for his event. As a backer, I am not pleased.

M.A.C.

Bonus Pics:

Comic Con Day Three

We took a day away from the con (mostly – Nate had a meeting there with a top Viz editor). In the morning, the four of us dined at Guadalajara restaurant in Old Town – a San Diego favorite of ours. Then Nate and Abby took the ferry to Coronado, and Barb and I returned to the Hillcrest area where we took in a movie, THE WAY WAY BACK (okay coming of age flick made special by Sam Rockwell’s performance). In the evening we saw Patton Oswalt’s concert (being shot for Comedy Central), and of course Patton was brilliant – but for an encore request, this was material I’d never heard before. Nate, Abby, Barb and I wound up a fun day at Ghirardelli’s for sundaes.

Big last day tomorrow with a breakfast meeting with Titan execs, and two signings at the con (noon to 12:45 at the Mysterious Galaxy booth – with Nate and Barb there, too), then 1 to 2:30 at the Hermes Press booth.

Nate has a few pics to share with you below.

M.A.C.