David Cranmer's Blog, page 78
April 10, 2014
A Strange Letter from a New Orleans Serial Killer
Ninety-five years ago a killer was striking fear in New Orleans. His spree claimed at least twelve known victims though that number could be a great deal higher. "The Axeman" was never identified and like London's Ripper before him, endless theories abound as to his identity. His most famous and very odd letter follows:Hell, March 13, 1919
Esteemed Mortal:
They have never caught me and they never will. They have never seen me, for I am invisible, even as the ether that surrounds your earth. I am not a human being, but a spirit and a demon from the hottest hell. I am what you Orleanians and your foolish police call the Axeman.
When I see fit, I shall come and claim other victims. I alone know whom they shall be. I shall leave no clue except my bloody axe, besmeared with blood and brains of he whom I have sent below to keep me company.
If you wish you may tell the police to be careful not to rile me. Of course, I am a reasonable spirit. I take no offense at the way they have conducted their investigations in the past. In fact, they have been so utterly stupid as to not only amuse me, but His Satanic Majesty, Francis Josef, etc. But tell them to beware. Let them not try to discover what I am, for it were better that they were never born than to incur the wrath of the Axeman. I don‘t think there is any need of such a warning, for I feel sure the police will always dodge me, as they have in the past. They are wise and know how to keep away from all harm.
Undoubtedly, you Orleanians think of me as a most horrible murderer, which I am, but I could be much worse if I wanted to. If I wished, I could pay a visit to your city every night. At will I could slay thousands of your best citizens, for I am in close relationship with the Angel of Death.
Now, to be exact, at 12:15 (earthly time) on next Tuesday night, I am going to pass over New Orleans. In my infinite mercy, I am going to make a little proposition to you people. Here it is:
I am very fond of jazz music, and I swear by all the devils in the nether regions that every person shall be spared in whose home a jazz band is in full swing at the time I have just mentioned. If everyone has a jazz band going, well, then, so much the better for you people. One thing is certain and that is that some of your people who do not jazz it on Tuesday night (if there be any) will get the axe.
Well, as I am cold and crave the warmth of my native Tartarus, and it is about time I leave your earthly home, I will cease my discourse. Hoping that thou wilt publish this, that it may go well with thee, I have been, am and will be the worst spirit that ever existed either in fact or realm of fancy.
The Axeman
A few New Orleans residents were not intimidated and one brave soul, in particular, even said he would leave a window ajar, giving instructions for a showdown. And local tune writer Joseph John Davilla wrote,"The Mysterious Axman's Jazz (Don't Scare Me Papa)". The cover depicted a family playing music with frightened looks on their faces.
Somehow all this colorful history was lost to me until Heath Lowrance sent THE AXEMAN OF STORYVILLE my way that weaves the serial killer's history with my fictional hero Gideon Miles. Now it's 1921, a new world for former U.S. Marshal Gideon Miles, retired and running one of the most popular jazz clubs in the city. But when a deranged axe murderer strikes at the prostitutes of Storyville, and the Black Hand takes up arms, Miles is drawn back into the world he knows so well--the world of evil men, buried secrets, and violent death. Just like old times.
April 8, 2014
Available Now: The Axeman of Storyville (Cash Laramie & Gideon Miles Series) by Heath Lowrance
New Orleans, 1921. It's a new world for former U.S. Marshal Gideon Miles, now retired and running one of the most popular jazz clubs in the city. But when a deranged axe murderer strikes at the prostitutes of Storyville, and the Black Hand takes up arms, Miles is drawn back into the world he knows so well--the world of evil men, buried secrets, and violent death. Just like old times. THE AXEMAN OF STORYVILLE by Heath Lowrance is available as an ebook for $0.99. Please note that Axeman will be a free download, tomorrow, for a limited time and the print version follows in about a week. Both formats contain an excerpt from Wayne D. Dundee's The Empty Badge, the latest Cash Laramie adventure, found in Trails of the Wild . Trails also contains six short stories from the talents of Patti Abbott, Evan Lewis, Matthew Pizzolato, James Reasoner, Kieran Shea, and Chuck Tyrell.
So, there you go, Cash & Miles are back!
Coming Soon: The Axeman of Storyville (Cash Laramie & Gideon Miles Series) by Heath Lowrance
New Orleans, 1921. It's a new world for former U.S. Marshal Gideon Miles, now retired and running one of the most popular jazz clubs in the city. But when a deranged axe murderer strikes at the prostitutes of Storyville, and the Black Hand takes up arms, Miles is drawn back into the world he knows so well--the world of evil men, buried secrets, and violent death. Just like old times.
April 7, 2014
Heath Lowrance, Hawthorne, and Gideon Miles
Heath Lowrance has an insightful post called The Sloppy Beginnings of Hawthorne. I enjoyed reading more of the backstory on a character I've had the pleasure to publish through BEAT to a PULP. Tales of a Weirder West collects all the Hawthorne titles in one compact collection. And, very soon, Heath takes another stab (unintended pun, really) at Gideon Miles in The Axeman of Storyville. Here's the description:New Orleans, 1921. It's a new world for former U.S. Marshal Gideon Miles, now retired and running one of the most popular jazz clubs in the city. But when a deranged ax murderer strikes at the prostitutes of Storyville, and the Black Hand takes up arms, Miles is drawn back into the world he knows so well-- the world of evil men, buried secrets, and violent death. Just like old times...
April 5, 2014
A Wild West Primer
I'm at Criminal Element (writing as Edward A. Grainger) with an article titled From Henry Fonda to Jeff Bridges: A Wild West Primer. I've come up with a list that represents something better than the preconceived notion of the dusty, old genre. You know, a primer of sorts for beginners, or hardened vets. Of course, I'd like you to drop a few of your favorite titles in the comments section.
April 4, 2014
The Year I Died Seven Times Book #3
Dying twice hasn’t deterred Ridley from finding the love of his life. The mystery deepens and the action increases as Ridley enlists the help of old buddy CJ for a return trip to New York. There, he’ll encounter vicious gun dealers, some familiar faces (not in a good way) and an old friend who may be able to help find Miho. This time he’s walking straight into the Lion’s den in search of answers. Death awaits, but that’s just the kind of year Ridley’s having.
The Year I Died Seven Times Book #3 is now available and will be offered as a free download beginning 4/6/14.
Get caught up with books 1 & 2 and be on the lookout for book #4 in June.
April 3, 2014
The Next Day
I was cleaning out my word documents and found this 'review' I wrote last May and never posted. At that time, I was going through what I considered a difficult stretch in my life. I would find out less than a month later how much more horrifying it could become.
I played The Next Day again and stand by that its a solid piece of music. Here's my belated (rough draft/no polish) take:
Review: THE NEXT DAY by David Bowie
I’ve learned to not review music because since I can’t carry a tune I will end up giving tribute like “this album (hell I’m not even sure what to put there) is really, really good” or “it sucks” or something equally inane. But Mr. Bowie’s latest helped me quite a bit over a long Memorial Day weekend and if I begin by saying this isn’t a musical review but a post for like-minded fans who may not have picked up his latest assortment of songs—then that would be ok, right? So with that aside, and since I can’t see you nodding, here we go:
My first two CDs I bought was Rewind by the Rolling Stones and ChangesBowie. I was working at Ames Department stores and this had to be 1989/1990 or thereabouts. I had been a fan of David Bowie, like everyone else of my generation with the Let’s Dance (1983) LP. And yes, that was bought as an album. (But CDs were the new rage and, let’s digress even farther, I remember they came in these long cardboard cases that were eventually declared a waste of tree and eventually shrink wrapped in nothing but plastic. So I purchased them with my pathetic pay check and once I got off the swing shift and headed home around 9:30 and played “Changes,” “Suffragette City,” and “Heroes” to… well not death because this was a CD after all the new music form was billed as indestructible. )
Out of all the phases of Mr. Bowie’s career it was that late 70’s period referred to as the Berlin era that cut the deepest with this fan. Though I appreciated the earlier glam and later 80’s pop it was the 1976-’79 era that I related to the most. I just checked Wikipedia to find this sentence, “Like Low, "Heroes"evinced the zeitgeist of the Cold War, symbolized by the divided city of Berlin.” Yeah, that and I thought the songs were really, really damn good. Since ChangesBowie I have bought every release hoping to find an album that returned to that style but Bowie, like Dylan, doesn’t retread and instead created new landscapes with Heathen, Hours, Reality, and now The Next Day. I played his latest (bought on the Kindle Fire) in an endless loop for three days. Days of long, long deliberations on my part and where Mr. Bowie’s vision of the now came through on a wave of pulsating positive rhythmic beats.* My favorite is “The Stars (Are Out Tonight” with the heavens bustling with activity: "We will never be rid of these stars,” Bowie sings “But I hope they live forever."
What keeps David Bowie relevant to me is he continues to write adult lyrics that doesn't resort to entertaining the teen set or fall in the overly wrought sugar sentiment of the adult radio scene. Bowie writes for the over forty set who still appreciate the guitars and drums of our youth. With the release of his latest his website stated “David is the kind of artist who writes and performs what he wants when he wants ... when he has something to say as opposed to something to sell.” Working on this not a review I see that Tony Visconti who produced those Berlin era LPs worked on The Next Day. Well there you go. No wonder it hits the mark so well.The New York Times called the album "Bowie's twilight masterpiece". Well he’s only 66 and I’m hoping he’s productive for another forty years. So were halfway there.
*no clue where I was going there.
I played The Next Day again and stand by that its a solid piece of music. Here's my belated (rough draft/no polish) take:
Review: THE NEXT DAY by David Bowie
I’ve learned to not review music because since I can’t carry a tune I will end up giving tribute like “this album (hell I’m not even sure what to put there) is really, really good” or “it sucks” or something equally inane. But Mr. Bowie’s latest helped me quite a bit over a long Memorial Day weekend and if I begin by saying this isn’t a musical review but a post for like-minded fans who may not have picked up his latest assortment of songs—then that would be ok, right? So with that aside, and since I can’t see you nodding, here we go:
My first two CDs I bought was Rewind by the Rolling Stones and ChangesBowie. I was working at Ames Department stores and this had to be 1989/1990 or thereabouts. I had been a fan of David Bowie, like everyone else of my generation with the Let’s Dance (1983) LP. And yes, that was bought as an album. (But CDs were the new rage and, let’s digress even farther, I remember they came in these long cardboard cases that were eventually declared a waste of tree and eventually shrink wrapped in nothing but plastic. So I purchased them with my pathetic pay check and once I got off the swing shift and headed home around 9:30 and played “Changes,” “Suffragette City,” and “Heroes” to… well not death because this was a CD after all the new music form was billed as indestructible. )Out of all the phases of Mr. Bowie’s career it was that late 70’s period referred to as the Berlin era that cut the deepest with this fan. Though I appreciated the earlier glam and later 80’s pop it was the 1976-’79 era that I related to the most. I just checked Wikipedia to find this sentence, “Like Low, "Heroes"evinced the zeitgeist of the Cold War, symbolized by the divided city of Berlin.” Yeah, that and I thought the songs were really, really damn good. Since ChangesBowie I have bought every release hoping to find an album that returned to that style but Bowie, like Dylan, doesn’t retread and instead created new landscapes with Heathen, Hours, Reality, and now The Next Day. I played his latest (bought on the Kindle Fire) in an endless loop for three days. Days of long, long deliberations on my part and where Mr. Bowie’s vision of the now came through on a wave of pulsating positive rhythmic beats.* My favorite is “The Stars (Are Out Tonight” with the heavens bustling with activity: "We will never be rid of these stars,” Bowie sings “But I hope they live forever."
What keeps David Bowie relevant to me is he continues to write adult lyrics that doesn't resort to entertaining the teen set or fall in the overly wrought sugar sentiment of the adult radio scene. Bowie writes for the over forty set who still appreciate the guitars and drums of our youth. With the release of his latest his website stated “David is the kind of artist who writes and performs what he wants when he wants ... when he has something to say as opposed to something to sell.” Working on this not a review I see that Tony Visconti who produced those Berlin era LPs worked on The Next Day. Well there you go. No wonder it hits the mark so well.The New York Times called the album "Bowie's twilight masterpiece". Well he’s only 66 and I’m hoping he’s productive for another forty years. So were halfway there.
*no clue where I was going there.
April 1, 2014
March 26, 2014
March 22, 2014
What fictional detective would you like to be and why?
Garnett Elliott answers this and a few more questions. My name is mentioned in the interview and that's always exciting, right? Take a look here.
And not to be outdone, Thomas Pluck talks Ninjas, "Write the book you want to read," and, you guessed it, David Cranmer.
My thoughts? Well, Garnett and Pluck are damn fine human beings and I owe them so many rounds of beer that I really need to start selling a few more books. *Hint*
And not to be outdone, Thomas Pluck talks Ninjas, "Write the book you want to read," and, you guessed it, David Cranmer.
My thoughts? Well, Garnett and Pluck are damn fine human beings and I owe them so many rounds of beer that I really need to start selling a few more books. *Hint*
