Benjamin Sobieck's Blog, page 45
January 17, 2012
Moral Dilemma: Is It Ever OK to Commit a Crime?
Is it ever OK to commit a crime? If so, who or what determines the line and when it's crossed?
The gray area around this question has been debated since humans figured out the concept of morality. Or, rather, when they identified why they felt sad while sitting atop a mountain of pillaged loot. That's most of human history right there.
It's also a lot of crime fiction. Crime is rarely a dive into the fight between the clearly good and the clearly evil. That's what makes it so interesting. I like it when the bad guys have good intentions, and the good guys have bad attitudes. The consequences are so much more intriguing than "book 'em, Dan-o."
I suppose that's why I found the short story e-book, Insurance, by Chantal Boudreau so appealing. The protagonist (or is it antagonist?), Norm, runs a one-man mechanic shop. A toxic mix of alcohol abuse, strained family relations and a bad economy are running his life - and business - into the ground.
That changes when a customer suggests Norm "create" some customers. This entails Norm sabotaging vehicles in the area, hoping the owners will stop by for a fix. After all, more money means less stress. That means less drinking, which leads to a better family life.
Is it moral to go this route? That's the question author Boudreau asks readers to answer. It's easy for me to say I would choose the moral high ground. I live a comfortable life with my wife in our house. We don't worry about going hungry or buying what we need. But what if that wasn't the case? What if I was like Norm, desperate for something - anything - good to happen?
Boudreau makes her point clear with the ending she wrote. I won't spoil it, but I was satisfied with her answer.
What about you? Give Insurance a read for yourself, available here on Amazon for 99 cents and all other major e-book retailers. After you're done, share what you'd do in Norm's situation. Is crime ever OK?
January 16, 2012
Today Only: 32 Short Crime Stories for 99 Cents
One buck less a penny is all you need to download an anthology of the damned featuring 32 fantastic crime fiction short stories. It's all in Brit Grit Too, edited by one of the best in the biz, Paul D. Brazill.
It's only 99 cents for today, though, on Amazon. I'm going to pick up my copy. This roster looks superb:
1. Two Fingers Of Noir by Alan Griffiths
2. Looking For Jamie by Iain Rowan
3. Stones In Me Pocket by Nigel Bird
4. The Catch And The Fall by Luke Block
5. A Long Time Coming by Paul Grzegorzek
6. Loose Ends by Gary Dobb
7. Graduation Day by Malcolm Holt
8. Cry Baby by Victoria Watson
9. The Savage World Of Men by Richard Godwin
10. Hard Boiled Poem (a mystery) by Alan Savage
11. A Dirty Job by Sue Harding
12. Squaring The Circle by Nick Quantrill
13. The Best Days Of My Life by Steven Porter
14. Hanging Stan by Jason Michel
15. The Wrong Place To Die by Nick Triplow
16. Coffin Boy by Nick Mott
17. Meat Is Murder by Colin Graham
18. Adult Education by Graham Smith
19. A Public Service by Col Bury
20. Hero by Pete Sortwell
21. Snapshots by Paul D Brazill
22. Smoked by Luca Veste
23. Geraldine by Andy Rivers
24. A Minimum Of Reason by Nick Boldock
25. Dope On A Rope by Darren Sant
26. A Speck Of Dust by David Barber
27. Hard Times by Ian Ayris
28. Never Ending by Fiona Johnson
29. Faces by Frank Duffy
30. The Plebitarian by Danny Hogan
31. King Edward by Gerard Brennan
32. Brit Grit by Charlie Wade
Get on it, people. This deal expires before sun-up tomorrow. Click here to get Brit Grit Too for 99 from Amazon for the Kindle.
January 15, 2012
Free E-Book Alert: Buy-One-Get-One Trestle Press Title
From now until Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012, Trestle Press will be having a BUY-ONE-GET-ONE FREE E-BOOK SALE. All Trestle Press titles (including my Cleansing Eden crime novel and Maynard Soloman short story series) are part of this BOGO free e-book sale. Click here to see all Trestle Press titles available.
To get the freebie, readers only need to:
1) Send proof of purchase of a Trestle Press e-book to bsobieck@journalist.com (that's me) or trestlepress@gmail.com.
2) Let us know what free e-book you'd like and in what digital format (i.e. PDF, .epub, .mobi, etc.).
This is the perfect time to load up on free e-books you'd actually want to read. The crime fiction selection Trestle Press offers is fantastic, including authors such as Paul D. Brazill, Vincent Zandri, Julia Madeleine, Nigel Bird, B.R. Stateham and Graham Smith, just to name a few.
Need a recommendation? Pick up a couple of my Maynard Soloman crime fiction humor short stories. If you buy two, you'd get the other half of the series for free. You may also want to peruse the Trestle Press titles I've reviewed.
Good reading, and enjoy those free e-books!
January 13, 2012
True Story: A Bizarre Coincidence Following a Palm Reading
Earlier this month, I had my palm read at a party by a professional. That is to say, she was hired to read palms at this party. Right away, she had lots to say about my writing - despite my not telling her about it.
Bizarre coincidence or something else? Were there really life-changing revelations in the lines of my palm? I can't say for sure.
What I can say is the brow-raising didn't end there. Soon thereafter, fellow Trestle Press author Alexandrea Weis sent me a message. She asked me for an opinion on her latest short story, Eyes on Tomorrow. It's the third in her NOLA series (i.e. New Orleans, Louisiana).
The topic? Palm reading.
Mind. Blown.
Granted, the palms in this story are on the feet instead of the hand. That's right. Foot palm reading. I'd never heard of such a thing.
Neither had Harry Elliot, the short story's hapless protagonist. He's a corporate drone who tosses astrology and fortune-telling into the void that is his life. He's on the paying side, though, a sap who'll put cash down for any flicker of the future.
Along comes someone who offers Harry a foot palm reading session. It's the most accurate reading Harry's ever encountered. What happens next will change Harry forever, starting with a loud chew-out of his boss.
There's a sinister lesson here. One about putting too much faith in people who'll do anything for a buck. Author Weis frames the story like an episode of The Twilight Zone. I can almost hear Rod Serling narrating the openings of each scene.
Check out Eyes on Tomorrow, available for under $1 on Amazon for the Kindle. You'll get the full experience of a palm reading without the "hellish" price tag.
January 12, 2012
Review: "11 the Hard Way" by Graham Smith
Let's get this out of the way first. 11 the Hard Way is not the novel adaptation of a porno. It's a collection of 11 short stories from crime author Graham Smith. It's way better than 40 e-reader pages of "oh baby"s.
Some stories are funny, or at least have an ironic twist. Others are tragic. All are punchy in the way only authors from the United Kingdom can write.
Yeah, I'll make a sweeping generalization about crime authors on the east side of the pond. They keep things to the point. Here's your crime story, now shut your mouth before your face gets sandpapered with the grit of another one.
Graham Smith is no exception. His style is blunt in the most brutal sense possible. Like trying to find the give in the hurt side of a knuckle.
On that note, the best story of the bunch involves not a punch but a bullet. One coming from a sniper on a rooftop. He's aiming at an actress who made a personal attack in a public way. The ending is one of the most unexpected, most satisfying wrap-ups I've encountered yet.
Check out 11 the Hard Way by Graham Smith on Amazon for the Kindle, Barnes & Noble for the Nook or any fine e-book retailer. It's perfect for a quick crime pick-me-up. Or a punch to the face.
January 10, 2012
FOUR Great Reviews of Maynard Soloman Stories
Opened up my e-mail this morning to see that author/reviewer Chantal Boudreau had reviewed all four of the Maynard Soloman short stories. She loved 'em even though crime fiction humor isn't her normal cup of tea. It's proof the Ol' Badger has what it takes to reach beyond genre boundaries.
Click here to read these FOUR reviews of the Maynard Soloman short stories. They're available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and all other fine e-book retailers.
Video: Joshua J. Mark Reads from His New Novel
Coming later this month from Trestle Press: The Girl from Yesterday by Joshua J. Mark
Although paranormal mysteries are something I'm only starting to inch toward writing, I find myself interested in reading more of it after watching this video. Joshua J. Mark's The Girl from Yesterday is set to hit digital bookshelves later this month.
His delivery in this video really draws me into the story. Reminds me of someone reading Poe next to a bonfire. Mark could find success in audiobooks, don't you think?
The synopsis of The Girl from Yesterday:
Rebecca Pender has never been to the small, haunted village of Galen's Mills before in her life - or has she? Sent to live with her father in upstate New York, following her parent's divorce, Rebecca can't help feeling she's seen the village before. Her feelings intensify after she visits the ruined mansion on the hill and the, even more, after she meets the strange girl, Clarice, with the faraway accent and the odd mannerisms. Rebecca begins to think she's going crazy as she increasingly remembers events she knows she never lived through. In her determination to discover what's going on in Galen's Mills, and to find out the true identity of Clarice, Rebecca uncovers the mystery of the girl from yesterday.
Keep up with author Mark by friending him on facebook.
January 9, 2012
How a Jaded Crime Author Got His Mojo Back
Dan Coleman and I share a storied history in a certain way. We're both CrimeSpace members, refugees from the Shadow Line Press debacle and now authors on the Trestle Press roster. Following the whole Shadow Line Press mess, Dan had some doubts about whether to keep at the crime fiction thing. I don't blame him. So did I.
Then Trestle Press came to town. Fellow crime author B.R. Stateham signed up with this forward-thinking indie press. I jumped on board soon after seeing what innovative things Giovanni Gelati and crew were doing, specifically after listening to a G-Zone podcast show. I signed up, then pulled as many other ex-Shadow Line Press authors with me. This included David Hoof and, most recently, Dan Coleman.
Thank goodness Dan is back on the crime fiction scene. I missed his blunt style on the CrimeSpace boards. He's got the resume to back up what he's writing, something I always admire.
Here's his bio from Amazon, under the name D.L. Coleman.
D.L. Coleman is a native of Tidewater, Virginia, and has lived half his life in the Carolinas, North and South. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps in the early-mid-'60s and attended Christopher Newport College of the College of William & Mary, then later graduated from CNC in Political Science. He was the founder of the International Crime Study Club in the early 1980s and has a long-standing interest in cold cases of murder and missing persons. His writing includes literary and mystery novels. This is his first published mystery novel. Currently, he is temporarily retired and lives with his family in North Carolina.
Nothing beats a crime author who's actually pursued real-world mysteries. He has the chops, and let's the world know it in his new novel, Killer Story.
What's cool about Killer Story is it's being released in 99-cent installments. It's like following a mini-series on TV. Just another way e-books are changing the landscape of publishing.
Here's what Killer Story is all about:
P.I. Wray Larrick, at the request of his former girlfriend, a beautiful t.v. reporter, goes to North Carolina to help the Carolina Storms ownership of the women's professional basketball team investigate the inexplicable murder of their superstar franchise player and immediately finds himself in a sinister world of rich, powerful women, either of whom, among others, could be the killer with reason to gain or lose from the victim's death. But on arrival, Wray quickly focuses his suspicions on the renown super coach, who at every turn proves herself a chronic liar with a faked alibi. In a case that takes him from the beaches of the Crystal Coast, to the bayous of Louisiana, to Philadelphia, and back down south, Wray follows his instincts and the trail directly to his suspect's door, only to discover, almost too late, that things are not always the way they first seem.
Dan was nice enough to send me a sneak peak of this series, and I can guarantee it'll have you hungry for the next installment. You're going to find P.I. Wray Larrick's case intriguing even if you've never watched a WNBA game.
Click here to check out the first installment of Killer Story yourself from Amazon. It's also available at all major e-book retailers. Cheers, Dan!
January 6, 2012
Video: Hussies Beware of Loretta Lynn
If this doesn't prove my theory that country music has the best crime story songs, then I don't know what will. Hussies, stay the hell away from Loretta Lynn. She's a bonafide ass kicker. If you didn't know that, you will when she
(A hat tip to this site for bringing this gem back to my attention)
Barnes & Noble to Sell Off the Nook?
Bad news. Barnes & Noble is hinting it might sell the Nook brand. "Exploring options" is corporate speak for "give the gravediggers fancy new boots so it looks better when we die."
If this is the case, I'd be pretty bummed. I own a Nook, and enjoy that I can bring it into a Barnes & Noble for some freebies while my wife peruses the print products. Maybe that's what's killing its business, I don't know. Ever since they cut shelf space last year, Barnes & Noble seems to be getting ready to throw in the towel. Selling off the remaining profitable part of its business seems too stupid to be anything else.
I wonder what would happen to my catalog of crime fiction on Barnes & Noble's website. Maybe it'd be taken apart word by word, sent to China, rebuilt and sent back to the United States. Seems that's a requirement of any tanking business.
What do you think? Click here to read an article about this news.
