Ed Gorman's Blog, page 249

Sandra Ruttan: Writing Lullaby For The Nameless

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Writing Lullaby For The Nameless

If I had developed a successful formula with the first two books in my series, it was thrown out the window in the third installment. In prior books, readers have seen Ashlyn and Tain partnered on the job, and Ashlyn and Craig personally involved. LULLABY's old timeline pre-dates the personal relationship and has Ashlyn and Craig partnered on the same task force as Tain.

Until LULLABY, Ashlyn has been the most stable of the three. Tain struggles with his di...

Stuff

Excellent article on Robert Ryan on Bright Lights Film Journal by Dan Callahn:

"The obvious precursor of demonish seventies actors like Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro, not to mention Tim Roth, Gary Oldman and a host of others, Robert Ryan created a psychic space on screen where all dark human impulses could have free rein. He would scrunch up his creased, crumbling statue face into ever-craggier expressions of mistrust and touchy dismay, as if he expected the people around him to insult him ...

Pro-File: Julie Hyzy

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Pro-File: Julie Hyzy
www.juliehyzy.com

1. Tell us about your current novel (or project).

I'd love to! My third White House Chef Mystery, Eggsecutive Orders, just came out in January. The series features chef Olivia (Ollie) Paras who feeds the First Family and occasionally saves the world. This third book is set in the week leading up to the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. Not exactly mysterious, right? But … Ollie is also dealing with the worst kind of dinner guest— a dead one. NSA head Ca...

Forgotten Books: The Luck of Ginger Coffey

The Luck of Ginger Coffey by Brian Moore

When I was but a lad I read an interview with Graham Greene in which the master said that "Brian Moore is my favorite living novelist." Who? I'm afraid that the "Who?" still pertains today. Despite accolades from every conceivable quarter Brian Moore never came close to getting the readership he deserved, this despite seeing at least three of his novels turn into well-received feature films and TV movies.

He is a literary dazzler of the highest order. ...

Bill Crider; Philip K. Dick; Max Allan Collins; Literary Magazines

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For the past twenty-four hours I've been hearing about this big secret about Bill Crider. I assumed it had to do with a book Bill would soon announce was ready for publication--and one that had won him a six figure contract. Seriously. Well this supposed book that WAS announced is funny but I sincerely wish Bill had gotten that six figure deal I had in mind. He's well worth it--one of the finest writers I know--and it's about time. But I have to say even if they didn't make him any money thes...

Pro-File: J.T. Ellison

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Coming February 23


J.T. Ellison:


1. Tell us about your current novel (or project).

THE COLD ROOM (2/23/2010) is the fourth novel in the Taylor Jackson series. It delves into some of the most difficult material I've ever had to research – necrophilia and adoption. It took me into worlds I didn't know existed, but that's the whole point to writing, isn't it?

2. Can you give a sense of what you're working on no...

Memory by Donald E. Westlake

About the time I reached the middle of Donald Westlake's novel Memory (to be published in March by Hard Case Crime) I started wondering what his career would have been like if this extraordinary novel had been published in its time (1963) and won the recognition and acclaim it deserved.

The man we follow through the labyrinthine twists of this dark journey has no real idea of who he was. It's amnesia but of a special kind. Memories come at him like attacks. He fears them. Is he running from s...

The whole truth and nothing but the--well, sorta

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Ed here: Gawker ran an excerpt from Shocking True Story: by Henry E. Scott, the tale of the rise and fall of Confidential magazine, the "TMZ of the 50s" as somebody wrote today. People my age probably remember the lurid covers and the gasp-worthy headlines. While some of their stories contained a few facts some contained none. Liberace was among the first to sue them. They'd hinted he was gay. Yes. He won the case. This gave courage to others. I believe a few careers were damaged or maybe ev...

New Books-DEAD AIR by Mary Kennedy

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From Mary Kennedy:



Can you sell a book in five words? Yes! My darling agent sold DEAD AIR to Penguin on the basis of this high concept pitch: Frasier meets Murder She Wrote. These five magical words landed a 3 book deal for a Penguin mystery series called The Talk Radio Mysteries.

Like every writer I know, I borrowed from my own background to create the character of Maggie Walsh, the "shrink turned radio talk show host" in Dead Air. In real life (which really is stranger than fiction!)...

Gail Cross

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Back in the early eighties--maybe 1981--Carol asked me if I'd look at the sample advertising of a young woman she'd met. I then had a tiny agency of my own. I had no idea what to expect. But when I sat down with Gail Cross to look at her book I couldn't believe that the only job any local art director had offered her was paste-up (a now-forgotten term thanks to computers). She had the best book I'd ever seen.

Very quickly Gail's work became our primary asset. She not only created fantastic ad...