Thomas Pluck's Blog, page 12

Tough Guys Dance: Chatting with Alex Segura

My friend Alex Segura invited me to chat crime fiction and our latest novels at Criminal Element. Alex is the author of the Pete Fernandez PI Miami mysteries, and he also writes comics, including Archie Meets KISS. He’s a great guy you should check out his series.

He asked me about what inspired Bad Boy Boogie.”I knew where I belonged, and it wasn’t Mayberry.”

A Dangerous Dance: A Conversation with Alex Segura & Thomas Pluck

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Tagged: Alex Segura, Criminal Element

There Used to be a BallPark… in Weird NJ

Weird NJ is one of my favorite magazines. It only comes out twice a year, in full color, and is full of the weirdness that makes the Garden State unique. I’ve been reading for decades, and I’ve had a few articles published, but none recently. Check my publications list for what I had in their past issues.

Until I found an abandoned ballpark in the Meadowlands on one of my rambles. You can read all about it in issue #48, the one with a big Mighty Joe Young on the cover (one of my favorite old Ray Harryhausen flicks).

You can pick up Weird NJ at local bookstores like the Montclair Book Center, and Barnes & Noble stores across the state, or at their website www.weirdnj.com

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Tagged: Weird NJ

I Get Around: Two Interviews

Author S.W. Lauden interviewed me on his site, Bad Citizen Corporation. Just two bad citizens talking crime fiction, and in my case, its middle class slant:

I’ve read a lot of fiction from the middle class perspective that looks upon the underclass like they’re Morlocks out to kill them for their money. Fairy tales that middle class shnooks whisper to each other in the dark, that if you wander out the cul-de-sac you’re gonna “see some shit”.

Elizabeth A. White had me as a guest on her site, where I discuss the lives and crimes that inspired me to write Bad Boy Boogie, and to use the epigram “This is a true story but the names have been changed to protect the guilty.” A taste:

I was raised in the same town from whence Martha Stewart sprang like a decorating demon in a cloud of brimstone and potpourri. Just on the literal other side of the tracks, the side zoned “mixed industrial,” which meant any of you suckers who built houses here, well, get used to the Alcoa chemical plant, the truck repair shop, and the teens off Route 21 racing up your hill hoping to catch air. Don’t call the cops with their plates if they flatten your pet, wait until they kill one of your kids, then maybe we’ll send a car.

 

Tagged: Elizabeth A. White, S.W. Lauden

You call that a shank, eh? The Canadian Penitentiary Museum

My friend Andi Jones, artist extraordinaire, Mad Max post-apocalyptic road warrior, Gamma Terra enthusiast, Vault Dweller, and collector of illegible dice, visited the Canadian Penitentiary Museum. And I’m jealous. Because while they don’t spend much time on Maple Syrup Heists (which are a thing) they do have a great collection of prisoner-made makeshift weapons that put ‘Murican ingenuity to shame. You call that a shank, eh?

They made a frickin’ crossbow out of toothbrushes and it works:

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Now,

You can see more photos and read about Andi’s visit on his Tumblr, Black Ray Gun, which gives me a daily dose of Mutants from 2051 A.D. I’ll definitely try to drop by the museum when I am in Toronto for Bouchercon. It’s almost 3 hours from Toronto, but I can take an alternate route…

And if you want to read a great crime novel set in the bush up in Canader… I recommend Rob Brunet’s Stinking Rich. It’s hilarious and thrilling, like Hiaasen moved up north.

 

 

Tagged: Canadian Penitentiary Museum

It’s Vodka O’Clock! – I drop by Elizabeth Amber’s podcast

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Author, podcaster, and cosplayer extraordinaire Elizabeth Amber had me over for a chat on her podcast Vodka O’Clock, to chat crime fiction, comics, this crazy reality we live in, and my latest book, Bad Boy Boogie.

Hop on over to Vodka O’Clock for a listen!

and while you’re at it, check out her Farrah Wethers mysteries, Full Body Manslaughter and Cardiac Arrest.

 

Tagged: Elizabeth Amber, podcasts, Vodka O'Clock

Noir at the Bar NYC, Sunday April 2nd

[image error]I’ll be reading at Noir at the Bar NYC, Sunday April 2nd at Shade Bar in the Village with a great lineup of writers. Come join me, I’ll might be reading from Bad Boy Boogie, and may even have copies with me. (If not, I’ll be at signings at The Mysterious Bookshop, Astoria Bookshop, and Watchung Booksellers in April–check out my Events page).

 

Also, Bad Boy Boogie is out in the wild and garnering rave reviews. BOLO Books, Sons of Spade, Criminal Element, Kevin’s Corner, and Do Some Damage have chimed in:

“Reacher fans can find plenty to root for in this brawler with a strong sense of justice.”

“Burke meets Parker on steroids.”

“heartbreaking, violent, subtly funny, and above all, well-told.”

“Pluck’s writing has an edge of artful realism, when he makes you laugh and when he makes the reader cringe.”

If you haven’t grabbed a copy yet, you can order at the links below. Or ask your local library to order a copy:

IndieBound via your local bookstore

Paperback on Amazon and for Amazon Kindle

B&N Paperback and Nook

Kobo E-Book

iTunes Bookstore

 

Tagged: Bad Boy Boogie

Bad Boy Boogie sweepstakes at the Criminal Element

Five days until Bad Boy Boogie officially busts out of prison… if you haven’t pre-ordered it yet, what’s stopping you? If you do, I will send you a personally inscribed bookmark, and a little something to spice up yo’ life. You have until Tuesday.

If you’re the gambling type, you can hop on over to Criminal Element and try your luck at a free copy in their sweepstakes. You can also read the first chapter which kicks off Jay’s story with a bang…

There are already reports of the book in the wild, so don’t get left behind. One reader called it “Burke meets Parker on steroids” which made me blush. Jay wouldn’t use performance enhancing drugs, and unlike the legendary Parker, he will crack a joke… he’s a little more Grofield meets Parker!

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Tagged: Criminal Element, Giveaways

AC/DC Noir: do the bad boy boogie

If you’ve only listened to recent AC/DC you’d think they’ve always been an arena rock band with a fondness for simple chords and double entendre, coasting on their big hits. But once they were young and hungry, and led by outlaw rocker Bon Scott, they told stories dark as Rory Gallagher’s that rebelled against the shackles of the status quo. Over at Andrew Nette’s Pulp Curry website, I guest blog about some of my favorite forgotten songs of theirs.

One of which is “Bad Boy Boogie,” which I chose for the title of the first Jay Desmarteaux crime novel.

AC/DC Noir at Pulp Curry

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The Bad Boy Boogie Goodreads Giveaway

My generous publisher Down & Out Books is giving away three copies of Bad Boy Boogie on Goodreads! You need to be a Goodreads member to join the giveaway, but it’s free and easy, so give it a go. It is open to the United States only. You can ENTER HERE.

And if you want a 100% chance of winning, you can pre-order the book! The e-book is 60% off cover price. And if you send proof of purchase, I’ll send you a signed postcard and a PDF of the Jay Desmarteaux story that happens between this book and the next. Here are all the details.

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Tagged: Bad Boy Boogie, Goodreads

Two stories on Great Jones Street

If you love reading short stories, there’s a great new app by Great Jones Street that has a thousand of them, all free. They’re calling themselves the NetFlix of short fiction, and their app is a lifesaver any time you’re trapped in line or on a train, and you’ve left your book at home.

My stories “Mannish Water,” a Caribbean crime caper, and “The Big Snip,” my neuter-scooter noir from Lawrence Block’s Dark City Lights that was also chosen for The Year’s Best Mystery & Crime 2016, are both available on Great Jones Street.

Get it in the app store for Apple or Android, and read away!

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Tagged: Great Jones Street