Thomas Pluck's Blog, page 18

Unloaded: Crime Writers Writing Without Guns

Have you tried writing with a gun? It’s clumsy, and sometimes you shoot off your dangling participle. Jokes aside, Eric Beetner challenged a bunch of us to write a crime story without using guns. And look who stepped up:

Besides my latest Denny the Dent story “The Final Encore of Moody Joe Shaw,” you’ve got J-CO, Mr. Lansdale, Hilary Davidson, Alison Gaylin, Kelli Stanley, Reed Farrel Coleman, Holly West…

not to mention J.L. Abramo, Patricia Abbott, Trey R. Barker, Eric Beetner, Alec Cizak, Joe Clifford, Angel Luis Colón, Paul J. Garth, Kent Gowran, Rob Hart, Jeffery Hess, Grant Jerkins, S.W. Lauden, Tim O’Mara, Tom Pitts, Keith Rawson, and Ryan Sayles.

All proceeds go to States United To Prevent Gun Violence.

The Washington Post gave it a look-see, and Publisher’s Weekly gave it a review as well:

Right now it’s only available for pre-order on Kindle, but I will update the post when the print links are in. Published by the good folks at Down & Out Books.

It streets on April 18th, and we’ll be at the Mysterious Bookshop signing it in May. More on that as it comes.

 

 

Spoilers Without, Review I Shall

While I could easily nitpick the new Star Wars movie, I greatly enjoyed watching it. My pal Johnny said to him it approximated what it must have felt like to see the original trilogy in theaters; having seen all three in theaters back in ’77, ’80, and ’83 at the long-gone Franklin Theater in Nutley, I will concur.

I had a smile chiseled into my face for much of the running time. There were missed opportunities, and some of it was a little too familiar, but as a whole I can compare it favorably with Mad Max: Fury Road. Don’t make me choose which is better; I’d say that Fury is more focused, because it didn’t go in with the intention of two more sequels. The Force Awakens (unlike the original Star Wars) knows we’re along for two more films, so introduces many new characters and doesn’t give them all complete story arcs, but lets us get to know them enough to know we’ll want to see more.

I’m no fan of JJ Abrams; he’s really good at making cotton candy like Cloverfield that thrills you until you start asking basic storytelling questions like “who’s that stupid?” and so on. There’s some of that here, where a character is given more camera time because of the upcoming Rogue Squadron spin-off, but it’s not blatant and the film captures the wonder of the original movies, at least in spirit.

What I loved:

The background is as detailed as the original movies (which I watched last week, so the memory is very fresh). And unlike the prequels, it’s not in love with itself. We notice a lot of detail while the story is focused on the characters. It feels a lot like the best video games LucasFilm came up with, like Knights of the Old Republic (which is begging for a direct screen adaptation). The fight choreography in The Force Awakens is quite good, and forgoes the crazy anime / Matrix style that made the prequels just not feel like a Star Wars movie at all. The originals are based on Westerns, World War II films, and samurai movies after all, not Chinese wire-fu flicks. The fights in this one are exciting, and the Stormtroopers can hit the side of a barn.

What I didn’t love:

JJ Abrams action set pieces and the lack of tension. Because we’re only just meeting everyone, and some things plotwise are a little too close to the original, there’s nowhere near as much tension as there was in the first trilogy. I’ve seen those movies dozens of times, and my heartbeat still quickens when they are taking out the Death Stars, Han is being frozen in carbonite, and during the lightsaber battles. Here the dogfights are a little more about spectacle, the bad guys aren’t as chilling, so there wasn’t as much riding on the stakes. John Williams is kind of phoning it in, there were many calls to the original themes, but I didn’t recognize or remember any leitmotifs or themes for the new characters.

I’m looking forward to the second and third films, and I hope they keep the faith; in Empire, Luke is not truly a Jedi but he’s quite capable; in Jedi, he’s no Obi-Wan but the Force is with him, and you don’t want to cross him. It would not be terrible to give the new characters similar story arcs. The last thing I want to see is a Jedi who can give into his anger or hatred, and then just go mope and feel guilty about it for a while. The high road is difficult. Luke telling the Emperor he’d have to kill him, that was a tough choice. In the era where Superman snaps people’s necks because it’s easier than dealing with the existence of evil, I sincerely hope the Jedi don’t take that path.

Here’s a photo of the old Franklin Theater. I was six when I saw Star Wars with my father; all I remember is seeing Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru’s barbecued corpses and looking to my Dad to see if it was okay. He kept watching, so I did too. I remember the collective gasp during Empire when Vader says “I am your father…” and the line around the block for Jedi, and how much we loved it, ewoks or not. While my joy during The Force Awakens was not quite that level, it was close. This is a good fun movie and avoids the mistakes of the prequels, so go see it with an open mind and enjoy.

 

 

Tagged: Nutley, Star Wars

“Mannish Water” in Betty Fedora

Betty Fedora publishes stories of kick-ass women in crime fiction. Despite the masculine title, my tale “Mannish Water” is about Hazeldeen, a bartender in Antigua who tangles with twisted tourists and a vicious mob enforcer. I’m thrilled that Kristin Valentine published it in Betty Fedora issue #2, which you can buy here. It’s a mere 99 cents on Kindle and $7.99 for the snazzy paperback. Along with me, there are stories by Sarah Chen, Kristin Valentine, Tess Makovesky, Colleen Quinn, Shane Simmons, John Dromey, Nikki Dolson, Lara Alonso Corona, and Albert Tucher.

 

Tagged: Betty Fedora

Cruel Yule Launch Party!

Wednesday December 9th at The Mysterious Bookshop, ThugLit will be hosting the official launch party for their first holiday themed anthology. It contains my story “Letters to Santa,” which has delighted audiences at a few recent readings, and great fiction from Rob Hart, Hilary Davidson, Justin Porter, Angel Colon, Terrence McCauley, Johnny Shaw, Jen Conley, Ed Kurtz, Jordan Harper and Todd Robinson.

I’ll be there with most of the authors. Mysterious also has copies of Protectors 2: Heroes, which we will also sign; it includes exclusive stories by Hilary, Angel, and myself, and 100% of proceeds benefit PROTECT.

The party begins at 6:30pm on Wednesday the 9th and we’ll probably shuffle off to Shade or another local watering hole for eats and libations after. There will be beer and wine at the event. Peas will also be served. (I’ll give you a book if you come to the event, and tell me where that reference is from).

The Mysterious Bookshop is at 58 Warren Street, a short walk from the A/C/E train and the World Trade Center PATH station.

Tagged: Mysterious Bookshop, ThugLit

Cruel Yule! a ThugLit Holiday Anthology

My story “Letters to Santa,” which made one unfortunate fellow spew his drink out his nose at Noir at the Bar NJ, is available only in the new ThugLit holiday anthology, CRUEL YULE. It is available in ebook and paperback. And don’t worry, just because it has laughs doesn’t mean it won’t rip your heart out.

It also contains these stories by other illustrious writers:

THE SANTA CON by Rob Hart

CHRISTMAS MORNING COMING DOWN by Jordan Harper

MISTLETOE by Hilary Davidson

LETTERS TO SANTA by Thomas Pluck

OKEECHOBEE by Ed Kurtz

FELIZ NAVIDEAD by Brace Godfrey (as discovered by Johnny Shaw)

THE BRASS COIN by Justin Porter

A VERY BLACKY CHRISTMAS by Angel Luis Colón

FORK by Jen Conley

UNHOLY NIGHT by Terrence McCauley

‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE… by Todd Robinson

Tagged: Anthologies, Christmas, ThugLit

Prose! Poetry! Party! on December 4th

Join me and the fine folks of Three Rooms Press at their third Prose! Poetry! Party! on Friday December 4th, at 6pm at the Cornelia Street Cafe in Manhattan. Three Rooms Press – Kat Georges and Peter Carlaftes – are the publishers of Dark City Lights: New York Stories, which includes my story “The Big Snip.”

(You can get the book here).

Join us, I’ll be reading something new and befitting the season…

Tagged: Back in the New York Groove, Dark City Lights, Readings

Paris.

now available: The Summer of Blind Joe Death, a coming of age novelette

My chilling coming of age novelette is now available as a standalone e-book:

Wade and his best friend Red Collins have only lived eleven summers, but the one they’ll remember for the rest of their lives is when Blind Joe Death visited their holler, spinning tales of deadly haints and black dogs that steal souls in the night.

Wade lost his father in the mines, and Red wishes his were dead. When the boys invite this strange hoodoo man into their lives they learn that the real monsters walk on two feet and sit beside us in church, and there is no darkness colder than what lurks within the human heart.

Inspired by the “Silver John” stories of Manly Wade Wellman and the music of John Fahey, this story set in the hollows of Appalachia is one of my favorites. I’m offering it for only 99 cents, because it’s a story I would love to be read far and wide.

It’s available now for Kindle and iBooks; it will take a few days for the rest to percolate through the ether. I’ll update the links here as they become available. If you don’t do e-books, this 35 page novelette first appeared in Protectors: Stories to Benefit PROTECT, as “Black Shuck,” and you can buy the paperback here.

Amazon Kindle

Barnes & Noble Nook

Apple iBooks

Kobo Bookstore

Scribd

PageFoundry

Tagged: Appalachia, Books, Horror, John Fahey, Manly Wade Wellman, Music, weird tale

Announcing Cruel Yule, a ThugLit Holiday anthology

I am poud to announce that my story “Letters to Santa,” a deceptively innocuous titled horror tale that greatly entertained the crowd at Tumulty’s for the most recent Noir at the Bar NJ, will appear in ThugLit‘s first Holiday themed anthology, where it is among great company:

The perps: Rob Hart, Hilary Davidson, Angel Colon, Terrence McCauley, Johnny Shaw, Jen Conley, Angel Colon, Thomas Pluck, Ed Kurtz, Jordan Harper and Todd Robinson.

A release date has not been set. But you’ll want this one. A teaser opening line from “Letters to Santa.”

Tagged: Christmas, Horror, ThugLit, Writing

A Writer’s Manifesto, by Joanne Harris

From this larger article:

But if, as Samuel Johnson maintains, no man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money, there must be a lot of blockheads in the writing community. I’ll admit I’m one myself. Nevertheless, however much we may cling to society’s romanticized views of art for art’s sake, authors and illustrators need to pay their bills like everyone else.

That’s where the readers come in. Many readers seem to believe that authors are earning millions. The reality is that most authors earn rather less than the minimum wage, and when touring, attending festivals, blogging, giving interviews, holding readings, writing guest posts for bloggers, too often give their work for free. That’s why it’s important for readers to show appreciation for the work of the authors we love; firstly by buying their books (as opposed to downloading them illegally); by borrowing them from libraries (because authors are paid for borrowed books, a sum which, though small, adds up and can often provide a welcome annual windfall); and most importantly, by supporting their work; by attending festivals and readings, by writing reviews and joining in discussion groups, and generally promoting awareness of their writing, and of books in general.

Because what authors really want (and money provides this, to some extent) is validation of their work. We write because we want you to care; because we hope you’re listening – that we can make a connection, somehow; that we can prove we are not alone.

Because stories – even fairy stories – are never just entertainment. Stories are more important than that. They help us understand who we are. They teach us empathy and respect for other cultures, other ideas. They help us articulate concepts that cannot otherwise be expressed. Stories help us communicate; they help eliminate boundaries; they teach us different ways in which to see the world around us. Their value may be intangible, but it is no less real for that. And stories bring us together – readers and writers everywhere – exploring our human experience and sharing it with others.

So this is my manifesto, my promise to you, the reader. From you, I ask that you take it in good faith, respond in kind, and understand that, whatever I do, I do for the sake of something we both value – otherwise we wouldn’t be here.

1. I promise to be honest, unafraid and true; but most of all, to be true to myself – because trying to be true to anyone else is not only impossible, but the sign of a fearful writer.

2. I promise not to sell out – not even if you ask me to.

3. You may not always like what I write, but know that it has always been the best I could make it at the time.

4. Know too that sometimes I will challenge you and pull you out of your comfort zone, because this is how we learn and grow. I can’t promise you’ll always feel safe or at ease – but we’ll be uneasy together.

5. I promise to follow my story wherever it leads me, even to the darkest of places.

6. I will not limit my audience to just one group or demographic. Stories are for everyone, and everyone is welcome here.

7. I will include people of all kinds in my stories, because people are infinitely fascinating and diverse.

8. I promise that I will never flinch from trying something different and new – even if the things I try are not always successful.

9. I will never let anyone else decide what I should write, or how – not the market, my publishers, my agent, or even you, the reader. And though you sometimes try to tell me otherwise, I don’t think you really want me to.

10. I promise not to be aloof whenever you reach out to me – be that on social media or outside, in the real world. But remember that I’m human too – and some days I’m impatient, or tired, or sometimes I just run out of time.

11. I promise never to forget what I owe my readers. Without you, I’m just words on a page. Together, we make a dialogue.

12. But ultimately, you have the choice whether or not to follow me. I will open the door for you. But I will never blame you if you choose not to walk through it.

Joanne Harrishas written fourteen novels, including Chocolat, which was made into an Oscar-nominated film. She has written two books of short stories and three cookbooks with Fran Warde. Her books are now published in over 50 countries and have won a number of British and international awards. Harris plays bass guitar in a band first formed when she was 16 and still lives in West Yorkshire, a few miles from where she grew up, with her husband and daughter.

This piece was commissioned as part of the National Conversation, a year-long discussion about the issues that matter to writers and readers. Find out more.