Thomas Pluck's Blog, page 36

Dave White’s Protectors story gets honorable mention in BAMS 2013

 

Congratulations to Dave White, whose story “Runaway” in Protectors: Stories to Benefit PROTECT was noted as a distinguished mystery story of 2012 in the latest volume of The Best American Mystery Stories, edited by Lisa Scottoline and Otto Penzler.

“Runaway” is a gripping and heartfelt crime story about a basketball coach in Jersey City trying to help a young athlete stay out of trouble, but as Jerseyans know, sometimes trouble finds you. Dave was eager to be part of the anthology I’m proud to have edited him. If you don’t know his other work, he is the author of the thriller Witness to Death and the Jackson Donne crime novels. The third Donne book, NOT EVEN PAST, will be released by Polis Books. Dave is a fellow beermonger and a genuine mensch.

Tagged: Best American Mystery Stories, Dave White, mystery, Protectors Anthology

Strange Critters: Unusual Creatures of Appalachia

Here is the cover of the upcoming anthology Strange Critters: Unusual Creatures of Appalachia, edited by Frank Larnerd for Woodland Press. The cover art is by Steven Gilberts. I’m proud to have a story in this collection. Mine is about hoary goat-man who haunts a railroad trestle … it call it “Pope Lick Nuisance.”

Frank edited the excellent Hills of Fire: Bare-Knuckle Yarns of Appalachia for Woodland Press last year, in which my Jay Desmarteaux tale “The Rock Ridge Ringer” appears.

I don’t have a release date yet, but I will keep y’all apprised…

 

 

Tagged: Appalachia, Frank Larnerd, Strange Critters, Woodland Press

Comic Fusion Superhero Weekend

This Sunday I joined Duane Swierczynski, author of the Charlie Hardy novels, The Wheelman, and several comics including Birds of Prey, at the Comic Fusion Superhero Weekend benefit for SAFE in Hunterdon, organized by Amber Love.

Amber is a cosplayer, podcaster, interviewer, and writer, and she interviewed me on her Vodka O’Clock podcast a while back. She is an unstoppable force for charity and this weekend was no exception. SAFE in Hunterdon offers help and services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, and Comic Fusion was overflowing with raffle donations of original comic art, books, prints, and goodies to support the cause.

Comic Fusion is a cool comics store in Flemington, lots of goodies and friendly proprietors. I’ll be making a visit again soon.

The cosplayers come out to draw the crowd and march to City Hall for a photo shoot. It was a blast, and here are some photos from the event.

Tagged: Amber Unmasked, Comic Books, Duane Swierczynski, Photos, superheroes

Interview at Pankhearst Review

I was interviewed by the fine folks at Pankhearst Review a while back. I was at Bouchercon and missed it, so I’m sharing it now.

Pankhearst published the kickass pulp anthology Cars & Girls which is available in paperback and for Kindle.

Tagged: Interviews, Pankhearst

A Message from Sensei Scott:

“When you take this book from my hand, grasshopper, you may leave.”*

BLADE OF DISHONOR is now available at BookPeople in Austin.  Sensei Scott Montgomery is the curator of Mystery People, one of the finest crime fiction selections in America if not the world. If you can take the book from his hands- which should be easy, since he’s giving it to you- you may leave. I am honored to find my novel in such fine company. Thank you, Scott!

*even ninja must pay for the book before leaving the store

Tagged: Blade of Dishonor, BookPeople, MysteryPeople, Scott Montgomery

Book Signing at Watchung Booksellers

I will be reading from BLADE OF DISHONOR and signing copies at Watchung Booksellers on Sunday November 3rd, 4pm.

Join us. We’ll have sake and Japanese snacks and then we’ll fight ninja in the parking lot.

 

 

Tagged: Blade of Dishonor, Watchung Booksellers

AC/DC Beer. I need this.

 

I love AC/DC. They now have a beer. I am sure it is terrible, despite being “German.” Heineken is German, and I side with Frank from Blue Velvet that it is inferior to Pabst Blue Ribbon, which is hipster urine.

If you have this beer available in your area, contact me via email form if you’d like to engineer a trade for a full or empty can. I am sure shipping beer across borders is some sort of thoughtcrime, but we’ll figure something out.

 

Tagged: AC/DC, Beer

RIP, Tom Clancy.

Reports are in that Tom Clancy, the king of the military technothriller, has passed into the great beyond. Whether you were a fan of his work or not, his influence cannot be denied. I remember back in the late ’80s when I was working at the local VFW, and a vet who worked the weekly coin show handed me a copy of The Hunt for Red October. I burned through it, but couldn’t get into Red Storm Rising for some reason. I was on a big fantasy kick then, and perhaps the all too real fear of nuclear annihilation turned me off to a book about war with the Soviet union.

I also enjoyed Patriot Games, though I found the revenge angle a bit hard to swallow. I also found it amusing that to make an IRA terrorist a palatable villain, he made him a Maoist. Politics aside, Clancy wrote a good yarn.

 

Tagged: death, tom clancy

The Latest Plucking News

I now have a mailing list, if you’d like to get the latest Plucking news in your inbox.

I promise it will not be overly frequent nor sparse, that subscribers will get content no one else is privy too, not even in their privy, and that I will never send you spam. I hate spam. Spam is the flaming bag of dog poo left on your virtual doormat in the night. So you won’t get any spam from me. Flaming bags of dog poo may be received upon request.

If you’d like to subscribe, get The Latest Plucking News here.

Tagged: Mailing List

In which I dare to be stupid

My friend Jay Amabile, behind the Jersey geekdom site The Sexy Armpit (which is not an armpit sex site, I swear) mentioned that the one and only Weird Al Yankovic would be signing books in New Jersey yesterday. At the Clifton Commons, which is on my way home from work.

So I had to go. Who cares that my niece won’t be able to read the book for some years, it is inscribed to her, and that means she will know who “Weird Al” is, which is a good thing. Mr. Yankovic is one of the pioneers of pop culture satire who proved that if you love something, you should make fun of it, a philosophy I believe to my core. I told him I’ve been a fan since “I love Rocky Road” (which is a terrifying 31 years old) and he was a friendly gent, despite having the plastic gleam of those brave souls who’ve made their living in front of the camera for decades. (You know, when people look more like an airbrushed speedboat than flesh? or is that just me?)

Tagged: Weird Al Yankovic