Thomas Pluck's Blog, page 70

a kick-ass reader

I'd like to thank everyone who reads this blog, and my stories. Folks who tell others about my writing, I owe you a beer (or equivalent) whenever we shall meet. But here's a reader who showed her true colors, and they are true blue:

Dear Thomas:
Nancy made a gift to PROTECT in your honor on 12/2/11.
Since 2002, PROTECT has moved mountains with very little money. Whether winning equal protection for incest victims in the statehouses of Arkansas and California … or getting millions out of Congress to stop child pornography trafficking across the nation, PROTECT has never had the resources of other well-oiled special interest lobbies.
That's why Nancy's generosity means so much.
Best wishes,
PROTECT
www.protect.org

I sent Nancy a signed copy of the Lost Children: A Charity Anthology, and a story, but I wanted to thank her publicly for taking this extra step. I'd love to sell a million copies of the charity anthology, but if we generate this kind of support for the causes it benefits, that's good enough for me. 



Thank you, Nancy. You're the best.




-Tom




© 2011 Thomas Pluck

Review: Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Louie's story gets more stars than were awarded during the whole war. The man's legendary endurance is an inspiration and shows the brutality from whence a man can rise to do good. It is a chilling tale of political expedience that the war criminals who ran the Japanese POW camps walk freely. The engineers of our own internment camps were never called to task, but these POWs endured hardships and atrocities far beyond the tragedies that occurred on our own soil, and seventy years later justice was never done. The ultranationalist movement in Japan is shameful and I respect any Japanese citizen who shuns or fights it.

Louie Zamperini is a hero and an inspiration. He was a bad kid who did well when given a focus like running; he nearly broke the 4 minute mile before being called to war. He endured, came home haunted and scarred, and rose above his wounds to become a hero again, dedicating his life to wayward youths who needed a guiding hand. As testimony to his spirit... he lives today, in his nineties, and forgave his captors... not to absolve their atrocities, but so he could move on and do good with his life.

Infamy still lives, but heroism lives forever.




View all my reviews

Fartpocalypse

If you need a dose of immature potty humor and '80s metal nostalgia, or if you don't, check out my story "Not With a Bang, But a Squeaker," finally published in fully unexpurgated form at the beautifully designed Schlock Magazine's Apocalypse issue.



They got Marco Attard to draw a stunning tableaux of our four heroes and their dark lord before they embark on the metalest armageddon ever. Meet Carl, Arf, Eddie and The Incredible Hersch as they bargain with the devil himself to become The Four Horsemen, which they only know about from the song on Metallica's first album.



And check out the whole issue, they did a great job...











© 2011 Thomas Pluck

Pluck in Print

I dig the e-book revolution and my Nook overfloweth, but I love books. Real, hefty, books. Flipping through the pages. Slick covers, matte covers. Raised print on dust jackets. Beautiful and grabby cover designs. I thought breaking into print would be "the I made it!" moment. Now thanks to Dean Wesley Smith, I know all those moments are myths, but anyway, it felt great to be in Pulp Modern #1, which is a great collection and available on the right. It's also the only way to read Denny's first and most powerful story, "Legacy of Brutality," so if you enjoyed him in Plots With Guns, get Pulp Modern. There's a story by Lawrence Block, a Cash Laramie adventure, a great Indiana Jones style pulp tale by Chris LaTray, and brutal, gripping tales by Glenn Gray, David James Keaton and John Kenyon that still disturb me.



The latest appearance in print of the Plucker is in Luca Veste's amazing Off the Record anthology, which benefits two children's literacy charities, one in the UK and one in the US. 38 stories total, with names like Les Edgerton, Heath Lowrance, Matthew Funk, David Barber, Julie Morrigan, Fiona Johnson and I dunno, two guys named Ray Banks and Steve Mosby. Maybe you've heard of them. Maybe you haven't, and should get thee to a library. Or you could buy this and get an introduction to two excellent writers who never let you down:







Lulu paperback is available here. 312 pages, 38 stories, by writers you can trust...














© 2011 Thomas Pluck

The Indifference of Heaven

A while back I was asked what book drove me to crime fiction; the first crime books I read were Encyclopedia Brown and Agatha Christie. But what books inspired me to write?

Eight Million Ways to Die, by Lawrence Block; Down in the Zero, by Andrew Vachss; and Black Cherry Blues by James Lee Burke. They all came out a long while ago. I first began to write in college, in the '90s. I'd written a few stories in high school, but mostly a huge and stupid space fantasy novel that I wish I could remember the title of. Dreamslayer, I think. I had another Clive Barker-esque tale called Dirge, the Immortalist I was working on. But once my friend Jack Chan handed me a Dashiell Hammett book- The Continental Op- I was hooked for good.



My first crime novel was of course, envisioned as a series, because the trinity of authors above dealt in series. Burke, Robicheaux, Scudder. My guy, named "Phil," was a heroin addict in recovery who takes a job from a pharmacist to find his runaway daughter. The trail leads him to New Orleans, where he hooks up with a female cop, finds the girl, and her old man happens to be the bad guy, as we all expected. I never finished it, and I regret not following through, but I think Phil is best left simmering in my brain to develop further. He's from a time in my life that is thankfully long gone, and the ideas he inspired are ready for another novel someday, currently called Weekend Irish.



So why's Warren Zevon up there? That song has continued to be an inspiration for crime stories long after Phil went in the drawer. It's about a guy in a dead-end life robbing a 7-11, it going bad, and leaving him watch the surf recede on the beach as he waits for the inevitable. Zevon's father was a small time mobster, and he was never home. According to his biography, the old man was never around and little Warren idolized him. He lived the wild life he imagined for his father vicariously through his songs, and this is one of the most heartfelt. I listen to it sometimes when I need the right tone of melancholy, when a man wants to do right but knows he'll end up hurting someone in the end.



© 2011 Thomas Pluck

Once Bitten

I learned a valuable lesson this holiday weekend. I had been urging an organization and a well-known writer to get behind a project I have planned, and originally felt confused when they said they couldn't get behind it. I mean, I have noble intentions; I have a record of good deeds. Why aren't I good enough?



And once again the answer is it's not about you. When you've been emotionally abused, bullied, or scarred, you tend to carry a mirror around so you can blame yourself for everything. It's a nasty habit that keeps cropping up, and you must fight it without absolving yourself of responsibility when you do mess up. (A good book that will help you tell the difference is The Confidence Course: Seven Steps to Self-Fulfillment  by Walter Anderson.)



But enough about me. This weekend two people did things that made me have to disassociate myself from them. One personally attacked me over declining a promotion opportunity for the charity anthology. I said if she wanted to organize this particular event herself, she had my blessing, and I even informed three other local writers to join her. Instead, my choice was declared a "lack of commitment to the cause." A cause mind you, that I have performed the brunt of the work on, and the writer in question hasn't even promoted the book on her Facebook page, so her opinion means little to me. I spent my holiday weekend fending off her personal attacks, and found she emailed the rest of the writers, souring what has been a wonderful project for two great causes.



Secondly, a friend I recommended a book to, a book that had great personal meaning to me, trashed that book publicly and promoted his review in an effort to drive traffic to his blog through controversy.

Everyone is entitled to their informed opinion, but if this writer despised the book so thoroughly, I was truly puzzled by his reaction. The review mocked the book, and I took a day to cool off before responding. I prefer to save my anger for my writing. I wrote a long post deflecting his petty criticisms and called him out for "stirring up shit" over a 20 year old book that helped define the private eye genre at the time. Is it dated? Perhaps some details are, but the core remains true and strong. I am not going to rewrite my comment, or name the reviewer or the book. Needless to say my comment, and all comments from the defenders of the book were deleted, but his review remains. I find that cowardly and disingenuous.



I have deleted exactly one comment from this blog that was not spam, and it was a personal attack full of profanity and personal details. If you care to read the comments from IMDb trolls I've LEFT up, look for my old post complaining about movie remakes. But really, who cares?



I have to live with my association with two people who've disappointed me. Their temporary failings do not besmirch or erase their talents, but make me wary of their motives. And I understand why writers with established reputations, and organizations who depend on their reps to fight for their cause are loathe to put their name on projects they have little control over.



I've dropped hints that a bigger second volume of the charity anthology is in development, and it remains so. I have a list of writers who will be contacted on both sides of the Atlantic, once a professional contract is written. I'm not letting these lessons stop me from aiming high and making writing about something more than seeing my work in print. They are lessons learned, and I will be more careful who I associate my name with in the future.



After all, a name like Pluck isn't easily forgotten. I don't want to be known as the sheep-shagger, as the old joke goes, but as the bridge-builder...



-"The Plucker"



© 2011 Thomas Pluck

Just Ice

Gerald So runs The 5-2: Crime Poetry Weekly. You might think poetry and crime fiction don't mix, but he'll prove you wrong. I first read his work at Beat to a Pulp, and the tone he evokes in these simple poems is quite striking.



I've been developing a story called "The Ultimate Dis," and the basics of the storyline came off as poetic imagery to me, so I wrote a poem of it as an exercise. Gerald liked it and sent extensive edits- the original poem is about twice as long- and we cut it down to the bone. I like what we came up with.



You'll get to hear me read it, if you chose. To me, I sound like Fozzy the Bear from the Muppet Show, but he gets readings from most of his contributors, and I decided to give it a shot. So if you want to hear Fozzy lay his feelings bare, this is your chance.



JUST ICE at the 5-2: Crime Poetry Weekly





© 2011 Thomas Pluck

Off the Record...

Luca Veste took an idea and went running; give writers a list of classic tunes and have them write short stories inspired by them. 38 writers made the cut, a double vinyl blast from the past. The royalties will benefit two charities on either side of the Atlantic:



In the UK, National Literacy Trust. (http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/)



In the US, Children's Literacy Initiative. (http://www.cliontheweb.org/)



I chose "Free Bird" to develop an idea I've had in my mind for a while, about a Vietnam Vet and his son both dreaming of that "freedom bird" to escape the war they're in. One overseas and one at home. And we've got a hell of a playlist on this amazing collection:



1.Neil White - Stairway To Heaven

2.Col Bury – Respect

3.Steve Mosby – God Moving Over The Face Of Waters

4.Les Edgerton - Small Change

5.Heath Lowrance - I Wanna Be Your Dog

6.AJ Hayes - Light My Fire

7.Sean Patrick Reardon - Redemption Song

8.Ian Ayris - Down In The Tube Station At Midnight

9.Nick Triplow - A New England

10.Charlie Wade - Sheila Take A Bow

11.Iain Rowan - Purple Haze

12.Thomas Pluck - Free Bird

13.Matthew C. Funk - Venus In Furs

14.R Thomas Brown - Dock Of The Bay

15.Chris Rhatigan – Shadowboxer

16.Patti Abbott - Roll Me Away

17.Chad Rhorbacher - I Wanna Be Sedated

18.Court Merrigan - Back In Black

19.Paul D. Brazill - Life On Mars?

20.Nick Boldock – Superstition

21.Vic Watson - Bye Bye Baby

22.Benoit Lelievre - Blood On The Dancefloor

23.Ron Earl Phillips - American Pie

24.Chris La Tray – Detroit Rock City

25.Nigel Bird - Super Trouper

26.Pete Sortwell – So Low, So High

27.Julie Morrigan - Behind Blue Eyes

28.David Barber – Paranoid

29.McDroll - Nights In White Satin

30.Cath Bore - Be My Baby

31.Eric Beetner - California Dreamin'

32.Steve Weddle - A Day In The Life

33.Darren Sant - Karma Police

34.Simon Logan - Smells Like Teen Spirit

35.Luca Veste - Comfortably Numb

36.Nick Quantrill - Death Or Glory

37.Helen FitzGerald - Two Little Boys

38.Ray Banks - God Only Knows



With forewords from UK writer Matt Hilton, and US writer Anthony Neil Smith.





You get 38 great stories by top crime writers and you help kids learn to read. That's what we call a win-win. It will be available in print soon, and the Kindle version is available now:












© 2011 Thomas Pluck

Lost Children anthology, now in trade paper

The giving season is upon us, and you can give the gift that gives to two great causes: PROTECT and Children 1st. The trade paperback of the Lost Children anthology is now available:


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The anthology is now available in trade paperback at Amazon and Createspace for $9.99



It is still available for $2.99 in e-book form, for:


iPad in the Apple iBookstore

Amazon Kindle (read it on your computer with Amazon Kindle Cloud Reader, or on your phone with the Amazon Kindle App)

Nook at Barnes & Noble

Kobo, Sony e-reader and download as PDF, epub, mobi or Viewable Online at Smashwords



30 powerful stories from around the world to benefit two children's charities: PROTECT: The National Association to Protect Children (www.protect.org) and Children 1st Scotland (www.children1st.org.uk). 



Stories by David Ackley, Kevin Aldrich, David Barber, Lynn Beighley, Seamus Bellamy, Paul D. Brazill, Sif Dal, James Lloyd Davis, Roberto C. Garcia, Susan Gibb, Nancy A. Hansen, K.V. Hardy, Gill Hoffs, Fiona "McDroll" Johnson, J.F. Juzwik, MaryAnne Kolton, Benoit Lelievre, Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw, Vinod Narayan, Paula Pahnke, Ron Earl Phillips, Thomas Pluck, Sam Rasnake, JP Reese, Chad Rohrbacher, Susan Tepper, Luca Veste, Michael Webb, Nicolette Wong and Erin Zulkoski.



It began as a flash fiction challenge when Fiona Johnson and Thomas Pluck donated $5 to PROTECT and £5 to Children 1st for every story at Ron Earl Phillips' Flash Fiction Friday and Fictionaut. Now we have collected the 30 best stories to benefit these two charities.




Join us and make a difference while you read 30 great stories genres by writers from the U.S.A., Poland, Hong Kong, Portugal, India, Scotland, England, Canada, and one told by a Lost Boy of the Sudan to his teacher. 




If you don't have an e-reader: you can download the Kindle for PC or Kindle for Mac app, the Nook for PC App, Nook for Mac App or view it online at Smashwords, or download it as an Adobe PDF file. You can also read epubs on the Adobe Digital Editions reader for PC and Mac.

And of course, you can order a print edition!




 © 2011 Thomas Pluck

Smooth Criminals

My buddy Benoit, who blogs about music, movies and crime fiction over at Dead End Follies (as well as being quite the writer) threw down one sparkly glove with the Smooth Criminals challenge. You read 8 books next year in the categories he specifies, and review them. Here are my choices:




Hardboiled Classic




I, the Jury  by Mickey Spillane

I bought the paperback for a buck. Spillane gets a lot of love and a lot of hate... for a measly 150 pages I think I ought to make my own decision.

Noir Classic




The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

I've never read this. I saw the movie with Elliot Gould. Shame, shame. I've read The Big Sleep , though. I wanted to stick David Goodis in here, and I might read and review him instead.




Prison Book




Slammer by Allan Guthrie

I've heard so many good things about this, from so many trusted readers that it was the first to come to mind. And how can I resist that cover? One of my favorites in a long, long time. Allan is a fine writer and I look forward to this one.




Book by a Crook




Just Like That by Les Edgerton

Les has done time and he writes great fiction, so I'm jumping on his latest release. I recommend you read all you can by him. He's the real deal and has a broad and encompassing talent with stories.




Psychopathic Protagonist




By Reason of Insanity by Shane Stevens

Chad Eagleton is on a mission to find Shane Stevens or die trying. I performed some minor research for him at the local library, and became intrigued by the reclusive author. This is his most famous book, and involves a psychopathic killer. It is believed to have inspired Thomas Harris and thus the entire serial-killer book industry. I'm not terribly interested in psychopaths. After the initial discovery of what makes them tick and having read every FBI profiler's memoir, the fascination faded. They are banal. I was going to choose a Patricia Highsmith, but wanted to give Shane a shot.




Gothic





The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James

Another slim paperback that's languished on my shelves without being read, time to tackle this tiny classic.





Classic that Revolves Around a Crime








Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Yup, English major hasn't read this either. Might as well go for a biggie.




Why the Hell Am I Reading This?







Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

Totally cheating here. I'm 250 pages into this post-post-modern doorstop and really don't like it. But I will finish it for this challenge. I like DFW's essays but his fiction drives a spike through my head.


© 2011 Thomas Pluck