Jack Tunney's Blog, page 27

AVAILABLE NOW ~ FIGHT CARD: COPPER MOUNTAIN CHAMP!

AVAILABLE NOW ~FIGHT CARD: COPPER

MOUNTAIN CHAMP!
BRIAN DRAKE WRITING AS JACK TUNNEY
ANOTHER TWO-FISTED

FIGHT CARD STORY

Butte, Montana. 1951…Back from the horror of World War II, Alex Slayton started working the copper miness hardly the life he intends for himself…or his girlfriend, Liz. However, when long festering problems at the mine force as notoriouslya man who believes in violence as a first resort.  

Based on his raw fighting talent, Alex learned the sweet science from his mentor and fellow miner, Pete Kovich – hoping boxing would get him out from underground and on to a sunny future.  Now, caught in a web of town intrigue, violence, and sudden death, Alex is forced to face the mine owner’s son, a top boxing prospect, in the ring.  Alex knows he’s not ready, but the only way out is to fight – not just for himself, but for the whole town…

 

MINING THE STORY – WRITING FIGHT CARD: COPPER MOUNTAIN CHAMP

MINING THE STORY
BRIAN DRAKE
ON WRITING COPPER MOUNTAIN CHAMP

When Paul invited me to contribute to Fight Card, it was a good day. He had said very nice things about my work prior to his invitation, and it felt like a nice payoff after almost 20 years of effort in the writing game. Of course I said yes, but then blind panic set in. I’m not a boxer. I know nothing about boxing other than what I’ve seen on television. I’ve only ever been in two fist fights (in junior high) that I suppose I won. Then I remembered something Harry Whittington (not the guy Dick Cheney shot, but the author of such amazing books as Fire That Destroy) once said – He said he was able to write any story in any genre because he understood people more than things.

With that in mind, I dipped into my personal and family history for the story. I struggled a lot growing up. I hated being young, couldn’t wait to be an adult, and the complications of that dichotomy fuel the book.

My protagonist, Alex Slayton, is a young World War II vet trying to readjust to civilian life and dealing with some PTSD. He argues with his family and has few friends. He’s in his own world trying to find his own way and nobody’s helping.

Instead, they’re telling him what he should be doing with his life and not taking into account he’s his own man. They want to put him in a box with everybody else, but he knows he’s made for more.

That initial conflict gave me my characters, but what about the boxing content so important to this series? I may not know boxing, but I know martial arts, and how you can use the martial arts to discover your potential. So instead of kung-fu, Alex would learn how to box, and learn the same lessons my teachers taught me.

With those bases covered, I needed a greater conflict to complicate Alex’s life even more.

My family is from Butte, Montana, which is famous for copper mining. Three generations of my family worked the mines to dig up the copper, and my grandfather and great-grandfather were the ones who dealt with the early struggles to unionize the miners.

Those struggles often got bloody. You didn’t go to a meeting without a baseball bat or brass knuckles (or a pistol if you could afford one) because there was always the possibility of a fight with company union busters.

Dashiell Hammett, who wrote Red Harvest based on his time in Butte as a strike breaker, chronicled the insanity of those days very well, though the things he left out were even more insane and – I suspect – he left them out because nobody would have believed him.

So, I had my characters and my secondary conflict, but with so little space to work with (25,000 words is not a lot), I had to find a way to compress 60 years of union battles into very few words.

The Butte in my story is not the Butte my family knew. However, there are obvious parallels and I used a lot of family history in coloring the town and characters. In fact, one character and one location is specifically named for my grandfathers. Still, there is a real-life example of everything taking place in the story.

Those battles happened.

A lot of guys died and many more were injured. However, while my story takes place over two weeks, those real-life events happened over a much greater period of time.

So, Alex, a miner trying to save enough money to move himself and his girlfriend out of town, must deal with union problems, a company out to put the effort down by any means necessary, his family, and his own struggle to find himself.

There’s boxing woven throughout, and it’s in the boxing ring where Alex will have to save himself, his future, and the town. It all comes together in a package of which I’m very proud.

It wasn’t easy to write. I had to fight the words instead of having them flow. I felt I was in the ring against the toughest bruiser I had ever faced. I wanted to go down for the long count in every round.

This story was so different from my usual action/adventure fare, I didn’t think I could finish. However, Paul took a chance on me and I didn’t want to let him down, so I pressed on. I had become the fighter in the ring I was writing about…Alex had become me… and I wanted the victory.

Copper Mountain Champ helped me grow as a writer. I learn a lot about finishing what I write – I learned to keep punching. I am renewed as I return to writing my usual fare of blondes, bombs, and wannabe-Bonds – where things get blowed up real good and the baddies are trying to take over the world.

It’s much easier writing about heroes and villains than about yourself.

FIGHT CARD: COPPER MOUNTAIN CHAMP AVAILABLE IN APRIL 2014

COMING SOON ~ FIGHT CARD: COPPER MOUNTAIN CHAMP

COMING SOON ~ FIGHT CARD COPPER MOUNTAIN CHAMP

BRIAN DRAKE WRITING AS JACK TUNNEY

ANOTHER TWO-FISTED FIGHT CARD STORY

Back from the horror of World War II, Alex Slayton starteds hardly the life he intends for himself…or his girlfriend, Liz. However, when long festering problems atsa man who believes in violence as a first resort. 

Based on his raw fighting talent, Alex learned the sweet science from his mentor and fellow miner, Pete Kovich – hoping boxing would get him out from underground and on to a sunny future.  Now, caught in a web of town intrigue, violence, and sudden death, Alex is forced to face the mine owner’s son, a top boxing prospect, in the ring.  Alex knows he’s not ready, but the only way out is to fight – not just for himself, but for the whole town…

FIGHT CARD: FRONT PAGE PALOOKA AWARD VIDEO

FIGHT CARD: FRONT PAGE PALOOKA AWARD VIDEO
The word from Fight Card’s Anthony Venutolo: Check out New Pulp Awards 2014 trailer for ‘FRONT PAGE PALOOKA’ and if you’re so inclined, I’d appreciate the vote. The book is nominated for BEST NOVELLA | BEST NEW WRITER and BEST NEW CHARACTER (Nick Moretti) …

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FIGHT CARD AUTHOR CAROL MALONE INTERVIEWED

FIGHT CARD AUTHOR CAROL MALONE INTERVIEWED
SELF-PROCLAIMED GENRE CROSSING GUARD AND BLOGGER RANDY LINDSAY INTERVIEWS FIGHT CARD ROMANCE AUTHOR CAROL MALONE.

At first glance, boxing and romance seem to be worlds apart. I decided that I had to interview Carol and find out more about this intriguing combination. So, without further delay allow me to introduce Carol Malone.

(Q) What gave you the idea to combine boxing and romance into the same story?

(A) Before I answer that, let me say Randy, thank you for allowing me the privilege of being featured on your blog. I’m sure I’m not your usual suspect.

Anyway, to answer the question. I have been forever reading boxing stories where the girl friends whine and moan that he’s going to get hurt or killed and she wants him to quit and do something else. I dislike that type of woman. I wanted to write about a woman who would be a support to her man, even be right there in his corner if and when he needed her. I had read most of the novels in the Fight Card series and there was never a gal like that. One boxer even left his gal behind in another city so she would have a better life. After all, what man doesn’t want the woman of his dreams on his side, pulling for him, rooting for him, willing to take on a murder rap to save him? My heroine, Lindy is that type of gal.

I’m often asked “why would a nice gal like you want to write a novel in an all-male dominated genre like pulp fiction boxing?” This is my short answer:

I wrote “Ladies Night” basically as a dare. A couple of years ago, my friend, Paul Bishop, along with his good friend, Mel Odom, created the Fight Card series – fast action boxing tales inspired by the fight pulps of the ‘30s, 40s and ‘50s. Being part of a monthly writers group mentored by Paul, I was familiar with these novels and was knocked out by their punchy style. When Paul wanted my husband, Tim, to write a Fight Card novella, I saw only one major problem – Tim, raised with four sisters, doesn’t like sports. He never played sports of any kind, nor does he enjoy watching sports on TV, which he considers wasting time. I, on the other hand, was raised with four sports-loving, older brothers.

If Tim wasn’t going to take a crack at writing a Fight Card story, then I wanted to jump in the ring. Without Paul’s knowledge, I started to write Ladies Night in March, 2012. With trepidation, I brought the first chapters of “Ladies Night” to our monthly writer’s group and the excited acceptance overwhelmed me.

Paul encouraged me to continue. He’d had a notion in his head to expand the Fight Card brand – which he’d already done by adding in a series of Fight Card MMA novels – to include Fight Card Romance novels, and “Ladies Night” looked like it might fill the niche. You can see me listed as one of the Fight Card series authors at: http://fightcardbooks.com/carol-malone

FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW CLICK HERE

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FIGHT CARD: FRONT PAGE PALOOKA GOODREADS GIVEAWAY!

FIGHT CARD: FRONT PAGE PALOOKA GOODREADS GIVEAWAY!
TO ENTER TO WIN ONE OF THREE SIGNED COPIES OF FIGHT CARD: FRONT PAGE PALOOKA BY ANTHONY VENUTOLO CLICK HERE
‘… A fantastic Noir Fiction novella that any fan of the genre should read …’
‘… A potboiler in the style of old school writers like Mickey Spillane, Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler…’
‘… Author Anthony Venutolo has a newspaperman’s eye for details …’
Years of fight halls and newsrooms have East Coast sportswriter Nick Moretti looking for a change. When a sloppy hustle goes bad, and Nick takes a bullet in the shoulder, it’s time to go west. Hired by Pinnacle Pictures to write a boxing movie about troubled heavyweight champ Jericho ‘Rattlesnake’ McNeal, Nick joins forces with sexy public relations gal, Dillian Dawson, for a cross-country tour to give an everyman boxer an unlikely shot at the world title – what could go wrong?
From the crackling neon of Hollywood and Sin City, through the steamy Delta, and on to Chi-Town, the glitzy dream becomes a noir nightmare, and newshound Nick Moretti is about to commit a reporter’s greatest sin – becoming a Front Page Palooka …
For the book trailer, visit: http://vimeo.com/76200928
About the author: ‘FRONT PAGE PALOOKA’ was written by Anthony Venutolo as “Jack Tunney,” a unifying pen name for authors who write for the FIGHT CARD series. It was created by writers Mel Odom and Paul Bishop. Other FIGHT CARD scribes include Eric Beetner, David Foster, Kevin Michaels, Heath Lowrance, Wayne D. Dundee, Robert Randisi. Also included in the FIGHT CARD series are two spin-off brands – Fight Card MMA, Fight Card NOW and Fight Card Romance.
The books in the Fight Card series are novelettes, designed to be read in one or two sittings, and are inspired by the fight pulps of the ’30s and ’40s – such as Fight Stories Magazine – and Robert E. Howard’s two-fisted boxing tales featuring Sailor Steve Costigan.
Each of the novellas is short, sharp and packs a punch.

FIGHT CARD UPDATE MARCH 2014

FIGHT CARD UPDATE MARCH 2014

Greetings,

Our latest Fight Card novel, Rise of the Luchador, with Jadon Ridler writing as Jack Tunney, has just gone live with a brilliant painted cover by Carl Yonder.

Like last month’s Fist of Africa, Rise of the Luchador takes Fight Cards readers into a new and different culture. This time it’s the world of the luchadors – Mexican masked wrestlers. These individuals who put on the mask of the luchador have become cult heroes in Mexico and continue to inspire fans today. Rise of the Luchador eloquently captures the mystique of these masked heroes and provides an electrifying look at the world of Lucha Libre.

FIGHT CARD: RISE OF THE LUCHADOR

San Diego 2014 … Carlos may be the deadliest vale tudo street fighter in Brazil, but he’s no match for the drug lord on his tail. Haunted by the death of his best friend and on the run from a Mexican hit squad, Carlos is forced into hiding with a traveling carnival crawling its way from San Diego to LA. Within this world of freaks and con-men, Carlos has no choice but to become the one thing he hates – a masked luchador wrestler.

However, once he has donned the mask, Carlos finds there is much more to being a luchador than fake wrestling moves and cheesy showmanship. There is a mystique and a responsibility carried by those who become true luchadors. But will being a fake hero, no matter how inspired or mystical, save him from the drug lord’s henchmen…Can it erase his tortured past…Or will he be forced to once again become the killing machine he has always been?

Rise of the Luchador is the next installment of the acclaimed Fight Card Series.

As many of you know, our crop of 2014 Fight Card tales garnered a slew of nominations for the 2014 New Pulp Awards. Congratulations to Carol Malone (Fight Card Romance: Ladies Night), Terrance McCauley (Fight Card: Against the Ropes), Derrick Ferguson (Fight Card: Brooklyn Beatdown), Anthony Venutolo (Fight Card: Front Page Palooka), and Andrew Salmon (Fight Card: Sherlock Holmes) all nominated in the category Best Novella, Carl Yonder for Best Cover Art (Fight Card: Sherlock Holmes), and Anthony Venutolo again for his nomination as Best New Writer (Fight Card: Front Page Palooka) and for creating Best New Pulp Character (Nick Moretti, Fight Card: Front Page Palooka). Fight Card author Bobby Nash was also nominated for one of his non-Fight Card works in the Best Short Story category. Again, congratulations to all.

Coming up in 2014 Fight Card: Copper Town Champ (Brian Drake), Fight Card: Monster Man (Jason Chirevas), Fight Card: Guns of November (Joseph Grant), Fight Card: Bridgeport Brawler (David White), Fight Card: The Adventures of Tom Sharkey (Mark Finn), and more …

I have two exciting pieces of promotional news, both of which could help Fight Card reach a successful tipping point, which I will reveal in our next update.

Until then … Keep punching …

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NOW AVAILABLE ~ FIGHT CARD: RISE OF THE LUCHADOR!

NOW AVAILABLE ~ FIGHT CARD: RISE OF THE LUCHADOR!

JASON RIDLER WRITING AS JACK TUNNEY

San Diego 2014 … Carlos may be the deadliest vale tudo street fighter in Brazil, but he’s no match for the drug lord on his tail. Haunted by the death of his best friend and on the run from a Mexican hit squad, Carlos is forced into hiding with a traveling carnival crawling its way from San Diego to LA. Within this world of freaks and con-men, Carlos has no choice but to become the one thing he hates – a masked luchador wrestler.

However, once he has donned the mask, Carlos finds there is much more to being a luchador than fake wrestling moves and cheesy showmanship. There is a mystique and a responsibility carried by those who become true luchadors. But will being a fake hero, no matter how inspired or mystical, save him from the drug lord’s henchmen…Can it erase his tortured past…Or will he be forced to once again become the killing machine he has always been?

Rise of the Luchador is the next installment of the acclaimed Fight Card Series.

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FRIDAY NIGHT PAPERBACK LAUNCH FOR FIGHT CARD ROMANCE!

FRIDAY NIGHT PAPERBACK LAUNCH FOR FIGHT CARD ROMANCE!

You are invited to join 5-Star Reviewed Author, Carol Malone on February 28th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. PST to celebrate the launch of her FIGHT CARD ROMANCE: LADIES NIGHT!If you are a fan of pulp fiction, Los Angeles in the 1950s, boxing, or …suspense with a healthy dash of sweet romance, then you don’t want to miss out on her launch party.

On this last day of the Month of Love, Carol requests the pleasure of your company, and because she adores her friends, she wants you to come anytime during the hours of the party and hob-knob with celebrated authors, book mentors, and coaches who have influenced Carol’s writer’s journey. She too will celebrate them for their contribution to the publication of LADIES NIGHT.

And…PLEASE, don’t forget about the giveaways – all right on the FACEBOOK EVENT WALL.

What is “Fight Card Romance: Ladies Night” all about, you may ask?Think Rocky meets the Untouchables …Los Angeles, 1954 … Gangsters, crime, boxing – and young love …

Jimmy Doherty, a hard-luck orphan from the south side of Chicago, was mentored in the sweet science of boxing by Father Tim Brophy, the Battling Priest of St. Vincent’s Asylum for Boys. Jimmy’s fists were good enough to take him to LA where he has begun his rise up the local fight-cards. He has big plans to be a contender and even bigger plans for Lindy – his trainer’s only daughter, who’s sweeter than apple pie and harder to resist.But when Lindy is arrested for killing a boxer with ties to gangster Mickey Cohen, Jimmy is forced to join forces with the arresting detective – who would like to do much more with Lindy than put her in handcuffs – in a desperate search for the real killer.

Love can be murder – in or out of the ring …

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FIGHT CARD DOMINATES 2014 NEW PULP AWARD NOMINATIONS!

FIGHT CARD DOMINATES 2014 NEW PULP AWARD NOMINATIONS!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL FIGHT CARD AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS NOMINATED FOR 2014 NEW PULP AWARDS IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:

BEST NOVELLA:

Fight Card: Sherlock Holmes by Andrew Salmon

Fight Card: Front Page Palooka by Anthony Venutolo

Fight Card: Brooklyn Beatdown by Derrick Ferguson

Fight Card: Against the Ropes by Terrence McCauley

Fight Card Romance: Ladies Night by Carol Malone 

BEST NEW PULP CHARACTER

Nick Moretti created by Anthony Venutolo in Fight Card: Front Page Palooka

BEST COVER ART

Carl Yonder for Fight Card Sherlock Holmes

BEST NEW WRITER

Anthony Venutolo (Fight Card: Front Page Palooka)

PLEASE VOTE BY CLICKING ON THE LINK AT THE TOP OF THE FOLLOWING SITE: http://tinyurl.com/mttj26y

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