Erik Arneson's Blog, page 23
June 19, 2014
“Not My Gun” at The Flash Fiction Offensive
I’m very excited to be back at Out of the Gutter Online’s The Flash Fiction Offensive today with a new short story:
Making my fourth appearance at TFFO even better, editors Joe Clifford and Tom Pitts are featuring two great pieces of art by my friend Dillon Samuelson along with the story. Dillon is remarkably talented and, I predict, will have a long career as an artist.
I think the art we chose fits the dark mood of “Not My Gun” perfectly.
If by chance you’re interested in acquiring...
June 17, 2014
Four Questions With… Chris F. Holm
If the name Chris F. Holm is attached to a book or a short story, I want to read it.
His Collector trilogy (DEAD HARVEST, THE WRONG GOODBYE and THE BIG REAP) is an amazing twist on the age-old battle between heaven and hell: Holm recast it as a series of pulp novels packed with characters you care about, action you don’t want to end, and plots so intense it feels like the fate of the world hangs in the balance. (Because, you know, it does.)
If you didn’t notice from the titles of the Collector...
June 13, 2014
Four Questions With… Dennis Tafoya
It’s easy to find people raving about Dennis Tafoya’s novels.
Megan Abbott, the Edgar Award-winning author of DARE ME, said this about his latest: “With THE POOR BOY’S GAME, Tafoya shows us he ranks with George Pelecanos and Dennis Lehane, illuminating the grimmest corners of his city, and telling tales filled with both darkness and immense beauty.”
His previous novel, THE WOLVES OF FAIRMOUNT PARK, earned a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly (which also mentioned Lehane as a comparison) and...
June 3, 2014
Word Crimes Podcast: Episode 6
Prepared for your listening pleasure in record time, the sixth episode of the Title 18: Word Crimes Podcast is available now!
This episode features “The Biggest Myth,” a short story by Tom Pitts originally published by All Due Respect and read by public radio reporter Scott Detrow.
Enjoy!
Download
Show Notes
http://traffic.libsyn.com/erikarneson/Episode006_final.mp3
Don’t miss a single episode: Subscribe to Word Crimes on iTunes and Stitcher.
Did you like this episode? Let us know by posting a comme...
<![endif]--><!--[if lt IE 9]>May 27, 2014
Word Crimes Podcast: Episode 5
The fifth episode of the Title 18: Word Crimes Podcast is now available!
This episode features “Vacation Package,” a story by Christopher Irvin originally published by Out of the Gutter Online’s Flash Fiction Offensive and read by my partner in word crimes, Scott Detrow.
Enjoy!
Download
Show Notes
http://traffic.libsyn.com/erikarneson/Episode005_final.mp3
Don’t miss a single episode: Subscribe to Word Crimes on iTunes and Stitcher.
Did you like this episode? Let us know by posting a comment here, on...
<![endif]--><!--[if lt IE 9]>May 8, 2014
Book Launch: The Poor Boy’s Game
Author Dennis Tafoya’s latest novel, THE POOR BOY’S GAME, launches tonight.
If you’re anywhere near New Hope, Pennsylvania, around 7 p.m., head over to the Triumph Brewing Company and join the festivities.
If you’re scratching your head wondering who Dennis Tafoya is, this quote from Edgar Award-winning novelist Megan Abbott says it all: “With THE POOR BOY’S GAME, Tafoya shows us he ranks with George Pelecanos and Dennis Lehane, illuminating the grimmest corners of his city, and telling tales f...
April 15, 2014
Word Crimes Podcast: Episode 4
After some time off to recover from a touch of the bronchitis… The fourth episode of the Title 18: Word Crimes Podcast is now available!
Download: Episode004_final.mp3
Download
Show Notes
This episode features two crime fiction stories: “On the Sly” by Ron Earl Phillips, originally published in Six Minute Magazine and read by David Sobkowiak and Laura Frechette, and my own “Oh Well,” originally published by Out of the Gutter Online and read by my partner in word crimes, Scott Detrow. Enj...
April 13, 2014
The Murders at the Lake
The magazine Texas Monthly has a knack for publishing extremely well-written crime reporting. In December 2012, I gushed about “The Innocent Man” by Pamela Colloff, a terrifying piece about how bad police work and prosecutors determined to win at any cost can be just as destructive as the most deranged criminal.
Today, thanks to a Facebook post by author Dennis Tafoya, I read “The Murders at the Lake” by Michael Hall. It looks at the 1982 murders of three Waco, Texas, teenagers from five diffe...
March 13, 2014
Four Questions With… Owen Laukkanen
Owen Laukkanen is unrepentant.
He writes books that are impossible to stop reading. And he doesn’t care one iota about the lack of sleep that he’s causing.
Not even a little bit.
“Sleep loss is the best compliment I can get as a writer,” he says.
He’s been getting a lot of compliments.
Laukkanen’s debut, THE PROFESSIONALS, was described by author C.J. Box as “a high-octane adrenaline and gunpowder-fueled rocket ride.” It’s an entirely accurate description.
THE PROFESSIONALS introduced FBI agent Car...
March 11, 2014
Deader Than Four O’Clock
I don’t remember exactly how or where, but when I was writing the short story “All Alone” (now part of the anthology Shotgun Honey Reloaded: Both Barrels Vol. 2), I stumbled across the phrase “deader than four o’clock.”
It’s a great phrase, instantly evocative, so of course I used it in the story — one character looks at another and pronounces him “deader than four o’clock.”
At the time, I was completely unaware of the March 2007 TED Talk by the poet Rives on the topic of 4 a.m. and its place i...
