R.G. Belsky's Blog, page 11

"Can't wait for the next Gil Malloy..."

Nice review on Goodreads this week from someone who just discovered Gil Malloy!

"When I was standing in line at the Mystery Writers of America booth at BookCon in May, 2015, the people in the booth started putting out stacks of books and allowing those of us in line to chose any one copy. I picked this one based upon the title and cover description and I was not disappointed. I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with the protagonist, but appreciated that he is a complex character. The plot is tight and the conversations are good. After reading about half the book, I got online and ordered the rest of this author's books. Can't wait for the next one in the Gil Malloy series."

Vincent Musetto- Goodbye to a Friend

Vincent Musetto - the man behind the famous "Headless Body in Topless Bar" headline and one of my oldest friends from my days at the New York Post - died on June 9 at the age of 74.

Even in a newsroom packed with colorful, larger than life characters like Steve Dunleavy, Roger Wood and future London tabloid legend Kelvin MacKenzie, Vincent Musetto always stood out as one of the most memorable people who worked at the old New York Post. All the wild, wonderful and crazy stories people tell about Vincent – dancing on desks, blowing a trumpet in the office, screaming outrageous Page One headlines – are completely true. I know. I was there.

I first met him in the 1970s when he was on the Post copydesk. But it was in the early 80s – after he became a managing editor – that he really hit his tabloid stride. For five years, he and I came to work every morning at 6 a.m. and put out all seven afternoon editions of the Post (the paper ran 18 hours of editions then and sold nearly a million copies a day). I produced the stories and he made them come alive with the genius of his headline writing.

The most famous was the one everyone always remembers him for: HEADLESS BODY IN TOPLESS BAR. It all started when he saw a police slip about a man being murdered and beheaded during a robbery at a bar in Queens that might have featured topless dancing. He told me excitedly that he had a great headline if I could just confirm the topless dancing part. I sent a reporter (Maralyn Matlick) to the closed club, she saw a sign inside advertising topless dancing – and, just like that, journalistic history was made.

 Vincent always claimed that wasn’t his favorite headline though. The one he liked the most was GRANNY EXECUTED IN HER PINK PAJAMAS. There were so many other classics too like I SLEPT WITH A TRUMPET; KHADAFY GOES DAFFY and MAYHEM IN THE STREET (which became part of the opening credits on Saturday Night Live)

All this attention made him famous as the face of tabloid headlines back then. David Letterman had him on his show and People magazine ran a big feature on him too. For Vincent – who was really a quiet, shy man in private – I think all this adulation made him a bit uncomfortable. In any case, by the late 80s, he had stopped writing Page One headlines to pursue his real love: the foreign cinema. He became a serious movie critic for the Post until he retired a few years ago.

 Lots of other memories of Vincent come flowing back to me now. Even in his 70s, he still looked like a hippie from the Woodstock generation . He wore jeans, sweatshirts and sneakers everywhere. He could be volatile at times (I remember him smashing a trashcan into another executive’s office door and also once literally dismantling another Post staffer’s chair who he was mad at) – but he was really a sweet adorable guy that everyone in the newsroom loved. I don’t think I ever had a cross or angry word with him despite all the high pressure, stress-filled situations we shared over the years.

 The last time I saw him was at a memorial service for our longtime Post editor Roger Wood a few years ago. He was the same old Vincent Musetto that I remembered. Even showed up at the church in his customary sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers. I got to spend a lot of time with him that day at the church and a lunch afterward – which I’m really grateful for now. We always shared a special bond together. Even had the same birthday – although the dates were separated by several years. Vincent used to always kid that we must be twin brothers, but it just took me longer to be born. Vincent Musetto, he was one of a kind. I’ll miss you, brother.

New Gil Malloy book for 2016

ANNOUNCEMENT IN PUBLISHERS MARKETPLACE TODAY FOR A NEW GIL MALLOY BOOK IN 2016

New deals for May 20, 2015

Mystery/Crime
R.G. Belsky's BLONDE ICE, the third full-length book in the series featuring a wisecracking disgraced journalist, to Todd Hunter at Atria, by Nalini Akolekar at Spencerhill Associates.

Reader reviews of The Kennedy Connection

Here are some recent reader reviews from Goodreads of The Kennedy Connection:

“Journalistic integrity is at the heart of this wonderful thriller about a disgraced journalist searching for redemption.  This book was well written and flowed smoothly and the ending, well just let me say you will want to hang on for the ending when it all comes together for reporter Gil Malloy….”

 “This book caused me to lose some sleep. Not because it is scary, but because I had trouble putting it down. The mystery is well put together, and keeps you guessing until the end. And the protagonist is likeable (overall)….I really liked this book, and I look forward to the next book coming out.”

“This was a quick, fun, thought-provoking read…I enjoyed the author's writing style, Gil Malloy's voice, which is easy to read and kept this thriller speeding along.  Witty and sharp. I look forward to reading the next installment in this series.”


Read More

Tabloid truth can be stranger than fiction

Blog post I wrote for the Killer Nashville thriller, suspense and mystery website - about the differences between covering real news as a journalist and being a mystery novelist..

I’ve covered a lot of big crime stories during my time as a tabloid journalist. O.J. Son of Sam. Amy Fischer. JonBenet Ramsey. I was even a part of creating the most famous tabloid crime headline ever: Headless Body in Topless Bar.

So what’s the biggest difference I’ve found between true-life crime and writing mystery novels?

Well, as a mystery author, I get to break the one rule a journalist always has to follow – I don’t have to stick to the facts.

Read more here

Advance copy of Shooting for the Stars

Got my first advance copies of Shooting for the Stars, the new Gil Malloy mystery. It will be published by Atria in August. You can pre-order here: http://www.amazon.com/Shooting-Stars-...

Simon & Schuster Feb. newsletter

Simon and Schuster's February newsletter of new releases for mystery/thriller fans....THE MIDNIGHT HOUR is in the No. 2 spot!


Read it here

New York Post days...

Pic i just found of me in in the Post newsroom when I was city editor - sometime around 1980. And yes, I'm the one with the groovy mustache.

The Midnight Hour - a Gil Malloy novella

30 years ago, a college professor in Ohio was executed after murdering his entire family for no apparent reason. Later, new DNA evidence proved he didn't do it. Now newspaper reporter Gil Malloy has to hunt down the real killer - and stop more people from dying.

The Midnight Hour goes on sale Feb. 3.  Pre-order now for just $2.99

http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Hour-G...

http://books.simonandschuster.com/The...

Cover of The Midnight Hour....

Cover of The Midnight Hour....the new Gil Malloy novella. On sale Feb. 3