Herbie's Diner - The Summer of Shosty Continues
It's another week, and another release. This time, we have my detective novella, Herbie's Diner, hitting the electronic shelves, published by Untreed Reads, LLC. Herbie is the first in a series featuring my hardboiled detective, Johnny Hardwood.
It's set in 1950. Johnny Hardwood is the alter ego of the enigmatic Bill Crisp (assuming Bill Crisp is our hero's real name). Before he was Johnny, Crisp was a lesser known actor in Hollywood's Golden Age. He made a career of playing bit parts on film, from bandits to heavies to the guy who inevitably dives onto the hand grenade in war films. Like another B-movie actor, Ronald Reagan, America's entry into WWII killed a lot of the momentum the young actor had going for him. Just before he was about to possibly make the jump to high profile work, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, and, inadvertently, Crisp's career. With the war over, he returned to Hollywood to discover that he was now typecast, mostly as that of a detective (a role, ironically, he portrayed most often on the radio, not in films).
When he became adamant that he play more dramatic leading man roles, the phone stopped ringing. The final nail in his professional coffin came in the form of a private investigation firm called Hardwood, Smoller, and Tate. They called Crisp to pose for a billboard photo for their company, stating they had never anyone look so much like a detective. That billboard made him famous, but not the kind of fame he wanted. Hardwood, Smoller, and Tate turned out to be a high-end burglary crew who did a few jobs on the sly, then bugged out of town, leaving Crisp the face of a company which did not exist and with little or no prospects. Finally, someone gave him the phone call which could be better described as a mercy killing: Bill Crisp was no longer a good fit for roles in Hollywood.
A born opportunist and liar, Crisp decided that if the world could only see him as a detective, that's what they'd get. He got his license, took the name Johnny Hardwood, and used those popular billboards to drum up business for himself and his little outfit. Now a self-styled detective to the stars, Johnny spends his time doing the dirty work for famous people and movie studios alike.
Occasionally, that gets him into a lot of hot water.
The Johnny Hardwood series features a guy who might be an actor who has become a detective to keep food on the table. Or it might be the story of an actor pretending to be a detective until his next big break comes along. Or it, might be the ramblings of some drunk you meet in a bar, who is exceptionally good at telling lies about himself. Whatever the case, Herbie's Diner is chock-full of references to film, TV, and radio from the days of yesteryear. The dialogue is snappy, the coffee is hot, the women are sassy, and the guns are quick. It's detective noir, heavy on the noir, featuring an unreliable narrator who would cut his own mother's throat for a buck, but who also might well be the most moral guy in the room. This is Hollywood, after all.
Available in a variety of formats from any of these fine retailers.
http://goo.gl/1yHrKL (Untreed Reads Store)
http://mybook.to/herbiesdiner (Amazon)
http://goo.gl/rbwmSL (Apple Store, with all of my available titles, including my free ebook, Swallow the Evil)
http://goo.gl/IF4id3 (Barnes & Noble)
http://goo.gl/i5b3qh (DriveThruFiction)
Purchase through Untreed Reads directly not only sends more royalties my direction, but for Kindle and Nook users, purchase from UR's online store now sends your ebooks directly to your devices.
Also available in the all-powerful and popular PDF format, because, deep down, I really do like people.
It's set in 1950. Johnny Hardwood is the alter ego of the enigmatic Bill Crisp (assuming Bill Crisp is our hero's real name). Before he was Johnny, Crisp was a lesser known actor in Hollywood's Golden Age. He made a career of playing bit parts on film, from bandits to heavies to the guy who inevitably dives onto the hand grenade in war films. Like another B-movie actor, Ronald Reagan, America's entry into WWII killed a lot of the momentum the young actor had going for him. Just before he was about to possibly make the jump to high profile work, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, and, inadvertently, Crisp's career. With the war over, he returned to Hollywood to discover that he was now typecast, mostly as that of a detective (a role, ironically, he portrayed most often on the radio, not in films).
When he became adamant that he play more dramatic leading man roles, the phone stopped ringing. The final nail in his professional coffin came in the form of a private investigation firm called Hardwood, Smoller, and Tate. They called Crisp to pose for a billboard photo for their company, stating they had never anyone look so much like a detective. That billboard made him famous, but not the kind of fame he wanted. Hardwood, Smoller, and Tate turned out to be a high-end burglary crew who did a few jobs on the sly, then bugged out of town, leaving Crisp the face of a company which did not exist and with little or no prospects. Finally, someone gave him the phone call which could be better described as a mercy killing: Bill Crisp was no longer a good fit for roles in Hollywood.
A born opportunist and liar, Crisp decided that if the world could only see him as a detective, that's what they'd get. He got his license, took the name Johnny Hardwood, and used those popular billboards to drum up business for himself and his little outfit. Now a self-styled detective to the stars, Johnny spends his time doing the dirty work for famous people and movie studios alike.
Occasionally, that gets him into a lot of hot water.
The Johnny Hardwood series features a guy who might be an actor who has become a detective to keep food on the table. Or it might be the story of an actor pretending to be a detective until his next big break comes along. Or it, might be the ramblings of some drunk you meet in a bar, who is exceptionally good at telling lies about himself. Whatever the case, Herbie's Diner is chock-full of references to film, TV, and radio from the days of yesteryear. The dialogue is snappy, the coffee is hot, the women are sassy, and the guns are quick. It's detective noir, heavy on the noir, featuring an unreliable narrator who would cut his own mother's throat for a buck, but who also might well be the most moral guy in the room. This is Hollywood, after all.
Available in a variety of formats from any of these fine retailers.
http://goo.gl/1yHrKL (Untreed Reads Store)
http://mybook.to/herbiesdiner (Amazon)
http://goo.gl/rbwmSL (Apple Store, with all of my available titles, including my free ebook, Swallow the Evil)
http://goo.gl/IF4id3 (Barnes & Noble)
http://goo.gl/i5b3qh (DriveThruFiction)
Purchase through Untreed Reads directly not only sends more royalties my direction, but for Kindle and Nook users, purchase from UR's online store now sends your ebooks directly to your devices.
Also available in the all-powerful and popular PDF format, because, deep down, I really do like people.
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