I’m happy to report two more stellar reviews for THE BIG BANG.

That first-rate writer Mel Odom, whose Bookhound is a lively site combining prose novels and comics, has some lovely and insightful things to say.

Then from Charleston, South Carolina (Mickey’s adopted home state), the Post and Courier gives THE BIG BANG a down-home rave.

Charles Ardai’s latest Hard Case missive has (as usual) gone out to a number of sites, but I’m giving you like a link to my pal Bill Crider’s, which remains among my top, most-visited sites on the net.

A good new small press publisher called Perfect Crime is doing some interesting things, including books by two of my best friends in the business (or anywhere), Ed Gorman and Bob Randisi. Among several Randisi projects is THE SHAMUS AWARD WINNERS volumes 1 and 2. For Nate Heller fans, Volume One may fill in an important gap: included among the stories therein is the Shamus-nominated novella DYING IN THE POST-WAR WORLD, which has never been reprinted before (since its initial appearance in the very out-of-print collection of the same name).

And Quarry fans may be relieved to learn that I’ve signed with Perfect Crime books to reprint the first five Quarry novels in individual volumes. Cover artist will be a guy named Terry Beatty you may have heard of. We are using the re-titling from the Foul Play ‘80s reprints, and PRIMARY TARGET will get a new title, to make it “fit” the titling pattern of the others: QUARRY’S VOTE.

This week will largely be devoted to musical pursuits. I have a rehearsal with Crusin’ early in the week (still prepping for the July 29 Great River Days concert with the XL’s). Then the rest of the week will be spent prepping and rehearsing with the original Daybreakers – Mike Bridges, Buddy Busch, Denny Maxwell, Chuck Bunn and myself – with our first full gig together since 1968. We are playing the Class of 1970 reunion at the ballroom at Hotel Muscatine on Saturday night, July 10. Daybreakers fans who aren’t class of ‘70 grads are welcome to come and pay a five-buck cover…if so, show up around 8 p.m. The boys are coming from hither and yon for this, and it could well be the final appearance of the original line-up.

And, yes, we will be playing “Psychedelic Siren.”

M.A.C.

Tags: Appearances, Crusin', Daybreakers, Mike Hammer, Nathan Heller, Quarry, Reviews, Spillane, The Big Bang