Archive for August, 2010

Got Live…Do You Want It?

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

The Crusin’ gig at Wilton Founder’s Day (Friday night Aug. 27) went well – we had a nice big Friday night crowd (though not rivaling the Saturday night mob hometown boys the XL’S drew). The night was cool and pleasant, but humid, with lyric sheets and guitar/keyboard cases getting soaked; and playing on a long/narrow flatbed truck was daunting – we were lined up like the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, and I couldn’t even see guitarist Jim Van Winkle down there somewhere past bassist Chuck Bunn and drummer Steve Kundel.

We needed a professional sound company for the gig, which the fee didn’t really cover, but my pal Mark Johnson of Rock Island’s Brass Sail Recording (he did the sound and co-wrote the music for Eliot Ness: An Untouchable Life) cut us an amazing deal. In addition, Mark made a sound-board recording, and the result was positive enough that I’m thinking about putting together a live CD. This would primarily be a promotional tool for getting Midwest bookings, but I may offer it here on the site, as well.

I am in frequent touch with Charles Ardai, who is being courted by a number of publishers in the search for a new home for Hard Case Crime (and QUARRY’S EX). I can’t be specific, but I will say I’m optimistic. And one of my first projects for a new Hard Case may be finishing THE CONSUMMATA, Mickey Spillane’s sequel to THE DELTA FACTOR with modernday pirate, Morgan the Raider. Speaking of Hard Case, here’s a fun write-up on Hard Case Crime.

And check out this a nice little review of ROAD TO PERDITION (the graphic novel).

BombshellNate and I are discussing starting up an e-book company to get my backlist back in print. We may do Heller, although I probably will make at least some effort to get the series back into traditional print first. I fear e-book publishing may doom titles to never seeing “real” book format again.

With BYE BYE, BABY coming out next July – Nate Heller solving Marilyn’s murder – I am considering putting out an e-book of BOMBSHELL, the Marilyn book Barb and I wrote (we may use the popular “Barbara Allan” byline). I’ll probably include some bonus features – possibly the original short story that the novel was expanded from and a Marilyn “vampire” story, both written solo by Barb. Maybe I’ll include the Heller novella, KISSES OF DEATH. We’ll see.

Opinions welcome….

M.A.C.

Road To Wilton

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

Of the great reviews and interviews that have been generated by the release of ROAD TO PERDITION on Blu-ray, this one from the L.A. Times (calling me “the great pulp-spirited author”), is one of the best. It includes a visit with my pal Daniel Craig. Yeah, I know James Bond. Deal with it.

The rest of this update will be a little special. I’m asking my son Nate to share some of the great photos he took of my band Crusin’ and our pals the XL’S (yeah, I know the XL’s – deal with it) at the recent, very well-received Great River Days concert in Muscatine.

The two bands are sharing the stage (albeit on separate nights) at the big Wilton Founder’s Day Event this coming weekend. Crusin’ plays Friday night (August 27) from 9 pm to 1 a.m., and the XL’s do the same the next night.

Wilton is close to Muscatine, but I’m bad at directions, so just google Wilton, Iowa – it’s a street event, so we won’t be hard to find. Come early and enjoy the carnival type doings, and stop by the Wilton Candy Kitchen, a legendary (and wonderful) oldtime soda shop.

M.A.C.

Great River Days

Great River Days

Great River Days

Great River Days

Great River Days

Perfect Crimes

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

I’ve been working with artist Terry Beatty and editor John Boland of Perfect Crime on the new trade paperback reprints of the first five Quarry novels. Not sure of pub dates yet, but Terry’s covers are knockouts and will be previewed here as soon as I’m allowed. Each book will have a new after word by me – I just delivered those – and the back cover will feature a picture of me in my 1971 glory (the year I created Quarry).

Perfect Crime has also just published two volumes of THE SHAMUS AWARD WINNERS. Volume One features my long-out-of-print Nathan Heller novella, DYING IN THE POST-WAR WORLD. Read about the books here.

Tied InAnother book I contributed to is TIED-IN, a wonderful collection of essays on the novelization and TV tie-in trade edited by the co-founder of the International Association of Media and Tie-in Writers, Lee Goldberg. I’m the other co-founder, and you’ll find a chapter about the writing of the infamous DICK TRACY and ROAD TO PERDITION movie novels, as well as my participation in roundtables about the craft of tie-in writing in general, including behind-the-scenes CSI stuff. Check it out here.

John Looney’s home is up for sale in Rock Island. Have a gander if you’re interested – out of my price range, and anyway, I’m already haunted by John and Connor Looney.

The ROAD TO PERDITION Blu-ray continues to get raves, and my talk about the ROAD TO PURGATORY film project continues to spread virally on the net. No further news yet, although things to seem to be progressing. PERDITION has turned up on another of those “10 Best Comic Book Movies” lists.

Remember, Eastern Iowa folks, to come see Crusin’ at Wilton Founder’s Day on August 27. The XL’s play on the 28th, so it should be a great weekend of classic garage band rock by two Iowa Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame Bands.

M.A.C.

Quarry’s Ex X-ed

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

Many of you already know that Dorchester – where Hard Case has been publishing its books – has shut down its mass market publishing, and that QUARRY’S EX is a casualty. If you have one of the arcs of that novel, you have a collectible.

I’ll let Hard Case honcho Charles Ardai explain. Check it out here (at Bill Crider’s great site).

Bottom line is: I don’t know when QUARRY’S EX will see print. I am confident it will, and will keep you posted.

Ironically, we have had several raves for QUARRY’S EX of late. Booklist said: “Collins remains the quintessential modern-day pulp writer.” Publisher’s Weekly called the book a “perfect piece of sardonic pulp noir.”

Rooney

Recently I did several phone interviews about the ROAD TO PERDITION blu-ray. Several of those interviews touched on the long-gestating ROAD TO PURGATORY film project. I revealed that I will probably not be directing, but that we seem to be on the verge of making a deal. That in fact we are looking at paper work right now. The primary interview you can read here.

But you’ll have to do your own google search for the other web mentions my info received – I believe this is the first time I’ve gone viral. The news of a PERDITION sequel is all over the web. Some people seem delighted, others think PERDITION shouldn’t have a sequel (a little late, since the PURGATORY and PARADISE novels have already done that). Some people are nice about it and say positive things about me, others say nasty things, and that’s the web for you. I love the idea that there are people who long for a PERDITION film but want to make sure somebody but me writes the script – the creator of the story needs to be kept out of it! Wow. Gotta love democracy – makes for some inspired lunacy.

The Premiere web site also interviewed me about the PERDITION blu-ray. Turns out I’m happy.

For reasons beyond me, my 2007 Ms. Tree novel DEADLY BELOVED has been reviewed, and while I wouldn’t call it viral, the review is available quite a few places on the web. It’s patronizing and certainly not a rave, but you can read if you like.

The Sunday (Aug. 8) Crusin’ gig at Riverside Casino went very well – I had a touch of flu and was worried that it might cause me trouble, but it didn’t. We did a solid three-hour show and the audience danced and applauded from the very start. Lots of great comments. I hope we get asked back, because it was like real show biz – lights and sound and a nice stage set-up (drums and several amps were provided). For eastern Iowa fans, we have another big show coming up at the Wilton Founder’s Day celebration, the evening of Aug. 27. More later!

M.A.C.