Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings…and Max Allan Collins writes a book.

Ah, if it were only that easy, but the vagaries of publishing – writing books over time with several publishers printing the results in the same calendar year and even right on top of each other – mean that my efforts to make a living seem offensive to some.

This has been less of a problem lately, as much of my work has appeared either at Hard Case Crime or their parent company Titan; and the Antiques series is happily settled at Severn House (Antiques Web is the book I’m working on now, from my wife Barb’s first pass – we’re “Barbara Allan” together).

The announcement of Quarry’s Reunion, the 50th anniversary Quarry novel, has brought up the old question, “Is there anything we can do to stop this guy?”

At my age, I’ll be stopped soon enough. The point now is to get as many stories worth telling told while I’m still on the planet, and generate some income for what are inaccurately described as the Golden Years.

Quarry is fifty years old (actually older – dating to 1972 at the latest) because the first novel, Quarry (originally titled The Broker) came out in 1976. I did four books in the series and then was not invited back by Berkley Books. A hearty band of readers discovered the books and this led to a fifth novel, published in the ‘80s (Quarry’s Vote, originally titled Primary Target) and a handful of Quarry short stories. One of the latter got turned into a short film I wrote, “A Matter of Principal.” This led to the first Quarry film, The Last Lullaby, which I co-wrote. Quarry is called Price in that film because I didn’t want to allow any sequel rights. Here’s an article/assessment by Douglas Buck about all of that from 2020.

It also led to the novel The Last Quarry allowing me to pick the series back up on a more or less regular basis. The last few have each felt like the last book in the series, and Quarry’s Reunion is no exception. But he’s a hard character for me to shake off.

Incidentally, he’s not a sociopath, as he’s often referred to. If he were a sociopath, he’d be less scary or (or maybe I should say) not as disturbing.

Here’s the magnificent new Paul Mann cover.

Right now I need to remind you that The Return of the Maltese Falcon is the main thing of the moment (month) (year) until November when Quarry’s Reunion comes out). We’ve had incredible reviews for Falcon, and most of the posted comments at Amazon have been favorable to say the least, though a few naysayers are among the gold.

The handful of complaints have included: it’s not a typical Collins book (agreed); Sam Spade gets beat up too much (actually, hit on the head twice, which is about P.I. par); it’s better that the falcon never be found (so a second book should end like the first?); and it’s generally “cheesy” (a complaint I’d take seriously if even just one example had been provided).

On the other hand, if you read Return of the Maltese Falcon, and like it, you’ll be doing it and me a great service by reviewing at Amazon and elsewhere. Reviews can be short – a couple of lines – or as in depth as you like.

Also, if you have a blog, a review there will be helpful. The Barnes & Noble site is useful, too.

It’s gratifying to get all these fine reviews. Here’s another by Scott Montgomery at the Hard Word.

But there are frustrations. Two trips to the nearby Quad Cities – to a Bam! and a Barnes & Noble – revealed no sign of the book on sale at all. Not on the New Releases, not in the mystery section, not even in local authors, the ghetto I wind up in, in this part of the world for having had the bad judgment to be born here and stayed.

If you spot Return of the Maltese Falcon out in the wild, take a photo with your phone and e-mail it to me at macphilms@hotmail.com.

I had such a great response to the book giveaway of Falcon that I was frustrated not to be able to send a signed copy to everyone who entered. What would you think about me getting a bookplate I could sign and send to anyone who requested one?

Here’s Crime Fiction Lover’s article on the forthcoming Quarry’s Reunion.

I appeared on You Tube on the popular Comic Book School show with hosts Buddy Scalera and Tom Fasolo, and with comic book and storyboard artist Jay Martin. It’s a fun show and you get to see Jay ink a page he drew based on a scene in The Return of the Maltese Falcon. This guy is good!

M.A.C.

Tags: Antiques Series, Antiques Web, Barbara Allan, Quarry, Quarry's Reunion, Trash 'n' Treasures