Dear F.O.M.A.C. (Fans/friends/family of Max Allan Collins) —

Sorry for the delay between installments, but it’s been a particularly frantic year, so far.  (Two F.O.M.A.C. missives have appeared on the web site, which is likely to become more and more F.O.M.A.C.’s home — check www.muscanet.com/~phoenix).

Barb and I are about to go out on mutual book tour, in support of REGENERATION, our first collaborative novel, which will be out in October.   REGENERATION has a nifty premise (Barb’s): successful ad agency exec Joyce Lackey loses her youth, her job and her will to live — until a corporate headhunting agency called X-Gen offers her a second chance via plastic surgery, wonder drugs and retraining.   It’s a Leisure Books paperback original, marketed as “Horror” but really psychological suspense, a black comedy about the Baby Boomers pitted against Generation X.

And I’ll be signing the new Heller, MAJIC MAN (a Dutton hardcover), out in September — starred review from Publisher’s Weekly!  This is the so-called “X-Files” Heller, in which Nate solves the enigma of Roswell.   It’s also something of a sequel to FLYING BLIND, as it picks up on Nate’s relationship with troubled Secretary of Defense James Forrestal.  And FLYING BLIND is out, right now, in mass-market paperback reprint.  Both MAJIC MAN and FLYING BLIND share a new cover format, thanks to the efforts of my Signet editor, Joe Pittman — the first time we’ve had a uniform look for the Hellers.

For various reasons, there will not be a new Heller in 2000 — there will be in 2001 — so Signet is bringing out STOLEN AWAY in paperback reprint (in this new uniform edition).  This is the out-of-print Heller most sought after (with the possible exceptions of the first two, TRUE DETECTIVE and TRUE CRIME).

Next year, look for THE HINDENBURG MURDERS (a follow-up…not sequel…to THE TITANIC MURDERS) and U-571, a movie tie-in about WW2 submarine warfare.

A third “disaster” book for Berkley Prime Crime will be my next project (subject under wraps at the moment) and then the next Heller, which will probably be about the Loeb and Leopold case.  Also, Barb and I are doing BOMBSHELL, our second collaborative novel.

My documentary “Mike Hammer’s Mickey Spillane” was invited by Adrian Wootton of the British Film Institute for a special screening at the National Film Theatre in London.  The last week of July, Mickey (and his wife Jane) were special guests of the B.F.I., as were Barb and I, and several Spillane films were screened, including a rare 3-D print of “I, the Jury” (1953).  It was an incredible experience, and a great honor.  The production was also honored with an Award of Excellence for Best TV Program by the Iowa Motion Picture Association.  (The documentary has not been sold — we’re just beginning to explore markets.  Stayed tuned.)

The two MOMMY features are on DVD!  MOMMY and MOMMY’S DAY have just been released by the Roan Group, letterboxed and including commentary tracks, preview trailers and my two-part video interview of star Patty  McCormack.  The features themselves look beautiful, at least to their daddy, as superior to the laserdisc as the laser was to VHS.

The MOMMY DVDs are available at many on-line locations (including my friends at Laserdisc Division, who will sell the $19.95 discs to you at a whopping 30% discount  — www.laserdiscdivision.com, or order by phone at 1-800-320-8650).  You can also check such retailers as Virgin and Tower, but it may be a while before the discs can be found in Suncoast and Best Buy.

Because of deadlines, our tour this year is limited to the midwest; however, I’ve been invited to the Bouchercon in Milwaukee (Oct. 1 through 3) as Guest of Honor, a real thrill for me…and I hope to see readers from all around the country, there.  My Spillane documentary will be shown, and my band Crusin’ will play for a dance.

Crusin’ has become slightly more active of late, and has a new, terrific member — Andy Landers, on vocals and rhythm guitar.

And M.A.C. Productions is accepting ADVANCE ORDERS for our new CD, “Crusin’ a.k.a. Daybreakers,” a “best of” compilation from Beat Brothers Records of material never before on CD, from 1967’s infamous “Psychedelic Siren” to the songs the band recorded for the MOMMY movies in the ’90s.  Over twenty songs, spanning 30 years of M.A.C. garage band rock.  $12 POSTPAID before November 1, by which time the first batch of CDs will be shipped ($15 thereafter — we should have copies for Bouchercon and the book tour.)

My “other” band, Seduction of the Innocent, played at San Diego Con on September 14 to an appreciate crowd — first time we’ve played since ’94!   Bill Mumy, Miguel Ferrer, Steve Leialoha and Chris Christensen were all present and rockin’; Beat Brothers Records may release a live CD of the event.

Finally, an instant collector’s item to share with the F.O.M.A.C. list: you may recall me mentioning THE MYSTERY SCENE MOVIE GUIDE, a collection of my ten-years of “Mystery Seen” columns plus other movie-related ruminations.   It was finally published by Borgo Press, but the publisher closed its doors shortly thereafter and only a miniscule 100 copies were printed (as a trade paperback — the announced hardcover never happened). It will probably never be reprinted, so this is automatically my rarest book.  I bought the remaining 60 copies and am offering signed copies at the original price: $21.50 POSTPAID.

Another low-budget movie is in the works (actually, two!) but it’s too early to discuss.  Also, both ROAD TO PERDITION and JOHNNY DYNAMITE have been optioned by bigtime Hollywood movie studios…more on that when I know more!

M.A.C.

My apologies for the long delay in posting an update — both Nate (my son Nate, that is — not Nate Heller) and I  — have been incredibly busy these last few months.   We’re going to try to keep the site more current.

Sad news — a few months ago, we lost our friend Del Close — who provided such a memorable cameo as the warden in MOMMY 2: MOMMY’S DAY.   Del held court in his hospital room — the likes of Bill Murray and Harold Ramis came calling — and word is his before-the-fact wake was recorded for Comedy Central!   A unique individual, Del, and so very influential — he thought up the idea of SCTV, for example, and was the comedy guru to Mike Meyers, among many others.  It’s a bittersweet honor that Del — who was a hardcore Nate Heller fan — made his last screen appearance in our film.

Happier news — Barb and I just returned from London, where my documentary, MIKE HAMMER’S MICKEY SPILLANE, was the centerpiece of a Mickey Spillane film retrospective at the National Film Theatre on the South Bank of the Thames!   Mickey and his wife Jane came along, and Mickey and I were interviewed before a capacity crowd by Adrian Wooton, the  distinguished but very amiable head of the London Film Festival.  The documentary was extremely well-received, and we saw pristine 35mm prints of THE GIRL HUNTERS (in Cinemascope!) and, for the first time since 1953, I, THE JURY in 3-D!!!MIKE HAMMER’S MICKEY SPILLANE was earlier honored (last December) at Noir in Festival in Courmayeur, Italy — which is where Adrian saw the documentary, and invited us to show it in London.  The American premiere was at the University of Iowa Library, another nice honor, and Mickey and Jane came for that, as well.  In addition, the documentary won the Award of Excellence for Best Entertainment Programming at the 1999 Iowa Motion Picture Awards in May.

We do not have a sale yet, but we have just — at this writing — gone out to market with the 48-minute production.  Cary Roan — whose Roan Group has shifted from laser disc to DVD — is interested in putting the documentary out on DVD.  Stay tuned!

Speaking of the Roan Group and DVD, just last month I supervised the authoring of both MOMMY and MOMMY 2: MOMMY’S DAY for their Roan Group DVD release.  These will be the ultimate homevideo presentation of the two features, jampacked with extras: on camera interviews with Patty McCormack, commentary track, preview trailers — and will retail for only $19.95 each (that means they will probably be available many places at around $14.95 each).  The quality far exceeds the laser discs, and completely blows away any VHS tape.  I am really thrilled with this presentation.  Look for them soon — probably in September ’99!

I also supervised the authoring of a box set of the 1940s DICK TRACY features for the Roan Group.  (The authoring is being done in Iowa City by Conwood Enterprises — several MOMMY family crew members work there!)  I provided commentary tracks that include the inside skinny on my experiences as the writer of DICK TRACY, including consulting on the Warren Beatty movie.  This will be another jampacked package, the ultimate version of these fun ’40s movies.  They should be out in September, also.

So far this year, I’ve written two novels — THE HINDENBURG MURDERS, a follow-up (not sequel!) to THE TITANIC MURDERS, for Berkley Prime Crime; and U-571, a movie tie for Avon and MCA.  I don’t have pub dates on either of these yet.  HINDENBURG features the creator of the Saint, Leslie Charteris, as its amateur sleuth and, unlike TITANIC, the murder mystery is tied directly to the disaster itself.  U-571 is a World War II submarine tale, a tense thriller that should make a good movie (and I know it made a good book!).
Available right now is an instant collector’s item — THE MYSTERY SCENE MOVIE GUIDE, which gathers all of my movie columns (and more material on film) into one, alphabetized “guide.”  This was announced several years and just emerged from Borgo Press in a very weird way: it was the last title Borgo published before closing their doors, and they did a short, trial print run of only 100 copies!   I have acquired the remaining 60 copies.  This trade paperback (signed) costs $21.50 postpaid from M.A.C. Productions, 301 Fairview Avenue, Muscatine, Iowa 52761.   This is destined to be my rarest book!  Only 100 copies exist!  You have been warned.

Barb and I will be out touring to support the new Nate Heller, MAJIC MAN, and our first book together, REGENERATION, in October.  We’re at the moment still putting together our schedule (it’s limited to the midwest this time around).  But it will be posted.

MAJIC MAN is a hardcover from Dutton — the “Roswell” Heller.  REGENERATION is a psychological suspense paperback from Leisure Books, who did the two MOMMY novels.  Barb and I are working on our second novel together, BOMBSHELL, for St. Martin’s Press.

In October, I will be Guest of Honor at Bouchercon (SEE LINK) and my band CRUSIN’ will be playing!  By that time we should have a limited edition CD out, a “best of” spanning over 30 years of garage band rock from M.A.C.!  The CD will include the CRUSIN’ songs from the MOMMY movies.  CRUSIN’ has been fairly active lately, with a new member — the incredibly gifted Andy Landers — so look for another all-new material CD within a year or so.  And SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT — with my pals Bill Mumy, Miguel Ferrer, Chris Christensen and Steve Leialoha — are appearing in August at the San Diego Comic Con!  First time since 1994….

Be sure to look for MAJIC MAN and REGENERATION!

Till next time —

M.A.C.

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Dear F.O.M.A.C. (friends/family/fans of Max Allan Collins),

This will be a somewhat brief edition of the newsletter, as to write it I’m stealing time from the new Nate Heller, the deadline for which looms (August 1). This one is — thus far, anyway — entitled MAJIC MAN and deals with Roswell.

This year has been (and will be) jam-packed with work. Already delivered is THE TITANIC MURDERS, which will be a paperback original from Berkley Books next April; the title to some degree speaks for itself, but be advised that it is to the Agatha Christie mystery what the Heller books are to the Hammett/Chandler/Spillane school. Every character — including the detective and the suspects and even the murder victims — in THE TITANIC MURDERS are figures from history.

When the Heller has been delivered, I am off to Des Moines for a week of post-production work on the new film project, “Mike Hammer’s Mickey Spillane,” a documentary on the great man. The rest of August and a little of September will be devoted to the FLYING BLIND book tour (info follows!); the rest of the year will be devoted to the movie-tie-in novel of THE MUMMY (from the author of MOMMY — THE MUMMY!) and, I hope, the screenplay for another independent film, if the backing comes through (not a “Mommy,” though, expect to see such “family” members as Phil Dingeldein and Steve Henke behind the camera, and Patty McCormack, Mike Cornelison and Rachel Lemieux in front of it).

FLYING BLIND charts the meeting (and more) of Nate Heller and Amelia Earhart. I believe this to be the best of all the Hellers, including STOLEN AWAY; but the opinion that really counts is yours. Also on the stands are the paperback of DAMNED IN PARADISE and a particularly interesting movie tie-in, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, my first war novel; I like it a lot and there’s a good chance you will, too.

U.S. MARSHALS is still out there, and again, I urge you not to avoid these dreaded “novelizations.” I write these with both hands on the keyboard and both eyes open, and my brain fully engaged, so check ’em out. The novel of MOMMY’S DAY is out and has done very well, though not hitting as many bestseller lists as MOMMY.

Also out is ROAD TO PERDITION, which has been nicely received, the first printing sold out, but there may not be a second printing of this epic graphic novel about a prohibition era hitman and his son; so grab it when you see it. It’s the best comics work I’ve ever done, and who knows? It could be my comics swan song.

Barb and I have sold our first novel — to Leisure Books — and Barb is working on the first draft; I will take the second “pass.” It’s an expansion of our short story, “Regeneration,” which will appear in the next HOT BLOOD. We hope this will open a whole new phase of collaboration for us.

Barb has short stories appearing in the anthologies LETHAL LADIES II, STREETS OF BLOOD, and MARILYN: SHADES OF BLONDE.

The movies “Mommy” and “Mommy’s Day” are finally available at sell-through prices, but distribution (from VCI) has thus far been spotty. There are two versions: “plain jane” (just the movie); and widescreen collector’s edition (each movie plus a Patty McCormack interview, coming attractions trailer, still photo gallery). Info on purchasing the videos directly from M.A.C. Productions follows.

My displeasure with the Bogart-style reading of Sunset Productions’ DAMNED IN PARADISE has led to me reading the books myself in the Rock Island studio of Greg Ballard, who did sound design on “Mommy’s Day.” The long-out of-print TRUE DETECTIVE is available in an excellent, long abridgment; and I’ve done TRUE CRIME, with FLYING BLIND up next; also, Patty McCormack has read both MOMMY and MOMMY’S DAY for Sunset.

Nate (Collins, not Heller) has designed a F.O.M.A.C. web page; his proud parents think he’s done a terrific job. If you’re online, check it out, at www.muscanet.com/~phoenix. And my e-mail address is .

Recently I was elected president of the Iowa Motion Picture Association. For some reason, my friends in California seem unimpressed.

Oh, and my band Crusin’ seems to be back together; we’re getting ready for our gig at the ’99 Bouchercon in Milwaukee. My musical cohort Paul Thomas and I may be compiling a “best of” collection soon, gathering recordings from as far back as 1967 and making the various songs from the “Mommy” movies available on CD for the first time. It will be a limited edition of 200 and F.O.M.A.C. will be first in line. Whether that’s a threat or a promise is up to you.

Hope to see you on the tour!

M.A.C.