Nathan Heller « Friends/Family/Fans of Max Allan Collins

Movie Immortality And More

Tuesday, September 10th, 2013

What have I been up to? Besides the occasional band job and one trip after another, you mean? Well, I spent most of last month writing a spec TV pilot – I can’t say more than that, but I can say I am pleased with how it came out. I then dug into the political thriller SUPREME JUSTICE, Matt Clemens having delivered most of his story treatment (he’s still working on the third act, after some brainstorming with me when he dropped off the first two-thirds of the treatment).

Barb and I are also preparing for Bouchercon in Albany – we each are on two panels, details of which (including times) will be posted next week. (Matt’s on a panel, too.) I have a busy schedule at the con, in part because WHAT DOESN’T KILL HER debuts there. Official pub date is September 17, which means a week from when this is posted, those of you who requested review copies can finally post at Amazon.

Some nice EARLY CRIMES reviews have appeared at Amazon, some of which flow from the review copies I sent out to nine readers (yes, one copy remains to be claimed). I have had to turn down several foreign requests because of prohibitive postage.

Saw two movies this weekend and liked them both – WE’RE THE MILLERS was a very funny crime comedy (I was surprised by how much I liked it – I basically only went, by myself, because Barb kicked me out of the house while she watched tennis). Both of us loved the over-the-top and very clever RIDDICK – writers will be keenly interested in the film’s audacious structure, which shifts the point of view from anti-hero Riddick to his adversaries for the entire second act. I think Vin Diesel would make a good Hammer (he even does noir-ish voiceovers in RIDDICK).

Barb and I also watched the Criterion Blu-ray of Lubitsch’s TO BE OR NOT TO BE as well as the new Blu-ray of SHANE. I had forgotten how great both of those were. It struck me that one-time household words like Jack Benny (star of the former) and Alan Ladd (star of the latter) now each have their immortality tied up in a single film. But immortal they are.

Arguably the same can be said for Gary Cooper in HIGH NOON, and possibly Cary Grant in NORTH BY NORTHWEST. Kim Novak, recently interviewed fascinatingly on TCM by Robert Osborne, is strictly VERTIGO now, but that’s plenty. Jimmy Stewart, on the other hand, is a star who has many classic films on his list – VERTIGO, REAR WINDOW, HARVEY, IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, ANATOMY OF A MURDER – and that puts him in a rarefied class. I would argue the same for John Wayne – STAGECOACH, THE QUIET MAN, THE SEARCHERS, THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE (Stewart again!), RED RIVER, RIO BRAVO. There’s a pretty good list for Bogart, too, though oddly Marilyn Monroe, the movie star of stars, has arguably only one great film on her credit list (SOME LIKE IT HOT), though cases can be made for several others.

These are the kinds of thoughts that keeps an aging Baby Boomer up at night.

* * *

Nothing feels better to a writer than having a writer you admire give you a good review. Here Ed Gorman weighs in on WHAT DOESN’T KILL HER.

And here’s another very strong WHAT DOESN’T KILL HER review.

Speaking of writers I admire, here is Bill Crider with the first review of ASK NOT.

ASK NOT gets a nice mention by Jeff Pierce in his Kirkus blog.

And Brian Drake compares me favorably to Mickey Spillane in (of all things) a discussion of John Buchan’s 39 STEPS. Be sure to scroll down for my comment.

Finally, here is ROAD TO PERDITION getting classified yet again as one of the great comics-to-movies films. It does not mention Richard Piers Rayner, however, and that’s shameful.

M.A.C.

Tags: Ask Not, Nathan Heller, Reviews, Road to Perdition, Supreme Justice, What Doesn't Kill Her
Posted in Message from M.A.C. | 1 Comment »

Branded?

Tuesday, August 20th, 2013

Barb and I are preparing to attend On the Lam, a conference in Seattle next weekend put on by Thomas & Mercer, the mystery/suspense publisher that’s part of Amazon. The attendees are authors published by T & M, with some fans and writer’s groups in Seattle receiving invites to the Saturday panels.

I’m on one, and the topic is “Building Your Brand.” Usually when I’m on a panel – I’m scheduled for two at this year’s Bouchercon – I frankly give the topic little if any thought. I prefer winging it. But this topic really has me thinking. In fact, it’s giving me fits.

Why? Because I’m pretty sure I don’t have a brand. I think “Barbara Allan” has already developed a brand as a humorous cozy author, and of course that penname for Barb and me was very calculated, from its folk-tune resonance to the female nature of the byline. Otherwise, I have rather stubbornly written almost everything else as by M.A.C.

And, accordingly, I have no overall brand-name. There’s a group of readers that thinks “Max Allan Collins” is a guy who writes movie and TV novels. There’s another that thinks I’m a hardboiled writer. Yet another considers me a historical thriller specialist. Some think I’m a comics writer or maybe graphic novelist. The most successful of my series – Nathan Heller, Quarry, and Mickey’s Mike Hammer – are their own brand names. For stuff I’ve done – like the upcoming WHAT DOESN’T KILL HER – that doesn’t fall conveniently into any of those boxes, I don’t have a brand at all…other than (judging by some of the advance Amazon reader reviews) my historical brand serving to piss some readers off when I do a straight thriller. I started noticing this on the two J.C. Harrow thrillers that Matt Clemens and I did for Kensington.

Thomas & Mercer have done a really good job in packaging my novels to suggest a sort of brand – starting with the Hellers, they have used typeface, photography and overall design to create a look that is less than uniform but still connective. This has extended chiefly to their reprints of the Disaster series, but also Mallory and even the “Barbara Allan” reprints, REGENERATION and BOMBSHELL (the latter an historical thriller). Amusingly, Amazon often lists Mallory novels among “historicals,” due to the books being so firmly entrenched in the ‘70s and ‘80s.

I should note that a few Amazon reviewers, attracted to REGENERATION by the “Barbara Allan” byline of ANTIQUES fame, were outraged at finding themselves stuck with a rather nasty thriller. Was it asking too much for them to read the description and look at the cover, before ordering? Here is where “brand” is a hindrance.

If you are Stephen King or Dean Koontz, and work at least vaguely in the horror/suspense area, you can publish any damn thing you like and your brand holds up. Interestingly, J.K. Rowling’s pseudonymous mystery novel sold squat before she was outed, but once exposed, her brand has carried it into bestsellerdom, cushioned and boosted by the way the secret came out.

I’m not sure a writer below King/Koontz level can have a brand, not unless that writer creates stories in a very narrow way. I suppose I could have used pseudonyms for each area I explored, but the one time I was talked into using one – Patrick Culhane – the results were near disastrous.

My wife invokes Bobby Darin here, who many of you know is my favorite pop star and an obsession of mine equal to my Spillane one. Darin was a chameleon, who was (as DOWNBEAT magazine put it) “the only real competition Sinatra ever had,” a rock ‘n’ roller whose “Splish Splash” and “Dream Lover” are classics of the form, an exponent of “blue-eyed soul,” a singer-songwriter pioneer in country rock, folk rock, and even a credible protest singer…and an actor whose small body of work includes some incredible performances, like those in PRESSURE POINT and CAPTAIN NEWMAN, M.D” (for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor). Still, he is often dismissed as dilettante by fans of each of those kinds of music (and largely forgotten as an actor), though I have been pleased to see him in the last decade or so reassert himself in the public consciousness. Often he’s mistakenly referred to as part of the Rat Pack, and it’s clear his big-band vocalist persona is the lasting one (fine by me). If you could choose only one singer/musician to represent popular music in the Twentieth-Century time capsule, Darin is the only logical choice, because only through him would you find excellent examples of just about every kind of pop music that that century provided (such British Invasion groups as Gerry and the Pacemakers and the Seekers covered songs of his). But he will never be a superstar in the way Elvis, Sinatra, the Beatles or even Sammy Davis Jr. or Dean Martin are.

His only brand was talent. Oh, and excellence.

* * *

Bill Crider, that terrific writer who runs my favorite site on the Net, has given WHAT DOESN’T KILL HER a lovely and (in my opinion) insightful review. Check it out.

My work as Mickey’s collaborator is discussed in an article about ghost writers in the AV Club. Worth a look, even if I am not exactly a ghost writer in this case. Scroll down to page 3 (page 4 now) for some comments by me and others.

Ed Gorman, another fine writer with a great blog, has published a short but solid interview with me, discussing the newest publications (including forthcoming ones).

Kevin Burton Smith at Thrilling Detective, the definitive private eye web site, has a Quarry entry up. I consider Quarry a private eye of sorts, so I’m glad to see him included.

I think this great video review of TARGET LANCER has been posted before, but it got a new lease on life recently.

I will report next week on the Seattle trip.

M.A.C.

Tags: Interviews, Nathan Heller, Quarry, Reviews, Spillane, Target Lancer, What Doesn't Kill Her
Posted in Message from M.A.C. | 2 Comments »

August E-Book Sales: ANGEL IN BLACK, ANTIQUES BIZARRE $1.99

Tuesday, August 13th, 2013

I’ve got the word on a couple e-book sales this month, with two very different (though both excellent) novels.

First up is ANTIQUES BIZARRE by Barbara Allan (that’s the husband and wife duo of Max and Barbara), for $1.99 on the Kindle, Nook, and Sony Reader (check on other retailers for possible price matches). This sale runs until August 20th. Don’t miss this fan favorite cozy! If you need a push from someone who’s not related to the authors, here you go:

Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (on Antiques Bizarre): “The Trash ‘n’ Treasures books have to be the funniest mystery series going.”

Mystery Scene: “You’ll laugh out loud.”

Crimespree: “Antiques Bizarre is fun reading and the mystery is terrific.”

Amazon’s Kindle storefront is featuring ANGEL IN BLACK as a deal of the month. ANGEL IN BLACK, a Shamus nominee and rated 4.3 out of 5 stars by Amazon readers, has Heller solving the famous 1947 Black Dahlia case. Also, buying ANGEL IN BLACK on the Kindle will drop the price on the Audible download of Dan John Miller’s fantastic audiobook reading to another $1.99, which is a steal.

Continue below for your regularly scheduled update…

Tags: Angel In Black, Antiques Bizarre, Barbara Allan, Nathan Heller, Sales, Trash 'n' Treasures
Posted in FOMAC | Comments Off on August E-Book Sales: ANGEL IN BLACK, ANTIQUES BIZARRE $1.99

Quarry in Memphis

Tuesday, August 6th, 2013

Nate will be providing an array of photos that will tell the story better than I ever could, but I will say our four days in Memphis were a real adventure and a wonderful experience.

I’ve been on my share of movie sets – admittedly, mostly my own – but I never fail to get caught up in the excitement of filmmaking, whether it’s Phil Dingeldein and me shooting a movie in a week using security cameras or sitting next to Richard Zanuck watching Sam Mendes trying to get Paul Newman to emote in the master shot. Some people find the process boring, but not me – at least, not when it’s my material being filmed.

Virtually everyone we met on set was great. The crew is a friendly, hardworking bunch from four states – California, Mississippi, Tennessee and (I think) Louisiana…though it may be Arkansas. I immediately got hugs from both director John Hillcoat (LAWLESS) and a particularly warm one from director of photography Javier Aguirresarobe when I complimented him on his terrific work on WARM BODIES. Producer David Kanter of Anonymous was essentially our tour guide, a warm and friendly one at that. But best of all was getting to know and really talk Quarry with writers Michael D. Fuller and Graham Gordy (both of RECTIFIED). Before going to set, I delivered to their trailer complete sets of the first editions of the original 1970s Quarry paperbacks THE BROKER, THE BROKER’S WIFE, THE DEALER and THE SLASHER. I don’t have many of these left, and Michael and Graham were like fanboys reacting to receiving them. These are smart, talented guys who know the Quarry series inside out. I’m very lucky to have them (as they put it) “playing in my sandbox.”

The actors were friendly, warm, and very interested in meeting Quarry’s creator (and his family). Logan Marshall-Green and I immediately started talking about Quarry, and watching him play the character showed me how much homework he’d done. My first sight of him on set, actually, was him talking to a wheelchair-bound Vietnam vet who had found his way to the set. Logan is a charismatic, intense actor but not pretentious. He has the young Quarry nailed, and you have a real sense that this committed actor is the linchpin of the production.

Nate, Barb and I are all big fans of SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD, so meeting Mary Elizabeth Winstead was a big deal. She turned out to be as friendly and approachable as someone you’ve known for years. She plays Quarry’s wife Joni and seems anxious to come back for more.

And Stellan Skarsgard is supernaturally right as the Broker. He’s also friendly and funny, a very charming guy. I pointed out to him that the Broker wasn’t as evil as the guy he played in GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, and he said, “So I am progressing.” I brought him a vintage copy of THE BROKER and he was quite taken with the sleazy paperback edition (and pleased to see his character get top billing). He was fascinated by the terrible mustache worn by the Broker on that cover.

The cast is amazing. Kurt Yaeger (SONS OF ANARCHY) plays a Quarry adversary and had done incredible homework, bringing a well-read copy of the Foul Play Press paperback edition of QUARRY for me to sign. He’s friendly and fun and an awesome athlete (“awesome” in its true meaning). Nikki Amuka-Bird (LUTHER) was pleased and amazed to find out that Barb and I were fans of the outrageous UK series BAD GIRLS, on which she was a regular in season six. She was a delight to chat with, and she too had been reading the Quarry books. She plays the wife of Quarry’s Vietnam buddy, Jamie Hector (THE WIRE), who I met briefly. Very friendly, and I watched him tear it up with Logan on several scenes. Just before we left, I was able to shake hands and briefly talk with Noah Taylor (GAME OF THRONES), who plays Buddy, a character based on Boyd from QUARRY aka THE BROKER. (My understanding is Boyd became Buddy to avoid confusion with the Boyd Crowder character on JUSTIFIED).

The first of two on-set days began mid-afternoon at a ranch-style home in Mississippi that stood in for Joni and Quarry’s house (there’s a pool where Quarry loves to swim). Warm, but nothing Iowans aren’t used to. The rest of that day was spent at a gravel and stone quarry, where Quarry and the Broker confab (we had brought our bug spray). The second day was in Memphis at several funky bars, only a few blocks from our hotel.

Memphis is a great town. I much prefer it to Nashville, even if the latter is where I recorded “Psychedelic Siren” with the Daybreakers back in 1967. I despise country western, as is fairly well known (exceptions: rockabilly and Patsy Cline), and a town where both rock ‘n’ roll and soul music have such deep roots holds huge appeal to me. We did not go to Graceland – it’s very hard for me to do things I’m expected to do – but we made the Sun Records tour, which I enjoyed very much…standing in the same space as Howling Wolf, Elvis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee was like being a believer in church. No remodeling to speak of has been done in the studio, where bands are still recording to this day (or night…it’s evenings only, due to the tours). Next time we will hit the Stax Museum, highly recommended to me by my Crusin’ bandmate Brian Van Winkle.

It was hard to leave Memphis, and not just because of the food there or the ten hours that lay ahead on the return voyage to Muscatine (we broke that in two on both ends of the trip, to spend time with Nate and Abby in St. Louis).

I haven’t spent this much time on set since ELIOT NESS: AN UNTOUCHABLE LIFE, and it really reminded me of how much I miss filmmaking. I am hopeful that I will be part of the process, when…you can’t make me say “if”…this pilot is picked up. Working with these people would be a blast.

And that dated usage reminds me to comment on just how much fun seeing QUARRY produced in ‘70s period is. The costumes and art direction takes you back to an era that remains vivid in my memory, and yet has somehow how become a long time ago.

As I write this, they are still filming, with two days to go. I do wish I were there.

* * *

Something wonderful and wonderfully strange popped up on the Net recently. Somebody posted at Harlan Ellison’s chat site, complaining about writers continuing the work of other writers, included me on the list of infamy, for finishing Mickey’s work. Harlan stepped up and defended me loud and long in his own inimitable fashion. He and I don’t agree on Mickey as an artist, but I can’t tell you what it means to me to see one of my favorite writers – and Harlan is that, all right – defending me and saying I’m a terrific writer myself. For a guy like me, it doesn’t get any better. This sparked some interesting responses (including one from our friend Mike Doran), so scroll down to Harlan’s piece, then take in the responses. [Nate here—New posts will push the older ones down, eventually into an archive. Look for “A VERY FRIENDLY BUT VIGOROUS TAKING-BY-THE-SHOULDERS AND SHAKING FOR JIMMIEJOE IN KOKOMO” on Sunday, August 4 2013]

David Williams is a smart, straightforward reviewer who has been systematically reviewing the Heller novels. He usually likes them a lot (not always), but he has been a huge supporter of the series and of me. This link will take you to a TARGET LANCER review, and this one will take you to a very nice overview of the series from this reliable reviewer.

Another of those “movies you didn’t know were from comic books” has popped up. Not bad of its kind.

This is an interesting, somewhat positive review damaged by the reviewer’s agenda (a rather stunning misreading of the women in COMPLEX 90). It’s intelligent, though, and worth reading, if for no other reason than seeing how political correctness can spoil a book for you. Velda is called “Thelma” by the female reviewer at one point, and considering THELMA AND LOUISE, that’s an interesting Freudian slip.

This look at graphic novels properly credits ROAD TO PERDITION for its historic role in the rehabilitation of the art form.

Here’s a look at Hard Case Crime and THE FIRST QUARRY from a reviewer who likes my work but isn’t crazy about the tough, nasty, sexy nature of my books there (and other books as well). Interesting stuff, showing how you can not like something and do so in a measured, non-hysterical way.

Keep an eye out for VCI’s new DICK TRACY serial releases (DICK TRACY – COMPLETE SERIAL COLLECTION, DICK TRACY – 75th ANNIVERSARY EDITION ORIGINAL SERIAL). Phil D. and I prepared new video documentary material for these (and they include older doc material by us, as well, plus a commentary by me on the first several chapters of DICK TRACY).

And now I’m going to turn the update over to Nate for some more Memphis pictures.

M.A.C.