The Last Quarry « Friends/Family/Fans of Max Allan Collins

Morgan The Raider #2: 44 Years In The Making!

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

I have just completed THE CONSUMMATA, the Morgan the Raider novel of Mickey’s that I finished for Hard Case Crime. It just went out via e-mail to editor Charles Ardai a few hours ago. I’m very pleased with it, but it was a tricky one. Mickey had completed 108 double-spaced pages, but this time I had no plot or character notes. Even the evocative title itself (which had been announced by Signet Books many years ago) went unexplained. It required really getting inside the manuscript, and Mickey’s head, to figure out where he was headed…and I think I pulled it off.

So finally, the sequel to THE DELTA FACTOR, the second Morgan the Raider novel (Signet Books announced modern-day pirate Morgan as Mickey’s new series character with great fanfare), will appear…with Mickey’s fans only having to wait 44 years.

My technique I’m sure would dismay purists. I expanded and revised Mickey’s hundred-plus pages, weaving my own scenes and thoughts and style in and around his, so that his material appears deep into the book, nine of its thirteen chapters. (I created no new characters, however, and my plot strictly flows out of things he put in motion.) I get a lot of praise (much appreciated) for the seamlessness of these collaborations, but it’s because I treat them as collaborations – and don’t just “pick up where Mickey left off” that they are able to achieve what they do.

This is going to be an extremely big year for me, at least in terms of how much stuff will be out there. I will do a post on that subject either next week or soon thereafter.

The First Quarry Audiobook

One thing that is out right now is the audio book of THE FIRST QUARRY. I haven’t heard this yet, but it’s the same reader (Curt Palmer) who did THE LAST QUARRY, and he’s excellent. This company, Speaking Volumes, will be doing more Quarrys – all the Hard Case titles and perhaps the early books, as well. It’s only $19.95, very reasonable for an audio book.

Vince Keenan considers THE BIG BANG one of the best books of the year. Hey, Vince – me, too!

The Sons of Spade website went even farther, calling THE BIG BANG the best P.I. book of the year.

This is very gratifying, and we showed up a few other places, too, but mostly were overlooked. This is the first year in a while that Bookgasm hasn’t listed me on the best books of the year. As I have made clear here before, I despise these lists, and give them absolutely no credence…unless I am on them.

There’s a lovely post about THE GOLIATH BONE, which posits a movie version and presents a dream cast. Very much worth checking out, plus I posted a comment you may find of interest.

There is a very interesting piece about the BATMAN character Two-Face and the similar Haf-and-Haf character in DICK TRACY, discussing my work on the latter and referencing my BATMAN work in general. I provided several comments and you may find the back-and-forth interesting.

Finally, the contest remains open for anyone who can identity my two sections of the Top Suspense Group “Round Robin” short story (see below for details). So for nobody has won. Well, almost nobody…my son Nathan pegged ‘em. Nice going, Nate! Too bad you don’t need any M.A.C. books….

M.A.C.

Tags: Batman, Dick Tracy, Mike Hammer, Morgan the Raider, Quarry, Reviews, Spillane, The Big Bang, The Consummata, The First Quarry, The Goliath Bone, The Last Quarry
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100,000 Served!

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

Here at FOMAC (which does not stand for F**cking Old Max Allan Collins) we are celebrating. We are over 100,000 visitors to our humble site. Thank you to the Friends/Family/Fans of M.A.C.

QUARRY IN THE MIDDLE has been nominated for a Best Paperback Novel “Anthony,” which will be presented at Bouchercon in September.

It’s unlikely Barb and I will be attending the con, so the odds of winning this one are long indeed. Voting is done by attendees at the con, and writers who aren’t in attendance don’t often win. It’s a popularity contest, but then so is the writing game in general.

But this is a very nice honor. THE FIRST QUARRY was nominated last time. Keep in mind I’ve only had five Anthony nominations in my entire career (George Hagenauer and I won for MEN’S ADVENTURE MAGAZINES). So I’m very grateful, particularly to those of you who voted for the book in the preliminary round.

Last Quarry Audiobook

Speaking of Quarry, there is an excellent, reasonably priced audio book of THE LAST QUARRY from Speaking Volumes Audio, nicely read by actor Curt Palmer. You can buy it at Amazon or other of the usual suspects, or at Speaking Volumes’ own website.

There are more Quarry audios on the way from Speaking Volumes, including the early out-of-print books. I hope Curt Palmer is asked to read those, as well, because he does a nice, understated job. According to Curt’s site, he is going to do THE FIRST QUARRY and at least one more.

Also, Stacy Keach’s reading of THE BIG BANG is out from Blackstone Audio, and Barb and I are listening to it in the car now – another terrific job from everybody’s favorite Mike Hammer actor. Again, you can get it from various online sources, including directly from Blackstone Audio. But Amazon seems to have the best price.

Back to Quarry, I received a handful of bound galleys from Hard Case Crime. If you are an internet reviewer, and aren’t regularly receiving Hard Case Crime reading copies, write me at macphilms@hotmail.com, and I’ll send you a copy (until my supply is gone).

I am working on the JFK Heller – still researching/plotting. I am considering titles for the book, and would love to get your opinions.

Among current candidates:

IDES OF TEXAS
SMOKING GUNS (or SMOKING GUN)
SHADOWS IN SUNSHINE
LONE GUNMAN
MAGIC BULLET

Thoughts?

M.A.C.

Tags: Awards, Mike Hammer, Nathan Heller, Quarry, Quarry in the Middle, Spillane, The Big Bang, The First Quarry, The Last Quarry
Posted in Message from M.A.C. | 19 Comments »

The Last Lullaby: Showings and Reviews

Monday, June 1st, 2009

The Last Lullaby showings: Des Moines (June 5 – 11), Brooklyn (June 7 – 8), San Jose (June 12 – 18)

THE LAST LULLABY — the film based on the Quarry short story “A Matter of Principal,” and co-written by me — will be showing at the Fleur Cinema in Des Moines from June 5 till June 11. Director Jeffrey Goodman and I will be there for the two evening showings on Friday June 5, and probably on Saturday June 6, as well, doing intros before and Q and A after. This is our last scheduled appearance together in support of the film, and marks the final of the three Iowa bookings.

Jeffrey continues to roll it out slowly and carefully. The film will show at the 6/5-6/14 Brooklyn International Film Festival. Tickets are now on sale at this link. We screen Sunday, June 7th at 9PM and Monday, June 8th at 8PM. Jeffrey will be there for both of our screenings.

The film also plays 6/12-6/18 in San Jose, CA at the Camera Cinemas 3.

The film continues to rack up great reviews. Here’s two of them:

Stark Silvercreek: “A movie that gives the movie industry hope.” (Includes an interview with Jeffrey.)
Steve Rhodes: “New filmmakers should look at it as a paradigm on how movies should be made.”

There’s been some confusion about where the novel THE LAST QUARRY fits in. It was based on my draft of the screenplay and written prior to the shooting of the film, which reflects a draft by another writer plus a polish by me. Call it the Writer’s Cut.

Quarry is continuing to make a remarkable comeback for a character who appeared in an obscure four-paperback series in the mid-’70s. I was always proud of this character, and he remains one of my two favorite characters (Nate Heller being the other).

THE FIRST QUARRY has been nominated for the Best Paperback Novel “Anthony,” presented at the Bouchercon. It’s voted on by con attendees, so go to the con and remember what Al Capone said: vote early and vote often.

Also, THE LAST QUARRY’s magnificent Robert McGinnis cover has been chosen as one of the handful of images adorning a new group of Hard Case Crime t-shirts.

And later this year, look for a new Quarry novel, QUARRY IN THE MIDDLE.

M.A.C.

Tags: Appearances, Merch, Reviews, The First Quarry, The Last Lullaby, The Last Quarry
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The Last Lullaby to Premiere in Cedar Rapids, IA

Monday, May 4th, 2009

Announcing the Midwest theatrical premiere of THE LAST LULLABY this Friday, May 8, at the Collins Road Theatre, Cedar Rapids, IA!

The Last Lullaby

THE LAST LULLABY, director Jeffrey
Goodman’s version of my novel
THE LAST QUARRY,
has been doing very well on the film festival circuit over the last year or so.
On the weekend of April 3 & 4, the film came to my home turf, where it won Best
Professional Feature (The Gold Eddy Award) from the
Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival. I
introduced the film, which was given the honor of the prime Saturday
evening slot (8 pm). The audience at the
Collins Road Theatre (no,
neither the road nor the theater was named after me) seemed to love it.

This festival win has special resonance because the short Quarry film, “A Matter of
Principal,” that was expanded into THE LAST LULLABY (and THE LAST QUARRY, for that
matter), had won Best Short Film at the same festival in 2003. In 2004, director
Goodman, having done so well with the short, commissioned me to a feature-length
version and started the ball rolling, or anyway got it rolling further. I did two
drafts of the screenplay, another writer did another draft when the production moved
to Louisiana and locations shifted, then I came in and provided extensive notes that
amounted to a sort of last-minute polish. The film differs in some respects from THE
LAST QUARRY, but I really like it. Tom Sizemore, baggage and all, is a wonderful
Quarry (herein called “Price”), and there’s a lovely modern noir atmosphere. We showed
it at the last Bouchercon to nice response, and it’s been an official selection of
numerous festivals with some impressive wins.

There will be a limited theatrical release starting in May. It will primarily be
showing in cities where the film has done well in fests, or where there’s a tie to the
film — meaning Louisiana (Jeffrey’s home state and the site of the filming) and Iowa
(my home state) will be on the list, with its Midwestern theatrical premiere at the Collins
Road Theatre on Friday, May 8. Director Jeffrey Goodman will join me at the 7 and 9
PM screenings to present the film, and take questions and answers from the opening
night audience. THE LAST LULLABY will also be showing in the Quad Cities the following week —
stay tuned for more details.

The original Quarry short, written by me and directed by Jeffrey, is part of my
anthology DVD, SHADES OF NOIR (essentially the bonus DVD on the boxed set of my indie
stuff, THE BLACK BOX).

THE LAST LULLABY Official Trailer

M.A.C.

Tags: Appearances, Quarry, The Last Lullaby, The Last Quarry, Trailers
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Posts Tagged ‘The Last Quarry’

Morgan The Raider #2: 44 Years In The Making!

100,000 Served!

The Last Lullaby: Showings and Reviews

The Last Lullaby to Premiere in Cedar Rapids, IA