Trash ‘n’ Treasures « Friends/Family/Fans of Max Allan Collins

Colonel Collins, Lord of Mystery

Tuesday, June 19th, 2012

Barb and I were guests this weekend (actually, we left last Wednesday) for the International Mystery Writers Festival at Owensboro, Kentucky. The event celebrates the world of mystery with a focus on showcasing new plays – three were presented this year, including a new stage-designed version of ENCORE FOR MURDER (the longer audio version of which, starring Stacy Keach, is available from Blackstone Audio, and was a nominee for the Audie).

I was presented with a lovely award designating me the First Lord of Mystery (previous winners, including Sue Grafton, Mary Higgins Clark and Angela Lansbury, were Mistresses of Mystery). Both Barb and I were made honorary colonels by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. This is an elite group that includes Colonel Sanders, Colonel Lee Goldberg and Colonel Robert Randisi (the latter two received their colonel-ship at the event as well).

I’m not sure how many plays were submitted, but my impression is quite a few. The other two plays that earned production at the fest were LOST AT SEA by Donald C. Drake (the other Firesign radio-style production) and ABSOLUTELY DEAD by Michael Walker (starring Kathy Garver of FAMILY AFFAIR FAME), the latter the “main stage” play.

The event is held at the River Center in Owensboro on the Ohio River, a lovely, massive modern facility with several stages. One is a 1500-seat theater, the main stage. ENCORE FOR MURDER was staged in a smaller “black box” theater similar to the one where ELIOT NESS: AN UNTOUCHABLE LIFE was presented in Des Moines. One highlight was a Lee Goldberg-led interview session, after ENCORE’s premiere, on an expansive patio outside the River Center, with the Ohio River Bridge in the background, where fifteen minutes of clips from my various movies (THE EXPERT, MOMMY, MOMMY’S DAY, REAL TIME, ELIOT NESS, THE LAST LULLABY, ROAD TO PERDITION) were shown on a drive-in-theater-size screen.

People were incredibly nice to us, and we did several signings, as well as just autographing books folks brought up for us to sign as we hung out in the cavernous River Center lobby. Barb and I did a workshop discussing our collaborative approach to the Barbara Allan books, and we attended a similar one given by Bob Randisi and his partner Christine Matthews. Roxi Witt, the manager of the River Center and producer of the event, is a gracious, ebullient hostess whose warmth and kindness are unparalleled.

What made the event really special was the great production of ENCORE FOR MURDER, which was revised and shortened for live production (the original was two and a half hours on audio, and the live version is two acts, each under an hour, with an intermission). Two figures from the legendary Firesign Theater (and regular readers of my updates know what a comedy buff I am) were instrumental in the production. David Ossman co-directed (with his wife Judith Walcutt) and Phil Proctor appeared in three roles, including a very funny Ozzie the Answer, who I described as Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall’s lost love child. Phil’s actress wife Melinda Peterson gave perhaps my favorite Velda performance ever, playing her deadpan as if channeling Keely Smith. Richard Fish made a great Pat Chambers, reminiscent of Paul Sorvino’s in the Assante I, THE JURY, and Amy Walker and Cassie Post were luminous as potential femme fatales. The approach was broader than the original audio, getting all the comic lines across but not camping it up (I had cautioned Phil Proctor that this was Mike Hammer, not Nick Danger). Firesign superstars Ossman and Proctor have been instrumental in presenting radio-style productions at the Owensboro festival. (The festival also presents films and Lee Goldberg debuted his latest short there, produced with the help of the River Center.)

But the MVP player was Gary Sandy. Gary, of course, worked with me on MOMMY’S DAY, and I specifically requested him to play Mike Hammer. Stacy Keach was approached but his schedule wouldn’t allow, and I felt Gary – who lives in Kentucky and had participated in past festivals – would make a great Hammer. And he did. Not easy to step into a role so identified with another actor, but he put his own spin on the role and brought an incredible energy that became the engine of the show. He won Best Actor in the event’s awards, and the play essentially swept those awards.

I am already considering returning next year with a play version of THE LITTLE DEATH.

Next week I hope to have photos for you from the festival and specifically from the production of ENCORE FOR MURDER.

Lee Goldberg, Phil Proctor, and Max

Hard Case Crime has announced my Jack and Maggie Starr novel, SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT. Check out the fun news release here (the cover is depicted…small, but it’s there).

More about the book, and a much larger look at the cover, is here.

Mystery writer Mike Dennis has posted a great review of LADY GO, DIE! at his site.

And another nice review can be found here, at Radiant Lit.

Good ANTIQUES DISPOSAL reviews continue to roll in, like this one.

And this one.

Finally, here’s a fun blog post about a reader who discovered my work when she was ten, thanks to the DICK TRACY novelization. Here’s hoping she got the 6th printing (sold only through schools), which includes the ending.

M.A.C.

Tags: Antiques Disposal, Awards, Dick Tracy, Encore for Murder, Lady Go Die, Mike Hammer, Reviews, Spillane, Trash 'n' Treasures
Posted in Message from M.A.C. | 3 Comments »

From Huff Post to Penthouse

Tuesday, May 15th, 2012

Lots of nice readers stopped by to chat and buy a book or two (or more) at our book-signing at the Davenport Barnes & Noble Sunday afternoon. The store got in lots of interesting titles besides LADY, GO DIE! and ANTIQUES DISPOSAL – all of the Quarry Hard Case Crime titles, all of the Eliot Ness “Speaking Volumes” trade paperback reprints, among other titles. The hardcovers of BYE BYE, BABY and ANTIQUES KNOCK-OFF are there, too. We signed all the stock. We are not doing a major tour, so if you want signed books, you can contact Paul at CRM2970@bn.com. He’ll help you out.

I am not writing an in-depth Update this week because there is plenty to read about me and by me right now as my Internet “tour” continues to generate lots of web attention.

Of the interviews I’ve done, the standout is (not surprisingly) by Jeff Pierce of The Rap Sheet, who really went in depth about the writing process behind LADY, GO DIE!

The big flashy, splashy appearance was an article with slide show I did at Huffington Post on the game-changing detectives. Be sure to read the comments to see how many “readers” don’t bother to read what they’re commenting on.

Here’s a brief behind-the-scenes article by me followed by an excerpt from LADY, GO DIE!

The Playlist did an interesting, mostly favorable review of LADY, GO DIE! that got picked up all over the place.

The Criminal Element posted an essay I wrote for them discussing “noir” as the replacement word of “hardboiled.”

George Kelly briefly, nicely discussed LADY, GO DIE! as a “forgotten book.” Well, it was forgotten by Mickey….

In the midst of the Spillane flurry, Bill Crider posted a great review of ANTIQUES DISPOSAL. Bill’s site remains my favorite in the mystery field, even when he isn’t reviewing me.

I wrote a brief blog on the Mike Hammer movies for Destroy the Brain. For the complete story, take advantage of the Barnes & Noble huge discount on the just-published MICKEY SPILLANE ON SCREEN by Jim Traylor and me.

Here’s another nice LADY, GO DIE! review from Daily Rotation.

Finally, check out this month’s Penthouse – Mike Hammer is mentioned on the cover, and LADY, GO DIE! gets an excerpt with cool art on the inside. Yes, you should read it for the articles and the fiction…like I do.

M.A.C.

Tags: Antiques Disposal, Antiques Knock-Off, Bye Bye Baby, Eliot Ness, Go Die, Interviews, Lady, Mike Hammer, Quarry, Reviews, Spillane, Trash 'n' Treasures
Posted in Message from M.A.C. | Comments Off on From Huff Post to Penthouse

The Weird Ways of the Net

Tuesday, May 8th, 2012

For yet another week, I spent much of my time on a sort of internet tour for LADY, GO DIE! (out this week). Later in this update, I will provide links to various pieces I’ve written and interviews I’ve given. How odd it is, to be doing most of my promo on the web – not in book stores or even on TV or radio.

On the other hand, I should note that Barb and I have a book signing this coming Saturday, May 12, at Barnes & Noble in Davenport, Iowa, from 1 p.m. to 3. This is the first signing for both ANTIQUES DISPOSAL and LADY, GO DIE! It’s at North Park Mall, 320 W. Kimberly Road, Davenport, IA 52806.

But isn’t the internet weird? Sometimes wonderfully so. For decades, I wondered and even searched for Ennis Willie, author of the Sand novels that had (along with Richard Stark’s Parker series) inspired me as a teenage writer, in particular Nolan, the series Perfect Crime has recently reprinted in trade paperback. Then one day, out of the blue, I hear from Ennis Willie himself – neither a penname nor an African American (both had been speculated) – in my e-mail box. Since then, he was published two collections of his “Sand shockers” and I have written introductions to both.

Now I’m about to share with you an e-mail and my response. It comes from Ennis Willie’s 1960s editor at Merit Books. When I was 15 I wrote this gentleman, asking him if he’d look at my first novel, without telling him my age (the book was called The Gray Flannel Thugs). He said he’d look at the book. Meanwhile, forty-eight years later, this turned up in my e-mail box:

Max –

As an old man now, I was thinking about fiction I had enjoyed and Ennis Willie popped into my head. Wondered if he had written anything lately. Picked up “A Sand Shocker” from Amazon. Was surprised to see my name in it at least four times. Also, your editor used the short stories I had Willie do for Rascal. He never wrote any before I came onboard.

If you are interested, I might be able to fill you in on some of the Camerarts details. Although not there from the beginning, I did spend four years there.

Lastly, I was/am a big Dark Angel fan. Liked very much what you did on Before the Dawn. You’ve come a long way, baby.

Cheers,

Tony Licata

This was my somewhat astonished response:

Dear Tony —

How amazing to hear from you.

You have the honor of being the only editor who rejected me who I look back on fondly and with gratitude.

As you may recall, I had my parents drive me to your office in Chicago to deliver my first novel manuscript in person. I was, I believe, 15.

You wrote me a very long, helpful, encouraging editorial letter, and when I tried a novelette for Rascal, you responded with a similarly long and helpful letter. You didn’t have to do that. Hard to know just how much you aided me in my career at that very important juncture.

I wound up writing four novels in high school, and then the novel I wrote in community college (Mourn the Living) — very much a Sand imitation — got me into the undergrad Writers Workshop at Iowa City. Richard Yates, author of Revolutionary Road, was my instructor and mentor. The next two books I wrote sold before I got out of grad school, and that community college novel eventually got published, as well.

How odd and sweetly strange it is that you read one of my DARK ANGEL novels as a reader and not an editor. Somehow that’s the greatest compliment of all. I’d love to send a few other books of mine, not based on anybody else’s concepts, to show you how really far I’ve come.

Thank you for getting in touch with me, and thank you for the time you spent with an enthusiastic kid from Iowa, who was writing sex scenes long before he ever had any. Of course, I never did shoot anybody, either, and I’m still writing about that….

Warmly,

Max

* * *

I wrote a very in-depth piece about the process of putting LADY, GO DIE! and the other “lost” Hammer novels together for Lit Reactor.

Here’s a well-conducted interview about LADY, GO DIE! at Slacker Heroes.

The Slacker Heroes interviewer also did this nifty review of the book.

Another nice interview with lots of comics images can be found at CBR’s fun site.

MTV.com asked me to rate my top ten crime comics.

Flavorwire wanted a beginner’s guide to crime fiction, and I chose these ten books.

Finally, Criminal Element presented an excerpt from LADY, GO DIE!, but you won’t need to read that, will you? Since you’re going to buy the book this week….

M.A.C.

Tags: Antiques Disposal, Appearances, Interviews, Lady Go Die, Mickey Spillane, Mike Hammer, Signings, Trash 'n' Treasures
Posted in Message from M.A.C. | Comments Off on The Weird Ways of the Net

South Carolina Snaps / Quarry for $1.99

Tuesday, May 1st, 2012

NEWS FLASH: QUARRY and QUARRY’S VOTE will be $1.99 on Kindle for 48 hours! First sale price on Quarry e-books.

QUARRY Kindle $1.99

QUARRY’S VOTE Kindle $1.99

This week my update will be a short one, because (a) I just finished writing eight blog entries in support of LADY, GO DIE! (links will be posted), and (b) I am providing a few pictures from our recent South Carolina trip for Mickey’s induction into the SC author’s hall of fame.

But I do need to mention that ANTIQUES DISPOSAL, the new hardcover, is out even as I type this, as is the mass-market paperback edition of ANTIQUES KNOCK-OFF.

Also, the Perfect Crime trade paperbacks (with new after words) of the Nolan series are available now or soon will be. They are FLY PAPER, HUSH MONEY, HARD CASH, SCRATCH FEVER, SPREE and MOURN THE LIVING. Actually, the MOURN after word is recycled from the Five Star edition. Otherwise, new stuff.

There’s a nice review here of the new Heller novella collection, TRIPLE PLAY.

And a really nice review of ANTIQUES DISPOSAL from the perceptive Craig Clarke can be found here.

Here’s a fun review of BYE BYE, BABY.

And a very nice recommendation for LADY, GO DIE! right here.

—

Left to right: Atlantic Ocean, MAC, Atlantic Ocean.