tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-212765132009-04-27T10:46:31.158-07:00Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-18870492499457516072009-04-27T10:36:00.000-07:002009-04-27T10:46:31.175-07:00

A couple of quick notes on a cold April day (for Texas; it's 62 degrees). First up, don't forget that this Friday, May 1st, is International Buy Indie day. Be sure to head to the local independent bookstore. If you're in the mood, double-dip by picking up a small press book.For some, that's easier said than done; there are very few independent booksellers in Dallas/Fort Worth. Some of these

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-54550330716629920942008-12-31T12:50:00.000-08:002008-12-31T13:05:11.431-08:00

Richard Helms over at the The Back Alley has just announced their latest issue, with a roster of all-Canadian authors, including the likes of Nick Andreychuk and Art Montague. Didn't those guys use to play for the Maple Leafs?A couple of other new webzines that you may have missed: CROOKED has just launched with hot, fresh Issue #1, featuring Sandra Seamans and Sandra Ruttan (among others).

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-7805085188903959952008-09-18T16:26:00.000-07:002008-09-18T16:36:16.844-07:00

The wheel of life turns again. Soon after the deaths of Gregory McDonald and David Foster Wallace, James Crumley has passed away at age 68.I met him briefly at ConMisterio in Austin in 2006. He seemed to be in poor health at the time, moving around rather slowly. He also seemed to think the whole thing was faintly ridiculous. I spoke with him a few moments but was too starstruck to talk long. My

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-38010753583052342102008-07-12T17:54:00.001-07:002008-07-12T18:13:42.814-07:00

Plus: The end of the Stories, The Lineup has landed, Crimedogs on parade.I got an email earlier today from Hard Case Crime's mailing list, touting a new series of books set to debut next year - and I'm already salivating. The series is called The Adventures of Gabriel Hunt, and it's an attempt to do for pulp what Hard Case did for hardboiled crime fiction. Each book will be credited to "Gabriel

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-22775253666994646342008-05-12T09:37:00.000-07:002008-05-12T09:47:29.258-07:00

Plus: LaSalle Lives On!Two bits of Crimedog-related news to pass on today. First, it's Psychobilly Monday, the day you all agreed to rush down to Barnes & Noble and buy a copy of Neil Smith's Yellow Medicine. You say you didn't agree to this? I've got your signature right here on this for. No? Sure looks like it to me.So here's your chance to help Neil stick it to the Man. The proceeds

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-60555529606953685622008-04-22T10:29:00.000-07:002008-04-23T07:26:48.829-07:00

So romance author Deborah MacGillivray got all wound up about a mediocre review on Amazon.com, to the point she's encouraging her fans to mark the review as "abusive", ensuring its removal.Worse, she has apparently dug up some personal information about "Reba", the reviewer. What possible use could she make of this information? You're mystery readers, use your imaginations.Worst of all, however

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-20368166224178356442008-03-20T10:47:00.000-07:002008-03-20T10:56:17.199-07:00

Here's an interesting article on Rita Mae Brown from Time. While her fiction is not considered cutting edge - cat mysteries get a lot of grief in some quarters - she's apparently fearless in real life. She's never felt a need to hide her homosexuality, and in fact her first book, Ruby Fruit Jungle, was a comic coming-of-age story about a young lesbian. It sold a million copies.She was also

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-4439682860962411952008-03-03T08:05:00.001-08:002008-03-03T08:11:54.865-08:00

See that widget over there to the left, showing how much CrimeSpot readers have donated to the United Way? If you were planning on dropping some spare cash, you'd better get to it soon, as it's going away after this weekend. Some will be disappointed that they won't constantly be reminded how cool they are for contributing; others will be relieved that they won't be faced daily with evidence of

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-66648508056101114402008-02-22T18:53:00.000-08:002008-02-22T18:54:46.156-08:00

Plots With Guns has returned from the dead! There's only two possible outcomes here: A) "The savior of noir has returned!", or B) "BRRRAAAAAAIIIIIIIIINNNNSSSSSSSS..."

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-52408993428337410742008-02-10T10:15:00.000-08:002008-02-10T15:10:16.235-08:00

Welcome to the Carnival of the Criminal Minds for February, 2008. This month we've got the all-singin', all-dancin', all audio-visual carnival, focusing on mystery podcasts and promotional videos.You can find January's carnival at Detectives Beyond Borders. March's carnival will be at In Reference To Murder. And a special no-prize prize to the first reader who can identify which writer's "best

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-47451045278164021632008-02-06T18:41:00.001-08:002008-02-06T19:01:06.176-08:00

Actually February is Black History Month, so here's a few links to tide you over until I have the Carnival of the Criminal Minds up this weekend.* Room To Swing is generally considered to be the first novel to feature a realistic black detective, Toussaint Moore. Ed Lynskey profiles author "Ed Lacy" (actually Leonard Zinberg) at MysteryFile.com.* Brian Lindemuth provides an interesting overview

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-89474197497226895982008-01-30T17:53:00.000-08:002008-01-30T17:57:52.998-08:00

Prolific Texas writer James Reasoner today reports on his blog that his house has been destroyed by fire. He is the author of more than 200 books, including the classic Texas Wind, last year's well-reviewed Dust Devils, and the new anthology Graveyard Shift.The good news: no one was injured. I can't be sure at this point but I the fire was probably caused by yesterday's windstorm here in north

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-29497248492069368012008-01-22T11:11:00.000-08:002008-01-22T11:34:06.934-08:00

Just got an email from Daniel Hatadi the other day. Seems that this humble site was mentioned in a Reuters article entitled "Web yields deadly tricks for crime writers", which has been widely syndicated. Woohoo! I expect a flood of tens of new visitors.This news comes hard on the heels of a book called "The Bookaholics Guide to Book Blogs" (via Bill C.), which also mentions CrimeSpot. There

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-17450201427744710432008-01-05T06:41:00.001-08:002008-01-06T16:42:22.429-08:00

Due to technical issues, updates to CrimeSpot.net will be intermittent over the next couple of days. Issues with my provider mean that the updates can only run when I'm sitting at my computer to run them manually. Sorry about this, and I'll have it resolved as soon as possible.Update: The support staff at Applied Innovations got the problem fixed quickly, much to my relief. Thanks, guys!

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-28459645182885523152007-12-20T18:12:00.000-08:002007-12-20T18:21:13.762-08:00

If you have emailed me about adding your blog recently, I have to apologize. I've been working on getting out a minor revision that makes a few changes to the structure of the database, so I would have to make any changes on both the old copy and the new. I had hoped to have it ready last weekend, but a few bugs delayed it until today. Now, however, I have no excuse - if I don't add your blog,

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-86107524902941360332007-12-13T10:06:00.000-08:002007-12-13T10:14:21.843-08:00

Some of you may have noticed a new widget at the top of the "Recent Posts" column on the front page. Since this is the holiday season and all, I thought I would try to get a CrimeSpot.net charity drive running, with donations going to the United Way.My target is $1,000 dollars. Since the site statistics say I get about 500 unique visitors a month, that's only two dollars a person. (If you

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-42135761421211978502007-11-18T18:28:00.000-08:002007-11-18T18:50:38.087-08:00

Superb news out of Minnesota: In a post earlier today (Sunday), Anthony Neil Smith announced that Plots With Guns will be returning. The original PWG helped discover writers like Sean Doolittle, Scott Wolven, and of course editors Neil Smith and Victor Gischler, the Original Crimedogs themselves.So send your best to Neil, and remember, there's only one rule: you gotta have a gun.Two of the

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-60447522161847621732007-10-25T15:19:00.007-07:002007-10-25T15:52:31.097-07:00

I went to New York on business this past weekend, business that involved an early morning van ride from Mahwah, New Jersey, into the wilds of the Hudson Valley... Accompanied by several grim-faced associates, I spent all day in the woods there. The only sound was the occasional scream...Unfortunately it was nothing as fun as displosing of dead bodies - instead it was my company's annual disaster

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-49799597710954446982007-09-25T07:33:00.010-07:002007-09-25T07:40:14.972-07:00

Over at Sarah Weinman's blog, they're having a bit of fun roasting Dave White on the day his new novel hits the shelves. Yes, you too can get your own copy of When One Dude Abides, appearing soon in bargain bins everywhere.I first heard of Dave when his story "Closure" appeared over at Thrilling Detective. It's still the best 9/11 story I've read, and one of the best detective stories I've read

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-22520270359072715862007-08-06T17:26:00.000-07:002007-08-06T17:39:29.011-07:00

I was at the used bookstore this weekend, and just by luck stumbled upon a Stanley Hastings mystery by Parnell Hall. If you've never read the series, Hastings is a failed actor and failed writer who makes ends meet by photographing cracks in the sidewalk for an ambulance chasing attorney. As Kevin Burton Smith puts it, "...a PI as tough as his name!"Although he turned out fifteen Hastings books

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-10182077090693368232007-08-02T10:35:00.010-07:002007-08-02T10:44:20.178-07:00

When I wrote yesterday's post, about a beam falling from a bridge under construction, I had no idea that before the end of the day that story would be overshadowed by the collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis. My condolences to the families of those who have died, and best wishes for the recovery of the injured.In happier news, the new issue of DEMOLITION is out. I haven't had a chance to

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-44628997151484985622007-08-01T10:29:00.000-07:002007-08-01T10:30:00.415-07:00

Flitcraft.

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-2122054528653646472007-07-30T09:56:00.010-07:002007-07-30T10:38:30.821-07:00

Random shots from a big bore...So long, farewell... Damn, another fiction market gone.Things I learned from IMDB.com. Last week I wrote a review of Donald Westlake's classic story "The Feel of the Trigger". The story unfolds according to the conventions of the police procedural, and it reads very much like a story by Ed McBain, master of that form.A few days later I was poking around IMDB.com

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-15386324152952088592007-07-17T16:58:00.000-07:002007-07-17T17:21:45.651-07:00

You may have seen the photos around at various places of the Killer Year crew, promoting their new Killer Year anthology. CrimeSpot.net has obtained an EXCLUSIVE photo of the group last year, promoting a slightly different book:And is it just me, or does KY editor Lee Child look all, "I'm not with them."Love in the Great White North. Numerous and sundry congratulations to Mississippian Neil "

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-82494365484029722802007-07-05T11:13:00.009-07:002007-07-06T07:15:27.109-07:00

John Rickards has had a few... issues in the past. I'm speaking now of his issues with the covers that his publisher has seen fit to slap on his books. Not once, but twice, his publisher has selected the exact same stock photograph as another recent crime novel.And now it's happened again:Personally I preferred John's second choice for the tagline: "So, you were just going to leave me up there,

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.com