Ellroy

I’ve become pretty good friends with James Ellroy over the past couple of years, and it’s something I don’t really talk or write about too much. We both have a love of the past, and more specifically, film noir and crimes taking place in other eras. I wouldn’t mention my friendship with Ellroy (since I respect his privacy) other than it’s been outed in a magazine!

There’s an article about Ellroy in the JUNE/JULY 2019 issue of The Economist: 1843 magazine. 1843 is The Economist's ideas, culture and lifestyle magazine. It’s an interesting article about James, providing a lot of insight into who he is and how he got there. My dinners with Ellroy are mentioned in there a few times (as the real-life me, Jerry Ackerman).

Here is a link to the article:

https://www.1843magazine.com/features/james-ellroy-finally-has-happiness-in-his-sights

Noir Fatale

Noir Fatale was released in early May and I’ve been looking forward to this anthology for a long time! I had the good fortune to be invited into this anthology. All those years of wearing hats, pocket squares, and loving film noir finally paid off!

The story I wrote for the anthology (the theme being femme fatales which, if not the main character of the story had to be present) is called A String Of Pearls. It’s about a woman carrying precious cargo on a train barreling into a world of trouble in a near future New Orleans.

The anthology is currently available in multiple formats: hardcover, ebook, and digital audio (it also appears the anthology will be available on CD in July). Links: Amazon Audible I’ve listened to the audio book and the narrators did such a wonderful job bringing these stories to life!

Here’s how the anthology was doing during it’s first couple of days!

From Baen’s website: NEW SCIENCE FICTION, URBAN FANTASY, AND MYSTERY STORIES WITH A NOIR THEME FROM BEST-SELLING AUTHORS LAURELL K. HAMILTON delivering an Anita Blake series story, LARRY CORREIA, penning a Grimnoir series adventure, an original Honor Harrington series tale from DAVID WEBER, AND MORE.

The silky note of a saxophone. The echoes of a woman’s high heels down a deserted asphalt street. Steam rising from city vents to cloud the street-lit air. A man with a gun. A dame with a problem . . .

NOIR.

From the pulpy pages of Black Mask Magazine in the 1920s and '30s, through the film noir era of the 1940s, to today, noir fiction has lured many a reader and movie-goer away from the light and into the dark underbelly of society. Names such as Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and James M. Cain; titles like The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, The Postman Always Rings Twice . . . these have inhabited our collective consciousness for decades. Humanity, it seems, loves the dark. And within the dark, one figure stands out: that of the femme fatale.

Here then, Noir Fatale an anthology containing the full spectrum of noir fiction, each incorporating the compelling femme fatale character archetype. From straightforward hardboiled detective story to dark urban fantasy to the dirty secrets of futuristic science fiction—all with a hard, gritty feel.

As Raymond Chandler said, “Down these mean streets, a man must walk who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid.” Because, as these stories prove, doing the right thing doesn’t necessarily mean you get the big bucks or the girl. But you do the right thing anyway.

All new stories by

Larry Correia
Kacey Ezell
Laurell K. Hamilton
David Weber
Sarah A. Hoyt
Robert Buettner
Alistair Kimble
Griffin Barber
Michael Massa
Christopher L. Smith and Michael Ferguson
Hinkley Correia
Patrick Tracy
Steve Diamond

Published: 5/7/2019

Noir Fatale Anthology

Back in January I was invited to write a story for an anthology which will be called Noir Fatale, edited by Kacey Ezell and Larry Correia and published by Baen Books. I've held off posting about the anthology, since when Larry announced it I had not yet turned in my story. But, I sent the story in, which is near future science fiction, and the editor loved it, so I feel okay posting about it!

People who know me even just a little bit know of my love for film noir, and hardboiled and noir fiction from the '30s on up: from James M. Cain (Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Mildred Pierce) to Dorothy B. Hughes (Ride The Pink Horse, In A Lonely Place) to James Ellroy (The Black Dahlia, LA Confidential). I was thrilled to be invited to write a story and have it alongside stories contributed by a great lineup of writers. I haven't seen any cover art as of yet, and I don't know the release date, but I can't wait to see a cover!

I won't say much about my story, but it's near future science fiction set mostly in New Orleans and tentatively titled: A String Of Pearls.

Here is a description of the anthology from Larry's announcement:

The silky note of a saxophone.  The echoes of a woman’s high heels down a deserted asphalt street.  Steam rising from city vents to cloud the street-lit air.  A man with a gun.  A dame with a problem…

Noir. 

We humans are collectively fascinated by the seamy underside of society as represented in stories and films.  Names such as Raymond Chandler, Dashiel Hammett, The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, Sam Spade… these have inhabited our collective consciousness for decades.  Humanity, it seems, loves the dark.  And within the dark, one figure stands out: that of the femme fatale.

Kacey Ezell and Larry Correia are editing an anthology of all new, noir themed sci-fi and fantasy short stories titled Noir Fatale, and we’ve got a great line up of authors who will be contributing:

David Weber
Laurell K. Hamilton
Sarah Hoyt
Larry Correia
Kacey Ezell
Robert Buettner
Alistair Kimble
Griffin Barber
Michael Massa
Hinkley Correia
Christopher L. Smith
Patrick Tracy
Steve Diamond
Michael Ferguson

Universal Monsters

My first exposure to the classic Universal Monsters came in the form of a card game.

Yes, in 1964 Milton Bradley released a monster version of Old Maid! I found this card game at my grandparents' house when I was a little kid in the mid-1970s. The game must have belonged to one of my aunts. I'd look at these cards and get scared and a few were creepy. I mean, they were mostly the disembodied heads of monsters, and when you're four or five years old it's scary!  I sometimes wonder what happened to those cards.


My next exposure to the Universal Monsters was through watching Abbott & Costello at my grandparents' house on Sundays after church. To this day I enjoy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and that was my first real exposure to the film monsters. Watching Abbott and Costello was a good way of being introduced to these guys. It's a fun film, try it some time, it has Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr., and Vincent Price does the voice of the Invisible Man at the end of the film. It's funny, and as a kid it was both funny and scary.

A few years ago, Universal released a few sets of the famous Universal Monsters, some came in a plain old case, but I found the Coffin Collection and knew that was the set I needed!

The set contains the classic films: Dracula (and a second, Spanish version of Dracula that was shot on the same sets, but only when the main production wasn't filming, and to be honest, it's really good!). Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Wolfman, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Creature From the Black Lagoon(includes the original 3D version on Bluray!).

The coffin case contains a few goodies, like a booklet, and eight poster cards, one for each of the main films. I love this set, and while the films aren't as truly frightening as some that have followed, they're fun and even some of the special effects are still pretty cool!

Cross-Genre Fiction And Skipping The Prologue

Right now I'm at Bouchercon, the annual crime/mystery convention, which is being held in Toronto this year. So why am I bringing up cross-genre fiction while I'm attending a mystery con?

So, I was chatting with David Morrell (his first novel was First Blood, and he's written so many great books!) after he signed a book for me, and he brought up how he likes to write in multiple genres as well as mixing genres in one book. And that got me thinking about how audiences used to a certain style from a writer would react to something different, or to multiple genres in one book.

So I thought Iron Angels, the book I co-wrote with Eric Flint.

Iron Angels is a cross-genre novel, but at its heart an FBI procedural which happens to contain elements of horror and the fantastic. And that means there may be portions of the book that may not appeal to certain readers. How can this be remedied? How would a reader who doesn't necessarily care for science fiction get into the book?

For mystery/crime readers:  skip the prologue in Iron Angels.

Yep. Go ahead and skip it. Why? It's aliens/demons speaking in a crazy made-up language. It's not a long prologue, but for that type of reader, they may get kicked out of the book before it even begins!

So...

Just go to Chapter 1--my knowledge of FBI procedure kicks in with the first sentence and continues for most of the book. Once you're hooked with the FBI ERT crime scene and investigative procedures, go back and read the prologue if you feel like it, but it isn't necessary to understand the plot.

Science fiction and (urban)fantasy readers, or those who enjoy horror can read the prologue and be happy. I do believe though, that anyone who has been curious about FBI procedure will learn a lot from the book even with the fantastic elements.

There may be sections in cross-genre novels that readers won't like, but I think if a story is entertaining enough, engaging enough with interesting characters, it won't matter as the reader will be pulled along regardless of the cross-genre content.

Just a few thoughts. And for the record--when I read I usually skip the prologue and then end up reading it later. I think most readers do that, right?