Uncage Me!

The greatest anthology of crime fiction to come out since Christie, Doyle, Chandler, and Hammet joined forces to create a little book afficionados know as "The Gruesome Mallet," comes out today. In fact, since today started a while ago, it's already out and about selling like hotcakes.

Get UNCAGE ME! today. Get two. One for you and one for Mr. or Ms. Right if you should happen to be so lucky to find such a person.

My Stoop the thief story is in the anthology, but don't let that stop you. Publisher's Weekly said some nice things about the book:

"While John Connolly (The Reapers) rightly notes in his introduction that this all-original anthology isn't for the fainthearted, noir lovers will find plenty to savor among the 22 stories from both familiar and unfamiliar names. Steven Torres offers the most moving selection, The Biography of Stoop, the Thief, in which a 14-year-old boy tries to save the mother who abandoned him for a life on the streets as a substance abuser. Tim Maleeny's Prisoner of Love not only features twists and betrayals but manages to make an ambiguous resolution satisfying rather than frustrating. There are some duds, like Maxim Jakubowski's shocker We Mate in the Dark, with its pointless savagery, but on the whole the contributors demonstrate the ability to create believable and memorable characters as well as settings in a few pages."

And Another Scottish Thing...

Thought I'd just spread the word about Donna Moore's newish blog which you can find by clicking. CLICK.

Donna is funny on paper and in person so if you're looking for a bright spot to your day, she could very well be it. Scroll down on her blog for her trip to San Francisco.

Scroll down on this blog for my thoughts on her fellow Scot Russel McLean. He's also funny in person but then on paper he gets all noiry and makes you think about still waters and whether they run deep or whether they're just still...

Russel McLean's book... And a possible contest

was the fodder for my first Amazon review. Take a look. And a good book it was too. How do I know it was good? Well, first because I read it. I think that's a John Locke's primary experience type thing, no? But more importantly because I can still see images from the story and it has been months. Also, I can imagine the main character, J. McNee, doing things other than what he's shown to do in the novel. A secondary experience, no?

In any event, I do recommend the book if you're a fan of noir and/or Sottish people. Plenty of both in The Good Son.

Also, I will also be asking Mr. McLean a few questions about his writing and such and I hope to sell that (euphemistically since cash does not actually change hands...there again, can one do something euphemistically?) to Crimespree Magazine.

Now, in my review at Amazon, I say the the book present the world with the first Scottish PI. If I'm wrong, please show me the evidence. And I do mean Scottish PI working in Scotland with a license and everything. If you're the first to prove me wrong, I'll send you a brand new hardcover book. It might even be a copy of Russel's book though that would have to wait until it is out in this country since I don't fancy paying more for shipping than I did for the actual book again.

Visit with Russel at his blog. He doesn't bite.