Birthday Giveaway 2013

It's become kinda a tradition around here for the past two, three years that on my birthday, February 8th (which makes me an Aquarius if you're into astrology) I give away for free a Dillon ebook. This year I was planning on it being DILLON AND THE LAST RAIL TO KHUSRA but it looks like that ain't gonna happen. Damn thing clocks in now at around 31,000 and I don't see how I could bring the story to a satisfying conclusion without at least another 20,000 words. Yes, I know...I tend to write long but what d'you want me to do? It's how my brain is hardwired.

So I don't want to rush it and I'm also hip deep in the first draft of my Fight Card novel, Brooklyn Beatdown and since that's a time sensitive project, that one has to get bumped up to the top of the list.

Anyway, I don't want to break with tradition so here's what I'm gonna do; if you look to your right you'll see a box where you, yes, I said you can vote on which Dillon novel you want as a free ebook giveaway on my birthday. 

Which means simply that for twenty-four hours on February 8th you'll be able to go over to Smashwords and download an ebook copy of:

Or...

Absolutely and with no strings attached for FREE. Okay? So we clear on how this giveaway is gonna go this year? Good. Go vote then and I'll talk to you later.

Casting Call #20

I can hardly believe we've done 20 of these things and I haven't yet done a Casting Call for the two most important people in Dillon's life: his parents.

So far the information we have on them is incomplete. We do know that his mother Pamela was an accomplished martial artist having been trained herself by the same Warmasters of Liguria who trained Dillon. How she found her way to Shamballah in the first place is a story that has yet to be told. As is how she lost her eye. She died while getting Dillon to Shamballah. A death that Dillon himself witnessed.

Dillon has himself described his father as a genius. So far all we know of him is that his name is Bancroft and apparently he was the leader of an isolated community called Usimi Dero that blended advanced technology and art. Usimi Dero was destroyed by a being known as Thahali, She Who Wears The Dress of Seven Sufferings. Presumably Bancroft died in the destruction of Usimi Dero, sacrificing himself so as to give his wife and son time to get away.  Exactly who or what Thahali is, Dillon has yet to discover. So who do I see as playing Dillon's parents? Do you really have to ask?

Black Pulp

Publisher Announces BLACK PULP Collection

Featuring Best Selling Authors

Batesville, AR – 1/26/2013 – Pro Se Productions, a publisher of Genre Fiction, works to not only harken back to the classic fiction of Pulp magazines and adventure tales, but also to push the boundaries of modern Genre fiction in many directions. To that end, Pro Se Productions reveals a new anthology to be released in early 2013, a collection featuring the work of various authors, including bestsellers Walter Mosley and Joe R. Lansdale.

Black Pulp is a collection of stories featuring African characters in leading roles in stories running the genre gamut. Pulp Fiction of the early 20th Century rarely, if ever, focused on characters of color and the handful of black characters in these stories were typically portrayed as racial stereotypes. Black Pulp, a concept developed by noted crime novelist Gary Phillips, brings some of today’s best authors together with up and coming writers to craft adventure tales, mysteries, and more, all with black characters at the forefront.

Also co-editor of Black Pulp, Phillips observed, “While revisionism is not history, as Django Unchained signifies, nonetheless historical matters find their way into popular fiction. This is certainly the case with new pulp as it handles such issues as race with a modern take, even though stories can be set in a retro context. Black Pulp then offers exciting tales of derring-do and clear-eyed heroes and heroines of darker hues appealing to all.”

Black Pulp features a new original essay on the nature of Pulp, both classic and modern, by award winning author Walter Mosley. Known for his bestselling Easy Rawlins novel series as well as books featuring Private Eye Leonid McGill, Mosley is widely published in fiction, both literary and genre, and non-fiction. Mosley has received several honors, including a Grammy, PEN America’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and an O. Henry award.

Also featured in the anthology is a classic story by Joe R. Lansdale. Lansdale is not unfamiliar to Pulp, having written such notable characters as Tarzan as well many of his own original creations, including Hap & Leonard. Winner of the Edgar Award, multiple Bram Stoker Awards, The Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award and many others, Lansdale’s story provides his own take on Black Pulp.

Other contributing writers include Chester Himes Award winner Phillips, two time Shamus Award winner Gar Anthony Heywood, noted author Kimberly Richardson who currently has two works enlisted for Pulitzer Prize nomination, Dixon Medal winner Christopher Chambers, critically acclaimed novelist Mel Odom, hip-hop chronicler Michael Gonzales, Pulp Factory and Pulp Ark Award winner Ron Fortier, Pulp Factory Award winner Charles Saunders, Pulp Ark Award winners Derrick Ferguson and Tommy Hancock(also Publisher co-editor of Black Pulp), and noted writers Michael Gonzales and Alan D. Lewis.

Black Pulp is slated for print and digital release in early 2013 and features an original cover by Adam Shaw. For more information concerning Black Pulp and Pro Se Productions, contact proseproductions@earthlink.net.

It's A Wrap...

…well, not quite. There’s still quite a lot of work to do on this but when I say it’s a wrap I mean my contribution to the Dillon/Jim Anthony novel THE VRIL AGENDA. Clocking in at 56,000 words, "Vril-Ya!" is finally done. At least for now. It is now in the more than capable hands of my co-writer Josh Reynolds and I’ll go into stand by mode to see what he thinks of it and if any rewrites are necessary. God knows I've torn the poor story apart myself half a dozen times, being utterly ruthless in the process and I can't stand to see the thing bleed anymore.

But the whole project is that much closer to completion and I want to thank all of you for being so patient with me. This thing really should have been done a while ago but I let other projects (as well as my well-known slothfulness get in the way) So my deepest apologies for the long wait and hopefully when you read the entire story at long last I hope that the final product will be worth that long wait.

And here’s something that you’ve probably seen on Facebook but just in case you haven’t, take a look. It’s another faux movie poster for DILLON AND THE VOICE OF ODIN done by the insanely talented Sean E. Ali who whips these things up in his spare time. There aren’t enough words for me to express how awed I am that something I wrote could in turn spark the imagination of such an outstanding artist.

Okay, that’s it for now. As always, stay tuned for further news of THE VRIL AGENDA and I may have some news for you about DILLON AND THE LAST RAIL TO KHUSRA as well. 

Coming Attractions #9

Happy New Year, everybody and I hope that 2013 has started off well for you, your family and all your loved ones. I haven’t updated this thing in a while but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy. 2013 started with me hitting the ground running and there’s a buncha stuff concerning Dillon I’ve been hard at work on so let’s get down to it, shall we?

Over the holidays while fighting a nasty nasal infection as well as dealing with the hell of the holidays I wrote a brand new 11,000 word Dillon adventure: “Dillon and The Alchemist’s Morning Coffee” for an anthology called BLACK PULP. What’s BLACK PULP you ask? I wish I could tell you. Honestly. But since there has been no official announcement made I can’t say a mollyfoggin’ word. But I can say that when you hear about this anthology and the the talent associated with it, you’ll understand why I dropped everything to write this story to be a part of it. Those of you who read and enjoyed DILLON AND THE PIRATES OF XONIRA will be happy to hear that Captain Edna Hartless of the Advanced Counter Espionage Syndicate, also known as A.C.E.S. returns to join Dillon as they spend one really hectic day trying to recover The Alchemist’s Morning Coffee. Who is The Alchemist and why is his Morning Coffee so important? Hopefully you’ll be able to find out soon. I’ll let you know where and when.

The major Dillon project of 2013; THE VRIL AGENDA which teams up Dillon with Jim Anthony, Super Detective is moving along at a steady clip. My half of the story “Vril-Ya!” is up to 49,769 words and is coming into the homestretch as Dillon and Jim Anthony have their final battle with Sun Koh and his aides in the lost city of Ultima Thule at the bottom of the world in Antarctica. “Vril-Ya!” is going to be done by the end of January and then it all goes back into the hands of my co-writer Josh Reynolds for editing. This one is getting closer all the time to the finish line, folks.

I’ve also been in the process of editing DILLON AND THE VOICE OF ODIN for the 10^th anniversary edition. You will be pleased to know that I have entered into an agreement with an artist who has not only done a kickass cover but an overall uniform design that will be used for all the reissues of the four books in the Dillon series as well as the two Dillon ebooks I have planned for this year: “Dillon and The Last Rail to Khusra” and “Dead Beat In Khusra.”

And speaking of DILLON AND THE VOICE OF ODIN, the extraordinarily talented Sean E. Ali who did the cover for DILLON AND THE PIRATES OF XONIRA has done some really smokin’ hot imaginary movie posters that you might have seen on Facebook but if you haven’t grooved on them there, here they are for you to savor and enjoy. Sean has set October 2015 as the date for when the movie version of VOICE OF ODIN hits theaters. What do you think, people? You think we can do it?