tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26648921579974914452024-02-01T21:08:34.282-08:00Cafe NoirAward-Winning Author Paul D. Marks / Paul Marks ● WHITE HEAT WINS SHAMUS AWARD FROM PRIVATE EYE WRITERS OF AMERICA -- Notice: Unfortunately, because I’m so backed up on reading, I’m going to have to decline reading books, stories, etc., for blurbs or critiques for a while. You can still ask, but most likely I’ll have to say no. So please understand. It’s not that I don’t want to help but I’m way overextended.Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-25778393819980170132018-07-22T16:46:00.004-07:002018-07-22T16:48:16.213-07:00<br />
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Broken Windows – Sequel to #Shamus-winning White Heat drops 9/10/18. A labyrinth of murder, intrigue and corruption of church and state and business that hovers around the immigration debate. #writers #mystery #amreading #thriller #novels <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Broken-Windows-Duke-Rogers-Pi/dp/1948235072">https://www.amazon.com/Broken-Windows-Duke-Rogers-Pi/dp/1948235072</a>Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-85654038250471930312018-02-18T18:02:00.003-08:002018-02-18T18:04:52.868-08:00<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: magenta;">Some very good news:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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My story, “Windward,” from the anthology Coast to Coast:
Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea (Down and Out Books), has been selected to be in The Best
American Mysteries of 2018 (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), by editors Louise Penny
and Otto Penzler. Which is really cool, and a huge surprise.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">You can find more here:</span>
<a href="https://www.mysteriousbookshop.com/blogs/news/best-american-mystery-stories-2018">https://www.mysteriousbookshop.com/blogs/news/best-american-mystery-stories-2018</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">A list of all the authors:</span></div>
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Louis Bayard, Banana Triangle Six, published in Ellery Queen
Mystery Magazine</div>
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Andrew Bourelle, Y Is for Yangchuan Lizard, published in D
Is for Dinosaur, edited by Rhonda Parrish</div>
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T.C. Boyle, The Designee, published in the Iowa Review</div>
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Michael Bracken, Smoked, published in Noir at the Salad Bar,
edited by Verena Rose, Harriette Sackler, and Shawn Reilly Simmons</div>
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Burke, James Lee, The Wild Side of Life, published in the
Southern Review</div>
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Lee Child, Too Much Time, published in No Middle Name</div>
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Michael Connelly, The Third Panel, published in Alive in
Shape and Color, edited by Lawrence Block</div>
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John Floyd, Gun Work, published in Coast to Coast: Private
Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea, edited by Andrew McAleer and Paul D. Marks</div>
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David Edgerley Gates, Cabin Fever, published in Alfred
Hitchcock Mystery Magazine</div>
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Charlaine Harris, Small Signs, published in Ellery Queen
Mystery Magazine</div>
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Rob Hart, Take-Out, published in MysteryTribune</div>
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David H. Hendrickson, Death in the Serengeti, published in
Fiction River, edited by Kevin J. Anderson</div>
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Andrew Klavan, All Our Yesterdays, published in Ellery Queen
Mystery Magazine</div>
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Martin Limon, PX Christmas, published in The Usual Santas,
edited by Peter Lovesey</div>
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Paul D. Marks, Windward, published in Coast to Coast:
Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea, edited by Andrew McAleer and Paul D.
Marks</div>
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Joyce Carol Oates, Phantomwise: 1972, published in Ellery
Queen Mystery Magazine</div>
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Alan Orloff, Rule Number One, published in Snowbound, edited
by Verena Rose, Harriette Sackler, and Shawn Reilly Simmons</div>
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William Dylan Powell, The Apex Predator, published in
Switchblade</div>
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Scott Loving Sanders, Waiting on Joe, published in Shooting
Creek and Other Stories</div>
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Brian Silverman, Breadfruit, published in MysteryTribune</div>
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Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-88840145593953334722017-04-15T19:51:00.000-07:002017-07-15T16:02:24.422-07:00<h2>
<i><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">Welcome to Cafe Noir </span></i></h2>
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These days I'm mostly posting/blogging at two other blogs: <a href="http://7criminalminds.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">7 Criminal Minds</a>, every other Friday, and <a href="http://www.sleuthsayers.org/" target="_blank">SleuthSayers</a>, once or twice a month on Tuesdays. So I hope you'll join me at those blogs. See you there!<br />
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And I'm thrilled to announce that my story <span style="color: cyan;">"Ghosts of Bunker Hill,"</span> from the December, 2016, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, has been nominated/short listed for a <span style="color: cyan;">2017 MACAVITY AWARD</span> and was voted <span style="color: cyan;">#1 in the ELLERY QUEEN READERS POLL Poll</span> for 2016. (See pic below.) You can read that and other stories for free on my website at:<a href="http://pauldmarks.com/stories/" target="_blank"> http://pauldmarks.com/stories/</a><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">Notice: </span>Unfortunately, because I’m so backed up on reading,
I’m going to have to decline reading books, stories, etc., for blurbs or
critiques for a while. You can still ask, but most likely I’ll have to say no.
So please understand. It's not that I don't want to help, but I'm way overextended.</span></i></span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
Paul<br />
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<br />Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-59665166575628371842015-11-28T18:56:00.001-08:002015-11-28T18:56:47.413-08:00A Moveable Inspiration<i>Who do you count as your early-on writing inspirations when you were getting started. Has that changed over time? How? Why? </i><br />
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by <a href="http://www.pauldmarks.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Paul D. Marks</span></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIjgzRRmY0sFYTl9QluF3vQ8p7BF4g7YFVdC8WpG-IjTymWnykjk3bpnUeSRRnRnl6-VQoBEHZdeDnajxWHiGkuOcbmJyyUiMEKCTOsbeUviYSJg66uIBif0yb7USqMuGW9EhPKFLugk4/s1600-h/HemingwayLoeb%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="HemingwayLoeb" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUOCFqIKBWN2CavXdg6aTWAbd0ldRR4NTbpcmbg9FueA7Y8r67FAm4JcW3Ca5r4RnJu5ciFinXFK_SbDHDwiyrl2SxuwSmt6wP_ssxxmaQWVHj5bpP0F51Cwh334kT06xxAXKGj5YNpBo/?imgmax=800" height="310" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 5px 10px 10px 0px;" title="HemingwayLoeb" width="228" /></a>My writing inspirations are all over the place. Initially, I aspired to be a latter-day Hemingway, sitting on the Left Bank, sipping absinthe, chatting with my literary buddies. I wanted to live the romantic, adventurous life that Hemingway describes in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Moveable-Feast-Restored-Ernest-Hemingway/dp/143918271X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391140514&sr=1-1&keywords=a+moveable+feast" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">A Moveable Feast</span></a>. Yes, I liked his clipped and concise writing style, and his philosophy of the clean, well-lighted place, as well as the eponymous story, but I also loved the idea of that writer's life and lifestyle – so his influence is, or was, as much about the writer's lifestyle as his writing style. But when I tried it, drinking and writing, I just wanted to play – got no work done. Along with Hemingway comes Fitzgerald. Stylistically different, the two just naturally fit together, at least in my mind. One of my favorites stories is still Hemingway's short story, Soldier's Home, which I read every year or two.<br />
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But my writing influences don't only come from books and authors. I've always loved movies, uh, <i>films</i>, since before I could walk. And a lot of my writing has been influenced by them. I saw anything and everything I could, especially on the big screen. And though there's been a lot of influence from the movies in my work, from Frank Capra and screwball comedies to Alfred Hitchcock's suspense tales, and more modern directors like Martin Scorsese and even John Dahl, the thing that's stuck with me the most is film noir. I think I'm addicted, intervention needed.<br />
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I'm also one of those people who, while everyone else is leaving the theatre, is standing there, craning my neck around them, to see the credits. I've always been interested in who wrote a movie and, if it was based on a book, who wrote that.<br />
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So from this jumping off point, I began reading James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler and other writers whose works were turned into noir or mystery movies. One of my favorites is David Goodis (right), whose novel Dark Passage, was made into a movie with Bogie and Bacall. Having watched and liked that movie, I began reading Goodis, starting with the book that that movie was based on. But my favorite Goodis is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Piano-Player-David-Goodis/dp/0679732543/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391140571&sr=1-1&keywords=down+there+goodis" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Down There</span></a>, made into the movie <i>Shoot the Piano Player</i> by Francois Truffaut. I have to say, though, that I'm not a fan of the movie, but the original book is terrific if you like down and dirty noir stories. Goodis has been called the "poet of the losers" by Geoffrey O'Brien, and his stories deal with failed lives and people who are definitely on the skids. They're often people who weren't always in this position though and the interesting part is seeing how they deal with their downfall – not always so well.<br />
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Along with film noir, the early hardboiled writers (though there is some crossover) have influenced my mystery-noir sensibility: Chandler, Cain, Hammett, Dorothy B. Hughes, etc. Along with these writers comes John Fante, although I'm not sure Fante would fit either the noir or hardboiled categories. Nonetheless his thinly disguised autobiographical tales of a struggling writer's life in early 20<sup>th</sup> century L.A. made enough of an impression on me that I wrote to him shortly before he died.<br />
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Later on I was drawn to Ross MacDonald with his psychological insights and James Ellroy with his corrupt and sultry grittiness. But for me Chandler, with his elegant descriptions, metaphors, characters, depiction of the mean streets and his <i>ville fatale</i> relationship with Los Angeles, will always be on top, as high above everyone else in his field as the Beatles are in theirs. They are <i>sui generis</i>, in classes by themselves.<br />
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What draws me to these writers and the noir and mystery genre in books and films is that they're about the other side of the American Dream. There's an inner core of darkness and corruption in society, a feeling of fear and paranoia. There's a moral ambiguity in the writings of most of these writers and in these films. They are the equivalent of an Edward Hopper painting (another major influence on my writing) with its cold light and shadows, filled with a sense of alienation and angst.<br />
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In much of noir and some hardboiled writing (and there is often, though not always a difference between the two) there's no sense of redemption, but much betrayal. No good guys, just bad guys and worse guys. The hero is flawed. People's own flaws and weaknesses create their fallibility and ultimately lead to their downfall. I think this appeals to me in the sense that it's a realistic, though often pessimistic and cynical, view of society. And in my own writing, both in my novel <a href="http://www.amazon.com/White-Heat-P-I-Duke-Rogers-ebook/dp/B007SIR8QG/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1391140618" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">White Heat</span></a> and many of my short stories, the characters are flawed, the situations ambiguous.<s></s><br />
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And now to throw a monkey wrench into the works, my two favorite books of all time are not hardboiled or noir, but both have influenced me in many ways. They are <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Razors-Edge-W-Somerset-Maugham/dp/1400034205/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391140667&sr=1-1&keywords=the+razor%27s+edge+by+w.+somerset+maugham" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">The Razor's Edge</span></a> by Somerset Maugham and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Count-Monte-Cristo-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140449264/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391140720&sr=1-1&keywords=the+count+of+monte+cristo" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">The Count of Monte Cristo</span></a> by Dumas. The former because I relate to the character of Larry Darrell on a lot of levels, his disillusionment after the war (WWI), and his search for peace and meaning in life. And the latter because it's the ultimate revenge story and revenge is so satisfying, served cold or otherwise.<br />
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As to whether or not my inspirations have changed over time, the answer is not really. The old ones are still there, but new ones get added to the list all the time, everyone and everything from Walter Mosely, Carol O'Connell and Michael Connelly, to movies like Ghost World and Pulp Fiction.<br />
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And finally, the other early – and continuing – inspiration for my writing, as much as any writers or movies, is the City of Angels itself. I remember it well enough from when I was a kid that it still resembled Chandler's L.A. And later, my friend Linda and I would drive around the city, heading out in all directions, searching out the old buildings and the ghosts of old L.A.<br />
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L.A. is my own <i>ville fatale</i>. She is my mistress and a harsh mistress, indeed. But she is also my muse. But that's a whole 'nother story for the sequel.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK4h-_NiXHFcgI9ub3KiYAumTXgQn74XB9bFPOfEB6ik1cXsS-UN8KMG9STf7sltVAoZiZrMnv4aQhLpUMXjFVrAyDjR6oRFtvKe-Yg5Tv8wLHIp76CfKtg_3QLkyYwIn5rGlTMrYe_NA/s1600-h/Angels-flight-LA%252520%2525281%252529%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Angels-flight-LA (1)" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2n25Bs72jW_tbhbOcP5PcR81aiDl0-moSCFTuk2uQU8iw2EHWM4HIc9gOTc20DZTBrtK2FPNpsjHNGQP7dv1o6VytNLisexRH8p5CKgHfEYcasaRXph5y51OmOLDSSvL5UzMTghFdAfA/?imgmax=800" height="241" style="border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Angels-flight-LA (1)" width="377" /></a><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Originally posted on 7 Criminals Minds Blog)</span></i></div>
Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-48731177743782079972015-11-19T19:06:00.000-08:002015-11-19T19:06:14.938-08:00Midnight at the Internet Cafe<strong><em>What is the research tool you turn to most often? How important is visiting the site of your story to your research?</em></strong><br />
<strong><em><br /></em></strong><em>by Paul D. Marks</em><br />
<em>(reprinted from 7CriminalMinds.Blogspot.com)</em><br />
<em><br /></em>These days my go-to research tool is the internet, what else? It’s close at hand. It’s easy. It has “everything” on it. And it’s right all the time. Well, most of the time. I mean much of the time. Yeah.<br />
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In the olden days, BI—Before Internet—one had to go to the library or the bookstore. But if you’re a night owl like me you’d be hard pressed to find a library or bookstore open at 3am, my prime time. Not impossible, but also maybe not close by. And much as I love browsing both of those places, I’d rather do it in the middle of the night, but I guess they want to sleep and I curse them for it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgihsDg_3Hf4MdkjY4XGLjB59Pw9vW6cv-bf0qPseT1LJCQras3-9wRtDMfyLSvgOqZPBch-K4GLDBOmNjpxHsbuUDsaiWfnZKuOCCB2jNw4Yaw6nWG2m5uefbQTZVvvk0j-d-cQU3M9Lo/s1600-h/Hollywood%252520Sign%252520Collage%252520D1a%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img align="right" alt="Hollywood Sign Collage D1a" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNHsSnUGnRv8IrgdAS7LZaSfQFHpV4JHuhQelis_F020UNl-8IDvra_dzo9fhO-wNf5BtDuQsOb1LqZJb3tmwGc104D9dFTqbS9kFNiENT-dLkw-VGhUOzwD8njmDFTTxahyZfd2nZZI/?imgmax=800" height="230" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Hollywood Sign Collage D1a" width="354" /></a>Then, of course, there’s first hand research, going to the location/s in your story or to primary source people. For example, if you’re writing about the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles and you live in Los Angeles you can drive up there, annoy the people who live in the neighborhood, duck potshots from them, get close to the sign and, after running the gauntlet of angry residents, find out it’s fenced off so you can’t get there anyway, at least not right there. But you used to be able to go there. I hiked up there with a friend one time when we were doing research on a screenplay. It was fun and exciting and before the neighbors were perpetually upset—and before it was fenced off. But today it’s hard to get to, at least to get right up close to it, because it is fenced off. So what do you do? You turn to the internet or books. Or people who’ve been there or you watch through binocs or you beg everyone you know to find someone who knows someone who can get you inside the fence. And when that fails you hit the books again or the internet.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ3LrcrrvNWVpA57zM2uS6QAZCYj_eXKv6_P0IkdETMabGc_7x9yDh67fXfB7s6lmSkmfM6jakbtuEO-lCynB6jzBIQZ_BbjzZoXOvINkphI99DrVPxH7U9itMiPYh1SvV0tnf94nJevo/s1600-h/Kiss%252520Me%252520Deadly%252520Angels%252520Flight%252520w%252520caption%252520d1%25255B11%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="Kiss Me Deadly Angels Flight w caption d1" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1YAlbAawGCrMglQ-ePMoj7RUrsJAaRvWtS2rgNSxYS-fxpgWpAKPbqiOx56g2whSOVLsE5Qwu-BW3IU5qPWuFnmOGfgNipNdD0cuL2THLu4ypGnNcWbtnAJeeQl7_eA7SpjhfcvvouqI/?imgmax=800" height="234" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Kiss Me Deadly Angels Flight w caption d1" width="304" /></a>I recently sold a story to Ellery Queen that takes place on and around Bunker Hill, no not that Bunker Hill in Massachusetts. The one in downtown L.A. L.A.’s Bunker Hill of today and the Bunker Hill of 30-40 years ago are two vastly different places. When it began in the late 1800s, Bunker Hill was a neighborhood of fancy Victorian homes for the wealthy near downtown. Over time the swells moved west and Bunker Hill became run down and the elaborate houses were turned into rooming houses. In the late 60s, redevelopment began. The people were kicked out. Some of the houses were torn down and others were packed up and moved to other locations. So, though my story takes place today it deals with elements of the long-lost and lamented Bunker Hill of yesterday. How did I research that? Well, the usual, the internet, books, etc. Watching old movies shot there—many film noirs were shot on and around Bunker Hill. But I had also spent time there as a young man, exploring the houses, getting into some, riding the original Angels Flight funicular railway. Going through the Grand Central Market that John Fante talks about in Ask the Dust, before it was remodeled. And I still have the top of a newell stairway post I liberated from one of those old Victorian houses—a memento both to L.A.’s and my own past. I’m also old enough to remember L.A. as Raymond Chandler describes it and before it started to change and “grow up”. And I remember it pretty well—first-hand research you might say.<br />
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My novel <em><a href="http://http//www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007SIR8QG" target="_blank">White Heat</a></em> takes place mostly in Los Angeles during the Rodney King riots of 1992. I lived through that and used both personal experience and recollections of others, both civilians and cops that I know who were there to add flavor to the story. But parts of the story also take place in Calexico, California and Sparks and Reno, Nevada. I have recollections of both places, but it’s been a long time since I was there, so again I turned to the internet to be my researcher’s best friend.<br />
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But what if you’re writing something that’s set where you’ve never been. I’ve never been to the Amazon, though it’s one of my dreams. Pre-internet, I was working on a screenplay set there, so I researched it in books, etc. But I also drew on personal experiences of being in other riverine environs, transposing some of those experiences and adventures to the Amazon.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiHSxI4h31AXmu3TpaZOSHW9n5cvgvvhAn3DtX_xI5MEzWfKV-Oc0yz0Jwfdiwt2vEYAjPELJ4-UP_kNdlraojlV7XS80FbYngxU7HHrJPOdRb_QaWZpQctanWulhd4DiEX6m4hSDhU68/s1600-h/Gas_Station_1942%252520d1%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img align="right" alt="Gas_Station_1942 d1" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbDBAO1Qmx4gfOGpLJYinke7tiWfrHVBDg5a7njyevtwxcEeGQffPMu4ldEp6JGBmnVTpmv5AM8P-cr2TKepke90-piz8wdRQD2Fai_gBGFVnLuuU6jXJPg9FVWfFAm8V4R7D7nKuWUKw/?imgmax=800" height="341" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 5px 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Gas_Station_1942 d1" width="244" /></a>What if it’s a time you’ve never lived in or experienced firsthand? I have a character named Bobby Saxon who’s been in three published stories. I wrote a novel with Bobby that should be done soon. Those stories all take place during World War II on the L.A. homefront. Well, that’s before my time. But I know L.A. pretty well and I know a lot of its history. So I had a good foundation to start with. But I also turned to primary resources: my mom and her friends. My family goes back here a long way and my mom was an L.A. native, so she and her friends could tell me first-hand things about L.A. during the war. I supplemented that with—what else? —the internet and books. But also with maps. I wanted to know how people got from point A to point B in a time before freeways. So I bought several period street maps on eBay, as well as looking things up on the net. And, aside from the good research the maps gave me for the story, I just love looking at them and seeing how things change over time. I also got some of the flavor of the era from old movies and music of the time, both of which I love.<br />
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When I was working on a script set in New Orleans...I had to go research it in person. Had to. Wouldn’t you? I wanted it to be real and how could I make it real without actually tasting the food at Commander’s Palace? <img alt="Winking smile" class="wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-winkingsmile" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgofcYMgQXLbgSanP78iNvTV8CHmsWbi72v061dVnaYxuiOO1K3WMVoMFukMSYPjznKeveCL0qECpgkaR51tLjmGzpr0cDhWIWNgdCnB7poLjMQxTXRjQqgPX4D17yZvmCy64qcRFuVqM8/?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none;" /><br />
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But what about writing about professions or places that I have no first-hand contact with, well, it’s research and again you go to primary sources when you can. Example: I’m not a doctor so I ask doctors how certain symptoms might be treated, what meds would be used, etc. As for places I haven’t been, well, sometimes I try to go, but if I can’t it’s back to the internet drawing board.<br />
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So if I had to pick one winner, it would be the internet. The world is at your fingertips.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukz3Gu-XEgrC213z66IdW2hKNwvVF_yGm2nXmQfGG3r4PA9ne1oHT6Bh-fI-o89FoGgu65EQZ3xpNUNbjUGx1UySx4xQzn-cFlYuNwyGRWN6mZBgXr-4qFbsFcY3JG1uPCshv2r9dynM/s1600-h/Bouchercon2015_logoLargewAnthony%252520--%252520Smaller-Sharpened%252520JPG%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="Bouchercon2015_logoLargewAnthony -- Smaller-Sharpened JPG" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVcRtWWyciBrfg3CethuJMtettQYtS_TNy6wukRFdFoEQptwsdVuLfMArVMBHlnUUwhxID52mwkPrDj2S9r3yLOdoEQvgWKkePfdd96WqGHAcbrnjLlddTNSHbrP836uVlsD4dhdhzaTU/?imgmax=800" height="241" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Bouchercon2015_logoLargewAnthony -- Smaller-Sharpened JPG" width="244" /></a>It’s still not too late to read all the 2015 Anthony Award nominated short stories:</div>
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The five Anthony nominees in the Short Story category are <strong>Craig Faustus Buck</strong>, <strong>Barb Goffman</strong>, <strong>John Shepphird</strong>, our own <strong>Art Taylor</strong>...and me, <strong>Paul D. Marks</strong>. I’m honored to be among these people and their terrific stories.</div>
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I want to thank everyone who voted for us in the first round. And if you’re eligible to vote, people attending Bouchercon can vote at the convention until 1pm Saturday.<br />
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I hope you’ll take the time to read all five of the stories and vote. All are available free here – just click the link and scroll down to the short story links: <a href="http://bouchercon2015.org/2015-anthony-award-nominees/">http://bouchercon2015.org/2015-anthony-award-nominees/</a><br />
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But even if you’re not eligible to vote, I hope you’ll take the time to read the stories. I think you’ll enjoy them and maybe get turned onto some new writers.<br />
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And now for the usual shameless BSP:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-x0D3FJheZJE_IWVV0rQBzPwyXZaqyZyEWbSbd-_lUf-bHrpQ61LPo-EKMYT1PSLcLgGq0y-VH8CGDkKXKIm8xKjNa4BKDXpfdFWSJ-yMGD-yEdng_NPRmPdIpSzFnwpvifKFIWv51E/s1600-h/Coast%252520to%252520Coastx_1500%252520%2525281%252529%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="Coast to Coastx_1500 (1)" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWOX45Mx1YFA-Kl3j4-M76fN_MJCXj-cfwzZRJpdgaDyVFbIAw5oYU0_d2SLRF_ank3DJHAQgDPZff1AwIIKt6UyI4MWzhqgXMZPyqKRXX_pYs-SNlwST4kjviTlHhWEMKLmApJmOhKiI/?imgmax=800" height="324" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Coast to Coastx_1500 (1)" width="204" /></a>NEW from <a href="http://downandoutbooks.com/" target="_blank">Down & Out Books</a> – Coast to Coast: Murder from Sea to Shining Sea – an anthology of short mystery stories, chocked full of major award-winning authors, edited by Andrew McAleer and Paul D. Marks (Me!)<br />
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Released on 10/1 (that’s yesterday for those without a calendar, so hot off the presses)<br />
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“Envelope-pushers! A truly WOW collection by the best mystery writers out there – full of surprises only they can pull off.”<br />
—Thomas B. Sawyer, Bestselling author of <em>Cross Purposes</em>, Head-Writer of <em>Murder, She Wrote</em><br />
<em><br /></em>With a Killer Cast Including:<br />
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4 Time Edgar Winner William Link • Grand Master Bill Pronzini • Scribner Crime Novel Winner William G. Tapply • Shamus Winner Paul D. Marks • EQMM Readers Award Winner Robert S. Levinson • Al Blanchard Award Winner James T. Shannon • Derringer Award Winner Stephen D. Rogers • Sherlock Holmes Bowl Winner Andrew McAleer and other poisoned-pen professionals like Judy Copek • Sheila Lowe • G. B. Pool • Thomas Donahue<br />
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Available in paperback and Kindle e-book on Amazon. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Coast-Murder-Sea-Shining/dp/1943402027" target="_blank">Click here to go to Amazon.</a><br />
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Click here to subscribe to my Newsletter: <a href="http://eepurl.com/bkhUbD" target="_blank">Subscribe to my Newsletter</a></div>
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Please join me on Facebook: <a href="http://facebook.com/paul.d.marks" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/paul.d.marks</a> and Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/pauldmarks/" target="_blank">@PaulDMarks</a></div>
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And check out my updated website <a href="http://pauldmarks.com/" target="_blank">www.PaulDMarks.com</a>Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-49962827101372104472015-06-21T18:42:00.004-07:002015-06-21T18:42:43.290-07:00<b><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;">Vortex</span></i></b><br />
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My noir-thriller novella <span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Vortex</span></i></b>
</span>is just about ready to go – finally. Advance Readers Copies are available.
Anyone interested in checking it out please let me know by e-mail. Hey, it’s
short, you can read it in a couple of hours.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Zach
Tanner is on the run. He can run from the war, but he can’t run from himself.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Zach
and his girlfriend, Jess, careen down Sunset Boulevard, trying to get away from
a red Camaro that’s hot on their tail. But it’s hard to get away from your best
friends, who think you’ve stolen their spoils of war.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Praise for <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">Vortex</span></i></b>:</div>
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<i>"Noir, Thy Name is Paul D. Marks</i></div>
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Marks is an authority on all things noir and L.A., and he
knows how to give this contemporary tale the kick of a double shot of whiskey
straight up. Chandler and Cain have found their heir."</div>
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—Jon Bloch / Criminologist and</div>
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author of “Identity
Thief”</div>
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and “Shadow Language” </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPOhAncrFEi6EX4LeJ5HGWMRejsqkelv5hRI4xCxA4Wn7r2ZxOpfimJZSkZDqtx-YL89fichneVtraveYuFuBOOqAx1MX1brtFHV7rBBKziv2bs1jLWU9XeM1o1jMUk_XSpplflsFFVRc/s1600/Vortex--ARC-Cover7b--Show-Me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPOhAncrFEi6EX4LeJ5HGWMRejsqkelv5hRI4xCxA4Wn7r2ZxOpfimJZSkZDqtx-YL89fichneVtraveYuFuBOOqAx1MX1brtFHV7rBBKziv2bs1jLWU9XeM1o1jMUk_XSpplflsFFVRc/s320/Vortex--ARC-Cover7b--Show-Me.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-92163644720711010842014-09-21T17:26:00.002-07:002014-09-21T17:28:31.242-07:00Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot?<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Have you ever
killed off a character you loved? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>by Paul D. Marks</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, I've
certainly wanted to kill off a lot of 'characters' I've come across in my life,
but we're talking fiction here. The answer is yes. Killing off a character that
you like is never easy. We all love
killing the bad guys, seeing them get their just desserts. But when you kill
off a sympathetic character, a character that you and your readers like and,
who is a good guy and good friend to your protagonist, well, that's another
story. But sometimes you gotta do what
you gotta do for the sake of the plot and the story and a dash of realism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUXf3il4qkeBNi0eXKJ4xGr5dvMorLuXUf9GZxJE6oJE789K3U7Md4lWMYiUSlwyKuLN7X05SldYGy_shFrPmScSO6zKa4gu4zYaSL7amS55_2YmiUbfvsvQXj3YyUMUBQnoIYOVVZkwU/s1600/Sleepy+Lagoon+sheet+music+d1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUXf3il4qkeBNi0eXKJ4xGr5dvMorLuXUf9GZxJE6oJE789K3U7Md4lWMYiUSlwyKuLN7X05SldYGy_shFrPmScSO6zKa4gu4zYaSL7amS55_2YmiUbfvsvQXj3YyUMUBQnoIYOVVZkwU/s1600/Sleepy+Lagoon+sheet+music+d1.jpg" height="200" width="136" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gaby, a character
in my story <b><i>Sleepy Lagoon Nocturne</i></b>, set around the time of the Zoot Suit Riots
during World War II, is missing. He's a friend of Bobby's, the story's main
character. And someone who knows Bobby's
deepest secrets. But knowing them, he is sympathetic to Bobby and a friend to
him. So when he goes missing, Bobby
wants to find out what happened. And it
isn't pretty. And though Gaby meets an untimely end, I liked the
character. So when I wrote <b><i>The Blues
Don't Care</i></b>, a novel that "stars" Bobby in the main role, I
resurrected Gaby to return in that story, which is set previous to the time of
<b><i>Sleepy Lagoon Nocturne</i></b>. So, sometimes through the magic of fiction you can
bring back a character that you like.
(This novel is not yet available.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvYHco2hbZ4uT9E1Wh_9cCWAxTqJT8uA7F9wESGBvjqt3MheXu_t37hcDzKPpvaianfasIZvH3nov8oXWA_1zsrX7OKUhyiGzQZtzZiC64s4rxuGCR-DmuZGUgc8lFuRdoRzYKyO8gFX0/s1600/Free-Fall-smallCover4web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvYHco2hbZ4uT9E1Wh_9cCWAxTqJT8uA7F9wESGBvjqt3MheXu_t37hcDzKPpvaianfasIZvH3nov8oXWA_1zsrX7OKUhyiGzQZtzZiC64s4rxuGCR-DmuZGUgc8lFuRdoRzYKyO8gFX0/s1600/Free-Fall-smallCover4web.jpg" height="200" width="124" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My short story
<b><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Free-Fall-Noir-Short-Story-ebook/dp/B008F245J2" target="_blank">Free Fall</a> </i></b>starts off with the main character, Rick, free falling to his death
from a high-rise apartment in L.A. So
I'm not really giving anything away here. This was an interesting experiment
for me as both the writer and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">reader know the main character, the narrator of
the story, is dead from the beginning.
As the ground comes screaming towards him and in those few seconds
before hitting, we get his story. Having
started this story off knowing my main character was going to die, I didn’t
have time to become too attached to him, at least initially. But, as I wrote his backstory, I started to
like him and empathize with him and I think that gave the story a little more
depth and interest as we realize all the events that led up to him taking this
ultimate final step.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjhx-aXMf0Cn9Fp8I-WHxmRrT-u-fOhCEYjHK4vbCM9r4YIQdiFlL0TE0oNxoio4lkFrN6EFhUhFRWXULNFBxH5qNVwGF8jRuMbN0SnQ9wyTpT1MFPoWVy1iRRoyfzw3CQeORyGCf1cA/s1600/whiteheat_pauldmarks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjhx-aXMf0Cn9Fp8I-WHxmRrT-u-fOhCEYjHK4vbCM9r4YIQdiFlL0TE0oNxoio4lkFrN6EFhUhFRWXULNFBxH5qNVwGF8jRuMbN0SnQ9wyTpT1MFPoWVy1iRRoyfzw3CQeORyGCf1cA/s1600/whiteheat_pauldmarks.jpg" height="320" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Spoiler Alert </b>–
Don't read this graph if you're planning to read <b><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/White-Heat-P-I-Duke-Rogers/dp/098507602X" target="_blank">White Heat</a></i></b>: Probably the most
heartrending death of a character both for me and my readers was the death of a
dog in this novel. It's ironic because just a week or two before I got this
question I read something that said you never kill a dog in a cozy. Well, this book is about as far from a cozy
as you can get. Still, it was hard on my
audience and I got a lot of feedback on that. Some people couldn't even read
those parts. And it was hard for me to
kill him off. But it did make people
hate the bad guy even more – after all, who kills a dog? I don't like the idea of hurting a dog
anymore than anyone else. But you do what
works for the plot. And in this case I
thought it would jolt the reader into connecting with the characters in a more
real way. Suddenly the bad guy is really
evil and the hero more sympathetic. Is that manipulative – maybe. But isn't all writing? Still, it hurt to write those scenes and you
just feel it all well up inside you as you write. It was also hard on me
because the real-life dog that the dog-character was based on was a dog I'd had
as a kid. Luckily that rascally dog
lived to a ripe old age. <b>End of Spoiler.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Killing off the
characters in the three cases that I mention above worked for each particular
story. And you do what you have to do to
make the story work. But that doesn't
mean you don't regret it sometimes. In one particular screenplay of mine, that
was optioned over and over but never produced, I kill off the main character's
sidekick buddy. But I really liked that
character and since it hasn't been produced, well, maybe it's not too late to
save his ass. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(originally
posted on 7 Criminal Minds blog)</span><span style="font-family: Courier New;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-17801868092259014582014-09-05T05:51:00.002-07:002014-09-05T05:53:21.326-07:00GUEST BLOG: G.B. POOL -– MEET MY CHARACTER BLOG TOUR<br />
Today I welcome mystery author and former private detective G.B. Pool to my blog. She’s <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigG18igOFP3rp2ptyhtSD_QaULk5QT5mBjaY-nVst65xDHxEPy-wfD0ebq8wHc56ilK5_bo6r4jhDWMhr8vTtsQIQNhVaTSDXZL0AACKTJ4zrmQ0VifRH1hbhOk-hj6giPfnabG7YJpo0/s1600/Gayle25Artistic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigG18igOFP3rp2ptyhtSD_QaULk5QT5mBjaY-nVst65xDHxEPy-wfD0ebq8wHc56ilK5_bo6r4jhDWMhr8vTtsQIQNhVaTSDXZL0AACKTJ4zrmQ0VifRH1hbhOk-hj6giPfnabG7YJpo0/s1600/Gayle25Artistic.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
responding to the Meet My Character blog tour. <br />
<br />
Besides having worked as P.I., she was once a newspaper reporter for a small town weekly. She writes short stories as well as two detective series, one featuring Johnny Casino, an ex-mobster, and also Gin Caulfield, an over fifty gal who’s still packing heat. G.B. teaches writing classes: “The Anatomy of a Short Story,” ”How To Write Convincing Dialogue,” and “How To Write a Killer Opening Line.” Website: <a href="http://www.gbpool.com/">www.gbpool.com</a>. <br />
<br />
Here her character Col. Robert Mackenzie from her Spy Game trilogy tells us a little about himself and the series. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i>1) Please state your name. Are you a fictional character or an historic person? </i></b><br />
<br />
My name is Colonel Robert Mackenzie. I’m a spymaker. As for whether this is fictional or not, let me put it this way: The facts are true. The rest is made up. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i>2) When and where is the story set? </i></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGxN5dB0LDtmwo17ij8qnupR8OKzsvdiKRHNxcAQNFPq-ZqTThxj45OH2zbICTyz0WfhnJvLp1_ZiOe739B99-1GOrr8EapblslUslcic6rFLEioXqZPGOgQKYWX_3k8kcMiwWE0nnJ9A/s1600/The+Odd+Man+cover+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGxN5dB0LDtmwo17ij8qnupR8OKzsvdiKRHNxcAQNFPq-ZqTThxj45OH2zbICTyz0WfhnJvLp1_ZiOe739B99-1GOrr8EapblslUslcic6rFLEioXqZPGOgQKYWX_3k8kcMiwWE0nnJ9A/s1600/The+Odd+Man+cover+cropped.jpg" height="244" width="169" /></a></div>
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<i>The Odd Man</i> starts out during World War II when my plane was shot down over Germany and I ended up working with German resistance fighters, anyway, that’s who they said they were. I was suspicious. I followed the head guy, Gunter Beyer, one night after I misunderstood what he had said to his beautiful wife, Monika. We ran into some real Nazis soldiers and I realized I had made a huge mistake. And had it not been for Monika following me, we’d all be dead. <br />
<br />
Then Gunter and I got caught in the firebombing of Hamburg. Next, we helped Danish resistance with the escape plans for Niels Bohr who was then spirited out of Denmark on his way to Los Alamos. <br />
<br />
I finished out the war in London working for ‘’Wild Bill” Donovan and the OSS. I went back to the States after the war and ended up teaching a school for spies, first out of SAC, then with the newly formed CIA. But that’s just the beginning of the story. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i>3) What else should we know about you? </i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
When I was lying in beautiful Monika’s bed, burning up with fever, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Then I woke up and realized she was just taking care of me and I figured my life was over. I was young; there was a war going on. Stuff like that happens. But Monika, a gypsy by birth who was spared the concentration camps when Gunter stole her away from her tyrannical father, told me I had a future. She could see it in my eyes. I laughed. Then years passed and I realized she had been right. My future was in the spygame. I was one of the best damn spies there was and better still, I could train men and a few women to be part of the last defense against tyranny coming ashore. Little did I know at the beginning, but the enemy often comes from within. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i>4) What is the main conflict? What messes up your life? </i></b><br />
<br />
After the war I went back to the States, finished college, and the Korean War broke out. This time I go back in the service as an instructor. I teach a lot of brass hats in the military how to beat the enemy by using my chess game theory: Know the enemy and be six moves ahead. <br />
<br />
They let me have my own training camp in a secret location where I trained guys to blend in to their surroundings – foreign or domestic. I teach them well and my first group goes off to Berlin in the early Sixties. <br />
<br />
When my pipe-line is blown a few years later, the survivors and I try to figure out who betrayed us. While we are looking toward the Soviet Union and East Germany, our prey is actually in Washington, D.C., polishing his political résumé. Greed and arrogance would have him stop at nothing, even selling out his country, to achieve the biggest prize of them all. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i>5) What is your personal goal? </i></b><br />
<br />
My goal: Learn as much about the enemy as you can and then beat him with every trick in the book. We don’t have a choice. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i>6) And a question to the author: When can we expect the book to be published? </i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
The SPYGAME Trilogy comes out in 2015. <br />
<br />
The first book, <i>The Odd Man</i>, is just as Robert Mackenzie described it. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsuEILrf_jKr0e7M4vi2-E0Whyphenhyphenw8VvdowV0SaSpHrwaCW1T6UJaSLHtpC6nQIiHGTun-zTfRDmH706zm99X4S3e9RyJ9ysDY5MpMm8O-iq7Tgbsva6hGAnGBxAPgxWrat8ajMf8htHhdM/s1600-h/clip_image004%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="clip_image004" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCH6tTmSwb00xSNfLsdfQjcMoT8Fetod_YP_myfu0ktWkmg5wD6wVGDiap6rGc6EUU_ye_liZ6a0fsYCiOIkUgUYPaf-RCGCxEDVTenTHoESFeReqOzWJzzuYt65QI6-MKtHijCr-Eka0/?imgmax=800" height="244" hspace="12" style="border: 0px; display: inline;" title="clip_image004" width="169" /></a>The second book, <i>Dry Bones</i> begins at the 30th high school reunion of a group of people who graduated from an American military boarding school in France. Held in Sin City, Las Vegas, a handful of former friends unearth old memories and old murders. <br />
The Premise: Someone wants to prevent the remains of a former classmate killed in Vietnam from being returned during the reunion. Hint: The school was a recruiting ground for CIA operatives who went to Vietnam during the 60’s and 70’s. <br />
<br />
Master spymaker Robert Mackenzie and writer Elaine Barton put the pieces of this puzzle together by digging up bones in the catacombs of the old deconsecrated monastery in France where Elaine went to school, uncovering the real story of two mysterious classmates whose father, Etienne LeBlanc, had been a notorious drug dealer, and by discovering the true history of an antique dealer in Saigon who knows where most of the bodies are buried. <br />
<br />
Switched identities and phony pasts entangle lives from Vietnam to France, all linked by an enigmatic man named Tran Van Quang and a jade Saint. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDjmVf1TbMdSINdpaJpHqov8hwphJiEblHUemAZBeFikUEEsoDV5gu9jJT02Kxb-GPb15VQMXQ5Pv0-thmndS0QC1Ua5TuptVR0-6oETyRq-lhQWUKIPCzvWxfrRgd-WvS7oRE6eiGbmk/s1600-h/clip_image005%25255B3%25255D.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="clip_image005" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TGqAyxrklUNNl1UW-kpPnIYt74YQKJNpOz7WT8Mzts2g4xBYezGSfyds-3LxkIUP6UBSyLcM8nlebI3eCZPJvGfcFzV60LL01lSZwqGjYct_91iUVPBgOTw-ybi_TO1v195VZT-Yvnc/?imgmax=800" height="244" hspace="12" style="border: 0px; display: inline;" title="clip_image005" width="165" /></a><i>Star Power</i>, the final novel in the SPYGAME Trilogy, traces the activities of a world-famous actress, Irene Roman, who is a Soviet agent. She started her career in the 1950’s, when the McCarthy Era was captivating America and she uses her beauty and prominence to infiltrate many areas usually closed to the average Joe. <br />
<br />
Her agent, Michael Walsh, part of the Popular Front movement in the 30’s and 40’s, recruited several stars for Party work as well as for their acting. He used a dumb little blonde named Estelle Murray until she learned too much about a plan to do more than infiltrate the movie industry with communist propaganda. <br />
<br />
To push forward the Front's agenda, Walsh blackmails a script reader from MGM , Lillian Pritchard, a bit of a lush, who has an illegitimate son by a famous Hollywood screenwriter, Sidney Berman. Lillian is the only intelligent person in Walsh's life besides the fellow-traveling intelligentsia who are trying to make a statement in American movies. <br />
<br />
The commies are more than willing to let the Hollywood Left write anything they want, just send all that lovely money back to Moscow. Irene arrives on the scene when more than money is required. She marries a rising star in Hollywood to get her foot in the door, followed by a few other famous men whom she uses. She even names a name during the HUAC hearings. Talk about your red herrings. She even marries the handsome American Ambassador to India to try to disrupt Chinese-Russian relations during the Vietnam War. <br />
<br />
Master spymaker, Robert Mackenzie, runs into her several times around the world, once in Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring. Because she looks like an old love, he finds it hard to get her out of his mind, but when he finds out she’s a spy, he decides to use her to America’s advantage. <br />
Irene and her cronies want to oversee the ruination of America by weakening the moral and mental fabric of the country. Her final gambit is to assume the seat of a dead U.S. Senator in a fixed election and press to have America capitulate when a threat is uncovered that could destroy major parts of North America. Can Mac and his team stop this before it’s too late? <br />
<br />
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********* </div>
<br />
Thank you, Gayle! <br />
<br />
And now Gayle is tagging writers <a href="http://www.mattcoylebooks.com/">Matt Coyle</a> and <a href="http://www.joelfox.com/">Joel Fox</a> to carry on the Meet My Character Blog Hop.<br />
<br />Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-53535571117559572562014-08-30T00:42:00.000-07:002014-08-30T00:48:56.363-07:00Meet My Character Blog Hop<br />
I was tagged by the terrific and talented Michael W. Sherer to participate in the Meet My Character blog tour/hop. Michael recently posted his,
and you should check it out: <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.michaelwsherer.com/blog.htm?post=967483">http://www.michaelwsherer.com/blog.htm?post=967483</a></span><br />
<br />
Mike is the Thriller Award-nominated, best-selling author of Night Blind, the first in the Seattle-based Blake Sanders thriller series, which was also named a best book of 2012 by The Examiner’s “Miami Books.” Mike has published six novels in the award-winning Emerson Ward mystery series and a stand-alone suspense novel, Island Life, which was a USA Book News “Best Books” award-winner in 2008. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.emersonwardmysteries.com/">http://www.emersonwardmysteries.com</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.islandlife-thenovel.com/">http://www.islandlife-thenovel.com</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.michaelwsherer.com/">http://www.michaelwsherer.com</a> <br />
<span style="color: #f6b26b;">michael.w.sherer@facebook.com</span><br />
<a href="mailto:michael.w.sherer@facebook.com"><br /></a>
So here’s my answers to the Character Blog Hop questions: <br />
<br />
<b><i>1) What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or a historic person?</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfIDRZ2OzMpCqYEqBVTrvBmHABgzWg7UZQZMAO1Bzv93GGDhZ_2l5ADkjn74nahOfdhiCQclK-RdD8K3pFKd6GJ0HafV1t93mFt8XYWN-8XYe3-skeAxzcadVN_cgu9I3UEz1xbxr6ryQ/s1600-h/storm2%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="storm2" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOx24Jn-JPnfnbBvQh41zUFX1pMslJxOrBVMcgt0DRKBIkBiC3lEc4L_bu5KVkgZR2mAr70_PQ_wR9sYfb5S_NEyKSsz1RYYjAm7bc5y3A0yECFkvX7sJkrxFnrRWHP8AvrM7KAztRjsw/?imgmax=800" height="244" style="border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px;" title="storm2" width="224" /></a> Zach Tanner is a fictional character in my stand-alone novella Vortex. Zach is, or was, a cocky guy who joined the National Guard with three of his high school buddies. But after his tour in Afghanistan some of that cockiness has been knocked out of him, big time. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i>2) When and where is the story set? </i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
The story is set in Los Angeles in the present, or at least the not-too-distant past. It begins with a flash open of a chase on Pacific Coast Highway. Zach and his high school sweetheart, Jess, are being chased by a hot red Camaro. Jess wants Zach to talk to their pursuers: He responds: “We can't go back. Don't you understand, they'll kill us.” “They're your friends,” she says. "Yeah," Zach says, then thinks to himself: ‘The first rule of war is know your enemy. And I knew mine, too well—or maybe not well enough.’ —And that’s the problem, the people chasing him are his friends—or were.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i>3) What should we know about him/her? </i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
Zach and his three buddies enlisted together. Served together. Did some bad shit together and thought their bond would never break. But war changed Zach more than he could ever imagine. And maybe it changed his buds too, but in the opposite way. Now the former best friends are enemies. And the collateral damage could be Jess or Zach’s brother or his new love. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i>4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life? </i></b><br />
<br />
Don’t want to give too much away. But: Zach and his buds set something in motion while in Afghanistan that has major repercussions on their return home. Zach has a change of heart...but his buddies don’t. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i>5) What is the personal goal of the character? </i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
His immediate goal is to protect his girlfriend, Jess, and get them away from his former pals, who think they might know something. His long term goal is to put it all behind them and live a normal life, after this chain of events that might end up taking several lives. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i>6) Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it? </i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
Vortex. And, unfortunately nothing more yet, but stay tuned for further updates. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i>7) When can we expect the book to be published? </i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
Not sure. Hopefully not too distant future. <br />
<br />
<br />
I’ve tagged three terrific authors to carry on the bunny, I mean blog hop: <br />
<br />
Max Everhart is the author of Go Go Gato, a terrific debut mystery. He writes and reviews mysteries, crime thrillers and detective fiction, when playing hooky from teaching English and Creative Writing. <a href="http://www.maxeverhart.com/">http://www.maxeverhart.com/</a> <br />
<br />
Jan Grape is an Anthony award-winning writer with a successful mystery series and more than two dozen short stories to her credit. Her novels include, Austin City Blue and Dark Blue Death, both featuring Austin Police detective, Zoe Barrow.<br />
<a href="http://www.sleuthsayers.org/">http://www.sleuthsayers.org/</a><br />
<br />
G.B. Pool (Gayle Bartos-Pool) is a former private detective and once a newspaper reporter for a small town weekly. She writes short stories as well as two detective series, one featuring Johnny Casino, an ex-mobster, and also Gin Caulfield, an over fifty gal who’s still packing heat. G.B. teaches writing classes: “The Anatomy of a Short Story,” ”How To Write Convincing Dialogue,” and “How To Write a Killer Opening Line.” Website: <a href="http://www.gbpool.com/">www.gbpool.com</a> . <br />
<br />Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-72464448474493847882014-05-26T03:00:00.000-07:002014-05-26T03:00:02.761-07:00The Writing Process Blog HopThriller Award nominee Michael Sherer tagged me to join the Writing Process Blog Hop. Check out Mike's writing process at <a href="http://www.michaelwsherer.com/blog.htm?post=957953">michaelwsherer.com</a> . And at the end of this post I will tag four other authors who will post about their writing process on their blogs on June 2nd: <a href="http://craigfaustusbuck.com/">Craig Faustus Buck</a>, <a href="http://www.stephenrcampbell.com/">Stephen Campbell</a>, <a href="http://www.markwdanielson.com/">Mark Danielson</a>, and <a href="http://www.dianneemley.com/">Dianne Emley</a>.<br />
<br />
It's always interesting to see different authors' processes. Everybody does it differently, so here goes: <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsSVdt_mXvXhleDEz05eqlww9ZhrcBK2nZsT3iMYMPdi38fqHrIdqQKvc7DBT1ZuTcVwj5cF9z-TY90JlJoB5fkOjjR1LX-PCzrUeDb7k9EnLxUVpU2S3hP2G1RSPCXEgFrzkc6Hzkm_0/s1600-h/clip_image002%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="clip_image002" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hHUm0NXBsz-LdNXX7R8grIY3iBQuWMm0-GL2XjPO1aSqKnWKle95mvtL-owlqjmgDCwT-9VhhzUnD4QtVwxxcCK3-rkMpvNnCffJxNLv-_Yt0n6I0GMII3773_LlbQYc8dwYR9eYQHw/?imgmax=800" height="244" hspace="12" style="border: 0px; display: inline;" title="clip_image002" width="155" /></a><span style="color: white;"><b>1. What am I working on? </b></span><br />
<br />
Since the sequel to <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/White-Heat-P-I-Duke-Rogers/dp/098507602X">White Heat</a> </i>is done and that, along with another novel, are with an agent, I'm working on a couple of different things. Two novellas right now. One for a publisher that specializes in novellas and the other one is just for me, at least for now. <br />
<br />
The first is a hardboiled, noirish story of a soldier coming back from the war in Afghanistan. While there he and his buddies pull a fast one and now that they're back they find their scam is catching up to them in more ways than one. <br />
<br />
The other novella is a mystery, more of a mainstream mystery than hardboiled or noir. But it does have an unusual angle in that it's all set in one location. And that created some challenges, but half the fun is overcoming those challenges. I guess you could call it "high concept". <br />
<br />
<br />
<b style="color: white;">2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?</b><br />
<br />
We all bring a part of ourselves to whatever we write, so my personal experiences color everything I write, as every other writer's experiences color what they write.<br />
<br />
There's really nothing new under the sun if we want to be honest. It might hurt our egos a bit, but it's been said that there are five (or seven, depending on who's talking) basic plots and they were all done by Shakespeare a long time ago. So what makes any of our works different is what we bring to them, the little pieces of ourselves that we insert, the insights, our personal and life experiences. <br />
<br />
Even when just doing a work-for-hire rewrite job, I will do it differently than the next person because of who I am. So what makes my story and novel writing different? I think my characters live in a world of grays rather than black and white. Most of my characters are flawed, nobody wears the proverbial white hat, more so they wear a "gray" hat. <br />
<br />
Also, several of my lead characters are people out of "time"—not in the sense that time is running out, although maybe that too—but in the sense that time has passed them by. They are "dinosaurs," living in the present in their bodies but their minds are in the past and they look at the world from that perspective. They have to adjust to the way things are today, and sometimes that isn't so easy. Often, my characters are not just "out of time," but also out of place, not quite fitting into the world in which they live. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8GuRtHLEt40POPCR9IAxlH_Qk-2ujKoYovI0U7pwRXENTqoHKJU_gitwISTKPIkgaOp3Yq4WMHgtWbHEM4GllNH06FIfIROenJ7qXT3DmxfDY23xw7P2M3uKx_rIoRiTMcKgOFHDqR7Y/s1600-h/clip_image004%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="clip_image004" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdd56n0MObYc5_H7RDzIkjB1rUnUS8SoSkNIeUSOYMbGSU7CnRtv2njtEyO1rv-0TXVti-g61vjC3_r-RXPtokPHhapVhwy1yyr5PVgf9Qgwq6VGOaX8085N5XdM7PMJBjF3vxZeYud44/?imgmax=800" height="244" hspace="12" style="border: 0px; display: inline;" title="clip_image004" width="154" /></a>And in my story Angels Flight, from the collection <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/L-Late-Night-Mystery-Stories/dp/0985076097">L.A. Late @ Night</a></i>, Tom Holland, the main character and an LAPD cop, is definitley out of his element in both time and place when he's assigned to work with a community liason from the mayor's office, who is about as opposite from him as anyone can be. <br />
<br />
They are also often haunted by the past. In <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/White-Heat-P-I-Duke-Rogers/dp/098507602X">White Heat</a></i>, the main character, Duke, is haunted by his past and all the mistakes he has made and continues to make. Bobbie in <i>The Blues Don’t Care</i>, the other novel I mentioned that's with the agent, is out of place in the sense of not fitting in with 1940’s American society. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BIk0STl7hiLL9GGA1lck7lU0EwE5aOECJl2TzhC9n__6PdI7W55xIhYkxWxiYN1UxE3VFHOHOZ454jkRDn6NxASJ_z5BlWkgn6JKBLnpE4HdAiVLyJjLjS7h85dOqNnFTB3pOnMGRTw/s1600-h/clip_image006%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="clip_image006" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNDD2iHky-0D0kOP6pbOn3rEEdMYo41Y7I0SPRxryTBJeyt61nlsRnMjztMb5XUwJZ43eoYcxumYL-k6F-eNYbR2AqiFM8LpW1LVhOWRGsdy1hAsFW_iN8T9RbijqbSI8w7LvWKCgwnA/?imgmax=800" height="230" hspace="12" style="border: 0px; display: inline;" title="clip_image006" width="244" /></a> <br />
<span style="color: white;">3. Why do I write what I do?</span><br />
<br />
'Cause I don't know anything about making frappés. The cartoon character Popeye says, "I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam." And it's true, what else can we be, what else can we do? And what else can we write, if not what speaks to us personally? <br />
<br />
I write a variety of things, but most would fall into the mystery genre or one of its sub-genres. That said, I've had over 30 short stories published. Some are mainstream, some humorous or satirical and many are noir or hardboiled stories. So to try to come up with a unified field theory that would apply to all of them: I write what I do because I’m trying to understand something or get a question answered. Something that puzzles me or intrigues me or bothers me. Even in my mysteries, at least most of them, I’m trying not just to solve the mystery but to explore some aspect of society and/or the characters. To see where they and we are coming from and where they and we are going. Sometimes the road isn't pretty or has a lot of potholes, but at least I can learn something from the journey. <br />
<br />
For example, in my story Dead Man's Curve, from the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Last-Exit-Murder-Darrell-James/dp/1937495566">Last Exit to Murder </a>anthology, there is a mystery and a dead body. But the part that interests me the most is the main character, Ray Hood's, bumpy road to (hopeful and possible) redemption, which occurs in the context of trying to solve the mystery, but to me is the much more interesting aspect of the story. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQjQ2MGs4DfR1MlLsA4OuAbGY2yAxArBrSwTpMco-hdOO4tzAoYOqQ_SstWgPL5pcjRjkOe1b8pTWT6MtPdhcnqqB5U-JZCT4shhIgoM0aXeSAB8XY7G6N9cpBaahG4Avq5hM8b3uZ_L8/s1600-h/clip_image008%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="clip_image008" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEtfj6-BdOE4RJ-OAm4ET5PyQLXhTowypoqg61yMpujzNCAvf_NgDKEGcf23RknLS4FVgCLpSM-RjOVYRvH6mV2KcjKnf062e8jsrvKCR7u32M7DdIbTKuawsPPoM5fHt27CH6iQrqwkc/?imgmax=800" height="244" hspace="12" style="border: 0px; display: inline;" title="clip_image008" width="152" /></a> <br />
I also tend to write a lot about, or at least set a lot of stories in, Los Angeles. My family goes back here longer than most and it's a city that intrigues me, both in terms of its reality and its literary and movie heritage. It's a place that lives both in the past and the present and, especially, the future. There are still, though fading fast, remnants of the old L.A. of my grandparents and then there's the new L.A. that's hip and trendy and that dichotomy of the old and new, the "in" and "out" is what intrigues me and inspires much of my writing. <br />
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<br />
<b><span style="color: white;">4. How does my writing process work? </span></b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYVxl0wu8FslnqF883ymgLF3xPq9zj-P_fPnAeZPY7Sw-P2pt0zFxil2SUyicT569R5CPmuq0W7wh2dIm9QABOuVRt2rXQJ2BHmbQElARiDjNzRAwyUe9brtfefK6Vp3bX4DdiL-LQsM/s1600-h/clip_image010%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="clip_image010" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhITR5ZZ3TrvX2CE2wbqNykT1NUYor0A-SVt6vf0cD07pFqinq53-Rw4Toffy_qRTyHIBpuXL7DULkcnqooXyW58xlUcmaOagxOswhgqTS2IWVH_bKptdpi1X5OpyMQHsLIcW9N5gK4AXs/?imgmax=800" height="164" hspace="12" style="border: 0px; display: inline;" title="clip_image010" width="244" /></a>I'm what's commonly referred to as a "pantster"—I write by the seat of my pants, at least for the first draft or two. I basically sit down at the computer and let it fly. Whatever comes comes—stream of consciousness and I don't care how good or bad it is or how much will be kept or cut. But I do get to know the characters and story this way. I have a basic idea for a story before I start, maybe even some notes for characters, scenes or other bits in my head or written down. But I hate outlining. I just don't think in those terms. And I usually do my first draft in screenplay format. Like: <br />
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<div style="margin-left: 5em;">
EXT. BEACH – DAY </div>
<div style="margin-left: 5em; text-align: left;">
Joe runs from several men dressed in black Ninja outfits. They look out </div>
<div style="margin-left: 5em; text-align: left;">
of place on the beach, but Joe really looks out of place with his black tie </div>
<div style="margin-left: 5em; text-align: left;">
and tails running along the water's edge. </div>
<br />
And the above is probably even more detailed than I would get in my first draft. It's mostly just the scene setting, in this case the beach, and dialogue, that goes down the middle of the page, plus maybe a little action. Little to no description. <br />
<br />
So, in eseence, that screenplay draft is my <i>outline</i>, but it's also a story with dialogue and as bare as it is it's more fleshed out than a true outline. <br />
<br />
And I may or may not keep much, most, any of it. But it's a start. But for me the real writing comes in the rewriting phases. That's where all the fine tuning and polishing and hopefully the magic happens. With each draft you see a clearer picture and everything starts to come into focus. <br />
<br />
I've seen other people who labor over each word and sentence as they go along so they probably don't have as much revising to do. But for me, that's where it all really starts to take shape. I pretty much let it fly in the early drafts and the real shaping, honing, fine tuning, polishing, come together in the revising. I might have ten drafts – or more – on a project, but some of them may have only have a handful of changes while others have wholesale changes in plot, character and incidents, all of which need to 'come together' in 'the end'. <br />
<br />
The worst part of the <i>revision</i> phase is that it's an endless process, because every time you read the story, even if it's been published, you find holes that need plugging and things that you want to change, from small things like typos, to major things like plot points and characters. And no matter how many times you go over it with the proverbial fine tooth comb, no matter how many times other people go over it, you will always miss something, even after it's published. <br />
<br />
And so with this blog I’m sure I’ll find something that I wish I’d said differently, but luckily once I post it it’s done and I have to leave it alone ….or maybe just one more tweak? <br />
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<b>~.~.~</b></div>
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And now I’m handing off to four other fine writers (in alphabetical order), who will tell you about their processes next Monday, June 2nd:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQb9GDuth4BQjFoCRyROTPvzXm3MxbgyuVQhWMZd5jCkFE59LpHZiAeiJtm2Dq1nyKMFDajT1EzK-oE97dm9dGEn_85wTQQt1q8bhROFWG_ofRFU1ndbMXzCN3QdqCsB2t_v-L6EhnVw/s1600/Craig+head+shot+hero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQb9GDuth4BQjFoCRyROTPvzXm3MxbgyuVQhWMZd5jCkFE59LpHZiAeiJtm2Dq1nyKMFDajT1EzK-oE97dm9dGEn_85wTQQt1q8bhROFWG_ofRFU1ndbMXzCN3QdqCsB2t_v-L6EhnVw/s1600/Craig+head+shot+hero.jpg" height="320" width="217" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU6dx6sCuGWA3VFY8NhWIPF5snigIxotKyTXFEWz24Fe9e1-h_G9OMqh_dzxw1v-8YaXLuCzQhSqZa2igNnep2cOL_UQeh-6OWf8j_el2JAAm3mHUr46SsU37z_s1JkjW78Z47J9OTTzQ/s1600/Psycho+Logic+620x1000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU6dx6sCuGWA3VFY8NhWIPF5snigIxotKyTXFEWz24Fe9e1-h_G9OMqh_dzxw1v-8YaXLuCzQhSqZa2igNnep2cOL_UQeh-6OWf8j_el2JAAm3mHUr46SsU37z_s1JkjW78Z47J9OTTzQ/s1600/Psycho+Logic+620x1000.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a><br />
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<b>Craig Faustus Buck</b> is an L.A.-based journalist, nonfiction book author, TV writer-producer, screenwriter, short-story writer and novelist. Among his six nonfiction books, two were #1 NYT bestsellers. He wrote the Oscar-nominated short film <i>Overnight Sensation</i>. He was one of the writers on the seminal miniseries <i>V: The Final Battle</i>. His first noir mystery novel, <i>Go Down Hard</i>, which his agent is currently shopping, was First Runner Up for Killer Nashville's Claymore Award. His indie feature, <i>Smuggling for Gandhi</i>, is in preproduction. Stark Raving Group published his novella, <i>Psycho Logic</i> in May, and the novella's prequel, his short story "Dead End," is a current Anthony Award nominee. <br />
<a href="http://www.craigfaustusbuck.com/">www.craigfaustusbuck.com</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>~.~.~</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgal8mkKXzfN3LuJVt3jN4TjpJD-TSqpsLRjeRHwnqe7-IGMxxa_GtqJ3DjwhLve1Vcozn3iIKnZYbbcez7-N5WxOztylKJalWd2GN2NjfvGgSfLngx40ur2dziIm6Yi2Bi4nZJbjRUwYY/s1600/Steve+-+Author.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgal8mkKXzfN3LuJVt3jN4TjpJD-TSqpsLRjeRHwnqe7-IGMxxa_GtqJ3DjwhLve1Vcozn3iIKnZYbbcez7-N5WxOztylKJalWd2GN2NjfvGgSfLngx40ur2dziIm6Yi2Bi4nZJbjRUwYY/s1600/Steve+-+Author.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK8Prxr9gSklayzKEWVpSne71aLonP5U1SI20WJu6nN-Lw3W3h1KDSo9gDjbdNn3Pvt86EneGCKd3FfaOm36K9JEZxscvi_eSRsZt2mOU0G8c5XCs1pd3d5EPu0J5OaMsy-I-5ie1hHAk/s1600/Stephen+Campbell+Gone+Tomorrow+Book+Cover+375+x+600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK8Prxr9gSklayzKEWVpSne71aLonP5U1SI20WJu6nN-Lw3W3h1KDSo9gDjbdNn3Pvt86EneGCKd3FfaOm36K9JEZxscvi_eSRsZt2mOU0G8c5XCs1pd3d5EPu0J5OaMsy-I-5ie1hHAk/s1600/Stephen+Campbell+Gone+Tomorrow+Book+Cover+375+x+600.jpg" height="200" width="125" /></a></div>
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<b>Stephen Campbell </b>was born and raised in Ohio, but after two
blizzards in a single winter decided that enough was enough and moved to
Florida to pursue his dream of becoming Travis McGee. While failing miserably at living the life of a boat bum
doing favors for friends he did manage to graduate from the University of South
Florida and stumble his way into the software business. Stephen loves reading fiction of all types, but most enjoys
mysteries and thrillers. His first
full-length novel, <i>Hunters Gamble</i>,
will be published in 2014.<br />
<a href="http://www.stephenrcampbell.com/">www.stephenrcampbell.com</a></div>
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<b>~.~.~</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8aQdUVK7mMAlMB5W_SRmVnk_2dnr1VWLJlO0v92a-axh7kd31OpixIPJoXi3MWBdQG_FOzPEGkDvpBd6MB1pAH4oIgoRDjQkuWQzU1FbEsXAZGPUU8MpwAKFgMlRv9GSr8ZRMcCArQEM/s1600/Mark+author+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8aQdUVK7mMAlMB5W_SRmVnk_2dnr1VWLJlO0v92a-axh7kd31OpixIPJoXi3MWBdQG_FOzPEGkDvpBd6MB1pAH4oIgoRDjQkuWQzU1FbEsXAZGPUU8MpwAKFgMlRv9GSr8ZRMcCArQEM/s1600/Mark+author+photo.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjnjr0qON-OnZtKqhXh2Z_4Eyo9o3-blz95gyWdDmxQ2sQbC1seGvsSOpf33yxpMRQweO9HPYtovua5h1WeouNidRF-ceB3tPvicKiep7oKRa8KlwPuTNQiJz7jIjZHVE8QbTOCJTaLA/s1600/Spectral+Gallows+amazon+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjnjr0qON-OnZtKqhXh2Z_4Eyo9o3-blz95gyWdDmxQ2sQbC1seGvsSOpf33yxpMRQweO9HPYtovua5h1WeouNidRF-ceB3tPvicKiep7oKRa8KlwPuTNQiJz7jIjZHVE8QbTOCJTaLA/s1600/Spectral+Gallows+amazon+cover.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a>Pilot/novelist <b>Mark W. Danielson</b> has been flying and writing
most of his life. Seeing his small
article printed in a 1972 newspaper led to his having over one hundred
non-fiction articles and five mystery novels published. Twice-selected as the US Navy’s top aviation
safety author while on active duty, he now flies as an international airline
pilot, spending much his time away writing.
<i>Spectral Gallows</i>, the latest
in his Fort Worth Homicide Detective Maxx Watts series, takes Watts and partner
Blaine Spartan into the paranormal world at the haunted Scott Theater to solve
a decades-old hanging. Please visit <a href="http://markwdanielson.com/">Markwdanielson.com</a></div>
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<b>~.~.~</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisbXRTZrfzh2rVBFkzz7fX6LMEZoU6OB2SD1xpPVqdq8wW_H8SSFTk6XEkxrgJsqQVAKlaTvC-CjXWZIA5bL8nFDcW1m4sYRimNRL08uhZh8gLZDmSnjwaFHp9Ikedm5w1IZ2jUpdnvMA/s1600/Dianne+Emley+B&W+Final+Headshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisbXRTZrfzh2rVBFkzz7fX6LMEZoU6OB2SD1xpPVqdq8wW_H8SSFTk6XEkxrgJsqQVAKlaTvC-CjXWZIA5bL8nFDcW1m4sYRimNRL08uhZh8gLZDmSnjwaFHp9Ikedm5w1IZ2jUpdnvMA/s1600/Dianne+Emley+B&W+Final+Headshot.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Dianne Emley</b> is a <i>Los Angeles Times </i>bestselling author and has received critical
acclaim for her Detective Nan Vining thrillers, including <i>The First Cut</i> and <i>Love Kills,</i>
and the Iris Thorne mysteries including <i>Pushover</i>.
Her standalone, paranormal thriller, <i>The Night Visitor, </i>will be published
9/16/14. Her short stories have been published in <i>Literary Pasadena </i>and other anthologies and her books
have been translated into six languages. A Los Angeles native, she lives in the Central
California wine country with her husband. “Emley masterfully twists, turns, and shocks.”
—Tess Gerritsen</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"> Website: <a href="http://www.dianneemley.com/">www.dianneemley.com</a></span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DianneEmleyAuthor">https://www.facebook.com/DianneEmleyAuthor</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Twitter: @DianneEmley<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Goodreads: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/83073.Dianne_Emley">https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/83073.Dianne_Emley</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-21548391673089454452014-05-23T01:23:00.003-07:002014-05-23T01:23:51.524-07:00Film Noir Double Header<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjza6zcIxTXy9lTchTv2brHbqpv8orb2Bqge4G8BkeW_f3QuQQZObG90zJHDSg1GiErkOONpdBkwJmAk8-6dUGFvzS3N-Cn98pl0uGd-SUgeh5pJYrPr7R1s6T2HJTw5juukI-I7CzR3SA/s1600-h/Crooked%252520Way%252520Collage%252520--%252520D1%252520%252520--%2525203-14%252520--%252520w%252520signature%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="Crooked Way Collage -- D1 -- 3-14 -- w signature" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWNR5rb7PAcBjLiD9vqKBzWH4phoz6o3BZCQXhhYWKyauoFV5X-Zdoyw9xWYlhQLaDfv5XtAV6qxDI-PWQmjUQ6tEWRMrnYdWZB7xjKKQsbMjMuusTDunv1Khge0KLknM-OpIxQGhBNo/?imgmax=800" height="309" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin: 10px 15px 10px 0px;" title="Crooked Way Collage -- D1 -- 3-14 -- w signature" width="363" /></a> The Crooked Way: 12:45pm, Pacific Time, Friday, 5/23/14. W/ John Payne. Pretty good, but not great, 'B' noir. <br />
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Raw Deal: 2:15pm, Pacific Time, Friday, 5/23/14. W/ Dennis O'Keefe, Claire Trevor. Directed by Anthony Mann. Others like this one better than I do. More noir-ish than real noir, IMO. But I'm here to serve, so thought I'd put it up. <br />
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Joseph Emmett Sullivan: [who is being visited in prison by Ann] Next time you come up, don't wear that perfume. <br />
Ann Martin: Why not? <br />
Joseph Emmett Sullivan: It doesn't help a guy's good behavior. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG-EL2MJ3U4hZf2GuHDs295eKyKw1_qeSU6pDWmgzjh74TZo46GqdlShI1IKnkrJtwUwV99aYgxMFgi-VMJo8hBgAEPij3Jlv_mK3kGJk9J3vCNWLx08HDV0VCpddlYzyA8Ki_9ZRCiZk/s1600-h/1287620972%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="1287620972" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjnwGsFb_GAPIa9KXWzd8bQLbNuQHkvTk7Nntnu5cBEItzTjhI7gs0V4xQo8L0DsAZVHM-hs5liSzfybpFerjTeXGx1uemPPcGWEtwVrFjNhI8BU-VfkvW6lKEL-xiriFFwAPr3cipM1Q/?imgmax=800" height="415" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="1287620972" width="537" /></a> <br />
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Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-41541261701996549742014-05-05T07:13:00.001-07:002014-05-05T07:13:03.044-07:00D.O.A. -- Ultimate High Concept movie -- film noir<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoS4z95SREMzlm8So78uvVm09OcLdJYhlY2YyL7mqQ-H05iF8OWWGaycjpRQJ-h0d72F5y0qkfGVjpSHqdQg25lG7egx5wfAW9QTTEG5V6NTQiEp6sI_YYM2aQ3LKApvDpUqQVQtsders/s1600-h/doa-movie-title_zpsb8a0523d%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="doa-movie-title_zpsb8a0523d" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj7Ou_zEc3mg3S-Db0fReilngyW0rkI1klrrHb-Ac_H4Ot6mCaIGhbLTj9cU21691AhmADC4avDYcMXr6GHVn6CN8ZcfB41X31GFJB2uINC4wBry_kmr0vTdEy9-gP0KCMBk9r-HWGl_c/?imgmax=800" height="184" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin: 5px 15px 0px 0px;" title="doa-movie-title_zpsb8a0523d" width="244" /></a> Film Noir Alert: D.O.A., 3:30pm, Pacific Time, Monday, May 05, 2014, Turner Classics. <br />
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I think I've said this before but in my opinion this is the ultimate "high concept" story. Murdered man has to find his murderer...before he dies. <br />
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With Edmond O'Brien. And Neville Brand, one of the great movie villians. Good movie! Some great L.A. (the Bradbury Building) and San Francisco locations. <br />
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Dr. MacDonald: Of course, I'll have to notify the police. This is a case for Homicide. <br />
Frank Bigelow (O'Brien): Homicide? <br />
Dr. MacDonald: I don't think you fully understand, Bigelow. You've been murdered. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSg2mEhFHnA9euP-CcY1TvZvUzga4B29YMIOeUOBIFhc5oqRL8Ci74SL4MWD-A-2GGszQ_Iz1Fd9zSMt6wOJUjxUB1BM3G2mpY8_4oETdAv0xvfjdY9ElIK6_1feErh17v309OwkMB13o/s1600-h/doa-film_l%252520%2525281%252529%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="doa-film_l (1)" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMbLHo3F5uVFiLjyle1ZN8uhBSZKgfsxtumisle_6FiGvDreqtPediApo6u7k1LI3OZU4I78XsABXMicjNlzaULk7lWOmW5cjIQ-LlhcJYUI_wrfXR3D8aCx_Hz1e22qE3EyK66gtF43k/?imgmax=800" height="266" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="doa-film_l (1)" width="200" /></a> <br />
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Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-31409923530492727312014-05-04T17:43:00.003-07:002014-05-04T17:43:43.365-07:00A Kiss Before DyingFilm Noir Alert: A Kiss Before Dying, 7:15pm, Pacific Time, Sunday, May 04, 2014; Turner Classic Movies.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyFg9QfYsYv3GjxuPVurJwB6tjaoK7CGop7SI5yyrbFipbssKsZIoIrt-gtxV-kCFSVvKpV8D6Ydqivod1wIj9vOy6mJ_JjKGotaOA9uPiTZD7Hbbe7xOEJPzCCN1GNFtgy35RVBxMFt8/s1600-h/Kiss%252520Before%252520Dying%2525202%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="Kiss Before Dying 2" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2XfDAJQhyphenhyphenYBFzvHYvMLEyVf2BWmn1fy1MRqL4PLAvhoGY-tIl0sHMk3cw6kE-yaOSaO7kA50F5Fmpvb6OwlIAVOSXEA5NmadaBMS-Y_GlZQB9SJVpQxnWJyqbHxPQBNWEmP59hvWH2mM/?imgmax=800" height="252" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 10px 15px 0px 0px;" title="Kiss Before Dying 2" width="240" /></a><br />W/ Robert Wagner, Joanne Woodward. Remade later with Matt Dillon and Sean Young.<br />
Interesting twist, though it comes early on.<br />
<br />Leo Kingship: What was accomplished by it?<br />Ellen Kingship: What has to be accomplished by it? Some people do things out of nothing more than sentiment. Softness, you'd probably call it.<br />
Leo Kingship: As opposed to my callousness? My hardness? I think, Ellen, you mistake parading an emotion for feeling one.Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-81057619818075884222014-04-13T20:00:00.001-07:002014-04-13T20:00:29.272-07:00The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of <br />
Film Noir Alert: The Maltese Falcon, 4am (Pacific Time), Monday 4/14/14. Turner Classic Movies. <br />
One of the greatest, of course. (They are doing Mickey Rooney movies today, so hopefully the Falcon won't be pre-empted.) <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyhZxGS3vDs0OZ4uVRn58hx8aggEOG8iJVkUjEtftfLJSyTacjmhUQ280gLaXAZdHwImISi9EfhS7goxDh4ySDrl6jP8GcQNKjdtYRPh5YT_MCODTD1oYbd05otSHFzRzC4iSnL5RIU0E/s1600-h/The-Maltese-Falcon-thumb-560xauto-26104%25255B4%25255D.gif"><img alt="The-Maltese-Falcon-thumb-560xauto-26104" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY1bFU50fGn5yfDdM9yavAAxKSU7NHGLQ4_oPsrh_8hSaEUGsrQEdcTXv4GhySvPsIrOa1L1CL4Md-AdHT6PYSK-_TtAFjOhIToLAAg_7YS0Y87fsmsEgNjrkHzQEAcm2ai-BoAkCECKU/?imgmax=800" height="164" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin: 10px auto;" title="The-Maltese-Falcon-thumb-560xauto-26104" width="244" /></a> <br />
Bogie, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, the great Elisha Cooke,Jr. Great movie all the way around. Written and directed by John Huston, based on Dashiell Hammett's terrific book. Can't say enough good about this one. <br />
Sam Spade: I hope they don't hang you, precious, by that sweet neck. Yes, angel, I'm gonna send you over. The chances are you'll get off with life. That means if you're a good girl, you'll be out in 20 years. I'll be waiting for you. If they hang you, I'll always remember you.<br />
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Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-9287768101065838882013-09-01T21:24:00.000-07:002013-09-01T21:29:41.963-07:00PITFALL – The American Dream…Well, maybe not.<p>"Pitfall," with Dick Powell and Lizabeth Scott (noir icon) and Jane Wyatt (mom on “Father Knows Best”) w<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA3eYOUwsSPwgJoWMcNISZz0QhLLa5ReFU2kDomUPcbj-bcvs0QakNONxNEZh2-D6AbzqMqBbp0ceHTCHWgcAodRKbUFCnYZTgLz0-cLZf3qiJgObXVRna2DC6FcqkxLZapZaRsDtO4d0/s1600-h/pitfallposter8.jpg"><img title="pitfall-poster" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 15px 20px 0px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="pitfall-poster" align="left" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV2OYr-YE3HFG5-OWfpskUoW_eBq43gzGh64kaQQuz22XffmxfEAi8Zdyfiw2WKA9JQqltoRM1BmtmJTX94Y3jFbruoT1KwyXMpFhCBPBksfb11o5Au1nrsRgq0kG8OldWOQnyqbJhX38/?imgmax=800" width="162" height="244"></a>ill be on Turner Classic Movies Monday 9/2/13 at 1:15 Pacific Time. Raymond Burr also shows up as the heavy, no pun intended. </p> <p> </p> <p>"Pitfall" is a pretty good noir film, though I find the ending undermines much of what has come before. Other people see irony there, and there is. That said, I still think it just takes too much of a turn. I'm not being more clear because I don't want to give away spoilers. But all in all, it's a decent noir and worth watching. <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZwBdPd_QPapLyWrmehdS3cMdiSXxFkjdiqJE-JcEqjtK0TE3Uem4hVy88urcgqL0jmRlh20vbEFBF7B_q5vuMaBT6suHeh1DXOXpIf1RpyMIsX2ubxYOtH4rmHxvN41d5Pz9mGm12vY/s1600-h/pitfalldickpowelllizabethscotteveret%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img title="pitfall-dick-powell-lizabeth-scott-everett" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 20px 0px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="pitfall-dick-powell-lizabeth-scott-everett" align="right" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikNTxHqIZjNkF7xv2Gs6AXUAHrK8UBi7sZqchiucgp53QnN-mTvv4CKFqvjnz_Zx7Pq7LS4uo_GvM0Ez6Z_aS8f8vRS0ledbrE6BmyJ2KRbBzn6d4Yv9Mde4ev8VwFatWnCNT7OEZKx8M/?imgmax=800" width="244" height="188"></a> Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-74300860983794026302013-08-14T23:18:00.001-07:002013-08-14T23:18:05.194-07:00SPELLBOUND: ALFRED HITCHCOCK MEETS SALVADOR DALI<p> </p> <p>Film Alert: Spellbound, Turner Classics, Thursday 8/15/13, 8:15am Pacific. Not a noir, but a pretty good suspense film. Dream sequence by Salvador Dali. Hitchcock directed. W/ Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck. <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju6Zx53qvgB-hW1o-lcF8jwqRjsc87NYqtqvUiTgcvN7ekxX20hyST8RyYgjbDJPVk88DqaWyvkphIw2omdT4815RBaMC352-WyD8SCirxpIxdbaa7Xyh8GB177NxpO513SdCoFmGm4tU/s1600-h/Spellbound%252520Collage%252520D1%252520--%2525208-14-13%25255B10%25255D.jpg"><img title="Spellbound Collage D1 -- 8-14-13" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; margin-left: auto; display: block; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="Spellbound Collage D1 -- 8-14-13" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcy17j5vgB2IItrgxStXP8DfMiaS2uiwiJS09UbsABm8BDBG8FxmJvpmLXB0ph9eObDH7xY8X2S_DLXL-gtS5XQHEdFfcuec-AcwxWiMEHDixg-qqf_eDzO9PPCQ90Jl6uGY6MguOl_VU/?imgmax=800" width="565" height="480"></a> Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-77428717333043381382013-08-13T05:58:00.001-07:002013-08-13T06:02:02.547-07:00A NOIR KISS TO BUILD A DREAM ON<p> </p> <p>A couple "rare" Mickey Rooney noirs show up on Turner Classics on Tuesday, August 13, 2013. "The Strip" and "Quicksand". <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnsaY3379KH4JAIk3qAHYw0K2HHFDPHGEb8R0JG2JxLq5ZuiNdmRqVf2GNwtEksq2S9tSrEW-xMTa2lAHxpZtSZXdnoNyKqjV6zUB9lPsjRLSFglKNuOjNC09sCim9_PETYnAY9EI6ns4/s1600-h/movie_42107%25255B8%25255D.jpg"><img title="movie_42107" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="movie_42107" align="right" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexjH82ltbl-rf_231ZCSNscZ0FCeQeTxTlyC1QcpxaHwAGYmd3Y9uRLREPKOSUGy_ZyzZJU-4mtOM5xc8Z72AQwLCP-Q5QcneU079z5H5MPdO3Unf-X8IYDQ1pSrE7dA_SQofFo3Wi5A/?imgmax=800" width="181" height="244"></a> <p>Rooney was trying to change his boy-next-door-image. Does a pretty good job of that. <p>The movies are decent, low budget B noirs. “Quicksand” has the added advantage of Peter Lorre and Jimmy Dodd, the chief Mousketeer. <p>"The Strip" also features the Louis Armstrong classic song, "A Kiss to Build a Dream On." <p>Good L.A. locations in both.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtawCEclyvapR9ohOd30IIz5TcxEd6YZDdXosUHz1Sd-uV1yu8Mfgcgqr913K4EfnE9U-pbRDMRkw6Stqo4kFElBDpVCF-XS_hoCCagDUjMNVlfwqrgRLMn-wgLZEIinTgnWifaeGtNw0/s1600-h/strip%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="strip" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="strip" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFoltJGcT7fE2fzXeA7vgwZ4-gNYXfVGzs_x5C4-CF8O7IvmyeEMmALlV_HjHb2NjpAJp5HPGxQBHsVOqg6LXzrNoaPFyzM1arLjunaaUk-jfvjUe2qQcildMXASfCBNEUpclP3P7pANw/?imgmax=800" width="244" height="193"></a> </p> <div id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:740d2293-694f-424e-b975-1b0674c00cd0" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/film+noir" rel="tag">film noir</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/hardboiled" rel="tag">hardboiled</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/movies" rel="tag">movies</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Paul+D.+Marks" rel="tag">Paul D. Marks</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/White+Heat+novel" rel="tag">White Heat novel</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mickey+Rooney" rel="tag">Mickey Rooney</a></div> Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-48638798329301942602013-04-17T19:29:00.002-07:002013-04-17T19:29:59.992-07:00LOS ANGELES TIME FESTIVAL OF BOOKS -- USCJoin me and several other fine mystery-thriller authors at the Murder We Wrote booth at the LA Times Festival of Books at USC. Saturday and Sunday, April 20-21. I will be there Saturday afternoon.<br />
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Terry Ambrose<o:p></o:p></div>
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Joan Blacher<o:p></o:p></div>
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Teresa Burrell<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gayle Carline<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anne Carter<o:p></o:p></div>
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Susan Griscom / Regan Walsh<o:p></o:p></div>
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Jenny Hilborne<o:p></o:p></div>
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Paul D. Marks<o:p></o:p></div>
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Jim Stevens<o:p></o:p></div>
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Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-3791653004800541402013-01-16T09:26:00.000-08:002013-01-16T19:43:55.790-08:00"WHITE HEAT" CHOSEN AS ONE OF THE BEST FICTION BOOKS OF 2012Rosa St. Claire at Examiner.com just named my novel White Heat one of the best fiction books of 2012, along with Megan Abbott's <strong><em>Dare Me</em></strong>,<strong><em> Blind Night</em></strong> by Michael W. Sherer, <strong><em>Merry Christmas, Alex Cross</em></strong> by James Patterson, <strong><em>The Casual Vacancy</em></strong> by J.K. Rowling and a handful of others. I'm honored to be included with these great writers. <a href="http://www.examiner.com/review/best-fiction-books-of-2012-and-new-titles-for-2013">http://www.examiner.com/review/best-fiction-books-of-2012-and-new-titles-for-2013</a> <br />
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<br />Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-31654584800965716462013-01-02T18:58:00.001-08:002013-01-02T19:06:20.213-08:0051-50 -- NEW NOIR SHORT STORY AVAILABLE NOW<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>Available on Amazon now: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/51-50-Noir-Short-Story-ebook/dp/B00AUJNCQA" target="_blank">51-50</a> -- click the title</i></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Cleaver is a cop who
just can't take it anymore. He knows he's going to step over the line, it's
just a question of when. It's the smirk that blows him away in this stripped
down psycho noir short story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><b><i>An excerpt:</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">It was the smirk that
blew me away. A half grin in the eyes and mouth, mocking, laughing. Maybe at me
- maybe at the badge. They were leaning against a grimy cinder block wall under
a sooty sky. Thumbs hooked into pockets of baggy lowrider pants, fingers, long
and lean, twisting into coded signals. Eyes hollow. Eyes I don't even want to
meet in the darkest dream. Hollow men. Hollow boys. Nothing behind those eyes.
Nothing. They don't care. Don't give a damn.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">It was that smirk
that blew them away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">~~~</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Cops aren't supposed
to have feelings. We do a good job of hiding them. Burying them. But we're just
like everybody else. We hide them in bravado or work. We hide them in a bottle
or in "inexplicable" rages. But they're there, like the molten lava
in a volcano just waiting to burst through to the surface.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">*****************</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><b><i>Reviews of "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/51-50-Noir-Short-Story-ebook/dp/B00AUJNCQA" target="_blank">51-50</a>":</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"Hat's off Mr.
Marks - noir is your playground and you do it better than any other current
writer."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">--Kat Yares, Amazon Vine<sup>TM</sup>-Voice
Reviewer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">"Writer Paul D.
Marks can get inside a character's head and walk around better than anybody.
His latest short story, 51-50, does just that…"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">--G.B. Pool, author
of "The Johnny Casino Casebook 1 - Past Imperfect"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><b><i>Available on Amazon now: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/51-50-Noir-Short-Story-ebook/dp/B00AUJNCQA" target="_blank">51-50</a> -- click the title</i></b></span></div>
Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-8322343244688809122012-12-05T17:45:00.000-08:002012-12-05T17:52:14.124-08:00<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">THE NEXT BIG THING: BROKEN WINDOWS (P.I. Duke Rogers
Series – Book 2)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I was tagged last
Wednesday by my friend and fellow mystery-thriller-suspense author,</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://smallcrimes-novel.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-next-big-thing-interloper.html" target="_blank">Dave Zeltserman</a></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> for this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">What is the working title of your next book?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Broken Windows. It's
the second installment in the Duke Rogers series that started with White Heat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Where did the idea come from for the book?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">My then-agent wanted
me to do a sequel to White Heat. At that time it wasn't a series, I wanted to
do something else. But she talked me into it.
As the first book, White Heat, was set in 1992 during the time of the
Rodney King riots, I needed to set it around that time. So it's set a couple years later when
Proposition 187, which dealt with illegal immigration, was a big thing in
California. It seemed like a logical
progression, as White Heat dealt with racial issues stemming from the Rodney
King riots. That said, both novels are noir-thrillers, with some topical
overtones.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Mystery-thriller.
Noir. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Which actors would you choose to play your characters in
a movie rendition?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">If Nick Nolte were
twenty years younger he'd be perfect for Jack.
For Marisol, Penelope Cruz or Salma Hayek. And for Duke Jeremy Renner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Investigating the
murder of an undocumented Mexican worker, P.I. Duke Rogers finds himself sucked
into the political turmoil of 1990s Los Angeles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">How long did it take you to write the first draft of your
manuscript?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I don't like to
outline, so my "outlines" are generally screenplays – I write the
early draft/s in screenplay format for a variety of reasons, but one is that I
can work faster that way. I'd say the
first drafts of the ms to work out the plot and characters took about two
months and then I moved onto the prose drafts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">What other books would you compare this story to within
your genre?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Some readers or critics
have compared White Heat to Elmore Leonard, Lawrence Block and Michael
Connelly. Chandler and Hammett. So I
guess you could do that for Broken Windows too since it's in the same vein and
continues Duke's and Jack's story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Who or What inspired you to write this book?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">In the form of a
mystery-thriller, White Heat, the first Duke Rogers book, explores racial
tensions after the Rodney King trial verdict came in in 1992. I wanted the
sequel to deal with another topical subject that could also stand in for
today. California's 1994 Proposition 187
and the "illegal alien" controversy seemed to fit the bill for
another thriller that worked on more than simply that level and is certainly a
hot topic now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I like to deal with
various issues in my writing. In White
Heat it was racial tensions, which are still evident today. But sometimes it helps to look at things in
the past to get perspective. In Broken
Windows it's the immigration issue. And
I hope, in both, that I tackle it from all sides. Different characters have varying opinions on
the various issues – meanwhile the roller coaster of the plot keeps moving
forward.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><b>And now the hand off to Elizabeth Barone, author of Sade on the Wall, Outlaw Love Story and others:</b></span></div>
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<a href="http://elizabethbarone.net/" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" target="_blank">Elizabeth Barone</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>
Look for her post next week and consider trying...her Next Big Thing!</b></span></div>
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Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-21820904576992710322012-10-17T09:14:00.001-07:002012-10-17T09:14:37.707-07:00Mystery, Murder & Mayhem in Palmdale<div class="MsoNormal">
I'll be speaking to the Palmdale City Library's Mystery Book
Discussion Group tonight about my novel "White Heat." It's at 7 p.m. at the Larry Chimbole Cultural
Center, 38350 Sierra Highway, Palmdale, CA.
For more info, please call the Palmdale City Library at 661-267-5600. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwHKZAhgVTm0YXV1MYv3atveGVlLdwFu7KJkIz4hBwaD-MCIVVR09idaXcL-A_O9oEQo3kMq9GDu6P-kuQpEaMRmUjGcm1wtkMKrYQ9tpFbVlfA2jLIQs57pQUmFKNVLMWA1kz1NT7ACM/s1600/White+Heat+cover+D4+for+Born+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwHKZAhgVTm0YXV1MYv3atveGVlLdwFu7KJkIz4hBwaD-MCIVVR09idaXcL-A_O9oEQo3kMq9GDu6P-kuQpEaMRmUjGcm1wtkMKrYQ9tpFbVlfA2jLIQs57pQUmFKNVLMWA1kz1NT7ACM/s320/White+Heat+cover+D4+for+Born+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-5579853321779999832012-09-11T18:49:00.000-07:002012-09-11T18:50:08.115-07:00Bogie, Bacall, David Goodis & a Return to ‘Dark Passage’<div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:2ad55309-ab60-45e5-b4d2-725163a8ba2e" style="display: inline; float: none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Bogie" rel="tag">Bogie</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Bacall" rel="tag">Bacall</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Humphrey+Bogart" rel="tag">Humphrey Bogart</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Lauren+Bacall" rel="tag">Lauren Bacall</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Dark+Passage" rel="tag">Dark Passage</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/film+noir" rel="tag">film noir</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/noir" rel="tag">noir</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/hardboiled" rel="tag">hardboiled</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/mystery" rel="tag">mystery</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/fiction" rel="tag">fiction</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/books" rel="tag">books</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/movies" rel="tag">movies</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Paul+D.+Marks" rel="tag">Paul D. Marks</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Paul+Marks" rel="tag">Paul Marks</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/White+Heat+novel" rel="tag">White Heat novel</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuErYerzV9P-y_0O8XTtB36i1C-x9nUv7T9Hv2kPqHqYAVAENDOM9Zb8yxthOH6lWwG4f66QiipX285toWWfFD9OWMh7zVGRLmHBou98AXVitfFm8OPSzC3YmJvg7FXBCDc-FRgXDyCGs/s1600-h/277copy10.jpg"><img align="left" alt="277 copy" border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBW9HHhf03SecO8tq5hp4qMbOPFt_LOnc5kw_WjDqUIugiMwI4dkr3VX2uARxesztkFJqy1KfgMxUl2yD8oVEJMsZLjfEYgOLE_uDo0H4Ktxi63fdFdWKA8RDvsj0W7-eTvPDzVykMRY0/?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px 13px 0px 0px;" title="277 copy" width="174" /></a>Dark Passage (1947) with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, screened on Los Angeles station KCET over Labor Day weekend and on Turner Classics on Wednesday of this week. The screenplay, by Delmer Daves (who also directed), is based on a novel by David Goodis. This is a movie that I like to see at least once a year, both for the story and the terrific San Francisco locations, some of which you can still see today. <br />
Vincent Parry, an innocent man, is thrown into San Quentin for the murder of his wife. For a Goodis story it has what might be considered a happy ending. And I think, in this case, the movie improves on the book. It takes what's good about the novel and fleshes it out in ways that<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmCioY-7EVWyz4Kq-z1Od3doMZCREsUHR89RKNgT5FP3Fn5KxH-BnAeCNidoDyx1uSl51vsqaVE8EnUbC73xowA1KgapU9BAsSRCuJCBffsiNFatOksMphxmDByECpKZQgdWCncBt5sM/s1600-h/68741_n1copy10.jpg"><img align="right" alt="68741_n (1) copy" border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmjZ94jw0ND-8K2NK_LpwwNq6AcpvEWw8okZGsxD4aiHiDqrbVpGROJhFlK2Va5egccuUcOUqWvLAqkjd_9ix_FTj_bkBLUmiceQjvND0iThLZ9FoGwr9hawgaCvBU_nY9eNGh0iV-j_c/?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 14px 0px 0px 10px;" title="68741_n (1) copy" width="205" /></a> work. <br />
Historian and critic Geoffrey O'Brien said "[Goodis] wrote of winos and barroom piano players and smalltime thieves in a vein of tortured lyricism all his own, whose very excesses seemed uniquely appropriate to the subject matter. As his titles announce—Street of the Lost, Street of No Return, The Wounded and the Slain, Down There—he was the poet of the losers…" * <br />
It is through the movie version of Dark Passage that I discovered Goodis many years ago. And he is now one of my favorite writers – truly the King of Noir. His stories often deal with people who were once riding high and who've fallen on hard times, to say the least. <br />
Goodis did a stint as a Hollywood screenwriter, eventually leaving Hollywood to return to his native Philadelphia, where he led an "interesting" life to say the least. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgok3cb18ayeky_py-r3J27Gm9Bke5o3j8k2hb7CU91VOfpxkOqHDS2r4jM2Tl3ue9VOd-9yblcF1QAkh8yQOj-Gd8OoqU2e_RJMzDLjjOemznrVI8DwTo4vWetaBeikw5w_w86yK89EbM/s1600-h/dark_passage_194716.jpg"><img align="left" alt="dark_passage_1947 (1)" border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYhL-Q2oXrrGcnWTj4jXtywrISZEbFQJndcnnGWLQIvB9M3drboMPlrGQmahZb3xNOGROdPrXajKcR5PcvOj4o_sHAUnDQ3k-aIATtQjMfXdwtrTk3yc74nB-sWa6tXg5p6PmrQ9umYvM/?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px 15px 0px 0px;" title="dark_passage_1947 (1)" width="240" /></a> If I had to pick a favorite Goodis novel it would be Down There, upon which Truffaut's movie Shoot the Piano Player is based. And I know what I'm going to say is heretical to some, but I like the book a lot more than the movie in a lot of ways and, in fact, I don't like the movie much at all, though it's still worth watching. That said, Dark Passage, both the book and the movie are definitely worth checking out. <br />
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*Hardboiled America, Lurid Paperbacks and the Masters of Noir; Geoffrey O'Brien; Da Capo Press<br />
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Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-3085707999820223852012-08-29T20:27:00.000-07:002012-08-29T20:30:51.124-07:00Noir Music from The Clash<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4qF7dx7ophdg_QT93VIk6Tso2ZaxzK4D82r_Ehyphenhyphen2UCWMKStmaZE2uX3LzbKnc-66lcmmXjj2yi-qF4Dtu81FxXZBx41DiPPREPykJAGf2V_shNfOzPqa6ByCX2V_O4cLGe3i5i5rW2U/s1600/Westway_to_the_World.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4qF7dx7ophdg_QT93VIk6Tso2ZaxzK4D82r_Ehyphenhyphen2UCWMKStmaZE2uX3LzbKnc-66lcmmXjj2yi-qF4Dtu81FxXZBx41DiPPREPykJAGf2V_shNfOzPqa6ByCX2V_O4cLGe3i5i5rW2U/s1600/Westway_to_the_World.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: center;">SOMEBODY GOT MURDERED
– THE CLASH</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Somebody got murdered,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">His name cannot be
found,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">A small stain on the
pavement,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">They'll scrub it off
the ground.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">GUNS OF BRIXTON – THE
CLASH<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2qG36Z4-aqdPPWuWfXtrbceCSu9MHmsytPqZhMAPva3XflYzuCd8Njao2eUZP_jEyYP2-9G9nvotMjdoZrZdBpTCQVI8YqpK9zBkR6aPDNzWLW3agBDkerkc7UQN9k64FXrhJTsNRvI/s1600/the_clash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2qG36Z4-aqdPPWuWfXtrbceCSu9MHmsytPqZhMAPva3XflYzuCd8Njao2eUZP_jEyYP2-9G9nvotMjdoZrZdBpTCQVI8YqpK9zBkR6aPDNzWLW3agBDkerkc7UQN9k64FXrhJTsNRvI/s200/the_clash.jpg" width="199" /></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">When they kick at
your front door,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">How you gonna come?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">With your hands on
your head,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Or on the trigger of
your gun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">LONDON CALLING -- THE CLASH</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTvzFlGKikexNKsdadqVNqQcrb21EYKQEi2Qg8pupvWmx8_g8v8c5cUYUusmXuvt8DGvYFP10mG4X6Dulm4T9UT9piDJdmgvoEvhP8ts4GGsaAfzWB6P6v_XwU9gyIPnO6ghrKlfuID4E/s1600/clash_33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTvzFlGKikexNKsdadqVNqQcrb21EYKQEi2Qg8pupvWmx8_g8v8c5cUYUusmXuvt8DGvYFP10mG4X6Dulm4T9UT9piDJdmgvoEvhP8ts4GGsaAfzWB6P6v_XwU9gyIPnO6ghrKlfuID4E/s320/clash_33.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">London calling to the
imitation zone,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Forget it, brother,
you can go it alone,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">London calling to the
zombies of death,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Quit holding out, and
draw another breath,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">London calling, and I
don’t wanna shout,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">But while we were
talking, I saw you nodding out,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">London calling, see
we ain’t got no high,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Except for that one
with the yellowy eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The ice age is
coming, the sun’s zooming in,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Engines stop running,
the wheat is growing thin,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">A nuclear error, but
I have no fear,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">‘Cause London is drowning, and I live by the
river.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">From: </span><a href="http://pauldmarks.tumblr.com/" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;" target="_blank">http://pauldmarks.tumblr.com/</a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
<i style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/paul.d.marks" target="_blank">Facebook: www.facebook.com/paul.d.marks</a> </span></i>
Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664892157997491445.post-15189801588145472262012-07-23T02:20:00.001-07:002012-07-23T02:20:56.338-07:00<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">ANNOUNCEMENT:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">SATURDAY - JULY 28TH
AT 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">La Crescenta Library<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Join Paul, Sue Ann
Jaffarian (author of the Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery series and the Madison
Rose Vampire Mystery series, and Michael Mallory (author of The Mural and the
Amelia Watson Mystery series) for a panel/discussion on "Things That Go Bump
in the Night".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">La Crescenta Library<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">2809 Foothill Blvd.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">La Crescenta, CA
91214<o:p></o:p></span></div>Paul D. Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com0