Critical Blast

Critical Blast.  No, not a new Destroyer title. It's the name of a website which "is dedicated to delivering news, reviews, opinions and interviews from the field of entertainment and pop culture."  One of the contributors is Destroyer fan and book reviewer R.J. Carter.
Many of his Destroyer articles appeared in The-Trades. Unfortunately, the site's owners decided to stop running it, so that site is now defunct. But R.J. and some of the other contributors got together and started Critical Review. Go check it out and "like" the site's Facebook page as well.
Fortunately, R.J. managed to save some Destroyer and Legacy reviews and interviews, including this one with Warren Murphy and James Mullaney.

Red on the Menu now available

The Red Menace #5: Red on the Menu, is now available from Amazon and also on Smashwords for epub, pdf, rtf, lrf, pdb,  txt and html.

HOLD THE PICKLE, HOLD THE HOMICIDE!

Something fishy is going on at famous Franklin Morrow's Restaurants. Why is the most successful chain of eateries in the U.S. suddenly catering to the murder and mayhem crowd, and who exactly is the mysterious man in the ten gallon hat with an all-you-can eat appetite for death and destruction?

All signs point to something big and bad being served up soon, but the CIA, FBI and Pentagon are all out to lunch, leaving only one of America's intelligence agencies to chew around the edges of a vast and horrifying terror plot.

When one body too many surfaces, MIC Director Simon Kirk has finally had a bellyful of bad bistro news and decides that someone is in need of some just desserts. And, of course, who else but Podge Becket and the brilliant Dr. Thaddeus Wainwright would be dispatched to act as the ultimate antacid?

As always, how does America spell relief? R-E-D M-E-N-A-C-E!

It's here! The sixth Crag Banyon Mystery, Flying Blind, is now live on Amazon's Kindle:

The last Banyon will soon be joined by the next Banyon (Flying Blind). While you wait for the next one, pick up your copy of the previous one. There's a leprechaun, a plucky girl reporter, and a river of booze.

 

Red on the Menu Blurb:

I've been unexpectedly delayed completing The Red Menace #5, Red on the Menu, but I managed today to carve out a few minutes for the back cover blurb:

HOLD THE PICKLE, HOLD THE HOMICIDE!

Something fishy is going on at famous Franklin Morrow's Restaurants. Why is the most successful chain of eateries in the U.S. suddenly catering to the murder and mayhem crowd, and who exactly is the mysterious man in the ten gallon hat with an all-you-can eat appetite for death and destruction?

All signs point to something big and bad being served up soon, but the CIA, FBI and Pentagon are all out to lunch, leaving only one of America's intelligence agencies to chew around the edges of a vast and horrifying terror plot.

When one body too many surfaces, MIC Director Simon Kirk has finally had a bellyful of bad bistro news and decides that someone is in need of some just desserts. And, of course, who else but Podge Becket and the brilliant Dr. Thaddeus Wainwright would be dispatched to act as the ultimate antacid?

As always, how does America spell relief? R-E-D M-E-N-A-C-E!

More than halfway through writing the latest Red Menace, "Red on the Menu." Just read a line of dialogue I forgot I wrote while exhausted late last night that made me laugh out loud, which is always a nice surprise. If you aren't yet acquainted with the Red Menace, what's wrong with you? Any of the books will do for a start. Here's a good one: 

A Red Letter Day (The Red Menace #4)

New Review for Sea No Evil

Thanks, Julia Hopkinson, for your review of Sea No Evil at Readers' Favorites.

On Sale at Amazon, B&N, Smashwords

Importance of Reviews

I just wrote a great big February newsletter filling in subscribers on the importance of Amazon reviews. I figured The Red Menace and Crag Banyon pages would be the best place to find the biggest fans. I'll post this to both pages.

In a nutshell, Amazon reviews make or break a series. You might think that books from your favorite authors will keep going on without your help. They might not. This isn't the old days, with series books clogging the shelves of the corner bookstore. A couple of minutes of your time over on Amazon could mean the difference between life and death for The Red Menace and Crag Banyon. It really is that simple.

If you've read and enjoyed only the most recent books -- A Red Letter Day or Bum Luck -- or just the first books in each series -- Red and Buried or One Horse Open Slay -- it doesn't matter. Review one book, review them all. Obviously I'd prefer all, but, hey, I'll take what I can get. I need your help, folks, and so do Podge Becket & Dr. Wainwright and Banyon, Mannix, Doris and all the rest. If you wait, you'll forget, do it now. Thanks in advance.

Thanks to K.S. Brooks and the folks at Indies Unlimited for featuring my latest Banyon Mystery, Bum Luck, in their Fun Titles for February post.

Bum Luck Cover

The cover of Bum Luck (the Crag Banyon Mysteries #5) is finished.  Thanks for the great job, Micah Birchfield:

Bum Luck (A Crag Banyon Mystery #5)

For you Banyon fans out there, a quick update. The fifth Crag Banyon Mystery, Bum Luck, is ready to go and is only awaiting final work on the cover art. Once that's ready, we'll be good to go. In the meantime, Banyon #6 -- as yet untitled -- is nearly finished. Then on to the next big project.

There will never be enough time in this life to write all the stuff I want to write.

After another nightmarish day of toiling in a yard that somehow went jungle over the summer...sore, sweaty, cold...it's nice to stumble in from working well into the dark of night to find this warming little ray of light.

Click here to go to Reader's Favorite review of Royal Flush.

 

Shamus Award Finalist

I'm not terrific at blowing my own horn, but this is a big deal. Devil May Care, my second Crag Banyon Mystery, has been nominated for a Shamus Award. So from here on out I'm now a Shamus Award-nominated writer. Pretty darned nifty, actually.

Amazon

I posted this as a reply in another thread, but I thought it deserved its own thread. It's a continuation of my gripe yesterday about Amazon's practice of selling used copies of new books at a fraction of the new book's cover price. I figure more eyes will see it if it has its own thread.

My complaint didn't include folks who are trying to complete collections of out-of-print books that are impossible to find at the local level...for that the Internet is a great tool. What set me off against Amazon again yesterday was seeing that there are already 29 used copies of Red and Buried available at Amazon. Moonstone and I are trying to get something going here, and it's hard enough to launch a series (or even a one-off book) these days without being undercut by people who bought the book, read it, then dumped it back on the market at two bucks less than what we're selling it for within days of the book's release...plus I get not one penny in royalties. This Amazon practice is pure evil and it's directed against struggling writers, as well as the fans who want to see those writers continue writing.

Clearly Amazon is staying in business, but I'm sure this practice has driven some writers on the bubble out of the business. Even McDonald's couldn't afford to stay in business if people were allowed to sell the exact same burgers for thirty percent less in their lobby.

Shane Black

Back cover blurb on Moonstone's paperback edition of The Red Menace, No. 1: Red and Buried:

"(Mullaney is) a miracle tonic for today's ghostwritten knockoffs and so-called 'novels of suspense'" -- Shane Black, Lethal Weapon, Iron Man 3.

Words of Wisdom from Banyon

On sale at Amazon and Smashwords

A Red Letter Day

Read an excerpt of A Red Letter Day at Indies Unlimited. The latest Red Menace book is featured as a Sneak Peek.

"Crag Banyon is a two-fisted P.I. with a heart of gold and a liver of stainless steel."

Red and Buried plus New Interview with Jim

The paperback edition of The Red Menace #1: Red and Buried, is now available for purchase at Amazon.  Also, I have a new interview up at Ralph's Rants.

Sea No Evil

"Crag Banyon is a two-fisted P.I. with a heart of gold and a liver of stainless steel."

Available NOW on Amazon!