Sunday, February 28, 2010

Cheryl's Whims


Cheryl had been bugging me about having a kid. She said it would help cement our love, make us a stronger couple, all that stuff women say when they want their bellies filled with eight pounds of shit machine. I wish I didn’t sound so bitter, because I’m not. I’m forty years old and some how I’ve managed not to get a single woman I’ve ever been with pregnant.

But here I am with a twenty-five-year old wife

A blonde, tight bodied, smoking hot twenty-five-year old white girl

She’s pornstar caliber all the way and goddamn she’s hot in the sack. So hot that I needed to get myself on Dr. Porkenhiemer’s big blue pill in order to keep up with her urges.

We’ve been together three years.

It ain’t all been blissful. Her folks weren’t exactly down with our age difference or with my skin color. My family pretty much felt the same way. Both my mother and oldest sister nearly fainted when I brought her home. Both of them always hoped I’d end up with a nice church bred black girl; both of them hoped I’d end up with a woman just like them; hard headed, strong willed and waiting for some man to come along, boss ‘em around and occasionally knock out one of their front teeth or bust their nose for throwing out a little too much sass.

My Cheryl, she’s strong willed, she’s ambitious, and she ain’t a damn thing like my mother or sister.

But we dealt with the disapproval of our families and we built a good life together.

Solid careers, a beautiful home, a small, tight knit group of friends.

It’s a perfect life as far as I’m concerned.

But then she started in with the baby talk. I hemmed and hawed, smiled politely when ever she brought it up, but never giving her any kind of real answer to how I felt.

Until she finally cornered me one night after we’d drank a couple of bottles of good wine with dinner.

The way her eyes sparkled when she talked about having a baby, of having a person who was made of a small piece of her and me growing inside her, it melted my heart, it made me want to have a baby with her.

Kind of.

I didn’t know what kind of father I’d be. My father was mulch by the time I was two years old and the only father figures I knew were the series of bonebreakers my mother hooked up with when I was growing up weren’t the type of assholes you wanted to use as templates.

I said fuck it, especially since the idea of getting knocked up was driving Cheryl wild and her normally advantageous sexuality was kick started into over drive and she was turning me inside out two or three times a day. I couldn’t keep up and started pushing her away when she’d try climbing on top of me. Then she started trying different things to keep me interested and as revved up as she was.

Crazy, kinky shit.

My girl’s biggest thing is role play.

When Cheryl was in high school, she was huge into the drama club, so was her first boyfriend. Her first sexual experiences we’re hot, sweaty throw downs dressed up like Romeo and Juliet, or whatever costumes they happened to be performing in that semester. We’d played her games only a few times before our spate of baby making—bad cop, French maid, dirty nurse—and it was some of our most explosive sex. But when Cheryl decided on wanting a baby, she stepped up her routines and along with playing dress up, she wanted to act out her little passion plays on location.

The French maid routine now had to be in an upscale hotel room.

Bad cop had to be at the side of a three am strip of two lane highway.

Dirty nurse had to be in a hospital emergency room.

The bigger the risk, the hotter she got and I had to admit, it got me sweating just as hard.

But I thought her dressing up like a nun and us heading down to the local Catholic Church was a bit much.

Even though neither Cheryl or I were very religious, I was raised Southern Baptist, the church was my family’s entire world and it was instilled in me that every church—no mater what faith it may be—was sacred.

Cheryl kept pushing.

She kept parading her ass around in the sack cloth black and white habit with nothing underneath except black six inch stripper heels, fishnets, and no panties.

Like all of her other demands, I finally relented and drove her down to the church a couple of miles away from our town house on a Thursday night.

The chapel was completely abandoned, so we started in on her nun/teacher/ naughty parochial school boy fantasy. We were just getting into it, Cheryl bent over a pew, my face buried in her ass, lapping away, and I felt her tense up.

“Oh my. . .oh my God….”

I stared up and saw some nondescript white dude backing down the aisle, not able to take his eyes off the two of us.

“Stop him, Ty!” Cheryl practically shrieked. “You’ve got to stop him!”

I stood up, letting the man see my full six-foot-three frame, my face slick with spit and Cheryl’s juices and I charged. His eyes were huge and glazed over, still in shock over what he was seeing.

I hit him hard, tackling him around the midsection.

I clambered on top of him, wrapping my big hands tight across his throat. He tried fighting back; weak punches glancing off my shoulders. I heard Cheryl somewhere far away, her voice high and shrill.

I didn’t know why I was squeezing the life out of this complete stranger? Maybe it was because all the blood that normally would’ve been powering my brain had all drained away from it to power up my dick and I was in survival mode, like some kind of animal.

I finally came out of my blood stupor, the dead man under me, Cheryl standing over me, her face glowing, slack jawed. She pushed me off of him and collapsed on top of me, maniacally grinding, cumming over and over again, never taking her eyes off the corpse.

That was two months ago

Six bodies ago

Still no baby

We’re out again tonight; she wants me to do a cop, so we’re in a stolen car, speeding around corners, side swiping parked vehicles, trying to attract attention.

I want to tell her everyday that we need to stop; that we’ve gone too far.

But I can’t.

I just can’t say no to her.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Busy, busy, busy....and a contest




As the title implies, it's been one busy ass week for me.

First off, I made my debut as a half ass film critic over at the newly reformatted Spinetingler magazine, (Personally, I think the new site kicks all kinds of ass, and I'm pumped Brian and Sandra decided to include me in the reboot of the near legendary zine.) with my review of Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island (And make sure to take a gander at the Nerd of Noir's far more studied opinion of the film over at Crimespree Cinema.)

Then, my interview with the incredibly talented Dennis Tafoya drops over at good old BSCreview. (If you haven't checked it out yet, do the mouse click thing right HERE. And then make sure to go out and grab yourself a copy of Dope Thief as soon as possible!)

Next, my review of Roger Smith's incredible second novel, Wake Up Dead, also made the scene over at Spinetingler. (Yeah, do that clicking thing right HERE to give the review a read.)

And last but far from least, I've been prepping for my interview with the great Craig McDonald.....(If you haven't picked up a copy of Print the Legend yet, get yourself to a bookstore right away, because McDonald's third effort is all kinds of brilliant.) Although, as of tonight, both Craig and I are keeping our fingers crossed that he even makes it out of Ohio due to all the extreme weather rumbling through the state. The national weather service is saying that the storm is going to be petering out by eleven EST. But, we all know that the national weather service knows exactly two things, those things being "Jack" and the other being "Shit". But all the same, if the weather's permitting, Craig will be appearing in Scottsdale, AZ at the Poisoned Pen bookstore at 2 PM.
So, to all my Phoenix people, make sure to be there!

Okay, now that I'm done patting myself on the ass, let's get to the contest I promised last week.

Alright, as you all know, I've been a pretty big booster of Roger Smith's second novel, Wake Up Dead. The book is as about as hardboiled they come and I'd like to give one lucky reader of old bloody knucks the chance to experience it, too.
So, here's what you need you to do in order to get you hands on some free shit.
You'll notice in the header of old bloody knucks I always have some pithy statement running below it.

Past examples have been:


"I'm not just any fat bastard.....I'm the fat bastard."

"Taking care of business Canadian style.....Yeah, I'm drunk and sitting on the couch in my underwear."

"Making fun of your mama since 1973."

Right now I have the fairly bland, "Semi-literate ramblings from a semi-literate man."

With this contest, I'd like you, dear reader, to come up with a new slogan for old bloody knucks.

The rules are simple, come up with the new slogan, post it in the comments section of this wee little post (And only in this post.) and on March 15th, I'll number the entries, put 'em in a hat and draw a number. I'll announce the winner on the same day and who ever wins will have a body bag sheathed advanced readers copy of Wake Up Dead headed in their direction.

And just to sweeten the pot a little, I'll include a bonus book for the lucky winner.

So get crackin' folks!

By the way, since this is for the North American debut of Wake Up Dead, I'll have to insist that all entrants must reside in either the U.S. or Canada. (yeah, ain't that about a bitch?)

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Something to talk about


McFetridge has been getting a lot of play on old bloody knucks the past few days here.

First, I pimp the debut of Let it Ride and the excerpt he was running over at Do Some Damage

Next up, I participate in the whole creative writers thing he tags me in.

And tonight, Mr. McFetridge makes another appearance for this:

Writers' Co-op Publishing.



And now you're asking yourself, what the hell is Writer's Co-op publishing?

Well, here's a little back story over at Declan Burke's little slice of internet (and one of the blogs which drew me ever so deep into this whole online writing community thing I'm now so happily entrenched in.) meat pie, Crime Always Pays, right Here, Here, and, you betcha, Here.

If you're a regular reader of the blog, you'll know that Dec is no stranger to Co-operative publishing. In fact, his first novel, Eight Ball Boogie, was published in a similar manner, and recently he's been considering publishing his fourth novel, Gonzo Noir, in the same way.

Do I think this is such a hot idea?
Do I think this idea seems a little bit like self publishing?

To be honest, I don't really care.
Dec's a good writer and I'll buy whatever he puts out because I enjoy his novels. And just because his books aren't being put out by one of the "Big" publishing houses doesn't mean his work is less attractive to me.

I can say this of all the writers who I enjoy reading.

But, to get back to McFetridge.

John put the idea out there that what if there was an organization of writers--a collective--who paid in dues, elected an editorial board, and then published books put forth by it's members and approved by the editorial board.

And along with publishing the books, freelance editors and artists are brought on board--and paid with the collectives dues--to give the novels and books being published a nice professional sheen.

Now, do I think this kind of idea could work?

Do I think this sounds a bit like self publishing?

My answer to the first question is: Yes, I think it could work perfectly.
I think all you really need for this kind of venture to work is a group people who are passionate about what they do and are willing to part with a little bit of their time and money. (Shit, I already do this with Crimefactory.)

And to question #2:
No, it doesn't sound anything like self publishing, especially since you have to make it past an editorial board just like you do at the "Big" publishing houses, with the exception being that chances are the editorial board of the collective would give you a reason why they wanted to pass on the book instead of just telling you that they're not interested at this time.

But what gets me really excited about the prospect of Writer's Co-op publishing is that finally, we, the writers, get to decide how our work is presented and with how it's sold and marketed. (Not that most writers don't have to do 99% of their own marketing already.)

And, yes, it's only an idea right now, but, damn, what a great idea it is.

If you'd like to join in and see where this idea goes, take a look at the link below and join up if it interests you?

Writer's Co-op publishing

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Bald Face Liar (Creative Writer) thingy


Since I don't do anything remotely writer like on Thursday nights, (Hey, everybody needs a night off, kids.) I thought I'd participate in this "Creative Writer" award meme John McFetridge tagged me with. So here's the ground rules:

• Tell up to six outrageous lies about yourself, and at least one outrageous truth – or – switch it around and tell six outrageous truths and one outrageous lie. (See below.)
• Nominate some more “Creative Writers” who might have fun coming up with outrageous lies of their own. (Check the end of this post.)
• Post links to the blogs you nominate.
• Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know that you have nominated them.

I'm going to go for the six outrageous truths and one lie thing.

Here we go.

1) I've only been arrested twice in my life. The first time was for swiping a candy bar because I was hungry. The second time was for the warrant issued for my arrest for stealing the candy bar.

2) I met my lovely wife while living at an "art" commune. (By commune, I mean, it was a bunch of hippies living in a ranch house out in the middle of the desert smoking a lot of "tobacco" and taking stuff that made us laugh for hours on end and see stuff that wasn't really there.) My wife was dating the drummer of the band which supported "the commune" when we met, and I stole her out from under him. Yeah, I felt like a total stud.

3) I've been punched in the face by a 6'5, 300 pound retarded pedophile. I was so pumped up with adrenaline, the punch neither hurt nor left a mark.

4) My favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip.

5) When the wife and I met James Ellroy, the man would not stop flirting with my wife for the entire twenty minutes we stood talking with him. Seriously, he answered every question I threw his direction, but he just wouldn't stop fawning over her. We still get a big laugh out of it.

6) I've hiked the Grand Canyon twelve times. Both South-to-North rim and East-to-West. My fastest time was eight and half hours straight from the South Kaibab trail-to-the Bright Angel Trail. The hike was a total of 28 miles.

7) On a cross country road trip my wife and I went on when we first got together, we stopped at a campground in Iowa. It was the best campground we'd stayed at our entire trip--free showers, well maintained campsites and barbecue pits, plus one of the cleanest natural lakes I've ever seen--at least until the sun went down and the mosquito's came out. The next day we counted the number of bites on our bodies. I had 57 bites, the wife had well over 100. The bugs obviously thought she was much sweeter than I was.

Anyway, that's it, gang, except for me tagging people, so here are the folks I plan on slightly annoying tonight: Jed Ayres, Dennis Tafoya, Scott Phillips, Dan O'shea (BTW, folks, remember that Dan still has the new flash fiction challenge going right HERE.) Kent Gowran, J.F. Juzwik, Eric Beetner, and we'll throw in Kieran Shea because I'm trying to distract him from finishing up his first novel.

And one last thing before I head out tonight, next week old bloody knucks will be running it's first ever contest, so make sure to keep an eye out, because you know you like the free shit just as much as I do.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Look, Ma, something to blog about!





Hell, I guess I spoke too soon, but here I am blogging again.
But I feel it's with good reason.
First off, my interview with multiple Edgar awarding wining novelist, T. Jefferson Parker, can be found right HERE over at BSCreview.


Second, one of my favorite novelists, John McFetridge, is celebrating the release of his third novel, Let it Ride, over at Do Some Damage. And what's so great about the celebration is that John not only posted a cool ass excerpt of Let it Ride, but he's giving away a copy to boot!
Yeah, I'm all about the free shit, so head on over to DSD and give McFetridge a little love and maybe win yourself a copy of what I'm sure will be one of the best received crime novels of the year. (Or you can go and buy yourself a copy if you don't win it, because, shit, the man's gotta make a living.)

Third, "Dangerous" Dan O'Shea is running another flash fiction challenge. This time out the stories are taking place in a church, so if you're looking to participate, head over to Dan's bloggy-blog, Going Ballistic, right HERE and sign up if you want to participate.

And last but not least, one of my favorite writer's (and favorite people.) Hilary Davidson has unveiled the cover of her much anticipated first novel, the Damage Done. And gotta say it, the good folks at Forge have one Hell of an art department, because this is one damn good looking cover!















Anyway, folks, that's it, don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Smal changes and guilt








Most days I don't even know why I have a blog?
Don't get me wrong, I like having old bloody knucks around and all, but over the past six months or so I've been neglecting the hell out of it. I'll post something once or twice a month and then move onto other things that are absorbing my time and energy and forget all about it
And then I start to feel guilty about how I haven't posted anything to it in awhile and I'll decide I need to rededicate myself to it and get over here more frequently. I even think about doing posts Dave White style and pick one day a week where I write out all my posts for the week in one sitting. But then I think to myself, damn, that would suck up at least a couple of hours of time I just don't have.

So, instead, I write a post like this where I bitch and moan about how I don't have time for a blog and then I go and slap a new coat of paint on the blog or add some new gadget to make me feel a little better about the fact that I don't spent enough of my writing time blogging.

And that's what I've done today.

You'll notice the new template which I selected from the vast library of styles Google has to offer (Seriously Google, when are you going to start offering a wider range of templates to choose from? I think you've had the same six or seven for the past five years. I mean, come on, I know it's free and all, but a little developer variety wouldn't be too awful, now would it?) and I've changed my profile picture to conform with my other profile pics on the old interweby.

So, now that I've started in on this post, what do I write about? (Here's the other issue I have with blogging, when I do it, most of the time I don't really have anything to say.) Well, you all know about Crimefactory.
Yup, I've pretty much beaten everyone to death with that stick.
(BTW, you can download the PDF right HERE or it's available on Kindle right HERE. You didn't think you'd get out of this post without me plugging our little monster, right?)
I don't have stories coming out right now mostly because I'm plugging away at long projects (Yes, today's blog post is brought to you by everyone's favorite past time, Work-in-progress evasion!) and the stories I do have out in the world are being read at publications who take their sweet ass time getting back to you.
I do have a couple of author interviews waiting in the wings, but I usually just post links to those on Twitter and Facebook.

So............

Books!
Books I've recently scored and enjoyed reading is always a good subject.


Okay, first up is Roger Smith's Wake up Dead
I received this taunt thriller sheathed in a book sized body bag from Henry Holt, and I've gotta tell you I haven't been able to put it down since I picked it up and started reading on Friday night. Much like Smith's taunt debut, Mixed Blood, it's compulsively readable, violent, and about as good as a thriller can get. I'm about fifty pages away from the end and I'll no doubt be spending my lunch break reading it's conclusion. I highly recommend it.

Next is A Choice of Nightmares by Lynn Kostoff published by New Pulp Press
Kostoff is one of those writers that has been sorely neglected over the years and I was more than a little happy that NPP was deciding to reprint Nightmares after so many years after its original publication. It's a fun, fast paced read--think Elmore Leonard combined with a heavy dose of Jim Thompson--and in all honesty it's the best looking book NPP has put out to date, and I do love it that Jon Basoff and New Pulp Press is reissuing so many great, neglected books

Alright, last but far from least is Print the Legend by Craig Mcdonald.
This is the third and by far the best of the Hector Lassiter series and I've got to say Mcdonald's going to have a tough time topping this one. Print the Legend is a dense, complex read with Mcdonald seemingly taking a page out of the house of Ellroy and splitting up and handing out the POV to multiple characters and stringing the novel out through multiple time frames in literary history. I really enjoyed this one, so make sure to pick up your copy ASAP when it becomes available everywhere tomorrow! Also, Craig is touring for the novel and will be making his way through Arizona on February 27th at the Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale. And, yes, I'll be there with video camera in hand to interview Craig for BSCreview.
I can't wait!

And I figured I might as well end this post with the video trailer for Print the Legend, hope you enjoy it and I'll see you when I start feeling guilty about not posting again