Here at FOMAC (which does not stand for F**cking Old Max Allan Collins) we are celebrating. We are over 100,000 visitors to our humble site. Thank you to the Friends/Family/Fans of M.A.C.
QUARRY IN THE MIDDLE has been nominated for a Best Paperback Novel “Anthony,” which will be presented at Bouchercon in September.
It’s unlikely Barb and I will be attending the con, so the odds of winning this one are long indeed. Voting is done by attendees at the con, and writers who aren’t in attendance don’t often win. It’s a popularity contest, but then so is the writing game in general.
But this is a very nice honor. THE FIRST QUARRY was nominated last time. Keep in mind I’ve only had five Anthony nominations in my entire career (George Hagenauer and I won for MEN’S ADVENTURE MAGAZINES). So I’m very grateful, particularly to those of you who voted for the book in the preliminary round.
Speaking of Quarry, there is an excellent, reasonably priced audio book of THE LAST QUARRY from Speaking Volumes Audio, nicely read by actor Curt Palmer. You can buy it at Amazon or other of the usual suspects, or at Speaking Volumes’ own website.
There are more Quarry audios on the way from Speaking Volumes, including the early out-of-print books. I hope Curt Palmer is asked to read those, as well, because he does a nice, understated job. According to Curt’s site, he is going to do THE FIRST QUARRY and at least one more.
Also, Stacy Keach’s reading of THE BIG BANG is out from Blackstone Audio, and Barb and I are listening to it in the car now – another terrific job from everybody’s favorite Mike Hammer actor. Again, you can get it from various online sources, including directly from Blackstone Audio. But Amazon seems to have the best price.
Back to Quarry, I received a handful of bound galleys from Hard Case Crime. If you are an internet reviewer, and aren’t regularly receiving Hard Case Crime reading copies, write me at macphilms@hotmail.com, and I’ll send you a copy (until my supply is gone).
I am working on the JFK Heller – still researching/plotting. I am considering titles for the book, and would love to get your opinions.
Among current candidates:
IDES OF TEXAS
SMOKING GUNS (or SMOKING GUN)
SHADOWS IN SUNSHINE
LONE GUNMAN
MAGIC BULLET
The Last Lullaby showings: Des Moines (June 5 – 11), Brooklyn (June 7 – 8), San Jose (June 12 – 18)
THE LAST LULLABY — the film based on the Quarry short story “A Matter of Principal,” and co-written by me — will be showing at the Fleur Cinema in Des Moines from June 5 till June 11. Director Jeffrey Goodman and I will be there for the two evening showings on Friday June 5, and probably on Saturday June 6, as well, doing intros before and Q and A after. This is our last scheduled appearance together in support of the film, and marks the final of the three Iowa bookings.
Jeffrey continues to roll it out slowly and carefully. The film will show at the 6/5-6/14 Brooklyn International Film Festival. Tickets are now on sale at this link. We screen Sunday, June 7th at 9PM and Monday, June 8th at 8PM. Jeffrey will be there for both of our screenings.
The film also plays 6/12-6/18 in San Jose, CA at the Camera Cinemas 3.
The film continues to rack up great reviews. Here’s two of them:
Stark Silvercreek: “A movie that gives the movie industry hope.” (Includes an interview with Jeffrey.) Steve Rhodes: “New filmmakers should look at it as a paradigm on how movies should be made.”
There’s been some confusion about where the novel THE LAST QUARRY fits in. It was based on my draft of the screenplay and written prior to the shooting of the film, which reflects a draft by another writer plus a polish by me. Call it the Writer’s Cut.
Quarry is continuing to make a remarkable comeback for a character who appeared in an obscure four-paperback series in the mid-’70s. I was always proud of this character, and he remains one of my two favorite characters (Nate Heller being the other).
THE FIRST QUARRY has been nominated for the Best Paperback Novel “Anthony,” presented at the Bouchercon. It’s voted on by con attendees, so go to the con and remember what Al Capone said: vote early and vote often.
Also, THE LAST QUARRY’s magnificent Robert McGinnis cover has been chosen as one of the handful of images adorning a new group of Hard Case Crime t-shirts.
And later this year, look for a new Quarry novel, QUARRY IN THE MIDDLE.
Announcing the Midwest theatrical premiere of THE LAST LULLABY this Friday, May 8, at the Collins Road Theatre, Cedar Rapids, IA!
THE LAST LULLABY, director Jeffrey
Goodman’s version of my novel THE LAST QUARRY,
has been doing very well on the film festival circuit over the last year or so.
On the weekend of April 3 & 4, the film came to my home turf, where it won Best
Professional Feature (The Gold Eddy Award) from the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival. I
introduced the film, which was given the honor of the prime Saturday
evening slot (8 pm). The audience at the Collins Road Theatre (no,
neither the road nor the theater was named after me) seemed to love it.
This festival win has special resonance because the short Quarry film, “A Matter of
Principal,” that was expanded into THE LAST LULLABY (and THE LAST QUARRY, for that
matter), had won Best Short Film at the same festival in 2003. In 2004, director
Goodman, having done so well with the short, commissioned me to a feature-length
version and started the ball rolling, or anyway got it rolling further. I did two
drafts of the screenplay, another writer did another draft when the production moved
to Louisiana and locations shifted, then I came in and provided extensive notes that
amounted to a sort of last-minute polish. The film differs in some respects from THE
LAST QUARRY, but I really like it. Tom Sizemore, baggage and all, is a wonderful
Quarry (herein called “Price”), and there’s a lovely modern noir atmosphere. We showed
it at the last Bouchercon to nice response, and it’s been an official selection of
numerous festivals with some impressive wins.
There will be a limited theatrical release starting in May. It will primarily be
showing in cities where the film has done well in fests, or where there’s a tie to the
film — meaning Louisiana (Jeffrey’s home state and the site of the filming) and Iowa
(my home state) will be on the list, with its Midwestern theatrical premiere at the Collins
Road Theatre on Friday, May 8. Director Jeffrey Goodman will join me at the 7 and 9
PM screenings to present the film, and take questions and answers from the opening
night audience. THE LAST LULLABY will also be showing in the Quad Cities the following week —
stay tuned for more details.
The original Quarry short, written by me and directed by Jeffrey, is part of my
anthology DVD, SHADES OF NOIR (essentially the bonus DVD on the boxed set of my indie
stuff, THE BLACK BOX).
This is probably my record year for number of books published (and for me that’s saying something, I know). But I’m really proud of what Barb and I have accomplished of late, and want to make sure you’re aware of what’s out there already, and what’s coming.
In September from Kensington, “Barbara Allan” (Barb and me) will have the reprint of ANTIQUES MAUL (ISBN 978-0-7582-1194-1) out and the new “Trash ‘n’ Treasures” mystery, too: ANTIQUES FLEE MARKET (ISBN 978-0-7582-1195-8), with a Christmas theme. It’s been getting the best reviews of the series yet. These are funny cozies with an edge, and fans of my tougher stuff may be surprised by how much they’ll enjoy these…and we’ve just signed to do two more!
Very soon Harcourt will publish the first new Mike Hammer novel in over a decade — THE GOLIATH BONE (ISBN 978-0-15-101454-5), which I completed from Mickey Spillane’s nearly finished manuscript. This is the first of at least three Hammers I will complete from manuscripts Mickey entrusted to me. To say this is an honor and a thrill is an extreme understatement. It’s also getting great advance notices. Do not miss this one!
The success of THE LAST QUARRY (which has been made into the film THE LAST LULLABY, on the festival circuit now) has led to the new prequel, THE FIRST QUARRY (ISBN 0-8439-5965-7), which Hard Case will publish in paperback in the fall. This is also getting wonderful advance reviews. This one is definitely not cozy, and could be the nastiest noir novel I’ve ever written….
I’m pleased to report that in December VCI Home Entertainment is bringing out my documentary, CAVEMAN: V.T. HAMLIN & ALLEY OOP on DVD! It’s a great package, with an extended Will Eisner interview and a panel discussion at a Des Moines Historical Museum screen of the film that features me, producer Mark Lambert and the current OOP writer and artist team, Jack and Carole Bender. CAVEMAN has been seen several times on Iowa PBS as part of the celebration of the OOP strip’s 75th Anniversary. (This means all of my indie films will now be available on DVD.)
For the past several months, Barb and I have been out in the midwest, appearing at bookstores and libraries and other events, talking about various books (including those just mentioned) and other projects. Here’s what we’ve been talking about:
STRIP FOR MURDER from Berkley Prime Crime — a snazzy trade paperback, a Rex Stout-style mystery that combines graphic novel elements (my longtime MS. TREE cohort Terry Beatty did the comic art), and is a lot of fun. The story is loosely based on the notorious Al Capp (Li’l Abner)/Ham Fisher (Joe Palooka) feud.
RED SKY IN MORNING (ISBN 978-0-06-089255-5) is by “Patrick Culhane” — the byline I began with the Wyatt Earp/Al Capone novel, BLACK HATS (in mass-market paperback now, ISBN 978-0-06-089254-8). This one is special to me, a book I’ve planned for decades based on my father’s experiences in the Navy in WW 2 as a young officer in charge of black sailors handling explosives in the Pacific. It’s my CAINE MUTINY, hinging on the infamous Port Chicago disaster, but there is a mystery. You may have this on the way — please don’t miss RED SKY. EQMM’s Jon Breen says it’s one of my best.
Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz at Forbidden Planet
In non-literary news, I’m thrilled to report that my ’60s garage band, the Daybreakers, has been inducted into the Iowa Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Over the Labor Day weekend, we appeared with seven other inductee bands in concert at Arnold’s Park on Lake Okoboji, to a packed house of over 1000 rock fans. What made this truly special was that the original line-up of the band — guitarist Mike Bridges, bassist Chuck Bunn, guitarist Dennis Maxwell and drummer Buddy Busch (and me) — were able to assemble from around the country and reunite both to be honored and to perform for the first time together since 1968. We did half an hour and, frankly, we killed — a magical set in which we took a major risk, doing mostly original material at an oldies show!
Of course, our major claim to fame nationally (make that our only claim to fame nationally) was our infamous single “Psychedelic Siren”/”Afterthoughts.” “Siren” is one of the most anthologized garage-band songs of the ’60s, currently available on a Sundazed CD called GARAGE BAND ‘66: Speak of the Devil. We managed to reproduce the siren sound on stage and the crowd went nuts. We also played live, for the first time, “I Need Somebody,” an original written by our late great bandmate, Bruce Peters.
A limited edition of 100 CDs called “THE DAYBREAKERS aka Crusin’ — The Hall of Fame Collection” was pressed for the show. This is essentially the long-out-of-print “Thirty Year Plan,” and is filled with Daybreakers/Crusin’ recordings, studio, demo, live, from 1967’s “Psychedelic Siren” to the ’90s songs from the “Mommy” movies. We have about forty of these left.
For $15 postpaid (plus $7.50 for shipping outside the U.S.), you can get a copy of “The Hall of Fame Collection.” For $25 (plus $7.50 for shipping outside the U.S.), you can get a copy signed by the entire band (there are only 15 of these).
Pay with PayPal:
Or send a check to:
MAC Productions
301 Fairview Ave.
Muscatine, IA 52761
We have uploaded footage of “Psychedelic Siren” from our Hall of Fame performance. Check back soon for more clips!
And Crusin’ has added Daybreaker bassist Chuck Bunn to the mix, and will be performing more in the midwest than in recent years. Stay tuned!
