Tonight, Tonight

Yup. It's here. The Lineup reading at the KGB Bar is tonight, Thursday, 10/22. The particulars are below. I hope to see y'all there.

KGB Bar

85 East 4th Street

Between Bowery and 2nd Avenue

7:00-9:00pm

The Lineup: Reading On October 22nd

You've heard this before. You're hearing it again. We're having a reading of Lineup poems at the KGB Bar in the East Village on October 22nd from 7-9pm. Contributors will be reading from their own work. Some of us will be reading selected work from those contributors not able to attend. You are all invited. It might be poetry, but remember it's crime poetry. And it's at a bar. A raucous time will be had...

Remembering 9/11

Michael Connelly

I can't think of a bad Michael Connelly book. Sure: there are some that I prefer over others. But that's personal taste (Harry Bosch is my boy). But breaking it down to the nuts and bolts of craft, character and plot: the man produces a kick-ass story each and every time. I put other books on hold when a new Connelly is available. When The Scarecrow pubbed, I went out and got it right away. (Unfortunately, not at Black Orchid). I contacted Jeff Pierce at January Magazine and said I wanted to review it. You can read that review here. I also asked Connelly some follow up questions. And I can still say: I can't think of a bad Connelly book. I can think of many outstanding ones, including his latest.

The Lineup: Start Spreading The News

I'm going to mention this a few more times over the next two months. We're having a reading of Lineup poems at KGB Bar on October 22nd. Contributors will be reading from their own work. Some of us non-poets will be reading selected work from those not present. You are all invited and urged to attend. It might be poetry, but remember it's crime poetry. A raucous time will be had...

What Are You Reading?

My review of James Lee Burke's Rain Gods was published today in the Lincoln Journal Star. If you know me, if you've read my reviews, you know how much I hold MWA Grand Master Burke's body of work in high esteem. Well, no surprise here: if you haven't read this new novel yet, or if you're looking for something to read, pick this one up, dammit. Man, this book kicks ass and then some.

The Irish Independent Newspaper

Reporter Caitriona Palmer with The Irish Independent newspaper wrote an excellent article about posthumous publications in a piece entitled, "Authors Who Came Back From The Grave." I like that title. Included in the piece, she mentions two works published, or in the process of being published, by the Strand Magazine: the short story "The Undertaker's Tale" by Mark Twain, and the novel The Empty Chair by Grahame Greene. Having read my piece in the Lincoln Journal Star newspaper on the Twain story, Ms. Palmer contacted me too. My thoughts on the subject of dead authors and the opinions of others can be read here.