Get Outta Here

Look at that. That's gotta be a mistake. That's... holy crap, am I excited about N@B-Oxford. So hey, if you're in the Greater Delta Region February 5, stop on by Proud Larry's for a night of amazing writers getting shitfaced at a bar, or as they call it in Oxford, Wednesday. But get a load of the quality of fitshaced folks to be featured: Megan Abbott, Ace Atkins, William Boyle, Tom Franklin, Derrick Harriell, Chris Offutt, Scott Phillips and Root Beer Guy himself, Jack Pendarvis (I'll be reading too).

Oh, but you live on the Mid-Atlantic coast and all the N@B activity springing up around the country is too far away for you? Get your ass to Maryland for N@B-Baltimore with...

N@B vets Dennis Tafoya, Duane Swierczynski, Jon McGoran plus Kieran Shea, Steve Weddle, Todd Robinson, Nik Korpon, Rob W. Hart, Dave White, Don Lafferty, Solomon Jones, Art Taylor and Jeff Alphin will be walking into the bar (Slainte Pub) on February 9. Korpon has promised to go 'full Ayres' for the event, which I can only imagine means he's going to be respectful to his elders and kind to animals.

Or if you just can't wait for February, tonight you can catch N@B-TC hosted by Paul von Stoetzel and The Mighty, Mighty Dan Malmon *tm with Dan O'Shea, Matthew Clemens and everybody's favorite Kristi Belcamino (somebody please tell me what T-shirt she finally decides on). So get on down to Dangerous Man Brewing Company by 7, you've just got time.


But enough about other people, let's get back to me...

Some folks have said some nice things about me and my books recently and I'd like to direct you to heed their words, if heeding is something you're into. For example:

Booked podcast spent the some time discussing Peckerwood and other cusses that amused them and were contained in my book - the one with the rude title. Robb Olson, Livius Nedin and guest reviewer Adam (Whose Legs Don't Work) said some swell things, and you should hear them.

The fine folks at Spinetingler magazine included me their list of the Best Crime Fiction (and then some) of 2013 - Fierce Bitches and Peckerwood get nods from The Nerd of Noir and Brian Lindenmuth, and N@B folks did nicely too - Clayton Lindemuth scored for Cold, Quiet Country as well as Nothing Save the Bones Inside Her, J. David Osborne's Low Down Death Right Easy, John Rector's Out of the Black, Frank Bill's Donnybrook, Rake by Scott Phillips, Anthony Neil Smith's The Baddest Ass and Gravesend by William Boyle.

And while we're at Spinetingler, there's also this piece by Gabino Iglesias which I neglected to mention earlier, and in which I have the dubious honor to be included in the company of Benjamin Whitmer, Clayton Lindemuth, J. David Osborne, Richard Thomas, Stephen Graham Jones, Todd Robinson, Keith Rawson, Nik Korpon and Jeremy Robert Johnson. Thanks, man, and sorry, everybody else... my taint is forever upon you. Heh.

Also, Crimespree magazine's staff writers gave their favorite reads of 2013 and again Fierce Bitches & Peckerwood shared the honor thanks to Tim Hennessy.

Paul D. Brazill gave me a platform to promote Peckerwood by making me the subject of his Short Sharp Interview series, and I blew it being a smartass. Thanks, anyway, Paul.

Also thanks the shout-outs from bloggers and folks kind enough to drop thoughts off at Goodreads or Amazon. Always appreciated. So, thanks, Martin Stanley for including Fierce Bitches alongside Ray Banks, Anthony Neil Smith, James Sallis, Roger Smith and Matthew McBride over at The Gamblers. Thanks also to Benoit Lelievre at Dead End Follies for nominating Hoosier Daddy and A F*ckload of Shorts in categories clearly designed to let Steve Weddle kick my ass and Toby at blah blah blah gay for letting me be the turd in the punchbowl surrounded by folks like Jim Thompson, George V. Higgins and James Crumley - bold move when they aren't around to defend themselves any longer. I'll take it.

And thanks in advance to Scott Montgomery and the Hard Word Book Club for selecting A F*ckload of Shorts for their discussion I'll be participating in via Skype on February 26. I think that means that the book will be 10% off at Book People in Austin in February. So... watch out James Patterson.

Finally, huuuuge thanks to Matt Kindt for immortalizing me in issue #18 of his mind-bendingly good Mind MGMT (comic book) series which came out this week. It's a thrill to be vicariously massacring innocents in the South of France as Jedediah Akers aka Barbe Noir.