MY NEW NOVEL - JACK MARTIN RETURNS

ARKANSAS SMITH MARCH 2010




PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY HERE

Arkansas Smith: the name was legend. Once he had been a Texas Ranger, but now he was something else entirely. Some said he was an outlaw, a killer of men and a fast draw. Others claimed he was a kind of special lawman, dispensing frontier justice across the West and bringing law to the lawless. Arkansas Smith arrives in Red Rock looking for those who shot and left his friend for dead. He vows to leave no stone unturned in his quest to bring the gunmen to justice and, soon, those who go against him must face the legendary fast draw that helped tame the West.

James Patterson goes graphic

One man publishing industry, James Patterson has an eye on enlarging his audience by moving into graphic novels.


"Comics could reach a much larger audience than they do right now," says Patterson, who often works with co-authors and whose thrillers are frequently at or near the top of USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list. "With all of the quality work and talent that's out there, this industry could be so much bigger." James Patterson.

Patterson who already has a controversial working method -as well as writing himself he also sets out detailed synopsis of his plots, outlining every twist and turn and then employing other writers to produce the book. It is no surprise that he will be employing writing partners for his comic books.

First up for release will be a five-part comic series based on the writer's best-selling young-adult novel Witch & Wizard. The new series, subtitled Shadowland, will be written by Dara Naraghi, with Patterson heavily involved in the story direction. (He is not involved with the artwork.)

The Wizard series launch will be followed in June by a four-issue comic adaptation of Patterson's 2009 book The Murder of King Tut. Alexander Irvine will do the heavy lifting in terms of writing duties.

Patterson says he is excited at the prospect of translating King Tut— a "non-fiction thriller" that investigates the mysterious death of the Egyptian pharaoh — into a comic-book format. "We saw the potential there and worked with IDW to expand on it. It's going to be a very interesting series."

Under the agreement, Patterson will also write original comic-book stories. "We're doing an all-new series called Beer Belly and the Fat Boy. I can't get into the details, but it's a lot of fun."

DONALD WESTLAKE'S LAST NOVEL IMMINENT

Here's Charles Ardai, editor of Hard Case Crime with the low down:

In six weeks, we're going to publish Donald E. Westlake's unpublished novel, MEMORY.

Both Publishers Weekly and Booklist have given it starred reviews, calling it "a significant final work from a master" and "absolutely a must-read." MEMORY is one of the most important books we've ever had the privilege to publish.

Other news: We've added another forthcoming title to our Web site, QUARRY'S EX by Max Allan Collins -- you can see the cover art by Greg Manchess at www.HardCaseCrime.com. This will be our fourth novel about the enigmatic hitman and we're thrilled to bring him back.

On the "high adventure" side of the house, we're bringing two-fisted adventurer Gabriel Hunt back as well, for three more adventures, and the first of these -- HUNT BEYOND THE FROZEN FIRE, co-written by Christa Faust (author of the Edgar-nominated MONEY SHOT) -- will arrive in stores on the same day as MEMORY. In this one, Gabriel assembles a crack team to go down to Antarctica and bring back a scientist who's gone missing near the South Pole. Only what they find when they get there isn't nearly what they expect... For more info (and a glimpse at Glen Orbik's delicious cover painting), visit www.HuntForAdventure.com.

And as long as we're mixing genres, here's one more reading suggestion, and it's not even a book we published. When you're next in your favorite local bookstore, why not pick up a copy of WARRIORS, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois? It's a hefty collection featuring new novellas by 20 major authors, ranging from crime stories to epic fantasy to science fiction, all on the theme of warfare, broadly defined. The authors include Hard Case Crime's own Lawrence Block, as well as hardboiled masters Joe Lansdale and David Morrell. But my personal favorite author of the bunch is Naomi Novik, who is not only the New York Times-bestselling author of the TEMERAIRE series but also...my wife. The story she wrote for the book is a heart-stopping account of warfare on a distant planet, between a technologically advanced invading force and the desperate natives who use their connection to the biological world around them to fight back. If this premise sounds a wee bit familiar, I can only assure you that the story was written well over a year ago, before she (or I) had ever heard of AVATAR, never mind seen it. And having seen AVATAR since...I can also tell you that her story's better. (Yes, I'm biased.)

One last tidbit of news before I vanish for another month: We just bought our first title for 2011, and though I can't tell you the title yet, I can tell you this: it's by Christa Faust, it stars Angel Dare.

And if you don't know who Angel Dare is, all I can say is: Why haven't you read MONEY SHOT yet?

Rock with Christopher Lee

As unlikely as it sounds acting legend, Christopher Lee has become a Heavy Metal star.

Charlemagne: by the sword and the cross - billed as a symphonic metal concept album features the actor both narrating and singing.

"An epic story needs epic music. I realised there was a parallel between my acting style and heavy metal music. Working on this album was too good an opportunity to miss and I thoroughly enjoyed myself." Christopher Lee

Check out the album HERE

COMIC BOOK MOVIES THAT NON-GEEKS CAN ENJOY

Sin City (2005), directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez. This is one of the most effective and stylish comic book movies ever filmed - it looks eye popping with actors filmed against a computer generated backdrop. It's all monochrome with a charcoal tint to the images, but every now and then there's a splash of vivid colour - blood, lipstick, the yellow skin of a rapist. Using Miller's film noir influenced graphic novels as a reference point and sticking close to the comic books uber-violence the film doesn't put a foot wrong.

Uncompromising, extreme, intelligent and brilliant.


Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) Okay the film is juvenile and predictable, but then the comic book from which it drew its inspiration was always one of Marvel's younger reader friendly publications. So one can hardly condemn it for being too comic bookish.

On its opening weekend, the film was the highest-grossing movie at the U.S. box office, reaching approximately $58 million which was a full 2million more than the previous movie. Sure it's dumb-arse but it's very good natured and effectively recreates the bickering relationship between Johnny Storm and The Thing. The CGI Surfer looks incredibly cool and although the film copped out by not showing us enough of Galacticus, it never fails to entertains. Well there are some shaky sequences mid-movie that border on slapstick bit it's still good fun. Everything, in fact, a comic book movie should be...hey, no one was expecting Citizen Kane.

The Hulk (2003) - Although the complete opposite of the previous film, this one treats the superhero genre seriously, it is just as underrated. Marvel obviously had high hopes for this one and employed art-house director Ang Lee to give it gravitas. Upon release the film recieved mixed reviews and for the most part the fans didn't think there was enough Hulk in the movie. With a running time over 2 hours it is one of the longer super hero movies - it's an epic tale and its presented in an epic style. Marvel themselves were not happy and rebooted the series in 2008 with The Incredible Hulk, recasting Edward Norton as the doomed Banner. It is generally regarded that the 2008 version is the better film but for my money it is Ang Lee's Hulk which is superior.While there may be more action-packed pictures to be found on this list, there are none as centered on characters as Hulk, so check it out if you like your blockbuster a little smarter – or if you happen to like watching giant green men bash the living crap out of a tank.

Batman Begins - it was a tough choice between this and its sequel, The Dark Knight, but this one just pipped it at the post. True both films are excellent but this one is a much more rounded movie. The thing about this movie is that it was the film Batman fans had always been waiting for - It has a crossover appeal that works for the geeks, the laymen and even for the ladies. It's a truly terrific achievement and a promising start for the series to follow. The Dark Knight followed but where that film lags in the always difficult middle section, this one has no such weakness.

Hellboy II (2008) - Not that this a better film than the 2004 Hellboy. Both are directed by Del Toro and feature Ron Perlman (inspired casting) as the demonic hero from the Dark Horse comic series. For this one the director updated the classic Frankenstein storyline.

Hellboy II opened on July 11, 2008 in 3,204 theaters in the United States and Canada. The film ranked first at the box office, grossing an estimated $35.9 million over the weekend, outperforming the opening of its predecessor, which had opened with $23.2 million.The opening was the biggest of Guillermo del Toro's directing career.

Perhaps the first truly great comic book movie, Superman (1978) still holds up well when pitted against the CGI blockbusters that fill the cinema screens today. You'l believe a man can fly, ran the tagline and for once there was no exaggeration. Chris Reeve made bot a perfect Clark Kent and Superman. Whilst Marlon Brando's over-paid and over-hyped contribution adds little to the movie.

In fact Superman may still stand as the best comic book movie ever made. And for generations Christopher Reeve will always be Superman. Superman opened on December 15, 1978 in America, grossing $134.22 million in North America and $166 million in foreign countries, totaling $300.22 million worldwide. The film was declared a financial success since it beat its $55 million budget. Superman was the sixth-highest grossing film at the time of its release.

There are many other comic book movies worth watching - Spiderman, Watchmen, X-Men - and this list is not intended as a best of. But rather to highlight the movies that someone who has never read a comic book can enjoy equally with the most fervent geek. For instance I've not included Watchmen which is a minor masterpiece, but if you're not familiar with the source material it can be a bit slow. That's not the case with the films here which need no prior knowledge to fully enjoy the material.

All together - biff, bash, wallop

DICK FRANCIS DIES

Dick Francis, the author who all but invented the horse mystery sub-genre, and remains today at the forefront in the racing mystery stakes has died - He passed away at his Caribbean home in Grand Cayman, according to a short statement released through his publicist.

During the latter part of his life Francis became best known as one of the most popular British thriller writers, penning 42 novels based on the horse racing industry, as well as an autobiography, The Sport of Queens, and a biography of Lester Piggott.

But those achievements stemmed from a successful earlier career as a National Hunt jockey, winning over 350 races and being honoured as Champion Jockey for the 1953/4 season.

He rode eight times in the Grand National, including for the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, in 1956.

British Library join the eBook revolution

The British Library has announced that users of Amazon's Kindle e-reader will be able to download more than 65,000 19th century classics for free this coming spring in a special format that will have the look of a genuine first edition. Works from famous authors like Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy and Jane Austen will be reproduced using the original typeface and illustrations to add an antique feel to the e-reader technology.

According to Dame Lynne Brindley, Chief Executive of the British Library: "Making 19th century fiction available for free through the Kindle e-book reader opens up a new global readership for forgotten literary gems. Kindle users will be able to download, free of charge, 25 million pages of digitized books, from noteworthy editions of well known authors like Dickens, Conan Doyle and Thomas Hardy to rare early 19th century fiction and even the UK’s best collection of ‘penny dreadfulls’."

The British Library has worked with Microsoft over the past three years to digitally record text and images from the out-of-copyright works. Microsoft also helped develop the "Turning the Pages" software that allows users to interact with otherwise off-limits, rare books and manuscripts from the likes of Handel, Leonardo da Vinci, Lewis Carroll and Mozart. As well as seeing a visual representation of a turning page, users can zoom right up close to a page, change orientation and much more.

The news represents the latest step of an ongoing digitization project which recently made available more than two million pages from 19th century British newspapers and aims to capture 50 million items by 2020. Work will now begin on the scanning of out-of-copyright books from the early 20th century.