IDEAS LIKE BULLETS RETURNS! No Fan fare needed...and Oh Look! A Review!

 If you're still following this austere, rarely updated blog of mine, then you are either a fan stalwart of heart, simply haven't moved on to other things, or a hopeful optimist without peer!  Either way, don't go away now!   I am back and with all the intentions of good men and wayward souls, I plan to update regularly.  Notice the words 'intentions' and 'plan', but I'd lay even odds you'll be getting more than enough Ideas Like Bullets in the forthcoming future.  And what better way to pick the ball up and run once again than a review....

BULLETS FROM ANOTHER'S GUN

Reviews of Works Not His Own by Tommy Hancock

SADDLES, SIX GUNS, AND SHOOTOUTS

by Charles Boeckman writing as Charles Beckman, Jr.

Published by Boeckman Family Trust, 2013

Cover by Laura Givens

I have always been one of the first to acknowledge the source of not only New Pulp, but my interest in writing tales that qualify as such.   If it had not been for the pulp magazines of the early 20th Century and the writers who filled their pages with wonder and fantastic action, then the style which I and so many others live to write in likely would not have developed.  To be able to read the stories of Dent, Page, Gibson, Burks, Burroughs, Gardner, and innumerable others is a privilege.  So many of the writers from that era, however, have succumbed to time and age and passed on, which makes the book I'm reviewing today special in its own way.

Charles Boeckman, writing as Charles Beckman, Jr., was an extremely prolific writer of Pulp tales in the 1940s and 50s.  Known primarily for his suspense and westerns, Boeckman outlasted the death of the Pulps in the 1950s and wrote for various digest magazines, such as Alfred Hitchcock's and Ellery Queen.   All of this while living a life akin to a Pulp character all his own, including becoming the leader of his own jazz band.

Last year, Boeckman, with the assistance of his fantastic wife, Patti, produced a collection of his suspense and mystery stories.  I was fortunate enough to receive a review copy of this and was simply blown away.  These tales were tight, two fisted, and rang with as much fire for a reader today as they would have in the time they were originally written.   Fortunately, Charles and Patti did not stop with the first collection and have now given us SADDLES, SIX GUNS, AND SHOOTOUTS, a collection of previously published western tales.

This collection features ten stories that cover the Western fiction frontier like a cattle drive down the Chisholm Trail.  Lawmen, outlaws, strong women, femme fatales, this book has them all.   For the most part, the action in each and every tale is six gun fast, the pacing incredible, and the characters riding at you right off the page.  From the harried newspaper man torn between duty and survival to the cowpoke who rides into town with a picture and a dream to the larger than life steamboat captain desperate to take back what was once his, Boeckman's characters populate each story in a way that invokes a cinematic experience. 

Another strong point of this collection is Boeckman's skill at description.  Bordering on purple just enough to be considered Pulp, he delivers riveting, clear outlinings of the places he sends his characters, from the walls of a drugstore to burning home in New Orleans.   Boeckman not only lets you peek into his western world, he opens it up and invites you in.

Of the ten stories, nine were just fantastic in every way.  The opener to the book, Brazos Woman, was great in all the ways mentioned above, but seemed to be paced differently, feeling more distinctly like a romance story than the others did.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it was a different creature than the others.

SIX OUT OF SIX BULLETS-Even with the opening story being a little off kilter for me from the rest, SADDLES, SIX GUNS, AND SHOOTOUTS is a must have collection for any Pulp or Western fan.  The stories are exhilirating and well written and it's also a little bit of history to sit on one's shelf.  And my piece of history has an autograph.  Too cool.

Get your copy of SADDLES, SIX GUNS, AND SHOOTOUTS at http://tinyurl.com/bpt9nbj

Hancock's Points and Peeves-Know The Story You're Telling- All of Them!

Yes, it's time once again for the man behind the curtain to offer advice and observations that in the grand scheme of things that will likely never allow you to afford a cup of coffee, even if you had a few bucks to it.   Since I went against the grain of such columns last time by kicking it off with a peeve, let's set the balance straight with a point, which is supposed to be the positive aspect of this little exercise.

 Writers tell tales.  It's what we do.  Most of us do it even when we're not putting pen to paper.  Whether it's bending the ear of some unwitting fool who asks, "So, what do you write about?" or if it's entertaining kids in a classroom or alleviating boredom across a dinner table, we are full of stories to share, wondrous adventures and poignant observations.  Writers live for the story.

Except, sometimes writers get confused as to where the actual story is.   We'll sit down to the tool of our choice to transcribe our thoughts with a fantastic plot in mind and we'll hang a few trappings on a leading character and sprinkle in a supporting cast worthy of an Oscar or two and off to the races we go.   The pace of writing, either frenetic or plodding, is something we get caught up in and we have that synopsis we've crafted burning a spot in our brain.  Whether or not we've outlined so much that our plan to write the story is longer than the book ever will be or if we're creating by the seat of our proverbial pants, we target the move from a to b to z in order to get the tale told.

Something I've noticed more and more with works I've read- and even some I've written- in the last few years is that although the story is solid and rocks along well and keeps me in the read, I am finding something lacking more and more in the books and works I encounter.  Story.   What?   Have I introduced a contradiction?  No, more like a Russian nesting doll.

Every character in a piece a creator crafts is a story.  Every. Single. One.  From the handsome husky male lead right down through nameless shooting Victim #6 on page 345.  It doesn't matter if you're writing a big named character, one you remember fondly that others have forgotten, or your own original masterpiece, every character has a story!  Now, this is not to say that every character's story is shared with the reader verbatim.  That honor is often reserved for the characters who are a part of the journey throughout or at least impact the overall narrative significantly.  The one person, however, who should know the story of every body in his/her work is the writer.

It doesn't matter if the girl the hero pushes past harshly on the sidewalk as he runs to save the day doesn't get any more words in your story beyond that instant.   If you as a writer don't know that she was late getting out of bed that morning, that her favorite color is mauve, and that she's a little to obsessed with Jon Bon Jovi, then you're cheating.  You're cheating the character by simply pasting a paper doll into your scene.  You're cheating the reader of what might lead to another interesting turn of phrase or observation from you.  And you're mostly cheating yourself  out of the opportunity to write depth and intensity into every single character- to breathe life into a whole world, not just the players on the board you deem important.

If every being you put into words has a clearly thought out backstory that even only plays in your head, then that person, that creature, that alien- whatever it is will jump off the page that much more.   A writer will add a sneer or an 'I'm sorry' or a gesture indicating displeasure by the extension of one's middle finger on either hand that adds some weight to the character and the moment.   And, if a writer's lucky, that addition, as has happened to me with some I've read and gone 'Wow!', will be a defining moment for a reader.

You take the time to birth each character you create.  Why not at least know their life story?

BULLETS FROM ANOTHER'S GUN-The First MANNIX novel

BULLETS FROM ANOTHER'S GUN-

Reviews of All Things Pulp by Tommy Hancock

MANNIX

By Michael Avallone

Published by Popular Books, First Edition, 1968

It's not every day you walk into your local pharmacy and someone hands you three books that you'd only heard about, but never actually expected to have.  Now, these particular books wouldn't be a big deal if you weren't a detective fan, a follower of mystery/detective TV, and a big TV tie-in novel type person.  In other words...me.

One of those treasured jewels was the first novel based on the 1960s-70s detective show, MANNIX.  No, I don't mean the numbered series that came out seven years or so after this one but the very first novel commissioned based on the television show.  Written by Michael Avallone, this is Joe Mannix while he was still with Intertect, battling it out with Lew Wickersham and flirting his way through all the technology and the ladies in the office as he delivered a bit more of an old fashioned two fisted approach to the job of modern private investigation.

This novel, on that level, definitely doesn't disappoint.  It delivers as if it were a 124 page episode of the show.   It opens with Mannix playing tough guy to a damsel who isn't all she appears to be at first as he wraps one case while the next is being set up.  A young, petulant heiress with kaboodles of bucks and a whole ton of boredom with life is approached by a man lowered from a helicopter about doing espionage work for her country.  As she jumps at the chance, she later discovers that her new friend only has one interest in her country- harming it - and in her -using her to disgrace an American official.  Blackmailed into it, the heiress stumbles along, desperate for a way out.

In the meantime, Intertect is put on the job and Wickersham puts his best agent as well as the one who frustrates him the most on the playgirl's trail.  Mannix must determine who she's spying for and deal with her and the situation in a way where everyone wins and Intertect comes out smelling like a rose.   Mannix's first plan of action is to get into a costume party and get his tail end kicked by a number of costumed millionaires.  And it gets fun from there.

This is, as I've already stated, definitely a first season Mannix book.  It fits the tone of the series extremely well and Mannix has all the charm, irascibility, and toughness that fans loved about how Mike Connors played the character and that basically became his stock and trade after Mannix leaves Intertect to go on his own in the second season.    Wherever Mannix is in this book shines and made me smile, ready to add a few seasons of DVDs to my collection.

Now...when Mannix isn't in the action, then the book loses a bit of its sparkle.  The other characters do not get the attention to character that the author gives to the lead.  Even the heiress, who gets quite a bit of page time, is way too two dimensional by the end of the book to be believed.  The bad guys don't seem particularly bad and the threat level throughout the book isn't one that makes you worried for anyone- except for Mannix, but most of the threats to him are caused by something he says or does.

This is a great book for fans of tv detectives and tie-ins. As a book all on its own, though, I've read better.

THREE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT-Enjoyable read, love the way Joe Mannix comes off the page.  I just wish that there were real people populating the book around him, not cardboard cutouts.  

BULLETS FROM ANOTHER'S GUN- HUNT AT WORLD'S END

BULLETS FROM ANOTHER'S GUN-

Reviews of All Things Pulp by Tommy Hancock

HUNT AT WORLD’S END

By Nicholas Kaufmann (writing as Gabriel Hunt)

Gabriel Hunt created by Charles Ardai

Published by Leisure Books, 2009

There’s something to be said for archetypes.   We enjoy them, we return to them, many sociologists and psychologists say that they are essential to our survival as individuals and a race.  And being a fan of Heroic Fiction and particularly of Pulp, I am darn glad that writers today believe in archetypes as well and don’t shy away from writing a story around a character who is like some previous creation or reminds readers of that guy in that movie.  Many good tales are written because writers, too, enjoy playing with archetypes.

Enter Gabriel Hunt. 

Created by Charles Ardai, the genius behind the Hard Case Crime books, Gabriel Hunt is one of two brothers whose parents mysteriously disappeared and are believed dead.   The brothers are now entrusted with the operation of the Hunt Foundation, which Gabriel leaves largely to his brother Michael while he travels the globe rescuing lost artifacts from the wrong hands in efforts to give them to museums and, if necessary, saving the world in the process.

Sound a tad familiar?  Yes, there are definite shades of Indiana Jones and other such fortune and glory for museums types in Hunt.  But in this tale that opens with a bar fight in an Explorer’s type club and involves chasing down three jewels and an ancient Hittite device, Hunt definitely steps out as his own character.  This is both a blessing and a curse for the story.

The action is well paced throughout HUNT AT THE WORLD’S END, the third novel in the series, and leaps off the page at the reader.  The characters are engaging, colorful, and run the gamut of beautiful I-Can-Take-Care-of-Myself damsel, over the top villain, and even an ancient cult of scaries with worldwide membership thrown in for good measure.   The build up of and resolution of the adventure is nearly flawless.  And Hunt himself provides a heroic figure that the book revolves around easily.

Mostly.

It seems that many writers feel the need to write characters in Heroic Fiction today that will hopefully have a broader market appeal than typical concepts of Heroes as we see them.  There have to be flaws, there must be angst, there have to be internal complications that give breadth, depth and color to the hero, even in some cases making him seem less than heroic.  This is supposed to, I think, make him appear more heroic when he works his hero mojo.

In HUNT AT THE WORLD’S END, all this sort of characterization, most of it done as internal narration, accomplished was to make Hunt seem insecure, arrogant, and whiny.  The middle of the novel is bogged down with Hunt’s concern over a particular cast member being involved in their hunt, his love or interest or whatever he has in the aforementioned damsel, and there’s even a hint of regret for his chosen life thrown in.  All of this is fine if it’s handled correctly, but the way it’s presented in this book makes Hunt’s subsequent heroic actions seem hollow, false.

Another point about this book- and this is more the writer in me, not the reviewer, complaining- is the fact that it is written under a house name of the lead character.  Gabriel Hunt wrote the book and yet it’s in third person.  It would have been much more affective to have this tale told in first person and would have made some of the above mentioned issues with whininess a little easier for the writer- and the reader- to deal with.

THREE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT- HUNT AT WORLD’S END is a great actioner, wonderfully paced with plenty of derring do and baddies for the good guys to contend with.  I just wish I liked the hero more than I did and that maybe in this instance, the author would have stuck a tad more to the archetype than trying to broaden his reader base (that he was doing that is only my assumption, but still…this is my review).

Hancock's Points and Peeves-No Whine Before Its Time

See that?  Up there.  In the title.   I've decided that'll be something that appears every now and again, followed up by words much like these you are now reading.    Sometimes it'll be a point, a tip for writing, idea creating, characterization, something that probably someone told me or I simply lifted without their knowledge and now have it in my own toolbox of tricks of the trade.  Other times, well, it'll be a gripe...a peeve of mine that someone...and even myself at times...has committed in the process of storytelling.

What follows would be of the peeve variety...

In the world of Pulp writing today, be it what we all call New Pulp or if you style yourself a writer of Heroic Fiction or whatever other label you proudly wear, there seems to be this line that writers walk between crafting a tale in a style very much influenced by the classic Pulp authors that came long before us and appealing to a modern audience.  It's a difficult one to navigate, trust me, I know both as a writer and a Publisher of said work.   There are those who succeed, however, and succeed with gusto,  delivering taut tales with two fisted accuracy and heroes, villains, and supporting motley crews that Gibson and Dent would be proud of.   And these victors in the war between Style and Relevancy range the gamut from big names writing for major Publishing Houses to many writers that I know as friends working in the small press trenches beside me.

Then there are those, again both writers attached to Large and Small concerns, who in trying to present a character that people will buy as 'modern', but also cast that same character in a mold that is obviously Pulp or Retro or however you want to mark it, just don't get it.  They fail.

No, I'm not naming names.   If I choose to review this particular book upon finishing it, then you'll probably be able to guess who the subject of this rant is.   One particular series of books that have some popularity and are attached to a publisher beyond the aforementioned small press battleground feature a hero who is very much a modern Indiana Jones.  He doesn't wear a hat or carry a whip, but his mission is to go out and find lost artifacts of history that might portend some horrible danger to the world and retrieve them before the bad guys do.  And, to be fair, the action in the first book of this series that I've read is well crafted, tense, and plays well in the movie of my mind.   Until we get to read what the hero is thinking.  And even worse when that thought translates into actions.

Whining.  The hero whines.  It may be considered self reflection or internal dialogue to further the realism of the character, but in this fast paced pulpy type of story, it's whining plain and simple.  He whines about lost loves, he whines about chasing after the current damsel in distress. He whines about being orphaned.  He whines about trusting a dear friend who betrayed them.  He whines about the injuries he's endured.   Thankfully most of this whining so far is in third person narration, but now we've reached a point in the heart of the adventure where his whining is being verbalized.  

I know what the purpose is.  Give modern readers a more sophisticated character to relate to, dip into the literary just a tad to snag those few readers who don't want their heroes to be cast in bronze.  I get that, I agree with that depending on the story.  But for the love of Norvell Page, your broad chested battle scarred savior of the tale doesn't have to internally complain about everything!  It not only slows the story down, but it also comes off as unbelievable when, at least much of the time, his external actions are the opposite of his internal musings.  Even though I'd hate him as a hero, at least having him act on his internal feelings consistently would be better characterization!

You want to write a story with a hero that appeals to Pulp/Action Fans and modern readers?  Fine, do it. Please.  But at least give their thoughts a backbone. 

I'm Still Standin'....Here's What's Happenin'...

Yes, the blog ala Hancock has grown quiet in the last two weeks and apologies all around for that.  For those that read the previous post, in which I asked for more things you'd like to see Pulpwise, you saw in there the hopefully not so subtle references to having a lot to do, allusions to walls falling down and such.

Well, although I was being coy about it, all of that is in fact true.  But instead of falling down, the walls have in the last two weeks been shored up somewhat.  Progress is being made on some projects that have sat still far too long and continuing to be made on other jobs that are a bit newer.  All in all, I'm moving in the right direction in getting a handle on the beautiful behemoth that being involved in Pulp has become for me.

A few short notes, missives, etc.-

 Want to join me for the second half of the epic STATE OF PRO SE in where I tell all secrets about Pro Se Projects (those developed up until last Saturday at least)?  Then Shindig with us tomorrow at 2 PM EST at Http://shindig.com/event/prose1201 ! It's a party in your computer!

Last week I announced a new Pro Se Open on the first half of the STATE OF PRO SE.  There's a really good chance I'll be announcing another one tomorrow.... So strap your guns on and come ready...

Pro Se Presents #15 featuring a ton of great stories is now available HERE for only $6.00! Ninjas! Cops! Vigilantes! Evil Cookies! Dog Detectives! Yes, all of that and more is in this issue!

I was also editor and a writer for a tremendous audiobook and ebook anthology based on a classic old time radio show!  Nightbeat: Night Stories is available at www.Radioarchives.com and features the new adventures of Chicago Star Reporter Randy Stone as he works the Nightbeat!  Will Murray, Howard Hopkins, Bobby Nash, Paul Bishop and Mark Squirek contributed to this great book as well and it's well worth the time of anyone interested in mystery/noir/pulp action and drama!

Know anyone who wants to be an editor? Although we've picked up some great people with our last call from Pro Se for editors, we still have plenty of work for others to do.  We don't pay much except in copies of what you edit and the credit, but both of those things can mean a lot to some people.

Now, here's a question for you-  I use this blog to promote the various things I'm involved in, as you see above, and in the past have dabbled in actually using it to talk about the process of writing for me, what I am working on, etc.  Several of my writing pals do this regularly on their blog and I feel that it's something that some people might be interested in.   I have pretty much stopped doing it, but want to know from the few of you out there actually donating your precious time (THANK YOU!) to reading my blog if this is something you'd like to see.  Me talking about writing, how I do it, where ideas come from, the highs and lows of particular stories as they are written, etc.  Let me know if this interests you at all!

And with that, I bid you all...

Copyboy!

Just Another Brick in the Wall...Already Threatening to Fall Down

You remember playing with building blocks as a kid?   You'd have multicolored little cubes of joy...or rectangles, trapezoids, whichever was your prepubescent poison, and you'd stack them up and add one and then another, on up until this fantastically improbable tower teetered to and yon in front of you.  And as you sat on your knees in shortpants watching this architectual impossibility maintain vertical fortitude ever so barely, your eye would wander to the remaining tools of your toddler trade..and there it would sit.  The one block that HAD to be a part of the marvel you'd already manipulated into existence.  The last piece of the puzzle you had no idea you were solving.  Sure, you know that the whole contraption is already about to collapse under its own weight, not to mention your rather random way of stacking, but with this one final addition, your creation will simply be perfect.

So you pick it up.

You gingerly, gently add it to the top of the serpentine tower.

And you watch in abject horror as the whole thing sort of pushes out one direction, weaves another, then simply implodes and explodes all at the same time before your very eyes.

And as you survey the rubble, your eyes peeling back the debris a block at a time, you see it.  There it is.  The one piece that ended the whole thing, that brought it all down.  Yet as you look at it, you're still enamored by it and still drawn to it and know that you can build anew, rise again from the ashes, as long as you have that...one...block.

It's no surprise that I have many things going, but the tower on this end never seems complete....so let me ask you, fair reader...If there was ONE idea that I haven't pursued via Pro Se for a collection or as a writer, if there's ONE project that I should be involved in or start, if there's just one more aspect of what I do...a podcast, a column, a review, a story.... that you would want me to do or be involved in....what would it be?  Now, just because you respond doesn't mean I'll do it....I mean there are going to be people who will put out a hit on me just for the blogpost hinting at adding more to do, but I am curious. I am the idea guy...but let me know what ideas you have for me...