Ken Levine LOL

One of those great Hollywood stories

I was a Story Editor on MASH and was invited to speak to a sitcom writing class at UCLA along with my friend Larry, who at the time was a Story Editor on RHODA. We talked about how to break into the business – the importance of writing great spec scripts. Do’s and don’ts. 

We stressed the need for hard work, really studying the shows, setting high standards for yourself. That was the path to a script assignment for one of our shows.

A friend of mine was in the class and overheard the following:

Two coeds talking. Near the end of our discussion one turned to the other.

COED #1: So what do you think, Ken or Larry?

COED #2 (after some consideration): I’ll fuck Larry. I’d rather get a RHODA.

Postscript: Neither of us got lucky that night. And she never got a RHODA. But it was nice to know the students really were taking our career advice seriously.

The great Mark Evanier Bill Cosy and Al Capp

for the full piece go here and scroll down www.newsfromme.com/

The creator of Li'l Abner finally got busted in 1971. In the years just before that, I was starting to get to know some of his peers, some of the more prominent syndicated cartoonists. I therefore observed a rather amazing transformation. I watched grown men learn that rape is not a funny, colorful prank that goes just one notch past talking a cute woman into bed. I heard a couple of Capp's peers talk about his antics (to them, they were antics) with amusement and even a hint of admiration. These were men between the ages of, say, 50-70, and they just didn't get it. One even said something like, "The girls today, going around dressing like that, they're practically begging for it."

That was before what Capp was doing was reported widely, starting with a scoop in Jack Anderson's newspaper column and a report by one of his aides, Brit Hume. Yes, that Brit Hume. None of those on whom Capp had preyed had pressed charges or insisted on Capp's arrest. They didn't want to get into a "my word against his" battle with a famous man who could afford the best lawyers and most feared a legal system that would in its own way, put them on trial.

But the news stories emboldened one recent victim, Capp was charged and while he got off without jail time, he was humiliated and ruined. And a lot of men — not enough but a lot — figured out that rape wasn't like a great practical joke or a good way to get laid without buying her dinner. Some of them even learned that it wasn't about sex so much as about power, violence, and even pathological hatred. I witnessed this enlightenment on the part of several of Capp's friends and colleagues. The next time I was around some of those gents, it was not, "Hey, did you hear how Capp got a college girl to blow him?" It was, "What a sick, horrible man." Correct. Even the "practically begging for it" guy said that.

Few (if any) of Cosby's current accusers seem to be doing it because they see fame 'n' fortune. That's one reason, along with their number, that they have so much credibility. Some may be doing it because they still need to not feel that bastard got away with it…but I'll bet you they're all thinking others can learn from this. Men can learn that rape is a serious crime…and by the way, so is slipping a drug in someone's drink even if you don'trape them. Women can learn to beware and that even a famous, seemingly-benevolent person can be not so benevolent.

And this kind of thing needs to be reported. Even if you think no one will listen to you, it needs to be reported and those reports need to be investigated, not dismissed because the alleged perpetrator is beloved and/or wealthy. This whole matter with Bill Cosby is so sad and so troubling in so many ways…but if you're searching for some good to come of it, there's this: Some people are learning that it's a crime no less serious than if someone came up behind you with a knife and stabbed you. And somewhere, someone is going to be dissuaded from trying what Cosby did because he'll think, "Geez, even a rich guy like that couldn't get away with it…"

My First Novel: Bill Pronzini

                         

 MY FIRST NOVEL:

                                         Bill Pronzini

            I’m not fond of The Stalker.  It must have some merit, since it was bought by Random House and nominated for a Best First Novel Edgar, but it’s overwritten and loaded with other youthful flaws.  More interesting than the book, I think, are the circumstances surrounding its acceptance and publication.

            I wrote it in San Francisco during the latter half of 1969.  At that time I’d been selling short stories for three years and had just co-authored a couple of sex books with Jeff Wallmann.  (How I got into that racket is another story.)  Technically, I suppose, my true first novel was a godawful piece of crap called A Mother’s Love.  Oy.

            The sex books “earned” Wallmann and me an invitation for an all expenses paid move to the Mediterranean island of Majorca, where the publisher was based for tax purposes, to join his stable of writers.  We jumped at the chance.  On the advice of Joe Gores I submitted the ms. of The Stalker to Lee Wright at Random House in January 1970, shortly before Wallmann and I left for Europe on a German freighter bound from S.F. down through the Panama Canal, across the Atlantic, and up the English Channel to Amsterdam.  We chose that mode of travel not only for the experience but because it gave us time to do collaborative contract work plus a few solo short stories.  (The trip was supposed to take 21 days, instead took 28, and had more than a few harrowing moments – also another story.)  When we finally arrived in Amsterdam, a letter from Lee was waiting at American Express, saying she would buy the novel if I would make extensive revisions.  Lord, yes, I would!

            Wallmann and I bought a car and zigzagged our way down to Spain, then across to Majorca by ferry.  Once we were established there, Lee sent me a long list of revisions, I made them all to her satisfaction, and she accepted the book.  In retrospect I wish she’d suggested more improvements, a lot more.

            I was still living on Majorca – I wrote the first Nameless Detective novel, The Snatch, during my 14 months there – when The Stalker was published.  I may not care for the novel itself, but I’ll never forget the thrill of receiving and holding the first copy in my hands on a balmy afternoon in early 1971.  No professional experience has matched it since.

           

Ed here: I think the Stalker is a solid first novel. I reread it not long ago and it holds up nicely. 

One of the sweetest women in the world Judy Crider Bill's blog

Judy Crider, R. I. P.

Judy with Mickey Spillane, Bouchercon, 1981.  
She departed his life today at 11:00.  
She'll always live in my heart.

James Reasoner; Max Brand

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

Now Available: Outlaw Ranger #2 Hangman's Knot - James Reasoner

(Need something to read this afternoon when you're too stuffed from Thanksgiving dinner to get out of your chair and aren't interested in what's on TV? Or this weekend when you're staying as far away from the shopping malls as you possibly can? Well, try a good old-fashioned action Western!)

Hell came to Santa Angelina on a beautiful morning, as the Texas settlement was practically wiped out by vicious outlaws led by the bloodthirsty lunatic Henry Pollard. Now Pollard is in jail in Alpine, waiting on his trial and an all but certain date with the hangman. The only real question is whether an outraged lynch mob will string him up first.

Not everyone wants to see Pollard dance at the end of a rope, however. His gang of hired killers would like to set him free, and so would his older brother, a wealthy cattleman who has always protected Pollard from the consequences of his savagery.

Riding into the middle of this three-cornered war is the Outlaw Ranger, G.W. Braddock, who may not have a right anymore to wear the bullet-holed star-in-a-circle badge pinned to his shirt, but whose devotion to the law means he'll risk his life to see that justice is done!

HANGMAN'S KNOT is another fast-action Western novel from New York Times bestselling author James Reasoner. Brand-new and never before published, it continues the violent saga of the Outlaw Ranger.

, 2014

from Tales of The Bagman (I love stories about Max Brand)

Max Brand: The Most Famous Meeting of a Pulp Writer and Editor

When Frederick Faust (Max Brand) met Robert H. Davis, chief executive of the Munsey Publishing empire in 1917. The legend goes like this:

"Davis prided himself on being able to spot a comer (he had purchased some of Joseph Conrad's early work, and is credited with discovering O. Henry; this is dubious, however, as Arthur Grissom, Smart Set's first editor, purchased O. Henry's first four stories, which were reputed to have been rejected by every magazine in the country).

Editor Davis gave Faust the outline of a plot and told him to go down the hall where there was a small room with a typewriter, and build a story from it. Faust cranked out a 7800-word story and returned same to Davis within two hours. Davis, amazed at Faust's speed, asked where he had learned to write.

'Down the hall,' was Faust's reply. The story was published in the March, 1917 All Story Weekly without a change."

--The Pulp Western, by John A. Dinan

Max Brand was to write roughly a novel a month for the next twenty years

Lost Classics of Noir: Whip Hand by W. Franklin Sanders (and/or Charles Willeford)  BRIAN GREENE

From The Criminal Element

In case you’re confused by the author credit in the heading here, let me just say that I join you in your befuddlement. This 1961 noir novel was originally published as a Fawcett Gold Medal paperback original, withW. Franklin Sanders tagged as the writer. But over time it came to be revealed that Charles Willeford wrote some, if not all, of the book. Sanders may have been his co-author, but then Sanders may have also been a make-believe person. If you’re interested in reading up on that intrigue, there is no shortage of material available on the web. I’m going to leave that subplot alone and just focus on the book, which is a gem of a read.

But first a couple words on Willeford. I doubt I need to sell many readers of this site on the merits of his writing. Some Willeford fans might think of his Hoke Moseley series as his finest work, while others might prefer his earlier titles such as Cockfighter (1962) or The Burnt Orange Heresy (1971). Of the Willeford books I’ve read, it’s his second novel, Pick-Up (1955), that I value the most. When I first started this column, I drew up a shortlist (well, it was actually long) of books I might cover, and Pick-Up was among those. I haven’t gotten around to writing an appreciation of it, and maybe I never will for this series, as I have purposely been avoiding covering the same writer twice, in order to spread the hardboiled love. In any case, Pick-Up is a hell of a noir novel. If you like this kind of stuff and haven’t read it, do so. And while you’re at it, read the one I’m about to discuss; because whether it was written by Willeford or this Sanders guy, or some combination of the two of them, it’s pure.

Whip Hand is one of those novels that’s narrated by several different characters. The primary players are: a trio of Oklahoma bumpkins who, while in Dallas, kidnap the young daughter of an oil tycoon and collect ransom; a troubled L.A. cop who has fled to Dallas to duck an investigation into his questionable police activities; the father of the kidnapped child, and the man’s adult daughter. The plot-line is far-fetched, but in reading along you really don’t care, because the story is interesting enough, and the characters are memorable enough, to carry the tale past that problem. The gist is that the cop happens to run into the Okies at a Dallas bus station and, seeing the fancy bags they’re carrying around (the buffoons purchased ridiculously conspicuous cases in which to tote around the ransom money) and wondering what might be in them, he pulls a switcheroo number on one of the dudes and winds up with a satchel full of the cash. After that, he forces the guy to tell him how they got the money, and after that, he decides he’s going to do a vigilante job in bringing the trio to justice (and meanwhile see what might be in all this for himself).

for the rest go here:
www.criminalelement.com/ 

Bill Crider News; Terrie Moran says I won the Ed Hoch Award

Announcement (Congratulations, Bill)

According to this announcement, it appears that 

Sheriff Rhodes will be around for at least two 

more books (assuming I'm not too lazy to 

write them): "Bill Crider's 

SURVIVORS WILL BE SHOT AGAIN 

and the next Sheriff Dan Rhodes mystery, to 

Toni Kirkpatrick at Thomas Dunne Books, 

by Kim Lionetti at BookEnds (NA)."

----------------------

Ed here: I haven't heard anything from the Committee but my friend Teri Moran sent me the following information and as Kramer of Seinfeld said "If it's on the internet it MUST be true."

Ed Hoch was supportive of my work early on. I also had the honor of editing his collection of private eye stories. This is a true pleasure for me, this award because of my respect and admiratiionn for Ed and his work. 

--------

In July 2008, with permission from Patricia Hoch, the SMFS renamed its Golden Derringer Award for Lifetime Achievement in honor of her late husband, Edward D. Hoch. With more than nine hundred published stories at the time of his death, Hoch was considered the most prolific writer of short mystery fiction ever.

Golden Derringer honorees are considered by a five-member selection committee. This year’s recipient of the EDWARD D. HOCH MEMORIAL GOLDEN DERRINGER FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT is:  Ed Gorman
The Derringer Award is determined by a vote of the Short Mystery Fiction Society membership. The four story categories are Flash Fiction, Short Story, Long Story and Novelette. Recipients of the Derringer receive a plaque documenting their accomplishment, but until the official award is delivered, this year’s winners will be presented with this certificate.

MY FIRST NOVEL: DICK LOCHTE

MY FIRST NOVEL: DICK LOCHTE

I’ve written several times about how my debut novel, SLEEPING DOG, wound up in

print. The details have appeared on this blog not very long ago and also can be

found as an afterward in the new Brash Books edition of the novel. But, though

SLEEPING DOG  was my first published book, it was not the first that I wrote. 

That was a novel I pounded out on an electric typewriter at the tail end of the

1960s, while in my post-college youth toiling daily in Chicago as a member of

the promotion department at Playboy magazine.

The novel was then titled THE FROG PRINCE, and it was a satiric comedy novel

very much – honestly, waaay too much – influenced by Joseph Heller’s CATCH-22,

which was then, and is now, my all-time favorite novel. Unlike that book’s

protagonist who was trapped with a lot of oddball characters in a war horribly

short on logic or even common sense, mine was entangled in a

much-too-comfortable job at a men’s magazine where logic and common sense were

not just missing, their absence was waved like a flag. The novel being a work of

fiction, its magazine was not Playboy. Its name was Ogle, and its symbol was not

a rabbit but, as the book’s title may suggest, a slimy tailless amphibian.

Beyond that, THE FROG PRINCE was pathetically close to autobiography, even at

its most bizarre moments.

There was only one person at PLAYBOY who knew about the book – the noted science

fiction writer AJ Budrys, who was then the editor of Playboy Press. During one

of our lunches, he offered to “look over” the pages. He liked them and his

suggestions and encouragement were responsible for my finishing the manuscript.

Before he moved on, AJ recommended me and the novel to a couple of agents. One

was in the late stages of retirement and not taking on new clients, the other

passed away shortly after I’d sent her a copy of the manuscript, no cause and

effect there to my knowledge. At that point I began sending inquiry letters and

sample chapters to publishers, maybe ten, with six replying that they’d be

willing to look at what I’d done. This was during the dark days before

electronic files could be emailed and I spent hours lurking around the office

Xerox machines after hours, making copies of the book’s four-hundred-plus pages.

My effort resulted in several form-letter kiss-offs, a short note from a

Doubleday editor that he’d been amused, but not enough, and a longer note from

an editor at Dutton stating that she felt the ms. had “something” but needed

work and, if I were willing to listen to her editorial advice, she’d try to get

me a contract and an advance.

I immediately wrote back that I’d be happy to follow her advice. Then began

weeks of waiting. Finally, she mailed back her regrets. There would be no

contract. Her boss was “not quite as sanguine about the novel’s potential,” were

her exact words, still branded on my memory after all the years.

So, THE FROG PRINCE was tossed into a trunk where it rested gathering dust until

about nine years ago. By then I’d published four crime novels and a short story

collection, been nominated for every mystery award, won the Nero, and been

translated into more than a dozen languages. I’d just finished co-writing a

series of legal thrillers with attorney Christopher Darden and was about to

embark on a series with THE TODAY SHOW’s Al Roker. I wanted to put out another

solo novel, but wasn’t sure I could get it done before starting in on the

Rokers.

That’s when I thought of THE FROG PRINCE. The main problem was that, by then,  I

was a “mystery writer” and there was no mystery element in the ms.  I thought

that problem could be solved without too much effort. Drop a body here and

there, shift a few things around.

It didn’t turn out that way. It never does.

I kept the novel in the Swinging Sixties, in my opinion, the period when men’s

magazines were at their, ah, peak. But I added a few significant events of the

era that were taking place beyond the magazine, like the Civil Rights Act and

the start of the Vietnam conflict, that I hoped would bring the story a little

closer to the ground than it had been. I kept the characters, and quite a few

scenes and then spent nearly seven months coming up with what I hoped was a

dark, funny fairplay whodunit that for a number of reasons (fear of a lawsuit

being one of them) I placed in 1969 Southern California instead of Playboy’s

home town of Chicago.

Also, since there were countless numbers  of  books called THE FROG PRINCE, most

of them for children (Amazon it, if you don’t believe me), I slapped on a new,

more unique title, CROAKED!

That’s when I showed it to you, Ed, and thanks to your recommendation, my first

novel finally appeared in print, nearly forty years after I’d begun working on it.

it.