We're not talking an oil spill here, this problem should be fixed.

REED FARREL COLEMAN at Suspense Night 2010 in St. Louis,Mo. Thats a terrific T-Shirt you're wearing by the way. An Effingham Mustangs T-shirt..yes that's my team !




My problem is somewhat like the chicken & the egg dilema. Which comes first. Ok,so here goes..I have all these wonderful authors that I love to read and want to share with others. Simple enough, I talk about them on here at "Signs & Wonders" and I verbally tell anyone who is willing to listen to go buy their books. The problem lies within. They can never find their books in book stores to buy. So..how can you read someone you can't find? Oh, you can find John Grisham, Stephen King, Stuart Woods, Mary Higgins Clark,Dan Brown, etc... on the shelves and at every used book store & booksale. You can find lots & lots of their books. But, lets be crazy and say we want to read any of the following authors.... ( Ken Bruen, Reed Farrel Coleman, Craig McDonald, Daniel Woodrell, Duane Swierczynski, Ace Atkins, William Gay, Megan Abbott, Tom Schreck, Victor Gischler, Anthony Neil Smith, Sean Chercover, Katie Estill, Sean Doolittle, Derek Nikitas, Michael Lister, Ray Banks, Scott Phillips, Robert Randisi, Gabriel Cohen, Jack Kerley, Sara Gran, James Sallis, James Crumley, John Shannon, Tom Piccirilli, Bob Truluck...) Just try and find their books. I could go on & on but just take the above list and head out to your local midwestern mega-bookstore ( Borders, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million ) and see how many of these authors you find on the shelves. I attend some of the biggest used booksales in the St. Louis area & will be lucky if I find 4 or 5 books from this list of authors. I understand how it works, if they dont move quickly, then they don't stock them. On the other hand, how can you develop a following when they aren't available to the average book buyer. I pick up just about every copy I run across at book sales to share with others who can't find them. Some might guess that the above authors must be not well known or critically acclaimed or they would be readily available. You would guess wrong! Daniel Woodrell & William Gay for example are considered two of the finest living writers today, among their peers. Bruen, Coleman, Abbott, McDonald, are all up for either Macavity or Anthony Awards as we speak. Yes, you can find their work if you know where to look. If you have a computer you can go to websites for wonderful bookstores such as "Murder by the Book", "Big Sleep Books", "Square Books" or "Poisoned Pen" to find most of the above mentioned authors. However, that doesn't solve my problem of not being able to actually send a friend to a local bookstore to find great writers that aren't mainstream cookie cutter bestsellers. I mean no offense to those who are, it's just that the others deserve to have a chance to be read as well. We need a bookstore in the St. Louis area that caters to the overlooked & unknown wonders that are just waiting to be discovered and become your next favorite author you can't imagine living without. Allright I admit it, that's my dream, to someday open a bookstore that caters to wonderful writers you might never have heard of. I truly believe if I can get you to buy that 1st book, you'll back again & again. A guys gotta have dreams right.

NOIR @ BAR 3 at The Delmat Lounge in St. Louis

Rod Norman, Jed Ayres, Sean Doolittle





Sean Doolittle, Malachai Stone, Jed Ayres, Laura Benedict, Pinckney Benedict




Well, I can't say the 3rd Noir at the Bar went off without a hitch but I can say it was a great time as always. On June 3rd they kicked off the night with Jed Ayres reading a short from the anthology "Surreal South 09" and was followed by Laura Benedict who read her short from the same anthology. It was about this time that the evening got really interesting. Sean Doolittle followed Laura & began by reading a short story from "Bloood, Guts & Whiskey". Sean was about half way through his reading when Steve Ewing, (formerly of "The Urge" began belting out a Sly Stone tune in the other end of the bar. I had nevewr heard an author read with musical accompniament before. It made this evening one to remember for the ages. Sean...soldiered on to the end, while Jed sweet talked Steve into turning down the volume until we were through. Pinckney Benedict followed Sean and read from his new book "Miracle Boy and other stories". This wrapped up a memorable evening...I only wish Scott Phillips could have been there, he was away on family business and could have been counted on for some additional theatrics I'm sure.Like they say life is often stranger than fiction ! The next Noir@ Bar4 is set for June 28th, at the Delmar Lounge, at 8pm. It will kick off with readings from two wonderful authors, Dennis Tafoya, whose hot off the release of his new novel "The Wolves of Fairmont Park", and Derek Nikitas author of Edgar nominee "Pyres" and "The Long Division". This is an evening you won't want to miss. Of course we will also get readings from Jed Ayres and Scott Phillips which never disapoint. So, lets spread the word and get your butts out there.

2009 Oxford Film Festival - Five Easy Pieces Diner Scene Recreation

Allright... I'll admit it, I'm sucking up here, but I'm a big fan of Oxford's Jack Pendarvis, who happens to be one of the funniest writers & witty people I've come across. Here's a short video of a recreation of his take on Nicholson's "Five Easy Pieces" at the Oxford Film Festival. If your looking for some humor in your summer reading, you can't go wrong with Jack's novels: "Awesome", "Your Body is Changing", and "The Mysterious Secret of the Valuable Treasure".

The DM Online: Square Books

Marilyn Monroe - Unpublished photos from the "Seven Year Itch"

Marilyn Monroe sings Happy Birthday to JFK

New Release "The Devil" by Ken Bruen

One of my all time favorite lines by Chelsea Cain, between serial killer Gretchen Lowell and the soon to be tortured Archie Sheridan, goes like this, "Whatever you think this is going to be like"..."it's going to be worse". Well if you take that same quote & just change the word "worse" to "better" you would capture what I feel like each time Ken Bruen releases a new novel. He never disappoints, however with the release of his newest novel "The Devil" he obliterated my expectations. This was the 9th book in the Jack Taylor series & I honestly believe it is the best one yet & in in my humble opinion I think its his best book ever. I know that's like saying that "Godfather 2" is better than "The Godfather"...I mean how can you raise the bar any higher, yet he has. I read this book in one sitting and could not put it down. I highly recommend it to anyone who's a fan of Ken's, crime noir & good & evil. The subject matter of "The Devil" is a minefield yet Bruen takes us through it unscathed and leaves you worn out it the end. This could easily be the last Jack Taylor novel if Ken chooses to do so, however I have a feeling it won't be. The book mirrored the feeling I had when I watched "Angel Heart" for the first time. Your mesmerized & uncomfortable, and you can feel evil just lurking beside you throughout. The book is available only in the UK at this time, with an August release planned in the U.S. You can find the book on e-bay or Abe books or from a UK book dealer. If this book doesn't get Ken an EDGAR nomination, there is no justice. It was also cool to see Ken give a nod to "Searching for the Wrong Eyed Jesus" featuring music from Jim White, one of S&W"s favorite musicians and tips of the hat to other S&W's favorites Tom Russell, Leonard Cohen, Gretchen Peters & Daniel Woodrell to name a few. It's only May and Ive already read some incredible new books this year from Craig McDonald, Duane Swierczynski, Ace Atkins,and Michael Lister to name a few, but "THE DEVIL" zoomed to #1 on my chart and it will take a miracle to knock it off that spot for 2010. The last book that left me this enamored was Michael Lister's "DOUBLE EXPOSURE" in 2009. Don't take my word for it, check it out yourself, but let me warn you it's not for the weak at heart!