EQMM, May 2012 by Dell Magazine Authors

Author:Dell Magazine Authors
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Dell Magazines

Reviews: BLOG BYTES by Bill Crider

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The bombshell of 2011 in the crime-writing field was the Q.R. Markham/Quentin Rowan affair. The short version is that Markham/Rowan published a novel that was blurbed by some well-known writers and appeared to laudatory reviews. And it turned out that almost the entire book had been plagiarized, with passages being lifted from writers like John Gardner, Robert Ludlum, and Charles McCarry. When this was discovered, the blogger covering matters in most detail was Jeremy Duns at The Debrief (jeremyduns.blogspot.com/). Duns is himself an accomplished writer of espionage fiction and had blurbed Markham/Rowan's book. Duns pointed out many examples of the lifted passages, and then Markham/Rowan began posting comments in which he attempted to explain himself. It was all fascinating reading, and you can search the blog for the posts if you're so inclined. While you're doing that, you can read some of the other posts as well.

I suspect that readers of this magazine enjoy a good ghostly tale from time to time, and one of the best American writers of such stories was Russell Kirk, although he might be better known as a political theorist. Ghostly Kirk (ghostly-kirk.weebly.com/) is a website that provides links to information about Kirk, among other things. One of those other things is a recording of Kirk telling ghostly stories at his home in 1993. Another is a link to Kirk's reading of “There's a Long, Long Trail A-Winding.” There's a lot to enjoy for fans of Kirk's work or ghostly tales in general.

The Passing Tramp (thepassingtramp.blogspot.com/) is a fine new blog devoted to the classic crime novel. So far it's featured excellent discussions of Edmund Crispin and J. Jefferson Farjeon, with much more to come. Judging from what's appeared, I'd say that this blog is going to make a major contribution to crime-fiction studies.

Pulp 300 (pulp300.wordpress.com/) isn't interested in the classics, but it's based on a great idea: “Traversing the full spectrum of pulp fiction in 300 words or less. Noir. Gold Medal. Men's Adventure. Western. Crime. Sci-fi. Espionage. Sword & Sorcery. Hard Boiled. Vigilante. Zombie. War Pulp. Mystery. Thriller. Supernatural. Shared World. Sleaze. Detective. Horror. High Fantasy. Erotica.” It is what it says. Recent reviews of Scott Phillips’ The Adjustment and Ken Bruen's Headstone will give you an idea of what to expect.

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Bill Crider is the author of The Wild Hog Murders, published by St. Martin's Press.

Copyright © 2012 by Bill Crider

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