Old Spice Dude Talks Up Libraries

In what may be one of the most unique PSAs ever, the Old Spice spokesmodel Isaiah Mustafa talks about the importance of libraries as part of the series of YouTube videos advertising the product.

Rather than attempt to describe the experience, I'll let you watch.



How awesome is it to hear this from a well-toned man wrapped in a towel? (Check it out. There's more where that came from.) And how brilliant is Portland, OR-based ad agency Wieden + Kennedy to come up with this?

Thanks, GalleyCat, for the library video and article.

11 Literary Holidays All Book Lovers Should Know

Attention book lovers! Here's a totally awesome list of 11 literary holidays you ought to know about.

There's something for almost everyone on this list, from James Joyce enthusiasts to Hemingway fans. Along with specific authors like Twain and Tolkien, the celebrations include different types of literature from poetry (including limericks!) to children's books.

If none of the more specific holidays appeal to you, there are more general literary observances, like "Reading is Fun Week" or "Library Week".

Anyway, mark your calendars. And thanks to reader Kaitlyn Cole of OnlineUniversities.com for sharing this.

My Ebook Launch -- Tomorrow!

In case you don't read my other blog, My Life on the Mid-List, I just wanted to inform you all that I'll be having an Amazon book launch for my ebook short story collection. The book is called FIVE UNEASY PIECES and you're hereby invited to attend. The launch starts tomorrow (July 20, 2010) and will be an all-day online event (all-day for me, anyway lol).

BTW, if the ebook hits #1 in the Kindle Store before the end of the day tomorrow, there will be a random drawing to give away prizes to one lucky winner.

If you're interested, just click here for details about the launch, the prizes and how to enter the random drawing.

Then feel free to follow along as I post the book's rank every hour on Facebook and Twitter (look for the hashtag #5UP), as well as mention significant developments on my other blog.

And, with any luck, the book's launch will go something like this ...

Thanks! Hope to see you.

85 Weirdest Storytellers of the Past 85 Years

If you're into weird stories (and, hey, who isn't?), you might enjoy perusing this list of the 85 weirdest storytellers of the last 85 years.

Weird Tales Magazine compiled this list, based on readers' suggestions, in celebration of its 85th anniversary. Thus, the significance of the number 85, which otherwise would be a pretty weird number.

And what a great list. Among my favorites are Douglas Adams, Ray Bradbury, Alice Cooper, Harlan Ellison, Terry Gilliam, Franz Kafka, Andy Kaufman, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, Penn & Teller, Rod Serling, Dr. Seuss, Stephen Sondheim, Hunter S. Thompson, Kurt Vonnegut, Andy Warhol, Thornton Wilder and Warren Zevon. And that's just a few of them.

BTW, like the photo? I got it from a blog called weirdosity lives.

A Hapless Employee is 'Terminated' with Extreme Prejudice

Review: TERMINATED (Leisure - Kindle Edition 2010)
Author: Simon Wood

TERMINATED is one of those books that feels just a little too real for comfort. Anyone who knows anything about stalkers knows that they can be obsessive to the point of being dangerous. Stephen Tarbell is such a person. When his recently-promoted boss, Gwen Farris, has the temerity to give him a less-than-stellar employee evaluation, Tarbell (who feels he was robbed of the promotion) strikes out at her. His first step is a physical attack, but as matters escalate and Gwen seeks protection, Tarbell's anger toward her grows like a malignant cancer.

What follows is a nightmare scenario in which Gwen gets (to put it bluntly) royally screwed by Tarbell's psychological torture and wrongly framing her for various transgressions. These tactics escalate to the point where Tarbell's attacks get way too extreme to say the least.

While Gwen's life is being systematically destroyed, another nightmare from her past comes back to haunt her, when she learns that Desmond Parker, a man incarcerated years ago for abducting and knifing her, is up for parole.

As things look increasingly bleak for Gwen, to the point where her closest friends and allies either don't believe her or are, um, otherwise disappearing, she starts to consider some mighty extreme solutions.

While Simon Wood's writing is always thrilling, this book crackles with sheer energy. The intelligent and likable Gwen, along with her supportive family, stand in stark contrast to the pathetic and bitter Tarbell, who has a fractious relationship with his formerly abusive father (who, now in a wheelchair, must suffer his son's payback). They're a wholly believable set of characters, whose motivations (even Tarbell's) are clear and understandable.

The story's pace starts off fast and builds to breakneck speed, as it approaches the climax. At the same time, Wood has a gift for rendering each detail in a scene so you not only feel you're experiencing the actual event, but can feel the suspense rise to a nearly unbearable level.

As Gwen's fortunes run "one step forward, two steps back," you can't help but ache for her desperate situation.

Wood also gets extra points for creating a victimized female protagonist without a victim mentality. Gwen is not only strong and smart, but likable. A protagonist who you'll cheer for right up to the book's breathtaking finish.

'Queen of Patpong': An Outstanding Thriller

Review: QUEEN OF PATPONG (William Morrow 2010)
Author: Timothy Hallinan

QUEEN OF PATPONG is named for the wife of Poke Rafferty, a writer and the usual protagonist of Timothy Hallinan's Bangkok thriller series. Unlike the other books in the series, this story focuses on Poke's wife, Rose. The story gives readers a full picture of Rose's life (and it ain't pretty).

Although the book starts from Rafferty's point of view, it switches over about a third of the way through to Rose's viewpoint. Not only does this give readers a deeper look into Rose's past, but Hallinan manages to do so while maintaining the tension and humor (despite the bleak scenario described) that are his trademarks.

After a grabber of an opening scene that plays into the theme of the book, the main story begins with Rafferty, Rose and their ever-more-teenaged adopted daughter Miaow having dinner at a restaurant. The three are discussing the Shakespeare play, The Tempest, in which Miaow will appear and which Rafferty is adapting (i.e., truncating with extreme prejudice) to make it more palatable for the kids in Miaow's class to perform.

This semi-pleasant (as discussions with teenaged girls go) scenario is rudely interrupted by the appearance of a man. Not a nice man, either. The man and his not-so-nice friend emanate hostility toward Rose – and she makes it plain the feeling is mutual. Naturally, Rafferty goes on alert. When the man leaves, Rose confesses that she knew him years ago and thought he was dead. By her own hand.

The first third of the book shows Rafferty taking action to protect his family from this threat. Along the way, he takes in another victim – a young girl who (like Rose) seems to be heading for a squalid life as a dancer and prostitute in Bangkok's strip clubs. The man's threat creates pressure and a volatile dynamic among the family members. Miaow's turn as the moody and petulant teen puts her at odds with Rose because of her past life. Things reach a head and become explosive.

Read the entire review at: http://thriller-fiction.suite101.com/article.cfm/review-of-queen-of-patpong

Just for kicks, I've embedded this cool book trailer. Enjoy!

Wrong Decisions Lead to Disaster in 'Asking for Trouble'

Review: ASKING FOR TROUBLE (Kindle Edition 2010)
Author: Simon Wood

All it takes is one bad decision to send a person down the wrong path. And, as the introduction to this anthology points out "[n]ot every decision belongs to the criminally minded. Some belong to the ill-informed, the weak and the plain unlucky. In these tales, trouble isn't an indiscriminate force of nature. It's a manmade occurrence that comes when called upon."

As indicated, the people in Simon Wood's ASKING FOR TROUBLE aren't (for the most part) particularly evil. They're under some form of duress or simply duped into thinking they're doing the right thing. Unfortunately, they fail to think their actions through and end up in trouble over their heads.

This collection of ten stories explores just how wrong things can go based on one simple misstep or dark impulse.

The stories include a wide range of protagonists and scenarios, from the beleaguered Richard in "Making Ends Meet," who makes a fateful decision about his mooching in-laws, to the even-more-beleaguered Todd (appearing in a partial reprise of "Fender Bender" from Wood's WORKING STIFFS anthology), who earns a drug kingpin's ire when he leaves a dent in the wrong car.

Wood has an extraordinary talent for ending his stories with a dark twist. He writes clean, vivid prose that not only creates suspense, but paints an entire picture. For instance, in "Big Sky Kill," Wood depicts a barren, snowy landscape across which a man is driving to deliver a ransom for his girlfriend, as follows: "The countryside slipped by. The change was stunning. ... Under the full plate moon and clear skies, a dinner-plate flat landscape stretched beyond the horizon. The fields either side of the two-lane highway would be chest high in crops come summer, but in the dead of winter, they were apocalyptically barren under a blanket of uninterrupted white." With these sentences, Wood clearly conveys a feeling of isolation and almost gives one a chill.

The story twists tend toward noir resolutions, like Richard's unenviable fate in "Making Ends Meet" and the unhappy situation Gill of "For Medicinal Purposes Only" finds herself in after proving the maxim that no good deed goes unpunished.

Despite the bleak and unhappy scenarios depicted, Wood writes with a devilishly clever wit. He employs a dark humor that both underscores the desperation of the characters and leavens the material.

Among the most remarkable aspects of the stories is that the protagonists are essentially so ordinary. They're not evil. They're (by and large) not criminals. They're simply people dealing with difficult situations who've made bad decisions. As a result, these people are doing as the title states.

The basic theme of ASKING FOR TROUBLE would seem to be: don't let this happen to you.

Mystery Scene Review of 'Beautiful Malice' by Rebecca James

The third (and last) review I wrote for the latest issue of Mystery Scene Magazine (which you can read here) was of BEAUTIFUL MALICE by Rebecca James. This well-crafted debut novel of psychological suspense marks James as an author of exceptional talent. I'll be keeping an eye out for more of her work.

And (as if I needed to spell it out) I highly recommend this book.