ICE ROAD TRUCKERS 2013 SEASON - YES!

A big part of what gets me through Sundays during the NFL’s off-season is the Ice Road Truckers series that the History Channel runs on Sunday evenings.

I’m not exactly sure why, as I am not a big fan of “reality TV”, but from the second I inadvertently stumbled across this show in its first season I have been a huge fan.

For one thing, I had no idea that such a thing as “ice roads” and the various industries that function around (and because of) them ever existed; let alone the remote, isolated communities that absolutely are able to exist due to the services the provide. What a fascinating slice of still-existing frontiers and the rugged people who inhabit them is presented here!

Another thing I like is that the “stars” of the program are not a bunch of bizarre individuals reveling in their dysfunctionality. For the most part, they are simply working stiffs taking a shot — and willing to work hard at it — in order to make a big score for the betterment of their lives and their families.

To be sure, there are some colorful characters in the mix. Such as:

Hugh “the Polar Bear” Rowland  >  a literal bear of a man who is gruff, profane, but one hard-working, balls-to-the-wall sonofagun; he also has exhibited a sentimental side a time or two when he visited co-worker/friends Alex and Rick on occasions when they were hospitalized; and another time when Alex presented him with a special framed of Hugh’s father.

Alex Debagorski  >  also tall and imposing and as hard-working as Hugh, but gregarious (with a rumbling, hearty laugh), always willing to lend a hand to others, and very pious (he never curses and often says prayers aloud when facing challenging conditions).

Lisa Kelly  >  the show’s “eye candy” who just keeps getting sweeter and also more competent as she works genuinely hard to improve her independence and overall trucking skills.

Rick Yemm  >  the chain-smoking, chronic complainer of the bunch who leans toward Mohawk haircuts died different wild colors and seems to have a love-hate work relationship with Hugh.

(One of the funniest exchanges came at the start of last season when the truckers were gathering to start out on the haul road. Alex cracked to Hugh (who was partnered once again with Rick, having shown up with a bright blue mohawk): “Did you tell him yet that he’s really your son?”  To which Hugh dryly replied: “I tried to explain to him that I **bleeped** a parrot once when I was a teenager, but I don’t think he got the hint that he might be the result.”

Anyway, as recently as a few weeks ago I was under the impression they might not be airing Ice Road Truckers this year. The horror!

However, I now know there will be a new season and it starts on June 9.

If you’re not already an IRT fan, I suggest you give it a try. I think you’ll like it.

Guest Blogger: John L. French - author of PARADISE DENIED

WD:  John L. French is a very lazy individual who only finds time to be a dedicated family man, work a full time job as a crime scene investigator for a major eastern city, edit a number of highly entertaining crime anthologies, and write novels and stories in a widening span of genres.
Otherwise, I have no idea how he occupies himself.
But here's John himself to fill you in a bit more: 

Hi, I’m John L. French. First of all I’d like to thank Wayne for inviting me to be a guest blogger. It’s somewhat appropriate. I’m a writer (among other things) and I don’t know if Wayne realizes it but he is partly responsible for my being one. Way back in 1985 Wayne started Hardboiled Magazine. It was put out on a copying machine and sold through the mail. It was in its pages that I discovered C. J. Henderson’s Jack Hagee (“What You Pay For” HB #4) and Wayne’s Joe Hannibal. It didn’t take long before I started writing my own PI stories and eventually “Past Sins” showed up in the pages of Hardboiled 13, now edited and published by Gary Lovisi.

That was a little more than 20 years ago and thanks to the help and support of Wayne, Gary, C. J. and others I’ve gotten some books published and even edited a few. Wayne gave me stories for Bad Cop No Donut (his award winning “This Old Star”) and To Hell in a Fast Car (the deserving of an award “Starless Midnight”).

By nature I’m a short story writer, writing crime, pulp, supernatural and lately science fiction – whatever the editors ask for. Given that my paying job is crime scene investigation for an east coast city (I can’t say more because of new rules issued by the department) most of my stories have some kind of crime element in them.

The reason Wayne invited to guest blog is that I have a new book out. It’s a collection of short stories I’ve written over the past twenty years. It’s called Paradise Denied and it’s got crime, superheroes, hitmen, vampires and zombies. Not all in one story although that would be one hell of a tale. Paradise Denied is published by Books of the Dead Press. The publisher has asked me to put the word out about it and knowing that I’m too lazy, er, make that busy, to write a blog myself Wayne was kind enough to help. In order to get people reading, and hopefully buying, Paradise Denied, the publisher has asked me to make it available to those willing to post a review on Amazon. If you’re interested, write to me at jfrenchfam@aol.com and I’ll send you a copy in pdf, mobi or epub.

That’s it. Thanks for your time. Hope to heat from you soon. Wayne, thanks again for having me as a guest.

MORTAL LOCK by Andrew Vachss

This collection of 20 short stories and one original screenplay proves two things:
One, nobody writes tight, tough, powerful crime fiction any better than Andrew Vachss; and Two, despite the core purpose of his writing having always been to serve as a vehicle for carrying the message and truths of his central life's works -- i.e. to protect our society's young and vulnerable by impacting laws and perceptions and shedding light on the predators who prey upon these victims, thereby perpetuating a cycle of violence by "creating our own monsters" -- Andrew's skill as a pure writer and stylist, always being honed and expanded and experimented with, has never been on better display.

For starters, the sheer range of stories, as far as the span of settings, plots, and characterizations that they incorporate, are imaginative and impressive. One story ("Postwar Boom") reaches into the noirish past; another ("Underground") looks ahead into a grim future. The distinctive voices incorporated into the individual narratives as well as the different characters are spot-on and indicative of a writer always reaching, always stretching, never settling for a "comfort zone".
True, a number of the stories have urban jungle backdrops that Vachss is probably most closely associated with. But others are dark slices of suburbia, science fiction/horror, mysticism, and betrayal and sacrifice found in remote villages far removed from any steel and concrete urban sprawl. Vachss's popular Cross character is featured in one of the stories, "Profile"; and the character Veil is teamed with Joe Lansdale's rowdy Texans, Hap and Leonard, in the raucously entertaining "Veil's Visit".
The final and lengthiest entry in the collection is the aforementioned original screenplay, "Underground". Following along may take some getting used to for those unaccustomed to reading a screenplay format, but getting into the flow is worth the effort. The tale is set in a futuristic subterranean world -- a dystopian world, if you will -- of violent gangs and strict boundaries. It sets a dark and gloomy outlook but, in the end, it ultimately teaches that even under the dimmest, grimmest conditions, love and hope can blossom.

If you've never read Vachss before, then this is a fine place to start -- a sampler to discover what can be found in the rest of his work. I'm betting that MORTAL LOCK will have you seeking out more.
For those already familiar with Andrew's work, well, this will serve as a reminder of why his byline keeps you coming back.

Strongly recommended.

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Discover (or Re-Discover) RANCHO DIABLO --- for Free!

For anyone who hasn't yet discovered the terrific RANCHO DIABLO series --- or perhaps hasn't kept up with each entry --- here is an excellent chance to jump in and discover (or re-discover) what all the shouting is about.

Over this coming weekend (starting tomorrow, Saturday 4/27 thru Sunday 4/28) one of the recent entries in the series is being offered for FREE!

You don't want to miss out.

Here's author Mel Odom to tell you more:

Hey folks.

This is the seventh book of the RANCHO DIABLO western series I’m doing with my buddies Bill Crider and James Reasoner under the “house” name Colby Jackson.  We’ve done pretty well with it, and we’re proud of what we’ve created.  The books are PG-13 because of the violence.  There’s no coarse language, no “adult” situations, just an old-fashioned, quick reading Western.  Hope you enjoy if this suits your taste.

SYNOPSIS:  When Randy Post, a young cowboy riding for the Rancho Diablo brand, gets accused of murdering a saloon girl, Sam Blaylock saddles up to get to the bottom of the matter before they fit him for a hangman's noose. Sam doesn't know that the murder has set off a chain of events that will end up with him swapping lead with a murderous gang of robbers eyeing one of the banks in Shooter's Cross.

In the past, Marshal Everett Tolliver and Sam Blaylock haven't seen exactly eye-to-eye on things involving the ranch hands. Tolliver intends to hold the peace in town no matter what the cost. But he's going to need help if he's going to find out who murdered Jessie Holden in cold blood.

Even after they've set their differences aside for the time being, Sam and Tolliver still have to put their lives at risk to hold the line in Shooter's Cross in a gundown on Main Street that will become a legend.

LINK TO AMAZON:  http://www.amazon.com/The-Hold-Rancho-Diablo-ebook/dp/B00A7097CA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366874080&sr=8-1&keywords=colby+jackson

Thanks for your continuing interest and support! 

Guest Blogger: John R. Lindermuth (author of SOONER THAN GOLD)

I'm vacating the chair today and turning the desk over to John R. Lindermuth.

You've seen John's name here before. I did an interview with him way back and when and I have also mentioned/reviewed a number of his books here. He is perhaps best known for his contemporary "Sticks" Hetrick mysteries, but he has done several other novels and stories, often with an historical setting. This is fitting inasmuch as, since his retirement from newspaper editing, John has served as librarian for his local historical society and is vastly knowledgeable about the coal-mining region of central Pennsylvania where he lives and writes.

John's latest novel is SOONER THAN GOLD, a turn-of-the-century mystery set in this area. It is the second of his books to feature Sylvester Tilghman, sheriff of fictional Araphot, PA. As usual, it is well written, richly detailed in period history, and presents a cast of colorful characters caught up in a finally crafted plot. You won't want to miss it.

And now here's John:

National Library Week is coming up—April 14-20.

Okay, I hear some muttering. So what? And, who cares? Some would have you believe the Internet has made the public library irrelevant. I beg to differ.

My hometown didn’t have a library until 1953. Fortunately, my Dad had a good supply of books at home and the several independent bookstores which existed in the town at the time got a good share of my spending money over the years. When it did arrive, the library expanded the range of books and information available to me and contributed to my desire to write.

Libraries are another of those good ideas we owe to the Greeks, and they may have borrowed the idea from the Chinese.

Benjamin Franklin was responsible for the opening of the first in my home state of Pennsylvania in 1731—one of his best ideas, in my opinion. The Quebec Library, the first publicly funded in Canada, opened in 1779. But Mexico pre-dates both in claiming the first public library in the New World. Don Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, bishop of Puebla and Viceroy of New Spain, opened the Palafoxian library in 1646 when he expelled the Jesuits and confiscated their books. This library still exists and holds some of the oldest books in North and South America.

Now I appreciate the Internet and agree it’s a damned good source of information. But, as good as it is, it’s just a glorified robot and lacks the warmth and personality to be found in your average library. Aside from books and other resources (including access to the Internet), the library has some other assets that make it attractive to us scribblers.

For example, I defy you to spend an hour observing other patrons and not come away with a character sketch or a story idea or two.

Or, suppose you’re devoid of said idea germs, here’s a little trick I’ve found useful. Go down to the library and avoid the new book shelves and your usual haunts. Instead, head into one of those stacks you’ve never or rarely entered. Pluck a book (any book) off the nearest shelf, open to a random page and read a paragraph or two. If that doesn’t work, try another. Soon, stimulated by what you’ve read, your mind will start producing seeds for you to nurture. You’ll be surprised. Guarantee it.

I’m eternally grateful for the library and those who maintain it. I believe the world would be a bleaker place without the public library. Truthfully I’ve probably spent more indoor time in libraries and book shops than anywhere else. And, if I have to be indoors, I can think of few places I’d rather be.

Another Look: SEVEN MEN FROM NOW (Randolph Scott - 1956)

Kind of embarrassed to admit it, but I finally got around to watching this classic Western for the first time only a few nights ago. I'd been hearing about it and meaning to check it out for years, but somehow never got around to it. Then I reached that strange point that sometimes happens with me where—after hearing so much hype and praise—I become reluctant to take a look for myself because nothing can be that good and I'll just come away disappointed.

Well, that surely wasn't the case this time. I won't say it was worth the wait because now I could kick myself for not getting around to it a lot sooner. But it did not disappoint.

This was the first collaboration between star Randolph Scott and director Budd Boetticher, with a script by Burt Kennedy. Scott-Boetticher would go on to make a total of seven films together before the close of the decade, five of them scripted by Kennedy. They represent some of the leanest, toughest, finest Westerns to be found.

The best of the lot, in my humble opinion, was RIDE LONESOME. But SEVEN MEN FROM NOW comes in a close second, and makes for one helluva fine kick-off.

This film was the first produced under the banner of John Wayne's Batjac Productions (growing out of Wayne-Fellows) and was originally slated for Duke to star in. Wayne would often comment in later years how much he regretted not getting the chance to be in it. But, at the time, a scheduling conflict with a little thing called THE SEARCHERS got in the way and Duke had to call on his old pal to fill in. As a straight-up trade, however, I don't think anybody would consider the role of Ben Stride in SEVEN MEN for Ethan Edwards in THE SEARCHERS a bad deal. And, in the final analysis, Scott makes Stride all his own and it is one of the gems of his career.

The plot of SEVEN MEN FROM NOW is your basic trackdown/revenge Western, but with some nifty twists and plenty of sub-layering and character depth. Stride is the former marshal of Silver Springs who, after losing the last election, was too proud to take a deputy's job. To make ends meet financially, his wife went to work at the local Wells Fargo freight office and was there the day seven men robbed the place and killed her in the process. Haunted by her death and driven by feeling guilty over her having to take a job because he was too proud to work at what was available for him, Stride goes after them.

The gang has split up with plans to re-group in the town of Flora Vista. One by one, Stride tracks them down, cutting down three of the seven before they have the chance to re-assemble. And then he begins to close in on the rest.

Stoic, determined, unyielding—Scott has never been better.

Lee Marvin, playing a dangerous lowlife who wasn't part of the original robber gang but is nevertheless out to get his hands on the gold they stole, chews up the scenery like an out-of-control bulldozer and gives a memorable portrayal somewhere between Liberty Valance and Tully Crow (from THE COMMANCHEROS).

Sultry-eyed Gail Russell (at the time near the end of her career and her life, ravaged by the drugs and alcohol she turned to in order to try and overcome near-crippling stage fright) nevertheless delivers a smoldering performance as the wife of a hapless, inept man struggling to make it to California so the couple can start a new life there. Since Flora Vista is one of their intended stops on the way, Stride ends up traveling with them for a ways and an undercurrent of attraction between him and Russell's character quickly develops.

I could go on and on, but hopefully you've got the idea by now.

If you haven't seen this fine film in a while, you'll for sure want to have another look.

If, like me, you for some reason have never viewed it—don't waste any more time!

Highly recommended as a top-notch Western and a worthwhile film in any genre.

My Take: G.I. JOE RETALIATION

If you go to a G.I. JOE movie looking for complex characterizations, deep emotion, drama and thought-provoking intrigue … well, you're an idiot.

If, however, you go looking for slam-bang, over-the-top, non-stop kick-ass action done with real life actors filling in for the legendary plastic action figures many of us spent time playing with as kids … well, now you're talking. And the G.I. JOE: RETALIATION movie released over this weekend fills the bill nicely, thank you.

It will undoubtedly be panned by all the "serious" critics and most likely will set—or come close—some kind of attendance record.

Whatever.

All I care about is: Did it measure up to my personal expectations and was it worth the money I shelled out (or, to be exact, what my grandson shelled out since it was his treat as a late birthday present) to see it? The answer was yes, in both categories.

The story? The plot? Hell if I know, not for sure. The Joe Force was wiped out in the beginning so a bunch of underhanded stuff could take place once they were out of the way. I figured that much out. But a small handful of Joes, led by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, manage to survive (BIG mistake for the bad guys). They recruit an old school Joe—Bruce Willis—to help them figure out what's going on, why their force had been whacked, so they can proceed to set things straight and … well, retaliate.

Nuclear domination of the world and a phony U.S. president (played with scenery-chewing relish by Jonathan Pryce) under the command of the dreaded COBRA are behind the whole mess and it is up to the misfit band of Joe Force survivors to stop them.

Tons of action, breath-taking stunts, gunfire and explosions, tough-guy banter, and even two or three snazzy chicks who manage to kick their own share of asses and look mighty fine doing it.

What's not to like?

The Rock is engaging, believable, and fast becoming the top action star for this kind of thing. But Bruce ain't going down without a fight. He comes on with equal parts wisecracks and deadly force and darn near steals the show. It's a role he could by now play in his sleep—but it's exactly what we want to see him doing, right?

Go see it.

Get your heart pumping strong again and do it while having lots more fun than being burn-tattooed by a couple de-fib paddles.