(1908-64) Author JOHN K. BUTLER is best-known, at least in our little neck of the woods, for the numerous stories he pounded out for such pulps as Black Mask, Detective Fiction Weekly, Double Detective and especially Dime Detective. A native Californian, Butler was born in Auburn, up near San Francisco. In the latetwenties he migrated to … Continue reading John K. Butler
Tag: Writers & Writing
My Scrapbook: “I’ll Be Waiting”
My Scrapbook Chandler Cracks The Saturday Evening Post Illustrations by Hy Rubin Chandler's short story “I’ll Be Waiting” marked the first—and only—appearance of pudgy house dick Tony Reseck. It appeared in the October 14, 1939 issue, and was Chandler's first—and only—sale to the “slicks.” Afterward, Chandler claimed he did it for the money, and at his agent's insistence, … Continue reading My Scrapbook: “I’ll Be Waiting”
My Scrapbook: “By Heart” by Emily St. John Mandel
My Scrapbook "By Heart" by Emily St. John Mandel "By Heart" is a recurring feature in The Atlantic in which authors, usually highly respected "literary" types, share and discuss some of their all-time favorite passages in literature. Which is why I got such a kick out of Emily St. John Mandel's pick, which appeared in the … Continue reading My Scrapbook: “By Heart” by Emily St. John Mandel
Donald Westlake
Pseudonyms include Alan Marshal, Edwin West, Edwina West, Edwin Wood, Richard Stark, Tucker Coe, Timothy J. Culver, Samuel Holt, Curt Clark, J. Morgan Cunningham, Ben Christopher, Grace Salacious (1933-2008) Simply the best. One of the most accomplished crime writers ever, and certainly one of the funniest in the hard-boiled school, Donald Edwin Edward Westlake was … Continue reading Donald Westlake
You’re a Mean Man with a Typewriter, Sister
The Hard-boiled Lady Writers of the Pulps The story goes that when big shot Hollywood director Howard Hawks finished reading Leigh Brackett's 1944 crime novel No Good From a Corpse, he was blown away by the snappy patter and the rock hard prose, and figured the writer might be just who he needed for his … Continue reading You’re a Mean Man with a Typewriter, Sister
Jonathan Latimer
Pseudonyms include Peter Coffin(1906-1983) "Jonathan Latimer is the best kept secret in noir fiction. One of the great unrecognized masters."-- Max Allan Collins Born in Chicago, Illinois, JONATHAN LATIMER was educated in Arizona and Illinois. He worked as a reporter at the Chicago Herald Examiner for a few years before he started writing fiction. His first book, … Continue reading Jonathan Latimer
Dick Francis
(1920-2010) Although only a handful of them are even professional investigators, master Britsh thriller writer DICK FRANCIS must be considered one of the best private eye authors of the late twentieth century, delivering a consistently solid, entertaining and distinctive body of work that can proudly stand up to any of his contemporaries. A former Welsh … Continue reading Dick Francis
Roy Huggins
Pseudonyms include John Thomas James, Thomas Fitzroy, John Francis O'Mara (1914-2002) Crime fiction lost an important pioneer when ROY HUGGINS died on April 3, 2002 in Santa Monica, California, at age 87. Although best known as the creator of such popular TV series as Maverick, The Fugitive, 77 Sunset Strip and The Rockford Files, Huggins … Continue reading Roy Huggins
David Dodge
(1910-1974) David Dodge was born in Berkeley, California. His career as a writer began when he made a bet with his wife Elva that he could write a better mystery novel than the one she was reading. He drew on his professional experience as a Certified Public Accountant to create his first series character, San … Continue reading David Dodge
“Apologia Pro Vita Sua”
By Rex Stout The following poem, written by Rex Stout, appeared in the August 21, 1935 issue of The New York Times, in conjunction with the then-recent publication of his second Nero Wolfe mystery. At the time, Stout was still relatively unknown, and must have been feeling a little sensitive about being pegged as a mere … Continue reading “Apologia Pro Vita Sua”