Charles Grant Dead of a Heart Attack

Bad news this evening. Charles Grant, author of dozens of novels in the horror and fantasy genres, died of a heart attack on September 15--nearly a week ago. I just found out this evening. He had been seriously ill for a few years, and apperantly it finally caught him. May he rest in peace. According to a few accounts he died while watching a baseball game on television at home--not a bad way to go.

I first discovered the work of Charles Grant in the mid-Nineties when I picked up his novel Jackals--a twisted little story about a family of mutant highwaymen. I loved it, and I read several more of his novels including his Dark Symphony trilogy, and one of his Black Oak novels. I haven't read much of Grant, but what I have, was damn good. Maybe I'll dig one of his books out of storage and read it. In a way, if his work lives on, so does he.

I don't know about you all, but his work will be missed, and I wish the best for his family. To read a short article about Charles Grant on Scifi.com go Here.

Go Here to read a great little article / bio of Charles Grant--it includes an exhaustive bibliography of his work (both novels and short stories).

New Hard Case Crime Artwork--Blackmailer

Hmmm. Hard Case just announced another title, and released the cover art. The title: Blackmailer. The author: George Axelrod (screen writer for Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Manchurian Candidate). Release date: June 2007. The artist: Glenn Orbik (he did the art for The Branded Woman and Colorado Kid--needless to say it is great!)

This is a title I am looking forward to. (Still, I'm wishing for more original HCC releases, but this one does sound good.) Go Here to read the marketing info on HCC's website.

Noel Hynd Interview

I discovered an amazing novel in the winter of 1991. One evening, probably a Saturday evening, I stumbled across the novel, Truman's Spy by Noel Hynd. It was a thriller involving an FBI agent, an American capitalist, the KGB, and Hollywood. It is plotted quickly--though not so quickly that it always feels like you are missing something (like the junk-thrillers being turned out today)--but with a literary flare that makes it substantial and provocative.

I dug out my copy over the weekend and started to read it again. It is as good as I remember, and it made me wonder about Noel Hynd. He switched to writing horror novels a few years after Truman's Spy was released and I lost track of him. In my search for what he has been writing over the past several years I stumbled across an interview. It is dated--1999, but still it is good fun, almost like running into an old friend. Go Here to read the interview.

Richard Matheson Interview

There is a terrific interview of Richard Matheson at Mystery File conducted by Ed Gorman. Gorman starts the thing with a brief overview of Matheson as a writer, and his (Ed Gorman's) first experience with a Matheson novel as young teenager--it, like most of Ed Gorman's fiction, is sweet, melancholy and very fondly remembered. The interview is great--Matheson, at times, comes across as grumpy, but he is a fascinating as he looks back at the old days of television, film and pulp writing. It is fascinating and very well worth the read. Go Here to read the interview.