The Sunday Salon and I’m a FOMAC

FOMAC.

That’s fancy talk for Fan of Max Allan Collins.

Really, who wouldn’t be? After all he’s been in the crime fiction game longer than just about everyone else—except for maybe Elmore Leonard—and he’s done as much as anyone can do:

• Comic books and graphic novels (ROAD TO PERDITION)
• TV tie-ins (CSI, BONES, CRIMINAL MINDS)
• Awesome series novels (Nate Heller, Quarry, Nolan)
• Revive Dick Tracy
• Made movies (MOMMY, MOMMY’S DAY)
• He’s even taken up Mickey Spillane’s unfinished Mike Hammer novels, with Mickey’s and Mrs. Spillane’s blessing.

Plus there’s his female PI comics hero, Ms. Michael Tree… better known as Ms. Tree (mystery, get it?). She was born from MAC’s love of classic comics and fashioned as a female version of Mike Hammer. She’s tough, tough talkin, fast on her feet, and deadly with the rod.

Plus, she won’t touch the domestic stuff. No divorce or cheating spouse cases for this ex Chicago cop.

She’s also the hero in today’s Sunday Salon, DEADLY BELOVED.

Ms. Tree is presently working out the demons that haunt her in the wake of her husband’s murder. As she sits with her shrink, she outlines what’s led her to have the nightmares that feature her as his killer. The thing reads like a comic strip: little snatches that reveal the mystery that’re punctuated by great story questions.

It might be considered a little hackneyed. But that’s the comics influencing the work. To be honest, though, it’s really effing good, and I’m certain that MAC could write this stuff in his sleep. And I mean that as a compliment. Collins is masterful and there’s no better word to describe him.

So far, DEADLY BELOVED is top shelf.

The 52N PDQ UPD on the TBR

Just a few words on the 52 Novels to-be-read list for 2008… as in years past I’ve gone into this reading season with a number of titles in mind.

The problem is that publishers keep releasing more books and I can’t keep up. As a result, the list I make of things to read stays somewhat static. I have a slew of Ed McBain stuff from two years ago that I keep meaning to get to but haven’t touched.

There’s also the small cache of Matt Helm books, as well as a couple of Greg Iles’s fantastic stand alone thrillers I’ve been meaning to read. And, Marcus Sakey’s second novel—AT THE CITY’S EDGE—is a must.

I’ve also lined up the Harry Potters. And Adrian McKinty’s DEAD trilogy. And there’re a few Michael Connelly’s and George Pelecanos’s to get through.

I also decided to add in a few non-fiction works as part of the project—namely David Simon’s HOMICIDE and Lt. Col. Dave Grossman’s ON KILLING—if for no other reason than because they’ll better inform my own writing.

I also thought about reading Stephen King’s DARK TOWER series from front to back again. And I’d like to polish off a couple of Neil Gaiman books, too.

For added challenge, I picked up Robert Littell’s THE COMPANY and Neal Stephenson’s CRYPTONOMICON. But I’m not sure I’m going to get through them this year.

If you take a look at last year’s books, I fell six short of the 52. I’m not disappointed… mostly because I wrote more (from a personal standpoint) than I’ve ever written before. I’ll gladly make that read-less-write-more trade again.

But I figured there was was a way around it: read more audio books.

I know from experience there will be books that take longer than the week. Assuming another 46 books this year, if I get through an audio book a month as well, that’s 58 books I’ll get through in 2008.

Time will tell if I can pull it off.

There’s my story. What’s your 2008 in books gonna look like?

(PSSST… use the handy comments feature to join in.)

Tags: Max Allan Collins, Mickey-Spillane, Mike Hammer, The Sunday Salon

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Tagged as: Max Allan Collins, Mickey-Spillane, Mike Hammer, The Sunday Salon