Do not miss the January 10, 2011 SFFaudio podcast, featuring guest Charles Ardai. It’s loaded with great information on the future of Hard Case Crime, the Gabriel Hunt series of pulp adventure novels, and much more. Interviewer Jesse Willis is to be congratulated for getting tons of stuff not yet revealed in the Hard Case Crime newsletter. If you’re a fan of Hard Case Crime (which you should be), this is a must-listen.
Hard Case Crime, of course, published Memory (which I still haven’t written a review of). And now they’ve scored a second lost Westlake. I’ve covered its existence before (via the comments at Sarah Weinman’s place). Great to know that it will be seeing the light of day:
[T]here is at least one major unpublished Westlake manuscript. In the ’80s, when we were exchanging letters frequently, he sent me [Max Allan Collins] a novel about a Bob Hope-type comedian who was kidnapped. It had been rejected several times because it wasn’t funny — it wasn’t supposed to be, but at that moment, a non-humorous Westlake novel (particularly one about a comedian) was not welcome. We discussed me doing a revision — I had a few ideas to streamline it and improve it that he liked — and he told me to go ahead, and we would split “anything we hauled to shore.” I was about to begin when Scorcese’s film THE KING OF COMEDY came out, and Don got hold of me and said to halt the project — he considered the book too similar. I believe he said it was “obsolete now.” I still have a copy, but haven’t re-read it yet. I remember liking it a lot. Maybe if MEMORY does well, this one can join Don’s distinguished list.
There are at least two others out there (also covered here) so keep digging, Charles! And also, congratulations on the birth of your daughter.
Note: Sorry this post isn’t more timely. I’ve been dealing with major technology issues and the death of a much-loved canine friend. I’m not sure if the technology issues are resolved yet, so, while there will be some previously-scheduled posts this week, there may be another drop-off after that. Bear with me–the occasional hiatus doesn’t mean I’m going anywhere!
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