Update - More Kind Words for the Last Kind Words

So what the hell have I been up to, you ask? Fair question. Like most of you I've been working my ass off but still winding up falling farther and farther behind. This economic crisis coupled with my mid-life crisis are dovetailing nicely to inspire me to writing darker and nastier noir.

Finished off three more novellas that will be out over the next year or so. More on those when the info becomes available. Started a new novel, began revising an old screenplay, and knocked out a couple of short projects here and there, but I still feel like I'm clawing my way up the side of an icy cliff. I could go on about the pain of ripping your guts out and smearing them on the page day after day, but rather than bitch about my usual neuroses and travails, let's jump to the good stuff.

Two major blurbs have come in for my next novel, still tentatively titled THE LAST KIND WORDS, and now tentatively set for release in May of '11. (Everything is so damn tentative, eh?)

First up is the extremely generous comments of one of your favorites and mine:

"Perfect crime fiction...a convincing world, a cast of compelling characters, and above all a great story."--LEE CHILD

Yes, Lee f'in Child, baby!

The first Child novel I read was ECHO BURNING, followed soon after by THE ENEMY, which made me a staunch lifelong fan. Some people bitch about THE ENEMY because it's a throwback to Child's erstwhile iconic hero Jack Reacher's past as an MP. Reacher's still in the Army and we finally find out exactly why he left. I picked up the novel in an airport bookstore and read it cover to cover during a flight from New York to Colorado. Despite bad weather and lots of turbulence my concentration, flimsy during the best of times, couldn't be broken from the story. Since then, I line up on the day of release for each and every new Reacher book. If you haven't already picked up his latest GONE TOMORROW, do so asap. It might very well be Lee Child's best.

Now, onto another literary hero of mine, and I ain't kidding. This man has set the bar so high that the rest of us mooks can only gaze up at it aghast the same way I used to stare up at the rings in high school gym.

"Tom Piccirilli is clearly a writer to embrace now before he becomes huge. In THE LAST KIND WORDS he takes us inside a mutated family of crooks and unleashes a stunning story that ranges far afield at times but never truly leaves home, a place where shadows grow in every corner. It’s superbly told, with prose that doesn’t mess about or flinch from evil and characters who are best known from a distance."–DANIEL WOODRELL

Daniel Woodrell is one of the very best writers we've got, period. Not just of crime fiction, but of fiction. I said it, you heard me say it, so let me say it again. Daniel Woodrell is one of the very best writers we've got. If you've never read him, then shame on you. Right now God is pointing his fiery sword at your heart and judging you fiercely.

This is the man who wrote WINTER'S BONE, THE DEATH OF SWEET MISTER, TOMATO RED, GIVE US A KISS, WOE TO LIVE ON. What's been noted as Appalachian noir but is in reality so much more. He takes us into the backwoods and presents us with tales of strife, struggle, family, and crime that absolutely everyone can relate to. The film version of WINTER'S BONE recently premiered at Sundance and won acclaim and prizes and, most importantly, distribution. Cannot wait to catch this adaptation of one of my favorite novels of all time. Busted Flush Press will be reprinting some of his rarer novels over the next year or so, but do not wait. Order whatever you can as soon as you can. Seriously, you will thank me and I will bask in your thanks and we shall all rally and be thankful together for the abiding genius that is Daniel Woodrell.

Also from the feather in the cap department: My man KEN BRUEN states here that his favorite character in crime fiction is my protagonist Crease from THE FEVER KILL. Read and enjoy. Ken's next Jack Taylor novel THE DEVIL won't be out in the US for quite a while, so do what I did and order it from THE BOOK DEPOSITORY so you can nab the UK version due out in April.

So gather round, my friends, and let us praise the work of Lee Child, Daniel Woodrell, and Ken Bruen together. It is right to give thanks, or don't you already know that?