Raven's Tree Jewelry

My wife Michelle's back to making fine hand-crafted jewelry, which she finds very therapeutic. Tons of new stuff listed. Plus, she's doing a shipping sale. $1 anywhere, no matter how many pieces you order! Quotes from Poe, Plath, Wilde, Baudelaire...gothic images, etc. She does book covers, personal images, pets, you name it.... Check it out.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ravenstree

Last Deep Breath & Thuglit

Here's the finalized cover layout for THE LAST DEEP BREATH. A big shout-out of thanks to Daniele Serra, for doing such a fantastic noirish job with the artwork, and my pal Patrick Lussier, who wrote a humbling introduction for the novella. (And just wait until Patrick's next movie DRIVE ANGRY hits theaters, starring Nicolas Cage. It's a throwback to 70s road rage/evil car on the road flicks and it's going to rock us all).

Also, keep an eye out for:

Blood, Guts & Whiskey Edited by Todd Robinson. Kensington, $14 paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-7582-2268-8 Twenty-four gritty, violent stories of the mean streets slug their way through a third volume mostly culled from the Web zine Thuglit (after Hardcore Hardboiled and Sex, Thugs, and Rock & Roll). Max Allan Collins's concise yet wide-ranging introduction traces the tough guy school of short crime fiction from Hammett writing in the pulp Black Mask up to the current generation riffing off the films of Tarantino. Highlights include the Derringer Award–winning “The Cost of Doing Business” by Mike Penncavage, and a fistful of tales appearing for the first time anywhere from the likes of upcoming noir stars such as Dave Zeltserman (“Bad Move”) and Tom Piccirilli (“The Return of Inspiration”). For dedicated fans of the genre, this anthology is worth the money just for “Death of a Rat,” a prison yarn found in the files of the late Edward Bunker (aka Mr. Blue in Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs), iconic author of No Beast So Fierce. These stories are as bleak and exciting as a cold rainstorm. (June)--Publishers Weekly

Hell, never expected to share a TOC with the great Eddie Bunker! Very proud to be a part of this anthology. If you dig hardboiled/noir fiction and haven't already tried the previous two anthos edited by Todd Robinson, go now and do so.

Clown in the Moonlight

My first horror tale in a while "Clown in the Moonlight" went up for sale today from Digital Darkside/Delirium. It's available in two formats:

Digital Edition: https://www.horror-mall.com/darksidedigital/product.php?productid=20677

Audiobook: https://www.horror-mall.com/darksidedigital/product.php?productid=20678

Hope folks dig this one.

Update #2 - Professional

Received the news that two of my novels are up for a Thriller Award in the same category! Is it wrong that I want to tie with myself and win twice? Probably just proves I'm a greedy bastard.

2010 THRILLER AWARD NOMINEES

Best Hard Cover Novel:
VANISHED by Joseph Finder
LONG LOST by Harlan Coben
FEAR THE WORST by Linwood Barclay
THE NEIGHBOR by Lisa Gardner
THE RENEGADES by T. Jefferson Parker

Best Paperback Original:
SHADOW SEASON by Tom Piccirilli
URGE TO KILL by John Lutz
VENGEANCE ROAD by Rick Mofina
THE COLDEST MILE by Tom Piccirilli
NO MERCY by John GilstrapBest

First Novel:
FRAGMENT by Warren Fahy
DEAD MEN’S DUST by Matt Hilton
COLLISION OF EVIL by John J. Le Beau
DRACULA: THE UN-DEAD by Dacre Stoker
RUNNING FROM THE DEVIL by Jamie Freveletti

Best Short Story:
THE DESERT HERE AND THE DESERT FAR AWAY by Marcus Sakey
A STAB IN THE HEART by Twist Phelan
ICED by Harry Hunsicker
BOLDT’S BROKEN ANGEL by Ridley Pearson

Big-time congrats to all the nominees!

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Also, SHADOW SEASON has been nominated for a Spinetingler Award. Voting is open to the public, so take a minute and go vote for your favorite novels, short stories, graphic novels, etc.

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Some more extremely generous blurbs have come in for THE LAST KIND WORDS, tentatively set to be released in May '11:

"For the first time since The Godfather, a family of criminals has stolen my heart. A brilliant mix of love and violence, charm and corruption. I loved it."—Nancy Pickard, author of THE VIRGIN OF SMALL PLAINS

"You don't choose your family. And the Rand clan, a family of thieves and killers, is bad to the bone. But it's a testimony to Tom Piccirilli's stellar writing that you still care about each and every one of them. THE LAST KIND WORDS is at once a dark and brooding page-turner and a heartfelt tale about the ties that bind. Fans of Lee Child will love this hard-boiled, tough-as-nails novel."--Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of FRAGILE

"There's more life in Piccirilli's THE LAST KIND WORDS (and more heartache, action, and deliverance) than any other novel I've read in the past couple of years. Nobody in crime fiction is doing a better job than Tom Piccirilli right now. Simple as that."–Steve Hamilton, Edgar Award-Winning Author of THE LOCK ARTIST

Update #1 - Personal

As many of you already know, my wife Michelle suffered a heart attack at 3:30am April 1. Paramedics couldn't have arrived any quicker and they immediately zipped her off to the new Medical Center of the Rockies, where she was met in the ER by a crack cardio team. They ran a line up through her femoral artery and put a stent in to clear a blockage. She was in the ICU for two days before being moved to her own room for a half day.

She's now home relaxing, doing excellent, and recuperating quickly. She's on several medications and tires easily but she's making an ultra-speedy recovery. The tough part for her is that she's had to quit smoking and we're now on a heart-healthy diet. No more of the shit I usually eat. This has been a big wake-up call all around (already lost 6 lbs just not pigging out the way I normally do).

Thanks to everyone for their prayers, well-wishes, cards, flowers, books, and wonderful thoughts. It all means a lot to Michelle and just as much to me.