Blood and Guts

DEAD MAN author Joel Goldman does a TV interview about his writing process...and his approach to violence in his novels. You can see it here.

THE DEAD MAN Goes Down

Blogger Jaime Anastasiow has given the upcoming Dead Man #3: Hell in Heaven a rave review...

This is book #3 in the series and I loved it just as much as the first two. The main character, Matt Cahill, is finally fully realizing that he is dead and he's taking on the role of saving the world quite well. In fact, he glories in the power a little bit in this installment and the result of that is endearing and funny. I love this character because he never seems to realize quite how good he is, and watching him struggle in an effort to do the right thing makes for great entertainment. How these authors created such a likable, out to save the world, good-natured character who also happens to be going down on women, whether in remembrances of things past, or in the present, in almost every book I'll never know. It does make it interesting and I'll admit it's done well. It's smoothly weaved in without mushy or overly sexual scenes. What can I say, these boys know how to write!  

Hell in Heaven comes out May 4...

Such a Deal

The Dead Man series is featured today on Kindle Nation...because we've priced Face of Evil  at a mere 99 cents for a limited time...as a gateway drug for Ring of Knives and the Hell In Heaven (which comes out in a few days).

Western Roots of THE DEAD MAN

DEAD MAN co-creator Lee Goldberg was interviewed by the Tainted Archive, a blog that often talks about westerns, and discussed Matt Cahill's cowboy roots.

"The Dead Man" is about Matt Cahill, an ordinary guy who, after a terrible accident, is able to see evil and a supernatural world that other people don't. Now he's wandering the country trying to find the answers to who he is, and what he supposed to do, while the same time stopping evil before it strikes and helping people trouble. It's a simple format...but offers the opportunity for a wide range of stories. In many ways it's a modern-day western, which may be why so many western writers have been attracted to the project. 

Bill Crider, James Reasoner, Matthew P. Mayo and Mel Odom are just some of the western veterans writing "Dead Man" books for us. And although I've never written a western novel myself (unless you count "Mr. Monk in Trouble"),  I'm a huge Western fan and have devoured the works of Frederick Manfred, Richard Wheeler, Elmer Kelton, A.B. Guthrie, Homer Hatten, H.A. DeRosso, Ed Gorman, Larry McMurtry, William Hopson, Harry Whittington and Frank Bonham, to name a few. That love of westerns is reflected in "The Dead Man," right down to the name of our hero -- "Matt" is from Matt Dillon and "Cahill" is from "Cahill: US Marshal."

Where We're At

The adventures of THE DEAD MAN are coming in now, fast and furious.

THE DEAD MAN #3 HELL IN HEAVEN by Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin is coming on May 4 and David McAfee's DEAD MAN #4 THE DEAD WOMAN is set for June. THE BLOOD MESA by James Reasoner, FIRE AND ICE by Jude Hardin, LUST FOR BLOOD by Harry Shannon, CRUCIBLE OF FIRE by Mel Odom, DEAD AND SOBER by Burl Barer are just some of the books that will roll out over the next few months...so you aren't going to be lacking for horror and action this summer.

Banging on All Cylinders

The Mighty Blowhole is mighty pleased with DEAD MAN #2 RING OF KNIVES. He says, in part:

Apparently this action/horror series is going to be handled by a series of guest authors after having been created by Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin. [...] But if they all handle it as well as James Daniels has, then I'm all for it, because so far this story's still banging on all cylinders. This time it's a bit of a Shock Corridor scenario mixed with the series' supernatural-Fugitive-like storyline as back-from-the-dead hero Matt Cahill gets caught in a run-down, out-of-control mental hospital. [...] Fast-moving and well-written novella continuing what's turning out to be a very good series. 

Read it soon...because book #3 in the series, HELL IN HEAVEN, is coming in May!

More Kudos for Cahill

The Book'em Benj-o blog liked RING OF KNIVES by James Daniels. They say, in part:

another frightening outing for our hero come back to life. Daniels does a very good job tying his story to the foundational story of the series creators. One thing that I miss is the attachment to his grandfather’s axe which gets only a cursory mention at the beginning of the story. Otherwise, if you like action, adventure, horror, blood, and gore, you’re destined for one of your favorite stories. 

And the first DEAD MAN tale, FACE OF EVIL, earned a rave from the Paper Knife blog in Hungary.  Thanks to Google translate, we were able to muddle through. Here's a translated n excerpt:

The Face of Evil is crazy fun reading. An almost perfect combination of a certain b-genres, a non-stop action and the bloody horror [...]  sometimes funny, sometimes chilling, sometimes deeply human. Total professional.

 Remember, Face of Evil is priced at just 99 cents...but that super-low price ends in just a few weeks!

 

"This Is How Series Should Be Done"

More love for THE DEAD MAN: RING OF KNIVES from our friends at Bookgasm, who say, in part:

Now this is how a series should be handled: Keep putting them out with a variety of authors tackling the material. James Daniels comes to the literary plate of Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin’sTHE DEAD MAN series and knocks it out of the park in RING OF KNIVES.

An Ax to Grind

The Man Eating Bookworm really liked DEAD MAN #2: RING OF KNIVES. He says, in part:

RING OF KNIVES is a terrific sequel to The Dead Man: Face of Evil  and a trip through an insane asylum you won't soon forget. If you're looking for a shock treatment of horror or a dose of suspense, RING OF KNIVES is just what the doctor ordered.

But he does take us to task for not making use of Matt's iconic ax...

If I had to criticize anything, it's the absence of Cahill's axe. In FACE OF EVIL the axe acted as a nice physical representation of what the dead man was all about. Sharp, solid and trustworthy...dependable. It represented Cahill's long family tradition of lumber-men. It was an object of focus after the passing of his wife and in the troubling time after his revival.
At the end of FACE OF EVIL I was left with the impression the axe would be Cahill's primary weapon against the forces of darkness. Instead it was left behind in the trunk of his broken down wreck. It certainly doesn't spoil anything but I sure hope it comes to play a bigger role in future installments.    

Never fear...the ax returns in a big way in DEAD MAN #3.

 

Meet The Dead Man...for 99 Cents!

Now's your chance to meet the DEAD MAN...for just 99 cents.

That's right, for a limited time, we're practically giving away THE DEAD MAN: FACE OF EVIL, the first book in the series, so you'll be ready for DEAD MAN #2: RING OF KNIVES...and the books that will be coming every month...from writers like Joel Goldman, Harry Shannon, James Reasoner, Mark Ellis (aka James Axler), Bill Crider, and many more!

So don't wait...the price won't be staying this low for very long.

The Future of Serial Novels is DEAD

We got a terrific review today from Post-Modern Pulps for DEAD MAN #2: RING OF KNIVES. They say, in part:

Now that the origin story in issue #1, Face of Evil is out of the way, Ring of Knives gives us a glimpse into what this series could really look like, and the prospects are fantastic. This is a creepy, violent, action-packed tale of suspense and supernatural horror. This isn't just weird, it's a glimpse into a dark, bizarre, and twisted world, one that the average person is completely unaware of...until the screaming begins.[...]After having read the first two installments of DEAD MAN, I feel I can say with some confidence that this is the future of serial adventure fiction[...] I see the DEAD MAN series having a long and successful publication run, the pioneer for what is sure to be many more serials to come. 

We certainly hope they're right!  

Who is Mr. Dark?

Booklife has posted part two of their terrific, indepth interview with James Daniels, author of DEAD MAN #2: RING OF KNIVES. He has some revealing insights into who Matt Cahill is...and who Mr. Dark might be. Here's read this excerpt:

What was it about Lee and Bill’s “dark mythology” that got you excited?  What direction did you take in?

 James L. Daniels: I love the fact that the central character in the series is a loner who travels endlessly in search of the answer to a mystery, which will heal both himself and others.  To me, this type of tale hearkens back to the Grail legend, which I incorporated into Ring of Knives.  I think that Matt is the modern-day equivalent of the medieval knight errant, and also of the gunslinger-in-a-white-hat, who is his American descendant. This set-up is an incredibly flexible template for storytelling, and it allows the author to take it in any direction possible.  I’ve seen brief summaries of the stories to come, and they range from gritty urban shoot-em-ups to gothic Lovecraftian lore.  It’s wonderful stuff.  My own brand of pulp is derived pretty directly from Edgar Rice Burroughs; he’s the one (along with “The Uncanny X-Men”) who first snagged my attention as a twelve-year old, and those old-style heroics never cease to move me.  So I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from John-Carter-type stories and fashioned my own tale, which I dressed up in the trappings of Clive Barker, fed raw meat, and unleashed.

What is up with Mr. Dark, anyway?

James L. Daniels: That’s a good question, and every author in the series is going to come up with their own interpretation.  Lee and Bill have been enormously generous letting the writers contribute to the development of the Dark Man’s nature. And it’s interesting, because – like Matt’s character – the Dark Man is an archetype that’s incredibly versatile.  A blogger recently implied that Lee and Bill may have borrowed the evil-clown idea from Todd McFarlane’sSpawn series.  But this is nonsense.  The  unpredictable trickster is one of the oldest characters in fiction.   McFarlane’s Violator was begat by Stephen King’s Pennywise who was begat by Jerry Robinson’s The Joker, who was begat by Edgar Allen Poe’s Hop-Toad, who was begat by Mr. Punch, who was begat by Shakespeare’s Fool, who was begat by Harlequino (and perhaps Sir Thomas Malory’s Merlin), who was begat by Loki, who was begat by Raven (Europe), Coyote (America), and Spider (Africa).  They are all manifestations of the same principle.  What is that principle?  Every writer of the Dead Man will come to his or her own conclusions.

For myself, however, that principle is Entropy, and the madness and despair that arise from our recognition that all our efforts will ultimately end in death.  The major challenge of life is to withstand – and maybe even overcome – that terrible prospect.  In the Welsh Grail legend “Peredur”, the hero is frequently tormented by a black hag who reminds him at every turn that all his acts of valor are causing more harm than good.  That hag, portrayed eight hundred years ago, is the direct ancestor of Mr. Dark.  And you don’t have to be a medieval knight errant to know who she is.  I’ve seen her.  And I bet you have, too.  How we deal with her terrible message is the biggest challenge that we face in life.  And one of the ways we learn to deal with it is by reading about others who confront it head-on.  Matt Cahill is a hero because he does just that.  That’s why it’s a thrill to read about him.  That’s why, when we read about him beating the devil, we set down the book hopeful and happy, believing – for a time – that we can, too.

Check out the rest of the interview for some revealing insights into his creative process.

DEAD MAN #2: RING OF KNIVES Now Available!

RING OF KNIVES is the second book in the DEAD MAN series, which readers and book critics alike are already hailing as "an epic tale" that compares to the best of Stephen King and Dean Koontz...

Matthew Cahill is an ordinary man leading a simple life until a shocking accident changes everything. Now he can see a nightmarish netherworld that nobody else does. Now for him each day is a journey into a dark world he knows nothing about, a quest for the answers to who he is and what he has become...and a fight to save us, and his soul, from the clutches of pure evil.

RING OF KNIVES

Matt believes a madman may hold the secret to defeating Mr. Dark, the horrific
jester with the rotting touch. But to reach him, Matt must infiltrate a lunatic
asylum, where he is soon caught up in a spiral of bloodshed and madness. His
only chance of escaping with his life and sanity intact is to face the
unspeakable terror that awaits him deep in the asylum's fog-shrouded
woods...within the Ring of Knives.

BONUS FEATURES include:

* an excerpt from DEAD MAN #3: HELL IN HEAVEN by Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin

* an excerpt from GHOST BRIDE, the new novel by James Daniels.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

James Daniels lives in the Midwest, where he raises a tribe of tailless geckos, three-legged dogs, and eight-year-old daughters. He has performed Shakespeare in London, was nominated for a Grammy for his audio book narration, and wrote the hardboiled noir mystery "Ghost Bride". 

Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin's TV writing and producing credits include MONK, DIAGNOSIS MURDER, MARTIAL LAW, NERO WOLFE and THE GLADES. They are also the authors of SUCCESSFUL TELEVISION WRITING. Lee Goldberg's books include THE WALK, MAN WITH THE IRON-ON BADGE, MY GUN HAS BULLLETS and the bestselling MONK original mystery novels, based on the hit TV series. William Rabkin is the author of the hugely successful PSYCH series of original mystery novels based on the hit TV series.

RING OF KNIVES Gets Permission To Kill

The Permission to Kill blog has given an enthusiastic review to RING OF KNIVES and to the DEAD MAN series. They say, in part:

there is far more to Cahill than just being a do-gooder who travels around righting wrongs. He has his own problems to sort out, and his journeys are solely for him to find out more about himself and the strange occurrences and visions that have become a regular part of his life.[..]Ring of Knives is a fine addition to the on-going story of The Dead Man, but – and as you would expect from a story written by a different author, it is very different in tone from Face of Evil. Ring lacks the humour of the first book, but in its stead Daniels has added some genuine tension and blood-curdling passages. There is a torture scene in the story, that Ian Fleming would have been proud of. Also, the ending to Ring, isn’t such a such a tease like it’s predecessor, so it is more like a complete stand-alone story. In in all, Ring of Knives is very enjoyable, and suitably creepy.

Jude Hardin Is Among the DEAD

Author Jude Hardin's, whose novel Pocket 47 just got a starred review from Publishers Weekly, blogged today about being among THE DEAD MAN writers. He says, in part:

I have begun work on my book, and plan to have it ready for release in the fall. If you love adventure and horror with a few laughs mixed in for good measure, this is an excellent series to follow. The best time to get started is right now!


You should definitely take his advice.

The Bobble-Head Elvis

Booklife has a great interview with James Daniels, author of DEAD MAN #2: RING OF KNIVES. Here's an excerpt:

What do you think of being on the roster with guys like Bill Crider and James Reasoner?

James L. Daniels:  It’s pretty intimidating.  Virtually all of the other authors writing books for this series are Pulp Fiction Gods… some of them have written hundreds of novels, many of them have published in a dozen separate genres, some have created best sellers… And then there’s unpublished me.  If Lee’s lineup of authors is like a row of statues of Greek deities in a museum, I’m the bobble-head Elvis that someone set down between Zeus and Athena.  No joke.

So The Dead Man project is awesome, because…?

James L. Daniels:  It’s a dynamite project because the set-up they’ve created is brilliantly flexible, so every book can have a different feel, a different emphasis, a different angle; can explore a different aspect of their dark mythology, and still be true to the spirit of the original.  The stories are structured to be fast, fun, and action packed, with a generous helping of chills along the way.  It’s a wonderful project, and I’m really, really grateful to be a part of it.