The Dead Man

A Year Ago Today

2012-02-26T15:09:00.001-08:00

Lee Goldberg here...

As you already know, Amazon has ordered 12 more books in the DEAD MAN series...in digital, print and audio...on top of the 12 that they ordered back in September. That will keep the monthly series of original novellas going into 2013 (book #9, CARNIVAL OF DEATH, comes out in a few weeks).

The renewal cames just as DEAD MAN VOLUME 1, a digital and print compilation of the first three DEAD MAN tales, and the audio edition are released.

What you may not know is that news comes almost to the day that Bill Rabkin and I self-published FACE OF EVIL, the first DEAD MAN tale, one year ago this month. Last February, I had the silly fantasy that Amazon would see the potential of the series and become our publisher...little did I know how quickly that dream would come true.

But I owe that to a series of events that began in an "Introduction To TV Writing" class I was teaching at UCLA back in 2007. One of my students was a guy named Mike Daniels. The goal of the class was for students to leave with a solid outline that they could use to write their first spec script in the "Introduction to Screenwriting" class. But it was clear to me that Mike was far too talented to be wasting his time writing an outline...he should go to script now. So asked I him to continue participating in class, but to start writing the script and share his pages with me on the side. He did.

By the end of the term, he'd turned out a brilliant RESCUE ME spec...and, if memory serves, a spec pilot script as well. At the end of that last class, I told him he was as good, if not better, than most TV writers that I knew and to stop wasting his time taking classes...he was ready to conquer the TV biz.

And he did.

Within a year, he was on staff of ONE TREE HILL. Today, he's married to one of the actresses from the show and a producer on SONS OF ANARCHY.

What does all of this have to do with THE DEAD MAN?

Not long after our class was over, Mike asked me if I'd read an unpublished novel that his brother James had written. James was a lawyer, but on the side he also narrated books for Brilliance Audio. I agreed, with more than a little hesitation, to read the book. Much to my surprise, I really liked the book...it was clear he had enormous talent...but the story needed a lot of work. I suggested some revisions to the opening chapters, which James made, and then referred the book to my agent. She saw the potential too and took him on...and although she wasn't able to sell the book, I never forgot it or how talented he was. When the DEAD MAN came along, I asked him if he wanted to write one. He did...and the book turned out to be RING OF KNIVES, the second in our series.

When RING OF KNIVES came out, James told all of his friends at Brilliance Audio about the book...and when they read it, they thought that it, and the other books in the series, would make great audiobooks.

Since Brilliance is owned by Amazon, word about their interest in the series soon filtered up to the editors at Amazon Encore and Thomas & Mercer...who called me about the print rights.

And you know how the rest of the story goes...

But the capper is that James, and his brother Luke, are narrating the audiobooks (James narrates his books, Luke narrates all of the others). Is that just too perfect?

Anyway, this all goes to show how everything is connected...and that you have no idea how something you do today could pay off in unexpected, unimagined ways years from now.

Amazon Brings Back The Dead For More

2012-02-23T23:37:00.000-08:00

We're thrilled to announce that Amazon's 47 North imprint has commissioned 12 more DEAD MAN novels, carrying the monthly action/horror series into 2013. Upcoming authors of DEAD MAN novels include Joel Goldman, Lisa Klink, Mel Odom, Christa Faust, Burl Barer, Phoef Sutton, and Anthony Neil Smith.

Now You Can Listen to THE DEAD MAN

2012-02-19T18:26:00.000-08:00

The first three DEAD MAN novels, combined in DEAD MAN VOLUME 1, are now available in an audiobook from Brilliance Audio and Audible. The books are narrated by the Daniels brothers...Luke and James,who also happened to write Dead Man #2: Ring of Knives.

The Dead Man Theme Song

2012-02-11T19:49:00.000-08:00

Matt Branham has recorded a terrific theme song for THE DEAD MAN that will soon be featured on the audiobook editions from Brilliance Audio. But you can listen to it right here.

Coming Soon....more adventures of The Dead Man

2012-01-29T22:30:00.000-08:00

Rave review for KILL THEM ALL

2012-01-20T15:39:00.000-08:00

The fine folks at Horror World have given Harry Shannon's DEAD MAN: KILL THEM ALL a rave review. They say, in part:

What ensues reads like a sick western set in modern times, replete with the best bells and whistles...Like most of Harry Shannon’s accomplishments, this novella entertains and is well worth the ride

Dead Man #8: FIRE AND ICE is now available

2012-01-20T15:33:00.000-08:00

Jude Hardin's FIRE AND ICE, the latest tale in the bestselling DEAD MAN saga, is now available. It's a rip-roaring thrill ride through a landscape of pure terror. Here's a short interview with Jude about his writing and his DEAD MAN tale.

A Q&A with Jude Hardin
Question: You've had so many jobs...professional drummer, bartender, avionics technician, carpet cleaner, chemical plant supervisor, substitute teacher, and registered nurse. Did it take a while to "find yourself" and have you finally succeeded in your quest?

Jude Hardin: Ha! Maybe I was trying to find myself, or maybe I just can't hold a job. But really, I've always been a writer, even though I've mostly paid my bills doing other things. I went to the University of Louisville right out of high school and earned my bachelor's in English, and from there I didn't really know what to do to make money. I tried freelancing for the Louisville newspaper for a while, but spending two weeks on a feature article and then getting paid $50 wasn't cutting it. I bartended for a while and then joined the Navy and learned electronics, and after the Navy I went back to bartending and did some other things and finally went back to school for a nursing degree. I've been working as an RN for fifteen years; but, through everything I've done, since I started working on My English degree when I was eighteen, really, I always thought I would sit down some day and write the great American novel. When I turned forty-three, I figured I better get started before it was too late. I thought it would be easy. I thought I would write a book and send it out to publishers and they would line up with their checkbooks and fight over it. I was deluded, of course. It wasn't easy, at all, and nobody fought over that first book. Or the second. Or the third.

Q: How did you get involved in The Dead Man series and what attracted you to it?

JH: It was really quite a coincidence. I was working on a horror novella called Unborn at the time with the intention of self-publishing it, and I thought I might like to collaborate with someone else on a different self-publishing project. I approached author J. A. Konrath and asked if he would be interested. He had too many other things going on at the time, but he knew that his friends Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin were rounding up a posse of writers for a series of action-adventure/horror novellas. He gave me Lee's email address, and I sent him a short query and he agreed to take a look at the first few chapters of Unborn to see if I might be a good match. I sent the chapters and he wrote me back the same night and offered me the Dead Man gig. I was ecstatic and accepted without hesitation.

Q: Is it hard writing a book in a series that you didn't create? What have you learned from it?

JH: It was harder than I thought it was going to be. Nobody, and I mean nobody, knows a character like the author who created that character. It's sort of jarring, like you're not in Kansas anymore. Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin loved my villain right away, but it took me longer to nail the main characters in the series--their characters. Lee and Bill are television writers, so it was interesting developing the story with them from that perspective. It was a great experience.

Q: How much does Fire & Ice draw on your own experience working in a chemical plant?

JH: Most of the action in Fire and Ice takes place inside the plant, so I used my memory from a job I had in the early-to-mid 90s to construct the setting. I worked there for three years. It was a big steel building with no climate control, and I can still feel the heat of the place in the summer and the cold in the winter and the noise and the smell. I often draw on real-life experiences when composing my fiction, and I think it adds a certain verisimilitude for the reader--a portal to what John Gardener calls the fictional dream--that looking things up on Google can't always match.

Q: What's next up for you?

JH: I recently signed a multi-book deal for my Nicholas Colt thriller series, so that's going to keep me busy for at least the next couple of years. Colt is the main character in Pocket-47, my debut novel. New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen says, "POCKET-47 sucked me in and held me enthralled. Author Jude Hardin keeps the pace frantic, the thrills non-stop, but best of all is his hero, the wonderfully ironic Nicholas Colt. This is a character I'm eager to follow through many adventures to come." So that's what's next up for Colt and me--many adventures to come!

News from The Dead

2011-12-15T13:34:00.000-08:00

Lots of exciting news in the world of THE DEAD MAN. The Brilliance Audio edition of THE DEAD MAN V1 -- which includes "Face of Evil," "Ring of Knives," and "Hell in Heaven" -- is now available for pre-order. What makes this especially cool is that "Ring of Knives" author James Daniels performs his own book while his brother Luke Daniels does the others. The Daniels Brothers are experienced audio book performers and we're lucky to have them bringing Matt Cahill and Mr. Dark to life...so-to-speak. The paperback edition of THE DEAD MAN V1 comes out in February.

Meanwhile, James Daniel's latest DEAD MAN tale, "The Beast Within," will be published in just a few weeks.

KILL THEM ALL -- 99 Cents for a Very Limited Time!!

2011-11-09T19:29:00.000-08:00

Harry Shannon's KILL THEM ALL, the sixth book in the DEAD MAN series, is bargain priced at 99 cents for a very limited time. And if you visit the product page for the book, you'll find a terrific Q&A interview with the author. Here's an excerpt:

Q: You've written a lot of horror books, including Clan, The Hungry and the Lionsgate movie and novel Dead and Gone. How is the horror in The Dead Man different from what you have done before?
HS: That's an interesting question. For me, horror is not a genre so much as an emotion, so it can be expressed in any number of ways. I generally gravitate towards dry humor coupled with a serious exploration of existential themes--literally the meaning of life, death and those fragile emotional attachments we form along the way. With my entry Kill Them All, I wanted to use the horror as a metaphor for moral corruption. I immediately saw Matt as the classic American hero, an archetypal loner wandering into and out of a troubled desert town, standing up to evil on behalf of the weak and downtrodden. I often set novels in Nevada, but to answer your question, this one has the feeling of a graphic novel, and though it's contemporary it is far more of a classic western than anything else I've ever done. It tempts me to try my hand at a period piece.
Q: This is the first time you've written in someone else's "universe." What was it like writing characters you didn't create?
HS: To be honest, it wasn't easy at first. I'm not used to having to discipline my muse to that degree. Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin were very patient with me, red-lining and sending back a couple of drafts, pointing out where I'd gotten something wrong about Matt's personality or background. The tone had to be just right, and my goofiness had to be reigned in a bit. Kill Them All ended up far, far better as result of their patience. I'll have to prepare and outline more carefully the next time I do a project like this. But once the boundaries were nailed down properly, it just started flowing out. I'm proud of i>Kill Them All. It has substance to it, and was lots of fun to write.

The Dead Man Rises

2011-10-25T00:42:00.000-07:00

Amazon launched their 47North imprint today by offering the first five Dead Man books for just 99 cents. You can also find out the story behind how the books are written on the Amazon Kindle Post. As of now, the first book in the series, Face of Evil, is a runaway Kindle bestseller, ranked #220. Help us crack the top 100 and buy a copy today!

The Dead Man is Coming Next Week!

2011-10-20T20:38:00.001-07:00

The big relaunch of THE DEAD MAN series, and the kick-off of Amazon's new 47North imprint, is coming on Oct 24 and we can't wait!

In the meantime, you can already pre-order Harry Shannon's November title KILL THEM ALL, James Daniels December book THE BEAST WTIHIN, and the DEAD MAN VOL 1-3 compilation.

Publishers Weekly on The Dead Man leading the 47North Slate

2011-10-11T20:49:00.000-07:00

Publisher's Weekly today reported on Amazon launching their new imprint with THE DEAD MAN...

Amazon has added another genre to its publishing stable, with the launch of 47North, a science fiction/fantasy/horror imprint that will publish original and previously published works from new and established authors as well as out-of-print books. “We are especially happy to have a diverse list at launch, and look forward to publishing across a wide range of subgenres,” said Victoria Griffith, publisher of Amazon Publishing’s west coast group. 47North has signed 15 titles at launch with its first title coming from Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin, the authors of Successful Television Writing and who have written and/or produced scores of highly successful network television series, including Diagnosis Murder, Spenser: For Hire, and Baywatch. Their digital-first novel, Face of Evil, will be published this month; four more installments will also be published in October, with a new adventure following each month thereafter. A print compilation of the first three novels will publish in January 2012.

Amazon Launches 47North with THE DEAD MAN

2011-10-11T12:56:00.001-07:00

Today, Amazon announced the launch of their new sf/fantasy/horror imprint 47North...and one of the premiere titles is THE DEAD MAN series. Our kick-off is coming in just a couple of weeks...in a very big way...and we can't wait!

More Word from the Dead

2011-09-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

Ron Hogan at Reader's Entertainment has written a great background piece on THE DEAD MAN series and our new deal with Amazon. Here's an excerpt:

“Ultimately, we are the ones responsible for maintaining the consistency of the franchise and turning in great books to Thomas & Mercer,” Goldberg explains; each book is commissioned on a work-for-hire basis, with the authors receiving an advance and splitting royalties with the series’ creators. Although Thomas & Mercer will be paying a lower royalty rate than the 70 percent Goldberg and Rabkin earned while self-publishing, the deal is still “much better than what we would get from a traditional publishing contract,” he says. “In addition, we are going to move a lot more units than we would thanks to Amazon’s marketing and promotional savvy on their own platform.”

That’s welcome news for Goldberg, who attributes much of the “great” sales for Face of Evil to a guest post he wrote for Amazon’s Kindle blog in which he described how the series was connected to his love of classic “men’s adventure” novels that flourished when the paperback market was in its heyday. “The other books [in the series] were doing fine, but not spectacularly well,” he admits. “Nowhere near what we saw as their potential, based on the amazing critical response and reader reviews we’ve been getting.”

When Amazon’s audiobook division, Brilliance Audio, began negotiating at the beginning of the summer with Goldberg and Rabkin about audio versions of the series, Thomas & Mercer quickly became involved as well. “They instantly understood what we were hoping to accomplish with the series,” Goldberg says. “They saw the potential in it and, like us, were frustrated that it hadn’t been tapped yet.”

The Dead Man Reborn

2011-09-20T11:46:00.000-07:00

We are thrilled to announce that Amazon's Thomas & Mercer imprint has picked up THE DEAD MAN series in a unique and exclusive 12-book digital & print deal ... with an option for more. But that's not all. Brilliance Audio will be also be rolling out their own editions of the books.

The five books that we've already published -- FACE OF EVIL, RING OF KNIVES, HELL IN HEAVEN, THE DEAD WOMAN, and THE BLOOD MESA -- will be re-released in the days leading up to Halloween ... so keep your eyes peeled for great offers.

The sixth book in the series will be released in November and will be followed each month by another new adventure in the continuing saga of Matt Cahill, a man resurrected from the dead to battle evil among us that only he can see.

Amazon will also be releasing three-book compilations of THE DEAD MAN series in trade paperback (as well as in specially priced digital editions). The release dates of the first compilation, and the Brilliance Audio editions, have not been determined yet ... but we’re hoping they'll be ready for Christmas.

Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin will continue to run the series, which they're writing with a terrific group of action, horror, mystery, SF and western authors, like James Daniels, David McAfee, James Reasoner, Harry Shannon, Joel Goldman, Mel Odom, Jude Hardin, Lisa Klink, Mark Ellis, Matthew Mayo, Joe Nassise, Bill Crider, Marcus Pelegrimas, Matt Witten, Marcus Pelegrimas, Burl Barer, and Phoef Sutton.

And we couldn't have hoped for a better partner than Amazon’s Thomas & Mercer. We just returned from meeting with the Thomas & Mercer team (including editors Terry Goodman and Andy Bartlett) in Seattle and was blown away by their creativity, enthusiasm, and eagerness to see THE DEAD MAN reach its full potential. They get exactly what we are trying to do with this series.

And what is that, you ask?

We want to capture the spirit of the “men’s action adventure” paperbacks of the 70s and 80s – short, tightly-written books full of hard-boiled heroes, outrageously sexy women, wild adventure, and gleefully over-the-top plots – and reboot the genre for a new generation that maximizes the potential of the Kindle.

And with Thomas & Mercer behind us, we don't see how we can fail.

CLAN Kindle Nation Daily Book of the Day Today

2011-09-14T05:56:00.001-07:00

Harry Shannon here, author of The Dead Man: Kill Them All. My horror thriller CLAN is Kindle Nation Book of the Day Today. Read all about it here...

http://kindlenationdaily.com/2011/09/kindle-nation-bargain-book-alert-harry-shannons-clan-is-our-ebook-of-the-day-at-just-2-99-with-4-9-stars-on-18-reviews-and-heres-a-free-sample/

The Dead Man is Alive and Well

2011-09-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

We appreciate all the emails asking about the status of the September release in the THE DEAD MAN series. This month's book, and possibly next month's as well, have been temporarily delayed. But don't worry, THE DEAD MAN is alive and well (pun very much intended)...and many more adventures are coming from a dozen terrific writers. The brief suspension in the publishing schedule is related to some really exciting DEAD MAN news that we wish we could reveal now....but we can't. But trust us, it's big..

"The Greatest TV Show That's Not On the AIr"

2011-08-24T15:34:00.000-07:00

We got a terrific review from Exploitation Retrospect for THE DEAD MAN: FACE OF EVIL. They say, in part:

If you're anything like me – a card-carrying HorrorDad^TM who fits in his reading time between pre-school drop-off/pick-up, meals, swim lessons, exercising, grocery store trips and the like – FACE OF EVIL (and the other Dead Man books I'll be reviewing soon) gets my highest recommendation. The book is short and fast-paced, but never feels rushed, and you'll find yourself looking for any excuse to bang out the next chapter. And, like an adaptation of the greatest tv show that's not on the air, the end will leave you wanting more. NOW!

CLAN released!

2011-08-22T19:37:00.000-07:00

Harry Shannon here, author of #6 in the series, The Dead Man: Kill Them All!

My new one is out, a horror/thriller called CLAN. It is $3.99 on Kindle.

They have been among us for thousands of years. One mysterious gene they carry lies dormant—until they change. Joe Case is an ex-cop searching for the man who humiliated his sister. Kelly McCammon is a Hollywood executive running from the Russian mob. Destiny leads them to tiny Salt Lick, Nevada…A town under siege.

"CLAN is a thriller with a genuine bite. Once Harry Shannon gets his claws in you he will not let go! Highly recommended."
—Jonathan Maberry, New York Times Bestselling author of Patient Zero and Dust & Decay

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005IDKXDI/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_dp_SfNuob0Z436WN

DEAD MAN #5: BLOOD MESA Will Give you a Bookgasm

2011-08-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

The good folks over at Bookgasm really enjoyed The Blood Mesa. They say, in part:

These DEAD MAN books are coming out as fast as possible, never allowing the readers to catch a breath. And that is a good thing. Especially with the fifth entry, THE BLOOD MESA, which goes from 0 to 60 really quick.
[...]Author James Reasoner never lets up with the action or tense moments. There is plenty of ax-swinging to go around, and again, more of the Mr. Dark mythos of the series in full effect, showing that Dark has been around a lot longer than believed. Reasoner really lets loose with the gore and throws in a human sacrifice to cap things off.This is actually the shortest so far for the DEAD MAN series, but readers will not feel cheated since once the action kicks in, it does not stop until the last page. “Bring on book six!” is all I can say.

Don't Wet Yourself

2011-07-18T13:30:00.000-07:00

Tomb it May Concern nearly wet himself reading THE DEAD MAN: RING OF KNIVES.

These books WILL kick you in the ass and make you sit gingerly on the edge of your seat before punching you in the gut with awesome bursts of horror! [...] Well, it sucks to be Matt, this we know, but damn! He ends up in an Institution of Fleshy Dissolution completely by accident, but fate deals the cards and the Dead Man will play them through. He gets tortured, he battles evil. He kicks a ton of ass. There is horror. There is action. There is tension. I wet my pants. I...wait, I didn't wet my pants, thankfully I was on the toilet when I read the part that has Matt laying the boots to nuts on a cloddish foe.

Sinister Urge has discovered THE DEAD MAN and likes what they've found.

They’re fast-paced action stories with some genuinely creepy horror elements in equal measure. There’s also enough (dark) humor to keep things from getting too depressing. They’re quick reads, but at only $2.99 each, they’re good value for money. I’m looking forward to getting caught up on the series, and then reading each new one as it comes out.

A Bloody Good Read

2011-07-05T11:47:00.001-07:00

THE DEAD MAN #5: THE BLOOD MESA by James Reasoner was released today and is already garnering rave reviews throughout the blogosphere. Permission to Kill says:

This month’s instalment in The Dead Man series is The Blood Mesa by James Reasoner and a bloody good read it is too – with the emphasis on the word ‘blood’ – but you knew that from the title, didn’t you? [...]The joy comes from, not only a story that delivers what it promises, but told at such pace that it will leave most readers breathless. This story is the literary equivalent to a drag strip race, with the title page being the starting line, and the first paragraph being the green light. From its opening, the story keeps accelerating until its brutal climax. That truly is its strength – it’s rapid fire pace and its unflinching brutality (which you’ve got to expect from a series featuring an axe wielding hero).

Post-Modern Pulps also enjoyed the exhilarating pace and non-stop action.

The story riffs off of some creepy western themes, with a hefty dose of cannibalism, whacko/zombie-movie mania, and did I mention there's a few sticks of dynamite thrown in for good measure? The Blood Mesa [is] another excellent yarn from the Texan author - it is highly recommended.

And our friends at Wag the Fox are onboard for the fun, too.

If you ever read Scott Smith's The Ruins, or watched the film adaptation as I did, then you might be familiar with the idea of a supernatural force inflicting itself on a group of isolated students on an ancient archeological site. There was a lot of drawn out suspense with that film, as I recall, gradually building the tension until they finally decided to make a break for it. Reasoner doesn't mince around with any of that and goes straight for the jugular, ramping up the danger almost immediately, plunging Matt, the professors, and students, in a blood-soaked rampage that echoes the kind of tragedy that may have befallen the Anasazi. While you aren't too worried about Matt making it out alive, he's got several freaked out college types about to be plunged into his world--and not all of them are making it out alive. [...] I really got a kick out of this one and I think it holds up very well with the rest of the series.

If you haven't read the DEAD MAN series yet, this is the perfect time to start!

Five Stars for THE DEAD MAN

2011-07-01T17:42:00.000-07:00

There's a short review of DEAD MAN: FACE OF EVIL in the June issue of Crimespree Magazine.

THE DEAD MAN: FACE OF EVIL by Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin is the first in a series of novellas that harken back to the days of serials. Different authors will be writing different chapters in this battle of good and evil with Matthew Cahill at the heart of it all. An accident leaves Cahill able to see a shadow world normal people can't, and now he's driven to save us all. Damn good fun.

And Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine gave five stars to James Reasoner's THE DEAD MAN: THE BLOOD MESA. They say, in part:

If you like horror with a dash of suspense then you should read the DEAD MAN series. They are not only fun but addictive [...]This series is a delightful journey in good versus evil. There is a mixture of fantasy, horror, with a sprinkle of suspense. All of the books in the series are great and THE BLOOD MESA is no exception. As Mr. Reasoner takes on the journey with Matt, we are thrown around with evil. We experience the pains Matt feels.[...] We can see the sores, feel heat, and feel pain as Matt does! The BLOOD MESA is excellent as are all the books in the DEAD MAN series. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give it a 5!

Writing THE BLOOD MESA

2011-07-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

When Lee Goldberg asked me to be part of the Dead Man series that he and William Rabkin created, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. For one thing, I’ve been an admirer of their writing for a long time, since well before I knew them, and I was excited about the opportunity to work with them.

For another, I thought they had come up with an intriguing concept and a great protagonist in Matt Cahill, the man who should have died but didn’t and now wanders the world battling against evils that only he can see. This is a perfect set-up for a series, because the writers can take Matt almost anywhere they want to and tell a wide variety of stories.

And I was excited as well by the chance to tackle a different sort of yarn from what I usually write. Even though I started out as a mystery writer and had sold more than a million words of mystery fiction before I wrote much of anything else, there’s no doubt that I’ve been best known for most of my career as an author of historical fiction, using settings and time periods ranging from biblical times to the Vietnam War. But the Dead Man series is set firmly in our own time, even though THE BLOOD MESA has some historical background to it, and it’s nice to get back to something contemporary.

Not only that, but it has strong elements of horror and the supernatural, and for the most part this is unexplored territory for me in my work. True, I’ve done a few Westerns that had mild supernatural elements (often of the Scooby-Doo variety!), but THE BLOOD MESA is the first real horror novel I’ve written, even though I’ve been a reader and fan of horror for many, many years.

But most important of all for me, writing THE BLOOD MESA was fun, just as I thought it would be. I had an absolutely great time with it, for all those reasons I’ve talked about, and I hope the readers can tell how much I enjoyed it. If they can, then chances are that they’ll be entertained by it as well.

Post-Modern DEAD WOMAN

2011-06-25T10:47:00.000-07:00

The gang at Post-Modern Pulps digs David McAfee's THE DEAD WOMAN. They say, in part:

There is also more conflict with Mr. Dark, the ancient and demonic entity who torments Matt on his adventures. We are given glimpses of more layers beneath other layers; the plots of the DEAD MAN stories continue to shed light on something much more elaborate, perhaps even epic, taking place with Matt caught in the middle having far more questions than answers.

The DEAD MAN series has gone on for some months now, with several more books on the way, and it is in no danger of growing stale. In fact, with each new author comes a new perspective, a new lens through which we are viewing this twisted world.

Coming in two weeks... James Reasoner's THE BLOOD MESA!

News from THE DEAD MAN

2011-06-18T01:17:00.000-07:00

The cover for THE DEAD MAN #6: KILL THEM ALL by Harry Shannon has just come in from Carl Graves and we think it's one of the best yet. The book comes out in August.

David McAfee's THE DEAD WOMAN keeps getting kudos. Paul D. Brazill writes "The fourth adventure in Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin's exciting cliff-hanger horror /thriller serial, The Dead Man, is another beaut" and Futures Mystery Magazine raves "THE DEAD MAN THE DEAD WOMAN excites, is suspenseful and keeps the reader on their toes! If you like suspense with some horror, you will love this series. Think Koontz, King and you have it! Great series and THE DEAD MAN THE DEAD WOMAN does not disappoint!

Emmy-award winning writer/producer Phoef Sutton has joined the ranks of DEAD MAN writers and his notion for his upcoming novel is, as you might expect, refreshingly original and darkly funny. We can't wait to read it!

Advance reading copies of James Reasoner's THE DEAD MAN #5: THE BLOOD MESA has just gone out to reviewers and bloggers. The book will be published in early July.

Man Eating Bookworm Devours THE DEAD WOMAN

2011-06-08T15:20:00.000-07:00

The Man Eating Bookworm thinks David McAfee's THE DEAD WOMAN is one of the best in the series so far...

This series just gets better and better with each new instalment in Matt Cahill's ongoing hunt for Mr. Dark and the reasons behind his macabre abilities.This is a terrific little book. It's well written, tight and meets with my one requirement for an excellent Dead Man book. A little axe swinging action! [...] I've said before but it's worth repeating. This is a great series. If you haven't jumped onboard yet, you're missing out.

The Tainted DEAD MAN

2011-06-07T00:56:00.000-07:00

The Tainted Archive takes an up-close look at THE DEAD MAN series today and interviews co-creator Lee Goldberg about it's evolution. Here's an excerpt:

there have been four titles thus far, with the fifth on the way and more beyond that. In my review of the first book in the series, Face of Evil I commented on the humour which provided ligh relief in what is essentially a very dark series.

"We firmly believe that humor humanizes and reveals characters, especially in extraordinary situations, and allows us to relate to them on a much more personal level. There's humor even in some of the darkest moments in our lives. And where we find that humor, and why we do, says a lot about who we are. We've kind of strayed a bit from the humor in the first book and we'd like to see us get back to that. But that said, we're really enjoying the unique take that each novelist is bringing to their story in the series. It's made it a lot of fun for us...and we're discovering new things about Matt Cahill and his world along the way." Lee Goldberg.

And staying true to the projects origins as a TV script Lee and Bill decided to recruit world class writers from the mystery, western, horror, science fiction and suspense genres to write books from their original outlines. For just as with a TV series a team of writers usually work from a series of outlines, then so too would the writers contributing to the Dead Man series - this allows for an overall structure to be maintained while each new writer brings something new to the series.

Permission to Read

2011-06-05T16:21:00.000-07:00

The folks at Permission to Kill think that David McAfee's THE DEAD WOMAN brings some new depth to the DEAD MAN series. They say, in part:

This entry doesn’t have the sly humour or cynicism of the Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin penned entries, nor does it have the spine-tingling style of James Daniels Ring of Knives. Instead it is more intriguing, and reveals a fraction more of ‘The Dead Man’ mythos. It also sets up a plot deviation that could bring quite a bit of fun in future entries … by fun, I of course, mean blood-stained mayhem! [...]this book is a core book – possibly more important than the second and third stories – as it really delves into what it means to be ‘The Dead Man’ or ‘The Dead Woman’ as the case may be. And as such this insight should prove essential in the ongoing adventures of Cahill.

"Running Cold" and "The Mick Callahan Novels" Kindle Books of the Day!

2011-06-04T06:54:00.001-07:00

Harry Shannon here, author of The Dead Man: Kill them All!

We have a very nice Kindle Nation feature today on both "Running Cold" and "The Mick Callahan Novels" at discount Kindle prices. Thought I'd pass it along, hope you will too...

http://kindlenationdaily.com/2011/06/kindle-ebook-of-the-day-harry-shannons-running-cold-the-latest-in-the-popular-mick-callahan-mystery-series-4-9-stars-from-21-reviews-and-just-2-99-on-kindle-read-this-free-sample-and-yo

DEAD WOMAN wins praise

2011-06-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

The Dead Man #3: The Dead Woman by David McAfee is off to a fine start, winning raves across the blogosphere. Right What You Know appreciated the "subtle mysterious feel to this book [that] left me wanting more," while Jaime Anastasiow dubbed it "one of my favorite installments...[I] couldn't put the Kindle down." Gelati's Scoop declared that they are "hooked on this series; no two are the same, and they appear with regularity. My kind of stuff: a fun steady character, different backdrops and situations, and great action. What more can a reader ask for? [...] You don’t have to be a fan of horror to enjoy this, just a fan of fun."

David McAfee on writing THE DEAD WOMAN

2011-06-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

This was a new experience for me. When Lee Goldberg emailed me and asked if I would like to do a story in a series he and William Rabkin had created called THE DEAD MAN, I accepted because it sounded like a great opportunity to help spread my work around, but I had my doubts I could pull it off. Not because I doubted my chops, but because I wasn’t sure I could write a story in what was, essentially, someone else’s universe. Matt Cahill already had a well-defined personality and back story in place, and they would dictate his reactions and thoughts. Usually, I let the characters do that while I discover who they are. Since Matt already existed, it presented a set of challenges I’d never faced before, and I just wasn’t sure I could operate within those confines. Still, I figured I’d give it a shot. I sent Lee a very basic synopsis of the story idea I had for the series. He emailed me back and gave me the green light, and off I went.

It turned out to be the most fun I’ve had writing in years.

Matt Cahill is an extremely interesting character to write, and it is partially because those guidelines have already been established that I was able to write with such freedom. I didn’t have to worry about establishing character, and instead I stuck him where I wanted and ran with it. The result of this is a novella I am extremely proud of. That’s not to say I couldn’t have done better - I always read over my work and find things I could tweak - but I’m pleased with the end result. I hope the readers will enjoy it, too.

My son was born just before I began writing THE DEAD WOMAN, and for a while it was rough finding the time to spend on the project. It helped that Lee did not establish a deadline. I kinda did that on my own when I told him I would have a draft to him by Tax Day. As the date got closer and my son let us sleep less and less, I started to worry. There were some days I didn’t get to write anything at all. Fortunately I made it by the deadline. Barely.

THE DEAD WOMAN also marks the first time I’ve ever worked with a real copy editor. Up ‘till now it’s just been me and whatever my friends could catch. I have to say that was fun. I can see why it would get less fun over time, because it requires you to go back and revisit areas of the book you thought were done, but for a first timer like me, it was a blast.

And that’s how I would describe my experience writing the book and THE DEAD MAN series in general: A Blast. I had a lot of fun. Hopefully it shows in the writing.

Thank you, Lee, for the great opportunity. May this series last for decades!

DEAD MAN #4: THE DEAD WOMAN now available!

2011-06-01T03:28:00.000-07:00

David McAfee's THE DEAD WOMAN, the fourth book in the DEAD MAN series, is out today as an ebook on the Kindle, the Nook , and on Smashwords, as well as in a trade paperback edition.

The widely acclaimed DEAD MAN series is about Matthew Cahill, an ordinary man leading a simple life...until a shocking accident changes everything. Now he can see a nightmarish netherworld of unspeakable evil and horrific violence that nobody else does...

For Cahill, 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.

He thought he was alone with his torment, but in a small town in Tennessee, terrorized by a vicious serial killer, Matt meets a woman sees what he does…and together they must confront a horrific and immortal terror that thrives on death.

David McAfee is the author of the Kindle bestseller 33 A.D., a bloody thrill-ride through biblical Jerusalem that pits Jesus Christ against vampire assassins. So naturally we thought he'd be perfect fit for THE DEAD MAN series.

THE DEAD MAN books have been getting some fantastic reviews...here's just a sampling:

The story races by at a brisk rate of knots, each twist and turn, and shift in time providing another revelation [...] I was enjoying it so much, I didn't want it to end. --Permission to Kill Blog

THE DEAD MAN FACE of EVIL reminds me of Stephen King and Dean Koontz.[...]a fascinating horror story that leaves you wanting more, more, more! --Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine

Hell in Heaven is a direct spiritual descendant of the sorts of awesome pulp action adventure tales that the greats like Robert E. Howard loved to write. --Post-Modern Pulps

I've not seen a writing tandem like this since the glory days of Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy --Bookgasm

Hell in Heaven is the best so far in an already splendid series and is super rush of a read with plenty of sharp twists and turns and some truly smashing lines. --Paul D. Brazill

This series has kept me rapt from the first page [...]these authors are the Jamaican sprint team doing the 4x100m relay, each stage just gets better and better. --Right What You No

Isn't it time you started reading THE DEAD MAN series?

Buy THE WALK for 99 cents this week...and get THE DEAD MAN for free!

2011-05-29T16:27:00.001-07:00

It was two years ago today that, at Joe Konrath's urging, I began my "Kindle Experiment" by making my out-of-print book THE WALK available as an ebook. I've sold close to 20,000 copies of THE WALK since then...and to celebrate, I am pricing the book at just 99 cents for the next week.

And as a special gift, if you email me proof of purchase of THE WALK at lee AT leegoldberg.com, I will email you, in return, a free copy of THE DEAD MAN #1: FACE OF EVIL.

That's two books for just 99 cents. You can't beat that!

Criminal-E: Harry Shannon interview: Running Cold

2011-05-27T06:36:00.000-07:00

Harry here, have a new interview up with the UK's Allan Guthrie at Criminal-E.

Criminal-E: Harry Shannon interview: Running Cold:

"Running Cold by Harry Shannon £2.10/$2.99 Amazon UK , Amazon US Stoker-nominated author Harry Shannon has written four Mick Callahan mysteries..."

Heavenly Praise for HELL

2011-05-24T14:16:00.000-07:00

THE DEAD MAN #3: HELL IN HEAVEN lived up Bookgasm's high expectations:

THE DEAD MAN series has become one of my favorite things to look forward to on a monthly basis. On top of that, they are lean and mean reading material, and the third book, HELL IN HEAVEN, amps up the mean aspect. For fans who have been wondering where the ax has been, it’s back in a big, bloody way.

And the Journey of a Bookseller blog almost found much to like in this new tale:

One thing about these stories, once you start one, you won't move until you've finished it. They are fast paced, nasty reads that are best during daylight hours. And I sure enjoy reading them.

Coming next week: THE DEAD MAN #4: THE DEAD WOMAN.

More Kudos for HELL IN HEAVEN

2011-05-15T00:26:00.000-07:00

Paul D. Brazill thinks HELL IN HEAVEN is the best yet in the series. He said, in part:

Hell in Heaven is the best so far in an already splendid series and is super rush of a read with plenty of sharp twists and turns and some truly smashing lines.

Gelati's Scoop liked it a lot, too. He says...

I am a sucker for a good sense of humor and sense of irony. This story has it pouring out of its skin like an Italian guy that has had way too much garlic in his last meal. Do I know much about that, the garlic stuff maybe, being able to write like these legends, no. You have read my posts so you know the score on that. The characters and the universe they have created here is nothing short of original, fun, scary, and totally laughable. The combination makes for a read that is quick, insightful, engaging and thumb numbing.

And the Man-Eating Bookworm gobbled up HELL IN HEAVEN with delight:

In my review of THE DEAD MAN: RING OF KNIVES I had one concern, the absence of Cahill's trusty axe. Though the story was exceptional, full of action and suspense, I couldn't help but remiss the lack of axe swinging fun. Well, all I can say is...THE AXE IS BACK!
If you haven't read THE DEAD MAN books you are certainly missing out on some terrific reads. If you've read the first two and haven't got around to book three yet, stop your procrastinating and download this sucker. You'll be glad that you did.

.

We'd love to get your review, too. So what are you waiting for? Grab one of the DEAD MAN books today!

Pulp Serenade Grills Goldberg

2011-05-15T00:16:00.000-07:00

Our friends at Pulp Serenade, who have been so kind to our books, have an extensive interview with DEAD MAN co-creator Lee Goldberg. Here's an excerpt regarding THE DEAD MAN:

PS: What do you think are the qualities that make a good action hero, and how did you try to work them into Matt Cahill's character?

LG: Vulnerability, humor, a clear point-of-view, understandable goals, and something personal at stake in what is happening around him.

What brings out all of those aspects of his character are stories with strong conflicts and obstacles that challenge our hero in ways that make him test his own abilities, confront his fears and limitations, and question his own judgment. We really wanted Matt to be an everyman, a regular guy, someone who genuinely cares about people, feels pain, and experiences self-doubt and fear. But we also wanted him to embody the classic traits of the western hero…a personal sense of honor, rugged determination, uncommon courage, and a loner’s wanderlust… combined with a very un-Western sentimental humanity, a sadness and longing for connection that makes him sympathetic and relatable. He’s The Man with No Name combined with Dr. Richard Kimble in TV’s The Fugitive. He’s a working class, decent guy who finds himself in an extraordinary situation who wants nothing more than to just go home and lead a normal, quiet, unremarkable life again.

HELL IN HEAVEN Gets Heavenly Reviews

2011-05-04T17:47:00.000-07:00

We're thrilled with the reviews that are coming in for Dead Man #3 Hell in Heaven. This one from Post-Modern Pulps was especially flattering, since they really seem to get what we are trying to do with the series and with this book. They say, in part:

THE DEAD MAN #3: Hell in Heaven is a direct spiritual descendant of the sorts of awesome pulp action adventure tales that the greats like Robert E. Howard loved to write. Its got magic, its got evil, its got murder, its got beautiful women and grotesque violent freaks out for our hero's blood. It's even got axe-fighting and law-giving and a general tone of complete badassery.

[...]By tapping into the sort of stories written by Howard and Leiber that I feel defined the 30's Sword & Sorcery pulps, and a generation later the post-modern pulps of such writers as Gardner Fox and Karl Wagner, Hell in Heaven further cements THE DEAD MAN series as a crossroads of pulp action, a storyline open and flexible enough to accommodate any niches or sub-genres. This means that as each new author comes in to write the next volume in the series, they have the artistic license to approach the story from the angle they find the most comfortable, ensuring a lot of variety and quality in these stories for a long time to come.

We are flattered and humbled. We feel the same way about this review from Right What You Know, which says, in part:

This series has kept me rapt from the first page, quite an accomplishment considering that the authors have been running a baton relay of writing. Fortunately these authors are the Jamaican sprint team doing the 4x100m relay, each stage just gets better and better

We hope you'll like Dead Man #3 Hell In Heaven as much as they did!

Two Raves for HELL IN HEAVEN

2011-05-03T17:01:00.000-07:00

DEAD MAN #3 HELL IN HEAVEN is just out...and already the reviews are coming in. Our friends at Permission to Kill liked this one a lot. They say, in part:

Those who have read the first two installments of The Dead Man series, myself included, have been waiting for Matt to start wielding the axe. The axe has already established itself as a symbol for The Dead Man character – look at the logotype on the book cover above – and as such, it’s time for it to take centre stage. And here, Matt starts chopping, not just wood, but at some of the things that go bump in the night. However, despite his affinity for the axe, initially he is not as confident as you might think. Matt is still pretty much human – an everyman – so his first foray into the world of fighting the forces of darkness with his preferred weapon, certainly cannot be compared to the fluid, muscular hacking displayed by Conan the Barbarian (although Conan is named-checked a few times in the story).

Hell in Heaven, once again is a brisk entry in the series, and I am pleased to report that the story didn’t go anywhere that I predicted. After the first two installments, in my head, I thought I had figured out the formula and the pattern the series would take, but this sort of threw me (which is good!) If the series keeps presenting stories as deliciously unpredictable as this (but obviously within the boundaries already established), then I can see myself continuing to read and enjoy The Dead Man’s adventures.

Randy Johnson also gave it a rave on his blog. He wrote, in part:

Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin have crafted an interesting series here, combining elements of the old men’s adventure novels from the seventies with a touch of horror. It’s working well..

We appreciate the great reviews! And don't forget, the first book in the series, Face Of Evil, is only 99 cents for a limited time...

DEAD MAN #3: HELL IN HEAVEN is Out

2011-05-03T09:47:00.000-07:00

The third book in the DEAD MAN series, HELL IN HEAVEN, is now available on the Kindle, as a trade paperback, and on the Nook. Here's the story...

Matthew Cahill was an ordinary man leading a simple life until a shocking accident changed everything. Now he can see a nightmarish netherworld that nobody else does. Now 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.

HELL IN HEAVEN

The sign on the exit reads "Heaven." What better place could there be for a dead man to visit? But when Matt takes the ramp, he finds a banner welcoming him by name to a tiny town seemingly left behind by the 21st century... and waiting for him to rescue it. But when he agrees to save Heaven's citizens from a coming terror, he discovers that evil has more faces than he could ever imagine - and good is far more complicated than he ever dreamed.

BONUS MATERIAL

* the first two chapters of THE DEAD MAN #4: THE DEAD WOMAN by David McAfee

* The first chapter of JUDGMENT, the first book in the JURY SERIES, by Lee Goldberg.

Blood and Guts

2011-04-30T22:34:00.001-07:00

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

2011-04-30T11:57:00.001-07:00

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

2011-04-30T11:53:00.001-07:00

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

2011-04-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-15T22:27:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-15T22:18:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-13T12:44:00.000-07:00

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"

2011-04-07T19:09:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-05T12:38:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-04-05T02:12:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-04T17:48:00.000-07:00

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?

2011-04-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-04-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-03T16:44:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

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.

Going Nuts for THE DEAD MAN

2011-03-30T23:54:00.000-07:00

The Ginger Nuts of Horror blog loves THE DEAD MAN. They say, in part:

Goldberg and Rabkin, have created one hell of an opener for this series. Yes it's short, but what you get is one hell of a ride, filled with great characters, and a possible series spanning big baddie that will chill your socks off. They manage to create a story full of gore suspense, and humour, that will grab you from the first page and won't release you from it's icy grasp until the final page.
[...]this is a punchy novel, in fact it's punchier than a Dundonian after two bottles of Buckfast. [...]Do yourselves a favour folks and download this book now. I guarantee you love it.

DEAD MAN is a Refreshing Beer

2011-03-28T18:13:00.000-07:00

The folks at Planet All-Star really liked THE DEAD MAN. They say, in part:

In all of the best ways, “The Dead Man: Face of Evil” by Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin is a good, refreshing beer, solid and unpretentious and enjoyable in every way, a call back to Pendleton and Murphy/Sapir but with a distinctly modern feel.[...]Goldberg and Rabkin’s treatment of Cahill is one of the book’s strongest suits, making him a far deeper and interesting individual than is typical in the genre. Not a trained killer, far from a superman, either blessed or cursed with a supernatural ability, Cahill feels like the guy who know who’s there to jump your dead battery and has your back in a bar fight, and he’s far the more interesting for it. By the end of the story, you’re rooting for Cahill and eager for more.

Dead Man #2: Ring of Knives

2011-03-24T22:30:00.000-07:00

Coming April 4...

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 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.

DEAD MAN #2: RING OF KNIVES by James Daniels

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 an
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.

A Strong Bookgasm from TIED IN

2011-03-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

The reviewers at Bookgasm have given a rave review to TIED IN: THE BUSINESS, HISTORY, AND CRAFT OF MEDIA TIE-IN WRITING, which includes contributions by DEAD MAN authors Lee Goldberg, William Rabkin and Burl Barer. Here's an excerpt:

TIED IN: THE BUSINESS, HISTORY, AND CRAFT OF MEDIA TIE-IN WRITING is a perfect book for the Bookgasm audience. When this site started, it was books like tie-in novels that were the impetus, since at the time, no other places would dare cover them. Edited by Lee Goldberg, this collection of essays and interviews gives a wide overview of those books that populate countless bookstores, supermarket aisles and airport gift shops.[...]One of the best essays deals with a movie barely anyone saw, as Burl Barer explains how he filled massive plot holes when writing the novelization of STEALTH — you know, the movie where a plane has a mind of its own. [...]These are just a few of the pieces that make up this fascinating look into books which most people just think of as guilty pleasures. But we here at Bookgasm have nothing but love for them.

Praising The Dead

2011-03-24T00:05:00.000-07:00

THE DEAD MAN keeps winning praise in the blogosphere. Tomb It May Concern said, among other things:

What stood out to me here is that authors Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin aren't really shooting, so far, for Mack Bolan's title, but the prose the pair wield is like one guy holding a pump shotgun and the other a sniper rifle. Sex. Violence. Gore. Humor. It all works. The plot rolls with a surprising ease and doesn't offer up cardboard characters just blasting away.

I'm ready to read and enjoy...and learn a bit...about how to be so accurate with the right way to get a reader involved. Both are novelists and work in the TV series paperback field and I think both styles are on show here. The Dead Man is a perfect novelette in a can, ready to be adapted by whatever cable channel is ready to mix equal parts soulful sexual pounding with pulse smashing pulp action and a touch of horror.

The folks over at Might Blowhole had a good old time reading the book.

Very well-written and fast-moving, with suitable gore and some effective creepiness (chapter 7 could work as a very scary short story all by itself) and good action scenes. There's a lot of humor, too, but it's handled the right way; it doesn't compromise the horror or the action.

Wag the Fox blog liked the down-to-earth elements of the first book in the series...

The book carries a blue-collar charm that provides a nice counter-balance to the more fantastical and gruesome elements of the story.[...]The book is a short novel, running probably closer to novella in length. And that's kind of a kick in the teeth, since the book only offers a small measure of closure in the time the story is told. This is the first book in a series, though. As such, it feels like the season premiere to a very promising show.

We really appreciate all the great reviews and look forward to bringing you many more DEAD MAN books over the months to come.

More Scribes Among The Dead

2011-03-23T23:55:00.000-07:00

Mark Ellis (aka "James Axler"), the writer/creator of Gold Eagle's enormously successful OUTLANDERS series will be penning a DEAD MAN book. And if anybody knows this genre inside and out, it's him.

We're also pleased to welcome Lisa Klink, an acclaimed TV writer/producer on shows like STAR TREK VOYAGER, ROSWELL, MARTIAL LAW and MISSING who we've lured to print for a DEAD MAN novel..

DEAD MAN has a Bookgasm

2011-03-16T11:32:00.000-07:00

Bruce Grossman at Bookgasm praised THE DEAD MAN today, saying that "I've not seen a writing tandem like this since the glory days of Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy."

We are extremely flattered by the review. The comparison means a lot to us. We were not only big fans of the "Destroyer" novels, but we had the good fortune of working with Warren Murphy many years ago on the TV series "Murphy's Law," which was loosely based on his "Trace" and "Digger" novels. We have remained friends, and admirers, of Warren's ever since.

Top Suspense Giveaway

2011-03-14T17:23:00.000-07:00

Hold on tight for a literary thrill-ride into the wickedly clever, frightening, and exhilarating world of Top Suspense, a sizzling collaboration of twelve master storytellers at the peak of their powers in thirteen unforgettable tales...including DEAD MAN authors Bill Crider, Joel Goldman, Harry Shannon, and Lee Godlberg.

This unforgettable anthology – packed full of cold-blooded killers, erotic tension, shady private eyes, craven drug dealers, vicious betrayals, crafty thieves, and shocking twists – is coming out on APRIL 1 and is only a taste of the thrills you will find in the breathtakingly original ebooks by these authors at www.topsuspensegroup.com.

But you can get a FREE ADVANCE READING COPY...in your e-format of choice.

Here’s all you have to do:

1. Send me an email tot lee@leegoldberg.com with the subject FREE TOP SUSPENSE BOOK and give me your name and the address of your website or blog (don’t have one? That’s okay. Read on).
2. Agree to post a review, positive or negative (but with no spoilers!) on your blog, website, Goodreads page, Facebook page, or the Amazon listing for TOP SUSPENSE in the next 60 days. (You don't have to buy the book on Amazon to review it there, you only need to have an account).
3. Email me a copy of the review or a link to the post.

Each Top Suspense author has been alotted just 25 copies to giveaway (so that gives us 100 between the four of us), so if you're interested, you'd better hurry. And once you get your book, sit back, bite down on a piece of strong leather, and prepare to get hit by some gale-force suspense and writing so sharp it will draw blood.

DEAD MAN Hauls like a Brooligan

2011-03-14T11:49:00.000-07:00

Today, we're guest posting about THE DEAD MAN on famed UK author/screenwriter Stephen Gallagher's terrific blog, Hauling Like a Brooligan. Stephen is a good friend of the DEAD MAN gang...several of us, namely Lee Goldberg, Joel Goldman, Bill Crider and Harry Shannon... are also teamed up with him at Top Suspense, a partnership of a dozen highly-acclaimed and successful authors. But we'll have more to say about that, and the upcoming Top Suspense anthology, very soon...

Pulp Serenade Serenades THE DEAD MAN

2011-03-11T06:15:00.000-08:00

Pulp Serenade, one of our favorite blogs, really enjoyed FACE OF EVIL and has very high hopes for THE DEAD MAN. They say, in part:

So, what makes me want to check back for the next installment? Matt Cahill, for one. The book begins with a stable character, one described as “a practical man, not one for pondering the philosophical meaning of things. He took events as they came.” The book ends a man who is now questioning everything around him, even his own perceptions. He’s still pragmatic, something every action hero should be (to some extent). Cahill’s character is just beginning to evolve, and I’d like to see where Goldberg, Rabkin & Co. are going to take him.

There’s also a good amount of humor in the book. When Matt gets overwhelmed by the nightmare spinning around him, Matt’s instinct is that “he needed to chop some wood.” And as soon as he gets out of the hospital, regardless of how screwed up everything is, he still wants his two hotdogs. Humor is an organic part of his character—a sign of his pragmatism—but it’s also a clever counterpoint to the supernatural craziness that is only just beginning to build. Also, I am hoping that soon Matt’s axe skills will be used on something other than logs.

A third reason that I’m looking ahead to the other books is the lineup of authors in store for the future. More of Goldberg and Rabkin, plus James Reasoner, Bill Crider, Mel Odom, Matthew P. Mayo, Harry Shannon, Marcus Pelegrimas, David McAfee, Joel Goldman, James L. Daniels, Burl Barer, and Matt Witten. That’s one hell of a lineup in store for The Dead Man, and I’m looking forward to seeing what sort of hell they can drag Matt Cahill through. These writers span any number of genres—horror, crime, mystery, western, and more—so I am curious to see how this diversity will affect the evolution of The Dead Man series.

We hope to live up to Pulp Serenade's high expectations!

Marcus Pelegrimas Joins THE DEAD MAN

2011-03-09T07:18:00.000-08:00

We're thrilled to announce that Marcus Pelegrimas has joined the team of Dead Man writers! He's written a bunch of westerns and he's the author of the pulse-pounding SKINNERS series of action/horror novels. It's like he was made to write THE DEAD MAN.

"Behold the Child" .99 on Kindle

2011-03-08T20:29:00.000-08:00

The Dead Man author Harry Shannon's horrifying new novella Behold the Child is now just 99 cents on the Kindle. This horror classic first appeared in the Cemetery Dance anthology "Brimstone Turnpike."

Sam Kenzie is an LAPD cop who can't escape his obsession with a serial killer due to demons of his own...

The novella earned raves from no less than Shroud Magazine, which said:

"Behold the Child", by Harry Shannon, is the perfect mix of classic Noir and the supernatural. A maverick, burned-out cop haunted by his last city case ignores advice and a "wrong" turn en route to his retirement gig in the isolated desert town of his youth. It's dark, brooding, and reminds us that unfortunately, not everyone takes advantage of divine second chances."

Do yourself a favor and check it out now!

Lessons Learned

2011-03-08T20:06:00.000-08:00

On his blog today, DEAD MAN writer David McAfee talks about self-publishing his kick-ass vampire thriller 33 A.D.(and others as well) and shares the lessons that he's learned in the last 12 months. The biggest lesson? Here it is:

The readers OWE YOU NOTHING. It’s YOU who owe THEM.
You owe them entertainment. You owe them a quality product. You owe them your gratitude and respect. They have a right to expect top quality fiction. Remember: there is no such thing as “close enough.”

More Writers Join DEAD MAN ranks

2011-03-08T18:15:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to welcome authors Mel Odom, Matthew P. Mayo and Harry Shannon to the roster of fantastic DEAD MAN authors. But you don't have to wait for their DEAD MAN tales to sample their terrific writing.

Mel Odom's many books, under his own name and several pseudonyms, include Rancho Diablo, Loser Friendly, Lost Souls: Burning Sky, Blood Evidence, Apocalypse Dawn, Forgotten Realms: Rising Tide, Rogue Angel: Destiny, Hellgate: Exodus, and scores of others.

Matthew P. Mayo has written westerns in the Slocum and Ralph Compton series, as well as the novels The Wrong Town, and Winter's War, and award winning stories in the anthologies Steampunk'd, A Fistful of Legends, and Timeshares, to name just a few of his works.

Harry Shannon writes the acclaimed Mick Callahan mysteries, including Memorial Day and One of the Wicked, as well as the classic horror novels Daemon, Dead and Gone, and Night of the Beast.

Amazon Showcases THE DEAD MAN

2011-03-08T17:54:00.000-08:00

Today Amazon's Kindle blog spotlighted The Dead Man...and shared our hope that the series will spark a resurrection of the men's action adventure series genre. We want to thank Amazon for their support...and all of the Dead Man fans (and fans of our crack roster of authors) who are spreading the word. Thanks to you, sales soared and we ranked #992 among all of the books on Amazon by late afternoon.

News from the Dead

2011-03-07T18:39:00.000-08:00

Bill Crider talked about THE DEAD MAN an an interview with the Tense Moments Blog about his career and what's in store for him:

I have a new two-book contract with St. Martin’s for Sheriff Rhodes, so I’ll be continuing that series. I’m working on two e-book ventures, too. One of them is Rancho Diablo, a western series, with James Reasoner and Mel Odom. The other is the Dead Man series, created by Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin. I’m excited about the possibilities for both of those ventures.

His Rancho Diablo co-writers James Reasoner and Mel Odom are also on the roster of DEAD MAN authors, which also includes Matthew P. Mayo, Joel Goldman, James Reasoner, David McAfee, James L. Daniels, Burl Barer, and Matt Witten.

The next books up in the series are HELL IN HEAVEN by Goldberg & Rabkin later this month and RING OF KNIVES by James L. Daniels in April.

Origins of THE DEAD MAN

2011-03-05T13:04:00.000-08:00

THE DEAD MAN began as a TV series idea that Bill Rabkin & I started pitching around Hollywood over 20 years ago. Here's an excerpt from my original notes...

Bret Wallace was once a simple man, a lumberyard foreman who loved simple pleasures: a cold beer, a warm Barcalounger, and the Portland Trailblazers

Now he is a soldier in the unseen, eternal battle between good and evil...between gifted mortals and dark entities only hinted about in lore...a battle waged every day in front of our eyes...and yet we cannot see.

We all know it is there.

But only Bret Wallace can see the afflicted, and stop them before they strike.

Only Bret Wallace can defeat the Dark Man, a mysterious, supernatural figure who, with the help of his fearsome minions, lives for evil, and will do anything to stop him....and holds the secret to Bret's miraculous rebirth.

Only the Dark Man can tell Bret whether he is still a man...or the walking dead.

For Bret Wallace, each day is a journey...into a supernatural 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.

The network and studio execs always enjoyed the pitch, but we were never able to make the sale, though we came very close in the early days of the USA Network, close enough that we were compelled for some crazy reason to write the script on spec, thinking that would close the deal. Not only that, but we came up with twelve story ideas to show the idea had legs.

But for reasons I don't remember any more, it didn't happen. We filed the idea away, coming back to it every few years and remembering how much we liked it. A few months ago, I pulled the pitch and the script out again and, although my fondness for the teleplay itself had dimmed considerably, I still loved the concept and the last few lines of the pitch lingered with me...

There is good, and there is evil.
On November 12, Bret Wallace died, buried in an avalanche of snow.
On February 23rd, Bret Wallace came back to life.
Nothing has changed
There is still good, and there is still evil.
Only now... he can see it.

It suddenly occurred to me that it would be make a kick-ass series of books...and we already had the story lines for twelve of'em. It didn't take more than 30 seconds to convince Bill to go along with idea...and then I ran the notion past a few trusted friends, just to see if we were nuts. But they were as enthusiastic about it as we were.

So now, convinced that we were on to something, all we had to do was write the book that would serve as our "pilot" and the second book, which would serve as "the first episode." We scrapped the script, but kept the basic story structure, the essence of the character and, of course, the concept of the series (We also changed the hero's name from "Bret Wallace" to "Matt Cahill" because, as author James Reasoner pointed out, "Bret Wallace" was the name of THE NINJA MASTER, the hero of an action-adventure series from the 1980s).

Writing the first book, The Dead Man: Face of Evil, was an absolute blast... we had so much fun, we knew we could enjoy writing these books for a long time to come. But we also knew we wanted to work with writers the way we have done on our TV series... and to harken back to the heyday of those "men's action adventure" paperbacks, most of which were written by scores of writers, each offering their own take on the character in adventures that they came up with.

On a TV series, freelance writers get credited for their episodes. But in most "men's action adventure" book series, the freelance writers do not. Either the "original writers" are credited for every book (like Don Pendleton on MACK BOLAN or Warren Murphy & Richard Sapir on THE DESTROYER) or all the credit goes to a shared house name (like "Tabor Evans" on LONGARM, etc.) The freelance writers are buried in small type on the copyright page ("Special thanks and acknowledgment to Kevin Dangler for his contributions to this work")...if they even get mentioned at all.

But we knew we didn't want to do it that way on THE DEAD MAN. We wanted the writers credited in big type on the cover...so everyone would know it was their unique take on our character, like a singer covering someone else's song. We were eager to see what writers who we greatly admired, with similar sensibilities to ours, would do with the character and the concept. In some ways, that's the most exciting part of THE DEAD MAN to us.

So while we were still writing DEAD MAN: FACE OF EVIL, we reached out to writers we know to see if they'd be interested. Every writer we approached said "hell yes!." We gave them the twelve stories ideas we came up with two decades ago...and while a few of the writers chose them as jumping off points for their books, others came up with their own ideas.

We are now close to finishing DEAD MAN #2: HELL IN HEAVEN. After that, we've got DEAD MAN: RING OF KNIVES from James L. Daniels and THE DEAD MAN: THE DEAD WOMAN by David McAfee on deck, and books coming from my fellow Top Suspense authors Joel Goldman and Bill Crider, as well as Mel Odom, Burl Barer, Matt Witten...and, mixed in with those, probably another book or two by Bill Rabkin and me.

We can't wait to read them and, we hope, you'll soon feel the same way.
--

More Praise for THE DEAD MAN

2011-03-05T12:59:00.000-08:00

THE DEAD MAN has notched a dozen rave reviews on his tombstone at Amazon in the first week or so of publication..and.here's his latest, a five-star rave from Matthew Mayo.

A Whiplash Thriller You Can't Put Down

The Dead Man: Face of Evil, the first in a planned series of books written by series creators Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin, takes its cues from the best of the men's adventure genre of past decades and then hits the highway with its own twists, turns, and flaming rollovers.

The novel is horrific, suspenseful, mysterious, and adventurous, all at once. It's also fast-paced, grim-humored, and cleverly written. But mostly, it's a seat-edge read, equal parts chuckles and winces, that slams our hero from one peril to another. Did I mention it's a page turner?

I'll not rehash the plot--no need to spoil anything--except to say that I like where it took me (and where it promises to take me) and I dig the characters I met on the way. It's short, novella length, but that suits me just fine. I like my action in-close, pummeling, and tinged with humor, and The Dead Man: Face of Evil offers that in spades.
The Dead Man: Face of Evil is pure pulpy goodness. And even better--there's more to come! Book number two, The Dead Man: Hell in Heaven, also written by Goldberg and Rabkin, is due out soon. And after that, we're promised further installments written by more modern pulp masters. Count me in.

Top Suspense

2011-03-01T18:49:00.000-08:00

COMING SOON...

Hold on tight for a literary thrill-ride into the wickedly clever, frightening, and exhilarating world of Top Suspense, a sizzling collaboration of twelve master storytellers, including three DEAD MAN writers, at the peak of their powers in thirteen unforgettable tales. This pulse-pounding anthology – packed full of cold-blooded killers, erotic tension, shady private eyes, craven drug dealers, vicious betrayals, crafty thieves, and shocking twists – is only a taste of the thrills you will find in the breathtakingly original ebooks by these authors at www.topsuspensegroup.com. So sit back, bite down on a piece of strong leather, and prepare to get hit by some gale-force suspense and writing so sharp that it will draw blood.

Reasoner's Reasoning

2011-02-28T16:32:00.000-08:00

There's a great interview at the Tense Moments blog with the amazingly prolific James Reasoner, who is writing one of the DEAD MAN books. Here's an excerpt from the interview:

What are the triumphs and trials of writing a series?
I like the way a series allows the characters to evolve over a longer period of time. I’ve always enjoyed thinking in the long run and planting seeds of plot developments that won’t grow into anything for several books down the line. Obviously, these plans can change over time, too, as the characters do, but when I start a series I have a general idea of what happens not only in the first book but in later books as well. The difficulty in writing a series is in not repeating yourself but coming up with fresh ideas instead. Of course, that’s true of non-series books as well, but I think it’s an easier trap to fall into when you’re writing a series.

Why do you write westerns?
Although I’ve always read and enjoyed Westerns, I didn’t set out to be a Western writer. My goal was to write mysteries, and I was somewhat successful at that. But I also didn’t want to tie myself down to one genre, so when an editor asked me to write a Western, I jumped at the chance and found out that I was good at it and enjoyed it. Since then I’ve written more Westerns than anything else, although I’ve turned out quite a few books in other genres, and as long as the opportunity is there I’ll continue to write Westerns because I love them. Simple as that.

Writing The Dead Man: Hell In Heaven

2011-02-27T17:29:00.000-08:00

This was my one rule when Lee and I started the Dead Man series:

No safety net.

That is, no outline. No planning. No plan.

In other words, everything I tell my students never to do.

But I had a couple of reasons for this. One is I’ve done hundreds of outlines over the years. Every TV episode has had a long and detailed one. Even on my Psych books, which were pretty loose, I had ten or more pages to guide me. I figure that after a quarter century doing this, I’ve got a pretty good feel for when a story is working and when it’s not.

But the more important reason was this:

I wanted my work on the Dead Man to come unfiltered through my subconscious. I wanted to go places I’ve never gone before. Places I’d never visit if I had to think about the story rationally, which is what an outline forces you to do.

The Dead Man – straight from the id.

Now it’s true that The Dead Man: Hell in Heaven did start with a story idea. It went like this:

Matt meets up with a man who has been chasing Mr. Dark for decades and has now become so crazy he may be just as dangerous as the man he seeks. But the insane man could have the answers to the questions plaguing Matt: Are they the foot soldiers in the battle between good and evil? Is Matt immortal? Or is this all a dream?

That’s what I started with.

And then I shoved it in the back of my head and started writing. And some odd things started happening.

First, I began to think that maybe this plot synopsis would belong to the next book instead of this one. Because there was a different book in my head, and even though I couldn’t tell exactly what it was going to look like, some part of me did.

What I did know was this:

The second Dead Man would be structured in three parts. The first would be told from outside Matt’s POV, as he is found wandering in the woods, insane, and hauled into jail. Where he would meet someone who would or would not have been chasing Mr. Dark for decades.

Part two would flash back to Matt’s first adventure after leaving home… and take us through the hideous experiences that were going to drive him mad.

Part three would start back in the cell, with Matt overcoming his insanity with the help – advertent or in – of the guy who might or might not have been chasing Mr. Dark for decades.

This all came to me as I started typing the book’s second page.

As I went on, I could see the story beginning to unfurl in front of me. For every chapter I wrote, two or three more revealed themselves. And I was pretty happy with where it was going. It was solid, it was fun, and it seemed to live up to what we’d done in the first book.

Then a strange thing happened. I was writing a simple expositional scene, one that was “laying the pipe” for the big setpiece that would send Matt over the edge.

I typed a line. And then another line. And then the scene went insane.

First it started getting sexy. And then it started getting weird. Really weird. And gross – disgusting. And scary. And did I mention weird?

It blasted through the walls of the reality I thought I was working in and took me places I never would have dreamed of going.

Took Matt places I couldn’t have imagined he’d ever go.

The next day I was kind of scared to read what I’d written. It had come in a flurry, and I didn’t think I had any control over it.

But it worked. I did some rewriting, even expanded it a little to make things harder for Matt. But it opened up the entire series to me, showed me directions we could go I never knew about.

And I still have no idea where it came from.

That’s why I’m working without a safety net on these books.

It’s why I love them…

Men of Action

2011-02-27T14:08:00.000-08:00

The folks over at the Permission to Kill (one of our favorite blogs, by the way), get exactly what we are trying to do with THE DEAD MAN series. They say, in part:

The old ‘Men of Action’ books are all but extinct now – of course you can find them in second hand shops, but possibly younger generations have replaced them with video games, which provide them with more immediately thrills. I for one, kind of miss them. But it seems that I am not alone. Thankfully, a group of talented authors are coming together in a project aimed at reviving the spirit of the ‘Men of Action’ books in a new e-book series. The series is called The Dead Man, and the first book is Face of Evil written by Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin. But this new series isn’t just retreading old ground, or presenting more of the same. The story tellers have added a paranormal, horror element into the mix. SoFace of Evil presents a story in a style that you may be familiar with, but mixed with some other elements to bring the reader something new.

The enjoyment, most evident in the in-jokes, is palpable when reading the story. [...]Face of Evil is only a novella, around 80 pages, which creates its own little duel edged sword. In many ways, I was happy that it was short, as the twists had me eager to know whats happens next. Therefore, I could finish the book in one sitting, rather than pressing on into the wee small hours and turning up to work bleary eyed the next morning. On the flip slide, I was enjoying it so much, I didn’t want it to end so abruptly. I guess I have to wait for the next installment in The Dead Man series

They were so enthusiastic about the book, they even did their own retro take on the cover, making it look like a well-worn "men's action adventure" paperback from the 1980s. We hope we live up to their high expectations for the series.

Hell in Heaven Cover

2011-02-26T21:02:00.000-08:00

THE DEAD MAN #2 HELL IN HEAVEN is still a few weeks away...but we love Carl Graves' cover for the book so much, we just had to give you an early peek. We'll have more details about the plot to share with you very soon.

Action on the Range

2011-02-26T20:58:00.000-08:00

We weren't the first guys to think of reviving the "men's action adventure series" for the Kindle & Nook -- the immensely talented Colby Jackson beat us to it with his RANCHO DIABLO series of original ebook westerns, starting with Shooter's Cross. But we're big admirers of Jackson...who is actually the "house names"" for three writers of upcoming DEAD MAN tales...Mel Odom, Bill Crider, and James Reasoner. Pulp Serenade has a great interview with Bill discussing the evolution of the series. Here's an excerpt:

Pulp Serenade: Can you tell us a bit about your cohorts in Rancho Diablo and how you all came together?
Bill Crider: The Rancho Diablo crew is me, James Reasoner, and Mel Odom. Mel is the driving force. He's very into the e-book market, and he thought we should get into it as soon as we could. He thought it would be fun to do something in the spirit of the old pulps. Instead of, say, THE RIO KID WESTERN MAGAZINE, we'd have RANCHO DIABLO WESTERN MAGAZINE, and instead being a print magazine, it would be an e-publication. Mel knew that James and I were big fans of the fiction in the pulps, so he asked what we thought. We thought it was a great idea, and we jumped at the chance to be part of it.
PS: How did you all come up with the main character of Sam Blaylock?
BC: This was a group project from the beginning. We used e-mail to bat around ideas, and everybody contributed. Mel originated the concept, and then we hashed things over until we had characters and a setting that everybody liked. I think I've saved all the e-mails for posterity.
PS: How are you all splitting the writing duties for the Rancho Diablo books?
BC: Mel wrote the first one, James will do the second, and I'm in line to do the third. The idea was that sometimes we might do just a short story instead of a novella, and who knows what might happen as we go along? I'm eager to read James's contribution. After I do mine, we'll see where we stand, and if things are working out, we'll keep going.

A Story You Can Sink Your Teeth Into

2011-02-25T21:01:00.000-08:00

David McAfee's supernatural thriller 33 AD has been burning up the Kindle bestseller lists for almost a year, and for good reason. It's a bloody thrill-ride through biblical Jerusalem that pits Jesus Christ against vampire assassins. What’s not to like? It's a kick-ass, violent and highly-imaginative tale that will give you taste of what you're in for when he turns his considerable talents towards his DEAD MAN adventure.

Redemption for DEAD MAN author

2011-02-25T18:13:00.000-08:00

James Reasoner, author of an upcoming book in THE DEAD MAN series, has resurrected DIAMONDBACK, one of his long-lost "action adventure" novels on the Kindle. He writes:

this is a novel that I wrote back in the Eighties for a men's adventure line that collapsed before any of the books ever came out. (Livia and I wrote a romance novel that suffered the same fate, but it's lost now and will never see the light of day.) DIAMONDBACK has never been published until now, so it's a new book and a historical document at the same time. In going back over it to prepare this edition, I could see how much my writing has changed in some ways during the past thirty years, and how in other ways it's still very much the same. The most important thing, though, is that I still found this to be an entertaining, enjoyable book. The Kindle edition features a new introduction by Bill Crider and an afterword by me. I've always liked this novel, and I'm glad it's out there in the world at last.

So are we. He's also winning praise for his newest western, REDEMPTION KANSAS, from acclaimed author Troy D. Smith who says, in part:

This is the first new western to come out from James Reasoner under his own name for a while. He writes well no matter what name is on the cover, but I’m glad to see him getting full credit for this one. The name “James Reasoner” popped out at me in the ‘90s when I read several short story anthologies in a row that had tightly-written, powerful tales of his –“Wish Book” stands out particularly in my memory –and those, plus the classic Under Outlaw Flags, quickly made him one of my favorite writers. Reading his new book makes me remember why. If you want to read a good traditional western, I give this one a strong recommendation.

Reasoner is one of the hardest working, and most prolific writers in the business, and it's great to see him getting some attention lately.

Notes to the Dead

2011-02-25T17:07:00.000-08:00

The early response to THE DEAD MAN has been enthusiastic and extremely positive. Here's a sampling from the blogosphere. The Post-Modern Pulps blog says:

Mix one part lurid crime thriller, one part Stephen King-esque weird supernatural horror, add in a dash of colorful sex and a few sprinkles of gratuitous violence, then shake well over ice and pour into a tall frosty mug of icy death. You've just mixed up Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin's new short novel series, THE DEAD MAN.

The Man-Eating Bookworm Blog says:

THE DEAD MAN: FACE OF EVIL is a tight, well written, supernatural thriller. Right from the first page I was hooked, drawn into an intriguing story that kept me turning the pages until I was finished.[...]FACE OF EVIL satisfies all on it's own, while being a terrific opener that promises a epic tale to come. I'm excited for the next book

Right What You Know blog says:

This was another book that I read during my lunch break. Please don't tell my boss, as I read more of this on the first day than my lunch break technically allowed. Needless to say this book is far too engrossing for its own good. I highly recommend reading it when you have more than a half hour lunch break. Face of Evil can be regarded as a stand-alone novella, but it does set things up nicely for more to come. This is primarily a thriller with aspects of horror, with a generous smattering of the paranormal. I'm not really a horror fan, I don't really need those details, but here it isn't overriding and the paranormal/horror aspects add nicely to the tension. [...]I can't wait for the rest of this series.

And Jaime Anastasiow blogs:

This was a hold your breath, fly by the seat of your pants, page-turner. And every time I turned the page there was a new surprise. Very much in the style of Stephen King: the natural and supernatural exist in the same realm.

Thanks to all of those bloggers, and to the many others I didn't mention here, for your great reviews!

The Dead Man LIVES!

2011-02-25T17:03:00.000-08:00

From Lee Goldberg... bestselling author of THE WALK and the MONK novels...and William Rabkin, author of the wildly successful PSYCH books... comes THE DEAD MAN: FACE OF EVIL, the first in an original ebook series of short novels that blends the horror of Stephen King's THE GUNSLINGER with the action/adventure of Don Pendleton's THE EXECUTIONER...

Matthew Cahill is an ordinary man leading a simple life...until a shocking accident changes everything. Now he can see a nightmarish netherworld of unspeakable evil and horrific violence that nobody else does..

For Cahill, 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.

The second book in the series, HELL IN HEAVEN, will be out next month...to be followed by more all-new adventures in THE DEAD MAN saga by some of the most talented and successful mystery, western, horror and sci-fi authors out there today... including Bill Crider, James Reasoner, Matt Witten, Joel Goldman, James Daniels, Burl Barer and David McAfee.

The book is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. For those of you without e-readers, trade paperback editions of the book will be available soon.