Trouble Is My Business

OK. So you wound up on my website after reading about me writing the new Spenser. Your first question might be, “Who in the hell does this guy think he is?”Well, I’m sure I’m not Bob Parker. RBP is an icon of crime writing. Most critics seat him at the table of the Big Four […]
G.P. Putnam’s Sons Announce Ace’s Summer Book Tour

THE RANGER TOUR — SUMMER 2011 June 9 OXFORD, MS Square Books June 10 BLYTHEVILLE, AR That Bookstore in Blytheville June 11 HOUSTON, TX Murder By the Book June 12 AUSTIN, TX Bookpeople June 13 DALLAS, TX A Real Bookstore June 14 SAN FRANCISCO, CA M is For Mystery June 15 SEATTLE, WA Seattle Mystery […]
Happy Birthday, Baby

Jean Harlow would have turned 100 this month. Since she only lived 26 years, it’s hard to think of her as old.A couple of years ago, while researching INFAMOUS, Harlow was everywhere. In 1933, she was Marilyn Monroe in the 1950s, Madonna in the 1980s.I ran across a piece in the Kansas City Star — the […]
Nobody Could’ve Done it Better — Ben Hecht’s 007 Script

Just read a terrific piece in the The Telegraph about a recently unearthed 007 film script written by Ben Hecht.Hecht was the screenwriting genius behind the films His Girl Friday, Gunga Din, Spellbound, and Notorious. He also had a hand in Gone with the Wind.But it looks like his version of Casino Royale would’ve been […]
Tough Without a Gun

Just last week, I got received a copy of the new Bogart biography from my buddy, Nick Childs. Nick and I share a lot of the same interests in noir, crime, and indie film. Check out his short film The Shovel starring David Strathairn.(The film took home top honors at the Tribeca Film Fest a […]
car-crashing, plane-jumping, & bone-breaking

After a week of vacation, I’m back on the blog. This morning I came across this gem on one of my favorite movies of all time — Smokey and the Bandit. Here’s an excerpt on how director Hal Needham got the idea for the Southern classic. His new book sounds like a terrific read and […]
Wanda Jackson and Jack White Have Special Relationship

Read a nice piece about rockabilly royalty Wanda Jackson apprehension about working with Jack White on a new album. Hopefully you heard Jack’s terrific work with Loretta Lynn on “Van Lear Rose” — one of my favorite albums of the last decade. Hope to see this duo in person, until then here’s the clip from […]
J.D. Salinger — Tough Guy

The reason most recent offerings from the literary elite leave me cold is that the authors have little say. How much experience can a writer have from college into an MFA program and then onto the NYC cocktail party scene? But the real ones, the great ones, had personal stories to tell — even if […]
Fritz Lang Hated Happy Endings

Great piece on German noir genius Fritz Lang today in the New York Times. Fritz directed a couple of my all-time favorite films: The Blue Gardenia and The Big Heat. It seems getting good movies made was even a pain in the ass for Fritz. A new retrospective of his work opens this weekend in […]
Susannah York

One of the my favorite mod girls of the Sixties has died. Susannah York is best known for her work in Tom Jones. But I first fell in love with her in the James Coburn vehicle, Duffy. She was absolutely the coolest chick in the world in ’68. She’ll be missed. Read the Associated Press […]