Just learned this morning that I’m a Derringer Award finalist for “Chains,” a story published last September by All Due Respect. Big thanks to ADR, the SMFS judges, and all my friends who read the story. I’m honored by your support.

Many good stories and wonderful people as finalists for the Derringer this year. This is a shout out to @frankvatel312.bsky.social for his short story nom for CHAINS - a tale I clearly remember reading and enjoying immensely. And, best of all, it surprised me. Congrats Frank and Everyone!

Double congratulations, C.W.!

Another witty fantasy by the brilliant @carlottadale.bsky.social. Short, but very sweet. Published by Pistol Jim Press.

Can relate to this.

Hey y'all! My story A FIGHTING LIFE is part of this rough-and-tumble anthology FIGHTING WORDS, edited by Scott Blackburn. It's out now in paperback and you'll love these stories. www.amazon.com/Fighting-Wor...

Just a lazy Saturday, puttering around. #NoKings

Just a lazy Saturday, puttering around. #NoKings

I pulled into the Garage with a new story. 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

Just me and my new best friend, Walter Mosley. His hand rests on my (now signed) first edition of Little Scarlet. In front of him is my (now signed) first edition of Cinnamon Kiss, which I am currently reading (hence the bookmark). He could not have been kinder. Go ahead and meet your heroes.

No, but you can fuck off & then fuck off some more

Finally read John Fowles’ THE COLLECTOR (1963) after hearing, for years, that it inspired several real-life killers. Its two narrators—kidnapper and victim—are so distinctly written that they continually defy our expectations. A surprisingly meditative novel, and a great one.

M.E. Proctor (@meproctor.bsky.social) graciously dedicated her most recent installment of The Roll Top Desk to my cover for KANSAS CITY BREAKDOWN, giving readers a cool behind-the-scenes look at the design process. It was a great conversation. Here’s the link: meproctor.substack.com/p/frank-vate...

Want to know how @frankvatel312.bsky.social came up with that great cover for Kansas City Breakdown? Head over to the stack... meproctor.substack.com/p/frank-vate...

Hey, look what arrived ... beautiful stuff @cowboyjamboree.bsky.social / @frankvatel312.bsky.social ! And my buddy @russellthayer10.bsky.social ... you can get yours: amazon.com/dp/B0GRWPBNXN

Check me out (intercut with the greats @meganabbott.bsky.social and George Pellocanos) on the Cutter's Way edition (which also features an essay from main man @aheartofgould.bsky.social)

Did you go to Bouchercon last year? Are you going this year? My novel THAT OCTOBER is eligible for Best First Novel. If you got the email a couple of weeks ago, you have until April 30 to vote for me plus a whole lot of really good writers.

In the running for most underrated film ever.

#NoirAlley returns tonight with a feature every movie buff should see at least once. Like many exploitation flicks, WHO KILLED TEDDY BEAR? is marred by odd pacing, stilted acting, and questionable ideas. It’s also a perverse little gem that’s impossible to stop watching. #TCMParty

🤣

Show someone who absolutely rocks a hat (that isn't Indiana Jones). Step aside, Joanie. There is only one Hat Goddess, and she goes by the name of Claire.

It’s an honor to have a story at @literarygarage.bsky.social, publisher of numerous writers I greatly admire. Click through to read “The Pocket Watch,” my tale of a funeral, a family heirloom, and a difficult decision.

“Life offered very little aside from an occasional plunge into luxurious sensation, which never lasted for long and even while it happened it was accompanied by the dismal knowledge that it would soon be over.” —David Goodis, THE BURGLAR (1953)

We don’t dye the river green on St Patty’s Day. That’s a misconception. The city’s many, many hotdog vendors dump their spoiled relish. Weeks from now, the downstream citizens of St. Louis, Memphis, and New Orleans will again be perplexed by the vinegary odor wafting off their shores.

Artist: James Avati

I’m very stoked that my story, Mickey is included in this issue of Pun Noir Magazine’s Find What You Love and Let It Kill You series alongside 7 other cool stories. Scroll down to the end to find me, or better yet, read em all!

June 17, y’all.

I was promised an evil genius. All I got was an evil idiot.

Very happy that my story Frank is included in this edition of Punk Noir Press. You should read it because: 1. It’s about a dog. 2. It’s 300 words long. 3. The dog doesn’t die. punknoirmagazine.wordpress.com/2026/03/13/f...

Very possibly the best film of the 1980s.

BULL interview with Manny Torres by @frank212.bsky.social

A perfect mix of the good, the great, the underrated, the overrated, and the utterly fucking insane. JIM THOMPSON: FIVE NOIR NOVELS OF THE 1950s & 60s. Out today from Library of America.

Paperback book cover for Brighton Rock by Graham Greene...

It’s a conundrum physicists have studied for decades. Loosely related to Jerry Lewis being an asshole or a genius, depending on the time zone.

👀

Tonight, TCM’s monthlong Oscar tribute reaches all the way back to the first Academy Awards, where SUNRISE (1927) snagged a prize for “Unique and Artistic Production.” It’s a dazzling film and a great proto-noir, involving a “loose” city girl who nearly lures a farmer to his ruin.

Got news, friends. Just submitted the final illustration/design files for KANSAS CITY BREAKDOWN, the upcoming Proctor+Thayer mystery. Here’s the cover! Thanks again to @russellthayer10.bsky.social and @meproctor.bsky.social, who’ve written another banger. If anyone needs a book cover, DM me...

Frank Vatel will treat you right. What a cover he gave us. @frankvatel312.bsky.social

Oh, Daddy! Look what's droppin next month from Cowboy Jamboree. The latest noir collab between @meproctor.bsky.social & @russellthayer10.bsky.social. Beautiful pulpy cover by @frankvatel312.bsky.social.

FAT CITY’s script is nimbly adapted by Leonard Gardner from his great boxing novel. But the real headline is director John Huston—forging ahead in the grungy, naturalistic seventies—proving he can punch with the New Hollywood kids without breaking a sweat. Worth staying up for tonight. #TCMParty

David Goodis displaying uncharacteristic levity and debonair style with a couple of pals. Circa 1947. Happy birthday, legend.

"That's the way it is," says the five-time draft dodger to our military families who fear their loved one in uniform could be next. What a disgrace.

Meme created in some guy’s basement in suburban Moscow.

How wonderful—a 1,575-foot arterial stent that will camouflage one of the architectural marvels of the 20th Century.

Old story: Penny-pinching studio boss won’t let a director shoot in color. He says, “It’s a goddamned Tennessee Williams play, not a gladiator epic.” Director replies: “You’re paying for blue eyes and violet eyes and getting neither.” It was shot in color. #BOTD #LizTaylor

“His eyes belonged to a dog that gets a daily beating, is due for that beating, and knows he can't escape it.” —Charles Willeford (aka Franklin Sanders), WHIP HAND (1961)

💘 On director, screenwriter, novelist Neil Jordan's birthday, watch his 1986 masterpiece MONA LISA (1986). A noir-infused love story starring Bob Hoskins and Cathy Tyson. Now playing on the Criterion Channel alongside a brilliant commentary featuring him and Bob Hoskins! 💘

Floating Fred MacMurray head (a great name for a band!!) is here to tell you all about his favorite tuna! #Freduary #FredMacMurray #ClassicFilms