Covered

Though I like the new one best, all three editions of Bitter Water Blues have benefited from having cool covers.

This is the cover of the Snubnose Press e-book, the first time Joey Kotex made it into print. Cover by the mighty Eric Beetner.

Then there was the 280 Steps paperback and e-book.

And, of course...

Braaaiiinnnsss!

I love Peter Muise's New England Folklore blog. Here's a link to his most recent post. If you're into folklore, history, and weirdness, you should pay him a visit.

New Cover Reveal: BITTER WATER BLUES.

Here it is: the new cover for the reissue of Bitter Water Blues. My thanks to Eric Campbell and Lance Wright at Down and Out Books for designing such a cool and classic-feeling cover. You can almost smell the bourbon and blood.

Bitter Water Blues returns to print in paperback and e-book editions on March 19, 2018.

Hey. How've you been?

Three years since I added anything new to this blog. A lot happened in that seemingly short amount of time.

In January 2015, at a time when I was absolutely out of my head, Bitter Water Blues was published as an e-book by Snubnose Press. It spent more than 22 consecutive weeks on Amazon's "Top 100 Noir Books for Kindle" list, peaking at #13. Not bad. Snubnose was unable to release a paperback, so we parted ways amicably, and I hooked up with another publisher, who shall remain nameless (he's currently serving a lengthy prison sentence, and may he rot there).

My wife and I decided to split up after 25 years of marriage. We divorced last May, but remain close friends. She'll always been an important part of my life. I moved twice. I started putting my head back together. My kids got older. I now have one daughter in her sophomore year of college, and the other is in 8th grade. They both possess writing and artistic talent that makes me proud and envious at the same time. My youngest is also becoming a fine pianist and composer.

In October 2016, 280 Steps published a reprint of Bitter Water Blues in e-book and the first-ever paperback edition. And, in March 2017, 280 Steps went out of business and Bitter Water Blues went out of print, along with their entire catalog.

Now, thanks to the perspicacious bad-asses at Down and Out Books, Bitter Water Blues is coming back in a big way. The paperback and e-book reissue will be released on March 19, 2018. I'm beyond excited about this. Down and Out publishes some of the best crime fiction you'll find anywhere.

Check back here tomorrow (11/02/17) to see the new cover. It's fucking beautiful.