I first met Ray Bradbury on November 22, 1980, when he came to Books Inc. in San Jose, CA (where I was a fledgling bookseller) to sign copies of The Stories of Ray Bradbury, although I had read him before that, and heard him speak. He survived that day, barely. In the store’s back room […]
Silverado Press–the imprint that Howard Weinstein and I have launched through writers’ collective Crazy 8 Press–is getting all kinds of…well, press, lately. Here’s an interview with me that ran in the current issue of True West magazine (in which I also review a book–my first review for TW). And below is a piece that just […]
Half of the short stories in my new collection Byrd’s Luck & Other Stories are “weird westerns”–that is, western stories blended with elements of horror fiction (weird westerns can encompass horror, science fiction, fantasy, and various subgenres thereof, but I tend toward horror). Now a new anthology is up on Kickstarter, in which I have […]
I’ve been chomping at the bit (and yes, the original phrase was “champing at the bit,” but who remembers what the verb “to champ” means anymore) waiting to announce this deal, and now I can! Here’s the quick backstory: Western fiction publishers are few and far between, and getting fewer all the time. One of […]
Marsheila (Marcy) Rockwell and I haven’t done a lot of events for the past few years, thanks mostly to Covid. Even fewer of those have been in the Phoenix, Arizona area (where we live). But on Saturday, February 25, we’ll be guests at the brand-spankin’-new Arizona Comicbook Arts Festival! This one-day show is focused on […]
On September 6, 1995, StormWatch #28, written by me with art by Ron Lim and Robert Jones, hit the racks at comic shops across the country. The regular creative team on the StormWatch title was running late, and they needed a couple of months to catch up, so I was asked to write two fill-in […]
My first professional fiction sale was in 1988–a short story sold to a prestigious science fiction anthology called Full Spectrum. My first novel–Gen13: Netherwar, written with Christopher Golden, came out in 1999. Since then I’ve written dozens of books, sometimes at a pace of 4 a year and maybe hitting 5 in some years. But […]
During 2022, I had a lot of books released–the three book Cody Cavanaugh Western series, Tarzan and the Forest of Stone, and then the three book Major Crimes Squad: Phoenix procedural thriller series. The Castle, the third of these, is out on Tuesday, November 8. That’ll be the last new book release for a while, […]
This week, I got copies of my forthcoming police-procedural mystery The Squad, the first in the three-book (so far) Major Crimes Squad: Phoenix series. It’s available for preorder now, wherever books are sold, and it officially launches on September 27. The second book, The Storm, follows on October 18, and The Castle arrives in November. […]
There’s lots of news in this one, so I’ll get right to it! The first two books in my Major Crimes Squad: Phoenix police-procedural mystery series are up on Amazon for pre-order. As of this moment, only the Kindle ebooks are there, but the paperback versions should follow soon. The two are The Squad and […]
It’s been a tough few years for most of us. We’ve endured and mostly survived an ongoing pandemic, though many are still reeling from the loss of family and friends to the disease. Here in our household, we’ve all had Covid, with varying degrees of severity, but we’re all still here, thankfully. But like many […]
Several years ago, I had the distinct pleasure of writing a novel about one of my all-time favorite superheroes, Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man. The novel–a blend of super-hero action and horror–was Spider-Man: Requiem, and it boasted a terrific cover painting by my pal J.H. Williams III. Last year, the novel was adapted into an audiobook, narrated […]
Over on Facebook, I mentioned that I had finished the third book in my Major Crimes Squad: Phoenix series (out of three contracted novels), and pal Rodney Hom asked how I researched such topics. I decided that the response was longer than a FB message could accommodate, so decided to post here instead. Some background: […]
There have been a lot of firsts associated with my historical western/crime epic Blood and Gold: The Legend of Joaquin Murrieta. It’s the first time I’ve written a novel about a real person. First time I’ve written one so long. First one I’ve written in collaboration with an Emmy Award-winning TV writer/producer (Peter Murrieta, who […]
I’m a little late here, but Tarzan and the Forest of Stone was released on June 21! As a lifelong fan of the ape-man, being asked to write a new adventure–set within the existing canon as established by Edgar Rice Burroughs–was an enormous thrill, and not a little intimidating. Early reaction is overwhelmingly favorable, though. […]
I got my copies of the paperback edition of Tarzan and the Forest of Stone today! Hardcover and limited edition copies will be along soonish. The official publication date is June 21, but if paperbacks are printed, it’s possible that those orders will be filled sooner. The limited edition is only available directly from Edgar […]
There’s been a lot going on this week, professionally and personally. Which is weird, because it was supposed to have been a vacation week, during which Marcy and I would have jetted to New York City, enjoyed a great dinner and a show, visiting bookstores and comic shops, and generally exploring the Big Apple. But […]
I have loved Western fiction since the first comic book I remember reading–a Roy Rogers comic in the office of a Russian barber, inside a building in Paris, France leased to the U.S. Department of Defense. (He definitely wasn’t a spy….) I’d loved Roy and Hopalong Cassidy and other cowboy stars on TV back in […]
Here’s the first chapter of PASSAGE TO PEDREGOSA, Book 3 of the Cody Cavanaugh series, on sale March 23. Give it a read! Late Autumn, 1877The air on the morning before the raid, as crisp as the first bite of an apple right off the tree, didn’t strike Cody Cavanaugh as killing weather.Some others seemed […]
Although it was announced as a February 23 release, Amazon started selling McKittrick Ransom, book 2 of my Cody Cavanaugh series of classic western novels, on 2/22/22. Perfect timing for book 2. Here’s the description, courtesy of Wolfpack Publishing: “A RANSOM THAT CAN ONLY BE PAID IN BLOOD – BOOK TWO IN JEFFREY J. MARIOTTE’S […]
I got my copies of O’Meara’s Gold in the mail this week. No matter how many books I’ve published, it’s always a thrill to open a big box of them from the publisher. This time it’s especially sweet, because this is my first “traditional” Western novel–a genre that’s long held a special fascination for me, […]
First things first, I guess. Blood and Gold: The Legend of Joaquin Murrieta is out. I got copies the other day and it looks great (and big–it’s a big, big book, a true historical epic). Here’s what a box of ’em looks like: Prolific author and reviewer James Reasoner said this about it: “In BLOOD […]