Remember two months ago, when I got all freaked out over the release of Megan Abbott's THE END OF EVERYTHING? Guess what? I haven't read it yet, but it's next in the TBR pile and my fingers are literally burning to pick it up. But it's not why I'm completely freaked out today. I have placed another Amazon order, right after the Abbott novel arrived and I am super-duper excited now that it's about to arrive*. One I should also read fairly soon. It's CRIMES IN SOUTHERN INDIANA, by Frank Bill. Why am I so gung ho over this? After all, I have read only one piece by Mr. Bill, titled NOSTALGIA PURVIS. It was jaw-dropping, but it was still really short.
There are telltale signs that his book is going to own:
- Everybody that had read an advanced reader copy is completely nuts about it. They say all kinds of non-generic things , which means the book has struck a chord with them:
Publishers Weekly said: "... these stories paint a grisly portrait of the author’s homeland. You might want to have your brass knuckles handy when reading"
William Gay said: "Frank Bill’s characters all seem to be hurtling at ninety miles an hour down dead end streets, and his recounting of their passage is vivid and unforgettable."
Anthony Neil Smith, one of my favorite living writers, said: "The first time I read a story by Frank Bill it was like watching a redneck opera in another language."
You know what I mean.
- He was recently published in Playboy. I know it sounds funny, but for somebody who writes crime fiction that reads like "a redneck opera in another language", Playboy is one hell of gig. I know the running gag is to say "I buy it for the articles" but they had great writers like David Foster Wallace and Hunter S. Thompson writing for them. Guess who's sharing the bill with him in August 2011 edition of Playboy Magazine? Mr. Fight Club himself, Chuck Palahniuk.
- Just look at the fuckin' guy. His beard alone could kick your ass. If I'd meet someone like Frank Bill in a bar, I would be very careful not to piss him off, because I can very well see him chasing me down the a dirt road with his pick up truck and a shotgun on his lap. Imagine what he can do with blank page.
According to Amazon, it's released on August 30th but this baby is going to hit my mailbox early September and I am already twisting my nipples anticipation**.
*Ten to Fourteen days is "about to arrive" enough for me.
** That said, I have also ordered OUT THERE BAD, the second Moses McGuire novel by Josh Stallings. I'm almost as excited to read it and I'm sure that Moses will kick my ass again. I'm getting some bang for my buck.