Everyone's Gone to the Moon(stone)

Two weeks from today, I'll be hanging out and talkin' crime fiction with Dennis Tafoya, author of The Wolves of Fairmount Park and Dope Thief. The fun starts at 7 p.m. at the Moonstone Arts Center (110A South 13th Street, Philadelphia PA 19107, 215-735-9598). There's a good chance alcoholic beverages will be consumed at a nearby watering hole directly following the event. And I'll stick to my long-standing offer: buy one of my books, I'll buy you a beer. Hope to see some of you there.

Gone (Soon) To Texas

Tomorrow I'm headed to one of my favorite places on Earth: Murder by the Book in Houston, Texas. Pretty sure I was there solo during my last visit, but this time I'll be joined by Victor (The Deputy, Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth, X-Men) Gischler and Lisa (Rock Paper Tiger) Brackmann. (Strength in numbers, I always say.) Stop on by, if you're anywhere near the greater Houston area. We'll start at 5 p.m.; probably be drinking many Shiner Bocks after that. (2342 Bissonnet Street)

And then the next day Victor and I head off to Book People in Austin, where we'll be joined by Jonathan (Bad Juju) Woods. This will be the first time I've actually set foot in downtown Austin, despite visiting the city twice before. (Don't ask.) Stop by, don't be shy. We may be "outlaws of pulp mystery," but we're perfectly decent gentlemen. Of course, I shouldn't speak for Mr. Woods. He might be a complete lunatic. (603 N. Lamar; 7 p.m.)

Only Three Days Left...

... until my fifth novel, Expiration Date, is available in finer bookstores everywhere. (Though I've heard reports of the book sneaking out into the wild a little early.)

There's still plenty of time to enter the St. Martin's Minotaur sweepstakes to win signed copies as well as original pieces of Laurence Campbell's art, straight from the book. Simply go here, click through to the promotion page, and type in your vitals. You can also download the first batch of pages from the novel, which St. Martin's will be posting in serial form over the next few weeks.

And don't forget: if you send me proof that you either pre-ordered Expiration or purchased it during its first week on sale, I'll send you a .pdf of Sand In My Gun. (More details on that here.) I'm happy to say that a ton of you have taken me up on the offer, but there's plenty of room for everybody else. Join ussssss, join usssss doooooo...

As for appearances, I've added a little box to the left, listing the various Expiration signing events I have planned. The first official signing will be at Port Richmond Books (3037 Richmond Street) in Philly, Sunday April 11 at 2 p.m. I'll have a bunch copies of the book on hand, as well as a lot of beer, so stop on by and enjoy a cold one with us.

More details on the rest of the events soon, but here's a quick rundown:

April 14: Noir Night at the Hiway Theater, Jenkintown, PA. I'll be introducing/talking about Hickey & Boggs, and signing copies of Expiration.

April 24-26: L.A. Times Festival of Books. I'll be at the Mystery Bookstore in Westwood for a party Friday night, then at their booth over the weekend.

May 1: Free Comic Book Day at Brave New Worlds in Willow Grove, PA.

June 5: Murder by the Book in Houston, TX. I'll be appearing with Victor Gischler, the madman from Baton Rouge, who will be out supporting his new hardboiled crime novel The Deputy.

June 6: BookPeople in Austin, TX. Also with Gischler. Unless he get sick of me, and ditches me somewhere out on a dusty Texas road.

Hope to see a bunch of you at one of these crazy events over the next few months.

Hickey. Boggs. On the Big Screen.

Last summer I went all crazy for Hickey & Boggs, the Robert Culp/Bill Cosby neo-noir from 1972. And you know? I'm still crazy for it. I've watched it a few more times over the past year, and it remains one of my favorite crime films, part of an unofficial quadrilogy of downbeat L.A. P.I. movies (the others being Night Moves, The Long Goodbye and Chinatown).

So when Ed Pettit, a.k.a. the Philly Poe Guy, asked me to kick off a new series of Philly authors introducing their favorite films, only one movie that came to mind:

The Great Muppet Caper.

No, no, I'm being silly. I'll be introducing/talking about Hickey & Boggs! Fred Kaplan-Mayer at the Hiway Theater in Jenkintown, PA even tracked down an honest-to-God print, so we'll be seeing it as nature (and Robert Culp) intended.

The event also doubles as an Expiration Date book appearance -- I'll be signing copies before and after the movie. There are other ties, too: Expiration is partially set in 1972, just like the movie. It's kind of a private eye story, just like Hickey & Boggs. And of course, it stars Philly legend Bill Cosby, which is about as Philly as you can get despite this being an L.A. neo-noir flick.

If you're at all curious about this movie, I hope you'll be able to join us. And please, spread the word. The fun starts Wednesday, April 14, at 8 p.m. at the Highway Theater, 212 Old York Road, Jenkintown, PA (215-886-9802). For more info, click here or drop me an email.

(Image from Obscure One-Sheet.)

Gimme A Shot, Next Round's On Me

Michel Lacombe and I worked on six blood-splattered issues of Punisher MAX together, and now they're all available in one affordable trade paperback, just out from Marvel this week. Punisher MAX: Six Hours to Kill includes not only the five issues of our arc, but also our one-shot story, "Force of Nature." It's available at comic shops everywhere; bookstores should have it in a few weeks.

Or, if you're anywhere near Philly, you can pick up one next Tuesday at McGillin's Ale House, where I'll be signing copies. Again, my offer stands: buy a copy of Six Hours to Kill, and I'll buy you a pint of McGillin's 1860 IPA. McGillin's was featured in Six Hours (under the name "Interesting Times"), which you can see in the above panel. This fictional bar takes quite a beating in the story. Windows are shattered. Tables and chairs are smashed into splinters. The entire building is shot to hell, blown up with rocket-launched grenades, then set ablaze. I'm kind of suprised the McGillin's folks want me anywhere near the place.

But hey, I guess it's no hard feelings. Hope to see you some of you there! (1310 Drury Street, 6 p.m.)

Crawling Out of the Cave

With a few exceptions, I've spent the past year hunkered down in Secret Dead Blog HQ, writing my Polish ass off. I haven't done many signings, except for last fall's Bouchercon and the most recent NYC Comic-Con. Well, hunker down/Polish ass time is over. I'll be emerging from the basement for three very special, quite possibly beer-soaked events...

First up is a hang-out/signing at McGillin's Ale House in downtown Philly on Tuesday, August 25 at 6 p.m. McGillin's served as the model for a fictional bar called "Interesting Times" in my Punisher MAX arc (with Michel Lacombe), so I'll be there to sign copies of the trade paperback collection, sold by my pals at Brave New Worlds. Standing offer: buy a copy of Punisher MAX: Six Hours to Kill, and I'll buy you a pint of McGillin's 1860 IPA. (1310 Drury Street, 215-735-5562.)

Next up: I've been invited to be a guest on Comic Book Club, a live comic book talk show in NYC, on Tuesday, September 8 at 8 p.m. Past guests have included folks like Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Joe Quesada, Bill Hader, Brian Michael Bendis, Dan Slott, Seth Meyers, among other luminaries. If you're in NYC, I hope you'll stop by. I won't be able to buy you a beer at the show, but hell, afterwards anything's possible. (The Peoples Improv Theater, 154 West 29th Street, 2nd Floor, NYC. Tickets: $5.)

And finally, I'll be at the Bouchercon 2009 World Mystery Convention in Indianapolis. No word yet on panels or such, but it's good bet you'll find me in the bar with the rest of the crime-writing reprobates.

Chuck P. and Me

Chuck Palahniuk is coming to the Free Library of Philadelphia tomorrow night, and I've been asked to MC and do a live Q&A. The event is free, but you'll definitely want to show up early, especially if you want a seat or a book signed. (I believe the line starts forming at 5 p.m.) There will be games, prizes, questions, fairy tales... all of kinds of fun stuff. Palahniuk is here on tour for his latest novel, Pygmy, which is about a pre-teen terrorist army posing as foreign exchange students, and narrated by a "agent number 67" in the freakiest, most hyper-violent voice since A Clockwork Orange. Here's a sample, from the very first page, as agent number 67 sizes up a passport control officer:

Man, ancient penned anial dying of too tall, pooled heavy glood hanging in leg veins. Trapped all day, then could be next walk to toilet pow-pow, clot knock out brain.

Hope to see some of you there. And if you have any questions you'd like me to ask on your behalf, leave them in the comments below.

Update: Here's a podcast of the program, courtesy the Free Library's Andrew Kahan.

Swierczy, Live, at the Keene Forum

Labor Day is almost upon us, and many of you are probably folding up the beach towels and headed to the shore for one last sunny, sand-flecked hurrah. (Unless you live in Australia, where it's winter.) I'm packing up the family truckster, too, but I'm not headed to the shore. I'm going over to my buddy Brian Keene's place... and you're all invited!

Keene's been one of my favorite writers ever since I picked up his zombie noir debut, The Rising. Thanks to last summer's Dark Hollow, I'll never be able to look at a goat the same way again. (Thanks, Brian.) Keene's latest is Ghost Walk, and next month he's debuting his Marvel Comics mini-series, Devil Slayer (preview sketches above). The man is ridiculously talented, and crazy prolific.

And now, for some strange reason, he's opening up the doors to his place for me. All week I'll be hanging out in Keene's "One on One" forum, answering questions and just shooting the crap. And while you're there, make sure you check out the rest of Keene's joint. That's right, go snooping through his missives, manifestos, communiques, comics, books, and maybe even his cigar collection. Okay, maybe not that. We don't want to overstay our welcome...

Straight from the Booth to the Bar

Wizard World Philly was a lot of fun, though I have to admit, I felt kind of useless at the Marvel signing booth. Oooh, look, there's Mark Brooks, let's get him to draw a Skrull for me. Oooh, Joe Q., let's have him sketch a Spidey. Oooh, look, there's that Polish guy who's writing Cable, let's have him... uh, oh. Not that I didn't have fun talking to everyone and signing issues, but I felt like I wasn't exactly doing my part. I need to find a portable typewriter, so for the next signing, I'll be able to write a scene for somebody, right on the spot.

PAGE ONE, Panel Three
Cable aims a giant Liefeld-ian gun at Swierczy's head.

5 CABLE: No pressure or anything.

Though I did have two fans ask for something called a "writer's sketch," which had to be explained to me. Basically, it's when you ask a writer, who can't draw, to draw something; hilarity ensues. So I drew a fairly miserable Moon Knight, which in retrospect, looked something from a pre-teen book about female anatomy. I also drew a Cable, which was a little better, even though the fan mistook the metal arm for his shoulder padding. Ah, well.

Anyway, there was some news announced at the con: namely, a King-Size Cable that's coming out this September. It's 44-page one-shot actionfest told from Bishop's point of view. The art is by the amazing Ken Lashley (check out his Bishop above), and you can read more about it here at Wizard or Newsarama.

Speaking of Newsarama, that site's Steve Ekstrom posted a very cool review of Severance Package yesterday morning. Check it out.

And in other fun comics news, I'm happy this is finally public: my buddy Brian Keene will be doing a Marvel MAX Devil Slayer mini-series. I love Keene's horror novels; I can't wait to see what he does in the MAX universe.

I'm spending most of my day writing, but tonight is the kick-off of Peter Rozovsky's Noir at the Bar series, the first one featuring... me. There's a short item about it in today's Philadelphia Inquirer. What's not mentioned: the special guests, namely Poe Boy, who will be grilling me, and his lovely bride Kate, who will be reading the first chapter of Severance. (I've come to realize that I suck at reading my own stuff out loud, so I'm enlisting help wherever I go.) Hope to see some of you there.

The Boss, The Raccoon, The Submarine

Last night's event at The Mysterious Bookshop started with Bruce, and ended with Bruce. Poe Boy picked me up around 2:30, and we shot up the NJ Turnpike, listening to Loose Ends, a Springsteen bootleg. (Poe Boy's mini van is, like, bootleg central; somewhere in there, I'm sure, is Brian Wilson's original Smile along with the master tapes of "She Loves You.") Just before the Holland Tunnel, I realized that I didn't have Dave White's number on me, so I did what any self-respecting resident of the 21st century would do: texted a Twitter message saying, "Dave White! Call your mentor." Sure enough, Dave called three minutes later. I told him to get his ass out of Jersey, and meet us at the Raccoon Lodge. The three of us knocked back a few Pilsner Urquells (me, for Dutch Courage; I'm not sure what Dave's excuse was) and admired the animal body parts hanging from the walls. Lady Weinman joined us toward the end, and then we headed across the street for the event proper...

... which flew by as fast as a second wedding. Seriously. One minute I was making small talk with friends, then the next I was asked to speak, and then I signed books, and then hung out a bit, and then it was time to close the store. The turnout was fantastic--the best in a long, long time. Among the pals o' Secret Dead Blog gathered (in no particular order): Jason "The Mark" Pinter, Jeff Wong, Axel Alonso, Michael "Grenade Launcher" Homler, Hector DeJean, Glenn Gray, Poe Boy's daughter Pam, Mike "Rescued by Nerds" Collins, Lord and Lady McQuigan, Ron Geraci, Ashlea Halpern, Jamie "The Coup" Malanowski, Bonnie and Joe from the much-missed Black Orchid, and a bunch of other cool folks who I didn't recognize (and which is always a pleasant surprise).

Afterward, a bunch of us decided to skip the Raccoon Lodge--which only seemed to have a pot of hot dogs on the menu--and hit an Irish joint around the corner for some brews and grub. It was only then that I remembered that I'd brought my camera, so I took a few snaps of folks gathered at the table (which I'll post later). Someone at the table made an off-color reference to a submarine (which I won't repeat here). And then it was over in a flash, and the next thing I knew, Poe Boy was hurling us back down the Jersey turnpike, Darkness on the Edge of Town blasting.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by, hung out, and picked up a Severance. And huge thanks to Ian, Hillary, Otto and the gang at The Mysterious Bookshop, who were fantastic hosts. If you live anywhere near NYC, and want a signed copy of Severance, go to these guys. Then stay, and browse, and drool at the awesomeness gathered on the shelves around you.

Today: headed out in a few hours to hit Wizard World Philly. I'm on a Marvel panel at 1, and will be at the Marvel booth at 3:30, so stop by and say hi if you're around. I'll try to Twitter an update while I'm there.

And then on Sunday: Noir at the Bar!

(Photo above snapped at the Raccoon Lodge. As if you couldn't guess.)

Picks, Panels, Pans

I'm headed off to NYC later today with Poe Boy; The Mysterious Bookshop party kicks off at 6:30 tonight. Yes, you're invited. Stop by! (See previous post for details.)

I'm thrilled that Severance Package is a pick of the week both at Sarah Weinman's site and January Magazine's crime fiction page. Huge thanks to both Sarah and Jeff Pierce.

Severance also received its first review at Amazon... and it's a nyet! Well, you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have...

Mike Collins over at Rescued by Nerds has a Q&A with me up now, as does Brett White at Wizard magazine, to preview my appearance at Wizard World Philly this weekend.

Thursday: The Summer of Severance Begins

Well, okay, it began today, but my first signing will be at The Mysterious Bookshop this Thursday night. And it's not just a signing: it's a party. Poe Boy and Dave "Giamatti" White will also be on hand, and there's a good chance we'll be hitting the Raccoon Lodge across the street afterward. So if you're anywhere near NYC, stop by and say hello. Here are the details:

Join us in celebrating the new novel Severance Package (St. Martin's Minotaur) Mr. Swierczynski will discuss and read from his book and answer questions. Copies will be available for autographs. Light refreshments will be served.

Thursday, May 29th 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm. Admission is Free.

The Mysterious Bookshop
58 Warren Street (Between Church and West Broadway)
New York, NY 10007
(212) 587-1011
info@mysteriousbookshop.com

Divided We Sat

Last night's X-Men: Divided We Stand #2 signing at Jim Hanley's Universe was a lot of fun. I signed a lot of Cables and fielded a bunch of Cable questions, invoking the Marvel version of the Fifth Amendment for about half of them. (Sorry! But if I tell you the name of the baby, the chip Marvel implanted in my skull will EXPLODE. I'm doing this for your own safety.) I also had two nice surprise visitors: Jeff Wong, the man responsible for the eye-popping cover of The Archer Files, and Glenn Gray, who's been tearing it up on the online short fiction front. Afterward, the lot of us headed to a nearby Irish pub for beers, grub, Polish jokes (in fairness, C.B. Cebulski and I kind of started it) and good times all around. Thanks to everyone who stopped by—especially Rahadyan, Dion, Richard, Jef UK—and the staff at Universe, who treated us like gold, drizzled with mint jelly.

Cue the Bat Signal

Holy last minute, Batman. Totally forgot to mentioned that I'm going to be signing copies of Batman: Murder at Wayne Manor tomorrow at the Philadelphia Book Festival. (It's kind of a surprise to me, too; only found about this last week.) I'll be at the Quirk Books booth at high noon, and hanging for about an hour. Here's the interesting thing: Murder isn't officially out until mid-July, so this is pretty much the only place you'll be able to score a copy until then. I'll probably also load my trademark green backpack (going strong since 1997) with a bunch of Severance Packages, which also isn't officially available yet. If you dig getting books before their time, stop on by the Central Branch of the Free Library. The booth is #8, on 19th Street, smack dab between Wood and Vine. (If you get lost, look for Poe Boy's distinctive beard and professorial garb. He'll be nearby.)

Swierczy in Bensalem

I'll be at Bagged and Boarded in Bensalem, PA (2337 Street Road, 215-638-7020) this afternoon from 1 until 4 p.m., signing comics and talkin' Cable. The store is a stone's throw from the Franklin Mills Mall, so if you're in the area, stop by and say "yo."

UPDATE (9:43 a.m.): Shhh, but I will have a few copies of Severance Package for sale... unavailable anywhere else until May 27th. Readers of Secret Dead Blog have first dibs.

UPDATE THE SECOND (9:20 p.m.): The guys at Bagged and Boarded are insane, in all of the right ways. Huge thanks to Josh, Duke, Kevin (Happy 12th birthday, kid), Teddy (or is it Teddi?), Jim, Jerry, John, Retired Cop Jim and everyone else who stopped by. The store is great; if you're anywhere near Bensalem, PA... and if you're not, WHY AREN'T YOU?... check it out.

Hollywood Twitters

Poe Boy convinced me to join Twitter as we were having beers yesterday in the Hollywood Tavern. (This would be the Hollywood Tavern in Hollywood, Pennsylvania, just a minute from the Philly limits. Nobody believes me when I tell them that there is in fact a Hollywood, Pennsylania, and that if you squint, it really kinda does look sorta like Southern California.) I can't quite remember what he said that convinced me; by that point, I'd had one and a half Sierra Nevadas in me, and I was willing to believe anything.

But anyway, you'll find these Twitter updates to the left, right under my bio. The cool thing: I can post updates from my phone. The potentially bad thing: You may see ridiculous, drunken updates.

Anybody else Twittering?

Yes! Stormtroopers!

Just a last minute reminder that today is Free Comic Book Day, and you really owe it to yourself to get yo' ass to your local nerdery and pick up a bunch. They're free! Yes, a gallon of gas is more expensive than a comic book these days, but you can get multiple comic books. For free, I tell you. Free!

And if you're anywhere near downtown Philly, I'll be at the Old City Brave New Worlds from 3 to 5 p.m., fighting a bunch of Stormtroopers for the hearts and minds of the comic-going public.

Finally, if you want the experience of chatting with me, but don't really want to go through the hassle of actually hanging out with me, check out this Campus Philly Q&A. My interviewer is Steve Ciccarelli, a Temple University journalism major who grills his subjects like a pro. (Thanks for the opportunity, Steve.)

For Appearances' Sake

We're less than a month away from the release of Severance Package, which means I'll be crawling out of the ink-stained cocoon I've woven myself into lately to make a few public appearances. There are also a few comic-related events coming up, which is a new thing for me. I've said it before, but it's worth repeating: I'm a fundamentally shy person, and I became a writer because I thought I would able to hide behind my typewriter/computer for the rest of my ha ha HA HA HA HA hewwwwww.... sorry. These uncontrollable fits of laughter, boy they do sneak up on you.

Anyway...

This Saturday is Free Comic Book Day, and I'll be at Brave New Worlds in Old City (45 N. 2nd Street) from 3 to 5 p.m. to hang out, talk about Cable, and try to stonewall questions about the identity of the baby. Oh, and whatever else you want. Hope you can stop by, if you're in the area.

A week later, I'll be at Bagged and Boarded in Bensalem, PA (2337 Street Road) from 1 to 4 p.m. for the same reasons, only it won't be Free Comic Book Day. So you'll have to pay for stuff.

I'll also be at Wizard World Philadelphia, May 30 to June 1. Details to come.

And now, time to crawl back into the cocoon.

You're Officially Invited...

... to the Crimes of Dr. Watson/Blonde/Redhead launch party!

It's a week from today, at the Port Richmond Bookstore in the lovely (and extremely Polish) neighborhood of Port Richmond. There will be plenty of books, booze, food and of course, Poles on hand. I've launched my last two books at the store, and each time it was a blast. You recall last year's blog post, about how we all ended up at a Polish disco? No futher questions, your honor.

So to recap: Sunday, November 18th, 2 p.m. Port Richmond Bookstore (3037 Richmond Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19134, 215-425-3385). C'mon. Can you think of a better way to kick off your Thanksgiving week?

(Huge thanks, in advance, to Lou Boxer, Deen Kogan and Greg Gillespie for hosting me yet again.)

Drink Beer with Swierczy!

Tonight! I'll be at the Grey Lodge Pub, only the best damn bar in Northeast Philly, for Authors A'Plenty 5 along with forensic thriller writer D.H. Dublin (Jonathan McGoran to his pals) and comic book artist Rob Reilly. Beer, books and good conversation will be on hand. Especially after I've had a few beers.

Also on hand: the Bride, making a rare public appearance. (For those of you who think she does not exist, now's your chance to meet the beautiful redhead I hired to play the part of... er, I mean, your chance to meet my wife.) And Dave White, who says he just loves "the illadelph."

And in the Department of Strange Coincidences: At the same time the Grey Lodge is rockin' "Authors A'Plenty," they'll also be hosting the victory party of Al Taubenberger, the Republican candidate for mayor. What makes this is a coincidence is that he's the cover boy in the latest City Paper. Hope he liked the piece (which is the cover debut of new CP staff writer Tom Namako). If not, well, that's why God invented beer.