I always wondered what became of thriller writer Bob Reiss…he just seemed to have disappeared. The mystery was solved in a tiny item in this week’s issue of Publishers Weekly, which revealed that Reiss has been writing as Ethan Black and sold his newest novel to Paramount for big bucks. The item got me wondering about some other disappearances… like James Colbert, Brad Soloman, Zachary Klein, Jerome Doolittle, A.W. Mykel, Robert Sims Reid, Tom Eidson, Doug Swanson, Robert Ward, Gaylord Dold, Jim Cirni, Edwin Shrake, and Michael Stone.
I know some tidbits. Colbert went into comics for awhile. There are rumors that Jerome Doolittle is K.C. Constantine. One of Eidson’s novels became the western THE MISSING, but how long has it been since his last novel? And I see Robert Ward showing up at signings and events (like Terrell Lee Lankford’s publication party), but his last novel was quite a few years ago.
Anybody know the stories on the others?
Martha Lawrence is another one that seems to have vanished from the planet.
Robert Ward is doing well and still writing. He recently sold his latest novel to St. Martin’s. (Hopefully they’ll put it out under his name, although I wouldn’t be surprised if they issue it under a pseudonym.) He had a short story in The Cocaine Chronicles and will have one next year in Baltimore Noir.
You can see Bob’s website here.
(It’s infrequently updated, but his webmaster is lazy.)
I think the Doolittle as Constantine rumor was pretty well debunked — Constantine’s real name is Carl Kosak. He used to be a minor league ballplayer back in the day.
I’m pretty sure Gaylord Dold had a book out in the last couple of years, as well.
Doug Swanson and I get together every few months for lunch. He is still writing for the DALLAS MORNING NEWS and has a couple of ideas for novels kicking around. I do hope he writes more fiction. I loved the Jack Flippo books.
How did Edwin (Bud) Shrake get on the list? He’s been around just about forever, starting out as a sportwriter back in the late 1950s and turning out a ton of nonfiction over the years, including HARVEY PENICK’S LITTLE RED BOOK, which probably sold 80 bazillion copies. Not to mention Willie Nelson’s “autobiography.” His most recent book, I think, is BILLY BOY, which isn’t bad but isn’t a mystery, thriller, or crime novel.
I loved Shrake’s BORDERLANDS…and his earlier novels…and have been waiting for something new for a while now. For some reason, I haven’t got to BILLY BOY yet, even though I bought it when it came out a few years ago. Any word on what he’s working on now?
Hi Lee- As my friend and webmaster Dave Montgomery mentioned,I am alive and well and and my nrew novel is coming pout from St. Martin’s. It’s a noir thriller, and once we get a title I’ll let you know what it is. I will say that I think it’s my best book since “Red Baker” and was worth four years of re-writes and trouble.
Your Friend,
Robert Ward
That’s great news!
I’d like to add an author maybe someone could clue me in about – Maureen Tan. She wrote two books that I loved “AKA Jane” and “Run Jane Run”. What happened to her?
LEE: As promised earlier my new novel is titled “Four Kinds of Rain”. It’ll be out from St. Martin’s next fall. Hope you dig it.
Your Friend,
Robert Ward
I saw your question about “lost” author Maureen Tan on A Writer’s Life.
Well, I *am* Maureen Tan and I’m not really lost. Just misplaced. 🙂
To answer your question, after losing Mysterious Press as my publisher (I
was one of many mid-list authors who suffered a similar fate), I was
approached by Silhouette Books to write several books similar to AKA Jane
and Run Jane Run for their new Bombshell action-suspense line. A Perfect
Cover was one of the launch titles released in September 2004. In it, a
Vietnamese-American woman goes undercover in New Orleans to solve a serial
murder and stumbles across a human-smuggling ring. Too Close to Home
(scheduled for release in November 2006) is set in southern Illinois and
features a young rookie cop whose family operates an “underground
railroad” for abused women. I’m currently working on my third book for
them.
I’m so glad you liked the Jane books enough to ask about me.
Maureen
So…any word on AW Mykel?
I found AW Mykel in 2014…and republished his novel THE WINDCHIME LEGACY in 2015 through my publishing company, Brash Books. Here’s the story on his disappearance:
http://www.brash-books.com/the-mystery-of-a-w-mykel-and-the-windchime-legacy/
I keep searching the web for anything about A. W. Mykel. My greatest wish is that this person used a pseudonym and I will be able to find more book by this author!!!
A.W. Mykel was a psuedonym for Michael Andaloro(spelling).
However I can’t find out anything about either names. Anyone out there help?
Here’s more:
http://www.brash-books.com/the-mystery-of-a-w-mykel-and-the-windchime-legacy/
Jim Cirni was my father’s pseudonym. James Cirnigliaro. Cirni wrote 3 mafia crime thrillers. He passed in July of 2004.
So sorry to hear about your father’s passing. I loved his books!
Lee
I reconnected with Michael Stone, who is still working as a PI, in 2014 as well…and republished his four Streeter novels through Brash Books.
Need squire western books. Probably shoot Em up tonies( I learned to read etc books dad bought home from va hospital 4 th grade Wichita home measles. No tv, no home work sent home 2 weeks with measles 1952. So- shoot em tonies. ) friend has son prison. He likes westerns. I d like to send some westerns written by Kansans!