James R. Tuck, put together a collection of crime and noir stories centered around country music songs and invited me to send him a story which he accepted. Down & Out Books published the book in August. He just told me that the story, SNAKE FARM, has been nominated for a prestigious Derringer Award.
I'm stoked! It's my second Derringer nomination and maybe this time I'll cop one of these things.
You might want to glom onto this. Just click on the cover above. Lots and lots of terrific stories here.
Just heard from my
German publisher, Frank Nowatzki of Pulp Master, that a leading Austrian TV
station reviewed The Rapist on the
program, Kulturzeit (Culture Time). The review comes on at the 20:45 spot on
the program. Here’s a written version of the review. There is also a Google button you can hit to translate it from the German:
Just received another wonderful review of The Rapist from German reviewer, Katja Bohnet, in CulturMag. It's in German, but there's a translate button that quickly translates it into English.
One
of the events I’ll be participating in this coming year is Lee Lofland’s annual
one-of-a-kind Writers’ Police Academy in Green Bay, Wisconsin from August 10-13,
2017. There’s nothing like it in the world. It gives crime and suspense writers
an up close and personal look at how law enforcement works. Lee has asked me to
appear and talk about my experiences on the other side of the law—as a former
burglar, armed robber, prison experience and other activities I participated in
during my outlaw days.
This
is an amazing opportunity for writers who use crime in their writing to “get it
right.” This is an unprecedented gathering of both the top
crime/thriller/mystery writers in the world along with the top law enforcement
authorities.
At
least two of my own students have attended this remarkable event—Maegan Beaumont
and Mary Edelson—and both rave about the experience.
The 2017 Writers’ Police
Academy is a One-of-a-Kind Thrilling Experience for Writers!
When:
August
10-13, 2017
Where:
Northeast
Wisconsin Technical College
International Public Safety Training Academy
Green Bay, Wisconsin
As always, there’s far too
much to see and do in a single weekend, so get plenty of rest, wear comfortable
shoes, and prepare to be blown away byTHEevent of a lifetime!
Hotel:
Radisson
Hotel and Conference Center Green Bay
2040 Airport Drive, Green Bay, WI 54313
920-494-7300
*The hotel is conveniently
situated near Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers, and features
several restaurants, AND, the famous Oneida Casino! Airport:
Austin
Straubel International Airport
Airport Code – GRB
Shuttles
are provided between the airport and the Radisson, our event hotel.
ONEIDA CASINO– Plan to stay an extra day or so to take
advantage of this unique opportunity – slots, table games, poker, roulette,
craps, great food, and live entertainment!
Even more exciting details for the even bigger and better 2017 Writers’ Police
Academy are on the way.
That’s
right, we’re pushing our own limits to take 2017 to a level of unbelievable
excitement and heart-pounding action. You will not believe your eyes.
This isTHEexperience of a lifetime!
Registration
details TBA.
*This is a one of a kind
event, featuring real police, fire, and EMS training at a renowned
international law enforcement training academy. Top instructors and experts! It
isTHEevent of the year. An experience of a
lifetime!
*Space
for the 2017 Writers’ Police Academy is limited. So please register early.
Available slots will go quickly.
Registration– TBA
Registration
includes transportation from the Radisson to the academy and back (to the
academy in the morning and back to the hotel at the end of the day), and to all
off-site activities and sessions, lunches at the academy, all workshops, Friday
night reception and all sessions at the hotel.
The
Saturday night banquet, of course, is extra, and optional. But you will not
want to miss the festivities and the fantastic food, as well as the company of
your fellow WPA recruits and faculty.
*Sisters in Crimeoffers a whopping $150 discount for SinC
members attending for the 1st time. Join SinC now to receive your discount!
Registration
opens – TBA.
Breakfasts
and WiFi are free for WPA registrants staying at the Green Bay Radisson. Hotel
provides shuttle service to and from the airport.
Our
negotiated hotel room rate is TBA.
We
will post the hotel reservation link sometime during the second week of
February. When calling the hotel to make your reservation please be sure to ask
for the Writers’ Police Academy special rate!
Please,
please, please reserve your rooms ASAP. Once our reserved block is filled we
will not be able to extend it. This is a very popular hotel that’s used by the
Green Bay Packers as well as vacationers who like to take advantage of the
fabulous casino.
*Again,
space for the 2017 Writers’ Police Academy is limited. So please register
early. These slots will go quickly.
Registration
opens SOON!
If
you’re not yet a subscriber, consider going to Lee’s blog, The Graveyard Shift,
the premier site for writers to learn substantive and accurate information
about police procedures and all things relating to law enforcement. If you want
your book to be accurate, this is the best resource out there.
Hi! Welcome to my blog. To introduce myself, I'm a full-time writer with eighteen books in print and I teach creative writing on the university level, through private coaching of writers, and on various on-line venues.
I write in a variety of forms: novels, short stories, nonfiction books, screenplays and the subjects I choose to write about are just as varied, including sports, literary fiction, thrillers, black comedy and the craft of writing.
I'm married to Mary and we have a son, Mike. I have two daughters--Britney and Sienna--from a previous marriage. I immigrated to Ft. Wayne, IN from the U.S.A. and it's where I still live today. Doing my best to learn the language and adjust to the culture.
I have a checkered past, having spent two-plus years incarcerated at Pendleton Reformatory back in the sixties for burglary. I'm all cleaned up now and you can invite me into your home and don't have to count the silverware when I leave.
Graduated from Indiana University with a B.A. in General Studies (Honors of Distinction); obtained an MFA in Writing from Vermont College.
Email: butchedgerton@comcast.net
Twitter: HookedOnNoir
Les Edgerton has swiftly become my favorite crime writer. Original voice, uncompromising attitude and a pure hardboiled style leap him to the front ranks of my reading list. He will become legendary.
Joe R. Lansdale, Author, Paradise Sky, Hap and Leonard, and many others
Ken Bruen
I recently sent copies of THE RAPIST and THE BITCH to one of the best writers in the world, Ken Bruen. I just wanted to get on his radar and nothing else. He misunderstood and thought I was asking for a blurb... so he gave me one. Although unsolicited, it meant the world to me. Here's Mr. Bruen's email:
Dear Les
Thank you so much for the books and the superb novels.
You sure have lived the life and have a nice light touch in describing it.
I loved the novels.
Here is my blurb
Les Edgerton is the reincarnation of our beloved Eddie Bunker.
The writing is as tough and tender as Bunker with that wonderful sense of dry humour that underpins even the most violent of scenes.
This guy can write and like a focused Bukowski.
Make no mistake, here is the real deal.
The books cry out for movie deals.
Warmest wishes
Ken Bruen
On HOOKED
I read every writing book that comes down the pike, and I like a lot of them. But I LOVE Hooked / write fiction that grabs readers at page one and never lets them go! As punchy as Les Edgerton’s hard-hitting fiction, Hooked takes no prisoners. Clear, simple, direct, it offers something fresh in every chapter. I recommend it to all my students and even my colleagues. Your writing library won’t be complete without it.
Jerry Jenkins
Best-selling author of the Left Behind series and many others
Total Pageviews
HARD TIMES
Pre-order
ADRENALINE JUNKIE
JUST LIKE THAT
LAGNIAPPE
The Death of Tarpons
Paperback edition from Betimes Books
THE DEATH OF TARPONS
Ebook version from Endeavour Press (UK)
BOMB
Newest novel!
THE GENUINE, IMITATION, PLASTIC KIDNAPPING
It's here!
THE BITCH
Spinetingler Magazine nominee for Best Novel, Legends category
THE RAPIST
Available now from New Pulp Press and Amazon
THE RAPIST- German Edition
Pulpmaster
MIRROR, MIRROR
Young adult thriller
FINDING YOUR VOICE
Craft book on the writer's voice
HOOKED: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One and Never Lets Them Go
Craft book on story beginnings
MONDAY'S MEAL Ebook
Monday's Meal
NY Times compared me to Raymond Carver in the review.
Perfect Game USA and the Future of Baseball
History of the world's biggest youth baseball scouting service
The Death of Tarpons
My first novel--was awarded a Special Citation from the Violet Crown Book Awards
SURVIVING LITTLE LEAGUE
Co-written by Mike and Les Edgerton. Spoof on "daddyball."
BEST THRILLER OF 2011 AWARD
Preditors and Editors Award
Nominee for Best Thriller of 2014
THE RAPIST
Sent to me by my colleague Holly Love. This is my "signature store" in Boulder, Colorado. BLUE SKIES, EVERYONE!
Also... Senility isn't when you forget to zip up your pants... it's when you forget to zip them down...
Advice for writers: There is no such thing as a synonym. There's just the perfect word. The perfect word doesn't come in groups.
If life hands you lemons... make lemonade. Then... try to find someone to whom life has handed vodka...
Never argue with an idiot. They'll drag you down to their level... and then beat you with experience.
Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.
The value of the study of philosophy: Studying the deep thoughts of others is like studying their stools to figure out how to cook what they ate. It may be possible, but it's not worth what you have to wade through.
Two rules to live by to have a good life I gave to my son Mike: 1. Never date a girl named after a day of the week. 2. Never play poker with anyone named after a city.
The writer's only responsibility is to his art. He will be completely ruthless if he is a good one. He has a dream. It anguishes him so much that he can't get rid of it. He has no peace until then. Everything goes by the board: honor, pride, decency, security, happiness, all, to get the book written. If a writer has to rob his mother, he will not hesitate; the "Ode on a Grecian Urn" is worth any number of old ladies. (Wm. Faulkner)
Give a thief enough rope... and he'll use it to tie you up, beat you up, and steal all your stuff...
My life in one sentence: I keep getting bottle caps that say, "Try again." And so I do...
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