2016 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Awards

Can you say...Xanax?

I'm not on medication, but I do cop to occasional bouts of 'prose disorder,' when a novel-in-progress isn't going well. But the word 'Xanax' came to mind on Monday night when I received an email from Clay Stafford, founder of Killer Nashville International Writers Conference. In short, my thriller PAST IS PRESENT, featuring deejay "Jurassic Jim" Fleetwood, is a Silver Falchion Award Finalist in three categories: Best Thriller, Best Comedy, and Judges’ Choice Award for special merit in a particular subgenre, topic, or category. 

click image for link to Killer Nashville page

There should have been a fourth category: Best Heart-Attack Inducer. That email punched me out, brought me to the brink of a urinary mishap, and shaved six months off the end of my life. But like they say, nothing is free.

The winners will be announced on Saturday night, August 20, 2016.

At any rate, I really, greatly appreciate the nod. I'm going to submit the names of the Killer Nashville staff to the Vatican for canonization consideration. Imagine a Killer Nashville saint statue in a church--the saint wears a trench coat and points a Glock at the parishioners, and practically says, "Shape up, sinners." 

Thanks Killer Nashville!

This is my thriller. If you click the cover, it'll whisk you to the Amazon page, which has a book description. You can also see sample pages. 

For the 40 billion people who've never heard of "Jurassic Jim" Fleetwood, here's a peek at the most out-of-it man in America.

Jim, a freewheeling romantic, is forever fighting to preserve timeless music, antique watches, and the 1957 two-tone Chevy (among other classic gems) that are fast fading from our world.

"Obsolete," he insists, "rhymes with sweet." 

Oh, and there’s this. This is key to his world vision. A large heart is something he always puts a high premium on because it’s such a rare thing of beauty. He knows from experience that, in this world, you are usually served up cold heart, no heart, heartburn, halfhearted, heartsick, heartache, heartbreak, hard heart, heart of stone, heartless or, absolute rock-bottom worst of all, heart-lite—which is low-cal, no-fat heart. To Jim, heart-lite is porn: heart without emotion.