Monday, November 19, 2007

Carrying On

Max Allan Collins has been a busy man--even busier than usual, it seems. He reports on his Web site that he’s written three novels, a non-fiction book, and a screenplay this year. You can read about all of those, but two projects catch our attention right off the bat.

He explains that he’s “completed a long-contemplated novel based on my late father Max A. Collins Sr.’s experiences in the Navy during World War II, when he was one of a handful of very young white officers in charge of a large body of black sailors loading ammo in the Pacific. The book is essentially my Caine Mutiny (albeit with a murder mystery at its heart) and I believe it came off very well. My title is USS Powderkeg, and I hope it will remain such, but you never know--my editor at Morrow may have another idea.” Collins adds that this novel “may be published as the second ‘Patrick Culhane’-bylined novel [after this year’s Black Hats], but that’s up in the air--the jury’s still out on whether the Culhane byline was a good idea or not. [Powderkeg] should be out in the fall of 2008.”

Collins elaborates, too, on a story we’ve covered here in bits and pieces: his work on the left-behind novels of Mickey Spillane:
I have signed with Otto Penzler’s Harcourt line to complete three Mike Hammer novels begun by Mickey Spillane. I am working from substantial partial manuscripts--at least half of each book already written by Mickey. That I will be collaborating with Mickey on at least three Hammer novels is thrilling to me beyond words. This is highly unusual, because I am working not only with his wife Jane’s blessing, but Mickey’s own: he asked me to complete these novels. First up: The Goliath Bone, the final Hammer chronologically. (Other novels will be given time frames according to when they were begun by Mickey.)

Mickey’s file of unpublished material was extensive--another trio of Hammers can follow, if these three do well. This is a very big deal--there are only 13 Mike Hammer novels, and adding another three (or six) to the canon is unheard of for so famous a mystery series.
READ MORE:Kiss Me, Stupid: What Is Mickey Spillane’s Appeal?” by Nathan Cain (Independent Crime).

1 comment:

Max Allan Collins said...

The novel I was calling USS POWDERKEG will be published as RED SKY IN MORNING, and will indeed be the second novel of mine bylined Patrick Culhane.

There are many wonderful recent articles on Mickey Spillane and it's unfortunate you are linking to this lunk-headed write-up, so typical of how Mickey used to be reviewed (i.e., the guy admits to only reading about a chapter!). I am particularly amused by the apples and oranges comparison of Mickey's work to Richard Stark's, since Mickey and "Stark" (Westlake) were my two mentors.

AMERICAN GANGSTER is discussed below. I wrote the movie tie-in novel, which has done very well.