Author: Tommy Hancock

THIS WEEK ON MOONSTONE CLIFFHANGER FICTION-

Moonstone Books and ALL PULP are proud to present the conclusion of this thrilling tale from MOONSTONE CLIFFHANGER FICTION featuring DEATH ANGEL, a character created by Mike Bullock!!!!

Let ALL PULP know what you think of MOONSTONE CLIFFHANGER FICTION on the Comments Page!!!

HUNG JURY
BY MIKE BULLOCK
Character created by Mike Bullock
from Moonstone Books

“You have one chance, Lester…”

“I ain’t telling you sh-AIIII!”

Lester’s bravado was shattered by the impact of the clawed fist as it hammered down onto the back his right hand, where his thumb and index finger came together. The snapping of several bones was audibly evident and left his fingers hanging in an unnatural position. Lester’s eyes rolled back into his head, as he began to pass out from the pain.

Suddenly, a strange hum filled the air and Lester’s vision began swirling in a corkscrew fashion.

“Stay with me, Lester, we’re not through yet…”

The hypnotic sensation kept him lucid long enough for the overwhelming pain to bring the contents of his stomach up and into his lap.

The monster stood before him, as the hum emanated from the palm of its left hand and strange lights flashed from the right. Lester weaved back and forth in a trance before sagging forward, and falling unconscious.

***

When Lester awoke again, he was comforted by the familiar darkness that met his eyes.

“M-must have been a nightmare… yes, a nightmare…” he muttered aloud to himself.

Within seconds, a sharp series of pains shot up his right arm. He turned his head to look and felt something stiffen on the left side of his face, as if it were covered in a dried liquid. He could barely make out his right hand, which hung limply from his wrist over the end of the chair’s arm. His attempt to move the hand sent pain screaming through his mind in blinding white flashes.

“Ohhhh, pl-please, make it stop…” Lester whimpered, as he realized his nightmare was real.

“Tell me where she is, Lester, and I’ll set you free.”

“*#&$ you!” Lester blurted in anger. “She’s mine!”

Once again the now familiar hum filled the room and crimson light shone up from the floor. Lester’s eyes rose with the light as he took in the sight of a demon, which towered above him, bent over double in order to fit below the room’s raftered ceiling. Its claws gleamed in the bloody light, reaching outward for Lester’s very soul.

As the creature’s jaws opened Lester felt himself being drawn in again, as he peered into the depths of hell itself, where damned souls cried out for mercy. Their screams sent shivers of terror undulating over Lester’s flesh until he could take no more. As the creature’s jaws opened Lester felt himself being drawn in again, as he peered into the depths of hell itself, where damned souls cried out for mercy. Their screams sent shivers of terror undulating over Lester’s flesh until he could take no more.

“The old stock room! She’s under the store, in the old stock room. It was supposed to be a bomb shelter, but after the war, I converted it. She’s there… please… p-please don’t hurt me anymore…”

Lester’s voice trailed off into a stream of sobs as the abomination loomed closer.

“Thank you, Lester Ginn,” it responded in a deep, unearthly voice.

“What are you? A demon?”

“No Lester Ginn, I am His Death Angel,” the creature replied calmly. “And now, you must reap what you have sown…”

“No! I told you where she was! No! Get back! GET BACK!!”

Lester’s cries rang out through the room, heard only by the bodies that hung from the ceiling. They mocked him with their uncaring stares as the creature’s obsidian wings spread out, blocking the last moments of Lester Ginn’s life from their view.

“NOOOOOOOOOOO-kra-aKK-AIIIIIII!!!!”

***

“…she was there, Chief,” sergeant Raymond reported to his commander. “Just like the note said she’d be. Poor thing is scared out of her mind, but she’s at the County General, with her parents. Looks like he like he did a number on her.”

“What is all this? Any idea?” Raymond asked.

“I’ve seen some strange things in my day, Raymond, but this takes the cake. Twelve mannequins, strung up from the rafters, execution style. One holding a note, like a jury’s verdict card. One perv, tied to a chair and broken into so many pieces his skeleton looks like a flippin’ jigsaw puzzle.”

“What about the other kid, at his house?”

“We got her too,” Raymond replied. “And we uncovered several sets of remains, including a fresh set from an adult, all dolled up like they was goin’ to a fancy party or somethin’.”

“What else?” the Chief asked, as he started around the crime scene incredulously.

“Looks like he’d been at this for about a year. From the pictures and notes we found, I’d say these two were really lucky whoever left us that note came forward. Makes me sick just thinking about what he did to the other ones before he killed ‘em.” “Looks like he’d been at this for about a year. From the pictures and notes we found, I’d say these two were really lucky whoever left us that note came forward. Makes me sick just thinking about what he did to the other ones before he killed ‘em.”

“What’s wrong, Chief? You look confused.”

“I’m glad someone nailed this scumbag, and I ain’t saying he didn’t have it coming, but whoever did this to him sure has a mean streak and knows what they’re doing. The medical examiner said each one of the bone breaks was right below a nerve cluster… targeted to inflict the most pain. Based on the mess all over his pants, this guy went through the wringer.”

“Maybe he crossed the wrong guy, messed with the wrong kid. I know if he did that to my lil girl, I’d be tempted…”

“That’s what gets me though. There’s no signs of a scuffle here. Not really any evidence left behind at all besides this puppet jury, which, frankly creeps the hell outta me. Mark my words, this wasn’t a crime of passion, Raymond. This was decisive, deliberate… surgical. There was no emotion here. This wasn’t someone gettin’ revenge… it was this jerkoff’s judgment day.”

“Well, just be glad he’s off the streets, right? Now c’mon, let’s get outta here so’s forensics can do their job.”　

AP: Barry, you’re heading up a writer’s classroom about balancing ‘real life’ with your writing? Can you explain exactly what you mean by that?

BR: Sure – I hear from potential writers all the time that they don’t have the time to focus on writing and they don’t see how I manage to be so prolific while having a fulltime job, a marriage and a four-year old. So I’ll basically be outlining various methods of blocking out your schedule and making the time for writing – and how to take the strains of daily life and use it to actually enrich the process!

AP: Is it easier to “balance real life” with writing pulp than with other genres?

BR: Hmm. Well, pulp by its nature isn’t as in-depth as some other genres so you might be able to get by with less research at times – but I don’t think so. Most of want to go the extra mile and get the details right. Pulp is as legitimate an art form as any other so I don’t think it’s “easier” by any means.

AP: What sort of skills and techniques will you be using and teaching those in your class about balancing?

BR: Time management, positive attitudes, etc. are all aspects I’ll focus on. I’ll leave the specifics for the class, though!

AP: You’re also going to do a panel on creating new pulp heroes at Pulp Ark. First, why do we need to create NEW pulp heroes?

BR: There’s always a need for new heroes. There are aspects of our culture that didn’t exist in the golden age of pulps, or at the very least weren’t talked about commonly. New heroes can help illuminate those areas and also help grow the field. I think we’re more likely to have a “breakout” in the mainstream with a new hero than with the umpteenth revival of Doc Savage, too.

AP: What is different about pulp heroes created today compared to those from the golden age of Pulp?

BR: Well, we’re able to incorporate a lot of things that wouldn’t have been allowed back then: shades of gray in the heroes’ morality, gender identity, and so forth. There were few heroes who weren’t straight white males back in the day and we all know that heroism isn’t dependent on any of those characteristics.

AP: Is there a technique in creating a new pulp hero? What are the ingredients you need?

BR: There’s no step-by-step way of doing it. Some characters jump full-blown into your consciousness. Others are “built.” The number one ingredient is that it must excite YOU as the author. If you don’t believe in this character and want to see them live, why would anybody else?

From Tommy Hancock, Pro Se Productions/Pulp Ark-

PULP ARK, the creator’s conference/convention hosted by Pro Se Productions, will indeed occur May 13-15, 2011 in Batesville, Arkansas.  There are many events associated with this first ever event of its type in the state, but there’s one in particular that stands out.  That is THE CASE OF THE BLOODY PULP.

Envisioned as a play, BLOODY PULP is like no stage production you’ve ever seen.  Broken into six scenes, approximately fifteen minutes apart (Although this will be flexible), this drama will take place in the midst of Pulp Ark.  And I don’t mean in one location on a predesignated stage with props and sets.  I mean while fans are mingling with vendors and guests, while books are being signed and discussions being had, this play will explode to life in the midst of all the action.   Termed ‘guerilla theater’, this style of production assumes that the action of the play is occurring in real time in real life and will be done as such.   So, don’t be surprised to see plucky newsboys, brainwashed Nazis, strong willed females in fedoras, and maniacal madpeople walking up or busting in while you’re reading pulp or drinking coffee.  It’ll happen.

THE CASE OF THE BLOODY PULP centers around a mysterious story written by a Pulp author almost eighty years ago.  Only one known printing of the story, entitled the same as the play, is known to exist and the author vanished within one month of the story being printed.  Legend around this story says it contains instructions, directions, and incantations to untold power and since then the forces of good and evil have been in a race to procure it.   This almost mythical work is scheduled to appear at Pulp Ark on display, according to the script, and from there pulpy goodness will ensue.

Originally, I planned to co write the actual story the play centered around with fellow author Bobby Nash, but I’ve changed that plan in order to add to the mystery.  As much as this show will be about action and fisticuffs, it’s also about exactly what might be in this mysterious story…and the audience may have much to do with determining that as the writer.

THE CASE OF THE BLOODY PULP is fully cast and rehearsals begin late January.  For anyone with news connections or their own sites or blogs, the cast of the show is available for interview upon request.  Simply contact me at proseproductions@earthlink.net for more details!  Bring your thirst for adventure and your need to action with you when you come to Pulp Ark in May and be ready to be a part of THE CASE OF THE BLOODY PULP!

AP: Bobby, you’re a guest at Pulp Ark. Tell us about your work in pulp that brings you to this convention.

BN: I am a writer of novels, comic books, novellas, short stories, graphic novels, and even dabble in the occasional screenplay. Much of my work has a pulp feel to it, such as my work on Lance Star: Sky Ranger Vol. 1 and 2 plus the upcoming vol. 3, Startling Stories Magazine, Full Throttle Space Tales Vol. 2: Space Sirens, Sentinels: Alternate Visions, Domino Lady: Sex As A Weapon, A Fistful of Legends, Ravenwood: Stepson of Mystery, Secret Agent X, and more.

I will be at Pulp Ark to meet fellow pulp creators and fans, introduce new readers to my work, and maybe even sell a book or twenty.

AP: Now you’re known for being a convention presence around the country. Why do you work them so hard and why are conventions important to pulp specifically, but to any form of literature in general as well?

BN: I have a great time at the conventions. Not only do you meet interesting people with the same interests as I do, but it also allows me the opportunity to introduce my work to potential readers that may not be familiar with it.

Plus, on a purely creative note, I find the conventions to be a nice creative boost. I always come home from them exhausted, but eager to get back to work.

AP: PULP ARK is billed as a convention/conference. This is a little different than most conventions. Do you think this is a good thing? Is there a need for such events?

BN: Diversity is a great thing in conventions. If all of the conventions were exactly alike I’d only need to do one of them a year. Having cons that are unique to themselves is great for me and the fans.

AP:You meet someone on the streets of Batesville, Arkansas who thinks pulp is what you find at the bottom of an orange juice bottle. How do you sell them on going inside and checking out PULP ARK?

BN: I would start by asking them what they like to read, what type of movies do they like, or what TV shows do they watch. Whatever the answer, I can probably recommend a pulp book for them. Pulp is more than Doc Savage and the Shadow. Pulp is action, adventure, westerns, sci fi, drama, romance, danger, intrigue. You name it and there’s probably a pulp connection.

RF: Basically we hope to discuss what has been a natural progression for these new writers now doing pulps.  For over fifty years all fans had were reprints of the classic stories to read over and over and over again. Thanks to this new renaissance we are experiencing, publishers are bringing forth “new” pulp stories of classic heroes.  Good, bad or ugly?  That’s what we’re going to hash out.

AP:  You’ve got several people helping you out on that panel.  What do your guests bring to the table for this topic?

RF: Considering the topic, I couldn’t very well recruit non-writers.  No, the fun of hosting this panel was inviting on board a handful of some of the best professional published new writers working in the field today.   Hearing their personal motivations for following in the footsteps of the great pulp writers of the 30s should be highly informative and entertaining.

 AP: Do we need new pulp adventures?  What makes new pulp works viable in the modern era? Is there a market or is this more of a hobby?

RF: Well, tricky question that.  You see pulps have really never left the book market.  They just evolved with the times and became lots more sophisticated in their execution.  Writers like Clive Cussler, Dean Koontz, James Rollins, Lee Child and Douglas Preston are all best-selling modern day pulp writers.  So we already have new pulps being produced every single day.  As for those of us writing tales of the classic pulp heroes, that’s a whole other arm of the pulp world.  And yes, I believe there’s a need for these as well, if only to keep alive the marvelous legacy established by those early publishers.  When you can read new Secret Agent X stories, you walk away with a much better grasp of the literary heritage that produced a James Bond.   Read the Suicide Squad and you understand where TV shows like Mission Impossible and the current Leverage came from.  This may have well started as a hobby, but today it is a viable branch of the pulp world.

AP:  What about the general public?  What might they learn from your panel?

RF: I mentioned that in my last response.  Folks with no understanding of pulps or its history will be surprised at its relevancy to today’s modern thrillers and action adventure movies and TV shows.  The panel will clearly delineate that history of what the pulps gave us and still continue to provide.