Immaterial

Breaking news: I signed a contract with Musa Publishing last week for my future noir novella, Immaterial Evidence. It's a follow-up to "Girl of Great Price," purchased by Criminal Element about a year ago (and should be published in the next six months). Wouldn't it be funny if the sequel ends up being released before the original story?

Immaterial Evidence stands well enough on its own, though, and when "Girl" is eventually published, it'll work nicely as a prequel. Both tales feature my hard-boiled detective Charlie Madison, a character I've been writing about ever since I was a kid pounding away on that Sears manual typewriter. Originally, his world was set in post WWII America, and his biggest problems were thugs with machine guns.

The current Charlie Madison incarnation lives in a post WWIII United World in the middle of a cold war with the Eastern Conglomerate (China and her allies). Japan has been all but decimated, and Little Tokyo on the west coast of North America is overflowing with desperate refugees. The Russian mob controls most of NewCity, but there are a few honest cops left in town. And then there's Charlie: War veteran. Fighter. Lover. Exiled from the city with a death warrant courtesy of the mob and doing his best to stay out of trouble in Little Tokyo.

But here's Charlie's problem: trouble always seems to find him. And this time around, it involves an invisible bank robber with a far-reaching agenda that could end the cold war and bring the world back to the brink of global catastrophe. Will Charlie be able to save the day?

I'll be sure to let you know as soon as Immaterial Evidence is available. At over 24K, it'll be the longest story I've had published to date. A couple rounds of edits are in my near future, and I'll be working with a graphic artist on the cover: something dark, gritty, and noirish would look pretty cool.

Stay tuned.
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