Hard Case Crime, Part 4
#151
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Hard Case Crime, Part 4
Email that I'm sure a lot of you got
Originally Posted by Charles Ardai
Friends --
Apologies for going so long between updates. I was waiting until I could announce some good news -- and today's the day.
As you know, our relationship with Dorchester Publishing (Hard Case Crime's publisher since the line's launch in 2004) came to an end a few months ago when Dorchester announced it was getting out of the business of publishing mass market paperback books. This left Hard Case Crime without a home. I've spent the past six weeks in meetings with other publishers interested in giving us a new home, and I was gratified to receive offers from five of the firms we met with. They were all firms I respect greatly and would have enjoyed working with; but in the end, one stood out as clearly the best match, and that was Titan Publishing.
Based in London, Titan is a publisher both of fiction and of gorgeous art books focusing on pop culture such as movie poster art, pin-ups, newspaper comic strips, and Golden Age comic books; they have worked with filmmakers such as J.J. Abrams, Joss Whedon, and George Lucas; they've been around for 30 years and have more than 200 employees; and in addition to publishing books, they also have a magazine division, own retail stores, and produce merchandise such as t-shirts, sculptures, and accessories. It's fun to imagine what sorts of cool Hard Case Crime products we might create with them!
But first things first: books.
Titan plans to acquire all existing stock of our old books from Dorchester and to resume shipping those books to stores immediately. New books will start coming next fall, with two titles planned for each of September and October 2011. (Why so long a wait? It has to do with the sales cycle in the book publishing business. Titan's sales force is already selling July/August 2011 titles to stores now; September/October 2011 is the soonest we can get new books out if we want to have enough time for booksellers to consider and order them, and then for Titan to print and ship them, etc.)
Our 2011 titles will include two you've hear about before -- QUARRY'S EX by Max Allan Collins and CHOKE HOLD by Christa Faust, both of which were in the works at Dorchester but never got published -- and two you haven't heard about, by major writers in the field. (Can't say who yet...but they've both been named "Grand Masters" by the Mystery Writers of America, the organization's highest honor.) You'll be hearing more about all four books over the coming months, I promise. In the meantime, if you'd like a little taste of QUARRY'S EX and CHOKE HOLD, you can see their cover art and read a sample chapter from each at our Web site, www.HardCaseCrime.com.
We will also still be going ahead with our special hardcover 'double' volume with Subterranean Press, featuring two long-lost Lawrence Block novels bound back-to-back. More info on that one as soon as we have a firm publication date and cover art to to show you!
In other news, HAVEN, the SyFy television series inspired by one of our books (THE COLORADO KID by Stephen King), just completed its first season and has been renewed for a second. If you haven't seen the show or only caught the first few episodes, I'd encourage you to give it a(nother) try -- it got really good by the end of the season (and no, I'm not just saying that because I wrote the penultimate episode and came up with the story for one before that...). It's a little different from what you see in our books, since every story contains elements of the supernatural -- but it's still a show about a FBI agent, a cop, and a criminal, and features some awfully hard cases...
Also: Universal Pictures acquired the rights to two other Hard Case Crime books -- LITTLE GIRL LOST and SONGS OF INNOCENCE by my close personal friend Richard Aleas -- and has attached a director (Jonathan Levine, "The Wackness") and screenwriter (Michael Bacall, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World") to the project. No guarantee that a movie will actually get made, of course -- but it's a very exciting first step.
What else is new? Well, Hard Case Crime's sister line, THE ADVENTURES OF GABRIEL HUNT, is staying with Dorchester for the time being, and they have plans to reissue all of those books -- including the sixth, which never came out in mass market paperback -- in the larger "trade paperback" format (as well as e-book format). If everything goes as planned, those should start coming next year. If you poke around online, you can also find an audiobook edition of one book in the series, HUNT THROUGH THE CRADLE OF FEAR, produced by AudioRealms. If there's ever been a genre suited to audiobook adaptation, it's tales of adventure! (If you don't feel like hunting for it -- pun intended -- here's a link: http://www.audiorealms.com/cgi-bin/c...NTCRADLE-MP3CD.)
That's all the news this time around. There will be more, probably fairly soon -- you'll certainly be hearing from me well before this time next year, when the new books come out. But in the meantime, I want to thank you for all your patience and your support. It's great to know you're out there, as passionate about our books as ever. I promise: We'll give you some good scratching for your itch just as soon as we can.
Best,
Charles
-----------
Charles Ardai
Editor
Apologies for going so long between updates. I was waiting until I could announce some good news -- and today's the day.
As you know, our relationship with Dorchester Publishing (Hard Case Crime's publisher since the line's launch in 2004) came to an end a few months ago when Dorchester announced it was getting out of the business of publishing mass market paperback books. This left Hard Case Crime without a home. I've spent the past six weeks in meetings with other publishers interested in giving us a new home, and I was gratified to receive offers from five of the firms we met with. They were all firms I respect greatly and would have enjoyed working with; but in the end, one stood out as clearly the best match, and that was Titan Publishing.
Based in London, Titan is a publisher both of fiction and of gorgeous art books focusing on pop culture such as movie poster art, pin-ups, newspaper comic strips, and Golden Age comic books; they have worked with filmmakers such as J.J. Abrams, Joss Whedon, and George Lucas; they've been around for 30 years and have more than 200 employees; and in addition to publishing books, they also have a magazine division, own retail stores, and produce merchandise such as t-shirts, sculptures, and accessories. It's fun to imagine what sorts of cool Hard Case Crime products we might create with them!
But first things first: books.
Titan plans to acquire all existing stock of our old books from Dorchester and to resume shipping those books to stores immediately. New books will start coming next fall, with two titles planned for each of September and October 2011. (Why so long a wait? It has to do with the sales cycle in the book publishing business. Titan's sales force is already selling July/August 2011 titles to stores now; September/October 2011 is the soonest we can get new books out if we want to have enough time for booksellers to consider and order them, and then for Titan to print and ship them, etc.)
Our 2011 titles will include two you've hear about before -- QUARRY'S EX by Max Allan Collins and CHOKE HOLD by Christa Faust, both of which were in the works at Dorchester but never got published -- and two you haven't heard about, by major writers in the field. (Can't say who yet...but they've both been named "Grand Masters" by the Mystery Writers of America, the organization's highest honor.) You'll be hearing more about all four books over the coming months, I promise. In the meantime, if you'd like a little taste of QUARRY'S EX and CHOKE HOLD, you can see their cover art and read a sample chapter from each at our Web site, www.HardCaseCrime.com.
We will also still be going ahead with our special hardcover 'double' volume with Subterranean Press, featuring two long-lost Lawrence Block novels bound back-to-back. More info on that one as soon as we have a firm publication date and cover art to to show you!
In other news, HAVEN, the SyFy television series inspired by one of our books (THE COLORADO KID by Stephen King), just completed its first season and has been renewed for a second. If you haven't seen the show or only caught the first few episodes, I'd encourage you to give it a(nother) try -- it got really good by the end of the season (and no, I'm not just saying that because I wrote the penultimate episode and came up with the story for one before that...). It's a little different from what you see in our books, since every story contains elements of the supernatural -- but it's still a show about a FBI agent, a cop, and a criminal, and features some awfully hard cases...
Also: Universal Pictures acquired the rights to two other Hard Case Crime books -- LITTLE GIRL LOST and SONGS OF INNOCENCE by my close personal friend Richard Aleas -- and has attached a director (Jonathan Levine, "The Wackness") and screenwriter (Michael Bacall, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World") to the project. No guarantee that a movie will actually get made, of course -- but it's a very exciting first step.
What else is new? Well, Hard Case Crime's sister line, THE ADVENTURES OF GABRIEL HUNT, is staying with Dorchester for the time being, and they have plans to reissue all of those books -- including the sixth, which never came out in mass market paperback -- in the larger "trade paperback" format (as well as e-book format). If everything goes as planned, those should start coming next year. If you poke around online, you can also find an audiobook edition of one book in the series, HUNT THROUGH THE CRADLE OF FEAR, produced by AudioRealms. If there's ever been a genre suited to audiobook adaptation, it's tales of adventure! (If you don't feel like hunting for it -- pun intended -- here's a link: http://www.audiorealms.com/cgi-bin/c...NTCRADLE-MP3CD.)
That's all the news this time around. There will be more, probably fairly soon -- you'll certainly be hearing from me well before this time next year, when the new books come out. But in the meantime, I want to thank you for all your patience and your support. It's great to know you're out there, as passionate about our books as ever. I promise: We'll give you some good scratching for your itch just as soon as we can.
Best,
Charles
-----------
Charles Ardai
Editor
#152
Moderator
Re: Hard Case Crime, Part 4
Wish we didn't have to wait a year before the new titles came out...better late than never I suppose. A bit irked by the Gabriel Hunt news...I'll have 5 mass markets and one in trade format. Oh well.
#154
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Re: Hard Case Crime, Part 4
So my CC was just charged by Dorchester yesterday. I called them and apparently they are continuing the "Hard Case Crime" book club, just without the HCC books. They are just similar crime books. I think it was "Perish Twice" by Robert B. Parker.
Not sure if other people were notified, but I was not. I incorrectly assumed the club just ended.
Not sure if other people were notified, but I was not. I incorrectly assumed the club just ended.
#156
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Hard Case Crime, Part 4
Well that kind of sucks. I'm in the midst of a move at the moment so I will have to remember to call after getting the first shipment with the number and such.
#157
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Hard Case Crime, Part 4
So my CC was just charged by Dorchester yesterday. I called them and apparently they are continuing the "Hard Case Crime" book club, just without the HCC books. They are just similar crime books. I think it was "Perish Twice" by Robert B. Parker.
Not sure if other people were notified, but I was not. I incorrectly assumed the club just ended.
Not sure if other people were notified, but I was not. I incorrectly assumed the club just ended.
Damn good thing my check card expired and they don't have my new one lol
#158
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Re: Hard Case Crime, Part 4
I don't mind getting a Robert B. Parker novel, but it would've been nice for them to inform people. They don't even have anything listed on their site.
#159
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Re: Hard Case Crime, Part 4
So my CC was just charged by Dorchester yesterday. I called them and apparently they are continuing the "Hard Case Crime" book club, just without the HCC books. They are just similar crime books. I think it was "Perish Twice" by Robert B. Parker.
Not sure if other people were notified, but I was not. I incorrectly assumed the club just ended.
Not sure if other people were notified, but I was not. I incorrectly assumed the club just ended.
I was also under the impression that it was over....
#160
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Hard Case Crime, Part 4
So my CC was just charged by Dorchester yesterday. I called them and apparently they are continuing the "Hard Case Crime" book club, just without the HCC books. They are just similar crime books. I think it was "Perish Twice" by Robert B. Parker.
Not sure if other people were notified, but I was not. I incorrectly assumed the club just ended.
Not sure if other people were notified, but I was not. I incorrectly assumed the club just ended.
So much for that... The book showed up today. haven't charged me anything though since they don't have my new CC info.. Now I need to decide if I wanna keep it going or cancel it. Leaning towards cancel since I only joined for HCC stuff. I'd rather just get everything else on the Kindle, which this book is available on so..
#162
DVD Talk Gold Edition
#163
Moderator
Re: Hard Case Crime, Part 4
Ardai provides a statement on the Book Club fiasco:
As most of you know, for the past several years Dorchester Publishing offered a subscription service they called the “Hard Case Crime Book Club.” If you signed up for this service, you received each new Hard Case Crime book automatically by mail. Now that Dorchester is no longer publishing our books, they can’t ship new Hard Case Crime books to book club members anymore (or use our name on the club), but they’ve indicated that they would like to keep the club going. Their solution: They plan to find books from other publishers that fans of Hard Case Crime might enjoy and send those books out, under the new, generic name “Hard Boiled Crime Book Club.”
There’s nothing wrong with this idea in principle--there are a lot of great crime novels out there, and not all of them were published by Hard Case Crime. I think Dorchester could do a nice job of selecting other books you might enjoy. In fact, just as a favor to them, I even offered to help them do so; I suggested some books by Hard Case Crime authors Lawrence Block and Donald Westlake, for instance, as well as some authors that we haven’t published, such as Loren D. Estleman and Robert B. Parker. And just this past week, Dorchester started shipping some of these books (one by Parker, I believe, and maybe one by Westlake).
Unfortunately, Dorchester doesn’t seem to have communicated clearly to book club members just what it was they were doing, or reminded members about their right to cancel their subscription if they no longer wanted to be part of the club in light of the changes. Instead, I get the impression that Dorchester simply started shipping the new books without any explanation. Naturally, this left book club members confused and in some cases upset, and I can understand why. I wish Dorchester had handled this better.
That’s why I’m sending this message: I want you to know what’s going on, and also let you know what you can do. If you’re a book club member and don't want to receive any more books from Dorchester, you can call them at 1-800-481-9191 or write to them at [email protected] and tell them you want to cancel your subscription. I’m not saying that you should cancel--if you stay with the club, you might get some terrific books from them. But if you want to cancel, that’s how you can do it.
There’s also another reason I’m writing to you. Many of you have contacted me to ask whether our new publisher, Titan Publishing, plans to offer a similar subscription service when they start publishing new Hard Case Crime books in 2011. And I’m glad to report that the answer is yes. They haven’t worked out all the details yet and it’s possible that it’ll turn out to be harder than they expect--but right now, they are planning to do it.
If you think you might be interested in signing up for Titan’s new subscription service in 2011, please let us know. Just send an e-mail to [email protected] and we’ll send you more information about the service as soon as it’s available. Please note, sending an e-mail to us does not commit you to anything--it just puts you on a list of people who want to know more. If you’re currently a Hard Case Crime Book Club member and would like to continue getting our books by mail, it's very important that you let us know, since we don’t have any information about who the members of the book club are--the club is owned and run by Dorchester and we have no access to any member information. So if you don’t write and tell us, we have no way of knowing that you’re a member.
And if you’re not currently a book club member but think you might like to become one when the new books start coming next year, that’s great--just let us know that.
Bit by bit we’ll get this all sorted out. I apologize for any confusion along the way. The most important thing in a situation like this is clear, prompt and forthright communication, and in Dorchester’s enthusiasm to start shipping books again, I’m afraid they didn’t communicate the way they should have. Hopefully they’ll do better in the future--they’re good people and I know they mean well. In the meantime, though ... please do write to us right away if you’re a current book club member, or if you’re not but might want to become one when Titan launches their subscription offering next year.
And please do contact Dorchester at 1-800-481-9191 or [email protected] if you want to cancel your membership in their club.
I hope this explanation will end some reader confusion.
There’s nothing wrong with this idea in principle--there are a lot of great crime novels out there, and not all of them were published by Hard Case Crime. I think Dorchester could do a nice job of selecting other books you might enjoy. In fact, just as a favor to them, I even offered to help them do so; I suggested some books by Hard Case Crime authors Lawrence Block and Donald Westlake, for instance, as well as some authors that we haven’t published, such as Loren D. Estleman and Robert B. Parker. And just this past week, Dorchester started shipping some of these books (one by Parker, I believe, and maybe one by Westlake).
Unfortunately, Dorchester doesn’t seem to have communicated clearly to book club members just what it was they were doing, or reminded members about their right to cancel their subscription if they no longer wanted to be part of the club in light of the changes. Instead, I get the impression that Dorchester simply started shipping the new books without any explanation. Naturally, this left book club members confused and in some cases upset, and I can understand why. I wish Dorchester had handled this better.
That’s why I’m sending this message: I want you to know what’s going on, and also let you know what you can do. If you’re a book club member and don't want to receive any more books from Dorchester, you can call them at 1-800-481-9191 or write to them at [email protected] and tell them you want to cancel your subscription. I’m not saying that you should cancel--if you stay with the club, you might get some terrific books from them. But if you want to cancel, that’s how you can do it.
There’s also another reason I’m writing to you. Many of you have contacted me to ask whether our new publisher, Titan Publishing, plans to offer a similar subscription service when they start publishing new Hard Case Crime books in 2011. And I’m glad to report that the answer is yes. They haven’t worked out all the details yet and it’s possible that it’ll turn out to be harder than they expect--but right now, they are planning to do it.
If you think you might be interested in signing up for Titan’s new subscription service in 2011, please let us know. Just send an e-mail to [email protected] and we’ll send you more information about the service as soon as it’s available. Please note, sending an e-mail to us does not commit you to anything--it just puts you on a list of people who want to know more. If you’re currently a Hard Case Crime Book Club member and would like to continue getting our books by mail, it's very important that you let us know, since we don’t have any information about who the members of the book club are--the club is owned and run by Dorchester and we have no access to any member information. So if you don’t write and tell us, we have no way of knowing that you’re a member.
And if you’re not currently a book club member but think you might like to become one when the new books start coming next year, that’s great--just let us know that.
Bit by bit we’ll get this all sorted out. I apologize for any confusion along the way. The most important thing in a situation like this is clear, prompt and forthright communication, and in Dorchester’s enthusiasm to start shipping books again, I’m afraid they didn’t communicate the way they should have. Hopefully they’ll do better in the future--they’re good people and I know they mean well. In the meantime, though ... please do write to us right away if you’re a current book club member, or if you’re not but might want to become one when Titan launches their subscription offering next year.
And please do contact Dorchester at 1-800-481-9191 or [email protected] if you want to cancel your membership in their club.
I hope this explanation will end some reader confusion.
#164
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Hard Case Crime, Part 4
^ Thanks for posting that and well put by Ardai.
I received the book today and it is a Robert B. Parker. It is disappointing that Dorchester didn't give any kind of information to subscribers about HCC. I think if they would have handled it better, I may have been inclined to stay, but the way it went feels a little shady. More than likely I'm cancelling soon...partly because of Dorchester and also when the new HCC comes out, I'll only be keeping one sub.
That said, I'm really looking forward to the new line of HCC when it comes out.
I received the book today and it is a Robert B. Parker. It is disappointing that Dorchester didn't give any kind of information to subscribers about HCC. I think if they would have handled it better, I may have been inclined to stay, but the way it went feels a little shady. More than likely I'm cancelling soon...partly because of Dorchester and also when the new HCC comes out, I'll only be keeping one sub.
That said, I'm really looking forward to the new line of HCC when it comes out.
#165
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Hard Case Crime, Part 4
Well book 2 arrived today and I have absolutely no interest in it.

Looks more fantasy than mystery. I'll be canceling ASAP. I liked the first book so I figured I'd give them a shot...

Looks more fantasy than mystery. I'll be canceling ASAP. I liked the first book so I figured I'd give them a shot...
#166
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Re: Hard Case Crime, Part 4
They sent me "Perish Twice" by Robert B. Parker and I sent it back with a note to cancel my membership. Then they sent me an invoice a month and a half later for $5.99.
I had to call them to tell them I sent the book back and I wanted out of the book club.
I had to call them to tell them I sent the book back and I wanted out of the book club.
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Re: Hard Case Crime, Part 4
The SFFAudio podcast has an hour long interview with Charles Ardai on the future of HCC.
#168
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Hard Case Crime, Part 4
The SFFAudio podcast has an hour long interview with Charles Ardai on the future of HCC.
#169
Moderator
Re: Hard Case Crime, Part 4
The SFFAudio podcast has an hour long interview with Charles Ardai on the future of HCC.

#170
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Hard Case Crime, Part 4
For me the best nugget of information to come out of that podcast is that most of the books will be back in stores on January 25th. I've yet to buy 40 HCC books and things were looking bleak.
Also, perhaps selfishly because I'm so behind, but I'm glad HCC 2.0 will only be putting out 4 books per year. Still not thrilled about them being trade paperbacks, though.
Also, perhaps selfishly because I'm so behind, but I'm glad HCC 2.0 will only be putting out 4 books per year. Still not thrilled about them being trade paperbacks, though.
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Re: Hard Case Crime, Part 4
Just finished listening to the podcast...
One of the new books he mentioned but did not name, is...
THE CONSUMMATA ( HCC - 102 ) by Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins
One of the new books he mentioned but did not name, is...
THE CONSUMMATA ( HCC - 102 ) by Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins
#172
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Hard Case Crime, Part 4
I just finished my first Quarry book - The Last Quarry - and quite enjoyed it. Now I really want to see The Last Lullaby, but it seems like the only option is to order it directly. I don't want to drop $20 plus shipping on it sight unseen. Wish it was available on Netflix. Heck, I'm not normally interested in iTunes or Amazon VOD rentals, but I'd even go that route if it were available.
Here's the trailer, for those interested:
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/axMvNmxFcqo?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/axMvNmxFcqo?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
In researching my options for watching the movie, I found out that five early non-HCC Quarry novels recently came back in print (and I hadn't seen it mentioned in this thread):





Quarry
Quarry's List
Quarry's Deal
Quarry's Cut
Quarry's Vote
Not that I'm hurting for things to read, but I'm sure I'll get to these at some point. Though I'll likely wait for used copies to pop up because at $10-$15 a book, they're kind of pricey, IMO.
Here's the trailer, for those interested:
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/axMvNmxFcqo?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/axMvNmxFcqo?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
In researching my options for watching the movie, I found out that five early non-HCC Quarry novels recently came back in print (and I hadn't seen it mentioned in this thread):





Quarry
Quarry's List
Quarry's Deal
Quarry's Cut
Quarry's Vote
Not that I'm hurting for things to read, but I'm sure I'll get to these at some point. Though I'll likely wait for used copies to pop up because at $10-$15 a book, they're kind of pricey, IMO.
#173
Moderator
Re: Hard Case Crime, Part 4
^ I made mention of those early Quarry books in the HCC Methadone thread -- it doesn't seem to get a lot of traffic though. I ordered my copies, but have not yet cracked them open.
Interesting about The Last Lullaby -- one would think it be more accessible in this digital age...
Interesting about The Last Lullaby -- one would think it be more accessible in this digital age...
#174
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Hard Case Crime, Part 4
That's a great thread idea; somehow I never saw it. I'm currently using the HCC hiatus to get caught up on my huge backlog of HCC books.
But I'll have to check out some of those recommendations there if I ever get caught up or just want something a little different to read. Thanks.
Yeah, it is pretty weird when you come across a fairly recent movie that can't be accessed at all digitally these days. (And, admittedly, I even searched for its availability via, uh, illicit means to no avail, as well.)

Yeah, it is pretty weird when you come across a fairly recent movie that can't be accessed at all digitally these days. (And, admittedly, I even searched for its availability via, uh, illicit means to no avail, as well.)