Last Rites on Halloween Eve

The Last Rites reading series takes place on the evening before Halloween—the last Sunday of October. As the event coordinator says: “The only thing scarier than Halloween is missing these great readers.”

The readers include Mike Young, Sid Gold, Wayne Hoffman, and yours truly. I’ll be reading an abridged story from Tracks: A Novel in Stories.

The event takes place this Sunday from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Baltimore Hostel in Mt. Vernon, 17 W. Mulberry St.

Learn more about the event and the readers at the following link.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=114155625360560

Get Your Last Rites Before End of Days

May 21, 2011 is a big day. For one thing, it’s the Preakness. For another, it’s the next 5ive-Ten Reading at Minas (http://510readings.blogspot.com/).

Oh, and there’s the Rapture. Many predict that this Saturday will be the beginning of the end. That’s to be followed by the end of the world in October. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_end_times_prediction

In need of Last Rites? Here are some last rites of a more enjoyable sort.

The Last Sunday, Last Rites Reading Series takes place each last Sunday of the month in the Baltimore Hostel in Mt. Vernon. A couple readings ago, I was one of their featured readers for “Stories of Desperation and Murder.” Nik Korpon and Pat King hosted, and I was joined by crime writers Don Lafferty, Kieran Shea and Dennis Tafoya—plus an appearance by songwriter Goodloe Byron.

I read an abridged excerpt from Tracks, a novel in stories. “One Last Hit” is about a hit man maneuvering through one last job before calling it quits.

Recently, Dave Kiefaber wrote a review of the Last Rites reading for The Patch. He wrote that my story “was about a wayward youth who becomes a hitman for the mob. Goodman's prose and delivery were captivating enough that I forgot to take a picture of him, so I'm guessing his novel will be pretty good.” (What does that say about my appearance?)

Missed the reading? I read the same story on Baltimore’s NPR station. Catch the posdcast from WYPR’s The Signal here:

http://yourlisten.com/channel/content/76676/One_Last_Hit

And, here’s your chance to catch the next reading from Tracks. I’ll be reading with D.R. Belz, Steve Himmer, and Elisavietta Ritchie at the next Lit & Art at the Watermark this coming Sunday, May 22 from 2-5 at the Watermark Gallery, second floor of the Bank of America Building, 100 S. Charles Street, right across from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

You can read about it on Read Street, the blog of the Baltimore Sun.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/books/blog/2011/05/judgement_day_just_in_case_a_d.html

Hope to see you there. That is, if any of us are still around on May 22^nd.

Check out the review of Last Rites in The Patch.

http://northbaltimore.patch.com/articles/stories-of-desperation-and-murder-last-rites-reading-series-at-the-baltimore-hostel

Get Your Last Rites Tonight

Get your Last Rites tonight at the Last Sunday, Last Rites reading series! The event takes place from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Baltimore Hostel, 17 West Mulberry Street, Baltimore, MD. I’ll be reading an abridged version of “One Last Hit” from my novel in stories, Tracks. Three other writers will be joining me for a night of crime fiction. Here’s the skinny from the event’s facebook page:

Four crime writers take Last Rites hostage! Who will make it out alive? How much beard will Pat have left? You'll have to come to find out:


-Dennis Tafoya lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and is the author of two novels, Dope Thief and The Wolves of Fairmount Park, as well as numerous short stories, appearing in collections such as Philadelphia Noir from Akashic Books. The Chicago Tribune called Dope Thief “A classic story . .... . First-time novelist Dennis Tafoya has a nice sense of how and where his characters live, revealing in stark detail the hardscrabble life of the petty thief.” The Wolves of Fairmount Park received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which said, “classic noir readers…will hope Tafoya is their guide through the mean streets for years to come.” He is currently at work on his third novel.

-Born in New Jersey, Kieran Shea’s short fiction has appeared in many a dark venue including Thuglit, Dogmatika, Plots with Guns, Word Riot, Needle and Crimefactory. His first print-based crime story, "The Lifeguard Method" appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and his "Faith-Based Initiative" appeared in Thuglit's BLOOD, GUTS and WHISKEY anthology (Kensington, 2010). Also in 2010 he was nominated for the Story South’s Million Writers Award and didn’t win, not that he’s bitter about it, I mean, really. He divides his time between 38°58′22.6″N- 76°30′4.17″W and 39°17'N -74°35'W and is now hard at work on the longer stuff.

-Don Lafferty lives and writes in his hometown of Philadelphia, where even Santa Claus has to look over his shoulder. He’s a member of the Liars Club, the Social Media Director of the Wild River Review, marketing director of the Inspired Word of New York City, and sits on the board of directors of the Philadelphia Writers’ Conference. Look for his short fiction in the spring issue of NEEDLE Magazine and CRIME FACTORY #7. Find out more at www.donaldlafferty.com.

-Eric D. Goodman believes authors should write what they know… but he has never worked as a hit man. Baltimore’s NPR station, WYPR, called him “a regular on the Baltimore literary scene.” His fiction has hit number of publications, including The Baltimore Review, The Pedestal Magazine, The Potomac, Grub Street, Scribble, and New Lines from the Old Line State: An Anthology of Maryland Writers. Eric’s novel in stories, Tracks, is being published by Atticus Books in June 2010. Hop aboard his website at www.TracksNovel.com.

Learn more at the Last Sunday, Last Rites facebook page.

www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=199187340095464