New Releases

New Book Launch: Trigger Point, An Angela Hardwicke Sci-Fi Thriller

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Q&A with Author Russ Colchamiro

With a new year comes a new sci-fi thriller from Crazy 8 Press inmate Russ Colchamiro, featuring his intergalactic hardboiled private eye Angela Hardwicke. Part Blade Runner, part Fringe, Hardwicke is back again in Trigger Point.

As Hardwicke gears up for another genre blending thriller, we sat down with Russ to discuss this noirish sci-fi tale and his long-range plans for the character:


Crazy 8 Press: What genre are the Angela Hardwicke stories?

Russ: These are all sci-fi thrillers, mixing noir, action, suspense, and touches of horror. Some are more cyberpunk than others.

C8: Angela Hardwicke is hard boiled private eye, but in a Blade Runner-style world. What kinds of cases does she take?

Russ: Hardwicke takes the kinds of cases you would think a private eye would take. Arson, kidnapping, missing persons, extortion, murder, and corporate espionage. But she also takes on cases dealing with galactic lunatics, cosmic repairmen, androids, soul stealers, off-world conspiracies, and a miles-long helixes of the Universe’s DNA, just to list a few.


C8: Are the Hardwicke novels serialized or can new readers dive in anywhere?

Russ: Each novel is a stand-alone sci-fi mystery/thriller, where I reintroduce the characters and worldbuilding so you can jump in anywhere. You can read these novels in any order. If Trigger Point is your first introduction to Hardwicke, you’ll know exactly where you are.

C8: What’s the set-up for Trigger Point?

Russ: Hardwicke has just been released from prison for reasons you’ll have to discover for yourself! As her first solo case back on the street, she is hired by a paranoid pimp whose best earner has been murdered under suspicious circumstances. Meanwhile, Hardwicke’s protégé Eric Whistler is missing, forcing her to partner with a sketchy police detective and a reclusive old friend as the fabric of spacetime begins to unravel.

Hardwicke is on a road of redemption, which leads her through a harrowing journey of ancient theories, terrified sex workers, nightmares, ghosts, the Dreamscape… and demons from her past she can no longer ignore.

C8: Hold on. How do you go from street-level investigation about a murdered sex worker to the disintegrating fabric of the Universe?

Russ: Ha ha! Well, that’s the fun, isn’t it? If you’ve read any of the previous novels in the series, I think you’ll find that Hardwicke has a knack for uncovering these kinds of cases. In Trigger Point, I wanted a case that pulled together various threads from the novels that came before it, and recurring characters who needed some closure, including her son, Owen, and her partner, Whistler. Living in Hardwicke’s world can take a toll; either you rise to the challenge… or you don’t. It’s a staple of the series, linking street-level investigations to larger conspiracies that often threaten a whole lotta people.


C8: You say Trigger Point deals with nightmares and the Dreamscape? Anything you can tell us about that?

Russ: In every Hardwicke book, I combine recurring landmarks and worldbuilding but want to give readers new territory to explore. I’ve wanted to delve into the Dreamscape since I first started writing Hardwicke. Her nightmares are pretty damn terrifying!

C8: Trigger Point also deals with pimps and sex workers. Are there any trigger warnings here (no pun intended)?

Russ: Sex work can be a taboo subject. And noir is often grimy. Trigger Point is one of those books, at least in part. There are many sex workers who willingly choose that life. Trigger Point deals with some who feel trapped. There are no sex scenes in Trigger Point, but what these women endure is often pleasant. I tried to handle the content respectfully. Your mileage may vary.

C8: Let’s talk about that cover. Wow!

Russ: Thanks! I knew from the beginning I wanted the main image of Hardwicke being electrocuted. It’s specific to the plot. And then the dog, well… it was a happy accident that also ties in directly with the dangers she faces.

C8: This is your fifth Hardwicke novel. What’s next for her?

Russ: Trigger Point wraps up what I consider to be Series 1. I have another five novels in the Hardwicke universe ready to go… if the fans want them (hint-hint). I also have some other Hardwicke projects I’ll be able to talk about next year.

Trigger Point is on sale now!

Author's Spotlight

Thanks for the Memories

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Writer and activist Elie Wiesel said, “With memoir, you must be honest. You must be truthful.”

Novelist Isabel Allende, on the other hand, believed, “A memoir is my version of events. My perspective. I choose what to tell and what to omit. I choose the adjectives to describe a situation, and in that sense, I’m creating a form of fiction.”

After writing my memoir, Panel by Panel: My Comic Book Life, I found myself landing somewhere between “honest” and “my version of events” with the discovery that the two aren’t mutually exclusive.

Memoir, of course, starts with memory. That’s what “memoir” means, from the Latin “memoria,” which means “memory” or “remembrance.” And while I can vouch for the sincerity of my memories, I can’t always count on its’ honesty. Playwright Tennessee Williams agreed, because “Memory takes a lot of poetic license. It omits some details; others are exaggerated, according to the emotional value of the articles it touches, for memory is seated predominantly in the heart.” Novelist and screenwriter Kazuo Ishiguro summed it up best, observing, “Memory…can be an unreliable thing; often it is heavily colored by the circumstances in which one remembers.”

I wrote the first draft of Panel by Panel relying almost exclusively on that “unreliable thing,” turning only when totally stymied by my own brain to secondary sources, from personal and family archives, to published versions and the internet. I’ve accumulated a lot of paper over the years, everything from letters written by my grandmother Ann in Brooklyn to her then fiancé Alfred, studying to be an electrician in Philadelphia in 1918, through the Depression-era paperwork of my parents’ childhoods, through to my own life, from elementary school report cards to the 1,400+ stories and books I’ve published and the hundreds more that I never showed to anyone.

Most of my life has been spent, one way or another, surrounded by comic books. Born in 1955, I was hooked on the four color form even before I could read the words that accompanied the pictures. For reasons that I only touch on in Panel by Panel, I was an isolated, unhappy kid (a second, what I call “my trauma memoir” is written, awaiting publication) and comic books and the associated worlds of science fiction and fantasy became my happy place of safety and, eventually, the road that led me to countless friendships (many of which endure 50 or more years on) and a career.

What astonished me was learning just how unreliable my certainty of people or events could be when I went back to fact/reality check my memory. For many years, for instance, I credited comic book editor Wally Green with an act of kindness during his rejection of the stories I had submitted to him as a wannabe writer that instead of shattering my fragile 19 year old ego sent me on my way with encouragement to try him again and feeling as though I had been treated like a professional. But it had actually been editor Paul Kuhn at Gold Key who showed me that kindness. I don’t know how Wally came to stand in for Paul in my memory (although both were seriously nice gentlemen), but a contemporary account of that meeting in a 1974 fanzine for the amateur press alliance NYAPA set me straight. In the same ‘zine, I wrote about another unsuccessful submission I made at the time, this one to Marvel, of which I still have no recollection.

In the Western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, a newspaper reporter observes, “When legend becomes fact, print the legend,” and that includes the little “legends” we build in our own memories. I’ve spent my life making up stories, so I was relieved to find second party confirmation of some of my little “legends” and to discover that even if I’m not particularly interesting, the people and experiences I’ve encountered in my comic book life were more than enough to fill a memoir of the good, the bad, and the ridiculous in the comic book business.

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Peter David’s New Novel is Now Available

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NEW YORK, NY – June 5, 2024— Author collective Crazy 8 Press announced today that acclaimed fantasy author, TV writer, and comic book icon Peter David has returned with his latest novel, Robyne of Sherwood. In this Robin Hood-inspired tale, the author’s period-set adventure sees the legendary character’s daughter take center stage.
David, whose writing credits include dozens of Star Trek novels, classic comic book runs on Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Aquaman, and novel adaptions of movies such as The Return of Swamp Thing, The Rocketeer, Batman Forever, Fantastic Four, and Iron Man, among many others, has been battling significant health issues. Robyne of Sherwood is his first new novel in five years.

“Peter David is one of the best fantasy writers of our generation,” said Crazy 8 Press founding member Bob Greenberger. “He’s been out of action lately, so it’s a joyous moment for everyone who knows Peter and loves his work to welcome Robyne of Sherwood into the world. Peter, as always, is at the top of his game.”

In Robyne of Sherwood, Robin Hood is dead, slain by the Sheriff of Nottingham, with the Merry Men cut down or scattered, and Maid Marion and their son Basil both presumed dead. During these tragic events, six-year-old Mary witnessed her father’s death—and swore vengeance. Protected by a religious order, Mary grows in skill and determination, planning for what’s still to come.

“Peter has always had a flare for combining fantasy, humor, and pathos into his fiction,” said Crazy 8 Press founding member Michael Jan Friedman. “Even when he puts his characters, and by extension, readers through the wringer, there’s a gentle heartbeat underneath. To see another Peter David novel come to light is pure magic.”

Author's Spotlight

Listen to Your Toaster!

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A free sample short story from The Devil and Leo Persky

I used to be a writer and editor for Weekly World News, the fake news supermarket tabloid that chronicled such phenomena as Bat Boy, Big Foot, alien babies, and Elvis sightings. The job of a WWN writer was to think up crazy shit and write a couple of hundred humorous words on it because, of course, everything we published was fake…except for the disclaimer in six-point type at the bottom of page three that confessed we were just funnin’ you for entertainment purposes.

I missed WWN when it folded in 2007. Not only was it a great day job where I got to work with a small staff of friends (including fellow Crazy 8’er Bob Greenberger), but writing those wacky articles was fun. It was all about starting with a premise loosely based on reality; an idle thought about what happened to the rest of the rabbits whose feet were used to make good luck charms, I wrote an article about the disabled surviving hares bringing class action lawsuits against rabbit’s foot manufacturers. I turned historical speculation about Abraham Lincoln’s mental health into a story in which he was a straitjacketed lunatic. Anything and everything was fodder for a WWN story.

A couple of years later, I was invited to contribute a short story to a horror anthology with a vampire theme. In search of a protagonist, I eventually hit on the thought of making him a reporter for WWN, but not exactly my WWN. Instead, this version of the paper existed in a world where every single word it published was true, from aliens to zombies. I’ll admit, there was a tinge of Carl Kolchak of The Night Stalker fame in my thinking, but considering the extreme wackiness of the average Weekly World News stories, I wanted to inject a lot more humor into the character and the stories. At first, I was leaning towards someone modeled after a fictitious WWN “contributor,” Matthew Daemon, the creation of the real WWN contributor, the late Dick Siegel, and star of the comic strip I had commissioned in my editorial capacity from Mike Collins.

Matthew Daemon was your typical big, strong, trench coat- and slouch-hat-wearing supernatural adventurer. But, as dad-bodied Kolchak proved, big and strong isn’t as funny as an ordinary guy, and if an ordinary guy was funny, a little nebbish guy was even funnier. Yeah, I’m looking at you, pre-Interiors Woody Allen!

So with Woody and Arnold Stang (a comic actor best known as the voice of Top Cat and for his role in 1970’s Hercules in New York), I went total nebbish and found Leo Persky there waiting for me. Recognizing that at 47 years old and “five foot seven, 142 pounds, glasses, and a spreading bald spot that’s got me to wearing a hat,” he wasn’t the most imposing authority figure, Leo, a third generation monster hunter, has adopted the name and photograph of his strapping, imposing grandfather Terrence Strange for professional use.

“Man Bites Dog” was the result, and even before I was finished with the first story, I knew this wouldn’t be the last time I visited with Leo Persky. In fact, I went back to Leo and his world of genies, aliens, and snake-gods, five more times, including a story starring Leo’s Mom, the little old tough-as-nails septuagenarian Barbara in another vampiric encounter, “Come In, Sit Down, Have a Bite” for the Crazy 8 anthology Bad Ass Moms. And then, because I still wanted to play some more with Leo, the novella, “The Devil and Leo Persky.” And I have a feeling I’m still not done with him!

But look, you don’t have to take my word about how much fun Leo is. I’ve posted “Man Bites Dog” in its entirety over on my website as a free sample that will hopefully whet your appetite for more. As Leo says, “The government learned a long time ago that the best way to keep a secret was to tell it to everyone…because only the nutjobs are ever going to ask in the first place.”

Or as former Weekly World News managing editor Sal Ivon once famously said, “If someone calls me up and says their toaster is talking to them, I don’t refer them to professional help, I say, ‘Put the toaster on the phone’.”

New Releases, News

The Adventures of Cannon Belle is Coming This Month

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NEW YORK, NY – March 1, 2024— Author collective Crazy 8 Press announced today that the new swashbuckling historical romance The Adventures of Cannon Belle is now available in paperback and eBook formats.

Written by award-winning author Aaron Rosenberg, The Adventures of Cannon Belle chronicles the tale of Isabella Parsons, the well-mannered daughter of a Regency England baron, who lives a secret double life as the feared female pirate captain Cannon Belle Pearcy.

But when a handsome Navy commander is charged with quelling this dangerous pirate threat—and begins wooing the loveliest lady in the region—Bella’s two worlds collide.

“I first created the character for our pulp anthology Thrilling Adventure Yarns,” Rosenberg said.“I wanted to write a swashbuckler story with a different spin, so I came up with a female pirate captain, but one rooted in the Regency romance style a la Jane Austen. The response was so positive I kept coming back to her. With the novel, I was able to expand the scope of her adventures and raise the stakes in ways even I hadn’t anticipated.”

While much of Rosenberg’s work is filled with humor, The Adventures of Cannon Belle is a straight-up adventure-romance. In the novel, buccaneer Cannon Belle sails headfirst into the risks and rewards of a life split between polite society, ruthless pirates, and the most dangerous treasure of all—love.

            “Aaron is never satisfied working in just one genre,” said Crazy 8 Press founding member Bob Greenberger. “His ability to immerse himself—and the reader—into new and different worlds is always a thrill. I never anticipated a female pirate adventure or a romance novel from him, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. I hope Aaron will keep this habit going. Each story is better than the last.”

The Adventures of Cannon Belle is available for sale on Amazon.com.

New Releases, News

Geoffrey Thorne’s Into the Mystic Collection is now Available

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NEW YORK, NY – Author collective Crazy 8 Press announced today that Into the Mystic: Tales of the Grim Arcana, a collection of tales featuring creatures, dark magic, and other threats overflowing from Hell, is now available in paperback and eBook formats.

Written by TV writer Geoffrey Thorne, Into the Mystic: Tales of the Grim Arcana, collects five tales set in Arcana, a city on the border between the comfortable reality of what is known and the dangerous shadows of what the world has forgotten.

Into the Mythic was inspired by other series that blended dark fantasy, horror, and adventure, including The Dresden Files, TV’s Angel, and The Librarians.

“Arcana is the city where that creepy house at the end of the street absolutely lives up to its chilling reputation, where an overcrowded Hell sends its excess damned,” explains Thorne, who has also done tie-in work for Star Trek and Ultimate Spider-Man and was a writer on the hit series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Leverage, and The Librarians. “It’s the place where Creation sits in a ball the size of a snow globe, and Armageddon lurks in the alley outside your door.”

Featuring inventive world-building, shady characters, and threats to body, mind, and soul, these dark, fantastical tales were previously released individually as The Grim Arcana books, now collected for the first time. They also set the stage for an upcoming novel that will expand on the characters and mythology.

            “Geoff is a tremendous storyteller who blends the fantastical, the grim, and the hopeful,” said Crazy 8 Press founding member Bob Greenberger. “With Into the Mystic, he’s invited readers into a creepy and mysterious world that straddles the border of reality, dark magic—and terror.”

Into the Mystic: Tales of the Grim Arcana, is available for sale on Amazon.com.

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