Charles Boeckman

Mystery, western, horror -- new and classic pulp fiction Cover art by Harold J. Ward; Classic Pulp Fiction "The Absent Corpse" by Charles Boeckman"; Wreckage Reef" by Albert Richard Wetjen"; Where God Turns His Back" (a Peter Scarlet adventure) by Theodore Roscoe"; Golden Humbug" by Laurence Donovan; **New Pulp Fiction "The Gentleman's Exit" by Andrew Bourelle; "Bloody Mary" by Jack Burns; "The Sixty-Year Sleep" by Adam Beau McFarlane; "Judging a Book" by Jim Noy; "Laguna del Espirita Santo" by David Bernard; "Sick Dummies" by Johnny Strike; "Boxing, Babes & Bullets" by Gary Lovisi; "The Gumshoe and the Glitterati" by Rie Sheridan Rose.

Featuring a never-before published cover by Norman Saunders, the King of the Pulp Artists Pulp Adventures pushes the envelope again with a mash-up of horror, western, mystery, and romance Charles Boeckman, the jazz musician turned pulp author of "Strictly Poison and Other Stories," delivers a tale of music and hatred with "Murder, Maestro, Please " Boeckman's stories of sad losers attempting to elevate their lot in life was perfect for hardboiled tastes of the 1950s. He was a frequent contributor to digest fiction magazines like Manhunt, Justice and Homicide. Two stories by David Wright O'Brien: "The Fantastic Twins" is a farce about an ad-copy writer given a special gift, while "Afraid to Live" takes a more serious tone with the reporter protagonist racing against time to save potential suicide victims. More pulp classics include "Killer Wanted -- First Class" by Geoffrey North, and "The Word Wranglers" by Stephen Payne. Modern stories by Michael Bracken, Geoffrey North, David Bernard, John E. Petty, Dan McCarthy, C. J. Henderson and Johnny Strike.

Stagecoach to Hell features Charles Boeckman, author of Strictly Poison and Other Stories, writing in his element-the authentic old west. He knows the history, the people, and he knows their stubborn Texas pride-resulting in trouble or triumph. Sometimes both.... Climb aboard, and encounter an assortment of colorful characters: a bride who refuses to trade one form of slavery for another; a barber with a secret past; a dime novel fan forced to confront real danger; two riverboat captains determined to win a race at all costs; and many others. There's even an appearance by Bat Masterson, and an adventure at the Alamo Grab a canteen and prepare for a bumpy ride across the burning sands of pulp fiction

From the pulp era comes twenty-two hardboiled stories of hardboiled suspense. You'll meet embittered detectives, shifty conmen, and henpecked losers -- sad people trying to escape their dreary lives. Charles Boeckman wrote for pulps and slick magazines, while pursuing a full-time career as a musician. His jazz background figures into several stories, reaching a two-fisted crescendo. The stories in this anthology were originally published in various pulp magazines -- and now they appear together, wrapped in a breath-taking cover by Robert A. Maguire.