Small Crimes contest winners

Two winners were selected for the best Bad Thoughts movie casts

Mark Sullivan, Maryland

Bill Shannon: Dean Winters
Susan Shannon: Marisa Tomei
Elaine Horwitz: Molly Ringwald
Winters: Daniel Stern
Joe DiGrazia: Vincent D'Onofrio
Pig Dornich: Dennis Franz

Colman Keane, United Kingdom

Bill Shannon: Joaquim Phoenix
Susan Shannon: Rachel Weisz
Elaine Horwitz: Lauren Ambrose
Winters: Tim Roth
Joe DiGrazia: Jack Black
Pig Dornich: Steve Buscemi

And my own dream cast would be:

Bill Shannon: Ryan Phillippe
Susan Shannon: Rose Byrne
Elaine Horwitz: Cate Blanchett
Winters: David Morse
Joe DiGrazia: James Gandolfini
Pig Dornich: Robert DeNiro

Autographed copies of Small Crimes are in the mail. Thanks for playing!

When She Was Bad by Jonathan Nasaw

My review for Jonathan's Nasaw's excellent When She Was Bad is up now on the very cool web-site, WritersAreReaders.com

on PulpPusher.com

Allan Guthrie and I discuss Small Crimes and other matters up on PulpPusher. Mucho thanks to Tony Black for setting this up.

Cast of Small Crimes -- more drawings!

I have extra drawings left over from Jean-Pierre Jacquet's pitch, and it would be a shame not to show them.











And finally, a very cool short animated piece of Jean-Pierre's that's currently up for voting on Reel 13: Contrapunto

Cast of Small Crime -- Clara

I shook my head. I figured she was a wack job who got off on bad boys and violence, but I wasn’t going to play her game. Even though it had been eight long years since my arrest, I wasn’t going to play her game. I wanted her badly – at that moment I would’ve wanted anyone badly – but I was still going to tell her that it wasn’t working out when she exclaimed, ‘Oh my God!

‘You were in the paper today!’ she went on. ‘That’s why you looked familiar. You’re the guy who stabbed that DA! Holy shit!’

Tomorrow: More Small Crimes drawings

Cast of Small Crimes -- Junior

From behind me I heard a loud voice booming, ‘Hey, pop, who’s that with you?’ I turned and saw Manny Jr with what must have been two of his sons. Junior had grown to look a lot like his dad used to; a heavy, thick man with a complexion like chipped glass and a hardness about him. His two boys were probably under seven but both looked like miniature versions of him. Junior stood staring at me for a long moment before he recognized me. Then a vicious smile crept onto his face.

Tomorrow: Clara

Cast of Small Crimes -- Sheriff Dan Pleasant

I heard a soft laughing noise. ‘How you doing, Joe?’ he said. ‘Christ, it’s been a long time.’

‘It didn’t have to be. I’d been sitting in your jail for seven years. You could’ve stopped by anytime.’

‘I didn’t think that would be a smart thing to do. But we do need to talk. Why don’t you drive out to the Mills Farm Road out in Chesterville. I’ll meet you there in a half-hour.’

‘I don’t know, Dan, I’d feel more comfortable if we talked somewhere more public. How about Zeke’s Tavern?’

There was more soft laughing. ‘That wouldn’t be very smart, Joe. No, I don’t think we want publicity. I also don’t think it would be very smart to show your face at Zeke’s. I’ll meet you out in Chesterville in a half-hour.’ There was a click as he hung up.

I walked two doors over to Ron Hardacher’s house and got my Mustang convertible out of his garage. I knew Dan would prefer it if I were dead, but I wasn’t worried about meeting him on an isolated road in the country. If he thought he could get away with killing me he would’ve done it years ago.

Tomorrow: Junior

Cast of Small Crimes -- Toni

‘I’m mad at you,’ she said, playfully, her eyes sparkling.

If it were anyone else I probably would’ve told them to take a number. Instead, I sat down in the chair next to her and asked why.

She got up and sat on my knee. The feel of her body was electric.

‘Because,’ she said, ‘I danced my heart out and you didn’t even pay attention.’ She leaned over so her mouth was against my ear. ‘Sheriff Dan told me to take good care of you, Joe.’

Tomorrow: Sheriff Dan Pleasant

Cast of Small Crimes -- Manny Vassey

He had a private room and I could see him – or at least what had to have been him – lying on a bed. Manny used to be a thick, heavy man with skin like hard rubber. What was lying on that bed was a third of what Manny had once been. It was almost like a balloon that had been mostly deflated. And that thick rug of black hair he had was gone. But it was his eyes that got me. They weren’t the same hard ruthless eyes that I used to know. Instead they were the eyes of a scared and frightened man.

Tomorrow: Toni

Cast of Small Crimes -- Charlotte Boyd

She hesitated before taking my hand. Her own hand was small and disappeared in mine. Even though she looked a bit mousy and her hair was too thin, she had some nice features. Especially her eyes when they weren’t nervous. They were a soft hazel color and were nice to look at.

‘I’m Charlotte Boyd,’ she said in a muted voice.

We had shaken hands longer than we should have. I made the first move to let go.

Tomorrow: Manny Vassey