Hard Boiled Headline
Greg Crites is back. This time it’s with a story he’s not hiding with the “Adults Only” titles. It’s called Hard Boiled Headline:
And what is this novel about you ask? Is this more nonsense? Uh, no… yeah… maybe. Heh! If you are looking for Dunkin, or Devlin, or Gabe—this is not it. This book borders on serious. I think I was out of liquor when I wrote it—but I can’t remember.
When you own a media outlet, you have a responsibility. A responsibility to safe guard the citizenry from their government. But how far do you go?
This is a story about the small town newspaper business. A look at how one professional newsman uses the fourth estate exactly how it is NOT meant to be used. When you lower journalism to high comedy, is it still journalism?
Who knows. But in this book, Hard Boiled Headline, a gang of unusual newspaper hacks accept a large cash payment to start a newspaper during election season. There’s only one string attached to the cash—use the paper to unseat an entire county’s crooked officials.
Greg promises to put up at least one episode a week until it’s over. If he doesn’t, I get to do unpleasant things to him. So if you trust him, you can get the default feed. Or if you want to exercise more control over how often you get new episodes of his free serialized audiobook, you’ll want a custom feed just for you.
January 15th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
Hey, Greg, way to slip one past me. No fanfare, no email, just a quiet new entry to Podiobooks. It’s not like you, Greg. You okay?
January 15th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
Hi, Gail!
You know I only answer e-mails—I never bug anyone. I don’t follow on Twitter, friend on MySpace or Facebook, stalk, annoy, or otherwise insinuate into the mental defectiv…errr, mentally advanced fans. I realize I am highly offensive, and the mere act of public association with me is tantamount to ignominy and subjects one to societal stigma. And fanfare! Har! I wouldn’t know fanfare if it blew my eyelashes around in a seductive flutter.
This is not Devlin, Dunkin, Gabe or anyhting like my usual nonsense— it’s a whole new genre of nonsense. So I am keeping a low profile. Besides, Evo has had enough of my maltreatment of podiobooks fans. One more demerit and I’m exiled. HAR!
January 16th, 2009 at 4:37 am
I’m looking through the new podcasts added on Podiobooks and I come across “Hard Boiled Headline”. So I’m thinking to myself, some kinda detective story, possibly involving a reporter. Anyway, I get to the site and what do I find? Another Crites hackery that’s what. I was incredibly enthused. Then I read that it wasn’t fueled by the usual alcohol ravings and I got worried that the cynicism, alone and sober, might not be enough to hold the story together. So I’m cautiously watching for the next few chapters, just in case soberity is catching, and looking forward to what seems like an interesting premise. The Hack does American Detective novels(if that’s what this turns out to be); my current favourite author and my favourite genre. Keep drinking. Keep writing.
January 16th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
I prefer the usual nonsense the author provided with Devlin and Dunkin.
January 16th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Two fraggin’ episodes in and I’m already being smote. HAR!
Hey! I just dropped my trousers and pressed my cheeks up to the monitor. I know you can’t see it, but visualize whirled peas.
I warned ya. I said don’t listen. I’m working on Dunkin III.
January 16th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Aha! I came back for the second episode. I was wondering where you found time to write another one, but this is the one I was reading from my club CD.
And while it’s true that this is not the usual nonsense, it’s also true I kept reading way into the night trying to find out what happened to the guy on the golf course. And I hate reading from the monitor screen.
If I keep going it will be a spoiler so I’ll stop, but I was hooked a long time before that guy’s situation changed. Aargh!
It’s a good story and well done!
February 10th, 2009 at 9:23 am
Hi, Gail! Oh, and I forgot to post my customary Chapter Index. Here it is:
Chapter 1 ……….Hard Boiled Headline
Chapter 2 ……….Meet Sanch, My Friend
Chapter 3 ……….The Proposition
Chapter 4 ……….Iconoclast, Skeptic, Muckraker
Chapter 5 ……….Tilting At Windmills? I think Not
Chapter 6 ……….Planning and Strategy, The First Steps
Chapter 7 ……….First, Make Them Love You
Chapter 8 ……….Learn To Think
Chapter 9 ……….A Brief Vacation
Chapter 10 ……….Joie De Vivre: French for ‘More Please’
Chapter 11 ……….Behavior Unbecoming of a Serious News Source
Chapter 12 ……….The Roster
Chapter 13 ……….Caught Between Two Rocks
Chapter 14 ……….Setting the Hook
Chapter 15 ……….The Meeting
Chapter 16 ……….The Cocaine Shuffle
Chapter 17 ……….Hatchet Job
Chapter 18 ……….Down, But Not Out
Chapter 19 ……….Special Edition
Chapter 20 ……….A Twisted Development
Chapter 21 ……….Don’t Miss the Fish Fry
Chapter 22 ……….On the Stump
Chapter 23 ……….The Jungly Knoll
Chapter 24 ……….Give Us Dirty Laundry
Chapter 25 ……….Get Well Soon
Chapter 26 ……….The Confession
Chapter 27 ……….A News Quagmire
Chapter 28 ……….Tainted Evidence
Chapter 29 ……….The Shooting
Chapter 30 ……….The Literary Sting
February 22nd, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Har! Your pretty list of chapters turns to mush on the book page. Looks good in the blog, though.
February 22nd, 2009 at 8:50 pm
great stuff, i look foward with great anticipation to MORE!
March 8th, 2009 at 9:36 am
Hey Greg,
Is Gail reading something I can’t find? I’m damn near a veinarmor.com regular and I can’t find diddly squat about “Hardboiled Headline.” If you’ve got some drunken scheme to hide your ravings and rantings from us, you’re succeeding!
I’m hooked (Evo, take note), where can I get/buy the full story?
Thomas the Drunken Soju Slayer in Korea
March 13th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Hey, Thomas. Nope, Gail is referring to the pdf version of Hard Boiled Headline. The audio version is unavailable. This book sucks. I’ve tried to tell fans NOT to listen. It’s not available on the site for paid download. It sucks. I wrote it using a pseudonym, but I got drunk and forgot to change the author name on the cover. I tell ya, I gotta cut back on the rum. Don’t listen. Hold out for Devlin III, Dunkin III, The Boy With The Pale Skin, Global Swarming, I am Not Your Enemy, or Zane Sickle Comic Adventurer. Those are good… I think. I was drinking when I wrote them. Soju! Hai!
March 24th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Another winner, Greg!
April 26th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Hey Greg. Liking the story a lot so far. One thing that I was looking for is the music to this podcast. You haven’t mentioned it on the blog here or in the episodes. So can you let us all know who the artist is, just in case anyone’s interested in the music rather than your story… You know, that sounds kinda harsh now I think of it. Ah well. You’re stories are great. Keep ‘em coming. Thanks.
July 2nd, 2009 at 6:05 pm
OIY! The ending!! ….. Mr Crites is indeed ‘the hack’! one cannot help but be in awe.
July 2nd, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Har! Glad you liked that story, Phig. Thanks, everyone, for your willingness to have a good time with a hack storyteller.
August 14th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Mr. Hack, I am in awe. I love Duncan, but these new characters are great. Can we have more of them? Please?
August 14th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Thanks, Vicky! I have eight additional novels finished and dink too much to have any idea which is next.
February 18th, 2010 at 7:33 am
Gotta say Greg, I love this book. Absolutely fantastic work for a talentless hack such as yourself!
February 18th, 2010 at 9:21 am
Thanks, Zac! Even us third-stringers occasionally loft a wobbly pass into the end-zone. HAR!
March 5th, 2010 at 3:40 am
I loved this book. Brilliant, intelligent novel, read by the author in his usual, entertaining way.