I was trying to come up with a theme for today’s posting. April,2,2005. A few things came to mind. Small, but relevant things. My pulp novel, BROTHER GRIM, went on sale at Amazon.com this past week. Hopefully lots more readers of the fantastic are going to find it now.

With any luck and no snafus, Ralph D is going to post the second installment of my review column,
PULP FICTION. Hit the link above and see me rant on paperback noir thrillers.

Wrote a new 5 page sci-fi horror comic strip called ROBOT LOVE, this past week for my good friend, Stacie Ponder. It will appear in an new EC like anthology she is editing. The art is by some new Phillipino who has tons of talent. I’ll keep you posted. The first of my Father Michael Ryan stories for Blinding Force Pulps is completed and now being edited. A few more weeks and this should be available for your perusal.

Again, items of interest, but nothing you would label as monumental stuff. Until this afernoon, when two things of interest to me seemed to collide in my thoughts. One has made me deliriously happy the past few weeks while the other just happened and has left me reflective and sad.

I am the biggest KING KONG fan in the entire world. Have been since my dad took me to the theater at the age of nine (a 1955 re-release)to see this 1933 classic fantasy adventure. What can I say? The big gorilla imprinted himself on my imagination and I’ve been a devoted fan ever since. Naturally I was thrilled when Peter Jackson took on the new remake which he’s now whipping up in New Zealand. I’ve been following his video diaries weekly on the net and feeling like a little kid again. Last week they were shooting the sequence when the Navy Hellcat planes attack Kong atop the Empire State Building. Of course there’s no gorilla yet. He’ll be added later by the magic of CGI. The film’s release is scheduled for this coming December. I predict it’s going to be an amazing blockbuster.

Then, in the midst of this fun stuff, I
was informed that our beloved Pope John Paul II
had finally passed away this afternoon. It was
sombering news, not unexpected, as we’d all been
serving one kind of vigil or another sense his
health began to deteriorate yesterday. Still,it comes as a blow. I’m a Catholic. This man was more than just a pope, he was an exceptional
human being who lived his mission in life, bringing the message of God’s love to the world.
A world very much secular and in need of that
message. Now he’s gone to his glorious reward,
leaving this world so much better for his having
been in it. I’m praying now, when I think about
him, and will do lots more of that in the next
few days. Movies are cool, even our favorite ones. But the passage of a great man, is what
resonates in my heart.

The roller coaster of my life was at full speed today, both in its highs and lows.

God bless you all, over out, Ron.

First up thank you one and all for your gracious responses to my last log entry detailing my recent medical scares. We aren’t completely out of the woods yet, but with your continued prayers, Val and I have no doubts things will be back to routine soon.

Okay, since I wanted this log to be used primarily to keep you all up to date with my latest writing projects, let’s get to it. The comic book atop this column is Digital Webbing Presents #24 dated July, 2005. The cover feature is a Gargoyle story written by yours truly and wonderfully illustrated by the character’s creator, Dario Carrasco. This is the second Gargoyle story Dario and I have done together and both of us were thrilled when Ed Dukeshire at DWP asked to run it in his full color anthology. The book will be solicited in
next month’s Diamond PREVIEW, so if you want a copy, you know where to look. I’d love to do more of these, but that will depend on how well this first adventure is received.

The week before last I announced the start of my new book review column, PULP FICTION. Well, it is officially up and running over at
the Paperback Bazaar site (see the link above)
and soon to be featured at Casablanca Comics.com and Modern Pulp.com, sort of my own web syndication if you will. My first column has been up a week and already received dozens of letters telling me how much it is enjoyed. Thank you and please keep, reading. Also a big-big thanks to Bill Thom over at Coming Attractions for announcing the birth of
PULP FICTION to pulpdom at large. I hope to post new reviews weekly if humanly possible, bi-weekly if not. Ha.

Finally my newest amigo, Anthony Schiavino over at Blinding Force Pulp (see my links page) has invited me to join his dynamic operations and create a brand new pulp series. Today he posted a press release concerning MESSENGER 13 –
the Father Michael Ryan Stories. As I’ve not finished my first story (..almost), I’ll hold off any more on this new and exciting venture until next time around. Needless to say, my plate is very, very full these days, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Hope you all had a great Easter holiday, take
care till next time.

Over and out, Ron.

For the past few months I’ve been dealing with some serious health issues. They were series enough to keep private and only share with my immediate family. Up to now. Now, with some good news under my belt, is the time to come clean to all of you, my fans, readers and good friends.

Back in Jan. I came down with a bad case of pneumonia that really tore into my lungs in a bad way. After an extended period on antibiotics, and a good doctor’s care, it looked like things were starting to clear up. All but a very nasty and persistent cough. Eventually, Valerie, my better half, got me to see the Doc one more time. I did. He suggested an X-ray to
determine the pneumonia was gone. I went and had the X-rays taken. Sure enough, the X-rays showed no more pneumonia. Hooray. They also showed some anomalies, ala two spots on my lungs. Bad.

At this point, my doctor recommended I go for a catscan. Obviously he was concerned the spots were cancer. When the catscan results came in, they only confirmed that I had two lesions of unknown matter on my lungs. I was then sent to a pulminary specialist. You can guess that by now things were getting very tense in the old Fortier household. Last week, this specialist stuck a tube down my throat and took a biopsy from the lesions. Then it was time to come home and wait. Lung Cancer is still the number one cause of death in adults in our country. At 58, I am candidate for this malady. Wisely, I am not a smoker. This past week was one of deep soul searching and prayer for this particular Christian. I didn’t so much pray for some miracle, as much as the strength to deal with whatever would come at me. Good or bad. I’ve always been a person of faith, thanks to my loving parents. It kept me sane this past week.

A few hours ago, Valerie and I were in the specialist office being told the result of the biopsy. I do not have cancer. Just like that, in just so few words, my heart skipped a beat.
I, with the grace of God, had dodged a bullet.
What I do have seems to be a really weird infection that the doctor was still at a loss to explain away. I’m now on a two week severe antibiotic treatment to flush this out of my system. In 3 months I’ll be going back for a second catscan. If the spots are gone, then we close the book on this chapter of my life. If not, then there will be more test to take. I understand that, but for right now we are just celebrating some awfully good-good news. And I am so looking forward to Easter Sunday like you
wouldn’t believe.

So there you go. Ron’s brush with the big C and mortality. Please, learn from this. Get regular check ups and don’t ever put yourself in
harms way needless. Life is too sweet a miracle
not to cherish and cling to. HAPPY EASTER one and all.

Till next time, ha, over & out, Ron.

Those of you who have been following my log entries on a weekly basis will know that last week I mentioned I was about to start a new review column. This being predicated by certain paperback companies sending me review copies of their latest pulp thrillers.

I mentioned this to Tom Floyd, the brilliant artist who did the covers to my BROTHER GRIM book and he generously allowed me to use the above logo he had designed a while back. Only now customized it to fit my needs. Thanks,
amigo, I owe you one.

So what is PULP FICTION by Ron Fortier? Well, hopefully it is going to be a regular column wherein I look at various new and old books that fall under the designation of pulp. Books filled with action, drama, suspense, horror, fantasy and always high adventure. As of right now two sites will be carrying the column. I’ll post a list once the reviews start being posted. If you are a site manager and would like to run PULP FICTION, drop me a line. I’m not charging a dime for this, just my way of sharing my love for pulps with other readers.

So there you go, Airship Crew, another new project takes to the internet air. Wish us luck, Ron.

The cover to the left is part of a brand new line of paperback thrillers that harken back to the glory days of the pulps. In the months ahead Hard Case Crime will be bringing readers the best of the old and new noir writers.

Pulp is back and I for one couldn’t be happier. As a kid growing up in the 50s & 60s,
I was lucky enough to see a truly unique media
evolution. The old, garish pulp magazines of the pre-war years were quickly vanishing to be replaced by the new and glossier paperbacks.

All the major companies realized that these cheap, inexpensive books, sold primarily through the small drugs stores of America, were attractive because people could easily slip them into a back pocket or a purse. It was fast and quick reading for a mobile society. And for the most part, they covered all the major genres.

Chief among these were the self-same topics that had popularized the pulps themselves; horror, science-fiction, fantasy, historical romances, mysteries…and the crime thrillers.
Somehow no other single genre ever meshed so perfectly with these mini-books than the noir
inspired crime books. Writers like Mickey Spillane, Richard S.Prather, Brett Halliday, Ed McBain and hundreds of other tough-guy penmen flourished. And the covers, on those magnificently trashy covers of the sexy dames wtih the smoking guns in their hands. Totally the stuff that dreams were made of.

There is a resurgence of “pulp” in our culture today, as clearly evidence in such movies as SKY CAPTAIN & THE WORLD OF TOMORROW and the forthcoming SIN CITY. Whereas a brand spanking new paperback company has appeared on the scene as the true heir to those wonderful old drug-store series, HARD CASE CRIME. So far they’ve released a half dozen titles, all winners. And their lists of coming titles reads like a whos who of crime fiction masters.

Learning of my love for pulps, the good people at Hard Case Crime were decent enough to put me on their review list and I feel like I’ve just won the lottery. Expect to see my reviews here and on other sites in the near future. People, happy days are here again!

Have a great week, Ron.