Club-Drugs Books

I lack the adjectives to describe either the book or my reaction to it adequately. It has a cumulative power and majesty that must move even (especially?) the so-called conventional "social drinker" to wonder. Where, it forces me to ask, among the array of well-limned personalities in this finely written volume and among these tenderly laced vignettes am I? The book has a lyric quality to it that saves it from any sign of preachiness. It compels one to visualize, even if one has not had the experiences of Mr. Thomson's fellowship, the agony lurking in the transcient pleasures of drink. Bravo and congratulations, Mr. Thomson!

David Earl Thomson's Fellowship of Men and Women makes a powerful impact. Much of it comes from the ease with which you get to know his characters, ordinary people, familiar and likeable, before realizing that each in his own way, is spinning out of control. These are alcoholics and, as any alcoholic can attest, an alcoholic is usually the last to acknowledge how bad things really are. Thomson's portraits reminded me of "the mass of men" Henry David Thoreau described over a hundred years ago leading "lives of quiet desperation", and reveal how some choose to deal or forget. Readers should not be surprised to find a friend or loved one -- or themselves -- on these pages, so perceptive are Thomson's observations. Buy this book for someone you love.

This powerful book stands alone in its literary value and has the added emotional impact of an inside look at various kinds of alcoholism and its effects on those around them. It makes clear that it is a disease. The book makes you care about each of the people and you find yourself realizing that they need help and not condemnation. A must read for a deeper understanding of one of today's most pressing issues.

"A Fellowship of Men and Women" is one of those books that you hate to leave when it is finished, because of the way the author puts words together. Not only do they linger in your ears and in your brain, they also weave a story that is poignant and compelling. I was amazed to find myself transported inside each character at a visceral level, giving me an understanding of addiction as I never have before. The writing is reminiscent of Hemmingway and I can't wait for Thomson's next novel. In the meantime, every teenager, adult, counselor, teacher, doctor, crisis manager, AA and Alanon leader should use this novel as a textbook. Never has such a hard, profound message been so easy to absorb!

A Fellowship of Men and Women is an incredibly moving novel. It is a compilation of many lives all touched by alcoholism, yet each in such different ways. It is an unbelievably valuable book for anyone who has or has had any contact with this disease. I fell in love with each and every character, and had trouble putting the book down, right to the very end.

I jest finished reading this book it was great, I myself Have adhd so i know some of the heartships, so if you do or don't have adhd this book is a must. I just couldn't put it down, until my mom borowed it and finished it in the same day

A friend who's son has ADHD lent me this book. I read it in one sitting. "Club Meds" does for ADHD what "Motherless Brooklyn" by Jonathan Lethem did for Tourette's Syndrome: we get a glimpse inside the head of someone suffering from a condition few of us can recognize or understand. Written from the perspective of Jack Sutton, an irreverent, realistic young teen dealing with the effects of going off his medication when the high school bully confiscates his Ritalin, which Jack has been taking since the 3rd grade.

A good book for kids with ADHD who need a peer character to look up to, and to remind them that they are not alone with their condition. A good book for parents who want a better understanding of what their "different" kids might be going through at school AND at home. A good book for anyone who enjoys a good story and interesting, well developed characters. A side note: my 54 year old husband woke up in the middle of the night, went down to the kitchen, found the book on the counter, and started reading while eating some cereal. He read a third of it before going back to bed, then finished it the next day. Now that's impressive!

For John "Jack" Sutton, life is made up of two things--when the meds he takes for ADHD are streaming through his system, and when they're wearing off. For as long as he can remember, he's taken medication at regular intervals throughout the day to help with his ADHD, otherwise known as Attention Deficit hyperactivity Disorder. Although there are still plenty of times when his mind wanders, or when he can't answer a direct question, or when he's in his own world and doesn't even realize that someone is speaking to him, these times are fewer and farther between when he's taking his Ritalin.

Jack has a pretty close-knit group of friends: Mary, who also has ADHD, and Sam, who takes medication to keep him from having seizures due to epilepsy. Along with a few other students at Busby Memorial High School, they make up Club Meds--the students who arrive at the nurse's office daily for their mid-day dose of medication.

Jack's life isn't only made up of Club Meds, though. There's also his mother, a stay-at-home mom who has the art of worrying down to an exact science. For someone who is a freshman in high school, Jack has very little freedom. He's not allowed to talk on the phone after eight p.m., especially to Mary, who for some reason is persona non grata to his mother. He doesn't go out to parties, or stay out late, or date. And when and if he does get in trouble, which happens a lot when he deals with his father, his punishment is to have his computer taken away. Since Jack's idea of light reading is a Mac manual, this is torture. For his father, a former jock who doesn't even truly believe in either ADHD or the need for medication, dealing with Jack is something he tries to avoid at all costs.

And then there's Chuck Williams, the bully of all bullies, who gets off on tormenting the members of Club Meds. For Jack, things get even worse when Chuck starts demanding he turn over some of his weekly medication for his own purposes. How is Jack supposed to deal with everyday life without his medicine? As things go from bad to worse, it's up to the members of Club Meds to come up with a plan to end Chuck's assault.

CLUB MEDS is a great, entertaining, quick read. I've been fortunate to read some of Ms. Page's previous releases in the adult mystery market, and have to say that the same fast-paced style is in play here. A great read about being different, tolerating cruelty, and having what's mentioned in the book as "a disability that no one can see."

Prescription drugs are very much needed, but can be very expensive. To get help in dealing with the cost, it can be very time consuming and fustrating.

This book, makes it very easy to understand programs that can help individuals achieve significant cost savings when they need precscriptions.

It is truly a god sent and can be a life saver.

This book is an excellent guide for people who want to sav money on prescription drugs. It tells you about reduced costs at web sites, about getting reduced prices or free from drug companies, and even mail-order and generic substitution. Each chapter is on a separate topic. And the appendix gives you telephone numbers and web addresses. A great book for consumers.

I like this book a lot. It was easy to find what I needed and it was such a relief to read something that wasn't all anti-drug propoganda. It was just the right mix of science-clinical and just plain interesting. This lady did her research so I don't have to. This isn't a pro-drug book, but it is objective. Some cool stories too.

I heard Ms. Knowles speak in Chicago recently and bought her book there. I love the format of this book and especially like the sections on prevention (stuff we can actually do) and harm reduction. Since I read the book after hearing her speak I had a healthy skepticism for "data" and "facts" that have been presented in other places, in particular the popular media. Her book does a nice job of pointing out discrepancies in reporting in this area and helping the reader to question and figure out what is true. The book is understated (no scare messages or sensationalism) and objective, which is so, so refreshing in this field. The resources are invaluable to me. I never thought much about the subculture of people who use these chemicals as being intelligent, but now I'm looking at that source of information in a whole new light. I also appreciated the reading list in the back. I've seen students with some of those books and didn't have a clue - now I do. I'll be doing a lot of reading this summer.

This book is an excellent resource for health officials and parents, It is quick, concise and lists symptoms to look for if someone is using the drug. It discusses paraphenalia, as well as provides pictures of what the drug looks like in various forms. Easy to read, a must have for parents, schools, home health nurses, school nurses as well as peace officers.

Many people today have never heard of Synanon -- in many ways, the root of our drug rehab system today. Perhaps not surprisingly, Synanon is one of the many controversial organizations that wove its way through the 60s, becoming a commune, then developing a "cultish" reputation while at the same time becoming a powerful influence in Corporate America. How odd. It's a good history of the program, and is important reading for that reason alone. I read it to try to understand and come to grips with my own history in a "drug program" that apparently had its roots in this one. I understand a lot more about myself and the influence of the program on me now that I've read this book. It's tragic, I think, that we leave the most desperate of our citizens at the mercy of people who exploit them mercilessly because we don't know what else to do, and basically, we just don't care. We can do better than this, but only if we understand the roots of the dysfunction of our "rehab" system. It only compounds the dysfunction of addiction. For a balanced interpretation, also read "When Society Becomes an Addict" by Anne Wilson Schaef.

"The Rise and Fall of Synanon: A California Utopia" is a valiant effort at responsible reportage with many years of hindsight. I would not overlook its importance.

This book is a fascinating look at the underbelly of New York night life in the 1990s.

Clubland: The Fabulous Rise and Murderous Fall of Club Culture, by Frank Owen

Being from Westchester NY and having been to all the clubs mentioned and knowing some of the people mentioned and at least knowing of most of them, the book sort of gives me the creeps. Reading about the craziness that went on behind the scenes puts the darkness of the NY nightlife in a different kind of light.

It is quite interesting to learn about Peter Gatien's twisted rise to NY City club mogul, especially being from a small Canadian mill town. The characters seem about right. For anyone that's been to the Limelight, Sound Factory or any other NY City underground type club during the time frame in the book can attest to the almost cartoon like figures lurking in the shadows and loosing it on the dance floors. The ambulances would line up out side the Sound Factory just before sunup and the doors would finally close around 2pm the next day.

I enjoyed the look into some of the players of the era and have to hand it to Frank Owen for the time and effort spent sniffing out the story, no pun intended.

By Kevin Kingston, author of: A 20,000% Gain in Real Estate

My Blog: The Real Estate Investors Blog
At Bloglines

There was a time, that I sat in my mid Atlantic hometown and read Interview, subscribed to the Village Voice, and partied at local night spots that couldn't hold a candle to the New York club scene when it came to sheer decadence but they tried-- oh, how they tried. This was long before the Clubkids though. In fact I seemed to have missed this phenomenon entirely-- never even saw them on television-- until I ran into the movie Party Monster via a radio interview on NPR with Seth Green who starred in the 2003 movie Party Monster based on the documentary, that was based on the events surrounding the death of low level drug dealer at the hands of a party promoter.

Owens has done a fine job as a reporter. As a true outsider though, I have to admit that I wasn't all that surprised at the drugged out antics of the club goers (for some reason urine is always used for shock value) which really weren't that different from the earlier period or probably even now. It was the violence of the family connected thugs that I found disturbing.

Owen did well not to concentrate on Alig's murder of Angel. The information about the Florida club scene was interesting. There were things Owen talked about that I would have liked him to have expanded on, such as his theory about the fascination that mobsters and entertainment stars have for one another.

There were also some potentially hilarious scenes in the book such as when one of the informants takes two burly male DEA agents -- one of them in a dress with a slit up the side.

On the down side, though, the book seemed to end rather abruptly with some rather lightweight, but mercifully brief sermonizing about how the dance clubs were built on cruelty.
Well worth the read.

The pace of this book was amazing. It's unfortunate that a poor movie like "Party Monster" prevented Clubland from being made into one. With the right director and cast, there is no doubt in my mind that this would have been huge. The cast of true characters in this book are people you find yourself rooting against. It reminds me of "Goodfellas" one of the best movies of all time.

During the 1990s, Frank Owen made a name for himself as a chronicler of the darker side of Manhattan night life, focusing especially on the always outrageous, often seedy, and occasionally criminal exploits of a small cadre of club owners and party promoters. His articles in the Village Voice managed to combine both some truly commendable journalism with a disarmingly naive dismay at the excesses of the scene; many of us read his pieces at the time with both uneasy recognition and palpable shock.

"Clubland" is the summation of this reporting, focusing on a trio of truly larger-than-life characters: promoter Michael Alig, who spearheaded New York's "club kid" scene; club owner Peter Gatien, who owned the Tunnel, the Limelight, the Palladium, and Club USA; and Chris Paciello, who fled New York to preside over the burgeoning Miami nightlife. Owen broke many of the stories and scandals surrounding Alig and Gatien; his reporting on Paciello is largely after-the-fact for the Miami period, but it's still remarkable how much new material he reveals and assembles.

Owen's coverage was and is superb and, for the most part, even-handed; he treats with an equally skeptical eye the abuses and foibles both of "clubland's" then-presiding influences and of overzealous law enforcement authorities. He also writes well, providing page-turning accounts of the murders, assaults, blackmail, drugs, and even government malfeasance that plagued Gatien's clubs and employees. Impressively gaining the confidence of nearly every party involved with the crimes and misdemeanors he describes, Owen skillfully fills in many of the details that were missing from the newspaper coverage at the time. Overall, then, this is a fascinating and well-researched book.

Where Owen stumbles, however, is his occasional (but thankfully sparse) tendency to use the examples of a few bad eggs to paint a tawdry picture of all of New York's nightlife. [Full disclosure: I knew or know a number of the people mentioned in this book.] As a result of his experiences, Owen is "more likely to view discos as institutions constructed on cruelty," and there are a number of other similar sentiments that pepper the book. It should be unnecessary to point out that dozens of owners and managers, hundreds of DJs and promoters, and thousands of club employees and patrons have never seen the inside of a courtroom, much less a jail cell. It's sad to see Owen, who is an excellent reporter, succumb to this sort of moralizing overreach; it is as simplistic as viewing Jayson Blair and Judith Miller as emblematic of all journalists, or as holding up a few rogue cops as examples of an "institution constructed on cruelty."

Another recurrent theme of Owen's book is the "fall" of clubland. Of course, many New Yorkers older than either Owen or me argue that the night scene fell after Steve Rubell went to jail and Studio 54 closed its doors (or, for that matter, after the heyday of the Copacabana or the Cotton Club). And it can't be news to Owen that there are still thriving, crowded, exuberantly joyous dance clubs in New York that a younger crowd surely believes is the best thing that's happened to entertainment. Even now, if a journalist like Owen were to scratch the surface, he'd doubtlessly find a few Mob-controlled elements and the scourge of drug abuse--only now, crystal meth has replaced Special K as the problem "party favor," just as ecstasy had supplanted cocaine two decades ago.

In fact, the scene described by Owen had moved past Alig and Gatien long before the duo's downfall in the mid-1990s. Except to a relatively small number of devotees, Alig had become embarrassingly passe as quickly as any other trend in this city; he and his peers often had difficulty filling even the smaller clubs. Many of us fled Alig's "Disco 2000" parties years earlier, moving to clubs dominated by a different set who spent their days working out in the gym and their nights (and mornings) dancing in abandon. And now, in Astoria, there is a more art-conscious and ethnically mixed "club kid" scene, presided over by some fresh faces as well as a few surviving denizens of Gatien's clubs.

In spite of these quibbles, Owen has no peer as a chronicler of the primeval "club kid" scene; what his reporting lacks, then, is historical perspective. "Clubland" is, however, a book of journalism, not of history; as such, it succeeds admirably at describing a comparatively narrow but inordinately visible slice of 1990s nightlife.

If I was on a roller coaster, this would be the section of track where the coaster cars first go over the big hill and plunge into the deep, dark, underground tunnel.

Lost is a revealing and courageously honest examination of the author's slide into self-destruction. Drug abuse, alcoholism, embezzlement, insurance fraud... the spiral into darkness seems uncontrollable. So many people in our culture today succumb to the temptations of greed, vanity and lust. This story makes it seem all too dangerously simple and should act as a beacon of warning to all those making similar life choices.

Told with the same biting wit and manic pacing as his first six chapters, this latest installment of Moments and Milestones leaves the reader breathless and bruised.

Cutting a swath of destruction across his life, the cyclonic force of this latest chapter in author Timothy Mulder's history has swept me up in its backwash.

I am enjoying my journey through the chapters of Mr. Mulder's memoir. Once again, I am captivated by his lifestyle involving drug use, nightclubs, and the people he associated with during those times. I am leaving this chapter with the feeling of satisfaction of having been somewhere, yet frustrated because I am left wanting more. It is with great anticipation that I look forward to the next chapter.

Lost (part three) is such a departure from the first six chapters of Moments and Milestones that I almost could not believe it was part of the same story.
The author; Timothy Mulder takes the reader boldly and with courageous honesty along for the ride as he dives deep into denial, drug addiction and betrayal of self.
After witnessing him fully blossom into a proud self-realized gay man in 'Lonely', this willful self destruction was painful to behold.
He never looses his sense of wit and seems to learn powerful lessons along the way, so I can only hope for a light at the end of the tunnel.

Riveting storytelling.

"Lost" continues Timothy Mulder's trek through life, and as the title implies, the period covered by this book is dark, indeed. It covers his fall into drug abuse and the problems he suffers in his relationships and life in general during a very tough period, leading to what amounts to a spiritual collapse.

To be entirely honest, writing a review for this book is difficult. The author's life as depicted in "Lost" is such a huge departure from anything in my own personal experience that it's hard for me to find a frame of reference. I've been blessed with a comparatively easy life, no substance abuse problems (either for myself or others in my family), and while I've had a number of challenges now and then, I can only give thanks that I've never had to see the sort of hell the author has lived through. I have been extraordinarily blessed.

But, upon reflection, that's truly the power of this book and the others in Timothy Mulder's series: I believe that sharing his traumatic experiences helps those of us who haven't had to go down that road appreciate how good we have it, and hopefully makes us more understanding - and respectful - of those who have.

Anticipating another winner I found one. Mulder writes with the wisdom of hindsight, but realistically, not leaving anything out including his own mistakes. Nothing hides in the closet with this riveting sequel.
Still wanting more. I Can't wait.
Sondi

Tim Lieder's anthology is an entertaining trip into the Outer Limits of the Twilight Zone. It is a place where a War Against Clowns is violently waged, a magician is taught magic by a scottish crab, a pretty lycanthrope unleashes her wild side in a London club, and a not so imaginary friend helps a shy young man get the girl. Sadly there are no cannibal teddy bears to be found in any of the stories. Maybe in the next anthology. Recommended.

Tim Lieder instantly gained my respect for producing the first anthology I've come across in some time that does not include its editor's own fiction between its pages. It's a practice that has become all-too-common these days, and any editors who do it are instantly suspect in my eyes. Essentially, they're just making sure they get a little extra added to their royalty checks. Thank you, Mr. Lieder and Dybbuk Press, for taking the high road, and for producing one of the more consistent modern anthologies.

The first impression that Teddy Bear Cannibal Massacre made on me was through its cover art (by Amanda Rehagen): an obviously pissed-off poseable stuffed bear brandishing what is either a spatula or some sort of medieval fly swatter. This image is surprisingly good at setting the tone for the anthology: the circumventing of my expectations. Nothing was what I thought it would be, most of all the fact that not a one of these "11 stories of fear, obsession, and killer clowns" has a damn thing to do with a teddy bear cannibal massacre, in any sense of the phrase.

Once I got past that, however, I was ready to take on each in Teddy Bear Cannibal Massacre story on its own merits. The first one, "Formaldehyde" by C.C. Parker, however, did not make much of an impression. It took Paul Haines to really get me ready for some entertainment with his "Doof Doof Doof". Its beginning doesn't show much promise, but it folds wonderfully into the rest of this revisionist fairy tale starring Little Red Riding Hood, the Big Bad Wolf, and the Three Little Pigs.

Roberta Rogaw's "Peppercorn Rent" is a more pedestrian kind of tale, but its inclusion of lupine lady, a singer named Lime Green Jello, and an old land rule from the 15th century raises it above the rabble. Sadly, Tim Johnson's "Rats, Wrong Alley" is just one cliche piled on top of the last, all threaded together by stilted dialogue. "Brilliant Suspension" by Trina Shealy Orton has a great beginning -- or, rather, is a great beginning to a story that almost happens, and then doesn't. Conversely, Cameron Hill's "Hermetic Crab" is simply overflowing with imagination -- so much that it doesn't seem to know what to do with it all. When a man finds a magic hermit crab that speaks in a Scottish brogue (don't ask me!), he gets caught up in a fantastic battle of wits and spells. Somehow, this all works together, but it would be even better with a little more focus.

"Blue Elephants" by Jenifer Jourdanne is another type of story entirely. It doesn't belong in a horror anthology like Teddy Bear Cannibal Massacre, and I'm not quite sure it's even a story -- though it has a narrative thread, however thin -- as it seems more like a journal entry. The line between truth and fiction is blurred, in any case, as the author's name is the same as the narrator's. Be that as it may, it is immensely entertaining and Jourdanne's voice is loud and clear. She may have a future as a memoirist alongside Augusten Burroughs, Chuck Klosterman, and Rachel Manija Brown.

"Something Funny is Going On," Brian Rosenberger's offering, effectively showcases the thought processes of a soldier, but in a war against what? Something closer to home than we'd like to think. And I think someone is going to have to explain to me what's going on in Michael Stone's "Clob" before I can make a judgment on it. It has something to do with a talking fish (what's with the anthropomorphic sea creatures?) and the intricacies of romance -- more than that, I can't say.

Beauty and the Beast becomes The Beast and the Beast in William Brock's poetically tragic "Berries Under Snow." But my absolute favorite has to be Robert Steussi's "Head Drippers," where a man doing psychological research comes across abominable experiments. It is like something out of The Twilight Zone and I was surprised when it ended so soon -- this idea could easily be expanded to novel length. Teddy Bear Cannibal Massacre is an auspicious debut for Dybbuk Press. Editor and publisher Tim Lieder obviously has an eye for a good story and, more importantly, he knows when to make a genre exception for the sake of the book.

I wasn't sure what to make of Teddy Bear Cannibal Massacre when I received it. I mean are these guys serious? Yup, there's a rather angry looking Teddy Bear right on the cover. Yet this horror athnology from Tim Lieder's Dybbuk press turned out to be quite a surprise with 11 stories that hit on a variety of subjects including demented fairy tales, killer clowns, and talking crabs.

C.C. Parker's "Formaldehyde" is a somewhat meandering tale of Bad mushrooms, zombies, and the overpowering smell of formaldehyde. I really loved Paul Haines' "Doof, Doof, Doof" telling a rather demented version of Little Red Riding Hood where the big bad wolf is down on his luck, Red is rather promiscuous, and the three little pigs are foul-mouthed little perverts. What more could you ask for!

"Rats! Wrong Alley" deals with a couple of small-time degenerate drug dealers who have to come up with some money very quickly or find themselves very dead. When they rob a convenience store and hide out in a dilapidated alley, they find that there are worse things than winos living there. Story by Tim Johnson.

Cameron Hill's "Hermetic Crab" is wonderfully imaginative but somewhat out of place as it is more of a straight urban fantasy as opposed to horror. A man finds a crab that talks with a Scottish accent who teaches him the ways of arcane mystical arts for an eventual showdown with the story's villain.

"Something Funny is Going On" by Brian Rosenberger is a great story. It's told in first person through entries in the lead character's war journal and I couldn't get the image of Marvel Comics' The Punisher out of my head while I read it. This lone soldier battles a world that has been infected by alien clowns and he's terminating them with extreme prejudice...and a bit of biting humor to boot.

"Head Drippers" by Robert Steussi might be the single most horrifying tale in the book. A man conducting a journalistic experiment checks himself into a psychiatric hospital to find out just what goes on behind the closed doors and to see if he can actually get back out. He'll soon find he's picked the wrong hospital to check into and "head drippers" becomes quite a literal term.

Other stories are provided by Trina Shealy Orton, William Brock, Roberta Rogaw, Jennifer Jourdanne, and Michael Stone. 144 pages in all and definitely an anthology worth picking up. So when is volume two coming out?

Reviewed by Tim Janson

An interesting collection of delightfully disturbing tales, whose twists and turns reflect the multifaceted personality of the editor: a pro-war liberal, a Lutheran-turned-Jew, and an obviously sensitive soul with a strong commitment to the macabre. "Doof, Doof, Doof," for example, is a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs, with the lecherous wolf as a grumpy, suicidal main character, complete with a spectacular sex scene starring Little Red Riding Hood and - you guessed it - the three little pigs. "Brilliant Suspension" evokes Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum" - with a mysterious transformation twist at the end. "Blue Elephants," on the other hand, rather than being just scary, offers an interesting commentary on the life of the single person in California. An eclectic anthology of eleven provocative stories, self-produced by what promises to be a rising force in independent sexploitation horror.

Teddy Bear Cannibal Massacre is a book of impossible evil, really bad bad evil. If you read it, you'll go insane, vote for Lyndon Larouche, listen to easy listening, and watch the crinkly evil squid eat out your eyeballs. These 11 stories by some of the freshest writers in horror include tales of killer clowns, dancing werewolves, mutant rats, zombies, high schoolers, Disneyland, and other terrible things.

Fiction:

Formaldehyde - C.C. Parker
Doof Doof Doof - Paul Haines
Peppercorn Rent - Roberta Rogow
Rats, Wrong Alley - Tim Johnson
Brilliant Suspension - Trina Shealy Orton
Blue Elephants - Jenifer Jourdanne
Hermetic Crab - Cameron Hill
Head Drippers - Rob Steussi
Something Funny is Going On - Brian Rosenberger
Clob - Michael Stone
Berries Under Snow - William Brock

Artwork: Amanda Rehagen

Formaldehyde - my doesn't approve of the swearing
Doof Doof Doof - my mother really doesn't approve of this one.
Peppercorn Rent - It's got dancing.
Rats, Wrong Alley - name says it all.
Brilliant Suspension - Torture story
Blue Elephants - Check out Jenifer Jourdanne's livejournal. She's funnier than Sedaris.
Hermetic Crab - not sure why the crab has a brogue
Head Drippers - Very inspired by Philip K. Dick
Something Funny is Going On - you know I always liked clowns. Apparently I'm in the minority.
Clob - a sweet love story
Berries Under Snow - a creepy love story

Besides that, this is the first book of Dybbuk Press. Hope you enjoy.

"Bad Company" is a good example of a book that ties the creative with the factual. Steve Wick did a wonderful job in developing the story without making it too heavy for the gray cells. He was able to successfully give insights into the lives of both the living and the dead giving ample space for both the protagonist (Roy Radin) and the antagonist (Laney Jacobs) as well as the people around them.

After reading the book, I see Laney Jacobs/Laney Greenberger as a woman who used an aura air sophistication and good taste to mask her ruthlessness. She was a woman who wouldn't let anything or anybody stand in the way of achieving her goals and dreams. Laney Jacobs/Laney Greenberger was a person who only thought of herself.

The only problem that I had with the book is that the last 2 chapters gave me an impression that the last parts were hastily done. I believe Steve Wick could have given the said sections "more meat" instead of making it look like a summary of whatever happened after Laney Jacob's/Laney Greenberger's arrest.

Chilling true life crime. Good portayal of the subjects

First a little background information about the main players in this tale of cocaine, murder, egos, and Showbiz "wannabes" and "ustawuzes."

For starters there was Roy Radin, a modern day, but old fashioned, vaudeville entrepeneur. Radin got very rich producing vaudeville type productions that traveled a circuit of medium sized midwestern cities and towns as fund raisers for such organizations as police benevolent societies. The sponsoring societies did make money, but Radin usually made more. His shows and audiences were the sort that usually gave more applause and greater laughter to the trained dog act than to well-known entertainer, Joey Bishop.

Oh, yes, Radin was also a binge eater and user of cocaine. These little habits often consumed a big part of his income.

The second major player in this drama was Karen "Laney" Jacobs, later Laney Greenberger. It is a matter of public record, from her later pre-trial hearings, that Laney was a major cocaine distributor who did business with some very vicious people, and who ended up on trial herself for a very vicious murder.

A third player, key to our story, was Robert Evans, a Hollywood movie producer who had produced some very successful movies but who, during the period covered by this book, was somewhat down on his luck.

Additional players were various drug traffickers, dealers, gangsters, and hit men, as well as Laney's last husband, Larry Greenberger, who either was a retired businessman or a major player in the drug trade, depending on whose testimony one chooses to believe.

It would seem that both Radin and Laney (then Greenberger) wanted to get into the legitimate movie producing business. To facilitate this desire, Laney introduced Radin to Robert Evans who had the rights to produce the movie "Cotton Club," but who was unable, at that time, to get financing through normal channels. Radin, through use of his own money, and money from other sources, could provide this much needed financial backing.

Laney's idea, when she made the introduction, was to form a production company consisting of Evans, Radin, and herself. This is the point where Radin made his very serious error in judgment. He decided to cut Laney out of the deal and to only pay her a $50,000 finder's fee. Laney didn't take kindly to this snub. Being a principal in the procuction company that made this film would have made her "someone" in Hollywood, and potentially could have been very profitable to the tune of millions.

She didn't take this sort of thing lightly. One evening, she set up a dinner meeting with Radin to "discuss" their differences. He was last seen alive getting into her limousine. A month later his badly decomposed body was discovered, It had multiple bullet holes in the head.

Her last husband was also guilty of using poor judgment, which evidently caused Laney to become angry with him. One day, with Laney upstairs in their large estate home in Florida, He managed to commit suicide in a most unusual manner. With a large caliber gun in his right hand, he somehow shot himself in the left temple with powder marks that indicated that, in addition to this unusual way of shooting himself on the wrong side of the head, he had managed to do it from six to eight feet away. Very long arms? He also managed to hold onto the gun, with his finger still on the trigger, even though the recoil should have caused him to drop it. A most amazing form of suicide.

Since Laney was charged with Radin's murder and expedited to California, the investigation of this most unusual suicide was never completed.

This all goes to show that, when dealing with a no-nonsense, tough as nails, female drug dealer, one really should try to use some degree of discretion.

Oh wow!!!! Just when you think you've read everything about very bad people, along comes this gem. The cast of characters in this book makes Caligula look like Mother Teresa. A real page-turner about the murder of an aspiring producer, Roy Radin, in the 1980s. Steve Wick is a reader's writer: he keeps the pace moving weaving the details into a very rich tapestry. I didn't want the book to end. NB--Because this book is out-of-print, run, don't walk, to the public library and check out a copy. It's worth your time and effort.

This other book goes into this crime further and the association with the Manson Family. I remember reading this book a few years ago and it sent chills up my spine...why? well, because I used to date Bill Mentzer (the "hit man" profiled in this book. It's truly amazing that he could have actually been the person that I read about and I was, well, shocked to say the least. I thought he made all of his money being a body guard for the rich and famous and had no idea that the trips he took me on were his alibi's...scary stuff when I look back. I also learned from the book that he was cheating on me with Lannie what's her name. Well, at least it had a good ending and he ended up in prison where he 'ought to be after he got his 7 minutes of fame featured on "America's Most Wanted. I stopped taking his collect calls and letters since I saw the show and read the book.