Taste this marijuana novel

Here's an excerpt from my latest crime novel, THE BIG WINK, told from the point-of-view of a sleazy character as his gang robs a cannabis dispensary:

>>Sonny Tucker pointed his gun at the black gal's face, but he had to reach up to do it. She must've been six feet tall. The athletic type, wearing sneakers and loose warm-ups. He didn't like the look in her big brown eyes. Lot of thoughts churning behind those eyes. She was a smart gal, he could tell. Sonny didn't like smart gals.

The surfer girl behind the counter appeared to be in shock. The others – a scrawny old woman, a poor fucker in a wheelchair – cowered from the robbers, but that black woman stood ramrod straight, only her wide eyes giving away her fear.

"Hey!"

Sonny turned to find Jared hard on his heels, blue eyes burning bright in the cutouts of his ski mask.

"What are you doing?" Jared said. "Go with him."

He pointed at Ray Bunch, who stalked across the waiting room, yelling, "Everybody stay calm! This will be over before you know it."

Jared jabbed Sonny's shoulder. "Go on, dude. I've got them covered."

"Then do it, goddammit," Sonny snapped, though Jared was right. Sonny hadn't followed the plan. He hurried across the room, best as he could on his toeless feet, and was right behind Ray as they reached the curtained door.

A tattooed brute erupted through the curtain, wild-eyed and howling and running full-tilt for the exit. Before Sonny could react, Ray threw out a sinewy arm and caught the man in the throat.

The big man lifted off his feet, and his howl died with a squeak. A white wad of gum shot from his mouth and flew through the air. He smacked the tile floor flat on his back.

Ray watched him thrash and cough for a second, then looked up at Sonny.

"The fuck is wrong with him?"

"He saw us on the video." Sonny pointed at a camera near the ceiling. "He panicked."

"What a dumbass."

Sonny kept his pistol pointed at the hacking musclehead as he followed Ray through the curtain into the back room.

The clerk behind the glass counter already had his hands in the air. Sonny looked up and saw the black-and-white video monitor above the door. Fucker had seen the whole thing. He was waiting for them.

The man wore glasses, and Sonny figured him for the kind of egghead who reads books for fun. The clerk kept his face impassive, but there was a trace of impatience, too, as if he wanted to get this robbery finished so he could get back to business.<<

Fun stuff, huh? THE BIG WINK explores the medical marijuana industry in Northern California, packing in plenty of action and laughs along the way. Now available for only $2.99 from Amazon and Smashwords.

You're doing it wrong

Today's tip for aspiring criminals: When fleeing after a bank holdup, it's a good idea to look over your shoulder once in a while and make sure no one is following you.

Two robbers in Brownsville, PA, forgot this important lesson, and were promptly arrested after a motorist followed them home from the robbery, then told police of the robbers' location.

Full story here.

Big e-book sale

Nearly all my published novels now are on sale as 99-cent e-books. Everything I read about e-books says successful self-published authors are the ones who use the 99-cent price point, and I want to catch that wave.

The sale features books published before 2010 -- essentially everything previously printed on paper. (The one exception is BOOST, which is offered as an e-book by a different publisher.) The 99-cent books include all the mysteries in the Bubba Mabry series, the two novels starring sportswriter Drew Gavin and such standalone thrillers as BULLETS, BANK JOB, WHIPSAW and CUTTHROAT.

My latest e-books -- the medical marijuana novel THE BIG WINK, the hillbilly noir CALABAMA and the hitman thriller FIREPOWER -- remain $2.99, as does my hilarious "1000 RULES FOR SUCCESSFUL LIVING."

You can see all my e-books by clicking either of these links: Kindle or Smashwords.

Please tell all your friends. Thanks!

Sample my new marijuana novel

The beginning of my crime novel THE BIG WINK:

>>There once was a woman named Kwanzaa DuPont who went to the store to buy marijuana. It was her first visit to a cannabis dispensary, and she felt fluttery inside as she steered her silver Saab into the tidy parking lot

The dispensary occupied a stucco storefront shaded by two lop-sided oaks. The flat-roofed building was one of those downtown locations that changed hands frequently – a tax office one year, a skateboard shop the next. Only outward difference now was the sign: A green, seven-bladed leaf above the bold red words, "NorCal Herbal Health Collective."

The building faced one of Redding's busiest streets, and the cars zipping past worried her. Last thing Kwanzaa needed was to be recognized at a pot shop by one of her clients.

No matter that what she was doing was perfectly legal, or that thousands of Californians did the same thing every day. No matter that she had a prescription for the marijuana and a more-or-less legitimate reason for its use. Customers didn't want their bankers doing drugs. Banking was all about trust, and that was shaky enough these days.

As manager of the downtown branch, Kwanzaa was one of North State Bank's bright lights. If someone spotted her going into this "herbal health collective," word would get around town. The social stigma could jeopardize her job, her standing in the community, even Mama's legacy.

Was a legal high worth the risk?<<

Kwanzaa's visit to the dispensary goes terribly wrong when robbers burst in a few minutes later.

You can sample more of THE BIG WINK at Kindle and Smashwords. Or get the whole book for only $2.99.

Calling Ryan Gosling

My hillbilly noir novel CALABAMA is featured on the latest posting of "My Book, The Movie," the website where authors speculate about the film versions of their books.

I suggest that the young actor Ryan Gosling, who has done such amazing work in recent years, would be perfect to play Eric Newlin, the slacker antihero of CALABAMA.

Click the link to see more.