Good reader, we are, of course, friends. But some of you are closer friends than others. By that, I mean that in our social media-addicted culture, I am referring to Facebook, naturally. I was slow to join FB, and it can often be bad. Or, often for me, something to simply ignore. But as a writer (lower case ‘w’) and Reader (upper case ‘R’), I do discuss topics of interest with a wide range of knowledgeable folks. And naturally, I promote Black Gate and my blogging here. So, it has its uses.

Last year, from May 14th to December 31st, I wrote a hardboiled/pulp column, with a little help from some friends. It was called A (Black)  Gat in the Hand (if you don’t know the reference, go read some Raymond Chandler). And over on Facebook, I made a bunch of related posts under the moniker, Back Deck Pulp. I sat on my nice back deck and read pulp. Then I posted snippets of interesting (to me) info on said story, author, whatever.

I shared some neat info on pulp and hardboiled stuff worth reading. And I included a picture of the subject. There was so much great art with that old pulp stuff. I posted a LOT of Back Deck Pulp (which people did seem to like…). So much, that I collected the entries and came up with six whole A (Black) Gat in the Hand posts!

Well, A (Black) Gat in the Hand is making a return appearance this summer, while I continue to work on my next Robert E. Howard/Conan series. And once again, I’ve got some seriously talented guest posters lined up, so at least a few essays will be good. So, naturally, Back Deck Pulp is back in business! I’ve got the patio furniture out and I’ve started doing my research.

Here’s one recent sample:

It’s a cool 47 degrees this morning here at Back Deck Pulp. The under-appreciated Norbert Davis stands alongside Hammett and Nebel as one of my favorites. And Max Latin is just about my favorite PI.

It’s a shame Davis only wrote five Latin stories, which all appeared in Dime Detective from 1941 to 1943.

I highly recommend this collection from Altus Press, which includes a surprisingly disappointing intro from my all time favorite author, John D MacDonald. JDM seemed to have been in a bad mood when he wrote it.

So, if you are on FB, and we’re not friends, and you like pulp, friend me and check out the posts. If you don’t like pulp, you should friend me anyways: I’m a very interesting person…

Here are the links to last year’s Back Deck Pulp posts here at Black Gate. Check one out. I started including a little bit of background info on each entry in #3 – I think it worked, and I’m going to use that format again this summer.

Back Deck Pulp #1
Back Deck Pulp #2
Back Deck Pulp #3
Back Deck Pulp #4
Back Deck Pulp #5
Back Deck Pulp #6

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Bob Byrne organized and edits Black Gate’s current ‘Hither Came Conan’ series. 

His ‘A (Black) Gat in the Hand’ was a regular Monday morning hardboiled pulp column from May through December, 2018.

His ‘The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes’ column ran every Monday morning at Black Gate  from March, 2014 through March, 2017 (still making an occasional return appearance!).

He also organized Black Gate’s award-nominated ‘Discovering Robert E. Howard’ series.

He is a member of the Praed Street Irregulars, founded www.SolarPons.com (the only website dedicated to the ‘Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street’) and blogs about Holmes and other mystery matters at Almost Holmes.

He has contributed stories to The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories – Parts III, IV,  V and VI.

And he is in a new anthology of new Solar Pons stories, out now.