| In This Fredric Brown Issue: |
November 23, 2015
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• “Where‘s that Fredric Brown book?”
• Murder Draws a Crowd ships 11/10/15
• Contents List
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• Sample Page-Spreads
• FREE Fredric Brown Story Online!
• A Note on Amazon.com Availability
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“Where’s that Fredric Brown book?”
 In our October 27th newsletter, we boldly (and confidently!) stated that we would be shipping MURDER DRAWS A CROWD by Fredric Brown on November 10th. In fact, we expected copies to be ready by November 2nd and that we would be able to put a sizable dent in shipping out preorders. November 10th was the “public date” as by then we would have returned from exhibiting at the 2015 World Fantasy Convention (11/4 to 11/8 in Saratoga Springs, NY) and felt we could ship the balance of the preorders.
Meanwhile, we had been wrestling with the artwork for the metal die used on stamping the spine and front of the cloth-covered boards. As you can see in the pictures below, the stamping design is an homage to Brown’s 1950s hardcovers published by Dutton’s Guilt Edge Mystery imprint. In similar homage to the Fredric Brown books from Dennis McMillan, we choseto bind MURDER DRAWS A CROWD in Ecofibers’ Brillianta cloth. Sadly, the same qualities that that make Brillianta a premiumcloth, also play havoc with the thin lines of the Fredric Brown cameo artwork.
After tweaking the image to generate a “cleaner” die, it was hoped that a new sample case would be sent to our hotel in New York. If approved, final binding could commence and we could possibly still start shipping copies out on the 10th.
As you can see, the new case still had “clogging” issues. Words were expressed. Phone calls were made. Emails were sent. Meetings were held.
The result is that a new case received on November 20ht looks good. The solution was to “blind” stamp the case with a clear foil making an impression that when hit a second time with the black foil, seems to have solved the clogging issue. Of course, this doubles our cost on the stamping process, but we’d only do it or you—the loyal and patient (hey, it has been four years since MURDER DRAWS A CROWD was announced!) connoisseurs of Fredric Brown.
We’ll send another e-newsletter when we have finished copies. Until then . . .
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Keep Watching the Skies!
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Dutton spine & front design
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Stamp with original die
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Revised Stamp with new die |
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Latest stamping sample with the double-hits (oo la la!)
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• This time, it’s (finally!) MURDER! •
.Four years in the making, and it’s almost ready . . . for you!
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 MURDER DRAWS A CROWD
The Fredric Brown Mystery Library, Volume One
Introduction by Jack Seabrook
ISBN: 9781893887787
744 pages
Over 100 illustrations
39 pulp magazine stories:
• Detective • Mystery • Horror • Western
100-pg appendix with the “V.O.N. Munchdriller” &
“William Z. Williams” comedies
Decorated endpapers
Smythe-sewn binding
Full cloth-covered binding boards
Preorder: $40
On publication: $45
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CONTENTS LIST
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The Moon for a Nickel, Detective Story Magazine Mar. 38
The Cheese on Stilts, Thrilling Detective Jan. 39
Blood of the Dragon, Variety Detective Magazine Feb. 39
There Are Bloodstains in the Alley, Detective Yarns Feb. 39
Murder at 10:15, Clues Detective Stories May 39
The Prehistoric Clue, Ten Detective Aces Jul. 40
Trouble in a Teacup, Detective Fiction Weekly Jul-13-1940
Murder Draws a Crowd, Detective Fiction Weekly Jul-27-1940
Footprints on the Ceiling, Ten Detective Aces Sep. 40
The Little Green Men, The Masked Detective Fall 1940
Town Wanted, Detective Fiction Weekly Sep-7-1940
Herbie Rides His Hunch, Detective Fiction Weekly Oct-19-1940
The Stranger from Trouble Valley, Western Short Stories Nov. 40
The Strange Sisters Strange, Detective Fiction Weekly Dec-28-1940
How Tagrid Got There, unpublished until 1986
Fugitive Imposter, Ten Detective Aces Jan. 41
The King Comes Home, Thrilling Detective Jan. 41
Big-Top Doom, Ten Detective Aces Mar 41
The Discontented Cows, G-Men Detective Mar. 41
Life and Fire, Detective Fiction Weekly Mar-22-1941
Big-League Larceny, Ten Detective Aces Apr. 41 {as by Jack Hobart}
Selling Death Short, Ten Detective Aces Apr. 41
Client Unknown, The Phantom Detective Apr. 41
Your Name in Gold, The Phantom Detective Jun. 41
Here Comes the Hearse, 10-Story Detective Jul. 41 {as by Allen Morse}
Six-Gun Song, 10-Story Detective Jul. 41
Star-Spangled Night, Coronet Jul. 41
Wheels Across the Night, G-Men Detective Jul. 41
Little Boy Lost, Detective Fiction Weekly Aug-2-1941
Bullet for Bullet, Western Short Stories Oct. 41
Listen to the Mocking Bird, G-Men Detective Nov. 41
You’ll End Up Burning!, Ten Detective Aces Nov. 41
Number Bug, Exciting Detective Winter 1941
Thirty Corpses Every Thursday, Detective Tales Dec. 41
Trouble Comes Double, Popular Detective Dec. 41
Clue in Blue, Thrilling Mystery Jan. 42
Death is a White Rabbit, Strange Detective Mysteries Jan. 42
Twenty Gets You Plenty, G-Men Detective Jan. 42
Bloody Murder, Detective Fiction Jan-10-1942
Appendix:
The “V.O.N. Munchdriller” stories from The Driller
The “William Z. Williams” stories from Excavating Engineer
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FREE FREDRIC BROWN STORY:
“BLOOD OF THE DRAGON”
To whet your appetite for MURDER DRAWS A CROWD, we have posted the text of an early Fredric Brown story, “Blood of the Dragon” from Variety Detective Magazine Feb. 39. Enjoy!
CHIEF OF POLICE Walworth smacked the top of his desk with his hand so hard that the impact sounded like a revolver shot. “I tell you, ‘Deadpan,’ we’ve got to get those counterfeiters soon, damn soon, or the commissioner will have me out on the sidewalk. And the newspapers are howling like banshees!”
His ace detective and closest friend, seated across the desk from him, replied calmly, placatingly: “We’ve been doing everything we can, Phil. After all—”
“We know the stuff’s being made right in or near this very town. Whenever a green-goods dealer or pusher gets picked up anywhere in the state [MORE]
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A NOTE ON AMAZON.COM AVAILABILITY
 After much deliberation, it has been decided that MURDER DRAWS A CROWD will not be available directly from Amazon.com. Once we have all the advance orders shipped, we will be listing copies for sale in the Amazon Marketplace at $45 plus $3.99 shipping. So, for this title at least, support your humble Poobah and/or support your favorite specialty bookseller.
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