My mermaid/tiki/zombie noir novel now available!

Sorry, martian, I hop around so many social media sites plugging various things, mine and other's, I never notice PMs unless they're sent directly to me. I read it, funny coincidence about PHANTOM OF THE LAKE, which I booked at the Parkway years ago. Thanks again for reading, and for the feedback, aloha.

btw my comedic crime novel DOWN A DARK ALLEY has several tiki references as well...no zombies, but lots of sex and action...
http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/down-a-dark-alley/13030440

OK, OK, OK. You wore me down. :D

I just ordered "Down a Dark Alley". I'll start there first.

BTW, I love your essays in the Noir City Sentinel. The one for "King Creole" is a geek-fest cross-over gem.

Also these were great threads...

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=5016&forum=1

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=5015&forum=1

They need to be unlocked... NOW !

[ Edited by: JOHN-O 2010-11-29 20:20 ]

LOL, that key needs to be thrown away. I forgot about those early posts - people took me WAY too seriously! I've learned just not to go there unless it's in a forum I moderate myself.

Hope you dig DOWN A DARK ALLEY, more on its background here http://www.facebook.com/downadarkalley
Thanks for the support. I initially wrote it in 1992 and when I went back and revised it earlier this year, updating the references to make it contemporary, I added even more tiki stuff.

btw thanks for the shout-out about my Noir City Sentinel column, "Mr Modern Noir," I actually reposted that particular piece, "Elvis Noir," on my blog http://willthrillville.blogspot.com/2010/01/king-creole-elvis-noir.html

All of my columns for the Sentinel are collected in the Annuals http://www.noircity.com/noircityware.html
it's a good cause to support, too, so become a subscriber!

btw the new issue of BACHELOR PAD MAGAZINE, #14, is now on sale, featuring my regular movie column, this one on Beatnik Cinema, but with all those eye-popping pinup pictures, who cares? Cheers.
http://www.bachelorpadmagazineonline.com/

btw I just scored a brand new column at Examiner.com, designated as "Oakland Indie Movie Examiner," I've posted two articles so far:
"The Long Lost Art of Old School Cool"
and
"The Walking Dead: Apocalypse Any Minute Now"
both of which should be of interest to anyone reading this particular post - if you enjoy the articles, please leave a comment
there or "like" on Facebook, share on Twitter, etc
thanks and cheers

http://www.examiner.com/indie-movie-in-oakland/will-viharo

I've been invited by NAKED GIRLS READING of San Francisco to be their special guest on Thursday, February 17. I'll be reading from MERMAID as well as my latest, LAVENDER BLONDE (which has exactly two tiki references, but that's two more than most books.) Stay tuned for updates.
More on this national literary program:
http://nakedgirlsreading.com/sanfrancisco/
venue:
http://www.viracochasf.com/
more on my "gonzo pulp fiction"
http://www.thrillville.net/fiction/index.html

LAVENDER BLONDE cover art by Mister Lobo and Dixie Dellamorto
http://www.facebook.com/lavenderblondenovel

Aloha.

in case anyone thought I was making that up...advance tix now on sale!
http://nakedgirlsreading.com/sanfrancisco/

New Rockabilly Online interview with me re: "Mermaid," Thrillville, cocktails, etc
http://psycho.rockabilly-online.com/?p=636
cheers

Monsieur
Volume 1 Number 5 1958 Mermaid Cover

Apparently inside (I don't own it) - Zahra Norbo was the Playboy Playmate for March 1958

Umm...Will's book is good too.

Wow that cover is AMAZING, thanks for sharing.

btw MERMAID and all of my novels to date are listed on my new Amazon Author's Page
http://www.amazon.com/Will-Viharo/e/B004QWCU4W/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1299719529&sr=1-2-ent
now available in both print and now ultra cheap KINDLE editions.
Coming soon: a "Vic Valentine Double Feature", two novels under one cover (which I'm still waiting for, courtesy of famous artist R. Black): FATE IS MY PIMP plus! ROMANCE TAKES A RAIN CHECK
Cheers & aloha.

WEIRD THRILLERS #3 1952
cover by Allen Anderson

Um...Will's books are weird thriller's too.

And I raise you four pulp mermaids...

NIGHTMARE #2

The test tube cover Frankenstein story is interesting - given "Bride of Frankenstein" also had a test tube mermaid of sorts...

Wow, that's tough to top. I can't "see" how anything could be cooler...

btw, this is how I picture Dolores in "Mermaid Drowns..."

On 2011-03-10 11:43, AquaZombie wrote:

So the fish half is on top right? That does solve certain "relationship" problems classically associated with mermaids.

You got me...

This is a cover for a science fiction fanzine - File 770

I found it particularly interesting since I had an idea for making a lame monster movie about a "Mermaid Vampire" and a friend of mine pointed out the bat form would be a flying fish. (Lame not due to it being about mermaids - but that they really aren't good at attacking people on land - despite her best efforts.)

But this guy already has the killer mermaid movie project going - and that old pulp cover scooped me on the vampire mermaid idea by 60 years.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/939256333/fiji-mermaid-film-project

Very cool. Vampire mermaid, you say?

Below's is R. Black's cover for my next book, FATE IS MY PIMP plus! ROMANCE TAKES A RAIN CHECK. http://www.rblack.org/
It will be on Kindle by next week and in print from Lulu by April.
No mermaids, there are a few tiki references scattered throughout both novels.
The book contains two sequels to my novel LOVE STORIES ARE TOO VIOLENT FOR ME, published in 1995, and optioned several times by Christian Slater. Cheers.
http://www.thrillville.net/fiction/index.html
http://www.amazon.com/Will-Viharo/e/B004QWCU4W/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1299872057&sr=1-2-ent

[ Edited by: AquaZombie 2011-03-11 11:38 ]

[ Edited by: AquaZombie 2011-03-14 01:00 ]

Debuting Monday March 21: WILL THE THRILL'S PULP COCKTAILS, killer drink specials based on my books, available only at Forbidden Island, served only during my monthly movie nites, created by resident femme fatales Suzanne and Susan, cheers.
http://www.forbiddenislandalameda.com/

2 of the new Tiki Drinks inspired by my books, photos by Gabriel Hurley, http://zerocoordinate.com/
Available exclusively at Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge http://www.forbiddenislandalameda.com/

The "Chumpy Walnut," created by Suzanne Long
http://rumnpineapple.blogspot.com/
"Chumpy Walnut"
Inspired by Will's novel of the same name, about a guy only a foot tall who gets exploited on the '40s nightclub circuit ripe with hoboes, gangsters and showgirls, this is a charming blend of the unique Nocello walnut liqueur, Laird’s Applejack, sweet vermouth and a dash of Angostura orange bitters, served up with a real Marasca cherry.

Me drinking the "Vic Valentine" created by Susan Eggett
"Vic Valentine"
Inspired by Will’s private eye protagonist of several novels, including "Love Stories Are Too Violent For Me" and "Fate Is My Pimp," this is an intrepid blend of mysterious elements with a dash of romance. The sweet, rich flavor of bourbon is accented with notes of cherry, lemon, cinnamon and vanilla.

Cheers.

fyi my latest book is at the printers, the final (for now) in the Vic Valentine, Private Eye series.
Both I LOST MY HEART IN HOLLYWOOD and DIARY OF A DICK have numerous tiki references, since I wrote these books in the mid-90s when this subculture was beginning to flourish thanks to Otto's "Tiki News" (I met him around this time, too.)
Cover art by Rick Lucey http://www.drawrick.com/
stay tuned to the THRILLVILLE PULP FICTION page for updates http://www.thrillville.net/fiction/index.html
cheers & aloha, Will

[ Edited by: AquaZombie 2011-04-21 12:04 ]

Amazing Stories April 1940

And buy Will's books they are good.

[ Edited by: martian-tiki 2011-04-20 23:18 ]

Thanks! Cheers & aloha.
http://www.thrillville.net/fiction/index.html
http://stores.lulu.com/willviharo

Gentlemen's memo book circa 1960s with naked american and asian women and apparently dirty mermaid jokes in japanese. From expired ebay auction 320680036598 (if anyone wants to try contacting the seller to see if they still have it.)

Man, that is awesome! Almost as awesome as the Forbidden Island 5th Anniversary "Mermaid" bowl!

Here is a still from today's filming of the live action segment for my "book trailer," THE THRILLVILLE PULP FICTION COLLECTION shot by Christopher Sorrenti at Forbidden Island. That's my wife Monica Tiki Goddess as the "femme fatale." This will be a tiki-noir-grindhouse mini-epic, with me reading segments from all of my pulp novels. Stay tuned for the video link once it's finished, aloha.

"Lobby card" created by Rick Lucey using photo taken behind the scenes of my "book trailer," just filmed at Forbidden Island in Alameda, currently being edited, coming very soon, aloha.

Here it is, the THRILLVILLE PULP FICTION COLLECTION, filmed at FORBIDDEN ISLAND in Alameda, shot & edited by Christopher Sorrenti, music by Actual Rafiq.
Aloha.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Atx3HQ9nDfk

Huh - looks like a mer-person statue at 3:00 into this montage from "the Silencers"

http://youtu.be/6-JePehZd_Q

I think so. My trailer is more exciting, though, with all due respect to Dino.

Here are some stills from THE THRILLVILLE PULP FICTION book trailer shot at Forbidden Island, which can be viewed here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Atx3HQ9nDfk
and here
http://www.thrillville.net/fiction/
cheers

Recent interview on syndicated sports/pop culture program LEGENDS RADIO, talkin' 'bout my pulp fiction, tiki culture, Forbidden Island, B movies, Shatfest, Tura Satana, Bachelor Pad Magazine & more, download or just listen here, aloha
http://legendsradio.net/?p=362

http://www.thrillville.net/fiction/index.html

My official press release, for potential professional reviewers. Also dig my new business cards.
fyi one of my works-in-progress is the most tiki-centric yet, stay tuned.
Cheers.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 28, 2011

Full-time freelance writer and part-time performer Will “the Thrill” Viharo first gained fame as programmer/publicist for Speakeasy Theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area, extending his reputation beyond those borders via his popular live cult movie cabaret “Thrillville,” a retro stage show combining classic B movies with burlesque and bands, performed at the Parkway and Cerrito Speakeasy Theaters on a regular basis for twelve years, followed by a year of “road shows” at various venues around the region. Along with his wife and co-host, actress and model Monica “Tiki Goddess” Cortes-Viharo, Will also presented Thrillville Halloween Shows on an annual basis at Copia in Napa, with side trips to the Werepad, the Vortex Room, the Roxie, the 4 Star and Balboa Theaters in San Francisco; the Camera 3 in San Jose; a special guest appearance at the B Movie Celebration in Indiana in 2008; and several stints for the popular convention “Tiki Oasis” in Palm Springs and San Diego.

After Speakeasy Theaters folded in 2009 and the road shows dried up in 2010, Will returned to his real creative roots as a novelist, resuming a career that had been interrupted by Thrillville, which in fact was conceived as a platform from which to promote his first published novel, “Love Stories Are Too Violent For Me,” published by Wild Card Press in 1995. The small press was founded by the folks behind Speakeasy Theaters, who asked Will to create and host a midnight movie series, which he initially called “The Midnight Lounge,” in April of 1997. In January of 1999 the show, now a Parkway staple, switched to prime time on Thursdays nights, rechristened Thrillville, which took on a life of its own. Meantime, actor Christian Slater discovered and optioned “Love Stories” for a film. Now, “Thrillville” has finally evolved from Will’s online B movie lounge into official headquarters for his one-man pulp fiction factory.

Will the Thrill is now “Will the Quill,” the self-proclaimed Prince of self-published Pulp. Many of the great artists who created his stunning Thrillville posters have been tapped to supply equally stimulating book covers for all of Will’s eclectic novels, including previously unpublished and unfinished manuscripts, along with current works in progress. He calls them “B movies in book form.”

Part of Will’s marketing scheme was to commission a professional “book trailer,” in grindhouse-film noir style, edited by filmmaker Christopher Sorrenti, and largely shot at Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge in Alameda CA, for which Will currently serves as publicist/music booker, and where he hosts a monthly movie night called “Forbidden Thrills.” Forbidden Island also features “Will the Thrill’s Pulp Cocktails Menu,” literary libations inspired by his novels.

For more information and reviewer PDFs, please contact Will at [email protected].
Also please visit his web site, which includes purchasing info & the book trailer: http://www.thrillville.net/fiction/index.html
Cheers.
BIBLIOGRAPHY TO DATE:

LOVE STORIES ARE TOO VIOLENT FOR ME
Wild Card Press, 1995 (out of print)
Meet Vic Valentine, a San Francisco private eye whose romance is on the rocks, with a twist. Join a twisted hopeless romantic on his personal quest for the truth in his twisted tale of old-fashioned romance gone awry in a shadowy, postmodern world of lovelorn losers, vengeful vice, dangerous deceit and swingin' Sinatra songs.

A MERMAID DROWNS IN THE MIDNIGHT LOUNGE
Thrillville Press, 2010
A Mermaid Drowns in the Midnight Lounge is a lushly lurid, exotically exploitative, sensationally sensual pulp-noir potpourri where star-crossed lovers, sea sirens, monster men, gangsters, porno filmmakers, jazz standards, and an Elvis-spawned zombie apocalypse all intermingle across several parallel dimensions in time and space. This story is unlike anything you’ve ever read. (Cover art: Mike Lewis)

CHUMPY WALNUT
Thrillville Press, 2010
Chumpy Walnut is a nostalgic fable about a guy only a foot tall - lost, alone and looking for love and friendship in a wacky, wondrous world of hobos, gangsters, gamblers, gun molls, showgirls, and other colorful characters. It is a story anyone who has ever felt “small” can relate to. (Cover art: designed by Miles Goodrich, illustrations by Will Viharo)

DOWN A DARK ALLEY
Thrillville Press, 2010
Down A Dark Alley is a torrid tale exploding with raw romance, savage sex, voluptuous violence, mirthful mayhem and delirious decadence as a sorry sap takes a breathless cross-country walk on the wild side with a ferocious femme fatale, desperately trying to escape a chaotic past and facing an uncertain future. This is hard-boiled but heartfelt neo-pulp fiction for fearless dreamers. (Cover art: R. Black)

LAVENDER BLONDE
Thrillville Press, 2011
Lavender Blonde is a psycho-sexual portrait of erotic obsession, conveyed in soul-searching conversations between an itinerant jazz musician, raised in a brothel, and a savvy, sexy social worker, exploring and exposing themes and tales of loneliness and lust as the mysteries behind the madness are slowly revealed. (Cover art: Mister Lobo and Dixie Dellamorto)

FATE IS MY PIMP/ROMANCE TAKES A RAIN CHECK
A Vic Valentine Double Feature
Thrillville Press, 2011
Fate Is My Pimp picks up the torrid trail of Vic Valentine, Private Eye as he traverses the mean streets of San Francisco and beyond in search of a mobster's missing teenage daughter, encountering various voluptuous vixens, a female surf band, and a stalker leaving him mysterious musical messages, all while infiltrating an Elvis-theme commune for runaways, led by a deviously decadent Deacon Rivers. Follow the further misadventures of the misguided hero of LOVE STORIES ARE TOO VIOLENT FOR ME as he continues looking for love in all the wrong places, and unfortunately for him - finding it.
Plus!
Romance Takes a Rain Check finds Vic back on the East Coast, tracking down a lead on his cop father's killer, visiting his mother in an asylum, and reuniting with his high school sweetheart, Dolly Duncan, now married to a doper dentist. Nothing is what it seems, times and people have changed, and Vic is going to learn the hard way - again - that some bones, and boners, are best left buried. (Cover art: R. Black)

I LOST MY HEART IN HOLLYWOOD/DIARY OF A DICK
Another Vic Valentine Double Feature
Thrillville Press, 2011
I Lost My Heart in Hollywood chronicles the strangest case yet in the so-called career of Vic Valentine, Private Eye, as an unlikely tryst with the B movie scream queen of his dreams, Velma Vale, leads him down a dark, twisted path of paranoia, voyeurism, degradation and death. The bizarre action heats up even as his burning loneliness and simmering sexual obsessions flare at the forefront of his tormented consciousness, with caution and common sense cooling idly on the back burner.
Plus!
Diary of a Dick tells further tantalizing tales of Vic chasing tail while allegedly on the trail of True Love, all the way to New Orleans and back again, as the femme fatales of his past and present suddenly converge with prurient promises of promiscuity. As always, strings are attached to these erotic escapades, but the ties that bind begin rapidly unraveling, and Vic is left hanging by a thread like a doomed puppet. The mysteries of love have never been more elusive. (Cover art: Rick Lucey)

Work In Progress:
FREAKS THAT CARRY YOUR LUGGAGE UP TO THE ROOM
“Extreme Erotic Horror Noir” with cover art by Christopher Sorrenti
Stay tuned…

Here is the front cover artwork for my pulp novel in progress, FREAKS THAT CARRY YOUR LUGGAGE UP TO THE ROOM (the title is a rather obscure Elvis quote, anyone know - ?), by Christopher Sorrenti, who edited my book trailer, which was shot at Forbidden Island. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Atx3HQ9nDfk

Below is the back cover blurb, and yes, there will be tikis....I'm aiming for a Fall 2011 pub date. Aloha.

"Freaks That Carry Your Luggage Up to the Room" is an unrelenting assault of sex and horror, a sensory overload that will blow your mind, all set within the claustrophobic confines of a mysteriously malevolent hotel, frequented by men and monsters alike; a nightmarish nexus of carnal carnage, with flesh-eating Mexican vampires, alien spies, mad scientists, deviant dwarves, horny zombies, teenage werewolves, Elvis impersonators, hit men, hustlers, clairvoyant cats and other random rebels and rejects feverishly fornicating and ferociously feasting beneath the repressive radar of polite society. This is Extreme Erotic Horror Noir, with a dash of satire and a twist of irony, not for the squeamish, but for anyone who wallows shamelessly in the corporeal illusion called Life.

1969 ZIP Humorama Cartoon Pin-up digest

And buy Will's books...

Wow, thanks Martian, you're my favorite! That image is another mer-masterpiece.
btw I'll be doing a book signing at next year's Tiki Oasis, featuring "Mermaid" and all my books discussed here, plus my works in progress, including one that is hella tiki-centric which will remain top secret for the time being, and FREAKS THAT CARRY YOUR LUGGAGE UP TO THE ROOM. Here is the finalized cover image for "Freaks" by Christopher Sorrenti. As you can see, he's tweaked it quite a bit; it's deliciously Deco-dent, and so's the XXX-rated book.
aloha, Will
http://www.thrillville.net/fiction/index.html

Article about my pulp fiction in current issue (both print and online) of the San Francisco Bay Guardian, cheers
http://www.sfbg.com/2011/09/13/write-what-you-know

[ Edited by: AquaZombie 2011-09-14 15:09 ]

fyi my latest work, the bizarro-gonzo-pulp novella FREAKS THAT CARRY YOUR LUGGAGE UP TO THE ROOM is now available.
It only a single tiki reference, though - see if you can find it amid all the stylish smut...
Lulu print edition http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/freaks-that-carry-your-luggage-up-to-the-room/17972214
Kindle http://www.amazon.com/Freaks-That-Carry-Luggage-ebook/dp/B005WIVPIQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318875106&sr=1-1

print editions on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, etc coming soon

I'll also be posting a link to the original animated book trailer created just for this title sometime before Halloween,when I'll be hosting its world premiere at Forbidden Island, cheers

The animated "Freaks" book trailer created by Oakland filmmaker Vincent Cortez is now live:

YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Irjh8cGtVZQ

Vimeo
http://vimeo.com/31402685

Article in the East Bay Express plugs my pulp as well as my movie nites at Forbidden Island:
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/faster-parkway-guy-write-write/Content?oid=3048086
aloha

And buy Will's books...

An artist named Mike Fyles (who works for MARVEL COMICS) just sent me this mock cover art (actually an imaginary spread in a 60s men's magazine) I thought I'd share.
http://marvel.com/comics/creators/10398/mike_fyles

He posted it on this virtual gallery under "Tiki Noir"
http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=2433381&user_id=338566&np&np

[ Edited by: AquaZombie 2013-05-01 13:00 ]

[ Edited by: AquaZombie 2013-05-01 15:10 ]

MeduSirena Marina, a real mermaid, endorses my "Mermaid noir"....http://medusirena.com/

Another mock art piece by Mike Fyles http://mikefyles.co.uk/
this time of an old pulp paperback cover
If this book gets reissued at some point, I will use this...