Author: Sai S

The Thrilling World of Robert C. Blackmon: Man of Mystery

The depression, back in 1932, made writing sink-or-swim prop­osition for Robert C. Blackmon. Cast out on his own after losing a comfortable clerical position with the Atlantic Coast Line rail road, Blackmon swam and to­day he blesses the day his work terminated with the railroad. Today, eight years later, Black­mon is recognized as one of… Continue reading The Thrilling World of Robert C. Blackmon: Man of Mystery

Mastering Mystery: The Intriguing World of G. T. Fleming-Roberts

THE EDITORS of Better Homes and Gardens magazine unwittingly played right into the hands of G. T. Fleming-Roberts of Brown County, Indiana, when they printed a piece of advice on picking lilies a few months ago. Pull off the stamens, the magazine suggested, and the lilies won’t stain themselves—surely as innocent a tip on gardening… Continue reading Mastering Mystery: The Intriguing World of G. T. Fleming-Roberts

Harriette Ashbrook and the psychology of murder

Harriette Ashbrook, a lesser known detective writer, was born in Manhattan, Kansas in 1898 and came to Nebraska in the early 1900s. She studied at Vassar and Nebraska State University, then worked as a reporter for papers in Canada and the USA. Later she became a founding employee of the publisher Coward McCann, where she… Continue reading Harriette Ashbrook and the psychology of murder

Pulp Magazines: A man’s world

While the representation of women authors in the western and general fiction pulps was low, it wasn’t all a man’s world. In westerns Eli Colter and Cherry Wilson appeared regularly in Western Story; in general adventure fiction Beatrice Grimshaw (54 appearances in Blue Book); and in detective fiction the names of Mary Roberts Rinehart and… Continue reading Pulp Magazines: A man’s world

Do you know why The Popular Magazine had no illustrations?

For a long time, I was puzzled by why the Popular Magazine carried no illustrations. Here’s an explanation from the editor, Charles Agnew MacLean in the July 1904 issue. A Chat With You (editorial from the Popular Magazine, July 1904 issue) DID it ever occur to you what a bully good thing success is? There… Continue reading Do you know why The Popular Magazine had no illustrations?

Action Packed Western Stories: A writer’s creed

MUCH as the swift-moving Western story offends the ultra-cultured tastes of the intelligentsia, it has made for itself a very definite place in American literature. It may not be “art,” as the literati consider art. It may lack the polish of urban tales or the heart-throbs of bucolic stories. But it has something of which… Continue reading Action Packed Western Stories: A writer’s creed

The ponies were howling and singing: Secrets of good copy

I usually post about the often overlooked good points of the pulps, but there’s no excusing some of their worst excesses, pointed out by a copy editor who spent time cleaning up their messes. GRINDING TO A PULP By KENNETH A. FOWLER Mr. Fowler was formerly a copy editor with street & Smith Publications. Consequently,… Continue reading The ponies were howling and singing: Secrets of good copy

3 Pulp Tales: Words are money, Speed thrills and more

Three pulp tales from the newspapers. Words are Money Since basic pulp pay is a cent per word, and since the creation of any sort of fiction is to most authors slow and difficult labor, the majority of practitioners in pulp are poorly paid. But there are others who through long practice, have mastered the… Continue reading 3 Pulp Tales: Words are money, Speed thrills and more

Paint by numbers: The most hard-working pulp artists

Who were the most prolific pulp artists? By which i mean, the artists who painted the highest number of pulp covers under tough conditions. Norman Saunders’ oeuvre consists of 865 covers, meticulously documented here by his son. Has anyone come close, or even surpassed this? Using the Fictionmags Index, I tried to do a count… Continue reading Paint by numbers: The most hard-working pulp artists