One hundred T-bones a day, both cut and trimmed. Fifty ribeye, sixty Porterhouse, it didn’t matter over and over he thought of Tara’s face. He studied his boss’ actions. He learned the movements of his coworkers. It was out of habit to study people. He couldn’t help himself. He let them bust his balls often, even smiled, but he knew he could end every single one of them if he truly wanted to, but he never wanted to entertain the thought at the same time.… more
Writer: Frank Reardon
TWO TACKLE BOXES
FICTION by Frank ReardonI had been in and out of different therapist’s offices, each one telling me the same thing after I had emptied my soul out to them. I gave up on their useless advice. It never helped me. I went home and cried over a childhood that wasn’t all that bad.… more
William Boyle
BULL Interview by Frank ReardonIn a lot of ways, it’s what I dreamed about as a kid in Brooklyn who wanted anything other than cracks in the sidewalk and bus rides and trash in the streets and my decaying neighborhood. I’ve made a lot of great friends down here Oxford. The other side of it is I’ll never quite feel like I belong. I have this ache for New York, which will always be my home, and I miss it and I love it and I hate it.… more
The Goalie
FICTION by Frank ReardonMy entire ten years of life on earth was spent keeping people from fighting with one another. “Not in front of the kid” were the famous words I heard. Grandma told me one time that I was an angel sent by God to help heal the family. None of my uncles nor my grandfather liked it much when my grandmother talked like that.… more
This is What Killed Manuel “Cheyenne” Gutiérrez…
GENRE NON-BINARY by Frank ReardonSince the shit bomb went off earlier this year. Since the sickness came, killing well over 200,000 like a Gatling gun. Since the astronomical loss of jobs happened under a racist Nazi President who is actively blackmailing the country by holding back any chance of stimulus until after the election thus sending millions to bread… more
MEAGAN LUCAS
BULL Interview by Frank ReardonWhat am I looking for as an editor? The short answer—something I wish to God I’d written, something that keeps me up at night. The long—on the first page, I want stakes, tension, and a character that I care enough about to keep reading. By the end, I want to feel something, and I want to not be able to stop thinking about it. … more
George Singleton
BULL Interview by Frank ReardonOne time I had a woman say to me, “Don’t you just love Nicholas Sparks?” I said, “He might be one of the worst writers in the English language.” She said, “But he’s a millionaire!” I said, “People in America spend a lot more money on baloney than they do filet mignon. That doesn’t make baloney good for them.”… more
Tom Pitts
BULL Interview by Frank ReardonThrow out everything you know about crime fiction. Tom Pitts, author of Hustle and American Static, returns with a plot stickier than an ounce of Humboldt County’s finest. 101 is typical Tom Pitts, the kind of novel that proves he’ll forever and ever have followers, trailing behind him begging for one more hit. —Eryk Pruitt, author of What We Reckon… more
Joe Clifford
BULL Interview by Frank ReardonAs a writer, you don’t set out to write anything other than that most kick-ass, amazing book you can. So it, of course, stands to reason that, after busting your balls, bleeding out your heart, spilling your soul on the page, having someone say, “This isn’t right for us” is going to hurt. … more
The Last Hours of a Hornet
FICTION by Frank ReardonThe blood settled on the old English letters of Alan’s knuckle tattoo that spelled out the word Nana. Forty-three years of failing at everything knocked him on his ass. Tears filled up his eyes and dropped down on his cheeks. He wanted to wipe them away because when he was a young boy he was… more
