22nd August 2001 is a date I'll always remember. That's the day James McKimmey blasted his way into my life with Cornered, a tough-guy Dell paperback original from 1960. I read some more of this man's Dell novels and quickly found myself wondering who this genius was and why more people weren't reading him. How come I hadn't heard of him before? I asked around. The lone voice of Bill Crider called from the silence. He'd read them all (no surprise) except Blue Mascara Tears. But he didn't know what had become of the author. He was going great and then just dropped out of sight, Bill said.

When I put together the first issue of Noir Originals, I had to consider what non-fiction piece to write. Something on the way David Goodis uses colour? Day Keene's fixation with identity? Good topics, but no, I decided I had to write something on James McKimmey. There was never any real choice. When you're born again, you have to spread the word, don't you know? I pieced together what limited biographical information I could rustle up and wrote a long piece on how James McKimmey handled tension (updated for this issue). Maybe, I hoped, I'd introduce a few readers to this author's exceptional talent. 

I'm glad to say I did just that, and some of his new fans, (along with one or two of his older ones), have kindly written about him for this issue of Noir Originals. 

It wasn't just new readers who saw the article, though.

Another date I'll never forget. May 10th, 2003. That morning, when I checked my email, I found a message from none other than Mr McKimmey himself. He'd seen the piece in Noir Originals and wanted to thank me. My first reaction: this is a hoax. But when it finally sank in, that James McKimmey was alive and well and living with his wife Starr in Lake Tahoe, well, talk about a religious experience!

Since then, we've exchanged enough words to destroy an electronic forest, some of which you'll find in the interview I conducted for this issue. I hope you have as much fun reading it as Jim and I had preparing it.

Pulp Originals has also acquired the rights to publish the excellent Squeeze Play, which is now available as an e-Book.

The New Writers section of this issue is once again tremendous. These guys are all supremely gifted. You want names to watch out for? This is where you'll find them.

Allan Guthrie
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