LEE, an anthology of fiction inspired by Lee Marvin

I am a HUGE Lee Marvin fan.

Survivor of the carnage of World War Two, drinker, larger than life character, enduring icon of masculine cinema, the star of some of  my favourite films, including The Big Heat, The Killers, Point Blank, Prime Cut and The Dirty Dozen. The man who, in the words of his most recent biographer, “cemented the most purposeful and consistent portrayal of man’s violent and primal inner demons in the history of modern American cinema”.

Well over a year ago myself and fellow Marvin fanatic and Crime Factory editor in chief Cameron Ashley, were sitting in a bar drunkenly bullshitting about future projects, when we stumbled across the idea of doing an anthology of stories inspired by the life of one of our favourite movie stars.

The final product of that conversation, LEE, will be unleashed onto the world in a few weeks time. In the meantime, I thought readers might get a blast out of feasting their eyes on the cover above.

While putting together the book was not without its challenges, finding fellow crime writers who shared our passion for Marvin and who where prepared to put pen to paper to celebrate him and his movies, was not one of them. LEE contains 17 stories from crime writers around the world, such as Adrian McKinty, Jake Hinkson, Scott Phillips, Heath Lowrance, Jenna Bass, Eric Beetner, Johnny Shaw, Roger Smith and a host of others (including myself and Ashley).

The stories veer in tone and style from literary noir to the wickedly gonzo. The one thing they all have in common is a respect for Marvin, his life and his work. I’m incredibly proud to be associated with this publication and I hope you enjoy it. LEE will be available in print from our website for $15 and as an e-book on Amazon for $2.99.

Melbourne readers take note, we’ll be launching LEE along with the first of Crime Factory Publication’s new novella series, Fierce Bitches by Jedidiah Ayres, March 3 at the upstairs bar of the John Curtin Hotel in Carlton, from 4pm. In addition to these books and others in our catalogue, there will be drinks at bar prices, movies, live music and a some special surprises. More details here.