Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Vanity Fire
Vanity Fire
Vanity Fire
Ebook370 pages4 hours

Vanity Fire

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

()

Read preview

About this ebook

"Fast pacing, a strong sense of place, and plenty of publishing-business details combine with a likable although flawed main character to produce an engrossing read."—Booklist

The phone rings in the middle of the night. Publisher Guy Mallon's book warehouse has burned to the ground. In the ashes there is a burned body. Carol Murphy, Guy's lover and business manager, fed up with the failing operation, has already split. But why is her car spotted parked nearby?

It all began when retired businessman Fritz Marburger tempted Guy with a proposition: publish celebrity jazz singer Sweet Lorraine Evans' novel, which he will underwrite. It's the first step in a Faustian bargain that finds Guy sniffing increasingly noxious fumes as the crass Marburger rents Guy's warehouse space and saddles him with an amoral co-tenant: pornographer-turned-vanity publisher Roger Herndon. Supported by two Santa Barbara poets with strong backs and by two strippers who form the core of Roger's stable of porn stars and production assistants, Guy first tries to make a go of the new venture. But after the murder, he knows he must bring Roger down to reclaim his own soul.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateDec 31, 2011
ISBN9781615950348
Vanity Fire
Author

John M Daniel

John M. Daniel lived in Santa Barbara, California for twenty years, where he and his wife, Susan, owned (and were owned by) a small-press publishing company. In 2003 they relocated McKinleyville, California, where they continue to publish books while John also does free-lance editing and teaches writing through adult education. He has taught fiction writing at UCLA Extension and Santa Barbara Adult Education and is on the faculty of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. His stories have appeared in dozens of literary magazines, and he is the author of several books, including two mystery novels: Play Melancholy Baby and (most recently) The Poet’s Funeral.

Related to Vanity Fire

Related ebooks

Suspense For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Vanity Fire

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings

0 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    Vanity Fire - John M Daniel

    fbook_preview_excerpt.html|۲F寠i:TeU]l8,[QG KGH84>z~`"e>bOKf3V1/D}Y{fuo}ŏ~ xwSWɟ~v?~nX6u /2 |þ[N6M>1*xM_U<by(.k}]UuhmlzٹPU:k kUv?G/>ǟݿų'_xOgI}w<ş~WϾ|哧㓯 |qϯ|+_^+__ŵ}=M cل8tpwvߍ7N ]Q QŽҊW[-~o Ui =Vx(upu!TM]"[_-S#O_#0 5bEy(B#%!nC_MJq}$'yH<׏ PÒBSPdŶ,.ƘѸA/c G:A)Coc"4rŲ^8Tнc=rvR8lS<Θl `uG)t݆ظGE Nly:2lwqh5!P>0_AOT+#>~ՆOTPkxc\% .T{!PWNXzSMS-ABkqi-gw aW<ΰT$F]TѾ (~ưCKl?Bƭ/=4[a a xpˆ:@IkȢ.t_ѷ0SC销iZv`7Qj`^r?rc?{S\q'|nq6 eZCg[CcBۺXя:a՜Ab Z% VK7 ya>֖sQ0~S0oF\_ys#?pj%ߨ'Cq8ao}4{ v$,^Uq%ބ6qB +=XT ,2E?`AUr"D#MlDUƲEJG=(G-ݞ C!.mE%G TuѼ8M46zلr*-&+y[cXNJKH?ۼ=On\/[v%u$\;Ng21!"FZ y34׍r߀/&_f& [Ydd^tuJB@-n,}lL]54r߸" 3Aw2WC{`&Tx_7"fE9yq]3jW-|cZp=lʓ)^X́qlGRA;{͊ǁ/C8@p)ڵk>UCDihCI n.]Hͬ nYqxNP]x=Cxc:c6C ƕdGIx,•ȈLF_GH0fZ b,tq 9 XCka~'d';ȲϚVz@xm@$l,U0,9]cK `XKOeg*D?RAuu w"w`~a +kKZVu< "=yIwxB3 G:j|)}M\7[M4*Sf`㳎s`Ĭ%xMj)xZi,ɋme =N %urvrLGɰK0!=M 2JJd,>'v?$êj.vKaRE&> B̾ Zi50 wo[%WC-;ibO{ nyJη:^$dٮd'1" ʕoLx0;tTJy|jevq_&7f}sߒ0ۆ~Rp:(߁2CsncLKA(Su/ъ(AD'!b'p0HA]z7(v(9V:NiC,y9x}}֭7cI4`WM L0-USOllHo]m܂]W4M_bLj'D @WM?L@?z9&΋X@nap9|Wߤ؃?-@S_s~i­qwlb1F hAIE`=/B#l_~&Ofmժ/t)]AS&NO Q%H$.:Bc>45O'eK%"i; }Ǽ- &=Ubp)iMd ;M-XC(v)1RܚNeq̯bOIam6e)g<^y_9ˮ3/2%+9Lav/ v-~7x5ȶ?hD*^73,g4+"Ƴ#;3.FH4o!q4w'dpWkg4 ^OX 5n1EtS%ŗ ۡ%ʚ"H,D~S#QYTV k]Vzd3V3%\ b귞f:C{VOǴe~Cf)Z KAla.h- 6`d x*0jѣ)XLeR `x:(S.k :YD<,Q"Q>IhMXYW 3JU9\7Po2LW+WԐE6w"~4,{rلzdhtKovv1nHOg06仦 LN}BG(HV0VZ@2=e F <5Q/>TH0M%Jp`AA /Q xJk<{%c$8#=VtFM{m1YTF!MD-1%+Ąm=0K("1,/=h]="=W|AN,~. ?#pşJB'5vPtSa+oxjhybYf-E||18G@;SXօS1Q)+P9K!wTY2q4hsNΨݥZ4x 4q(:BoJ‰[?xEN.tIXqz^1{KU;Wj|6?9Rk -te&{c^}&wu t6W!c-Ƿ5Tcnr7X~|ܸ im8SZB~^ƙ jⷡcyRM^NSc<s〲9|kzN5BxU kF 1%jU\iPud,u 3ށ uMsKIcfZOl< Ә̀gzpVrh灏 [c|mzw~ݸz+n,Q>*7TIa!JƹsD}H|٫Ģb њ>Z49${L"lg1Ͽn"TʹI3Fv6BpgeAGފiL(ٹZ\RL֌TK1vW[]g3[&!kӭ5S5'$dyG6rG/& 3̬{:9Y$rfLZX_%H{^ӰF#v=4"LcQ)ib4[#%4`CC^s"frfy#[؞eG>OCJ '!]̨}OHV<5 EtqlcF-Zxk*5bC(?Y8e9 =HbLokwjf &Z?YG!t[ eeSltv*ZM˜ۼ41yc~s@/ m Ɔ0q=RǛ5;,%*39WjZ&Œ<CW҉A9\ jt~}^XqO+>Wo ѲdmuBu+cYyϧThȖǤ 샥i3 Mo(*i@ͳ,# TBZ6wݿpkV*1|ƥX FޛtG%u ?>Z S/ `X3ox^U n}5~8I*)n*i\s^;/Gnc|wTu}<.r);q㩎0!c֐0KCK={Yܘri,lMU 9*+!2=%C_?jEכ^tɱ*N;˛;=O>ҔmV]8T:^h[8-.$s@Tva#m)]LJvF̱uS\ϕ&J>,2G V O4|bL73⻞nh~1zIVg4ٸ UXP<sGJ5U搱+]AҧC% ̍سr6 ȧ -ڍ1K+ޚ9E3l\)ƵhˊfœK]|q[t?230R>`ʎ,XB#
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1