About Me

Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere. – Carl Sagan   I’m a trained accountant that has made a career as an auditor—documented support is required for everything—with a beautiful wife and wonderful daughter. A dog and a cat wander the house, too. We live in the Green Mountains of Central Vermont, where I’m slipping into middle age with a style all my own. A style consisting of tears, angst, laughter, and (hopefully) more good times than bad. I’ve been reading and writing since I was old enough to turn the page and hold a pencil. My debut novel, BLAZE! RED ROCK RAMPAGE, the fifteenth title in Stephen Mertz’s Blaze! Adult Western series and its sequel, sort of, BLAZE! SPANISH GOLD, were released in 2017 from Rough Edges Press. My latest release, CASINOS, MOTELS, GATORS, from 3Play, is a collection of four crime stories previously published in multiple author anthologies and a magazine. The bestselling author, James Reasoner, wrote these kind words “Casinos, Motels, Gators is one of the best books I’ve read this year.” He added, “I really like Ben Boulden’s writing. His prose is as terse and tough and hardboiled as any you’ll find these days.” That kind of praise for a writer—at least this writer—from a veteran like James Reasoner is like listening to one of Dvořák’s cello concertos at the Barbican Centre in London. Here are a few of my better short stories looking for an audience on the lonely streets: “Merrick” – a hybrid crime and western caper story [45-70 Press, 2017; Six Gun Justice: Western Stories, 2021] “A Calculated Risk” – a dark slice of noir [Down & Out: The Magazine, Vol 1, Iss. 2, 2017]  “No Chips, No Bonus” – a Jimmy Ford crime tale [Paul Bishop Presents…Pattern of Behavior, Wolfpack, 2019; a revised version appears in Casinos, Motels, Gators, 3Play, 2024] “Awake” – a crime tale [Paul Bishop Presents…Criminal Tendencies, Wolfpack, 2019] “Junkyard” – a Jimmy Ford crime tale [Paul Bishop Presents…Bandit Territory, Wolfpack, 2019; a revised version appears in Casinos, Motels, Gators, 3Play, 2024] “Reprobate” – a western tale [Gravetapping, 2019] Read it here “121” – a Jimmy Ford crime tale [Down & Out: The Magazine, Vol 2, Iss. 1, 2019; a revised version appears in Casinos, Motels, Gators, 3Play, 2024] “Asia Divine” – a crime tale [Bullets and Other Hurting Things: A Tribute to Bill Crider, Down & Out, 2021; a revised version appears in Casinos, Motels, Gators, 3Play, 2024]  “The Grieving Husband” – a short-short crime tale [published as part of the Shorts series at Dark City Underground, 2024] Read it here “Nambu Type B” – a short-short crime tale [published as part of the Shorts series at Dark City Underground, 2024] Read it here

*                          *                       * My non-fiction writing tends toward books and criticism, but recently I’ve been exploring popular history, too. I wrote the “Short & Sweet: Short Stories Considered” column for Mystery Scene Magazine from 2016 to 2022. I reviewed crime, thriller, and mystery novels in every issue of that same periodical from the Fall 2015 issue to its final issue in 2022. I also contributed a trio of featured articles for Mystery Scene: “Garry Disher: An Interview” [Online exclusive, 2017] “Hey Rube! The Mystery is at the Carnival” [No. 160, Summer 2019] “Hometown Heroes: Private Eyes in Small-town America” [No. 164, Summer 2020] My essays, “Reading Ed Gorman,” “Easy to Read: A Story of Rick Ollerman,” “Lionel White: The Caper King,” and “The Name is Day Keene,” were published in the Stark House Press editions of The Autumn Dead / The Night Remembers by Ed Gorman [2014], Truth Always Kills by Rick Ollerman [2015], Coffin for a Hood / Operation—Murder by Lionel White [2019], and Mrs. Homicide / Naked Fury / Murder on the Side by Day Keene [2024], respectively. Another essay, “Mojo’s Magic,” appeared in Wolfpack’s 2020 edition of Stephen Mertz’s story collection, The King of Horror and Other Stories, and “Polygamists, Outlaws & Mormons: The Crime and Western Tales of Gary Stewart,” was included in Brash Books’ editions of The Tenth Virgin and The Zarahemla Vision by Gary Stewart. I’ve also written a broad array of introductory essays about authors as varied as the science fiction maestro Philip José Farmer, crime writers William Campbell Gault, Cleve F. Adams, Norbert Davis, and Stephen Marlowe for Vintage Lists and its imprint, 3Play. My critical analysis of the work of the popular multi-genre novelist, Jack M. Bickham, KILLERS, CROOKS & SPIES: JACK BICKHAM’S FICTION, was published by 45-70 Press in April 2021, and Vintage Lists has released five of my entry-level author-specific reading guides as part of its Vintage Lists Presents line-up: THE COMPLETE JACK HIGGINS [Vintage Lists, May 2021] THE COMPLETE ALISTAIR MACLEAN [Vintage Lists, June 2021] THE COMPLETE JOHN FARRIS [Vintage Lists, July 2021] THE COMPLETE HAMMOND INNES [Vintage Lists, October 2021] THE COMPLETE DESMOND BAGLEY [Vintage Lists, October 2021]

If you are a reader, a writer, someone looking for editing services or freelance writing—both fiction and non-fiction—or interested in licensing any of the content on this blog or any of my other writings, please contact me at zulu1611@yahoo.com