WHAT FRIENDS SAID ABOUT THE QUICK...

"'Dear Mr. Vining -- Would you be kind enough to forward me the itinerary for your upcoming The Quick Book Tour? I plan on purchasing my neighbor Curtis' VW van, painting the name of your book on the side, and following you on your sprawling literary journey. My wife has refused to go. I suspect she's not a true ‘Quickie.’ I have already reserved tickets to your appearance on Rikki Lake. I'll be the one in the 3rd row with the funny hat. Sailor #7.'"  The Quick is deft, dazzling and mercurial. The high concept aside, it's the characters who linger long after the last page is turned: vivid and real if not exactly alive. As a genre, L.A. noir may be well nigh done to death. What's so impressive about The Quick is that you have found a way to resurrect it, and brilliantly. Quick: the sequel."

-- Davin Seay, author of the non-fiction books Take Me to the River, The Wanderer: Dion’s Story, Heart & Soul, San Francisco Nights, and The Doggfather: The Times, Trials and Hardcore Truths of Snoop Dogg

“I enjoyed your book - you've got that Chandleresque style and atmosphere (and I've always loved Chandler) but without it feeling dated, and of course you add a great twist. Smart, fast-paced, entertaining, like a screenplay with brains. Anyway I didn't want it to end, which is my measure of a good book! Great stuff. Are you writing any more?

-- Kevin Jones, screenwriter (British, once removed), translator

“So much of what I read these days may have an intriguing premise but the writing is stale and perfunctory, or the writing is evocative but the story itself is from hunger. That's why reading THE QUICK was such a breath of fresh night air. An extremely cool story rendered by a guy who really knows how to sling the language to maximum effect. Where the hell's the sequel?”

-- Rockne S. Obannon, screenwriter, creator of Farscape, SeaQuest DSV, Alien Nation

"I didn't read the back cover, so I didn't know what was coming. I thought I was reading a great, cynical, hard-boiled L.A. P.I. novel featuring a fun cast of sleazemonkeys and a great view of the city (best since I took the Graveline Tour.) Then about half-way through came a curve, no, a knuckling slider -- the most surprising plot twist I've ever read maybe anywhere... And it worked. It was set-up perfectly. From there, The Quick went somewhere I never expected. And when it was over, it felt like it was still going somewhere else. Very cool. Highly recommended. I'd even like to see it turn into a video game... I can't believe that the guy who wrote it was our head Deacon. Actually, that kind of makes sense."

-- Flint Dille, Screenwriter, An American Tail: Fievel Goes
West, and Game Designer, Dead to Rights, Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu,
Soviet Strike and Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay.

“The book was a delight, so you, so full of great lines and LA and film noir and funny stuff—honestly—great language, great read. Congratulations! I hope you are still tossing out some poetry now and then. When I read the book, I couldn’t help wishing for the poems, too…”

-- Marie Speed, fiction writer, travel writer, bass fisherWOman, Editor of Boca Magazine