Wayne D. Dundee RIP

I'm having a hard time processing the fact that Wayne Dundee has passed away. I knew his health was bad and so I'm not really surprised by the news, but at the same time, the idea of the world without that big galoot in it just seems so wrong. It seemed like Wayne would just always be around. Like Bill Crider, Ed Gorman, Bob Randisi, and Steve Mertz before him, Wayne was a great friend for more than 40 years. He went from being a fine author of private detective novels (seriously, if you're a fan of the genre, you need to read all of his Joe Hannibal novels) to being one of the best Western writers in the business. Early on, he was the editor and publisher of an excellent small press magazine called HARDBOILED; many of us who broke in during the Seventies and Eighties published in its pages and were proud and honored to be there. Years later, I was privileged to edit a number of his novels and always loved working with him. He could flat-out write and was a terrific storyteller. I was never fortunate enough to meet him in person, but we spoke on the phone several times and traded countless emails. He managed to be both a gentle giant and a genuine tough guy. Mostly he was my friend, and I'm going to miss him. As I told a mutual friend this morning, the circle just keeps getting smaller and smaller.