Welcome to a hard-boiled and not without noir blog with news and reviews, occasional outbursts of maniacal Autograph Hound activity, plus archival records from the forty-five year run of The Dashiell Hammett Tour. 
The Dashiell Hammett Tour
1977-2022
Arkham House Ephemera
The Classic Years 1937–1973
Death Lit
Essays and Reviews Selected from Fifty Years of Writing 1974–2024
Willeford
The Book
Category Archives: DMac
Posse McMillan: Alias D. B. Bug, Esq.
Kent Harrington popped in a note about the recent nod to our pal (and publisher) Dennis McMillan: “Loved the shirt post and the shirt. It reminded me how we used to use aliases for fun. I was always Lt. Raj … Continue reading
Posse McMillan: A Shirt Off His Back
From time to time I’m prowling through old email archives and when I see something related to, or from, the late Dennis McMillan I’m tossing it into a new DMac file. At minimum, it’ll be fun to round up various … Continue reading
Rediscovered: The Agony and the Ecstasy
Digging through some unearthed files, I came across a contemporary review of my book Willeford — lost, I’d forgotten about it. The review should have been lost in some other piles of paper, but there it was. I had done … Continue reading
Posse McMillan: October 2025
Lou Boxer of NoirCon popped in this image taken at the last NoirCon, October 2025. A more recent look at the late Dennis McMillan. Pic shows Gary Phillips and DMac — you’ll remember Gary as a contributor to the shadow … Continue reading
Mort: Dennis Ray McMillan
People asked, so I dug a little deeper into the recent death of publisher Dennis McMillan. I first heard he died on May 1, but update that to May 5 — as announced in this message on the Dennis Facebook … Continue reading
Mort: DMac & DSF
Man. A Couple of Really Bad Days at Black Rock. A few days after the fact I heard from fellow Posse McMillan member Kent Harrington that our pal, publisher Dennis McMillan, had passed away on Friday May 1st. Word as … Continue reading
Posted in DMac, Frisco, Lit, News
Tagged Death Lit Essays and Reviews 1974-2024, Donald Sidney-Fryer, Kent Harrington, Measures of Poison, Posse McMillan
Rediscovered: Shiel and Floyd and an Absurd Adventure of Dennis McMillan
Just noticed a quick email from 2022 where Brian Leno told me: Came across a letter where Lawrence of Arabia — in his T. E. Shaw alias — tells a bookseller he will take a copy of Shiel’s The Purple … Continue reading
Posted in DMac, Lit, News
Tagged Brian Leno, Death Lit Essays and Reviews 1974-2024, Eddie Little, Floyd Salas, John D. Squires, Lawrence of Arabia, M. P. Shiel, Steve Eng
Rediscovered: The Shadow and His Signatories
Autograph Hound Super-Sunday once more! Haven’t done one of these in awhile — and for once it’s not coming from that maniacal Autograph Hound Brian Leno. At least not directly. Brian did tip me to a plethora of John Hancocks … Continue reading
Posted in DMac, Lit
Tagged Anthony Boucher, Arkham House, Autographs, Bouchercon, Brian Garfield, Brian Leno, Christiana Brand, Dorothy Salisbury Davis, Edward D. Hoch, Frederic Dannay, Gahan Wilson, Gary Phillips, Isaac Asimov, Jack Kerouac, John Ball, Jon L. Lellenberg, Kent Harrington, Lin Carter, Maxwell Grant, Michelle Slung, Phyllis A. Whitney, Phyllis White, Posse McMillan, Richard Lackritz, Robert Fish, Ron Goulart, Stanley Ellin, Steranko, The Shadow, Walter Gibson
Posse McMillan: 5 Million Years Ago
Dennis McMillan phoned this morning and we caught up. After I got off the line I popped him the info on The Burnt Shadow and The Burnt Machens, where he played a role. Then he sent back this photo — … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Death Lit on the Block
If you picked up my most recent book Arkham House Ephemera: The Classic Years 1937-1973, I am here to slip you the word that no longer is it the latest title to leap to life. The newest of the new … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, DMac, Film, Frisco, Lit, News, REH, SFSC, Tour, Willeford
Tagged Arkham House Ephemera The Classic Years 1937-1973, Book Collecting, Death Lit Essays and Reviews 1974-2024
