Alison McMahan

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About Alison McMahan

Alison McMahan grew up in Spain. As an adult she trudged through the jungles of Honduras and Cambodia, through the favelas of Brazil and from race tracks to drag strips in the U.S. in search of footage for her documentaries. Her most recent film is Bare Hands and Wooden Limbs (2010) narrated by Sam Waterston.

She applies the same sense of adventure to her mysteries for all eras. Her historical mystery novel, THE SAFFRON CROCUS (Black Opal Books, 2014), won the Rosemary Award for Best YA Historical and the Florida Writers Association's Royal Palm Literary Award. Her short mystery "The New Score" appeared in the FISH OUT OF WATER Anthology (Wildside Press), and "The Drive By" in the BUSTED: ARRESTING STORIES FROM THE BEAT Anthology (LevelBest Books) April 2017. "Kamikaze Iguanas" appeared in the MWA anthology for middle grade readers entitled SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN, edited by R.L. Stine, (HarperCollins, 2018). "King Hanuman" appeared in the SinCLA Anthology FATALLY HAUNTED, published by Down&Out Press and "Harlem in Havana" in THE BEAT OF BLACK WINGS: CRIM FICTION INSPIRED BY THE SONGS OF JONI MITCHELL (Untreed Reads, 2020). "Volcano" is forthcoming in THE GREAT FILLING STATION HOLDUP: CRIME FICTION INSPIRED BY THE SONGS OF JIMMY BUFFETT, by Down and Out Books.

She is the author two books of nonfiction: THE FILMS OF TIM BURTON: ANIMATING LIVE ACTION IN HOLLYWOOD (Bloomsbury 2005), and the award-winning Alice Guy Blaché, Lost Visionary of the Cinema (Bloomsbury 2002), which was translated into Spanish by Plots Ediciones. It was adapted into the documentary BE NATURAL (2018).

Alison is represented by Gina Panettieri of Talcott Notch Literary.

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Titles By Alison McMahan

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The Beat of Black Wings: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Joni Mitchell Apr 7, 2020

by Marilyn Todd, Alan Orloff, Christine Poulson, Art Taylor, Elaine Viets, Greg Herren, Barb Goffman, Michael Bracken, John Floyd, Josh Pachter

( 14 )

$4.99

**WINNER** 2021 Derringer Award for Best Short Story: Stacy Woodson for "River"
**NOMINATED** 2021 Anthony Award for Best Anthology
**NOMINATED** 2021 International Thriller Awards for Best Short Story: Elaine Viets for "Dog Eat Dog"
**NOMINATED** 2021 Macavity Award for Best Short Story: Elaine Viets for "Dog Eat Dog"

1/3 of the author royalties will be donated to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation in Joni Mitchell's name. With nine Grammys, multiple lifetime achievement awards, inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and a Top Ten ranking on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time,” Joni Mitchell has established herself as one of the most important singer/songwriters, not only of her generation, but in the history of popular music. In this collection, 28 crime writers pay tribute to Joni’s musical legacy with short stories inspired by her lyrics, representing each of her seventeen studio albums from 1968’s Song to a Seagull to 2007’s Shine. Many of the classics are represented here, including “Both Sides, Now” (in the first literary collaboration between Art Taylor and Tara Laskowski, who have each won major awards for their fiction), “Big Yellow Taxi” (by Kathryn O’Sullivan, author of the Colleen McCabe series), and “River” (by Stacy Woodson, winner of the 2019 Readers Choice Award from Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine), plus such equally fascinating titles as “Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire” (by Donna Andrews, author of the award-winning Meg Lanslow series), “The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines” (by Amber Sparks), and “Ray’s Dad’s Cadillac” (by Michael Bracken). This anthology also includes contributions from Alison McMahan, Brendan DuBois, Edith Maxwell and many other talented writers.

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

Fish Out of Water: A Guppy Anthology Mar 24, 2017

by Ramona Defelice Long, James M. Jackson

( 2 )

$2.99

"Fish Out of Water," the fourth installment in the Guppy Anthology series, presents 22 mystery and suspense stories that will hook you and reel you in! These rising stars of the mystery field take you cruising through deep waters teeming with danger, thrills, and the unexpected. Features an introduction by James M. Jackson.

Included are:

INTRODUCTION, by James M. Jackson

PLAN A: KILL THE FISH, by Beth Green

THE MISSING CONCUBINE, by P. A. De Voe

SCREWED UP, by Anita DeVito

THE ABDUCTION OF DESTINY, by Mo Walsh

DOPPELGANGERS, by Susan Alice Bickford

THE FAR END OF NOWHERE, by Liz Milliron

FOR THE LOVE OF RUBY, by Bern Sy Moss

PING-PONG GIRL, by Rita A. Popp

GOOD NEIGHBORS, by Cori Lynn Arnold

DEAD GIVEAWAY, by Chelle Martin

BOTTOMS UP, by Su Kopil

THE WRITER, by Steve Shrott

FROM THE ASHES, by Kate Fellowes

GOSSIP, by Susan Daly

ON LIKE DONKEY KONG, by Rhonda Lane

CRIME ON HOLD, by Claire Ortalda

SIGHT UNSEEN, by KM Rockwood

THE THUMP AND TAG, by Melinda B. Pierce

STEP AWAY FROM THE COW, by C. C. Guthrie

OF ROOSTERS AND MEN, by LD Masterson

THE NEW SCORE, by Alison McMahan

FAIRY TALES CAN COME TRUE, by Teresa Leigh Judd

And don't miss the first 3 volumes: Fish Tales, Fish Nets, and Fish or Cut Bait!

Other Formats: Paperback

World Film Locations: Paris Jan 1, 2011

by Marcelline Block

( 1 )

$19.00

'We’ll always have Paris,' Humphrey Bogart assures Ingrid Bergman in the oft-quoted farewell scene from Casablanca in which Bogart’s character, hard-hearted restaurateur Rick Blaine, bids former lover Ilsa Lund goodbye. The backdrop against which they first fell in love, Paris later serves as a reminder of their deep mutual longings. And with a host of different realisations by filmmakers from Philip Kaufman to Julien Leclercq to Woody Allen, there is no question that Paris has likewise endured in the memories of cinephiles worldwide.

World Film Locations: Paris takes readers on an unforgettable tour of the City of Lights past and present through the many films that have been set there. Along the way, we revisit iconic tourist sites from the Eiffel Tower – whose stairs and crossbars inspired more than one famous chase scene – to the Moulin Rouge overlooking the famously seedy Place Pigalle. Other films explore lesser-known quarters usually tucked away from the tourist’s admiring gaze. Handsomely illustrated with full-colour film stills and contemporary photographs, more than fifty scenes are individually considered with special attention to their use of Paris’s topography as it intersects with characters, narrative and plot. A host of important genres and cinematic movements are featured, including poetic realism, the New Wave, cinéma-verité, the literary works of the Left Bank Group, and Luc Besson’s slickly stylised cinéma du look. Meanwhile, essays foreground contributions from Francophone African directors and émigré filmmakers.

For centuries, Paris has reigned over the popular imagination. For those who have visited or those who have only imagined it through art, literature and film, World Film Locations: Paris presents a wonder-filled cinematic exploration of the mythical city that fans of French cinema – and new initiates – will appreciate.

Other Formats: Paperback

Alice Guy Blaché: Lost Visionary of the Cinema Aug 22, 2014

by Alison McMahan

( 14 )

$16.01

Alice Guy BlachT (1873-1968), the world's first woman filmmaker, was one of the key figures in the development of narrative film. From 1896 to 1920 she directed 400 films (including over 100 synchronized sound films), produced hundreds more, and was the first--and so far the only--woman to own and run her own studio plant (The Solax Studio in Fort Lee, NJ, 1910-1914). However, her role in film history was completely forgotten until her own memoirs were published in 1976. This new book tells her life story and fills in many gaps left by the memoirs. Guy BlachT's life and career mirrored momentous changes in the film industry, and the long time-span and sheer volume of her output makes her films a fertile territory for the application of new theories of cinema history, the development of film narrative, and feminist film theory. The book provides a close analysis of the one hundred Guy BlachT films that survive, and in the process rewrites early cinema history.

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

Scream and Scream Again!: Spooky Stories from Mystery Writers of America Jul 24, 2018

by R.L. Stine, Bruce Hale, Chris Grabenstein, Emmy Laybourne, Steve Hockensmith, Lisa Morton, Ray Daniel, Wendy Corsi Staub, Beth Fantaskey, Heather Graham, Phil Mathews, Carter Wilson, Doug Levin, Jeff Soloway, Joseph S. Walker, Alison McMahan, Daniel Palmer, Tonya Hurley, Stephen Ross

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$8.99

A harrowing array of scary stories that all have one thing in common: each either begins or ends with a scream!

R.L. Stine—the godfather of Goosebumps—and some of the most popular authors today bring an unrivaled mastery of all things fearsome, frightening, and fantabulous to this terrifying anthology of all-new scary short stories.

Scream and Scream Again! is full of twists and turns, dark corners, and devilish revenge. Collected in conjunction with the Mystery Writers of America, this set includes works from New York Times bestselling authors telling tales of wicked ice-cream trucks, time-travelling heroes, witches and warlocks, and of course, haunted houses.

Read it if you dare! With twenty never-before-published scary stories from some of the most popular authors today—including Chris Grabenstein, Wendy Corsi Staub, Heather Graham, Peter Lerangis, R.L. Stine, Bruce Hale, Emmy Laybourne, Steve Hockensmith, Lisa Morton, Ray Daniel, Beth Fantaskey, Phil Mathews, Carter Wilson, Doug Levin, Jeff Soloway, Joseph S. Walker, Alison McMahan, Daniel Palmer, Tonya Hurley, and Stephen Ross—it’s sure to leave readers screaming for more.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Audio CD

Fatally Haunted Apr 29, 2019

by Rachel Howzell Hall, Sheila Lowe, Laurie Stevens, Cara Black

( 3 )

$4.92

Haunted. This word lurks within our deepest emotions. It’s a fear we can’t let go of, or that won’t let go of us. It’s a place we dream of going, or a place we can never leave. An LAPD detective is haunted by the case she never solved. A Century City financial advisor is haunted by the greed he cannot escape. A bridge is haunted by ghosts of despair.

In a city of 10 million people, the haunted could be the man waiting to cross the street, or the memory that keeps you awake at night.

Fatally Haunted, a Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles anthology, includes original stories by Julie G. Beers, Julia Bricklin, Roger Cannon, Tony Chiarchiaro, Lisa Ciarfella, Cyndra Gernet, B. J. Graf, Mark Hague, A. P. Jamison, Micheal Kelly, Alison McMahan, Peter Sexton, Gobind Tanaka, and Jennifer Younger.

Other Formats: Paperback

Busted! Arresting Stories from the Beat Apr 23, 2017

by Dames of Detection, Shawn Reilly Simmons, Verena Rose, Harriette Sackler

( 5 )

$4.99

Busted! Arresting Stories from the Beat is a crime fiction anthology containing stories by and about law enforcement professionals. Original stories by Jack Bates - Micki Browning - Leone Ciporin - Bruce Robert Coffin - Randall DeWitt - Sharon Daynard - Peter DiChellis - Martin Edwards - Sanford Emerson - Tracy Falenwolfe - Kate Clark Flora - Gavin Keenan - C.C. Guthrie - LD Masterson - Steve Liskow - Cyndy Edwards Lively - Ruth McCarty - Alison McMahan - Claire A Murray - Dale T Phillips - A.B. Polomski - Keenan Powell - KM Rockwood - Verena Rose - Steve Roy - Harriette Sackler - Brenda Seabrooke -
Shawn Reilly Simmons - Albert Tucher - Kari Wainwright - Vicki Weisfeld

Other Formats: Paperback

This title and over 1 million more available with Kindle Unlimited.

The Films of Tim Burton: Animating Live Action in Contemporary Hollywood Aug 21, 2014

by Alison McMahan

( 2 )

$25.99

Most Tim Burton films are huge box-office successes, and several are already classics. The director's mysterious and eccentric public persona attracts a lot of attention, while the films themselves have been somewhat overlooked. Here, Alison McMahan redresses this imbalance through a close analysis of Burton's key films () and their industrial context. She argues that Burton has been a crucial figure behind many of the transformations taking place in horror, fantasy, and sci-fi films over the last two decades, and demonstrates how his own work draws on a huge range of artistic influences: the films of George Melies, surrealism, installation art, computer games, and many more.

The Films of Tim Burton is the most in-depth analysis so far of the work of this unusual filmmaker - a director who has shown repeatedly that it is possible to reject mainstream Hollywood contentions while maintaining critical popularrity and commercial success.

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

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