The Landmark Hotel & Casino…

  By | |
Leave a comment

The Landmark Hotel & Casino at the corner of Paradise Road and Convention Center Drive was a major gamble undertaken by a Kansas City contractor and his financiers. Its construction began in 1961 but funding was cut off in December of 1962.

It sat unfinished for years, towering over the nearby Convention Center and its rotunda. A Teamsters Union Pension Fund loan in 1966 permitted construction to resume, but the resort remained unfinished until it was acquired by Howard Hughes in 1969.

Hughes, residing in isolation on the top floor of the Desert Inn’s high-rise, turned all his attention to remodeling the Landmark and opening it in competition with his rival Kirk Kerkorian’s new International Hotel & Casino on the other side of Paradise Road.

The unfinished resort plays a major role in the prequel to “Joey’s Place,” which is tentatively entitled, “Landmark Kill.”

The end of Stan…

  By | |
Leave a comment

An excerpt from the first chapter of "Joey's Place," a Las Vegas crime novel by J.W. NelsonHe put the package in the Toronado’s big trunk. Maybe when he got home later he would pretend he had forgotten. He smiled again and went around to unlock his door, not noticing that the knob was already up.

Sliding onto the soft leather seat, he savored the new-car smell a moment before closing his door. He slipped the key into the ignition and the big engine smoothly came to life. He re-inserted the 8-track tape his wife had given him at Christmas into the car’s tape player. The Tabernacle Choir’s Greatest Hits, Volume II. Elger’s “Land of Hope and Glory” began playing. It truly was glorious.

He sat there enjoying the moment, the car’s air-conditioning getting colder. The music made him look forward to the bishops’ meeting tomorrow tonight, … (more) →

A perspective on “Marketing”

  By | |
Leave a comment

Rachel Thompson at badredheadmedia.com has some useful advice about marketing your work on her site: http://badredheadmedia.com/2013/12/22/works-doesnt-book-marketing/  In my eyes, it’s applicable to any genre.

Some quotes….

“Google loves fresh content…” “Social media is social for cookie’s sake — why don’t people get this? I still don’t know….” “Whatever you do, don’t share a quote without attribution….” 

Read on at that link and get some advice about what doesn’t work, too. Rachel (after enjoying her blog/site, I feel like we’re on a first name basis) has also begun an interesting #MondayBlogs hashtag on Twitter. If you use that social media, check it out.