Bogart Cocktail and A Flash of Noir: Both FREE, here at the Tiki Lounge

A Flash of Noir, by Christopher Pinto

There’s a tinge of brandy in the air on this steamy night in Tikiland. The darkness is so thick and cruel that even the mice don’t want to step out for a crumb. A door creeks open in the darkness, and a man in a black trench coat and tilted fedora carefully picks his way through the tables until he reaches the bar…

For those of you who dig Noir style movies and fiction, I’ve got a real treat for you tonight:

“A Flash of Noir: Flash Fiction & Short, Short Stories with a Twist” by yours truly, Tiki Chris, is now

FREE

For a limited time, for Kindle!

A Flash of Noir is a collection of flash fiction and short, short stories, laid down old-school style by master mystery writer Christopher Pinto. Writing in the genre of gumshoe detectives and sultry dames, creepy horror and hep cat jive, Pinto has put together a series of mostly one-page, 60-second reads that will transport you to another time…a darker, more sinister time.

From smokey bars in New York City to the tropical islands of the Florida keys, A Flash of Noir takes you for a spin through the seediest gin joints and darkest alleys. One minute you’re speeding down I-95 in a hot rod, the next you’re tasting cheap whiskey in a basement tap room where the women are heartless and the men are unforgiving. Gangsters, cops, private eyes, strippers, murderers, phantoms…plus a few comedy pieces to keep you from wanting to slit your wrists.

Over 40 stories of crime fiction, ghost stories, retro fiction and short beatnik poetry plus noir-esque original photographs by the author make this a fast, fun read. There’s even a flash written entirely of song titles…see if you can list every one!

AND THOUGH MONDAY, IT’S FREE!

All you need is an Amazon account and a Kindle or Kindle Reader App on your phone, ipad, computer, etc, and you’re all set! Just click this link, A Flash of Noir, to download this groovy tome for free.

BTW: Did I mention it’s free?

Your Weekend Vintage Cocktail: The Bogart Cocktail

You’re going to need something cool and noir-ish to sip while reading this book. What could be better than a cocktail named after Humphrey Bogart? Now, this wasn’t his kind of drink (he was mainly a Scotch man), but we can certainly picture this concoction as the house drink at Rick’s Cafe Americain in Casablanca.

•    1 1/2 oz. apple brandy
•    1 oz. brandy
•    1/4 oz. lemon syrup
•    1/4 oz. lime syrup
•    1/4 oz. vanilla vodka
•    Chilled cocktail glass
•    Lemon wheel, for garnish
•    Lime wheel, for garnish

Pour all ingredients except the wheels into a shaker and shake with crushed ice until a frost forms on the outside of the can. Strain into cocktail glasses, and garnish with the wheels. Serving on a silver plate with .45 caliber bullet adds a nice touch.

-Tiki Chris, reporting from the bar at Rick’s, c. 1944

Book Signing at the Mai Kai Tonight! Murder on Tiki Island, The Parrot Talks in Chocolate

Book signing by authors “Tiki” Chris Pinto and Everett Peacock

Tonight, Wednesday, January 4, 2012, 6pm-8pm

Mai Kai Polynesian Restaurant and Tiki Bar, Fort Lauderdale, FL

If you’re in South Florida this Wednesday, be sure to stop by The Mai Kai in Fort Lauderdale and meet yours truly, Tiki Chris P. and Hawaii’s own Everett Peacock for our first book signing together!

It’s a rare treat to team up with Everett Peacock, author of the Parrot Talks series and other Hawaiian tales of fiction. I will be selling and signing paperback copies of the Tiki world’s official murder mystery, Murder on Tiki Island, along with my Wildwood Murder mystery Murder Behind the Closet Door, while Everett’s books will include The Parrot Talks in Chocolate, In the Middle of the World’s Most Wonderful of Oceans, Tiwaka Goes To Waikiki and Death by Facebook.

The Mai Kai is the world’s most famous, oldest-standing, unchanged and theerfore koolest original mid-century Tiki bar in the world. Built in 1956, it just celebrated its 55th anniversary as the Tiki world’s Mecca. Millions of people have made the pilgrimage to Fort Lauderdale, FL to pay tribute to this temple of Tiki, and have done so by imbibing strong, vintage-style tropical drinks, enjoying incredible exotic foods, watching the authentic hula dancers and ending the evening off with a trinket from the gift shop. Now, that gift shop includes works from today’s Tiki artists from all over the world. The newest addition is a collection of Tiki-related books, including those groovy tomes mentioned above.

Everett Peacock

Everett Peacock lives on the island of Maui, in the state of Hawaii, USA. His books have delighted thousands of people, telling tales of the Hawaiian Islands and their interesting inhabitants. His works range from the very lighthearted and uplifting The Parrot Talks in Chocolate, to the spooky paranormal mystery Death by Facebook. All of his works transcend our everyday existence, blending the metaphysical with human reality. His books consistently achieve five-star reviews on many book review sites…and I personally recommend them to anyone who digs Tiki, Hawaii, parrots or cocktails served in coconuts.

"Tiki" Chris Pinto, old-school style

I, Tiki Chris Pinto, live down here in sunny South Florida with my wife Colleen, just a few miles west of the sparkling beaches of Fort Lauderdale and the rum-soaked delights of the Mai Kai. I’ve been writing since I was a kid, and my successes included several murder mystery stage plays, the 5-star rated novels Murder Behind the Closet Door and Murder on Tiki Island, and a collection of flash fiction entitled A Flash of Noir. Murder Under The Boards: The Atlantic City Murder Mystery is the novel that’s currently in the works, and will feature my recurring paranormal mystery theme along with my recurring flawed protagonist, Detective Bill Riggins. (For those of you who dig books by Stephen King and Mickey Spillane, you’ll flip for these titles).

Both Everett and I will have several books on hand for sale, and will also sign copies of books you’ve already purchased. Hell, we’ll even sign books we didn’t write. Why not!

Hope to see some of you kool kats and kittens at the Mai Kai tonight!

All of our books can be found on Amazon.com, in print and for Kindle, and for Nook. For more info visit StarDustMysteries.com.

-Tiki Chris P., reporting from the Molokai bar.

Murder on Tiki Island by Tiki Chris Pinto: Great Review on LetsTiki.com

The great reviews keep coming in for Murder on Tiki Island by yours truly, Tiki Chris!

Recently Darrin Vindiola of Dads Dish wrote a spectacular review of the book, siting it’s great imagery, fun characters and original plot line.

This week, Damon of Let’s Tiki wrote (and put on video) his great review of this Tiki-lover’s tome:

“Aloha,
I want to tell you about a great book I recently read, Murder on Tiki Island.  I really enjoyed the book. It made me feel like I was on a tropical vacation when, in reality, I never left Wisconsin.  Murder on Tiki Island was written by Tiki Chris Pinto.  The book takes place in October, 1956, and follows the story of New York City detective Bill Riggins…” You can read the rest of the review here at LetsTiki.com.

Damon is a long-time connoisseur of Tiki cocktails, culture and decor. His Let’s Tiki website has a ton of great info, exotic cocktail recipes and much more for the Tiki lover.

Mahalos for that glowing review, Damon! It’s kats like you that the book is written for!

-Tiki Chris P., author of Murder on Tiki Island.

Madigan, 1968 for Mod Movie Monday

Madigan, 1968

This is one of those 1960s cop movies that kind of faded away over the years, but holds up nice as a very kool slice of life from the time. With plenty of shots of NYC in the late 60s, cars, slums, fancy hotels, police precincts inside and out, this film is an hour and forty-one minute time capsule.

Madigan, 1968

Starring Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Harry Guardino, James Whitmore and Inger Stevens.

These are the short-brimmed hats that have made a comeback today.

Set in the present of 1968, this movie is an old-fashioned crime drama with a gritty edge. The detectives are all tough guys with short-brimmed fedoras, the cops look like they could have stepped out of a 1930’s flick, the cars are all big American sedans and there’s litter everywhere. The director managed to help capture the era for all posterity by grabbing plenty of shots of food joints, bars, commercial signage, and even a nice shot of the Coney Island boardwalk. Hard-swingin’ crime drama music by Don Costa and a lines like “he needs a hair cut” and “aw, the hell with these (bullet proof) vests, let’s go” juice this goody up but good.

Richard Widmark as Madigan, a real tough cop

The story: Madigan and his partner get suckered into losing up their rods to a hood during a routine check. They spend the next couple of days tracking the guy down, while he uses the heisted rods to kill cops. Meanwhile the commish is dealing with police corruption that goes all the way up to the top. Bad news all around.

I’m sure audiences in 1968 who were expecting an old-fashioned crime drama were surprised (maybe appalled) by the split-second female nudity, the few curse words peppered around and the mean-street violence, even by the cops themselves. By today’s standards it’s practically a Disney flick. But still fun to watch, especially for the images of 43 years ago.

Lots of cool cars in Madigan, like this Lincoln Continental

Food & Booze: These are hard-drinking tough-guy cops. Drinking anything less than 100 proof rye whiskey would be crime. Wash down a dirty-water dog or a Rubin on rye with a pickle and you’re all set.

My take: The thing I found really interesting about this flick was the offices inside the police station. Dull green walls, wooden desks, steel grating over dirty windows and everything covered in a film of nicotine is exactly what you see, and exactly what I envisioned when I wrote my murder mystery book Murder on Tiki Island, where Detective Bill Riggins has a desk, a phone and a chair to conduct his investigating. Now, I may have seen this movie when I was a kid, say, 35 years ago on TV. Don’t remember it. But it seems my imagination has a pretty good handle on what police stations looked like in the middle of the last century. Kookie, huh?

McGinty's Bar, Madigan 1968. Lots of great imagery in this flick.

Here are the opening titles, with lots of cool 1968 shots of New York and some swingin’ crime drama riffs by Don Costa…

Man, they just don’t write movie music like that anymore, huh? Swingin’, rockin’, crazy stuff.

-Tiki Chris Pinto reporting from the screening room at Pirate’s Cove Tiki Lounge, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

More Rum, More Noir - The Rum Noir, Your Weekend Tiki Cocktail

The Rum Noir, a Tiki Lounge Talk original. Kool Tiki mug by Tiki Diablo.

Since the other day was National Rum Day, I had to experiment with a few goodies to see if I could come up with something new. Well kids, I did. First I tried some of the Appleton Estate and El Dorado rums mixed with coke and lime. Now, I know some of you will say this is a big waste of such great rums. But the flavor was unique, dark and really very enjoyable. Equal parts of each rum in a tall glass with ice, add in coke and stir. Add fresh lime a little squeeze at a time.

But it didn’t stop there. I needed to make something my Tiki friends (that’s you) would consider worthy of the drink log. So, after a few experiments…

The Rum Noir

surfaced as the winner.

1 oz Appleton Estate Rum

1 oz El Dorado Demerara Rum

1/4 oz cinnamon schnapps (the hot stuff)

1 oz orange juice

1/2 oz fresh lime juice (adjust to taste)

2-4 drops bitters

Splash of Coke

Put everything into the shaker (except the soda) with ice and shake it up real nice. Pour into a tall Tiki mug with ice, add a splash of coke. Garnish with a lime wedge and orange slice. This recipe is pretty close to a planter’s punch, with a little kick. It’s called the Rum Noir because of the dark rum, and because I invented it while pulling the trigger on the print version of my latest swingin’ book, A Flash of Noir, which is now available in Print, for Kindle and for Nook. Check it out

-Tiki Chris P. reporting from Pirate’s Cove Tiki Bar at Tiki Lounge Talk, the web-lounge for swingin’ chicks and kool vintage hipsters.