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Frank Vatel

@frankvatel312.bsky.social
1.4K followers 607 following 2.2K posts

Writer of noir fiction, designer of book covers. Derringer Award finalist. Published by Punk Noir, All Due Respect, Bristol Noir, Revolution John, and Reckon Review.

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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Got an acceptance today. Always liked the story, but the ending is incongruously bleak for a Christmas piece, so I wasn’t sure if there was a print market for it. I’ll let the publisher announce the details, but with a little torque the anthology should fit nicely in a stocking...
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Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
A perfect pretext for impeachment does not exis—
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The Noir Collective @thenoircollective.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
NEXT WED at #TheNoirCollective: one of the first American films hailed as “noir” – and the most honored. 4 Oscars, incl. Best Picture. @tommykrasker.bsky.social & @ctmillion.bsky.social host THE LOST WEEKEND (1945). What happens when you hunger for the American Dream – but can’t quench your thirst?
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
👀
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Ever watch a movie that feels exactly like the work of a certain filmmaker but isn’t? Not a pale imitation, either, but a truly great film… I know Billy Wilder did not write or direct THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS, but every cell in my body forgets that when I’m viewing it.
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Letting other people control your self-worth is a cornerstone of mental illness. It’s also a cornerstone of modern life, which tells you what we’re up against.
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Shotgun Honey @shotgunhoney.com · 29/09/2026
Book Release: Daydream Believers: Crime Stories Inspired by the Songs of the Monkees! edited by Lawrence Allan and Michelle Kubitz, with foreword by Tod Goldberg. shotgunhoney.com/announcement...
shotgunhoney.com
Book Release: Daydream Believers Edited by Lawrence Allan and Michelle Kubitz
Shotgun Honey is pleased to release DAYDREAM BELIEVERS: Crime Stories Inspired by the Songs of The Monkees! edited by Lawrence Allan and Michelle Kubitz. This thrilling collection of stories that e…
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Little-known fact: There’s a factory located halfway between Guangzhou and Vatican City that churns out the flavorless cardboard used in both fortune cookies and Holy Communion wafers.
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Listen close, dummards. Noir is tragedy. Predetermination and heavy foreshadowing are part of tragedy. “I saw that ending coming” isn’t the burn you think it is.
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
My wife claims all conversations in Philadelphia sound like arguments, regardless of whether anyone is angry. We’re currently in a pub surrounded by visiting Eagles fans, and I must say she’s on to something.
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Rock and a Hard Place @rhppress.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
SUBS OPEN OCT 1: For November, we’re looking for stories of revolutionaries, rebels, agitators, and terrorists. Show us what happens when their good plans go bad, or their bad plans go worse. Subs close Oct 4. Send us your <2k flash story: bit.ly/4fQLeGx
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
“Europe is being colonized!” shout the right-wing parties. That *plink* you hear is the sound of six continents shedding a tear.
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Rock and a Hard Place @rhppress.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
NEW ON PATREON: Roger and Rob talk to author Colin Brightwell about his stories, their inspiration, and the overall writing process. Patreon memberships start at $5/month. Your support helps us pay our authors and keep the magazine going: bit.ly/4wLXH5V
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Sounds like a joke. Would bet money it’s not a joke.
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Shotgun Honey @shotgunhoney.com · 20/09/2026
If we had a 25% or free shipping sale, would you be interested. Need to get rid of back stock.
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Over first-date coffee, your Chris Walken sexbot opens up to you: “Can I confess something? Sometimes when I’m driving at night, I have this sudden impulse to turn the wheel quickly, head-on into the oncoming car. I can anticipate the explosion, the sound of shattering glass...”
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
WILD AT HEART, a lovers-on-the-run novella adapted to film by David Lynch, is one of those books that reads less like a taut narrative than a collection of quirky conversations. Sounds annoying, I know. But good writing washes away all sins, and Gifford’s characters won me over. Recommended.
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
George: It’s a lie. Harry Bailey went to war. He saved the lives of every man on that transport. Clarence: Every man on that transport died...
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Jack Badelaire @jbadelaire.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The vehicle of choice for "the divorce came outta nowhere" guys.
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H. Perry Horton @hperryhorton.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Bro just come out.
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Pub day! Congrats to @cwblackwell.bsky.social on another great book. A killer read, folks. Very much worth your time.
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Keith Roysdon @keithroysdon.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Here's the ultimate crossover: Those bothersome teenage investigators the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew and the late designer Bob Mackie! W/links and shout-outs to @crimereads.bsky.social @literarygarage.bsky.social @kmwriter01.bsky.social @frankvatel312.bsky.social keithroysdon.com/2026/09/15/n...
keithroysdon.com
Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys meet Bob Mackie
How about a two-for-one today? Okay then, buckle up for quick items on my citation of the late fashion designer Bob Mackie in a new short story as well as the Mystery of Why Public Libraries Didn&#…
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Andrew Monge @muchadoaboutnil.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Well, lookee what we have here, @cwblackwell.bsky.social. Off to go start it, stat!
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Last year, @muchadoaboutnil.bsky.social gifted me this 1953 issue of Manhunt featuring PROFESSIONAL MAN, a David Goodis story about a hitman ordered to kill his girlfriend. Reprinted in various collections over the years, it’s possibly the bleakest thing Goodis ever wrote. A must-read for his fans.
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Adam Van Winkle @vanwinkle.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I'll be reading my piece from Cowboy Jamboree's TEXAS WIND.
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Joe R. Lansdale @joerlansdale.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Joe R. Lansdale Interview on writing, martial arts and East Texas youtube.com/watch?v=lKFh...
youtube.com
Joe Lansdale on Writing, Hollywood, Martial Arts & Finding His Voice
YouTube video by Made in Nacogdoches with Brad Maule
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Gorgeous.
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
If you believe this, I’ve got a 2K-mile wall along the Mexican border to sell you.
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
#NoirCityChicago is a wrap. My personal rating of this year’s films, on a ten-point scale:
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Richie Narvaez @richienarvaez.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
9/11’s harmful legacy of Latino criminalization link.latimes.com/view/6520702...
link.latimes.com
Los Angeles Times
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
ROUND MIDNIGHT, the Tavernier film about jazz and addiction, played #NoirCity last night. At the end, the whole audience sat in solemn contemplation as “Chan’s Song” by Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder ran over the credits. Having attended this fest for years, I've never seen such an awed reaction.
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Small popcorn, I say. Concessions guy says they only serve medium and large now. If you’ve reduced three sizes to two, I say, you should rename the medium “small” because there’s no medium between two choices. Then I stop, realizing we’re having the “this one goes to eleven” conversation.
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The excellent film version of HANGOVER SQUARE screened last night at #NoirCityChicago. While I’ve never rated it a top-tier noir, the movie’s ending—quite different from the source novel’s—has few equals. 🔥
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
My favorite Hollywood quote is from Robert Altman. Jerry Bruckheimer’s partner, Don Simpson, once tried to stop Altman from casting Shelley Duvall on grounds that she wasn’t “f**kable.” When he died after years of drug abuse, Altman said: “I only wish he could have lived longer and suffered more.”
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
First saw Altman’s KANSAS CITY in 1996, upon its release. I was only in high school then, but I dug the loose, rambling vibe of it, which feels analogous to jazz itself. The reviews sucked. #NoirCity screened it over the weekend. The critics look even dumber today. @noirfoundation.bsky.social
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Spent two hours yesterday looking at tuxedos, art-deco nightclubs, and Rita Hayworth through the eyes of Rudolph Maté. My question is: How did color cinematography survive GILDA’s release? Just about the sexiest film ever made in Hollywood. #NoirCityChicago @noirfoundation.bsky.social
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Bring it on, fuckface.
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
As Eddie said yesterday, it wouldn’t be a #NoirCity fest without Cornell Woolrich. Favorite exchange from BLACK ANGEL: Peter Lorre: Tell her to come over. Goon: Mr. Marko, I don’t think— Lorre: I don’t slug and you don't think. Is that a deal? @noirfoundation.bsky.social @eddiemuller.bsky.social
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Hate to admit this as a Chicagoan, but I like Preminger’s MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM, which screened yesterday at #NoirCity, more than Nelson Algren’s exhausting source novel. The cast is great—Sinatra, in particular—and Elmer Bernstein’s score is obviously a thing of brilliance.
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Just shot this photo. It’s everyone’s favorite arsenic cookie, Eddie Muller, introducing SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS on opening night of Noir City: Chicago. @noirfoundation.bsky.social
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The Noir Collective @thenoircollective.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT about #TheNoirCollective watch party of THE LOST WEEKEND. As many have observed, Bluesky has been glitching all day. Now Internet Archive is glitching. We’re going to POSTPONE today’s watch party until October 7. Please repost this, to help us get the word out. Thank you!!!
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
TCM salutes Susan Sarandon tonight, starting with her best film. ATLANTIC CITY is so wise about the mentality of petty crooks that their delusions, mirroring those of the titular city, become the stuff of poignant tragedy. Burt Lancaster, perfectly cast, is also magnificent. #TCMParty
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Casey Stegman @caseystegman.com · 02/09/2026
Okay, but Christopher Nolan gets to write the first review
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Dolly Parton is the new George Orwell. Now that she can’t disavow them, all political sides claim her as their own.
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Him: Lana, is the hay truck in Cain’s first sentence a metaphor for Frank’s sobriety? Or the indifference of society as a whole? Her: I’m done working with New York actors.
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C.W. Blackwell @cwblackwell.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Huge thanks to @frankvatel312.bsky.social for his support of THE COLD DARK FOREVER! There’s a scene here that became a much darker shade of noir after his beta read. PREORDER is live! 🔗 in bio #noir #crimefiction #newrelease
Cover art for THE COLD DARK FOREVER with a blurb from Frank Vatel: Blackwell’s pages overflow, as ever, with evocative language, pithy dialogue, and terrific suspense.”
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Andrija Popovic @andrian6.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Hey #NoirAlley and #TCMParty crew - I'll be hosting #TheNoirCollective along of Fritz Lang's #TheBlueGardinia this Wednesday at 8PM Eastern time. Open "Eddie Muller's Noir Bar" and make a Pearl Diver or three. Here's the official watch-along link: archive.org/details/... 1/2
archive.org
The Blue Gardenia (1953), 1080p : Fritz Lang : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Starring Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, and Ann Sothern.
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Book lovers view mortality differently. It’s not how many years we have left, but how many books. This is why, in middle age, DNFs have become more common for me. Every dud I stubbornly finish has come to represent a great book I won’t have time to start.
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
When a noir author makes me laugh too often, I mentally relocate him from gloomy Noir City to the neighboring town, where crime is still rampant but monthly laser-tag tournaments keep the citizens happy. Willeford was the first resident. Scott Phillips—based on this novel and others—is the newest.
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Frank Vatel @frankvatel312.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Sgt. Forbes: What about this dame? Brown: A dish. Forbes: What kind of dish? Brown: Sixty-cent special. Cheap, flashy, and strictly poison under the gravy. Don’t forget, noiristas—it’s Marie Windsor day on TCM. #TCMParty
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