Frank Vatel
@frankvatel312.bsky.social
Reader, watcher, and scribbler of noir. Also, book-cover illustrator and designer. Published @ Punk Noir Magazine, All Due Respect, Bristol Noir, and Reckon Review.
The last sentence of this flash story is wonderfully noir. Great work, @keithroysdon.bsky.social.
Published by @witchingmetal66.bsky.social.
Published by @witchingmetal66.bsky.social.
My tale of gunplay and regret in a convenience store has been published by Pistol Jim Press.
pistoljimpress.substack.com/p/filthy-hab...
pistoljimpress.substack.com/p/filthy-hab...
Filthy Habit by Keith Roysdon
from Nails in the Coffin: a Pistol Jim Press series
pistoljimpress.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:51 AM
The last sentence of this flash story is wonderfully noir. Great work, @keithroysdon.bsky.social.
Published by @witchingmetal66.bsky.social.
Published by @witchingmetal66.bsky.social.
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 10: DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1935)
Admittedly, the film’s ending is better. But the trio of Walter, Phyllis, and Keyes were fully realized in James M. Cain’s original text and their grubby lives still enthrall us ninety years after its first publication.
Day 10: DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1935)
Admittedly, the film’s ending is better. But the trio of Walter, Phyllis, and Keyes were fully realized in James M. Cain’s original text and their grubby lives still enthrall us ninety years after its first publication.
November 11, 2025 at 12:13 AM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 10: DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1935)
Admittedly, the film’s ending is better. But the trio of Walter, Phyllis, and Keyes were fully realized in James M. Cain’s original text and their grubby lives still enthrall us ninety years after its first publication.
Day 10: DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1935)
Admittedly, the film’s ending is better. But the trio of Walter, Phyllis, and Keyes were fully realized in James M. Cain’s original text and their grubby lives still enthrall us ninety years after its first publication.
Reposted by Frank Vatel
“Every seven seconds, a Nazi soldier dies in Russia.”
—Radio Moscow, winter 1942
—Radio Moscow, winter 1942
November 10, 2025 at 4:42 PM
“Every seven seconds, a Nazi soldier dies in Russia.”
—Radio Moscow, winter 1942
—Radio Moscow, winter 1942
Reposted by Frank Vatel
Filthy Habit by Keith Roysdon
from Nails in the Coffin: a Pistol Jim Press series
pistoljimpress.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 5:56 PM
“Every seven seconds, a Nazi soldier dies in Russia.”
—Radio Moscow, winter 1942
—Radio Moscow, winter 1942
November 10, 2025 at 4:42 PM
“Every seven seconds, a Nazi soldier dies in Russia.”
—Radio Moscow, winter 1942
—Radio Moscow, winter 1942
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 9: SLEEP WITH THE DEVIL (1954)
Day Keene is nobody’s favorite author, but this nasty little potboiler—about a loan-shark enforcer who swindles an Amish family—is a must-read for vintage paperback fans. Pulpy, sordid bliss.
Day 9: SLEEP WITH THE DEVIL (1954)
Day Keene is nobody’s favorite author, but this nasty little potboiler—about a loan-shark enforcer who swindles an Amish family—is a must-read for vintage paperback fans. Pulpy, sordid bliss.
November 9, 2025 at 11:06 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 9: SLEEP WITH THE DEVIL (1954)
Day Keene is nobody’s favorite author, but this nasty little potboiler—about a loan-shark enforcer who swindles an Amish family—is a must-read for vintage paperback fans. Pulpy, sordid bliss.
Day 9: SLEEP WITH THE DEVIL (1954)
Day Keene is nobody’s favorite author, but this nasty little potboiler—about a loan-shark enforcer who swindles an Amish family—is a must-read for vintage paperback fans. Pulpy, sordid bliss.
November 9, 2025 at 10:24 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 8: VANITY ROW (1952)
W.R. Burnett’s most underrated novel involves a shady police captain, the murder suspect he’s boinking, and the media storm threatening to devour them. A shrewd urban chronicle that anticipates both Ed McBain and Tom Wolfe.
Day 8: VANITY ROW (1952)
W.R. Burnett’s most underrated novel involves a shady police captain, the murder suspect he’s boinking, and the media storm threatening to devour them. A shrewd urban chronicle that anticipates both Ed McBain and Tom Wolfe.
November 8, 2025 at 9:57 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 8: VANITY ROW (1952)
W.R. Burnett’s most underrated novel involves a shady police captain, the murder suspect he’s boinking, and the media storm threatening to devour them. A shrewd urban chronicle that anticipates both Ed McBain and Tom Wolfe.
Day 8: VANITY ROW (1952)
W.R. Burnett’s most underrated novel involves a shady police captain, the murder suspect he’s boinking, and the media storm threatening to devour them. A shrewd urban chronicle that anticipates both Ed McBain and Tom Wolfe.
#NoirvemberChallenge
Favorite line of dialogue?
Quoted endlessly, and for good reason:
“I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me.”
Favorite line of dialogue?
Quoted endlessly, and for good reason:
“I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me.”
November 8, 2025 at 9:39 PM
#NoirvemberChallenge
Favorite line of dialogue?
Quoted endlessly, and for good reason:
“I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me.”
Favorite line of dialogue?
Quoted endlessly, and for good reason:
“I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me.”
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 7: THE END OF THE NIGHT (1960)
In the sixties, many authors got hysterical about the violent threat posed by druggy youth, churning out alarmist crime novels that have aged like milk. This John D. MacDonald stunner is the brutal, haunting exception.
Day 7: THE END OF THE NIGHT (1960)
In the sixties, many authors got hysterical about the violent threat posed by druggy youth, churning out alarmist crime novels that have aged like milk. This John D. MacDonald stunner is the brutal, haunting exception.
November 7, 2025 at 11:13 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 7: THE END OF THE NIGHT (1960)
In the sixties, many authors got hysterical about the violent threat posed by druggy youth, churning out alarmist crime novels that have aged like milk. This John D. MacDonald stunner is the brutal, haunting exception.
Day 7: THE END OF THE NIGHT (1960)
In the sixties, many authors got hysterical about the violent threat posed by druggy youth, churning out alarmist crime novels that have aged like milk. This John D. MacDonald stunner is the brutal, haunting exception.
#NoirvemberChallenge
Favorite film noir dream sequence
Favorite film noir dream sequence
November 7, 2025 at 10:33 PM
#NoirvemberChallenge
Favorite film noir dream sequence
Favorite film noir dream sequence
Literary fiction requires no plot. In fact, plot is an embarrassment to the literary writer. Being caught plotting is like walking out of a restroom with toilet paper stuck to your shoe.
November 7, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Literary fiction requires no plot. In fact, plot is an embarrassment to the literary writer. Being caught plotting is like walking out of a restroom with toilet paper stuck to your shoe.
#NoirvemberChallenge
Coolest Film Noir Character?
In his bulky, middle-aged way, Bob le flambeur is *very* effing cool.
Coolest Film Noir Character?
In his bulky, middle-aged way, Bob le flambeur is *very* effing cool.
November 7, 2025 at 12:20 AM
#NoirvemberChallenge
Coolest Film Noir Character?
In his bulky, middle-aged way, Bob le flambeur is *very* effing cool.
Coolest Film Noir Character?
In his bulky, middle-aged way, Bob le flambeur is *very* effing cool.
Explain a film plot badly:
Speaking into an office dictaphone, an insurance man recalls winning a client away from the Auto Club, whose policies—while seemingly competitive—are only cheaper if you’re a member. Events transpire. Eventually his tummy ache worsens and he decides to call it a day.
Speaking into an office dictaphone, an insurance man recalls winning a client away from the Auto Club, whose policies—while seemingly competitive—are only cheaper if you’re a member. Events transpire. Eventually his tummy ache worsens and he decides to call it a day.
Explain a film plot badly:
A man who is traveling on business during wartime and his wife encounter some delays getting their visas and his wife tries to enlist the help of her ex, who happens to have a bar in town.
A man who is traveling on business during wartime and his wife encounter some delays getting their visas and his wife tries to enlist the help of her ex, who happens to have a bar in town.
Explain a film plot badly:
Guy makes offers people can't refuse and then he dies eating an orange while scaring the shit out of a little kid.
Guy makes offers people can't refuse and then he dies eating an orange while scaring the shit out of a little kid.
November 6, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Explain a film plot badly:
Speaking into an office dictaphone, an insurance man recalls winning a client away from the Auto Club, whose policies—while seemingly competitive—are only cheaper if you’re a member. Events transpire. Eventually his tummy ache worsens and he decides to call it a day.
Speaking into an office dictaphone, an insurance man recalls winning a client away from the Auto Club, whose policies—while seemingly competitive—are only cheaper if you’re a member. Events transpire. Eventually his tummy ache worsens and he decides to call it a day.
Reposted by Frank Vatel
For the afternoon crowd:
@jdclappwrites.bsky.social 's crafted a story in the vein of Cormac McCarthy & Denis Johnson, a borderlands story of moral reckoning & quiet tragedy.
Told through the eyes of a man who discovers that the hardest wounds to heal aren’t the visible ones.
Yeah, it's that good
@jdclappwrites.bsky.social 's crafted a story in the vein of Cormac McCarthy & Denis Johnson, a borderlands story of moral reckoning & quiet tragedy.
Told through the eyes of a man who discovers that the hardest wounds to heal aren’t the visible ones.
Yeah, it's that good
Today at the Garage we're featuring an excellent story from @jdclappwrites.bsky.social
"Wounded” isn’t about hunting — it’s about what happens when doing the right thing comes with a price you don't expect.
Check it out:
literarygarage.com/wounded
🎸📷
#LitGarage #ShortStory #Wilderness
"Wounded” isn’t about hunting — it’s about what happens when doing the right thing comes with a price you don't expect.
Check it out:
literarygarage.com/wounded
🎸📷
#LitGarage #ShortStory #Wilderness
Wounded | Literary Garage
literarygarage.com
November 6, 2025 at 10:32 PM
For the afternoon crowd:
@jdclappwrites.bsky.social 's crafted a story in the vein of Cormac McCarthy & Denis Johnson, a borderlands story of moral reckoning & quiet tragedy.
Told through the eyes of a man who discovers that the hardest wounds to heal aren’t the visible ones.
Yeah, it's that good
@jdclappwrites.bsky.social 's crafted a story in the vein of Cormac McCarthy & Denis Johnson, a borderlands story of moral reckoning & quiet tragedy.
Told through the eyes of a man who discovers that the hardest wounds to heal aren’t the visible ones.
Yeah, it's that good
Reposted by Frank Vatel
I'm writing a courtroom thriller about the trial of the sandwich vigilante. The title is 12 Hungry Men.
logging back on to discover the jury did not return a verdict in the sandwich guy case. what the fuck lol
November 6, 2025 at 6:43 AM
I'm writing a courtroom thriller about the trial of the sandwich vigilante. The title is 12 Hungry Men.
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 6: KISS TOMORROW GOOD-BYE (1948)
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? is everyone’s favorite Horace McCoy novel, but the disturbed, strangely erudite prison escapee who narrates this outlaw tale deserves his own place in noir immortality.
Day 6: KISS TOMORROW GOOD-BYE (1948)
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? is everyone’s favorite Horace McCoy novel, but the disturbed, strangely erudite prison escapee who narrates this outlaw tale deserves his own place in noir immortality.
November 6, 2025 at 11:25 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 6: KISS TOMORROW GOOD-BYE (1948)
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? is everyone’s favorite Horace McCoy novel, but the disturbed, strangely erudite prison escapee who narrates this outlaw tale deserves his own place in noir immortality.
Day 6: KISS TOMORROW GOOD-BYE (1948)
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? is everyone’s favorite Horace McCoy novel, but the disturbed, strangely erudite prison escapee who narrates this outlaw tale deserves his own place in noir immortality.
Reposted by Frank Vatel
"Pope Leo said Scripture emphasizes the question that will be posed at the end of the world:
'How did you receive the foreigner, did you receive him and welcome him, or not? I think there is a deep reflection that needs to be made about what is happening'..."
chicago.suntimes.com/pope-leo-xiv...
'How did you receive the foreigner, did you receive him and welcome him, or not? I think there is a deep reflection that needs to be made about what is happening'..."
chicago.suntimes.com/pope-leo-xiv...
Pope Leo calls for ‘deep reflection’ about treatment of detained migrants in U.S.
“Many people who have lived for years and years and years, never causing problems, have been deeply affected by what is going on right now,” Chicago-born pope says.
chicago.suntimes.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:02 AM
"Pope Leo said Scripture emphasizes the question that will be posed at the end of the world:
'How did you receive the foreigner, did you receive him and welcome him, or not? I think there is a deep reflection that needs to be made about what is happening'..."
chicago.suntimes.com/pope-leo-xiv...
'How did you receive the foreigner, did you receive him and welcome him, or not? I think there is a deep reflection that needs to be made about what is happening'..."
chicago.suntimes.com/pope-leo-xiv...
Reposted by Frank Vatel
.
#FilmNoirClub 🗝️ Watch Party Tonight at 8:00 pm EDT
@gabsanders6.bsky.social @kasiunia.bsky.social @tommykrasker.bsky.social @filmnoiruk.bsky.social @frankvatel312.bsky.social @chitown-pablo.bsky.social @llcglc.bsky.social @paulpar.bsky.social @philnoir.bsky.social @maurmaur8part2.bsky.social
#FilmNoirClub 🗝️ Watch Party Tonight at 8:00 pm EDT
@gabsanders6.bsky.social @kasiunia.bsky.social @tommykrasker.bsky.social @filmnoiruk.bsky.social @frankvatel312.bsky.social @chitown-pablo.bsky.social @llcglc.bsky.social @paulpar.bsky.social @philnoir.bsky.social @maurmaur8part2.bsky.social
November 6, 2025 at 12:14 AM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 5: THE ICE HARVEST (1999)
The hero of this late-nineties classic has a lot to answer for: embezzled funds, double-crossed mobsters, angry exes, disappointed children. It’s a Christmas miracle that we still find him so endearing.
Day 5: THE ICE HARVEST (1999)
The hero of this late-nineties classic has a lot to answer for: embezzled funds, double-crossed mobsters, angry exes, disappointed children. It’s a Christmas miracle that we still find him so endearing.
November 5, 2025 at 10:49 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 5: THE ICE HARVEST (1999)
The hero of this late-nineties classic has a lot to answer for: embezzled funds, double-crossed mobsters, angry exes, disappointed children. It’s a Christmas miracle that we still find him so endearing.
Day 5: THE ICE HARVEST (1999)
The hero of this late-nineties classic has a lot to answer for: embezzled funds, double-crossed mobsters, angry exes, disappointed children. It’s a Christmas miracle that we still find him so endearing.
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 4: A RAGE IN HARLEM (1957)
The main story about a funeral-home worker who falls prey to conmen is absorbing, but the real genius of Chester Himes’ magnum opus lies in its depiction of Harlem. A teeming, vibrant, often hilarious crime novel.
Day 4: A RAGE IN HARLEM (1957)
The main story about a funeral-home worker who falls prey to conmen is absorbing, but the real genius of Chester Himes’ magnum opus lies in its depiction of Harlem. A teeming, vibrant, often hilarious crime novel.
November 4, 2025 at 11:20 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 4: A RAGE IN HARLEM (1957)
The main story about a funeral-home worker who falls prey to conmen is absorbing, but the real genius of Chester Himes’ magnum opus lies in its depiction of Harlem. A teeming, vibrant, often hilarious crime novel.
Day 4: A RAGE IN HARLEM (1957)
The main story about a funeral-home worker who falls prey to conmen is absorbing, but the real genius of Chester Himes’ magnum opus lies in its depiction of Harlem. A teeming, vibrant, often hilarious crime novel.
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 3: THE BIG BITE (1956)
For some reason, this book involving an amoral ex-jock who tries to blackmail a couple of killers never gets the love it deserves. But it’s top-tier Charles Williams, darkly ironic and white-knuckle tense.
Day 3: THE BIG BITE (1956)
For some reason, this book involving an amoral ex-jock who tries to blackmail a couple of killers never gets the love it deserves. But it’s top-tier Charles Williams, darkly ironic and white-knuckle tense.
November 3, 2025 at 10:44 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 3: THE BIG BITE (1956)
For some reason, this book involving an amoral ex-jock who tries to blackmail a couple of killers never gets the love it deserves. But it’s top-tier Charles Williams, darkly ironic and white-knuckle tense.
Day 3: THE BIG BITE (1956)
For some reason, this book involving an amoral ex-jock who tries to blackmail a couple of killers never gets the love it deserves. But it’s top-tier Charles Williams, darkly ironic and white-knuckle tense.
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 2: THE EXPENDABLE MAN (1963)
A lone traveler makes a rash decision that begets his doom. Sounds like familiar noir territory, right? Well, not exactly. In her final novel, Dorothy Hughes employs ambiguity and surprise like a virtuoso.
Day 2: THE EXPENDABLE MAN (1963)
A lone traveler makes a rash decision that begets his doom. Sounds like familiar noir territory, right? Well, not exactly. In her final novel, Dorothy Hughes employs ambiguity and surprise like a virtuoso.
November 2, 2025 at 11:08 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 2: THE EXPENDABLE MAN (1963)
A lone traveler makes a rash decision that begets his doom. Sounds like familiar noir territory, right? Well, not exactly. In her final novel, Dorothy Hughes employs ambiguity and surprise like a virtuoso.
Day 2: THE EXPENDABLE MAN (1963)
A lone traveler makes a rash decision that begets his doom. Sounds like familiar noir territory, right? Well, not exactly. In her final novel, Dorothy Hughes employs ambiguity and surprise like a virtuoso.
One of my favorite crime writers walks the Tightrope! Check out this beautifully evocative piece by Nils Gilbertson, published by Punk Noir Magazine.
@meproctor.bsky.social
punknoirmagazine.wordpress.com/2025/11/02/a...
@meproctor.bsky.social
punknoirmagazine.wordpress.com/2025/11/02/a...
A Job in New Orleans by Nils Gilbertson
A Job in New Orleans by Nils Gilbertson I picked up the gun from an old man in a balcony apartment one block up from Bourbon Street. He smoked a joint and didn’t say much. Better that way, I though…
punknoirmagazine.wordpress.com
November 2, 2025 at 7:50 PM
One of my favorite crime writers walks the Tightrope! Check out this beautifully evocative piece by Nils Gilbertson, published by Punk Noir Magazine.
@meproctor.bsky.social
punknoirmagazine.wordpress.com/2025/11/02/a...
@meproctor.bsky.social
punknoirmagazine.wordpress.com/2025/11/02/a...
Harry Lime is the right call, of course. But another late villain intro also deserves mention:
William Hurt in A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (2005)
#NoirvemberChallenge
William Hurt in A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (2005)
#NoirvemberChallenge
November 2, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Harry Lime is the right call, of course. But another late villain intro also deserves mention:
William Hurt in A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (2005)
#NoirvemberChallenge
William Hurt in A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (2005)
#NoirvemberChallenge