Private Eye Action, As You Like It

A collection of short stories from early in the careers of Joe R. Lansdale and Lewis Shiner, published in a limited edition by Crossroads Press in 1998. They have never been made available in other collections.

The Lansdale solo stories feature a character named Ray Slater; Lansdale also wrote a Ray Slater novel, unpublished at the time but later included in For a Few Stories More. After the mysteries did not catch on, Lansdale published the western novel "Texas Night Riders" using Ray Slater as a pseudonym (it was eventually re-published under his own name). Shiner possibly wrote two of the three Sloane stories specifically for inclusion in this collection. In the late '70's, Lansdale and Shiner collaborated on a few stories about John Talbot; both were published, though at least one of them was heavily edited prior to publication.

It includes:

Joe Lansdale's "Ray Slater stories"
*"Introduction to the Slater stories"
*The Full Count {originally published in "Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine", June 1978}
*Long Gone Forever {originally published in "Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine", Dec 1978}
*One Blonde, Well Dead {originally published in "Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine", Apr 1979}Lewis Shiner's "Sloane Stories"
*"The Short Unhappy Career of Lew Shiner, Tough-Guy Writer" (introduction)
*Deep, Without Pity {originally published in "Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine", June 1980}
*The Killing Season {first publication}
*Prodigal Son {first publication}Lansdale & Shiner - "the John Talbot Stories"
*"Can You Run With It?" (introduction, by Lewis Shiner)
*Black As The Night {originally published in "Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine", Sep 1979}
*Man Drowning {originally published in an edited form in "Pulpsmith", Fall 1983}
*"Afterword to the Talbot Stories" by Joe R. Lansdale