Showing results by author "John Gaspard" in All Categories

It’s just one thing after another for magician Eli Marks: The bizarre death of a barista. Performing close-up magic at a funeral. A homicidal husband looking for ideas. An unexpected customer encounter. An impossible stabbing during a show. A Halloween murder. A life-changing magic lesson. A mystifying murder/suicide. A puzzling jewel heist and an even odder painting theft. And more! A dozen new Eli Marks short stories (10 never-before published), which means you now have a dozen more reasons to spend some quality time with Eli Marks.

A casual glance out his apartment window turns Magician Eli Marks’ life upside down. After spotting a dead body in the projection booth of the movie theater next door, Eli is pulled into the hunt for the killer. As he attempts to puzzle out a solution to this classic locked room mystery, he must deal with a crisis of a more personal nature: the appearance of a rival magician who threatens not only Eli’s faith in himself as a performer, but his relationship with his girlfriend.

Unleash your inner detective with teenage magician Eli Marks! Join thirteen-year-old Eli as he moves in with his magician uncle and uncovers the secrets of the magic world in “The Curious Mysteries of Eli Marks.

When an old family friend is arrested for murder at a magic convention, Uncle Harry urges Eli to step in and solve the bizarre homicide. Eli’s attempt to sort through all the suspects is stymied after a second murder and then a third murder attempt - or was it merely an accident? Is someone trying to knock off the top mentalists in the country? And if they are, why do the clues keep pointing to Eli’s friend? As the body count rises, Eli must race against the clock to trap this clever killer before becoming the final victim. Grab this fun and funny mystery today!

The life of a magician isn't all kiddie shows and card tricks. Sometimes it's murder. Especially when magician Eli Marks very publicly debunks a famed psychic, and said psychic ends up dead. The evidence, including a bloody King of Diamonds playing card (one from Eli's own Ambitious Card routine), directs the police right to Eli. As more psychics are slain, and more King cards rise to the top, Eli can't escape suspicion. Things get really complicated when romance blooms with a beautiful psychic, and Eli discovers she's the next target for murder, and he's scheduled to die with her.

Learn the inside thinking behind 23 highly successful, classic, low-budget movies and discover techniques for making a little go a long way. Includes in-depth interviews with screenwriters with such credits as the Academy Award®-nominated films You Can Count on Me, Metropolitan, and Capote - plus such classics as Repo Man, Re-Animator, Paris, Texas, Living in Oblivion, Suburbia, Hester Street, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, and Eve’s Bayou.

This is a new edition of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic mystery, The Hound of the Baskervilles. It’s the same story. Mostly. That is, it contains the same characters, the same action, and much of the same dialogue. What’s different? Well, it’s a little shorter, a little leaner, a little less verbose in some sections. But the chief difference is that it’s now narrated by a dog. A greyhound, in fact, named Septimus. In this new edition, he tells his story of how he became “The Greyhound of the Baskervilles.”

When a magician is murdered in the midst of his act at the Mall of America, Eli Marks is asked to step in and take over the daily shows - while also keeping his eyes and ears open for clues about this bizarre homicide. As Eli combs the maze-like corridors beneath the Mall of America's massive amusement park looking for leads, he also struggles to learn and perform an entirely new magic act. Meanwhile, the longtime watering hole for Uncle Harry and his Mystics pals is closing, so in addition to the murder investigation and the new act, Eli must help the seniors find a suitable new hangout.

When a copycat serial killer begins recreating Jack the Ripper’s 1888 murder spree, two competing experts are forced to work together to stop him. Despite their well-documented antagonism, famous mystery novelist Barbara Thomas is paired with legendary Ripperologist Henry McHugh as they race against time to try to get one step ahead of the crazed killer. What they don’t understand - until it’s almost too late - is that his murderous spree is far more personal than either of them ever suspected.

After fleeing a failed relationship in New York, actress Leah Sexton finds herself as the new executive director of the Como Lake Players—a small community theater nestled in a sleepy St. Paul neighborhood. The initial calm of this new position is shattered immediately when a local critic—who had just panned the theater’s latest production—is found murdered on the show’s set. On the heels of this grisly discovery, the show’s lead actress tumbles down a flight of stairs—or was she pushed?

There's no question it was murder. But who killed whom? What begins as a typical corporate event for magician Eli Marks turns into a twisted mystery when he is called to the site of a recent murder/suicide.

The request was a first for Eli Marks: "Can you help me make my tuba disappear?" Magician (and magic shop owner) Eli Marks is confronted with this odd demand just before he is about to close up shop for the day. Over the next few tense minutes, he finds a solution to that question which also, fortunately, puts him the positive side of what turns out to be a life-or-death situation.

Ebenezer Scrooge - and his faithful greyhound, Carl - are visited on Christmas Eve by the ghost of his dead partner, Jacob Marley. What follows is the story you know, but with a twist. With faithful Carl by his side, Scrooge experiences the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, taking away a lesson that will forever change his - and Carl’s - life forever.

What begins as a typical corporate event for magician Eli Marks turns into a twisted mystery when he is called to the site of a recent murder/suicide. Confronted by the details of the grisly crime scene, Eli must sort through the post-mortem clues - and the bickering of the officials as well as a poorly-timed allergy attack - to determine just who murdered whom.

Is it your dream to make feature films? Get advice on how to do that by some of the best in the business! It’s like going to film school without ever leaving home!

Newly single magician Eli Marks reluctantly attends his high school reunion against his better judgment, only to become entangled in two deadly encounters with his former classmates. The first is the fatal mugging of an old crush's husband, followed by the suspicious deaths of the victim's business associates.

What begins as a simple evening of auditions for The Importance of Being Earnest turns into a deadly mystery for Leah and her cast. First one actor is murdered, then another disappears, leaving Leah in the dangerous position of trying to solve the crimes while re-casting her show.

Two classic filmmaking books in one box set: Fast, Cheap and Under Control: Lessons Learned from the Greatest Low-Budget Movies of All Time--Learn the tricks and pitfalls of low-budget filmmaking from 33 successful independent films and the filmmakers who created them. Fast, Cheap and Written That Way: Top Screenwriters on Writing for Low-Budget Movies--Hollywood's top screenwriters look back at their early low-budget efforts and provide valuable tips, tricks, and advice on how to create a solid screenplay for a low-budget movie.

John Gaspard's More Popcorn Principles: The Sequel! (Further Cinematic Storytelling Strategies for Novelists) is an illuminating guide that takes you on a cinematic journey, revealing the secrets to crafting compelling narratives and characters that resonate. This book is an invaluable tool for any aspiring or seasoned novelist, blending Gaspard's deep understanding of the art of storytelling with inspiration from the world of film.

Learn the tricks and pitfalls of low-budget filmmaking from 33 successful independent films and the filmmakers who created them. Includes never before published interviews with low-budget mavericks such as Steven Soderbergh, Roger Corman, Jon Favreau, Henry Jaglom, and many more.