There’s always time to spy! But, No Time to Spy: The John Sand espionage trilogy from Quad-Cities authors Max Allan Jr. Collins and Matthew Clemens has hit the virtual and physical bookshelves! The John Sand Series invokes the best of the original spy thrillers as it follows a recently retired British secret agent in the early 1960s. His real-life exploits inspired a very famous series of best-selling novels by a friend in the spy game…If you love James Bond you can’t afford to miss this fast action, brutally tough, taut, and thrilling box set…Contains three full length... Read More

The 28th novel collaboration of local authors Max Allan Collins and Matthew V. Clemens comes out today! It’s “To Live and Spy In Berlin,” a new thriller from the best-selling duo! The world thinks John Sand’s retired. No longer heading into the MI6 offices, he’s an energy company executive. He’s got a nice corner office, lavish dinners to attend, and no bullets flying at his head…yet. The truth is much deadlier. Sand’s hunting stolen uranium, and he knows if he doesn’t find it soon, he’ll be hunting something very different…a nuclear bomb. Deep in... Read More

This weekend, YouTube and the National Independent Venue Association are doing an awesome thing for local music venues nationwide, and I’m sure many of you have heard about the star-studded Save Our Stages Fest. It’s the kind of huge, publicity-grabbing event that gets a ton of attention with people in markets across the country. Which is a good thing, because it’s for a good cause, and it needs to get in front of a large group of people to make that positive impact. I do not begrudge that at all, and I wholeheartedly encourage people to check it out, and any other event of that... Read More

Scott Beck and Bryan Woods aren’t slowing down. The duo, who grew up making indie films since their teen years in Bettendorf, Iowa, and currently reside in Los Angeles, shot to prominence with “A Quiet Place” last year, after over a decade of under-the-radar ups-and-downs in Hollywood. Currently, Beck and Woods are in Canada in pre-production on a new project they’re “not allowed to talk about yet,” that they’re writing and directing. “It should be a fun one,” Wood said. “I wish we could other than we’re still following our heart down the horror genre that path and we think... Read More

Scott Beck and Bryan Woods aren’t slowing down. The duo, who grew up making indie films since their teen years in Bettendorf, Iowa, and currently reside in Los Angeles, shot to prominence with “A Quiet Place” last year, after over a decade of under-the-radar ups-and-downs in Hollywood. Currently, Beck and Woods are in Canada in pre-production on a new project they’re “not allowed to talk about yet,” that they’re writing and directing. “It should be a fun one,” Wood said. “I wish we could other than we’re still following our heart down the horror genre that path and we think... Read More

In July 2003, I saw the future of cinema in the work of two teens from Bettendorf. That was when I was asked by Max Collins to be a judge of the Iowa Film Awards. At the time, I was writing for three area newspapers, I was an entertainment correspondent for seven area radio stations and I was on two local TV stations – including KWQC’s “Paula Sands Live,” for which I was one of two film critics with my good friend Linda Cook. That’s why Max asked me to start judging the awards a year or two before, and I saw a number of pretty good local films, but it wasn’t until that summer of 2003... Read More

Crusin’, a Quad-Cities area band featuring luminary Max Allan Collins, is among the inductees into this year’s class for the Iowa Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. The Iowa Rock ‘n Roll Music Association is honored to be able to recognize Iowa artists with induction into the Iowa Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame and help retain Iowa’s musical legacy. Since incorporation, over 320 entities have had the honor of being inducted. Categories include Bands, Individual Artists, DJs, Media Representatives,  Venues, Ballrooms, Border Bands, Women Who Rock, Support People, Out of State Artists, and Lifetime... Read More