Aloha! Here is a pictorial chronicle of our weekend at Tiki Oasis in San Diego, where Monica Tiki Goddess and I made our fourth appearance as part of the entertainment/educational program. Normally that meant hosting a Thrillville midnight movie show, but this time I presented a midday "spy movie symposium" called "Mai Tai Mysteries," where I introduced a film clip show culled from vintage tropical pulp/espionage cinema, including the 007 classics Dr. No and Thunderball, the classic TV series Hawaii Five-O and The Man From UNCLE, obscure cult favorites The Fiend of Dop Island and Deadlier Than the Male, Dean Martin as secret agent Matt Helm in The Ambushers, Frank Sinatra as private eye Tony Rome in The Lady In Cement, the film noir classic Hell's Half Acre, and James Coburn in Our Man Flint. Molokai Mike and Becca Morris of Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge poured free Vespers (the original James Bond cocktail) in miniature martini glasses, which really made it special and cool. After all, washing down B movies with booze helped make my reputation, such as it is.
Prior to that, I was part of the official book signing along with It Came From Hangar 18 co-author Scott Fulks, which for me was the main point and highlight of this trip. We signed and sold copies of this book, and I also brought along some copies of A Mermaid Drowns in the Midnight Lounge, since that also contains tiki references suitable for the occasion. As usual, convention founders/organizers/masterminds Otto and Baby Doe Von Stroheim did a hell of a job putting this thing together. It was their twelfth Tiki Oasis, and I was honored to not only write a lot of the copy for the web site, including a short story filled with various "secret agent" acronyms, but I coined the name of the theme: "Exotic Espionage and Polynesian Pulp." I was even quoted in this article published in the San Diego Troubadour. It was an honor, since this event is always quite an international scene. As usual the Crowne Plaza Hotel in San Diego was overtaken by revelers from around the world who converged for the annual agenda of killer surf/lounge bands, poolside DJs, burlesque troupes, cocktail symposiums, art merchants, fashion shows, and infamous room parties. It was also a major social scene and a chance to eat, drink and be merry with friends old and new. All in all, it was a fun and productive "working vacation." Dig the slideshow. Cheers.
WILL "THE THRILL" VIHARO is a freelance writer and the author of several "gonzo pulp" novels including "A Mermaid Drowns in the Midnight Lounge," "Freaks That Carry Your Luggage up to the Room," "Chumpy Walnut," "Lavender Blonde," "Down a Dark Alley," and the “Vic Valentine, Private Eye” series, the first of which, "Love Stories Are Too Violent For Me," has been optioned for a film by Christian Slater, reissued in 2013 by Gutter Books, which also published the new Vic Valentine novel "Hard-boiled Heart" in December, 2015.
Two science fiction novels, "It Came from Hangar 18" and "The Space Needler's Intergalactic Bar Guide," were written in collaboration with Scott Fulks, who added real science to Will's pulp.
Will's own imprint, Thrillville Press, has issued a three volume anthology series featuring all of his standalone novels called "The Thrillville Pulp Fiction Collection," along with another omnibus called "The Vic Valentine Classic Case Files," which include four novels from the 1990s, "Fate Is My Pimp," "Romance Takes a Rain Check," "I Lost My Heart in Hollywood," and "Diary of a Dick," plus a recent short story, "Brain Mistrust."
More recently published books include the Vic Valentine "Mental Case Files" trilogy comprised of "Vic Valentine: International Man of Misery," "Vic Valentine: Lounge Lizard For Hire," and "Vic Valentine: Space Cadet"; the original story collection "Vic Valentine, Private Eye: 14 Vignettes"; the erotic horror noir novella "Things I Do When I'm Awake"; and a collection of erotic horror noir stories, "VIHORROR! Cocktales of Sex and Death."
Additionally Will has had stories included in a variety of anthologies including "Fast Women and Neon Lights: Eighties-Inspired Neon Noir"; "Mixed Up!"; "Long Distance Drunks: A Tribute to Charles Bukowski"; "Deadlines: A Tribute to William Wallace"; "Dark Yonder: Tales and Tabs"; "Knucklehead Noir" and "Weird Winter Wonderland" (both Coffin Hop Press); and "Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror."
Viharo's unique brand of "gonzo pulp fiction" combines elements of eroticism, noir, fantasy, and horror. For many years he has also been a professional film programmer/impresario and live music booker. He now lives in Seattle, WA with his wife and cats
