It was in April of 1993 that I put out the first issue of Deadly Pleasures. There have been lots of changes over the years as I tried to improve my desktop publishing, writing and editing skills – the latest improvement being the ability to publish now in digital color.

The bedrock of the magazine has been a loyal core of knowledgeable contributors and reviewers. It’s impossible to express how grateful I am for their efforts. Two associate editors of the magazine, Russ Isabella and Larry Gandle, have been a great source of inspiration and help to me.

In 1997 we created the Barry Awards to honor the best in mystery, crime and thriller fiction as a way to say “thank you” to favorite writers and to alert others about some of the best books of each year. The process of arriving at each year’s winners has been a lot of fun for all involved.

Here is the letter that I used to announce its arrival on the mystery fiction scene.

The letter contains a note from Bob Samoian, a great friend and a super fan, who died far too early from brain cancer. He was a L.A. prosecutor and had 30,000 mysteries in his home at the time of his death in 1995. I have an American First Edition of Jonathan Gash’s first Lovejoy novel THE JUDAS PAIR that the author inscribed to Bob Samoian and it is among my most cherished books.

And here is a photo of the cover of the first issue.

For contrast, here is the cover of our latest issue:

Now onward to our fortieth anniversary. That’s my goal. Thanks for all your support over the years. It’s been a real source of joy to publish Deadly Pleasures. George Easter, Editor/Publisher