In Reference to Murder

New Releases in January 2008

Here are a few of the new mystery/crime fiction book releases coming to a book store near you in January 2008. Happy New Year of Reading!

Evans, Jimmie Ruth: Bring Your Own Poison, (#4 Trailer Park series) (paperback original).  Waitress Wanda Nell Culpepper is burning the candle at both ends, but she can't afford to pass up hefty tips from a bachelor party at the Kountry Kitchen. She's prepared to dodge a few roaming hands-but not to witness a murder.

Estleman, Loren D: Gas City.  Calling upon his considerable novelistic skills, Loren D. Estleman exposes the black heart of a seemingly stable, well-run city suddenly pitched into violence and chaos. A delicate balance of forces--greed and  corruption, ambition and desire--run out of control in the wake of a serial killer's grisly rampage.

Evanovich, Janet: Plum Lucky (Stephanie Plum series)  Stephanie Plum is back between-the-numbers and she’s looking to get lucky in an Atlantic City hotel room, in a Winnebago, and with a brown-eyed stud who has stolen her heart.

Fulmer, David: The Blue Door.  David Fulmer’s acclaimed Storyville series brought us a New Orleans teeming with jazz. The Dying Crapshooter’s Blues took fans to Atlanta and the blues. The Blue Door now brings us the vibrant city of Philadelphia and the early days of its famous soul.

Gage, Leighton D: Blood of the Wicked. This debut novel is set in the remote Brazilian town of Cascatas do Pontal, where landless peasants are confronting the owners of vast estates, the bishop arrives by helicopter to consecrate a new church and is assassinated. Mario Silva, chief inspector for criminal matters of the federal police of Brazil, is dispatched to the interior to find the killer. The pope himself has called Brazil's president; the pressure is on Silva to perform.

Harper, Julia: Hot (paperback original).  For four years, play-by-the-rules bank teller Turner Hastings has brooded over her uncle's wrongful imprisonment. But when two bumbling crooks stumble into her branch (barely disguised in Yoda and Sponge Bob masks) and hold up the place, she sees a chance to do something she's never thought possible: get revenge.

Holms, Joyce: Foreign Body (#2  in the Fizz and Buchanan series) (trade paperback original).  When "Fizz" Fitzgerald suggests a connection between two cases, the police can barely conceal their amusement. Fizz takes matters into her own hands, enlisting the reluctant help of lawyer Tam Buchanan. Soon Tam is mingling with the locals, whose friendly banter conceals all manner of secrets. And it begins to look as though Bessie Anderson knew more than was good for her about one of her neighbors.

Hyzy, Julie: State of the Onion (#1 White House Chef) (paperback original).  Introducing White House Assistant Chef Olivia Paras, who is rising-and sleuthing-to the top. Never let them see you sweat-that's White House Assistant Chef Olivia Paras's motto, which is pretty hard to honor in the most important kitchen in the world. She's hell-bent on earning her dream job, Executive Chef. There's just one thing: her nemesis is vying for it, too. Well, that and the fact that an elusive assassin wants to see her fry.

Kelner, Toni: Without Mercy.  Freelance entertainment reporter Tilda Harper specializes in writing "where are they now?" articles about the formerly famous. One of her favorite subjects and her favorite show as a kid is Kissing Cousins, a cult sitcom. Two of the show’s stars have recently died under suspicious circumstances, and when a third is found murdered, Tilda goes after Mercy, the actress who hasn’t been seen since the show was canceled. She just wished she knew if Mercy was in danger, of if Mercy is herself killing her former cast members.

Martin, Andrew: The Lost Luggage Porter.  From the author of The Necropolis Railway and The Blackpool Highflyer comes another ingenious thriller featuring Jim Stringer. It is winter 1906 and Jim has been promoted from sleuth to official railway detective for York station. His first day on the job, the mysterious Lost Luggage Porter, "a human directory to everything in York" tips him off to a group of railway thieves.

Meier, Leslie: St. Patrick’s Day Murder.  Not many people in Tinker's Cove, Maine, knew Old Dan Malone. The grizzled barkeep's social circle was limited to the rough-hewn lobstermen and other assorted toughs that frequented his bar, a derelict main street dive called, appropriately, the Bilge. But when his body is found bobbing in the town's icy harbor, Lucy Stone, ace reporter for the Pennysaver newspaper, makes getting to know more about Old Dan a priority.

Morgan, Kaye: Murder By Numbers: A Sudoku Mystery (paperback original).  Puzzle master Liza Kelly must sharpen her pencil-and her wits-to solve a calculated killing. Second in the Sudoku mystery series--from the author of Death by Sudoku.

Paretsky, Sara: Bleeding Kansas.  Set in the Kaw River Valley where Paretsky grew up, Bleeding Kansas is the story of the Schapens and the Grelliers, two farm families whose histories have been entwined since the 1850s, when their ancestors settled the valley as antislavery emigrants. This is a far cry from Paretsky's V. I. Warshawski novels, and not so much in the style of a traditional mystery.

Read, Cornelia: The Crazy School.  From the acclaimed author of A FIELD OF DARKNESS comes another compelling novel featuring the acerbic and memorable voice of ex-debutante Madeline Dare.

Sansom, C J: Winter in Madrid.  The playing fields of Rookwood did little to prepare reluctant spy Harry Brett for the moral no man's land of post-Civil War Spain that awaits him in this cinematic historical thriller from British author Sansom.

Seymour, Gerald: Rat Run (trade paperback original).  The latest thriller from British author Seymour (THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER), with a complicated plot involving drug trafficking and Mideast terrorism.

Stuckart, Diane A S: The Queen’s Gambit.  Travel to the Milan of 1483 with this new new series, starring the legendary Renaissance man himself-Leonardo da Vinci.

Taichert, Pari Noskin: The Socorro Blast: A Sasha Solomon Mystery.  Victim or perpetrator? That's what New Mexico public relations maven, Sasha Solomon, can't figure out about her favorite niece. The daughter of Sasha's overbearing sister, Gabi is a grad student at Socorro's New Mexico Tech, where she's studying explosives technology. In town to help boost area tourism, Sasha looks forward to spending time with the young woman. But the PR pro never imagined it would be in the hospital, where Gabi lands after someone rigs her mailbox with a nasty surprise.

Woods, Stuart: Beverly Hills Dead.  New York Times-bestselling author Stuart Woods returns with the sequel to The Prince of Beverly Hills--a page-turning novel of murder, political intrigue, and betrayal set in 1940s Hollywood, the era of the "Red Scare," when almost anyone could be a suspect.

For more of the new hardcover, trade paperback, and paperback releases, as well as reissues, check out the following sites from The Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore, Books N Bytes, and Cluelass.

I'm Puzzled

So, you're sitting around, waiting for the next bowl game to come on, you've got a few minutes, and you're bored. What to do? How about a little bit of mystery fun? You can try your hand at the December 24th edition of Mystery Godoku. Godoku is similar to Sudoku, but uses letters instead of numbers.

Not the puzzle type? Give Mystery and Detective Fiction trivia quizzes a go. From Sherlock Holmes to Sue Grafton, there's a long listing of authors to choose from. Do you know how Sam Spade is described in The Maltese Falcon? In which novel does Spenser become a father figure to a teenage boy with ambitions of becoming a ballet dancer? What was the highest military rank Archie Goodwin achieved in World War II?

Want a little of this, a little of that? Mystery Net has mini-mysteries to solve, brain teasers, and more.

Mystery Manor has a collection of mystery-themed slider puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, memory games, blackjack, hangman, word searches and others.

If you've got a group of bored folks, check out the Games section of The List on this blog. There are online and downloadable party mystery games for a variety of tastes. Just don't forget the eggnog and fruitcake.

The Best Christmas Presents

Some of the very best Christmas presents aren't the ones that find their way under your tree. A few years ago, my gift was simply living to see another Christmas after spending a week in the hospital with blood clots (my pulmonologist was quite surprised I wasn't dead -- such a pleasant fellow). Since many of you will be flying long distances this holiday season, a friendly cautionary note: take a few simple steps to avoid deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) which can lead to pulmonary embolii--and death, if you're not as lucky as I was. For more information, check out sites like DVT.net. This year, another priceless gift arrived in the form of having my father's prostate cancer essentially cured via radiation, with the doctor telling him he was good for "at least another twenty years." You gotta love these little Christmas miracles which modern medical technology hath wrought.

Although nothing can quite compare with the gift of life, there are a few other mystery-related Christmas goodies for which I am humbly grateful in 2007:

• Starting this blog. This is a reciprocal offering, in a way -- I wanted to give mystery fans and mystery authors resources for research, news, and entertainment, my gift to the crime fiction faithful. But it's also been enjoyable for me, and I appreciate all the positive feedback that has come along since the blog's inception. It's definitely a gift that keeps on giving!
• I had six short stories and two articles published this year, which is encouraging, especially for someone who only recently was able to get into the world of writing after a long hiatus. One of the stories was a finalist in the Deadly Ink contest and was included in that anthology, now available on Amazon. The novel, in the meantime, is "out there," and hoping to find a publshing home in the not-too-distant future (hopefully within the decade!).
• Attending the Dying to Write 2 Conference. This is the first conference I had the good fortune to attend in awhile, and it was a pleasure. Not only was the conference well-organized, but I got to rub elbows and/or chat with authors Chris Grabenstein, John Lamb, Kathryn Johnson, Donna Andrews, Laura Lippman, and many more. Mystery writers are a fun bunch of folks.
• The chance to read a litte more this year. The "day job," the second job as a writer, the blog, and daily life help conspire to push moments for reading into the background. On a very long Amtrak ride (13 hours up and 12 hours back) in October, I was able to squeeze in six books, and I've been trying to find other golden opportunities ever since. The Christmas and New Year holidays should add some more fun time cuddling up with books (fortunately, the hubster doesn't get jealous). Chris Grabenstein sent along his latest, Hell for the Holidays, so that will go on top of the pile.

After all, with a book in your hand, life is good.

Good Things in Small Packages

As a writer who started out in the short story realm (well, after a love affair with poetry), I'm always keeping an eye on the market, such as it is these days. I'm rooting for each and every of these small publications (because none has a very large market), which is why it's always sad when one of them goes under. Sometimes it's for financial reasons, sometimes personal, but regardless of the cause, it feels a little like having a friend move far away, knowing you might never see them again. Or if you're lucky, you just might.

Recent friends who are departing include the print publication Great Mystery and Suspense, edited by the always-friendly Vicki Lipira. GMS was one of the few, if not the only, mystery-themed fiction magazines that focused on "family-friendly" mysteries. During its run, it featured author/editors Tony Burton (Chief Editor of Crime and Suspense) and BJ Bourg (Owner/Editor of Mouth Full of Bullets), as well as yours truly. Lipira said it was a difficult decision to make, but she'd "made peace" with it, at last.

Another crime fiction publication which just announced it's shutting down after five years is Hardluck Stories. Editor Dave Zeltserman says they want to go out with a bang with one final issue, so he has a call for submissions with a maximum story length of 4000 words and a deadline of May 1st, 2008. The Theme is 30s Pulp Noir.  Authors who've been included in Hardluck since its inception include Ken Bruen, Bill Crider, Ed Gorman, July Hyzy, JA Konrath, Stephen D. Rogers, Sarah Weinman, and many more.

Now for the happier news of a friend who is returning to the fold. Anthony Neil Smith indicated recently on his blog Crimedog he's resurrecting "Plots with Guns" as a quarterly e-zine. He's looking for "hard-boiled, noir and transgressive crime fiction. Every story has to have a gun in it somehow, some way (doesn't have to play a big role. Just needs to be there)." He says in 2008, they'll be starting over with Issue #1. There's an archive of the five years of stories from PWG's former incarnation, which you can find here.

Where can you find magazines with short mystery fiction? Unfortunately, the major bookstore chains such as Borders and Barnes and Noble only stock Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, and not all of them even do that. Some of the independent mystery bookstores will have a few more, so be sure and check with them (click on the Bookstores link in The List, or check out the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association site). As far as the e-zines are concerned, you can read some of them free online and purchase others as PDF downloads. I've got a listing with links of the mystery/crime fiction magazines in The List, as well -- look under Magazines.

Mystery short stories make for fun reads. And if you're on a train or stuck in traffic (as a passenger, of course), or if you want a lunchtime diversion, a good short story can make the time pass with zest and side helping of relish.

If you're a writer or wannabe writer of short stories, check out the Short Mystery Fiction Society, which has an active discussion and support group, as well as sponsoring the annual Derringer Awards.

Riding the Rails into Hollywood...or Not

The Cincinnati Enquirer had an article the other day about Sue Grafton taking the train to a book signing between Cincinnati and Chicago, two stops in a series of signings on a train trek for her latest mystery, T is for Trespass. After 20 novels in the Kinsey Milhone series, she's still adamant about not wanting Hollywood to get their hands on her beloved protagonist. "I worked in Hollywood for 14 years and created Kinsey as a way out of that town," she says. "I will never, never turn her over to them...They are utterly without conscience and will do anything to make money. They would ruin her. They think everything is for sale but it's not." And she adds, "I have never seen a movie from a book that I liked. Ever."

On the flip side, Poisoned Pen Press author Fred Ramsay, told off on a visit to Botswana, was just in South Africa for the filming of the movie based on the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith, who apparently has no qualms about having his novels on the big screen. In fact, Ramsay reported to Poisoned Pen Bookstore owner Barbara Peters that there is talk of the BBC making McCall's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency into a TV series. 

One other mystery author/Hollywood tidbit -- although it's not based on one of his novels, George Pellicanos is currently working on a project with Stephen Spielberg and Tom Hanks, a ten-part mini-series (to air in 2009) telling the intertwined stories of three Marines during America's battle with the Japanese in the Pacific during World War II. (Pelecanos' next novel, The Turnaround, comes out next August).

MWA Short Story Contest for Kids

Mystery Writers of American announced today it will hold its third annual Joan Lowery Nixon Award mystery writing contest in 2008. The contest encourages students to use their language arts skills along with their imagination to create their own unique mystery story, and is named after the prolific American writer of historical fiction and mysteries for children and young adults, Joan Lowery Nixon. She is the founder of MWA:Reads, as well as the only person ever to win the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery four times. Lowery passed away in 2003.

The writing contest is open to students from the second through the tenth grades. There are two age categories: Grades 2-5 and Grades 6-10. Only one story per student may be submitted, as specified in the contest rules. The entries will be judged in the area of creativity and proper use of the English language. The winner of each category will receive a $250 cash prize.

Submissions for the contest will be accepted beginning February 3, 2008 (Joan Lowery Nixon's birthday) but no later than February 28, 2008. Students in public and private schools, as well as home-schooled students, are encouraged to participate.

Notes from a couple of book stores -- The Press of Atlantic City profiled Sherlock's Tomes of Bridgeton, NJ, a bookstore specializing in hard-to-find mysteries, among other things. In just 14 months, Linda Durkin Richardson and her partner Jim Chiappardi have proved to the skeptics that there is a place for a small retail business, even in a city where many businesses have left the area. The store is more than just a bookseller, however, involved in community service. They have set up a library for HospiceCare and participate in Bridgeton School District's READS program which gives 20% discounts to the school system.

At Murder by the Book in Houston, Texas, the mystery The Rainaldi Quartet (set in Italy) by Paul Adam has replaced Sue Grafton's T Is for Trespass as the store's top seller, while Saturday's No. 1 book was A Hell of a Woman: An Anthology of Female Noir edited by Megan Abbott. A glowing endorsement appearing in the Chicago Tribune last week helped entice readers to purchase the collection. Store manager McKenna Jordan said that December sales are up significantly from last year, boosted by a signing with Grafton earlier this month. Gift certificate sales are up as well, both in terms of the number sold and the denominations purchased. A popular pairing is a gift certificate and one of the store's branded T-shirts bearing the slogans "Suspect everyone" and "Go to hell, I'm reading."

MSNBC staffer Michael Ventre chose the weekly "Can't Miss" selections in TV, music, DVDs, and books.  His book choice was the spy thriller Watchman by Scottish mystery novelist Ian Rankin. First published in Britain in 1988, it's only now being made available in the United States. The novel focuses on the exploits of surveillance professional Miles Flint, who has some idiosyncrasies (like studying beetles), is involved in a bad marriage and is intent on doing his part to halt terrorist attacks in Northern Ireland. Now that Rankin's popular John Rebus has left the stage in Exit Music, no doubt Little, Brown & Co. hope that bringing Miles Flint out of mothballs will have him "ready to compete for the attention of his creator’s fans." 

Have Yourself a Merry Little Bookmas

In November, I compiled a listing of Thanksgiving-themed mystery novels which I posted here on In Reference to Murder. I couldn't possibly include a complete list of Christmas-themed novels and/or those in which the holiday figures prominently, because it's almost enough to fill a book itself. Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration--but only just. So, I thought I'd point to a few of the classic authors and titles, note a few of the most recent, and highlight an anthology or two. Didn't want to make this Christmas list too daunting, after all.

CLASSIC AUTHORS & TALES OF CHRISTMAS MAYHEM

• Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1938). When a cantankerous family patriarch demands all four of his sons and their wives visit the family home for Christmas, only to announce he's cutting off his sons' allowances and changing his will, there is no lack of suspects when the the old man is found lying a pool of blood on Christmas Eve. Belgian detective Hercule Poirot suspends his holiday sorting through the suspects and motives to find the truth behind the old man's death.
• John Creasey - Death of a Postman (1956). To Postman Bryant's wife and five children, and a house joyously decorated for Christmas, Inspector West must bring the news that Bryant was attacked on his way home from the Post Office. Alhough the police easily find the weapon and an eyewitness, they are stumped for any motive or clues.
• Dashiell Hammett - The Thin Man (1934). Nick Charles is a former detective who wants no part of the investigation of a missing inventor, preferring to spend his Christmas vacation in a pleasant alcoholic daze. But wife Nora insists, and the tipsy-but-tenacious Charleses are on the case. This was Hammett's final novel, in which he basically invented the wise-cracking-husband-and-wife detective genre.  Written in two weeks simply because he needed the money, Hammett based Nora on his close friend Lillian Hellman and Nick on himself, as the story goes.
• Georgette Heyer - Envious Casca (1941). It is no ordinary Christmas at Lexham Manor. Six holiday guests find themselves suspects in a murder when Scrooge-like Nathaniel Herriard, who owns the substantial estate, is found stabbed in the back in a locked room. For Inspector Hemingway of Scotland Yard, 'tis the season to find whodunit.
• Ngaio Marsh  -  Tied Up In Tinsel (1972). During Christmas in an isolated country house, a much disliked visiting servant disappears without a trace after playing Santa Claus. When Superintendent Roderick Alleyn returns unexpectedly from a trip to Australia, it is to find his beloved wife in the thick of an intriguing mystery.
• Ellis Peters - Raven in the Foregate (1986). It's Christmas time in 1141 AD, and a callous new priest arrives at Brother Cadfael's Benedictine Abbey along with his housekeeper and her nephew, Benet. When the priest is murdered, suspicion falls on Benet, who has begun working in the herb garden of Brother Cadfael, who sets about to solve the murder.
• Ellery Queen - The Finishing Stroke (1958). When a party of Christmas revelers is snowbound in a mansion, the Twelve Days of Christmas turns into a monstrous joke. Anonymous gifts appear with cryptic message that become a slow, deliberate warning of murder.

RECENT AUTHORS & HOLIDAY HELLRAISERS

• M. C. Beaton - Kissing Christmas Goodbye (October 2007). This is the latest installment in Beaton's Agatha Raisin Mysteries, featuring the middle-aged sleuth trying to set up a perfect Christmas and romance her ex-husband at the same time, while taking on the case of a wealthy widow who hires Agatha, convinced a member of her family is trying to kill her.
• Emily Brightwell - Mrs. Jeffries and Feast of St. Stephen (October 2007). Friends and family come together to revel in the Christmas spirit. But the good cheer fizzles when the host, wealthy Stephen Whitfield, dies before the second course. Since Scotland Yard wants this crime solved before Christmas, the busy sleuths must rally in support of their Inspector.
• Jennifer Colt - The Con Artist of Catalina Island (December 2007). Spending Christmas on picturesque Catalina Island promises to be the perfect holiday family retreat for private investigators, Kerry and Terry McAfee. That is, until they learn that the hotel room they've checked into was recently occupied by a pair of feuding newlyweds, and that the bride and her exceptionally rare green diamond ring have both gone missing. When the body of a local diving instructor is discovered floating in Avalon Bay, the twins offer up their services.
• Con Lehane - Death at the Old Hotel (June 2007). Lehane's New York City bartender Brian McNulty returns for a third round of amateur sleuthing. It's the Christmas season, and the bar where Brian works is in the midst of some nasty union troubles. Adding to the tension is a manager who rubs everybody the wrong way, to the point where the staff up and walk out. When Brian's pal is roughed up by some union thugs, and the despised manager is murdered, Brian is once more thrust into the role of detective.
• Louise Penny - A Fatal Grace: A Three Pines Mystery (May 2007). When sadistic socialite CC de Poitiers is fatally electrocuted at a Christmas curling competition in the tiny Québecois village of Three Pines, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache arrives from Montreal to head the investigation.
• Anne Perry - A Christmas Beginning: A Novel (October 2007). Mystery author Perry returns to holiday fare (after last year's A Christmas Secret) and sends rumpled London policeman Runcorn to a lonely Welsh island for Christmas, where he gets pulled into the case of the murder of Olivia Costain, the town vicar's lively single sister.
• Deanna Raybourn - Silent in the Sanctuary (December 2007). This is a sequel to Raybourn's debut Victorian mystery, Silent in the Grave, featuring wealthy widow Lady Julia Grey in a romantic mystery novel set at Christmas in England at the eccentric Grey family's large ancestral estate.

ANTHOLOGIES

• Candy Cane Murder by Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, and Leslie Meier (Kensington, October, 2007). Three cozy writers contribute candy cane-themed novellas to this yuletide anthology based on the authors' series heroines (Fluke's Bakery owner Hannah Swensen; Levine's freelance writer Jaine Austen; Meier's Lucy Stone).
• Murder for Christmas, Edited by Thomas Godfrey (Castle Books, August 2007). This anthology includes 26 tales of seasonal malice by by Damon Runyon, Robert Louis Stevenson, Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie and even Woody Allen.
• Blood on the Holly, Edited by Caro Soles (Baskerville Books, October, 2007). Blood on the Holly is "an anthology packed with mystery, murder and maple syrup. Stories range from the hilarious to the serious, by celebrated authors like Peter Robinson and Ed Hoch, favorite series writers like Lyn Hamilton and Sylvia Maultash Warsh and first timers with their own take on the season to be criminal."
• Carols and Crimes, Gifts and Grifters, Edited by Tony Burton (Wolfmont Publishing, September 2007). This is the second year in a row Wolfmont has compiled an anthology with proceeds benefitting the Marine Corp Toys For Tots campaign. The included authors are Sue Ann Jaffarian, Thomas H. Cook, Earl Staggs, Gail Farrelly, Nick Andreychuk, Herschel Cozine, Frank Zafiro, Chris Grabenstein, Deborah Elliott-Upton, Jan Christensen, Austin S. Camacho, Tony Burton, Gay Toltl Kinman, Peggy Jaegly, and Margaret Fenton.
• The Heat of the Moment (Echelon Press, http://echelonpress.com/). Although it isn't Christmas-themed, this book is a  compilation of twenty short stories with one common theme--fire--and is also an anthology for charity, including stories from paranormal to mystery, with all proceeds going to the Fire Safe Council of San Diego County to benefit those whose lives, and homes, were destroyed by the recent raging wildfires. Buy the book and help bring a little Christmas cheer to those in need.

For more lists of Christmas mysteries, check out the following:

Christmas Mystery Reading Ideas
Mistletoe Mysteries
Christmas Cozy Mystery Book List
Holiday Mysteries
Christmas Fiction

S.A.F.E. (A Store, An Award, a Festival, & Another E-Thingie)

It's always good news to hear about the opening of a new book store, especially a mystery book store. The Brattleboro Reformer had a recent feature on David Lampe-Wilson, who recently opened Mystery on Main in Brattleboro, Vermont, amost overnight. Lampe-Wilson had done "a little sleuth work with the locals" and discovered "where to open shop and what books to carry....We made the full move and got the store opened in a three-week period."

He said the most popular book in his shop right now is Vermont Village Villanies by Vermonter John Stark Bellamy II, which tells true tales of murder and mystery in the 19th and 20th centuries. Also popular right now with mystery readers are stories taking place in medieval times. "I'm actually selling a lot of novels that take place between the 12th and 14th centuries," Lampe-Wilson said. "There's also a lot of interest in European mysteries that are just being translated."
                                                                                                                     

Aaron Paul Lazar, a mystery novelist and Senior  Electrophotographic Engineer at Kodak, is the latest Print Ambassador recognized on Kodak's website dedicated to the many uses and benefits of print. "Being an ambassador for print, to me, means that you want to engage, motivate and inspire people to either purchase print or use print in some way in their lives," he said. "I'm honored to be recognized with this award and plan to continue with my passion for mystery and the written word." In honor of his recognition, the Print Ambassador site is holding a giveaway of ten copies of Lazar's latest novel (November 15, 2007) Tremolo: Cry of the Loon: a Gus LeGarde Mystery.

Although the series has ended its limited run, I'd like to see more offerings like a recent festival sponsored by The Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, titled "Watching the Detectives."  They included "some of the best onscreen appearances of Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Mike Hammer, and Nick & Nora Charles, as well as appearances by some lesser-known compatriots including John Shaft, Father Brown and Philo Vance. We’ve also paired Chandler’s THE BIG SLEEP starring Humphrey Bogart with one of its greatest parodiers, Steve Martin’s DEAD MEN DON’T WEAR PLAID."  So all you independent theaters and other liked-minded organizations that happen to have screening capabilities (libraries and bookstores could qualify here, too) -- hint, hint.

   

Just when you thought it was safe and you could catch your breath after all the recent articles and buzz about e-books and marketing your book via the latest gee-whiz technology, along comes yet something else to worry--ah, make that wonder--about. The Washington Independent Writers has scheduled an upcoming "Pubspeak" for members on the topic of "Making Real Money in Second Life."  For those of you who don't know, Second Life is an  Internet-based virtual world launched in 2003 in which users, called "Residents," interact with each other socially and economically in cyber space, with the metaphor of the real world, but without the physical limitations.

In the WIW Pubspeak, author Robert Freedman, who wrote a book on making money in Second Life, will explain how it's organized as a free market economy using a virtual currency that's fully convertible to U.S. dollars, and thus any money people make selling goods or services can be taken out of the virtual world. Some of the ways he mentions that writers can take advantage of this world is by marketing their books virtually and as a networking tool. At least with virtual marketing, I guess you're less likely to catch a flu virus from shaking all those hands at book signings...

Happy Birthday, Ross

Today is the birthday of mystery novelist Ross Macdonald, born Kenneth Millar in Los Gatos, California (1915). Macdonald spent most of his early life in Canada, where his father worked as a harbor pilot. His parents separated when he was three, and since his mother suffered from typhoid fever and couldn't support them, he moved around among various relatives, once counting "the number of rooms I had lived in during my first sixteen years, and got a total of fifty."

In 1938 he married Margaret Sturm, who as Margaret Millar would have her own career as an acclaimed mystery writer. Between 1938 and 1939 Kenneth Millar studied at the University of Michigan where he met W.H. Auden, who encouraged him to regard detective novels as a legitimate literary form.  Millar eventually settled on the pen name Ross Macdonald to avoid mixups with contemporary John D. MacDonald.  Ross first introduced the popular divorced former cop-turned-private-eye Lew Archer in the 1946 short story "Find the Woman." A full-length novel, The Moving Target, followed in 1949, the first in a series of 18 Archer novels.

Macdonald used spiral-bound notebooks, filling about three pages a day while sitting in the same bedroom chair where he wrote all of his books for three decades. He worked on several books at once, often finding ideas for plots by sitting in on local criminal trials. He was a dedicated conservationist, and he and his wife were active in the efforts to save the California condor from extinction. He died from Alzheimer's disease in 1983.

Novelist William Goldman declared the Archer novels "the finest series of detective novels ever written by an American," and John Leonard of The New York Times stated Macdonald had transcended the genre to become "a major American novelist." His works have inspired countless mystery writers since, such as Sue Grafton, who even set her novels in the same Santa Barbara locale Macdonald had done (although both used the fictional name Santa Teresa for the town).

You can find a Ross Macdonald chronology here and memories and quotations about Macdonald from other mystery authors which were assembled for the 50th anniversary of his birth by January Magazine.

In June of this year, Crippen & Landru released a new anthology of Macdonald's Lew Archer short stories, collected together in one volume for the first time.

On the January Magazine tribute page above, you'll many fun anecdotes about Macdonald and his influence, such as the following from Michael Connelly:  "I came to him late. The first book of his I read was The Blue Hammer. Of course, it was a joy to realize when I was finished that I had a wealth of Lew Archer stories to go back and read. And I did. This was about the time I was thinking that I wanted to write for a living and Macdonald's books showed me the possibility that crime novels could be art. I still remember in the opening pages of The Blue Hammer how he described a woman's body as having been kept trim by tennis and anger. I read that and knew I was on to something. I was home."