In Reference to Murder

November Book Signing Roundup

One little programming note first -- tomorrow In Reference to Murder will once again be hosting the Carnival of the Criminal Minds, so be sure and return then for a compendium of links that'll scare the pants off your Halloween clown costume.

Right now, it's time for the latest monthly roundup of author events at mystery book stores around the U.S. and Canada, and as always, be sure and check the web site links for all the book and event details, noting that schedules are subject to change. For dates at chain stores and other venues, you might check out booktour.com and similar sites.

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Aunt Agatha's
Ann Arbor, MI

Author: Mary Jane Maffini
Title: Signing and a mini workshop on "How to Kick Start Your Characters"
Event Time: Sunday, November 2 at 1:30 p.m

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Book Carnival
Orange, CA

Author: Jeri Westerson
Title: Veil Of Lies
Event Time: Sunday, November 9, 1 p.m.

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Book 'Em
South Pasadena, CA

Author: Lorelei Armstrong
Title: In the Face
Event Time: Saturday, November 1, 2:00 p.m.  

Author: Eric Stone
Title:  Flight of the Hornbill
Event Time:  Sunday, November 2, 2:00 p.m. 

Author: Ona Russell
Title: The Natural Selection
Event Time:  Saturday, November 15, 2:00 p.m

Author: Larry Karp
Title: The King of Ragtime
Event Time: Sunday, November 16, 2:00 p.m. 

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Book Passage
Corte Madera, CA

Author: Katherine Neville
Title:  The Fire
Event Time: Thursday, November 6, 7:00 PM

Authors: Bill Pronzini &  Marcia Muller
Title: The Other Side of Silence / Burn Out  
Event Time: Friday, November 14, 7:00 p.m.

Author:  Alan Jacobson
Title: The 7th Victim
Event Time: Tuesday, November 18, 2008, 6:00 p.m.

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Booked for Murder
Madison, WI

Author: Sean Chercover
Title: Trigger City
Event Time: Wednesday, November 5, 6:30 p.m.

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Centuries and Sleuths
Forest Park, IL

Authors: Sara Paretsky / Andy Austin 
Title: Bleeding Kansas / Rule 53: Capturing Hippies, Spies, Politicians, & Murderers in an American Courtroom
Event Time: Sunday, November 16, 2:00 p.m. 

Authors:  Michael Black and Sam Reaves
Title: Windy City Knights / Mean Town Blues
Event Time:  Saturday, November 22, 2:00 p.m.

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Cheesecake and Crime
Henderson, NV

Author: Eric Stone
Title: Flight of the Hornbill
Event Time: Thursday, November 6, 6:00 p.m.  

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Clues Unlimited
Tucson AZ

Author: Betsy Thornton
Title: A Song for You
Event Time: Saturday, November 1st at 2 p.m.

Author: Alan Jacobson
Title: The 17th Victim
Event Time: Monday, November 10th  at 5:30 p.m.

Author: Betty Webb
Title: Mistletoe and Mystery event and signing for The Anteater of Death
Event Time: Sunday, November 30th at 1 p.m.

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Foul Play Books
Westerville, OH

Author: Linda Zimmer
Title: Murder in the Ice Cream Parlor
Event Time: Wednesday, November 12, 6:00 p.m.

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M is for Mystery
San Mateo, CA

Authors:  Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini
Title: Burn Out / The Other Side of Silence
Event Time:  Saturday, November 1st at 1:00 p.m.

Author: Stewart O'Nan
Title: Songs for the Missing   
Event Time: Friday, November 7th at 12:00 Noon 

Author: Robin Burcell / Barbara Bentley
Title:  Face of a Killer / A Dance With the Devil: A True Story of Marriage to a Psychopath
Event Time:  Saturday, November 8th at 2:00 p.m.

Author: Katherine Neville
Title: The Fire
Event Time: Monday, November 10th at 7:00 p.m.

Author:  Robert Greer
Title:  Blackbird, Farewell
Event Time:  Sunday, November 16th at 2:00 p.m.

Author: James Calder
Title:  About Face
Event Time: Monday, November 17th at 7:00 p.m. (off-site)

Author: Larry Karp
Title:  The King of Ragtime
Event Time: Wednesday, November 19th, at 12:00 Noon

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Murder by the Book
Portland, OR

Authors: Bill Cameron / Eric Stone 
Title: Chasing Smoke / Flight of the Hornbill
Event Time: Wednesday, November 12, at 6:30 p.m. 

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Murder on the Beach
Delray Beach, FL

Author: Martha Powers
Title: Conspiracy of Silence
Event Time: Thursday, November 6, at 7 pm

Author: Elaine Viets     
Title: Murder With all the Trimmings
Event Time:  Friday, November 7, at 7 pm

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Mysteries to Die For
Thousand Oaks, CA

Author:  Vince Flynn
Title: Extreme Measures
Event Time: Saturday, November 1 (stock signing)

Author:  Katherine Neville   
Title: The Fire
Event Time: Saturday, November 15, 11:00 a.m.

Author: Jeri Westerson
Title:  Veil of Lies
Event Time:  Saturday, November 15, 1:00 p.m.

Author: Dorothy Howell
Title:  Handbags and Homicide
Event Time:  Saturday, November 22, 1:30 p.m.

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Mysterious Galaxy
San Diego, CA

Author: Carola Dunn
Title: Black Ship
Event Time: Saturday, November 1, 2:00 p.m.

Author: Larry Karp
Title: The King of Ragtime
Event Time: Thursday, November 13, 7:00 p.m.

Author: Jeri Westerson
Title: Veil of Lies
Event Time:  Thursday, November 13, 7:00 p.m.

Author: Eileen Davidson 
Title: Death in Daytime
Event Time: Sunday, November 16, 2:00 p.m.

Author: Lorelei Armstrong     
Title: In the Face
Event Time:  Friday, November 28, 7:00 p.m.

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Mystery Bookstore
Los Angeles, CA

Author: Vince Flynn 
Title: Extreme Measures
Event Time:  Saturday, November 1 at 1:00 p.m.

Author: Ona Russell   
Title: Natural Selection
Event Time: Saturday, November 15 at 11:00 a.m.

Author: Dorothy Howell
Title: Handbags and Homicide
Event Time: Saturday, November 15 at 1:30 p.m.

Author: Larry Karp
Title: King of Ragtime
Event Time: Saturday, November 15 at 3:00 p.m.

Author: Katherine Neville     
Title: The Fire
Event Time: Saturday, November 15 at 5:00 p.m.

Authors: Clive and Dirk Cussler 
Title: Arctic Drift 
Event Time:  Friday, November 28 at 6:00 p.m.

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Mystery Lovers Bookshop
Oakmond, PA

Author: John Lamb
Title:  The Clockwork Teddy
Event Time:  Saturday, November 8, Coffee & Crime breakfast starting at 10 am

Author: Katherine Neville
Title: The Fire
Event Time:  Saturday, November 22, Coffee & Crime breakfast starting at 10 am

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Once Upon a Crime Books
Minneapolis, MN

Author: Jan Dunlap 
Title: The Boreal Owl Murder
Event Time: Sat. November 8 at 12:00 noon

Author: Sean Chercover
Title: Trigger City
Event Time:  Tuesday, November 11, at 7:00 p.m.

Authors: John Galligan / Mary Logue
Title:  Clinch Knot / Point No Point
Event Time: Saturday, November 22, at 12:00 noon

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Partners & Crime
Greenwich, NY

Author: John Lawton
Title: Second Violin
Event Time:  Tuesday, November 11, 7 p.m.

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Poisoned Pen
Scottsdale, AZ

Author: Betty Webb 
Title: Anteater of Death
Event Time: Wednesday, November 5, 7 p.m.

Author: Vince Flynn 
Title: Extreme Measures
Event Time:  Friday, November 7,  7 p.m.

Author: Alan Jacobson 
Title:  The 7th Victim
Event Time:  Tuesday, November 11,  7 p.m.

Author: Mark LeCard
Title: Tiny Little Troubles
Event Time: Tuesday, November 11, 7 p.m.

Author: Michael Bowen
Title: Shoot the Lawyer Twice 
Event Time: Wednesday, November 12, 7 p.m.

Author: Larry Karp  
Title: King of Ragtime 
Event Time: Wednesday, November 12, 7 p.m.

Author: Ona Russell
Title: The Natural Selection
Event Time: Sunday, November 16, 3 p.m.

Author: Sheila Lowe 
Title: Written in Blood
Event Time: Sunday, November 16, 3 p.m.

Author: Jeffery Deaver 
Title: The Bodies Left Behind
Event Time:  Tuesday, November 18, 7 p.m.

Author:  Clive and Dirk Cussler
Title:  Arctic Drift
Event Time:  Tuesday, November 25, 5 p.m.

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Seattle Mystery Bookshop
Seattle, WA

Author: Larry Karp 
Title: King of Ragtime
Event Time: Saturday, November 1, noon

Author: Bill Cameron / Eric Stone
Title: Chasing Smoke / Flight of the Hornbill 
Event Time: Wednesday, November 12, at noon 

Author: Katherine Neville  
Title: The Fire
Event Time:  Wednesday, November 12, at 3 p.m.

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Sleuth of Baker Street
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Author: Mel Bradshaw
Title: Victim Impact
Event Time:  FrIday, November 14, 6-7 pm

Author: Sean Chercover
Title:  Trigger City
Event Time: Wednesday, November 19, 6-7 pm

Authors: The Ladies Killing Circle
Title: Going Out with a Bang
Event Time: Thursday, November 20, 6:30-8 pm

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Vrooman's
Pasadena, CA

Author: Jeri Westerson
Title: Veil of Lies 
Event Time: Saturday, November 8, 4 p.m., Book Launch

Author: Clive and Dirk Cussler
Title: Arctic Drift
Event Time:  Saturday, November 29, 5:00 p.m.

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END

New Mystery & Crime Fiction Novels Coming in November

Here's a partial, representative listing of new books coming out this month, arranged alphabetically by author. The list includes new titles by David Baldacci, Rita Mae Brown, Reginald Hill, PD James, Bob Morris, J.D. Robb, Marcia Talley, and Elaine Viets, among many other deserving offerings. You can also check out the links at the bottom for more, as they're too numerous to list here.

Cherry Adaira: Night Shadow (November 25, 2008). The third in Adair’s latest killer trilogy featuring mismatched international agents Lexi Stone and Alex Stone.

Lin Anderson: Easy Kill (November 1, 2008). The 5th installment featuring forensic investigator Rhona MacLeod, who is called in when a prostitute is brutally slain and left across a grave in Glasgow's sprawling cemetary, the Necropolis.

David Baldacci: Divine Justice (November 4, 2008). In the 4th book with Oliver Stone and the Camel Club, Stone's flight from the demons of his past will take him from the power corridors of Washington, D.C., to the small, isolated coal-mining town of Divine, Virginia, and into a world every bit as lethal as the one he left behind.

Mignon F. Ballard: Hark! The Herald Angel Screamed (November 11, 2008). The 7th Augusta Goodnight book wherein Augusta comes to the aid of longtime town resident Lucy Nan Pilgrim when a mysterious stranger plummets to his death from the balcony of an abandoned mansion belonging to Lucy Nan's grandmother.

Rita Mae Brown: Santa Clawed (November 4, 2008). Rita Mae and her feline partner, Sneaky Pie Brown, are back for the holidays in a new mystery featuring Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen, the sleuthing cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, and corgi Tee Tucker. Can they save the season from a killjoy who’s decided to gift the festive little town…with murder?

Robin Burcell: The Face of a Killer (November 10, 2008). On the 20th anniversary of FBI forensic artist Sydney Fitzpatrick's father's murder, a rape victim describes an attacker who resembles Sydney's father's killer, now on death row. 

James Church: Bamboo and Blood (November 25, 2008). In the 3rd book with North korean Insepctor O, the murder of a diplomat's wife brings a different kind of pressure on a dogged young police inspector in the middle of a blizzard in the winter of 1997.

Sheila Connelly: Pane of Death (November 4, 2008). In the second glass-blowing mystery by Connelly, Emmeline Dowell finds herself accused of murder after a priceless stained glass collection is stolen and the owner is killed. And since the police chief is also her boyfriend, she needs to crack the case fast—before their relationship is permanently shattered.

Elizabeth Darrell: Dutch Courage (November 1, 2008). The 4th Max Rydal Military Mystery centers on a message sent anonymously to Sam Collier, a helicopter pilot decorated for bravery in Afghanistan. When a campaign of harassment is then mounted against his wife, they turn to Max Rydal of Special Investigation Branch for help.

Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark: Dashing Through the Snow (November 18, 2008). This is the 5th Christmas Holiday offering by the Clark duo.

James D. Doss: Snake Dreams (November 1,, 2008). In the 13th Charlie Moon installment, the seven-foot rancher and part-time tribal investigator wants to carve out a little more space for himself alongside FBI Special Agent Lila Mae McTeague. Unless Charlie’s irascible aunt, her sixteen-year-old niece, and their visions of a dead woman—her throat slit from ear to ear—have something to say about it.

Margaret Duffy: Blood Substitute (November 1, 2008). The 12th Patrick Gillard and Ingrid Langley, late of MI5 and now working as consultants for SOCA, are called in to investigate when a policeman's horribly mutilated body is found with the initials R.K. carved on his torso. At the same time, DCI James Carrick asks them to make enquiries on a private matter: he has discovered that his father, thought long dead, is not only alive but a criminal. Can there be a connection between the two cases?

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles: Game Over (November 1, 2008). In Harrod-Eagles's 11th Bill Slider mystery, the detective inspector investigates the murder of civil servant Ed Stonax, a former high-profile BBC correspondent, found dead with his skull smashed on the floor of his West London flat. Stonax had been looking into something to do with a building site in Scotland, but no one can break his computer code to find out exactly what.

Andrew M. Greeley: The Archbishop in Andalusia (November 11, 2008) In the 17th Father Blackie Ryan outing, while the archbishop attempts to forestall a modern-day Spanish tragedy, dramatic events back in Chicago conspire to change his life forever.

Ellen Hart: Sweet Poison (November 11, 2008). Jane Lawless and her trusty sidekick, Cordelia Thorn, have to bring a killer to justice to save Jane's father’s political career and to keep an innocent ex-con from going to prison again.

Steven F. Havill: The Fourth Time Is Murder (November 11, 2008) Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman in a small New Mexico town has to solve the mystery as to whether a truck’s going over the hill is really an accident.

Reginald Hill: The Price of Butcher's Meat (November 4, 2008) After a close encounter with a bomb, Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel recuperates at the Avalon Clinic in the quaint seaside resort of Sandytown. But soon he begins to suspect that those outside the convalescent home have just as many problems as the residents.

P. D. James: The Private Patient (November 18, 2008) When investigative journalist Rhoda Gradwyn checks into a private clinic to have a disfiguring and long-standing facial scar removed, she had every expectation of a successful operation and a pleasant week recuperating. Two days later she's murdered, and Commander Adam Dalgliesh is called in to investigate.

John Lawton: Second Violin (November 1, 2008) The sixth installment in the series opens in 1938 with Europe on the brink of war. In London, Inspector Frederick Troy, newly promoted to the prestigious Murder Squad at Scotland Yard, is put in charge of rounding up a list of German and Italian “enemy aliens” that also includes Frederick’s brother, Rod.

Bob Morris: A Deadly Silver Sea (November 25, 2008) Zack Chasteen and his pregnant wife Barbara set sail on one of the most exclusive cruise ships in the world, but just an hour out of port, gunmen take over the Royal Star, killing most of the officers and sequestering passengers.

Ann Purser: Warning at One (November 4, 2008) Lois Meade is a working class mother, cleaner extraordinaire, and a part-time sleuth who has to flush out a killer to clear her son, a suspect in the murder of a neighbor.

Phil Rickman: To Dream of the Dead (November 1, 2008) In this tenth outing for Reverend Merrily Watkins, she has to deal with a flood threatening the village of Ledwardine, the church serving as a temporary mortuary, and archaeologists digging near the home of an atheist and his wife who may have unearthed something that others want to stay buried.

J. D. Robb: Salvation in Death (November 4, 2008) The 27th installment of the series featuring futuristic Detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas who is determined to solve the murder of Father Miguel Flores.

Laura Joh Rowland: The Fire Kimono (November 11, 2008). This is the 13th in Rowland's long-running samurai saga feauturing Sano Ichiro.

Marcia Talley: Dead Man Dancing (November 1, 2008) In the latest Hannah Ives mystery, when auditions for a TV talent show result in a brutal attack on Hannah's sister and even more tragedy, Hannah tries to uncover the truth behind rival studios, feuding designers, corrupt judges, crooked accountants, and hired thugs.

Ronald Tierney: Bloody Palms (November 1, 2008) This is the 9th Deets Shanahan novel, the 71-year-old PI is ready to retire until a call from a former commanding officer places him in the middle of a private security force that operates lawlessly across borders, without boundaries or limitations.

Elaine Viets: Murder with All the Trimmings (November 4, 2008). The latest entry in the Dead-End Jobs series featuring Josie Marcus, this time as a Mystery Shopper, who realizes that shoppers at a Christmas Store are finding a deadly secret ingredient in their holiday cake.

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, San Diego's Mystery Books, and Powells Books.

Media Murder

RADIO/PODCASTS

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Agency, The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul, recently returned to the Beeb and will be broadcast during this month. Fortunately for latecomers, they also have the latest episode archived on the web site.

Investigation Discovery's David Lohr was a recent guest on True Crimes, a radio show hosted by Edgar Award winning true crime writer Burl Barer.  The archives can be found via on that same link.

TV

Author Henning Mankell provides insights into his creation Inspector Wallander, who will soon come to life on the TV screen as played by Kenneth Branagh. Although Branagh doesn't necessarily fit the image one would expect of Wallander, who is "astonishingly miserable, fairly ugly and so monumentally unhealthy, he should have his own dedicated obesity czar," the show's executive producer, Andy Harries, hopes the show could become a new Prime Suspect — “Maybe three every two years,” he says.

Gawker Online takes a guilty pleasure in enjoying the new TV series The Mentalist, saying rather grandiosly that it has "helped revive the mystery genre."  (And here I was thinking the mystery genre was doing rather well—on TV or otherwise).

NBC is reshuffling its schedule to create a Wednesday lineup into "wall-to-wall satisfying mysteries," with Knight Rider at 8pm, followed by Life at 9pm—the new series featuring Detective Charlie Crews, who returns to the force after serving time in prison for a crime he didn't commit—and Law and Order at 10. (I guess NBC has taken a tip from the Mentalist and already knows you'll find these shows "satisfying." Satisfying—Isn't that damning with faint praise? But I digress...)

THEATER

Broadway recently saw the premiere of Anthony Horowitz's acclaimed thriller, Mindgame, starring Keith Carradine and directed by Ken Russell. The plot involves a writer of pulp crime novels who gets an interview with a notorious serial killer, believing he has snared the coup of his career, only to discover while at the asylum that nothing can be trusted.

Mystery Melange

Marcus Sakey offered his Top 5 Favorite Movies on the Chicago Collective Blog, reprinted in the Chicago Trib.

Michael Connelly is fresh off his appearance as part of the Thurber House "Evenings With Authors" series. He paused long enough for a Q&A with the Columbus Dispatch, saying "I don't have a complaint about how the crime novel is viewed. It's largely responsible for keeping book publishing in business. I think it garners professional respect from the business angle. I think more and more, . . . it's harder and harder to write a story or a book about American society that doesn't have crime in it."

Another Chicago paper, the Sun-Times, profiled Lori Andrews, a law professor who has authored 13 books, most of them non-fiction works about biotechnology and genetics. But she's also written three mysteries, all of which feature her high-tech sleuth, geneticist Alexandra Blake. she said, "When it comes to [biotechnology] policy, people's eyes glaze over. They don't think they are entitled to an opinion," said Andrews, who also is director of the Institute for Science, Law and Technology at the Illinois Institute of Technology. "When they can see the technology set in a mystery novel and see how greed and policy and emotion play out, people really get enraged."

Here are a couple of crime writing news tidbits from East Tennessee, since I hail from them thar parts. Criminal Brief wrote about Louis Willis, who retired after 42 years of government service and then earned his master’s degree in English literature from the University of Tennessee. A voracious reader and fan of various genres, including crime fiction, he’s writing a nonfiction book which will be a critical analysis of black mystery writers "before shuffling off to the Great Library" in the Sky. And the East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame just inducted four new writers, including David Hunter, nominated for an Edgar for his first mystery novel, The Jigsaw Man.

In 2009, the U.S. Postal Service will mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of poet and mystery writer Edgar Allan Poe and will unveil a new Poe stamp January 16 in Richmond, Vorginia. Look for a large spate of other Poe celebrations coming up next year.

The Independent included a pair of reviews recently of Japanese noir writer Natsuo Kirino, one reviewing her book Grotesque and the other Real World (both books in translation), adding that "Western stereotypes of Japanese femininity take a battering in the fiction of Natsuo Kirino – a crime writer who has placed some decidedly non-submissive female protagonists at the heart of her noirish thrillers."

How many crime fiction authors do you hear who schedule a prison as a stop on their book tour? Surprisingly few (prisoners tend not to have a lot of money to buy books, after all). But thriller writer and former SAS sergeant Chris Ryan is doing just that at Risley prison in the UK as part of the 2008 National Year of Reading.

Some Sad Notes and a Few Hopeful Ones, Too

By now, most folks probably know about the passing of author Tony Hillerman. You can find some nice tributes and links via Rap Sheet and Sarah Weinman. Unfortunately, the author didn't live to see the latest Tony Hillerman Writer's Conference coming up in two weeks, but another Hillerman legacy associated with that conference lives on. In 2005, author Michael McGarrity suggested a creative writing scholarship be established in Tony's name to honor him for his service to students, writers, and the people of New Mexico. It was decided to establish the scholarship at the College of Santa Fe, where both Hillerman and McGarrity once taught. Hillerman suggested that the scholarship should be in McGarrity’s name as well, so it is officially the Hillerman-McGarrity Creative Writing Scholarship. You can send contributions to that fund via the address listed on the conference site link here.

(One late addendum to this original blog posting -- news came today that mystery writer Elaine Flinn has just died after a bout with cancer.  Flinn was known for her Molly Doyle mysteries, and her 2003 debut novel was nominated for the Agatha, Gumshoe, Barry, and Anthony awards.)

I've also mentioned recently about crime fiction zines that have folded up this year—Demolition, Mouth Full of Bullets, Hard Luck Stories, and Murdaland. You can also add to that Muzzle Flash Fiction, as Gerald So reports that DZ Allen last night announced he was closing that publication, as well.

Still, hope springs eternal, and a couple of new short mystery/crime fiction sites have been added recently.  Five-Minute Mysteries features daily mysteries in brief that subscribers can access. They're soliciting submissions from writers, so if you're interested, check out their site link. And the Eastern Standard Crime blog announced a new venture called Crooked, devoted to crime fiction short stories "that would make Hammett, Chandler and Macdonald proud." It will be available PDF format, and although a non-paying market, authors will be able to promote themselves when published there. Geoff Eighinger hopes to have the first issued up by January 1st, with others to follow monthly. I sincerely wish both these organizations the best of luck.

A Two-Fer

Bouchercon, the grandaddy of the crime fiction conferences, gets a lot of attention each year and justifiably so. Still, there are many smaller writer/fan conferences out there that shouldn't be overlooked, and two of those take place this weekend and next in America's heartland.

Magna cum Murder, held in Muncie, Indiana, is celebrating its 15th year with Guest of Honor Louise Penny, Keynote Speaker Sharon Randall and many other authors you can find listed on the conference's main page link here. To keep the atmosphere more personable and friendly, attendance is usually capped around 400 which provides a greater chance at meeting and greeting authors and other fans.

The Great Manhattan Mystery Conclave, now in its 5th year, takes place next weekend in Manhattan, Kansas, with Guest of Honor JoAnna Carl and Toastmaster Joel Goldman. It's another small conference with usually around 100 attendees and is another wonderful opportunity to get close and personal with authors and have chances to ask questions and not be overwhelmed by crowds. And what better timing for a mystery conference than Halloween?

 

The Rich Get Richer...

...and the poor "little" bookstores get poorer, it seems, at least if a new publishing trend becomes pervasive. JB Dickey, owner of the Seattle Mystery Bookshop, posted on the store's blog the other day about a publisher which sent notices to the effect they would "offer" one of their bestselling mystery authors for book signings to shops that could guarantee 100 pre-sold copies of the author's new hardcover by January 17th.

Of course, the news was doubly painful to Dickey, since he helped launch the author's career and has hosted her for each book launch since, but the bottom line is, in Dickey's words, "to meet this level, every other shop - independent mystery or not...will have to cannibalize the sales of other shops to meet the artificially set minimum. For us to reach the 100 book level, we'd have to steal customers from all the other shops trying to meet the 100. That's undemocratic. That's bush-league and we won't play the game."

We're in tough economic times, sure, and just about every component of the book publishing industry is going to feel the pinch, but Dickey comes up with some alternative marketing strategies that would be more a win-win for everyone and give all booksellers the same opportunity to get identically signed copies without giving one shop the advantage:

• Send the author to the bindery to sign all copies
• Bring the author to the publicity office to sign all ordered copies
• Send them to one shop and have other shops send their stock to that one shop to act as a signing depot. 

I'm sure that the publisher and author in question have the very best intentions, and although this may have sounded like a good revenue-booster, sometimes these restrictive and exclusive ploys can have a way of coming back to haunt you in the end. In the words of that famous philosopher Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"

Media Murder

Charles Ardai, founder of Hard Case Crime (a publisher of pulp fiction) and Edgar-award winning author in his own right, was interviewed on NPR's Fresh Air program recently. You can catch archived audio file here.

Fans of the Dexter series can relax. Variety reported that Showtime has renewed the show for a fourth AND a fifth season.

On the opposite end of the scale, fans of ABC's Life on Mars can't breathe easily just yet. The drama, which was based on a British show and features a cop who is transported back to the 1970s, dropped one-third from its premiere ratings, losing out to CBS' crime drama Eleventh Hour and NBC's ER.

Variety is also reporting that remake fever continues to plague (er, inspire) Hollywood, with several new projects in the works, including CBS which is investigating revivals of both Hawaii Five-O and The Streets of San Francisco.

Warm Hearts, Cold Crime

If you're in an area of the country that's beginning to feel the pinch of autumnal chill and happen to have this weekend free, you might consider heading down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for the 18th Annual South Carolina Writers Workshop, October 24-26th. The highs are currently forecast to be in the 70s and the lows near 60, and if you're a hardy soul, you would probably find the tidal waters "bracing."

The Keynote Speaker this year is Michael Connelly (of Harry Bosch series fame) and the Toastmaster is Lee Goldberg (Edgar nominee and author of Diagnosis Murder and Monk novels), who will also teach seminars on screenwriting and writing for television. Also on hand will be thriller author James O. Born, leading seminars on Point of View, Backstory, and Building Suspense. Other authors in various disciplines, as well as several agents, editors, and publishers will round out the faculty and there will also be opportunities for manuscript critiques.

If you can't make this one, there are other conferences related to mystery/crime fiction in the Conferences link on the right-hand side of this blog, and you can also check out the Shaw Guides.

You Say Po-TAY-to, I say Po-TAH-to

Crime Beat from South Africa is devoting several weeks of columns to a discussion of the "crime fiction" vs. "thriller" debate when it comes to labeling the genre. In the first installment, it's pointed out that the term "crime fiction" may be less appealing to readers as crime becomes a more intrusive and very real element in society. Therefore, it's thought, just rebrand the books as thrillers and folks who are turned off by the word "crime" will beat a path to the bookseller door.

That might be something that doesn't necessarily translate globally and may be more localized, as in this case, to areas like southern Africa where crime fiction sales have been on the decline (even as true crime statistics have been on the rise). In the second article, however, it's noted that in the UK, crime and thriller fiction has seen a 70% increase since 2001 and new startups like Black Star Crime obviously have no compunction whatsoever about using the term "crime." But even as one executive with publisher Umuzi (an imprint of Random House South Africa) feels there is growing unease about the term "crime fiction" (oooh, that word), Umuzi publisher Annari van der Merwe is more cautious. "Thriller frightens me off more than crime novel," she says. "Maybe it is the result of my association of the word with movies that frighten me to the point where I can’t bear watching them."

"Noir" usually seems to have less schizophrenia in its labeling (even if schizophrenia itself would be welcome as a plotline), although some may have difficulties separating "noir" from the "mere hard-boiled." Fordham University professor Leonard Cassuto's new book, Hard-Boiled Sentimentality, probably helps muddy the waters there, as despite its title, it purports to be an intellectual history of noir fiction and goes so far as to make a case for a connection between crime fiction and 19th century sentimental novels.

Po-TAY-TAH-To, anyone?

Speaking of noir, who knew that Chief Justice John G. Roberts was a writer of the genre? The DC Dictra recently pointed out that the start of a dissent written by Chief Justice Roberts could be read quite nicely, thank you, as the start of a noir story, to wit:

North Philly, May 4, 2001. Officer Sean Devlin, Narcotics Strike Force, was working the morning shift. Undercover surveillance. The neighborhood? Tough as a three-dollar steak. Devlin knew. Five years on the beat, nine months with the Strike Force. He’d made fifteen, maybe twenty drug busts in the neighborhood.

Devlin spotted him: a lone man in the corner. Another approached. Quick exchange of words. Cash handed over; small objects handed back. Each man then quickly on his own way. Devlin knew the guy wasn’t buying bus tokens. He radioed a description and Officer Stein picked up the buyer. Sure enough: Three bags of crack in the guy’s pocket. Head downtown and book him. Just another day at the office.

Coming soon to the NYT Bestseller list? It's not entirely without precedent -- Herbert Brown, elected to the New York Supreme Court in 1986, has published a couple of novels and plays.