In Reference to Murder

February Crime Fiction Book Signing Roundup

Here's the latest monthly roundup of author booksigning events at mystery and indie book stores around the U.S. and Canada (for dates at chain stores and other venues, check out booktour.com and similar sites). It's a short month so there are fewer than usual, but here's the lowdown on some of the events:
 
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M is for Mystery
San Mateo, CA
 
Author:  Kelli Stanley
Title:  City of Dragons, Launch Party
Event Time:   Tuesday, February 2nd at 7p.m.

Author:  Jeffrey Siger
Title:  Assassins of Athens
Event Time:   Thursday, February 4th at 7p.m.

Author: J. Sydney Jones
Title:  Requiem in Vienna
Event Time:  Saturday, February 6th at 2 p.m.

Author:   Zachary Mason
Title:  The Lost Books of the Odyssey
Event Time: Sunday, February 7th at 2 p.m. 

Author: Robert Stone 
Title:  Fun With Problems
Event Time:  Wedsnesday, February 10th at 7 p.m., off-site

Author:  Jedediah Berry
Title:  Manual of Detection
Event Time:  Saturday, February 13th at 1:30 p.m., off-site

Author: James Rollins
Title:  Altar of Eden
Event Time:  Saturday, February 13th drop by

Author: T.C. Boyle
Title:  Wild Child
Event Time:  Tues/Weds., February 19th or 20th, drop by

Author: Paul McHugh 
Title:  Deadline
Event Time:  Saturday, February, February, 20th at 2 p.m.

Author:  Ken Mercer
Title:  Slow Fire
Event Time:  Tuesday, February 23rd at 7 p.m.

Author:  Peter Beagle, Michael Kurland, and Richard Lupoff
Title:  "The Maltese Omelette" radio show and mass book signing by
Event Time: Saturday, February 27th at 2 p.m.

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Murder by the Book
Houston, TX

Author:  Laura Elvebak
Title:   Lost Witness
Event Time: Saturday, February 6, 4:30 p.m. 

Author:  Alex Berenson
Title:   The Midnight House
Event Time:   Friday, February 12, 6:30 p.m.

Author:  Ally Carter
Title: Heist Society
Event Time:   Thursday, February 18, 6:30 p.m.

Author:   Connie Willis
Title:  Blackout
Event Time:  Friday, February 19, 6:30 p.m. 

Author:  Craig McDonald
Title: Print the Legend 
Event Time:   Saturday, February 20, 5:00 p.m.

Author: Amber Benson
Title:  Cat's Claw
Event Time:  Thursday, February 25, 6:30 p.m.

Author: Hannah Dennison / Kate Carlisle
Title: Exposé!  / If Books Could Kill
Event Time:  Saturday, February 27, 4:30 p.m.
 
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Murder on the Beach
Delray Beach, FL

Author:  Steve Forman
Title:  Boca Mournings
Event Time: Thursday, Feburary 4, at 7 p.m.

Author:  Tim Dorsey
Title:   Gator-A-Go-Go
Event Time:  Wednesday, February 10, at 7 p.m.

Author:  Julie Compton
Title:  Rescuing Olivia
Event Time:  Friday, February 12, at 7 p.m.

Author:   Alex Berenson
Title:  The Midnight House
Event Time:  Monday, February 15, at 1 p.m.

Author:   P. J. Parrish
Title:  The Little Death
Event Time: Friday, February 19, at 7 p.m.
 
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Mysteries to Die For
Thousand Oaks, CA
 
Author:  Kelli Stanley
Title:  City of Dragons
Event Time:  Thursday, February 11, 2:00 p.m.

Author:  Jeffrey Siger
Title:  Assassins of Athens
Event Time:  Friday, February 12, 12:00 p.m.

Author:  Melinda Wells / Hannah Dennison
Title:   The Proof is in the Pudding / Expose!
Event Time: Saturday, February 13, 1:00 p.m.

Author:  Joanne Fluke
Title: Apple Turnover Murder, launch party
Event Time:  Sunday, February 21, 2:30-4:00 p.m. 

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Mysterious Bookshop
New York, NY

Author:  Wallace Stroby
Title:  Gone 'Til November
Event Time:  Friday, February 5th, 6:30 p.m.

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Mysterious Galaxy
San Diego, CA

Author:  Connie Willis
Title:  Blackout
Event Time:   Wednesday, February 3, 2010, 7 p.m.

Author:  Linda Reid
Title:  Dead Air
Event Time:  Saturday, February 6, 2010, 2 p.m.

Author:  Jeffrey Siger
Title:   Assassins of Athens
Event Time:  Tuesday, February 9, 7 p.m.

Author:   Lisa Mc Mann
Title: Gone
Event Time: Thursday, February 11, 2010, 7 p.m.

Author:  Becca Fitzpatrick
Title: Hush, Hush
Event Time:   Thursday, February 11, 2010, 7 p.m.

Author:  Kelli Stanley 
Title:  City of Dragons
Event Time:  Friday, February 12, 2010, 7 p.m.

Author:  Michael Shea / Cody Goodfellow
Title:   The Extra / Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars
Event Time:  Saturday, February 13, 2010, 2 p.m.

Author:  Joan Brady
Title:   The Ghost of Mt. Soledad
Event Time: Sunday, February 14, 2010, 1 p.m.

Author:  Dana Stabenow
Title:   A Night Too Dark
Event Time:   Wednesday, February 17, 2010, 7 p.m.

Author:  Kate Carlisle / Melinda Wells
Title:   If Books Could Kill / The Proof is in the Pudding
Event Time:  Saturday, February 20, 2010, 2 p.m.

Author:  Amber Benson
Title:   Cat's Claw
Event Time:  Tuesday, February 23, 2010, 7 p.m.

Author:  Joanne Fluke
Title:   Apple Turnover Murder
Event Time:  Saturday, February 27, 2010, 2 p.m.
 
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Mystery Bookstore
Los Angeles, CA

Author:  Kate Carlisle / Melinda Wells
Title:  If Books Could Kill / The Proof is in the Pudding
Event Time:  Saturday, February 6 at 1:00 p.m.

Author:  Kelli Stanley
Title:  City of Dragons
Event Time:   Thursday, February 11 at 7:00 p.m.

Author:  Jeffrey Siger
Title: Assassins of Athens  
Event Time: Saturday, February 13 at 3:00 p.m. 

Author: Sue Ann Jaffarian
Title:  Corpse on the Cob, launch party
Event Time:  Saturday, February 20 at 2:00 p.m.

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Mystery Lovers Bookshop
Oakmond, PA

Author:  Joanne Dobson
Title: Death Without Tenure
Event Time:  Saturday, February 20, 2010, Coffee & Crime breakfast, starting at 10 a.m.

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Partners & Crime
Greenwich, NY

Author:  Sheila York
Title:  A Good Knife's Work
Event Time:  Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 7 p.m.

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Poisoned Pen
Scottsdale, AZ

Author: Sandi Ault
Title:   Wild Penance
Event Time: February 2, 2010 at 7 p.m.

Author: John Maddox Roberts
Title:  SPQR XIII The Year of Confusion
Event Time:  February 3, 2010 at 7 p.m.

Author:  Michael McGarrity
Title: Various
Event Time: February 6, 2010, at 1 p.m.

Author: Joanne Dobson / Lauren Willig 
Title:  Death Without Tenure / The Betrayal of the Blood Lily 
Event Time: February 9, 2010, at 7 p.m.

Author:  Graham Brown 
Title:   Black Rain 
Event Time:  February 10, 2010, at 7 p.m.

Author: Alex Berenson
Title:  Midnight House
Event Time:  February 10, 2010,  at 7:30 p.m.

Author:  Kelli Stanley
Title:  City of Dragons
Event Time: February 14, 2010,  at 2 p.m.

Author:  Dana Stabenow
Title:  A Night Too Dark
Event Time:  February 16, 2010,  7 p.m.

Author: Laurie R. King / Dana Stabenow / Diana Gabaldon 
Title: Various Titles
Event Time:  February 16, 2010,  at 7 p.m.

Author:  Hannah Dennison / Kate Carlisle / Annette Mahon
Title:  Exposé / If Books Could Kill / Bits and Pieces
Event Time: February 26, 2010,  at 7 p.m.

Author:  Craig McDonald
Title: Print the Legend
Event Time:  February 27, 2010,  at 2 p.m.

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Seattle Mystery Bookshop
Seattle, WA

Author:  Jeffrey Siger
Title:  Assassins at Athens
Event Time:   Tuesday, February 2, noon

Author:  Kelli Stanley
Title: City of Dragons
Event Time:  Wednesday, February 3, noon

Author:   Gregg Olsen
Title: Victim Six  
Event Time:    Saturday, February 6, noon

Author:  Jedediah Berry
Title:  The Manuel of Detection
Event Time:  Wednesday, February 10, noon

Author:   Joanne Fluke
Title:  Apple Turnover Murder
Event Time:  Friday, February 26, noon 

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Vrooman's
Pasadena, CA

Author:  Joanne Fluke 
Title:  Apple Turnover Murder
Event Time:  Tuesday, February 23, 2010, 7 p.m.

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END

New Crime Fiction Coming in February

New titles aplenty coming up in February from the likes of Nancy Atherton, Sandi Ault, P. C. Doherty, Tim Dorsey, Martin Edwards, Joanne Fluke, J. G. Goodhind, Tim Green, Elizabeth Gunn, Parnell Hall, Gar Anthony Haywood, Sue Ann Jaffarian, Peter May, Peter May, John Mcfetridge. G. A. McKevett, Ian Morson, Michael Palmer, Sandra Parshall, J.D. Robb, John Maddox Roberts, Dana Stabenow, Kelli Stanley, Peter Tonkin, and the ninth and last Jesse Stone novel by the late Robert B. Parker, titled Split Image. In September of 2010, the last Spencer novel by Parker, Painted Ladies, will also be released. Mystery Books News has a good overview with highlights, and here are more lists: 

The Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore

Books N Bytes

San Diego's Mystery Books

Powells Books

The Bloodstained Bookshelf

Fantastic Fiction

Stop, You're Killing Me

Cozy Mysteries

Forgotten Books Friday - Suddenly at His Residence

Christianna Brand was born Mary Christianna Milne in 1907 in Malaya, spending her early years in India. When at age 17 she learned her father had lost all his money, she took on a series of jobs including governess, nightclub hostess, ballroom dancer, dress shop model and secretary. She didn't turn her hand to fiction until 1939, with her first novel making it to print after being rejected by fifteen publishers. Death in High Heels was the title of that book, and in an apocryphal story, she got the idea while working as a salesgirl fantasizing about killing a co-worker.

She went on to write several crime fiction novels and short stories, but achieved her peak with the series featuring Inspector Cockrill of the Kent County Police who was modeled on her father-in-law, William Lewis, a doctor. One Cockrill novel, Green for Danger, was hailed by H.R.F. Keating as "the last golden crown of the Golden Age detective story" and made into a movie in 1946 starring Alastair Sim. Unfortunately for crime fiction fans, she mostly dropped the genre, at least in novel form, in the 1950s and concentrated on children's books, most notably Nurse Matilda, which Emma Thompson adapted in 2005 for as the film Nanny McPhee.

Brand was nominated three times for Edgar Awards, twice for short stories and once for a nonfiction work about a true-crime Scottish murder case. She also served as Chair of the Crime Writers Association in 1972-73. She penned essays including some of the best accounts available form the early days of London's Detection Club including remembrances of members Dorothy L. Sayers and Anthony Berkely.

Brand has been called the "female John Dickson Carr" for her locked-room style mysteries, one of which was Suddenly at His Residence (a/k/a The Crooked Wreath, in the U.S.), from the Inspector Cockrill series. Cockrill is another in the long line of eccentric detectives, insightful yet shabby, often called "sparrow-like," or, as he was introduced in his first novel (Heads You Lose),

"He was a little brown man who seemed much older than he actually was, with deep-set eyes beneath a fine broad brow, an aquiline nose and a mop of fluffy white hair fringing a magnificent head. He wore his soft felt hat set sideways, as though he would at any moment break out into an amateur rendering of ‘Napoleon’s Farewell to his Troops’; and he was known to Torrington and in all its surrounding villages as Cockie. He was widely advertised as having a heart of gold beneath his irascible exterior; but there were those who said bitterly that the heart was so infinitesimal and you had to dig so deep down to get to it, that it was hardly worth the trouble. The fingers of his right hand were so stained with nicotine as to appear to be tipped with wood."

In Suddenly at His Residence, the plot starts off in a fairly traditional way, where patriarch Sir Richard March is found dead in a Grecian lodge on his estate and suspicion falls on the family members gathered who he was getting ready to disinherit. After Cockrill begins to investigate, another body turns up, and the Inspector will also learn just how far World War II can reach from the battlefield into the countryside. He's also faced with a double "impossible crime" scenario: no footprints or marks at one crime scene involving sand and in another involving dust. Brand's writing is wry and engaging, with plenty of twists and the traditional British Golden Age red herrings, and in fact, her intricate plotting is generally considered the greatest strength of her novels.

Mystery Melange

There are two new crime fiction e-zines in town (er, cybertown?). First, Crime Factory, the first issue of which was launched this week by Keith Rawson, Cameron Ashley, and Liam Jose. Rawson said of the debut,

"Issue #1 has new fiction from Ken Bruen, Frank Bill, Hilary Davidson (the Damage Done), Steve Weddle, Dave White (When One Man Dies and The Evil That Men Do) and features by Scott Phillips (The Ice Harvest, The Walkaway, and Cottonwood) Adrian McKinty (Fifty Grand) Gordon Harries and the Nerd of Noir."

Second is Pulp Metal Magazine, which is open for submissions with the caveat, "...That much maligned term 'genre fiction', that scourge of the lit snobs is nothing to be ashamed of, if you can pull it off with flair and a touch of originality. So, send us your runny nightmares and bloody opinions, you glorious nobodies."

The future of publishing-on-demand, and for a good cause:  Harvard Book Store found itself assisting with the post-earthquake relief efforts. At the request of Google, they rush-printed dozens of copies of an English/Haitian Creole Medical Dictionary via their Espresso POD machine to be sent to medical aid workers in Haiti.  

Marcus Sakey wants your help. He's trying to put together the The Grand Unified Theory of Story, and wants your contributions as to what makes a gripping tale:

"Think of one of your all-time favorite books. A novel so good that you had the conflicting desires to tear through it and yet also to savor it. A book that’s lingered in your memory, with characters you missed when it ended. Don’t tell me MOBY DICK—I’m not analyzing enduring scholarly worthy, and besides, I won’t believe you anyway. What I’m interested in is a book that grabbed you and wouldn’t let go."

Alibi has teamed up with HarperCollins and Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival to sponsor a crime fiction short story contest for UK residents 18 and older. You have to use a first line provided by Stuart MacBride and keep it between 2,000 and 5,000 words, but other than that, the sky's the limit.

J.D. Rhoads over at Murderati and J.A. Konrath weigh in on the topic of pirated e-books. Maybe a blessing in disguise?

The latest trend in writing:  Lay-off Lit, books written by those left jobless by the global financial crisis taking the opportunity to pen that book they've always been meaning to get around to. But Harper Collins Australia publishing director, Shona Martyn, says he big effect of the financial crisis on publishing was not in writing, but reading.  ''There was a big pick-up in fiction. At Christmas sales went right up - Steig Larsson's novels, the vampire books … In tough times it's nice to read something escapist, and a bit happier. Australians should be writing more commercial fiction.''

Speaking of being out of work, here's a fun new opportunity for a day(bed) job.

I think we need one of these in the States:  Murder, Mystery & Microscopes.

A Movie With Your Milk and Eggs

UK supermarket giant Tesco is teaming up with media company Amber Entertainment to adapt direct-to-DVD movie versions of various novels by contemporary authors. They've got a fairly big budget and Amber's producer Ileen Maisel, formerly of New Line Cinema, behind the projects. First up is a movie based on the 1999 bestselling murder mystery LA Connections by Jackie Collins, but others will soon follow, including possibly works by authors Dick Francis, Karin Slaughter and Anne Perry. Amblen's Lawrence Elman said, "Normally when an author works with a film-maker, they just sign on the dotted line and then shake hands, before they are told, 'Thank you very much. See you at the premiere.' Instead, we have offered them a partnership and it is very enticing for them."

Media Murder

MOVIES

Good news for hard-working Jack Kilborn, a/k/a J.A. Konrath. His 2009 novel Afraid was optioned for film by the Dowdle Brothers to be produced by Vincent Newman and Josh Kesselman. Although it's not based on a novel from crime fiction series featuring Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels (it's been described as "Terminator meets Aliens"), hopefully the boost will extend to his mystery novels, as well. (Hat tip to Crimespree Cinema.)

TV

ABC picked up two crime show pilots, the cop drama True Blue about San Francisco homicide detectives who try to figure out who killed one of their own, and Edgar Floats centering on a police psychologist who becomes a bounty hunter.

Forest Whitaker is set to star in a spinoff of CBS' Criminal Minds. He'll play the squad leader who's also a former star profiler in the Behavioral Unit.

WEB/RADIO

The tributes have been numerous and heart-felt about the late Robert B. Parker. WBUR in Boston sat down with author Dennis Lehane to discuss the his remembrances of Parker, one of his early idols.

Award-winning author Charlie Huston was interviewed by Keith Rawson for BSC Review. You can catch Part 1 on the site link.

The new e-zine Crime Factory was launched yesterday with an excerpt from Ken Bruen's upcoming new novel and many other goodies. There's a Kindle version available for those who want it "to go."

THEATER

Walter Mosely is venturing into playwriting. Best-known for his Easy Rawlins mystery series, his play The Fall of Heaven will receive its world premiere at Cincinnati's Playhouse in the Park.

Mystery Melange

Sunny Frazier has been helping to spearhead a 7-day mystery cruise to the Mexican Riviera this November. "Mystery on the High Seas; A Cruise to Die For" has lined up authors to conduct panels, as well as experts in the field of organized crime, with a focus on Las Vegas and the Mob. Panels are still being put together, and they're seeking publishers to do pitch sessions and also editors who have put together anthologies. As Sunny said, "Think of it as a basic mystery convention with interesting stops, better food, and a captive audience, minus registration fees."

The Left Coast Crime Conference has released the full listing of awards nominees for 2010. Janet Rudolph has a listing on her blog, Mystery Fanfare. Awards are given for best humorous mystery, historical mystery and this year a special prize for LA Noir. 

To outline or not to outline? Tim Hallinan has started a feature on his blog titled "Plotting vs. Pantsing," which has guest authors discussing that very thing, with the first contribution coming from Stephen Jay Schwartz. (Hat tip to Jen Forbus.)

Forgotten Books Friday: The Man Who Didn't Fly

Scottish author Margot Bennett was born in 1912 and worked first first as a copywriter in the UK and Australia and then as a nurse during the Spanish Civil War before turning to writing. Her output in crime fiction was relatively small, yet successful: The Man Who Didn't Fly was shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger and was runner-up to Charlotte Armstrong's A Dram of Poison for Best Novel at the Edgars in 1956, and she won the Gold Dagger two years later in 1958 with Someone from the Past. She was also chosen to contribute a short story to the second CWA anthology, Choice Of Weapons, edited by Michael Gilbert.

But thereafter, a bit of mystery regarding Bennett herself began. She essentially stopped writing crime fiction, something discussed by Martin Edwards both on his blog and in the foreword he wrote for the Black Dagger Crime Series edition of The Man Who Didn't Fly. Bennett only wrote for television for awhile—including the early 60s UK adaptation of the Maigret novels by Simenon—with the exception of two non-mystery books (one of which had the intriguing title The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Atomic Radiation), before abandoning writing altogether in 1966. She died in 1980 at the age of 68.

In The Man Who Didn't Fly, four men are scheduled to take an ill-fated chartered flight to Dublin that crashes into the Irish Channel. Although the bodies can't be recovered, it becomes evident that only three men were on board the plane, yet all four are reported as missing. Inspector Lewis and Sergeant Young have their work count out for them trying to coax clues out of unreliable witnesses including the Wade family, Charles and his daughters Hester and Prudence.

The lives of the Wades intersected with all four of the missing men: Harry Walters, a desperate poet, who was in love with Hester Wade; Joseph Ferguson, a businessman who wife was more interested in Harry; Morgan Price, a nervous guest of the Wades; and Maurice Reid, something of a family friend. Slowly but surely, Lewis and Young piece together the details of the days leading up to the flight, finally uncovering the name of the missing man. But that just sets up a new problem: what happened to him and why?

Bennett's artful plotting was enough to capture the attention of the producers of NBC's Kraft Television Theater who created an episode in 1958 based on The Man Who Didn't Fly starring then 27-year-old William Shatner, Jonathan Harris (Dr. Smith of Lost in Space) and Walter Brooke (guest star in just about all TV series in the 60s, 70s, and 80s). The book was also chosen by Julian Symons as part of his 1958 "100 Best Crime Stories" for the London Sunday Times.

Noir by the Bay

The 8th Annual Noir City Film Festival in San Francisco begins this Friday, January 22, and runs through Sunday, January 31st. This year's theme is "lust and larceny," which pairs the those two sides of the same coin in a series of double features. Highlights include a showing of the completely restored version of the 1951 noir Cry Danger, starring Dick Powell, Rhonda Fleming, and Dick Erdman, and "Bad Girls Night," to celebrate the upcoming DVD box set Bad Girls of Film Noir, with a "a bevy of bad girls" scheduled to be in attendance. The link above has ticket info, including a passport discount. The M is for Mystery Bookstore will be there selling books, too.

If that isn't enough film noir on the big screen for you, the American Cinematheques's annual Film Noir Festival will take place in April at the Egyptian theater in Los Angeles, and the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs is coming up in late May to early June.

A Collision of Evil

Dr. John J. Le Beau was a clandestine operations officer in the Central Intelligence Agency for over twenty-five years before he retired from the agency in 2005. Most of his intelligence operations career was spent on assignment outside of the United States, including in locations experiencing active terrorism. His intelligence duties included assignments as chief of an operational facility in Europe engaged in counter-terrorist and counter-proliferation operations and intelligence collection; Program Manager of a human and technical collection program involving the Middle East; Operational Chief for an intelligence collection program directed at transnational issues; and a counter-insurgency officer in an active conflict area. Since January 2006, Dr. Le Beau has served as a Professor of National Security Studies in the College of International Security Studies at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch, Germany.

The thriller Collision of Evil is Le Beau's first novel and begins with the savage murder of an American tourist, Charles Hirter, in the Bavarian Alps. The victim's brother, Robert, a CIA operative, joins forces with German police detective Kommissar Franz Waldbaer and learns that a Nazi secret which had been hidden in a cave near where Charles' battered corpse was found may have been a weapon of mass destruction. The evils of World War II threaten to merge with modern-day terrorism if Islamist terrorists are able to use the weapon before Robert and Kommissar Waldbaer can prevent a tragedy of epic proportions.

Le Beau is on a blog tour this week and agreed to a little Q&A for In Reference to Murder.

IRTM:  Obviously, your CIA background came into play when writing Collision of Evil. How much of the plot and details arose out of experience and how much is fictionalized?

JJLB:  The specific terrorist conspiracy detailed in the novel is purely fictitious, as is the selection of a target for attack.  That noted, in my own experience as a former intelligence officer and current terrorism specialist, the plot is entirely realistic in terms of how jihadist terrorists think and the type of targets that interest them.  As I tried to suggest in Collision of Evil, the point of terrorism is not just to stack up some bodies but to spread a sense of dread and fear as broadly as possible. Even failed attacks can have this effect – witness the level of publicity and reaction that has been recently created by the failed attempt to blow up an airliner over Detroit.  In describing the terrorist characters in the novel, I tried as best as I could to realistically capture the way that these people tick, how they bond as a group driven by a common motivational force, and the way they look at the world.

IRTM:  Since your doctoral dissertation was about World War II and Germany, you already had quite a bit of background to assist with the historical aspects of your book. What other research did you conduct in writing the novel, and were there any surprises left for you to discover through your research?

JJLB:  I guess that the most important research for the book, in a sense, was conducted by living for a long time in the environment where much of the narrative takes place – Germany and Austria.  Whether correctly or not, I do feel that I understand fairly well how things operate in these countries and the various cultural and historical factors that make Central Europeans a bit different from Americans in some ways.  I have on numerous occasions spoken with people here in Bavaria who lived through the Second World War, either as combatants or civilians.  I tried to incorporate that ‘everyday life’ fabric into the texture of the story.  As for research per se, in my view it is always a source of delight and unexpected revelations.

IRTM:  What is your actual process for character development? As someone with your actual CIA experience, what makes a character "real" to you?

JJLB:  In a sense, character development is perhaps a bit like painting a human likeness on canvas.  You start with a basic outline of a character and then refine the sketch into something more substantial, more lifelike.  For Collision, at any rate, I first had a sense of the plot and that the plot required a protagonist who is a German law enforcement official and another protagonist who is a CIA Clandestine Service case officer.  I tried to live in their respective skins and imagine their different outlooks as I developed the characters.  I hope to add some depth to the characterizations of Hirter and Waldbaer in future writing endeavors.  As for my CIA experience, I think that played a vastly important role in trying to portray how intelligence and espionage and analysis works, with all its blemishes – and how very different it is from a fictive world where flawless technological innovations solve all problems.    

IRTM:  Terrorism, specifically terrorism involving radical Muslims, is very much on the minds of most Americans these days. Although most fears revolve around plane-related attacks, the threat of terrorists getting their hands on weapons of mass destruction is far more worrying, especially in light of such new stories as lax oversight of Russian nuclear stores left over from the Cold War and instability in a country like Pakistan which has nuclear weapons. How realistic is a plot like the one in Collision of Evil which deals with a similar scenario?

JJLB:  I fear that the notion of zealous terrorists employing chemical, biological or even a crude nuclear device is a possibility that we need to be concerned about, and that, indeed, many authorities are concerned about.  What is utterly beyond debate is this: Al Qaeda and like-minded organizations have no moral qualms about employing mass casualty weapons against people they regard as infidels, none at all.  Documentary evidence make clear that Al Qaeda operatives and leadership elements are in favor of harnessing whatever weapons would permit them to strike us in a spectacular way.  To date, most of their success has been due to conventional explosives of one type or another (such as PETN), and there has been an increase in the size of explosive charges employed.  But this surely does not mean that terrorists are not interested in more innovative forms of mass murder.  As for oversight of nuclear stores, this too is a real concern, as is proliferation of knowledge regarding weapons of mass destruction.  Note for example that the infamous AQ Khan of Pakistan is the man who gave that country its nuclear weapon and who also harbors Islamist sympathies.  This is arguably not a good combination, and we need to be concerned about it. I recall that the former DCI, George Tenet, said it was the possibility of terrorism tied to WMD that kept him awake at night.  This is certainly a sentiment that I share.

IRTM:  You've indicated in the past that uncovering terrorist plots are harder than people generally think. In light of efforts like the Patriot Act, is it still hard to "connect the dots?"

JJLB:  It might sound like special pleading for my former profession, but I would argue passionately that collecting, filtering and analyzing intelligence is a severely daunting task.  I’ve said before to students at the George C. Marshall Center that pulling intelligence together is much like assembling a puzzle. The problem is, that the intelligence people are not presented with all of the pieces of the puzzle, only some. And they do not have a picture of what the puzzle is supposed to illustrate once assembled.  This is hard, by any measure, and the stakes are high; lives can depend on putting the pieces together properly. To refer again to the recent airliner incident, the allegation is that the intelligence community (not just the CIA) had individual pieces in hand, pieces of evidence, but, it seems, were unable to assemble these disparate spots of information to see that Al Qaeda was plotting to take down an airliner with explosives smuggled onboard. The bar for actionable intelligence is a high one, and rightly so. But trying to uncover the machinations of a covert, fanatic and murderous group of jihadists is not child’s play.

IRTM:  During your career, you had to assess various threats including organized terrorism on a broader scale, and in your novel, Kommissar Waldbaer and Robert Hirter are tasked with a similar quest, on a more localized scale. In both cases, there is a need to try and understand the individuals involved in these movements in order to prevent death and disaster. You said in one interview that terrorists would suffocate without violence. Are efforts to change these individuals (like Saudi "rehabilitation") just political theater?

JJLB:  I think that trying rehabilitation efforts is worth the candle.  Not only Saudi Arabia, but Morocco and Yemen and likely some other countries are trying to ‘deprogram’ violent jihadists. The court is out on how successful this effort has been to date, but, in my view, it makes sense to try to thin terrorist ranks through a rigorous program of persuasion.  My suspicion is that rehab programs might work against some terrorist personality types but not against others. We have certainly seen failed attempts at persuasion and instances when a jihadist has feigned the adoption of a more moderate stance only as a device to gain freedom to rejoin his violent co-conspirators.  There are no magic bullets in fighting 21st century terrorism and it is sensible to try a broad array of techniques and analyze them to determine what works and what does not.  In some instances – for example with the type of terrorist characters who occupy Collision of Evil – the only solution is to kill them.

IRTM:  There have been a few incidents, particularly in Europe, I think, of an Islamic backlash against authors and artists who have portrayed Muslims in what they consider a blasphemous manner. Did you ever have any worries your book might cause that type of reaction?

JJLB:  You are right that Europe has seen some incidents of this sort – including a quite recent failed attempt against a cartoonist in Denmark.  Still and all, I expect that the bad guys have a very long list of targets and people they don’t like, so that puts things in more perspective. Of course, it's still good to watch your back.

IRTM:  Do you ever worry about novelists giving terrorists ideas?

JJLB:  That is actually something I thought about while writing Collision of Evil. I concluded, however, that terrorists have a track record of creativity and don’t need to rely on authors to provide them with new, malign ideas; they have plenty of their own, unfortunately.  There is a universe of so-called ‘soft targets’ at their disposal and the algebra of past terrorism makes it a mathematical certainty that some of these will be hit in the future.  This is a long term struggle that we are facing and we need to be sufficiently resolute to prevail.

IRTM:  I understand you are working on two Waldbaer sequels. What's next for the Kommissar?

JJLB:  You are right.  I am currently enjoying revisiting the Kommissar and some other characters in another international thriller that deals with a real world issue rather different from terrorism. Yes, I am being coy.  But I think it will make solid entertainment while also touching on topics of contemporary concern, or topics that we ought to be concerned about. The manuscript is about half finished and I hope to have it in reasonably finished shape in the next couple of months to submit to the publisher.  I also have separately scribed about 14,000 words of a third novel involving Waldbaer in a story that reaches back several centuries into the Germanic past. A good portion of the plot of this one transpires in a venerable Bavarian castle, a setting I have always found engaging since I was a kid – even before I ever visited a real castle. I am having considerable fun with both plots.

IRTM:  As you are something of a lay expert on beer — who would win a shoot-out between Becks, Samuel Adams and Guinness?

JJLB:  Good question. The brands you mention represent three rather different styles of beer. Becks is a respectable example of a North German pilsner, with a disciplined taste and appropriately bitter finish, if not quite in the league of Jever pilsner. Sam Adams is a brewery that an American can point to with considerable pride to reject the uninformed assertions that the U.S. doesn't have quality beer.  The Sam Adams brewery presents a considerable array of beer types, to be sure, but the Boston Lager is very fine indeed, and full-bodied without being unduly filling. Guinness, on the other hand, has an assertive taste and is a great pub beer, taken from the tap.  In a shoot-out, I expect I would draw the Sam Adams, but would also be glad to fill my hands with the other two brews mentioned. Thank you for the interview.         

John J. Le Beau is giving away a signed copy of his book, Collision of Evil, to one lucky tour visitor. Go to the book tour page, enter your name, e-mail address, and this PIN, 8889, for your chance to win. Entries from In Reference to Murder will be accepted until 12:00 Noon (PT) tomorrow. No purchase is required to enter or to win. The winner (first name only) will be announced on the book tour page next week.