Guest Blogger Lillian Stewart Carl

Today's guest blogger, Lillian Stewart Carl, comes close to having something for everyone. She says of herself, "Over the years I've been inventing my own genre, mystery/romance with supernatural/ historical/ mythological underpinnings." She categorizes her books as "Mostly Mystery," "Romantic Suspense," Non-Fiction and Collections," "Fantasy Thriller," "Romantic Fantasy," and "Fantasy." She's also written non-fiction. Lillian has traveled extensively in Europe, the Middle East, India, and Japan, and she uses her experiences to bring her books to life.

Please join me in welcoming Lillian Stewart Carl as she compares her own life as a writer to that of Mr. Earbrass, a writer in another time.


Of Novels, Harps, and the Writing Life

Recently I completed my twentieth novel. (That I keep starting new ones proves the triumph of hope over experience.)

Completing a novel should be a moment of victory. Usually it’s more of a moment of exhaustion. I collapse across the finish line with a whimper, not a bang. When I mentioned my dazed and confused condition to an author-friend, she very kindly sent me a copy of the late Edward Gorey’s The Unstrung Harp; or Mr. Earbrass Writes a Novel.

I’ve always appreciated the mordant wit of Gorey’s illustrations and fictional pieces, such as The Gashlycrumb Tinies and the animated credits for PBS’s Mystery. But this particular work had escaped my attention—which means I had the delight of discovering it at a very appropriate moment.

It’s a very slender volume, with delicious bits of text facing illustrations in Gorey’s whimsical and yet dark style. Mr. Earbrass himself is a stocky, slightly bewildered-looking individual, whose head resembles an upside-down foot extending from his collar—perhaps for those days most writers are all too familiar with, when everything goes topsy-turvy.

As I paged through the book, my chuckles grew into guffaws. Gorey captured all the roller-coaster experience, from exultation to nausea, of writing a novel.

Not that all the details hit home. The scenario plays out in what appear to be the early days of the twentieth century. Mr. Earbrass writes with one of those old-fangled things called a pen, on sheets of paper—there’s not a keyboard in sight, not even that of a (shudder!) manual typewriter.

When he cuts and pastes in revision, he actually cuts and pastes. How quaint! He hand-carries a stack of paper to his publishers’ office, rather than attaching a file and hitting Send. And Mr. Earbrass only writes a novel every other year. Goodness! What luxury!

However, most of what Mr. Earbrass goes through in writing his novel, The Unstrung Harp, is exactly what I’ve gone through—and yet, what I’m usually rather surprised happens. (A slow learner, that’s me.)

He ponders “where the plot is to go, and what is to happen to it upon arrival”. While it’s never explicitly stated that The Unstrung Harp is a mystery, at one point Mr. Earbrass’s characters “are feverishly engaged in wondering whether to have the pond at Disshiver Cottage dragged or not,” which implies a mysterious happening.

With me, the mysterious happening is how I’ll start out with a tempting MacGuffin, like a seventeenth-century charm stone, a bog body, or the Loch Ness monster, only to have to jerk the plot’s leash back into line when it wanders away from my proffered treat and starts sniffing trees in the park. Mr. Earbrass jots down odd bits of description, and tries to track down even odder references (“His mind’s eye sees them quoted on the bottom third of a right-hand page . . .”)

Oh yes. I’ll need my architect hero to say something intelligent about medieval church design—I saw a good layman’s explanation of spandrels and purlins somewhere . . .

You might think the Internet would obviate that desperate scramble through the library shelves, but it doesn’t, not necessarily. There was, for example, the time I searched until my eyes were bepixilated for information about Ann Boleyn’s prayer book, which I knew I had seen in the British Museum, only to come up blank. Probably because, as it turns out, what I saw in the British Museum was Lady Jane Grey’s prayer book.

Mr. Earbrass makes the mistake of re-reading what he’s already written and discovers that it’s dreadful, dreadful, DREADFUL!

Oh my yes. There’s always that spot in the middle of the novel where I think I’d better change the identity of the murder victim, and I haven’t yet decided who the murderer is and therefore have provided every possible suspect with an alibi, and maybe I should move the crime scene from a convent to a brothel—in other words, the story falls apart in my hands like a moth-eaten sweater.

Then the day comes. Mr. Earbrass is finished. He wanders about the house picking up and putting down small objects, thinking vaguely he should be doing something useful. At moments like this, I often find myself wondering what month it is, or being incapable of answering a simple question like, “What do you want for dinner?”

And that’s just the writing. The publishing is another series of sardonic jokes.

The galleys, for example, the pages printed in book format, always appear at some inopportune moment, and “at first they look so different he thought they had sent him the wrong ones by mistake.” Then there are galley gremlins, like the one who changed the date of the Armada in The Murder Hole from 1588 to 1688 after I’d checked every word of those galleys and returned them to the publisher.

The cover art usually produces a cry of, “Whatever were they thinking of?” At least I’ve never had a cover like one on a friend’s romance, where the heroine was equipped with three arms. But the cover of one my heroic fantasy novels, instead of evoking Cretan bull dancers, shows a pudgy guy bulldogging a Hereford and begs for the caption, “Hey, sweetie, what’s your sign? I bet you’re a Taurus.”

The reviews squat on Mr. Earbrass’s table in a threatening heap while he tries to distract himself by reading something else. A good thing he didn’t have the cyber-reviews on Google or Amazon, which don’t just prove that one bad review will obliterate five good ones, they will leave the author prostrate on her fainting couch with a cold compress on her brow.

Every now and then Mr. Earbrass gets together with other authors to complain about the unspeakable horror of the literary life, something I do myself—the whine and cheese party is a standard venue. After all, who understand the perils of writing a novel better than another novelist?

And who better to laugh with, not at, Mr. Earbrass?



Lillian Stewart Carl has written multiple novels and multiple short stories in multiple combinations of mystery, romance, and paranormal. Her latest book is The Charm Stone, book four of the Jean Fairbairn/Alasdair Cameron series: Scotland’s finest and America’s exile on the trail of all-too-living legends. Learn more about her and her works at her website.

Guest Blogger Karen E. Olson

Today is the lay down date for Karen's latest "Tattoo Shop" mystery, Pretty in Ink. It's a great series, and I got an early peak at this one because she was coming to North Carolina. You'll enjoy Brett Kavanaugh whether you have tattoos or not! Karen is going to tell you about our first meeting in her blog below.

Please join me in welcoming Karen Olson!

I had a whole blog post written for Molly, but I’ve decided to change it up. Because I’ve just spent the weekend with her and I have to rave about it.

I met Molly briefly at Bouchercon in October. Not long after, I received an email from her asking if I’d want to come to Raleigh, North Carolina for a mini book tour. She’d arrange all the events, I’d just have to show up. Hank Phillippi Ryan and Julie Hyzy would also be included.

I think I hesitated only a nanosecond before I said yes.


I had an ulterior motive: My new tattoo shop mystery Pretty in Ink would be out March 2 (today!), and maybe we’d be able to get some copies early from the publisher to sell at the events.

Having books early was only the first thrill of the weekend. I have never done a tour like this before, staying mostly in my own backyard in Connecticut and doing local events here. Occasionally I’ll head to New York or Boston or Rhode Island, but it’s all within driving distance. And when I do that, it’s pretty much a solo act. I’m there, all by myself, hoping to entertain and entice the audience to buy my books.

I absolutely loved being part of a trio. At Hank's suggestion, Molly called us the Triple Threat Tour, and you couldn’t find three women probably less threatening than us. Hank and Julie are super, so fun and gracious and their books are fantastic. It was also so wonderful to share stories.

Writing can be a lonely business, we sit in our rooms by ourselves spending time with imaginary people. To actually go out in public and dress up (I’m usually writing in sweats and a fleece pullover and a big pair of woolen socks) and meet other writers, booksellers, librarians, and readers is such a treat. The folks Molly introduced us to were all amazing and went out of their way to make us feel welcome.

It was a blast to connect with the real world, not one that’s just in our heads. I was so excited to have the chance to talk about my books, and especially my new one, with new potential readers, to share my enthusiasm for Brett Kavanaugh, my tattoo artist protagonist, and her world in Las Vegas. I spent years writing “what I know” as I penned the Annie Seymour mysteries, set here in my hometown of New Haven and in a newsroom, a place where I spent more than 20 years of my life. The challenge of writing about something completely different has been so liberating for me, and I know it’s clear on the pages of my books that I’m excited about it.

So I’m giving Molly a big shout out Thank You here, and thanks so much for having me here at Meritorious Mysteries on the launch day of Pretty in Ink!

Karen

To see more abut Karen and her series (she's also got a terrific Annie Seymour series), visit her website!

Triple Threat Tour - North Carolina

Folks in North Carolina, you've got an opportunity to see three great mystery writers this weekend! I'm hosting award winners Julie Hyzy, Karen Olson, and Hank Phillippi Ryan and have some great venues set up for them. I hope many of you can join us somewhere. Here's the schedule:

Friday, February 26
12:00 noon Eva Perry Library, Apex
6:30 Page-Walker Hotel (cultural arts center) in Cary, sponsored by the Cary Public Library

Saturday, February 27
11:00 Mcintyre's Fine Books, Fearrington Village
5:00 Jamestown Public Library, Jamestown, NC

Sunday, February 28
12:00 Flyleaf Books (next door to Foster's Market, a great place to grab brunch), Chapel Hill

Guest Blogger Patricia Sprinkle

Patti Sprinkle is one of the most energetic women I've ever known! Since I've known her she's moved several times, served as president of Sisters in Crime, organized numerous SinC booths at conferences, gotten an advanced degree, toured tirelessly, and, most importantly to her legion of fans, written many books. Patti will be at the Cary Library on Friday, March 12, to talk about her most recent book, Hold Up the Sky. Even though she says this one is not a mystery, I know there will be something to solve included—and I know I'll like it!

Welcome, Patti!


Good Readers are Great to Find
by Patricia Sprinkle

Why do so many people introduce themselves to me as, “I am just a reader”? Do they not realize how many readers every writer needs?

Readers are the people who keep us searching for exactly the right word to best tell our story; who cheer our spirits on dreary days with four magic words: “I love your books”; who, like writers, think there is nothing crazy about wanting to know intimate details about the lives of imaginary beings.

My characters are as real to me as my husband and children, but my husband and children never ask, as readers do, “Whatever happened to Joe Riddley’s parrot?” “Did Sheila Travis ever marry Crispin?” “Is Katharine Murray going to dump that insensitive husband of hers?”

If you have unanswered questions from some of the books, ask away. I’ll tell you anything my characters have told me.

One mystery I have not solved is why some people are readers and some are not. What made a reader out of you? For me, it was Mother—who later became a reading specialist—circling words in newspaper headlines when I was very small: in, to, go, with. Mother was not fond of phonics, she felt a reader ought to gulp words whole or at least a syllable at a time. She had me reading by age three.

Readers are a special breed of humans. We identify with Maureen Corrigan in Leave Me Alone, I’m Reading when she says that in the middle of every special event there comes a moment when she thinks, “I’d rather be reading.” We stop by the library on the way home from the bookstore and know we won’t live long enough to finish the to-be-read stack by the bed. We utterly understand whoever it was who said, “Whenever I have money, I buy books; when I have more money, I buy food.”

Where do my readers come from? I get clues from occasional e-mails: “ I found three of your books at a garage sale.” “My mother, who lives in Georgia, sent me four of your books for Christmas. I read them and got so homesick, I am moving back to Georgia.” “My sister passes me all the books she has read and she sent some of yours.” One of my favorites was, “I was on the Queen Mary and found your book in their library. Loved reading it on the cruise and will get more.” When I get the travel bug and don’t have money for a ticket, I can now close my eyes and picture my books cruising the world. I hope they have as much fun traveling as I’ve had writing them.
It is good to get, once in a while, to hear, “I found your books browsing the bookstore and have now bought them all.” After all, books bought at garage sales and passed along by sisters don’t pay royalties, and writers do like to eat.


I hope mystery readers will follow me as I shift for a time to general fiction. Hold Up the Sky, my first non-mystery in a while, comes out March 2. I threw in a small mystery and one body, but this is the story of four women in crisis who discover that true strength comes not from independence but from interdependence. I know avid mystery readers will read all the mysteries in your stack before you open a general novel. I know that because I am one of you. But give this story a try. You might like it.

Meanwhile, I lift my iced tea glass to readers—to those who read a book and let the author know if they like it; to those who recommend books to family and friends; to readers who work in libraries and bookstores, helping others find books they will enjoy. And while she will blush when I say it, “Here’s to Molly Weston for devoting a large part of her life to generously befriending authors and readers and to putting us in touch with one another.”
When introducing yourself to an author, say proudly: “I am a reader.” And if you have time, write a comment on this blog to let us know what made you the reader you are. After all, you are what keeps us writers writing.

MINT JULEPS, MAYHEM, AND MURDER by Sara Rosett (Kensington)

Although this is the fifth book in the Ellie Avery Mystery series, it is the first I have read. It is a great “Mommy cozy” mystery. Ellie is a military wife, mother and part-time professional organizer (cleaning up clutter…not rallying the troops!). Her husband’s commander is murdered and the police naturally think the wife did it. The wife is Ellie’s friend and asks for her help. The clues point to several suspects, including the wife. Ellie’s husband has several “accidents” and it becomes apparent that he is also the target of a killer. Is it the same killer and if so why? Ellie uncovers clues as she goes about her part-time job and while attending military social gatherings. The reader gets a first-hand look at into the lives of military families. I look forward to reading some of the earlier books in this series.

Review by Helen Jones
FTC full disclosure - book provided by the publisher

Guest Blogger Penny Warner

One of the best things about growing older is having long-time friends. I met Penny Warner many years ago at a mystery conference, and I've enjoyed our frequent encounters since. Of course, I've gotten much more from these encounters than she—I've been on the receiving end by reading her great books.

Penny is not only an excellent mystery writer, but she's done books for early childhood and an outstanding YA book entitled The Official Nancy Drew Handbook which included "skills, tips and life lessons from everyone's favorite girl detective. I was delighted to see that Nancy Drew espoused many of the same guidelines that girls' mothers had been giving for years!

Now, Penny has begun a new series featuring San Francisco party planner Presley Parker. I had so much fun reading How to Host a Killer Party that I dropped it in the bathtub and had to get out the hair dryer so I could finish it before bedtime!

Please join me in welcoming Penny Warner!



I NEED A PLOT!
By Penny Warner
Don’t you just want to slap the next person who blurts out the overused phrase, “Get a life!” I have a life. In fact, with writing mysteries and teaching college classes and babysitting grandchildren, I have more than enough lives. Truth is, what I need right now is a plot. Not a cemetery plot, a story plot. For those who don’t know, a plot is similar to a life, but it’s fiction and has a deadline—although I suppose you could argue that life does too.

I write a bi-weekly column for my local newspaper, based on my life, so I’m glad I have a life. If I don’t experience something interesting, then I have nothing to write about. But when writing mysteries, that’s—to use another overused phrase—“another story.” Making stuff up is much like being a good liar, only you have to lie for about 300 pages. And for that, you need a plot.


After writing the first book in my new mystery series, How to Host a Killer Party, as soon as I finished it, I found I needed another plot for the next one. So far I’ve poisoned a bride, drowned a socialite, bludgeoned a philanthropist, and creatively murdered several other fictional characters. I’ve got the murder stuff down. What I need now is a cleverly twisting story full of red herrings, misdirection, and cliffhangers.

And it has to sound like real life.

Therein lies the problem. While I have “a life,” it doesn’t include mayhem, malice or murder. My life is mostly peaceful and pleasant. If I want drama, I turn on the TV and watch shows like “The Mentalist,” “Castle,” and “Criminal Minds.” Sometimes these shows give me ideas for my own plots. But I have to be careful I don’t steal the stories outright. That could lead to courtroom drama of another kind.

At booksignings, I’m often asked, “Where do you get your plots?” My fellow writers usually give a witty response, like “At the plot store” or “Wal-mart.” But the truth is, plots are difficult to come by, especially when your amateur sleuth isn’t a police officer or attorney or private detective. Plots just seem to fall into the laps of those characters.

In How to Host a Killer Party, my protagonist, Presley Parker, is party planner, who lives and works on Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay Area. In her first mystery, she hosts a party at the infamous tourist attraction, Alcatraz, where the guest of honor is soon found floating in the bay. And that’s the just beginning. So many people have been dropping dead at her parties, she’s going to be out of business soon. That’s called the “Jessica Fletcher Syndrome.” Remember how Jessica Fletcher was always tripping over dead bodies in quaint little Cabot Cove? It’s a wonder there was anyone left in the town.

Besides, who’s going to hire Presley Parker to host a party when inevitably one or more of the guests will be found dead in the punchbowl? In real life, her “Killer Parties” business wouldn’t last the party season. But luckily, writing fiction isn’t like real life. You can make up anything you want. That’s called plotting. And now I’m right back where I started this lament.

Maybe I should take a break from the world of fiction and get back to real life by throwing another party. As long as no one falls face down in the punch bowl. I’d like to keep fiction and real life separate as much as possible.
I’d love to hear how other writers come up with plot ideas. Just don’t tell me you got them at the local “Plot Shop”….



The first book in Penny Warner’s new mystery series, How to Host a Killer Party, is just out from Obsidian/Penguin. Penny Warner has published more than 50 books, both fiction and non-fiction, for adults and children, including more than a dozen party books. Her books have won national awards, garnered excellent reviews, and have been printed in 14 countries. Her first mystery, Dead Body Language, in her Connor Westphal series featuring a deaf reporter in the California Gold Country, won a Macavity Award for Best First Mystery and was nominated for an Agatha Award. Her non-fiction book, The Official Nancy Drew Handbook, was nominated for an Agatha Award. Warner writes for party sites such as OrientalTradingCompany.com, BirthdaysRUs.com, iParty.com, and BalloonTime.com, and with her husband Tom creates interactive murder mystery fundraisers for libraries across the country. She'd love for you to visit her website.

ALL THE WRONG MOVES by Merline Lovelace (Berkley)

I'm delighted to present a new reviewer today. Helen Jones has attended my mystery talks at the Cary NC Library, and when I asked if any of the folks would be interested in reviewing some books, she stepped up—and how! Helen has already read and reviewed the first bag of mysteries I took her—and is waiting for more today. Welcome, Helen!

Lt. Samantha Spade, USAF works with a team of civilian geeks and nerds evaluating unusual inventions for the military. She is a sarcastic, funny, lovable and smart lady. In this first episode, after discovering two bodies in the desert, she gets involved in an arms scam being investigated by a slew of government agencies. I laughed at her honest reactions when life gave her lemons and I could not put the book down during the lifethreatening drama scenes. Her “love” interest, Border Patrol Agent Jeff “Mitch” Mitchell, adds just the right amount of romance. I hope future books will involve the members of her research team in solving the mysteries. Their characters were very interesting and each one reminded me of someone I have known.

--Helen Jones

Guest Blogger Blaize Clement

Blaize Clement doesn't feature talking animals or ditzy old ladies who talk to them. Dixie Hemingway is a former law enforcement officer with a tragic history who is now a professional pet sitter in idyllic Siesta Key, Florida.

Today, Blaize talks about character names and how important it is to get them right. She'll welcome comments and questions about character names—or anything about her writing.

Please welcome Blaize Clement!



Names Matter

I'm now writing the sixth book in the Dixie Hemingway Mystery Series, and, as usual, thinking about character names. I believe names are vitally important in a novel. I doubt that John Updike's Rabbit would have grabbed readers' imagination if his name had been Wolff, or that Huckleberry Finn would have become a classic illustration of an American era if Mark Twain had named him Jimmy Jones. For that matter, would Mark Twain have become a popular author if he'd stuck to his real name of Samuel Clemens?

I used to keep a file of good names gleaned from wedding announcements, death notices, or just run-of-the-mill news stories, and from time to time I'd refer to them to see if any of them fit a character l was creating. They never did. In fiction as in real life, a name stands for the person. If the name doesn't fit the person, it creates a kind of awkward dissonance that permeates everything else. In real life, people can change a name that doesn't suit them, but fictional characters are stuck with them, often to their ultimate downfall. Nadine Gordimer once said she couldn't get a story right until she got the right name for her protagonist. I imagine a lot of authors feel that way. I know I do. I've started a lot of novels that never got finished because the main character refused to reveal him/herself to me via a name.

And then there's the need to give each character a name that readers will remember, not to mention the need to think of how the name will sound when it's given a possessive case or is spoken aloud. Give a character a name like Cass, for example, and you have to contend with the possibility of awkward phrases like "Cass's sassiness." Or if you name a character something like Wendy Lou, you run the risk of creating hilarity when you didn't intend it. Give two characters names beginning with the same letters of the alphabet and readers will confuse them and have to go flipping back to see whether Carol is the good twin and Claire the evil one, or vice versa.

Readers frequently ask how I came up with the name Dixie Hemingway for the main character of my mystery series. It wasn't easy. I struggled for a long time before the name came, but as soon as I had it, I knew my character. Just having the name brought her out fully realized, as if she had handed me a written bio. I wish I could say that always happens, or that I have a sure fire way of making it happen again, but I can't. All I know for sure is that it's important to wait until it does happen and not try to force a name on a character that doesn't fit.





The latest book in the Dixie Hemingway series is Raining Cat Sitters and Dogs. To read an excerpt, check out Blaize's website. By the way, I just got an email from Cary Librarian Karen Kiley which said, "I just finished Raining Cat Sitters and Dogs by Blaize Clement. It was wonderful. Would you like me to do a review for your blog?" Of course, I answered affirmatively. I'll post the review as soon as it's available.

THRILLERFEST 2009 Video Clips

I just got links to some video clips filmed at Thrillerfest 2009. Check out some of the great authors talking about their work. Let me know what you think about them. Did you decide to read any of these authors based on the videos?

What is your most GRUESOME Death Scene:

Who is the Baddest "Bad Guy":

The Difference between a Mystery and a Thriller

Hannibal Lecter:

Protagonist/Alter Ego:

Book in 12 words:

Guest Blogger Denise Swanson

Some people wish for glamour in their lives; others create it. Denise Swanson is a natural diva—from her lovely blonde coif to her feathered boa. She's also a good sport about taking life as it comes. I asked her to be a guest blogger. She sent her copy immediately. Then I got the dates confused and didn't post it immediately. She was very understanding and agreed that I should post it now.


I'm delighted to (finally) welcome Denise to Meritorious Mysteries. You'll see why her Scumble River fans wait eagerly for the next installment. Her clever wit is obvious in her mysteries as well as in a blog post.







A Day in the Life of a Deadly Diva


This morning I woke up and my toy boy André was waiting at my bedside with my breakfast tray. After finishing a mocha half-caf soy latte, croissant, and the NYT crossword puzzle in ink, I entered my sumptuous bathroom where the maid had drawn my bath. I had to reprimand her because she had used the jasmine bath salts when I had clearly instructed her to use the gardenia on Tuesdays. Good help is so hard to find.

It took me quite a while to select an outfit from my extensive wardrobe, and then none of my three hundred pairs of shoes were exactly right, so I had Ferragamo send over a selection. Never one to waste time, I permitted my makeup artist and hairdresser to work their magic while I waited for the new stilettos to arrive.

I couldn’t believe that my agent was annoyed at me for being a measly hour late for our lunch date. A few tears, and he fell back in line, so I allowed him to buy me a bauble from Harry Winston to make up for upsetting me.

The afternoon was grueling. The limo that was supposed to take me to my book signing had generic bottled water instead of the Perrier that is in my contract. To top it off, the book store didn’t have the right pen—as if I’d use anything but a Monte Blanc.

Oh, wait a minute. You wanted reality not fantasy? Okay, here’s the real scoop.


I woke up to some acid rock music (my fault I forgot to check the radio station when I set the alarm) at the Holiday Inn Express. After fighting the shower curtain, which was overly fond of my behind, I managed to dry my hair into an approximate style, slap on some makeup, and find a pair of pants and top that weren’t too wrinkled from their time in my suitcase.

Then I staggered down to the breakfast buffet. Though the cinnamon buns were yummy, I really should have stuck to the Raisin Bran because the sweet rolls were certainly going to stick to me.

At 9:30 I grabbed my umbrella, bookmarks, raffle tickets, and the baskets we were giving away, and joined Heather Webber for the drive to our first event, Coffee with the Deadly Divas. Marcia Talley, Sara Rosett, Elizabeth Lynn Casey, and, fabulous author escort, Molly Weston were already there when we arrived. We spoke for an hour, signed books, and were on our way to the second event of the day by noon. Tea with the Deadly Divas was a repeat of the above, and after answering lots of questions we took a brief break at Molly’s house.

Soon we were off to have an amazing "Q and stew" supper, before hurrying to our evening event. A sea of chairs and five faces (six if you count the crazy guy in the back) greeted us. We put on our program for the third time that day, signed some books, then headed back to the hotel. It was ten o’clock when I collapsed on the bed, knowing I had to repeat this schedule the next day. And as I drifted off to sleep, I thanked God that that was the case. I wouldn’t trade the actual life of a Deadly Diva for anything.

WINNERS! We've Got Winners!!!

The drawing auditors have spoken! The winners of the two copies of The Bone Chamber are [drum roll, please!]

Donnell and Kathy

If you'll send your snail mail addresses to me at mysteryheel @ mac.com, I'll get the copies in the mail.

Thanks to all of you who posted. I hope to have a new contest up soon.

Next week's guest blogger is Denise Swanson, author of the Scumble River Mysteries. Denise will talk about her life as a (Deady) Diva. Please join us!

Guest Blogger ROBIN BURCELL

My guest blogger today is Robin Burcell. Robin, an FBI-trained forensic artist, has worn many law enforcement hats—police officer, detective, and hostage negotiator. She's won the Anthony Award for her San Francisco Homicide Inspector Kate Gillespie novels, but her newest ventures, are about a forensic artist for the FBI. The Bone Chamber is her latest international thriller about an FBI forensic artist. Face of a Killer received a starred review from Library Journal. She is the author of four previous novels. View The Bone Chamber book video trailer here. She hopes you'll visit her website.


THE BONE CHAMBER is still hot on the shelves, but I've got two copies to give away to posters at this site. Check back on Friday to see the winners. I'll ask for snail mail addresses then. And now, here's Robin…










Danger Will Robinson! Dinner invitation with Jessica Fletcher is fatal!




For those of you not old enough to recall Lost in Space, or the robot who was there to warn young Will of the many dangers while traveling from planet to planet, you are no doubt old enough to at least have heard of the great TV series Murder She Wrote and what happened if one was unlucky enough to be invited anywhere that mystery writer Mrs. Jessica Fletcher was invited. This became known as the Jessica Fletcher Syndrome (JFS), which earned its place among other popular death-is-imminent terms like Red Shirters from Star Trek (anyone wearing a red shirt on an episode of Star Trek and not a main character was doomed to die in that episode).



There are worse fates in my opinion than the JFS. There is… (drum roll…) Too-Stupid-To-Live syndrome, better known as TSTL. Far too many characters in both books and TV suffer from TSTL. We see it all the time. In some cases, however, it is far worse than others. Especially in cases dealing with professionals who should know better. I’m talking about cops and FBI agents and spies even. Sending a girl alone down into the basement lit by one shaky bulb to investigate a noise when she knows the bad guy (whether a monster, serial killer or murdering ex-husband) is in the area is a prime example of TSTL. But when it’s a cop, it really ticks me off. I nearly threw a book across the room when a female officer went running after a bad guy without calling it in to dispatch, and without informing her partner who was a mere few feet away (albeit in a coffee shop at the time). And while I’d like to say that you’d rarely see something like this happen in a book written by a cop, I doubt that would be true. I’ve been guilty of it myself (in early drafts) for the sake of a good story. We often take liberties in fiction for this very reason, which is why I have taken this moment to stop you before you allow your own character to suffer from TSTL.

Let me offer an example of one of my own characters from an earlier series who suffered from TSTL. Kate Gillespie in EVERY MOVE SHE MAKES is a highly trained homicide detective. In a pivotal climactic scene, I have her and her partner enter a warehouse to search for the suspect. My friend read the first draft and said she felt Kate was being stupid entering that warehouse. (After all, Kate and partner get taken at gunpoint. This is the big moment.) She accused me of placing Kate in a TSTL moment. I argued that Kate had a partner. What more could anyone want? She said, “Would you enter that warehouse with only one back up if you knew a killer was in there?” And then she added the kicker, “Especially if you had the entire police force at your beck and call with one press of the radio key?” Well, no. Of course not. But this is fiction. She didn’t buy that. She was right. If I, as a real officer, wouldn’t enter that warehouse with only one other officer, then why on earth would I force poor Kate to do the same? I changed the scene so that there was a very, very valid reason for Kate and her partner to walk in there without additional back up. I turned a TSTL moment into a heroic-save-the-day-against-all-odds moment.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in your story, and, for the sake of exciting, tense moments, allow your character to become involved in TSTL situations without meaning to.

In my current book, THE BONE CHAMBER, FBI forensic artist and special agent Sydney Fitzpatrick avoids TSTL when she hops a plane to Rome to investigate her friend’s death. Even though she isn’t assigned to this case, and technically shouldn’t be investigating—in fact is ordered off it—and there are some very dangerous people after her, she knows ahead of time that an agent is on that plane, so that gives her a built-in back up. And since she is conducting her investigation in an unofficial capacity, she doesn’t have the entire FBI Bureau at her beck and call. So it really makes her smart to make sure she has another agent to assist her on the case.

Ah, the lessons we learn from robots and space shows. How about you? Anyone care to relate your favorite TSTL moments from TV or the movies?

Guest Blogger Lori Armstrong

Today's guest blogger is Lori Armstrong, winner of the 2009 Shamus Award for Best Paperback Original, Snow Blind. Her most recent novel is No Mercy. Lori left the firearms industry in 2000. Her mass market mystery series has been nominated for many awards. She lives with her family in Rapid City, South Dakota.


Research? Of Course!
by Lori Armstrong

Over the course of my writing career, I've been asked how much of what I write is based on personal experience. My response? Almost zero. Write what you know doesn’t hold true for me, because sadly, my life is terribly tame. My female character, Mercy Gunderson, heroine of my latest mystery, No Mercy, gets to have all the fun; she’s proficient in firearms, she wins bar fights, she knocks back whiskey like water and she has the chops to figure out "whodunit" and to see that justice is served.

Since I’m not the all-around badass, tough chick I created, I have to do research. Lots of research. Some research is not so bad—I’ve gotten to shoot a sniper rifle, tour a distillery, ride along with cops, receive personal, detailed martial arts demonstrations, and participate in a spring branding. Hands on research? Love it. But the flipside is it isn’t all hands on. Yesterday I wasted three hours looking up two pieces of information I doubt anyone will even notice in the finished book...unless I get it wrong—then everyone notices.

That means I’m always looking for accurate sources. I’ve been fortunate to find experts who are willing to talk to me, and expect my off-the-wall questions. A while back I called my local FBI office to clear up a question I had on jurisdictional land issues. In western South Dakota, we have a jigsaw puzzle of land management divisions. There’s the National Forest and National Grasslands (under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior), Indian Reservations (governed by the individual tribal councils as sovereign nations) and that doesn’t take into consideration the dividing lines that separate the city from the county and in some cases, from what falls into the state’s jurisdiction—all within a mile or two of each other.

It’s probably no surprise the FBI agent balked at my question: “If I want to dump a body outside of town...which law enforcement agency has authority?” She informed me she had to speak with her supervisor and call me back. I’m pretty sure she ran a check on me in the hour I waited. Since that incident, I’ve learned to clarify up front that I’m a writer working on research.

I'm near the end of my latest contracted book where I have to go back and plug in research. This will probably make research lovers shudder, but I leave all but the most pertinent/plot relevant facts swimming in the sea of, “Yeah, that'll probably work” until I'm completely done with the first rough draft. Why? Chalk it up to yet another hard lesson I had to learn about my own writing style. So much changes from draft to draft that I frequently end up ripping out entire sections of the manuscript. I’m not a pleasant person if I’ve spent hours or sometimes days on specific research that I don’t use because it doesn’t fit the revised story line.

There’s a reason why my mysteries don’t detail a race against the clock to clear civilians out of the building before a terrorist blows it up with a new type of chemical warfare, or explain the technology used to crack DNA codes for tracking down serial killers, or rely on the social and political mores of a specific historical time period to validate the plot. The idea of researching those ideas…really frightens me.

Do you notice an author’s research when you’re reading their book? Or do you only notice it if you know firsthand that it’s wrong?

TOP PRODUCER by Norb Vonnegut (Minotaur Books)

Nothing beats the pace of Wall Street—the adrenaline rush—the unbelievable highs or the depths of the lows—not even murder? Grover O’Rourke is a top producer of wealth at the firm of Sachs, Kidder & Carnegie or SKC as it is known on the street. Grove works for the division that manages client’s money. He was flying high until 18 months ago when his wife and daughter were killed in a horrific automobile accident. The driver of an 18 wheeler fell asleep at the wheel and crushed their car.

Now Grover is attending his second funeral in 18 months. His best friend, mentor and head of the Kelemen Group, Charlie Kelemen, has been murdered. Charlie was throwing a birthday bash for his wife, Sam, at the Boston Aquarium for a small gathering of 500. When Grove and some of Charlie’s friends go looking for him, they find him weighed down in the shark tank. Before anyone can do anything, Charlie is killed and mangled by the sharks. It isn’t too long after the funeral that Sam comes to Grover and asks for his help. She has no money—all of Charlie’s assets are either well hidden or missing.

And so starts Norb Vonnegut’s initial novel. Yes, Vonnegut is Kurt Vonnegut’s nephew, but this book squarely stands on its own. Please do not let the vernacular of Wall Street throw you a curve. Knowing a little of the arcane language of Wall Street helps but isn’t essential to enjoying a good murder mystery. You do not have to know exactly what derivatives are or puts and calls or hedge funds or junk bonds to enjoy this first endeavor by Norb Vonnegut.

--Stephen Bank works at the Cary Public Library


FTC full disclosure - book provided by the publisher

DEAD AIR by Mary Kennedy (Signet)

Carolyn Hart sent me an email about this one.

I'd like to recommend Dead Air, first in a new mystery series. Mary Kennedy's marvelous debut mystery is sure to dispel January gloom.

Readers will delight in talk radio psychologist Maggie Walsh, the fetching protagonist created by real-life psychologist Mary Kennedy. Imagine Frasier meeting Murder She Wrote with a dash of Dr. Phil.

I believe Dead Air launches a fabulous new series.

A new writer can't get better praise! (I enjoyed the book, too, but I know folks pay 'way more attention to Carolyn than to me!)

Guest Blogger Toni L.P. Kelner

Please join me in welcoming today's guest blogger, Toni L. P. Kelner. I met Toni at my very first mystery contest, way back in…well, who cares what year it was. Toni hails from North Carolina, but like the protagonist in her first series, Laura Fleming, she moved to the Boston area where she still lives. Toni has a long backlist of great mysteries in that series; numerous short stories; two anthologies, edited with Charlaine Harris; and a new "where are they now?" series featuring Tilda Harper. In her blog today, we learn that Toni has a thing for old TV Westerns.




Cowboy Up!
by Toni L. P. Kelner

The Golden Age of Cowboys was a glorious time.  No, I'm not talking about the real Old West, back in the 1800s. I'm talking about the 1950s and 60s, when you could hardly turn on the television set without seeing a ten-gallon hat, a horse, and a tumbleweed a-tumbling. All told, there well over a hundred different TV Westerns aired. If you'd taken all those TV cowboys and laid them end to end, you'd have...  Well, you'd have a whole passel of cowboys laid hat to boot.  

Now those TV Westerns were not strictly accurate depictions of frontier life. But then again, they weren't meant to be. Real-life cowboys were people—TV cowboys were heroes. Cowboys and the Wild West were idealized almost before the era ended, with all the mostly fictional accounts of the exploits of Wyatt Earp and others being published, Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show touring the world, and "real" cowboys displaying their talents at dime museums. Some of the earliest movies were Westerns, so it's no surprise that they rode onto the television screen at the first opportunity.

And there was such variety! There were Westerns aimed at kids (Hopalong Cassidy and The Roy Rogers Show), adults (Gunsmoke), and families (Bonanza). There were lawmen in Tales of the Texas Rangers and Steve Donovan, Western Marshal, ranchers in The Big Valley, gamblers in Maverick, a reporter in Man Without a Gun, a doctor in Frontier Doctor, and even a frontier circus in (naturally) Frontier Circus.  

So what do TV cowboys have to do with mysteries, particularly my latest "Where are they now?" novel, Who Killed the Pinup Queen?

The fact is that there are actually two threads running through this book, despite the title. One is the story of the murdered pinup queen, but the  other is about TV cowboys. TIlda Harper, my protagonist, is a freelance entertainment reporter. Her current assignment is to track down former guest stars from the fictional Western Cowtown, and she has to wrangle those interviews at the same time that she's trying to find out who killed the pinup queen. Not surprisingly, the stories intersect.

You might think that these two trails go in opposite directions, but cowboys and pinup queens make for a wonderful juxtaposition. For one, both are American idealizations. Pinups are hyper-feminine, whether they're portraying the girl next door or the bad girl you wish were next door. Cowboys are hyper-masculine—strong, rough and ready, independent— yet kind to women, small children, and animals. For another, both pinups and cowboys are the stuff of illusion. Pinup queens are airbrushed and made up and posed and anything but real, while authentic cowboys probably didn't bathe nearly as much as their TV counterparts.  And nothing makes a mystery writer happier than having illusions to play with.  

Then there's the fact that Tilda specializes in "where are they now?" stories about the formerly famous, which is frequently stars from old TV shows. And as I mentioned before, there were lots and lots of TV Westerns. I could create a fictional one and slip it into the herd without raising even a tiny cloud of dust.  

There's also the fun of having cowboys in Boston, which is not really known for them. Boston isn't exactly known for Hollywood types either. So my characters Tucker and Hoyt Ambrose, known as the Cowboy Kings because they produced a posse of TV Westerns, stand out from the herd two times over.

But here's the real reason I wrote about TV cowboys: I like them. I like famous Westerns like Gunsmoke and The Big Valley, funny shows like Maverick and The Wild,Wild West, and obscure ones like The Quest and The Guns of Will Sonnett. I like knowing pretty quickly who's the good guy and who's the bad, I like the good guys winning, I like the kindness to women and small children and animals, and I absolutely love cowboy hats and shirts. I even enjoy how Westerns sound: horses nickering and galloping, all that stuff on the saddle rustling and rattling, those fake desert animal noises. Even the gun shots sound less threatening than in the average cop show. That's why I created the Cowboy Kings and the show Cowtown.

You see, my character Tilda only has to live with a story for a month or two, but when I set out to write a book, I know I'm going to have to live with that topic for upwards of a year. That means it better be something I enjoy. Like TV Westerns. And I had a wonderful time researching the genre, and then setting up plots and characters for my fictional show. And just as the Lone Ranger and other TV cowboys had creeds, oaths, and prayers, I came up with The Cowtown Code, the rules by which the inhabitants of Cowtown live.  

Now I don't think you have to like TV Westerns to enjoy Who Killed the Pinup Queen? Most of the book involves the mystery, not the background, and of course, there are those pinup queens if that's more to your taste. But if you do like 'em, then saddle up and ride along. We can talk about our favorite Westerns while we go—I bet you have a favorite TV cowboy, don't you?  

Guest Blogger Laura Childs

As we're smack in the middle of the holiday season, which I hope everyone is enjoying, let's stop and give a warm welcome to today's guest blogger. Laura Childs is one of the hardest working authors in the mystery genre, with three New York Times and USA Today best-selling traditional series: teashop, scrapbook, and Cackleberry Club. I was delighted that Laura agreed to guest blog—and absolutely dumbfounded when she sent her copy in early!

Please join me in welcoming Laura Childs!

A funny thing happened a couple weeks ago when Eggs Benedict Arnold, my new Cackleberry Club Mystery, was released. I decided to do a promotion.

Because Eggs Benedict Arnold is a fun cozy mystery about three forty-plus women who run The Cackleberry Club, a café that specializes in egg dishes, I immediately thought of chickens. Wouldn’t it be great, I wondered, if I could run a flock of chickens right down the Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis?

Then I thought – hold everything – I could get arrested! Me and the poor chicks could end up cooling our heels (if chickens even have heels) in jail.

That led to a far saner and safer idea. I decided to donate one chick for every copy of Eggs Benedict Arnold sold during the two weeks of my book launch. I immediately contacted Once Upon a Crime mystery book store and they hopped on board.

So it worked just like this: For each book copy sold, I donated a baby chick through Heifer International, a non-profit organization that delivers farm animals to poor families across the globe. Just think about it. A small flock of chickens to a family in Nicaragua or Tanzania guarantees a protein-rich food source, as well as income from selling eggs and chicks. Pretty cool, huh?

At Heifer International’s website you can read about their other projects, too. Like providing a pair of goats to a poor family so they can start up a small herd. Or sending sheep to a group of women so they can launch a knitting business and turn it into a cottage industry that employs more women. It’s amazing how just a small donation can purchase these farm animals and send them around the globe to families and villages in need. What a great concept – a hand up instead of a hand out.

So, did I enjoy a traditional book signing with cookies and tea and holiday cheer? Absolutely. But it was also a joint celebration with caring, wonderful book lovers (like you!) who acknowledged a need and helped someone less fortunate during the holiday season.

What a bunch of wonderful readers. What a lucky author I am!

Happy New Year all, and have a great 2010!

Laura Childs

WHO KILLED THE PINUP QUEEN? by Toni L. P. Kelner (Berkley)

The second book in the "Where Are They Now?" series is first class! Freelance journalist Tilda Harper is researching two articles—one about former pinup models, the other about an old Western TV show. She soon learns that the pinup models were (like today's wait staff) looking for their break as actors and that some of them will go to any lengths to hide their tawdry past. Can murder possibly hide their secrets? Not with Tilda on the case!

PINUP QUEEN is not only a solid mystery, but an interesting look at old-time television and pop culture. Two thumbs up!

FTC full disclosure - book provided by the publisher

Guest Blogger Cathy Pickens

Today's guest blogger is Cathy Pickens, author of the delightful Southern Fried mystery series. Cathy lives in Charlotte, North Carolina now, but she sets her books in nearby South Carolina. A Southerner born and bred, Cathy's characters are true to her heritage—down to earth, salt of the earth, and just a little bit wacky.

Please join me in welcoming Cathy Pickens!




Christmas Reading Then and Now
by Cathy Pickens

Our old family photos include one of me, age 8, sitting beside the Christmas tree, wrapping paper and gifts scattered about, my bangs flopped over my eyes, my shoulders hunched over as I read the brand-new Trixie
Belden book in my lap.

Ah, those were the days, when most of any holiday break from school could be spent reading. Even now, picking out just the right book (or books, if I’m lucky to have the time) to enjoy for the holidays is a consuming task
for me.

This year was unusually easy. As soon as Molly’s review of the Brixton Brothers and the Case of the Mistaken Identity appeared on this blog, I rushed to the bookstore down the street for a copy. Hilarious! The good-natured spoof on the Hardy Boys Detective Handbook was only part of the story, but laugh-out-loud funny. And it reminded me how I’d wished
Nancy Drew had a detective handbook instead of a cookbook. But I digress.

If you have younger readers in your circle, give the Brixton Brothers a try. Even if you don’t have any kids who can provide a disguise for why you’re reading the book, get it anyway.

I also shared my latest favorite book with one of my sisters: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Oh, my, what took Alan Bradley so long to “discover” and write about Flavia? Any grown-up Nancy Drew lover will recognize her darkly humorous twin in 11-year-old Flavia. I can’t wait for
the next installment, if the voice is even half as fresh.

Then I moved to less humorous fare. I’d gone to a local bookstore to sign stock for the new paperback edition of the latest in my Southern Fried mystery series: Can’t Never Tell.

Everyone has been raving about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, so as a treat, I finally picked up a copy. By page 40, I was hooked. It was particularly comforting, as I read of 30 below zero weather in Sweden, to cuddle in a blanket in front of the fire.

For a holiday motif, I’ll have to re-read the opening scenes of Charlotte MacLeod’s Rest You Merry. Her professor-sleuth Peter Shandy and the holiday shenanigans designed to drive uptight neighbors nuts is one of my favorite mystery openings.

So what have you picked out for your holiday treat/reading? Or for gifts? Do tell us!

And I hope you are having a wonderful, joyous season full of plenty to
make the holiday bright. Happy reading!

GUEST Blogger Linda O. Johnston

Today's guest blogger is Linda O. Johnston. I think I opened her first book because of the cover. It featured a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that reminded me of my own dog, the late, great Lollipop. I've spent a lot of time with Linda and her protagonist Kendra Ballentine since then. Linda's a busy lady, as you'll see just from reading her blog today. Please join me in welcoming Linda.

What's Mysterious about the Holiday Season?
I’m delighted to be a guest blogger here at Meritorious Mysteries. This is a fun time to come up with a topic--right in the middle of the holiday season. So, I’ll discuss me, and some of my thoughts about the holidays, and presents, and more.

I write pet related mysteries--the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries, and I’m also working on a spinoff series about Lauren Vancouver, a pet rescuer. Personally, I'm owned by two dogs --adorable Cavalier King Charles Spaniels named Lexie and Mystie. (Coincidentally, Kendra also has a Cavalier. Hers is named, again coincidentally, Lexie.)

In addition, I write paranormal romances for Silhouette Nocturne, including a mini-series about Alpha Force, a secret military unit of shapeshifters.

As a result of my pet proclivities, I wonder a lot about what animals are thinking. What, for example, will my Lexie and Mystie think this year as our relatives arrive in waves to celebrate the holidays? My delightful mother-in-law, brother-in-law and sister-in-law will be traveling to be with us this week, as will our younger son who lives in San Diego. My nephew and his girlfriend, who live in L.A., will join in our festivities. Then, next week, our older son and his wife will visit us from Chicago. Since we’re empty nesters, it’s usually just my husband and me around to be servants to the dogs. What will be on the dogs’ minds with lots of other people around? More treats? More play time? More people to boss around?

And you? Do you have pets? How do they react to the holiday season and any extra folks you have visiting, for parties or family get-togethers or whatever? Is there anything mysterious about their reactions?

Then there are the other thoughts that might only come to authors this time of year, sort of like the beginning of the TV show Castle, where the protagonist points out that that there are only two kinds of folks who think about how to kill people--psychopaths and mystery writers.

I wonder at times, as I stand in the checkout line at Bed, Bath and Beyond, why that guy two people ahead of me is really buying that set of sharp knives. Or whether that rolling pin in the hands of the woman behind me will be used solely for baking projects, or also for battering... Okay, enough of that.

Better yet, I wonder how many people give books as presents. I seem to give a lot, and not just my own books. I’ve purchased books for nearly everyone in the family, based on their interests.

Do you buy books as presents for your family? If so, have you considered buying some of my Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries... just kidding. Sort of. But if you’re not buying Kendra books, or perhaps the Nocturne anthology Awakening the Beast, which contains a short story featuring Alpha Force, “Claws of the Lynx”--also available online as a Nocturne Bites--what books are you buying, and for whom?

I don’t want to be too specific in case my family members are reading this post, but I’ve already gotten them some biographies and books containing information on a number of topics... as well as a couple of research books I’m wrapping for my husband to give to me!

Please come visit me at my website: www.LindaOJohnston.com Also, I blog each Thursday, mostly about pets, at Killer Hobbies. My fellow bloggers there write hobby-related cozy mysteries. I’m happy to be among them, even though pets aren’t hobbies; they’re family.

Thanks for reading me here at Meritorious Mysteries! I’d love to learn your answers to the questions I’ve posted above, so please comment below.

NEW TRICKS by David Rosenfelt (Grand Central)

There are some authors whose books go immediately to my to be read (TBR) pile. David Rosenfelt is one. Not only does he write great legal thrillers, his protagonist, Andy Carpenter, has a great golden retriever, Tara.

In this outing Andy, who inherited millions, is called by the court for a pro bono assignment: He's to determine who will inherit Waggy, a Bernese Mountain dog pup. When Andy goes to take possession of Waggy, he witnesses a horrific crime. Very soon, Andy has a human client who's facing murder charges. While working the case Andy is delighted to have the love of his life, Laurie Collins, visit from Wisconsin. After Laurie is shot and wounded while playing with Waggy and Tara, Andy realizes that his case might be much more complicated than he suspected.

As always, the legal aspects are clever, the plot is twisted, and the dogs steal the show!

FTC full disclosure - provided by the publisher

BUNDLE OF TROUBLE by Diana Orgain (Berkley)

In only six weeks Kate Connolly goes from bed-rest pregnancy to the beginnings of a new private investigation career—and all because of her husband's n'er do well brother. Before Kate and her husband Jim leave for the hospital, Jim gets a call from the San Francisco coronor's office asking about George. George's bags have been found on a dock where a body has just been fished from the bay.

Almost as soon as Kate and Jim bring baby Laurie home from the hospital, things begin drawing Kate into finding out more about the dead man. A chance meeting with an old friend when Kate goes to the corronor's office to pick up George's bags leads her further into the crimes. Break-ins, questions from a private invesigator, and more questions about George intensify her worries about going back to work when her maternity leave is over.

Orgain divides the chapters into sections following Laurie's birth. Kate's frustrations with breast-feeding, lack of sleep, and weight retention offer chuckles and realistic challenges of new motherhood.

I look forward to Kate's further adventures—and challenges.

In accordance with FTC full disclosure, this book was provided by the publisher.

THE NIGHT MONSTER by James Swain (Ballentine)

It's been a long time since I stayed up past my bedtime reading a thriller, but I did it last night.

Jack Carpenter is no longer a police detective, but he's still doing the same job: tracing and rescuing missing persons. For nearly 20 years he's been haunted by an abduction he witnessed but couldn't stop, that of a young college coed by a monster of a man.

When Jack investigates a man who is filming his daughter Jessie's Florida State basketball team, the man and his partner attack him. Jack realizes the partner is the abductor he's been seeking for years. When Jackie's teammate is taken from her hotel room, he's sure of it.

Jack's search for the missing Sara is complicated, treacherous, and long. The story unfolds as in a newspaper account, not like a movie. Jack Carpenter's commitment to his job makes the journey realistic and worthwhile.

If you've not read this great thriller writer, you owe it to yourself to put him at the top of your TBR pile!

In accordance with FTC full disclosure, this book was provided by the publisher.

Guest Blogger Katherine Hall Page

Today's guest blogger, Katherine Hall Page, is a three-time Agatha Award winner. The Body in the Sleigh is the 18th book in the Faith Fairchild series. Please join me in welcoming Katherine to Meritorious Mysteries.


I’ve just had the pleasure of doing three events here in the Boston area with the incomparable Carolyn Hart. Both of our latest books, The Body in the Sleigh and Merry, Merry Ghost are Christmas mysteries from Wm. Morrow. They went on sale the same day in late October with terrific l’heure bleue covers by James L. Iacobelli. Life sometimes offers these pleasurable coincidences. The two books complement each other and in many ways Carolyn and I do too. She’s a treasured friend, and I’m also a long-time fan—especially of this new series. Bailey Ruth Raeburn is my kind of ghost and takes me back to Noel Coward’s play, "Blithe Spirit" and Thorne Smith’s book, Topper, as well as the movie and TV series.

Anyway, Carolyn and I had great fun and each event had its own distinct personality. The questions were different—at one we were asked if we had ever written a mystery without a corpse! I learned all sorts of new things about Carolyn (she’s a huge baseball fan, an avid tennis player and has a fascinating family background that includes a true South Carolina gentlewoman). The one constant at each event was our descriptions of the message we convey in these two books—order will be restored at the end, triumphing over chaos. Light conquers darkness, especially during the times we need it most.




More than a year ago, there must have been something in the air currents that travel back and forth between Oklahoma and Massachusetts. Neither of us knew the other was writing a Christmas mystery; nor that the plot would center on an abandoned child—a child who ultimately finds a safe haven. The first line of my book is: “The Christmas Eve sky was filled with stars the night Mary Bethany found a baby in her barn.” And off we go to follow this Mary’s journey, with Faith Fairchild at her side, along with another odyssey involving two young people on the Maine island where the story is set. Santa arrives on a lobster boat and there’s plenty of Christmas cheer, but as Harlan Coben said about the book, “ Not only is The Body in the Sleigh a gripping whodunit but it’s a classic tale of hope.” (Harlan and I hail from the same town in New Jersey-yay!)

I’ve dedicated the book to librarians and include the names of some who have been very important to me in my life. I’ve also included an Author’s Note at the end about libraries and librarians. It’s an appreciation long overdue. The access to information we have and the role librarians play in our communities is unequalled anywhere in the world.

And now to Christmas. The following is a sample of some of my favorite Christmas mysteries from the past (roughly 1933-1998) and I would love to hear from you about yours, old and/or new ones! My best wishes to all for the holidays and many thanks to Molly for her wonderful blog.

“The Necklace of Pearls” by Dorothy L. Sayers was published in Great Britain by Gollancz in 1933 in the collection, Hangman’s Holiday, which included three additional Lord Peter Wimsey stories, six featuring Montague Egg, and two others. In this tale, Lord Peter is unmarried and has been invited to spend Christmas at Sir Septimus Shale’s country house in Essex “in a touching spirit of unreasonable hope, on Margharita’s [Shale’s daughter] account.” Sir Septimus indulges his wife’s moderne tastes throughout the year, but puts his foot down at Christmas insisting on crackers, plum puddings, and games in the drawing room beneath the holly and mistletoe. It has been Sir Septimus’s custom to present Margharita with a priceless pearl on her Christmas Eve birthday each year and she now has twenty-one, enough to gleam “softly” on her “slender throat.” She takes the necklace off during a game of Dumb Crambo (a rhyme must be acted out silently, similar to charades) and it disappears. The denouement is a marvelous example of “Hidden in Plain Sight,” and provides Sayers with the opportunity to show off both Lord Peter’s ingenuity and theatricality. He arranges for the guests to tear down the Christmas greens and toss them in the fire—even the mistletoe, much to the horror of the culprit, a “man about town” who “speculated,” But the pearls with which he perhaps hoped to recoup some Madoff-type losses had, of course, been removed by Sayers’ sleuth. One straight pin had been enough to tip Lord Peter off that the waxy white flora had been joined by some less perishable cousins.

For Hercule Poirot the notion of an old-fashioned Christmas at Kings Lacey is a chilly one and he is only persuaded to retrieve a priceless ruby lost by “a young potentate-to-be” who was sowing some Western style wild oats by the assurance that the manor house has adequate central heating. “The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding” (changed to the unfortunate “Theft of the Royal Ruby” in the US) is the title story in the 1960 Crime Club edition, published only in the UK, also containing: “The Mystery of the Spanish Chest”, “The Underdog”, and “Four-and Twenty Blackbirds.” It is the sole collection in which both Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple appear; these stories were published in other editions in the US. In an exuberant forward, Agatha Christie declares “This book of Christmas fare may be described as ‘The Chef’s Selection.’ I am the Chef!”

It was a Christie for Christmas and “The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding” is dedicated to Christmas Past, the celebrations of her youth spent at Abney Hall in the north of England, when “Christmas fare was of gargantuan proportions.” Oyster Soup, Turbot, Roast Turkey, Boiled Turkey, Sirloin of Beef, Plum Pudding, Mince-Pies, Trifle, and chocolates. “We never felt, nor were, sick! How lovely to be eleven years old and greedy!” In this homage, the proof is indeed in the pudding and there are some fun twists and turns for the reader. Hercule Poirot is, of course, never in doubt.

In Dancing With Death by Joan Coggin, Lady Lupin Hastings’ friend Duds Lethbridge is filled with nostalgia for the pre-war Christmases of her childhood as well and determines to do her best to replicate them with a Christmas week house party at Old Place, a modest manor house in Buckinghamshire. Unfortunately, it turns out to be the house party from Hell, especially after the hard-to-obtain liquor runs out and yes, there’s a body too. Duds summons her old friend, Loops, for help.

Dancing with Death was published in 1947, or 1949 according to some sources, by Hurst & Blackett and happily reissued, with the previous three Lady Lupin mysteries, by Rue Morgue Press in 2003. A review of the time aptly describes Coggin: “Here is a detective storyteller with a welcome sense of the ludicrous, or perhaps a humorous writer with a detective flair.” (The Field)

The quartet of mysteries, are apparently the only ones Coggin wrote; the first is Who Killed the Curate (1944); followed by The Mystery of Orchard House (1946); Why Did She Die? (1947), US title: Penelope Passes; and Dancing With Death. The books are addictive—an effervescent cocktail equal parts Nancy Mitford, E.M. Delafield, Gracie Allen, and Carole Lombard with a dash of Faith Fairchild (Lupin is a highly unlikely clerical spouse like Faith).
With strict rationing still in effect, there’s plenty of holly and ivy, but the Christmas pudding is concocted from dried eggs and beer. Hot water is in short supply. The guests, whom Duds has not seen since before the war, are a quarrelsome bunch and she’s regretting her Yuletide impulse, almost upon their arrival. The plot involves an inheritance, blackmail, and disappointed love, concluding with a car chase straight out of "Bullitt."

Ngaio Marsh has one of the best Christmas titles—Tied Up in Tinsel (1972)—and best Yuletide opening lines—“On the 25th of December at 7:30 A.M. Mr. Septimus Tonks was found dead beside his wireless set.” (“Death on the Air”-1947).

In the novel, Tied Up in Tinsel, detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn’s artist wife Troy is painting a portrait of Hilary Bill-Tasman, owner of Halberds Manor. With her husband out of the country and unlikely to return home in time for Christmas, Troy accepts Hilary’s invitation to stay on at Halberds for the holiday, joining a small house party that includes his fiancée, Cressida. Halbers is being exquisitely restored and filled with tasteful and precious objets d’arte. Breathtakingly beautiful, Cressida will be the jewel in the crown. Halberds is also filled with another sort of collection—murderers. Single-job men. They are Hilary’s solution to the servant problem since Halberds is so isolated that more conventional help has been impossible to find. What ensues is a marvelously funny satire with Gothic, Victorian, and even Druidical overtones. It really should have been filmed with Alec Guinness, Terry Thomas, and especially Alastair Sim. Alleyn returns early to find himself in the unusual position of interviewing his own wife in a homicide investigation. And despite an earlier mortal impulse, this time the butler did not do it.

British mystery writers do such ingenious things with wirelesses. One is reminded of Busman’s Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers. Marsh’s short story “Death on the Air” is satisfying not only because of its intricate locked room plot, but also for her choice of victim—a truly horrible, despot who is crushing the life from his family and employees, especially his secretary Richard Hislop. The corpse could well have been tied up in tinsel and placed beneath the tree to the delight of all. Even the murderer, the doctor who calls in his old friend Roderick Alleyn, discreet and “a gentleman” to spare the family, is portrayed sympathetically, confessing in a final note, “ I’m sorry, Alleyn. I think you knew, didn’t you? I’ve bungled the whole game, but if you will be a supersleuth…”

In 1982, Mysterious Press issued two wonderful volumes of Murder For Christmas, edited by Thomas Godfrey notable for the trove of short stories, but almost equally for the Gahan Wilson illustrations and covers—a very unsaintly Saint Nick wrenching a diamond ring from the finger of a screaming young woman, as a monkish looking man face down in the plum pudding with a carving knife in his back sits at Santa’s side. Rex Stout’s “Christmas Party” is in Volume II. It was originally published in Collier’s as “The Christmas Party Murder” in 1957 and published the following year by Viking in And Four to Go, with “Murder is No Joke” and two other holiday short stories, “Easter Parade” and “Fourth of July”. Thomas Godfrey’s introduction describes the setting as “that most barbaric of all holiday institutions, the office Christmas party.” He sums up the plot: “Wolfe stews, Archie engages, orchids bloom and a good time will be had by all.” “Engages” refers to Archie’s role as a sham suitor, but that role is usurped by Nero Wolfe dressed up as Santa Claus—needing no padding— the prime suspect so far as the police are concerned.

Valerie Wolzien has written a number of holiday mysteries, (All Hallows’ Eve (Ballantine, 1992), A Star-Spangled Murder ( Fawcett, 1993), Deck The Halls with Murder (Ballantine, 1998), but the two Susan Henshaw Christmas mysteries, We Wish You A Merry Murder (Fawcett, 1991) and ‘Tis The Season To Be Murdered (Fawcett, 1994) will strike a resounding chord with everyone who has ever tried to achieve the impossible: a stress-free, serene holiday. They are a tribute to individuals trying to squeeze in shopping for the perfect gift with cookie exchanges, reproducing Chartres in gingerbread, and mediating between warring relatives, all of whom seem to be staying at one’s house somehow. When the UPS man delivers an additional parcel that he’s found propped up outside the door, it’s a relief for Susan to have something as relatively straightforward as a corpse with which to deal.

The last work, Jane Langton’s The Shortest Day Murder at the Revels draws upon a large cast, literally. Since 1971, the Christmas Revels, a festival of dance and drama that draws on ancient rituals from all over the world to drive the dark away, has been performed at Sanders Theatre in Harvard’s Memorial Hall. It is not Professor Homer Kelly’s thing at all he tells his enthusiastic wife, Mary—“Oh God…Morris dancers. All this folksy stuff, Ph.D.s and computer scientists pretending to be peasants.” Despite his initial skepticism, he becomes captivated by “this fanciful Cambridge version of the Middle Ages. It was nice, it was the Très Riches Heures come to life, enhanced by the mystic Victorian woodwork of Memorial Hall…"

First one death, then another. Homer had dons a mask as part of the performance, which puts him on the spot to unmask the killer. Langton’s lovely poem-and-ink drawings illustrate her own très riches heures, filled with Christmas lore and plenty of wassail.

At every performance of the Christmas Revels, the Master of the Revels sings “The Lord of the Dance” as first the actors, then the audience rise, join hands, filling the aisles and streaming out into the Hall’s corridors:

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be
And I’ll lead you all in the Dance, said he.

Similarly, all of these writers have led us in a Christmas romp, a merry dance of cheer and fear. What could be better?