Guest Blogger - Elizabeth Craig

Protagonist IQ

I came across an interesting article recently on The LA Times blog, that gives White Oleander author Janet Fitchs’ ten rules for writers.  And, don’t worry, it’s not as pushy as some rules articles go (I don’t think writers are great rule-followers to begin with.)

I thought number seven was interesting:

7. Smarten up your protagonist.

Your protagonist is your reader’s portal into the story. The more observant he or she can be, the more vivid will be the world you’re creating. They don’t have to be super-educated, they just have to be mentally active. Keep them looking, thinking, wondering, remembering.

My protagonists are always pretty smart—just because, as a reader, I get frustrated with characters who don’t have original ideas or can’t (or at least try) to think their way out of a bad situation. 

I’m never a fan of the female protagonist who knows there’s a weird sound coming from her basement…while there’s a serial killer who just happens to be on the loose…and goes right down into the basement at three a.m.
 
But I’m also not a fan of writers who come right out and tell me that the protagonist is smart. That’s one of those things I need to be shown, not told about.  I’m always very suspicious that they’re not as smart as they seem…and look for ways for them to mess up.

I thought Agatha Christie handled Hercule Poirot’s brilliance really well—he would always brag about his “little gray cells,” which would invite other characters to laugh at him a little (and maybe the readers would laugh at him, too)—then he’d solve the case with such genius and explain his deductions with such eloquence, that all faith was restored in the little man. 

I’ve noticed that smart characters share these characteristics

A sense of humor

Good vocabulary

The ability to learn from their mistakes


They usually make sound decisions (or at least not dumb ones) in some area of their life. Some characters have a lower emotional intelligence (they have failed relationships, etc.), but still make good decisions within other aspects of their life.

They’re actively engaged in problem-solving, even if their solutions don’t always work out.

People do have many different gifts. Finding out what specifically our character is good at and then showing them excelling at it is another way to showcase our character’s intelligence.

How smart are your characters? How do you demonstrate it? 

Readers, how smart do you like protagonists to be?



Elizabeth writes the Memphis Barbeque series for Penguin as Riley Adams. The latest is Delicious and Suspicious. She also writes the Myrtle Clover series for Midnight Ink (under her own name), and blogs daily at Mystery Writing Is Murder You can also find her at Mystery Lovers Kitchen. or at 
Twitter: @elizabethscraig

A SPIDER ON THE STAIRS by Cassandra Chan (Minotaur)

It always helps an amateur sleuth to have a connection with a policeman. Philip Bethancourt, a modern dillatante, and Jack Gibbons, a Scotland Yard detective, were classmates at Oxford. Still close friends, the two often collaborate on Jack's investigations. Phillip, who's spending a dreary Christmas at his family home in Yorkshire is delighted when Jack rings up to tell him that he's been assigned a case nearby. The murder of a young girl could be one of the infamous Ashdon serial killings, and Jack must investigate.

The two have plenty to keep them busy, especially when another murder intertwines with the first. Jack follows the tried and true police trail, while Phillip picks up clues from his family, friends, and the country set he's known all his life.

The two good friends work well together in sorting out a tangled web of crime.

FTC Disclosure - Book provided by publisher

Penguin Winners

Thanks to all of you who said happy birthday to Penguin by entering the contest. Most of you replied directly to me by email with addresses. Thanks for making things easy for me.

The winners are from Klamath Falls, Oregon and Athens, Georgia.

I hope to have another contest soon.

Happy reading—and stay cool!

A DEADLY ROW by Casey Mayes (Berkley Prime Crime)

Team up a numbers-whiz puzzle maker and a retired big-city police chief and what do you get? Zach Stone's police consulting business hasn't been as busy as he'd like. Forced into retirement by a bullet to the chest at only 42, he's not nearly as content in the mountain home as Savannah (former high school math teacher and current puzzle designer). A double murder in their former home, Charlotte NC, with clues that indicate the mayor of the city will be the next victim has police puzzled—and the new chief calls Zach back as a consultant with virtually unlimited resources and housing at the luxurious Belmont Hotel. When Zach looks at the police reports, he sees that the clues seem to point to Savannah's line of expertise and the two team up in crime fighting.

Although I'm definitely not a numbers person, I thoroughly enjoyed the process Savannah used in figuring whodunnit! I will watch eagerly for more in this this new "Murder by the Numbers" series!

FTC Disclosure - Book provided by the publisher

SCOOP TO KILL by Wendy Lyn Watson (Obsidian)

Normally, Tally Jones and her cousin Bree wouldn't be guests at the Honor's Day event at the prestigious Dickerson University, but Bree's daughter Alice is a whiz kid ending her freshman year at the local school. Alice's embarrassment at her mother's hot, but unsuitable attire is quickly put on the back burner when she discovers a bludgeoned body. The victim turns out to be a PhD student who's in the midst of suing Alice's favorite (but prickly) professor for sexual harassment. Totally against her will, Tally is drawn into helping the professor—who just happens to be 'way to friendly with one of Tally's ex-boyfriend. Did I say the victim was the nephew of the police detective who is Tally's long-time friend? Town-Gown conflicts are not the least of the trouble in Dalliance TX and Tally still has to find time to keep her old-fashioned ice cream parlor, A-la-mode, running.

PEPPERONI PIZZA CAN BE MURDER by Chris Cavender (Kensington Books)

At almost every mystery convention at least one author will reinforce the adage, "You have to suspend disbelief when reading crime fiction: Amateur sleuths and private detectives don't solve murders."

Obviously pizzeria owner Eleanor Swift never went to one of these conferences! Shortly after being held up at gunpoint, after closing A Slice of Delight one evening, part-time waiter and delivery boy is accused of murdering the man whose body is found in the pizzeria's kitchen. Knowing that Greg couldn't have committed the crime, Eleanor and her sister Maddy are determined to find the killer. Unlike the police chief of Timber Ridge NC they don't pin their sights on anyone—they look for motive and opportunity among all their suspects.

Traditional mystery lovers will enjoy spending time with Eleanor and Maddy in the foothills of North Carolina.

FTC Disclosure - This book was provided by the publisher.

Mysteries on September 2010 Indie Next List

Three great mystery authors' novels are on the September 2010 Indie Next List. and they just happen to be three of my favorite writers: Laura Lippman, Charles Todd, and William Kent Kruger. I haven't read any of these books yet, but you can bet I won't be saying that long. Excuse me, I'm off to the bookstore now!

Guest Blogger - Bill Crider

Murder in the Air

Thanks to Molly Weston for inviting me here to Meritorious Mysteries. Can it really have been in 1986 that the first Sheriff Dan Rhodes book was published? How can 24 years go by so fast? Murder in the Air is the eighteenth book in the series about Blacklin County’s sheriff, which comes as a surprise to me. Maybe to others, too. After all, when they’re writing that first book, how many authors really think they’ll still be writing about the same characters nearly 25 years later? Authors with a lot more self-confidence than I have, that’s for sure.

The passage of all that time, which doesn’t actually seem that long to me, reminds me of a couple of questions I’ve been asked once or twice and that I’ve thought about more often than that.

Here’s one. Why hasn’t Sheriff Dan Rhodes aged much since 1986? One answer is that I haven’t aged much since then, either. Not that I like to talk about, that is. Somehow my hair’s gotten a lot thinner and grayer, but that could be some kind of vitamin deficiency, right? Sure it could. And I seem to have developed jowls. I don’t like ‘em, so why should I put the sheriff through it?

The fact is that some writers like to age their characters more or less in real time. Bill Pronzini’s done that with Nameless in his fine private-eye series. And some people like to put their characters through all kinds of terrible experiences. Ken Bruen’s treatment of Jack Taylor springs to mind. I love both those series, but to be honest it never occurred to me to age Sheriff Rhodes or to put him through hell. Some of the books I liked best when I first started reading mysteries many years ago were in Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe series. When I started reading that series in the early ‘60s, it had already been going for nearly 30 years. I read a lot of the books one after the other, and Wolfe and Archie didn’t change a bit that I could see. Wolfe always went to the orchid room and refused to leave the Brownstone. He always wore those yellow pyjamas. Archie and Lily went dancing but didn’t marry. Things continued that way right up to the end, and that was just fine with me. It was the same in other books I admired. Matt Helm never did learn to appreciate women in pants. Lew Archer never hooked up with anybody. Neither did the Continental Op. And so on.

I don’t mean to compare my books with any of those, except to say that I’m writing in a well-accepted tradition. Sheriff Rhodes has gotten a little bit older, and he’s married. There have been other little changes. And in fact, while he hasn’t changed, things around him have. The town of Clearview isn’t the same place it was when the series began. Rhodes and the characters have adjusted to those changes and to others, but they’re the same people. They always will be, I think, and I like it that way.

The other question is this: Do I get tired of writing about those same people after all this time? Not at all. I like the people, I like the town, and I have a lot of fun writing the books. While some things don’t change, every book is a new challenge, and every one has a new topic and a different theme. Sure, it’s nice not to have to invent an entirely new setting every time I start a new book, and it’s nice not to have to invent new characters, but I have to keep it fresh somehow for my own sake, not to mention for the readers. It’s not as easy as it might seem. Trust me.

Now, let’s go back to the time I wrote the first book in the series. I had no idea at the time that I’d still be writing about Blacklin County and the sheriff and his friends this many years down the line. For that matter, I never really dreamed I’d sell the first book, much less 18 more. Yes, you read that right. I’ve sold another one, book number 19 in the series. The Wild Hog Murders (that’s the current title, anyway) will be out in 2011. The question now is whether I’ll sell number 20. It’s up to you. Buy my books and keep me in business! As always I thank you for your support.

If you want to learn more about Bill, his books (he' got many outside this series!) and Blacklin County, visit his website. If you've got a question for Bill, please post it in the comments section below.

Survey Finds Mystery Readers Surprisingly Savvy

A recent survey commissioned by mystery writer Elaine Viets showed that 98 percent of mystery readers are “aware the authors receive no royalties when they purchased used books.”

The nationwide survey was conducted by Trigger Advertising Group.

Some 300 readers of Viets’s books responded. Viets writes two bestselling series: the Dead-End Job mysteries and the Josie Marcus Mystery Shopper novels. Both are published by Obsidian, a division of the Penguin Group.

Word of mouth is critical for these mystery readers. They rely on recommendations from “trustworthy friends, renowned authors or magazines.”

The survey also found that the majority of readers bought between 10 and 30 books per year. They bought books for leisure reading year round, but bought slightly more books during the summer.

Trigger Advertising is composed of recent graduates of the world-famous Journalism School at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

When asked where they usually get their novels, those surveyed had the options of chain bookstores, local/specialty bookstores, online (Amazon, eBay), libraries and borrowing from friends. The option most chosen was chain bookstores, with online purchases coming a close second. A hefty 39 percent go to local or specialty bookstores.

Blogs, e-lists and websites play a key role in providing information about the mystery author: 35% first heard about Elaine Viets on the Internet. The other respondents learned about her mysteries through bookstore and library displays, her former newspaper column and word of mouth.

Book buyers had firm opinions about e-books. They believe “e-book prices should be lower than printed versions.” They would “still buy the e-book at the same price as the print version if it was an author he or she already enjoys.”

Elaine Viets’ latest Dead-End Job hardcover, Half-Price Homicide, received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and praise from Marilyn Stasio in The New York Times. Her next Josie Marcus Mystery Shopper novel will be published November 2010.

For more about Elaine and her books, visit her website.

Happy Birthday, Penguin Books!

On Friday, July 30, Penguin books officially turned 75! They're doing all sorts of things to celebrate, including sending a bright-orange Penguin Mobile (an adorable mini-cooper with the Penguin logo) to bookstores all over the US to bring some of their bestselling authors to parties in their hometowns, increase awareness of The Nature Conservancy, and promote literacy. At each event, a set of 75 Penguin Books is donated to a local library or literacy group. Each author is signing the Penguin-mobile as it makes its way across the United States, and the summer’s events will culminate with a party at the New York Public Library in September where Penguin will auction the car with the proceeds going to the New York Public Library. Penguin is also donating sets of books to numerous U.S. military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.

What does this anniversary mean to you? Penguin has sent books to me to give to to two lucky readers of "Meritorious Mysteries." I've got Tana French's Edgar-winning In the Woods and the ever popular Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair. All you have to do to get your name in the pot is either send me an email at mysteryheel @ mac.com (with "contest" in the subject line) with your name and mailing address) or post a comment below (if you post anonymously, I won't be able to contact you). The contest will end on Friday, August 6. I'll post the winners' town and state sometime over the weekend.

More about Penguin
Penguin’s founder Allen Lane started the paperback revolution with that little flippant but dignified Penguin (his secretary came up with the name and he sent another colleague off to the zoo to make sketches). One year later, 3 million Penguin paperbacks had been sold. Today, the Penguin imprint alone has over 4000 books in print.

Penguin is hands down the publishing logo most recognized internationally—including the story of Terry Waite, the Anglican clergyman who was held hostage in Beirut. Six months into his captivity, Waite made friends with his jailer, and although they spoke different languages he managed to tell the jailer he wanted a book. He drew an oval, and he drew a penguin, and he said, “find me a book that looks like that, and it will be a good book.” That story says everything about what Penguin stands for around the world.

No Guest Blogger Today, but…

Our good friend Carolyn Hart sent me a link to a guest blog she's doing today at "Dear Reader." The column is called
"For Love of Cats." I'm sure if you love Carolyn or cats, you'll want to take a look!

HOW TO CRASH A KILLER BASH by Penny Warner (Obsidian)

Events planner Parker Presley is back in another well-intentioned party gone bad. In this outing she's planned a fund-raising event for the deYoung Museum in San Francisco hosted by philanthropist Mary Lee Miller. What could be more relevant for a murder mystery play than the exhibit halls featuring old weapons? Naturally, the setting is too relevant, and the play's victim is murdered for real before the play gets rolling. When Parker's best friend is arrested for murder, Parker must prove once again that the same skill set used for planning events can be used to solve crimes. The Killer Party series is delightful and is a good primer for anyone planning a trip to San Francisco. Enjoy your trip!

FTC Disclaimer - This book was provided by the publisher.

THROUGH THE CRACKS by Barbara Fister (Minotaur)

Former Chicago cop Anni Koskinen has turned her investigating skills to locating missing children and teens. Her newest client, however, wants a missing criminal found—the serial rapist who attacked her more than 20 years ago. She feels her wrongful identification put an innocent man in prison. Anni doesn't want to take the case, but her sense of justice overcomes her own wishes.

Through the Cracks is a hardboiled story with action and sadness. Fister gives readers an authentic look at the backstory of crime, justice, and ambition. She is a writer to watch!

FTC DIsclaimer - This book was provided by the publisher

Guest Blogger - Bill Crider

Texas writer Bill Crider will join us next Tuesday, August 3. His latest book is Murder in the Air, and it's just as great as all the others featuring Sheriff Dan Rhodes. I always enjoy a trip to Blacklin County, Texas.

Lipstick Chronicles Expands

Fifteen top-notch authors are joining forces to create a one-of-a-kind blog for book lovers -- and the roster of contributors includes bestselling award winners from across the mystery and women’s fiction genres. The bloggers -- several of whom are New York Times and USA Today bestsellers -- have won every award in the industry: The Edgar, Agatha, Macavity, Anthony, Barry, Dilys, the Canadian Arthur Ellis and the British Dagger.

The bloggers are blockbuster: Brunonia Barry, Diane Chamberlain, Heather Graham, Harley Jane Kozak, Margaret Maron, Nancy Martin, Me, Margie, Louise Penny, Nancy Pickard, Cornelia Read, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Sarah Strohmeyer, Kathy Reschini Sweeney, Elaine Viets and Jacqueline Winspear.

How did it happen? The renowned and successful Lipstick Chronicles -- which just celebrated five years as one of the industry's must-reads -- is now expanding to include different authors to appeal to a broad fiction audience.

Bestselling author Nancy Martin, one of the creators of The Lipstick Chronicles in 2006, says: "Our readers have bonded with the authors, booksellers and fellow fans to create a community of book lovers. Our regulars come every day to be entertained, to exchange ideas, to talk about writing and reading and anything else that’s important to them and to us. We're so excited to expand to include a real Who's Who of the genre."


Five of the original TLC members: Martin, Harley Jane Kozak, Elaine Viets, Sarah Strohmeyer. Kathy Sweeney, and the mysterious (and irreverent) Me, Margie will remain with the new group. Double Agatha-winner Hank Phillippi Ryan joined in 2009.

"Our goal is to help readers find great books," Martin says. "We do that by providing entertaining content every day, written by some of today’s most interesting, thoughtful (and often hilarious) authors. The addition of such bestselling talent will expand and strengthen our community and our reach. And we eagerly look forward to the new friends we’ll make."


For authors, readers and booksellers, The Lipstick Chronicle is part of the daily routine. One never knows what subject will come up – only that both the blog and the comments will be smart and entertaining. The Blog Community at TLC is an interactive bunch with no shortage of topical subjects and clever responses. There is something new every day, and with the addition of new authors and guest bloggers, there is something to talk about 24/7.

Check them out at their website .

Guest Blogger Meredith Cole

Making It Real and Making It Up

Settings in mystery novels can be divided into two neat categories—those that are written about a real place, and those that are set in a fictitious place. But the division is not as clear-cut as you might think. Some fictitious places are actually real places, only thinly disguised as an imaginary place (here I'm thinking of Ed McBain's "Isola" which is clearly Manhattan). And some real places become fictional places of their own. I doubt if I went to Italy I would really get to see Donna Leon’s Venice.


My books Posed for Murder and Dead in the Water are set in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It's an industrial neighborhood that's never been particularly well-off or beautiful. Williamsburg has been a home for immigrants for 150 years or so, and in the past 30 years it's been home to Hasidic Jews, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Sicilians, and the Polish. In the early 1990's, another group discovered the neighborhood. Attracted by the empty warehouses, cheap rent, and one stop on the subway to Manhattan, artists moved in. They were quickly followed by galleries (more than 37 at one point), music venues, bars, coffee shops and funky boutiques. My amateur sleuth, Lydia McKenzie, is a photographer who longs to hang her work in galleries and give up her day job as an administrative assistant to two private eyes.

But Williamsburg, like every true place, did not stay still or the same. In 2000, the housing boom hit. Landlords began jacking up rents, and building condo buildings on every empty lot. NYU built a dorm for their students. Williamsburg became a tourist destination, and even more restaurants squeezed into storefronts. Artists started moving farther into Brooklyn (or moved away), and the neighborhood continued to evolve.

After 10 years of living in Williamsburg, and setting my books there, I also made the decision to move away. My husband and I had moved there to make our art, but now the rent was no longer cheap. We also wanted to move closer to family. So I started to wonder how my move might affect my third book (tentatively called An Artful Death). When I got stuck on some detail in the first two books, I would go for a walk and observe all the fun and ridiculous sights in my neighborhood and then scribble them down.

But then I realized something important about my Williamsburg. Although the neighborhood in my books is a real place, it is also fictitious. The place in my book is recognizable to anyone who has been there, but it's really more about how the place was 10 years ago when I moved there rather than it is today. I make up the names of the businesses (to protect the innocent) and basically ignore all those condo buildings when it suits me. I also can return (which I did in May of this year) to walk the streets and see how much it has and has not changed. And I can also visit every time I write another book in my Lydia McKenzie series.



Meredith Cole started her career as a screenwriter and filmmaker. She was the winner of the St. Martin’s Press/Malice Domestic competition, and her book Posed for Murder, was published by St. Martin’s Minotaur in 2009. She was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Mystery Novel in 2010. Her second book, Dead in the Water, continues the adventures of photographer and amateur sleuth Lydia McKenzie in Brooklyn. She teaches mystery writing and screenwriting and lives in Virginia. You can visit further with Meredith at her website.

SUSPENSE MAGAZINE offers free issues

Warm up your e-reader! Suspense Magazine is offering four free electronic issues of "the inside source in fiction writing for suspense/thriller/mystery and horror." Look for interviews, bookstore highlights, true stories, contests, stories by favorite and new authors, and more. I've signed up for my free subscription. Why don't you? (Look for email instructions below the July cover.)

Free Mystery Writing Workshop

Sunday, August 8, 5:00
Malaprop's Bookstore
55 Haywood Street, Asheville NC
Editor and award-winning author Chris Roerden will discuss both her books, Don’t Sabotage Your Submission and Don’t Murder Your Mystery.

Chris is a great speaker and knows how to help budding mystery writers. This is a great opportunity!

BOOK OF SHADOWS by Alexandra Sokoloff (St. Martin’s Press)

Boston homicide detective Adam Garrett and his partner Carl Landauer are investigating the horrific death of a wealthy college girl. Her headless body with Santanic markings is found in the city dump. The evidence points to a fellow student, Jason Moncrief, who was either dating or stalking the girl. After the arrest of Jason, Tanith Cabarrus, a Salem Witch, approaches the detectives and insists that Jason is innocent and other people may die. Garrett becomes involved with the witch in more ways then one as he races to uncover the truth and prevent additional deaths.

Normally I do not read science fiction because I do not believe in vampires, witches, spells and demons, but this story sucked me right in! The author does an excellent job of convincing the reader to believe the impossible. There are a lot of twists and turns with the lives of both detectives at stake. I could not put this book down.

—Helen Jones

FTC Disclosure—This book was provided by the publisher

Summertime: The Reading is Easy!

The weather has been awful in North Carolina this summer—June broke all records for heat. Even staying inside with air conditioning doesn't seem to help. It's just too plain hot to do most anything—anything except read, that is. Somehow, I still want light reading when the temperature outside reaches (and gets higher than) the 90s. I've gone through several books that haven't strained my fried brain.

Wanna Get Lucky? by Deborah Coonts (Forge)
Lucky O'Toole is head of customer relations for the Babylon, the "newest, most opulent megacasino and resort on the Strip." When she catches a newscast showing a young woman falling from a helicopter into Treasure Island's lagoon, she immediately recognizes this isn't an accident: First, she recognizes the woman; secondly, the copter belongs to the Babylon. Sin City and its assorted wackos play important roles in this debut novel and Lucky just wants to ensure that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Wanna Get Lucky? is a fun, irreverent look at Vegas from an inside point of view.

Rolling Thunder by Chris Grabenstein (Pegasus Books)
Up on the Jersey Shore, the seedy resort town of Sea Haven is about to make the big time. Big Paddy's Rolling Thunder, the all-wooden roller coaster is about to open, filled with local dignitaries and a live broadcast by a DJ. Straight-as-an-arrow cop John Ceepak and his partner Danny Boyle (heir apparent to Archie Goodwin) have their hands full managing the crowd waiting for the second ride. Unfortunately, this wait will be longer than anticipated—a passenger in the front car suffers a heart attack and dies. As in all good mysteries, this is just the beginning of a series of death and other crimes. As always, Grabenstein softens mayhem with impeccable comic relief. I'll say it again: If I'm every in big trouble, I want John Ceepek on the case!


Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin's Press)
Cousin Vinnie has been kidnapped; the bond agency is about to go under; and it's up to Stephanie, Lula, and Connie to make things right. In what may well be the best since One for the Money, Sixteen delivers, plot, story, and belly laughs just right for summertime reading. There are some brand new bad guys, a Mr. Jiggles to overcome, and a whole series of bail violations to trace. Once again, I found myself waking my husband by laughing out loud well after he'd gone to sleep. If you haven't visited Trenton recently, now's the time to make a return.

Virtual Meeting with Tana French

Penguin Books invites readers to join the celebrated mystery author, Tana French, for a chat at the Penguin Water Cooler on Tuesday, July 20th at 1:30 PM ET, hosted here on the Penguin USA website!

With two novels (both New York Times bestsellers) under her belt, Tana French has certainly made a name for herself among American psychological mystery readers—not to mention readers who just enjoy a great story that’s beautifully told. Her first novel, In the Woods, won a slew of prestigious mystery prizes: the Edgar, Anthony, and Macavity, and the Barry awards for Best First Novel. As with In the Woods, critics took note of The Likeness, declaring that “The Likeness [is] a book even better than the first, which was very good indeed. . . . The suspense is gut-grinding, but it may hurt more to know who did it. That’s an awful dilemma—and a wonderful book.” (New York Daily News)

Now, she’s back, this time focusing on Frank Mackey, the hard-edged, straight-shooting and fearless boss whose insane, brilliant idea for Cassie to go undercover lent The Likeness its intriguing premise. FAITHFUL PLACE (Viking; strict on-sale: July 13, 2010; 432 pages; $25.95; 978-0-670-02187-1) takes Frank Mackey back to 1985, when he was nineteen, growing up poor in Dublin’s inner city, and in love with his neighbor on Faithful Place, Rosie Daly. Unlike so many members of the large, poor Catholic families that share their neighborhood, Frank and Rosie have bigger dreams. They hatch a plan to escape one night and depart for London, never to return to Faithful Place or the anguish of poverty and abuse of their families. Except Rosie doesn’t show up, and in her place Frank reads a letter that leads him to believe that she’s abandoned him instead. He leaves Faithful Place on his own, determined never to come home again.

Twenty-two years later, Frank, the grizzled head of his own police squad, gets a call from one of his sisters. She is frazzled and barely able to get the words out that a suitcase has been recovered behind a fireplace in the same abandoned house where Frank was supposed to meet Rosie so many years before. By the time Frank arrives at Faithful Place, the case has been identified as belonging to Rosie.

Frank is immediately sucked back into the dark tangle of relationships he left behind so long ago: alcoholism, wife-beating, the most profound emotional abuse imaginable. The cops working the case want Frank out of the way, and Frank finds himself caught between the woman he loved and the family he has spent his adult life denying.

Guest Blogger Susan Wittig Albert

Meet the Darling Dahlias

I love launching a new series (for the record, this is number four, after China Bayles, the Robin Paige Victorian/Edwardian series, and the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter ). I love the excitement of exploring new settings, creating a new character ensemble, and embarking on new and different research. And I take a special delight in introducing a new series to readers.





So—meet the Darling Dahlias!

The Dahlias are a garden club, named for their founder, Mrs. Dahlia Blackstone, who recently died and left them her house and gardens. Darling is a small town in southern Alabama. The year is 1930, the first year of a challenging decade, and the Depression is already beginning to take its toll. In the first book, The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree, the town is fretting about the health of the Savings and Trust, the sheriff is hunting an escapee from the local prison farm, and cosmetics clerk Bunny Scott has turned up dead in a stolen car. But never mind: the Dahlias are on the case, with probate clerk Verna Tidwell, legal secretary and newspaper reporter Liz Lacy, and Ophelia Snow, the mayor’s wife, handling the investigations—with other Dahlias lending eager assistance.

The thing I’ve loved most about writing this series is the opportunity to read and research and think about the 1930s, an era that had a profound influence on my parents and grandparents. I have tried to include as period detail in the books as I could--clothing, furniture, cars and trucks, slang, music, the arts, the political environment--all the things that made the 1930s so unique. And there’s the Southern detail, too: regional dialects, regional cookery, Southern plants and gardens, and the lingering effects of the War Between the States and (sadly) of slavery.

As an added bonus for readers, I’ll be sharing my resources both in the series’ books and on the Dahlias’ website—where you’ll also find a map to the town, a collection of good Southern recipes, and (as time goes on) bits of 1930s’ history.

And speaking of series books, I’m happy to tell you that the second book is already finished! It’s called The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies. It’s scheduled for publication in July 2011, with the third book (The Darling Dahlias and the Confederate Rose) planned for July 2012.

And just in case you’re wondering about my other work, here’s the scoop. The Tale of Oat Cake Crag, the seventh book in the eight-book Beatrix Potter’s Cottage Tales series, will be out in early September, 2010--at the same time that my newest nonfiction book, An Extraordinary Year of Ordinary Days, will appear. And China Bayles wants me to be sure and let you know that her series is continuing. The latest is Holly Blues ; the next, Mourning Gloria, #19, will be published in April, 2011.

Now it’s your turn! I’d love to hear from you and will be dropping in regularly over the next few days to respond to your questions and comments. As a special treat, we’ve set up a book drawing page where you can enter your name to win a signed copy of The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree. The drawing will close on Thursday, July 15 at noon, so click on over there now, before you forget!

Visit me at Meanderings and Muses

Stop by to visit with me on Monday as I'm the guest blogger on Kaye Barley's Meanderings and Muses. I'll be talking about my love affair with gadgets.

On Tuesday, Susan Wittig Albert will guest blog here on Meritorious Mysteries. Please join us!

THE DARLING DAHLIAS AND THE CUCUMBER TREE by Susan Wittig Albert (Berkley)

For years, I've enjoyed the Southern novels by Fannie Flagg and Lee Smith. Now, Susan Wittig Albert has drawn on her own Southern heritage and given readers the beginning of a new series that will delight fans of both authors. People around Darling, Alabama aren't seeing too much difference in their daily lives in the midst of the Depression—few of the folks have ever been wealthy, and they've always had to "make do."

When the members Darling Garden Club inherit a house from their founder, Dahlia Blackstone, they change the name of the club to "The Darling Dahlias." Naturally, there's controversy from the Blackstone family about the bequest; the resident Confederate ghost is sighted on several occasions; there's trouble at the local bank; people begin whispering about the mayor's visits to a cousin's young wife; an escaped convict is at large; and, the wreck of a stolen car reveals a death. Members of the garden club pool their various clues to reveal the culprits.

Unbelievably, for a mystery, solving the crimes is not the best part of this novel. The people and their time star in the wonderful story. I can't imagine a better way to spend a hot summer day than visiting with the Darling Dahlias!

FTC Disclosure - This book was provided by the publisher.

Patterns in the Sand by Sally Goldenbaum (ObsidianMystery-Penguin)

Sea Harbor’s Canary Cove art colony consists of a very close-knit group of artists and gallery owners. Izzy Chambers, owner of the Seaside Knitting Studio, has brought the ladies of the community together to knit hats for cancer patients When Willow Adam, a young fiber artist, is found asleep in Izzy’s shop window, the art community takes her in. When the current colony association president, Aidan Peabody, is found murdered, the Seaside Knitters fear it is someone they all know. Izzy calls upon her knitting group to help solve the murder. The knitters are surprised as they uncover secrets and surprises in their little community. Is Willow who she says she is? As the story develops you get to know and love the people of Sea Harbor. This is great summer time reading for the beach!

--Helen Jones

FTC Disclosusre - This book was provided by the publisher.

TRIAL BY FIRE by J. A. Jance (Touchstone Books)

Ali Reynolds, a former investigative TV reporter, is talked into to being the temporary media relations spokesperson for the Yavapai County Police Department. Being on the other side of the camera and answering rather than asking questions is a new experience. Soon after joining the department a subdivision is torched and an unidentified naked woman is found with severe life-threatening burns. Ali has her hands full trying to handle the media; circumventing questions about arson and a domestic terrorist organization called the Earth Liberation Front. As the Feds get involved, Ali goes to the hospital to try to learn the identity of the patient and to keep the media at bay.

The patient is on a ventilator and drifts in and out of consciousness. Her only means of communicating is by blinking her eyes. Sister Anseim, a patient advocate, is assigned to protect the patient’s privacy and make medical decisions on her behalf. Fearing that whoever tried to kill the woman may try again, Sister Anseim asks Ali for help. When the injured woman's family shows up, they become prime suspects because they seem more concerned about her money and a missing painting than about the patient. Was this an act of domestic terrorism or a murder for revenge or money?

The characters are believable and the clues lead in a circle. As the story developed I could not put this book down!

--Helen Jones

FTC Disclosure - This book was provided by the publisher.

FRAME UP by John F. Dobbyn (Oceanview Publishing)

John McKedrick and Michael Knight were best friends at Harvard Law School. After graduating, the two young men walked different paths. John went to work with an attorney for the Boston Mafia. Mike went to work for the US Attorney’s Office and later formed a criminal defense law practice with his mentor, and legendary trial attorney Lex Devlin. John and Michael remained best friends with Michael always encouraging John to escape to greener pastures. It seemed that John was finally going to change jobs when he is murdered. What appears to be a mob hit leads three men to meet for the first time in 40 years—Matt Ryan, a Catholic priest, Dominic Santangelo, a Mafia don, and Lex Devlin. The three men must put aside their past to focus on the defense of Dominic’s son who has been accused of John’s murder. In preparing their defense Michael is drawn into a cat and mouse game with the international Mafia involving art fraud. This is a tale full of twists and turns with a lot of bad guys, dead bodies, and suspense as Michael attempts to walk the line between legal and criminal actions. If you like legal mysteries involving the Mafia underworld you will enjoy this book.

--Helen Jones

FTC Disclosure - This book was provided by the publisher.

HOW TO HOST A KILLER PARTY by Penny Warner (Signet)

When Presley Parker is unexpectedly downsized from her position as an instructor of abnormal psychology at a local college, she decides to follow in her mother's footsteps. Her new career as an event planner receives a boost when she arranges a "surprise" wedding for the mayor of San Francisco and his diva fiancee on Alcatraz Island.

With San Francisco as a backdrop, this traditional mystery is a delight to read. Warner seamlessly weaves many interesting historical facts about  the City of San Francisco into the story. Presley finds herself in many unfortunate circumstances, but the way she views them is totally entertaining. Warner has a talent for building suspenseful situations and creating a page-turner with endearing characters. I look forward to reading the next book in this well written  series.

--Karen Kiley

FTC Disclosure - This book was provided by the publisher.

JUSTICE IN JUNE by Barbara Levenson (Oceanview Publishing)

Miami defense attorney, Mary Magruder Katz, is involved three different cases. The first involves Criminal Court Judge Liz Maxwell who is being investigated by the State Attorney’s office for dismissing cases involving Miami’s drug traffic. Mary has to take some risks that put her in danger of losing her law practice and her life.

The second case involves Luis Corona, a family friend of her hot boyfriend, Carlos. Luis is accused of being a terrorist and disappears into the home security black hole. Word gets out that Mary is defending a terrorist which leads to threats and loss of clients.

The third case involves her boyfriend. Carlos is a builder and he is being sued by condo owners. Carlos and his entire family expect her to resolve the law suit without any damage to his reputation. The characters are interesting and the suspense builds as Mary juggles these three cases. This is a light mystery with a surprise ending.

--Helen Jones

FTC Disclosure - This book was provided by the publisher.

MAMA GETS HITCHED by Deborah Sharp (Midnight Ink)

If the third book in a series is sometimes a curse, this time it's definitely a charm! Every time I had to stop reading, I was tugged back by Mama and her three girls—Maddie, Mace, and Marty. You'll guess from the title that Mama is getting married, but you probably won't be prepared for the wedding straight from Gone with the Wind, the body in the VFW Hall, the new Yankee invasion, and the gators. The close-knit Florida family is charming, if a little wacky; the crime is plausible; and the story fast-paced and funny.

Mace Bauer is an outdoorsy woman uninterested in frills. She's bending over backward to help her sisters make their mother's fifth wedding special. Unfortunately, Mace discovers a body while looking for the caterer who's late for a meeting. Having an on-again-off-again boyfriend isn't a great deal of help to Mace in her sleuthing—he's tight-lipped about ongoing investigations. Said on-again-off-again relationship suffers when Tony, a gorgeous Ivy League hunk enters the picture and targets Mace. (He's part of the Yankee invasion.)

Take a few hours to spend in Himmarshee, Florida with Mace and the gang. This is one trip that will go off without a hitch!

Love Is Murder - Conference

Many folks who come to our mystery panels ask a lot of questions about how to get an agent and how to get published. This conference would be a great way to find out the answers—and it would give you a chance to rub shoulders with a lot of fine authors! I went to the "Dark and Stormy Nights" in Chicago many years ago and found it to be well-run, informative, and totally interesting.

Hotel rates are very reasonable and conference registration is staggered so you can get as much or as little as you want. Check out the website—you'll be glad you did!

Guest Blogger Carola Dunn

Second Book

Writing the second book in a series is an interesting experience. It's been 15 years since the last time I did it, with The Winter Garden Mystery, the second Daisy Dalrymple book. When I started work on A Colourful Death, my second Cornish mystery, I had a cast of characters created for a particular story, Manna from Hades. Now they had to be fitted into a new scenario.

My two protagonists were easy. The new story is, after all, made for the point-of-view characters, Eleanor Trewynn and DS Megan Pencarrow.

Eleanor is a widow who, after travelling the world working for an international charity, retires to a cottage in a Cornish fishing port. It's her friend and neighbour, artist Nick Gresham, who is arrested for the murder of a fellow-artist, so she (not to mention Nick!) is involved from the outset. Her niece, Megan, is brought into the case as a police detective, as is her irascible boss, DI Scumble.

As I wrote, the detectives' involvement took an unexpected turn, though, when they ended up on the same side as Eleanor, trying to prove Nick's innocence and find the real murderer.

I wasn't at all sure I had a place in the story for Jocelyn Stearns, the vicar's wife, a kind, efficient, bossy friend of Eleanor's. Then Megan started to worry about her elderly aunt's being alone, surrounded by suspects, in an artists' commune. Unbeknownst to the inspector, she phones Jocelyn and begs her to go and support Aunt Nell. Bingo, there's Joce thoroughly entwined in the tale.

I even managed to bring in Megan's ex-boyfriend, a Scotland Yard detective, in a peripheral role.

In Manna from Hades, Nick pushed his way into the story without any planning on my part. I didn't guess at the time that he was going to be a major figure in the second book. Detective Inspector Scumble is also a minor character, but interestingly, one review of A Colourful Death has as much to say about him and Jocelyn as about any of the other characters.

Clearly, every one of them is an essential part of the mix. So now, how to involve the whole crew in a third instalment?


Share your ideas and comments with Carola here. Also visit her website.

STIRRING UP STRIFE by Jennifer Stanley (Minotaur)

Licking her wounds from a romantic break up, Cooper Lee returns to her parents' home in Richmond, Virginia and immerses herself in her job repairing copy machines. As she removes a wedding ring which has jammed a copier, Cooper meets business woman, Brooke Hughes, whose warmth and kindness leads Cooper to a new church. Attending her first meeting of the Sunrise Bible Study group, Cooper is shocked to hear Brooke has been murdered. The group decides they must discover who murdered their dear friend.

Confidence, friendship and romance return to Cooper's life at the Sunrise Bible Study group. There she realizes she is not alone in her heartache.

This book is the first in Jennifer Stanley's Hope Street Church series and it will definitely appeal to inspirational mystery readers.

—Karen Kiley

FTC Disclosure. This book was provided by the publisher.

Guest Blogger Hannah Dennison

Happy Reading! All Best Wishes!


My co-worker Tamara has been one of my staunchest supporters from the very beginning of my writing career. Over the past ten years she has lived through my painful relationship with screenwriting in the ever fickle world of Hollywood; listened to my “I’ll never get published” cries of anguish during the dark years of writing into a black hole and—at last—graciously bought a copy of each of my three books.

So it was with a sense of deep shame that her comment “You have written the same inscription to me in each book,” cut me to the quick. Guilty as charged. It wasn’t deliberate. In fact, I only have six different “personal inscriptions” that I trot out at book signings. If someone buys all three books at once, I practically have a coronary. One author bemoaned the fact that someone dumped 18 books on his table (I’d kill for that kind of problem) and asked that each one be inscribed differently.

I sigh with audible relief when someone says, “Just sign your name” which is immediately followed by a subconscious, “Why? Is he or she going to sell it on Amazon? Give it to Goodwill?”

If friends compare inscription notes, I cringe with embarrassment. I see disappointment on their faces. How can I have written novels of 85,000 words but I am unable to come up with an original, witty, personal-to-you one-liner? And what about fellow authors who buy my books? There can be no lame “Happy Wishes” or “Enjoy!” for my kindred spirits. It’s insulting. Surely, they deserve some more thought?

Who started this inscription lark anyway? Do author signings illuminate the bond between writer and reader? Do inscriptions give a sense of responsibility? Are there rules? Is it arrogant to sign one’s full name when inscribing to a family member or a close friend? Are inscriptions supposed to give an air of permanence?

We’ve all heard the horror stories. Rumor has it that George Bernard Shaw once inscribed one of his books “To ---, with esteem.” Years later he found the book in an antiquarian bookshop, whereupon he bought it and sent it back to his friend with the addendum, “To ----, with renewed esteem.”

The next question is—where do we store all those signed books? I have a friend who devotes an entire closet to “author friends’ books” that she admits she will probably never read. Another says she rents a storage space. As for me, I always keep personalized books and yes I do read them all, eventually. There is a something very magical in meeting the author—friend or stranger—that makes that book come truly alive. A personal inscription is very dear and cherished. It’s one thing I intend to improve upon for my fourth book release Thieves! (January 2011). And Tamara—I promise, my inscription to you will blow your socks off.


Hannah Dennison is the author of the Vicky Hill Mysteries chronicling the adventures of obituary reporter extraordinaire in the British market town of Gipping-on-Plym. Her most recent book is Exposé. Please visit her website.

Unarmed But Dangerous Tour

If you missed this tour, you might enjoy seeing the photos. If you saw it, you'll really want to see the pictures!

Unarmed But Dangerous Tour

Macavity Nominations 2010

Janet Rudolph has just announced the 2010 Macavity Nominations on her Mystery Readers International website. Congratulations to all these great writers!

Best Novel
Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott (Simon & Schuster)
Tower by Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman (Busted Flush Press)
Necessary as Blood by Deborah Crombie (Wm. Morrow)
Nemesis by Jo Nesbo, translated by Don Bartlett (HarperCollins)
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
The Shanghai Moon by S.J. Rozan (Minotaur)

Best First Novel
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (Delacorte)
Running from the Devil by Jamie Freveletti (Wm. Morrow)
A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie Littlefield (Minotaur)
The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville (Soho Crime)
A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn (Picador)

Best Nonfiction
L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City by John Buntin (Random House: Harmony Books)
Talking about Detective Fiction by P.D. James (Alfred A. Knopf)
Rogue Males: Conversations & Confrontations About the Writing Life by Craig McDonald (Bleak House Books)
The Line Up: The World's Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives, edited by Otto Penzler (Little, Brown & Co)
Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo (Penguin Press)
Dame Agatha's Shorts: An Agatha Christie Short Story Companion by Elena Santangelo (Bella Rosa Books)

Sue Feder Historical
A Trace of Smoke by Rebecca Cantrell (Forge)
In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff (Minotaur)
A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd (Wm. Morrow)
Serpent in the Thorns by Jeri Westerson (Minotaur)
Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear (Henry Holt)

Best Short Story
"Last Fair Deal Gone Down" by Ace Atkins in Crossroad Blues (Busted Flush Press)
"Femme Sole" by Dana Cameron in Boston Noir (Akashic Books)
"Digby, Attorney at Law" by Jim Fusilli, (AHMM, May 2009)
"Your Turn" by Carolyn Hart in Two of the Deadliest (Harper)
"On the House" by Hank Phillippi Ryan in Quarry: Crime Stories by New England Writers (Level Best Books)
"The Desert Here and the Desert Far Away" by Marcus Sakey in Thriller 2: Stories You Just Can’t Put Down (Mira)
"Amapola" by Luis Alberto Urrea in Phoenix Noir (Akashic Books

Revenge for Old Times Sake by Kris Neri (Cherokee McGhee)

Tracy Eaton, a mystery writer and daughter of Hollywood stars, is married to a straight old money attorney. Drew and Tracy’s families are at opposite ends of the dysfunctional spectrum. Revenge begins with Drew's behaving very out of character by punching his boss in the face. Of course, his boss turns up floating face down in the Eaton pool the next day and Drew is arrested. Tracy sets out to prove her husband is innocent.

Meanwhile, Drew’s mother arrives in town. Charlotte has never liked Tracy or her family (maybe it has to do with the black eye Tracy’s mother gave her at the wedding?). Charlotte hires Drew’s ex-flame, Cee Cee, to defend him but she is acting peculiar. Is Cee Cee trying to get Drew back or to get revenge? Like any good screwball story, there are so many twists and turns it actually becomes believable. The characters are zany and a little—actually a lot—crazy. It is a fast and fun read—perfect for the beach or pool!

—Helen Jones

FTC Disclosure - This book was provided by the publisher.

DEATH THREADS by Elizabeth Lynn Casey (Berkley)

Tori Sinclair is a Yankee librarian who has relocated to Sweet Briar, SC. The local sewing circle ladies of all ages and backgrounds have taken her under their wing to teach her to be Southern. These ladies are people you want to be friends with—most of the time. They do like to gossip but are loyal to each other and the town. This loyalty sometimes causes conflict between the members.

Leona, a non-sewing or cooking member is teaching Tori the “southern way.” Leona has a bet with her twin sister, Margaret Louise (who does sew and is a great cook), that she will learn to sew under Tori's tutelage, but Leona can come up with some very creative excuses.

Meanwhile, another member’s husband, Colby Calhoun, disappears leaving a bloody trail. Previously he has made the town, including the members of the circle, very angry by exposing the truth about the destruction of the town during the “War of Northern Aggression.” Tori is determined to find his body and solve the case. She thinks the town and police are not doing enough because of the anger over his exposé.

There is also a little romance for Tori, Leona, and Ella May Vetter (the town’s eccentric old maid) to make this a true chic-lit mystery.

—Helen Jones

FTC Disclosure - This book was provided by the publisher.

61 Hours by Lee Child (Delacorte Press)

Needing a lift, Jack Reacher talked his way onto a bus of elderly sightseers when the bus skids on a snowy highway. Now he is stuck in Bolton, South Dakota in the middle of a snow storm under unusual circumstances: The police department has the town in a virtual lockdown. They're coping with a potential riot at a Federal prison five miles away, protecting a witness to a methamphetamine transaction, and dealing with a biker gang which is apparently the source of the drugs. Further, the whole situation may be controlled by an international gangster. When the attorney who is the go-between between the bikers and the cartel is murdered, it's obvious that time is running out.

Jack Reacher fans know the pace of the story will be non-stop and heart pounding. Fans of Child never have to be convinced, but neophytes will definitely enjoy a good summer read!

--Stephen Bank

Unarmed But Dangerous Tour

What a grand few days I've just spent with the aforementioned tour! Donna Andrews, Meredith Cole, Rosemary Harris, and Elaine Viets agreed to honor me with a visit to North Carolina. We had panels and signings at eigiht—count 'em, eightgreat venues: McIntyre's, Flyleaf Books, and The Regulator Bookstore on Saturday; The Halle Center in Apex on Sunday; the Jamestown Public Library and the Page-Walker Hotel (co-sponsored by the Cary Library) on Monday; and the Country Bookshop and Quail Ridge Books on Tuesday.

Donna, Meredith, and Elaine chat with a fan at the Halle Center while other fans chat with Rosemary.





















Not only did Karen Kiley (and her wonderful patrons) give door prizes at the Page-Walker, they sent a great "sunflower" loaf of bread, peanut butter, and jelly home with us for our Tuesday morning breakfast! That's Doreen Wheaton with Rosesmary.
















We were invited for Sunday evening supper at Margaret and Joe Maron's. What an evening that was! Joining our crew were area writers Sarah Shaber, Bren Bonner, Katy Munger, Alexandra Sokoloff, and Diane Chamberlain. The outstanding company was highlighted beautifully by the imminently Carolina supper—shrimp and grits. Margaret's recipe was well worth our falling off the diet wagon! The local writers brought an incredibly tempting selection of desserts.

Bren shared these photos of the group.


































































I can't imagine a better way to spend a weekend! Can you?

SILENT AUCTION by Jane Cleland (Minotaur)

Jane Cleland's Silent Auction continues the story of antiques dealer Josie Prescott. After five years of living in the coastal town of Rocky Point, New Hampshire Josie has achieved business success, peace, love, and happiness in her life. However, that sense of security is destroyed when she discovers the body of a young employee. Everyone thought Frankie, the beloved nephew of Josie's closest friend Zoe, had overcome his violent past. A new police chief, wealthy summer residents, and the local art community are entwined in solving the murder of this turbulent young man.

Cleland's expertise in the field of antiques and fine arts shines throughout this story. The art, history and business of scrimshaw is a fascinating aspect to this intricate mystery. Once again Jane Cleland has written a very informative and well-crafted mystery.

--Karen Kiley

FTC Full Disclosure - Book provided by publisher

Guest Blogger Chris Grabenstein

Stopping by the Idea Depot

Where do you get your ideas?

That is probably the most frequently asked question I get at author readings, right up there with “do you use a computer or write by hand?”






In response, I usually say, “At the Idea Depot. They give you a nice discount if you buy in bulk.” And then I regale the audience with a “What if?” and “And then…” exercise. For instance, when coming up with the idea for ROLLING THUNDER, the sixth book in my Anthony Award winning Ceepak mystery series that just came out this month (see how I worked in a plug there?), I asked myself “What if somebody really had a heart attack on a roller coaster, like all those signs along the waiting line warn you about?” And then -- the person who has the heart attack is the wife of the roller coaster tycoon, a very prominent citizen in my Jersey Shore town of Sea Haven. And then -- all of her children are glad she is dead, which makes Ceepak suspicious. Was it a heart attack or something more sinister? And then -- another dead body is found. And then -- the two deaths are connected.

And so on and so on for all the ups and downs, twists and turns of my narrative roller coaster ride.

However, this past week, at a bookstore event in my old home town of Metuchen, New Jersey, someone asked, “You ever think about writing a mystery about the carnies, the scruffy people who work the boardwalk?”

And boom. I didn’t answer for a second. Because my mental roller coaster wheels started spinning, racing through the rough outline for Ceepak mystery #7.

All of a sudden I saw this “Knock ‘Em Down” game booth on the Jersey Shore boardwalk of my mind. It’s early morning. First thing in the morning, the young dude working the early shift opens up the front plywood flap and sees something horrible. Hanging up there, right in the middle of all the Clifford The Big Red Dog, Spider Man and Sponge Bob prizes, there’s a dead body dangling from a peg on the wall.

And then, the dead guy is someone the dude knows, a friend who works the booth late at night. And then, maybe the dead guy, we find out, was selling more than a chance to knock down milk bottles with a softball; he was selling Snuki and the Situation (okay, not them, I promise) their nickel bags of dope and crack cocaine. And then, maybe this character of Skeletor, a drug dealer who’s been lurking around the Ceepak books since MAD MOUSE and more ore less escaped in HELL HOLE, is involved. And then, Tony Soprano shows up…

Okay, maybe not Tony Soprano, either, but, well, New Jersey is famous for its mob connections, especially in the drug trade (not the kind they make near Rahway at Merck).

But, I think, if there is a Ceepak #7, it will be called KNOCK ‘EM DOWN and start with a body in a game booth, blood staining the bright yellow fuzz on Sponge Bob’s smiling face. I will need to do some grueling research this August down the shore in Seaside Heights (yes, that Seaside Heights, the one where MTV films their JERSEY SHORE with the real Snuki and The Situation who don’t look all that real). I will have to eat orange and white swirl cones and eavesdrop on carnies who chant things like “Win a Tweetie for your Sweetie.”  

That night, on the train ride home from Metuchen, I started jotting down all sorts of twists and turns. I think I know what happened. If ROLLING THUNDER sells well and the publisher wants another book, I’m ready to rock.

So, I guess that question about where do ideas come from can now be answered, “Sometimes they come from question and answer sessions just like this one when someone asks a very interesting question, the kind that makes you say, ‘What if….’”

Chris Grabenstein just won his second Agatha Award for Best Children's/Young Adult mystery for The Hanging Hill. He invites readers of all ages to visit his website.

2010 Nero Award Nominees

I just got this news release from Jane Cleland of the Wolfe Pack

2010 NERO AWARD NOMINEES ANNOUNCED

The Nero Award is presented each year to an author for the best mystery written in the tradition of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe stories. It is presented at the Black Orchid Banquet, traditionally held on the first Saturday in December in New York City. The Nero Award celebrates literary excellence in the mystery genre.

This year, the nominees are:

1. THE FLEET STREET MURDERS. Charles Finch.

2. CRACK IN THE LENS. Steve Hockensmith.

3. FACES OF THE GONE. Brad Parks.

All three titles are published by St. Martin's Minotaur. Past winners have included Tess Gerritsen, Lee Child, and Martha Grimes, among many others.

The Wolfe Pack, the literary society that celebrates all things Nero Wolfe, also presents the Black Orchid Novella Award (BONA) in partnership with Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine to celebrate the Novella format popularized by Rex Stout. The BONA is also announced at the Black Orchid Banquet in December.

About the Wolfe Pack
The Wolfe Pack, founded in 1977, is a forum to discuss, explore, and enjoy the 72 Nero Wolfe books and novellas written by Rex Stout. The organization promotes fellowship and extends friendship to those who enjoy these great literary works of mystery through a series of events, book discussions, and a journal devoted to the study of the genius detective, Nero Wolfe, and his intrepid assistant, Archie Goodwin. The organization has more than 450 members worldwide.

To learn more, visit the website.

Guest Blogger Julie Hyzy

Getting to Know Grace

Grace Under Pressure, first in my new Manor House Mystery series, debuts today. In many ways it’s similar to my White House Chef Mysteries—giant mansion, servants, murder—but instead of a president, the resident-in-chief is Bennett Marshfield, an extremely wealthy recluse who trusts very few people—generally only those he’s known for forty years or more.

Assistant curator, Grace Wheaton, has just started working at Marshfield and she’s only in her thirties, which means she’s facing an uphill battle where Bennett is concerned. Especially after head curator, Abe, Bennett’s first in command and dearest friend, is murdered.

As she attempts to win Bennett’s confidence and help him bring Abe’s killer to justice, Grace finds herself confronting skeletons in her own family’s closet. With the support of her roommates and that of handsome gardener, Jack Embers, Grace finds herself protecting and defending the home she loves almost as much as her own.

Researching this series has been an absolute joy, and I have Molly to thank for that. She arranged the Triple Threat Tour for Hank Phillippi Ryan, Karen E. Olson, and me this past February. I’d been working on the manuscript for Grace Under Pressure when Molly first invited me to visit North Carolina. My first reaction was: “Absolutely!” I love Molly—she’s great—and the opportunity to tour with Hank and Karen was way too tempting to pass up. My second reaction was: “North Carolina? Near Biltmore?” I’d always wanted to go there and I knew that visit to the estate would help me with research for Marshfield. I didn’t hesitate to tell Molly I was in.

We had a fabulous time visiting bookstores and libraries, and eating barbecue. Yum! I got my first look at the breathtaking Chapel Hill Blue Sky above UNC and enjoyed the hospitality of many kind and wonderful people. The energetic and always upbeat Karen Kiley arranged for an evening reception with music and refreshments and—best of all—a roomful of eager readers. After our tour I had a truer, more vivid feel for North Carolina. And after visiting the Biltmore Estate on my own, I came to know my fictional Marshfield Manor even better than I had before.

Let me state unequivocally that Marshfield is not Biltmore in disguise. Not even close. Although Marshfield is just as opulent and serves as a major tourist attraction and museum the same way Biltmore does, Marshfield is slightly smaller, and has fallen far behind the times. Grace may have been put in charge of her beloved manor, but she’s still a stranger to most of the staff. She needs to lead while finding the best way to fit in.

When we were in winding down our Triple Threat Tour, Hank turned to me and said she envied me because my departure to Biltmore would signal the beginning of my next adventure. I loved that—loved how it made me feel. And during my four-hour drive to Asheville, I replayed her words in my mind. This trip was my chance to immerse myself in a way I could never experience at home— to pretend I was Grace. To live and breathe and see and smell the history and mystery and wealth very few enjoy. To experience it as Grace might—close enough to touch, but still an outsider.

So thank you Molly, Karen, and Hank! Until I received the invitation that ultimately put us together for our whirlwind tour, I had no plans to visit North Carolina. But thanks to Molly, I not only experienced the best book tour I’ve ever encountered, I got a chance to live my own Marshfield moment. And I can’t wait to go back.