Monday Mystery Quiz

Happy Monday! While you contemplate this old picture of my son dressed as Sherlock Holmes (would that he were still that tiny!), I have some mystery questions for you to answer. Let's see how many of you can get a perfect score.

1. Which mystery heroine had a best friend named Bess Myerson?

2. Which fictional detective first met his romantic interest when she was on trial for poisoning her lover?

3. Which hard boiled detective enjoyed playing chess by himself?

4. Which world-famous, prolific mystery writer lived for many years in Iraq?

5. Which famous fictional detective once said, "Women are never to be entirely trusted; not the best of them."

6. Which novelist and playwright won an Edgar for her novel A Dram of Poison?

7. Who came first, Auguste Dupin or Sherlock Holmes?

8. Which MWA Grand Master created Chief Inspector Jules Maigret?

9. Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo won an Edgar for their fourth novel, The Laughing Policeman. What else is distinctive about this writing team?

10. What are the names of the novels written by the Poe's Deadly Daughters? :)


Okay, how did you do? Are you a mystery expert? Let us know! (Answers to be posted later).

A View from My Desk Chair, or Why am I getting Viagra ads?

Deborah Turrell Atkinson (Guest Blogger)

This morning’s paper, The Honolulu Advertiser, had an article on making a part of the house “your private space.” The journalist interviewed a couple of local artists, who recommended using different color paint, area rugs, incense, Oriental screens (you get the picture) to make a special space where they were free to create. They were colorful, eccentric-looking people.

It was a nice thought. So why were feelings of inadequacy muddying the nice caffeine buzz I was working on? I’m a failure at special, private spaces. Would my work be better if I had one?

Not long ago, I finally got my own desk in an office. Our house isn’t large, so this is significant. And I’m grateful for this entire designated room (except for the full laundry basket in the corner), because my first two books were written along one cluttered wall in our bedroom. The third, which comes out this August, was written in the new office on a computer that I purchased with a business credit card, for easier tax deductions. I feel like a grown-up.

But life intrudes. Last night, it took three tries to kick my sixteen year old son off the computer. He reminded me that we’d taken away his computer (instant messaging at all hours of the night? not turning in homework? hello?), and he absolutely had to download music for the school jazz band, in which he plays electric guitar. Okay, I say. Five minutes.

Fifteen minutes later (I got distracted), he was finished and I darted into the office to find my husband sitting there. He’d forgotten to bring his laptop home from the office, and he needed to check his email. God forbid he forget a meeting, a conference, or a needy student.

I wandered off to fold those clothes in the laundry basket, but it was nine o’clock, and I was running out of steam. Half hour later, I tiptoed back to my private space to find my nineteen year old son, home from college, checking movie schedules. He and his friends don’t even think about going out until ten or so. I wish I had that energy. I asked him to turn off the computer when he was finished and I went to bed.

So here I am this morning, alone at my little desk and I remind myself that it’s not a space or someone else’s judgment of what I look like or where I work that counts. A vermilion-painted corner with incense and a Chinese landscape wouldn’t be my style. Nor would limiting my wardrobe to white linen suits, draping black shawls, or a dapper fedora work for me. I’d probably trip on a shawl, though I always thought Louise Nevelson looked stunning.

In terms of my family, I wouldn’t have my life any other way. Though the easy-going sharing that goes on can be nuisance at times, it usually goes two ways, and often three or four. My college son helps me with ideas, grammar, and is a terrific critic. My husband loves to contribute his specialized knowledge. The younger son adds creative expertise and a wonderful perspective on teen culture, the surfing world, and Hawai‘i beach life.

I’ll never keep these guys out of my private space. But what I can do is exercise a little better self discipline, with less goofing around on the internet. I need to write so many pages each day, and I need to do the best I can on that given day, whether the muse smiles over my shoulder or not. Sometimes I require another cup of coffee. Some days the creative spirit never does wake up—but I can fix the awkward sentences, the plot gaps tomorrow.

What matters is learning to write a better book with each effort. It also helps to know I’m not alone, that others face the same—or even worse!—obstacles than I do. Reading my colleagues’ thoughts, frustrations, and inspirations helps. Connecting with the mystery writers’ community, and joining groups like Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America is valuable beyond measure. But most of all, planting my butt in the chair and enjoying my work will get the job done. To get paid for it? Bliss.

But while I have your ear (or your eyes) can anyone tell me why my computer history has been erased? And why am I getting emails from Russian girls who want to meet me? They would be very disappointed.

Deborah Atkinson's mysteries illustrate a rare, exciting perspective of Hawai'i, its traditions and culture. Atkinson lives in Honolulu with her husband and their two sons.

Superman Celebration...

By Lonnie Cruse

First, my apologies for being late to post this morning. I've got a new satellite dish, and it's been storming most of the morning, keeping me offline and sans television. Not good. And I can't seem to format this properly this morning. The paragraphs keep snuggling together, sigh, no matter how many spaces I put in. Hope you can read this!

Left picture: Fifteen foot tall statue of Superman at the Metropolis, IL courthouse. Flowers were put there a while back in tribute to actor Christopher Reeve, as was the black material draped on the railing. Oh, and the railing is there to keep us locals from mowing down the tourists who used to stand in the middle of the street to take pictures. Works for me.

Center picture: Actor John Schneider (Smallville and Dukes of Hazzard) appearing at the annual Superman Celebration, one of the nicest celebs we've ever had. You can just barely see the lovely Margot Kidder next to the guy's orange shirt. Actor Scott Cranford is in the back of the shot, he always comes as Superman. Big hit with the kids. Scott and his wife were married at the statue.

Bottom picture: Me (when I was still pretending my hair wasn't grey) with the lovely Noel Neill. The indoor pictures were taken in the Metro Chamber of Commerce, one of the most unusual C of C's anywhere! All photos by Lonnie Cruse.

Today and tomorrow the annual Superman Celebration takes place in downtown Metropolis, Illinois. (In case you haven't heard me say this, we're the only Metropolis in the U. S. Zip Code book.) I'll be at the celebration most of Saturday, hopefully in my usual spot, in front of Humma's, selling my books. And I'll be at the main tent from 6-8 PM on Saturday night, selling bricks (yes, I said bricks) to raise money for the Noel Neill/Lois Lane statue, soon to be unveiled. The bricks will have buyers names on them.

Noel is a real sweetheart. Now over eighty-five years old, she shows up every year for the celebration, signing autographs, chatting with the crowd, bringing DVD's of the old Superman television show she appeared in back in the 50's for tourists who wander into the Metro Chamber of Commerce to watch. She's a real treasure, and the tourists and locals alike love her. I'm a big fan.

The Superman Celebration brings visitors from all over the world. And vendors selling everything imaginable. I always enjoy checking out the vendor tents. And while the new Superman movies and comics are popular, the vintage stuff is the biggest crowd pleaser. Unfortunately today, the weather is not cooperating, and it makes it tricky to keep the tents in place.

For a couple of years we've battled thunderstorms, not a good thing for standing under a metal awning, selling books. Eeek. So I won't be able to set up until tomorrow.

So, what does this have to do with mystery? Not a lot, except it's a mystery how a small town can hold so many people once a year, and don't forget my mysteries are set there. Metropolis is a town full of charm, fun to visit, and lots to see. We have kryptonite, a Planet newspaper, and, of course, THE statue. I love living here, and the town is a perfect setting for a mystery series!

Ya'll come see us!

Interview with Laurie R. King

Interviewer: Elizabeth Zelvin

At what point in your life did you start writing fiction? What prompted you? And why mystery?

I’ve loved fiction since I was small, an impulse only made stronger by the fact that we moved so often, libraries became my mainstay of entertainment and friendship. So it was probably inevitable that sooner or later I would think: I have a story I want to tell. As it turned out, I’ve had eighteen (so far) stories I’ve wanted to tell.

I work in the mystery genre because I find the structure satisfying, the combination of intellect and emotion, the way a writer can bring in pretty much anything that engages human passion. As a writer, it forces me to work close to the bones of a story, which mainstream fiction doesn’t always.

Many writers have chosen to enter the world of Sherlock Holmes created by A. Conan Doyle. Few have turned the canon on its ear as you did, not only by giving the misogynistic Holmes a wife and partner, but by making that wife, Mary Russell, not only many years younger than Holmes, but also just as intelligent as he is. Where did Mary Russell come from? What were you thinking? How have the books been received by Sherlockians? And has it all turned out the way you expected?

Holmes has always seemed to me less misogynistic than misanthropic in general—sure, he says disparaging things about women, but he does about men as well.

When I started writing about Mary Russell, I wanted to show a young woman whose mind is that of a Sherlock Holmes. And because I thought it would be more interesting if I put the two minds together, I set her down with him.

I took their partnership to its fullest state, that of marriage, for a couple of reasons. First, it’s difficult to envision a non-marital relationship in the 1920s between a man and a woman that wasn’t closely hedged by taboos and limitations. More importantly, it seemed to me that Holmes was the kind of person for whom life had to be all or nothing. Even if Watson had not been a man, that partnership would always have been held back by the doctor’s intellectual limitations: He just isn’t quite up to Holmes. But if he had been? And if he’d been female?

Early reaction among the devout Sherlockians was, understandably, unenthusiastic. Sherlock Holmes meets a girl of fifteen, teaches her his skills, and marries her sounds downright creepy, and without spending a couple or three books looking at how their pairing works, and being reassured that this upstart King woman isn’t writing some kinky kind of Sherlockian romance, the Sherlockian world wasn’t about to clasp Russell to their chests.

That has changed. I have made it clear, in the books and in peripheral writings and interviews, that I have enormous respect for Conan Doyle’s character and that I am doing a very different thing. I now have many readers among the friends of Holmes, and was even the guest speaker at their annual Baker Street Irregulars dinner this year.

But as for expectations? Surely you can’t imagine I knew enough when I began this writing life to expect anything?

Your first Kate Martinelli book, A Grave Talent, features not one but two very interesting women: the brilliant artist Vaun Adams and the police detective Kate, a San Francisco lesbian with a therapist partner who pays a terrible price for Kate’s dedication to her job. What was your starting point for this story? Did you have a particular “what if” or theme you felt compelled to explore? Did the characters take you in any direction other than you intended? Did you originally conceive Kate as the protagonist of a series?

The starting point for the book was the question, What would a female Rembrandt look like? And although I had by that time written two Russell books, this idea didn’t fit into the rather whimsical ménage of Holmes and Russell, so I moved it to a time and a place closer to home, that of the Bay Area in the late Eighties.

I didn’t realize Kate had the potential for a series until St Martin’s asked me for a second, but then, I didn’t realize it was a mystery until they called it one. I thought of it as a novel, but as it happened, she and her crew fit well as a series.

Your characterizations of Mary Russell and Kate Martinelli are both more rounded and more challenging because you chose to make both of them outsiders: Mary is Jewish, and Kate is gay. What led you to make these choices? Are you interested in the particular cultural baggage you gave these women? How it affects their relationship to the larger culture? Or what?

When I wrote A Grave Talent, in the late Eighties, it was very believable that a lesbian cop might prefer to stay in the closet. By the time I wrote The Art of Detection, set in 2004, that choice would have been highly neurotic, but that’s the pleasure in writing a series that spreads out over time.

Few mystery protagonists are well-balanced, well-rounded, undamaged individuals. Or if they are at the beginning of the book, life soon descends on them in a big way. Even a mainstream novel is about tribulation and change, and if the characters don’t suffer and grow, what is the point?

Both Kate and Mary are realistic, that is, complex people. Both are women, both are outsiders, but both reflect and engage with their society in ways that are both accepting and adversarial. Both have to stand up for their right to make choices, but interestingly, in some ways Kate has a harder time of it than Mary eight decades earlier. The Twenties were a tumultuous time, and women (particularly upper class women) in England have always had the option of just looking thoroughly idiosyncratic and doing whatever they damn well pleased.

In addition to the two series, you have written several stand-alone novels. How did that come about? Do you have a preference? Is the process of writing a stand-alone different for you from the way you work on an ongoing series?

Some ideas and stories simply don’t fit into an ongoing series without a lot of corners getting knocked off in the process. When I want to write about a woman who investigates religious movements, or a woman who rebuilds her life along with a derelict house, or a man who rescues children, making them standalones frees me from all the considerations of a series: Is this a likely scenario, to be repeated time and again? What if I need, for the sake of the story, to kill off a character, even the protagonist?

With a standalone novel, the writer is presenting an entire universe, the lives of her characters beginning to end. It all has to be within those four hundred or how every many pages; you can’t return and explain later.

(That said, the novels Folly and Keeping Watch aren’t purely standalones, although neither are they sequels. They have small areas where the stories overlap, and eventually I plan two or three more, all separate novels with small areas of overlap. I think of it as the San Juan Cycle.)

A standalone is more demanding, since the research and development is unique to that book and can’t be recycled for a second and fifth, but it is also more freeing, since it can end up nearly anywhere.

How do you work? Do you need solitude? Do you write every day? Do you outline or write into the mist? How much do you revise? How do you research your books?

I write by myself in my study, with a window nearby to distract me, but without music or much noise. When I’m working on a first draft I tend to write pretty much every day, at the very least five days a week, which gives me a 300 page first draft in three months or so.

My first draft is essentially a 300 page outline, and comes into being with very little conscious deliberation on my part (although somewhere in the back of my mind is a fairly efficient Organizer, who keeps track of what’s going on.) Only when the first draft is in existence can I begin to work on it, to craft the novel I can see lurking in the fits and starts of faulty prose on the page.

The rewrite takes me longer than the first draft, maybe five or six months. The Russell rewrites tend to take longer than the Martinellis, since so much of the effect of those is in the polish—the language and the subtle details, while the contemporary Martinellis are more straightforward.

Research depends on the book. I use the local university library heavily for the historicals, not as much for the modern stories. I usually begin with book-research, then narrow down my needs as time goes by. If it’s a question about modern police techniques, for example, I call a friend on the police department. If it’s about old cars, I have a man who knows all about 1926 Rolls Royces and how to fiddle with their innards. For guns and military, I know someone else, and if it’s about things specific to that book—the parks, for example, in The Art of Detection, I either phone or show up and ask questions. People are remarkably generous with their time and knowledge.

You have spent a considerable amount of time studying theology, with a BA in comparative religion, an earned master’s degree in theology, and an honorary doctorate from a school of divinity. Is theology primarily an intellectual, philosophical, or spiritual study for you?

Theology means god-talk, or the study of god, and it is a human pursuit that embraces the intellectual and the spiritual. The study of humankind’s relationship with the divine is the study of humankind. Some of the characters in the stories I write are similarly fascinated by it. Of course, others have no more time for god-talk than your average man on the street.

Your novels offer the reader a strong sense of place, and you have traveled widely. Do you have a favorite place? Is there anywhere you haven’t been but very much want to go?

I’m very fond of England, no doubt one of the reasons I write about the place. And there’s a deliberate set-up at the beginning of Locked Rooms where I mention Russell and Holmes being brought in to work a case in Japan, because the author really wants an excuse to go there.

What’s up next for you—as a writer and in general?

Touchstone, in early 2008, which we’re calling a “country house political thriller.” It’s a standalone historical set in 1926 England just before the General Strike—although my editor was so smitten with some of the characters, she wants me to bring them back and make a series out of it. We’ll have to see about that, because after Touchstone I’ll be doing the ninth Russell and Holmes, where they get home again to Sussex after far too long.

In a peripheral area, I’m setting up an online book group, where readers can meet and discuss the LRK novels and the occasional related book. It will be on the web site (http://laurierking.com) and in the newsletter (which readers can sign up for on the site, as well) with contests and giveaways and such. Hey, reading is fun, you know?

Marcus Sakey's Writing Life

Sandra Parshall
Marcus Sakey was born 33 years ago in Flint, Michigan, and was raised by parents who are, he is pleased to note, still together after all these years. He now lives in Chicago with his wife. A decade in advertising gave Marcus “the perfect experience to write about thieves and killers.” His first crime novel, The Blade Itself, was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2006 to rave reviews and predictions of genre stardom for the author. His recent decision to move to Dutton after St. Martin’s publishes his second novel has been the subject of lively debate on internet mystery blogs.

The internet has been abuzz with talk about your decision to leave St. Martins for a four-book deal with Dutton. How weird is it to have your personal career decisions discussed on blog sites? Do you read any of that stuff or try to ignore it?

It’s truly surreal. Flattering in a way, but mostly odd, as that kind of attention was never a goal of mine. And I do read it, and it impacts my mood. You try not to allow that, but it’s hard.

The thing that I love, the touching part, is that for every armchair general who thinks they know what’s best for my career, the community also offers up a friend who’s just happy for me. The relationships are my favorite part of this gig.

You're following your editor, Ben Sevier, from St. Martin’s to Dutton. Do you feel that maintaining your relationship with a single editor is vital at this stage of your career? Can you tell us what you've gained from his guidance? Has he helped you become a better writer?

Well, it was a very personal decision, and a tough one. My fingernails don’t get shorter than they were during the weeks of negotiation. And I’d rather not get into the details of that situation, other than to say that both houses are absolutely first-rate, and I was flattered they were interested.

I’ve been very lucky in my relationships with editors. Basically, an editor has two jobs: first, they push you to write a better book, and second, they guide and guard that book through to publication. Both Ben Sevier and my current editor at SMP, Marc Resnick, excel at their job, and they’re terrific guys to boot.

Ben was the editor who originally signed me, and I had more time working with him, and both factors played into my decision. One of the things I really admire about him was his response to my second manuscript. He said he loved it, but that it could be better. Then he gave me fourteen single-spaced pages on how. At the time, I nearly went out the window, but it made for a vastly improved book.


The Blade Itself was hyped as few first novels are (and lived up to the hype, I might add). All the attention must have been wonderful -- a beginner’s dream -- but did it ever make you a little nervous? Were you secretly afraid you'd be one of those writers who are expected to become stars but turn out to be duds instead?

Well, first off, thanks for the kind words. Honestly, I’m still adjusting to the fact that it’s out there, that people I don’t know have read it.

As for being nervous, yeah, absolutely. That pressure mostly manifested in writing the second book. If you’ve got any balls, you’re doing something different with your second than you did with your first, which is scary enough. To make it worse, you only have the one book, the one metric. So every time someone said something nice about Blade, every time I got a blurb, every time I heard a media plan, I would look at the book I was writing and see only the differences. Worse, I had to fight not to see those differences as failures. It was a struggle.

Now that it’s done, I’m really pleased with it. I think I’ve grown as a writer, and it’s definitely a bigger book in almost every way.

A friend told me she cried while reading the ending of The Blade Itself. Were you consciously going for a strong emotional reaction from readers when you wrote it, or were you expressing your own emotions?
Tell your friend I love her.

Yeah, certainly I was. Truth be told, I’m trying for a strong emotional reaction in every scene. The way I see it, your book is 350 pages, and every one of them, every single one, needs to be compelling. They all need to evoke emotion, whether that’s fear or laughter or tears. Some hit harder than others, obviously, but it remains a good guideline.

You’re part of the original Killer Year gang. How has that benefited you?

Killer Year has been great. It’s nice to have a cheerleading squad and a community to ask for help. And one of the most exciting accomplishments was selling an anthology that was edited by Lee Child. The book is called Killer Year: A Criminal Anthology and is coming out next spring from St. Martin’s. Keep your eyes open for it—I’ve read a couple of the stories, and they’re dynamite.

What draws you to thrillers rather than straight mysteries? What can you do in the thriller form that you might not be able to do in a whodunnit?

In a word, intensity. I’m not that interested in the classic mystery form, you know, a body is found, figure out who/how/why. That’s not to say that it can’t be done with grace and passion and flair, and I’ve certainly read mysteries that blew my hair back.

But by and large, I like the crime and thriller arenas more. Since they aren’t bound to a structure like that, a puzzle, you have more room to play. They also tend to be about putting characters into a crucible and continually turning up the heat to see how they will act, which I think connects with readers on a fundamental level. One of the reasons we read is to imagine how we might act if faced with impossible choices.

You've said that you want to write standalones because you want to portray your characters during the most important time of their lives and you can't do that again and again with the same protagonist. Yet a number of thriller writers have chosen to do series -- John Sandford and Lee Child, for example. Any chance you'll change your mind and start a series?

Well, the key phrase in that sentence is “I can’t do it.” There are many writers who can, and who do wonderful work with it. For me, though, after spending a year with these characters, the last thing I want to do is launch back into another story.

That said, I could see myself writing a series in the Harlan Coben/Laura Lippman model: one series book, a standalone or two, another in the series. I’m toying with a character that I think might have that kind of legs right now. So we’ll see.

How long were you writing before you published? Did you write fiction as a child? If so, what kind of stories were you dreaming up as a kid?

I’ve been writing all my life. I wrote abominable fiction as a child, wretched fiction in high school, and lousy fiction in college. Then I spent ten years writing for advertising and marketing, which believe me, is fiction. So when I made the jump, even though Blade was my first novel, I’d been training for a long time.

As a kid I mostly read science fiction and fantasy, so my stories were in that genre. Once I hit college, I started trying to write things I could sell to the New Yorker, which worked about as well as you’d imagine.

Do you still have a day job, or have you been able to leave that behind?

I’m incredibly lucky, in that this is my day job. I was actually able to do this semi-full-time from the beginning, because I worked freelance in advertising. So I would go in for two weeks, work on a campaign for jeans, make a healthy day rate, then go home and spend a month working on the novel. Advertising is a great gig, in that it’s one of a handful of places where simply writing, creating, can be quite lucrative.

Has publication changed your life in unexpected ways?

Yes and no. It’s thrilling to see my books out there, to do press tours and the like. But I live in the same place, drive the same shitbox car, sit at the same computer. It’s not like Hollywood stardom, where all of a sudden you’re whirled into the jet set.

Do you still have the same friends you had before (along with a lot of new ones)?

I have all my old friends, the real ones. It was interesting to see how many acquaintances got a sour expression on their face when I landed my first deal, but the friends, they were all supportive. And I have a ton of new ones, not because I sold a book, but because I’ve been going to conferences for years now, and have been fortunate to hang out with some of the most amazing people on earth. I really love the community.

What’s the best thing about being a published writer? What’s the worst?

The best part is that I know I get to do this thing that I love, this favorite job, for at least a couple more years. That’s a wonderful feeling. The worst is probably the nagging worry about things you can’t control. You write the finest book you can, you bust your ass to promote it, but ultimately, there’s only so much impact you can have on whether or not people buy it.

What aspects of your writing have you worked hardest to improve? Do you feel you’re becoming a better writer with each book?

I’m constantly working on my craft. To me, that’s part of the point. If you aren’t worrying about how to make each book better than the last, then go get a day job, have health insurance and regular hours.

For me, the most challenging part is plotting. I don’t try to work out every wrinkle and twist, but I need to have a sense of where the story is going, and I need to have surprises that also make sense. I hate it when writers cheat, so I work hard not to do that, which makes life harder. But I think it also pays off; I mean, look at Lee Child. There’s a guy who never cheats, whose books are relentlessly intelligent, and I think that’s one of the things his audience responds to, whether or not they know it.

When is your next book due out? Can you tell us the title and a little about the story?

My next book, entitled At the City’s Edge, will be out in early 2008. It’s the story of a discharged soldier who returns from Iraq only to find a similar war raging in his Chicago neighborhood. It’s got politics and corruption and gang violence and a love story and Roman history and a car chase, lots of fun stuff. I think people who liked The Blade Itself will like this one even better. Oh, and if you’d like a taste, I’ve got the first chapter posted on my website, at www.MarcusSakey.com.

Cool Canadian Crime

Sharon Wildwind

June 1 to 7, 2007 is Canadian National Crime Writers Week. Sponsored by Crime Writers of Canada, a national organization of published and unpublished writers, agents, publishers, and mystery book stores, the week features displays and readings by mystery, thriller, and true crime writers across the country and the awarding of the 2007 Arthur Ellis Awards.

Arthur B. English became Canada’s official hangman in 1913. He adopted the pseudonym of Arthur Ellis, a nod to his cousin who was the official hangman in England and worked under the name John Ellis. English retired in 1938, and subsequent hangmen continued to work under the same false name until capital punishment was stopped in Canada in 1962.

These are the published nominees for the 2007 Arthur Ellis awards. There is also an “unhanged” award for yet-to-be-published writers. So print this list out and take it to your favorite bookstore or library and spend a hot summer reading cool Canadian Crime

Best Short Story
Vicki Cameron, “Lady in Violet Satin” in Storyteller (Fall 2006)
Karl El-Koura, “The Curious Case of the Book Baron” in Storyteller (Spring 2006)
Barbara Fradkin, “Voices from the Deep” in Dead in the Water (RendezVous Press)
Jennifer Geens, “Canadian Diamonds” in Storyteller (Summer 2006)
Dennis Richard Murphy, “Fuzzy Wuzzy” in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (August 2006)

Best Non-Fiction
Edward Butts, The Desperate Ones: Forgotten Canadian Outlaws (Dundurn Press)
Guy Lawson & William Oldham, The Brotherhoods: The True Story of Two Cops Who Murdered for the Mafia (Scribner/Simon & Schuster)
Mike McIntyre, To the Grave: A Spectacular RCMP Sting (Great Plains Publications)
Brian O’Dea, High: Confessions of a Pot Smuggler (Random House Canada)
Linda Spalding, Who Named the Knife (McClelland & Stewart)

Best Juvenile
Marty Chan, The Mystery of the Graffiti Ghoul (Thistledown Press)
Sean Cullen, Hamish X and the Cheese Pirates (Penguin Canada)
L.M. Falcone, The Devil, The Banshee and Me (Kidscan Press)
Norah McClintock, Tell (Orca)
Monique Polak, All In (James Lorimer)

Best Crime Writing in French
Because of the low number of submissions to this category, unfortunately, there is no French award for 2007.

Best First Novel
Glen Bonham, The Elvis Interviews (Battlefield Publishing)
Anne Emery, Sign of the Cross (ECW Press)
Stephen Kimber, Reparations (HarperCollins Canada)
Grant McCrea, Dead Money (Random House Canada)
David Russell, Deadly Lessons (Rendezvous Press)

Best Novel
Linwood Barclay, Lone Wolf (Bantam/RHC)
Emma Cole, Every Secret Thing (Allison & Busby)
Barbara Fradkin, Honour Among Men (RendezVous Press)
Kathy Reichs, Break No Bones (Scribner/Simon & Schuster)
Peter Robinson, Piece of My Heart (McClelland & Stewart)

Looking for the best in Canadian crime-writing?
Stay clued in through Cool Canadian Crime, a free e-newsletter from Crime Writers of Canada, with news of upcoming books by CWC authors, CWC author book launches and signings, other events with our authors, Arthur Ellis Awards nominees and winners, and much more

It would be a crime to miss out on this deal, so sign up on-line at http://www.crimewriterscanada.com/

Cleaning the Clutter, Clearing the Mind

by Julia Buckley


Cynthia Baxter makes an excellent point about how to keep your mind in the game of writing; how to hold yourself accountable when your body wants to drift away from the computer. I find, though, that if the story won't organize itself in my mind, it sometimes helps to organize something else. This weekend I am cleaning up my office.

Sometimes it feels good to go through those piles you were convinced had to stay on shelves gathering dust and say "Hey, I really don't need this stuff anymore," and pitch it. (Some in the garbage, some in the recycle bin, let me be quick to point out). I got rid of old raggedy binders and rough copies of novels; I tossed old mail and put old pay stubs in the shredding bag.

My inbox had entirely disappeared (after all, everything is IN, isn't it?), so I had to take the huge pile of junk on top of it and sort through it. Sometimes it means making tough choices: do I save the cute little picture my son made in 2nd grade--a drawing of a policeman that says "Officer Graham's Safety Tips" and then a list of the ways that Graham thinks he can promote safe and responsible behavior? (Like: Don't run near a pool; Be careful on ice. :) It's hard to recycle that, but I have to remind myself that A)I have a drawer full of Graham's artwork, and he produces approximately ten cute pictures per week, and B) No matter how much I save, I can't make him be eight forever. So I save some of the masterpieces, and some go into the recycling pile.

I have a similar dilemma with my elder son's stories. He has the opposite of the writer's block that torments me; creativity flows through him, and his output is immense. His stories are easier to recycle, though, because I have them all on the computer, and the copies lying here have food stains and bent corners. Out they go, even the wonderful poem about manatees that has perfect rhyme and meter.

There's stuff from work in here, too; all sorts of handouts that say "Handy Comma Rules" and "What is Context?" I have copies of all of these at work, so these, too, can go away.

What I find is that with each thing I uncover, like an archeologist in my own office, I feel a sense of rejuvenation. I have reclaimed my desk; I have reclaimed my writer's space. It can't be long before I reclaim my writing.

Now I'll try Cynthia's tips and try to make myself stay in the chair--although I have a whole lot of rooms that could use organizing.

How to Get Your Creativity in Gear

Cynthia Baxter (Guest Blogger)

Cynthia Baxter writes the Reigning Cats and Dogs series featuring veterinarian Jessica Popper.

Chances are good that when I sit down at my computer to start working tomorrow morning, I won’t feel like it.

I won’t have an idea in my head, I won’t be able to remember which crisis I left my heroine in, and the lure of playing around on the Internet, searching for a good price on Rockports or a new chocolate cheesecake recipe, will be almost irresistibly strong.

In short, that famous quote that’s usually attributed to Dorothy Parker, “I hate writing but love having written,” could not be truer.

But deadlines loom, even if they’re months away. So over the years, I’ve developed a few tricks that I play on myself in order to get myself in gear.

1. Start with something easy. I find the best way to get going is to assign myself a simple, non-threatening task, one that’s easily achievable in a short amount of time. “Go back to chapter 2 and write that paragraph describing the living room” or “Check one of your past books to see what color your heroine’s boyfriend’s eyes are.” Here’s a favorite: Each chapter in all my books begins with a quotation, and a really good way for me to feel as if I’m accomplishing something important without having to tax my brain is finding clever little bons mots that other people have written – usually Mark Twain. Once I’ve spent some time doing that, I usually find I’ve slipped into a working mode.

2. Reread and revise. The more I write, the more I rewrite. Every time I go back and read something, even something I thought was pretty much finished, I find little things to change. A comma here, a stronger adjective here…it’s all part of the process of polishing my prose until it gleams. It needs to be done, but somehow it never seems as daunting as creating something new. Revising an old section or chapter not only gets my brain in gear; it’s also a task that I find can never be done too many times.

3. Set a time limit. It’s 9:42, and I’m staring at a blank screen. “Okay,” I tell myself, “writing is your job. You’re sitting at a desk. You are not allowed to get up from that desk until 11:00.” Somehow, the idea of writing for a finite amount of time doesn’t seem as horrifying as facing an open-ended challenge like, “Write a book.” I can usually make it to whatever time I’ve chosen – and on a good day I can get a respectable amount of work done. I also find that most of the time, I can’t help going longer, since by that point the creative juices are usually flowing with abandon.

4. Eliminate excuses to get up and leave the room. Before I sit down to work, I make sure everything I need for my personal comfort and safety is within arm’s reach. That includes a glass of water, a box of tissues, dental floss, lip balm, hand lotion, and a myriad of nail products, from nail polish remover to a cuticle cutter. If I try really hard, I can still come up with a million excuses to abandon my computer – put in the laundry, look up a phone number downstairs, all kinds of things that most people wouldn’t consider the least bit fun but which suddenly seem better than working. But at least I have the basic, most obvious ones covered.

5. Create a reward. “Just write 5 pages – and then you can go check the mail.” Or leaf through the new Chico’s catalog or call a friend or do something else that only takes five or ten minutes but which can break up my concentration. Somehow, knowing there’s something easier than writing in the distant future makes the process just a little less painful.

Once I get past my resistance and start writing, I usually find it’s easier than I thought – and much more fun.

Did I mention that a strong shot of caffeine also helps?

I can't???

By Lonnie Cruse

Ever notice where some birds build their nests? I don't mean in bird houses, which of course many do. Or trees, even though they build there too. I'm talking about birds building nests inside the letters of the huge signs over grocery stores, but usually in the O or the E, which are nicely rounded, because V or K probably isn't all that comfortable.

Or they build on bridges, in the upper spans where most humans would be terrified to sit/stand. And you can see them working away as you whiz by, or hear them chirping merrily as you enter the store. I guess what amazes me about this is that the birds don't know they aren't supposed to be there, doing what they're doing. So they just do it.

Sometimes we humans allow ourselves be kept from trying to reach our dreams, from trying to "fly," because of the opinions of others. Well meaning friends telling us we can't do what we want to do. They say we don't have the talent, smarts, experience, courage, whatever. . .and sadly, we buy into it.

Is there something you've always wanted to try but didn't think you could succeed? Something not illegal, imoral, or fattening, of course! Then why not try it? Spread your wings and fly, or build your nest someplace totally strange and scary. Reach for your dream. And be sure to hang onto that railing. Don't let the wind blow you off the bridge!

Don't think you know how? Take writing, for instance. Love a certain author's writing but think you could never be that good? Most likely you won't, and neither will I ever be that good, but we can read that author's work with an eye to what makes it so great: how are the scenes are set, how is humor or suspense or romance sprinkled in (because likely the author isn't hitting the reader over the head with it, but sliding it in, here and there, in appropriate places.) How does the author let the reader come to know the characters? By dumping page after page of information that puts us to sleep or by subtle hints here and there that makes the reader think: "Ahah! That's why..." How does the writer describe the setting or the weather? Figure out what works for that author and learn how to do it for yourself. There are a lot of good stories out there, and many of them just need a bit of spit and polish to become GREAT stories.

Is there a novel buried somewhere inside you? Why not build a nest at your desk and write it? And let us know, here at Poe's Daughters, when it's published.

Remembering Books

Elizabeth Zelvin

One of the reasons I love being part of the mystery community is the sense of belonging that I get as a reader. It’s not just about mysteries. As a member of DorothyL, an e-list that’s nicely balanced among mystery-loving readers, writers, librarians, and booksellers et al., I marvel at how often these kindred spirits love the same books, all kinds of books, that I do. Even the vigilant moderators have been known to relax the mystery-only rule if the book or author is universally beloved, like Lois McMaster Bujold, whose A Civil Campaign (a perfect cross between comedy of manners and galactic space opera) just might be my favorite book. I remember one extended discussion on DorothyL in which quite a number of DLers admitted they’d go to bed with Bujold’s protagonist Miles Vorkosigan, a brilliant and charismatic charmer who was born with brittle bones and is very, very short.

The kindred spirit phenomenon is most evident among the bookish when the conversation turns to childhood reading. It was on DorothyL once again that I discovered I wasn’t the only kid who loved a book called The Lion’s Paw. It was about some orphaned kids who sailed to the then remote Sanibel Island in the Florida Keys to find a rare shell that would make their fortunes. It’s not in print, but you can buy it through Amazon, which reminded me of the author’s name (Robb White) and displayed a review by a reader who said, “Now that I can collect the books I loved as a child, I look forward to obtaining a copy to read again!” Yep—kindred spirit.

As a mystery reader, I’m a series lover. When a new book in a favorite series comes out, I can hardly wait to read what’s new among the protagonist’s family and friends and what hot water the protag has gotten into this time. The first series I ever fell in love with long predated my introduction to mysteries. I took Elswyth Thane’s six Williamsburg novels out of the library over and over and over again. To this day, I could probably draw the family tree of the intertwined Day, Sprague, and Campion families from the Revolutionary War to World War II. The publication of the long-awaited seventh book signaled what was probably my first moment of awareness of the New York Times bestseller list. Evidently I was not alone.

When I discovered Amazon, I found the Williamsburg novels in a library edition. I was delighted to meet Thane’s characters again. The only problem was that I remember the books too well. The publisher had bowdlerized a few details for the library audience, and it irritated me like, er, a thorn in a lion’s paw. In This Was Tomorrow, set mostly in London in World War II, the American Stephen Sprague falls in love with his British cousin Evadne, who is innocent and passionate and given to Causes. There’s a scene (I didn't have to look this up--I remember it perfectly) in which Stephen offers Evadne her first drink of champagne, and she defies the repressed Hermione (who has drawn her into the Oxford Group and is jealous and controlling) to drink it. In the original, Evadne snatches the glass and stutters, “Give me that champagne!” The library edition renders it, “Give me that wine!” Lead balloon. I guess the publishers agreed with Thane that champagne represents all that is daring and sinful—too daring and sinful for libraries.