The 2014 Mid-point Post

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that tomorrow is the first day of July! Where has this year gone? I guess I've been so busy reading that the days have gotten away from me. ;-)

So, I thought I'd do a mid-point rundown of my reading so far and then you all can share with me some of your favorite reads and numbers of books etc.

To date I've read 51 books by 51 different authors.
19 of those were written by women, 1 was written by a male/female writing team and the remaining 30 by men.
14 are unabridged audiobooks.
8 are debut novels.
31 are books written by authors I've never read before this year.
And 5 are non-fiction.

That's the lowdown on stats. Now, the fun part. The books at this point in the year that will be considered for my favorites list in December (in the order in which I read them):

The Stolen Ones by Richard Montanari
Roosevelt's Beast by Louis Bayard
The Deepest Secret by Carla Buckley
Talk by Michael Smerconish
The Intern's Handbook by Shane Kuhn
Any Other Name by Craig Johnson
Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
A Brand New World by Marcus Sakey
All Day and a Night by Alafair Burke

There are ten titles here, so obviously they won't all be on the final list--unless the second half of the year is really bad, but don't count on it--just consider this my mid-year favorites list. The titles linked above will go to my reviews. The remainder of the reviews are forthcoming.

So, your turn. What's knocked your socks off so far this year?

The Deepest Secret - Carla Buckley

First line: "Birthdays are supposed to be happy occasions, so Eve plans a party."

In Carla Buckley's third novel, she proves that her writing prowess is real, lasting. She wowed readers with the intensity and passion of her first two novels, now in The Deepest Secret, she rises to the next level.

Eve is the mother of an XP child. No we're not talking about the off-spring of a Windows operating system, this is a rare genetic disease called xeroderma pigmentosum. Someone with this disorder doesn't have the necessary enzyme to protect against UV rays, so the person can't be exposed to the sun or any device that emits UV. Most people suffering from this disorder don't make it 20. 

Tyler is Eve's XP child. He lives most of his life locked in his room with the window boarded up. He attends school via computer and can come out at night once the sun has gone down. Tyler likes to roam his neighborhood at night taking pictures.

Melissa is Tyler's sixteen-year-old sister and Eve's eldest child. She battles with being the "perfect" child, meaning she has the enzyme Tyler doesn't. Melissa is far from perfect and she's acutely aware of how lopsidedly her mother's attention focuses on her brother.

David is Eve's husband. He works in Washington D.C. while his family lives in Columbus, Ohio. He commutes back and forth on the weekends when he's able, but Eve is adamant that they can't relocate the family. It's taken too much to create the safe environment they have for Tyler in their present house. Not only adaptations to their home, but educating and helping their neighbors to change as well. She can't do that all over again and risk something happening to Tyler in the process. The long-distance family is stress enough, but add the tremendous issue of Tyler's XP and David's floundering, questioning his marriage, his life.

Most of this doesn't sound at all like a crime novel, and at this level it isn't. The intricate workings of the family and their relationships is a story in and of itself. This life alone would be enough for any human, but Buckley throws a wrench in Eve's meticulously scheduled and organized life. She throws a murder into the mix. 

As Tyler roams his neighborhood at night, he uncovers the secrets that lie within the homes of those living there. He photographs the secrets and studies them. Everyone has secrets, some are just more devastating than others...

The secrets may be buried in this novel, but the suspense and mystery woven throughout keep the intensity level soaring. The urge to know the truth is overwhelming, not because the mystery and secrets exist, but because Buckley convinces us we genuinely CARE about these people. The players in this tragedy could be any of us. And Buckley's choice of the name "Eve" for her mother character reinforces that. Eve who is mother to all of us. 

The Deepest Secret alternates perspectives and Buckley gives us intimate thought-snippets from all of the characters. The approach is especially effective because it prevents the reader from taking sides without all the facts. No one is right OR wrong--and yet everyone is both right AND wrong; they're only human. 

Buckley writes with a flow and beauty that are uniquely hers. Her dialogue is natural; her teens are as authentic as the twenty-something actress-wannabe or the elderly widower. While the novel weighs in at over 400 pages, Buckley employs a sparseness to her writing that allows the reader to bring their own experiences, emotions and ideas to this reading adventure. Buckley beckons her reader, "come on! We're all in this together." And we go. We go willingly, excitedly. And we're changed forever.

The Deepest Secret is available in hardcover (ISBN: 9780345535245) from Bantam Books. There is also an unabridged audiobook version (ISBN: 978-0804192019), narrated by Kirsten Potter, available from Random House Audio.

And as just a final note, if you're one of my fellow Northeast Ohioans, Carla will be at the Berea Public Library tomorrow night at 7 p.m. You can come out and meet the woman who wrote this astounding book. 

My review kicks off the TLC Book Tour for The Deepest Secret. You can follow along with the tour and see what others bloggers are saying as well.  


Disclosure: I do some contractual work for one of the owners of TLC Blog Tours. My work does not involve this tour or any other tour I would agree to be a part of here at the blog. Nor does my work with them obligate me to a specific kind of review. The reviews are still my own opinions and reflect only my thoughts on the novels. If you care to read more, you can find more information on my Disclosure page. 

Spring and Summer Events

I've sort of fallen behind in my event recaps. I've collected some fun video and pictures, so I think it's time to give you a run down on where all I've been this spring and summer.

Following Left Coast Crime, I made a drive up to Ann Arbor to see Brad Parks at Aunt Agatha's Bookshop. He talked about concealed carry permits, struggling to make things up and how his daughter christens a new book. In addition, he performed for the crowd both of his famous....er, notorious...serenades:

And his reading was also quite entertaining!


In May, I took a trip to Columbus to see Carla Buckley. She was appearing at The McConnell Art Center, a beautiful facility, prior to the Ohioana Book Festival. Carla spoke about both her debut novel, The Things That Keep Us Here and this year's highly successful follow-up, Invisible.

Nice backdrop for Carla, right?

Carla shared how she decided on the ideas for each book and how the subjects terrified her personally. There were several aspiring authors present, so she answered questions about her writing process and schedule. She discovered a great problem when she had a guest and was trying to write...it simply didn't work; she felt obligated to tend to her guest. So she started going to the library, which turned out to work very well for Carla. She's since moved out of Ohio, so I hope she's found a great replacement library near her new home!

Also in May I met Tim Green. I didn't have to travel far for this event. If you're a regular blog reader you'll remember me talking about the Young Author's Program that takes place in Lorain County each year. I've helped with the author the past two years and again this year. You may know Tim from his adult legal thrillers (although it's been several years since he published one of those) or from his time on the football field, but Tim was coming to talk to the Lorain County young'uns because he also writes sports stories for young readers.

During an open house, Tim signed books for his young fans!

Tim's enthusiasm with the kids was electric. He was all over the stage, animated and energetic. He told them stories about how hard he had to work to be a professional football player, how hard he had to work to be a writer and a lawyer. But in the end, he emphasized that all of that takes a back seat to how people treat each other.

Tim started his presentation in a jacket.

The kids laughed at his antics, ewwwww'd at his story of vomiting and wanted to know when he would write a soccer book. It was a highly successful Young Author's Conference.

By the end of his presentation, though, the jacket was gone...too hot!

June brought about my first trip to Nashville, TN, to visit friend and blog reader, Chris. We visited the Nashville Zoo (my favorite thing to see when visiting a new city) and a new-to-me mystery bookstore, Mysteries and More.

We drove into downtown Nashville where I almost got us in an accident when I squealed out loud because I saw Tootsies Lounge, which I had just recently encountered in Whistling Past the Graveyard (yes, I get a little goofy when I see landmarks from my books). We didn't go in; seeing it from the outside was sufficient for me.

TOOTSIES!!!

But the great highlight was attending Craig Johnson's signing and meeting Rhonda, another friend and blog reader, in person for the first time. Here we are altogether. We didn't have near enough time to hang out together, but it was still a highlight of my year to be with these two special friends.

Books bring people together!

I did, however, manage to call Chris by ANOTHER friend's name and was thereafter the butt of all the jokes...from Craig, too. I don't even know who my friends are!

But in all seriousness, Craig's event was very enjoyable. I heard some old stories but some new ones as well. It was heartwarming to hear how the entire cast of Longmire showed up for his Santa Fe event. Robert Taylor had to film that day, but in the midst of the event the audience got all excited...through the windows behind Craig, Taylor had pulled up in the truck from the show and was waving to everyone.

Craig explained that he knew Robert Taylor was the right for the role of Walt
because he was the only one who removed his hat during the audition!

Craig also admitted his wife informed him that he falls in love with each of his female characters. He acknowledged that she was right! All the women in Walt's life serve as a pride of lionesses, each responsible for her part in Walt's upkeep.

July involved a trip to Washington D.C. Last time I visited the Crime and Punishment Museum and this time it was the International Spy Museum. The museum was fascinating, but I have vowed never to visit D.C. during a holiday again. Oh my goodness the people. [Begin public service announcement] And please folks, if you have children under the age of say 4, they don't understand the museum and they don't want to be in those crowds anymore than anyone else. However, they ARE more likely to throw a temper tantrum in the crowd. Please reconsider taking them, for your sanity and the sanity of all those around you. [End of public service announcement]

The museum was full of fun facts and displays, all the cool gadgets and paraphernalia--like a "dog doo transmitter" (honest to God). It was also rather interesting to learn that the Bond car from Goldfinger inspired intelligence agencies to incorporate similar features into their high security vehicles. There were displays about hot air balloons, homing pigeons, Pinterton (his logo inspired the term Private Eye), female spies and The Red Orchestra. I was fascinated with The Red Orchestra because they were a Russian spy ring that used codes based on obscure works of fiction. Smarties!!

And of course the special event at the museum was the James Bond Villains exhibit. I'm not a big Bond junkie, but I did find it fascinating that Ian Fleming described Bond as a compound of all the secret agents and commando types he had met during the war. And that he chose the name James Bond from the author of the 1947 Field Guide of Birds of the West Indies because he thought it was the dullest name he'd ever heard.

Sorry no pictures from the museum because I followed the rules that said, "no photography in the museum." Evidently I could have taken my camera as there were quite a few others there snapping away. Ah well.

And finally, this month I was able to see Hank Phillippi Ryan here in Cleveland. She was here for a library/Sisters in Crime event that kicked off with an interview of Hank.

It's a small world: Hank's interviewer was my instructor for
American Lit in a summer course I took one year!

She spoke about how her first idea for a book came from a spam email that she received at the age of 55. And as she began to develop Charlotte McNally, Hank gave her protagonist the same concerns she was facing: a woman married to her job, successful but worried about what happens when "the camera didn't love her anymore."

With The Other Woman, Hank's most recent, and incredibly successful, novel came from an idea Hank had that just seemed too big for Charlie. And it came from a line Hank read in PEOPLE Magazine, "You can choose your sins, you can't choose your consequences." However, she assured the audience that there will be more in the Charlotte McNally series.

Since the event was sponsored by the Sisters in Crime of NE Ohio, there were plenty of aspiring writers in the audience, so questions about her process ran rampant during the Q&A session. Hank imparted this little nugget for everyone: "There's no secret way to writing. There's only the way that works for you."

Yes, it has been quite a busy and wonderful summer. And of course I'm still super excited because the grand finale is coming next month with Gregg Hurwitz's visit to the Strongsville Library. I'm very hyped to share with you about his new book, but that will come later. And of course I'll share with you about the event, for everyone who's too far away to join us. PLUS, I'm going to have a extra special surprise from the event. Stay tuned! Remember if you're planning to attend the event, you need to register. It is free but they need to know how many people will be there.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures and tidbits from my summer of events. Have a super Tuesday and happy reading!

Invisible - Carla Buckley

Note: Five on Friday will return next week. Do not fear, there will be more fun Fridays! In the meantime, my review of Carla Buckley's Invisible appeared last month in Shelf Awareness. I am reprinting it here with their permission.

First line: "I had been trapped in this miserable hot space for nine weeks, six days, and fourteen hours, with all the windows and doors locked and the shades drawn."

“There are different kinds of prisons, some with walls and floors and doors, and others built even more sturdily out of things you can’t see—love and hope and fear.”

Dana Carlson escaped the prison of her small hometown, Black Bear, Minnesota, or so she thought. She made a life of bringing down buildings when she became part owner of a demolition company. Despite all the literal freedom in her life, her past and the walls she created in her family continue to imprison Dana. So when her niece calls to say Dana’s sister is dying of kidney disease, Dana isn’t sure if she has dynamite powerful enough to free herself and those she loves, figuratively.

Like Carla Buckley’s debut novel, The Things That Keep Us Here, Invisible offers readers haunting questions without right or wrong answers. Buckley’s ability to create fully realized characters readers can easily empathize with makes the ethical dilemmas the characters encounter frighteningly powerful.

Additionally, Buckley’s obvious understanding of the science included in the plot—both biological and chemical—intensifies the novel’s suspense and will likely have readers scrutinizing the ingredients in everything they buy.

The complexity of Invisible—the rich characters, smart plot, symbolism, etc.—create a satisfying reading experience, but it’s Buckley’s careful and purposeful depiction of the characters’ relationships that cements everything together, allowing readers to envision their own prisons built of “love and hope and fear.”

Invisible is simultaneously terrifying and encouraging. What more should a great read be?

Invisible is available in trade paperback (ISBN: 9780440246053) from Bantam Books.

Five on Friday - Carla Buckley

We're back with Five on Friday. I was going a little crazy preparing to take a trip last week and just didn't fit in the post. I'm sorry. And thank you to everyone who inquired about it. It really warms my heart that you all enjoy the little peeks into the crime writer's lives.

And since I have been traveling, I don't have much in the way of housekeeping today, so let's get right to it.

My guest today is an author who spooked the bejesus out of me with her debut novel, THE THINGS THAT KEEP US HERE.  This week Carla Buckley released her second novel, INVISIBLE, which also deals with a scenario that could happen to us all. You'll be hearing more about INVISIBLE here in the near future.

I had the pleasure of moderating a panel with Carla at this past Bouchercon, so I know she's a fun, smart, creative woman. I look forward to her future writing endeavors and in the mean time, I look forward to sharing her Five on Friday with you today. Carla, take it away....
 

Carla says her rescue dog's joy for live reminds her to try and be grateful for the small things.

1. I consider my brother a hero because he decided at the age of forty to chance everything to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a police officer. He was the oldest in his class but he persevered, and he’s now a sergeant with the Montgomery County Police in Maryland. I also deeply admire him because despite the challenges of being a single parent, he’s committed to being the best father he can be to his son. He never falters on this front, and it’s a joy to see.

2. The last book I recommended to someone was DARE ME by Megan Abbott. This, I think, is Abbott’s finest work—gorgeously written, page-turning psychological suspense about a group of high school girls gone bad.

3. Five songs on my iPod/music player right now are SOME NIGHTS by Fun, HO HEY by The Lumineers, THIS MUST BE THE PLACE by Talking Heads, THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD by Nirvana, I WILL WAIT by Mumford & Sons

 4. My biggest pet peeve is (and I hate to admit this) is when someone phones me and opens the conversation by asking, “So, what’s up?” This always stops me. Aren’t they the ones calling me?

And finally....

The #1 item on my bucket list right now is to go deep-sea fishing. 

Now I'm curious to know if a future book is going to deal with deep-sea fishing! I hope you've enjoyed today's Five on Friday and I hope you have a great weekend full of great reads. 

The Things That Keep Us Here - Carla Buckley

First line: "It was quiet coming home from the funeral."

In a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Ann Brooks faces the greatest challenge of her life--or so she thinks. Her husband Peter, a University wildlife researcher, decides their attempts at keeping their marriage together are not working and he's going to leave. This tragedy quickly seems insignificant when Peter discovers that a pandemic has hit the United States.

In order to survive, Peter moves back home, and the Brooks family learns just how far they will go to survive this horrifying nightmare.

I've mentioned this to people several times now, but when I finished reading THE THINGS THAT KEEP US HERE, I decided I'm saving all my money in order to buy solar panels for my home! Carla Buckley created a scenario so realistic, readers can't help but mentally inventory their own lives to figure out just how--or even if--they would survive the pandemic themselves. And that is just in relation to food stores and energy. If that isn't the sign of an effective story-teller, I'm not sure what is.

Then Buckley throws in ethical questions and situations. No win challenges where her characters are forced to choose. As readers we're often at the advantage of having a lot of extra information over the characters and we can always see the "right" choice when we're separated from the situation. Buckley writes her novel in such a way that it's no more a simple choice for the reader than it is for the character. She will challenge you to think about what choice you would make and in the end, there is no "right" choice, just choices with different outcomes.

The other major strength of THE THINGS THAT KEEP US HERE is Buckley's creation of empathetic characters, which is in turn essential for connecting with the situation. As readers are able to see themselves as Ann or Peter, the Brooks' predicament becomes that much more real...and terrifying.

THE THINGS THAT KEEP US HERE also dances with some societal issues and astute readers may come away with some uneasy feelings about the kind of societies we have built in modern America. How would this plot differ in places as close as Canada or Mexico? Or in Third World countries that lack the money and resources America has. Readers can't escape with book without seeing their own spheres in a whole new light.

I'm a little late in the game getting to THE THINGS THAT KEEP US HERE. The upside of that, Carla Buckley's next book is out in December. Rest assured, it won't take me as long to read that one!

THE THINGS THAT KEEP US HERE is available in hardcover from Delacorte Press (ISBN: 9780440245094), in trade paperback from Bantam (ISBN: 9780440246046) and on unabridged audio from Random House Audio, narrated by Kimberly Farr and Abby Craden (ISBN: 9780307715470).

Bouchercon - the end

As promised, I'll wrap up my Bouchercon weekend and pictures today. Before I get to that, if you'd like to check out an interview that's a little different for me, yesterday Shelf Awareness for Readers ran my interview with Simon Winchester who just published a book called SKULLS. Yes, that's correct, skulls, craniums, brain casings....whatever you want to call them, that's what this book is about. And it's essentially a coffee table book, so lots and lots of pictures of skulls. Mostly animal skulls, by the way. It really was a most fascinating interview, though.

Saturday started out with my second panel moderating and that panel was "Mysteries Made in the Midwest." I had a superb line-up of authors: Carla Buckley, Sharon Fiffer, Michael Harvey and John Rector. I have to admit that when I was first asked to moderate this panel, my thought was, "what the heck are we going to talk about with a topic like that?" But it actually turned out to be engaging and interesting because I had fab panelists. We talked about how the weather came into play in several of the authors' works. We addressed how Michael's setting in Chicago differed from the stereotypical "Midwest." And we talked about how the characters might be shaped and influenced by the Midwest. And the audience was extremely fun as well. I'm very glad I had the opportunity to be a part of the panel.

By the way, if anyone was there and took pictures of that panel, I'd really like to see them. 

The other panel I attended on Saturday was the "Heroes and Villains" panel. This panel I will admit was a bit on the disappointing side for me. I love all the authors who were on the panel: Mark Billingham, Martyn Waites, Karin Slaughter, Alafair Burke, and John Connolly, but I think I was expecting more - or maybe different. Some of the highlights though:

Alafair Burke and John Connolly

John Connolly mentioned that his hero is James Lee Burke, which made Alafair, sitting next to him, grin and maybe blush a little. Karin Slaughter said John was her hero for asking her to interview him for the Toastmaster interview. Martyn Waites' heroes are the people he worked with when he worked in the prison system. His appreciation of what they accomplished was very evident. I hope to sit down with Martyn some time and talk about his experiences working in the prison. They sound very interesting.

Karin Slaughter and Alafair Burke

Appropriate for the celebration of Banned Books Week, Martyn pointed out that he views people who ban books as villains.

Mark Billingham and Martyn Waites

John Connolly dislikes the animosity toward printed books. Personally, I've not really experienced that animosity. I've seen more animosity toward ereaders, but his ultimate statement that he'd like to see the two quietly co-exist is spot on!

As for what people prefer to WRITE, John says goodness is boring to write, so he likes his villains. Alafair says she strives to write characters who are hard to pinpoint as either good or bad.

Following this panel I was invited to a wonderful lunch with Jennifer McMahon. I was fortunate enough to be seated with Oline Cogdill and Janet Rudolph, who I don't get to see nearly enough. We had a great chat with Jennifer. That was a nice opportunity and I look forward to sharing with you about Jennifer's upcoming book in the next few months. I really enjoyed it!

Jennifer McMahon and Oline Cogdill

And the last day of the conference was short. I attended one panel and that was the Politically Charged Plots panel with Mike Lawson, Pete Morin, Allison Leotta, Stuart Neville and Lisa Brackmann as their moderator. Lisa, for the record, did an outstanding job moderating her panel. So kudos to her.

Lisa Brackmann, Pete Morin, and Allison Leotta

All the panelists were great and the content of their discussions was wonderful. I'm sorry more people didn't have a chance to experience it. One of the questions that arose with the panelists was if they get negative feedback feedback from readers on the politics in their books. Mike Lawson said his experience has been that he receives more feedback if he makes a mistake on a gun detail than anything about politics.

Stuart Neville and Mike Lawson

Stuart Neville explained that in Northern Ireland people are suspicious of every politician, yet they vote the same people back into office time after time.

Another question that arose dealt with how much political explanation has to go into books. The general consensus was to keep it lean. Mike Lawson says you'll bog the book down with too much detail and Stuart Neville said you have to trust your readers. They can Google what they don't know about or want to know more about. Allison Leotta said she starts out researching through interviews, then she fills in gaps with Google research and finally, she refers to all the collected data as little as possible so it doesn't come out as an info dump on the page.

I think my fascination with political crime novels has increased in the recent years. And really I credit part of that to Mike Lawson as his books have held me captive one after the other. So, I thoroughly enjoyed this panel. And afterward I was able to meet Mike, so that was fun for me. That was the first time I met him in person. And I was able to meet his wife as well. There's such a humanizing element to Bouchercon. There will always be people who intimidate me, but when you interact with the authors, publishers, publicists, other reviewers and readers at the conventions, it's rewarding and memorable.

I encourage everyone. If you haven't attended a Bouchercon, make an effort to go. If you need to wait for one closer to your stomping grounds, that's o.k., but don't miss the opportunity if it's close. It's really is worth your time and money if you're a fan of this genre.

And to throw in a little pitch for some other great events, I'll remind you that Murder and Mayhem in Muskego is next month up in Wisconsin. It's right outside Milwaukee. This will be my fourth year attending...wow! I can't believe it's been four years. I drive from Cleveland and I wouldn't miss it. It's wonderful. Great line-up this year. Very affordable. And best of all, there are great crime fiction fans there. Check it out.

I'll be going to my first Left Coast Crime in March. This one is in Colorado Springs and Craig Johnson and Laura Lippman are the guests of honor.  Special bonus, David Corbett is the toast master.

While I won't be attending this year - I do need to stay home some times I suppose - there is Love is Murder in Chicago in February.

And also be on the lookout for general book festivals. I love the LA Times Book Festival. I've been twice and it's amazing. I'm hoping to make the National Book Festival next year. I say that every year, so we'll see. And another book festival on my bucket list is the Tuscon Book Festival. I've heard wonderful things about this one as well. It won't be this year as it's very close to the Left Coast Crime dates, but someday....

O.k. so sorry, got a little carried away there with my book event love. Feel free to leave other events in the comments and let people know where and when they are! Thanks for humoring me. Have a great day and happy reading!

My Life According to Books 2012

Several years ago, my friend and fellow blogger, Pop Culture Nerd, started an annual tradition for us. She posted her "Life According to Books" based on a post she had seen. Since then, each year she creates new starter sentences and we each complete the sentences with book titles from things we've read in that year. I always look forward this fun meme.

Yesterday she posted her 2012 version. Be sure to stop over and see her fun responses. And today I have mine for you. So here we go:

Every Monday I look/feel like THE FEAR ARTIST (Timothy Hallinan)

Last time I went to a doctor/therapist was because (of) THE CUT (George Pelecanos)

Last meal I ate was BEFORE THE POISON (Peter Robinson)

My savings account is CRIMINAL (Karin Slaughter)
When a creepy guy asks for my number I LOCKDOWN (Sean Black)

Ignorant politicians make me HEARTBROKEN (Lisa Unger)

Some people need to spend more time ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING INDIAN (Rupinder Gill)

My memoir could be titled THE WHOLE LIE (Steve Ulfelder)

If I could have, I would’ve told my teenage self THE THINGS THAT KEEP US HERE (Carla Buckley)

In five years I hope I am TAKEN (Robert Crais)

I love to see what others say for this, so either leave your responses in the comments or make your own blog post and share the link with me so I can check them out. It's fun, give it a try.

Happy Reading!

You've the Right to Six Words - Week 14

After this week, we'll have two more weeks of memoirs for this season. Since this will probably be the end, at least for awhile, I thought we should blow it out in style. Sound good? I hope so because I've stacked the next three weeks with fabulous crime fiction writers.

Debut author, Carla Buckley was born in Washington DC but her childhood was spent in Nigeria and Thailand. She and her family returned to DC when she was 10 and for college, Carla made her way up to my neck of the woods; she attended Oberlin College, where incidentally, her daughter will be starting school very shortly.  Since Carla and her family are more in the central part of Ohio these days, it may make micro-managing her daughter's life a tad bit difficult.

Carla finished college and tried her hand at graphic arts, technical writing and marketing before staying home to raise her family, and start her writing career. In February of this year, Carla saw the fruits of all her labors in writers' groups and conferences and long hours of practice pay off. THE THINGS THAT KEEP US HERE was published by Delacorte Press. THE THINGS THAT KEEP US HERE had some roots in her family's decision to pick up and move to Columbus, Ohio, leaving friends, family and everything familiar behind. Carla's follow-up to THE THINGS THAT KEEP US HERE is due out in 2011 and is tentatively titled INVISIBLE. I'm fascinated by the fact that Carla tried writing many different kinds of books for years and when a dream - or rather a nightmare - about a pandemic left her shaken, she knew she wanted to write THAT book, it was something she truly felt passionate about. She

Kept trying keys until one fit.

And we can all be thankful for her determination to keep trying.

Kevin Guilfoile has spent time all over the Northeast corner of the U.S. He was born in New Jersey, raised in New York, attended college in Indiana, and worked for the Houston Astros all before helping to create the Coudal Partners design firm in Chicago. These days, however, Kevin is making his name as a writer. He's contributed to The Morning News, McSweeney's Quarterly Concer, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic and Salon.com. He's also a contributing blogger at The Outfit. In 2005 Kevin published his first novel, CAST OF SHADOWS, and he is preparing to release his sophomore novel, which Stephen White calls "part thought-provoking mystery, part flat-out thriller." Guilfoile fans have waited and on Tuesday, Kevin delivers THE THOUSAND. I also happen to know that Kevin is very serious about the pens he uses to sign his books. So if you meet Kevin at a signing, be sure to compliment him on his pen, which continues to write because

Every story has beginning, middle
and

:-)

Our next memoirist has no regrets. Together he and his wife raised four children; he enjoys playing tennis and wishes he was musical. When Peter Abrahams decided he would write a book about a detective and his dog, he knew the book would be in first person as told by the dog. But the dog couldn't be talking. He believes "anything that thinks and has memory must have a narrative going on inside." Thus DOG ON IT and the pen name Spencer Quinn were born. As Peter Abrahams, he published eighteen novels, earning a Best Novel Edgar nomination for his novel LIGHTS OUT, wrote the Echo Falls Mysteries series for young readers, and was referred to as "my favorite American suspense novelist" by Stephen King. Now as Spencer Quinn, living in Cape Cod with his family (which includes his dog Audrey), he's preparing to release the third Chet and Bernie novel, TO FETCH A THIEF. Working in his office located over the garage, Spencer brings to life the wonderful tales of Chet and his human partner Bernie. And as he heads off to his fifteen feet commute he says,

Into the dark with no regrets.

And rounding out this incredible week we have a woman who also won accolades from Stephen King who said, "her five novels are, simply put, the finest crime-suspense series I've come across in the last twenty years."

Meg Gardiner was born and raised in the United States. While in high school in California she was a mime, and while studying law at Stanford she competed in cross-country and track. Having grown up the daughter of an English professor, books and writing were a major part of Meg's life; she always wanted to write a novel, but she found her way there via law school, a legal career and a stint teaching law writing at the University of California. When she decided she didn't want to "argue for a living," she traded her arguing for lying. Meg writes a blog titled, "Lying for a Living."

Meg moved to the UK with her husband and children in the early 1990s and this was when she began writing. CHINA LAKE was her first published novel, finding bookstores in the UK in 2002. When it made its way to the US in 2008, Meg was rewarded with the 2009 Best Paperback Original Edgar win. Meg continued with Evan Delaney, her CHINA LAKE protagonist for another four books and in 2008 she published her first novel featuring forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett,  THE DIRTY SECRETS CLUB. This summer the third book in the Jo Beckett series, THE LIAR'S LULLABY was published.

So what does the three-time Jeopardy champ, escaped attorney, mother and author have to say about this array of accomplishments?

Love, kids, writing:
went for it.

And we are the great benefactors of her leap of faith. Many, many thanks once again to our wonderful authors for their time and enthusiasm. What absolute fun! I hope you all enjoyed this week's roundup. Man, is there ever a slew of great book titles in this post. Let us know which you've enjoyed or which you're going to check out now. And we'll see you back here next week for our penultimate week of memoirs.

Happy Reading!

Technorati Tags: You've the Right to Six Words, Carla Buckley, Kevin Guilfoile, Spencer Quinn, Meg Gardiner

CAUGHT! - The last hurrah!

Well, it isn't the total last hurrah, later today you'll have to check back to see the Crime Writers Caught Reading Crime video grand finale. For now, though, the photo finale will be an explosive finale, kinda like the end of a fireworks show. Let it roll:

At the beginning of this month, you may remember I went to see Sophie Littlefield, Brad Parks and Carla Buckley. And you may also remember that I told you they read from each other's work. Here they are, three debut authors, in all their glory:

Sophie read from Carla's THE THINGS THAT KEEP US HERE:

Brad read from Sophie's A BAD DAY FOR SORRY. He said he always hears Stella's voice with a Southern dialect, and so that's how he read it:

And Carla read from Brad's FACES OF THE GONE:

I can't imagine a better way to end this month of Crime Writers Caught Reading Crime than with a debut author reading one of the genre's legends! Here we have Ken Mercer, author of SLOW FIRE, reading James Crumley's THE LAST GOOD KISS.

Many thanks to all the folks who helped make this possible by helping me catch crime writers reading crime! We may have a go at this one again since people enjoyed the photos. So, everyone be on the lookout for your favorite crime writers reading crime!

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, later today I'll have the video finale with some extra special guests chiming in! And don't forget to leave your final comments for the drawing for Michael Koryta's SO COLD THE RIVER. All the summer reading recommendation lists are coming out. Let us know what you are looking forward to reading this summer. And are you planning to read anywhere fun? Share with us!

Happy Reading!

Technorati Tags: Crime Writers Caught Reading Crime, Brad Parks, Carla Buckley, Sophie Littlefield, Ken Mercer, James Crumely

A Trio at Foul Play Books

A few weeks ago my great friend Naomi sent me a heads up. She said, on May 1st Brad Parks, Sophie Littlefield, and Carla Buckley will be at Foul Play. And if you read here regularly, you know Foul Play is an independent mystery bookstore down in Columbus, Ohio. I just love that my friends help keep me in the loop!

So, last Saturday I drove down to Foul Play for this amazing afternoon with three fabulous debut authors. Before I start sharing about their event, I want to tell you that if you EVER have the chance to meet any of these authors - DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! You will not be disappointed. As a matter of fact, I truly believe they will exceed your expectations. And the fact that we were able to see all three together, well we were just stinkin' lucky! O.k., so let me tell you about the event so you can share in some of the fun.

The authors decided that instead of introducing each introducing his/herself, they would take turns introducing each other. Brad started off by introducing Carla. She is the author of THE THINGS THAT KEEP US HERE. The premise of her debut novel is a bird flu pandemic. And Brad pointed out that it is set in Columbus, Ohio. He described it as a book that "grabs hold of you; you feel it in your bones."

And Brad "revealed" that authors never sell their first manuscript, and it takes diligence to try again after putting so much into a first book that is rejected. Carla sold manuscript number nine! Now that takes determination.

Carla lives in Dublin, Ohio - very near Columbus. She has a husband and three children. Incidentally her daughter will be going to school in Oberlin, where I work, so Carla and I are planning to get together when she's up in my neck of the woods.

Next Carla introduced Sophie and her debut novel, A BAD DAY FOR SORRY, which you all know about already because I've gushed about it for months now! Carla first met Sophie online through Thriller Writers International. Sophie had posted her book jacket for ABDfS and Carla had "cover envy." 

As Carla introduced ABDfS, she described Sophie's voice as "your own voice coming at you." It was not at all what she expected, and it felt like her own journey. ABDfS was, of course, nominated for the Best First Novel Edgar Award. And A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY, the follow up to A BAD DAY FOR SORRY, is due out in June. Sophie also has a young adult novel coming out with Delacourt.

Finally, Sophie introduced Brad. Sophie and Brad share an editor and so at a conference they were both attending, Sophie sought Brad out. They kind of played the role of wallflowers ogling the seasoned authors that were present, but then they noticed a couple that they knew were not authors because they didn't have the badges that authors at the conference wore. They struck up a conversation, not knowing who they were talking to until they said good-bye and Oline Cogdill introduced herself.

Brad was a journalist/sports writer before leaving the news world for fiction. Sophie approached Brad's book, FACES OF THE GONE, with trepidation based on her past experiences reading former journalists works and what she knew the premise of the book was going to be. But, Brad defeated her preconceived notions and FotG won Sophie over. She feels Brad's voice is "credible" and "dead on."

Brad is married with two small children. He has also written a young adult novel.

After all the introductions each of the authors went on to talk about how they came up with the ideas for their debut novels. Carla started. She explained that before coming to Dublin, she and her family lived in Maryland. It was in 2007, when her oldest was in seventh grade, that they came to Ohio, not knowing anyone here. And at that time the news was filled with warnings about the bird flu. Carla had previously read about the 1918 Pandemic. Reading about that event and knowing it's devastation at a 20% mortality rate, the reports about the bird flu having a 50% mortality rate was terrifying. She began having nightmares about how she would protect her family if the bird flu hit this pandemic stage.

And at this point, Carla had been writing traditional mysteries; she had an agent who had been with her for nine years and her agent was working on shopping a manuscript that Carla had recently finished. So, Carla was going to start on the next manuscript that she had a concept for, but the nightmares convinced her to change gears and write about a bird flu pandemic and how it affects one average family.

THE THINGS THAT KEEP US HERE was a pivotal book for Carla. Yes it is her first published, but it was also the book that she would have ended on, had it not sold. She was literally going to work, had an editing job all lined up, and then her book sold. Fifteen years of determination paid off.

Sophie also wrote nine books before she was finally published. Sophie chalks her determination up to the fact that she doesn't "have any other skills." Kidding aside, Sophie has worked very hard at her craft and understands it. She was writing books that she felt were on target. So when they all kept coming back, she decided she was going to write something no one had done before. And she knew it was a tough sell - and unattractive 50-year-old woman - but it was what she wanted to write. And when she received a call from an agent to represent her, she jumped at the chance.

Sophie chalks her editor's inexperience (she's 30 years old) up to the reason she bought A BAD DAY FOR SORRY because no one else wanted to touch it.

Brad was a sports writer for a long time. That involved a lot of traveling and being on the road. So when he turned 30 and got married, he decided it was time to settle down. An opening came up in the News department at the Newark Star Ledger where Brad worked. So, he moved to the News department where his very first assignment was a quadruple homicide: four people shot in the back of the head, left for dead in a vacant lot. Aha! A launching point, a real-life mystery. Unlike his sporting events that have a beginning and an end, a game hero, a winner and a loser, they didn't have any outcome or resolution for this heinous crime.

Since Brad's wife was in graduate school, she had to spend a lot of time studying. To spend time with her, he'd tag along to a local cafe, where he'd pull out his laptop and play with the idea of this quadruple homicide mystery. He "invented" a protagonist who was a "tall, stiff white guy; side-parted brown hair; likes khaki pants and collared shirts." I can't imagine where the idea for such a protagonist came from. Brad always thought that authors who claimed their characters directed the story were ridiculous. That is until he experienced the same thing and HIS characters started running the story.

Because Brad could tell his newspaper would soon be out of business, like so many others, he decided it was a good time to take his "absurd leap of faith" and change careers. He wanted to become an author. He did premise this information by saying if he'd have known Carla or Sophie's story (nine manuscripts) back then, he NEVER would have taken his leap. However, he did take that leap. His wife was taking a job with a boarding school, and that would allow them to live on campus and take advantage of the campus dining hall and Brad could be unemployed until he sold a book. They sold their house and were preparing to move when he got the call that his book sold. So instead of having to tell people he was supported by his wife, he could proudly say he was an "author."

Next the authors took turns reading from each other's works. I had wanted to share clips of this with you from my recording, buuuuuut.....we were outside at Foul Play. It was wonderful, beautiful, loved it. However, so did the birds. And they were especially happy about this book event and were singing throughout. So, I'll just tell you that it was very enjoyable listening to them read and you should check out all three books if you have not yet done so.

It was a super, wonderful day. I am so glad that Brad, Carla and Sophie took time out from the RT Convention to come over to Foul Play. And I was especially glad because I had planned to go to the Mystery Festival at Mystery Lovers Bookshop this past Monday - Brad was there, but I was called for jury duty. Yeah, that's a whole different, creepy story, but I didn't get released in enough time to make it out there. So, having the chance to see all three wonderful writers in one place was a treasure. And like I said at the beginning of this post, if you get the opportunity to meet any of these folks, snatch it - go out of your way to make it happen. You will be so glad you did! Brad might even dip you...

Thanks for letting me relive my day a little with you. Happy Reading!

Technorati Tags: Author events, Carla Buckley, Sophie Littlefield, Brad Parks, Foul Play Books