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

This Week's Odds and Ends

Happy Sunday. I have a busy weekend lined up in an effort to get a good chuck of the Six-Word Memoir scrapbook finished for Bouchercon, which by the way, is now less than 2 WEEKS away. I absolutely can not believe it. It is on the horizon.

But, there is also something else on the horizon...Christmas. There appear to be 81 shopping days until Christmas. Don't worry. I'm not going to do a Christmas countdown, I promise. I'm not ready for decorations or music or anything like that yet, but usually I start thinking about Christmas gifts long before this. It's a financial thing. I simply can't afford to wait until Thanksgiving to start doing the shopping. Have to spread it out. This year my attentions have been all focused on Bouchercon - I know that comes as a complete surprise to you all! And I'm sure by now you're all going, "Jen, this is a book blog; what does this have to do with anything?" Well, in my wordy, round-a-bout way I'm getting to some recommendations. First, I'd like to once again begin to recommend books as Christmas gifts. I was utterly disgusted when I read this quote from a NYT article about the possibility of adding versatility to the Kindle:

"My general thought is that the limitations of e-ink make this a limited device for applications," said Evan Schnittman, vice president at Oxford University Press. "It's for reading, not interactivity. The refresh rate alone would kill anything remotely fun or cool." (Article: "Will Amazon Open the Kindle to Developers"; New York Times, Sept. 25, 2009)

Uhm, EXCUSE ME? Who says that READING isn't fun or cool? And the vice president of Oxford University Press? Huh? I think it is both, which is why I want to send that message by using books as gifts, especially for my niece and nephew who are young and need to learn from the get-go that reading is both cool and fun. So, all that hoopla to first remind you of some FABULOUS bookstores that specialize in mystery/crime fiction. I love all of these stores. They work incredibly hard to bring about the best of the best in customer service. And if you're wondering, yes, I believe all of them will be able to tell you books what would be great gifts for me - ha! Just kidding.

The Mystery Bookstore in Los Angeles totally won my heart when I visited there in April. If you ever want to feel like family, just cross the threshold of their store. Of course, I don't have the chance to visit often physically, but via Twitter, Facebook and e-mail I've experienced events and such that would have never been possible 10 years ago! Bobby, Linda and the entire staff are beyond wonderful. I have to give a special shout out to Emily who was corresponding with me this week, too. Just love all of them there! As part of their customer service you can expect many things. I know if I order a book to be shipped from them, it will come in pristine condition. I'm not kidding. They package that baby up so it could make a detour through WWIII and still come to me in perfect condition. They also have a slew of signed books, so if you want to give an extra-special gift you can find one of the many titles that they have available autographed by the author. Or even better yet, if you know the author is going to be doing an event there, you can order your book and request to have it personalized. Wouldn't that make a heck of a gift? Absolutely awesome folks!

The Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, is another great resource for your mystery book shopping list. If you're planning in advance, they can order ANY book for you (as I'm sure any of these stores on my list would be willing to do). And like The Mystery Bookstore in L.A., they are customer service-centered. The last time I visited, I was driving in to see Craig Johnson's event and I was greeted at the door with a warm reception. I almost felt like I was the guest of honor, not Craig. And that's how they treat you, like their guest of honor. They also carry a significant line of puzzles and games. I bought Banana-grams for my niece from them. Very cool. If you're ordering a purchase for delivery in advance, you can get free shipping for any order over $10. It comes media mail, so you need to have enough time for it to get to you, but if you need it quicker, for a nominal fee they will ship it in under quicker rating. They often have signed books on hand from their many events as well, so you can check and see what is available at any given time.

The Foul Play Bookstore in Westerville, Ohio, is another specialty mystery bookstore I've had the joy of experiencing. They have a nice selection of used books, cat gifts (gifts with cat themes that is - not gifts FOR your cat) and new releases. They can also order books for you if you're interested in certain titles. Their store is very unique because it is a renovated Victorian home. If you have the chance to attend an event - not in the winter - you can sit out on the beautiful back porch with them and enjoy the fresh air. And again, I can't say enough about how nice the people are. Despite the fact that villains are doing bad things IN our books, super nice folks are selling those books to us, I promise!

And finally I want to highlight a bookstore that I haven't ever actually visited. It's Murder by the Book in Houston, Texas. I am so determined to visit these folks. I've gotten to know the store a little through Twitter, and I have to tell you that I am totally in love with these. And this duel interview was awesome! I'm also extremely envious of all the amazing events they have there. You can obtain autographed copies of books, order whatever suits your fancy, and get great recommendations. As a matter of fact, assistant manager David just gave me a recommendation this week. If I can't manage to get there before, our organization has its trade show in Houston in 2011 and I'll make sure I visit THEN!

So I've given you some stores all around the country. I do hope that you will think of one of them - or another independent near you - when you're doing your book shopping this year. Remember they can order anything for you, and I know they will be willing to do so. These folks are all about customer service. They do what they do because they LOVE selling mystery and crime fiction books to you.

I know there are many more great stores out there; this list is a list of the ones who have made a tremendous and lasting impression on me. I am certain they will do the same for you.

And just a few other odds and ends before I head off to do my weekly grocery shopping...ugh. I am thrilled for Steve Weems who is going to see his first book published very soon. During the manuscript process, he asked if I would read it and give him some feedback. Well, the English teacher in me probably provided a bit more than what he was actually expecting (sorry, Steve), and I felt bad because it took me FOR-EVER to get through the manuscript, reading parts at lunch breaks and before bed and whatnot. So, it's very neat to have been involved in his "process" and now see this.

If you have a chance snag a copy of the Oct. 12th?/15th? PEOPLE magazine. It should actually be out now, whichever date it actually is. I'm picking mine up when I go out this morning. There is a review in the books section of, yes, Louise Penny's THE BRUTAL TELLING. How fabulous is this? Not only did she make a B&N Main Selection, a NYT Best Seller, a USA Today top 150, but she also made PEOPLE magazine. This is huge and it is wonderful. Go Louise!

O.k., I think that is about it for this edition of odds and ends. I hope you have a wonderful week. It may be a little on the thin side here at Jen's Book Thoughts as I plug away at that scrapbook, but rest assured a mystery backlist title tomorrow and new memoirs on Wednesday.

Happy Reading!

Someone's Having a Birthday!

Happy Sunday everyone! I need to start off this post by letting everyone know that today is Michael Koryta's birthday!! So, send a little birthday love his way today. Best wishes for a fabulous year 27, Michael. Not that you haven't had tremendous success already, but may this year bring you much more.

A few other odds and ends to mention, since I've been focuses on Book Blogger Appreciation Week this past week. It was a wonderful week and my warmest thanks go out to everyone who voted for Jen's Book Thoughts in the awards. We didn't take the whole shebang, but the nomination means the world to me. Thank you! I'm so thrilled to have you all to share fun crime fiction book stuff with.

I received an email the other day that this onlinecollege.org group listed Jen's Book Thoughts on their 100 Best Blogs for Book Reviews. So, thank you very much to them for that recognition.

I am continuing to update the Twitter Crime Fiction Directory. I am planning to put a link to it over in my sidebar so you can easily access it any time. I have a lot that needs to be updated over there. I apologize. I've fallen a bit behind, but I intend to catch up. I have several reviews I'm excited to share with you as well.

This Wednesday at 6:00p.m. is Tim Hallinan's event at the Foul Play bookstore in Westerville. I'm very excited about heading out there to see him. I hope you will join us if you're in the area!
Tim has been receiving absolutely RAVE reviews for BREATHING WATER. Of course, mine were among them. The Poke Rafferty series is outstanding. So, snag this chance to meet Tim if you can!

The final topic for Book Blogger Appreciation Week was:

"Write in 50 words or less…what do you like best about your blog right now and where would you like your blog to be a year from now?"

I didn't respond to this one on Friday since I was hosting that deliriously fun interview with Kelli Stanley. But I did want to respond to it because it gives me a chance to reflect and to look forward. Sometimes I get so caught up in the "right this minute" - because there is a ton to do right this minute - that I forget to look forward or back. I may have to cheat a little on the 50 words, though. So, here goes:

I love the sense of community here and my hope is to build that even more. I'd like Jen's Book Thoughts to really be a meeting place for lovers of crime fiction to share and discuss. So, my hope is to continue increasing the traffic and the comments. I'm definitely going to continue to work on new ideas and projects and recruiting special visitors in interviews and guest spots. But, on that same note, I have to work on saying, "I'm sorry, but I'm just overbooked right now." I need to be better about staying on top of my reviews and not getting so far behind. That's when the quality starts to diminish. I wish I could read EVERYONE'S book, but this is not my full-time job, it's my hobby. And as much as I hate the fact, I have to remind myself of that. So, I'm also working on building in parameters. That means I'll have to work on staying within those parameters as best I can.

This was a wonderful Book Blogger Appreciation Week. I have to send out special thanks to Amy from My Friend Amy and her whole crew of helpers who made this week happen so spectacularly. And now it's time to look forward. I have another rather exciting week coming up on the blog. A very special give-away, some new reviews, and another special interview. We will also have another special 6-word memoir post on Wednesday. So, I hope you'll be back to enjoy all the fun.

And of course, we need to know the Bouchercon countdown: 25 DAYS!!

A Smattering of Stuff on Sunday

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. We had a lot of rain here yesterday and today the rain has stopped and the thermometer is steadily rising. The forecasters are saying 90s for today. This is the first time this summer we've been this high here in Northeast Ohio, I believe. Very unusual. But regardless of the weather, I have lots to do for this blog. There's exciting stuff coming up. So, Twitter and Facebook are going to remain off and I'm going to be working, working, working!

In the meantime, I thought I'd pass on a few things for you all to check out.

First thing I have today is a blog I've mentioned on here before. It's become one of my new favorites, and I simply adore the writing from each of the seven authors who blog on 7 Criminal Minds. Each week they have an assigned question to respond to, so it's like a virtual panel. They are fun responses every week. And did you know that if you comment, they'll put your name in the monthly drawing for books and gift cards? If you haven't checked it out, make sure you do so soon. You don't know what you're missing if you don't!

Another of my favorite blogs to visit belongs to Tim Hallinan, one of my favorite authors to read. He has an excerpt ready for you to check out from his new novel, BREATHING WATER, which will be available August 18. Of course, I'll be reviewing BREATHING WATER, but more exciting than that, Tim will be guest blogging. So while we have that to look forward to, you can check out the excerpt, and there's a contest involved so you can try to win a personalized copy of BREATHING WATER.

Also, you can check out the first part of Tim's book tour here. And for those of you in the Ohio neck of the woods, he's going to be at the Foul Play Bookstore on September 23rd. I'm already planning my trip down there. I hope you'll come out that day as well!

Jason Pinter is also running a contest connected to the excerpt from his upcoming novel in the Henry Parker series, THE FURY. You can check that out here. Here you can win an iTunes gift card, a bookstore gift card, or your name as a character in a future book. I'm going to try to meet Jason at Bouchercon since he'll be an attendee this year.

And of course THE SILENT HOUR, Michael Koryta's fourth Lincoln Perry novel, came out this past week. He was also at Foul Play last week. I believe he's at Aunt Agatha's in Ann Arbor tomorrow. For us here in Northeast Ohio, though, Michael will be here Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Tuesday he will be at the Fairview Public Library. You need to register for this event and you can do so here. On Wednesday he will be at the Rocky River Don Umerley Civic Center (sponsored by the Rocky River Public Library). This is a pdf flyer, hopefully the link will work for you. Otherwise, try the library link here. Alright, so Rocky River is Wednesday and there's no registration required for that one. Thursday you can see Michael at the Bay Village Public Library. This one is another registration required, so you can register for that here. The next few books Michael has in the works aren't Lincoln Perry and aren't set here in Northeast Ohio, so if you have the chance to get out and see him, I urge you to do so. Who knows when he'll be back to see us again!

And once I post my recap of the event, I'll be sharing a special surprise with everyone. The cat got out of the bag in Columbus last week, so if you already know...don't tell! ;)

My friend Linda from The Mystery Bookstore out in L.A. announced that October 24th is going to be a huge date for them. They will be hosting both James Ellroy and Michael Connelly, plus celebrating their owners' anniversary! If you're in the vicinity of L.A., you need to make plans to be there!

Before that, though, on August 22nd, they're going to be hosting my new friend Sophie Littlefield for her debut book A BAD DAY FOR SORRY. If you're in the area, go see Sophie and tell her I said "hi!"

And finally, bringing up the end of this post of links is the reminder that this is the final week to nominate your favorite blogs for Book Blogger Appreciation Week awards. So, if you haven't done so already, get over and nominate those book bloggers you love.

If you're a book blogger and haven't registered for the event yet...get over and get registered! Don't miss out on the festivities. Remember, that is September 14 - 18 this year. And bloggers who are registered, are you signed up to interview another blogger? You can do that here. It's a lot of fun. Meet someone new!

If you're an author/publisher/publicist you can donate prizes to the Book Blogger Appreciation Week. The committee is hard at work collecting prizes for the festivities and would love to have you included. It's a great way to promote your books to the book bloggers!

Whew. That's it for today. Now I have to make the weekly run to the grocery store and then get down to work. Lots to do. Have a great Sunday, have a great week - see ya at Michael's event if you come out - and as always HAPPY READING!

**side note: anyone find it ironic that the spell check in Blogger, picks bloggers up as a mis-spelling? ;)

Bouchercon countdown: 67 days!

Some Reminders

Sorry for the little silence there folks. I'm slipping behind a little and am trying to do a little catch-up this weekend. I've been spending some time working on the scrapbook to go with the 6-word memoir project. I'm very excited about this book, it's off to a good start but there's still a lot more to do before Indy in October!

This summer has been an exquisite one for reading. I can't get over all the fabulous books I've had the pleasure of reading the past few months. And I have a rather daunting stack still waiting for me. I've got a few reviews to catch up on as well; some books I'm very excited to tell you all about. In addition we have some fun guest posts coming up, some fun interviews, more backlist titles and of course more 6-word memoirs! Speaking of which, the memoirs will be posted on Tuesday this week, don't forget. We have another great batch of writers hangin' out with us sharing memoirs this week.

In other reminder news. This Tuesday is a big day for releases. I wanted to remind you about three of them. A BAD DAY FOR SORRY by Sophie Littlefield comes out this Tuesday. I'm so excited about this book. Sophie is just a magnificent, fun writer. Also up is THE SIEGE by Stephen White who, of course, was one of our memoirists last week. Looking forward to another great work from him. And finally, THE SILENT HOUR, Michael Koryta's fourth Lincoln Perry novel will be available this Tuesday.

And to continue with the Koryta reminders, those of you who live near me here in Northeast Ohio, we have the luxury of THREE stops on Michael's book tour. August 11th he will be at Fairview Park Public Library. You can register for that event here. On August 12th he will be at the Rocky River City Hall Umerley Center. There is no registration required for that one. And finally on August 13th he will be at the Bay Village Public Library, and you can register for that event here. If you're in the Columbus area, hop to it! Michael is at Foul Play Bookstore on Wednesday...yes, THIS Wednesday! The three events here in NE Ohio are at 7:00 p.m. and the Columbus event is at 6:00 p.m.

Another Ohio event to announce...mark your calendars, I'm so excited! Tim Hallinan is going to be at Foul Play Bookstore on September 23rd! He has an exciting presentation about Bangkok, the setting of his Poke Rafferty novels. And of course, he'll be talking about BREATHING WATER, the third Poke Rafferty thriller. If you can make it, I hope you'll be there. I certainly will!

And my final reminder is simply to remind you to vote for your favorite book bloggers. You have until August 15th to get your votes in for the 2009 Book Blogger Appreciation Award nominations. And if you're a book blogger and you have registered yet, what ARE you waiting for? So, registration here...nomination voting here. EVERYONE and ANYONE can put in their nominations. You need not be a blogger.

That's all she wrote for today. "She" will be back tomorrow with a new backlist title. In the meantime...happy reading!

Bouchercon countdown: 74 days!