Another Week of YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO SIX WORDS!

Here we are again! It's week SIXTEEN. Does it feel like it's been sixteen weeks to you? Gosh these just seem to be flying by. When we get to today's, we'll have shared 64 author memoirs and there are still quite a few more to go! But instead of looking forward or back, let's look at this week's wonderful line-up of author memoirists.

Starting off today's line-up I have another familiar face. James LePore stopped at Jen's Book Thoughts on his virtual book tour for his debut novel A WORLD I NEVER MADE. After practicing civil trial law in New Jersey for over 20 years, James left the courtroom to write and pursue his love of photography. His love of reading began around the age of 13 when he would read paperbacks his mother had around the house. Then he discovered he could purchase he own at the corner candy store. His first two purchases on the road to a literary career: Johnny Got his Gun and Hawaii. In A WORLD I NEVER MADE, James depicts an act of terrorism on the Iberian Peninsula. James is now working on his second book which will again look at terrorism, but this time on American soil, specifically in New York City. And James adequately sums up his journey to author with

Boy reads; man takes pictures, writes.

Nadia Gordan is author of four Sunny McCoskey Napa Valley mystery books, including the most recent that was released this past spring, LETHAL VINTAGE. The Chicago Tribune called Nadia's series "jolly high-calorie pleasure." When not writing the Sunny McCoskey Napa Valley series, she might be found writing under her real name, Julianne Balmain, where she's published books on a variety of different topics. A national board member for Sister's In Crime, Nadia has also served as a judge for the Edgar Award Best Mystery Novel category. So how does Nadia capture her career to date?

Founder of the slow writing movement.

I think I joined that movement the day I learned how to write. Probably a good thing I don't do it for a living now!

Third up this week we have another debut author from 2009. Meredith Cole is the author of POSED FOR MURDER, the winner of St. Martins/Malice Domestic's Best Traditional First Mystery contest. Her debut as a novelist comes after an extensive career in screenwriting. She earned her Master's degree from American University in Film and Video Production and went on to be named a Playwriting/Screenwriting fellow by the New York Foundation for the arts in 2004. We're thrilled that Meredith took the leap from screenwriting to novel writing and even more excited that she is working on book number two that is due out in 2010 and tentatively titled DEAD IN THE WATER. So for Meredith this has all been

Not what I expected. Mostly better.

Since we had two debut novelists in this week's list of memoirist, I thought it fitting that we wrap up with one of crime fiction's legends. David Morrell was inspired to become a writer at the age of seventeen as he watched the classic television series ROUTE 66. The scripts for that show would be the catalyst for Morrell's writing career. Further fueling his desire to write was Hemingway scholar Philip Young who motivated David to leave his home in Canada and come study under Young in the United States. After completing his Master's and Ph.D. in American Literature at Penn State, David worked as a professor in the English department at the University of Iowa. It was here that David published FIRST BLOOD, the book that would go on to forever change the face of the modern American action novel. And David hasn't stopped writing since. This year he published THE SHIMMER. In addition to his 27 novels, short stories and non-fiction works, David wrote a comic book series: CAPTAIN AMERICAN: THE CHOSEN. His works have been translated into 26 different languages, and David is one of the co-founders of International Thriller Writers, Inc.

His years of research have enabled David some prestigious accomplishments, such as being a graduate of both the National Outdoor Leadership School for wilderness survival and the G. Gordon Liddy Academy of Corporate Security. He is an honorary lifetime member of the Special Operations Association and the Association of Former Intelligence Officers. And he's been trained in firearms, hostage negotiation, assuming identities, executive protection, and anti-terrorist driving, among numerous other action skills that he describes in his novels. With all of this life experience, is it any wonder that David says

It's the journey, not the destination.

And he's still on that journey, tweeting about it even! You can follow his journey on Twitter at @DavidMorrell.

This week truly epitomizes what Jen's Book Thoughts, and this six-word memoir project, is all about. From the debut writers to the seasoned veterans and everyone in between. They are all what make crime fiction such a rich, dynamic, down-right amazing genre of fiction. I am tickled pink that all the authors have let me share a small part of it and in turn share it with you. James, Nadia/Julianne, Meredith, David, thank you so much for being such great sports and participating. Your generosity humbles me. Best of luck to all of you.

Some other quick notes before I wrap things up here. Next week is Book Blogger Appreciation Week. I'll still be posting a six-word memoir post but it'll be a tad bit different in honor of the BBAW. Also don't forget to get over and vote for your favorite blogs. You have until midnight Eastern time on Saturday to get your votes in.

You also have until midnight Eastern time Saturday to get your entries in for my THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE drawing. Details for that are here.

And I neglected to mention that I added a feature over in the side bar that will allow you sign up for email updates. That just sends you an email of my posts when they go up on the blog. So if you want the posts to just go directly to your email box, you can sign up for that. I won't be sending you anything personally.

Tomorrow I'm headed out in the evening to meet Lisa Black. I'll be recapping her event for you, but it may be quiet around these here parts for the next couple days while I regroup and try to catch up on reviews and planned posts and whatnot. So if you don't hear anything for a couple days, don't panic. I haven't vanished!

Bouchercon countdown: 36 days! I can't wait! Happy Reading!!

Guest Blogger James LePore: Your Life is a Novel

Yesterday I reviewed James LaPore's debut novel A WORLD I NEVER MADE as part of his blog tour with TLC Book Tours. Today he's here as my guest blogger, so I'm just going to turn the blog over to him:

Jen has said that I could write whatever I want, so here goes.

Your life is a novel. If you think this sounds odd, consider the following seven basic needs to a story line (taken from Google Answers):

1. A hero, defined as the person through whose eyes we see the story unfold, set against a larger background.

By this definition, we are all heroes because we all see the story of our lives unfolding against the larger background of family, friends and location. Each of us is the central character in the novel that is our life. I think one reason why people move to exotic places is because they want an exotic background for their life story.

2. The hero’s character flaw, defined as a weakness or defense mechanism that hinders the hero in such a way as to render him/her incomplete.

By this definition, we all have character flaws. I know I have many. Pat and Megan Nolan, the central characters in A World I Never Made, are deeply flawed. They
would not be interesting otherwise, and neither would we.

3. Enabling circumstances, defined as the surroundings the hero is in at the beginning of the story, which allow the hero to maintain his/her character flaw.

I call this the X, or excuse factor. In A World I Never Made, Pat Nolan’s excuse for being an absentee father was the death of his wife, at age 20, while giving birth to his daughter, Megan. Pat clung to these enabling circumstances for a long time. I think we all do the same in the novel that is our life.

4. An opponent, defined as someone who opposes the hero in getting or doing what he/she wants. Not always a villain. The opponent is the person who instigates the life-changing event (see below).

We all have opponents. People who try to abuse us, belittle us, stand in our way. An opponent may also be a fear of something, or an addiction. There is no success in life without confronting the opponent, in whatever form it takes. In my novel, Pat and Megan are each other’s opponents. This creates the story’s emotional and psychological tension (at least I hope it does). Pat and Megan have a common opponent as well in the characters of the bad guys who are trying to kill them.

5. The hero’s ally, defined as the person who spends the most time with the hero and who helps the hero overcome his/her character flaw.

In A World I Never Made, the hero’s ally is the beautiful and sad Catherine Laurence. In the novel that is our life, this role is, I believe, usually (but not always)filled by our spouses. It’s probably why we get married, and sometimes divorced.

6. The life-changing event, defined as a challenge, threat or opportunity usually instigated by the opponent, which forces the hero to respond in some way that’s related to the hero’s flaw.

This is where the pain comes in. Sickness, death, self-destruction. I don’t think I need to say too much on this topic. We face what we have to face. If it doesn’t kill us hopefully it makes us stronger. It changes us for the better.

7. Jeopardy, defined as the high stakes that the hero must risk to overcome his/her flaw, the dramatic events that lend excitement and challenge to the quest.
When the stakes are highest, both Pat and Megan Nolan go all in. Their courage--their willingness to die in order to re-establish their love--is, I believe, what makes them compelling characters. In the novel that is our life, our very lives are not usually at stake, but who among us has not learned the lesson of no pain, no gain, no risk, no glory, on some level? And then there are those who really do risk their lives. The people who fight for their country, those in law enforcement, firefighters, the stranger who saves the life of someone drowning. Think of the novel that is each of those lives.

So what do you think? Does your life fit this definition. I'm pretty endowed in #2 myself and I think sometimes I over-inflate my personal perception of #7! Thanks so much to James for his guest post today.

Happy Reading everyone! Have a great weekend!

A WORLD I NEVER MADE - James LePore

In James LePore's debut novel, A WORLD I NEVER MADE, Pat Nolan is called to Paris to identify the body of his daughter Megan who was believed to have committed suicide. His relationship with Megan has always been a rocky one and at best they see each other once a year. But when Nolan arrives, he discovers that the body is not Megan's and she has left him a cryptic clue indicating she is in trouble and needs his help.

As Nolan investigates further into the mystery of his daughter's disappearance he finds a complex network of international terrorism. With the help of French Detective Catherine Laurence, can Nolan find Megan before the terrorists who want her dead do?

LaPore parallels Pat Nolan's odyssey with Megan Nolan's experiences leading up to her faked suicide. Interweaving the two stories, the reader is able to start locking the events together like pieces of a puzzle. And like a puzzle, the story isn't complete until the last piece is entered.

In a day and age when our greatest fears revolve around terrorism, the antagonists create a great level of suspense that keeps the action moving swiftly.

The characters in this novel are all carrying "baggage" that they must work their ways through. This, of course, helps to define who they are as well as show growth throughout the plot. While most parents don't have quite the relationship with their children that Pat has with Megan, they can probably identify a distance and wonder what they don't know about their own children's lives. And in the end, it is the relationships throughout the novel that are its greatest strength. Relationships are never perfect, but that lack of perfection doesn't prevent a person from being willing to go to the ends of the earth for another - sometimes we all have to be reminded of that.

Jim LePore is presently wrapping up his blog tour with TLC Book Tours for A WORLD I NEVER MADE. This is his second to last stop. You can find more information about Jim and his tour at TLC Book Tours or Jim's website.

Monday Mystery Backlist - THE TWO MINUTE RULE

This weekend, Robert Crais celebrated his birthday. So, for my celebration, we'll highlight a Crais novel this week on the Monday Mystery Backlist. Really, any of Crais' novels would be great for this post, but since I talk about Elvis all the time, I decided to choose one of RC's stand alone novels, and one of my favorite all-around Crais novels, THE TWO-MINUTE RULE.

Max Holman is an ex-con who has just been released from serving time for a bank robbery. When he is released his primary goal is to reconcile with his son, ironically, a cop. However, fate has dealt Max a losing hand. Max learns his son was gunned down along with three other uniformed police officers. Max also learns that the killings were believed to be revenge killings and police corruption could be involved. The only thing Max has left that he can give his son is his name back, so Max sets out with the help of FBI agent, Katherine Pollard, to clear his son's name.

I've read this book and listened to the Brilliance audio version of THE TWO-MINUTE RULE; both are wonderful. I've been secretly hoping that Max and Pollard will either show up in the Cole/Pike novels or have another book of their own.

THE TWO-MINUTE RULE was published in hardcover by Simon and Schuster in 2006 (ISBN: 978-0743281614 ). Pocket Star published the paperback in 2007 (ISBN: 978-1416514961 ). And for those who are interested, Brilliance has an unabridged audio version also published in 2006 and read by Christopher Graybill (ISBN: 978-1-59355-036-3).

I have links in my right margin to the Mystery Lovers Bookshop in PA and the Mystery Bookstore in CA. Either bookstore would be more than happy to help you get your hands on a copy of this wonderful tome from Crais' bibliography. And I can personally attest to the fact that you will get magnificent customer service from either. And in case you're wondering, I don't receive a dime for their links on my page. They are present because I choose to support them.

REMINDER: Don't forget to get your entry in for a chance to win a signed copy of Chris Grabenstein's fifth John Ceepak novel, MIND SCRAMBLER. Here was my earlier review of this book that comes out in bookstores tomorrow. And here are the details for entering the drawing.

Also, to give you a heads-up on the week, I'm so excited to be welcoming Gregg Hurwitz to Jen's Book Thoughts tomorrow. Coming out at the same time as MIND SCRAMBLER is Gregg's ninth novel, TRUST NO ONE. We'll be having our own "virtual" release party for him right here since we can't be out on the Pacific Coast with him for the actual release party. Then we'll have four more memoirs to check out on Wednesday and Thursday I'll be hosting James LePore for a stop on his blog tour. I'll be reviewing his debut novel, A WORLD I NEVER MADE. Busy, busy week! Hope you'll stop back.

Happy Reading!