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!

Crime Writers as Adjectives

I saw this article last month and today I was doing some interview work and used the term Fitzgeraldesque, which got me thinking about what adjectivized versions of crime writers names would mean. Don't worry; I won't be anywhere near as focused on sex as the Flavorwire writer was.

The one that jumped to mind immediately was:

(James) Burkeian

Exceptionally atmospheric detail that entices all the senses.

And you know I absolutely had to have one for:

(Robert) Craisish

Characterized by loud shirts and funky socks.

or

Pertaining to intimate bonds between adult heterosexual males.

(Craig) Johnsonesque

Having desirable qualities. A Johnsonesque town is one everyone wants to visit; a Johnsonesque character is one everyone wants as their friend.

(Bryan) Gruleyian

Containing hockey metaphors.

(Lee) Childish...wait, maybe that one doesn't work so well, how about Lee Childian...Childesque???

Marked by a nomadic nature.

(Gregg) Hurwitzian

Having a whirlwind of emotion. If it makes you laugh, cry, scream, rejoice...it's Hurwitzian.

I haven't forgotten the criminal woman. Here we go with theirs:

(Sophie) Littlefieldesque

Of or pertaining to creatively smart women.

(Karin) Slaughterish

Marked by a dark, painful history.

(Rosemary) Harrisian

The quality of blossoming.

(Lisa) Ungerian
Of or pertaining to the psychological examination of one's actions.
(Cara) Blackesque

Marked by French couture.

I started with Burkeian and I'll finish with a Burkeish:

(Alafair) Burkeish

Of or pertaining to a love of Nutella

or

Having an incredible knowledge base of pop culture

O.k. so my creative genes aren't that strong. Help me out here. What crime writer adjectives would YOU add?

Chatting with Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter is coming off her book tour for the latest Will Trent novel, CRIMINAL. She was kind enough to make some time to chat with me a bit and I'm excited to be able to share that with you today.

Most of you know that Karin is the author of the Grant County Series and the Will Trent series. She's a tremendous advocate for libraries, a cat owner, and an extremely witty woman. She visited a couple weeks back to share her Five on Friday, which you can check out if you didn't have a chance to see it before.

In the meantime, let me share with you our conversation:

Q: CRIMINAL exposes the history that connects Will and Amanda. Was this something you had planned from the beginning of the series or did it evolve more organically as the series evolved?

Karin Slaughter: When I wrote the first Will Trent book, Triptych, I knew most everything about him—why he was left to state care, where his scars came from. I knew that Amanda had some connection to him, but I didn’t really formulate how strong that connection would be until I wrote subsequent stories. By Fallen, where I talk a great deal about Amanda’s “Good ol’ gal” network, I knew all the salient details. In many ways, this made it so much easier to write Criminal, where the research into the time period was so intense. Knowing those concrete emotional connections were in place gave me room to explore other things.

Q: An element of Amanda’s character that becomes abundantly clear in CRIMINAL is the effect her job had on her as person, the changes it made in her. From wanting to be a Kelly Girl to becoming a cop is quite a difference and the time period threw in its own challenges. Is there a real person or persons that inspired her character?

Karin Slaughter: During my research, I spoke with several female law enforcement officers who came up in the seventies, and I worked to incorporate their stories into the book. Marla Lawson, who works with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and has been called the best forensic artist in the country, was the one who wanted to be a Kelly Girl. She started out years ago doodling caricatures in Underground Atlanta, and now she’s about to retire from what has been an enviable career helping victims of crime. If anything, Marla is closer to Evelyn Mitchell, who might be a bit cynical, but for the most part still loves doing her job and enjoys life in general. That was one of the things I wanted to show in Criminal: Amanda and Evelyn had similar experiences, but their personalities made them grow into very different women. The things that made Amanda angry made Evelyn stronger.

Q: There are several heavy social issues that come into play in CRIMINAL, in fact your books are no strangers to social issues. What role do those issues play in the evolution of the book? Do you have a plot idea and then the issue fits into that or you have an issue you want to use in a book and the plot develops from there or another process altogether?

Karin Slaughter: I never try to shoehorn in issues. It gets a bit boring if you’re being preached to, which is why I try to bring balance through different characters’ perspectives. The bad guy in Criminal, for instance, commits dark deeds he feels have a religious foundation. Evelyn, who is religious herself, sees these justifications as abhorrent and contrary to what Christianity is all about. As far as weaving the gender and racial politics into the story, using the seventies as a setting and writing language that was used back then instantly made it more political, but that’s only because we’re looking at sexism and racism from a 2012 perspective. I think if this story had been published in 1975, then no one would’ve really said anything beyond, “what a couple of feisty gals!” (so long as I published it under a male pseudonym; I’m fairly certain no publisher would’ve published Criminal in 1975)

Q: Since you just finished with book tour, what’s a standout memory from doing book tours? It doesn’t have to be this specific one, just an incident (good or bad) that you’re fairly certain you won’t ever forget.

Karin Slaughter: I always try to do as many library events as I can when I’m on tour. What I love is when I see local booksellers working together with their library system, because it’s a mutually beneficial relationship. There are people who will religiously go to the library but never think to attend an event at their local bookstore. We know that every five holds at a library translates into one sale of that book. To have that sale go to an independent or chain bookseller who supports the library is a wonderful thing.

Q: When I’ve spoken to some writers about their own personal reading habits, they’ve shifted from reading a lot within the crime genre. Some have lost their passion for reading it since they are immersed in it while writing. Others stay away from it to avoid someone else’ voice from creeping into their own writing. Do you find that to be the case for you reading or do you still love to read crime novels?

Karin Slaughter: I love reading crime novels and I hope I never lose my taste for them. I can’t read anything when I’m working on my own stuff, but to think of never again reading the next Mo Hayder or Denise Mina or Lisa Gardner or Tess Gerritsen or Lee Child or… Unimaginable.

Q: What’s the best book you’ve read recently? One you can recommend to a wide range of readers?

Karin Slaughter: There’s a book by an American ex-pat in London called Tiger in Red Weather that I enjoyed so much that I reached out to her editor to offer a blurb. I enjoyed the Chaperone. Mo Hayder’s newest one, Gone, was a terrific read.

Q: What’s next for Karin Slaughter?

Karin Slaughter: Unseen, the next novel featuring Will Trent. He’s undercover in hostile territory, so I’ve been talking to lots of agents who’ve had to basically give up large chunks of their lives to catch bad guys. The book also features Lena Adams, and you can imagine what kind of trouble she’s gotten herself into since we last saw her.

Many thanks to Karin for her time and great answers. You can catch up with Karin on her Facebook page, and I've mentioned before she has a great newsletter you'll want to subscribe to if you haven't done so already. And she has a collection of very cool materials from her research on Criminal that you can see here.

And if you haven't had a chance to meet Karin in real life, she'll be at Bouchercon in a couple of months. Do you have your registration in?

Thanks for stopping by and happy reading!

Five on Friday - Karin Slaughter

It's Friday! Does everyone have fun plans for the weekend? Something great to read? I'm rather excited because on Monday I'm headed to Pittsburgh to see Francine Mathews, who is a new-to-me author this year. She's written a lot of great stuff, I understand, and my introduction to her is her new book JACK 1939. Wonderful book! Just wonderful! More on that later. If you're in the area of Mystery Lovers Bookshop on Monday you should come!

Another event I'm super excited about is Michael Koryta's launch for his new book THE PROPHET. He's going to be in Rocky River (Ohio) for that on August 7th at 7:00 p.m. So if you're in this neck of the woods...or close enough to get here, come celebrate the launch at Rocky River Public Library!

Yesterday I reviewed the audio of Karin Slaughter's new Will Trent novel, CRIMINAL. And if you didn't check that out, there's a contest where you could win a copy of the audio! Be sure to hop over there and give me a memory from learning to drive!  But as an added bonus, Karin is participating in the Five on Friday feature. She is such a funny, smart, creative woman, and I'm certain you're going to love her responses today. I mentioned yesterday that her newsletter is one of my all time favorites to see arrive in my email inbox. So, if you're night signed up, I would recommend doing so. And if you have the chance to see Karin in person, I also highly recommend that. But you don't want to hear from me anymore so here she is...consider us Slaughtered!

Karin in Frankfurt, taking a break!

The most bizarre place I ever found inspiration for a story was: in a bathroom stall at the Atlanta airport. There was a little girl and her mom in the stall next to me, and I just got this “what if…” idea, which turned into my Will Trent novella, SNATCHED.


The last book I recommended to someone was: Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, because it’s a really masterful, psychotic telling of a marriage gone wrong. It’s actually made me nervous about being around Gillian. If I ever get cut with a knife, she should be on the top of the list of suspects. Actually—any crime in the Chicago area: look her up.

My biggest pet peeve is: People who are rude to other people. They blow up and it’s over for them, but the person on the receiving end has to live with their nastiness for a while. It’s like catching a cold. And it’s so easy not to be nasty. Rudeness takes work.

My favorite toppings on a pizza are: Sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and mushrooms. This make me believe that I am eating healthy. Vegetables can’t be bad!


The #1 item on my bucket list right now is: to go into sub-orbital space. (But I promised my dad I would wait until 100 people have done it in case they explode.) 

Sounds like a good plan! Karin's humor is one of the many things I love about her books and I'm glad she shared it with us a little today, too. Many thanks to my friend Jill at AudioGo who helped facilitate this with Karin's busy schedule. And since I shared a little video of Louis Bayard with you last week, I found one for Karin this week as well.



 I hope this gives you a good note to end your week on. Happy Reading, all!

CRIMINAL - Karin Slaughter

First line: "A cinnamon brown Oldsmobile Cutlass crawled up Edgewood Avenue, the windows lowered, the driver hunched down in his seat."

In Karin Slaughter's sixth Will Trent novel, the fourth also featuring Sara Linton, Slaughter moves to a story line she's been building up to with Amanda Wagner and Evelyn Mitchell. The plot of CRIMINAL alternates between 1974/75 - when both Amanda and Evelyn were fresh out of the academy plain clothes officers for the Atlanta Police Department - and present day.

A gruesome murder in present-day Atlanta has echos of a similar case Amanda and Evelyn investigated in '74, a case that also has ties to Will Trent. As the details of both the old and the new case unfold, Will is convinced the murder hits closer to home than he thought possible and he fears it will destroy the relationship he's started to build with Sara Linton.

It is always refreshing to experience an author at this stage in his/her career who is still striving to improve and go further. Karin Slaughter has achieved a high status in the crime fiction genre and it wouldn't be difficult to start coasting, but CRIMINAL is evidence that she has no intention of doing anything of the sort. The complexity of this novel resembles artwork by Escher. How Slaughter does it is baffling but it works sumptuously.

CRIMINAL is a patchwork of social issues all influencing the characters and their environments, shaping who they are and will become. All the race, gender and class issues that raged in the early seventies are front and center as Slaughter brings Amanda and Evelyn more to the forefront, relating their back stories. The change in narrators from FALL to CRIMINAL helps to illustrate the naivety of these two characters early in their career.

I was disappointed to find that Shannon Cochran had not returned for this installment in Slaughter's series as I so enjoyed her narration for FALLEN. However, Kathleen Early's feminine sound is well-suited to two young women just learning how to grow thicker skin, play hard ball with the old boys' network.

Early's sound didn't work as well for me when she covered the male roles, but in CRIMINAL they are less prevalent.

Set in Georgia, the narrator is also tasked with the distinctive dialect, which seemed natural for Early. There is nothing more cringe-worthy than a forced Southern dialect; however, Early's narration is smooth and soothing, despite the sometimes gruesome nature of the content.

Addressing the gruesome content can be a challenge for narrators as well. Part of the strength of Early's narration is bringing out the conflict between the shock of the characters and their desire to make the grade as detectives. Amanda had aspirations to be a "Kelly girl." She wanted to be in the typing pool, but here she is as a "plain clothes officer" (they refused to call the women detectives) walking into an autopsy for a woman who was brutally murdered. If she's sick or chickens out, it'll be reason for the men to disregard her, but what human being male or female can experience such a thing for the first time and not be deeply marred by it? Slaughter dances a delicate dance in these scenes and Early picks up on it expertly.

CRIMINAL, like Slaughter's previous works, doesn't mince words when it comes to the violence or even the rare sex scenes. But at the same time, she manages not to cross the line of gratuitous.  Her focus in CRIMINAL is not to make her readers squirm but to make them think. Readers who are sensitive to graphic detail should be aware before reading or listening to the audio. In addition, though, Slaughter has a wicked sense of humor. Readers can be guaranteed at least several laugh out loud moments. Early does a fine job emphasizing them as well.

I was fortunate enough to be asked to participate in AudioGo's blog tour for this audio. And they have provided me with an excerpt from the audio to share. I'm the tail end of the tour, so you may want to go back and check the bloggers who reviewed before me to see what they had to say and also to listen to their excerpts. And again, before you click on my excerpt, please be aware that there are some graphic elements included.

CRIMINAL is available as a CD audiobook or an mp3 download from AudioGo. It's a 16 hour audiobook, narrated by Kathleen Early.


For those who are not up for the audio, the print version is available in hardcover (ISBN: 9780345528506) from  Delacorte Press.

You can learn more about Karin at her website and also join her Facebook page. I also highly recommend signing up for her newsletter. It is one of the best author newsletters I've ever seen. Fun stuff. Fun lady!

A GIVEAWAY!! The generous folks at AudioGo who put this together also gave me two copies of the audio - your choice, CD or download - to giveaway. So I was trying to brainstorm some kind of question for this one...the best I could come up with is a favorite memory from learning to drive (you'll understand the connection after you've listened to/read the book). And it can be you personally learning to drive or your child learning to drive...just a memory related to learning to drive. And make sure I have some way to contact you if you're picked to win.

To enter, you need to be a US resident and have your comment up by midnight Eastern on July 27th.

Be sure to check back tomorrow. I have another special feature to add to the blog tour, and I think you're all going to love it. Happy Reading!

A Slew of Wonderful Events

As most of you who read the blog regularly know, I kinda like author events. Oh, alright, alright! I have a bit of an addiction. I admit it. :-)

One of the goals I set for myself was to average one event a month this year - I'm ahead of schedule for this year. Not only do I find them fun and informative, I also find that they add to my reading experience after. On a very rare occasion one has turned me off of an author, but the good experiences far outweigh the bad. I also like to support the authors I read and admire; attending their events is a great way to do that.

Well, June was a busy month for events and I have lots of fun to share with you from those events, starting with Chicago's Printers Row event that was held the first weekend in June.

This was my second year attending Printers Row and I really enjoy the event. Seems to rain at least a little every time, but that's o.k. I was none too happy when they outlawed the taking of pictures during the sessions, but I found a way to get a few pictures anyway.

First, I had the chance to meet Lesley Kagen after her wonderful panel. She is so passionate about writing and that comes through in everything she says. Lesley is one of our xuni authors, which is how I found out about her. Listening to her read from her book resulted in me being very excited to hear she will be reading her own audiobooks. I don't usually get excited about an author reading his/her own audiobooks, but I have a feeling Lesley is going to be the best choice for these!

Later that day, Judy Bobalik and I attended a conversation with Sean Chercover and Marcus Sakey. How much fun! First, I know many of you will be excited to hear that Sean has finished his third book and we'll be hearing more about publication of that soon. But the basis of the story is a revivalist, con-man preacher who begins to spew predictions that are coming true. The root of the idea came to Sean in 1996 when he was having to take numerous pain killers and was also drinking whiskey. - See, you always wondered where authors get their ideas. Now you know!

Marcus also revealed where the seed for THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES came from.  Sean had actually shared a story about Satchel Paige who didn't know his age but was asked at one point by a reporter, so his response was, "How old would ya be if ya didn't know how old ya was?" That question led Marcus to the question, "WHO would ya be if ya didn't know who ya was?"

There was a fun early-release party for Marcus' THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES afterward. I was really excited to be able to celebrate the release of this book with him.

The next day at Printers Row, Judy and I attended a panel with Andrew Gross, Kevin Guilfoile, Keir Graff and Jamie Freveletti.

Andrew talked about his upcoming novel EYES WIDE OPEN. He explained that he typically works around ideas that come from news headlines, but this book deals with two events a bit more personal to him. The first being the death of his nephew from suicide and the other being the time he met Charles Manson when he was 12. The revelation of this meeting elicited quite a startled response from Jamie who was moderating the panel.

The week after Printers Row was just as busy. It started with Craig Johnson's event in Oakmont at Mystery Lovers Bookshop on Tuesday. There was a full house for Craig, which is fitting because he's so entertaining and fun!

Craig spoke about the fact that he does indeed plan story elements well in advance of the actual book he's working on. When he created Virgil in ANOTHER MAN'S MOCCASINS he had intentions of using him with another storyline later (a.k.a. HELL IS EMPTY).

HELL IS EMPTY was challenging for Craig to write in that he was relaying on another book's structure to put his own together, since HELL IS EMPTY ties in allegorically with DANTE'S INFERNO.

Craig also addressed the pilot of LONGMIRE and how much involvement he had in the process. When he saw the auditions for the role of Henry, Lou Diamond Phillips was the only actor who didn't instinctively create contractions out of Henry's speech.

Craig charmed the audience and it was a wonderful evening!

The following night was Michael Koryta's event. Luckily that one was in Westlake, about 20 minutes from my house. And this was an event that was originally scheduled for the CYPRESS HOUSE release but had to be canceled twice because of weather. The weather was cooperative this time around and all went as planned.

Michael shared a few fun tidbits about THE RIDGE, including the fact that his mother use to take Michael and his sister to see lighthouses whenever they traveled. According to Michael, she dragged them to every lighthouse she possibly could. So having the lighthouse in THE RIDGE was a bit of payback to Mom for those excursions.

Michael also gave some advice to anyone visiting a feline rescue like the one in the book. "Don't wear perfume." Micael's publicist wanted to visit the rescue facility that influenced the writing of THE RIDGE, and when she did she wore nice clothes and perfume, which attracted the cats to...well...mark her. Once one cat had left its mark, many more decided they needed to as well. YIKES!

The next book Michael's working on is going back to traditional crime fiction. It may be out as early as 2012 or may be later into 2013.

I had a short break after Michael's event, which gave me time to take my dogs to the vet for their overdue vaccinations and celebrate my mom's birthday and Father's Day. The family was appreciative of that.

This past week brought Karin Slaughter to the Cleveland area. Aside from the nasty woman who sat next me, this was a tremendous event. Karin Slaughter is fun, humorous and energetic. You can see how much she loves what she does. I think that's one of the most amazing things to experience. She takes nothing for granted and is appreciative of every fan and every circumstance that got her to where she is.

This event was held at the North Olmsted library, which is part of the Cuyahoga County library system. Many of you are probably familiar with the work Karin has done on behalf of libraries; many of her events for this tour are taking place in libraries, and I was thrilled that one of those libraries was near me.

Karin talked about the role libraries played in her childhood and her road to publication. She acknowledged the role her father played. His hard work provided her with a life that allowed her to go to the library and read books instead of having to work to support their family. He also taught her how to do more than "be pretty."

I think anyone who has ever had a chance to listen to Karin Slaughter speak knows without any doubt that she is a born story-teller. Her abilities go beyond the written word to the spoken word as well. She's absolutely amazing and I encourage you to see her if you have the chance. I assure you, she's worth going out of your way, driving a longer distance than usual, whatever. It is a fabulous experience.

So that's been my June of author/book events. Who have you all seen recently that you really enjoyed? Did they do anything special or unique that made the experience extra special? I really encourage all of you to check out an author event at a local bookstore or library. Show some support to those folks who provide you with hours and hours of entertainment.

Now for a little down time when I can catch up on the reviews of books I've been reading, plot some fun project ideas, and update this darned blog. Have you been wondering when in the heck I'm going to get on the ball? Holy cow I need to update. Thanks for being patient with me and for coming back to visit regularly.

Happy reading everyone!

FALLEN Audiobook Giveaway

As I mentioned in my previous post, I had the opportunity for a short chat with Karin Slaughter, so I'm excited to share that with you now. Here's a glimpse into the women of FALLEN:

Q: In Fallen, you have a central story about Faith and her mother Evelyn, both of whom have served as detectives. It’s fairly common in fiction to see men who follow in their father’s footsteps and join the force or even daughters who follow dad’s, but a family of female cops is quite unique. When/why did you decide to make Faith’s mother a cop as well? Also, Amanda and even Evelyn’s neighbor came up through the ranks of the force at a time when women were really trailblazing if they joined the police force. Can you talk about those times and how they shaped their characters? (I know that Criminal will delve into Amanda’s backstory, feel free to talk a little about that here if you like.)

Karin:  Women tend to pass down the job just as often as men. The thing to remember is that women on the force—particularly in Atlanta—are a fairly new thing in the world of policing. Atlanta didn’t even allow women to train in the police academy until the early seventies, which is squarely in Amanda’s generation. It’s a catch-22, because senior police officers are generally the ones who’ve been on the job for a while. That pipeline was clogged with men for a very long time, and now we are finally seeing women being promoted to top jobs. Beverly Harvard, for instance, was (as far as I know) the first female African American police chief of a major American city.

I made Faith a cop because she didn’t have a lot of options when she was in her early twenties. She had a child. She was a single mom. The police force was a steady paycheck and her mom was able to smooth the way. In my next book, Criminal, I go back to 1975, when Amanda was a police officer on the Atlanta force. We’ll find out that Amanda’s father was a cop, and that’s why she chose her vocation. We’ll also find out that Evelyn became a cop because her neighbor, Roz Levy (whom we first meet in Fallen) told her to go sign up. I’ve had a lot of fun talking to folks about Atlanta in the 70s. It was so difficult back then for female officers. Sometimes, they would roll up onto a call and the victim would laugh and ask when the real cops were going to get there. What’s been shocking was finding out that, though a lot of things have changed, for many women, it’s still the same.

Be sure to check out the other stops on the blog tour to learn more about Karin Slaughter and FALLEN. You can also check out her website.
 

The other fun part of this blog tour I have to share with you is a giveaway. The AudioGo folks provided me with SIX unabridged copies of FALLEN on audiobook.  I'm very thrilled to have the chance to share this great audio with six of you. The contest is open to folks in the U.S. and I'll ship to Canada, but folks, I have no idea when they would get there with your postal strike going on. You can still feel free to enter, though.

I will take entries through the duration of the blog tour. The final post will be July 6th, which is a Wednesday, so I'll take entries until July 8th and pick the winners on the 9th. If you have any questions, drop me an email or leave them in the comments. Many, many thanks to the folks at AudioGo for providing this generous giveaway!

FALLEN - Karin Slaughter

First line: "Faith Mitchell dumped the contents of her purse onto the passenger seat of her Mini."

GBI Agent Faith Mitchell returned home late from a training seminar to find her four-month-old daughter locked in a shed, her mother missing, and a man being held at gun-point in her mother's house. Forced into a life-threatening situation, Faith shot and killed both men, the only people who could tell her where her mother was. As Faith, Amanda Wagner and Will Trent begin to uncover clues in an attempt to rescue Faither's mother, Evelyn, the evidence points them back to Evelyn's tainted career in the NARC squad of the Atlanta Police Department.

FALLEN is the third book in the "Georgia" series that combined the characters from Slaughter's "Grant County" and "Atlanta" series. In addition to combining the series, Slaughter has combined all the best elements of her writing to create a captivating, exciting crime novel.

I've always been a fan of Sara Linton. While she's a smart, beautiful woman, she's also awkward and quirky. She can't cook and she loves dogs. There are so many details about her character that draw the dimensions of a real person. Likewise, Will Trent, with his extremely unmasculine chihuahua, dysfunctional marriage and dyslexia, breaks all the stereotypes of the law enforcement hero. These are the kind of characters that make a story rich, that entice readers to engage with that story.

Second only to her characters is Slaughter's ability to tell a good story. The plot is action-packed with strong twists that add to the layers of complexity and keep the reader turning pages - or in my case they kept me listening to the audio. Bad things happen in Karin Slaughter's books; that's no secret, but her novels also drive the reader to seek justice for the characters.

The final element that is a definite stand-out in FALLEN, as all of Slaughter's novels before this, is the author's humor. She incorporates a dark, kind of dry humor that catches the reader off guard at times. It works to create Slaughter's signature style and adds to the enjoyment of the novels.

I listened to FALLEN on audio as part of AudioGo's blog tour for the novel. I was excited to be asked to participate because I've enjoyed Karin Slaughter's work for years now. But the greatest surprise was the narrator of this audiobook, Shannon Cochran. This is my first experience hearing Cochran narrate and I have to say I may have found a new favorite female narrator. She does an exceptional job with both genders, with the tone of the novel, the humor. She understands what Slaughter is trying to accomplish. Her reading helped me to lose myself in the story as I was driving, working out, working in the yard. I would look forward to listening and find reasons to extend whatever task allowed me to listen. The other effect I discovered was my tendency to start elongating my vowel sounds after I would listen to a section of the audio. Cochran's dialect is authentic and consistent. This is definitely an audiobook experience I recommend to crime fiction fans.

I'm very excited that I was able to kick off this blog tour. I'm not always able to give rave reviews on a blog tour because I commit to being honest about my reactions to a book. But with FALLEN, I highly recommend not only the book but the audio experience as well. It's dark and gritty with fantastic characters and an action-packed plot.

FALLEN is available starting today from Delacorte Press in print (ISBN: 978-0345528209), and the audio is available from AudioGo (ISBN: 978-1609982645).

I'm very excited because I have an AMAZING giveaway sponsored by the generous people at AudioGo. In an effort to keep this post readable, I'm going to have a second post a little later today with the details for that giveaway as well as short chat with Karin Slaughter. So, check back for that. In the meantime, the remainder of this audiobook tour is:

6/22/2011 -- In Reference to Murder

6/23/2011 -- Book Addict Reviews

6/28/2011 -- Dew on the Kudzu

6/30/2011 -- Beth Fish Reads

7/01/2011 -- Teresa's Reading Corner

7/05/2011 -- You've GOTTA Read This!

7/06/2011 -- Girls in the Stacks