You Have the Right to Six Words - The Acknowledgements

So, yesterday we wrapped up "You Have the Right to Six Words: Six-Word Memoirs from Crime Fiction's Greatest Writers" the inaugural season! What I thought would start out as a small little 8 or 9 week project turned into 29 weeks of amazing memoirs from crime fiction's greats. I truly appreciate everyone who has commended me on the project, but this is more than my project. It could have never happened without the help of many, many people. And I really want to give those folks their due.

First and foremost all the authors who participated. There were 112 different memoirs contributed to this season's project. The response to me was overwhelming. I didn't calculate everything up (and I'm not sure I even have the information to do so), but if I had to take a best guess, I would say that for every 10 requests I sent out, 9 came back saying they would participate. A very special thank you to James Lee Burke who was the very first person to respond with a memoir. When your first response is a legend in this genre, you somehow gain a lot of motivation to keep asking. And what's even more amazing to me, all these contributors actually took time to craft something meaningful. It wasn't just a silly project to any of them. One author took the project to her Sisters in Crime chapter and returned with a half dozen memoirs. Another author informed me that it spurred a short story idea for her. Many posted about the project on their websites, blogs or Facebook pages. And so many sent beautiful thank you notes. I cherish them. They truly warm my heart. What an incredible gift. Thank you.

I had one person I was counting on back out of the project. In a bit of a panic, I sent out an S.O.S. to try to find a replacement. I contacted friends to ask if anyone could help me find someone else. That S.O.S. for one replacement resulted in 4 friends helping me secure 8 new authors that I wasn't able to contact before. Those 4 friends vouched for me, and I know personally how much trust it takes to put one's name on the line for another. Their generosity and trust humbles me. Those 4 people know who they are; I do hope they read this and know they have bestowed upon me a gift unlike any other. I am honored. Thank you.

To my fellow readers and bloggers that I tapped for ideas on who to contact for memoirs. You helped fuel my courage to just go out and ask. In some cases you introduced me to new authors and new books to pursue in my never-ending reading exploration. You too are an integral part of this project and I thank you for helping make it work - for helping make ME work!

And to everyone who came back week after week to read the memoirs, this would never have lasted 29 weeks without your enthusiasm. Aside from the wonderful comments you left each week, I received emails, notes on Facebook, tweets on Twitter. Many of you passed the word along on Twitter when posts went up. The word got out because you helped get it there.

I'm so proud of this project because the whole crime fiction community made it work, not just me. You all were a part of it. Thank you for sharing it with me!

Now we have our work cut out for us in 2010. How in the world are we going to top 2009? I'm off to start planning now. If you have grand ideas, you know where to find me!

May you all have a wonderful, wonderful new year! Thank you for helping make 2009 so incredible for me! Happy Reading!

You Have the Right to Six Words - The 2009 Grand Finale!

Well, here it is everyone...the final "You Have the Right to Six Words" post for 2009. Since we started with a bang, I wanted to go out with a bang, too. Seems like our finale bang is actually a couple weeks long, doesn't it?

This week I have a bit of a theme going on: it's the boys of Southern California! I'm hoping their post will bring with it some of that warmer weather, I'm already tired of freezing temperatures! Let's get started!

Leading off our final post is Charlie Huston who writes crime fiction, specifically pulp fiction, in a variety of formats. He has a trilogy of books featuring protagonist Hank Thompson. Charlie also has a series with protagonist Joe Pitt that deals with vampire clans. Charlie released the fifth and final book, MY DEAD BODY, in the Joe Pitt series this year. Toss in a couple stand alones, mix in a few short stories and add comic books. Yes, Charlie revived Marvel's Moon Knight, writing the first twelve issues, and more recently he revived Deathlok with artist Lan Medina.

2009 was a busy year for Charlie. In addition to MY DEAD BODY and the Deathlok comics, Charlie also released a standalone novel, THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH. Stephen King says Charlie Huston is "one of the most remarkable prose stylists to emerge from the noir tradition in this century." And Charlie says,

Never did fix that attitude problem.

Next up is truly a crime fiction legend. His writing has influenced many other crime fiction writers, it's made its way to the big screen, and it comes from personal experiences as well as dedicated research. Joseph Wambaugh served a stint in the Marine Corps before attending college and then entering the Los Angeles Police Department. Joe's career with the police department last fourteen years, ending at the rank of detective sergeant. While still on the force, Joe published what he refers to as his "moonlighting novels," THE NEW CENTURIONS and THE BLUE KNIGHT. These novels would cause some problems as Joe's superiors did not care for the way he portrayed the police officers in his novels. He was taking a fresh approach and portraying them as real people, as humans with flaws.

In 1973, Joe published his first non-fiction work, THE ONION FIELD. Joe says, "I feel I was put on earth to write this story, and I've never had that feeling before or since. Nothing could ever stop me from writing THE ONION FIELD." It is the true story of the abduction of two Los Angeles policemen and the subsequent execution of one of those officers. THE ONION FIELD would go on to earn Joe his first Edgar award and take him into the realm of screenwriting.

In 2004 the Mystery Writers of America bestowed on Joe Wambaugh the American Grand Master Award, after which he would begin the first series of his career. The first book of the Hollywood series was published in 2006, HOLLYWOOD STATION. Last month Joe released the third book in this series and his fourteenth novel, HOLLYWOOD MOON.

Joseph Wambaugh has made a lasting impression on the police crime novel. And his lasting impression on this memoir series is

I was only an adequate copper.

I'll take Joe's word for it on that front but on the writing front, he's far exceeded adequate, and I'm so thrilled to be able to include him in the final segment of this year's memoirs.

So, that brings us to the final memoirist for 2009. T. Jefferson Parker has lived in Southern California his entire life. After earning a Bachelor's degree from the University of California, Irvine, Jeff went to work as a newspaper reporter where he covered police, city hall, and cultural stories, won awards and squirreled away ideas that would one day result in his first novel.

That one day came in 1985 with the publication of Jeff's first novel LAGUNA HEAT, which would make its way to the New York Times Bestseller list when it came out in paperback in 1986. It also made its way to HBO when it was adapted for a television movie starring Harry Hamlin and Jason Robards. Of course this was just the beginning of a stellar writing career. In 2001 Jeff published SILENT JOE, which earned him his first Edgar award for Best Novel as well as the L.A. Times Book Prize in the Mystery/Thriller category. In 2004, Jeff would snag another Edgar award for Best Novel, this time for CALIFORNIA GIRL. As if these accomplishments weren't enough, Jeff also penned several short stories. His "Skinhead Central," published in THE BLUE RELIGION, earned him yet another Edgar Award just this year for best Short Story.

And that stellar career continues. Next month on January 5, 2010, Jeff will release his seventeenth crime fiction novel, IRON RIVER, which will continue the story of Charlie Hood, Jeff's protagonist from THE RENEGADES.

When he isn't hard at work on his next novel, Jeff enjoys spending time with his family hiking, hunting, fishing, playing tennis, diving, snorkeling and traveling.

I don't know that we could have had a better memoir to end this year's project on. I fell in love with it the minute I received it from Jeff:

I walked into a beautiful room.

And I believe he's let us all get a little peek at that room. What a gift for the entire crime fiction community, the entire crime fiction genre. Thank you, Jeff. And I also wish to thank Jeff for this wonderful picture that he provided. He informed me that the person in the background is none other than C.J. Box. A fantastic picture to wrap up the series as well!

Thanks to all the memoirists, today: Charlie, Joe, and Jeff; I am speechless. You have graced my blog with your participation in this project. I am honored; I am grateful; I am over the moon.

I will follow up tomorrow with an "Acknowledgements Page" to this year's project and share my overall thank yous then. But rest assured, I have put this project back on the calendar for next year. I'm going to spend a little time collecting memoirs again and we'll have Season 2 start next summer.

Thanks everyone! Happy Reading!

You Have the Right to Six Words - Week 27

In the United States it is Thanksgiving Eve, I hope you are all looking forward to a nice holiday. If you're going out on Friday, I wish you the best of luck. I tried that one year and thought I was viewing humanity at its ugliest. So, I've opted not to go back no matter how good the deals may be. I plan to read instead!

But today, let's welcome some memoirists!

Today I'm starting off with an author I met on Twitter; he's not published here in the U.S., yet, but I think maybe we need to start making some noise on this side of the pond. Steve Mosby is the author of five thriller novels and he hails from Leeds in the UK. His parents were supportive of his reading and writing habits growing up, even making him homemade booklets in which to write his "choose your own adventure" stories. These days, Orion is making the books Steve writes in, the most recent, STILL BLEEDING, released in the U.K. this year. Steve describes write as putting "one word in front of the other." And he's doing that daily as he works on his sixth psychological thriller.

Steve says his education in philosophy comes in handy for plot development. Not only does it help him to appreciate other viewpoints, he also can attack and defend those viewpoints. When asked the three best words to describe his writing he chose "dark, cruel, and emotional." I'm looking forward to finding out if that is true because I got my paws on a copy of his novel, THE 50/50 KILLER (Thank you, Jon Jordan)!

On a little more of a personal note, Steve is one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter. I look forward to his tweets every day. He has an uncanny knack for observing humanity around him, and his narration of his observations is thoroughly entertaining. But Steve truly endeared himself to me with his memoir. He cited a passage from an interview where Cormac McCarthy says, "There was never a person born since Adam who's been luckier than me. Nothing has happened to me that hasn't been perfect. And I'm not being facetious. There's never been a time when I was penniless and down, when something wouldn't arrive. Over and over and over again. Enough to make you superstitious." Steve said this really rang true for him as well - in all aspects of his life, career included. So, his memoir is fittingly

Surprisingly, things have always gone well.

And I know you'll join me in wishing him continued success as he moves on to another chapter in his life: fatherhood. Steve and his wife are expecting their first child.

Jamie Freveletti is a debut writer this year. 2009 saw the publication of her first thriller novel, RUNNING FROM THE DEVIL. While I don't think Jamie is running from the devil, I do know she does a lot of running, both herself and crewing for an ultra runner. I asked her what this "crewing" involved, she told me to think of it like a pit crew for a formula one race. So she could be changing the runner into dry clothes, running alongside him/her at 2:00 in the morning, providing moral support and encouragement, especially when the last mile is straight up hill. Like the pit crew with the car and drive, she makes sure the runner has what he or she needs, physically, emotionally, mentally to finish the race. And this inspired RUNNING FROM THE DEVIL.

Jamie is also active in martial arts, both practicing and teaching Aikido, where she's reached the level of black belt.

Her resume shows that she attended law school and then earned a diploma in International Studies while living in Geneva, Switzerland. In addition to the ultra runner, Jamie blended her experience as a trial lawyer and her knowledge of International Studies together, threw in a dash of science, and came up with RUNNING FROM THE DEVIL.

Jamie tells us that her most recent reading obsession includes the transcripts from the Madoff trial. And if she can use that to create another thriller like RUNNING FROM THE DEVIL, I say, "Read Jamie! Read!" In all seriousness, though, Jamie has taken the elements of who she is and put them together in a great memoir:

Love adventure, traveled everywhere, writes
heroines.

And we never have too many great heroines. I do hope those of you who have been coming back week after week are noting some of these debut authors. Jamie is definitely one to note because intuition tells me she is going to be a household name in thriller writing in no time flat.

Next up we have Steve Forman who started out as a businessman. After college he opened a one-man seafood advertising agency in Boston and built it up to an international success. These days he's splitting time between Boston and Boca Raton, Florida. But Steve isn't happy just soaking up the sun of beautiful Boca, he's set off on a second career path, crime fiction novelist. This year he published his first book BOCA KNIGHTS, inspired by the contrasting lifestyles between Boston and Boca Raton. Ex-cop Eddie Perlmutter hails from Boston but moves to Boca Raton after retirement. Eddie can't help righting wrongs, and that lands him in a mess of Florida trouble.

The sequal, BOCA MOURNINGS, will be hitting bookstores in 2010. Steve's writing has been compared to Carl Hiaasen and "Elmore Leonard on speed." When asked about the differences between the business world and writing, he says it comes down to public perception. "Over the years I‘ve sold millions and millions of pounds of seafood but no one has ever asked me to sign a piece of fish. Write a good book, however and suddenly a lot of people want my signature on something besides a check." And his six word memoir?

from Big Tuna to Boca Knights

Anchoring the post for us this week is Andrew Grant. I have to extend special thanks to Andrew right away. The first time I checked with him to ask him to participate, the fates weren't aligned - or however that astrology thing goes - but later I went back and asked again. I was worried about coming across as a pest - and I may very well have, but Andrew was so gracious and I'm so excited because here he is! As I'm sure many of you know, Andrew shares genes with another great crime fiction writer, Lee Child. While indeed he is Lee Child's brother, Andrew has carved a place for himself in his own right as part of the crime fiction community with this debut spy thriller, EVEN. EVEN features Royal Navy Intelligence officer David Trevellyn who finds himself set up and in trouble with the law in the United States while his superiors in London are turning their backs on him.

Following college at the University of Sheffield, Andrew set up a small, independent theater company. The original material showcased by the company earned critical success, but the financial end of things forced Andrew into a job with in telecommunications. What started out as a "temporary" job turned into 15 years. When circumstances in the telecommunications industry that were beyond his control released him from his "temporary" job, he set out to answer the great question, "what if?"

This year marked Andrew's debut in crime fiction writing, but it has brought him another connection to the crime fiction community. Andrew is engaged to crime fiction's Tasha Alexander. So the beginning of both a new career and a new life prompted Andrew to come up with

The best is yet to come.

My warmest and most heartfelt thanks to all of our authors this week for their time, and for putting up with me. I made several contacts with each of them, and their generosity has been tremendous. I'm so thankful that each and every one of them has been enthusiastic about this project. It's truly what makes it great. Thank you.

And to everyone reading again this week, thank YOU. It wouldn't be half as much fun if you weren't enjoying it with me. Your comments, emails and notes simply make my day. This week I am so very thankful I've had the chance to forge friendships with you through this blog. Thank you for visiting and coming back.

For those of you celebrating, have a wonderful holiday and we'll meet back here next week for the penultimate post of the 2009 "You Have the Right to Six Words" series.

Happy Reading.

You Have the Right to Six Words - The Countdown Begins

It is that time of the week again. I've been going non-stop since last Friday and I'm bound to run out of energy here pretty soon, but the memoirs always give me a little pep. But, this week we're going to start the countdown. December 9th with be the final memoir date for this season. I've decided that I will continue to collect memoirs and have a Season Two start somewhere close to summer in 2010. In the interim, I have a couple projects I'd like to try out, gads of reviews to share, and many interviews that are in the works. Hopefully you'll keep visiting to share all this fun with me.

However, we still have four weeks of memoirs to present, and to think when this started I worried if I would even have enough to make four weeks of posts! This week we have a little bonus, so let's get started.

My first memoirist this week is a crime fiction writer in the making! Jonathan Quist is a life-long native of the Chicago-area. He spent much of his childhood running home at lunch time to watch WGN TV's storied version of the Bozo franchise, neither understanding nor caring that he was audience to one of the last incarnations of Vaudeville theater.

He made that connection years later, while researching his first novel, "Break a Neck", which is set in the world of American Vaudeville in 1919 Chicago. Frustrated by attempts to categorize a comical mystery featuring a Vaudevillian amateur sleuth into ever-changing genre definitions,he settled on "Humorous Historical Traditional Mystery".

On the verge of empty nesthood, Jonathan remains in the Chicago area with his wife of 21 years, Karin, also a Chicago native. After his day job in IT and work on the mystery, his remaining time is juggled between a second, non-mystery novel, old-time radio reenactments, and all the usual suburban suspects in the death of spare time.

I have to tell you that I absolutely love Jonathan's memoir because I think it connects to the crime fiction community so well. He explains that "very few of the things we accomplish in life are truly solo accomplishments. Whether literally baking pies, writing, or expending effort in any other worthwhile endeavor, I don't mind sharing the credit...but I'm not giving it all away," so...

Making pie; I expect my piece.

L.J. Sellers was born in California but was raised in Oregon. She still resides in Oregon today, after a short stint in Arizona following college graduation. While she earned her degree in journalism from the University of Oregon, she initially didn't have aspirations of writing fiction. She worked in her chosen field until encountering a less than stellar novel one day. L.J. felt she could write better than that and set off to do so. While her first couple attempts at the novel didn't make the publication presses, her writing did cause Al Zuckerman to take notice. Zuckerman's interest was the impetus L.J. needed to persevere. During her time persevering, she took a job as an editor for PHARMACEUTICAL EXECUTIVE magazine where she learned about the other end of the writing table, the editor's role. When the magazine closed and L.J. was job searching, she was also working on the beginning of her series that WOULD see the publication presses. This was the time that L.J. wrote the first Detective Jackson series book, THE SEX CLUB.

While L.J. still juggles several jobs, including freelance work and working part-time at her local newspaper, she puts her fiction writing first every day. That work ethic has thus produced SECRETS TO DIE FOR that came out this past September and two more novels in the pipeline.

So, with all this dogged perseverance, I think her memoir is especially fitting:

Against the odds, never gave up.

Next up is a writing team. Alice and Roy keep their work all in the family. This husband and wife writing team is better known as Allyson Roy. Roy graduated from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia where he studied acting. Roy also spent time doing stand-up routines and in comedy and nightclubs. He says his inspiration stems from his contact with a wide range of people set against offbeat locations within Manhattan, Brooklyn and Philadelphia.

Alice earned her philosophy and dance degrees from the State University of New York. She says that this degree combination is reflective of her attraction to the romantic suspense genre, "The genre blends elements of each, combining problem-solving questions and logic puzzles with a desire for physical action, sensuality and the creative possibilities that can happen when individuals meet."

Together Alice and Roy have written two acclaimed novels featuring sex therapist Saylor Oz. The first book in this series is titled APHRODISIAC and it was followed up this year by BABYDOLL.

So what do they each have to say for their memoirs? Alice asks,

Why walk when you can dance?

And Roy says,

I could have been a contender.

And rounding out this week we have the "CEO of Suspense," best selling thriller writer Joseph Finder. The recipient of the Barry and Gumshoe awards for Best Thriller and the Thriller Writers of America award for Best Novel, Joe's career actually stems from a non-fiction work he published in 1983 at the age of 24, RED CARPET: THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE KREMLIN AND AMERICA'S MOST POWERFUL BUSINESSMEN. His book revealed that the CEO of Occidental Petroleum had worked for Soviet Intelligence in the 20s and 30s. This controversial book resulted in threats of a libel suit. When Joe couldn't legally tell the "whole story" in this non-fiction work, he opted to turn to fiction and his first thriller was born, THE MOSCOW CLUB.

Joe continued to write thrillers, including HIGH CRIMES that would be made into a major motion picture, but his 2004 publication of PARANOIA parked Joe squarely on the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Publisher's Weekly best seller lists. This past April a movie deal for PARANOIA was also announced.

In addition, Joe published VANISHED this year, which is the kick-off to a four-part series featuring corporate security specialist Nick Heller. In addition to his fiction thrillers, Joe has also written on espionage and international affairs for publications such as Forbes, The New York Times and The New Republic.

Joe Finder could have gone in many different career directions. While in college at Yale he sang with the legendary Whiffenpoofs; he was recruited to the C.I.A.; and he spent time teaching on the Harvard faculty. But instead he chose fiction writing and he

Asked dangerous questions, got amazing answers.

The genre hasn't been the same since.

Once again, I am extremely honored to have this group of authors join us and share their six-word memoirs. Thanks to Jonathan, L.J., Roy and Alice, and Joe. I'm so glad you wanted to play along!

And thanks to everyone who's continued to stop by week after week. We'll do this again next week. I will be on hiatus until Friday when I post again for the Buy Books for the Holidays blog. This week I'll be talking about books I've read this year that I would recommend as holiday gifts. Hope you'll stop by to check that out and offer some suggestions of your own.

Until then...Happy Reading!

You Have the Right to Six Words - The Two Dozen Mark

Yes indeed, that's right, we are at Week 24 in the Six-Word Memoir project. Each week when I start this I'm reminded of what a great community the crime fiction-writing community is. All of these people who have given their time to put together memoirs. Time and thought went into them all and some people have taken additional time to provide me with special photos or information to include in the bios. So many have taken time to send me notes afterwards. Time is a precious commodity, and I'm so appreciative of every minute that people have contributed to this project. I'm equally appreciative of the time you take to come and read them and comment or email me. It's been fun getting to know a lot of you that come to visit each week. But, I'm getting off track here. Thanks will come at the end. We still have memoirs to cover.

This week we're starting off with a debut novelist. Kristin Callendar published her first novel this year called THE TRUTH LIES IN THE DARK. She's hard at work on her next book, actually in the editing stages and THE TRUTH LIES IN THE DARK is being considered for a movie by producer Beth Grossbards. When she isn't working on her writing, Kristin is a substitute teacher (God, bless her) as well as a wife and mother of four. The Callendar family enjoys time at the beach, around the fire, or vacationing. When I first spoke to Kristin about her six-word memoir, she said it would have to be:

Love, Laugh, Breathe, Read, Write, Live.

Shortly thereafter, she contacted me again and said, I have another one: "Remember life before spellcheck? Shure dew!" I think she must have been having a typo-filled day! Thanks Kristin!

My next memoirist is a seasoned writer with a great sense of humor, but someone I just came to know this year. Steve Hockensmith is the author of four books featuring his mystery-solving cowboys, Big Red and Old Red Amlingmeyer. The first book of this series, HOLMES ON THE RANGE, was nominated for the 2007 Edgar, Anthony and Shamus awards for Best First Novel. Big Red and Old Red have also made appearances in short stories featured in Ellery Queen Magazine. Steve, however, has more writing in his resume. If we look back further we will find an internship at People Magazine; time spent as an entertainment journalist with publications such as The Hollywood Reporter, The Chicago Tribune, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Newsday and Total Movie; and three years as the editor of Cinescape.

Steve's most recent revelation is the fact that he has authored PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES: DAWN OF THE DREADFULS, the third book from Quirk publishing but actually the prequel to PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES. That book will be available in March of 2010. Later in 2010 the fifth Holmes on the Range book will be released from St. Martin's Minotaur.

When I gave Steve six words, he did a little thinking outside the box:

Chapter One: writer, dad.
Chapter Two:???

There've already been some major accomplishments for Chapter One, but I have a feeling Steve still has the best yet to come in Chapter Two.

Margaret Maron is the author of both the Sigrid Harald series and the Judge Deborah Knott series, as well as two collections of short stories. Her writing has won her an Edgar, an Anthony, an Agatha and a Macavity award. And the first Deborah Knott novel, BOOTLEGGER'S DAUGHTER, was named as one of the 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. She has also been recognized by her home state with the 2008 North Carolina Award for Literature.

This year Margaret published the 15th Deborah Knott novel, SAND SHARKS, and she's on track to release CHRISTMAS MOURNING, book number 16 in the series, in 2010.

Margaret was raised on a tobacco farm, but marriage took her to Italy and then Brooklyn before she and her husband returned to North Carolina, the setting for her Deborah Knott series. Margaret has served as president of Sisters in Crime, the American Crime Writers League and the Mystery Writers of America. But she says that real icing on her cake is her son and two granddaughters.

The icing on my cake was getting to talk to Margaret about her six-word memoir. What an absolutely delightful human being she is. She told me, "Yes, I would have loved the movie offers, the seven-figure advances, the full-page ad in the NYTimes, but

I never felt I was owed.

And she shared a story with me about a friend, Elizabeth Daniels Squire, who said to her "You may not get what you want, but if you're lucky, you'll want what you get." And Margaret plans to have her tombstone read, "I knew what I had." What an amazing outlook on life. I'm so thrilled to have her share it.

And anchoring the six-word memoir post this week is someone for whom writing is a family occupation. Last week we heard from Mary Higgins Clark and this week, Carol Higgins Clark, Mary's daughter and sometimes co-writer, joins us. Carol studied acting, performed at Carnegie Hall and as an extra on Ryan's Hope (among other roles) before turning to a writing career. These days she writes the New York Times best-selling Regan Reilly series. The first book in this series, DECKED, earn Carol a nomination for both the Agatha and Anthony awards for Best First Novel. This year Carol released the 12th book in the series, CURSED.

In addition to co-writing with her mother on the four Holiday Mysteries, Carol has recorded many of her mother's and her own books on audio. Her reading of JINXED earned her an AudioFile Earphones Award for Excellence.

A reviewer was once quoted as saying, "Mary Higgins Clark goes for the jugular; Carol Higgins Clark goes for the funny bone." So it would only make sense that Carol's memoir be

There's nothing like making people laugh.

Thank you so much Kristin, Steve, Margaret and Carol. You have once again made this a fantastic six-word memoir post. I'm so honored to have you all here, and I'm humbled that you shared your time with me and everyone reading.

To everyone reading, thanks for taking time to stop by today. As for me, I'm headed to Murder and Mayhem in Muskego this weekend. I'm leaving you a little surprise on Friday, but then you'll probably not hear from me until next week when I hope to have lots to share.

Have a wonderful weekend and happy reading!

You Have the Right to Six Words - Week 24

Last week we had three ladies with one gentleman memoirists. This week we flipped the roles and we have three gentleman joining one classy lady to have four outstanding six-word memoirs. So let's not waste time with small talk.

Josh Bazell wanted to be a writer from the age of nine. He even studied writing as an undergraduate in college, but graduate studies would find him working toward an M.D. His love of science and his love of writing continued to battle for the upper hand and neither won out. Instead, Josh is now a medical resident in San Francisco and a published author with his debut novel BEAT THE REAPER. Appropriately so, Josh is highly influenced by Arthur Conan Doyle who also published after medical school. He's presently hard at work practicing medicine and writing his second novel. All in all, Josh says,

Writing was the least of it.

Brad Parks has been employed as a writer since he was 14 and covering the high school girls basketball beat for his local paper. After high school, he founded a weekly sports newspaper at Dartmouth College and then went on to become an award-winning journalist, writing for The Washington Post and the Newark, NJ, Star Ledger. His work included covering a quadruple homicide that would be the catalyst for his debut novel, FACES OF THE GONE, which will release in December. I met Brad at Bouchercon this year and to put it bluntly, he impressed the hell out of me. I'm looking forward to his work. But you don't want to know about me, you want to know about his memoir:

Stiff white guy writes gritty crime.

And I've heard he prefers pleated pants as well! Keep your eyes peeled for FACES OF THE GONE. I think Brad Parks is a name you're going to hear a lot of in the near future!

Neil Plakcy is our third memoirist and another author I had the pleasure of meeting at Bouchercon. While he was born in Pennsylvania, warmer climates beckoned him. Neil now calls Hollywood, Florida, home. The tropics of Florida sparked an interest for Neil in Hawaii, and thus his Mahu series was born. In August this year, the fourth book in that series, MAHU VICE, was published. In addition to novel author, Neil can claim the titles of anthology editor and Assistant Professor of English at Broward College. And when he isn't wearing one of those hats, he's wearing the hat of Vice President of the Florida chapter of Mystery Writers of America. And of course I have to mention that Neil and his partner are the proud owners of a golden retriever. So what's the secret to all this success? Neil puts his math skills to work and says

Hard work plus luck equals
publication.

And it is my distinct honor to welcome our final memoirist today who is an international best-selling suspense writer, the #1 fiction best-selling author in France, and a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master. Mary Higgins Clark battled the odds to achieve her success, which includes well over 40 novels, non-fiction works, and short story collections. Left a widower at a young age, she raised five children and wrote radio scripts to pay the bills, all the while working on her fiction writing. Her first novel was a biographical novel about George Washington that was published in 1969 and would be reissued in 2002, but it would be her first suspense novel that turned Mary Higgins Clark's life upside down. WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN is now in its amazing 75th edition in paperback.

With the success of WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN, Mary was able to do some of the things she was previously unable to do, such as return to school and earn a degree in philosophy. There is no doubt that Mary has influenced the crime fiction genre we know today. The Mystery Writers of America even presents a suspense fiction writing award during the Edgars each year in Mary's name. But she's left a mark far beyond the reaches of her writing. She's also received numerous awards for her service to church, community, and family, including the Catholic Big Sisters Distinguished Service Award, the Outstanding Mother of the Year Award, the Bronx Legend Award, and the Christopher Life Achievement Award.

In April of this year, the Queen of Suspense released JUST TAKE MY HEART. And this week she is releasing a book with her daughter Carol Higgins Clark that packages together two of their previously released holiday thrillers: DECK THE HALLS and THE CHRISTMAS THIEF.

Four of Mary's novels, including WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN, were adapted for movies and a slew of others have been adapted for television.

From selling her first short story in 1956 for $100 to publishing over 40 works and achieving world-wide fame today, Mary Higgins Clark has become a household name in crime fiction and an influence to many who have followed in her footsteps. There's no telling what crime fiction would look like today if not for the fact that

Writing about crime makes me happy.

And aren't we glad it does!

Oh my goodness, I think I have chills from writing this post. What an amazing group of writers here. My deepest thanks to Josh, Brad, Neil and Mary for sharing their memoirs. I'm honored to have you all here today and I'm honored at the generosity you have extended toward me and my project.

And everyone reading, I'm honored that you come back and check this out and enjoy it with me. I'm honored to share this community with you all. Thank you so much. I hope you'll continue to stop by and share it with me. I'll see you next week with more memoirs!

Happy Reading!

You Have the Right to Six Words - Week 23

Here we go, pluggin' right along with another week of "You Have the Right to Six Words." We are up to Week 23 and I don't know about you all, but I'm still havin' a blast. I'm especially thrilled with this week's line-up. I have to tell you that when I started this project I initially got a plethora of responses from male authors. And don't get me wrong, I love the male writers in the crime fiction genre; I love them dearly, and many of them can be found on my list of favorites. But, I also know that there are a lot of great women out there writing in the genre, too, and I didn't want them to go unrepresented. You see, I'm an equal-opportunity crime fiction fan. I don't care what gender the writer as long as he/she is writing a great book!

Well this week, I have three amazing female crime fiction writers and I am beyond honored to have them represented here. And I think if we asked our lone male represented this week, he'd also be honored to be surrounded by these smart, talented, witty, beautiful women. So, let's find out who they are!

First up, we have a "do-over." When Robin Burcell first answered the six-word memoir question in her author interview, she was smack dab in the middle of promoting her first Syndey Fitzpatrick novel, FACE OF A KILLER, and her memoir was directed toward the book title. Well, when we re-ran the memoir in this series, it wasn't really fitting anymore. So, we had Robin go back to the drawing board, and today's she back with a real zinger. But let me remind you a little about Robin first.

Robin Burcell is the author of the award-winning Kate Gillespie series about the first female homicide detective in San Francisco. Last year she released her first book in the Sydney Fitzpatrick series, THE FACE OF A KILLER, which is about a forensic artist. Robin doesn't just write these characters, she's actually performed both of the roles throughout her extensive law enforcement career. In addition to working as a homicide detective and a forensic artist, Robin also has experience with hostage negotiations. Robin's next book in the Sydney Fitzpatrick series is titled THE BONE CHAMBER and will be released in hardcover this December. As a matter of fact, you can see her spiffy trailer for THE BONE CHAMBER right now at her website.

So, when Robin did some re-thinking and constructed her six-word memoir, what did she end up with?

Love seeing my kids reading books.

Oh, music to my ears. If only all parents were singing that same song!

Next up is the man who gets to be surrounded by these talented woman this week. And he's no slacker, either. Kwei Quartey visited Jen's Book Thoughts this summer as part of his blog tour for his first novel, WIFE OF THE GODS. A native of Ghana and the son of university lecturers, he was surrounded by books growing up. As a child, he traveled to the United States with his American mother every couple of years, but it wasn't until he was studying pre-med at the University that Kwei and his family moved to the United States for good. Finishing medical school, Kwei is a doctor by day and a writer in his *ahem* spare time? Kwei runs a wound care clinic and is also the lead physician at an urgent care center. In his early morning hours, Kwei writes. His first novel, WIFE OF THE GODS, came out this year and it looks at some of the cultural issues and changes facing people in Ghana today. His protagonist, CID Detective Darko Dawson, finds himself stuck between a culture that is advancing and one that is battling the advancement. Very much like the current climate Kwei observed when he returned to Ghana only a few years ago. Now Kwei is hard at work on the follow-up to WIFE OF THE GODS, as Darko is still speaking to Kwei. So, how would Kwei summarize the experiences to this point?

Some things I would do over.

I can relate to that!

J.T. Ellison not only calls Nashville, Tennessee home these days, she also sets her Taylor Jackson series there. The tough homicide detective came to life in J.T.'s first novel ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS in 2007 and in February she will release, THE COLD ROOM, book number four in this best-selling, critically acclaimed series. J.T. says she was in the midst of reading John Sandford's Prey series when she decided she wanted to give crime fiction a whirl, and she had definitely taken the thriller genre to a new level.

Before deciding to move into a career in crime fiction, J.T. was a presidential appointee and worked in The White House and the Department of Commerce. Then she moved on to the private sector working as a financial analyst and marketing director for several defense and aerospace contractors. But Nashville seemed to be the turning point. It was after moving to Nashville that she started researching forensics and crime then moved on to researching and working with several law enforcement agencies including the FBI and the Metro Nashville Police Department. And the rest, as they say, is history.

J.T. writes short stories, in addition to her novels. She is one of the Friday bloggers at Murderati and main blogger at her own Tao of JT. And she active in various writing organizations, including International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.

With this complex, diverse background is it no wonder her books are constructed with intricate and complex plots? Nashville Scene's 2008 Best Mystery/Thriller Writer puts it altogether with:

Dreamed a plot, wrote it down.

And the crime fiction community is ever so glad that she did!

Our final memoirist today is one of two people I credit with pulling me into the crime fiction genre. Robert Crais and Linda Fairstein wrote books that grabbed me and wouldn't let me go. In my desire to find more, more, more and quench my thirst for this drug we call crime fiction, I delved deeper and found more and more authors. But it all started with these two. So I am beyond honored to have international best-selling author Linda Fairstein here today to share her memoir.

Linda writes the Alexandra Cooper series and this year released LETHAL LEGACY, book number eleven in that series. She always wanted to be a novel writer, but she took a bit of a detour in life. And that detour helped shape the books she would one day write. Linda graduated from law school, joined the Manhattan District Attorney's Office as an Assistant District Attorney and went to work in what was the very beginning of the sex crimes unit. Linda was instrumental in this ground-breaking department that would cause a major shift in how sex crimes were handled. She was one of the first to use DNA testing in a criminal case, and she was considered for the Attorney General's position in the Clinton administration. Linda's first publication was a non-fiction work, SEXUAL VIOLENCE: OUR WAR AGAINST RAPE, which won great acclaim and became a teaching tool in universities and law enforcement agencies. But a year after publication, she decided to turn to her original dream, writing novels. And she took her vast portfolio of experiences and turned them into the Alex Cooper series, starting with FINAL JEOPARDY.

Linda's protagonist Alexandra "Alex" Cooper bears a strong resemblance to her creator, as does Law & Order:SVU Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot. This, of course, is for good reason. Linda says, professionally Alex Cooper "expresses my passion for the work and what the rewards are and also what the frustrations are." Alex Cabot is of course a nod to Linda's Alex Cooper since the Special Victims Unit was based on Linda's Special Victims Unit. And Stephanie March, who played Alex Cabot, shadowed Linda when she was preparing for the role. I love Alex's character, but I just have to admit a crush on her favorite homicide detective, Mike Chapman.

Linda writes about plots she knows, has created characters she knows, and she also depicts a setting that she knows. Her depictions of New York City and Martha's Vineyard bring both locales to vividly to life. And I have to say that when I saw Linda's memoir, I felt it brought HER vividly to life as well. This IS Linda Fairstein:

Love. Loyalty. Integrity. Courage. Kindness. Laughter.

Thank you so much to all of our memoirists today: Robin, Kwei, J.T., and Linda. This is simply a wonderful group of crime fiction writers. I am so incredibly humbled. And everyone stopping by to read, thank you for letting me gush a tad bit more than usual today. Thank you for sticking with me through this series and enjoying it as much as I have. I still have more to come, and I look forward to next week.

Happy Reading everyone!

You Have the Right to Six Words - Week 22

We interrupt the Bouchercon posts because it's that time again! To share some more fun memoirs from Crime Fiction's greatest. We have a superb line-up this week, but before we cut to the chase, it has come to my attention that an impression exists out there that six-word memoirs is somehow my brain child. Sorry folks. I'm not that creative. If I've personally given someone that impression by something I said, I apologize, it is not so. As I would mention when I asked the question in interviews and as I pointed out at the beginning of this series project, this idea is not original. I picked up on it from reading the book NOT QUITE WHAT I WAS PLANNING: SIX-WORD MEMOIRS OF WRITERS FAMOUS AND OBSCURE. Since the publication of this book, three others were published and the creators have this website. So if you want to credit someone, credit the folks at SMITH Magazine. I've just borrowed the idea in an effort to highlight crime fiction writers. Please let me know if you have any questions.

And now for this week's authors:

Leading off this week is national bestselling author Shane Gericke (pronounced YER-key). I'm so thrilled to have him join us because I'm one of his devout followers over at the 7 Criminal Minds blog. Shane got his start in the writing biz while still in high school. He worked as a sports writer for the Frankfort Herald. Despite only making $30 a month in this position, he loved the job. It led to 25 years as a journalist, including a run as Senior Financial Editor at the Chicago Sun-Times. But these days, Shane is writing thriller novels featuring his police detectives Emily Thompson and Martin Benedetti. His first in the series, BLOWN AWAY, was named Debut Mystery of the Year by RT Book Reviews. Book number three in the series, TORN APART, will be published in July of 2010. Shane is a member of Mystery Writers of America and the Society of Midland Authors. In addition, he is a founding member of International Thriller Writers and is presently chairman of ThrillerFest. But would you expect anything less from a crime fiction writer living in Naperville, Illinois? The home of Dick Tracy!

As I mentioned at the beginning of Shane's bio, he's one of the 7 Criminal Minds bloggers. If you follow his blogging on Fridays you'll know he's smart, funny and genuine. It is truly my honor to have him represented here today. I'm supposed to pass along to you also that Shane invites you to visit him at http://www.shanegericke.com/. He'd love to buy you coffee while there, but it's digital, and the powdered creamer wouldn't dissolve. He is descended from the seven Gericke brothers who immigrated to Milwaukee in the early 1800s. Six of them died of natural causes. One was kicked to death by a mule. Shane figures that explains everything.

O.k., so how does Shane sum up his life experiences with six words? With

Pedal to metal; blew through reds.

And I'm just full of Criminal Minds today. The Sunday blogger for 7 Criminal Minds is Gabriella "Gabi" Herkert, the author of the Animal Instincts Series. Yep, you know that one got my attention right away. Gabi claims that she is an "evil corporate lawyer" by day and that her behavior doesn't improve while she's writing her books by the light of the moon. Her friends are just like her (she's obviously out breaking knees with Sophie) and so is her dog, a Lab mix who bears a striking resemblance to the dog on the cover of her novel DOGGONE, the second book in the Animal Instincts Series. HORSEWHIPPED is the upcoming third novel in the series. Evil or not, Gabi's

Charging life's tricycle toward the
horizon.

I just love that image, don't you?

Hallie Ephron has touched on almost every aspect of crime writing that you can. She's a reviewer, she's a writer, she's a teacher! Maybe it's in the genes. Hallie's parents were the screenwriters Henry and Phoebe Ephron, and her sisters Nora, Delia, and Amy are also writers. So maybe it was natural that Hallie should be an award-winning book reviewer for the Boston Globe or an award-nominated non-fiction writer with Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel: How to Knock 'Em Dead with Style, or a writing workshop instructor. Who knows. But she is also a successful crime fiction writer. She published five series novels as half of the writing team, G.H. Ephron and she's also published solo with her psychological suspense thriller NEVER TELL A LIE. Her newest book, out this month, isn't a crime fiction book, but it is one you will hear about soon here at Jen's Book Thoughts, a beautiful little book called THE BIBLIOPHILE'S DEVOTIONAL. When not hard at work on her next psychological suspense novel, Hallie can be found blogging with the ladies over at Jungle Red Writers. For Hallie, it all comes down to:

Twisting the truth to creep them out.

And rounding out our bunch today we have an author you may not have heard of, but I think his work just might catch on. Yes, I was being facetious. John Hart is a New York Times bestselling author, and international bestselling author, and he's an Edgar Award-winning author. He has published three thrillers: THE KING OF LIES, DOWN RIVER, and most recently THE LAST CHILD. His books have been translated into at least 26 different languages and published in over 30 countries. John was born and raised in North Carolina, where he also attended college at Davidson College, just north of Charlotte. Here he earned an undergraduate degree in French literature and graduate degrees in accounting and law. Not only has he worked as a banker, stock broker and attorney, but he's also put in time sanding teak, working on helicopters and BAR TENDING! Well, do they call it that in London where you work in a pub, not a bar?

John found that he couldn't write in the off hours while working a regular day job, so he took a gamble, gave up the day job and devoted himself entirely to writing. The gamble paid off in spades. These days his family and writing demands occupy most all of his time, but he still tries to assist in protecting North Carolina's open spaces.

So how does John choose to immortalize this life full of accomplishment?

Raise hell. Settle. Write books. Cocktails.

Once again, an awesome line-up of fabulous authors sharing their 6-word memoirs. My thanks to Shane, Gabi, Hallie, and John for making time to play with us today. It is my distinct honor to have you all on Jen's Book Thoughts today. Thank you.

And to everyone who keeps coming back, thank YOU. Hopefully, I'll see you here next week, same time, same place for our Halloween week edition of "You Have the Right to Six Words!" And I'll be even happier if I see you back here tomorrow as we return to our regularly scheduled Bouchercon recaps!

You Have the Right to Six Words - Bouchercon Week

Sorry I haven't been around much. I've been working diligently to finish up the six-word memoirs scrapbook pages of the authors who will be at Bouchercon. Not sure if I'll get everyone done. But then again, not sure if I'll be able to see everyone to get the pages signed, but I'd like to at least have them ready. The book is really turning out nicer than I had hoped. Actually, it's turned into two books now and may make a third by the time pictures have been added and all memoirs have been completed. But between that, prepping and packing, and oh yeah, that pesky full-time job that pays the bills (ha), I've been pretty busy. I have not, however, stopped reading, so I have some reviews to catch up on after B'Con. But as promised, we will not miss the six-word memoirs this week. So, let's get to them so I can get back to work on the scrapbook.

I am so giddy about this week's memoirists, I can't even tell you! This is a great group of authors to represent for us during Bouchercon week.

To start us off, we have Hilary Davidson. Hilary just snagged her first crime novel book deal, but she's no stranger to writing. After interning for Harper's Magazine in New York City, Hilary returned to her home town of Toronto for a magazine job. From there she decided to strike out on her own and try her hand at freelance work. In the past ten years she's written 18 guidebooks (yes that number IS 18), and gads of newspaper and magazine articles. But the world of crime was calling Hilary and she started dabbling in fiction. After her short story "Anniversary" was selected for the anthology A PRISONER OF MEMORY AND 24 OF THE YEAR'S FINEST CRIME AND MYSTERY STORIES, agent Nat Sobel took notice. And at this time next year, Hilary will be releasing her first crime fiction novel, titled THE DAMAGE DONE. But you don't have to wait to enjoy her fine writing. She's published short works in Thuglit, Crimespree, Well Told Tales, Beat to a Pulp, Spinetingler, and The Rose & Thorn. And you can see her prize-winning short story "Beast" here. In addition to the publication of her novel, Hilary will celebrate the publication of another short story in 2010. This time "Son of So Many Tears" will be published in the 2010 Thuglit anthology. I am confident that in a few years, someone is going to say to you, "have you heard of Hilary Davidson? She wrote this awesome novel." And you'll be able to say, "Where have you been? I read Hilary's six-word memoir before she even published her first novel. I've known how great she is for-ever!"

When she isn't conjuring up crime and criminals, Hilary studies krav maga and karate, where she's earned a brown belt. And she never tires of traveling. With all of these accomplishments, her memoir fits perfectly:

Thought small sins pointless. Dreamed big.

Our next memoirist this week likes to bring comedy to the crime fiction genre. Don't believe me? Let's put his bio to the first sentence test:

"Lee Goldberg is an ex-Navy SEAL, freelance Sexual Surrogate and a professional Pierce Brosnan impersonator."

I think the man knows how to write a hook! And write them he does. For print and for television. Instead of following his mother's wishes and attending law school or following his grandfather's wishes and going into the family furniture business, Lee attended UCLA, working as a freelance journalist to pay the bills. Lee published his first book .357 VIGILANTE under the pen name Ian Ludlow, but since the publisher promptly went bankrupt, Ian Ludlow was no more. But that didn't deter Lee Goldberg. He climbed back on the bike to try again. And since climbing back on, Lee has published non-fiction, fiction, and television scripts. He's well-known these days for writing the book series MONK, which is based on the television show. His newest MONK novel and the ninth in the series, MR MONK IN TROUBLE is due out this December. MONK is not the first book series Lee's written based on a television series, however. He also wrote the DIAGNOSIS MURDER novels. Lee broke into television with a freelance script for SPENSER: FOR HIRE. DIAGNOSIS MURDER, MONK, HUNTER and NERO WOLFE (for which he won an Edgar nomination) are just a few of his other television credits.

Not giving up after that first let down led Lee Goldberg to a job he loves. And he sums it up with six words:

Paid to pretend, best job ever.

Our next guest today comes to us from across the pond. And I can't tell you how surprised or thrilled I was to have her respond to my e-mail asking if she would participate. Her writing is a magical trip back in time with a gutsy, intelligent, independent woman. These days Ariana Franklin writes the Mistress of the Art of Death series about a twelfth century female pathologist. But Ariana, like Lee and Hilary, started her writing career in journalism. She dropped out of school at the age of 15 to pursue journalism, and by 20 she was the youngest journalist on Fleet Street in London. Ariana loved the journalist's life, but when she married fellow journalist Barry Norman, she left it behind and gave birth to two daughters. Just because she left journalism didn't mean she left writing, however. She continued to write anything and everything: magazine articles, biographies, ghost stories and especially women's history. It was Helen Heller who encouraged Ariana to try her hand at a historical thriller, and try it she did. She took Raymond Chandler's famous line, "When in doubt, have a man come in with a gun" and she molded it to fit her needs. She has a woman come in, and she comes in with a poison or a dagger or a crossbow. Or in Adelia's case she comes in to investigate the results of the poisons or daggers or crossbows. This year Ariana published the third book in the Mistress of the Art of Death series, GRAVE GOODS, and April of next year will bring the fourth title, A MURDEROUS PROCESSION, in this highly accurate, incredibly fun historical thriller series. While Ariana claims

Success has taken me by surprise

Being a great fan of this series, it doesn't surprise me at all!

And anchoring our list of authors today is a man who at 19 wanted to be Ernest Hemingway. William Kent Krueger began writing at the "first light" of day in his efforts to emulate Hemingway. Kent discovered this time of day also worked well for him. So, writing longhand in wire-bound notebooks while sitting in a local cafe at 6:00 each morning, a writer was born. Years later he is writing in that same cafe at 6:00 each morning, but now he's writing full time. Kent's series of Cork O'Connor books have garnered him a Barry Award, three Anthony Awards and four Minnesota Book Awards, among numerous other awards and recognitions. That's not too shabby for a man who was kicked out of Stanford for "radical activities."

Kent has been married to his wife, Diane, for over 35 years. They have two children and call St. Paul, Minnesota home. Kent's ninth Cork O'Connor novel, HEAVEN'S KEEP was released last month. So what six words did Kent find to capture his amazing experiences?

Ambitions failed. Blessings, never. Hope
abides.

How can you help but succeed with an outlook like that?! I'm excited to, hopefully, have the chance to meet Kent this weekend at Bouchercon. Our other three memoirists will, unfortunately, not be making it to the convention this year. That's part of the reason I chose them for this week. I wanted to add them to the celebration! Hilary, Lee, Ariana, and Kent, thank you so much for celebrating mystery and crime fiction with us today through your six-word memoirs. We look forward to all the intrigue and thrill you continue to bring to us, your fans, through your writing.

O.k. everyone, I will once again go quiet until next week when I will return with stories and pictures and reviews and (hopefully) some new interviews lined up! We will also have Week 22 of the Six-Word Memoirs. If you're going to be at Bouchercon, I'll see you this weekend! Happy, happy reading everyone!!

You Have the Right to Six Words - Week 20?

I'm still finding this hard to believe everyone. We are up to Week 20 in this series and you're still coming back. Thanks for sticking with me, we're going to be on the downhill side of this project now with about 6 to 8 more posts, but they're going to be some doosies. I hope you hold out to the end, and I hope you enjoy the fun.

This week, let's start out with a man who's known he loved crime fiction for a very long time. As a matter of fact, Bill Crider did his Ph.D. dissertation on the hardboiled detective novel. After successfully completing the Ph.D., Bill went on to teach English at the collegiate level. He retired from his position as English Department Chair in 2002 and began working full time at his writing career - or part time as a bum, according to Bill.

Bill has spent his whole life in small Texas towns. And he sets his books in much the same location. He has three series, something for everyone. Dan Rhoades is a small-town Texas sheriff who doesn't deal with serial killers but rather alligators, naked men in dumpsters and missing false teeth. Oh, yeah, and the occasional murder as well. Rhoades most recent capers can be found in MURDER IN FOUR PARTS which was released in February of this year. The first Dan Rhoades novel, TOO LATE TO DIE, won the Anthony Award for best first novel. Bill also has an amateur sleuth, Carl Burns, who happens to be an English teacher. And finally Bill has his P.I., Truman Smith, who earned a Shamus nomination for best first P.I. novel in 1991 for DEAD ON THE ISLAND.

In his free time, Bill runs, enjoys music and travel, is as much a mystery fan as a writer, and he tends to the needs of his three cats. He's summed up this array of achievements with

I came. I read. I wrote.

And that says a lot!

Our next memoirist, like many of the authors included in the project, has a variety of jobs on her resume. Michelle Gagnon has worked as a modern dancer, a dog walker, a bar tender, freelance journalist, personal trainer, model and Russian supper club performer? Doesn't that sound exotic? These days she calls San Francisco home where she indulges in stale popcorn and Hollywood blockbusters. When she isn't enjoying the movies she's bringing FBI Special Agent Kelly Jones to life in her IMBA bestsellers. Next month, Michelle will be releasing the third and newest Kelly Jones novel, THE GATEKEEPER.

Michelle is active in the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Romance Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. And if that wasn't enough to keep Michelle busy, she's also blogging at The Kill Zone on Thursdays. Well grab your stale popcorn and sit back for the Michelle Gagnon show:

Dancer turns to life of crime.

Linwood Barclay was born in the United States but moved to Canada at the age of four when his father accepted a job there. Unfortunately, Linwood's father died when Linwood was only 16. He helped to run a cottage resort and trailer park until he snagged his first newspaper job with the Peterborough Examiner in Ontario. Linwood would join the Toronto Star, Canada's largest circulation newspaper, in 1981. Working there until 2008, Linwood wore many hats: assistant city editor, chief copy editor, news editor, Life section editor, and finally humor columnist. But, the world of novel-writing was calling him and in 2008 he hung up his newspaper hats to work exclusively on his books.

In the midst of all these newspaper experiences, Linwood earned his Bachelor's degree in English and met his future wife at Trent University in Peterborough.

Linwood's Zack Walker thriller series was born in 2004 and in 2007 Linwood's first stand alone thriller was published, NO TIME FOR GOODBYE. NO TIME FOR GOODBYE earned Linwood a nomination for the Arthur Ellis, the Barry and the International Thriller Writers awards. TOO CLOSE TO HOME, which came out in 2008 earned the coveted Arthur Ellis award for Best Novel. And this year his third stand alone thriller, FEAR THE WORST, was released in the U.S. in August.

And so how does Linwood sum up all this success?

Trailer park; father died; joined
newspaper.

And the rest, they say, is history!

And rounding out this distinguished group is a woman who came to writing via medicine. Tess Gerritsen earned an M.D. from the University of California and went on to practice as a physician. While on maternity leave the inkling to write snuck up on her and she began her first novel. In 1987 CALL AFTER MIDNIGHT, a romantic thriller, was published. She followed that book up with eight more romantic suspense novels and a television screenplay.

In 1996, Tess found her way onto the New York Times Best Seller list with her first medical thriller, HARVEST. And she just continued to role from there with eleven novels up to the most recent THE KEEPSAKE. Tess has teamed up medical examiner Maura Isles and homicide detective Jane Rizzoli for seven of those eleven novels and two of them have won her prestigious awards. For VANISH she received the Nero Wolfe award and for THE SURGEON she was awarded the Rita award.

These days Tess is retired from medicine, writing full time and residing in Maine. This international best selling author was

Told it was impossible. Tried anyway.

And the genre is richer for it! Thanks Tess, for doing the impossible!

I am so thrilled with this line-up this week. Michelle, Bill, Linwood and Tess, my sincerest and warmest thanks for taking the time to write your memoirs for this project. Your involvement has added tremendously to the series. I am honored to host you today.

And readers, thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you have enjoyed Week 20 as much as I have. And I hope you will join me next week. I'll be doing the mad scramble to make sure I have everything ready for Bouchercon, but I'm going to do my darnedest to get Week 21 posted. If by chance, I'm not able to get it done, please don't jump ship. I promise I'll have my act together for the week after and we'll resume!