Heroes Caught Reading

Today's hero is a familiar face in the crime fiction community, submitted by another familiar face. Sophie Littlefield, author of...tons of stuff, check her website, says her hero is John Kwiatkowski

John K is my hero for so many reasons. Where shall I begin? He makes every author feel like a star when she visits the store where he works (Murder By The Book in Houston, Texas). He is a genius at finding the right book for every reader, and encourages people to try new authors who may not be on their radar. He celebrates literacy by seeing a reader in everyone and counting it a win when he places a book in someone's hands, whether he or she is a zealous fan or a new or reluctant reader.

But mostly John is my hero because he talks openly about what it was like to be an awkward adolescent, about the fear and discomfort of that place, and models the kind of bravery I count on every day when I wake up in the body of a fifty-year-old woman but occasionally with the insecurity of the girl I was long ago. I couldn't go out into the world and kick ass every day if I didn't have friends like John, who make me feel determined to be my best self.

Love you Johnnycakes!!!!!

I think Sophie speaks for many when she talks about John. Who is a model for the kind of life you strive to live?

If you don't know John already, you can meet up with him on Twitter and find out why Sophie and many others admire him. Thanks to Sophie and John. And happy reading to all.

Left Coast Crime (A Little Tardy)

I sincerely apologize for my tardiness in getting this post written for you. Left Coast Crime was such a wonderful time this year (except for transportation back to the airport, but we'll not go there--I might cry). I think I said this last year, but in case you weren't around then or I am mistaken, this is such a great conference and if you enjoy mystery and crime fiction, you need to attend at least once. It's the perfect size, the programming is wonderful, you have great opportunities to interact with others. It is really a gem in the crime fiction world. I hear say that Hawaii is the destination in a few years. I might be starting to save up for that one! Anyway...let's talk about Monterey.

If you follow the Facebook page, you may have already seen the video of Toastmaster Brad Parks introducing Guest of Honor Sue Grafton for her interview. For those who did not see it, I give you, "Keep Away from Alphabet Sue":



Throughout the course of the interview Sue Grafton shared many fun stories. She was animated and engaged. She talked about her frustrations writing in Hollywood--and not selling the rights to Kinsey Milhone, the books that came before A is for Alibi, the trouble she's having with her present novel (X), and the great support she gets from her publisher. She spoke about "Shadow" and the "death cookie" and how she knows someone is the child of an alcoholic. Sue wowed the crowd and Brad did a stellar job giving her the platform to do so. An exceptional interview indeed!

Brad didn't get much of a break on that Thursday as he had to turn around and MC opening night. Here he put on his liturgical robes and led the convention in the crime fiction reader's prayer.  You can see the prayer in its entirety here and pray it yourself tonight.

As always, opening night was a nice chance to mingle and chat. A very special treat this year was getting to meet my online friend Sarah RH.  I've made some of the best friendships online but getting to meet the people in person is always the ultimate treat.

In an effort to keep from writing a mile long blog post, I won't detail all the panels I attended. It's kind of late for that and I'm sure you'd get bored anyway. So I'm going to give you a Top 10 list of things I took away from Left Coast Crime panels:

10.  There's now a frozen yogurt shop in Buffalo, Wyoming called THE COLD DISH. I want to visit it!

9. Tim Hallinan was motivated to be a writer after he wrote his teacher a love poem.

8. There is a humor ghetto in crime fiction. Did you know that? I love humor in my books...topic for another blog post later, so tune in again on that topic.

7.  Lou Berney used Trip Advisor as a weapon in his novel Whiplash River. A lot of readers like to use Goodreads or Amazon that way, don't they? Wielding the powerful review!

6. Tim Hallinan, David Morrell and Sophie Littlefield all agreed that bad sex writing is worse than any other bad writing. Amen to that!

5. Lisa Brackmann, in a discussion on gender in crime fiction, said PTSD is PTSD regardless of gender. The difference comes in the additional obstacles women have to overcome in the military.

4. In a screenwriting panel, I learned there's a saying in Hollywood: "It's the only place on Earth you can die of encouragement."

3. Kent Krueger said he never understood winter until he moved to Minnesota--through his books, he wanted to help anyone anywhere understand that winter. (I'm sure that's especially true after this winter, right?)

2. One of Marcia Clark's goals in writing the Rachel Knight series is to depict the reality of female relationships.

1. And the top item goes to Kent Krueger who gave kudos to mystery readers saying they love to do a lot of the work in the reading process. So the writers only have to provide them a snippet and they take it from there.

A special award must be noted for Johnny Shaw. He made Brad Parks swear in front of his mother during their panel.

As a teacher I assured my students there is no such thing as a stupid question. As a panel attendee, I've learned how very untrue that really is. *sigh*

The programming was truly outstanding at this convention and I enjoyed every panel I attended, as well as the panel I moderated. We had standing room only--wow! So thanks to everyone who attended and to the great panelists with me: Janet Rudolph, Maddee James, August McLaughlin and Chantelle Osman. We had a great time talking about social media, but we could have talked MUCH longer.

The panels are always fun and I always take away interesting tidbits from them, but the true gems of these conventions come in the most unexpected encounters. I loved talking with Johnny Shaw and Erica Ruth before the awards banquet. I had the opportunity to meet several spouses--and parents--at this conference. So nice to meet people I hear about but haven't ever seen. I got to talk about dogs--and Harry Connick, Jr.!--with Lou Berney. Having dinner with Sophie Littlefield, Juliet Blackwell, Gigi Pandian and Maddee James was another highlight. I didn't have near enough time with my dear friend Lesa Holstine, but even if I had spent every minute with her, it wouldn't have been enough time. :-)

So, when you make your plans for your next convention, attend the panels--they're definitely great fun. But make sure you snatch up your own little gems as well!

Happy Reading, my friends!

Garden of Stones - Sophie Littlefield

First line: "Reg Forrest lowered himself painfully into his desk chair, which was as hard, used and creaky as he was."

Sophie Littlefield's newest book mostly likely won't be shelved in the crime fiction aisle of your bookstore, but don't let that fool you. Garden of Stones is most definitely a crime novel. It's a novel of love, a novel of crime, a social novel, oh heck, let's do away with silly labels, it's a damn good novel.

Lucy Takeda is a prime suspect in the possible murder of Reg Forrest. "Possible" because it's also possible the man committed suicide. However, Lucy has a history with Reg Forrest that reaches back to her childhood...

When Lucy was 14, The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and American officials began rounding up Japanese-Americans and confining them to internment camps. Lucy's father had just died; she and her mother were alone and forced to leave the only home Lucy had ever known for the Manzanar prison camp.

The transition from an upper middle class life to the harsh conditions of Manzanar were jarring but not impossible for Lucy and her mother. Lucy met her first love, Jessie, and her mother secured a good job sewing. But without Lucy's father, the two Takedas were vulnerable and their beauty would prove to be their greatest enemy.

As Littlefield guides the reader through Lucy's emotionally charged life in Manzanar and beyond, she demands empathy, unveils evil in its purest form, envelopes the reader in beauty beyond the skin, and even throws unexpected twists into the mix to keep the suspense high. Garden of Stones reaches far beyond anything Littlefield has written to date. She's stretching her writing muscles and showing readers what she's got. Folks, she's got a lot!

While Garden of Stones has many of the qualities that make Littlefield a great writer--strong female characters, universal themes, flowing dialogue--it differs dramatically from her Stella Hardesty series. I say this only so readers don't go in expecting the humor and lightness of the Stella Hardesty books. Garden of Stones is heavy and emotionally taxing, but it's also beautiful in its depiction of the human spirit's will to survive.

Ugliness happened in this country, an ugliness we don't often speak of. Garden of Stones reminds us of that ugliness so that we remember. We don't have those same internment camps today, but are we possibly exerting the same prejudices that plagued our country all those years ago? It's good to remember the ugly in hopes that it won't rear its head again.

Garden of Stones is available in trade paperback from Harlequin MIRA on February 26th.

Blood Bond - Sophie Littlefield

First line: "Joe Bashir stood in the glow of the streetlight shining through the triple-glazed windows of his girlfriend's Berkeley townhouse, pulling up his trousers and staring thoughtfully at the tableau unfolding in the street below."

Sophie Littlefield has launched a new series with Pocket Star books. Blood Bond, released as an ebook, introduces Joe Bashir, a Pakistani-American homicide investigator. A one-time med-school student who decided to pursue law enforcement when his father was brutally attacked in a hate crime, Bashir struggles with relationships but excels in his chosen field.

In Blood Bond, Bashir is called to investigate the suspicious death of a man at a dinner party. The wealthy Engler family hosted the dinner party and have been experiencing some harassment connected to Bruce Engler's business. The harassment has been harmless, so their connection seems unlikely, but Bashir has to pursue all avenues. However, when Gail Engler, Bruce's wife, ends up dead days later, new evidence surfaces for Bashir and the case takes on a whole new twist.

Littlefield has taken on an ambitious effort with her new protagonist. He carries a lot of baggage, which follows the prototype of crime's detectives, but he carries unique baggage. The racial element is in the background, but still plays a huge role in Bashir's overall character. Littlefield artfully balances this development of Bashir so that WHO he is remains clear, especially in contrast to those he is investigating, but doesn't overpower the plot of the novel. I look forward to watching how Bashir continues to develop in this series. He's a welcome addition to crime fiction.

Don't expect Blood Bond to be a female version of Stella Hardesty. This book is distinctly different from Littlefield's first crime series; she's expanding her horizons and showing even more of her writing chops.

I hesitate to comment on the ebook itself. I don't believe the review copy I received is a final format since font sizes and styles differed throughout the book.

Blood Bond is available in all ebook formats (ISBN: 9781476709406) from Pocket Star. For a limited time the ebook is priced at $1.99

Five on Friday - Sophie Littlefield

Yes! It's back! Thank you to all the folks who asked if there was more Five on Friday. We're back this week and hopefully now each Friday for awhile. I'm delighted that you enjoy the feature enough to ask about it.

Before we get started on the fun stuff, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Here are a few links to occupy your non-shopping time on Black Friday:

I'm super late on getting this posted over here, but here are our November Nerdy picks from Pop Culture Nerd.

Be sure to stop by The Drowning Machine blog to take a look at Naomi's new blog banner. It's rather stunning!

Over at the Criminal Element website, they have a Cornucopia of Books giveaway going on...a 8-book bundle you can win. So, check that out!

O.k. that's all the housekeeping for this week. Now for Sophie Littlefield! I've been a fan of her Stella Hardesty crime series for years now. This week, Sophie had a new release that is quite different from Stella. On Tuesday, Blood Bond came out from Pocket Books as an ebook. Right now it's only in ebook format, but I believe at some point down the road there will be a print version. I'm in the midst of reading it right now and it features Joe Bashir, a Pakistani-American police detective in California. (You can see my short interview with Sophie from Bouchercon here where she talks a bit about Joe Bashir and the series.)

I will talk more about Blood Bond soon, but what I will tell you now is that Sophie is the chameleon of writing. Do not expect Blood Bond to be a male version of the Stella Hardesty books. They're completely different and if you didn't have the author's name on the two series, you probably wouldn't guess they're written by the same person. That shows a lot of versatility in a writer.

And in addition to her adult crime novels, Sophie has also written young adult novels. There just isn't much this woman can't do, is there? Well, allow me to stop talking for her and give her the blog. Here she is...Sophie Littlefield!

 Beware hunters: this one will shoot back!

1. My favorite place to read is: When I was eight or so, we lived in Providence, RI one summer so my dad could do research there. It was one of those professor-house-trade arrangements (I feel sorry for whoever got stuck with our un-air-conditioned split-level in central Missouri) and we were in a vast, shabby old house that came with slightly moldering copies of every MAD magazine in print. And: a papasan chair THAT SPUN. I would give anything to be able to read upside down in the that chair, lazily spinning myself by pushing off the wall with my foot, for hours on end. The weird thing is, I don’t remember fighting with my brother over that chair at all, which seems impossible - he is possibly the only kid I ever knew who read more than me. I need to ask him if he remembers the chair.

2. The last movie I saw was: Seven Psychopaths. Well, there was a ton of carnage and there was Colin Farrell. That’ll do here, am I right?

3. The most famous person I ever met was: This isn’t really an answer, but since we’re in a share-y mood today, I’ll admit that I hate meeting famous people. I find the experience - and, frankly, them - off-putting and creepy. I am suspicious of anyone who can withstand public attention. Also, what to talk about? I was recently seated next to a famous person at an event. I knew a lot about him because I’d read the article in the magazine. I know what his house looks like. I know what he drives. I know his weird dietary restrictions. And I found myself feeling resentful that he hadn’t bothered to learn any of those things about me. That disparity doomed us from the start. I mean, that and my ennnnnnndless awkwardness in public.

4. The worst vacation I ever took was to: Ugh. I’m thinking about it now and I can’t even bear to recount the details, that’s how painful it was. Prince Andrew was busy marrying the Duchess of York that week, so each unbearable day would end with TV coverage of all the pre-wedding details in our squalid little hotel room. Oh, all right, it was in Canada. But that wasn’t what made it painful. And that’s all I have to say about that.

5. The #1 item on my bucket list right now is: I’m embarrassed to admit this, Jen, but I may be the only person I know who has no bucket list. Unless you count “keep kicking ass” as a bucket list item, but the way I understand it, it’s supposed to be things you haven’t yet done.

The thing is, I’ve decided to trust the universe to put adventures in my path. So far, that has worked out pretty well. The secret is to 1) want things badly enough to work for them and 2) believe everything is possible. (Now I’m being trite as well as uncooperative, but it’s true: as long as you seize on what you want like a puppy on a spider, you can, apparently, have whatever you want.)

And Sophie is definitely determined to get what she wants in the publishing world. She's trying new things, writing new characters, and kicking ass! If you don't already, you can follow Sophie on Twitter, hang out with her on Facebook, learn more about her at her website, and of course read her books!

And now I shall leave you to enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend, which I hope includes lots of good reading! I'll see you back on Monday with more book fun.

Bouchercon Part 1 & A Facebook Giveaway

Well, I may get the record for latest Bouchercon post, but here it is finally. Prepare for photos and fun!

Bouchercon was, of course, in my back yard this year. And as always I had a fantastic time meeting up with friends from all over the country who all share a love of crime fiction.

My good friend and fellow blogger, Lesa Holstine, flew in Wednesday and I picked her up from the airport. Do you think I thought to get a picture of us together? Jen, fail #1. But we were roommates for this - her first - Bouchercon. I'm so thrilled I could share her first Bouchercon with her.

Thursday kicked off the official festivities. I only attended one panel, and that was the "What an author will do for a story" panel with Sean Chercover, A.C. (Andre) Frieden, Jamie Freveletti, and Sam Reaves. The panel was moderated by PR rep extraordinaire Dana Kaye. These authors have traveled all over the world in search of their stories.

Jamie Freveletti and Andre Frieden

Sean Chercover says his lack of focus ignited his travel and various forms of employment and that ultimately resulted in his stories. His big piece of advice for sparking ideas, though, was to indulge in a "shath." For those who are not familiar with a "shath" it is when you sit in the bath tub and run the shower over you...thus, a "shath."

Sean "argh, matey" Chercover and Sam Reaves

While Sam Reaves has a strong background in languages, which was helpful with interviews abroad, he says, you can't write a travel log. The research is interesting, but that alone doesn't make for a great crime novel.

Sam Reaves and Jamie Freveletti

My other adventures Thursday included interviewing Sophie Littlefield and Juliet Blackwell, which hopefully you watched on Thursday. I also picked up xuni.com's fearless leader, Maddee James from the airport, attended the St. Martin's cocktail reception - and was able to chat with Steve Ulfelder, who is absolutely wonderful - and had dinner with Brad Parks. I decided to forego the opening ceremonies at the Rock Hall. As I mentioned, this is my backyard, the Rock Hall wasn't a big sell for me.

Friday kicked off with the Mary Higgins Clark breakfast. It was geared toward librarians, but some reviewers and bloggers were invited as well. Mary Higgins Clark is a charming, humorous, vivacious lady. Whether you're a fan of her work or not, she was a super fun guest of honor for this breakfast.

Mary Higgins Clark

Criminal Element's fearless leader, Clare Toohey and Tracy Kiely

Following the breakfast was my first panel as moderator. It was the "Old Friends/New Friends" panel with Parnell Hall, Mary Jane Maffini, Jeff Cohen/E.J. Copperman, and Libby Fischer Hellmann. We had a full house and I thank everyone who came out. Several people stopped by to say "hi" and I want you to know that meant the world to me. So thank you!

We had a great conversation about series characters. I was fascinated by Jeff and Libby's differing views on writing characters of the opposite sex. Jeff has taken his experience with the women in his "real" life and build on those to create his female protagonist, while Libby learned early she thinks too much like a female to write a male protagonist.

Mary Jane Maffini is absolutely delightful and shared experiences with us about making friends as a librarian and bookseller as well as writing with one of her best friends, her daughter. Parnell Hall talked mostly about how his books don't sell, but he would be willing to play the role of the Puzzle Lady in a movie if the offer ever presented itself.

The panel I attended after mine was called "Eve of Destruction." The panelists were all interesting, spirited and fun, however, the moderator spoke for the first 22 minutes of the panel and pitched her sister's memoir coming out later. Epic Fail!

Sophie Littlefield and Tracy Kiely

When the panelists were given the floor, a discussion ensued about female characters. Sophie Littlefield pointed out that we're more accepting of relateable characters now - characters with foibles; characters who aren't perfect. And Rochelle Staab pointed out that she feels there's an expected vulnerability for female characters that doesn't exist for males.

Tracy Kiely and Rochelle Staab

This was my first experience hearing Deborah Coonts on a panel and now I'm determined to read one of her books! She had me laughing when she told a story about her male fans writing her to ask for less feminine book covers. They have to take the covers off the books so people don't make fun of them reading! Gotta love it!

Sorry, I wasn't able to get a great pic of Deborah Coonts because of the champagne bottle. Bummer!

Whew! Friday was my busy panel day. A lot of great people to see and listen to. The next panel was the Ex Libris panel (a.k.a. the xuni.com panel). I wasn't able to do any tweeting from this panel because it was a dead zone for my cell phone, which was a real bummer because it was such a fun panel: Jan Burke, Marcia Clark, Jim Conway and Carter Wilson and moderated by Maddee James. They are a blast, let me tell you. They were creating fake first sentences for books - both their own and others. The one thing we all definitely took away from this panel: they like to drink. I think every book covered included a first line about some alcoholic drink!

Jan Burke and Marcia Clark...Jan looks like she's up to something!

Two of the nicest people you could meet: Marcia Clark and Jim Conway

Marica, Jim and Carter....looks like that line was especially funny!

Debut author Carter Wilson

The other thing that was abundantly clear was that they are all extremely talented writers.

All the panelists hard at work on their first lines!

Not done with Friday yet! Are you still hanging with me?

I attended the "Morally Challenged Characters" panel next. This panel included Lou Berney, Elizabeth Hand, Seth Harwood, and Chris Holm. It was moderated by Ali Karim. Again, it's fascinating for me to hear about how writers approach their stories.

Ali Karim, Lou Berney, Elizabeth Hand and a sliver of Seth Harwood

Lou indicated that he prefers to have a jumble of characters without any set designated roles for them. However, he also pointed out that if you have an unlikeable protagonist, you need to make sure the antagonists are sufficiently unlikeable to still make the protag look better.

Elizabeth likes to push her character to the border of where she'll go and what she'll do. While Chris Holm likes to discover the line his character won't cross and then put him in a situation that gives him no choice but to have to cross it.

Sorry about the lack of photos on this panel. The room was HORRIBLE for taking pictures. There were big pillars directly in front of where I was sitting. I moved to take this photo, but had to go over to the right side to be able to get anything at all...Jen fail #2.

So that was my crazy Friday line-up of panels. I'll save my final two days for tomorrow's post because I want to make you aware of a giveaway I'm doing on the Facebook page if you haven't seen it already. I do giveaways over here regularly and have some new ones coming up, but this is a FB page exclusive this time.

I took a Jen's Book Thoughts tote bag to Bouchercon and collected signatures from many authors. The bag has signatures on both sides. Some of the authors who signed it include: Lee Child, John Connolly, Karin Slaughter, Kelli Stanley, Alafair Burke, Marcia Clark, Michael Koryta, Steve Ulfelder, Brad Parks, Sean Chercover...whew, you get the idea. I'll include a card for the lucky follower with the names of everyone who signed the bag. To be in the drawing for the bag, you just need to be following the Jen's Book Thoughts page by Sunday, October 21st. I'll do a drawing and pick a name to win the bag and goodies from Bouchercon.

Just as I do periodic giveaways here on the blog, I'm going to start doing periodic giveaways over on the Facebook page as well. This is just the kick off.

From Bouchercon

The first official day of Bouchercon I made an appointment to meet up with Sophie Littlefield and Juliet Blackwell. They kindly agreed to meet me first thing in the morning and we had a nice little chat. These two ladies are both talented and fun, so I hope you enjoy our discussion!

Lessons I've Learned...

...from books I've read so far in 2012. A little fun to kick off your week.

1. Don't look in the trunk! The next time I'm offered 50 grand to not look in the trunk, I'll not look in the trunk, no matter how much noise I hear. (Gutshot Straight by Lou Berney)

2. When planning your child's wedding, move mountains to get the first choice location. It may seem like an impossible task, but that second choice locale can really cause problems. (As the Crow Flies, Craig Johnson)

3. If someone writes to you saying you're their child, immediately burn the letter and move far away. Curiosity did, after all, kill the cat. (Playing Dead, Julia Heaberlin)


4. If a guy can't afford his own car and has to use yours, do NOT let him move in with you. In fact, don't date him at all. (Heartbroken, Lisa Unger)

5. When it comes to family, help hide the body. It is, after all, family.  (A Bad Day for Mercy, Sophie Littlefield)

6. Never spend the night in a backwoods small town. And most especially never do it if you are traveling with a teen who's been in trouble with the law before. (The Conviction, Robert Dugoni)

7. Reality TV is nothing but trouble. It can even affect people not directly involved in the show. It's bad, bad, bad! (Vanishing Point, Val McDermid)

8. Imaginary friends are real. A different kind of real, but real all the same. (Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, Matthew Dicks)

9. A bag of donuts can buy you anything. No one can resist donuts, especially a P.I. who can't help but do the right thing. (Lullaby, Ace Atkins)

10. Fate despises suicide. You don't need to bother even trying. Fate will interfere and make you realize the life before trying suicide wasn't all THAT bad. (The Survivor, Gregg Hurwitz)

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?

A BAD DAY FOR MERCY - Sophie Littlefield

My review of A BAD DAY FOR MERCY appeared in Shelf Awareness and I am reprinting it here with their permission.

First line: "Jogging home from the Freshway at sunset on a sultry evening in late May had been a fine idea."

“So you got two hormonal teenage boys, a bloody murder, illegal doctorin’, a business feud, a illegal immigrant situation, all of it circlin’ around a relative you don’t hardly even know, and tomorrow’s your birthday. Well ain’t you managed to step into a fine mess.”

Chrissy Shaw succinctly sums up the fourth book in Sophie Littlefield’s Stella Hardesty series. Stella is back handling problems with her less-than-legal tactics, but this time she’s dealing with family, namely her step-nephew.

Littlefield’s trademark protagonist delivers all the attitude and wit readers have come to expect. Pulling Stella out of Missouri enables Littlefield to introduce some new characters that add an additional layer of complexity to an already divinely original member of the crime fiction world. 

A Bad Day for Mercy’s plot is packed with non-stop events. Littlefield brings the concept of the Russian Matryoshka doll along with her new Russian characters: open up one event and find another mystery inside. The manner in which Littlefield nests the mysteries inside each other makes figuring out the culprit a true challenge.

Littlefield has managed to keep this series fresh and original. New readers to the series will be able to enjoy A Bad Day for Mercy as much as the devoted series fan; just enough of Stella’s backstory is explained for newcomers to understand her character without weighing down those who have been with the series from A Bad Day for Sorry.

A Bad Day for Mercy means a great day for reading.

A Bad Day for Mercy is available in hardcover from Minotaur Books (ISBN: 978-0312648381) and is also available on audio from Audible, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat.

Crime Fiction's Sexiest Authors of 2011 - Part 2

As I mentioned on Wednesday with Part 1 of this project, I started mulling over this idea when I read the post You Know You're an English Major If... and saw the identifier, "You consider authors to be sex symbols." And with People Magazine having their Sexiest Male issue and Salon.com weighing in on their Sexiest choices, I decided now would be a good time to bring my own choices to the blog.

However, I'm going to veer a bit from People and Salon because I'm also choosing the Sexiest Women of Crime Fiction. To make my choices here, I thought about those women I'd love to be. Who have characteristics I admire and yes, even envy...but not in a bad way, I promise.

So, mirroring the categories for the men, here are my choices for Crime Fiction's Sexiest Women. Note, I asked the ladies to send me a very unsexy picture to use with this project, and while I think they all still look quite sexy, many of them had fun with this. So here we go...enjoy!

SEXIEST WRITER-ATHLETE

Curlers are the new sexy, right?

I just can't imagine not choosing Christa Faust for this category. Some might argue the athlete part of the category since she's not running marathons or boxing or whatnot, but gosh darn it she keeps herself in shape and I'd much rather run into a marathon runner in a dark alley than a pissed off Christa Faust! Just kidding. Beyond those model good looks, she's a genuinely wonderful person. I admit to having been completely intimidated until I met her. And now I'm just thrilled to know her. She's wicked smart and self-confident and funny. And she's an amazing mama to Noir Dog, Butch.

Christa has a new book due out in February featuring a lesbian PI called BUTCH FATALE; DYKE DICK IN DOUBLE-D DOUBLE CROSS.  The much anticipated follow-up to her multiple-award nominee MONEY SHOT is CHOKE HOLD and now out from Hard Case Crime.

SEXIEST TRIPLE-SERIES WRITER

Sophie takes beauty tips from Junior

I don't know how Sophie Littlefield has time to do all that she does! She's raising kids and a dog, taking care of a home, mentoring other writers, and actively publishing THREE series - a crime series, a dystopian series and a YA series. Her writing reflects her wit and spirit, and you need only spend two minutes around her to experience the charm.

Sophie's drive and determination resulted in success in an extremely competitive field. Her talent with words and character netted her an Anthony Award. But it's Sophie's kindness and generosity that have won her the respect of her peers. It's also won her a spot on this list!

Sophie's new book in her dystopian series, HORIZON, is due out in January. And next June will bring the fourth book in her Stella Hardesty series, A BAD DAY FOR MERCY.

SEXIEST AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR

Hey! Really? Me? No way!

 I had to do an eenie, meanie, miney, moe for this category because all of these sexy writers are award winners. But Megan Abbott wins out for this one. The Edgar-award-winning author will never fade from my memory because the first time we met in person she said, "You read Bob Crais, right? Can we talk about his books today?" And I've adored her ever since! No, really, Megan is incredibly talented, original and funny. Her books have dark themes but I've never seen Megan when she wasn't bright and energized. I've also never seen Megan speak down to anyone or act as though she doesn't have time for them. Watching her with her fans, she exudes an authentic appreciation of their support and their conversation.

Megan's newest novel, THE END OF EVERYTHING, is garnering a tremendous amount of attention and well deserved accolades. I doubt this one will be overlooked for awards in the coming months.

SEXIEST WRITER UNDER 40

I'd like to thank the Academy for this sexy award....

None of the women on this list even come close to looking their ages and doesn't that just make you grumble? But how can you grumble at someone as charming and endearing and gracious as Hilary Davidson? Some people in the world you say a silent prayer of thanks to God (or whomever) for bequeathing them talent like Hilary's. You say thanks because they so richly deserve that talent and appreciate it and do wonderful things with it. Hilary is one of those people. And human characteristics don't get any sexier than that.

Hilary's debut novel, THE DAMAGE DONE, won the Anthony Award and Crimespree Award for best first novel. Her second novel, THE NEXT ONE TO FALL, is due out on Valentine's Day.

SEXIEST WRITER ON TV

Watch out! Hank will uncover your secrets!

Hank Phillippi Ryan just wins awards where ever she goes. She's won more Emmy's than she can count on fingers AND toes for her hard-hitting investigative reporting for NBC. And those awards all have to share space with the Anthony, the Macavity and the Agatha Awards for her equally amazing writing.

What really made me positive Hank belonged on my list was her astounding compassion and kindness. And if you ever hear her talk about her husband, now there's the fairy tale romance - true love.

I had communicated with Hank before the first time I met her in person...in Indianapolis...at Bouchercon. I showed her the scrapbook page with her memoir she submitted and she teared up. I had no intention of making her cry, but boy what a gift she gave me to appreciate it that much. Hank has a heart of gold, and I just think that's sexy beyond compare.

Hank is branching out from her wildly successful Charlotte McNally series next year to publish the first in a new suspense series, THE OTHER WOMAN.

O.k., the final spot on my list goes to....

JEN'S SEXIEST FEMALE WRITER ALIVE

The reigning queen!

Alafair Burke! It would be far easier for me to say what isn't sexy about Alafair because I couldn't give you anything. I admire her tremendously and consider her one of my heroes. She's smart, clever  and full of life. She's generous, kind and true. Her ability to laugh at herself is endearing and rare. There aren't many people who can do that with ease. And that allows others to be at ease around Alafair. She's human. And DAMN that's just sexy!

I, of course, adore Alafair's love of her French bulldog, Duffer. She takes him to day care, dresses him for Halloween, and collects the home videos of his life.

She doesn't dress her husband for Halloween, but she does treasure him and their life together. 

Years ago now I went to meet Alafair because I was enamored with her writing. I was rewarded with a woman I now admire as so much more than an author. And I don't want to make this sound like I admire her because she's perfect; I don't think that would be real. I do think she's stunning and beautiful inside and out, but I admire Alafair because she's challenged herself throughout her life. She's accomplished so much in a short time and still aspires to accomplish more; I can't wait to see where she is 40 years from now. I aspire to be that happy in my own skin, and I find it quite sexy.

Alafair released her first stand alone novel this year with LONG GONE. She also publishes a series with Assistant Prosecutor Samantha Kincaid and a series with NYC Police Detective Ellie Hatcher.

There you have it! My choices for the Sexiest Women of Crime Fiction in 2011. Now you can weigh in. Who do you think I left off the list? There are many, of course, so I can't wait to hear your choices.


As with Wednesday's group, this post is meant to be fun. I whole-heartedly mean what I've written about the authors, and I received their permission to include them in the post. I hope you've enjoyed it.

Crime Writers Caught Recommending Crime - Day 21

There are few people that I admire as much as today's author. Sophie Littlefield is not only one of the most talented women I know, she's funny and generous and smart as a whip. Sophie is one of the great cheerleaders of this genre, so it's my honor to have her here recommending for the holidays.

Of course, Sophie writes the Stella Hardesty adult crime fiction series. She is also the author of BANISHED, a young adult novel, and AFTERTIME, a dystopian novel due out in March of 2011. And in between all that she somehow manages to keep two teenagers, a husband and a young beagle in line. Whew! She also read RUT by Scott Phillips:

"RUT by Scott Phillips is the smartest dystopic novel I've read yet. It's part of a fascinating publishing experiment that combines individual giving with grass-roots book sharing - check out http://www.concordfreepress.com. And, I love the cover and I think it will look nice next to my collection of snowman Santa figurines."

Not only a great book, but a great distribution concept. We all talk about how important our friends' recommendations are to us when choosing a book, so what could be better!

And for my recommendation, Charlie Huston isn't doing anything fancy like Scott Phillips with his book distribution - that I know of anyway - but his book THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH is simply magnificent. I was apprehensive at first, thinking, "I don't know if I can connect with this character." But it didn't take me long to make one of the strongest connections I've made with a character in some time. This was my first experience reading Charlie Huston, but as long as he continues to write at the level of MYSTIC ARTS, he's got a fan in me for life!

Happy Reading!

CAUGHT! - The last hurrah!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Reading!

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

Caught! - Sophie Littlefield

Ah Ha! So this explains Sophie Littlefield's new young adult series. She's been taking lessons from Steve Hockensmith, who released DAWN OF THE DREADFULS in March.

Sophie has her second Stella Hardesty novel, A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY, due out in June, but in October a fresh new paranormal series for young adults will hit the bookstores with BANISHED.

A Trio at Foul Play Books

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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