World Book Night, Theme Week Round-up & More

There so much to share right now I'm almost not sure where to start, but let's start with my experience as a "book giver" for World Book Night.

Monday was World Book Night, and this was, of course, the first year that the United States participated. I was so honored to be chosen to be a book giver and I hope I was a good representative.

I was fortunate enough to get my first choice of book titles to give out, which was THE BOOK THIEF. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend doing so. It's classified as a young adult novel but it's powerful no matter what your age.

Being that I opted for a young adult novel and I use to teach young adults, I wanted to go to a school to hand out my books. In my school district many of the children come from families with low socioeconomic backgrounds, poor reading skills (for many English is not their native language), and homes with no books.

I spoke to a few teachers and the principal before starting my distribution. No one knew about World Book Night before this, so I was happy to be sharing the information with them. After I explained the celebration to one teacher, she just beamed and said, "that book is PERFECT for this." I also took a bag of my own books to leave in their teachers' lounge, free for the taking.

I stationed myself outside the school as the day was ending and the dismissal bell ringing. It was windy and chilly but that didn't dampen the mood.

At first a few kids were timid about accepting a book. One asked, "is it a Bible or something?" Valid question considering how many people come to my front door wanting to sell their religious beliefs. When they found out I wanted to give them a best-selling novel and they could keep it for themselves, they were a bit overwhelmed. Their smiles and excitement were so rewarding. I could have handed out books for hours like that.

I loved one young boy who said, "hey! Get your read on, y'all!" My hope now is that the book makes a difference for at least one person who took the coveted prize home on Monday. This is an experience I will be able to cherish forever. My thanks to the World Book Night USA committee for allowing me to be a part.

And of course we need to wrap up the Heroes & Villains theme week from last week. We, as readers, definitely favor our great heroes over the great villains. That may be why we love crime fiction so much...we're looking for the heroes to take care of the crime around us. Anyway, once again, Harry Bosch took the tournament beating out Professor Moriarty almost 3 to 1.

Congrats to Naomi from The Drowning Machine whose bracket submission was almost perfect all the way through. She is the grand prize winner of the bracket contest.

In the "Who Am I" Contest, we had perfect score submissions and the drawing for the prizes resulted in  Juli S. and Kim R. taking home the prizes. I'm compiling their winner packs to ship off to them.

The correct answers for that contest were:
1. Jonathan Grave
2. Dick Moby
3. Jonathan Grave
4. Lucas Davenport
5. Aimee Leduc
6. Napoleon Bonapart "Bony"
7. Hector Lassiter

Thanks to everyone who participated in that contest! I have a couple more winners to notify from drawings based on comments left throughout the week. I'll be getting in touch with those winners as soon as I take care of the two bigger contests.

My hearty thanks go out to the bloggers who particpated:

Naomi at The Drowning Machine
Les at Classic Mysteries
SuziQ at Whimpulsive
David at The Paley Center

I know obligations can get in the way of making commitments to things like this, so their participation really means a lot. I hope you were able to take some time to stop by their respective blogs.

Also, many, many thanks to the authors who contributed to this week:

Craig McDonald
Brad Parks
Steven Forman

Their fun, creative posts really added a special something to the celebration of heroes and villains. Also thanks to all the authors who participated by giving their characters' theme songs.

So this post is growing crazy out of control, so I'll add just one more part and then call it quits for today. Last Friday I went to get my hair cut - no don't run away, this really is book related. The salon was having a big Earth Day celebration, so I thought it the perfect time to leave my Emma book. What am I talking about? Well the "Where is Emma" promotion of course.

Dana Kaye of Kaye Publicity and Jamie Freveletti came up with this great promotional idea for Jamie's book, RUNNING FROM THE DEVIL. A slew of books were released to people across the country to "leave" somewhere. There's a sticker on the book that says, "if you find Emma, post to her Facebook page." And there's a community page "Where is Emma" where people are posting where they left Emma and where they found Emma. If you find her and post to the page, you can win prizes. Such brilliance! I love it.

So, I left Emma at the salon. I hope someone finds her, reports her and READS her!

Happy Reading to you all!

Our Heroes in Music

When I started thinking about this theme week, one of the concepts that immediately jumped out at me was the idea of theme songs. After all, don't we all associate this with Rocky?



And how about Superman?



And you can NOT be a child of the 80s and not immediately recognize the heroes we connect with this one:



Even our favorite villains have music we recognize:



So, I thought it would be fun to talk to my fellow Craisies and put together a group soundtrack of music we thought should represent our favorite characters. The responses I got were so fun. Some titles were based on events from the books, like Bob Seager's "Old Time Rock 'n Roll." Some songs were reflections of a single character - "Witch Queen of New Orleans" -  while others represented relationships of the characters - "Now Comes the Night." The complete collection came to this:

"Run Through the Jungle" - Credence Clearwater Revival
"Witch Queen of New Orleans" - Redbone
"Steam Roller Blues" - Elvis Presley
"Love Interruption" - Jack White
"If You Want Blood" - AC/DC
"Me & My Arrow" - Harry Nilsson
"I Won't Back Down" - Tom Petty
"Bad Company" - Bad Company
"Feelin' Alright" - Joe Cocker
"Imagine" - John Lennon
"Desperado" - Eagles
"Local Hero" - Yellowjackets
"I'm No Angel" - Gregg Allman
"Body Bag" - Hit the Lights
"Make Me Smile" - Chicago
"Bad Moon Rising" - Credence Clearwater Revival
"Old Time Rock 'n Roll" - Bob Seger
"Now Comes the Night" - Rob Thomas
"A Little Less Conversation" - Elvis Presley
"Lean  on Me" - Al Green

I put together a playlist for you. Unfortunately not all the songs were available, but most of them were. 

While this is from the fan's point of view, it also got me thinking about how authors view their own heroes. So I talked to some folks to see what theme songs they would choose for their characters. (Note: some of the links I've provided go to YouTube videos that have ads at the beginning.)

Daniel Palmer is a musician as well as the author of  DELIRIOUS and HELPLESS. He said Charlie, his protagonist from DELIRIOUS would best be represented by "White Rabbit" from Jefferson Airplane. And Tom, his suburban dad protagonist from HELPLESS would have "Blow Up the Outside World" from Soundgarden as his theme song.

Lou Berney weighed in for his former wheelman, Shake. "Be True" by Bruce Springstein best represents Shake.

Meg Gardiner analyzed her two main characters: Evan and Jo. I loved Meg's response to my question. She said, "your request got me to think about Evan and Jo, and the music they love, and how it affects them and reflects them." That is really fun.

For Evan, Meg said, "She tells people she's a 'Crazy' kind of gal, being a Patsy Cline fan. But that's not her theme song. She also loves the Dixie Chicks: 'Tonight the Heartache's on Me,' 'Cowboy Take Me Away,' 'Long Time Gone,' 'Ready to Run.' And she adores Mary Chapin Carpenter, especially 'Why Walk When You Can Fly' and -- her favorite, the song that has to express it all for her -- 'Jubilee.'"

And for Jo she says, "Jo loves world music (Angelique Kidjo, Cheb Mami) but what gets to her is California rock'n'roll like Los Lobos (Will The Wolf Survive?) But theme songs... there are really only two: Sarah McLachlan, 'Angel'. That song is just so achingly beautiful, about our broken humanity and compassion and comfort in the face of loss. But I think Jo would rather rock out in dark bluesy tones to Elvis Costello, 'Complicated Shadows'...Hey, she's a shrink! Plus it's part of the soundtrack to Jo's favorite TV show of all time, The Sopranos."

Julia Spencer-Fleming said her character's theme songs tend to change depending on her work in progress and what she's heard that resonates with her. At the time she responded, she said her Chief of Police, Russ Van Alstyne would have "I Won't Let Go" by Rascal Flatts and Reverent Clare Fergusson theme song would be "Never Say Never" by the Fray. Julia pointed out that these songs also reflect the characters' tastes in music as well.

Rebecca Cantrell's character Hannah Vogel is living in the midst of World War II and Rebecca says she's best represented by "Song of a German Mother" by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, sung by Lotte Lenya.

Reed Farrel Coleman believes "Solitary Man" is a good theme song for Moe Prager. Plus, he says, Neil Diamond is another Jew from Brooklyn!

Alafair Burke put a lot of thought into Ellie Hatcher's theme song. I know because I was with her the night she mulled over what song best represented her New York police detective. She came to the conclusion that "Seether" by Veruca Salt was Ellie's song. 

Brad Parks said he would sing Carter Ross' theme song for us. He hasn't done so yet, but we may have to hold him to that. In the mean time, he chose the Theme from the Greatest American Hero.

Chris Grabenstein's choices for Danny and Ceepak shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. Fans of the series already know the duo are Springstein junkies. So Danny's theme is "The Promise Land" and John Ceepak's is "Land of Hope and Dreams." 

Duane Swierczynski just recently came across Charlie Hardie's theme song, "I Wanna Destroy You" by The Soft Boys.

Craig Johnson says the television folks have chosen "Closer" by Kings of Leon as the theme for the LONGMIRE. But left up to him, Craig would choose "Last of His Kind" by Susan Gibson for Walt. And Vic he says it has to be "Tremendous Brunettes" by Mike Doughty. And Henry Standing Bear, well his theme song is "Coyote Dance" by Robby Robertson.

Sean Chercover integrates a good deal of music into his novels and he says his Chicago PI, Ray Dudgeon, would best be served by "Stepping Razor" from Peter Tosh.

Hilary Davidson's world-traveling protagonist has a theme song that coordinates with her tastes in movies and clothing. Hilary says Lily's song would definitely be "Shake Down the Stars" sung by Ella Fitzgerald.

Another theme song that shouldn't come as a surprise is Tom Schreck's choice of "Trouble" by...of course Elvis Presley. Can you believe I actually asked Tom, "that's by Elvis, right?" His response? "Of course it's Elvis!" How could I be so thick? But this one's for Duffy Dombrowski.

Brian Freeman says Jonathan Stride would have to go with "I'm Tryin'" by Trace Adkins.

Michael Wiley's PI, Joe Kozmarski, lays claim to "The Thrill is Gone" by Chet Baker. I like Joe's taste in music!

 Bryan Gruley says Gus Carpenter, his hockey-playing journalist, is best served by Bob Seger's "Heavy Music."

If you're Zoë Sharp, you don't pick a song, you have one written. How cool is this that she has a song written specifically for her new book? 



Many thanks to all the Craisies who participated in this adventure as well as all the authors who piped up with their characters' theme songs. This is quite a collection!

What do you think? Any choices surprise you? Anything you'd add to our Craisie Soundtrack? How about a protagonist you enjoy who isn't covered here. What would his/her theme song be?

Heroes & Villains - The End

Today is the final day of the Heroes & Villains theme week. Be sure you have cast your vote in the final round of the March Madness tourney.

Also remember to collect up your responses to the "Who Am I" contest and submit your answers by Sunday to be in the running for those prizes.

We have a couple final posts today to wrap up the theme week:

Naomi at The Drowning Machine is talking about Clara Rinker from John Sandford's Lucas Davenport series.

And I'm talking about heroes theme songs here at Jen's Book Thoughts. So check back a little later and share your thoughts on YOUR favorite hero's theme song.

Thanks for joining us for the theme week. Many, many thanks to the bloggers who put in work this week to help highlight crime fiction!

Happy Reading!

A Visit from Hector Lassiter

Good Guys, Bad Guys

&

The Not So Simple Art of Murder

By Hector Lassiter

(Originally printed in Writer’s Review, October 1957)

I live and die by words.

In addition to writing novels, I’m an occasional screenwriter and journalist.

On any given day, the newspaper I string for has more than its share of crime reporting. Occasionally, when somebody gets murdered by another in the reading area, family members from both sides of the crime—the loved ones of the victims and of the presumed perpetrators—reach out to the reporters or editors.

They maybe do that in an attempt to shape coverage. Sometimes it’s to try and give the paper’s staff a fuller sense of the victim. Sometimes it seems it’s simply to talk. Their grief is always unimaginable. Their sense of loss is palpable and clearly nearly insupportable.

The family of the villains are particularly tricky to talk to. They can’t get around their own memories of their loved ones. There’s an old saying among fiction writers: “The villain is the hero of his own story.” I’m not sure villains really think that way about themselves, but their loved ones unquestionably do.

Then there are the instances when loved ones of the victims are still trying to kindle the fire under cold cases. They come seeking a retrospective news story that might put backward pressure on law enforcement to give an unsolved crime a fresh look. The crime might be a decade old, but wounds of survivors are still raw and hurting.

This is all to make clear that every death means something.

Consequently, I can’t take a crime like homicide casually, even in fiction. To my mind, too many crime and mystery authors do just that. They trivialize or gloss loss. Corpses, like car chases, are just another genre trope to these so-called writers.

In truth, most murder victims know their killer.

Terrible fact is, if you’re going to end up murdered, you’re probably going to be killed by someone you know, and it’s going to be on impulse. It’s going to be messy and it’s apt to be stupid or spastic in its execution.

This is where I run into trouble with a lot of my presumed peers. I call myself a “crime writer” for a reason. I’m emphatically not a “mystery writer.” That term I regard as a kind of obscenity.

Treating murder as a bloodless affair, something cozy mystery writers like Estelle Quartermain and her ilk do all the time, is a more offensive creative choice than depicting a crime in all its graphic squalor, at least to my mind.

In Paris, in the 1920s, I made the acquaintance of a very talented female “mystery writer” who came around to my way of seeing things in terms of murder and its treatment on the page.

Having just witnessed the commission of a couple of true-life, brutal killings, mystery author Brinke Devlin was left questioning the morality of her own previous writings.

She confessed, “I write comedies of manners with bloodless murder stirred in… Locked-room mysteries can get a little deadening after a while… In life, arguments escalate and a too-hard blow falls. A man comes home from work early because he’s feeling ill and finds his wife in bed with his brother, or with the fellow down the hall. Sex fiends murder strangers as opportunity arises. Robberies go bad and somebody innocent dies. Killers simply don’t kill for the complex or arcane reasons that they do in mystery novels.”

Her epiphany ultimately drove Brinke Devlin to reinvent herself; to write very different kinds of novels in which the terror and obscenity of murder wasn’t slighted simply to advance some puzzle plot.

My new novel, The Land of Dread and Fear, focuses on a single murder. A rock is thrown into a quiet pond and the ripples not only spread wide, but gain momentum as they radiate out from the point of impact. Actions have consequences; sometimes terrible ones.

I feel a sacred obligation to give a true sense of what the act of murder exacts in every direction.

It’s an old argument really—this debate between how realistically murder should be depicted in crime and “mystery” novels.

In a famous essay titled “The Simple Art of Murder,” my old Black Mask stable mate Raymond Chandler famously wrote of Dashiell Hammett, “Hammett gave murder back to the kind of people that commit it for reasons, not just to provide a corpse; and with the means at hand, not with hand-wrought dueling pistols, curare, and tropical fish. He put these people down on paper as they are, and he made them talk and think in the language they customarily used for these purposes.”

I have my own guidelines for the stories I tell: “Character is plot. Obsession is motivation. The quest, whatever else it may appear to be, is always a search for self—a race against time to a blood-spritzed epiphany. When that light bulb goes on, the world goes dark. No happy endings.”

Dear reader: Every life touches other lives.

Consequently, the snuffing out of a life should do the same thing.

© Hector Lassiter, 1957

Author, screenwriter and journalist Hector Lassiter makes his home in southern New Mexico. He is the author of numerous, critically praised crime novels and the screenwriter of several critically acclaimed thrillers.

MURDER AT THE LANTERNE ROUGE - Cara Black

First line: "Too small for a bomb, Aimée Leduc thought, nudging with her high-heeled toe at the tiny red box on the cold landing outside Leduc Detective's office."

Aimée Leduc is back in Cara Black's twelfth installment to her series set in Paris, France. This time, the female investigator is more motivated than ever. Her business partner, René, is determined to find and protect his girlfriend, Meize, when she disappears and a man is found dead, shrinkwrapped and carrying a picture of Meizi in his wallet.

Aimée has had misgivings about Meize and how quickly René has attached himself to her. So when she disappears, Aimée is not so sure she's innocent. René, on the other hand, will hear nothing about the possibilities of her involvement in the murder. But as Aimée begins investigating she finds herself in the middle of far more than a dead man in shrinkwrap, and it may even lead  her to the one person she longs to find more than anyone - her mother.

Murder at the Lanterne Rouge is chock full of fascinating science that blends the past with the present, but it's also full of fascinating characters. The science focuses on the stain glass of ancient church windows, but the real color comes in the form of Black's characters. Aimée is a fashioniesta, as much as she can be - her bank account is a regular concern - but she loves sales. And she drives around on a pink Vespa. René is a dwarf and often Aimée's voice of reason. Meanwhile the third member of Leduc Detective Agency, Saj, keeps everyone's chi balanced.

Black weaves several plot lines together to keep the pace of the novel moving and constantly building suspense. Her obvious research into the scientific areas of fiber optics, stain glass, and the Knights Templar, works to make a complex concept understandable and thoroughly enjoyable for the layman. The movement of the novel is also physical as Aimée and René make their way around various part of Paris - especially Chinatown, bringing the geographic locations to life on the page.

Murder at the Lanterne Rouge is a solid P.I. novel with an unusual P.I. Black has put a unique twist on her approach to the genre and it works well.

Murder at the Lanterne Rouge is available from Soho Press in hardcover (ISBN: 978161695061) and from AudioGo on audio (ISBN: 9781609987718). 

Heroes & Villains - Day 4

We're getting closer to the end of this year's theme week, so be sure you've cast your vote in the final round of the tourney. Who shall we crowned the champion this year? Will we have a "Best Hero" or a "Best Villain"? You decide.

Also be sure you're finding the answers to the "Who Am I" contest questions. Those will need to be submitted by Sunday to be eligible for the contest prizes.

As we're talking about various fictional heroes this week, it's also a prime opportunity to point some focus on real heroes. Author Michael Koryta is soliciting some help to recognize a hero he knows personally. I encourage you to check out Michael's blog post and if it motivates you to do so, help out his hero with a vote.

Other posts to check out today as part of the theme week:

Naomi Johnson at The Drowning Machine takes a look at one of Lucas Davenport's counterparts.

SuziQOregon at Wimpulsive reviews the third book in John Gilstrap's Jonathan Grave series, THREAT WARNING.

Here at Jen's Book Thoughts, I have a review of Cara Black's MURDER AT THE LANTERNE  ROUGE, chock full of fun characters, both heroes and villains. And then I have an extra special guest post from one of my favorite heroes, Hector Lassiter. So check back for all the fun!

GUTSHOT STRAIGHT - Lou Berney

First line: "Charles Samuel Bouchon - 'Shake' for short, ever since his first fall for grand theft auto when he was nineteen - took another look at his hole cards."

Shake has served his time and he has plans to go straight and open a restaurant. But when his former boss and lover, Alexandra Ilandryan, shows up and offers him an easy job for good money, he's unable to tell her 'no.' After all, that money can help open his restaurant. All he has to do is drive a car to Las Vegas and exchange it for a briefcase then fly back to Los Angeles. Easy goes right out the window when Shake finds a woman bound and gagged in the trunk of the car he's driving. The woman claims to be a housewife whose gambling, no-good husband ran off and left her to face the music with Dick Moby, a.k.a. "The Whale," a Vegas strip-club owner. It isn't until after Shake puts his life on the line for her that he discovers she isn't exactly what she claimed to be.

Edoardo Ballerini narrates Lou Berney's debut novel and does an outstanding job. His grasp of the characters comes through in pitch, pacing and overall performance. Shake's gullible nature is just as evident as Gina's conniving ways. Ballerini's shifting dialects also helps to extract the essence of the characters, whether it be Alexandra's Armenia accent or Shake's fellow inmate Vader's ebonics. Ballerini's narration helps to emphasize the larger-than-life characters Berney's created. Shake, Gina and Jasper are the kinds of characters you'd like to make friends with, not because they resemble the kids next door, but because they're just plain fun.

Berney's casting in this novel is top-notch; his characters could almost sit around playing cards the entire 300 pages and still make for an entertaining novel. But this isn't 300 pages of card playing, it's 300 pages of traipsing around the world in a rat race for a rather odd religious relic. The timing of plot twists and humor is that of a well-seasoned crime novelist, not a debut writer. Ballerini's narration picks up the humor without exaggerating it, allowing it to strengthen the plot instead of turning it into a slapstick routine. And without clean, crisp dialogue, that humor wouldn't be possible.

GUTSHOT STRAIGHT is a smart, funny, complex caper novel. Edoardo Ballerini's narration compliments Lou Berney's stellar writing. Together they have what will undoubtedly be one of my favorite audiobooks of the year. I encourage you to get a copy...now!

GUTSHOT STRAIGHT is available in hardcover (ISBN: 978-0061766046) from Willliam Morrow, in trade paper (ISBN: 978-0061766343) from Harper Perennial and on audio from Audible, Inc.

Heroes & Villains Theme Week - Day 3

We've hit the midway point of this year's theme week. Day 3. I hope you've had time to stop by some of the participating blogs to see what heroes and villains they're highlighting. We have some great posts so far. If you've missed any days, you can jump back to Day 1 or Day 2 and see what's been going on. Also remember to check out the "Who Am I" contest for a chance to win a nice crime fiction prize pack. And cast your vote in the final round of the Heroes & Villains tournament.

Today's posts include:

A look at Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte from Les Blatt at Classic Mysteries

My belated review of Lou Berney's GUTSHOT STRAIGHT on audio. This book is chock full of both wonderful heroes, terrible villains and some that fall in that gray area.

Remember that leaving a comment at any of the participating blogs gets you entered to win a Heroes & Villains theme week prize, plus visiting the participating blogs will help you find the answers to the "Who Am I" contest.

Happy Reading!

Brad Parks as Darth Vader?

The earliest inkling that I was destined to be a crime writer came during the summer of 1980.

It was a Star Wars-crazed time—or at least it was if you were a six-year-old—and Empire Strikes Back, arguably the most-anticipated sequel in movie history, had just released in theaters. It was a box office smash and, more importantly, a critically acclaimed film in Lambeth Riding, the subdivision in Hockessin, Delaware where my family lived at the time.

From the backyards to the swing sets to the local pool, endless afternoons were dedicated to the reenacting of various scenes and scenarios from the movie, whether it was through Star Wars action figures or through the elaborate duels we choreographed using Whiffleball bats as lightsabers. Pretty much every kid in the neighborhood wanted to be either Luke Skywalker or Han Solo—you know, one of the good guys.

Not me.

I wanted to be the guy with black mask and the raspy breath. I wanted to be the ultimate intergalactic villain.

I wanted to be Darth Vader.

I would walk around, imitating his heavy breathing like some kind of crank-calling pervert. I would sing “The Imperial March”  during our lightsaber sessions (“Dah-dah-dah, dunt, dah-dah, dunt, dah-daaaaaaah!”). I would imagine myself with legions of Stormtroopers at my disposal and an Imperial Starfleet at my command.

I had a life-sized Darth Vader cut out in the corner of my room—all six-foot-five of it—even though it scared the crap out of me at night, when the lights were out. I repeatedly told my friends, “You have no idea the power of the Dark Side.”

Sometimes, when I could get away with it, I would steal my mother’s black leather gloves—the nice ones she saved for formal occasions—because it made me feel more like Vader. I was a nut for capes.

Mind you, this was all at a time when we had no clue about Vader’s full back story—that he had once been a good-looking guy played by Hayden Christensen; that he had shacked up with Natalie Portman; that he had been looked upon as a force for good whose grief over the loss of his mother and, subsequently, of Natalie Portman, turned him bad. (And, really, losing a babe like her would knock any guy for a loop).

No, no. All that Episode I-III stuff was only alluded to in the vaguest of ways. There was nothing redeeming about the Vader we knew at all. He was just evil. Pure and simple. He sliced Obi-Wan Kenobi clean in half. He air-strangled people who disappointed him. He hacked off his own son’s hand. He was a Bad Dude.

And I couldn’t get enough of him.

In retrospect, I realize this kind of fascination with evil was only going to lead one of two places. And thankfully it ended with a life of crime writing, not a life of crime.

But even though I don’t write the darkest of material—my WASPy, preppy, wisecracking protagonist, Carter Ross, isn’t exactly a noir-style anti-hero—Vader did help me get in touch with my own Dark Side at a very crucial time in my development. For that, I will always be thankful. And I’d like to think there’s a little bit of Darth Vader in me somewhere.

Though I should probably stop doing all that heavy breathing on the phone.


This may very well explain a lot. And if you see someone at the Bouchercon bar in a cape this year, it's probably Brad.


Brad Parks is a winner of the Nero Award and the Shamus Award. His latest book, The Girl Next Door, released from St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books on March 13. For more Brad, sign up for his interns’ newsletter http://www.bradparksbooks.com/newsletter.php, like him on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/BradParksBooks or follow @Brad_Parks on Twitter.

Who Am I Contest

With each theme week, we've had a scavenger hunt contest of sorts. This year's contest is called "Who Am I?" You will be able to discover who each character is by checking out the participating blog posts in the week's festivities. Simply decide who each scenario best describes and complete the form. Completed forms are due by Sunday, April 22nd. You'll want to wait until you have the all the answers to complete the form, so you may want to copy down the questions and make notes throughout the week.

The individual the most correct responses will win a prize pack of great reading goodies. The runner up with receive a signed book. If more than one person has the most correct answers, there will be a drawing for the winners. The contest is open to any and all participants.

If you have any questions on this contest, simply drop me an email. Good luck!

Heroes & Villains - Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of the Heroes & Villains theme week! We kicked off with some fun posts yesterday, so make sure you check those out if you haven't already.

Today we have more fun with bloggers around the blog-o-sphere:

Naomi Johnson at The Drowning Machine, who is always creative when it comes to the theme week, looks at her highlight character, Lucas Davenport and his "Best Songs of the Rock Era."

SuziQOregon at Whimpulsive is looking at Jonathan Grave and some interviews with John Gilstrap. This is a series I've been wanting to check out and haven't had a chance yet, so I'm excited to see what SuziQ has to share.

A new element to the theme week comes from David Bushman at the Paley Center for Media and his look at heroes and villains in television.

I'm really excited about today's blog posts. I hope you are too. Here at Jen's Book Thoughts I'll be sharing the "Who Am I" contest with you. I'll have a fun guest post from Brad Parks. And I'll be reviewing GUTSHOT STRAIGHT on audio, where you'll meet a new favorite character of mine, Shake Bouchon.

Remember that you're eligible for prizes with all comments you leave on participating blogs. And be sure to cast your vote in the final round of the Heroes & Villains tourney.

Happy Reading!

Eddie Perlmutter Meets a World Famous Killer

My name is Eddie Perlmutter. I’m the sixty-one year old protagonist from Steven M. Forman’s three Boca mystery comedy novels. I’m an ex Boston cop, the most demoted, promoted officer in the department’s history, a former undefeated Golden Gloves Champion and a current private detective in Boca Raton, Florida. I’m still undefeated, even in my dreams.

Somehow I had an appointment to meet a world famous assassin at a seedy hot spot in the netherworld called Hell’s Kitchen, right outside the gates of Purgatory. I saw eternal flames burning in the distance and heard the feint cries of people in eternal anguish.

“This must be the place,” I said to myself, opened the door and looked around the smoky room.

Adolph Hitler was seated at the first booth peering at a map.

“Invade Russia,” I whispered in his ear.

“What a great idea,” Hitler said, looking up at me with the eyes of a maniac.

I walked on, nodding to serial killer Ted Bundy and his date. I didn’t bother with David Berkowitz, (Son of Sam) who was engrossed in a conversation with his dog. Jeffrey Dahmer was having dinner alone and I didn’t ask what he was eating.

“Johnny boy,” I said when I saw the man I was meeting. He was handsome with a trimmed mustache and thick wavy hair. I recognized him from pictures in history books.

“I prefer John,” he said in a smooth actor’s voice.

I sat down across from him. “Okay John it is,” I said to John Wilkes Booth, the man who assassinated Abraham Lincoln.

“How did you get here? He asked.

“In a dream, I think. It feels like one.”

“And you want to know why I killed Lincoln, right?”

“I’m a cop. I like to study a killer’s mind,” I said.

“It’s simple, really,” he said. “I’m a white supremacist and Lincoln spoiled my fun. Blacks are third class citizens who should work for the white man. You can quote me on that.”

“Tell that to Barack Obama,” I said.

“Who?”

“The President of the United States,” I told him. “He’s a black man.”

“Now I know you’re dreaming,” Booth laughed. “In my day there wouldn't even be a black dog catcher. Plenty of people thought like me; men like George Atzerodt, Lewis Powell and David Herold who helped me kill Lincoln. We hoped to go down in history as great men.”

“You didn’t,” I said. “You’re all reviled as assassins…like Lee Harvey Oswald.”

“Who’s he?”

“Another nut-job who killed a great man,” I said. “He was a coward like you. He shot a president from a long distance and you shot one up close in the back of the head. Oswald was shot to death the same day. You were hunted down and shot in a burning barn by a union shoulder. You died as hated men by your generation and mine.”

“If you hate me so much, why did you come here looking for me? He asked.

“To give you this,” I said standing up and punching John Wilkes Booth in the mouth.

He was already dead and didn’t feel any pain…but I felt better. It was like a dream come true.

Many thanks to Steve Forman and his protagonist Eddie Perlmutter for joining us this week. As Eddie mentioned, Steve is the author of the Boca mystery series. You can take a look at my recent review of Boca Daze here. This book also comes highly recommended by my dad who really enjoyed it as well.
 
We all have a "villain" we wish we could one up; whether it be the bully from junior high school, the girl who got the guy you wanted to date, the mean boss who made work a living hell, or even a person who changed history with his/her wicked wicked ways. If you could "give it" to one person, who would that person be? Leave a comment today and you'll be entered to win a book and a bookmark. 

Welcome to the Heroes & Villains Theme Week

Today kicks off the 2012 crime fiction theme week: Heroes & Villains. This week I will be joined by other bloggers as we celebrate the great characters created in crime fiction. We regularly celebrate the heroes but indeed the same people who create those great heroes we love, they also create those create villains/antagonists we love to hate. This week is dedicated to both.

To help start the week, I thought you might enjoy this look at some of pop cultures favorite heroes and villains in family photos...courtesy of Flavorwire. One of our top villain contenders in the tournament is even included.

Other bloggers are joining in this celebration, and you can feel free to join us as well. If you'd like to create a post in celebration of heroes and villains, drop me an email so I can add you to our notification list. Each day I'll let you know who has a great post to share with the theme week. Stop by the posts, leave a comment and you could win a prize. There will also be an additional contest posted tomorrow that involves visiting the participating blogs. Easy ways to win some fun prizes.

Today we'll have blog posts from:

SuziQOregon at Whimpulsive who is introducing everyone to this year's theme week and her chosen highlight character.

Les Blatt at Classic Mysteries who has a review and postcast for Death of a Swagman.

And here at Jen's Book Thoughts, I'll have a super fun guest post from Eddie Perlmutter. Check back a little later, but it's probably better not to tell Steven Forman that his character is moonlighting! ;-)

Don't forget to vote in the final round of the Heroes & Villains tournament. Your votes decide who our reigning champ for 2012 will be.

And I will leave with you this little ditty, which played a big part in my motivation to name this year's theme week "Heroes and Villains."

Heroes & Villains Theme Week Tournament Finals

We're down to the final match-up in this year's crime fiction March Madness tournament. In this final round, decide if Harry Bosch is the best hero or Professor Moriarty is the best villain. Be sure to cast your vote by Friday, April 20th.

Heroes & Villains: THE FINAL FOUR

It's the penultimate week...the week where the hero and villain are chose who will face off in the final round of this year's crime fiction March Madness tournament. This year's tourney feels like a choose your own adventure - which hero will face which villain?

Your votes over the past four weeks have put them here, now you must choose. Who moves on? Ready? Set? Vote!

Heroes & Villains - The Elite Eight

Well, sadly, our Ohio State Buckeyes fell in the NCAA Final Four. Hopefully your chosen heroes and villains are doing better. Here are the results of Round 3:

Harry Bosch defeated Walt Longmire
Elvis Cole defeated Ellie Hatcher
Joe Pike inched passed Lisbeth Salander with a two vote lead
likewise, Jack Reacher defeated Dave Robicheaux by only two votes

On the other side of the bracket, the contests weren't quite so close:

Hannibal Lecter defeated Diogenes Pendergast
Dr. No defeated Surgeon
Gretchen Lowell defeated Ethan Green
Professor Moriarity defeated Hook

And you thought the match-ups before were tough! As you can see from this round, every vote counts, so be sure to support your favorites for THE ELITE EIGHT! Here's the updated bracket.

Now, let the voting begin:

Heroes & Villains: The Sweet Sixteen

As the NCAA is moving into its Final Four Round, we have the Sweet Sixteen of the Heroes & Villains.  Now is your chance to help your favorites move on to the Elite Eight round. So, cast your votes and support your favorite Heroes & Villains!

Heroes & Villains - Round 2

Welcome back for Round 2 of this year's crime fiction March Madness tournament: Heroes vs. Villains. For everyone who thought Round 1 had difficult decisions, this round is far worse! I wish you luck in making your choices and hope you will support your favorites by encouraging your friends to stop by and vote as well.

If you need help remembering where some of the characters come from, here's the beginning post with the characters and their authors. You can also check the bracket here. 

Let the voting begin!

Week One of the Heroes & Villains Crime Fiction Tournament

The 2012 Crime Fiction March Madness Tournament is officially started. Complete the ballot below to vote in the first week of the tournament. Voting will be open through Friday. The first week's winners will be announced on Saturday, March 17th.

Odds and Ends and the 2012 Theme Week

Time is already trying to speed by me in 2012. Goodness. To bad this snow isn't speeding by. I'm over it already.

I wanted to share a few odds and ends with you. The first being a "full disclosure" type of thing. I have been doing some work now for awhile with Maddee James at xuni.com, as you know. And I've also started to do some support work with Erin Mitchell for her business HEW (which handles author PR). Some of the authors I read are clients of Maddee or Erin. Their status as clients doesn't change the stipulations for reviews here. I still have to be interested in a book to read it and I have to like it to post about it. There are no expectations that my blog will be used for anything related to either organization. It is my personal and private endeavor - so my opinions reflect only ME, not xuni.com and not HEW.  That being said, I am also going to label any of those authors with the "xuni" tag or the "HEW" tag, so you know if they have that connection. You may take that into consideration when deciding whether  you're going to heed my advice on a book. It's very important to me that I'm up front about it.

O.k., on to fun stuff, like World Book Night. Have you all heard about this? I've mentioned it on Twitter and Facebook because I put my name into the hat for consideration as a book giver. I hope you'll take a minute or two to check it out. And if you're interested, sign up to be considered as a book giver!

There are a couple of book giveaways that Regal Literary is holding you might be interested in. First they have Josh Bazell's WILD THING and then also Donato Carrisi's THE WHISPERER. You have to enter by February 8th to be considered for those.

Speaking of giveaways! Congratulations to Michael A (CA) and Bobbie R (IL) who won the TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY giveaway here. I have passed on your mailing addresses to the folks at Focus Features (trying saying that three times fast) so you can receive your loot! I loved all of your spy names.

And the last item I have for this post is the blogger sign-up for this year's theme week. The theme is "Heroes & Villains" and will encompass all sub-genres. So no matter what crime fiction you fancy, it will fit in this year's theme week. The dates of the theme week are April 16-20. I hope you'll join in. And I hope you'll encourage others to join in as well. I'd love for some folks who aren't typical readers of the genre to give it a try. Really, what do you have to lose? Bloggers interested in participating, please just complete the quick form below and I'll be sending out an info sheet with all the specifics.



Stay warm and happy reading!