Five on Friday - Kelli Stanley

Wowee! It's been quite a week, hasn't it? Hope you're enjoying your Friday and have something super fun to read this weekend.

We have to send out congrats to Steve Hamilton. THE LOCK ARTIST, one of my very favorite books, has been optioned for film by Shane Salerno. Salerno may sound familiar because he's responsible for getting Don Winslow's SAVAGES to film. But you know me, I'm sure whatever they come up with won't be good enough. BUT...at least it will draw attention to THE LOCK ARTIST.

The Anthony nominations and the Macavity nominations have been announced. Congrats to this year's nominees for both both awards.

I've been around the web lately. I did an interview for Dana Kaye's 365 Days of Publicity blog on Monday. And while it's not a crime novel - it's not a novel at all - I did this interview for Shelf Awareness with Rupinder Gill. I loved her memoir called ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING INDIAN. Rupinder is a blast and I've been recommending her book to everyone lately. I also did this interview with Amanda Padoan and Peter Zuckerman about their book BURIED IN THE SKY. It's absolutely amazing. And while it's terrifying because it is real, it would make for a great crime novel setting! I will be adding to that interview here on the blog next week, so stay tuned for that.

O.k. that's enough about me. This week Kelli Stanley celebrated her birthday, so today's Five on Friday is a perfect time to celebrate her. The award-winning author of the Miranda Corbie series as well as what Kelli terms "Roman Noir," Kelli is not only one of the most talented but she's also one of the nicest people you'll find in this publishing industry. So let's take a gander at what Kelli chose for this week's Five on Friday:

1. My favorite place to read is: Anywhere … I’ve read while washing dishes and riding a horse. My favorite place to read is probably bed, though it depends on what I’m reading: if it’s research for a novel, I’d rather read at my desk or in the library, because research exhilarates me and keeps me from sleeping.

2. The last movie I saw was: Dark Shadows. I adored Barnabas Collins when I was a little girl. I enjoyed the movie, but thought the ending should have been much tighter … family is one of the main themes, and Tim Burton and the hit-and-miss, rather lackadaisical script, did not provide a satisfyingly cathartic conclusion or honest exploration of family (as, for example, Edward Scissor Hands did). And the soap opera excuse be damned … you can leave the viewer wanting more and give her a conclusion at the same time. Mystery writers do it all the time! On the other hand, I really loved The Avengers. Joss Whedon put back intelligent fun into the comic book movie.

3. The most famous person I ever met was: I’ve met a fair number of famous people. Robin Williams, Anton LaVey and Paul Kantner were all regular customers at our comic book store in San Francisco (and Nicholas Cage and Carey Elwes did a drive-by). I’ve met Jason Robards, Anne Hathaway, Robert Downey, Jr., Dame Judi Dench, and a number of other actors I admire, but probably my most interesting experience was as an undergraduate at the University of Dallas. I met Greer Garson at a performance of Sweeney Todd, shared a very interesting discussion with her one on one, and, with a group of friends, drove her and her husband back home.

4. My favorite kind of cookie is: Oatmeal, with walnuts and chocolate chips. But my one true love of cookiedom is less common: we used to call them “killer cookies”, and they’re made with cocoa, peanut butter, oats, nuts, coconut and they’re refrigerated, not baked.


5. The #1 item on my bucket list right now is: Getting healthy. It may sound simple, but without good, stable health, you can’t enjoy anything else (like driving across the U.S. on a coast-to-coast road trip, another item on the “list”). Of course, I’d like to get on the New York Times Bestseller List, too, but that’s beyond my control! 

Reading on a horse. Now that's quite a fete. I wish we had a picture of THAT! Kelli, sending you many wishes for a wonderful, successful and healthy year.

Thanks for stopping by for this week's Five on Friday! Have a super great weekend and happy reading everyone!

Around the Web

The days seem to be flying by and I'm certainly not keeping up with their pace. How about you? If you're celebrating Christmas, are you ready? I'm not even close yet.

I also find myself saying, "doh!" far too often as I'm forgetting things on a regular basis. Too much to remember! So, since I'm forgetting things I thought I'd point out a few things around the Interwebs today in case you forgot about any of them, or didn't even know in the first place.

First off, I wanted to remind you about the Macmillan crime communities and encourage you to come join on Twitter or Facebook...or both. Hilary Davidson just joined the team to cover noir, so that's an added bonus as well. On Twitter you can find the procedurals and P.I.s at:

http://twitter.com/mysteryprecinct
http://twitter.com/agencymysteries

And the noir is:

http://twitter.com/noirmysteries

At Facebook we have:

The Precinct and The Agency and The Alley (if these links don't work, you can do a simple search by the name and we come up right away.)

Join up with us on Facebook and feel free to post to the wall about books you're reading, questions you have, or any crime fiction-related topics. You can also post pictures if you want to share your crime fiction escapades! You can also feel free to start discussion threads on the Discussions tabs. We have a few discussions going now, including a thread about which books you think should be read by every crime fiction fan before they die. I'd love for you to come contribute to that one because I'd like to do something else with it both on the Facebook pages and on blogs. So, come share your thoughts!

If you don't know already, Megan Abbott and Sara Gran have started a blog together. You can find that here.

Kelli Stanley has a snazzy new blog with a forum here. Lots of fun stuff to check out there.

Tantor Audio is holding a 12 Days of Christmas giveaway at the Audiobook Community for a chance to win a copy of THE LINEUP on audio. I have a print copy and have read a couple of the pieces, but not everything yet. I love the ones I've read so far.

I signed up here at FictFact to try to track the series that I read. I've been extremely remiss about keeping up my Goodreads account, but maybe I'll do a bit better with this one. If you're also a member, feel free to link up with me. I love to see what you're reading.

And if you missed it last weekend, I announced my first hosting of a reading challenge. It's called CRIMINAL PLOTS and you can find all the details here. I so hope you'll sign up and join us. I can't wait see what people read for the challenge. Also, if you know other crime fiction fans - or folks who you think should check out the genre, encourage them to check it out as well. You don't have to be a blogger to participate and participants only have to read 6 books to successfully complete it.

I also joined the What's in a Name 4 reading challenge. This is huge for me. Two challenges this year. I usually horrible at completing them, but it's going to be one of my reading/blogging goals for 2011. I will complete them this year! I'll also do periodic blog updates so you can help keep me on track.

Robert Crais announced his tour schedule for THE SENTRY. It's up on his website here. If he isn't coming to a bookstore near you, remember that he's going to be a Guest of Honor at Bouchercon in St. Louis this year. And the discount registrations for BCon are available until Jan. 1st. So, get your registration in before the end of the year and save yourself some bucks. It is THE must attend event of the year!

If you didn't see it, my very good friend and blogging buddy, Pop Culture Nerd did this fabulous video of Robert Crais while he was working on the video for The Sentry. It's a must to see, plus you can enter to win a chance at an ARC of THE SENTRY while you're there.

Wow! I think I need to do these posts more often and then they won't be quite so long, huh? I'd like to end with a hearty congratulations to the very talented Brad Parks who this month received the Nero Award for FACES OF THE GONE. Brad is the first author to ever win the Shamus and the Nero on the same book. And what a most deserving book for that honor.

I have so much more to share with you this month. I'm working on my goals for 2011, my favorites list from 2010, the remainder of the recommendation project. And I know it's a very busy time for everyone, but if you have time to stop by this month, I'll be keeping posts fresh. Thanks for every visit you make! Happy Holidays and Happy Reading!

Caught! - Kelli Stanley

If you are a regular here, you're familiar with Kelli Stanley. I caught Kelli at the L.A. Times Book Festival between signings when she was sneaking some reading time in. She's obviously very enthralled in Gayle Lynds' new novel, THE BOOK OF SPIES.

Kelli's own novel, CITY OF DRAGONS, has won deserved acclaim and we'll be looking forward to the sequel. In addition, St. Martin's Press will also be publishing her sequel to NOX DORMIENDA.

Technorati Tags: Caught Reading, Kelli Stanley, Gayle Lynds

MBS Pre-FOB Bash

I'm back after another wonderful Festival of Books out in Los Angeles. Last year was very special because it was my first year attending. This year is very special because it was the year I met in person my wonderful friend Pop Culture Nerd! Michael, Christine, Elyse and I wreaked some havoc on the festival this year, and I'm excited to share some memories with you.


Today I'm going to be highlighting "THE" LATFoB pre-party, The Mystery Bookstore's party. Everyone who's anyone attends this party, so I'm still not sure why they let me come, but shhhh don't rat me out.



Last year the party was magical for me because I met everyone for the first time. This year I met a lot of other folks for the first time, but I also met up with some great friends and it was more like a reunion. If you're a regular here at the blog, you may remember that last year I met Michael from Lazy Thoughts from a Boomer for the first time at the MBS Bash. We met up again this year, joined by Christine and Elyse, a.k.a. Pop Culture Nerd. "Kids in a candy store" doesn't begin to describe the four of us at Mystery Bookstore on Friday night! Crime fiction fans surrounded by other crime fiction fans and crime fiction writers? Literally wall to wall! No caffeine or other drugs necessary, it's all a natural high. And while I don't get to physically see Michael, Christine and Elyse on regular basis, I feel as though I've known them all my life. To be able to share things like the festival and this party with them, that's really a great treasure. And we also shared all the pictures. Not only did we trade off on what we took, but most of the time we were doing the "snapping" for each other. So, all of these posts are a group effort!


What other treasures were in the MBS chest this year? Well, the dashing Reed Farrel Coleman! It is so fun to talk to Reed. He IS the natural-born storyteller. He would tire of "telling" far sooner than I would tire of "listening." This is my new Facebook profile picture by the way! Love it!


Brett Battles. You simply aren't going to meet a nicer person. I know I've said this before, but he is a true gentleman in addition to a talented writer. I so enjoy talking with him about everything from families to books to the knucklehead mistakes I make with my iTouch! Brett also formally introduced me to Robert Dugoni, who I've spoken with online but met in person this year for the first time.




My wonderful friend Alafair Burke, who I was certain would be sick of seeing me by this event. But she wasn't and I was excited to introduce her to Michael, Christine and Elyse, as well as my sister. I was in true geeky-fangirl heaven to be chatting with Alafair AND Karin Slaughter!




A party is just not a party without Sophie Littlefield or Kelli Stanley! And I have to admit that I certainly blush any time Gregg Hurwitz calls me "Jen-Jen." Gregg is a genuinely wonderful person and lordy what a talented writer.



I didn't get to talk to them Friday as much as I would have liked, but Juliet Blackwell and Cara Black were also in attendance. I introduced myself to both Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark. And the wonderful T. Jefferson Parker signed his 6-word memoir in the scrapbook!

So wouldn't that be absolutely amazing if those were the only people I met up with? Let's talk a little about who I met for the first time!

Be still my heart, y'all, I finally met Andrew Gross! We were ships passing in the night at Bouchercon, and missing him was my great B'Con disappointment. But I finally caught up with him at the MBS party. And no jokes about the fact that he had to bend down a little so we could both actually be IN the picture at the same time!

Reed gave me my formal introduction to Duane Swierczynski, who I just think is absolutely adorable, but don't tell him I said so. That's not very good for the crime fiction/noir rep, is it? But in all seriousness, a kindred spirit. We talked about how we're not so great in social settings, but around other crime fiction folks, it all just comes naturally. Duane's already lined up for some future face time here on the blog, so it was wonderful to meet him in person this weekend.

Some Facebook author friends I met on Friday: Tim Maleeny, David Corbett and Eric Beetner. And I also chatted briefly with Lisa Lutz.

Some more online friends I met up with at the party were Clair Lamb and Holly West. For someone who's always had problems feeling comfortable in social settings, meeting these ladies was like seeing old friends again. This whole community is special, and the fact that they let me come along for the ride, well that's just a million kinds of amazing in my book.

But the special nods really need to go to the staff at The Mystery Bookstore. The first person to greet me back to the store was Linda. I received the most welcoming hug from Bobby. And Emily, who's always so patient with me on my online orders, knew who I was when I checked out. Pam, the owner, asked to look at my scrapbook and we talked all about it for awhile. Personalization like that doesn't exist much in these days of big box stores and online purchasing. And when you couple that personalization with this amazing party that they throw? They are invaluable to this whole community. And I know I've mentioned this before, but you can always access their website from my blog. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, their logo links to their site. If you have questions, they have answers. If you need books, they can get them. And they do it all because they love crime fiction. That's all of our common bond. We love this genre and the folks connected to it.

This is the place to be before the L.A. Times Festival of Books. If you have the chance to attend, don't pass it up. This IS an event you would regret missing!

I'll have more about the festival in upcoming posts. But in the mean time, check out PCN's fun post about her Festival Highlights, her post that includes a photo montage of the weekend, Michael's post about the pre-Party and his recap of the weekend. Geez...I'm the pokey poster around here! Happy Reading!

Kelli Stanley Comes to Jen's

This past year I had the great pleasure to meet Kelli Stanley. You actually don't have to meet this vivacious woman in person to experience the warmth of her personality. She's simply one of the most out-going, kind-hearted people on earth, let alone the crime fiction community. If you were here for her interview, you probably got a sense of that then. But on top of being a fabulous person, she's an amazing writer. I was fortunate enough to get an early glimpse of her novel, CITY OF DRAGONS, that debuts today. You can read my review of CoD here if you haven't already. I remember thinking as I finished reading that it was fitting for someone as amazing as her to be blessed with a story-telling gift like she has.

Kelli's first novel, NOX DORMIENDA, won the Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery Award and was a Macavity finalist. The sequel to NOX, CURSED, is scheduled to be published by CITY OF DRAGONS publisher, St. Martin's Minotaur. NOX DORMIENDA and CURSED are novels set in Rome in the first century. CITY OF DRAGONS moves us up a little closer to the present in 1940s San Francisco. Kelli will also be one of the featured authors in the upcoming FIRST THRILLS anthology due out later this year. Her short story, "Children's Day" was chosen for this anthology. It is a prequel to CITY OF DRAGONS. I'm looking forward to a little back story on my new friend, Miranda. Regardless of what century Kelli's writing in, she makes the period come alive and she plops the reader squarely in the midst of it.

It is my honor to host her today, on the day her novel makes it's debut nation-wide. So, without further ado, Kelli Stanley.

Everybody Comes to Jen's

Today is THE day. The day I dreamt of last January, closing my eyes tight and hoping against hope that the economic downturn—and subsequent shaking up in publishing houses—would not keep City of Dragons from being published.

Release day is like your birthday and Christmas and Halloween rolled into one. It’s what you envision, what you hope for, all the potential and excitement of maybe THIS will be the one, this book will be successful enough to launch a series and enable you to keep writing … every writer’s dream.

The wheel of publication fortune. And you just might hit the right number, or at least a good enough number to keep you going.

So today is joyous, it’s celebratory, and it’s also scary. And when you’re faced with that kind of combination, it’s important to be with family.

And that’s why I’m at Jen’s Book Thoughts.

I asked Jen if I could hang out with her on February 2, because Jen and her blog represent friendship and home and community. Of all the gin joints in all the blogs in all the world, I wanted to stop for a drink here, because what Jen is and what she’s done—the amazing six word memoir project, the insightful reviews, the interviews—are examples of why being a crime fiction writer is the greatest job on earth. She’s Rick’s Café in war-torn Casablanca, a haven and a heaven for writers and readers and even literary refugees.

I grew up without a lot of people and without a big family … I’m an only child. I understand lonely places and lonely people, and I also understand how crucial it is to reach out and communicate and touch each other’s lives, because baby—that’s our only chance. Our only hope. That’s one reason I became a writer. I wanted to write books that would entertain people and give them something more, something to make them think and learn and maybe strengthen that common human bond we depend upon every day.

What I didn’t expect was how giving … how generous … how supportive and empathetic and just plain damn noble this community is.

I have been touched by so many kindnesses, heartened by so much support, and blessed by so many friends, that I can’t enumerate them all, even if I used all 300+ pages of City of Dragons to list ‘em for you.

And while I am with my loved ones here in San Francisco, preparing for my launch party at another home away from home, M is for Mystery, I wanted to also be with my other family. So here I am at Jen’s … and for this moment … and for however many more that I’ll be lucky enough to share with you down this road … thank you.

You—community, family, colleagues, friends—are the single best reason to be a writer.

Here’s lookin’ at you, kids.

Thanks for hangin' out with us today Kelli. You know it is always wonderful to have you here, and I'm honored you chose to spend your release date with us! I hope it is one for the record books!

And everyone visiting, I hope you'll take an opportunity to check out Kelli's website. She has some great extras for CITY OF DRAGONS available. One of my favorites is the soundtrack to the novel. As I was reading CoD, I often would find the songs stuck in my head long after I'd closed the book, so that was especially fun for me. If you're out on the West Coast, you may want to check out Kelli's tour stops. She has quite a few, and I know she'd genuinely love to meet you.

As always, my friends, happy reading!

They Said WHAT?

It's the last day of January already. I'm having a hard time believing that January 2010 is already over. Where did it go?

I'd like to first send out some thanks today. All the folks who have commented here, on Facebook or sent me emails about the new blog look. Thank you so much for the kind words. And those of you who have found glitches for me, thank you for that also! I'm ecstatic that so many of you have said it is easier to read and navigate. That makes it worth all the effort to change. You know it's so darned easy to stay status quo and just go day to day. But, this change was completely worth the effort.

Also, I'd like to thank all the folks who sent me such nice emails this week about my post on Robert Crais' event in Dayton. First of all, it's such a blast to be able to talk about him with you guys. I love talking to other Craisies. And I also love hearing from some of the lurkers. It's nice knowing you're out there. Thank you for sharing my love of RC with me! I was surprised at how many people on Twitter said they were reading him for the first time because I had been tweeting about him. Warms my heart. And actually I was surprised. I thought for sure everyone already knew about his supreme wonderfulness. So, thank you all!

Today's post is a new project I'd like to try this year. The last Sunday of each month, I'll round up great lines/segments from books I've read in the month. This month's will have a couple from December, too, but after this it will be books I've read in that month. There are so many times when I read a great line and think, "man, I want to tell everyone about this." And then ultimately I forget because my memory is pathetic. And this will be my effort to remember. It's my goal to document them now. They might be lines that made me laugh or ones that jolted me with an incredible use of language or ones that really made me think. Overall, they are lines that stood out to me and elicited a "wow" response.

I hope you enjoy this. AND, if you have some great lines that you loved from your reading and would like me to include them. Send them my way. This can be a collaborative post. That would be fun! So here's the first "Great Lines" post of 2010:

From Kelli Stanley's CITY OF DRAGONS:

“ ‘The Chinese say whoever learns without thought is lost. But whoever thinks without learning is in great danger.’”

From Sean Chercover's TRIGGER CITY:

“A kid in a police uniform strode toward me, his hand held up like a traffic cop.

‘You can’t park there.’ Blond wisps of hair sprouted from his upper lip, petitioning for a promotion to the rank of mustache.”

From Marcus Sakey's GOOD PEOPLE:

“Even braced for it, the roar of the first shot hit like a thousand volts, kicking every cell into life, adrenaline pounding fast and hard. People didn’t realize how loud the things were, like God clapping his hands.”

From Walter Mosley's THE LONG FALL:

"Throwing a punch is the yang of a boxer's life. The yin is being able to avoid getting hit. I'm pretty good at the yang part."

"A person with no books is inconsequential in a modern setting, but a peasant who reads is a prince in waiting."

"If anyone was an example of having too much on the ball it was my son. He would track down Satan and then try to brace him for a bad loan."

From Craig McDonald's PRINT THE LEGEND:

"Hector didn't know if he would go in this direction in life, not just yet, but the opening line of a story or novel suddenly occurred to him: When you start sleeping with women younger than your cigarette lighter, you know you've turned a sorry corner."

From Steve Hockensmith's HOLMES ON THE RANGE:

"You can follow a trail without even knowing you're on it. You can start out just ambling, maybe get to thinking you're lost - but you're headed somewhere all the same. You just don't know it till you get there."

And my last one is from Robert Crais' THE FIRST RULE, but it's a bit difficult to take this out of context and have it mean much. I'll preface it by saying the male body is a murderer named "Moon" who Joe Pike has been looking for and this is the scene where he finds him:

"The dog's face and chest were matted with blood, and its feet were red boots. A second male body was half on a couch and half on the floor. The flesh on the second man's left forearm had been partially eaten, but his right forearm was intact. The numbers tattooed there were easy to read.

187
187
187
187
187

One for each of the people he put in the ground.

Pike said, 'Good night, Moon.'"

So there's my January roundup. Hope you enjoyed these lines. Maybe they even tempted you to read one of these books if you haven't already. They were all wonderful reads. Hope you had a January filled with great books and I hope your February finds you with even more.

Happy Reading!

CITY OF DRAGONS - Kelli Stanley

FIRST LINE: "Miranda didn't hear the sound he made when his face hit the sidewalk."

Miranda Corbie is a former prostitute turned female private investigator in 1940 San Francisco when a young man falls dead at her feet in the midst of a Rice Bowl Party. The cops are trying to sweep his murder quietly under the carpet; no one will care about a Japanese boy after all. But Miranda does and she's determined to find out who killed Eddie Takahashi. Meanwhile Helen Winters wants to hire Miranda to find her step-daughter Phyllis, who she believes is responsible for her husband's murder. Phyllis is missing and Helen wants her found and institutionalized. As Miranda uncovers clues in both cases, more questions arise and Miranda's own life is endangered. Life as a young, single, female PI seeking the truth in 1940 San Francisco may turn out to be shorter than Miranda anticipated.

The setting of CITY OF DRAGONS comes alive, taking on a character role, at page one. Stanley evokes every human sense to transport the reader into a pre-war San Francisco.

"A trombone slide squealed from somewhere on Market, but was drowned out by a streetcar clang and the irritated horn of a car before she could figure out the song."

"The fog was creeping down from the Mark Hopkins and the Fairmont and exclusive set on Nob Hill. It flowed sinuously over Stockton and Clay, past the GOLDEN STAR RADIO SIGN, drowning out the yellow neon in a sea of thick white haze, heading for the piers. A foghorn belched, the low hum filling one of the few silences in the heart of Chinatown. Real fog was an event, not just a shapeless cloud of moisture. As alive as the dragons of Chinatown and the ghosts of gold rush San Francisco."

"San Francisco yawned and stretched, waking to Monday morning with a hangover. Chinatown shutters squealed open on rusty hinges, the streets shut off now, self-contained, the cotton-candy smell evaporated, the carnival gone on a dilapidated coach car to smaller, more simple places.

Old women swept chicken bones and popcorn and cigarette butts from foyers. Incense burned, sending curling waves of smoke drifting down to the Bay, to tickle the noses of businessmen on the ferry to Oakland."

In addition to the sense-stimulating imagery, Stanley makes effective use of song references throughout the novel to create a more palpable atmosphere and tone.

Tensions are mounting between Chinese-Americans and Japanese-Americans; corruption is running rampant. And Miranda Corbie is far from the typical private investigator of that era. As a point of contrast, Miranda's office is hidden in the corner of her building next to the famous Pinkertons. Not only is she having to overcome the stigma of being a former prostitute but she also has to battle the gender bias of the time period:

"The boys club. They loved her and hated her, used her and ignored her, tried to forget she existed, tried to keep her where they thought she belonged. One or two hoping he'd be the one."

Miranda's past, has made her wise and hardened to the ways of the world, but not immune to the dangers and the violence of the corner she's chosen to make a life in. She's not helpless, but she also isn't superwoman. She's a real woman on a mission. Beauty assists her, but her past hinders her. All of these complexities contribute to the plot conflicts and almost work to illustrate Miranda as the personification of the city; Stanley blends character, plot and setting so that the lines are almost indistinguishable, lost maybe in San Francisco's fog. No matter where the lines have gone, the melding of the novel elements creates a seamless read; chapters flowing one right after the other.

Readers, too, will find themselves enveloped by a fog, the fog Stanley masterminds in the pages of CITY OF DRAGONS, a fog that carries the reader out of the present and squarely into a time gone by. The "City of Dragons" is deceptive and dazzling and dangerous. Just try to resist its temptations.

CITY OF ANGELS will be available February 2, 2010 from St. Martin's Minotaur (ISBN: 978-0-312-60360-1). And if you're interested in the song references I mentioned in this review, you can see a listing of the music used in CITY OF DRAGONS here.

Bouchercon Diary - Day One

I hemmed and hawed about how I wanted to set up my recap of Bouchercon, and I decided to do this by day. Then at the end, I'm going to show some pictures of the scrapbook. Naomi asked what it looks like now, and I promised Jason Pinter I would put some pictures up so everyone could see. For those who do not know. I created a scrapbook of the six-word memoirs. It isn't complete yet, but I worked very hard to finish up the pages of the authors I knew would be attending Bouchercon so they could sign their memoir pages. I'll likely mention it throughout the posts, so you know what I'm talking about. And then at the end, you can SEE what I'm talking about.


I drove to Indianapolis early Friday morning, so I missed out on all of Thursday's events. But, that's o.k. I still managed to fit in TONS of fun in the days I was there. The drive was fabulous at 4 a.m. I hit Columbus before rush hour and Indianapolis just after. Smooth sailing all around. I was greeted in the hotel lobby by the most friendly face a traveling gal could hope for. I finally got to meet my friend Kaye Barley in person, in real life, in the flesh! Nothing beats being greeted by a warm hug from a good friend. She walked me up to registration got me all set up and turned me loose!


As I headed to the first panel I would attend, I was greeted at the door by another friendly face and another welcoming hug, this time from Craig McDonald. Of course, if you follow my blog, you know I met Craig earlier this year and I have to say that it was heartwarming that he remembered me and recognized me right away. Also standing in the doorway was Sophie Littlefield, so I had the opportunity to introduce myself to Sophie first thing. What a wonderful, fabulous human being! You'll hear me mention Sophie every day because every day I saw her and every day she was inviting me to come along! She's amazing.

The panel I opted to attend first thing was called "The Dark Side of the Fair Sex." Sophie was a member of this panel, as was an author who is new to me, but one who's book I have in my TBR pile and he (the lone male) is Derek Nikitas. The panel was rounded out with Chelsea Cain, moderated by Megan Abbott. It was a great panel. Megan is a fabulous moderator. The only thing I didn't like so much about the panel was that it was dominated by one person, and I would have really liked to hear more from the other members of the panel. But it was still a great panel; also quite fascinating to have the male who writes the female characters. That was also one of the topics that came up - the idea of crossing gender lines. And of course, it was my very first panel of my very first B'Con!

So, then there was a bit of a break because it was lunch time, so I decided to wander around a bit. Figure out where things were. I also made my way to the Crimespree/Bouchercon 2011 table where I found David Thompson. When someone you've never met in real life recognizes you immediately and wraps you in a hug, you know the world is right. So we talked a bit and then I started working on locating the room for the Guest of Honor interview. The coordinators for this event were fabulous. They had people along every step of the way, guiding the guests to the right place, where we were welcomed with this special prize:



Yes, that's right. It would most definitely be an ARC copy of SO COLD THE RIVER, Michael Koryta's first publication from Little Brown due out in June. Very excited to be able to dig into this. I was equally excited to chat with all the folks around me who hadn't read Michael's work before. Really kicked it into evangelist gear, let me tell you!

While I wasn't front row center, I was front row for the Michael Connelly interview, which was conducted by Michael Koryta. I apologize for my photo, it's not great, but my camera didn't get along well with the lights in the room, unfortunately.
The interview was great. Both Michaels did a fabulous job.


I didn't go to anything in the next set of panels because I was attending the Eiteljorg Museum panel ("The Art of the Western Mystery"). There was a bus to the museum, which left in the middle of the 3:00 panels. But, this enabled me to wander back over to the Crimespree/Bouchercon 2011 table and meet Jon and Ruth Jordan. Jon bestowed upon me the most wonderful words a person could hear: "you are part of the family." And that's what it all is, it's a family. Feeling like part of it, is feeling like you're on top of the world. Truly. Like I said yesterday, I LOVE being a part of this family.

So the next panel was at the Eiteljorg Museum. And of course, you know I picked this panel because Craig Johnson and C.J. Box were both on it.
But I found another great prize in this group of authors, Steve Hockensmith! Because of his humor and energy on this panel, Steve has assured that I will read his books. Well, at least the first, but I have a feeling these are going to be great books. And I apologize; the other two writers on this panel were Blake Crouch and Ann Parker. The whole panel was wonderful, but for me, Steve really stood out.


After, when I took the scrapbook up for Craig to sign, he recognized me and came out from behind the table to give me a hug - are you noticing a pattern here? I wish I could be hugged this often EVERY day! ;) And I took this picture of him and Steve. Steve was talking to someone and Craig just grabbed him around the neck and pulled him over, thus the rather startled look on Steve's face. But he's a great sport!

And that was my last panel of the day, but the day was far from over. Now I headed back to get ready to go to the Minotaur party that I was invited to attend. In the elevator, I ran into Sophie Littlefield and I asked if she was going over and could I follow her since I didn't have a clue where I was going. She said I could definitely come along, but she wasn't sure where to go either. Tracy Kiely was also with Sophie so the three of us took off in search of the Omni Hotel. Luckily we ran into someone headed in that same direction and found it without a hitch.

The party was awesome and Sophie introduced me to many, many people. The only regret I had was in my choice of attire for the event. I was dressed far too warmly; shoulda brought the lighter top. Oh well, live and learn. But, at the party, we saw Craig McDonald again, who was joined by his wife Debbie. Had a great time chatting with them. Turns out Debbie works for Recorded Books so we talked about audio books; LOVED that! Craig and Debbie are wonderful folks.

We also ran into Kelli Stanley, who you'll remember from her interview here. She and Sophie are, of course, part of the 7 Criminal Minds. I snagged them for this picture.


Such super, wonderful, generous people they both are. And Steve Hockensmith was there! He's a Minotaur author. Sophie introduced me, and I got to chat with him for awhile. Too very cool. I will get Steve on this blog for something other than this picture, I promise.

On the way back to the Hyatt Hotel, Sophie talked about her protectiveness of her friends. That was when she informed me that she would break the knees of my husband if he was mistreating me. I said, "o.k., but there's no husband on the horizon." Sophie will work on that, though! ;) I truly felt like I had known her my entire life. That's how comfortable Sophie makes people feel around her. She's such an amazing person.


Night still isn't over! Are you tired yet? I couldn't believe I was still going after all this fun, but I felt like I had energy to spare. Sophie, Brad Parks, Juliet Blackwell, Brett Battles and some other fine folks headed up to the Eagles Nest restaurant. If you are unfamiliar with this restaurant, it is at the very top of the Hyatt and is the kind that turns slowly while you are sitting there. So we enjoyed some time up there and then came down to the hotel bar, where I found my beloved Kaye again.


This was also the time that I met in real life, for the first time, Tom Schreck and Marcus Sakey.

When I introduced myself to Tom, I said, "hi Tom, I'm Jen." He stuck out his hand and said, "hi Jen" then stopped abruptly and said, "JEN!" and wrapped me in a huge hug. I'm lovin' this hug thing by the way! Everyone found this a bit humorous; Tom and I chatted a minute or two before I made reference to Marcus's six-word memoir and then Marcus said, "Jen, JEN?" and I got a hug from Marcus, too. Seriously, though, two of the nicest, funniest, most genuine people. Amazing writers and awesome human beings.


Afterward, I floated back up to my room. I did feel like I was walking on air from the whirlwind of wonderfulness that filled my first day at Bouchercon. I didn't know how it could maintain this level of greatness, but it did. More tomorrow! ;)

Kickin' My Feet Up With Kelli Stanley - Part 2

I'm so glad you're back. Can't ya just see us in Barbara Walter's cozy little living room set that she uses? Ha! She probably wouldn't let us put our feet up on the furniture, though, would she?

Anyway, we started getting to know Kelli Stanley yesterday. We heard a lot about her background and her research and her influences. We talked about the noir genre a bit. Fun stuff. So let's check out what she has to share with us today. Welcome back, Kel!


Q: You also studied drama in school and love acting. How do you think that influences your writing?

Kelli: Acting influences my writing big time. The writing itself is heavily influenced by film—some of the best writing of the twentieth century was in movies, and by some of the best writers, too. Poetry has always been a principal influence, because I grew up reading and writing it, everything from Poe to Chaucer to Kipling.

But my performance background really comes up in how I approach the act of writing… from the inside out. I get in my character’s heads—one reason I’ve only written first person or a very close POV in the third person. I literally wear a beat up old fedora when I’m in the “zone”—it’s a signal to my family not to talk to me—and I let my subconscious go and get into character, experience what happens, feel what they feel…

The process isn’t easy on me, but it also gives me the same kind of euphoric high you get when you’re acting. And of course, just as when I was performing in plays, I get a kind of post-partum depression when I finish a book or a story. I know it probably sounds nutty, but it’s just the way I work.

Q: Despite the fact that NOX DORMIENDA is an award-winning book; you’re working on the next in the series; CITY OF DRAGONS is coming out in February; and you’re going to continue that as a series, writing is not your day job. Not yet anyway. So when do you do your writing? When are you most inspired to channel your characters (for those who are devoted readers of the 7 Criminal Minds blog, you know what I’m talking about…if you’re not, start reading it!)?

Kelli: Well, I’m actually done with MALEDICTUS, the sequel to NOX, and we’re hoping to have good news about it soon. I’m working on the sequel to CITY OF DRAGONS, which I’m calling COUNTRY OF SPIDERS—we’ll see if the title sticks. My goal is to leave my half-time day job, so that I can actually, conceivably write two series a year, plus a stand-alone thriller set in Humboldt county (northern California where I grew up), plus do a graphic novel … you get the idea! :)

Given economic realities, I write when I can. That means when I come home from the day job—and before I respond to email or work on marketing projects, which are many!—I will sit down for the time I have—one to three hours, usually—and write. Then I’ll finish up with marketing stuff, or website work, or blogging, or writing articles, or emails. On Fridays I’m off, so I try to spend all day writing.

Now, that said, I’m not on this schedule yet, because I’m not quite done with my research. Then I loosely plot out the arcs of the story, sort of like a road map … it helps free up my subconscious. I’ll be on this schedule in a couple of weeks, though. First I have to schedule my book tour. The biggest challenge is fitting in all the stuff I’m trying to do for CITY OF DRAGONS—videos, podcasts, an interactive website—with writing and working—and occasionally seeing my family! :)

Q: As I know from reading your tweets on Twitter, you also love comic books. And you ran a comic book store. So what was the catalyst for this passion and how, if at all, does it influence you in your novel writing?

Kelli: I love comic books. I grew up reading them—Batman was, and is, my favorite superhero. I’ve got a gigantic collection, spanning seventy years. I’m not sure why; like the noir gene, I guess I was born with it. But I’ve always had a passion for the written and the visual. Like film, like comic books, which are basically story boards. One of my undergraduate degrees is in Art History—and at one time, I wanted to be a film director. When I write, I sort of see a film unrolling … and I think growing up on comic books—and reading great graphic novels like anything by Will Eisner—probably helped hone that ability. I also wrote a few screenplays while owning the comic books shop—and that was a great tutorial, both for character and dialog.

Q: You are planning to do something very cool and rather unique with your upcoming book tour for CITY OF DRAGONS. Tell us a bit about that.

Kelli: As of this writing, I’m probably going to have to scale back my original “whistle-stop” tour plan for the book tour—I originally wanted to take the train everywhere, but I can’t afford to leave the day job behind and be gone an entire month! So it will be a combination of planes, train and automobiles … with at least one long distance train ride. I’m planning to blog from Amtrak, maybe do a video on the trip! J It should be a lot of fun. I love trains, I love book stores, I love readers. I’m really excited about the tour!

And of course I'll be updating everyone when her schedule is final so you can see if she'll be near you on the tour.

Q: I’m intrigued by your love of fedoras. I love hats, but it just seems God didn’t bless me with a head that works well with them. When did your love of fedoras begin? Was there a specific person/event/character that triggered this love? You’re a big fan of old movies; did you see one in a movie that really sparked your interest?

Kelli: You’ll laugh, Jen, but you know that third grade play I mentioned? I was wearing a fedora. I don’t know where I got it—I don’t remember how—but my fedora-love, like the noir gene, is clearly something I was born with! I’ve always collected hats—my grandmother gave me hers, and I was fascinated with them. And I grew up watching old movies—even when I was eight, I could do a Jimmy Cagney impression. But there was just something about the fedora … I love ‘em. And I own quite a few. Straw fedoras, short, snappy brims for less formal wear, longer brims for more formal occasions … I decided to take my first author photos with a hat, for fun, in the noir style. Then at my first conferences, friends I’d met on the Internet would find me because of the hat … so now it’s a keeper! :)

Q: Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re also a fan of jazz, specifically big band, correct? So what plays most often on your iPod or stereo?

Kelli: I love standards and all kinds of jazz, particularly big band and cool and pretty much all the great vocalists—Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Dakota Staton, Billy Eckstine … one of my favorite vocalists is Nancy Wilson. For the bands, I like Goodman, Miller, James, Artie Shaw … I listen to a lot of period blues, jazz and swing for the books. Music plays a really big role in CITY OF DRAGONS. I listen to other stuff, too—I graduated in ’82, so I’m partial to 80s New Wave—loved girl groups like The Go-Gos and The Bangles and am a big Blondie fan. And Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen. I grew up with music—my dad always sang—he’s from Kentucky, so these were folk and country songs—and my mom still sings in a choir. Music of all kinds is a big part of my environment.

Q: And I simply won’t let you get out of this interview without telling us about Bertie!

Kelli: Bertie was a birthday present … we’d lost our Springer Spaniel to cancer a few years earlier, and hadn’t adopted another dog. Then on a trip up to see my parents, my mom found a listing about Bertie. He’d been through several owners already, at the tender age of one. What can I say? It was love at first sight. :) Springer Spaniels are very emotional, and we had to crate him for a year before we could safely leave him by himself … they suffer big time from separation anxiety. And as a rescue dog, it was particularly hard for him. But now he’s a big boy, and all grown up (mostly) and we love him very dearly. Even the cat loves him, which is saying a lot!

Q: And to wrap this all up, give us some tidbits about CITY OF DRAGONS that didn’t already come out in any of the previous questions.

Kelli: Well, I think sometimes you write a book or a story, and you just know, as a writer, that there’s something there you can be proud of. It’s as if—at least for me—as if someone else wrote it. I feel that way about CITY OF DRAGONS. I’m proud of the book. I would like to write about Miranda for the rest of my life … she’s an enormously complex person, and I can envision her growing older, working through the war, and then dealing with the McCarthy era.

Racism – both racism you might expect and racism you might not—is a prevalent, underlying theme to the novel. If I’m true to my era, it would have to be.

But beyond my literary hopes, beyond any wisdom offered or gleaned, I want to give people a chance to escape, to hope, to think, to feel, to wonder, to, in the biggest and broadest sense of the word, be entertained. That’s my job, and I take it seriously. I want you to enjoy CITY OF DRAGONS on as many levels as possible—not just the thrills, though it’s full of action. Not just the underlying themes, though they’re there, too. Not just the way the words are put together, though I think about every punctuation mark. I want you to be taken away, to be transported, to feel like you’re in 1940 San Francisco, in the middle of it all. And I want you to care about Miranda. If I can accomplish that, I’ll have fulfilled my goal. :)

And to cap off this fabulous interview, I have one last treat: the trailer for Kelli's upcoming CITY OF DRAGONS. I, for one, am looking so forward to this release. Before I set you to it, please let me thank Kelli ever so much for really getting into this interview with me and making the whole thing so much fun. I do hope all you readers enjoy it as much as Kelli and I did. You can learn more about Kelli, CITY OF DRAGONS, and NOX DORMIENDA at Kelli's website.

O.k., here you go, enjoy all!

Kickin' My Feet Up With Kelli Stanley!

I'm forever talking about the authors blogging over at 7 Criminal Minds, and many of those folks have contributed to the 6-Word Memoir project. One of those contributors is my interview guest today, Kelli Stanley. As a matter of fact, Kelli and I had such a blast talking that we need to take two days to share this interview with you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed talking with Kelli. I think you'll find, she's absolutely fascinating and just a lot of fun to be around. Kelli is the author of the award-winning novel NOX DORMIENDA and the upcoming CITY OF DRAGONS. I won't tell you about them because Kelli will do that herself. She was extremely generous to make time to chat with me so we could have this interview to share with you in honor of Book Blogger Appreciation Week. So, golly, let me quit blabbin' because you can hear me blab whenever. Let's talk to Kelli!!



Q: Your first two books are both historical fiction mysteries. And writing a historical fiction novel involves a whole different layer of research. How do you go about that research and how far do you go with it? For example, I once heard an author say he (I think it was a he) was criticized for saying it was raining at a point in his book and a reader wrote to tell him that it wasn’t raining in that geographic location on that day in history. So at what point do you say, “I’m writing fiction, it’s o.k. for me to use creative license here”?

Kelli: Well, before I respond, Jen, let me just say “thank you, thank you, thank you!” for hosting me on your wonderful blog! I feel completely at home, like we’re just putting up our feet (complete with slippers) on a stool and talking about books. That’s how comfortable and positive and just plain fabulous you’ve made your home away from home! :) I’m very honored – and happy – to be here!

Now, as to the answer … it all depends on the book. Given the huge pile of student debt I worked up while earning my Master’s Degree, I wanted to put that education to work—and I thought Roman Britain [for NOX DORMIENDA] was a good place to start, as it’s not a terribly common locale. My accuracy mantra was “go for the probable, but if it’s possible—and it works—then use it.”

And there is a lot of wiggle room in archaeological reports, plus outright contradictory testimony between different kinds of data—physical versus the literature of the period, for example. So for the Arcturus Series, it becomes a very selective process … which of the historians do I believe? Does Archaeology Site X really represent a commonality in the culture? That kind of thing.

I rely on the many years I invested as a Classics scholar to help me make these determinations, but ultimately—as long as, say, the existence of a temple or tavern is a possibility—I’ll use it, if it helps the story. That said, I am very careful to make everything as accurate as possible, and paint as complete a picture of first century Roman Britain as is necessary for the story to move ahead. I also use actual historic personages when I can—Arcturus’ father and step-father, for example, were both real, and their graves are displayed in two English museums. But I’m not writing
historical travelogue or even a historical novel—first and foremost, crime fiction has to move. So the detail is there, but still a backdrop.

With CITY OF DRAGONS, it’s much the same—layer, layer, layer of historical detail, make the setting come alive, as vividly as possible. But now we’re dealing with February, 1940—and the issue is too much data! Film, radio, newspapers, ads, there’s a great deal known about every given day of most of the twentieth century. And I try to be true to all of it. Locales, businesses, personalities … even the phone numbers in the novel were the actual phone numbers used by, say, the Oceanic Hotel in 1940. Prices of liquor? Real. Menu prices? Real. Routes of the streetcars? Real. Headlines in newspapers? Real. And yes, I actually rewrote a scene early on when I realized that the weather was wrong. That’s not to say that everything is right—but I’ve tried damn hard to make it as actual, real, and consistent as I possibly could.
I use a lot of ephemera to inspire me—stuff I find at flea markets or on ebay.

Why? For one, because I think I owe it to people. It’s my job to divert you, to take you to another place and time, and by concentrating on details—by knowing in my heart that this was real, these places did exist—I think it adds to the authenticity of my writing and makes it more entertaining for the reader. It’s a huge challenge, but it’s also very rewarding.

Q: With your first novel, NOX DORMIENDA, you created a new subgenre of hardboiled crime fiction and you called it “Roman noir.” So let’s talk about that for a minute. How does “Roman noir” fit into the hardboiled crime fiction genre, and on the other hand, how does it differ so that it establishes its own subgenre?

Kelli: Well, “Roman noir” was intended to help differentiate my book, and it’s also a playful and accurate description of the genre, since it’s a pun on the French term roman noir, or detective novel. I have a lot of diverse and, I guess, surprising interests—an MA in Classics, I’m a former comic book retailer and industry expert—a 30s and 40s pop culture fanatic. I wanted to write about Roman culture in a way that would deemphasize the strangeness of it and reinforce the common thread of human behavior through time. We haven’t changed that much in two thousand years. And my love of the hardboiled and noir crime fiction genres seemed to be the natural medium.

At the time I wrote NOX—and even after it was published—there wasn’t another mystery novel, to my knowledge, with a Roman doctor (though Arcturus is half-Roman, half British) as a protagonist. Then I found out about Ruth Downie’s MEDICUS … which was set in Roman Britain … had a Latin title … and starred a doctor as the hero! I was afraid my career was over before it started! So I thought hard about what really distinguishes NOX—and I’d say it’s the very conscious homage to Chandler, Hammett, and other classic hardboiled writers, both fiction and film. And we decided to call it Roman noir, because it was really the sensibility of THE BIG SLEEP transferred to first century Londinium. Even the title is a tribute to
Chandler’s first book—he took that metaphor, “the big sleep”, from the same source. Chandler was a classicist—and he was always proud of his knowledge of Latin and Greek.

Q: The Roman noir angle doesn’t come as much of surprise given you studied in Italy, majored in the Classics, etc. But what triggered your initial interest in this element of time and literature?

Kelli: I was born with a noir gene, I think. Not that I’m at all not a happy, positive person—I am!—and most noir people are, I think. But there’s something about the overall genre of hardboiled that is so evocative, so beautiful. And irresistible to me as a writer. I wrote my first play when I was eight, starred and directed, and it was a noir set in the 1930s. So there you go! :) Even when I was a kid, it was as if I were nostalgic for an era I never knew.

Q: Your new book coming out, CITY OF DRAGONS, changes geographic location and moves a tad bit closer to the present. What are some of the changes you have to make as a writer to allow the shift in your books to occur as seamlessly as possible? Do you find one era easier to write about than the other?

Kelli: I’m not sure if easy is the word to use … maybe fluent. I find that the Miranda Corbie books tend to flow more powerfully—maybe because I don’t have to withhold so much. Arcturus and company are wonderful to write—they’re a lighter break from the other books, and right this minute I’m crossing my fingers and toes and waiting to hear news on where MALEDICTUS, the sequel, will be going—but Miranda reaches into the depths of my soul and doesn’t let go. I originally studied drama, and as an actress, I always preferred to play darker parts—Greek tragedy, or Lady Macbeth. Comedy is tougher—you need to have more of yourself outside the character, watching the timing. And while the Arcturus Series is not comic, it has a lighter touch, and a good deal of humor. In some ways, that’s harder for me to do. So I find them strangely complementary. I’m probably harder to live with when writing Miranda, however, because the books are psychologically darker.

Q: What are some of the distinct challenges of writing in each time period?

Kelli: With Rome, it’s what information to privilege, and what to omit. There were so many concepts in the culture that are, to modern sensibilities, completely barbaric, that I have to be careful … my goal, remember, is to maintain a continuum of human behavior across time. I think that’s an important goal for an author, one of the messages, if you will, of the series. Not that I try to deny anything … it’s a matter of selection, of emphasis.

For 1940—well, as I said, we have an opposite situation. It’s an era that falls within living memory, and was fully documented. But the biggest challenge for me is to make sure that I capture both the beauty of the period—the slower pace, the clean streets, the kids playing on the corner, Art Deco makeup compacts and Glenn Miller swing—and the ugly realities. The Great Depression. Racism and segregation. Corruption. The narrow definitions of what was acceptable for a woman to do, to wear, to be. There was a breathtaking beauty about 1940. There was also a sort of casual brutality, a conspiratorial acceptance of the ugliness behind Jim Crow and back alley rapes. Giving both sides their due is a challenge.

Q: Alright Kel, let’s be a little philosophical here. We know that Raymond Chandler is a major influence on you as a writer. You’ve also credited some other heavy hitters from literature: Dashiell Hammett, Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Hardy…And your true love in writing is, of course, noir. How do you think the genre has changed (as any living entity is going to do)? What changes do you think have improved the genre? What changes do you think it may have been better off without? And finally, are there changes that you’d still like to see happen, maybe even through your own influence?

Kelli: Jen, you ask the most fascinating questions! I think the biggest change is more to choose from … more subgenres, more styles, more fusion than ever before. Entertainment, in general, has moved toward personalization since the 80s and the Sony Walkman. Books are the same way. You can really fine tune your likes and dislikes. I think we need to encourage smaller presses, because they take chances, and that diversity of choice helps keep the crime fiction genre fresh and moving ahead.

Within noir, I think fusion is a good thing, obviously, because it can introduce a new audience to the genre—and that’s what really propels growth. One change I’m not happy with is that I feel we’ve become a very desensitized society, and I’d like to see books back away from the trend toward the grotesquely violent—you know what I mean, if serial killers sell, then cannibal serial killers will sell more. But really, sensationalism has always been there. Mickey Spillane outsold Chandler big-time in the ‘50s, because of the sex and violence. So in a sense, that’s a chicken and egg question.

I think a really fabulous change is more women in the writer’s seat … Megan Abbott and Vicki Hendricks and Christa Faust, to name three. There’s a lot of misogyny in classic noir, and because of the stature of the writer—Jim Thompson or Cain, for example—it has become accepted over the years, and then emulated. And I’d like to see that change. One of my goals with CITY OF DRAGONS—one of the ideas that propelled the novel—was to take a female character with all the attributes of a femme fatale—the beauty, the toughness, the ability to use her sexuality as a weapon or survival tool—and instead, make her the hero. Put her in the shamus suit, and let her tell the story. If I could ever even imagine wielding any influence—and I think a legacy is what every writer dreams of—I’d be very proud if Miranda contributed to a reinterpretation of the femme fatale … and maybe female protagonists in general.

Do you guys see why I adore this woman? Huh?

Q: Who is writing now that you think will ultimately turn into major influences for noir’s future writers? – And you don’t have to say yourself because we’ll just take that as a given.

Kelli: Most certainly Megan Abbott. She’s enormously, enormously talented and an instant classic—one for the ages. There’s so much good stuff out there right now that I’m afraid I’ll forget someone. Christa Faust. The books coming out of Charles Ardai’s Hardcase Crime. George Pelecanos is already a legend—so is Ken Bruen, the dark poet of Ireland—Dennis Lehane, James Ellroy. Joe Gores’ Spade and Archer was just incredible. I think Declan Burke is going to have a big impact, once his books are more widely available here. Reed Farrell Coleman, a writer’s writer. David Corbett, another stellar example. Michael Koryta is so young and absolutely terrific. And I can’t not mention two of my supremely talented grog mates who also write on the noir side, Rebecca Cantrell and Sophie Littlefield. Watch these women soar!

As for me, thank you immensely for the vote of confidence, Jen! I have to tell you—I’ve been very, very lucky. The fact that some of the people I most admire—Pelecanos, Bruen, Koryta—blurbed CITY OF DRAGONS—well, sometimes it makes me dizzy.

Aren't you totally intrigued now? Well, you have to come back tomorrow to check out the rest of our chat. There's a lot more fun to share, so I will see you then! And I'll see you then, too, Kel!

Happy Reading and Happy Book Blogger Appreciation Week!

Bouchercon Countdown (Kelli's going to be there!): 27 Days!

You Have the Right to Six Words - The 11th Edition

Glad you made it back; I'm posting the memoirs today because I'm hosting a stop on Kwei Quartey's blog tour for his debut novel WIFE OF THE GODS tomorrow. I hope you'll stop back tomorrow to check out my review of his novel and then on Friday he'll be sitting down for a Q & A with us.

But today we are here for Week 11 of "You Have the Right to Six Words: Six-Word Memoirs From Crime Fiction's Greatest Writers," and boy oh boy am I excited about our line-up today. We're going to be all over geographically and in time, so let's see what today's writers have to tell us.

First up is our interview recap, and that honor goes to debut author Paul Harris. Paul has spent the better part of his career covering conflicts and trouble spots around the world as a reporter. He is now living in New York serving as the U.S. Correspondent for the British weekly newspaper The Observer. Paul's first book, THE SECRET KEEPER, evolved as a result of his own experiences in Sierra Leone, and now he's working on a book that will be set against the 2004 and 2008 U.S. Presidential Elections. In his free time, Paul is an avid traveler. Boy, between a career as a news correspondent and a passion for traveling, it's a good thing his memoir is:

Fears flying; got on planes anyway.

Over across the pond, those Irish folks manage to produce some incredible crime fiction writers. Is it something in the water? We have another of those great writers joining us today, the man Ken Bruen describes as "the future of Irish crime fiction." Declan Burke is the author of EIGHTBALL BOOGIE and THE BIG O. In addition to those published works he also has a few more irons in the fire, namely THE BIG EMPTY and BAD FOR GOOD, which we all hope to see in print here in the very near future. On the non-fiction side, Declan has been working as one of the editors on DOWN THESE GREEN STREETS: IRISH CRIME NARRATIVES IN THE 21ST CENTURY. He's held jobs both in writing and out: laborer, barman, factory hand...writer, editor, reviewer. And of course we can't leave off blogger because he maintains one of crime fiction's best blogs, Crime Always Pays. I'm sure if we asked Declan about his greatest accomplishment, though, it would come in the form of one precious little girl named Lily, Declan's daughter. And why do I think that? Because she plays a prominent role in his memoir:

Born. Played. Read. Wrote. Daddy'd. Died.

Yep, I think that sums things up pretty gosh darned well.

Kelli Stanley takes us through time in her historical fiction mysteries. With her unique combination of classical Rome and hardboiled noir, Kelli produced "Roman noir" when she wrote her first novel, NOX DORMIENDA (A Long Night for Sleeping). And for this she was awarded the 2009 Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery Award as well as a Certificate of Honor from the city of San Francisco. NOX DORMIENDA is also shortlisted for a 2009 Macavity award. In her second book, due out in February of 2010, Kelli moves a little closer to the present with the book Lee Child says is "beautifully imagined and beautifully written." CITY OF DRAGONS follows a female private investigator in 1940s San Francisco. Even though she's changed time periods, Kelli still holds true to her hardboiled roots. "Children's Day" is a short story prequel to CITY OF DRAGONS that takes place during the 1939 World's Fair in San Francisco and will be published in the anthology FIRST THRILLS, due out in the summer of 2010. She is just a busy, busy lady, and writing isn't even her day job! Whew! She loves Golden Age comic books, jazz and big band swing music (a woman after my own heart), as well as classic films and "battered fedoras." What probably endears this amazing woman to me the most is either her love of a Springer Spaniel named Bertie who walks Kelli every day or her modesty:

Tried my best. Got lucky. Thanks!

I think there's a whole lot more than luck behind that success. I see an awful lot of hard work, and I'm on the outside looking in! Thank YOU, Kelli!

And to wrap up Week 11, we have New York Times best selling author David Baldacci. It's hard to know where to start with an author who's published 17 novels, all of which have been best sellers, many of which have won awards, and two of which are young adult novels. His first novel, ABSOLUTE POWER, blasted into the crime fiction scene and was of course made into a major motion picture starring Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman. David's novel WISH YOU WELL was the first book selected for the All America Reads program. Even President Clinton recognized David's work when he selected THE SIMPLE TRUTH as his favorite novel of 1999. Most recently David published FIRST FAMILY, which was his fourth book in the King and Maxwell series.

Before he entered the world of best selling novels, David received a law degree from the University of Virginia and practiced as both a corporate and a trial lawyer. Now he's an acclaimed novelist with his works translated into at least 45 different languages. Next up on the publishing scene for David is his 18th novel, TRUE BLUE, due out in October of this year.


In addition to being a prolific writer, David Baldacci is also a devoted philanthropist. His greatest efforts are directed toward his family's Wish You Well Foundation, which supports family literacy in the United States by fostering and promoting the development and expansion of new and existing literacy and educational programs. He is also active in the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the National Childhood Cancer Foundation, and the Virginia Literacy Foundation.

I have to say that I think this is a person who really "walks the walk." I am honored to include him today and to share his memoir:

Family, friends, books...in that order.

Wow! Thank you everyone for sharing your memoirs with us today. This has been a great week, and I have to tell you that even though we've been doing this now for eleven weeks, I still prep these posts and think, "oh my God! Can you believe they took time out to make memoirs for me and my blog?" This is just still so cool; I'm like a kid in a candy store. Join me back here on our regular day next week...Wednesday...and we'll partake in some more sweets from the candy store!

Happy Reading everyone!