Criminal Minds at Work

Manuscript Euthanasia

2012-01-30T04:51:00.000-08:00

There comes a time when an author has to admit that a manuscript just isn't working out. When that time comes, the kindest thing to do is kill it, quickly and with finality.
I had an idea that I thought was really cool, but I had a lot of other things going, so I worked on my "cool" thing in bits and pieces. It took a couple of years, but I finally got it done and started what I always do, reading it aloud.
It stinks. There's way too much repetition; it takes forever to get to a bit of excitement; the characters talk too much; and there are places where I need a Greek god to come down from Olympus and fix the plot.
So what should I do?
I'm going to kill it, or at least cryogenically freeze it until some date in the future when it can be thawed and perhaps revived. That's the nice thing about writing, I guess: dead doesn't always mean dead, it can be "mostly dead," a la The Princess Bride, which means it's possible that someday, my manuscript will become a movie starring Andre the Giant--no, wait. He's dead.

Locked Room Mystery Quote

2012-01-29T19:40:00.001-08:00

"The locked room is an exercise in illusion - a magician's trick. Otherwise it's impossible, and the impossible can't be done, period. Since it had been done, it must be a trick, a matter of distracting attention, and once you know what you're really looking for, the answer is never hard."
- Michael Collins Nobody Likes To Be Played For A Sucker

The above quote comes from a short story by Michael Collins carried in a locked room anthology edited by Edward D. Hoch. The solution to Collins 'locked room mystery' is one of the more ingenious and believable ones in the book. Locked room mysteries are a lot of fun!

Wanna read Canada's spy laws?

2012-01-22T13:39:00.000-08:00

As a writer of crime fiction and a lover of true crime, I'm always excited to locate new, credible sources of information.

Online news services not only entertain me with their crime stories but also provide links to other great sites.

I recently uncovered this cool link to Canada's spy laws. Security of Information Act which was posted in conjuction with newstories about recent spying allegations against a Canadian naval officer in Halifax and the apparently-related departure of Russian Embassy staff.

This link will join my list of other favourites that includes this one to RCMP Reports on such things as crimes, criminals, gangs, drugs, and law enforcement.

Review: Assignment in Nepal

2012-01-21T10:43:00.000-08:00

Assignment:Nepal
by. J. S. Squires

ASIN: B005VFMK6Q

2011 E-book release from

Echelon Press

Readers of this review should be aware that this press has published some of my crime fiction and I am acquainted with the publisher, though not with the two authors writing under a single pseudonym.

The protagonist is named Irene Adler. Not the woman who beat Sherlock Holmes at his own game, her modern namesake, a Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology at Boston University. Adler has a demi-cynical outlook on life and it turns out she supplements her income by playing poker; specifically Texas Holdem in the gambling parlors around the New England area. Irene Adler is a bright, smart, single woman, an endearing protagonist.

Her former advisor, a fellow faculty member, prevails on Ms. Adler to travel to Nepal to inquire into the life and times of a former fellow undergraduate student of Irene’s, a Margot Smith, who’s in Nepal doing research on one of that country’s goddesses, one Chwwaassa Dyo. The problem is that there appears to something awry with Margot and her physician husband and Adler is supposed to sort things out. What needs sorting turns out to be only part of the story. Irene agrees to go half-way around the world to see a woman she barely knows. From this most unlikely beginning, the plot drives poor Adler into one complexity after another.

Her assignment clearly has unstated dimensions about which neither we readers nor Irene Adler herself are clear. Now, Nepal is an exotic nation from which assaults on Mount Everest are mounted and the ubiquitous Sherpa play an important part, as do digital cameras, former Cold War adversaries, political unrest in the country, and a whole series of meddlesome individuals who seem to still show up on the fringes of the former English Empire.

The novel winds its way through a variety of conflicts among wanderers, a boorish American tourist couple, and murder and bomb blasts. At times the narrative suffers from a pedestrian pace and some lapses of editing discipline over the point of view. Still, the story is interesting, Irene is definitely a character to build a series around, the exotic setting in and around Katmandu is, well, exotic, and a satisfactory conclusion is fashioned. I think four stars in too strong a rating, but the novel is more enjoyable than three stars would indicate. Sample the novel and make your own judgment.

--
carl brookins
www.carlbrookins.com
agora2.blogspot.com

The Pot Thief Who Studied Escoffier, Review

2012-01-19T15:50:00.000-08:00

The Pot Thief Who Studied Escoffier

J. Michael Orenduff

The Pot Thief books are known for making the reader hungry and this one is no exception. Herbert Schuze, better known as Hubie, is hired to design and make the prototype for chargers (better known as plates) for a brand new restaurant soon to open in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The hitch is the Schnitzel restaurant is going to focus on Austrian cuisine.

From the beginning nothing seems quite right, from the owner to all the quirky people hired to cook and serve. Hubie gets to know these people better than he’d like because he must do his pottery work in the restaurant while preparation for the grand opening are underway. The cooks are trying out all the new recipes and everyone must try them out. None sound appetizing, and most of the time Hubie sneaks away to find more appealing meals elsewhere.

For followers of the Pot Thief books, Hubie makes plenty of trips back home and to Dos Hermanos Tortilleria in Albuquerque to discuss the happenings and the employees of Schnitzel with his friend, Susannah, over margaritas and chips. In between, he reads about the life and times of Escoffier.

The opening of the Schnitzel is disastrous. Austrian food is not a hit with the epicureans of Santa Fe. The descriptions of the menu items were explicit enough for me to know I would never try them. Never fear though, Hubie does plenty of cooking and eating of much more tantalizing dishes.

Though I haven’t mentioned it yet, there is a murder and of course Hubie is the prime suspect. Along with the quest to find out the true murderer, Hubie is romanced, threatened, creates new dishes, bar tends, attempts a bit of burglary and safecracking, and is nearly murdered. As with all the Pot Thief books, plenty of subtle humor abounds, and Hubie enjoys his Gruet Blanc de Noir.

There’s much to love in The Pot Thief Who Studied Escoffier. It has all the elements that endeared readers to Hubie and this series, good food and drink, unusual characters, great settings, a puzzling mystery and plenty more. Though I recommend that all the books be read, each can be read as a stand-alone.

Rather than stars, I award it 5 chilies. Red the book and you'll know why the subsitution.

At my request, the publisher sent me an ARC of this book.

Marilyn Meredith, Author of Angel Lost and Bears With Us.

Petition for the East Harlem Latino Book Festival

2012-01-01T15:01:00.000-08:00

MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Please visit ipetition.com and sign the petition for

THE FIRST ANNUAL EAST HARLEM LATINO BOOK FESTIVAL

www.ipetitions.com

It's a great way to promote Latino literature and literacy! The petition is for having the local street closed off on the day of the festival. Please support this worthy endeavor, and besides... it's free!

This is petition for THE FIRST ANNUAL EAST HARLEM LATINO BOOK FESTIVAL.

Join the movement! Sign now!

Is Truth,Once Again, Stranger Than Fiction?

2011-12-25T12:19:00.000-08:00

The sun rises over ocher-colored dunes, casting them in temporary shades of pink, peach, and orange. Tufts of tough marsh grass clack and crackle in the same stiff dawn breeze that occasionally sends sand and grit flying into your face like tiny pieces of shrapnel. The smell of the salt water and the cries of the gulls are lulling and exhilarating at the same time and you'd like to just relax and take it all in. But you can't. This is Gilgo Beach in Long Island, New York.

A young lady that happens to make her living as a lady-of-the-evening (and no, I don't mean she's a vampire) is reported as missing by her family. As the police backtrack her movements on the day of her disappearance, they make a surprising and gruesome discovery... they find the remains of ten other women's (actually 9 women and one girl) bodies buried in shallow graves! They dig up the remains and send them to labs for identification, but the initial missing woman's remains are not among them. The FBI joins the investigation as it now seems that a serial killer has been at work in Gilgo Beach. But what about the first young lady, the one whose missing person report helped uncover the serial killer's favorite burial ground? Months later they find her remains near a swampy area. Investigators rule her death an accident... she was intoxicated when she wandered into the marsh and died of exposure.

Her death led to the discovery of ten missing people and started a search, in earnest, for a heartless killer. Sounds like fiction doesn't it? Would your readers have suspended belief long enough to have accepted such a story from you? Would they have scoffed at your apparent use of Deux-ex-machina (or whatever) to create this paradigm in your story? Yet, it is all true. The young lady's family continues to state that her death must have been a homicide, along with all of the others, but the police continue to classify her death, out of all the others, as an accident. Was this lady's death a sign? Could she have been some supernatural cause that effected the finding of those bodies and started the search for their killer? Or was it all coincidence? Could you have written it any better?

Keeping Yourself Safe

2011-12-22T01:48:00.000-08:00

New Year’s Eve is a great time to let loose and have fun, but unfortunately, criminals are out there waiting for an opportunity to take advantage.

To help your readers stay safe this New Year’s Eve, Marcia Peot, full time police officer and Chief Safety Officer at StreetSafe, offers the following safety reminders:

Ø Don’t let your guard down. Holidays, including New Year’s Eve, are not an excuse to throw caution to the wind. Be careful not to leave your drink unattended and don’t become intoxicated.

Ø Stay in groups or use the buddy system – you are more likely to become a target if you are alone. Select a place to meet should you get separated, and check that your buddy got home safely at the end of the night.

Ø Have a plan for how you will get home. Don’t find yourself stranded!

Ø Don’t use the festive atmosphere as an excuse to do something you wouldn’t normally do or put yourself in an unsafe situation.

Ø While out, be careful what you post online. Don’t alert others that you are not at home.

Ø The beaten path is the better path. Don’t take short cuts and familiarize yourself with the area before heading out.

Ø Take extra precautions. StreetSafe is a new mobile personal security system that uses your smart phone’s GPS technology to instantly connect to help before a situation turns into an emergency. Street Safe’s “Walk with Me” service offers a live connection to a professional Safety Advisor to keep you safe when walking in unfamiliar or threatening surroundings and instant access to 911 if needed.

Marcia Peot

Chief Safety Officer

http://streetsafe.peopleguard.com/

Reprinted with permission.

Real-life justice...????

2011-12-16T12:19:00.000-08:00

Innocent dad blindsided by knife and justice system

'He walked up behind me and stuck me'

By MICHELE MANDEL, QMI Agency

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2011/12/16/19133266.html

This story appalls me. Unbelievable! I would never, repeat NEVER, be able to put something like this in one of my crime novels and get away with it. It would totally destroy my credibility as a writer. Just as this, totally destroys the credibility of Canada's justice system

Ken Lewis was seriously stabbed in front of his young daughter by Edward Travis Pafford, his deranged neighbour, who has a lengthy and violent criminal past. Someone from victims' services assured Lewis he'd be kept in the loop regarding the man's upcoming court appearances. However, he was not.

Pafford was charged with assault with a weapon, aggravated assault and failing to comply with a probation order andwas denied bail. Lewis has been patiently waiting for a trial date.

The victim learned through a friend that "...On Nov. 22, for pleading guilty to aggravated assault, Justice Mara Greene gave just 41 days in addition to the 79 days he'd spent in pre-trial custody and withdrew the assault with a weapon and failing to comply charges..." This meant the perpetrator would be released within a day or two, without the victim even knowing he'd been sentenced in the first place.

While I do believe that our justice system needs to accommodate perpetrators with mental illness, I also believe ALL victims have the right to be informed of the judicial process against their aggressors and be able to observe and participate in that process. I also believe the judicial system has the responsibility to protect our community from violent offenders, regardless of whether or not that violence arises from mental illness.

Is there anyone out there who disagrees?

Eileen Schuh, Author
THE TRAZ http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005199RFE

Bikers/Blood/Drugs
A girl/A man/and the law

Adventure on the Canadian prairie in the shadows of the Rockies

Canadian Author Visits Young Offenders

2011-12-07T07:33:00.000-08:00

NewsBlaze published article on my Yellowknife tour

Canadian Author Visits Young Offenders

Canadian author visits young offenders

2011-12-03T22:05:00.001-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Canadian author visits young offenders

Yellowknife, NT, December 4, 2011 Canadian author,Eileen Schuh’s, trip to Yellowknife for her grandson’s second birthday turnedinto a surprisingly busy week as word of her debut YA novel THE TRAZ travelledlike wildfire through this northern community.

“It started with a press release Isent to the northern media, announcing the book signing the Yellowknife PublicLibrary arranged for me. The next thingI knew I was doing my first-ever live in-studio radio interview with WilliamGreenland on CKLB FM 101.9 FM , visiting the after-school kids at the Side DoorYouth Center, and stopping in at the Young Offenders Facility to do somestory-telling. Yellowknife weather iscold and the sun is scarce this time of year, but the people are verywarm--this town has embraced me and my work."

THE TRAZ is a story about 13-yearold Katrina’s year with the TRAZ biker gang. It is written for both adolescents and the adults in their lives. This fast-paced, high-action novel comes witha resource and discussion guide that address social issues the novel touches on, such as gangs, drugs, swearing, decision-making, and depression.

“I use this novel to teach kids thevital importance of making good decisions and to educate them about ways to dothat. At the North Slave Young OffendersFacility I told the youngsters that even though Katrina makes some very poordecisions, readers find themselves cheering for her. We all want her to be safe and escape thegang. I told them that is exactly how Ifeel about them and how their community feels about them. We want them to successfully deal witheffects of their past poor decisions, get on with their lives, and contributeto their communities. Aside from allthat, I also encouraged the children to become readers and storytellers. I know at least one of the young offenderswas intrigued by the idea of writing stories.”

Schuh’s other book, Schrödinger’sCat, is an adult sci-fi novella that examines the roles that choice and fateplay in our lives. “I call it apsychological crime drama that spans two universes,” Schuh says.

Schuh wraps up her northern tripMonday evening from 7 – 8 pm at the Yellowknife Public Library. She’ll be talking about her books and herlife as an author as well as selling and signing copies of her two novels.

Schuh felt she needed to return somekindness to this community so in addition to her volunteer visit to the SideDoor Youth Center, she donated several of my books to the Young OffendersFacility and one of each of her novels to the library.

Schuh heads back to St. Paul, AlbertaTuesday. Her next scheduled speakingengagement will be at the end of January when she joins her home town incelebrating Literacy Day.

Schuh’s books can be purchasedthrough all major online bookstores and can be ordered in by your favourite brick-and-mortarbookstore. Check with your local library on availability should you prefer toborrow them.

- 30 -

For more information, contact EileenSchuh at

eileenschuh@yahoo.com

phone: 780-645-7890

http://www.eileenschuh.com

http://eileenschuh.blogspot.com

False memories....

2011-12-02T21:41:00.001-08:00

Funny how headlines can spark a writer's imagination. Gini Graham Scott, PhD outlines the issue of whether-or-not people can plant false memories in others. We learn the history of the debate and the legalities involved...and then she takes the issue for a lively ride...

LAWSUIT OVER (DISTURBING)FALSE MEMORIES

How about some good ones?

Gini Graham Scott, PhD

Accusationsof planting false memories are in the news again. In the 1980s and 1990s ago,there were a spate of repressed memory claims by women who suddenly remembered thattheir fathers, step-fathers, teachers, or others had abused them and even subjectedthem to Satan rituals, and a number of accused perpetrators were convicted. But then in the early 1990s some of the accusedfought back against the therapists, claiming these were false memories, andsometimes they won their cases and some patients retracted their claims, sayingthey had been swayed by the influence of their therapists to falsely believesomething happened. Some patients evenwon million dollar verdicts against therapists for planting recoveredmemories. In fact, at the height of theinterest in this topic, I wrote a fictionalized court case with two opposingattorneys, YOU THE JURY by Mark E. Roseman and William B. Craig, where onerepresented the victims claiming rediscovered memories and the otherrepresented the accused claiming the memories were false. Then, the controversy seems to have died outfor the past decade.

However,now the issue of repressed memories seems to have gained a new life, accordingto an ABC News Article about a woman claiming a psychologist hypnotized herinto “believing she possessed multiple personalities and participated insatanic rituals.” And several others who were told they were part of a sataniccult may sue as well. As the article: “Therapist ‘Brainwashed’ Woman IntoBelieving She Was in a Satanic Cult, Attorney Says” explains, Lisa Nasseff, 41,of Saint Paul, Minnesota is suing her former therapist, Mark Schwarz, and theCastlewood Treatment Center in St. Louis, Missouri for creating this falsememory. According to the suit, she wentto the therapist there for 15 months to treat her anorexia, and when Schwarzhypnotized her to treat her depression and anxiety, she came to believe she hadbeen involved in a satanic cult in which she participated in various criminaland other terrible acts. She even cameto believe she had sacrificed her sister’s baby on Satan’s alter. Then shediscovered other women treated at the facility who had similar stories of beingin cults two or three years before but they didn’t know it until theyremembered under treatment.

While thetherapist and treatment center have denied doing any such thing, the False Memory Center, founded in 1992, supportsthe position that false memories can result from a variety of influences, suchas the opinion of an authority figure, information repeated in a culture, andan individual wanting to please or conform. And creative imaginative people can find it especially easy to come upwith all sorts of images in response to being influenced. So it is possible to possible to implantmemories, including witnessing a demonic possession or being abused.

Well,assuming all of that is true about being able to implant all of these horriblememories, my question is what about the possibility of implanting goodmemories? Then, rather than wanting to suetheir therapists or others implanting such memories, people might actually liketo have such good memories, even if they are false, implanted in them. And the experience of these memories might beso powerful, that they might feel very real – or at least for a time, whilethey savor that great experience.

Then, ifthat’s the case, I could even imagine some entrepreneur creating a business ofimplanting good memories for someone to enjoy. For example, suppose one wants to remember a joyous experience of goingsomewhere with a romantic partner? Whatif one wants to recall wonderful childhood experiences with one’s friends orparents? Or what about recalling how onewon the lottery and had a wonderful time going to fine restaurants andtraveling to exotic destinations all over the world. One could even haveexciting memories of past lives as other people. The possibilities are endless.Whoever is implanting the memories just has to find out what kind of positivememories someone wants to have and then use a deep hypnotic state to implantthem, much like the therapists accused of planting false memories of abuse orritual membership are supposed to have done.

In short,if it’s possible to implant harmful false memories, why wouldn’t it be possibleto implant joyful false memories – and in that case, why wouldn’t many peoplewant to do just that, and perhaps even replace their real memories of difficulttimes with happy memories that bring them satisfaction and joy.

So why not try it? It might be fun to remember the way you’dlike things to be rather than remembering the way things really were – or atleast you might like to enjoy the experience for a little while before comingback to reality and the way things are. Orthen again, maybe it might be best to stay in touch with what’s really real. Ormaybe not. I’m not sure. But sometimes Isure would like to pick and choose my memories. Would you? Or maybe not?

Gini Graham Scott, PhD, is the author of over 50 books and aspeaker/seminar leader, specializing in social trends, work relationships,professional development, and writing and publishing books. Her latest booksinclude THE TRUTH ABOUT LYING; WANT IT, SEE IT, GET IT!; and USING LINKEDIN TOPROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS OR YOURSELF. She also helps clients write, publish, andpromote their own books and find publishers and agents through ChangemakersPublishing and Writing. She has a publishing company Changemakers Publishingand writes screenplays, both her own and for clients. Her Websites are at http://www.changemakerspublishingandwriting.com and http://www.ginigrahamscott.com.

Book Cover Art

2011-12-02T08:12:00.000-08:00

Traditionally book publishers allow authors very little say about how their book cover will look; especially newer, unproven authors. Agatha Christie's third book was Murder on the Links published in 1923. Here's what she had to say about her book jacket.

“Apart from being in ugly colours, it was badly drawn, and represented, as far as I could make out, a man in pyjamas on a golf links, dying of an epileptic fit. Since the man who had been murdered had been fully dressed and stabbed with a dagger, I objected.” (agathachristie.com)

Not sure if the cover shown here is the original but if so it looks like she won the battle. Luckily I have recently discovered a publisher that is allowing writers to have a say in how their book look. A very refreshing and clever approach. They do a smashing job. Imajin Press.

Out of the Mouth of an Eight Year Old

2011-11-25T18:10:00.000-08:00

That Edgar Allen Poe, the reputed father of the mystery story, sure knew how to size up a guy. Here's a marvelous quote from his famous short story The Purloined Letter.

The speaker is an eight year old boy who is always winning at a game of marbles where you guess whether the person is holding an odd or even number of marbles in their closed hand. He figured out how his opponents would play based on their astuteness. When asked how he identified the other's intelligence he replied :

“'When I wish to find out how wise, or how stupid, or how good, or how wicked is any one, or what are his thoughts at the moment, I fashion the expression of my face, as accurately as possible, in accordance with the expression of his, and then wait to see what thoughts or sentiments arise in my mind or heart, as if to match or correspond with the expression.”

My New Kid: POISON, YOUR GRACE

2011-11-23T06:39:00.001-08:00

The second Simon & Elizabeth mystery has arrived at my doorstep--at least the author copies have. No sign yet of my order for personal sales, but I've gotten wiser. There will be no Book Launch W/O Books this time, as there was when the first printing of HER HIGHNESS' FIRST MURDER sold out before I got mine.

POISON, YOUR GRACE pairs Simon Maldon and Elizabeth Tudor as investigators a second time (Book #1-HER HIGHNESS' FIRST MURDER) when a council member is poisoned. At first Elizabeth fears her brother might have been the target, but soon the fear becomes more personal: she might be blamed for the murder.

I love Simon Maldon, the crippled young man who serves as Elizabeth's secret detective. He is now an apothecary's apprentice, and I had a lot of fun reading up on medicines of the time: powdered rabbit head as tooth cleaner?

Like a lot of authors, characters from the first book became friends and therefore came back to visit. Hannah, Simon's girlfriend, becomes a featured character in this book while Welsh Guardsman Hugh Bellows steps into a minor but still helpful role.

I really enjoy writing this series, and I'm neck deep in Book #3, so I should really get back to work!

The book will be out in large print and e-book soon. Order POISON, YOUR GRACE at http://www.amazon.com/Poison-Your-Grace-Five-Mystery/dp/1432825364/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1

Or call your library and ask them to order it! Five Star loves that!

Blonde Demolition is out!

2011-11-22T00:04:00.000-08:00

Here's an excerpt:

She glanced at Trey.
He raised a dark eyebrow. "You used to know when I was near."
"Been a long time since I've had to watch my back."
His long slender fingers spread across his chest. "That hurt."
"Truth does."

Cal looked her way from the beer tent, his brows knit. The carnies didn't often stop to talk to the firefighters. Cal moved his big frame in front of her as if she needed protection.
She noted that he looked tired. Maybe she shouldn't bring up her idea about finding her parents today. It could wait until the fair was over.
His pace was slow but steady as he moved toward her. He tugged Mark, the new guy, along with him.
The idea always amused her when they circled the wagons around her. It was sweet how they protected her.
They had no clue she could defend herself armed or unarmed. That information didn't go along with her trust fund reputation. No need to enlighten them.
Trey's words brought her back. "Have you thought about it?"
"Yes."
"And."
"I didn't come up with an answer." She wouldn't be rushed. She would decide this in her own damn time. Not on someone else's schedule.
"Better soon."
"You better move on, Trey."
He glanced back at the firefighters who walked his way. A sardonic grin creased his face. "Well, well."
"Leave, Trey. I don't want to see anyone hurt."
"Me or them?"
He walked past her as if she didn't exist.

Blurb:
YOU JUST CAN'T HIDE FROM THE PAST...

Mallory Sage lives in a small, idyllic town where nothing ever happens. Just the kind of life she has always wanted. No one, not even her fellow volunteer firefighters, knows about her past life as an agent for Homeland Security.

Former partner and lover, Trey McCrane, comes back into Mallory's life. He believes they made a great team once, and that they can do so again. Besides, they don't have much choice. Paul Stanley, a twisted killer and their old nemesis, is back.

Framed for a bombing and drawn together by necessity, Mallory and Trey go on the run and must learn to trust each other again―if they hope to survive. But Mallory has been hiding another secret, one that could destroy their relationship. And time is running out.

Buy Links:
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/7olwvhs
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/104247

Amazon in print: http://tinyurl.com/87qdaam

Other books by Chris Redding
Corpse Whisperer
The Drinking Game
Confession: Volume One
Incendiary
A View to a Kilt

Links:
www.chrisreddingauthor.com
http://chrisredddingauthor.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/chrisreddingauthor
www.twitter.com/chrisredding

Review of Damage Control

2011-11-21T12:49:00.000-08:00

Damage Control

by Denise Hamilton

ISBN: 978-0-7432-9674-8

a 2011 hardcover release from

Scribner. 372 pages.

More than just romance can often flower under the hot desert moon. In southern California, a lot more. In the artificially irrigated hothouse of perfectly sculpted bodies, overabundance of wealth, aggressive power and overweening ambition are a dangerous combination that leads, almost inevitably, to corruption. And it is corruption that’s at the heart of this complex, lyrically written tale, along with a strong dose of murder and mystery.

Maggie Silver grew up on the far side of the tracks. Now in adulthood with a mortgage, a failed marriage, and an ill mother, she’s scrambling for a place, if not in the sun, as near as she can get without singeing her fingers. Her values are aspiring middle class. She’d like to be one of the beautiful people, and for a while in a private school with a rich girl friend named Anabelle Paxton, the giddy, youthful exuberance of unsupervised teenaged life seems to point to a life to come of luxury and happiness.

Fast forward to today. Having lost that youthful connection to the good life, Maggie is establishing herself as a fixer. Working for the powerful public relations firm, Blair Company, she find herself once more entangled with the Paxton family, Henry, now a powerful U.S. Senator, Luke, the golden son and Anabelle, once her very best girl friend. A murder has happened and the situation must be managed. The Blair firm gets paid a great deal of money by wealthy clients to do exactly that. What happens then, to Maggie, the Paxtons, to other members of the firm is enthralling, complicated, and almost a Greek tragedy.

The author has taken a common theme, power, wealth and their corrupting influences, and infused the story with a strong dose of both good and evil. and while she carefully and fully illuminates much of the evil that resides in Los Angeles and its special culture, there is at times, a faint but fascinating aura of envy, as if the author yearns, however ruefully, for just a little taste of the life she writes about. The genius of the novel lies in part in the complex and convoluted story and the way the author infuses this story with life.

Hamilton has not penned a polemic against the culture of southern California. Rather she holds up the citizens, and the organizations to a searing light and lets readers judge the actions and the influences that result. Unlike Raymond Chandler, with whose writing she is compared, her sympathies clearly lie with all the characters, while never condoning their actions, or trumpeting the consequences. So in the end, readers, themselves having perhaps experienced a little bit of envy for the characters, can close the book and ponder the questions we all may ask ourselves, to whom do we really owe the greatest loyalty?

--
Carl Brookins www.carlbrookins.com http://agora2.blogspot.com, Case of the Great Train Robbery, Reunion, Red Sky

IMHO - a rare rant

2011-11-11T18:18:00.001-08:00

An opinion…

I tend not to use cyberspace as a soap boxfor spouting my opinions mainly because I don’t find other people’s opinionsall that interesting and thus, believe others are not interested in mine. In fact, that’s why I didn’t renew my subscriptionto Maclean’s (Canada’s news magazine). Ifound it contained altogether too many editorials and opinion pieces.

I want the news media to just give mefacts. Then, I want to form my ownopinions. However, earlier this week on facebook, I shared this articleWoman who would have ruled the blogsphere. Mydaughter had forwarded me the link. It’sabout ten historic woman who wrote letters, diaries, books, memoires, essays(before the Social Networking age ) to make tremendous changes to theirworld.

I figured that perhaps, I too, with my ragingopinions, could make a difference. We're gonna give it a try right here.

I want to opine about Alberta’s recentlyenacted Distracted Driving Law. I wantto question why the heck we need such a law. Citizens complain about there being too many laws, about too much government interference, about the cost of law-enforcement, etc., etc. yet these same citizens behavein such a manner as to require a law like this?

Laws against murder, theft, fraud, illicitdrug use, etc. are more or less there so we know how to deal with people who dosuch things. I mean, everyone knows it’swrong to murder, law or not, and the vast majority of us don’t murder.

However this law, this Distracted Drivinglegislation is for the majority of us—to let us know we ought not to text whiledriving, that it’s dangerous and illegal. ??????

I’m serious. A few years ago, before the law came intobeing, I listened to a police officer incredulously relate how people wouldadmit to such distracted behavior—as if it were a valid excuse, not realizing they were incriminatingthemselves. “Sorry, sir. I didn't mean to kill anyone. I was on the phone with my wife and didn’tsee the kids playing street hockey…”

Like someone telling the investigator, “Sorry,Sir, but I really needed the life-insurance policy to pay off my drug debts soI murdered him.” (You'll forgive me, right?)

Negligent driving, driving without due careand attention, has always been illegal. That we have to be specifically told that this includes texting,phoning, programming GPS’s, surfing the net, reading, applying mascara….

How intelligent are we as a race?

I suggest we smarten up and, while we're at it, teach our kidssome commonsense. If not, the government may soon feel compelled to enactlaws forbidding us from wearing black at night when walking on dark streets, fromover-eating, from smoking, from drinking while pregnant, from falling asleep in the sun when it's +30C…from jumping off tallbuildings…

There. That’s my rant. I don’t knowabout you, but I feel better.

Eileen Schuh Author of THE TRAZ, Schrödinger's Cat
Sample/purchase THE TRAZ: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/60190 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005199RFE
Web site: http://www.eileenschuh.com
Blog: http://eileenschuh.blogspot.com

Come join me on the brand new Famous FivePlus website (I'm one of the original Famous Five). This band of international indie authors ofall genres has attitude and ideas. We intend to take the entire world by storm.

Medical Examiners

2011-11-09T16:21:00.000-08:00

This past week I spent time with a group called Citizens Against Homicide. They help the families of homicide victims with many different issues. Coping with the police investigations, when there's an arrest educating the families on the whole court procedure and all the delays, working with families trying to keep the guilty person from getting out on parole, and much, much more.

They also talked about medical examiners how have no idea what they are doing. One of the biggest problems is calling a death either natural causes when it's a homicide, or calling a homicide a suicide. Here are two glaring examples:

One person who supposedly died of natural causes as determined by the medical examiner was sent to the mortuary. There the mortician discovered two bullet holes in the skull. Guess what? The crime scene was contaminated and so was the body. The person who probably committed the murder told the medical examiner that the person had a heart condition and had a heart attack. The medical examiner put that down as cause of death!

A victim with 24 stab wounds including some in his back and his buttocks was declared a suicide. No note, not nothing. How could something like this happen?

Obviously there are some incompetent medical examiners out there. It isn't like we see in the movies and on TV.

What I learned from the members of Citizens Against Homicide is that there is much, much more that goes on even after the murdered is caught and convicted.

Marilyn

The Lost Women of Lost Lake, Review By Carl Brookins

2011-11-06T07:12:00.000-08:00

The Lost Women of Lost Lake

by Ellen Hart

ISBN: 978-0-312-61477-5

2011 hardcover release from

Minotaur Books, 320 pgs.

It is interesting how these things come in multiples. Libby Hellmann recently released a novel with its genesis in the riotous summer and fall of 1968. The Minnesota History Center has just opened an elaborate exhibit focused on 1968, and the History Theater in Saint Paul has mounted an original play, “1968, The year That Rocked The World.” And now here we have a powerful, emotionally intense novel by that excellent Minneapolis writer, Ellen Hart. It is a story of two women who are unable to divorce themselves from that same year, 1968 and the decisions and actions they took then.

The story is another event in the evolving saga of Minneapolis restaurateur, Jane Lawless. This time she and bosom chum Cordelia take what they intend to be a short vacation trip into Minnesota’s benign northern wilderness to the Lawless family lodge on a lake north of the Twin Cities. It’s a common enough activity, and bucolic time on placid water amid peaceful forests is expected to provide calm and rejuvenation. Jane is trying to decide whether she can commit to working with a close friend toward becoming a professional private investigator.

The peaceful appearing forest, like so many lives, conceals dark doings and Jane is drawn into a maelstrom of murder, revenge, drugs and double dealing. The multiple threads of this complex story intersect, divide, and then reweave. At times the action is high with tension, the pace frantic. At other times, the story becomes thoughtful, calm, like the smooth waters of the lake itself, allowing readers moments to reflect, perhaps, on their own lives and paths not taken. The women of lost lake, must, in the end, decide for themselves, and take for themselves the heart-rending consequences of their lives.

--
Carl Brookins www.carlbrookins.com http://agora2.blogspot.com, Case of the Great Train Robbery, Reunion, Red Sky

Alan Pinkerton - Again

2011-11-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

I just love vintage illustrations. Here's another one from an old volume by Alan Pinkerton himself, founder of the famous Pinkerton's Detective Agency.

Not only is the woodcut of the finest quality but the picture itself is a wonderful archive of past times. I love the man's reflection looking out of the mirror.

Writers: Enter the Scribes Digest 'Best Pitch Contest' this November

2011-11-01T13:39:00.001-07:00

If you're a writer, here's a great way to pitch one of your finished works...

Hello writers of all genres! The November Scribes Digest contest is FREE to enter and will give you a chance to publish your entry in our December issued EZINE!

In order to enter, you must have a completed work in any of these genres: feature film, short film, short story or novel.

We are looking for the TOP 3 best elevator pitches! An elevator pitch (or elevator speech or statement) is a short summary used to quickly and simply define your script, short story or novel. It should take no more than 5 lines to give your pitch and the writers with the best 3 pitches will have excerpts from their completed script, story or novel published in our December EZINE.

Our team of editors will be joined by two fantastic industry judges to choose the winners: Michael Baker, Producer and Founder of Bunk 11 Pictures Inc. and Cheryl Tardif, Publisher & Acquisitions Editor of Imajin Books.

Read more.

Magna Cum Murder

2011-10-31T05:24:00.000-07:00

It's a small con in Muncie, Indiana, sponsored by Ball State University. This year it was smaller than usual, due to the economy and perhaps the fact that Bouchercon was only a short time ago and relatively close.
The result was interesting: authors had, for the most part, only each other to talk to.
Only a very few tried the "Buy my wonderful mystery" routine on the group. There was tacit recognition that we were not going to sell a bunch of books, although authors know, of course, that buying books is good. (If we didn't, Parnell Hall reminded us with his song, "Support Your Local Bookstore.") Instead of fighting off crowds of adoring fans, we talked: about craft, about trends, about the future of publishing.
Yes, I know it happens at all cons, in the bar, in corners, even in passing. But this con settled down to pretty much just that. Authors asked each other tough questions about the business of writing and probing questions about the responsibilities of writing. We didn't have to pretend to be raking in the dough because people just can't keep their hands off the "Buy" button on our webpage. There was honest talk about all levels of publishing, from self to small press to big house.
I gotta tell you--it was great.

Review: Murder in the 11th House.

2011-10-26T12:16:00.001-07:00

by Mitchell Scott Lewis

ISBN: 978-59058-950-2

a 2011 release from

Poisoned Pen Press

A team of intrepid and intelligent agents in league with an astrologer take on difficult cases of potential injustice. The feeling one gets from this debut novel about the Starlight Detective Agency is one of a small team of right-minded individuals with varied skills united around common goals. When government doesn’t get it right, the agency will. And they’re not above bending the law for all the right reasons. How that affects the lawyer/daughter on the team remains to be seen. The agency does work with police in New York City whenever possible, and because of his wealth and reputation, that seems to be often, but David Lowell, Astrologer non parallel, is not above spending his considerable money and influence to right apparent wrongs.

Angry bartender Johnny Colbert has a loud confrontation with a judge in a small New York Courtroom. It’s a civil case but the judge is soon dead in spectacular fashion and the bartender has no alibi. Enter Lowell’s daughter, defense attorney, Melinda, who prevails on her father to attempt to solve the mystery of who killed the judge and why, thus, presumably, exonerating Ms Colbert. The why of the murder proves far more fascinating that the astrological explanations. There are many explanations, and in some detail. They tend to slow the pace of the story considerably.

But it doesn’t matter whether you believe in astrology or not, the writing is generally smooth and the story develops logically. All of the characters stay in character, even if it’s a bit of a stretch for the young idealistic attorney to countenance what she knows is marginally illegal activity on behalf of her client. Several of the characters, Sarah and the client in particular, are interesting and well-drawn. all in all a nice traditionally-styled crime novel for a pleasant reading afternoon.

--
Carl Brookins www.carlbrookins.com http://agora2.blogspot.com, Case of the Great Train Robbery, Reunion, Red Sky

Do You Read Mysteries While You're Writing One?

2011-10-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

There are some mystery writers who say they never read mysteries while they are writing one. Of course the reasoning is they don't want to borrow something from another author's work sub-consciously.

If I didn't read any mysteries while I'm writing, I'd never get any reading done. I don't read anyone's work that is anything like what I write. Lately I've been reading James Lee Burke. Wow, I'd like to write like him, but I never will. I don't write about the brutal crimes and crazed and warped people like he does. (Sure wish I could write descriptions like he does though.)

My books border on being cozies--I had one reviewer say my Rocky Bluff P.D. series was like a soap opera because of the way the private lives of the cops are depicted. To me, what is happening to them and their families at home is as important as what's going on in whatever crimes they are trying to solve. (Actually the review was quite flattering and had much more to say than that.) I have lots of characters and POVs in this series. The setting is a beach community and I love writing about the kind of place I used to live in.) Angel Lost is the latest one in that series.

In my Deputy Tempe Crabtree mysteries, Tempe is the main character and usually the story unfolds totally through her point of view. Her "side-kick" is her preacher husband and he often helps her a lot--and in Bears With Us, the latest, he is right there to assist her in chasing bears out of people's houses.

I say borders on being cozies because the cases are solved by law enforcement officers rather than amateur sleuths as what is the usual case in a cozy. However, I don't much bad language and you don't see much in the way of blood and guts, though both do get spilled. An Axe to Grind began with a beheading. Though my characters are normal they do have sex, but usually it happens behind closed doors. So I do have some of the ingredients (or lack thereof) that are required in a cozy.

I do read cozies, but I tend to like the ones best that are a bit edgier than the norm. Frankly, I'll read anything that comes my way--the only thing that holds me back is time. I read horror, thrillers, any kind of mystery, and occasionally non-fiction.

But when it comes to writing, though I've written other genres, right now I'm sticking to my not-quite cozy mysteries.

How about your? What do you read while you're writing?

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com

Occupy....

2011-10-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

The Occupy (Wall Street) movement has the attention of a bewildered media. Who does one interview when there are no leaders? How does one cover a story that appears to have no meaning, beginning, or end? No purpose? What is a reporter to do when the police DON'T step in?

The Occupy movement hit Edmonton, Alberta, Canada this weekend. The police refrained from ousting the illegally camped Occupiers, expecting perhaps that the cold weather would do their work for them.

The local media scrounged the grounds for their 15-second clips. I loved this quote the reporter got from one young man identified as Ryan A. "Panda"

"I'm able to resonate with people without feeling I have to change my frequency." http://t.co/1P668CgG

Carry on, people. Keep resonating.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-10-08T16:07:00.000-07:00

An elderly man in Phoenix calls his son in New York and says, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough."
"Pop, what are you talking about?" the son screams.
"We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the old man says. "We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her," and he hangs up.
Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "Like hell they're getting divorced," she shouts, "I'll take care of this." She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at the old man, "You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?" and hangs up.
The old man hangs up his phone, too, and turns to his wife. "Okay," he says, "they're coming for Thanksgiving.

All about lie detectors...

2011-10-05T09:05:00.000-07:00

While Canadian crime investigators use the polygraph as an investigative tool, our courts ban polygraph results from being presented as evidence because of their unreliability. Just how accurate are polygraphs and can they be used in crime prevention?

Polygraph expert, Ken Blackstone, gives us the latest low down on polygraphs and their use south of our border.

The Case for Forensic Polygraph Testing in Post-Adjudication Sexual Offender Examination and Management

By Ken Blackstone

In 1973, in the Multnomah County Circuit of Oregon, Judge John C. Beatty, Jr. was the first to order the use of the polygraph in the management of convicted sexual offenders. Today, almost 40 years later, the number of registered sex offenders in the US and its territories exceeds half a million and they are all under some form of management. The post adjudication polygraph is used by the responsible State and Federal agencies in three common circumstances: in prisons during the incarceration of convicted sex offenders; in the community during subsequent probation and parole; and during the civil commitment of sexually dangerous persons.

The Problem

Polygraph examination is a catch-all term used to describe the use of the polygraph instrument, either as a forensic tool to determine the veracity of a statement or as a utility tool to generate statements and disclosures. While these two approaches are superficially similar their foundations are not.

Law enforcement agencies use polygraph to support investigation of criminal matters and attorneys use the polygraph both for establishing direction in their cases and to present as evidence in an upcoming proceeding. Whether the polygraph examiner conducts a forensic examination that is reliable or a utility examination that is undependable is often unknown to the agencies and attorneys involved.

In a pre-adjudication setting a suspect or person of interest may be asked to take a polygraph examination as a means of assessing his or her denials about being knowledgeable, involved or even responsible for the alleged crime. A witness or informant may be asked to submit to a polygraph for the purpose of assessing the accuracy or truth of information he or she has provided. Although it is barred in some states, in some cases, an alleged victim of a crime may be asked to take a polygraph test to determine the accuracy or truth of testimony to either support the conviction of a guilty person or prevent the wrongful prosecution of an innocent person. Thus, polygraph examinations are a very serious matter that has great importance and impact on the tested individuals and the matters to which they offer evidence. These situations are all alike in that there is an “issue at hand” and they are truly voluntary.

In a post-adjudication setting a convicted or committed offender is expected to take periodic polygraph examinations to encourage candor and discourage any lapse or relapse during treatment and supervision. The use of the polygraph in the evaluation and management of convicted and committed sex offenders is of great interest; treatment providers will often agree that the polygraph is the only existing tool for measuring behavior and supervising officers see the polygraph as a way of keeping offenders accountable. A periodic post-adjudication polygraph examination in the community can be used to assess a variety of issues that may include precursors to a reoccurrence and whether the convicted person should be considered for early release of parole or a relaxation of probation controls. These situations are similar in these examinations will seldom address a specific “issue at hand” and while they are an option the only other option is prison.

Scientifically based studies have concluded that the carefully administered, “forensic” or single-issue (one relevant issue) polygraph exam, conducted properly and optimally by a qualified examiner, is 89 to 92 percent accurate. It is the most accurate tool available today for determining truth or deception. When any reduction from the disciplined rigors of forensic polygraph examination occurs, the reliability of the results can and must be called into question.

However, in the post-adjudication sexual offender setting, a less rigorous “utility” approach is often taken and the accuracy of polygraph results diminishes for a number of reasons. The training, skills and discipline of the examiner are typically lower; the purpose of the examination may be far different and more exploratory; the questions are more generalized, ambiguous, and sometimes confusing. The accuracy of a 91% accurate exam is now 50-50.

Unfortunately, at the present time, utility testing is the norm for post-adjudication testing of sexual offenders. As a consequence, treatment providers and community supervisors are impacted by the outcomes of these “utility” examinations, even though the outcomes are unreliable because they are beyond the parameters established by research. Fortunately, the utility test is not a necessity; it is conducted as a matter of economic convenience.

Proposed Solution

Forensic polygraph examination has safeguards which keep its error-rate below 10 per cent. This type of polygraph testing is frequently used in the legal, intelligence and investigative communities. Its popularity in the Federal and State agencies arena is encouraged by the high caliber of training and supervision provided its examiners. Similar standards and training need to be developed and deployed in the area of post-adjudication assessment and management of sexual offenders.

Utility tests, such as the ones most currently popular in sex offender management programs, actually invite errors (false positives and false negatives). A “false positive” can result in a waste of professional resources and it can unfairly hamper the otherwise honest sex offender who is trying to rebuild his life. A “false negative” can allow recidivism that could have been stopped before anything happened*. Here are some examples where forensic polygraph examination may have helped prevent tragic crimes from occurring:

* Phillip Garrido was a registered sex offender on Federal and State parole for rape when he abducted then 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard and while he held her captive for the next 18 years. He was excluded from required polygraph.

*John Couey was a registered sex offender in Florida and was on state probation when he abducted, raped, and murdered then 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford. His probation supervision failed and he was excluded from polygraph surveillance. Jessica’s body was discovered as a result of a polygraph examination.

Examples such as Garrido and Couey represent statistical outliers; however they underscore the need for a disciplined approach that requires forensic testing methods and standards.

Conclusion

Post-adjudication testing of convicted sex offenders is a different arena than pre-adjudication testing; however, it does not require a “reinvention of the wheel”. The parameters of forensic testing already exist. The responsible agencies, instead of ignoring these disciplines, should incorporate them into their existing discipline. This, among other things, will improve the quality of post-adjudication polygraph examiners and their work product by:

1. Providing specialized forensic level training for these post-adjudication polygraph examiners

2. Establishing standards for the conduct of professionals in post-adjudication polygraph testing

3. Setting requirements for the deployment of diagnostic single-issue testing during examinations

4. Providing supervision in the form of quality control and classroom review of examinations.

5. Providing training for non-examiner treatment providers and other professionals who are involved in sex offender management.

About the Author

Ken Blackstone is an expert regarding polygraph examinations. He is the author of the book Polygraph, Sex Offenders, and the Court (2011, Emerson Books ISBN 978-061-5506-80-7). Since 1979 he has been involved in more than 23,000 polygraph examinations as an examiner, consultant, and expert witness. He has conducted more than 15,000 examinations and consulted on a thousand more, including several high profile cases (including the Jon Benet Ramsey case and the Troy Davis case). He has written numerous peer-reviewed articles on polygraph and forensic interviewing. The majority of his career has focused on sexual offense cases and the examination of convicted and/or committed sexual offenders. He lives in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
Author, Ken Blacksone's, website

Review: Viper by John Desjarlais

2011-10-03T05:14:00.000-07:00

Viper

by John Desjarlais

978-1933184-80-7

2011 trade paper release

from Sophia Institute Press

238 pages.

Set in rural Illinois, the novel follows disgraced DEA agent Selena De La Cruz as she tries to re-order her life into some semblance of normality after a drug raid gone bad results in a tragic aftermath. Leaving that life turns out to be more than just difficult. It is impossible. And so Selena leaves her insurance company and re-enters the dangerous world of undercover drug enforcement among a Latino population that is turbulent, ever-changing and marked with friends who become enemies and family members short on understanding.

The author cleverly establishes Selena as an independent capable woman beset on all sides by the chauvinism of her bosses and the cultural disapproval of her family. Good Latina women do not carry guns and arrest drug dealers. There is an invasive Latin Catholic presence throughout the book. The basic theme of the story is a list of names entered into a church’s Book of the Dead, requesting prayers for their souls. The problem is that the people represented are still alive as the book opens. But one by one they are murdered. Since Selena’s name is last on the list, she has more than usual reason to be concerned. Her interaction with law enforcement and Church officials becomes more and more intense as the list is shortened, one by one.

The novel is smoothly written, logical and mostly gripping. There are several sections of Aztec and other religious history and legends used by the author to explain some of the ritual Selena encounters which, while interesting in themselves, have a tendency to slow the narrative. Nevertheless, Viper is a worthwhile read, blending religious mystery with brutal modern crime.

--
Carl Brookins www.carlbrookins.com http://agora2.blogspot.com Case of the Great Train Robbery, Reunion, Red Sky

Who Do You Write For?

2011-09-27T09:42:00.000-07:00

“I like what I like and not what I'm supposed to like because of mass rating.” - Earle Stanley Gardner "The Case of the Careless Cupid"

The above quote appeared on my screen just seconds after I had taken a stand to write my entertainment mysteries how I think they should be written and not adjust them to how 'a board' would prefer them to look. It feels great. Past experience has proven that once one starts adjusting and rewriting, based on others preferences, the whole thing falls apart. So I might loose a contract or two and I might end up losing face by taking a risk - but on the whole I'd rather that than create with a clenched gut because the project doesn't feel right when written with adjustments that are not mine.

Hurray for taking a stand for artistic control. Win or lose, it feels like the best option.

Here's another Gardner quote I like:

“It's a damn good story. If you have any comments, write them on the back of a check.”

Time and Timing: Where Did September Go?

2011-09-26T04:47:00.000-07:00

The last week of the month, and I'm definitely not ready for October. As a writer,I try to take stock monthly of what has been accomplished so I can assess my success and plan what still needs to be done.
I went to Bouchercon. That was a lot of fun, but a lot of work, too: arranging to be away from home, traveling the distance from Michigan to Missouri, and smiling, smiling, smiling, no matter that my feet hurt or I felt like the smallest fish in the pond at times.
I did a lot of promotion for the upcoming release, POISON, YOUR GRACE, and got some response: great reviews from PUBLISHERS WEEKLY and LIBRARY JOURNAL. I also heard yesterday that THE DEAD DETECTIVE AGENCY is a finalist for best mystery novel in the EPIC (electronically published) judging. All good stuff.
So what didn't I do?
I meant to get the second Dead Detective Mystery off to my publisher on Sept. 1st. It might go out today.
I meant to finish the third Simon & Elizabeth Mystery. It isn't even close.
I wanted to edit a stand-alone I've been working on for a couple of years. I'm maybe a third through that one.
As a writer, I'm often swamped with ideas: so many stories I want to tell. There just isn't enough time for everything I want to do. There's no one standing over me with a club. It's my own desire--maybe need--to write that drives me onward (and maybe a little crazy).
With all that I wanted to accomplish, September has slipped from my (constantly typing) fingers, and I barely noticed.
Oddly enough, for me this is happiness.

Keynote for Poets and Writers Event...

2011-09-22T18:33:00.000-07:00

New York Supreme Court Judge, and author of "Carlito's Way," will be the Keynote Speaker at my Poets and Writers Event next week in NYC! Boo-Yah!

Classic Cars & Crime

2011-09-19T09:41:00.001-07:00

Last weekend was the 42 annual Show & Shine in Radium Hot Springs, BC. Thanks to our move during the summer we can now walk down to the golf course in town where over 800 classic cars carpeted the fairway. If I had been in a murderous frame of mind I would have quizzed some of the owners on the underbelly side of the business; but mostly I was just basking in chrome glory.

There are millions of dollars worth of metal and pedal with 'Please Don't Touch' signs discretely displayed on the dashboards. Some very funky options and some handsome hood ornaments all competing for your attention. It's not hard to imagine a motive for murder. Key one of these baby's and you could end up dead in the trunk - I'm just guessing.

Took a few pictures. So even though I don't have a crime I do have a place to plant a clue. Something to reflect on.

Today on The Russell Show: Children of the Fog by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

2011-09-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

What would you do if a kidnapper told you you had 10 seconds to make a decision: let him take your child, or watch your son die?

A special thank you to my friend Russell Brooks for always being so enthusiastic about my books. Check out his narration from my bestselling supernatural thriller, CHILDREN OF THE FOG.

CHILDREN OF THE FOG is available at Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble and more.

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

2011-09-15T07:14:00.000-07:00

I'll be giving a talk about this on Sunday at the Central Coast Book and Author Festival in San Luis Obispo. I decided instead of generalizing I'd talk about my books and where the ideas for each came from.

My latest book, Bears With Us, had it's origins from Facebook postings from my grandson who is a police officer in Aspen Colorado. He and his fellow officers had been spending a lot of their time chasing bears out of people's houses. I exchanged emails with him to find out some details and some other research and knew that bears would play a big part--and they do.

In that same series, I was inspired by a trip to our nearby Indian reservation with a college anthropology class to see the pictographs of the Hairy Man and his family in a place called The Painted Rocks. Yes, the Hairy Man is in Dispel the Mist. The murder of a female politician in Las Vegas sparked the idea for the plot that evolved.

We had trucks and jeeps traveling up the mountain road where I lived--and though they looked like Army, they weren't. I have no idea who they actually were, but they gave me the idea for what happens in Invisible Path.

Kindred Spirits evolved from my meeting with a Tolowa woman with a dynamic personality. Her stories about the Tolowa people inspired me to write about them--and she became two characters in the book.

Newspaper articles about intriguing crimes, speakers at Sisters in Crime meetings, conversations overhead in restaurants and airports, stories told to me by friends and acquaintances including other people in law enforcement have all be inspirations for my mysteries.

There are more ideas out there than I'll ever be able to use--but I'll keep on collecting them.

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com

Book Reveiw

2011-09-13T04:45:00.001-07:00

Rock Hole

by Reavis Z. Wortham

ISBN: 978-1-59058-884-0

2011 release from Poisoned

Pen Press. HC, 284 pages

A sensitive, suspenseful debut crime novel. Full of twists, wry and earthy humor, it epitomizes the grit, the patience and the perseverance, of middle America.
Folks who grew up in Texas, where the novel is set, or anywhere in the belt that runs from the northwest angle of Minnesota to the Padre Islands and from the middle of Pennsylvania
to Cody, Wyoming, will recognize themselves in this novel. Their humor, their practicality, their keen natural observations, are all here to savor.

Welcome to 1964. In Center Springs, Texas, farmer and part-time constable Ned Parker is faced with a puzzling series of animal deaths. That they are brutal, atrocious unnecessary
killings, only adds to the tension and suspense. Across the river, the black deputy, John Washington, is trying to find reasons for the same killings, while also dealing with
the added difficulties of racism in the county. All these factors entwine to create a real and growing calamity for the small communities in the county surrounding Center Springs.
As the killings continue, strange footprints are found near bedroom windows and citizens begin to carry weapons and look suspiciously at their neighbors.

Laced with forthright humor, the novel proceeds at a racing pace through event after event as suspicion grows and plot twist after twist keeps readers off-balance
until the stunning climax is reached. Ned Parker is a real character who carries the story in an authentic and realistic manner.

The novel is not without its problems. Abrupt and annoying changes of points of view are occasionally confusing, but the writing,
like the stories within the narrative is solid. This is an eminently satisfying novel. I look forward to the next.

Carl Brookins www.carlbrookins.com http://agora2.blogspot.com Case of the Great Train Robbery, Reunion, Red

Happy Labor Day

2011-09-05T09:16:00.000-07:00

As folks in the U.S. celebrate Labor Day, most people think about the people who labor in factories, service jobs and construction workers, because it started as a "workingmen's holiday".

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

I grew up near Detroit, so Labor Day was celebrated by the auto workers in a big way, so it wasn't until recently that I started thinking about other jobs that maybe aren't recognized in the same way: policemen, firefighters, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, chaplains, farmers, ranchers, retail sales people.... and the list could go on and on.

So thank you to all of them for the work they do to serve and protect and make our lives better.

Review: Murder Has No Class

2011-08-31T13:44:00.000-07:00

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Murder Has No Class

byRebecca Kent,

ISBN:978-0-425-23207-1

A Berkley Prime Crime 2010 release

Tired of the daily news of the world? Read too many grim thrillers or suspenseful detective stories lately? If you are looking for a change of pace, for an amusing, diverting traditional mystery in the best of the cozy fashion, I give you Rebecca Kent. Author of more than twenty-five novels, this one is set in the Cotswolds of Edwardian England when women sought sufferage and the keepers of tradition sought desperately to rein in rabunctious but upper-class young women.

The novel is set at the Bellhaven Finishing School, run by Headmistress Meredith Llewellyn, with the assistance of a staff of tutors. Llewellyn’s tasks are complicated by her extra-sensibility to the ghost of a hanged man who demands her attention to prove his innocence. Meanwhile, some of the girls and some of the servants are anxious to prove their support for the burgeoning suffragette movement in England.

Ms. Kent has got pretty much everything just right. The characterizations, the tone, the emotional turmoil are all in precise keeping with the time and with the story. The principal characters are classy and distinct and any reader tuned in to the traditional mystery will have a pleasurable experience with this novel.

--
Carl Brookins www.carlbrookins.com http://agora2.blogspot.com Case of the Great Train Robbery, Reunion, Red Sky

The REAL criminal mind at work is...

2011-08-25T16:02:00.000-07:00

I was emailed this interesting link to ten facts about the criminal brain by Jay Smith Criminal Justice Degrees Guide

I must get a MRI done...on my characters' brains.

If criminal behaviour is linked to physical causes, how effective is punishment going to be? How sane is it for society and victims to feel anger toward aggressors? Should we no longer blame poor parenting and/or poverty for producing criminals? Are violent perpetrators victims themselves...of brain malformation and/or malfunction?

Is there anything at all we can do to prevent criminal behaviour?

Check out my popular article I met a man with empty eyes . It's a true account of my chilling encounter with a pyschopath. The criminal mind--always very fascinating.