Mystery Scene Magazine, a great source for all things crime fiction, and more, recently interviewed Augie Aleksy owner of Centuries and Sleuths. A combination of history, crime fiction, and biographies are the focus of his store, and he’s been successful at it since 1989. How he does it, his innovative ideas, and the bottom line, … Read more
If you are in the virtual world, you can join a book club! Mystery Loves Company, physically in Oxford MD, has a online discussion each month. From their facebook page: Our books club books for May are James M. Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice and Julia Spencer-Fleming’s All Mortal Flesh. Join in the … Read more
I don’t read Stephen King. Not because I don’t think he’s an excellent writer. He is. Too too good of a writer. I am one of those people who loves fictional murder because there is a structure, foul play occurs; clues abound; are investigated; characters throw around red herrings; the detective investigates and the murderer … Read more
Attendees at the 2011 Left Coast Conference in Santa Fe voted for the following winners. The Lefty Award for the Best Humorous Mystery Novel: The Pot Thief Who Studied Einstein—J. Michael Orenduff The Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery Award for the Best Historical Mystery Novel, Events pre-1950–The Mapping of Love and Death–Jacqueline Winspear The Hillerman … Read more
I’ve never heard of someone demanding a bookseller remove an “offensive” book from their store before. I don’t think as a bookseller, I’ve ever encountered it. But some others have, and it begs the question, where does it end? The bookseller in the article questions his ordering practices–wondering if what he decides to purchase and … Read more
Tomorrow evening the annual Lefty awards will be announced. Left Coast Crime’s annual convention is running currently, and people interested in attenting next year’s event can sign up early and get a discount. http://www.leftcoastcrime.org/2011/awards.html
I remember each and every book I ever misplaced, left behind , just plain lost. There haven’t been that many of them, because losing a book when in the middle, or even finished, is a major trauma for an avid reader. And I like to avoid that kind of pain. Back in the early 80s, … Read more
There is a underground subset of authors who take on the job of writing for someone else, with no credit to show for it. They get paid for the privilege but that’s all. There have been quite a few throughout the years–most ‘celebrities’ have no talent for creating sentences, so turn to the publisher to … Read more
