Pulp Vixens

Politically correct or not, I love the artwork on old paperbacks, magazine covers, and dust jackets depicting barely clad babes. I go as far as to collect them. And I find I’m not alone, by a long shot. I belong to flickr, the website for sharing photos. But besides pictures, there’s an underground section filled … Read more

Author Signatures, The Saga Continues

To inscribe, or not to inscribe, that is the question. Whether tis’ n0bler to splatter your name indecipherably across the page, or to write a heartfelt little ditty. . . In days long ago, mystery authors did not sign as many books as they do today. The publishers didn’t demand they be their own publicists … Read more

DEJA VIEW– Murder Gives a Lovely Light

Deja View A new section on the blog–Reviews of old titles, many from the Golden Age Of Crime Fiction.To find a copy of this or any other of the Deja View books–your local used bookstore is a great place to start. (The Murder In Retrospect is the icon for this group of posts) Murder Gives a Lovely … Read more

Fabtastic! Sisters In Crime Rally Members: Buy From Independent Bookstores!

Sisters In Crime: “Our Mission: To promote the professional development and advancement of women crime writers to achieve equality in the industry.”  The group and crime fiction author Dana Stabenow have issued the cry–Buy Indie, Pass it On. They ask their members to buy just one book on one day,  from an independent bookstore in their neighborhood. The … Read more

Malice Domestic–Make Your Reservations: April 29 – May 1, 2011 at the Hyatt, Bethesda, MD

“Established in 1989, Malice Domestic® is an annual “fun fan” convention in metropolitan Washington, D.C., saluting the traditional mystery—books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie.” The annual soft boiled mystery convention is taking reservations for this year’s extravaganza. For those not familiar with Malice, it’s a fan and mystery author based gathering that … Read more

A Snippet of Book News–Nominee's for the Dilys Awards

Recently, the Independent Mystery Bookseller’s Association, or IMBA, announced the nominees for their annual award. The Dilys is named after Dilys Winn, the founder of the first crime fiction bookstore in the US–Murder Ink. There are zillions of awards out there but what makes this particularly interesting to booksellers is the award is given to … Read more