Free Comic Book Day!

Tying all the strands together with this macabre playing card by a comic publisher? Priceless.

I know this might not be your cuppa Frappachailatte, but there are free comics being given out across the nation today in the thousands. There are usually tons of titles available, both new and established. And you don't even have to be deserving! Tell your immature (or graphic-appreciative) friends and kids you like today.

Here's the FCBD website with a store locator. I will be toodling out to The Phoenix in Scarsdale to see what choice morsels are available.

In other odd news, playing cards with the faces of missing and murdered New Yorkers are being distributed in jails as a new way to collect leads. Per Fark, "Oh yeah, I killed the 8 of clubs. You can stop searching now."

Pssssst! Wanna Read Some Good Stuff?

Since I can’t seem to stop blogging about the two stories from Murder New York Style that have been nominated for the Agatha Award for Best Short Story, I thought it only right to link the stories of all four nominees for your reading enjoyment. Truth be told, our own Nan Higginson made me do it. Fair play and all that.

And the nominees are:

Donna Andrews, "A Rat's Tale" Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine

Rhys Bowen, "Please Watch Your Step" Strand Magazine

Nan Higginson, "Casino Gamble" Murder New York Style

Elizabeth Zelvin, "Death Will Clean Your Closet" Murder New York Style


And, of course there is always news to be had about the anthology itself. We are pleased to announce that Murder New York Style, the e-book, is now available through Fictionwise. and is offered in these eBook formats: Adobe Acrobat (PDF) [1.4MB], Palm Doc (PDB) [331 KB], Rocket/REB1100 (RB) [352 KB], Microsoft Reader (LIT) [962 KB] - PocketPC 1.0+ Compatible, Franklin eBookMan(FUB) [340 KB], hiebook (KML) [1.6 MB], Sony Reader (LRF) [1.3 MB],iSilo (PDB) [299 KB], Mobipocket (PRC) [833 KB], Kindle Compatible(MOBI) [848 KB], OEBFF Format (IMP) [512 KB]

Last but far from least, our friend, writer and all around creative genius Chris Verstraete, has put up a cover of Murder New York Style on her Miniatures page. These tiny covers are used to fill the shelves and libraries of the detailed and delicate rooms created by miniature enthusiasts. Chris’s book, Searching for a Starry Night, A Miniature Mystery will be released in May 2008. Run on over and look around Chris’s website. You will be amazed.

Terrie

Link Saturday with Fuzz on Top

We're living in a new place this spring with actual (albeit fractionally slivered) acreage. There's already been some nice landscaping done, but I didn't know whether we had any spring bulbs working. When I asked my long-time, gardening neighbor, she assured me that I could safely wait to see what showed before planting more. Something would happen.

Now, I can really see the daffodils pushing up. No crocuses or snowdrops that I can tell, though other houses already have blooms, but lots of daffodils. Those are the most important to me anyway. The Montauk Daisies are working their magic and sprouting leaves and spreading plantings. The miscanthus grass is starting to green up, but so slowly. The hydrangeas? Dunno. Risky. I think I see buds, but I can't be sure. Some of the recent birds at the feeder are small, even for sparrows, and still carry silly plush mohawks of gray fuzz on their heads and backs. Last night, I made coconut cupcakes to take to my family's for Easter. I love the time of year, and am starting to feel more awake and alive again myself.

My novel's also finally picking up momentum again, even if, at the last meeting of my writers group, no one's life was transformed or even astoundingly improved by reading it. There's still nascent fuzz on it, too, but I believe it's getting pared down, muscled-up, and more aerodynamic by the day. So while I continue plucking the yuck out of my paragraphs, here are some scribbling-related links:

1) Some (I've done it) may give the occasional cat mystery a hard time, but Rita Mae Brown is a fascinating, forthright person as well as a successful author. Though approaches and subgenres may deteriorate into caricature over time, she was one of the founders of the genre and still believes in her characters and concept, so she's earned her pass. Anyway, I enjoyed this Time interview (via CrimeSpot) ...Well, I didn't know I was going to be famous. All that happens, and I was like, what is all this crap? Excuse me for swearing...

2) In a refreshing departure from traditional "literature" or "classics", One Book, One Chicago has chosen a crime fiction title, specifically Chicago-born Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye, for its citywide reading program. Coming up in early April, the NEA-sponsored Big Read will also be offering two free events with a noir focus. Panels of MWA authors at Manhattan's Mercantile Library will discuss (and debate, if you're lucky) the lasting influence of The Maltese Falcon and Sam Spade.

3) You may love your copy of the terse Elements of Style by Strunk and White , or maybe you prefer the even shorter Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing (however swelled into its hardcover from the original speech delivered at Bouchercon). But neither of these brevities will fit into the waistband of George Orwell's pithiest 6 tips , linked in their entirety. Free sample: Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

4) This TimesOnline article compares contemporaries Albert Camus and Georges Simenon, prolific creator of Inspector Maigret. The existentialist versus the existential hack. I'm sad Paul Theroux used that phrase, because though I don't know what Nan will choose, Existential Hack has always been on my business cards.

5) But Clare, you ask, why are you spending your time on this flapdoodle when you should be writing, writing, writing? Well, procrastination is part of my Method. Besides, I still see blogging as an extracurricular outlet, not a substitute for writing, but plenty of authors have found it worked otherwise to their detriments. Ignore your agent and pals, and do what's right for your writing. (via Whatever) Bestselling fantasy author Robin Hobb strongly cautions against the time and creativity-draining Vampires of the Internet. And yes, you have to read her warning online, smart a**.

Happy Spring!

Somethin' For Nothin'

Tony Burton, publisher of Crime and Suspense e-zine, has frequent give-aways on the website for subscribers only. If you are not a subscriber, this is a great time to become one because this month Tony is giving away two mystery anthologies. One is ~TA DA~ Murder New York Style. As you know from our incessant chatter, Murder New York Style is an anthology of twenty-one stories, and every one is classic New York. Nan Higginson and I both have stories in MNYS and I recently bragged about it over at Criminal Brief.

The second anthology that Tony is giving away is Never Safe which was edited by Karen Kavanaugh and Margaret Searles. In this anthology, danger lurks everywhere, especially when people think they are secure. I am definitely going to try to win a copy of Never Safe.

For a taste of Murder New York Style, I am linking back to Women of Mystery Nan Higginson’s Agatha nominated story story: Casino Gamble, which Laura posted a few weeks back. You can also find Casino Gamble here.

So hurry over to Crime and Suspense where you will find great stories, excellent reviews and general mystery fun for only a few dollars a year. The give-away ends March 31st, so it’s time to subscribe!

Murder New York Style and the Agathas

By now you have all heard the wonderful news that our own Woman of Mystery, Nan Higginson has been nominated for an Agatha for her story “Casino Gamble” published in the anthology Murder New York Style.

Well, the news gets better all the time. Another story from the anthology has also been nominated. “Death Will Clean Your Closet” was written by Elizabeth Zelvin, who is a member of our NY-TriState Sisters in Crime chapter and blogs over at Poe’s Deadly Daughters.

The two Murder New York Style authors share the short story nominations with Rhys Bowen, Donna Andrews and Peter Lovesey.

Such majestic company!

Congratulations to all!

Terrie

Agatha Inspirations - Sharing the Joy!

Hope this doesn't count as the sin of Blatant Self Promotion, but I've got to share the great news: my story, "Casino Gamble" is an official nominee for an Agatha in the Best Short Story Category!!! The winner will be chosen by attendees at Malice Domestic. I'll be introduced with the other award nominees during the Friday Opening Ceremony and will be on a panel discussion as well.

Yahoooey!

Please join my happy dance. I've already danced on the sofa and all through the house. If your door bell rings in the next few days it might be me, spreading my dance nationwide.

This cheer is for all the frustrated, hard-working writers out there, struggling toward becoming a published writer. If I can do it, so can you!

Write On!
Nan

Phyllis A. Whitney - Our Loss

Phyllis A. Whitney's first book appeared in print in 1941 when she was 38 years old. Her last was published when she was 94. In those forty-six years, she wrote lots of short stories, 39 adult suspense novels, 14 novels for young adults, 20 children’s mysteries, and several books about writing.

She died at age 104, on February 8, 2008. For a good obituary, check out this one in the New York Times.

In between her birth as a writer and her final demise, in 1985 to be exact, I won the Phyllis A. Whitney Writer's Award for my essay on writing. I received $500. which made me feel like I'd won the Triple Crown. Best of all, Phyllis A. Whitney herself - in person! - read my essay to the assembled. She read it with exactly the right pitc, pace, and tone. She laughed when I prayed she would laugh. In her ending comments, she cheered my ability to arouse varied emotional responses in the course of a few hundred words. She gave me the confident nod that I needed.

Phyllis A. Whitney will be mourned by millions. I will forever celebrate her life and her life's work - especially how she encouraged writers to keep writing. What a gift she was to the world. What an example for us to follow!

Super Linky Tuesday

No doubt about it. Those Martians have a sense of humor. c. Barcroft Media. Don't sue, please.


You may be celebrating the NY Football Giants victory (some of us are in mourning), or following the bucks and throws of the political rodeo, or indulging in some Fat Tuesday gluttony, and here we have the perfect accompaniment of smokin' hot links:

1) Great, more competition. Striking screenwriters go back to their novels.

2) Not NaNoWriMo. Work-for-sale. Jeff Vandermeer explains how he wrote a publishable MS in two months.

3) Rachel Donadio muses in the NYT Sunday Book Review about why, despite technological improvements, publishing still takes so darn long.

4) For debut mystery author Rosemary Harris of the blog Jungle Red, Super Tuesday can only mean her book launch party at Partners & Crime tonight. As per above, it took Ro 22 months to see Pushing Up Daisies in print. Congrats!

5) Wacky kicker courtesy of the "blog" of "unnecessary" quotation marks.
"Chicken", anyone?

Hooray for Criminal Brief

This morning our pal, Leigh Lundin, who blogs at Criminal Brief titled his blog BSP, the industry short cut for Blatant Self-promotion. For a few blogs now, Leigh, Rob Lopresti and James Lincoln Warren have been “mentioning” that all three of them have stories in the April issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Rob’s story even made the cover art. Needless to say, there is much rejoicing over at Criminal Brief, and we Women of Mystery rejoice along with them. As soon as I heard the news I couldn’t wait to get a copy of the April AHMM, kick back in the recliner and become lost in mystery.

Okay, now is the time for my own backstory. Although I have had a subscription to Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine for eons, I have never gotten around to subscribing to AHMM. I save it for my special treat: when someone I know has a story in a current issue, when I see it in the airport newsstand, times like that. And in the interest of full disclosure, I should remind everyone that I live in New York City, where I have no less than two really large and one kind of small Barnes and Noble stores within four or five miles of my house. HOWEVER, this winter I am living on a peninsula on the west coast of the larger peninsula that is the state of Florida. Let me say right off that the Lee County Library System is fantastic. I reserve books, use the library computer and get cheerful information from the librarians at both the North Fort Myers and Cape Coral branches.

But, if I want to own what I’m reading, well, the largest selection of books for sale hereabout is at Super Target. For magazines, try Walgreen. You get the picture. So Friday, I ran all over the peninsula, hitting all the supermarkets and drug stores searching their newsstands for AHMM. No luck.

Saturday morning I decided to venture into the Big City—Fort Myers. This meant actually driving across a bridge spanning a river! By my standards, that means I should be going to New Jersey. Anyway, I drove fourteen (count ‘em) miles to the Barnes and Noble, searched the magazine rack, got lost in some of the writer magazines for a while, and finally found out from my new best friend, Rich, Barnes and Noble employee extraodinaire, that they stopped carrying AHMM a few months ago. When I explained how desperate I am because of Rob and Leigh and James, Rich’s demeanor changed from new best friend to “she sounds like she’s their personal stalker. Better hustle her out of the store before she starts taking hostages.” He directed me to the Books-A-Million a few miles down the road. A very nice young lady in Books-A-Million claimed that they carry AHMM but were just temporarily out of copies.

So this morning I sat down and ordered a subscription to AHMM, something I should have done years ago. It seemed easier than closing my eyes, clicking the heels of my ruby red slippers and chanting, “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.”

Terrie

Do We Need to Move?

Looking for your audience? Wanna be closer to your readers? How about property shopping based upon book sales, etc.?

The annual rankings of the "most literate cities" are out from Central Connecticut State University, accounting for per capita booksellers; educational attainment; internet resources; library resources; newspaper circulation; and periodical publications.

These cities led the per capita bookstores list:
1 Seattle, WA
2 San Francisco, CA
3 Minneapolis, MN
3 Cincinnati, OH
5 St. Louis, MO
6 Portland, OR
7 Pittsburgh, PA
8 St. Paul, MN
9 Cleveland, OH
10 Washington,
10 Denver, CO

Backspace Agent-Author Seminar

So, in my last post I told you that I was going to spend a few days at the Backspace Agent- Author Seminar billed as All Agents All Day. Click here My good friend Deb Lacy flew in from California and fortune smiled on us when, at the last minute, another New York Sister in Crime, Tama Ryder decided to join us. Click here to meet Tama.

I read in the blogosphere that Patti Abbott Click here would be at Backspace and I made it one of my primary missions to find her and say hello. I am happy to say that I did and happier still to report that Patti has just received word that her short story “A Saving Grace” has been selected for inclusion in THE YEAR'S FINEST CRIME AND MYSTERY STORIES edited by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg. "A Saving Grace" originally appeared in The Thrilling Detective. You can read it here

This was my first venture into the realm of writers who don't write mystery. I mingled with the non-fiction people, the memoir people, the literary people and the sci-fi people. Who knew we would have so much in common? A writer is a writer is a writer, regardless of what they write. Every panel was packed with attendees taking notes and asking questions. And the panels covered topics that only a writer could love: First Contact: Queries That Work; The WOW Premise-What it Is -How to Articulate It; The Dreaded Synopsis to name a few.

Backspace provided authors to be with a great opportunity to understand the kinds of books agents are seeking. Besides the panel discussions, we attended “Two Minutes, Two Pages” workshops where writers were given a rare chance to see and hear two agents react to the first few pages of their manuscripts. This was a no holds barred approach and for the most part, it worked. At worst, an agent explained why she or he would not keep reading the manuscript, and at best, why they would. A writer who received positive feedback could then follow-up with that agent.

Our major recommendation for Backspace would be to add more of these workshops at the next conference. Our minor recommendation—do something to shorten the lunch line. A final note – a key component of this conference was meeting other writers. At the end of two long days, an encouraging word from a fellow writer can be all it takes to make a conference worth your while.

SPECIAL NOTE: Tama Ryder contributed heavily to this blog post and (Oh, I am so full of happy announcements today) has graciously decided to add her voice to Women of Mystery. Watch this space, Tama will be appearing here soon.

Terrie

Party Time for Murder!

Celebrate with the New York/Tri-State Sisters in Crime chapter as we launch our anthology MURDER NEW YORK STYLE at Partners & Crime Thursday November 1 from 7-9 pm.

The 21 stories in the anthology are by our members: Cynthia Baxter, Meredith Cole, Fran Bannigan Cox, Peggy Ehrhart, Erica Harth, Marianna Heusler, Nan Higginson, Randy Kandel, Ronnie Klaskin, M.E. Kemp, Chelle Martin, Margaret Mendel, Dorothy Mortman, Terrie Moran, Anita Page, R.M. Peluso, Triss Stein, Deirdre Verne, Pearl Wolf, Elizabeth Zelvin, and Lina Zeldovich.

Partners & Crime is in Greenwich Village at 44 Greenwich Avenue (corner of Charles), Phone: (212) 243-0440.

Murder New York Style

Nan and I would like to announce that we each have a short story in the upcoming anthology Murder New York Style, which will be released by LL Dreamspell on November 1, 2007.

We are both very grateful to the New York Tri-State chapter of Sisters in Crime. The chapter board and the anthology committee spent several years on this project, gathering and screening stories, making tough decisions and then finding a publisher.

I'll be sharing a lot of the excitement with all of you since this is my first published piece and I am a bit awed to be in the company of the twenty talented, professional and award winning writers whose stories fill the pages along with my beloved "Strike Zone."

The first mega-excitement is the book cover which, if I managed to insert it correctly, should appear to the right.

What do you think, so far?

Terrie

Sold!

In July, I wrote an item about completing a short story and sending it off -- with all the attendant angst, soul-searching, paranoia, and just plain fear.

It occurs to me that writers go through phases with a project very much like what Elisabeth Kubler-Ross described people going through at the approach of death.

Here are the stages of manuscript completion

1. Denial -- It can't be true. I'm not a writer. I can't finish it. Ever.

2. Anger -- Dammit, it's impossible to write under these circumstances. This is so unfair!

3. Bargaining -- I'd give my left boob to just finish this paragraph, let alone the whole chapter.

4. Depression -- Why bother? No one's ever going to read it anyway. What's the point?

5. Acceptance -- Fine. I'll just send it out this way. I've got nothing left. I'll call it quits.

Today, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine bought the story, "Murder on the Main Line" and I couldn't be happier.

The phrase "a new lease on life" comes to mind.

Now, if I can just get through the same five stages and finish my novel...

News: Meg Ruley and Jennifer Crusie Split

Check out Jennifer Crusie's blog entry about how she and her agent, Meg Ruley, parted ways:

http://www.arghink.com/2007/07/31/on-the-road-laguardia/#comments

Is this like a divorce from your agent, or would this count as the firing of a writer?

Very interesting, especially since this presents one side of a sad story. I wonder how much trouble this created for Meg with Crusie's publishers.

As Jennifer suggests, change can be good, but it can come with some tough realities.

I wish them both the best of luck.

Write On!
Nan

Anthony Nominations 2007

Bouchercon World Mystery Convention is named for Anthony Boucher, writer and editor. The first Bouchercon was held in 1970 and, through the years, it has become a grand institution in the mystery community. This year's Bouchercon will be in Anchorage, Alaska, September 27 to September 30. Click here for link

The highlight of each Bouchercon is the Anthony Awards Banquet held on Saturday evening.

The Women of Mystery extend our most joyful congratulations to the nominees.


BEST NOVEL:

Burke, Jan. KIDNAPPED, Simon & Schuster
Lippman, Laura. NO GOOD DEEDS, Harper
Mina, Denise. THE DEAD HOUR, Little Brown & Co.
Pickard, Nancy. THE VIRGIN OF SMALL PLAINS, Ballantine
Spencer-Fleming, Julia. ALL MORTAL FLESH, St. Martins

BEST FIRST NOVEL

Hart, John. THE KING OF LIES, St. Martins
Hockensmith, Steve. HOLMES ON THE RANGE, St. Martins
Penny, Louise. STILL LIFE, St. Martins
Read, Cornelia. A FIELD OF DARKNESS, Mysterious Press
Sokoloff, Alexandra. THE HARROWING, St. Martins

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

Cameron, Dana. ASHES AND BONES, Avon
Cook, Troy. 47 RULES OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE BANK ROBBERS, Capital Crime Press
Doolittle, Sean. THE CLEANUP, Dell
Fate, Robert. BABY SHARK, Capital Crime Press
Gischler, Victor. SHOTGUN OPERA, Dell
Hirahara, Naomi. SNAKESKIN SHAMISEN, Bantam Dell - Delta
Huston, Charlie. A DANGEROUS MAN, Ballantine

BEST SHORT STORY

Abbott, Megan. “Policy,” DAMN NEAR DEAD, Busted Flush Press
Cameron, Dana. “The Lords of Misrule,” SUGARPLUMS AND SCANDAL, Avon
Crider, Bill. “Cranked,” DAMN NEAR DEAD, Busted Flush Press
Kelner, Toni. “Sleeping with the Plush,” Alfred Hitchcock Mag
Viets, Elaine. “After the Fall,” Alfred Hitchcock Mag
Wood, Simon. “My Father’s Secret,” Crime Spree Magazine, Bcon Spec Issue ’06

BEST CRITICAL NONFICTION

Huang, Jim and Austin Lugar, Editors. MYSTERY MUSES, Crum Creek Press
Niebuhr, Gary Warren. READ ‘EM THEIR WRITES, Libraries Unlimited
Roerden, Chris. DON’T MURDER YOUR MYSTERY, Bella Rosa Books
Stashower, Daniel. THE BEAUTIFUL CIGAR GIRL, Dutton
Wagoner, E.J., THE SCIENCE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, John Wiley & Sons

SPECIAL SERVICES AWARD

Ardai, Charles. Hard Case Crime
Easter, George. Deadly Pleasures
Huang, Jim. Crum Creek Press and The Mystery Company
Jordan, Jon and Ruth. CrimeSpree Magazine
Kaczmarek, Lynn and Chris Aldrich. Mystery News
Karim, Ali. Shots Magazine
Barbara Franchi and Sharon Wheeler. ReviewingTheEvidence.com
Van Hertbruggen, Maddy. 4 Mystery Addicts

Mystery Short Story Contest

This just in:

The Crime and Suspense ezine has just announced another NO FEE writing
contest. The contest opened today and the deadline for entry is June
15. Specifics regarding rules, requirements, judging, and prizes are
on the Crime and Suspense web site at http://www.crimeandsuspense.com

Write On!

...and Nancy Means Wright too!

Awesome aptly conveys my excitement about this year's winners at Malice Domestic. Elaine covered all but one author for whom I'm thrilled...Nancy Means Wright, who won the Agatha for best YA novel for Pea Soup Poisonings (Hilliard & Harris). Nancy, grande dame of 'rural noir' (a sub-genre I've adopted), was my very supportive mentor at last November's Crimebake. She's a great and gracious lady - an active and avid SinC member/supporter from Vermont - who authors the Ruth Wilmarthe series (Mad Season, Harvest of Bones, Poison Apples, Stolen Honey, Fire and Ice, and Mad Cow Nightmare) about a single mother-dairy farmer sleuth.

–Lois

Congrats to the Malice Winners

The Women of Mystery would like to extend our sincere congratulations to our friends for winning the Big Ones at Malice Domestic this weekend.

• Meredith Cole, St. Martin's Press/Malice Domestic Contest
• Sandra Parshall, Agatha for Best First Novel
• Chris Roerden, Agatha for Best Nonfiction Book

We twirl our boas, kick our feet, raise cyber champagne glasses, and eat tons of Godiva chocolates for you!

Best News – New Competition

Those who spill too much juice on stage - and are thus ineligible to enter the St. Martin’s Press/Malice Domestic competition for which the work must be cozy - will be pleased to note that a new competition was announced at Wednesday’s Edgar Symposium. Jointly sponsored by St. Martin's Minotaur and Mystery Writers of America (MWA), the new competition is for unpublished novelists writing in any mystery sub-genre. St. Martin’s Minotaur publishes the winning novel, just as they do for both the Malice Domestic and PI contests. Check out all three at http://www.minotaurbooks.com/competitions.html.

Knock ‘em dead!
Lois