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P.L. Gaus for Authors @ TheTeague  

Gaus was born and raised in Ohio, and he has lived in Wooster, Ohio, for the past thirty-three years with his wife, Madonna.  His interest in fiction writing was a result of college classes he taught.  His students examined a variety of American cultures, and he often took students to Holmes County on field trips.  On the advice and encouragement of Tony Hillerman, he began working on mystery novels set among the Amish of Holmes County.  His first book, Blood of the Prodigal, was published in June of 1999, followed by five more.  However, the books are being republished by Plume, a division of Penguin Group (USA).  The series will be title The Amish-Country Mysteries.  Blood of the Prodigal, and Broken English have been released, with the others to follow, about once a month for the next four months.

 

P.L. Gaus' first book in the Ohio Amish-Country mystery series came out in 1999, but Blood of the Prodigal has been reissued.  I'm so glad it has been, or I might not have found this series of six books set in Amish Country in Ohio.  Gaus combines an intriguing mystery, an interesting trio of sleuths, and the Amish culture in a story that gets my "family recommendation."  That means, I liked it so much, I called my sister, and told her to read the book.

It takes a great deal for a Bishop of the Old Order Amish in Holmes County, Ohio, to leave his community, and seek out an outsider, someone "English," for assistance.  But, the disappearance of Bishop Eli Miller's grandson counts as a big deal.  He turns to a trusted minister, Pastor Caleb Troyer, but, with Troyer about to leave the country, he's going to need assistance from a boyhood friend, Professor Michael Branden.  But Bishop Miller isn't telling them everything, just, that they can't talk to the police, and they only have a short time to find Jeremiah, whose father probably took him.

Four days later, Branden doesn't know much.  "A young dreamer of a student put too tight a roll on his trouser cuffs and ended up a smoking, drinking, fast-living scoundrel who deserted his pregnant girlfriend, drove her to suicide, kidnapped his own son ten years later, and is being hunted by his father who shunned him, and by the girl's brother, who has vowed to kill him."  It seems life in Amish Country isn't quite as peaceful as we all imagine.

Branden and his wife work slowly to develop sources in the Amish community, but it isn't fast enough.  When the boy's disappearance leads to murder, the local sheriff is suddenly involved.  And, Branden's other boyhood friend, Sheriff Bruce Robertson, can't be taken lightly.  He may be manic-depressive, with mood swings when he's not on his meds, but he's a shrewd judge of character who has worked with the Old Order Amish for a number of years.  Now, can the friends put their knowledge together in time to save another life?

According to Gaus' website, his "extensive knowledge of the culture and lifestyle of the Ohio Amish comes from over thirty years of travel throughout Holmes and surrounding counties in Ohio, where the world’s largest Amish and Mennonite population sprawls out over the countryside near Millersburg, Wooster, and Sugarcreek. "  He brings that knowledge to this mystery, one that emphasizes the Old Amish culture and lifestyle.  At the same time, Blood of the Prodigal is a strong mystery, with interesting twists.  Blood of the Prodigal is a solid debut mystery, set in an interesting culture in our own country.  Broken English is the second book in the series.  I can't wait to read it.

P.L. Gaus' website is http://www.plgaus.com/

Blood of the Prodigal by P.L. Gaus.  Penguin Group, (USA), reissued 2010.  ISBN 9780452296466 (paperback), 256p.

Photo by Lesa Holstine

In the audience at Velma Teague were Jay's brother, Jake Orbin, and his wife, Shelly.  They are the guardians for Jay's son.  And, Camille said she writes true crime books to bring justice to those who are hurting.  When Kimball received a call from her agent, asking if she wanted to write the book, she was at a car wash.  She told her she couldn't hear her. Could she call her back. The agent said they were in an editorial meeting right then, and needed a yes or no.  So, Camille called Jake, and talked to him.  He said it was alright with him, although he really didn't know Kimball at the time.  He had faith that she would write something the family would be satisfied with.  And, when she first received her copy, she gave one to Jake to read.  He called the next day, saying thank you.

 

There are sixteen photos in the book, which is typical for a true crime book.  But, Kimball had a number of photos not in the book, so she showed slides and discussed them.  She began by showing the book cover.  That's a picture of Marjorie Orbin, in jail, when Kimball interviewed her.  Patrick Milliken, who works at the Poisoned Pen, took the picture.  Patrick is himself an author, who writes and edits short stories.  He's the editor of the collection, Phoenix Noir.  Patrick accompanied Kimball when she went to the jail to see Marjorie.  Marjorie didn't know who was coming to see her, because the prisoners are not told who their visitors are.  But, she talked to Camille right away.  Kimball visited with Marjorie twice, and then Marjorie was moved to the state prison.  The state prison won't allow visitors to bring in media tools, and Kimball wasn't going to interview Marjorie without a tape recorder, because Marjorie had strong opinions, and wasn't afraid to express them.  After that, the two exchanged letters.

Camille Kimball's website is http://www.camillekimball.com/

What She Always Wanted: A True Story of Marriage, Greed, and Murder by Camille Kimball. Penguin Group (USA), ©2010. ISBN 9780425237380 (paperback), 304p.

Lesa Holstine, Jake and Sherry Orbin Photo by Camille Kimball

See more of Lesa's Book Topics HERE

Authors @ the Teague

Thursday, September 23rd, 2:00 PM
Velma Teague Branch Library

Local mystery author Betty Webb will discuss and sign her second Gunn Zoo mystery, The Koala of Death, during this Authors @ the Teague event.

In this sequel to the prizewinning The Anteater of Death, houseboat-dwelling zookeeper Theodora “Teddy” Bentley is forced to take over a chaotic zoo TV show after she finds its current host, “Koala Kate,” floating in the harbor.  It looks like Teddy better find the killer before she’s next on the hit list!   "Teddy's second case showcases an engaging array of quirky characters, human and animal." (Kirkus Reviews)

As her website reveals, former journalist and literary critic Betty Webb has “interviewed U. S. presidents, Nobel prize-winners, astronauts who’ve walked on the moon, polygamy runaways, the homeless, and the hopeless,” not to mention working as “a folk singer . . . picked cotton, raised chickens, . . .  worked in a zoo, been a go-go dancer and horse breeder, taught Sunday School, founded a literary magazine, helped rebuild a long-abandoned 120-year-old farm house, and back-packed the Highlands of Scotland alone.”  Also known for her darker Lena Jones mysteries, she keeps up her research for the Gunn Zoo mysteries by volunteering at the Phoenix Zoo.

The program is free.  Books will be available for purchase and signing.  For more information, please call 623-930-3439.

Saturday, September 25th, 2:00 PM
Velma Teague Branch Library

Join ten local mystery authors from the Arizona-based Desert Sleuths chapter of Sisters in Crime when they discuss and sign their themed anthology, How NOT to Survive a Vacation, at the Velma Teague Branch Library.  

The usual hazards of traveling are bad enough, but what happens when lost luggage and sunburn escalate to murder?  Packed full of original short stories by 18 authors, this locally written, designed, and published collection will give Arizona mystery buffs a chance to take their own mini-vacation anytime they like—no trip insurance required—to locales ranging from Arizona to Alaska.

Authors scheduled to attend the panel discussion include Howard “Doc” Carron (“The Old Miner”); Barbara Goodson (“Hell to Pay”); Lori Hines (“Tragedy in the Pines”); Deborah J Ledford (“Loose End”); Diana Manley (“Checkmate”); R. K. Olson (“A Real Hula-Dunit”); Chantelle Aimee Osman (“Wish You Weren’t Here”); Nancy Redd (“The Haunted Hogan”); Judy Starbuck (“Cowgirls Don’t Cry”); and JoAnne Zeterberg (“”Death on the Intergalactic Seas”).

Arizona’s Desert Sleuths is one of almost 50 chapters of Sisters in Crime, a national organization dedicated to the advancement of women authors in the mystery field.  Desert Sleuths holds monthly meetings and an annual conference.  For more information about both the Desert Sleuths and this new anthology, please refer to the Desert Sleuths website.

Books will be available for purchase. The program is free. For more information, please call 623-930-3439.

Kathy Cano-Murillo's appearance at Authors @ The Teague - The Crafty Chica

Lesa Holstine and Kathy Cano-Murillo

Photo by Judy Marlette

I anticipated Kathy Cano-Murillo's appearance for Authors @ The Teague. The author of the novel Waking Up in the Land of Glitter is familiar to readers throughout the Valley because of her long-time column, The Crafty Chica, for the Arizona Republic. I wasn't disappointed when I expected a fun program.

Before the program even started, Kathy's fans were showing her their crafts. She told a teen that she does random acts of craftiness, and, at holiday time, gives ornaments out to clerks in stores when she thinks they need them. She also gave us peeks at her next books, telling us she has a Mexican bakery in the third book, so she was heading to La Purisima Bakery in Glendale after the program. And, she said La Perla Cafe in Glendale is in her second book.

After the introduction, she said so many books are set in New York or L.A. But, Cano-Murillo was raised here, and her parents and grand-parents grew up in Phoenix. They have a lot of stories about the area, and, at 45, Kathy has a lot of stories to tell as well. There are a lot of cool things here, and, as an artist and crafter she can showcase different aspects of the Valley in her books.

Everyone thinks Kathy Cano-Murillo was a crafter before she was an author, but she has been writing much longer than she's been crafting. She remembers writing in fifth grade when her teacher told them to write about something that made them happy. Kathy went home, and deliberately provoked her family in order to get something to write about. She loved Erma Bombeck back then, and wrote her stories as if they were sitcoms. When her parents when to school for parent/teacher conferences, the teachers gathered around, and said we love Kathy's stories. We loved the story of the cupcake fight. And, Kathy's parents said, you told them about that? The entire family got into a cupcake fight one evening. Cano-Murillo loved the reaction to her stories. She had the writing bug, and planned to be a writer throughout high school and college.

Kathy's husband is a painter and musician, and he's the one who got her into crafts. At one time, they were actually too good, with an enormous business and two national sales reps and 300 accounts. But, Cano-Murillo had a family life, and two kids, and still had the dream of writing. She wanted to work at the newspaper. So, she took a job as a customer service rep, and hated it. It was just complaints. Was this the end of her dream? One day, she just didn't go into work, telling them she had pneumonia. Then, a job came up in the tearsheet room. She worked her way into the newsroom. Then, she volunteered for stories. Then, they asked her to write a craft column.

In 2003, Cano-Murillo was blogging, and it was the time when editors were looking at blogs for book ideas. Two editors asked her if she was thinking about writing a novel. Kathy thought maybe it was a sign from the universe. Maybe she needed to do this. She wanted to tell writers that National Novel Writing Month made her buckle down and write. November is the month, and if you participate, you just write. Don't second guess yourself. By the end of the month, there's a structure for the manuscript.

Then, an agent told her the novel was a mess. He couldn't even read it. So, Cano-Murillo set it aside. Then, when she was booked to speak about crafts at a writing convention, she listened to authors, and knew she could write a novel.

In 2007, Cano-Murillo's novel sold, in a two book deal. It was a lot of work, and her husband pushed her. She knows she was meant to do it. She said you have to go through fire, and get burned, to come out the other side.

Kathy said her book, Waking Up in the Land of Glitter, is a fun, fast read. It's set in Phoenix. She wanted to capture the emotion behind crafters. She wanted to show them overcoming things, and learning new things. Her first book shines a light on crafters, and how they work.

The second book, Miss Scarlett's School of Patternless Sewing, will be out in March. The book features a patternless sewing class. Cano-Murillo taught a class with a patternless purse, and people freaked. The book discusses the patterns we're given when we're born. Families give us a pattern, and some people follow it, and others don't. This book is set in Glendale. Scarlett works as a high end fashion designer in Phoenix, and thinks she's going to get to teach a sewing class in the building where she works. But, her boss turns her down, and she ends up teaching the class in a record store in Glendale.

The third book, Miracle of the Sacred Cupcake, is about cake decorating. All of the books have different characters. The second book was started from scratch, so it was easy. But, it was difficult to come up with different characters again for the third. That was extra work.

Waking Up in the Land of Glitter features three women. Star is a Bohemian. She wants to be an artist, but she was raised with too much openness. She's lazy when it comes to goals. Her best friend, Ofelia, is crafty. But, some of her crafts are so over-the-top that they're horrible. The third woman is a local television personality, Chloe Chavez. Kathy read a chapter from the book, in which Star needs help with centerpieces for a big craft convention, and Ofelia suggests tumbleweed.

Asked about submitting material, Kathy, who has written nonfiction craft books as well as fiction, answered for both types of books. She said, with nonfiction, an author submits a proposal before writing. Outline the book. Talk about comparative titles. Why is this book different? Cite specific titles.

If writing fiction, write the whole book. Agents won't look at you unless the book is done. There's a difference between talking about writing a book, and actually doing it. People must show they take it seriously and submit a full manuscript.

How did she start with crafts? She originally started crafts when she was manager of her husband's band. She always danced while he performed, and he told her he was jealous watching her dance. So, he suggested she make something to sell at concerts. She made watercolor paper earrings, and they did well. Then they sold them at a consignment store. They started taking orders, and branched out, for more income. She did research to find other niches to fill.

When Cano-Murillo did her craft column, she also worked with local channels 3 and 12. Kathy said personally, she's all about colors, purples and greens, reds and oranges. But, she was writing for a different reader, someone Martha Stewart focused who did scrapbooking. She had to design for a mainstream audience. She did the column for ten years, taking Kathy down a few notches. Instead of vivid colors and glitter and varnish, she accommodated the mainstream reader.

Kathy left the newspaper in 2007. She had an offer to do her own Crafty Chica line. She loved her job at the newspaper, but in the last few years there, the editor wasn't her favorite. It made it worse when she loved something, and someone took it away. So, Cano-Murillo thought the lesson was it was time to do something new. Duncan Enterprises, later ILovetoCreate, asked her what her wishlist was to leave the paper and work for them full-time. So, Kathy came up with an outrageous wishlist, and they met it. She did the column for another year. But, it reached the point where she couldn't do a book, a product line, and a column. She had to let something go. Cano-Murillo's last Crafty Chica column was in 2008.

Cano-Murillo said the crafting industry is fun, with so much drama. Asked if glitter has a bad reputation, Kathy said she recently did a workshop with a brown bag craft. And, a woman said, "Wow, glitter adds glamour to a brown bag." Kathy laughed and said anything adds glamour to a brown bag. She said there are book characters at some of those conventions and workshops. At one held here in Phoenix, for a week, there was a Steampunk Barbie class. They took a Barbie doll, torched it, and worked with it.

Before signing books, Kathy Cano-Murillo read from next year's book, set in Glendale, Miss Scarlett's School of Patternless Sewing. We hope to have her back next March when that book is released.

Kathy Cano-Murillo's website is www.craftychica.com

Waking Up in the Land of Glitter by Kathy Cano-Murillo. Grand Central Publishing, ©2010. ISBN
9780446509244 (paperback), 336p.

If you had to do it all over again, would you still be working in the same field you originally went into after college? Beth Kendrick gives four English majors the chance to start over again ten years after graduation in Second Time Around. (Oh, and if you were an English major, as I was, this is a power trip.)


Five graduates of a small liberal arts college, Thurwell College in upstate New York, gather for a mini-reunion every year. It's been ten years since graduation. At thirty-two, Arden is a successful lawyer, while the four English majors bemoan their jobs, and say they all should have gone to law school. Jamie is a bartender in California. Brooke, their Southern belle, works in the alumni office at the college. Caitlin has her PhD in English, and is an assistant professor at another small college, while Anne is a copywriter. Now that they're all mature women, they have other dreams; to be an events planner, to own a bed-and-breakfast, to be a novelist, to have a baby. They're burned out, tired of their lives.


And, then they're given one million dollars, split four ways, to achieve their dreams. But, each woman will discover that dreams can be hard work. They each are empowered to change their lives, to discover what life could be like. And, sometimes it takes dreams, and hard work, to find the strength in ourselves.


If you've read this blog long enough, you'll know I'm a fan of women's fiction with groups of friends. I can also be quite critical of those books if the women aren't individuals. I want the characters to stand out so I can tell them apart. Kendrick succeeds in Second Time Around. The women all have unique personalities and life plans. But, they share a deep friendship, and love of life, that leads to laughter. It's fun to watch them continue to grow, to find their own strengths. When Brooke buys her dream bed-and-breakfast, she doesn't know what awaits her. There's humor and romance in the book, but men alone are not the answer for any of these women. Second Time Around is a satisfying story of women who discover their own possibilities.

Beth Kendrick's website is http://www.bethkendrick.com/

Second Time Around by Beth Kendrick, Bantam Books, ©2010. ISBN 9780385342247 (paperback), 336p.

lholstine@yahoo.com
book blog: http://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com
Twitter @LesaHolstine

Authors @ The Teague - Women Who Kill 

(Left to right: Zoë Sharp, Juliet Blackwell, Sophie Littlefield, and Jeanne Matthews. Photo: copyright Ed Sharpe, CouryGraph Productions)


What a treat to host the program "Women Who Kill" for Authors @ The Teague. It was a celebration with friends. I welcomed back Zoë Sharp, who did the very first authors program at the Velma Teague Library three years ago. She kicked off the series that became Authors @ The Teague. Juliet Blackwell is the author of the recent book, A Cast-Off Coven. Under the name Hailey Lind, she writes the Art Lover's Mystery series with her sister. Sophie Littlefield's first book, A Bad Day for Sorry has been nominated for all kinds of awards, and it won the RTBookReviews Reviewers' Choice Award. Her latest book is A Bad Day for Pretty. Jeanne Matthews is the author of a debut traditional mystery, in the style of Agatha Christie. Bones of Contention, though, is set in the Top End of Australia. After that short introduction, I turned the program over to Juliet Blackwell.

It was flattering when Juliet told the audience I was a treasure in the world of mysteries. She said I'm a reviewer and reader, and it's wonderful to have librarians who love books, and spread that love of books.

She went on to say the authors were all in town for the Poisoned Pen Conference, and you could find the entire program on the bookstore's website, www.poisonedpen.com.

Then, Juliet said, the program was called "Women Who Kill," so how many people have your protagonists killed? Or how many have you killed off? Is killing ever justified?

Jeanne Matthews' protagonist is southern, from Georgia, in her debut, Bones of Contention. She does know how to shoot. Dinah is a wannabe anthropologist. She's diverted by the planned euthanasia in Australia of a man she regarded as a father. Her life falls apart all at one time. She finds out her boyfriend is unfaithful; she loses her job, and her uncle is planning an assisted suicide.

Jeanne asked if we'd heard, "The past is a dance. It isn't ever past." That's the story of Dinah's life, childhood, and the myths of family. The book involves Dreamtime, the Aboriginal beliefs that they can communicate with their ancestors. Dinah as to deal with secrets of her family, and then she's confronted with murder. Family members are all suspects.

Bones of Contention is set in the Northern Territory. That area makes up 20% of Australia's land, but only has 1% of the population. There's colorful slang, with the language, Strine. The characters are colorful. And, of course there's the Aboriginal language. Matthews said she was only in Australia for six weeks, but she read a lot, and did a great deal of research. So, the final answer? Her heroine would kill if she had to, but she'd shoot to wound first.

Juliet mentioned that Sophie's protagonist has killed. Sophie Littlefield's character, Stella Hardesty, is a fifty-year-old rural housewife. She suffered from years of abuse from her husband. She finally killed with with a wrench, but it was an accident. After that, she thought she should offer to kill other abusive men. But, the publishing world wasn't really ready for a woman to kill, at least not a woman who isn't glamorous. She's a housewife. So, once the editors were done with her, she "retains, restrains, and retrains men." Sophie laughed and said she just thought of that phrase. Her books have been called bondage cozies. Stella is overweight, medium height, not beautiful. Sophie said she learned SO much about restraints online. A Bad Day for Sorry is her second book. Sophie is not an advocate for violence or vigilantism. Although she knew she was speaking in a state where residents can carry. Juliet mentioned that Sophie's latest book is written up in People this week.

Juliet didn't have to ask Zoë if her character kills. Sharp's Charlie Fox does kill, but not on a regular basis. But, it's her business, since she works as a bodyguard. She does use deadly force. And, Zoë corrected Jeanne, saying you don't shoot to wound. You aim for the central body mass, and fire until the person goes down.

She did say, however, that she may have to pretend that she is Australian. She was heading to New Orleans next, and she understands the British are not very popular there right now. So, she's changing her name to "Sheila," and going to talk about the barbie.

(Photo: copyright Ed Sharpe, CouryGraph Productions)

Charlie Fox discovers her ability to kill early on. The first book in the Charlie Fox series has finally been released in the U.S. Killer Instinct is published by a small press, Busted Flush. This is the start of Charlie's story, where she discovers her inner strength. Charlie's backstory is that she was a victim. This is the turning point, and she's no longer a victim. She's now a woman who kills.

Zoë said women who kill seem different than many of the male protagonists. Robert B. Parker's Spenser can shoot someone, and then go out and have a drink with Susan. But, it's not that easy for Charlie. She responds to threats, but she's not happy to live with herself afterward. Sharp's eighth book has just been released in the U.K., and she's delivered the next one to the publisher. She's put Charlie through the wringer.

Juliet asked if Zoë was tempted to rewrite the first book when it was released in the U.S. She answered that she's never quite finished with a book, so she was tempted to redo it. But, it's as if a snapshot was taken when the book was published. She could go back and photoshop it, but it was right for Charlie's life then. Sharp said she hopes she continues to progress with her craft. When asked which book is her favorite, it's always the next one.

As Juliet started to move on, Zoë reminded her that she was a participating author on the panel. She said as Juliet Blackwell she wrote Second Spirits. The second book in that series, A Cast-Off Coven, is just out. Juliet's character is a natural born witch. She has paranormal abilities, and was run out of her west Texas hometown at an early age. She lands in San Francisco in Haight-Ashbury, a good place to fit in as a witch.

Blackwell told us she takes witchcraft seriously. She does lots of research about it all over the world. Witchcraft and the healing arts often overlap. And, women are often the healers in a community, and tend to be the first accused of witchcraft.

Now, if you had powers, would you be tempted to use them? Blackwell's series character, Lily Ivory, doesn't hesitate to use hexes and charms. But, she's going to have Lily confront those issues. How far should she take her powers?

Now, in Sophie's book, Stella has no memory of killing her husband. Often, people don't, because they were too traumatized. Compare that to Charlie Fox, who was trained to kill in the military. Juliet said she learned to shoot when she was ten, and her father gave her a gun. He was a military man, and that's how she bonds with her father. Now, he likes to help her, and tell her what kind of gun her character would use. At the same time, her father taught her, if you use a gun in self-defense, you must be ready to kill. So, Juliet said she took killing seriously, even at ten.

Juliet wanted to discuss something a little different, so she asked everyone the same question. What's your character's drink of choice. Jeanne said Dinah drank dirty martinis. According to Sophie, everyone knows Stella drinks Johnny Walker Black. She buys it at Costco, and keeps her "soldiers" in a cabinet.

She said when she first went to a conference, everyone told her crime writers needed to drink scotch. So, she learned to drink scotch. And, fortunately, since she and Juliet ususually go to conferences together, she has a friend who drinks it, too.

Zoë said she's a teetotaler. But, she still stays in the bar with the other authors until 3 or 4 in the morning. Charlie does drink, whatever's at hand. But, she doesn't drink much, because of her job.

Sharp went on to say that guns are no longer allowed in Britain, in the U.K. You're no longer allowed to shoot. She herself was a competitive shooter. Even so, at the beginning of June, a man in Cumbria, where Zoë lives, took a shotgun, and killed twelve people. He was the thirteenth. He also injured another thirteen. The other tragic aspect was, in the U.K., the police are not routinely armed. So, they were following him, but they couldn't stop him.

Juliet couldn't think of a time when her witch drank. Sophie reminded her she must have had champagne because there were some champagne brunches. Juliet said Lily probably drank tequila. Now, there's a question. What affect does alcohol have on a witch? Juliet couldn't know because it hasn't happened yet. Sharp suggested slurred spells. Blackwell countered with, they're all helping her write her fourth book in the series.

Blackwell said on screen, tough women seem to be portrayed as men with breasts. So, how are they all exploring themes of murder, death, and self-defense, with women?

In Killer Instinct, the first Charlie Fox book, she's teaching self-defense to women. Sharp said, if you have to do it, you've failed. The trick is not to put yourself in that position. It's been shown that more people will respond if a woman shouts "Fire" than if she shouts "Rape."

Zoë went on to tell the story from Bouchercon, a mystery convention. Meg Chittenden is a very petite woman who looks like a wonderful granny. She and Meg were going to do a workshop on self-defense, "You Can't Run in High Heels." So, they practiced at the end of one room ahead of time. And, there Zoë was, with her hands around Meg's throat, and no one paid attention.

When questioned, Sharp said avoidance should be the first lesson to everyone, even men. Young men, 17-21, are more likely to die violently than any other group in the U.K. Zoë had an excellent instructor who taught karate, pressure points, and knife work. She said she'd get home at the end of a session, and have the bruises from pressure point practice. Self-defense is a last resort. You learn to use an opponent's size and weight against them. You use leverage. She practiced her her husband, Andy, who is 6'3". She knows how to dislocate a shoulder, but you don't want to do that.

With a laugh, Sophie said she certainly didn't try everything that Stella does. Stella actually doesn't have an attitude of violence. She's a community nurturer, a defender of the weak. She thinks that comes from her own role since she's been a mother for seventeen years. But, when her baby was born, she discovered she was a rage vehicle. She'd do anything to protect him. So, she sees Stella protecting people who can't protect themselves. The longer people are abused, the more opportunity they have to become a victim. It's a failure of the system. There are wonderful people, police and others, working to prevent violence, but the system is at fault. If someone threatened your sister, or mom, could you take someone out?

Jeanne admitted she committed a no-no and gave Dinah a relationship with a policeman. But, she ended it on page one. Dinah had heard of violence, and knows about it. But, she had few occasions when violence was appropriate until she went to Australia. She tries to sneak out of it. How can she avoid violence? She uses her brain. That doesn't always work, but she does survive.

Juliet mentioned cozy mysteries such as Agatha Christie wrote. If there are cats and knitting, chances are it's a cozy mystery. People who read cozies say they're not as violent as other mysteries. But, Juliet said she's always found them more twisted. There they sit with a cat and knitting, and deal with a dead body. It makes more sense for a bodyguard to deal with a dead body.

Matthews said she needed to give her protagonist enough gumption. Dinah isn't risk adverse. She just doesn't anticipate violence. She tries to solve the mystery, but tries to avoid violence. When asked, she said firearms are very restricted in Australia.

One of the audience members said Juliet mentioned acknowledgements at one time. What do you acknowledge people for? Blackwell answered that many people were very generous with their time. She met with a homicide detective for two hours over coffee, then she followed up with him. He did that because he wanted people to get it right. Sophie went on to say many people are acknowledged because of help in a field where they're specialists. People like to talk about their passions.

Juliet used the example of Cameron House in San Francisco. The next book in her Art Lover's series, Arsenic and Old Paint, comes out in September. It includes some of the history of Cameron House in Chinatown. It's a mission that is also a community center. Donaldina Cameron, who worked there, rescued Chinese girls who had been smuggled into the country, and sold as property in the "yellow slave trade." There were tunnels in the basement where she hid the girls. The staff at Cameron House gave Juliet a tour, showed her the tunnels. They were generous with their time. She acknowledges the staff at Cameron House because she wants people to know it's a real place, and an active community center.

Zoë Sharp mentioned Doug Lyle, who she acknowledged. He is a cardiologist and mystery writer. He answers all the strange questions and forensic questions that mystery writers ask. In one book, Charlie is shot. She's injured for 3/4 of the book, and that alters the way she deals with things. As part of her research, she talked to Doug as to how that injury would affect Charlie.

Zoë went on to say you do research, then throw away 90% of it, and use just snippets, nuggets. Readers are on a magic carpet ride, and anything that is wrong, anything that bumps them off is a wrong mistake. It spoils the book.

Juliet said in personal acknowledgements, you can thank all of your family. She once forgot her parents in a personal note.

Jeanne Matthews said, although Bones of Contention is published by Poisoned Pen Press, Carl Lennertz at HarperCollins spent several months editing her book. He was her lucky charm. She also acknowledged her writing group, since she's been it for years.

Sharp said she still goes to a local writing group. To her, it's important that you read your book out loud. The voice attracts you to a book. When a reader starts a book, you know almost immediately if you like the author's voice. Reading it out loud helps.

A writer's community, of some sort, is important. Juliet said she and Sophie go out for chicken and waffles with another friend. They can talk about what doesn't work. Sophie's brother is also a writer. She said she gives all the hard questions to her brother and her friends. Her deadlines are now more demanding. She values the input of her fellow writers. They know her weaknesses and strengths.

Juliet brought up titles, and wanted to know who picked them. Jeanne's title, Bones of Contention, comes from the Aboriginal myth of pointing bones, plus the contention between the family members. So, it was a double entendre. Sophie came up with Juliet's next title. Blackwell's publisher likes a combination of vintage clothing and witchcraft in the title. Sophie came up with the idea in a bar. Juliet said she couldn't come up with a title.

Sophie submitted about forty titles for her first book. She had a hard time. Author Craig McDonald told her to go with the Bible and country songs. But, it was a painful title process. She submitted about forty titles, and they finally went for A Bad Day for Sorry.

Zoë asked if they ever had a title they wanted to use, and no story to go with it. She's always wanted to use the old Shakespearean stage direction, "Exit. Pursued by a bear." They did mention that titles aren't copyrighted.

I asked the authors what they were working on, or what their next book would be. Sophie has a YA paranormal series coming out. The first book is Banished, followed by Unforsaken. It's for readers thirteen and up. Then, she has a new series, a Post-Apocalyptic one, coming out under another name.

Jeanne Matthews' next book is called Bet Your Bones. It's set in Hawaii, and deals with Hawaiian myths.

Sharp has already delivered her next Charlie Fox book. The titles have caused problems. Her fourth book was called First Drop. The book starts on a roller coaster, and when you hit the first drop, there are no brakes, and you're stuck until the end of the ride. That symbolized the book. But, that was the first book published by the American publisher. They wanted that to stand as the first book in the U.S., and the next one to be called second something. So, it became Second Shot. That book was supposed to be called Fall Line. It takes place in New England. And, the fastest way downhill when skiing is the fall line. Then, there was Third Strike. She changed publishers. Her current book out in the U.K. is Fourth Day, about a cult. She's working on the next book.

Juliet's next book is due out Sept. 9th. It's under the name Hailey Lind. Arsenic and Old Paint is a book in the Art Lover's series, written with Juliet's sister. It's a continuing story, and she joked that she wouldn't know if it was good until Lesa reviewed it.

Then, Blackwell has a new series starting, the Haunted Home
Renovation series. Her character is a failed anthropologist who took over her father's construction company. It's two years later, and there are paranormal elements in the book. Juliet also said her own father is the father in the book. That book, called If Walls Could Talk, is due out December 5th. The third book in the witchcraft series is due out in June or July next year. It's called Hexes and Hemlines.

One audience member asked why authors use different pen names. Julie answered that Hailey Lind is a family name that she uses when she writes with her sister. But, she might have changed it anyways when she wrote the paranormal series because readers expect authors to write a particular type of book. There's a contract between authors and readers. Sometimes, a new publisher wants another name. Tim Myers, a cozy writer, was mentioned. He writes under a number of names. The publisher wanted female names.

Sophie thought about using a male name for her Post-Apocalyptic book, because most of the authors are male. However, this publisher has a number of female readers, so she's using a different name, but it's female.

Zoë might have picked a male name if she was doing it over. Thriller writers tend to be male. She once had a review that said the book was, "The best thriller written by a woman." She might have changed to a male name because there is a prejudice against women in thrillers.

The final question of the afternoon involved setting. Is it easier to choose a place you know, or more fun to pick an exotic setting. What's easier to write? Jeanne Matthews enjoyed learning while she wrote about Australia. She learned a euthanasia law passed in the 1990's in the Northern Territory was very contreversial. The Aborigines feared it, because they thought they would go to the doctor, and be euthanized. They had been experimented on in the past. Matthews was able to put her own spin on the setting, using an outsider, Dinah.

Zoë's Charlie Fox is a Brit looking at the U.S. through a Brit's eyes. She's an outsider. So, she's looking at things slightly off from how Americans see it. It's been said we're two people divided by a common language. But, Sharp said the best books are ones in which the setting becomes a character, and the story can only be in that place.

In talking about language, Juliet said one phrase Americans never use, but a British friend used to say to her, was, "I'll knock you up." Sharp's answer was that came from mill towns in England. No one had clocks, and a man would bring a stick and wake people up with it. In north England, they would "knock you up."

Juliet said Sophie's books are set in rural Missouri. And, the people talk in a special way. Blackwell tried to move her book to Oakland, where she lives. She loves it. But, her publisher said let's keep it in San Francisco. Zoë ended the program by saying it's hard to think of books as being set in the "mean streets of England," as they are in American cities, such as LA or Detroit.

It was a wonderful afternoon! Maybe the last picture will show what a good time we all had with "Women Who Kill."

(Photo: Copyright Andy Butler, ZACE Photographic, used with permission)

Peter May for Authors @ The Teague

We just hosted international mystery and thriller author, Peter May, for Authors @ The Teague. He is on a two-month book tour in the United States for his books. When he and his wife, Janice Halley, arrived, they never expected it to be so warm in Minneapolis. It was 65 degrees there. Now Seattle was wet, and windy, and he said that felt like home since they're Scottish.

His publisher is Poisoned Pen Press, and they did a house swap with Barbara Peters and Robert Rosenwald. They're staying in the house in Scottsdale, and said they think they got the better part of the deal. Peter and Janice live in France, and it snowed just twenty minutes from their home yesterday.

Peter said he's promoting his books because there was a rush of books out at one time. The China Thrillers have six books, and the fourth Enzo Files book just came out.

But, May began by talking about his standalone, Virtually Dead. It's set in the parallel virtual world of Second Life, a world accessed through the Internet. There are 14 million inhabitants of Second Life. In their time there, they can buy and sell goods, property, real estate. It's a major occupation. The world has its own economy, its own currency. People have made millions of dollars there. Trading goes on there. Everything in this world also exists in Second Life, libraries, bookstores. People have the opportunity to be creative. They can modify their avatar to look like anything. If you're old, you can be young. If you're disabled, you can lose the disability. You can be anything. May said he saw a show about criminals using Second Life to launder money.

Three years ago, Peter May joined Second Life under the name Flick Faulds. Flick had long silver hair as May did then. He created his own detective agency, and was amazed that he was flooded with clients. Ninety to ninety-five percent of the requests involved infidelity. May said he had to learn to be a detective in Second Life; he had to track people, take photos.

So, that led to the book, Virtually Dead. Michael  Kampinsky is a crime scene photographer whose wife died six months earlier. He's taking it very hard, and his therapist suggested he might want to participate in her group therapy experiment in Second Life. Michael found that real life crime scenes were replicated in Second Life, and people were actually killed. Someone is bumping off people in real life in order to steal their Second Life money. When a huge amount of money was deposited in Michael's Second Life account, he was tempted to keep it.

Virtually Dead was a diversion for May, a little different from his series. For fifteen years, he's been writing two series. There are six books in his China thriller series. They're set in contemporary China, and they feature a Beijing cop, Li Yan, and an American pathologist, Dr. Margaret Campbell. Their stormy relationship is a metaphor for the relationship between the U.S. and China. There are culture clashes, but they have a genuine personal relationship. They work together to investigate crimes in different areas of China. The settings of the books change. In France, a movie producer is making the third book into a movie, and  they hired Peter and his wife, Janice, to write the screenplay. However, they changed the setting, which took some work to change.

(Picture: Janice Halley & Peter May)


Snakehead, the fourth book in the China Thrillers series, is set in the United States. It's about illegal immigration, Chinese brought across the world. Their families promised enormous amounts of money for them to come, but when they arrive, they're thousands of dollars in debt, and their families are in peril. The book is set in Texas, most of it in Houston.  Dr. Margaret Campbell, the American pathologist, is now working in Texas. Beijing detective Li Yan is working for the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C.

May said when he first started writing, he took lots of photos, then pasted them up on sheets so he could see them. He used that method for the books set in China. Then, when it came time for the U.S., he used a digital camera, and made video so he could listen and see Texas.

When May first started writing the China Thrillers in the late 90s, there was nothing to research about the Chinese police. There was nothing available. He spent a long time trying to get inside the Chinese police. Finally, he heard of Dr. Richard H. Ward, an American criminologist. In the 90s, he taught criminal justice students from all over the world at the University of Illinois. He had gone to Shanghai, and trained the top 100 police in China. Finally, May connected with him when Dr. Ward was attending an international convention on terrorism in Paris. They met for lunch, and May must have passed an invisible litmus test because Dr. Ward was able to open channels in China. Doors opened for him to do research in china. He had full access to police departments. He asked for, and was granted, access to places no Western writer had ever been.

May told a fascinating story about the police morgue in Shanghai. It looked like a Swiss chalet, with green lawns. It was a brand new facility, state of the art, with viewing rooms. The chief pathologist ended up in one of the books. He asked May if he'd like to see a body, and May said no. But, the pathologist said, you've come a long way. I think you should. So, he had two attendants bright a body of a young man. The body had been completely opened up. May asked what he had died of, and he was told the man had been executed the day before. When asked why they did an autopsy if they knew he'd been executed, they answer was, to harvest the organs. That was the kind of information May was looking for. After that, Peter was feeling a little queasy, but the pathologist said, fine. Let's go to lunch.

Peter said he met with the Chinese Crime Writers' Association, and was made an honorary member, the only Westerner to receive that honor. He met a crime writer from China who was born the same day, and same year as him, and they ended up in the same profession.

May said he's finished the China Thrillers, but he receives emails asking for more books because readers want more about the characters. But he said he's finished, because he said every series has a sell by date.

By this time, May was living in France, and wanted to set something there. Then, he wouldn't have to go so far for research. He would have the chance to see parts of the country that he wouldn't normally visit, and he could research there. So, he created Enzo Macleod, Scottish like him. He had a ponytail like May did at the time. He lives about an hour away from May's home, but all resemblance stops there.

Macleod was a Scottish forensics pathologist, who fell for a woman he met in France, Pascale, and left his wife for her. But, she died in childbirth, leaving him with a baby daughter. He spent the next twenty years raising her, and the first book, Dry Bones, starts at that point, when he meets his estranged daughter from his first marriage. Enzo has not been working in forensics because his French is not good enough, but he's teaching biology. At a dinner party, he rashly bet that he could solve the seven best known recent cold cases in France, ones that had been written up in a bestselling book by a French journalist. Enzo Macleod says he will use the latest technology to relook at cases, and solve them.

The Enzo Files deal with the investigation of those cases. The fourth book is Freeze Frame. May just finished the fifth book.

May said he loves the research almost more than writing the books. The second book in the Enzo Files, The Critic, dealt with the vineyards in France. He said it's important to him to get the facts right. He wants the backgrounds accurate because readers trust him to not get the facts wrong. He said he has to make huge sacrifices for the books. He had to drink so much wine for The Critic.

Book five is set in the world of French cuisine. May spent three days in the kitchen of the top chef in France, Michel Guérard, a three star Michelin chef. His restaurant is so popular, reservations must be made six months in advance. There are twenty chefs working in the kitchen. May said he watched, and saw how professional it was, like a well-oiled military operation. He said he's been in other kitchens that were chaos. There was no chaos in this kitchen. May said it was such a sacrifice to have to eat so much French cuisine for the research.

Freeze Frame, the fourth Enzo Files book, has received the best reviews so far of May's books. It's set on an island off the coast of Brittany, Ile de Groix. The island has historical military significance. A medieval fort guarded the entrance to the point, and spices were brought into the port. During World War II, it was a major base for U-boats. The Germans used the fort to guard the base. Ironically, the Allies launched an air raid on the submarine base. The base was never touched, but the town was totally destroyed. The town is totally new, since none of the old town remained.

Freeze Frame is reminiscent of the Golden Age of mystery. It has an insular island environment. It's about a man who knew someone was going to kill him. He left clues for his son, and knew those clues would allow his son to unmask the killer. But, his son died soon after he did, and the killer was never found. This is where Enzo comes in. He's the last hope for the dead man's daughter-in-law. He explores the islands, and the relationships there.

Sometimes location suggests the story. It took May four to five months to develop the storyline. He had done the preliminary work, and then he went to the island. He discovered the medieval fort, and a crevice in the cliffs called Trou de l'enfer, hellhole. These suggested important locations for the story. The time of year when May was there was also important. He was there at Halloween, when characters were running around, skeletons, and ghosts, and skulls were hung in windows. It added a sense of color, so he set the story then.

May ended by repeating that it's fun to do the research. He links places and people he's met in the course of his research to his books.

In answer to a question, he said it is expensive to travel to do the research. He worked as a screenwriter for TV, and was well-paid. He quit to be a writer. The money in the bank subsidized him while he was starting to make a living as a writer. And, he said he was stupid enough to choose China as a setting. Each trip cost $5,000-$6,000. But, the people he meets, and his experiences add authenticity to the books.

He was asked if he knew all seven of the cold cases before he wrote the Enzo Files, and peter said had ideas for the first five. The last two are developing, and they'll bring the series to a climax.

With the China Thrillers, the first book was supposed to be a standalone. But, a British publisher wanted to publish it, but she said she'd buy it with one caveat; she wanted another one with the same characters, and she'd give him a two book contract. May said he saw it as one book, and he didn't know how to do that. However, he had written serial dramas for British TV, so he knew he could develop the characters.

May said he met his wife, Janice Halley, when he was working as a scriptwriter. She's also a scriptwriter. They worked on a series in the Gaelic language, the ancient language of Scotland. Scotland spent millions to preserve the Gaelic language and culture, and the series was part of that. He did a series on the Hebrides Islands, and they lived there for five months, for five years. According to May, it's a bleak existence on the island of Lewis, where they lived, with no trees.

It's a backward and primitive society, particularly in the form of religion. They have an almost medieval form of extreme Presbyterian Protestant religion. Any form of entertainment is viewed as the work of the devil. On Sundays on the island, nothing is open. They even chain up kids' swings. At the time they were there, there was no way off the island on a Sunday. You can't even hang out the wash on that day. The joke was, if you're going to Lewis, don't forget to set your watch back 200 years.

May said that each year, twelve men from Ness, in the Hebrides, make a voyage to harvest young birds, gannets. They do that once a year, and it has become a rite of passage. By an Act of Parliament, they're allowed to kill 2,000 birds.

Peter wrote a mystery, The Black House, a novel about the Hebrides that sucked the life out of him. He thought it was the best thing he ever wrote. His agent liked it. But, it was rejected by every major publisher. However, eighteen months ago, his French publisher asked him to send it to her. Six weeks later, she bought the world rights, paying more for it than she had for the China Thrillers. It came out last October in France, gaining him the best reviews ever there. His publisher bought the foreign rights, which included English. Then she took it to Frankfurt, the big international book fair. She sold it all over Europe. Six German publishing companies had a bidding war. It sold to Italy and Spain.

There's a small British publisher call Quercus. It was founded by a couple men who said they were only to publish books they loved. Their instinct was good, and their first book went to #1. They've published prize-winning books, and they published the Stieg Larsson trilogy. They wanted Peter's book, The Black House, to be part of a series. Finally after negotiation, they agreed that he would make it a trilogy, using the same setting and some of the same characters in the second and third books. So, The Black House will come out next year in the U.K.

Peter May brought a wide-ranging group of books, covering China, France, a virtual world, and, finally, the Hebrides, to the latest Authors @ The Teague program.

Peter May's website is www.petermay.co.uk

Lesa Holstine and Peter May - Photo by Susan Coronado

holstine@yahoo.com
book blog: http://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com
Twitter @LesaHolstine

Jacqueline Winspear Returns for Authors @ The Teague

Frederick Ramsay for Authors @ The Teague

Dr. Frederick Ramsay has quite an interesting background. He taught anatomy at medical school. He was a clergyman. Now, he is a writer, with a series of books featuring Sheriff Ike Schwartz, a standalone novel about Judas Iscariot, and, his most recent book, Predators, a mystery about Botswana.

Ramsay started his program at the Velma Teague Library by showing a map of Botswana, a country the size of France, with a population similar to metropolitan Phoenix, 1.8 million. It's a landlocked country in southern Africa. When it received its independence in the 1960s, it had no capital. The capital of South Africa was also Botswana's capital. But, the President, who was married to a white woman, could not go to the capital of his own country in South Africa. Dr. Ramsay said there is a terrific book called The Color Bar about the history of Botswana, and the change from a protectorate to independence. There are game parks everywhere. The ordinary people do support the game parks. Most people live in clusters around towns. Seventy percent of the country is covered by the Kalahari Desert. He went on to show us a book, saying this is Botswana. It's a country with beautiful modern buildings, and cattle grazing in front of them. It's a country of contrast, trying to be in the modern world. For instance, there are no telephone lines in the country. They have cell phone towers, and everyone in the country has cell phones. You might see a person riding a donkey, talking on a cell phone.

Predators, Frederick Ramsay's latest book, was written as a standalone. But, he's working on a sequel, because his editor wanted one. His son, who is Communications Coordinator for the Government of Botswana, will be his co-author for the second book.

The featured character in Predators is a lion, Sekoa, whose name means invalid, because he's sick. In the next book, the lead character will be a gorilla, but there are no gorillas in Botswana, so the story will have to cross the border. In this one, the other main character is a man named Leo Painter. Leo is rich and famous, the head of a large corporation, but he's had two heart attacks, and there are those who want to take him down. Sekoa and Leo are the predators. Sekoa is challenged by a younger lion, just as Leo is challenged. There isn't a lot of difference between the two predators. Sekoa has the feline version of AIDS, along with pneumonia. Sekoa, the real lion in the book crosses paths with Leo,the hypothetical lion, just as there are real hyenas, and hypothetical hyenas in the story. The hyenas are waiting to eat Sekoa when he dies, and the human hyenas are after Leo. There's a grey monkey in the book, who causes a great deal of trouble, and a woman who does the same. Brenda is a former exotic dancer who snagged Bobby Griswold. Brenda is a naughty woman, and Bobby thinks it would be best if Leo dies. He needs money to keep Brenda.

According to Ramsay, it was a challenge to write Brenda because she has a potty mouth, but he doesn't write that kind of language. He had to insinuate she was using the language, without actually writing it. So, the narrator will tell about the effect of her words on others. She does get her comeuppance. There is a clash of greedy people in this country that is proud of being the least corrupt country in Africa.

Two characters are contrasted - the old, white, male, rich man, and a young, black, poor female, Sanderson. She is a game warden. Both of them have sons dying of AIDS. The real predator is AIDS because it cuts across everything.

Ramsay said he's capturing present-day Botswana. It's not Alexander McCall Smith's country. That's a description of 1985, a country that no longer exists. The people like Alexander McCall Smith for bringing attention to the country. But, Ramsay said he thinks of him as a Joel Chandler Harris. His stories feature stereotypes, just as Uncle Remus was one. Botswana is now a modern country with a booming economy.

The book takes place in the north, in the Chobe region of Botswana. The countries were told they couldn't change borders when they got their independence, so even if tribes were cut in two, the borders remained the same. There is an character in the early part of the book from Zimbabwe. Botswana has a problem with illegals, and crime. They are often people from Zimbabwe who slip across the border, and resort to petty theft in order to eat. There are problems with Zimbabwe, but as long as "Crazy Bob," Robert Mugabe, is President, it won't get better.

Ramsay said as Communications Coordinator, his son, Jeff, is also press secretary for the President. Jeff is married, and has three children, so Ramsay usually has to go to Botswana if he wants to see his son.

Botswana sees the U.S. as a friend, and admires us as the most productive country per capita in the world. They have gone from being tribes people in villages, to a protectorate, to an independent country. So, they have to learn to run a country. They have to be shown, this is how you run a library. The economy there is fueled by diamonds. Botswana owns 10% of De Beers. They want to bring in industry, including cars. There is a large collection of Japanese cars. It seems as if everyone if Japan turns in their car every three years. So, there is a surplus of right hand drive cars that can only go to British countries or former protectorates.

Predators is actually Frederick Ramsay's love song to Botswana. He loves the country. It has a climate like Arizona's. It's a high desert. Think of Arizona if it had elephants and lions. Ramsay loves the people, and their spirit. Seventeen percent of the people are affected by AIDS. Everyone in the country knows someone with it, or someone who died. They are attacking it head-on. There are billboards, condoms on the counters in stores. Motels provide them at bedside.

The current President of Botswana is the son of the former one. He was the former head of the army. The current President is a conservationist who is trying to reintroduce rhinos. You can't hunt in Botswana. There are game trucks to take people to see lions, elephants, and hippos. But, the animals are dangerous. Hippos are the chief source of homicides in the country.

In Predators, there is a corollary between animals and humans. If you strip everything away, we're not that far away from the animals. Ramsay recently did a book signing with Betty Webb, author of Desert Lost. Her book is about young males who have been dumped from religious sects in northern Arizona and Utah. It's not that different from the lion in Predators. Lions force young males out of the pride, and when a new lion takes over, the cubs are killed.

Tourism is important to Botswana, but, they want eco-tourism. They don't want to be an amusement park for the world. In fact, they were upset with Greenpeace trying to talk them into taking down fences, and wanting the tribes and cattle to be able to wander. They didn't want Greenpeace trying to tell them what to do. They want to be a modern country.

Throughout the talk, Dr. Ramsay allowed the audience to ask questions. In response to one question, he said the literacy rate is high. People can read and write, but they read newspapers, not books. There are ten newspapers in the capital of Gaborone. His son told him Predators won't do well in Botswana since the people don't read books.

When asked how his son ended up in Botswana, he said when he was in high school in northern Virginia, he had a friend from northern Rhodesia, who invited him to visit him and his family. Jeff went, and fell in love with the continent. When he went to college, he thought he'd be an Arabic scholar and a lawyer. But, he quickly discovered how difficult Arabic was. So he took African subjects, and history. He moved to Botswana, and stayed.

According to Dr. Ramsay, there is a very stable government in Botswana. The President can serve for two five-year terms. It's a parliamentary republic, but the President's terms do not overlap Parliament's terms. The people elect representatives to Parliament, then the Majority elects the President, who chooses the Vice-President. The President cannot be from Parliament. And, there are four appointed seats, not elected ones, because the Cabinet needs a different skill set than the members of Parliament. It's a system of checks and balances, and it's very stable.

The British told them they could become their own country, but warned them against it. The people were dirt poor, and Botswana was the poorest nation in Africa. They got their independence, and then found diamonds. They are building a first-rate country. The buildings in the Capital are forty-five years old, or newer.

Ramsay's next book will be about a mineral called coltan. Coltan is used in electronics, such as cell phones. Eighty percent of coltan is found in Congo, and that's what the conflict in Congo is about. The world is turning a blind eye because they need coltan for electronics. That's the subject of the book. And, here's a tip about it. Coltan and mountain gorillas are found in the same area.

In response to a question, Ramsay said he wrote his first book a long time ago, and it was terrible. His wife knew a person who knew a person, who had a connection, so Ramsay suddenly had a Hollywood agent. And, he kept offering him books, that weren't the action books he wanted. He went to some workshops, and rewrote that first book, Artscape, the first in the Ike Schwartz series. It sold to Poisoned Pen Press. Ramsay has another book in that series coming out in July, The Eye of the Virgin, about a Russian icon.

He was asked about his book, Judas: The Gospel of Betrayal. He replied that he never liked that whole the devil made him do it angle of Judas' story. That angle didn't work for him. Judas was trusted with the money, and, he was the one disciple Jesus called friend. John's gospel is hard on Judas. But, read Acts, and see what Peter says. He didn't condemn Judas.

Judas Iscariot's name itself is questionable. Some have said Iscariot was for the region he came from, but there isn't such a region. However the Aramaic word for red is close to that, and, if you add ish, it means, "the," so it means Judas, the reddish one, or Judas the red. And, pictures show Judas with red hair. So, Ramsay
wrote a story he thought was plausible.

When asked about research, he said some of his books are researched, and some are made up. He has an art thief disable alarms in Artscape, and he's been asked about his research. He didn't do any. He created a system, and then he disabled it.

But, he did research Judas. He's been to the Holy Land six times. He took courses, and studied scripture. Where his story intersects scripture, he used Luke's Gospel. He made Judas the advance man who handled the money, and made dinner and room arrangements. He presents his take on Mary Magdalene and Thomas. He was asked why he didn't publish with the book with a religious publisher, but he said he wasn't conservative enough for Zondervan, and he's too conservative for other publishers.

Ramsay was asked about the difference in writing women characters, and he said he writes them carefully. He finds it presumptuous to write women. But, his books have been well-reviewed for his treatment of them. The female in the Ike Schwartz series, Ruth Harris, has a PhD, and is president of a women's college. Her banter with Ike makes her work. But, Ramsay doesn't do a lot of description of his characters. Readers know the characters by what they say. People know what they say or do. He doesn't describe them visually. He said he's from the radio generation in which listeners made up what the characters looked like. He said you can tell the age of a writer by their character description. If a character looks in a mirror for a description, the author is from the TV generation.

The final question dealt with the sequel to Predators. He said it was meant to be a standalone, but Barbara Peters at Poisoned Pen Press is his editor, and she tells him what to do, and he does it. The sequel will be called Reapers, about the harvesting of coltan. The World Cup will be the background, bringing in celebrities and money.

It was a successful afternoon, when an Arizona author could bring Botswana to the audience for Authors @ The Teague.

Frederick Ramsay's website is www.frederickramsay.com

Predators by Frederick Ramsay. Poisoned Pen Press, ©2009. ISBN 9781590586846 (hardcover), 251p.


lholstine@yahoo.com
book blog: http://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com
Twitter @LesaHolstine

Book Topics

Lesa Holstine our BOOK TOPICS editor this week lost her husband Jim, a bright and humorous fellow who you got to meet in our past year's Fiesta Bowl coverage at the Glendale Daily Planet here.    Goodbye Jim... You will be missed. - Ed Sharpe, Publisher - Glendale Daily Planet

 

Monday, February 15, 2010

Jim died today, at 12:30 a.m., on Presidents' Day, the perfect day for a man who loved history, particularly of the Presidency. Since I prepared this epitaph ahead of time, at his request, I'm able to make this announcement.

Jim didn't want a newspaper obituary. Instead, he asked that I write an epitaph about his love of books. Jim's parents, Harry and Joanne Holstine, were both readers, and Jim learned to read at any early age, reading the sports pages in the newspaper, sharing that love with Harry. He was always so proud that he read the greatest number of books one year for the summer reading program at the Berlin Heights (Ohio) Public Library. And, I always laughed when he told about getting in trouble for an overdue book because he loved it so much, he hid it under his bed.

Jim and I met at the Huron Public Library in 1981, soon after I returned home to be Director of my hometown library. Jim's mother sent him in, saying there was a cute new librarian at the library. And, my children's librarian, Millie Schilman, formally introduced us, saying, "This is Jim Holstine. He's one of our most prolific readers."

Over the next couple years, we talked about books, and when he went to Florida in the winter, I told Millie I missed Jim Holstine because he was the only person who got as excited about the boxes of new books as I did. We went on our first date on May 1, 1983, and married on October 1. Since we met at the Huron Library, we married in the meeting room there, and Jim even played the piano beforehand. My staff tied paperback books to the bumper of the car.

From the very beginning, books were an important part of our lives. Jim often said he didn't think we would have gotten together if we hadn't both been fond of Leo Buscaglia's books, Love and Living, Loving and Learning. When I invited him to speak at the library, Buscaglia sent me the most gracious rejection letter, which is still framed on our wall. We had no idea he had heart problems, and would die soon after writing that note. 

I made Jim read Jeffrey Archer's Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, his favorite book. I never told him Archer was British, and Jim wouldn't read British authors. Ironic that Lee Child became one of his favorite authors years later, but when he first went to see him at the Poisoned Pen, he turned to me and said, "You never told me he was British." And, I said, "You never read the back flap of the book."

Jim loved Florida, and we moved there with my job, first at the Charlotte-Glades Library System, and then the Lee County Library System. He enthusiastically participated in my work there, acting as a volunteer for the Lee County Reading Festival. He was thrilled when he escorted Douglas Brinkley during the festival, and we had the chance to have lunch with Brinkley and Rick Bragg. We picked Sue Grafton up at the airport. And, he had a lengthy conversation with David Morrell, "Rambo's Father."

It was Jim who pushed me to apply for jobs, and spent a great deal of time talking on the phone with my new boss in Glendale, AZ. I think she hired me because she liked him so much. And, he encouraged me every time I worked on my blog, buying me the camera to take pictures of authors, and then a minicam. He always challenged me to be better

I took Jim to meet Brad Meltzer on his birthday. He loved meeting Lee Child, and sharing a cigarette break outside the Poisoned Pen. He met Jeffery Deaver for the first time in the restroom (they didn't shake hands - grin). We even went to see Barack Obama when he was on his book tour, and we had the chance to shake hands, and urge him to run for President. But, it was always books that brought us these opportunities.

Jim never had the chance to read Lee Child's 61 Hours. His illness was so quick that, even though Maggie Griffin, Child's webmaven, graciously sent me an ARC so Jim could get the chance to read one more book, he was never able to read it. Jim loved thrillers, books by Lee Child, James Patterson, Alex Kava, Brad Meltzer. He loved American history and big biographies, and anything about the Kennedys. Now, he'll know the answer to his favorite joke. It's about a man who dies, goes to heaven, and is told by God that he can ask him anything. The man says, "I want to know who really killed President Kennedy," and God answered, "Well, I have a theory about that." Jim's favorite joke, his favorite subject for nonfiction, and his favorite topic for theories. Now, he'll know.

Jim always loved the people I worked with, at Huron, Lee County (particularly at Rutenberg), and, here in Glendale. Someone made the comment that if you knew Lesa, you knew Jim, and, at least in the library, that was usually right. He threw my 50th birthday party with the help of the library staff.

There's one part of Jim's life I wanted to mention, unrelated to books. Jim and I shared a love of sports, and together, we enjoyed them on TV and in person. He loved Duke basketball, baseball, in recent years, the Detroit Tigers, NASCAR, thanks to a dear friend. But, we were both passionate about Ohio State football. My family always knew they could buy Jim gifts that related to Ohio State.

Jim always told people we only got married to read. And, when his father lived with us, he would walk out of his room, find us both reading, and say, "It sure is quiet out here." 

Jim, you left it very quiet out here. I'm going to miss sharing books, authors, my blog, and our life. Rest in peace. I love you.




If you want to remember Jim, please donate to your local public library. And, tell them it's in memory of a man who loved books, libraries, and one librarian. 

Sue Grafton, Presented by Poisoned Pen Bookstore

Sue Grafton doesn't do many speaking engagements on her book tours anymore, so it was a rare opportunity to hear her when the Poisoned Pen Bookstore brought her to the Arizona Biltmore on her U is for Undertow tour.

I attended with a friend and librarian, Cathy Johnson. When we walked in the door, Sue was working the crowd, so I reintroduced myself, reminding her I had hosted her twice in Florida, and picked her up at the airport. She looked at me, and said, "Kind of a vagabond, aren't you?" She was just as kind and warm as always, and spent a half an hour going through the audience.

Barbara Peters, owner of the Poisoned Pen, introduced Sue by saying they go way back to the beginning of the bookstore, when she contacted Sue, and asked her to appear at the new bookstore. Sue said, so you're asking me to change my entire schedule and come to Arizona, and Barbara said, yes. And, she did. Barbara and Sue said they're aging together.

Sue said her current tour was almost over. She left Louisville, went to New York, back to Louisville, then to Atlanta, Kansas City, and Houston. So, she thought, I'm going to Phoenix, and I can finally get warm. Instead, with our current cold weather, she was huddled in the cold while people here were in their shirtsleeves.

Barbara responded that we're always lucky to have her in Phoenix, since she spends half her year in Kentucky and half in California. She said she was very grateful that the event was being held at the Biltmore, because most of the time people stand in a conga line, wrapping around the bookstore to get books signed, and it sometimes cold in December, as now. Then, she told Sue the people in shirtsleeves ere from New Jersey, and the ones wrapped up were from Phoenix.

Barbara thanked the Biltmore for partnering with the bookstore for the celebration of the 21st Kinsey Millhone book. She told the audience they are projecting the end of the series for 2020, and Barbara promised she'd be there for that book, even if the bookstore closed, and she had to rent a shed. Then she asked Sue about the people who were "betting against her" when the series started.

Sue acknowledged that she said when she started the alphabet, there were people betting she couldn't write the entire series. When, she reached M, she said readers were cheering for her to finish. So, when she's asked what she's going to do with Z is for Zero, she told us she's going to hold therapy sessions to help everyone through their separation anxiety, and we'll all hold hands and hum. She said she's going to take a long nap, and then party. But, she assured us she's going to live to 108, so she'd have time for two quick series. They might be about old people, though.

Barbara asked her if she has the manuscript of Z is for Zero in a vault somewhere, in case something strikes her down before the end. The answer was, there's nothing in a vault anyplace, so we'd better root for her to stay alive. She asked the audience to make a commitment to make it for the next ten years, so we could come back. She told us she was going to make us sign a paper saying we'd be there. Barbara said she hated to tell Sue this, but when an author passes on, people come into the bookstore, and they don't say, "I'm going to miss Sue." They say, "What about Kinsey?"

Grafton said it was very cheeky of her to start a series, using the alphabet. She'd never written a mystery before. But, it was a sign she was committed to the future, a way to say, I'm shooting an arrow out, planning an entire series. But, the books are getting harder to write, and she has five to go. Everyone has their own demons, and she's had to outargue her demons. Every book is a struggle, a challenge. And, if you don't like one book, big deal. "I did twenty-one you liked." She said she never lets go, and never cheats with her book. She said she tries to get pity sales, and asked us to just buy one book.

She admitted she thought she'd write five or six books, and get the hang of it, and whiz through to the end. It was a sign she was young.

When asked which decisions she would not have made about the series, Sue responded she would have done everything the same. It's like life. Haven't we all done things we'd regret, but we'd live our life over again, with the divorce and the decisions?

She did make a critical decision that Kinsey would not age one year per book. When the series ends, it will be 1990, and Kinsey will turn 40. That's a good age. We won't have to watch her go through menopause. Sue assured everyone, though, that Henry Pitts and his siblings will survive. His sister is only 99, and she doesn't feel bad, so why should she die?

Grafton said she wouldn't make different choices. In J is for Judgment, she thought it would be fun to have Kinsey investigate herself, and she found cousins and a whole family. Half of the readers loved it, and half were bored. So, she didn't pick that storyline up again until M is for Malice. In L is for Lawless, Kinsey was stranded, and forced to call her cousin, Tasha. Can you imagine how mortifying that was for her? But, she didn't know how to resolve the family issues. And, it's been many years, but finally, after T is for Trespass, she resolved a letter from a reader who said, "If you don't settle that family business, I'm never buying another book. So, Sue wrote back, and said, whoa, I'll take care of that. So, in U is for Undertow, she settled the family issues, and that's enough of the family for now.

Barbara commented that we all know Sue lives in Santa Barbara, although now she spends more time in Louisville. But, she said in Santa Barbara, there's a long shadow cast by Ross Macdonald. He wrote a long series featuring Lew Archer. He thought a detective should not be visible. Sue said she was originally going to do that with Kinsey, and make her a shadow. But, she said Macdonald was so wrong, but he was an old man. Grafton said readers want a continuing character to have depth, quirks, a history.

Barbara mentioned that in U is for Undertow, the story goes back to the 1960s, a turbulent time. Did she plan that? Grafton replied, "I don't tell the book what's going to happen. The book tells me." It takes a year for her to understand the story.

Sue said she's told this before, so if we heard it, we could ignore it. She keeps journals of each book on the computer. The whole journal is there, with every trivial thought and idea. She puts her emotional state there on paper. That keeps her from sabotaging her work. She struggles internally. All of her research and everything else is in that journal. If she has an idea for a dialogue that comes later in the book, she puts it in the journal, and when the right part comes, she just inserts the dialogue. Grafton said her journal is boring. There are no treasures in it. Sometimes she makes nasty remarks about other writers, and then erases them because if she gets run over, people won't think, boy, she was a bitch. She tries to appear much nicer than she is. Sue said 1 out of 30 days her writing is dynamite. The other 29, it's stupid, but she never knows which day is going to be good, so she has to write every day.

When asked about her research, Sue admitted she's had to humble herself. She said it's a real boat on the cover of J is for Judgment. She was interviewing someone about the book, standing there with her notebook, and asked, what's that part that sticks up. "Well, Sue, that's called the mast."

Barbara thought she remembered that Sue went undercover as a chambermaid for one book. Sue said, no, she's a housewife, so she doesn't need to do that. (And everyone laughed.) According to Sue, at one time she worked for a friend who ran a home domestic business. Grafton was poor, and had kids, so she cleaned toilets, and cleaned up after people. So she knows how to clean toilet bowls, and has a back-up plan if she ever needs it.

Sue said she believes in Jungian psychology, the ego and the shadow. There's what you'd like to be seen as. Grafton would like people to see her as cheerful, cooperative, kind, and helpful. Then there's the real self, the shadow. We put those traits behind us. If you look at people you truly despise, they carry your shadow. We project our shadow on others, and denounce them.

Grafton said when she writes, she has to disconnect the ego, and let the shadow come through. The shadow is right brain; the ego is left. She writes in her journal, and that's her shadow. She'll do anything - self-hypnosis or anything, to get a piece that really works. She needs to meet the shadow. Families usually have a black sheep, and they are the shadow in the family. Barbara commented that writers of crime fiction have to have shadows for people to want to read the story. We read crime fiction to get rid of our own shadows. In fact, she was recently editing a book, and told the author to kill a person, to get rid of the shadows.

Barbara mentioned that Sue Grafton has received many honors. She was named a Grand Master by MWA. (And, it was just announced that Dorothy Gilman, author of the Mrs. Pollifax books, will be the 2010 Grand Master.) Sue's also received the Diamond Dagger, the U.K. equivalent of Grand Master.

Sue said it's very nice to get the awards and accolades, but her job is not to get stuck on herself. That doesn't help her write. Reviews don't help either. If they're bad, and say her books are crap, how does that help? And, good reviews don't help either. All of those ceremonies are great, but Grafton said her battle is in the chair. She appreciates the honors, but it doesn't help if she thinks of herself as "hot shit."

Barbara told a story of a Diamond Dagger winner who outraged people when he had it made into an earring for his wife. People were upset, saying she had no right to wear it because she didn't win the Diamond Dagger.

She went on to announce that U is for Undertow will be #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list on Sunday. She'd heard it from Sue's publicist. They both went on to thank the audience. They said we had to buy books. It's the reader's job to buy books, and the author's job to make it worthwhile.

Then, questions were taken from the audience. How did Sue come up with the name Kinsey? Grafton said she was working in Hollywood, and reading the Hollywood Reporter. She saw a column in which it mentioned a baby named Kinsey. She liked the name, and snatched it. Millhone was probably taken out of the phone book. It has no meaning.

Which comes first, the title, such as V is for..., or the story. The answer was, it varies. When Grafton first started the series, she sketched out crime related words, and used them for A-D. But, she had planned to call E, E is For Ever. She switched it to "Evidence," and the story just came. For a long time, she thought F would be forgery, but she found it boring. When she made it "Fugitive," she could hear the story. K was for kidnapping, and she wrote four chapters, and realized kidnapping is a federal crime. No one was going to hire a small-town detective for a kidnapping case, so she dumped it. That was the book that caused her to say to her publicist, I have to have more than a year to write the books. Sue liked Q is for Quarry, with its double meaning. The latest book is U is for Undertow. She admitted she gets out the dictionary, and makes a list of words that might work. There's no hard and fast rule for the title and plot.

Barbara confessed she had wanted T is for Lipton, and, when Sue came to the bookstore, she brought a box of teabags, with T is for Trespass on them.

With S is for Silence, there was a switch in time, and multiple points of view. With T is for Trespass, Sue said sometimes the content dictates the form. When Solana Rojas, the villain, took over, she had to tell that story from her point of view. Grafton said she doesn't make it up in advance, but she can't imagine telling a story from Henry or Rose's point of view. People might like it just because they'd like to see Kinsey from another point of view.

Grafton mugged to the audience, saying she's taking heavy mediation, and has a live-in therapist, trying to keep things fresh. How does she do it? "I only have five more times, baby!" She said it helps to see readers, and converse with us. She also said the journals help. It helps to look back, and see her previous battles.

She said her tour was done on Thursday. Then she does Christmas, since we all have to do Christmas. And, in January, she has to do battle again. She runs 5.4 miles a day, five days a week, to deal with her stress.

Barbara mentioned that Grafton has had the same editor, Marion, for the entire series. "How would you feel writing without her as an editor?" The answer was scared. Sue said she's had the same agent since B is for Burglar. She said Steve, her husband, is her first reader of her manuscript, but he doesn't get to see it until it's done, because she has to write the entire book. Then, if he says it's OK, she'll send it to Marion and Molly. Then, she waits to hear what they thin.

The final question involved another format, the audio, and why didn't Judy Kaye do the most recent one. Sue replied that Judy Kaye does all of her audios for Random House. She said Books-on-Tape may have another narrator, but, otherwise, if it's not Judy Kaye on the audio, it might be a pirated version.

Barbara ended by asking Sue to tell us about her train project. Sue said her husband, Steve, had this wonderful idea to get a private train car, and take it at the end of her tour. So, there were three couples, and the plan was to get on the train at the end of the T is for Trespass tour. They were going to go from Louisville, up to Cincinnati, and then to Chicago, and across North America. They had their pjs, and train movies, and a private chef, and they were all set for a romantic trip. But, it started to snow, and unbeknownst to them, the snow was packing up under the train. And, over time, because of that, one toilet after another, and the showers, began to break down. So, it was a romantic idea until the toilets and showers broke down. They had to fly home. Sue said it was the best half day ever on a train.

Sue Grafton then signed books, and, gracious as ever, insisted people check pictures, and make sure they were good ones before they walked away. And, then she signed my book.

"Hello, Everyone...Read Lesa's Blog! Sue Grafton"

Sue Grafton's website is www.suegrafton.com

U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton. G.P. Putnam's Sons, ©2009. ISBN 9780399155970 (hardcover), 416p.

High Crimes on the Magical Plane by Kris Neri

Samantha Brennan "Went through life in search of naked emperors to snicker at." As a fake psychic, she thought she knew all of the tricks. But, she didn't know anything about Celtic goddesses, shape-shifters, flower fairies, or murder. She'll learn about all of that in Kris Neri's fun mystery, High Crimes on the Magical Plane.

Molly Claire was a movie star who had been stalked by four guys dressed as clowns. When Samantha Brennan saw a clown car leaving the parking garage where Claire lived, she saw a way to capitalize on that knowledge. She worked her way into Claire's apartment, only to find a dead man there. But, Samantha's plans were foiled by FBI Special Agent Annabelle Haggerty. Imagine the shock of a fake psychic when she sees an actual vision of the missing woman. Imagine Samantha's shock when she realizes she's seeing those visions because Annabelle is an actual Celtic goddess with unusual powers. And, Annabelle can use Samantha to channel those visions.

It's a good thing that Samantha's aura is "Very happy, carefree...But really simple and childlike." She's able to accept gods and goddesses and winking gnomes, but she's a better student of human nature than she gives herself credit for. And, when Molly Claire shows up at bank robberies, à la Patty Hearst, Samantha is dragged further into the investigation. And, what is Molly's connection to an exhibit of Egyptian art? Samantha wanted to be the center of attention, but she hadn't wanted the attention of someone powerful enough to kill clowns, and force an actress into a life of crime. Samantha thought she was just a fake psychic, but Annabelle Haggerty brought out hidden strengths in her.

This Samantha Brennan and Annabelle Haggerty mystery was full of surprises, humor, and a little romance. The two women are a complimentary pair; Samantha, so light-hearted, harmless, and, at times, clueless, and the powerful Celtic goddess, Annabelle, who takes her job so seriously. It takes two women with a psychic link to solve the crimes that could send Los Angeles up in flames. High Crimes on the Magical Plane may have started out with clown cars and a fake psychic, but it rushes into danger and excitement at a fast pace. Neri's mystery is suspenseful, and fun, with an original pair of heroines.

Kris Neri's website is www.krisneri.com

High Crimes on the Magical Plane by Kris Neri. Red Coyote Press, ©2009. ISBN 9780976673354 (paperback), 224p.

See more of Lesa's Book  topics HERE

High Crimes on the Magical Plane by Kris Neri

Samantha Brennan "Went through life in search of naked emperors to snicker at." As a fake psychic, she thought she knew all of the tricks. But, she didn't know anything about Celtic goddesses, shape-shifters, flower fairies, or murder. She'll learn about all of that in Kris Neri's fun mystery, High Crimes on the Magical Plane.

Molly Claire was a movie star who had been stalked by four guys dressed as clowns. When Samantha Brennan saw a clown car leaving the parking garage where Claire lived, she saw a way to capitalize on that knowledge. She worked her way into Claire's apartment, only to find a dead man there. But, Samantha's plans were foiled by FBI Special Agent Annabelle Haggerty. Imagine the shock of a fake psychic when she sees an actual vision of the missing woman. Imagine Samantha's shock when she realizes she's seeing those visions because Annabelle is an actual Celtic goddess with unusual powers. And, Annabelle can use Samantha to channel those visions.

It's a good thing that Samantha's aura is "Very happy, carefree...But really simple and childlike." She's able to accept gods and goddesses and winking gnomes, but she's a better student of human nature than she gives herself credit for. And, when Molly Claire shows up at bank robberies, à la Patty Hearst, Samantha is dragged further into the investigation. And, what is Molly's connection to an exhibit of Egyptian art? Samantha wanted to be the center of attention, but she hadn't wanted the attention of someone powerful enough to kill clowns, and force an actress into a life of crime. Samantha thought she was just a fake psychic, but Annabelle Haggerty brought out hidden strengths in her.

This Samantha Brennan and Annabelle Haggerty mystery was full of surprises, humor, and a little romance. The two women are a complimentary pair; Samantha, so light-hearted, harmless, and, at times, clueless, and the powerful Celtic goddess, Annabelle, who takes her job so seriously. It takes two women with a psychic link to solve the crimes that could send Los Angeles up in flames. High Crimes on the Magical Plane may have started out with clown cars and a fake psychic, but it rushes into danger and excitement at a fast pace. Neri's mystery is suspenseful, and fun, with an original pair of heroines.

Kris Neri's website is www.krisneri.com

High Crimes on the Magical Plane by Kris Neri. Red Coyote Press, ©2009. ISBN 9780976673354 (paperback), 224p.

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book blog: http://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com
Twitter @LesaHolstine

Camille Kimball, Author of A Sudden Shot:
  The Phoenix Serial Killer, for Authors @ The Teague

Camille Kimball, author of A Sudden Shot: The Phoenix Serial Shooter, appeared for Authors @ The Teague in order to honor the victims, and thank the heroes who solved the case, and brought Dale Hausner to trial. She brought pictures taken during Hausner's trial, pictures of some of the crime scenes, and two retired Phoenix police detectives who had been involved in the Phoenix Serial Shooter case. Detectives Darrell Smith and Cliff Jewell's contributions to the program were fascinating. 


From May 2005 to July 2006, the Phoenix Shooter was credited with shooting at 27 people, and knifing two victims. Of those, eight people died. Five horses and eight dogs were shot. Buildings and cars were shot at, and buildings burned. As the back cover of the book says, Phoenix "fell victim to one of the most publicized serial killing sprees in history....Often using shotguns with buckshot, Dale Hausner and Sam Dieteman tormented the city for an entire year....They took aim at men and women, white and black, Latino and Indian, homeless and rich - even horses and dogs." 

Camille said her book was a tribute to the victims, the forgotten people who were shot, and the ones who died, on the street. She showed photos of Hausner in the courtroom, and said some of the pictures showed his personality, as he peaked at her through his hands, and fidgeted with papers throughout the trial. The witnesses against him were nervous when they saw him at the table, unshackled, but they weren't aware that he was wearing a shock belt around his waist that would shoot 50,000 volts of electricity into him, if the guard needed to shock him. Family members had expressed their fear of Dale Hausner when they had to cross in front of him on the way to the witness stand. 

One of the photos was of Vincent Imbordino, prosecutor, whose closing argument, included in A Sudden Shot, was so moving that people cried. There were hours of testimony, and Kimball's photos included pictures of witnesses, among them some of the women who testified. Dale Hausner was quite successful with women. One witness was a school principal and professor at ASU who dated him. He tried to use her as an alibi. Dale's ex-wife drove in from Texas to testify against him, and she was so terrified she trembled, and had to be reminded to speak loudly. Another woman who dated him was a student teacher, who denied that she was with him when he tried to use her for an alibi. 

There was even a child with Hausner in the apartment when he was arrested. Kimball quoted the mother as telling her, "We were delivered from evil." Hausner himself had a little girl who suffered from an illness, and he lied to play up her illness for sympathy, saying his little girl wouldn't make it to first grade. She's in first grade, doing fine. 

Kimball even showed pictures of Buddy, the burro, "the first victim she interviewed." Buddy had been shot from 30 to 40 feet away. Almost all of the animals shot had been in fenced yards, and they were shot at night. Buddy might have been the least of the victims, but he had been purchased as a pet for the owners' foster children. 

Detective Cliff Jewell, the detective followed through the book, said he believed Dale and his brother, Jeff Hausner, shot all of the animals, but they only charged them for the cases where the shell cases or a bullet was left at the scene. 

Included in the photos were ones of victims and their families. Paul Patrick, was shown in several pictures and he is shown in a YouTube video with Kimball. 

When asked, Camille said the victims, and their families, have appreciated the book, saying they saw it as an opportunity to have their loved ones introduced to a larger audience. 

After the pictures, Kimball introduced both detectives. She said usually Detective Cliff Jewell speaks first because he has the longer arc in the book, but since Darrell Smith had closest connection to Glendale, he spoke first. 

Smith said he entered the case when Wal-Mart went up in smoke in June 2006, because he was investigating the arson. He became involved in the shooter cases after the fires. The ATF and fire departments worked hand in hand in the arson cases, and Smith and Kimball acknowledged Mike Blair from the Glendale Fire Department. With the Wal-Mart fires, the police now had video of cars, and pretty good ones of the suspects in both stores. Following that information, Darrell Smith received a phone call from a woman who said she thought she knew who one of the men was. Everyone met at the Phoenix Police Department because Smith had the computer equipment. They ran the information about the suspect, Sammy Dieteman, but he had no history of arrests. 

Besides the fire, Smith received a phone call claiming the shooter shot at a bicycle at 89th and Camelback, and gave the date and person involved. After checking with the assault team, that was just one of the calls that didn't match the facts. 

Then, the police pulled what phone records they could. As Kimball reminded us, just three years ago, they couldn't pull cell phone records like they can now. 

The police hit bars and apartment complexes in West Phoenix, looking for the car from the Wal-Mart videos, but couldn't find it. They were deadended. They then joined a task force; hundreds were brought in to combat the serial shooter case. The police would sit on street corners at night, listening for shots. It didn't work. Darrell Smith said he lived in the West Valley, and he always watched for the car when he was out. He and his wife even hit bards, looking for that car. There were stakeouts, and they couldn't find the two men. 

But, Smith had a "file stop" on Sammy. In July 2006, he received a call from Silent Witness. A man named Ron Horton wanted to talk to someone about the serial shooter. He said a man named Sam Dieteman was the guy doing this. 

Horton, who looked like a scary man to meet, was, according to Smith, "the meekest, mildest person to talk to and interview." He said Sammy had once said to him, "Do you know what it's like to kill someone," but Ron blew it off because they were drinking in a bar. But, Ron was able to tell Detective Smith details that Sammy had told him, including that a .410 shotgun had been used to kill people, a fact the police had not revealed. Ron Horton said he was sure Sam was one of the killers, but he didn't know the second shooter. After the videotaped interview, Smith took the tape downtown, and things moved quickly. He then went back and videotaped Ron again, and he told the same story. 

Darrel Smith said he did phone calls and surveillance, the interesting work, and didn't have to do the paperwork. He said the asked Ron to get Sam to meet him somewhere Finally Sammy agreed to meet Ron at the Star Dust Bar. There were hundreds of police there, hidden, when two men drove up. Sammy was dropped off, and the car left. Darrell followed the car to Metro Center, where the driver went in. The car license plate was registered to Dale Hausner. Smith followed Dale into a video store in the mall, where he stayed long enough for the police to put a GPS on Dale's car. 

Smith said he wanted so badly to see the case through that he slept in his van two nights with other detectives, two nights in July. But, that night, Sam and Ron went to another bar, and then the casino at Wildhorse Pass. The police kept getting calls from Ron, reporting in. But, Sammy said he'd have a friend pick up him, and Dale came by and picked him up. Then they cruised Gilbert and Chandler for three hours. Smith is convinced they were stalking people, but it had started to rain, so there were not a lot of people out. He said as the police followed them, that was a terrible fear, that they couldn't get to them fast enough if they pulled out a shotgun and shot someone. In the wiretap room, they couldn't believe the things they heard the two men say. 

Detective Darrell Smith said he never testified at the trial because everything he knew was hearsay from Ron Horton. And, Ron died before the trial, so Darrell couldn't testify, saying yes, Ron said that to me. But, in thirty-one years as a cop, he never got closer to a snitch as he did to Ron. Horton did get the reward, and, after he died, there was a fundraiser for him at the Star Dust Bar, a biker bar. Smith said he felt out of place there when he went, but the family welcomed him, and introduced him. The mayor had given a coin to everyone who worked on the case, and Smith gave his to Ron's family. 

Ron Horton said when Robin Blasnek, the last victim, died in July, he knew he had to come forward. When asked, Smith said he had been involved in an incident when Ron went to pick up the reward money. The detectives knew when he'd be picking it up, and, knowing it was a lot of money, they worried about him. They went in a van, grabbed him when he came out with the money, told him they were there to protect him, and take him to his bank so nothing would happen to him. He gave away a lot of his money before he died. His friends don't regret what Ron did. 

Following Detective Smith's presentation, Camille Kimball introduced Detective Cliff Jewell, "a real hero," and the main hero in A Sudden Shot. Cliff said he became involved several months earlier than Darrell. When Kimball said it was a dogged investigation, Jewell said he counted over 200 times he was mentioned in the book, so it was embarrassing. Three hundred forty-eight people were involved in the case. The Glendale Fire Department, a civilian volunteer with the Glendale Police Department, the Mesa and Scottsdale Police Departments were involved. 

Jewell said Jeff Hausner, Dale's brother, lived at 91st and Camelback. Cliff believes Jeff and Dale shot all of the animals, and started shooting people. They told Sam they shot a bunch of people downtown. They all hung around the west side where Jeff lived. Camille's pictures included one of a church at 9th Avenue and Woodland, south of Van Buren. There were shootings outside that church on December 29. One witness survived, Timmy Tordai, but he was a registered sex offender, and not a good witness. They did have five surveillance cameras on a nearby parking garage, but they didn't know what vehicle they were looking for on the cameras. 

Then, there were the stories they had to chase down that turned out to be false. One was a detailed story of how the December 29 shootings occurred. One was from a man who said he rode to work with the shooter. 

Cliff Jewell mentioned the various cases that eventually came together, but seemed unrelated at the beginning. He heard from people in the Tolleson area about animal shootings, and someone who lost their dog gave him the casing. Dale Hausner complained that when Jeff shot someone, he put the gun too far out the window, and the casings went out the car. That's why they didn't find casings or shells at all of the scenes. 

Dale Hausner took classes at ABC Bartending School in Tempe, and remained friends with someone there. When a car windshield was shot out at the bartending school, there were six shell casings found, but that case wasn't connected at the time. 

When discussing serial killers, the FBI says serial killers don't change weapons. But, there was a .22 and shotguns used. It's not typical of serial killers to change weapons. Jewell had a case with dogs shot, and shell casings left. The same night, a prostitute was shot, and it was the same shell casings. 

At the same time the Phoenix Shooter case was going on, the police were investigating the Baseline Killer case. Homicide was all tied up in that case, so Jewell had little help. 

On April 15, he went on America's Most Wanted. He was upset that the show mentioned the .22 caliber because they weren't releasing it. He knew the shooters would then change guns. 

Detective Jewell said he asked the FBI to come out and give him a profile. They told him it was a white male 18-24, alone, but the shotguns and .22s were not connected. They said, "Cliff. You're wrong. The cases aren't connected." Cliff still thought they were wrong. He got called in as part of the Task Force toward the end. He did get to call the FBI, and say, "I was right." He got his credibility back with the department. It was a fifteen month investigation. 


The audience was asked if we'd heard of Charlie Starkweather, a spree killer. Dale Hausner had red hair, and was from Omaha. Charlie Starkweather had red hair and was from Lincoln. They thought Hausner was emulating Starkweather. 

Dale Hausner was a serial killer with no criminal history, but profiling is based on generalities. Hausner is not stupid. He did things to change the scenario. He set dumpsters on fire, and Wal-Marts on fire. 

Hausner won't talk to the cops, and didn't talk to Camille. He's appealing his conviction. On the other hand, Sam Dieteman is remorseful, and says he has no idea how he allowed himself to get involved. He met Dale through Dale's brother, Jeff. Sam lived with Jeff, and, when he had an argument and moved out, Dale went looking for him. It was that night, driving around, that Dale shot someone, then gave the gun to Sam. Sam shot Claudia Gutierrez-Cruz, and killed her. 

Someone mentioned alcohol and drugs. Sam was educated, and an alcoholic. They would shoplift liquor from Target, Walgreens, and grocery stores. They stole dozens of bottles of liquor. They stole videos, and Dale sold them to people at the airport. Dale got Sam on meth. 

The final question was about the caliber of the guns, and why it was a .22. We were told it was part of a game they would play, experimenting to see what the different guns would do. 

But, Camille Kimball said her feelings are that their personalities and characters are specific to them. It wasn't the drugs or alcohol that made them do it. 

Camille Kimball's book, A Sudden Shot: The Phoenix Serial Shooter, and the program at the Velma Teague Library, with Detectives Cliff Jewell and Darrell Smith, showed the importance of dogged police work, and heroes - heroes such as Cliff Jewell, Darrell Smith, Glendale fireman, Mike Blair, and Ron Horton, along with the victims, their families, and the witnesses in the trials. 

Camille Kimball's website is at www.camillekimball.com 

A Sudden Shot: The Phoenix Serial Shooter by Camille Kimball. Penguin Group (USA), ©2009. ISBN 9780425230190 (paperback), 336p. 

Camille Kimball and Lesa Holstine Photo by  Judy Marlett



 lholstine@yahoo.com
See book blog: http://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com
Twitter @LesaHolstineLesa's 

What an honor to host Sir Terry Pratchett at the Velma Teague Library! Actually, we expected a large crowd, so the event was held in the Glendale City Council Chambers. People stayed over from the North American Discworld Convention, including men from Switzerland and Mexico. One fan flew in from San Francisco, just for this event. And, one woman drove up from Yuma.


It was definitely a fun program, filled with laughter, beginning with his introduction. After I introduced him as Sir Terry Pratchett, he said that always bothers him to be called Sir Terry in America. Didn't we fight a war not to have to say Sir Terry? Well, actually we fought it because we owed England money, and we didn't want to pay up.


He said, when they call you and say they'd like to knight you, they're very nice about it, saying they would fully appreciate that you might not want to be knighted. But, the family gets to go. He said when he went to be knighted, two burly policemen pulled him over, and told him, park over there, and we'll come get our books signed later. He went with his wife, daughter, and mum. His mum is about the same age and same size as the queen, so they could have swapped places in the dark. They had tea, and then went off with a flunky to go through the whole kneeling bit. It wouldn't be proper to pull the queen over. It was good fun, and she whacked him on the shoulder with a sword.

He said it's nice to be a knight, usually when dealing with bullies. He said we could use a few knights in America, especially when dealing with Homeland Security. He said he hopes that the English Customs men aren't as cheeky to us when we go to England, as Homeland Security was to him. Terry asked, "Do they ever smile?" He said maybe England should send a few over to us to teach them how to smile. He said a couple of them would have made Mr. T run away. He gave his name to one of them, and, when asked, said he was a writer here for a convention. Pratchett said, you don't want to hear customs get on the phone, call someone, and say, "I got him." Another man came over, and said, "I can't make the convention. Would you sign this book for me?" So, after he signed to his "best friend, Stan", Stan went back to his own line. So, there were two lines waiting while Terry Pratchett signed Stan's book. Once Stan had left, "Mr. T" said to Terry, "I need to see your I.D." Even while pulling out his passport, Terry looked at him, and said, "Stan didn't." And, "Mr. T" gave him a little smile.


Instead of a formal talk, Terry walked in front of the podium, and said, "You know me and what I do. Ask me a question." After a few gasps that they would actually get to ask him questions, the first one was, "How are you holding up in this heat?" He responded, "You have ferocious heat and ferocious air conditioning. The air in my hotel room didn't need to be that cold. It could be brought down to the temperature of a spring day."


Someone said, "You've always said you have quite a sense of timing. You took a job in a nuclear power plant at the time of Three Mile Island. How's your sense of timing now?" He answered that he's more in control of his own destiny now.


He went on to talk about that. He said tug-of-war is played with a rope. There was a tug of war at Three Mile Island, and the rope broke. Lots of fingers were caught up in that rope. Apart from Chernobyl, the most damage ever was done at Three Mile Island.


Pratchett went on to say, they always say, we're putting in three completely independent fail-safe systems, and they're all a long way apart. However, the cables for all three fail-safe systems go in one cable in one wall.


Terry said a power station is a small town, with its own sewage system. And, naturally, the man sweeping up items there swept three pieces of radioactive iron into the sewage system. So, there's 800,000 gallons of sludge, with a small number of radioactive pieces that can't be seen. So, there's a meeting of the people who know about radioactivity, and the people who know about sewage plants. And, the sewage people say they know sewage, but they're not going to handle it when it's radioactive. And the radioactivity people say they know about radioactivity, but it's the shit that worries us. Terry said he never had to sign anything when he worked in a nuclear power station. How do you find tiny particles in great piles of sludge? Pump it out, and then take it to an enormous coal power station, and feed it carefully in there. Then beep, beep, beep. All three of the pieces were found. They got it 100% right that time. But, weird stuff happened there, including a man who was too radioactive to come in to the power station. He eventually gave his six months notice. Now, he has enough money so he never has to do another honest day's work.


When asked what he was reading, Terry replies, he's been away from books for a few days, but at home, he's reading London Labor and the London Poor. The author was a social reformer. It's set in Georgian England. The Thames was a sewer at the time. And author was appalled by what he found. London was so unbelievably awful that even Morpork was better. At times, soot was London's most valuable export. People used to forge it, fake soot. Chimney sweeps would clean chimneys for free to get soot.


London was actually, people who have jobs, and the underclass, just as right now in England. Everyone was scared, a bit like America right now since you don't have a National Health Service. One accident, and you're in the poorhouse. Charity did not come from the rich, but from the not too poor to the poorer than them. Charity rained from the lower middle class to lower class. Nothing was wasted. House dust was sold for fertilizer because it had human skin in it. Paper was recycled. Metal was valuable. This was just as Queen Victoria was coming to the throne. One thing to say for Prince Albert is that he was a reformer. The River Thames finally gave up, and it made such a great stink that Parliament couldn't sit because of the stench. Then, the English built the best sewer system ever.


Terry was asked how he got into the head of a nine-year-old girl, Tiffany, in his books, since he did it so well. He asked if we had Girl Scouts, Brownies, here. He said he had been contacted by a Brownie troop that wanted to do a spoof for a show. Can we photograph you being kidnapped? They would take that photograph, and use a stand-in to do the rest, since one girl's father looked enough like Pratchett. He said they'd have to film the kidnapping, and he wanted to coordinate it, but they had to bring a rubber chicken. He wanted to have two girls stand behind him as he was signing; then one girl would pick up his hat, and the other would hit him over the head with a rubber chicken. Hit him, and then while he slumped, they were to put his hat back on. The problem was, people saw him signing, and he would have to say, wait, I'm going to be hit by a rubber chicken. He has a plaque now, saying he is a Brownie Guide.


He said, actually, you just watch. He said girls are different, and I just watch and take notice. He could do a monograph on how people clap. An author has to be interested in people. He will talk to anyone who takes the time to talk.


Anything interests him. In Nation, they dipped a womb in a bucket of tar. Only the Royal Navy might have done that. Nation was just channeled. It pured through him.


He said the Victorians never actually covered furniture legs because they were indecent. That was a gag. The mid-Victorian period was a time of "things". People didn't own things before. But, manufacturers were making things, and people wanted as many things as possible. Terry knew a woman who lost her husband, but as he kid, when he went to her house, it was so cluttered with things that Terry thought maybe her husband was in there somewhere.


He leads an inquiring life, and it comes out as a story.


When asked if he was going to incorporate Twitter into any books, he said he doesn't Tweet because he has real flesh and blood friends. He said he was on the Internet about as soon as it was around. Then he asked, "Don't you people want me to write the books?"


A question from the audience began, your books contain a number of moral and ethical dilemmas. Are there any philosophers you admire? Terry Pratchett answered, "Jesus was pretty good." Pratchett said he considers himself a humanist. His god is the god of Carl Sagan and Espinoza. Science is a sacrament. He thinks people should abide by the Golden Rule. Terry said we should close churches, and just put up signs, "God is love. What part of this don't you understand?" He makes up his philosophy as he goes along.


Terry was asked if he had advice for someone going into the priesthood, and the man who asked the question admitted he was thinking of going into the Greek Orthodox priesthood. Terry answered, it's all work and no technique. You don't hear of priests being laid off, but no one is sinning now, so there's not much confession lately. He said one of the long-term triggers for the Industrial Revolution was the closing of monasteries by Henry VII. Craftsmen such as herbalists and carpenters were pushed out into the world. They took apprentices, and those skills were one of the long-term triggers. Pratchett went on to say the priesthood is an interesting job, one of the most interesting, other than his. He asked, Thou Shalt Not Kill should be actually read as Thou Shalt Not Murder, shouldn't it, and the audience member said yes, that's closer to the Hebrew.


Terry said people shouldn't read the Old Testament unprepared, or they come away thinking we're in the hands of a maniac. He said it's actually a guide for getting an argumentative people across the desert, filled with cooking and building tips. He wishes more people would read the New Testament.


When asked who his favorite characters to write about were, Pratchett answered Vimes or Tiffany. But, Tiffany isn't as much fun to write about now that she's older. He said witches were wise women. He knew a nurse once who admitted she had helped people die. She also said she carried shoe boxes with her because she was a nurse/midwife in rural areas with small gene pools, and babies often didn't live. The shoe boxes were just the right size for burials. Granny Weatherwax came from these stories. All those stories are tools for an author. He interviewed an elderly postman, and some of Going Postal came from those stories.


Pratchett said you must be hugely interested in people to be a successful author, and particularly doing what he does.


He said he can remember the '60s, so that means he wasn't there. He was too busy working a job, and trying to have sex. He said those who wanted rock-n-roll and drugs, didn't have sex.


He mentioned his wife, Lady Lynn, who isn't so sure about that title, but it impresses her mum. In his inimitable style, he told of his first date with her. He had no money, but Chinese restaurants were new, so he asked if she wanted to go to one. So, with his lack of money, he couldn't afford to take a taxi all the way from his town to hers, pick her up, and go to dinner, and back. So, he worked it all out. He got dressed up, then put his motorcycle gear on over that. And, it's raining. So, he rode his bike, got off in a farmer's field, dropped the bike, put his motorcycle clothes on top of it, and then ran to her house, just in time to get there when the taxi did, so she thinks he arrived in the taxi. They had a nice meal, and the taxi picks them up. They have a chaste little first date kiss. He pays off the taxi driver, then goes back to the farmer's field, gets into his wet motorcycle gear, and it takes four or five times to start the bike. Then, halfway home, it conks out, and he had to push the bike home.


When asked if Mr. Dibbler, who can sell anything to anybody is based on an actual person, Terry said as a boy he would accompany his Granny to street markets, and they were full of Dibblers, who were selling cheap crockery, "Cutting-Me-Own-Throat" to sell it. He listens to language, how people speak.


When a man died, he was lying in his coffin and people came in to have a glass of sherry, and greet the widow. The man had been on holiday, and dropped dead at his door. Terry's Granny said, "Well, he looks well." And, the answer was, "Yes, undertaker's done good."


One question concerned the editing of his American books. Pratchett said it's been better in recent years. At times, he's argued with his editors, such as when Mister should be spelled out. John Wayne never said, go for your gun M-R.


Terry reminded the audience he has Alzheimer's. He said he will not die of Alzheimer's, but he doesn't like the term assisted suicide. As a journalist, he's seen suicides, such as a woman throwing herself from a bridge. But, he's been writing and making arrangements. In his mind, that doesn't fit the frame of suicide. It's adult homo sapiens looking the inevitable in the face, and making sensible decisions.


He had problems with his books, up until the '90s, when two publishers collided, and suddenly he had an editor who knew his name, and liked his stuff, and a publicist who felt the same. Up until then, his books were poorly published and publicized. Because of the changes in wording for American books, when he would come to the United States, fans would have U.K. hardcovers semi-legally in the U.S. But, in the '90s, the language was allowed to stand. He said he doesn't put a lot of odd language in the books, because Morpork wouldn't come out right. But, when told Webster's wouldn't allow it, he tells them what they could do with Webster's. But, for his children's books, for American kids, it's sensible to have American usage.


Pratchett was asked if he has plans for another Night Watch book. He said he's been feeling chipper, and has a dictation machine in his office. Fortunately, the people who built it are nerdy and Discworld fans. He's dictated more than 10,000 words of a book. He's speeding along with it. They dumped Discworld books into the memory of the machine, and it knows how words should sound. So, if it doesn't recognize a word, he asks for the Spellbox, and he can choose which one is correct. It's going faster than a keyboard.


He told the audience he has a rare disease. He has a large brain, which is unusual, with lots of brain cells. But, it upsets him that so many of those brain cells are used up by lyrics from '60s advertisements. Terry said we should disinvent television. He feels it's the sole excuse for what's going wrong with civilization. Babies are put in front of TV to amuse them.


But, he said the best thing you can do for a child is develop their vocabulary. The more words you know, the more articulate you can be. The better you can express yourself, the happier you are. He said kids love semi-made-up Scottish language in his books. He combines Gaelic and Glaswegian slang, and kids think it's dirty words. Kids are built to be learning.


In his new book, Unseen Academicals, Glenda is uneducated, but she taught herself to read. She reads cheap novels, but she's never heard words spoken, and doesn't know exactly what words are or how to say them, words such as boudoir or reticule. So, when a woman asks her to join her in her boudoir, and she sees forty people there, she's relieved because she didn't know what a boudoir was. Pratchett said education advances through women. They read, and shared, cheap novels. Then, they taught their daughters to read. Mothers made sure their daughters, and some sons, were literate.


So, someone asked Terry what he read as a child, and he said, nothing. He said reading was associated with pain. He had to learn words in school. He said when he was eight or nine years old, his uncle gave him a copy of The Wind in the Willows, and he was reading it in London. All the way home, he was reading it by streetlights. He was hooked by the time he got home. By the next week, he was a member of his local library, and helping the librarians on Saturday. He read children's books and adult books at the same time, with no distinction. School didn't show him reading pleasure; it was a chore. His mother did bribe him to read, offering 6 pence a page.


When asked if he and Neil Gaiman would write another book together, like Good Omens, he said neither wants to do another. He said, "He does his thing, and I do mine." He said then it was easy for two guys. Now, it would be problematical. He said it's not likely they'd do another because there is no obvious reason to do it.


Pratchett was asked if there's anything that appeals to him about America or anything that annoys him. He said Americans don't despair easily. He said people in Europe, and, particularly, England, are cynical. He loved the way we celebrated our new President, although we all know how we'll feel in a few years. He thinks America is the last best hope for mankind, because we have so many examples of mankind. Every individual person is important in America. G.K. Chesteron said, "I pity the man who believes in socialism because he believes in something that doesn't believe in him."


An audience member asked if he had plans for someone to continue Discworld after his death. Terry responded that his daughter, Rhianna Pratchett, is as sharp as a tack. She's a writer of computer games. She and his publicist will have the responsibility for Discworld. But, there's no hard and fast decision, because would she do it because of the money, or because she wanted to? He said he'll be dead, so he won't be a major player in the decision. But, he's renewing copyrights, and it would be nice if things happened. He said his daughter could do it if she wanted; she has talent. But, it's her life, and he won't put his hand on it beyond the grave.


When asked if he had the chance to see the Grand Canyon, he said not on this trip. But he went to Tombstone, and had a good guide, author Emma Bull. He said he didn't know that, basically, the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place in a place the size of a phone booth. He said Wyatt Earp died in 1929, but England thinks it was in the 1880s. Pratchett said history is closer than people think. In the science of Discworld, grandfathers is a way of measuring time. Fifty years is a grandfather. Actually, measured that way, the pyramids are not that far back.


Terry Pratchett said it's far too dangerous living here on earth. There have been a number of times that life forms have been destroyed from space. He'd advise us to get off the planet as soon as possible. A Mars or moon colony would be fail safe.


He was asked if he has a recurring theme in his books, and he answered, "Smart is better than dumb." He said another book helps his characters in every book. His characters share the way he thinks of things.


He ended by telling about his books made into movies. He likes the small company that made them, because he could tell them things needed to be changed. So, after Hogfather, he had lots of leftover plastic teeth. So, he took them with him to a conference in Australia.


Pratchett said he likes Australia. Every Englishman feels at home in Australia. He never felt at home in America. But, Australia was colonized by Cockneys.


So, he went through Customs in Australia, and had the plastic teeth with him. He was asked if he had any animal products, and he said no. So, the woman at Customs asked him what he had in his suitcase, and he said, lots of plastic teeth. When asked why, he said, "I don't think it's any of your business," an answer he knows he couldn't have given in the U.S. She said, OK. And, then he asked if she wanted to know about the black box marked "Death". In it, was a statue of Death. Then, he asked her if it was the strangest luggage she'd seen all day. She said, yes, but it was only 10:30, and the the Japanese were coming next.


Thank you to Sir Terry Pratchett, the North American Discworld Convention, the Poisoned Pen Bookstore, and the staff and volunteers from the Velma Teague Library who made this a very special event from visitors from around the world.

Sir Terry Pratchett's website is http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk

Sir Terry Pratchett and Lesa Holstine
 by Anna Caggiano

lholstine@yahoo.com
book blog: http://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com
Twitter @LesaHolstine

It’s The Big Read Time Again “Fahrenheit 451”

Oct 7, 15,19, 21 and 26

 

 

GLENDALE, Ariz. – If it is fall, it is time for The Big Read. This celebration of literature returns this month with Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451.”

Now a modern day classic, “Fahrenheit 451” is probably on the reading list of every high school student, but it remains popular with adults of all ages. First published in 1953, it tells the story of a society gone awry. Instead of putting out fires, firemen burn books and the state suppresses learning. Are the citizens up in arms? Hardly. They are sitting around in a drug-induced and media-saturated indifference. The book is more relevant today than ever.

The West Valley Arts Council, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Glendale Arts Commission, is sponsoring the local Big Read, which runs from September 25-October 31. Thanks to the local sponsor, multiple copies of the book will be available for Glendale library card holders and library reading groups to check out.

Five library events have been planned in Glendale, three for adults and two for teens (ages 12-18). Joe Lockard, Ph.D., an Associate Professor of English at Arizona State University, will lead the discussion at the Oct. 19 book group at Velma Teague Branch Library.

“Fahrenheit 451” teen events include:

Wednesday, Oct. 7, 7 p.m. in the storytime room at Foothills Branch Library, 19055 N. 57th Ave. –Teens, get involved in the ultimate community book discussion. A book-related craft will also take place. Pick up a copy of Fahrenheit 451 at the youth desk. Call 623-930-3837, then press “6” at the prompt for more information.

Monday, Oct. 26, 7 p.m. in the storytime room at Glendale Main Library, 5959 W. Brown St. Kearsten’s Book Club will read and discuss Ray Bradbury’s classic sci-fi book. Snacks are provided; bring a friend. To register and get a copy of the book, call Kearsten at 623-930-3568.

　

Adults can take part in the following groups:

Thursday, Oct. 15, 2 p.m. in the large meeting room, Glendale Main Library, 5959 W. Brown St. The Afternoon Book Group will discuss “Fahrenheit 451.” Call Melanie at 623-930-3549 for more information.

Monday, Oct. 19, 10 a.m. at Velma Teague Branch, 7010 N. 58th Ave. The 58th Ave. Book Club is delighted to welcome Joe Lockard, Ph.D., an associate professor of English at ASU, to lead discussion and provide insight into Ray Bradbury’s timeless “Fahrenheit 451.” To register and to get a copy of the book, call 623-930-3431, then press “5” at the prompt.

Wednesday, Oct. 21, 7 p.m. in the Hummingbird Room at Foothills Branch Library, 19055 N. 57th Ave. A Novel Approach Discussion Group will discuss “Fahrenheit 451.” Call Sarah at 623-930-3844 to register and get a copy of the book.

For other Big Read events around the Valley, go to www.westvalleyarts.org. The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest. It is designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.

###

Release Party for Brent Ghelfi's The Venona Cable

The Tuesday, Sept. 18 release party for Brent Ghelfi's The Venona Cable packed the ballroom at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix. There were so many people it was hard to get near Brent for the book signing before the actual program began. The Poisoned Pen Bookstore and Lisa Ghelfi worked together for the party, providing desserts, drinks, and tables with Russian nesting dolls. 

Since the Arizona Biltmore is celebrating its 80th birthday this year, and the Poisoned Pen is celebrating its 20th, they have partnered for four programs. Brent Ghelfi's release party was the first one. Sept. 1 is CSI: Phoenix with Dr. Kathy Reichs signing 206 Bones, followed by Jack Ballentine, author of Murder for Hire, introducing Camille Kimball, author of The Phoenix Serial Killer for her book release. On Sept. 22, Diana Gabaldon will sign her new Outlander novel, Echo in the Bone. The event will even feature a piper. On Nov. 14, John Sandford hosts a Guys Night, a party with Martin Limon, Thomas Perry, James Rollins, and Don Winslow. 

Following the announcement of upcoming events, Barbara Peters, owner of 
the Poisoned Pen, introduced Brent Ghelfi by quoting Lee 
Child. "Brent Ghelfi writes like Dostoevsky's hooligan great-grandson on speed." Brent responded that he was grateful. Not only is Lee Child a bestselling author, but he is a gentleman, and very supportive of other authors. He was very supportive of Ghelfi's first book, Volk's Game. That support is one of the nicest things Child can do for another author. Peters said Volk's Game was the Poisoned Pen's bestselling book of 2007. 

Barbara mentioned that, naturally, Ghelfi was influenced by Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, but she understood there was another author who was a bigger influence. According to Brent, people thing of Alexandr Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago, but Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich was a greater influence. One of the characters is a prison guard, Lieutenant Volkovi, a character no one likes. Ghelfi picked that name, Alexei Volkovoy, for his character. 

When asked who else he reads, Ghelfi said he reads almost everything. Naturally, he reads Martin Cruz Smith. But, James Sallis (photo at left) influenced, and helped him. He started reading Sallis in 1990-91, when he wandered into the Poisoned Pen, and Barbara suggested a book. When he returned, she asked what he thought, and he said it was a little light; he wanted something more...And, she said I have an author for you. She gave him one of Sallis' books. Since Sallis was at the party, Brent said he wanted to acknowledge him, saying, in his opinion, he was the most likely candidate to win a National Book Award. Brent said Sallis taught him all he knows about writing. 

Barbara Peters said as long as they were discussing Sallis and Ghelfi together, she wanted to mention that Maricopa County is doing Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury for this year's Big Read. She's hoping to have Sallis and Ghelfi do a program together about the book. She said she has a whole new life planned for Brent since he acted as host for Clive Cussler and James Rollins, and did such a wonderful job. 

Peters told Ghelfi that his books, set in Chechnya, almost seemed as if they were written from today's headlines. According to Brent, in 1995, Grozny, Chechnya had a population of 600,000. After the Russian tanks rolled in, only 50,000 people lived there, most of them in burned out buildings. Chechnya has been fought over for years. Tolstoy wrote about Russians invading Chechnya. Recently, a human rights advocate was accosted, dragged away, and shot in the back of the head. Her purse, with contacts intact, was left by her body. It was strictly an assassination. Volk is a part of that Chechen politics. Modern Russia is a place where history, life, politics, and religion collide. The outlandish stories that come out of Russia are true. 

Ghelfi's first book, Volk's Game, was his art book, about lost da Vinci painting from the Hermitage Museum. Volk's Shadow is his Chechen book. The new book, The Venona Cable, deals with untold stories of World War II. The British and the Americans deciphered cables sent back and forth from Russia. They were able to identify spies. The Soviets had the greatest spy apparatus in the world, after the Revolution until the '90s. So, the relationship between the U.S. and Russia was the jumping off point for this book. 

If you go to the NSA's website, and search Venona, you can find stories of 1943. Roosevelt and Churchill had a private meeting, with just a couple other people in attendance. Stalin knew the result of that meeting before anyone else, including Congress. They made the decision not to open up the second front. The actual cable is reproduced on Brent's book, altered just a little. 

There's a Hollywood film director in the book, who is a foil to talk about Hollywood and the Communist Party in the U.S.A. A number of people from Hollywood explored Communism in the 50s and 60s, and some ended up on the Hollywood blacklist. Ghelfi explores a little of that history in the book. And, the story includes Volk's father, a veteran of the Cold War air wars. 

Peters said it was strange to read this book, back-to-back with Joseph Kanon's forthcoming book, Stardust. (Kanon appears at the Poisoned Pen on October 14.) That book deals with a Hollywood director in 1944, and the beginning of the blacklist. Kanon sets his book in 1944, and Ghelfi writes his book looking back at that period. 

Ghelfi asked how many in the audience grew up thinking the Rosenbergs might have been innocent. He said they were not. Julius had a darkroom, and he actively recruited spies. Ethel probably knew about it, and, allegedly typed the notes. The U.S. had the Venona Cable saying this. Julius was a spy. 

When Peters mentioned that Ghelfi's books were anchored in history, she said Volk's Game dealt with da Vinci, Volk's Shadow has a stolen Faberge egg, this one deals with the Venona Cable. Brent said he likes to start with something that actually happened. 

He went on to say that Russian life seems to change very little. There's a saying, "Joseph Stalin straddled the oceans and filled the skies." The people yearn for that kind of powerful figure, which is why Putin is so popular. 

Peters said a killer thriller also has to have sex. Ghelfi went on to talk about Valya, Volk's lover. They have a stressful relationship. She is a Chechen refugee. The tribes turned on each other in Chechnya. Valya was one of the disenfranchised tribes. They have a stormy relationship. She's unpredictable, and it's a surprising relationship. 

When asked what was next, Ghelfi said the fourth book in the series is in the works. It's due to his publisher in late October. It deals with Russia's terrible record with nuclear technology. They had one plant explode in 1957, before Chernobyl, but they not only denied the explosion, they denied the plant existed. Gary Power's u2 was headed to take pictures of it when he was shot down. The book is tentatively titled The Burning Lake. 

Before turning the questions over to the audience, Barbara Peters said discovering new authors is one of the pleasures she shares with her staff. She said Brent Ghelfi is one of the finest new writers she's read because he entertains, and makes you think. 

The first question was whether Ghelfi's books were available on e-books. He said no. All three are available on Kindle. He said the first two are also unabridged audios, but he doesn't know when The Venona Cable will come out. 

He was asked how we learned about the Venona Cable, and he said American researchers in Moscow found out through Russian KGB files. They also learned about American Communist spies there. In 1995, those researchers brought it back to Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who chaired the Commission on Government Secrecy. Moynihan secured the release of the FBI's Venona files. Researchers know dates and times from the KGB files. 

Barbara reminded everyone that Russia was our ally during WWII. In the 1930s, many people embraced Communism as an ideal. Ghelfi told the story of The Lost Spy by Andrew Meier. It's the true story of a Princeton/Yale graduate who was caught up in Stalin's secret service. They arrested him, sentenced him for being a double spy, and sentenced him to seven years of hard labor. He was released exactly seven years later. But, he was immediately picked up, taken someplace, tortured, and killed. Meier's book includes notes from Stalin saying he needs to die. But, at that time, people who believed in Communism, such as that idealistic young man, thought they were working to build a brave new world. 

Someone asked when the movie was coming out. Brent said Volk's Game has been optioned, and it even has a script. But, there's a slim to none chance of filming unless a major star, director or producer wants to get it made. When asked who should play Volk, he said he could see Jason Statham in the first two books, and 
Clive Owen, as he appeared in Inside Man, in the third. 

He was asked if there has been any interest in publishing his book in Russia. Brent responded that it's unlikely to get a Russian language publisher because he's critical of Putin, but it has been published on the Western edge of Russia, in Poland and Czechoslovakia. 

Before returning to sign books, Brent Ghelfi ended the program by thanking everyone, particularly his wife, Lisa. 

Brent Ghelfi's website is www.brentghelfi.com 

The Venona Cable by Brent Ghelfi. Henry Holt, ©2009. ISBN 9780805088946 (hardcover), 336p. 




lholstine@yahoo.com
book blog: http://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com
Twitter @LesaHolstine

The Desert Hedge Murders by Patricia Stoltey

It takes a great deal of patience for a sixty-year-old former judge to accompany her mother's travel club to Laughlin, Nevada and Oatman, Arizona. Sylvia Thorn was a reluctant recruit to her mother's trip. But, it will only get worse in this mystery, reminiscent of the Keystone Cops, The Desert Hedge Murders by Patricia Stoltey.

How could Sylvia ever expect to keep tabs on the Florida Flippers, a group of seventy and eighty year old women? They're independent, opinionated, and out of control. And, it only makes it worse when Sandra Pringle finds a body in her bathtub, soon after check-in at the hotel in Laughlin. While the Florida Flippers are excited about the body, and want to investigate the murder, Sylvia suspects Sandra and her roommate, Patsy, know a little more about the dead man than they're letting on. It only takes one evening of the Flippers running around the casino, asking questions, for Sandra to take the opportunity to slip away from the group.

Patsy's stories about Sandra's whereabouts are a little suspicious, but the Flippers' vacation plans aren't squashed by Sandra's absence. The women all board the bus to Oatman, Arizona, anticipating their visit to the ghost town. But, their tour of the Lone Cactus Gold Mine is disrupted by a grisly discovery. Between the dead man, and the tour group's problems, Sylvia suspects the Flippers might be in danger. A visit from an FBI agent confirms there's something more involved than a suspicious death. Sylvia may think something is wrong. The Flippers see it as more to investigate, getting in the way of the police and FBI as they scatter all over.

Back in Florida, Sylvia's brother, Willie, knows his sister is in trouble. After his experiences in Vietnam, Willie suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But, he is also psychic. His comments to his octogenarian father, Peter, and their inability to reach Sylvia, sets the two men on a wild-goose chase. After flying into Las Vegas, they team up with an old friend of Peter's from World War II. A trip in an old motorcycle sidecar on Old Route 66 isn't quite what Willie had in mind when he knew he needed to reach his sister.

Since the Flippers need to return to Oatman a couple times, Stoltey has the opportunity to capture the town with all of its charms. She includes the ghost stories, the hotel and restaurant, the old gold mine. Sylvia's reaction to the wild burros that actually roam the streets is priceless. She feels quite threatened by the animals. So much of the town is included in the story, including Oatie the Ghost, and the Gable/Lombard honeymoon suite.

Stoltey's madcap mystery is highlighted by the odd group of seniors. Sylvia's mother is right. The former judge comes across as too prim and stuffy. She needs to loosen up. Willie, with his lovable quirks, is a more likable character. The Florida Flippers, and the motorcycle ride from Las Vegas to Oatman, add humor to a complicated story. The Desert Hedge Murders is called "A Sylvia and Willie Mystery". Poor Sylvia is overshadowed by the Florida Flippers and Willie. But, the ending leaves possibilities for future adventures for the brother and sister. Sylvia's already an avid fan of mysteries. If she learns to loosen up, she might even enjoy future cases.

Patricia Stoltey's website is www.patriciastoltey.com

The Desert Hedge Murders by Patricia Stoltey. Five Star Publishing (A Gale Group), ©2009. ISBN 9781594147852 (hardcover), 278p.

(left to right, Juliet Blackwell, Sophie Littlefield, and Ann Parker Photo by Lesa Holstine)

The Deadly Combination of Juliet Blackwell, Sophie Littlefield, and Ann Parker were a hit at the Velma Teague Library when they appeared to discuss "Strong Heroines in Crime Fiction". They themselves exemplify strong women showcasing their talents. And, it was obvious they're having fun touring together. They brought that sense of fun to the library program.

After introductions, they thanked me, and said how pleased they were to be at the Velma Teague Library. They said they told other people in the mystery community they were coming to Glendale, and everyone said, oh, you're appearing at the Teague. Sophie told the audience the library was lucky to have so much community support, and it was good to see people turn out for a library program.

Each author introduced their books and characters. Ann Parker said she
almost feels as if she's local because her publisher is Poisoned Pen Press in Scottsdale. She told the audience that she writes a historical mystery series set in Leadville, Colorado during the biggest silver rush in the world. People came from all over, but weren't prepared for Leadville. At 10,000 feet, it's winter for nine months of the year there. Some people thought they could just pick silver off the ground. Ann's character is a woman who runs a saloon in Leadville, Inez Stannert. She calls her a woman in a man's world. The three books in the series all have rhyming titles, Silver Lies, Iron Ties, and Leaden Skies. She said they've had a good time teasing her about future titles. She thought Golden Thighs might be going too far, but the others assured her it might be a hit.

Juliet Blackwell is actually Julie Goodson-Lawes. She said she wrote her first mystery series with her sister, using a family name, Hailey Lind. Those books made up the art forgery mystery series. The fourth book in that series will be out next summer, with a new publisher. The first book, Feint of Art, was nominated for an Agatha for Best First Mystery Novel, and then, after three books, the series was dropped. Juliet said she's writing her new books by herself. It's a paranormal series, beginning with Secondhand Spirits. Some readers have told Julie this is the first paranormal book they ever read.

Julie said Secondhand Spirits was fun to write. When she first decided to write a book about a witch, she said the only fun witch she knew was from Bewitched, and she didn't want to write Bewitched. But, her background is in anthropology, so she researched the history of witchcraft. There has been a lot of mystery, and atrocities still committed in the name of witchcraft. Witchcraft is important to women's issues because most people accused are women. Witchcraft is often associated with healing. The wise woman is respected in villages until things go wrong, and then she takes the blame. There are serious themes about witchcraft and culture. Juliet showed her cover, and said you can tell it's a fun book because of the sparkles on the cover. But, she said she thinks it's a little more serious than the cover indicates.

A Bad Day for Sorry is Sophie Littlefield's first published book. She said it's considered part of St. Martin's hardboiled publications. When she thinks of strong women, she thinks of the middle-aged woman, often overlooked by society. Stella Hardesty is fifty, and she suffered from domestic abuse. She kills her husband, and that unleashes a part of her she never knew she had. Sophie said she herself went through a mid-life crisis, and had a bad attitude. She was frustrated with her experiences, needing reading glasses, etc. She complained that no one warned her about changes - she can't see to put her mascara on. Women of a certain age are not respected by society.

The authors asked the audience what they thought when they heard "strong women". Responses ranged from determined, problem solver, goes against convention. Julie said if anyone watched The Closer or Saving Grace, the characters were more mature women. They said the people buying books are women, grown-ups. One woman in the audience commented, "We have time to read." Another word thrown out was flexibility. Julie said at one time women protagonists, such as Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski, were just women put into the male role as a private investigator. Now, female characters are strong, and very individual. Sophie said that might have been the source of some of her irritation. She used to have to wear men's suits, with the floppy white bows that women wore. Now, books celebrate that women are themselves.

Juliet summed that part of the discussion up, saying women show strength in culture, family relationships, romantic relationships, physical, beauty and self-image, strong opinions and politics. Sophie said culture focuses on physical beauty. Her character, Stella, is twenty pounds overweight, ordinary-looking. She acknowledges that she's aging. Some agents were willing to take Sophie on as a client, but they wanted Stella to be more attractive. Fortunately, she found an agent comfortable with the character.

Juliet said her books always have an element of romance. She said a woman can still be strong with an interest in romance. Blackwell said she's willing to argue that men's fiction also has romance, but in a different form. She said readers want well-rounded characters, and life had romantic relationships, connections with friends and community. For a witch, romance is an issue, because women are the most dangerous when sexual. In Europe, the traditional belief is that the more sexually attractive one is, the more dangerous. Isn't it the sexy ones who are likely to kill you?

The Malleus Maleficarum was a witch-hunter's handbook that covered sexual magic. Part of the handbook covered those who believed in witchcraft, and those who didn't believe. The more people believed, the more likely they were to turn in their neighbors. If a witch cast a spell sexually, someone would fall for them.

Blackwell's character, Lily Ivory, is a natural witch. She was born with powers. Lily is afraid of romance and sex because it might stir up something primal in her. Her feelings are part of the character arc in the series. How do you let yourself become vulnerable? In her previous series, Hailey Lind wrote of a character with two love interests. It reflects contradictory desires and interests, and provides tension.

Ann Parker said she wanted to provide context for the world Inez Stannert lives in, her woman in a man's world. The 1870 census said there were 300 saloons in Leadville. Three of them were run by women. So, she plays around with assumptions when people come to town, assumptions that a female saloon keeper might be easy. It's a boomtown in Leadville, and, like Inez, people are coming from all over to make new starts and shed their pasts. In the 19th century, everyone came to Leadville, investors, prospectors, women who followed the miners, as prostitutes, bakers, launderers, and miners themselves. Inez walks a knife's edge. She is a saloon keeper, but she's also spiritual. She attends church, but can handle herself in a brawl at the saloon. Her husband disappeared. He's been gone eight months. People often disappeared back then, just took off, or fell down a mine. Inez doesn't know if she's a married woman or not. In Silver Lies, she meets a man, and almost has to seduce him. How does the outside world view her? She wants to make her position public with the man she's seeing. At the same time, she wants to be perceived as a successful business woman.

According to Juliet, when writing women in mysteries, family becomes an issue. It's better to have characters without small children, because a mother wants to protect her children. Lily Ivory, Blackwell's heroine, was run out of a small west Texas town at seventeen. She's spent her life traveling, looking for a place to settle. The Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco is safe for a witch. Lily runs a vintage clothing store. The book, Secondhand Spirits, is about motherhood. Lily was rejected by her mother, raised by an elderly woman who was a witch herself, so was comfortable with one. She provided Lily with a sense of family. The book also includes La Llorona, a demon. Spanish-speaking cultures have variations of the legend about her, that she was a woman of humble means who had children with a man who left her. In Mexico, the story says he left her with the children, and she drowns the children in the river, and then herself. She wanders the riverbanks, calling for her children, and wailing. La Llorona means "the weeping woman", and she takes children if they're out at night. The stories of La Llorona are like the Bogeyman. In Secondhand Spirits, Lily deals with a mother of lost children, and comes to grips with her own fears.

Sophie Littlefield brought up Robert Crais' Elvis Cole. When she thinks of physical strength, she thinks of a bad ass such as Elvis. She said all of the male protagonists in crime novels are strong, and they never seem to work out. Littlefield's character, Stella Hardesty, tries to intimidate men into not being abusive. It's unrealistic for a fifty-year-old woman who hasn't worked out to have physical strength. So, Stella starts a fitness program. She looks for ways to handcuff men, so she buys herself bondage items for restraining men. Sophie said she knew her character needed to restrain them, and she was looking for the plastic handcuffs police use, but the Internet led her to bondage sites, and that's what happened with Stella. When creating women characters, physical strength must be considered. Julie pointed out that Stella has another weapon, a gun. Lily Ivory doesn't need a gun. And, Inez Stannert has guns, and her words.

According to Ann Parker, Inez is a woman with strong opinions, and she uses those against others' opinions. She said, if we think politics are bad now, the politics of 1880, as shown in Leaden Skies, included shady dealings. Grant was expected to run for a third term as president, but he didn't get the nomination. In 1876-77, there was a push for the woman's vote, but it didn't happen in Colorado. In 1880, there was a woman running a woman's newspaper, in Colorado, that was for woman's suffrage, and supported prostitutes. These are elements in Leaden Skies. Inez doesn't get suffrage. Characters were not interested in women's rights because they were making their own way.

The authors were asked about their writing schedule. Sophie said she had been a stay-at-home mom, and volunteered. Once her children were 12 and 14, she transferred her energies to writing. So, she gets up, writes, takes the kids to school, writes, picks the kids up, and she yells at them, and they yell at her, then she writes. Once she was published, the writing time was cut in half. It's important to be part of the book community. She works all the time, but, if she's not writing, she's working on promotion.

Juliet responded that it takes absolute determination to write constantly. She gets up at 4, and writes. She's a Peet's Coffee addict. It's a very strong coffee. She has no transition time. She just gets up at 4, and starts writing. Nobody talks to her at that time of morning. She's discovered nothing is open, so there are no distractions. She gets more done in those first two or three hours than later. She has a day job; she works for herself. She writes for several hours, gets her son up and off, works at her job, takes a nap at 2, and gets a second wind. She'll research later in the day, and does her blogging, Tweeting, and correspondence with her editor. She's president of her local chapter of Sisters in Crime. She spends time reading other people's manuscripts (as they all do). She doesn't watch TV. It's hard to tell friends that work (writing) is what she loves to do, and she'd rather write than go out with a friend. When writers get together, they talk writing.

Ann told the audience she doesn't write at the pace of the others. She has a job, two kids and a spouse. She said it takes a while for her to write. She's always motivated to write the book, and is all excited to start, and then she loses steam. Then life hits, and then she'll get a call or contract from her publisher that nudges her. Once she has a deadline, she's propelled by panic. She blasts through to the end of the book. When readers told her Leaden Skies was fast paced at the end, she knew it was because she was rushing when she wrote it. She has a friend, Margaret Grace, another writer, who lives nearby, and invited her to her house to get away and have the chance to write. So, she went to Margaret's house, disappeared into the guestroom, and wrote big chunks of the book on weekends.

When asked if they ever run out of ideas, Sophie said she wrote eight books before her first one was published, and they were all kinds of genres, inspirational, horror, everything but science fiction. She said as you learn one thing, other things fall into place. Now she understands more as to the process of writing mysteries. She has mental muscle memory. But, she won't run out of ideas.

Juliet said she has to trim back ideas, rather than worrying about running out of ideas. She does research, and said she could write 100 pages on a topic. Stephen King called it "killing your little darlings", saying there are sections of your writing that you loved, but they just don't fit. If it doesn't fit, you have to kill it. They said they all have files for rejects, thinking they'll use them someday. Juliet said she has scrap paper with ideas on them. It's only the new author who doesn't know what to write.

Ann Parker, Juliet Blackwell, and Sophie Littlefield are definitely a deadly combination. It was a treat to bring them to the audience at the Velma Teague Library.

Ann Parker's website is www.annparker.net

Leaden Skies by Ann Parker. Poisoned Pen Press, ©2009. ISBN 9781590585771 (hardcover), 298p.

Juliet Blackwell's website is www.julietblackwell.net

Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell. Penguin Group (USA), ©2009. ISBN 9780451227454 (paperback), 336p.

Sophie Littlefield's website is www.sophielittlefield.com

A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie Littlefield. St. Martin's Press, ©2009. ISBN 9780312559205 (hardcover), 288p.

(left to right, Juliet Blackwell, Ann Parke, Sophie Littlefield 
and Lesa Holstine in the middle front! Photo by Cassandra Sollano)

lholstine@yahoo.com
book blog: http://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com
Twitter @LesaHolstine

Authors @ The Teague presents Strong Heroines in Crime Fiction Panel

The Authors @ The Teague will present three authors to discuss "Strong Heroines in Crime Fiction" on Saturday, Aug. 15 at 2 PM. Join us for a panel discussion and book signing with three authors with varied backgrounds.

Ann Parker is the author of three historical mysteries set in Leadville, Colorado during the Silver Rush. Her latest book from Poisoned Pen Press is Leaden Skies. Once again, saloon owner, Inez Stannert, is caught up in murder and intrigue. This time, former President Ulysses S. Grant just happens to be in town.







Juliet Blackwell, who once wrote mysteries with her sister under the name Hailey Lind, has started a new series, beginning with Secondhand Spirits. Secondhand Spirits, first in the new Witchcraft Mystery Series, features Lily Ivory, a witch who opens a vintage clothing store in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco.






Sophie Littlefield's debut novel, A Bad Day for Sorry, is one of the most talked about debut mysteries of the year. Publishers Weekly called Sophie, "Spunky, unapologetically middle-aged and a tad cantankerous."


So, we have an author with three books in a historical mystery series, an author who is starting her second series, and a first-time author. It should be a fun discussion!

The Velma Teague Library is at 7010 N. 58th Ave., Glendale, AZ 85301. Call 623-930-3431 for more details. Hope to see you Saturday at 2 PM!

Review of Leaden Skies by Ann Parker

Who would expect that a book review would find me discussing bordellos, politics, saloons and murder? But, Ann Parker's new book, Leaden Skies, takes readers back to Leadville, Colorado, and Inez Stannert's world in 1880.

Leaden Skies follows hard on the heels of Parker's Iron Ties. Former U.S. President and Civil War general Ulysses S. Grant has arrived in Leadville, and it seems as if half the town of 30,000 turned out to welcome him, including someone who tried to assassinate him, since the former general isn't popular with some of the southerners who moved to Leadville after the war. But, Inez Stannert, owner of the Silver Queen Saloon, made her way in the mud and the muck to see him arrive by train. When the gun and fireworks go off, Inez loses control of her horse, and almost runs over a surveyor and mapmaker, Cecil Farnesworth. But, she's easily distracted when she sees a fire on State Street, where her saloon, and a bordello are located.

That fire is just the first of Inez' problems. The dark clouds that hang over the city during Grant's visit seem to hang over Inez' life right now. With her husband missing for a year, she's ready to file for divorce. And, the whole issue with her husband leaves her in limbo. She's uncertain about her share in the business, worried about the divorce, and yearning for her two-year-old son, living in the east with her sister. When she tries to make a business deal with Flo, the owner of the bordello, hoping to buy her property, Inez Stannert makes a deal with the devil, a deal that only leads to more trouble, as Flo is arrested, one of her girls in murdered, and another girl becomes a suspect. And, the trouble just seems to swirl around Inez. Even when she tries to help her lover, Reverend Sands, she puts herself in more danger, catching the attention of a policeman.

Ann Parker packs a great deal of social history into a mystery. Leadville, Colorado is a growing town in 1880, involved in politics, mining, and, even the suffragette movement. It's a mining town in which the saloons and bordellos play host to the men from the mines, as well as visiting dignitaries. And, it's a culture in which women who want to be independent business owners don't have a great deal of choices. Even when they hope to become independent, they still must deal with the powerful men who control the town.

Readers should really go back and read the previous two books in the Silver Rush mystery series, Silver Lies and Iron Ties. Most of us aren't familiar with this post-Civil War part of our history in the West. And, it's a fascinating part of our history. Parker skillfully, and vividly, portrays it. The Silver Rush in Colorado brought all kinds of people to Leadville, saints and sinners. And, they were all trying to make a killing of some sort. Parker's book is intriguing, both as a mystery, and, as a social history.

Once you've read these three books, pick up Vicki Delany's Gold Digger, and compare the lives of the two saloon owners, Inez Stannert during Leadville's mining days, and Fiona MacGillivray's during the gold rush in Dawson, Yukon Territory in 1898. The authors gave us two strong women, trying to make a living in a man's world. However, Inez Stannert is due for a break sooner or later, and it doesn't appear to be sooner. Ann Parker's character seems doomed to live her life under Leaden Skies.

There is a downloadable copy of the Author's Note that was omitted in the first printing. If you'd like to read it, go to http://www.annparker.net/book.htm, and click on "Click to read the Author's Note."

Ann Parker's website is http://www.annparker.com


lholstine@yahoo.com
book blog: http://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com
Twitter @LesaHolstine

Jana Bommersbach's Appearance 
at Velma Teague Library

The Velma Teague Library was fortunate to host Jana Bommersbach for the latest Authors @ The Teague program. Bommersbach is an award-winning journalist, and the author of the true crime book, The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd. Now, she has a new true crime book, another one about a Phoenix murder, Bones in the Desert.

Bommersbach began the program by saying people ask her how a fun-loving, happy person like her could write about murders. She said she's fascinated by murders involving women. Her first book, The Trunk Murderess, is her beloved book, the love of her life. But, it came out in 1992, and it took her that long to find another book to write, a story that spoke to her.

Bones in the Desert is the story of Loretta Bowersock, mother of Terri of Terri's Design and Consign. It was reported that Loretta died, then her boyfriend, Taw Benderly, said she disappeared. Loretta went missing, and then Taw killed himself, which was the final insult to the family. He left no note saying where Loretta's body was. It was an insult to everyone who loved Loretta.

This case became famous in Arizona. Terri was well-known, and anyone who knew Terri, knew her mother. People had a real sense of personal connection to them because of their TV commercials. They had a sense they knew someone who had been murdered. People felt grief for Terri, that she did not have a body to bury. There were lots of pieces of this case that upset people.

Bommersbach was in North Dakota with her own parents over Christmas when this crime happened. It was in January, after her return, that she heard Terri on TV talking about her mother missing in the desert. Jana immediately called Terri, and spent an hour talking to her on the phone. Terri was the first person Jana knew in her life who had a parent murdered. Bommersbach asked Terri if she could write about it, and what had been discovered. Terri said, oh you wouldn't believe what they had discovered.

Phoenix Magazine carried Bommersbach's first article about the crime, called "Where Is My Mother?" Thirteen months later, Loretta's body was found. Hundreds of people had searched the desert. Jana was so close to her own mother that this case disturbed her. A family doing rock hounding found Loretta's bones in the desert, and called the police, and waited. The autopsy and teeth revealed the body was Loretta's.

"He Buried My Mother By a Blue Motel" was the second story that ran in Phoenix. Psychics flocked to the story. Dozens of them were interested in helping Terri. Some were well-meaning; some helpful; some not. Terri was grasping for answers. The police said Taw was the suspect. He was dead, so they were satisfied, and walked away from the case. The police went on, and Terri was left on her own.

Psychics said they saw a lot of blue around Loretta. Bommersbach said anyone who knows the Arizona desert knows the desert "wears yellow and purple like school colors." There are different colors, but the only blue in the desert is the sky. When they finally found the body, it was near a hotel on I-8 on the road to San Diego. Jana said there must have been a sale on blue paint that year, because everything around the hotel was blue, including an old truck. Terri's brother was skeptical, saying psychics always pick a primary color. But, two police said one psychic was right on target. A New York agent liked the story, and contacted Bommersbach to see if she would develop it into a book.

Jana Bommersbach said Loretta's case was a classic case of elder abuse, and this was a way to tell the story of elder abuse. Phoenix, and Arizona, are #1 in a lot of bad things. But, they have the first and only shelter devoted to elder abuse in the nation. Doves Shelter was opened by the Area Agency on Aging. Terri operates a small shop with all profits going to Doves. When Bommersbach wrote a column about Doves, she met the local cops assigned to elder abuse. Only Phoenix and San Diego have units assigned to it. She discovered that elder abuse is very long term; it goes on for years, and it could be verbal, physical, emotional or sexual, or a combination. It can go on for years until something crashes, and the victim needs a break.

Loretta discovered the treachery of her boyfriend of eighteen years. She discovered the level of his exploitation. Loretta was professionally dressed that day, but with her shoes off, as so many people are who work at home. She tried to confront Taw and throw him out. They surmise she had a violent, angry response to his treachery because of the type of person she was. Both people are now dead who were involved. There is a thin line between abuse and murder. Taw crossed it when he put a bag around Loretta's head, and strangled her.

Jana Bommersbach's dream is that someone will read Bones in the Desert while barefoot, put on their shoes, and walk out the door. She wants them to read the book, and see there is a way out. Jana said it was a difficult book to write. She prayed for a different ending for it the entire time she wrote the book. Since then, she's heard from famous women in Phoenix who said they were in that situation, and got out. She did a recent signing with Terri, and someone bought 9 copies, saying she had sisters and friends who needed to read it.

Bommersbach said she wrote the book while she was in Brainard, Minnesota. She never spends summers in Arizona. But, two summers ago, in 2007, she found a house on a lake to rent. It was a wonderful summer. Her parents came, and celebrated her father's 85th birthday there. Her brothers both married, and honeymooned there. Jana's dad died the following spring, so she's grateful she had a magnificent summer with her family while she wrote the book. She finds it incongruous that she was writing about a family torn apart, while she had a magnificent summer with hers.

Bones in the Desert is doing extremely well. It was #2 on the list of bestselling crime books. Terri and Jana are trying to get on Oprah. Terri's been on before, as a successful businesswoman who was dyslexic. They're hoping that contact will help. Billie Jean King and Lily Tomlin both read the book. It's been well-received in Arizona. The publisher is printing another 4,000 copies. Jana said she's hoping people are buying and learning from it.

Jana was asked about her background, so she gave us her biography. She was born in Fargo, North Dakota on Dec. 5, 1945. She's a product of North Dakota, and the women's movement. She went to the University of North Dakota, and her first job after graduation was in urban Michigan, in Flint. She said she had a lot of growing up to do, and received quite an education living there. She was from a white community, where she didn't know any blacks, and hadn't lived in a city. She won her first national award while in Flint.

Bommersbach went to grad school for journalism at the University of Michigan. She was student body president, winning against a law school student. She discovered she didn't like politics, and she'd rather be a reporter reporting on politics than on the other side.

When she graduated, she had hoped to go east, and work for the Washington Post. But, it was hard to get a job, and she was offered a job at The Arizona Republic. So she drove out, and found Arizona was a weird place. She was a Democrat who had campaigned against Barry Goldwater. She met him, and came to love Goldwater. But, it was weird out here, and The Arizona Republic was a conservative paper. She asked herself what she was doing here. She finally decided they needed her her. She helped to organize a union. She finally left because she couldn't work for them anymore. She went to New Times, and worked there for twelve years, and was even owner for a while. In 1992, she wrote about Winnie Ruth Judd, and she left to write the book. She got an interview with Ruth. She is proud that The Trunk Murderess was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award for best nonfiction that year.

Then, Bommersbach started a column for Phoenix Magazine. She's been writing that for fifteen years. She did commentary for Channel 3 for seven years at 7:15 AM, but had to get up at 4 AM, read three newspapers, and then go on at 7:15 to talk about three things that ticked her off that day. After 9/11, she was laid off at Channel 3. She still had her Phoenix Magazine job, and she did "Books and Company," for the local PBS station, Channel 8, for five or six seasons. Now, she's freelancing. She does a column for True West Magazine. Then this book, Bones in the Desertt, came along. She's still finding a way to pay the rent.

When asked if she'd ever write about the murder of Arizona Republic reporter, Don Bolles, Bommersbach said everyone expected her to write it. She got into the hospital that night with his wife, who heard Jana's voice in the hall, and insisted they let her in. Don was a good friend. But, she never covered the stories in 1976 when his car was blown up. In 1996, at New Times, she did a retrospective. They did a special report about the murder that opened up new avenues. But, the crime is so old that people have served time, and walked away. There are so many holes in the story, and Bommersbach said she doesn't know where else to look to write that book. But, the police tend to cling to a decision because they don't want to face reality. This case is always an open case. There have been twenty-five bad books about it, but she sees no reason to write about it until the case is solved.

Bommersbach was asked if Loretta was an unusual victim for this type of violence, and she said, no. Domestic violence happens all the time. That generation of women always had someone tell them what to do for their entire lives. The first time they were independent was when they were widowed. But, many of them felt it was better to have a bad man that to be alone.

She was asked if any family members suspected Loretta would be murdered, and she said no. Prior to the murder, one sister watched every episode of America's Most Wanted, thinking Taw would show up. He was nice, good-looking, a gourmet cook with a great voice. But, the family suspected he would bankrupt Loretta, not kill her.

Within hours of the death, psychics sought out Terri. Terri and her mother were estranged because of Taw, and they had just started getting together. Loretta fought with Terri over Taw. Terri had a tough time on various levels. Bommersbach said Terri was "Searching in death for a mother she'd already lost in life."

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It was a pleasure to host Jana Bommersbach at the Velma Teague Library. She drew the largest crowd we have ever had for an Authors @ The Teague program. Bette Sharpe, our Programming Librarian, presented Jana with a thank you gift, the new Authors @ The Teague mug.

(Photo - Lesa Holstine, Jana Bommersbach, and Bette Sharpe - copyright Ed Sharpe, CouryGraph Productions)

Jana Bommersbach's website is www.janabommersbach.com 

Bones in the Desert: The True Story of a Mother's Murder and a Daughter's Search by Jana Bommersbach, ©2008. St. Martin's True Crime, ©2008. ISBN 9780312947415 (paperback), 278p.

The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd by Jana Bommersbach, Poisoned Pen Press, published 2003, ISBN 9781590580646 (paperback), 280p.

lholstine@yahoo.com  book blog: http://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com 

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