On This Week in 2005: From Mountains to Monet

I'm still having fun going through my old book journal, so I thought I would share with you the books that I read during this same week in 2005. Ready... set... GO!

First up is one of Earlene Fowler's excellent Benni Harper series set in the ranching country of central California. Benni Harper is an ex-rancher who now curates a folk art museum. Early on when she met the man that she would eventually marry, I disliked him so much that I almost stopped reading the series. What a macho jerk! But I've had similar reactions to friends' boyfriends/husbands, and just because I couldn't stomach their partners... well, that didn't mean that I threw away the friendships. I handled Benni's husband the same way, and I certainly didn't regret it. I even got to like her abrasive grandmother, Dove. To have not one but two characters in a book or series that rub my fur the wrong way normally means that I stop reading the book. It says something about Earlene Fowler's writing that I kept right on through to the end of the series. (And I still wish she'd write more.)

Although the series starts out well (each book being named after a well-known quilt pattern), it really hits its stride in book six, Mariner's Compass. Fowler's plots took on more complexity, her characters grew more and more nuanced, and she even started writing serious action scenes that put my heart in my throat and tears in my eyes.

Earlene Fowler has been "on sabbatical" as she calls it for about five years now. I've had the privilege of meeting her twice, and she's smart and funny and such a pleasure. I do wish she'd start writing again, but if she doesn't, at least she's given us fifteen Benni Harper mysteries.


 

Kirk Mitchell may be better known for his time travel, alternate history, and historical fiction, but this former law enforcement officer also wrote five books in one of my favorite mystery series. This series features two main characters: Emmett Quanah Parker, a part-Comanche, part-white agent for the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and Anna Turnipseed, a part-Modoc, part-Japanese special agent for the FBI. The series started out in the Southwest but soon began to move around the country.

Emmett and Anna had quite a dynamic between them. Their relationship is the type that makes you keep looking for the next book. The mysteries are strong as are the settings, and I appreciated being able to learn more about the lifestyles and customs of various Native American tribes. Do I wish Mitchell were still writing his Parker/Turnipseed mysteries? Yes, I do! Five are definitely not enough.

Skye Kathleen Moody's Venus Diamond mysteries are books that make me wish I'd taken better notes back in 2005. (Funny how blogging changes your note-taking habits!)

Venus Diamond is a US Fish and Wildlife agent in Washington state, and I'm remembering that she was pretty, quirky, smart, and kick-ass before kick-ass females were really acceptable. Venus has an almost James Bond-like quality to her, which is one reason why photojournalist Moody's mysteries were so interesting to read. 

Another reason why I enjoyed them a great deal (besides the wonderful settings) is because each book centered around a strong environmental theme, so they were a matter of strong central character, intriguing mysteries, and plenty to learn about the natural world. Win-win-win as far as I'm concerned!

I think Tamar Myers' Den of Antiquity series set in Charlotte, North Carolina (and then Charleston, South Carolina), was the first cozy series I read with titles that were plays on words. Now titles like this are almost de rigueur.

Main character Abigail Timberlake is a little bitty thing, but she's got more Southern sass than women who are head and shoulders taller than she. I really liked learning a bit about antiques-- and the cities of Charlotte and Charleston-- and Myers has a very well-developed funny bone, which is one of the main reasons why I read the series.

I didn't finish reading the Den of Antiquity books though. I came to the series late, got my hands on all the books that had been written to that point, and read them... almost one right after the other. I don't do that anymore. Haven't done for years. If I read series books too close together, humor can fall flat, characters can start annoying me, and plots can start feeling too formulaic. It has to be an unusual circumstance for me to read series books close together.

Myers has two other series, one that I enjoyed, and one that I didn't. The one that I didn't continue reading was her Pennsylvania Dutch mysteries. Why? For the simple reason that the main character was so nasty and abrasive I decided she could take her ill-temper out on some other reader.

The third series that Myers wrote is a four-book one featuring Amanda Brown, a young American missionary in the Belgian Congo in the 1950s. These books are based on the author's own childhood. I not only liked the plots of the books, I also enjoyed the humor, the setting, and the customs of the natives that the young Amanda was learning to live among.


Back in 2005, I read quilt-titled mysteries that were solved by Benni Harper. Now I read mysteries that are solved by members of the St. Rose Quilting Bee. Back in 2005, I read Kirk Mitchell's mysteries that have strong Native American characters and themes. Today I read M.J. McGrath, C.M. Wendelboe, and Margaret Coel. Back in 2005, I read mysteries with an environmental aspect. Today I still do, reading Nevada Barr, Pamela Beason, and Paul Doiron. Back in 2005, I was reading cozies with catchy titles set in North Carolina. Today, I still am-- with authors like Lucy Arlington, Ellery Adams, and Brynn Bonner.

It's always good to see that some things just never seem to go out of fashion.

How about you? Have you read any of these series? Which ones? Did you like them? Any recommendations for me for future reading? This inquiring mind would love to know!


 

Spider Web by Earlene Fowler

First Line: Music flowed out of the old ranch house's open front door like a wash of honey water-- "Are You Lonesome Tonight?"

Somehow Benni Harper has found herself in charge of San Celina's Memory Festival-- a celebration of recollections and loved ones through crafts. It's been a lot of work, but Benni feels that the festival is going to be a success. That is, until a sniper with a vendetta against law enforcement begins shooting at local police officers. Now Benni not only has to make sure this festival runs smoothly, she has to find a way to keep her police chief husband safe.

I've been a fan of this series since its inception, and in many ways I think this fifteenth book is the strongest of them all-- which is saying a lot. There's quite a bit going on in the book: that sniper shooting at police officers, a mysterious woman following Benni around, the Memory Festival, working on photographer Isaac Lyons' latest book, and-- the coup de grâce-- Benni's husband Gabe showing signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But none of the plot threads are rushed, and all of them blend seamlessly into a story that's hard to put down. 

There's some serious stuff going on in Spider Web, but Earlene Fowler knows how to add just the right touches of comic relief; most notably the octogenarian ladies of the Coffin Star Quilt Guild, and sisters Dove (Benni's grandmother) and Garnet (Benni's aunt). Dove and Garnet are the type of sisters who love to fuss and squabble with each other, but you can feel the love between them. These ladies have been studying something called cane fu, and all I can say is... if you see an older person with a cane who mentions taking lessons in this discipline, I wouldn't do anything untoward unless I were out of cane's reach. Just sayin'.

Fowler has proven time and again that she can hold her readers in the palm of her hand. She's created a superb cast of characters whom I care for deeply. When one of them is in danger, my heart is in my throat. I've also laughed myself silly, and shed tears of joy and of sorrow. Her series is imbued with a deep and abiding faith. For those of you unfamiliar with these books and who don't care to read anything remotely religious-- don't worry. This is faith done the way it should be. None of these people thump their chests and proclaim what good Christians they are. These folks see what needs to be done, and they quietly roll up their sleeves and get it done. No strings. No homilies. Just a simple matter of doing the right thing. Reading books like Spider Web can make you feel as though there is some good in the world after all.

Fowler is on a self-professed writing sabbatical, and for all intents and purposes it looks as though this is the end of a wonderful series. It's one that I've grown with over the years. From the beginning when I didn't like Benni's husband or grandmother and doubted I'd continue reading, all the way to now when I'm so glad that I read each and every one. Earlene Fowler's characters grow and change as the years pass. Just as real people do. Just as I have.

And isn't that a marvelous thing to say about a series of books?

Spider Web by Earlene Fowler

ISBN: 9780425240984

Berkley Hardcover © 2011

Hardcover, 320 pages

Cozy Mystery, #15 Benni Harper mystery

Rating: A

Source: Paperback Swap


 

@ The Poisoned Pen with the Berkley Prime Crime Ladies!

A bookstore celebrating a milestone-- like its twenty-fifth anniversary-- can dish up some very nice perks, like the one on the evening Denis and I headed over to Scottsdale and The Poisoned Pen.

We were going to enjoy a couple of hours with four talented writers: Carolyn Hart, recipient of the Grand Masters Award from the Mystery Writers of America and author of four series and several standalones; Margaret Coel, author of the Wind River mysteries and Catherine McLeod novels; Avery Aames (AKA Daryl Wood Gerber), author of two series; and Earlene Fowler, author of two series and a standalone novel. These women have all won awards, and they are all published by Berkley Prime Crime.

I wasn't about to pass up the chance to see them, and Denis-- who rocketed through the Wind River mysteries after meeting Margaret Coel-- is always game to go to our favorite bookstore because he usually comes home with more audiobook suggestions.

On the drive over, the radio station alerted us to the haboob moving in from Casa Grande. Evidently everyone was supposed to stay off the road at 5 PM, which made me wonder what all these people were going to do instead of coming home from work. Just how much of a chance do you think there would be of having everyone stay at work? I thought so-- you and I are on the same page with that one! The sky was blue, there was no signs of billowing clouds of dust, and in no time, we were at The Poisoned Pen.

"Take cover!"

L to R: Fowler, Hart, Coel and Aames

Having already met Earlene Fowler at the very first CozyCon, I'd fallen in love with her humor and outspokenness. As the four women took their seats, Earlene immediately made us laugh.  "So this is one of those haboobs?" Fowler asked. "We heard the news in our hotel. They were telling everyone to get off the roads, to stay inside, to close windows and doors.... I was telling these three to take cover, and I started checking to see if we had enough food and water in the mini fridge!" (If you haven't guessed it already, a haboob is a dust storm, and as far as they go, this one was a no-show.)

As is often the case, Barbara Peters had taken the women out to lunch, and she looked over the room and said, "You think these authors come to The Poisoned Pen to sign your books. They really come here to eat!"

Introductions

The evening officially began with each author introducing herself.

Avery Aames

Daryl Wood Gerber introduced herself by saying that she writes a cookbook cozy series under her real name, and the cheese shop mysteries as Avery Aames. (When you spell Ames with two A's, you're first alphabetically on the shelf.)

"All the titles in in the second series are quite cheesy," she said with a laugh.

Margaret Coel

"When I began writing the Wind River mysteries," said Margaret Coel, "I had to find a logical way to get an amateur involved in solving murders. Then it dawned on me... when you're in trouble, who do you turn to? You often turn to your priest, your lawyer.

"What my books are about is how things that happen in the past percolate up to affect the present." She added that this also happens in her two Catherine McLeod books set in Denver, Blood Memory and The Perfect Suspect.

Carolyn Hart

"My Death on Demand book coming out in May will be my fifty-third," said Carolyn Hart. "I've been writing for fifty years. I grew up during World War II and always wanted to write about ordinary people in extraordinary times.

"I wanted to write a non-fiction book about American nurses in the Philippines during World War II, but when I asked to see their papers, the papers were not available to view. Now they are, and seven or eight years ago, a wonderful book was written about them. All the nurses survived, although they'd all been Japanese prisoners of war."

When Barbara Peters asked her which of her books was her favorite, Hart quickly replied, "Escape from Paris," which is a suspense novel about two American sisters in Paris during the Occupation who risk their lives to save a downed British airman from Nazi arrest.

Earlene Fowler

"I feel so intimidated sitting next to Carolyn!" quipped Earlene Fowler. "I wrote each Benni Harper novel as if it were the last. I'm on hiatus at the moment."

When asked what she was doing, Earlene smiled and said, "Right now I'm doing promiscuous reading, and I think everyone needs to stop writing for at least six months to give us all a chance to catch up!"

Questions & Answers

Barbara Peters: You all write more than one type of book. Carolyn, you started out with juvenile fiction, and now you're writing about a ghost (Bailey Ruth). It's almost as if you're covering all the bases from birth to death!

Carolyn Hart: I had to do copy edits on a new version of a book that's set in Mexico City involving college students in 1954. Doing that made me feel young again. (Looking out over the room) Everybody in this room has a story.

Margaret Coel: We all wonder if we can do it. It expands our capabilities, and it's fun. I did it because I wanted to challenge myself.

Earlene Fowler: Benni is a young widow who has a great support system. I wanted to write about a young widow who has none of that. (The Saddlemaker's Wife)

Barbara Peters: Earlene, you write about the thing that scares you most: being widowed.

Earlene Fowler: Yes. I had a writing instructor tell us to write about the thing that scares you most, and that's what I did.  I met my husband when we were fifteen; we were married when we were nineteen; and we're now fifty-nine with no kids. Well, except our Corgi. I lost twenty-five pounds writing my first book, Fool's Puzzle because the thought of losing my husband scares me to death.

Avery Aames: My publisher wanted a niche sort of book about cheese, which has always been considered a sort of comfort food. They wanted cheese, and they liked my writing.  I was an actress, and I wrote lots of screenplays, but I had six unpublished novels sitting on the shelf. The only way to be published was to say yes to cheese. And I'm excellent at doing my research!

I will say that my cheese shop series isn't so much about cheese but the relationship between an orphaned girl and her French grandparents. My main character can't cook so fans who also can't cook can still relate to the series. Speaking of cooking, if you haven't done so, I hope you all will visit one of my favorite websites, Mystery Lovers' Kitchen.

Barbara Peters: The people at Berkley will often have an idea and then look for an author to pair with that idea. In some cases, Berkley owns the name the author writes under.

Earlene Fowler: I know of authors who write under four or five different names, and they've dedicated books to themselves. I've often thought that writers have to be successful schizophrenics; they have to write, and then they have to deal with their publishers.

Barbara Peters: It's a strange business, and speaking of business, I'd like to say that the Poisoned Pen Press' debts have all been paid off. We've even hired a marketing expert and an assistant publisher. (Enthusiastic round of applause throughout the bookstore)

Earlene Fowler: And as writers we sometimes get to travel to promote our books. We get to stay in a nice hotel. We get to see a haboob....

Barbara Peters: In the bookstore business, I've learned that customers are predictable. I hate to say that, but you are. When The Poisoned Pen was first open, there was an elderly lady who would spend $34-37 every other week in the store. This went on for well over a year. Then she called one week, ordered books, and asked for them to be delivered. I knew something was wrong, so I delivered the books myself. She wanted me to leave the books at the door and leave, but I refused. When she finally opened the door, she was so embarrassed. She had an abusive grandson, and he had beaten her. But we need to get back on track....

Earlene Fowler: You can't leave us hanging like this! (Everyone in the room agreed.)

Barbara then went on to say that she took the lady to the hospital to get her checked out, and the grandson was arrested and jailed. (See what kind of service you get at an indie bookstore?)

Barbara Peters: Where do you get the names for your characters?

Earlene Fowler: From all over. I once met a woman named Bunny. She was six feet tall, dressed in a work shirt, jeans and cowboy boots. Not your run-of-the-mill Bunny!

Margaret Coel: I have an Arapaho vet my manuscripts, and I once had to change the name of one of my characters because it was very similar to the name of an Arapaho who would've brought many unhappy memories and associations to the tribe.

Avery Aames: I get a lot of mine online. I want them to be easily pronounceable. I met a woman called Bingo at a signing, and I asked her daughter, "Bingo as in the dog?" No. The woman was called Bingo because the very first time her husband laid eyes on her, he said, "Bingo!"

Earlene Fowler: I named one of my characters after a real person, and I didn't tell her. Three months later, the woman called me and said, "You named that character after me!" I responded, "'bout time you read the book!"

As the evening reluctantly drew to a close, Margaret Coel told us a bit about her newest book that's coming out in September. She found out that Butch Cassidy once hid out on the Arapaho reservation, and an idea sprouted. The book is called Night of the White Buffalo. White buffaloes are very sacred to Native Americans, and when one is born, many times the rancher will kill it immediately. Why? Because thousands of people will come to see it, and they cause traffic jams, trample pasture land, and break down fences in order to do so. A white buffalo can be a very costly occurrence.

Then it was all over... but everyone in the bookstore had smiles on their faces. What a fun evening!

Spicing Up Crime Fiction With Romance

For those not familiar with the crime fiction genre, it's probably imagined to be populated by grim policemen and wisecracking private eyes. For those of us who love the genre, we're well aware of the fact that mysteries have something for everyone-- even on Valentine's Day. Yes, there are thousands of mysteries out there where the hero travels alone. There's nary a significant other in sight, and relationships consist of one night stands. But there are also thousands of mysteries out there that are spiced up with couples in committed relationships.

What better topic for Valentine's Day than this? A few of my favorite series immediately came to mind, but I thought I'd ask for recommendations on my blog's Facebook page. More series were brought to my attention, so after making a list and checking it a dozen times, I thought I'd share six authors who write crime fiction series in which the relationships between the main characters are every bit as important as who died and why. I found that they fit quite nicely into three categories: Works in Progress, Tried and True, and Forbidden Fruit. I've included two links with each series, one for the author's website and the second to a page where you can see all the books in the series in order.

Are you ready for some top notch recommendations? I hope so because I'm banking on all of you to chime in with your own!

Works in Progress

Facebook friend, Martha D., mentioned one of the series that popped into my head very quickly: Earlene Fowler's Benni Harper series set in central California. When the series begins, Benni is a young widow who's just become the director of a folk art museum. She meets and eventually marries Police Chief Gabe Ortiz, and I have to admit that I almost stopped reading the series because of Gabe!

When we first meet Gabe, he's a typical Hispanic male, full of machismo and the knowledge that all women have their place-- and it's definitely not in the middle of murder investigations. But Fowler's two main characters work hard at their relationship. Benni and Gabe still have their rough patches, but they're getting used to each other. Their strengthening relationship-- and all the books in this series-- work.

The series that immediately sprang to my mind was Deborah Crombie's Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James series set in England. When this series begins, Duncan is a superintendent at Scotland Yard, and Gemma is his sergeant. Their working relationship gradually blossoms into love. Duncan is divorced and has a young son. Gemma is a single mother with a young boy of her own. Through each of the books readers experience these two melding together with their children into a family: how their relationship factors into their careers, how they work to make sure their children feel loved and important through the transition, how their diverse backgrounds lead to misunderstandings, and how they can all  be affected by tragedy. Crombie's series is one of my very favorites, and when the talk is about relationships, Duncan and Gemma are tied for the number one spot on my Billboard Top of the Charts. You'll just have to wait to learn about the other series!

Tried and True

My dear friend, Jean T., recommended Anne Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series, set in Victorian England. I vividly remember beginning to read it back in 1979 or so. It has to be one of the longest running mystery series ever!

Thomas Pitt comes from humble beginnings and has worked hard to become a police inspector. His wife, Charlotte, is from an upper class family, and her connections often help Thomas with his investigations. These two people from such very different backgrounds have certainly had their misunderstandings, but they've worked hard to forge a lasting relationship that's just as much fun to read about as the mysteries they solve.

Carola Dunn's Daisy Dalrymple series was recommended by Cath of the excellent blog Read Warbler. Daisy is a journalist in 1920s England, and her husband, Alec Fletcher, is a Scotland Yard detective. (I'm beginning to see a theme here, with all these British policemen marrying smart and intrepid women!)

Their marriage has lasted through twenty books, so I'm sure their love is here to stay-- because of their genuine love for each other and because of their need to face all life has in store side by side.

In the top five of my "relationship mystery" books is Donis Casey's Alafair Tucker series. Alafair Tucker is a ranch woman in the Oklahoma of the 1910s. She and her husband are raising ten children, and now that the eldest are old enough to help keep an eye on the younger ones, Alafair has a bit of free time to solve crimes. (Of course with children being children, some of Alafair's brood manage to get involved with a few of the crimes, too.)  Alafair and her husband Shaw have grown together over the years. They are well acquainted with each other's strengths and weaknesses. It's a marriage filled with love and commitment, and Casey's books are a delight to read whether Alafair and Shaw are taking care of their passel of young'uns or trying to solve a crime while running their ranch.

Forbidden Fruit

In my first category, I mentioned that two series tied for the number one spot on my personal list. Julia Spencer-Fleming's Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne series is the other one tied for first.

The first book in the series, In the Bleak Midwinter, won a boatload of awards, and although it took me a few years to overcome my innate skepticism over all the hype, I now know why it did. Clare and Russ are wonderful, fully fleshed characters, and readers get to know their endearing quirks as well as how strong each of them is.

Clare is Reverend Clare Fergusson of St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Millers Kill, New York. She is single and she works very hard to do as much as she can for her fellow human beings. Russ is the Millers Kill police chief, and he is very much married, although he and his wife have grown apart over the years. With Clare and Russ spending so much time in each other's company, readers can see how good they are together-- how they belong together. As the series progresses, the two fall in love, and it is painful to watch because these are two very good, very honorable, people. As Clare says in Out of the Deep I Cry, "We're going to break each other's heart."  This is forbidden fruit at its finest, and I have to know how their lives are going to turn out.

They're Not All Fairy Tales

As I said at the beginning of this post, crime fiction lovers know that there's something for everybody. This also holds true for "relationship" mysteries. Not all relationships turn out well. Sometimes partners prove themselves to be abusive. 

Just ask Stella Hardesty, a 50-year-old widow who once suffered domestic violence and now runs a sewing shop in Missouri. You see, Sophie Littlefield in her Stella Hardesty series has created a woman who's been there, survived that, and refuses to wear the t-shirt-- but she won't refuse to help any woman who comes to her for help with an abusive partner. Stella knows what relationships are supposed to be like, and with her on the scene, abusers had best change their ways!

Now that I've listed mine-- with the help of a few of my friends-- it's time for some much-wanted input from all of you. Did I list any of your personal favorites? Which ones? More importantly: which ones did I leave out? A true bookaholic can never have too many recommendations!

I Got Cozy at CozyCon 2012!

You'd better believe when I received an email from the Poisoned Pen and I saw the graphic announcing the CozyCon, I perked up like a bird dog that had just whiffed a pheasant over in the next clump of grass.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, is responsible for putting the whole thing together and rounding up an impressive line-up of writers who are known for creating some of the best traditional mysteries (more commonly referred to as "cozies") in the business. I perked up even more when I saw that some of my favorites would be there-- many fresh from attending Malice Domestic.

The following is meant to be my first-timer experience of this type of event. I tend to be reserved, and I don't do well in crowds. Some of you will know what I'm talking about; others won't. After much thought, the pros outweighed the cons by a couple hundred tons, so I  made the call and registered. (I'm mentioning this just in case there are other folks who have hesitated to attend something similar. I had a blast. You can, too!)

For anyone who wants a detailed blow-by-blow account of what happened throughout the day, I'll refer you to Lesa Holstine's excellent post. One of the benefits of attending CozyCon was the fact that I finally got a chance to meet Lesa. We sat side by side at a table right up front, scribbling notes till our pens smoked and taking photo after photo. It was truly a pleasure to meet Lesa and to see how well regarded she is in the crime fiction community.

I arrived early and wheeled right into a prized parking spot in the shade. (In Phoenix, parking spots in the shade are more highly prized than spots right outside the entrance.) I located the room inside the library and made my way to a table up front where I had the best chance of taking halfway decent photos. I then commenced a favorite past time: watching everyone else arrive. It wasn't long until Lesa arrived ("Are you Cathy?" "Yes, I am, Lesa!"), and no time at all before we had a full house and the CozyCon began.

The authors in attendance? Here's the stellar line-up in alphabetical order:

• Avery Aames, author of the Cheese Shop mystery series.
• Kate Carlisle, author of the Bibliophile mystery series.
• Donis Casey, author of the Alafair Tucker historical mystery series.
• Jane Cleland, author of the Josie Prescott Antiques mystery series.
• Hannah Dennison, author of the Vicky Hill mystery series.
• Earlene Fowler, author of the Benni Harper mystery series.
• Rebecca M. Hale, author of the Cats and Curios as well as the Mystery in the Islands series.
• Carolyn Hart, author of 47 published books, including the Death on Demand series.
• Beth Kendrick, women's fiction writer and author of The Lucky Dog Matchmaking Service.
• Jenn McKinlay, author of the Library Lovers, Cupcake mysteries, Decoupage mysteries, and Good Buy Girls mystery series. (How does she do it???)
• Paige Shelton, author of the Farmers' Market and the Country Cooking School mystery series.
• Betty Webb, author of the Gunn Zoo mystery series and the Lena Jones series.

CozyCon was to be broken up into a morning segment where we got to know the authors, then time for book signing followed by lunch. The afternoon was to be spent in various panels. It began on a slightly ominous note: an events coordinator for the library informed us that the water was going to be turned off to fix a problem nearby, and if we needed to use the facilities.... Naturally, there was a few minutes' pause in the proceedings!

(L to R) B. Webb, J. McKinlay, P. Shelton, R. Hale

Water notwithstanding, from the very first official minutes of the CozyCon, I knew I was in one of my favorite rooms in heaven. Barbara Peters was perfect as the moderator; I'd almost go anywhere she appears just to listen to her speak.

I loved her story about being mistaken for Barbara Mertz, author of the popular Amelia Peabody mysteries. One time, Barbara Peters happened to be out and about with Barbara Mertz. Of course,  Barbara P. was mistakenly identified as Barbara M. There just had to be a devilish twinkle in Barbara Peters'  eyes as she responded with "I'm so glad you like my books." Never fear-- Barbara M. can give as good as she gets. When finally asked what she did, Barbara Mertz replied, "I own a fabulous bookstore in Scottsdale, Arizona!"

(And before we go any further, I'll let you in on a secret. You have to attend one of these. Why? Not only do you learn things about future books and series, you also get told hilarious true stories that you have to swear never to repeat!)

Carolyn Hart

As the authors began introducing themselves and their books, I really got a feel for the types of people they are. I could have an epic the size of War and Peace if I were to type just the notes from their introductions, so I'll narrow it down to a few highlights. (Sorry, ladies, I wish I could include all of you!)

Carolyn Hart, the author of 47 published books, talked about the first seven or so books that she wrote that simply disappeared into "the black hole of publishing." No one was reading them. She asked for advice and was told that "No one reads mysteries, you need to write a romance." So she did. (Well, it was really a mystery disguised as a romance novel.) When the editor read it, Hart was told that she needed to increase the sexual tension in the book. Sitting down with her agent, Hart asked, "What's sexual tension?" Her agent replied, "Carolyn, you need to write mysteries."  She then determined to write the sort of book that she loved to read. Guess what? That book not only sold, but people read it and wanted more. Hart hasn't looked back since.

Jenn McKinlay and Kate Carlisle

An author that I felt a strong identification with height-wise was Jenn McKinlay, although we were raised in very different times. (Jenn, I still can't hear the chorus to the Jolly Green Giant TV commercials without having flashbacks to grade school.)

Jenn is a self-professed Generation X slacker who grew up in front of the TV believing that "Bewitched" and "I Love Lucy" represented normal life. This meant that life was parceled out in 22½ minute segments and everything turned out all right at the end.

As a young'un, she was "freakishly tall and had no filter." It wasn't until her father took her to see "Romancing the Stone" starring Kathleen Turner as a novelist that she realized she could write the books she loved to imagine herself living in.

Midway through the introductions, Barbara Peters stopped the proceedings to announce amidst much cheering and clapping that the water was back on. We were nothing if not an enthusiastic group regardless the topic!

Hannah Dennison and Earlene Fowler

Earlene Fowler came up with one of the more popular ideas during CozyCon. Writers of hard-boiled crime fiction have a tendency to turn up their noses at traditional mysteries. Earlene would love to be a member of a panel consisting of traditional mystery writers and hard-boiled writers. Such a panel has never been done, mostly because the hard-boiled writers decline to participate. No one seems able to put one together....

After seeing and hearing the audience response to Fowler's suggestion, Barbara Peters said, "You know I'm going to take that as a challenge!" That brought on even more applause as everyone in the room envisioned what the panel could be like. Earlene Fowler was encouraged by Peters' reaction and said, "Good! Then they'd have to read a cozy!"

Barbara Peters

Barbara Peters also interjected some very encouraging news about the publishing industry. It always seems as though the bad news gets the most press, and I've lost count of the number of articles I've read predicting the horrible death of the book industry.

Peters disagrees with that dire prediction completely. "I'm thrilled with digital. The Poisoned Pen had its best year ever last year." She went on to tell us that book royalties are rising. Print book sales are not dropping off, and eBook sales continue to rise. I know I'm not the only one who's waiting for the Poisoned Pen to have the ability to sell eBooks online because I know where I'll be buying them!

The author introductions seemed to fly by, and in no time at all, we were lining up for a delicious boxed lunch and our beverages of choice. Once our batteries were recharged, it was time for the afternoon panels. There were four, covering such topics as culinary mysteries, the writing process, romantic subplots, and amateur sleuths.

The first panel was all about culinary mysteries, and the authors fielding questions were Jenn McKinlay, Kate Carlisle, Avery Aames, and Donis Casey.  One enlightening tidbit came when the authors explained that, if you wrote culinary mysteries, you had to be willing and able to cook... a lot. Including recipes in books can also be very tricky. You see, the recipe and the ingredients are not copyrightable, but how you do it is subject to copyright. Any recipes in the books have to be thoroughly tested before they can be included.

(L to R) Jenn McKinlay, Kate Carlisle, Avery Aames, Donis Casey

Another question asked the authors about adding humor to their books. Kate Carlisle had us laughing when she admitted that she really, really wanted her next book, Peril in Paperback, to come out in hardcover. You see, her first Bibliophile mystery, Homicide in Hardcover, came out in... you guessed it... paperback. From laughter Kate moved us right into wishful thinking as she described a beautiful handmade set of Jane Austen books that she would dearly love to own. I still drool a little thinking about them!

When asked how they came up with some of the things in their books, Jenn McKinlay confessed that the "Crafternoons" she has in her Library Lovers series came from the fact that she worked at the Phoenix Public Library with some fun co-workers who actually did have Crafternoons. "My whole life is a rip-off," warned Jenn with a twinkle in her eye. "Be very careful!"

The second panel of the afternoon was "The Writing Process," and panelists Carolyn Hart, Donis Casey, Betty Webb, and Jane Cleland shared so many things about how their creative juices work.

(L to R) Barbara Peters, Carolyn Hart, Donis Casey, Betty Webb, Jane Cleland

When asked if they write outlines first or if they just start writing, Carolyn Hart shared a story about Robert Crais telling everyone about the meticulous, highly-detailed outlines he wrote before he ever started writing any of his books. He had several authors thinking that they needed to change their methods and start writing outlines when Mrs. Robert Crais's voice was heard in the room: "Ask him if he follows his outline...."

Carolyn Hart and Donis Casey both start with the main characters, the murder, whodunit it and why. Jane Cleland works from a synopsis-- an "aerial view"-- while Betty Webb admitted that she was a follower of the Robert Crais Method, which meant that she spent three months writing outlines that she doesn't use.

Betty Webb

One thing every single author mentioned was having characters who didn't do what they were supposed to do.  Some characters may have been intended to be in only one scene but demanded more. Some characters may have been intended for the long haul, but faded away after a few scenes. Characters have lives of their own, and all the authors can do is listen and obey. I think Betty Webb surprised more than a few of us when she admitted that, in the nine books she's written, only two out of the nine original killers actually stayed the course. A benefit of this is that, if the killer's identity has changed, when it's time to add misleading clues to fool the reader, Webb's are already in place. What she has to do is go back to add clues to the identity of the new killer.

All the authors agreed that revisions were their favorite part of the writing process. Carolyn Hart loves them because it means she has a book written. As Betty Webb says, "First drafts are horrendous, but hey, you can't fix a blank page, and the fixing is what's fun!"

The third panel, Romantic Subplots in Mysteries, was comprised of Kate Carlisle, Beth Kendrick and Earlene Fowler. Earlene told us that her mother had a "twenty romance a week" habit and that romance was in her DNA, but she didn't want to write romances, she wanted to write mysteries.

Her first idea was to have her books be about Benni Harper and her husband Jack solving mysteries, but the book just didn't work. Someone had once told Earlene to "write about what scares you the most." At the time, Earlene was thirty-seven. She had been married since the age of nineteen. What scared her most was the thought of her husband dying. When she wrote of Jack dying, all the pieces of the book began to fall into place.

Earlene Fowler

Bringing a strong Latino character into the books and having him marry Benni brought on a lot of mail from fans. Many of those fans wanted to know when those two characters were going to have babies. Earlene had decided from the beginning that Gabe and Benni weren't going to have children: "You can't take your baby along on investigations. You just can't. If your main character does that, then she's not the type of mother you want to be reading about."

Earlene also had us laughing when she told us that it was bad enough that she had a dog in one book. Benni was taking care of someone's pet, and the first thing she knew, Earlene had to remember to write scenes to feed the dog, pet the dog, walk the dog, play with the dog... it was exhausting. Earlene swears up and down that "if you don't feed kids, readers don't notice. If you don't feed the dog, you'll hear about it!"

The fourth and final panel of the day-- Earlene Fowler, Carolyn Hart, Rebecca M. Hale, and Hannah Dennison-- discussed Amateur Sleuths. In this day and age, it seems that everyone from Amazon on down (or up) insists on being able to categorize every single book. Not all books fit the existing categories. Barbara Peters puts a large portion of the blame for this onto James Patterson's shoulders. Patterson has a background in marketing, and he brought the marketing idea of "branding" to publishing.

Some people may wonder what the big deal is about-- who cares if a book is labeled cozy or hard-boiled? You would care, if you were a crime fiction author. Why? Money, of course. If your books are considered hard-boiled, you get paid more. I know. It doesn't make any sense to me either.

Donis Casey and Carolyn Hart signing books.

There was so much information imparted throughout the CozyCon, and although I scribbled till my pen smoked and laughed so many times that I lost track, here is the pearl that I came away clutching in my hot little hand:

Every single author participating in CozyCon (whether or not I said very much about them) is extremely talented and incredibly giving of their time and of their knowledge. This is the type of event that I will be more than happy to attend in the future.

Had I read all the authors present at this event? No, I hadn't. But I will say that I now have in my possession books written by all the authors I hadn't read. I look forward to sharing their books with you in the months to come here on Kittling: Books. 

Is CozyCon the type of author event you should attend? Are you unsure of crowds? A bit shy perhaps? Get yourself registered, and come sit at my table. We'll have a blast!

Scene of the Crime with Author Earlene Fowler!

Earlene Fowler's Benni Harper mystery series was the first one I read that combined my love of mysteries and quilts. I came very close to not continuing on with the series due to my dislike of Benni's new husband and of her contrary grandmother, Dove. Benni and the quilts persuaded me to keep on reading, and I'm certainly glad I did. I now have a respect and a fondness for both Gabe and Dove-- although I'm not sure which of us mellowed, me or those two strong-willed characters!

Earlene Fowler

Earlene's character, Benni Harper, is an ex-rancher and a folk art museum curator in San Celina, California. Each book title is the name of a quilt pattern, and the series is now fifteen books strong. The books do follow a "cozy" type of format-- easy on the depiction of violence and language-- but it's easy to get emotionally involved in what's going on because Earlene is quite skillful at getting you to care for the people she has created. If you'd like to know more about Earlene Fowler, here are some links:

Earlene Fowler's website

Earlene Fowler on Facebook

Earlene Fowler's books, in order

Let's get started with that interview!

What was the very first book you remember reading and loving? What makes that book so special?

It was definitely one of the Curious George books.  I seem to remember it being one about him going to the circus.  I got my first library card when I was five years old.  Where I lived you could get a library card when you could print your own name.  I'm sure I read before that, but that is the first book I checked out, I think.  


Outside of your writing and all associated commitments, what do you like to do in your free time?

I love to read more than I love to write.  If I had to give up one, I'd give up writing, for sure.  So, I'm always reading at least 3 to 4 books at a time.  Fiction and non-fiction.  I also subscribe to about 20 magazines.  One of my favorites is Garden and Gun, a Southern living magazine and Oxford American.  I just bought a beach cruiser bicycle so I'm now sort of into riding my bike.  I love to ride horses and I'm lucky enough to have friends who own horses.  I play with my dog and talk a lot with my friends.  Now that I look at it, my life kind of looks like I'm sixteen years old, doesn't it?  (Oh, and I have a husband, too, so I spend time with him...and he was my boyfriend in high school, we met 42 years ago!)


If I were to visit your hometown, where would you recommend that I go? (I like seeing and doing things that aren't in all the guide books.)

The Donut Hole

Here in Orange County I would take you to the original Wahoo's Fish Taco on Placentia Ave in Costa Mesa.  In La Puente, the town I grew up in, I'd suggest driving through the Donut Hole.  It's a great piece of old school 50's architecture where you literally drive through two giant donuts.  (The donuts are good too!)


You have total control over casting a movie based on your life. Which actor would you cast as you?

Amy Madigan

Amy Madigan.  I come from a working class background and she plays those kinds of parts perfectly.  It would be an honor to have her play me in a movie (which would be kind of boring, really, the average writer's life really is quite dull...)


Who is your favorite recurring character in crime fiction?

I have an abiding and warm affection for James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux.


Name one book that you've read that you wish you had written. What is it about that book that made it come to mind?

Stones for Ibarra by Harriet Doerr.  The last two lines are killer.  I'd love to have written them.  The minute I read them, I knew I'd never forget them.


What did you do the first time you saw one of your books on a shelf in a bookstore? How did you celebrate when you first heard you were to be published?

By the time I saw an actual physical book in a bookstore, I was so exhausted mentally and emotionally from the publishing experience (which is grueling, especially the first time), I just froze.  I kind of felt nothing.  What was actually more exciting for me was the first time I saw my words typeset in loose galleys.  That's the first time my words looked like a real book (this was before computers were rampant and people could print out their own manuscripts to look like typeset books).  It's still a thrill for me with every book to see it typeset.  To celebrate, my husband went out to dinner and had fajitas at Chili's restaurant. 


I don't know if you've seen it, but I love Parnell Hall's video about book signings. What is the most unusual experience you've had at a book signing or author event?

After almost twenty years of book signings, they kind of run into each other.  I remember one book signing where an elderly lady dressed in a beautiful lavender suit with a matching hat came up to me.  She was carrying an elegant cane with a fancy nob.  I was sitting at a table and she took the cane, raised it up and slammed it down on the table.  I jumped a foot out of my chair.   "I could just kill that Benni Harper," she said.  (That's the main character in my series.)  The woman went on to rant about how badly she felt Benni treated Gabe (her husband) and how she didn't deserve a man as wonderful as him.  That was the first (though not last) time I encountered a reader who had a bit of a problem with recognizing that my characters weren't real people.


The way some people talk, the only way to read now or in the future is with some sort of electronic device, like my husband's Nook. What is your opinion of eBooks, and how will they affect you as a published author?  

I have a Kindle and I like it okay.  It's convenient when you travel and I like being able to buy a book in 30 seconds.  But, it somehow isn't as satisfying to me to read a book electronically.  I'm not sure why.  I've often bought an ebook, read it and then bought the physical book so I could reread it.  I like my Kindle for books I'm only going to read once.  Ebooks are the future, I think.  I'm old school, raised on paper books. But the new generations are so comfortable with electronics, I think ebooks will eventually take over publishing.  I think that paper books will always be published, but more for collectors.  As for how it will affect me as an author, it will definitely cut into my income.  There was an article in Wall Street Journal recently that showed that the two groups who will lose money will be authors (who don't make as much for an ebook) and, obviously, the people who produce and distribute paper books.  Publishers make basically the same amount of money on an ebook.  So, I think a lot of authors will decide it's not worth the money to continue writing, or at least writing as much.  I have colleagues who have gone back to receiving the same (or less) advances than twenty years ago.  Each author will have to decide what they are willing to do to keep publishing.  But, who really knows what will happen?  It's interesting, anyway, to watch an industry change so rapidly.  Interesting, but kind of sad, too.

On Sale Now!

I agree with you, Earlene, about the lack of "afterglow" when you finish reading an eBook. I recently received a Nook, and although I do love the backlit screen, being able to insert notes, and the ease of buying and transport, when I "turn" that last page, it's just not the same. I don't know if I need to commune with the book cover or the author photo or what!

As for your author signing with the elderly lady bearing a cane... I think it would have been interesting if I'd shown up at the same time. I could've brought my large walking stick, and since I had a strong dislike of Gabe at one time... there could've been some fun fireworks!

Thank you so much for spending this time with us. We certainly do appreciate the opportunity to get to know you a little better. May your book sales do nothing but increase!

May 2011 New Mystery Releases!

In between bouts of cooking and going through all the books in my library, I've been spending a couple of hours each day sitting in the back garden enjoying the breeze, the fountains, the flowers, and some very good books. And you all know that if you read two excellent books in a row, you've just gotta get your hands on more!

The following books are being released during the month of May, and they're on my wish list. Maybe they're on yours, too.

The titles are grouped by release dates, and I've included the information you'll need to find them at all your favorite book spots.  I hope one or two of these titles have you drooling, too!

===May 1===

Title: Frozen Charlotte
Author: Priscilla Masters
Series: #3 in the Coroner Martha Gunn series set in Shrewsbury, England
ISBN: 9780727880062
Publisher: Severn House
Hardcover, 208 pages

"When a woman arrives in Accident and Emergency clutching a child in a pink blanket, Martha Gunn is not quite ready to make the discovery that the evening has in store for her. The baby is dead, and not only that, it has been mummified. Post mortem reveals the child to be a new born, deceased for over five years and, despite the mysterious woman’s protestations that it is called ‘poppy’,  most certainly a boy. As always coroner Martha Gunn reserves judgement until she is able to get to the bottom of the case."

Title: The Durham Deception
Author: Philip Gooden
Series: #2 in the Thomas Ansell series set in Victorian England
ISBN: 9780727869951
Publisher: Severn House
Hardcover, 256 pages

"Second in the gripping new 19th century ‘Cathedral’ murder mystery series from the acclaimed author of the ‘Nick Revill’ mysteries - For the newly-weds Tom and Helen Ansell life is no honeymoon, as they are drawn into a murky underworld of Victorian spiritualism and stage magic when they’re sent on a mission to the stunning cathedral city of Durham. Not only must they investigate Helen’s Aunt Julia, who has mysteriously fallen for a medium, but also solve the riddle of the sinister Lucknow dagger. Until suddenly things go from bad to worse when a body turns up and Helen herself is accused of murder."

===May 3===

Title: The House at Sea's End
Author: Elly Griffiths
Series: #3 in the Ruth Galloway series set in England
ISBN: 9780771036002
Publisher: McClelland and Stewart
Hardcover, 368 pages

*UK Release

"Shoreline erosion at the village of Broughton Sea's End has revealed the skeletons of six men, their arms bound. From the mineral content of their bones, forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway can tell that they were all Germans. Most likely, DCI Harry Nelson reckons, they were killed by the local Home Guard when they tried to land during the Second World War. This is just the first complication in a story brimming with surprise twists, not all of them stemming from these murders."

Title: Spider Web
Author: Earlene Fowler
Series: #15 in the Benni Harper series set in central California
ISBN: 9780425240984
Publisher: Berkley Hardcover
Hardcover, 320 pages

"The Memory Festival is a celebration of recollections and loved ones through crafts. But when a local cop is wounded by a mysterious sharpshooter who seems to have a vendetta against the police, Benni fears for her loved ones, especially her police chief husband. Benni is determined to make her hometown safe-before their peaceful street fair becomes a day to remember in the worst way."

Title: Flowerbed of State
Author: Dorothy St. James
Series: #1 in the White House Gardener series
ISBN: 9780425240571
Publisher: Berkley
Paperback, 320 pages

"Cassandra 'Casey' Calhoun's passion for gardening has carried her to President's Park on which sits the White House. But when she finds a dead body in a trash can, Casey has to root out a killer before she ends up planted herself."

Title: Darkside
Author: Belinda Bauer
Standalone
ISBN: 9781451612752
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Paperback, 304 pages

"In bleak midwinter, the people of Shipcott are shocked by the murder of an elderly woman in her bed. As snow cuts off the village, local policeman Jonas Holly is torn between catching a brutal killer and protecting his vulnerable wife, Lucy.

When the inquiry is commandeered by an abrasive senior detective, Jonas finds himself derided by his colleagues and ashamed to admit to Lucy that he’s been sidelined. It seems his first murder investigation may be over before it’s begun. But when he receives a series of increasingly sinister anonymous notes, Jonas is thrust back into the center of the case. Someone in the village is taunting him, blaming him for the tragedy. Someone thinks he’s not doing his job; someone seems to know every move he makes. And soon Jonas has to ask: Who’s hunting who?"

Title: Devil's Plaything
Author: Matt Richtel
Series: #2 in the Nate Idle medical journalist series
ISBN: 9781590588871
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Hardcover, 250 pages

"Medical journalist Nate Idle has stumbled onto an extraordinary conspiracy and the ultimate mind game. Suddenly, in pursuit of the truth, he's running for his life through the shadows of Silicon Valley, a human lab animal caught in a deadly maze of neurotechnology and institutional paranoia. And his survival rests entirely in the hands of his eighty-five-year old grandmother, Lane, who’s suffering from dementia, and can't remember the secret at the heart of the world-changing conspiracy."

===May 10===

Title: These Dark Things

Author: Jan Merete Weiss

Series: #1 in the Captain Natalia Monte series set in Naples, Italy

ISBN: 9781569479384

Publisher: Soho Crime

Hardcover, 217 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

"When a beautiful college student is found murdered in the catacombs beneath a monastary, Captain Natalia Monte of the Carabinieri is assigned to investigate. Could the killer be a professor the student had been sleeping with? A blind monk who loved her? Or perhaps a member of the brutal Napali criminal organization, the Camorra? As Natalia pursues her investigation, the crime families of Naples go to war over garbage-hauling contracts; and all across the city heaps of trash pile up, uncollected. When one of Natalia's childhood friends is caught up in the violence, her loyalties are tested, and each move she makes threatens her own life and the lives of those she loves."

===May 12===

Title: The End of the Wasp Season

Author: Denise Mina

Series: #2 in the Alex Morrow series set in Glasgow, Scotland

ISBN: 9781409100966

Publisher: Orion Publishing Co.

Paperback, 416 pages

*UK Release.

"When notorious millionaire banker Lars Anderson hangs himself from the old oak tree in front of his Kent mansion his death attracts no sympathy. One less shark is little loss to a world nursing a financial hangover. But the legacy of a life time of self-serving is widespread, the carnage most acute among those he ought to be protecting: his family. He leaves behind two deeply damaged children and a broken wife. Meanwhile, in a wealthy suburb of Glasgow, a young woman is found savagely murdered in her home. The genteel community is stunned by what appears a vicious, random attack. When DS Alex Morrow, heavily pregnant with twins, is called in to investigate, she soon discovers that behind the murder lurks a tangled web of lies. A web that will spiral through the local community, through Scotland and ultimately right back to a swinging rope hundreds of miles away. The End of the Wasp Season is an accomplished, compelling and multi-layered novel, which traces the damaging consequences of one man's selfish actions in a world ravaged by recession and questioning everything it previously held sacred."

Wow! What a great month for mysteries, eh? I can't wait to get my hands on these. How about you?