Marilyn Meredith Interview, Cruising, and a Good Deal

Today Marilyn Meredith interviews me on her Blog! I met Marilyn at the Hanford, CA bookfest last year. She has been a friend since. Not only is Marilyn an accomplished and wonderful author, she a lovely and generous person. I am sooooo happy we connected. Marilyn is also a conscientious and good blogger, and I’m honored she interviewed me. Thank you Marilyn!

http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/2010/01/interview-with-pswa-member-madeline.html

If you’ve heard about the November mystery cruise, Mystery on the High Seas; A Cruise to Die For there is now a website up and running.

http://www.2010mysterycruise.blogspot.com/

I’ve sent out an email to my mailing list for a new year’s sale for signed copies of both my titles. If you’re not on my email list and would like to be, just send me an email with subscribe in the subject or body.

A New Year, an Old Friend, and Ravens (New and Old)

My literary world-view has been formed by authors like Agatha Christie, Ruth Rendell, M.C. Beaton (Marion Chesney), and P.D. James. And I readily admit being a bit of an anglophile. Nonetheless, I’ve spent the last year reading the works of my fellow American mystery writers. And loving it! (My stack of to-be-reads, however, is still high). The latest from Marilyn Meredith, Sunny Frazier, Sheila Lowe, Alice Zogg, Betty Webb, and many others still beckon. I plan to read them all in 2010!

But something strange happened a few weeks back—I actually finished the first draft of my latest mystery, “Reticence of Raven.” My original working title was “An Unkindness of Ravens” which I decided upon while doing raven-research. There are both crows and ravens in my part of the Mojave, and a “Murder of Crows,” was a contender. In the end, my ravens won-out. But then with further research, I found out Ruth Rendell had written a Chief Inspector Wexford mystery, “An Unkindness of Ravens.” A Ruth Rendell I hadn’t read!

Result—I renamed by humble offering; and then ordered “An Unkindness of Ravens.”

And what a wonderful way to start the new year!

For me, Ruth Rendell weaves a tapestry of words so competently, so seamlessly, so enjoyably—it almost takes my literary breath away(a lot of adverbs, I know). All the while you think you’re just reading a cozy little mystery about a likable English inspector, his partner, his family, and a murder most complicated. But it’s so much more.

Through her characters and their life events and conflicts, this wonderful author gives a very deft picture of British life and mores at the time of her novel. When I finished, I was for sure satisfied with the mystery puzzle, but also, I was left with deeper considerations that are still tumbling around in my brain. About writing, about story-telling, about life.

“An Unkindness of Ravens” was a wonderful way for me to start the new year. Not only did I enjoy reading the novel, but it took me back to my writing-roots, and what I like to read and wished I could write. And I think revisiting “my British friends” on a regular basis will help me better cut out my own literary path. Thank you, Ruth!

I’ve had P.D. James’s “The Private Patient” since it came out. Now might be just the time to read it…

Buster

The wonderful book reviewer and author interviewer, Linda Faulkner, has a blog dedicated to orphaned and homeless animals. Today she’s featuring my Buster! Take a look, Linda’s cause is indeed worthy, and especially in today’s world, in my mind action on the side of goodness. If you have a comment, Buster would love to hear from you…

Last Signing of 2009

How time flies when you’re having fun! And I mean that–the most fun part of promotions is meeting mystery readers. And potters as it’s turning out.

If you’re in the area, come say hello at Santa’s Art Shop at Ridgecrest, CA Fair Grounds Saturday and Sunday, December 5th and 6th. I’ll be there signing Uncle Si’s Secret and Death of a Perfect Man and selling pottery. This year I decided to throw rice bowls.

Happy Holidays!

Unexpected, Unique — and Made Me Think

For several reasons, it was with great anticipation that I started reading Holli Castillo’s “Gumbo Justice.” Not recently, but years back, I visited New Orleans and still have fond memories of historic homes, Lake Pontchartrain, the French Quarter, and Loyola University—all seen with the bright-eyed naiveté of youth. And memories of wonderful food!

I met Holli at the 2009 PSWA Conference, and for me, meeting an author also adds something “special” to reading their work. And on a more mundane level, my marvelous Aunt Mary makes “killer-gumbo” — a fact not relevant to Holli’s Novel, but a tidbit that definitely added title appeal (Do a lot of thinking and decision making with my stomach).

Given that mind set, “Gumbo Justice” was not at all what I expected. Part police procedural, part murder mystery, and part inter-family relationship drama, this novel also takes on legal and justice concerns—while keeping the reader involved, interested, and entertained.

I usually prefer murders that occur “off camera,” the dialogue refined, and my heroes urbane armchair detectives who only occasionally get their suits mussed. Nonetheless, the quite unique and audacious Ryan Murphy immediately yanked me into her New Orleans life, family, and ADA profession from the first paragraphs, and then continued to keep me caring about her—rough language and overt sexuality notwithstanding.

Holli skillfully transports you from your favorite reading chair into the heart of one aspect of the New Orleans criminal scene. You can feel and smell the heat, the humidity, and see the decay in the St. Thomas Housing Development. Through Ryan’s senses you read the street names, see the neighborhood, feel the pain. Ryan’s New Orleans is not the city of travelogues or my youth, but a real living city of today. And Ryan Murphy is a heroine I not only ended up liking, but also found myself rooting for every step of her journey.

And for mystery fans like me, the murder mystery in “Gumbo Justice” unfolds wonderfully, and is well worth the suspenseful wait!