Mystery Fanfare: MARTIN CRUZ SMITH: R.I.P.

Mystery Fanfare: MARTIN CRUZ SMITH: R.I.P.: Sad news. Award winning mystery author Martin Cruz Smith passed away yesterday. I was privileged to meet him on several occasions. He was a...

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Lonely Planet’s Guide to Death, Grief, and Rebirth by Anita Isalska

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Lonely Planet’s Guide to Death, Grief, and Rebirth...:   Reviewed by Jeanne As a child, I picked up a joke book which had an anecdote about a man visiting a cemetery.   As he put flowers on a...

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach:   Reviewed by Kristin Sally Holt was thirteen-years-old when she lost one of the most important people in her life, her big sister Kathy...

SleuthSayers: R.I.P., Nelson DeMille by John Floyd

SleuthSayers: R.I.P., Nelson DeMille:    Three days ago, I sat down to start a column about writing dialog--rules, myths, hints, tips--that I intended to post here at SleuthSayer...

In Reference To Murder: Mystery Melange 8/30/2024

 In Reference To Murder: Mystery Melange 8/30/2024

The Guardian: Novelist Jesmyn Ward: ‘Losing my partner almost made me stop writing’ Emma Brockes

 The Guardian: Novelist Jesmyn Ward: ‘Losing my partner almost made me stop writing’ Emma Brockes

Lesa's Book Critiques: SANDIE HERRON, RIP

 Lesa's Book Critiques: SANDIE HERRON, RIP

The Rap Sheet: Fowler Finally Falls

 The Rap Sheet: Fowler Finally Falls

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune:   Reviewed by Jeanne Attorney Wallace Price is not a happy man.   He’s already had to fire one employee, a previously reliable woman w...

The Question

I get asked all the time, "What do you need?"

"My wife back" will always be the answer. The going on is harder than hell. 

The Rap Sheet: A Busy Life, a Tranquil Passing

 The Rap Sheet: A Busy Life, a Tranquil Passing

Guest Post: My Imaginary Encounter With A Vampire by Cathi Stoler

Please welcome author Cathi Stoler to the blog today…

  

My Imaginary Encounter With A Vampire 

 

The recent death of Anne Rice brought to mind my relationship with her novel, Interview With The Vampire, which was both absolutely thrilling and completely terrifying.

It wasn’t the first vampire book I’d dipped into. There was Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot which was pretty scary stuff. But Interview With The Vampire was utterly horrific to me. And I mean that literally. It was so chilling that it made me afraid to walk home after dark.

I live in New York City on a block of high-rise buildings. The street below mine has a pass-through for cars and pedestrians, which I used almost nightly to reach my home. In those days it wasn’t as well-lit or as busy as it is now. Every time I approached it, I practically ran through, shaking and anxious, expecting the dangerous and treacherous vampire Lestat to jump out at me. I didn’t tell anyone about this until now, not even my husband. He thought my story was funny and we shared a laugh.

I know my behavior might have seemed a little crazy, but it all felt very real to me, and the thought that Lestat was lurking nearby ready to swoop down lingered long after I finished the novel.

This goes to prove the power words have over our imagination, especially when wielded by a fabulous writer like Anne Rice. We will miss her and her stories. 

 

Cathi Stoler ©2021

Cathi Stoler’s Murder On The Rocks Series features The Corner Lounge owner, Jude Dillane, and includes BAR NONE, LAST CALL, and STRAIGHT UP. She’s also written the suspense novels, NICK OF TIME and OUT OF TIME and the Laurel and Helen New York Mysteries. She is a winner of the Derringer Award for Best Short Story, “The Kaluki Kings of Queens” Her newest short story, “The Art of Payback,” was recently published in the anthology JUSTICE FOR ALL Murder New York Style 5. She lives in New York City with her husband Paul. You can reach her at www.cathistoler.com.    

The Rap Sheet: The Passing Parade

 The Rap Sheet: The Passing Parade

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera:   Reviewed by Abby How would you react if you received a phone call telling you that were going to die today? The caller does not tell...

Sweet Freedom: Mathew Paust, RIP

Sweet Freedom: Mathew Paust, RIP: Matt's Blog:  Crime Time Here's the obit he wrote for himself, as he could see the end, with bladder cancer: Mathew David Paust has...

Lesa's Book Critiques: LIZZIE & DANTE BY MARY BLY

 Lesa's Book Critiques: LIZZIE & DANTE BY MARY BLY

Lesa's Book Critiques: ONE NIGHT TWO SOULS WENT WALKING by Ellen Cooney

 Lesa's Book Critiques: ONE NIGHT TWO SOULS WENT WALKING by Ellen Cooney

Lesa's Book Critiques: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, RIP

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, RIP

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Cleo: The Small Black Cat Who Helped Heal a Fami...

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Cleo: The Small Black Cat Who Helped Heal a Fami...: Reviewed by Jeanne I have reviewed Cleo before; I love all of Helen Brown’s books but this one holds a special place in my hea...

Lesa's Book Critiques: My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me by Jason B. Rosenthal

Lesa's Book Critiques: My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me by Jason B. Rosenthal