In Reference To Murder: Author R&R with Lorie Lewis Ham

 In Reference To Murder:  Author R&R with Lorie Lewis Ham

Would You Like To Be A Guest?

 

As the blog soars above three million page views, and since I have not mentioned this in some time, I thought I would remind you that I welcome guest posts here. 

Guests are more than welcome. Unlike some folks and their places, I don’t have a lot of forms to fill out or hoops to jump through so I have made the process as easy as possible. Most questions you may have are already answered below so please read the post before reaching out. 

The open days are currently Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. I usually run excerpts from published or about to be published works on Sundays as they seem to work best on those days. 

Topic--pretty much anything goes. While my blog is mainly aimed towards items of interest for readers and writers of mystery and crime fiction, I am open to pretty much anything. I do ask that folks avoid the topics of religion and politics unless either or both directly relate to the work being discussed or promoted. I also am not going to run anything that advocates big pharma is hiding the cure for cancer. Folks that come up with that stuff deserve a special place in hell. 

Before contacting me, please have an actual idea in mind. I absolutely do not assign topics. That means I am NOT going to tell you what to write about. This is your opportunity to write what you want to write about. You know your books, your expertise in topics, etc. I do not. Your idea does not have to be set in stone. It does need to have some detail. Have at least a couple of things that you know you want to have in your piece and tell me that in your pitch. 

Word Count: Totally up to you. I do not set a maximum or a minimum word count. 

When your piece is ready, you send it to me by email and include a 100 word or fewer bio. Also send any pics that you think should be included in the piece. While some guest posts are super heavy in pictures, I think it works best to have two or so. While I can and do lift author photos and book covers from Amazon and author websites, it is easier if you just send it from the start as well as any other pics you believe should be included. 

This is, as always, a nonpaying opportunity. Yes, I absolutely value your work. I also have no income other than SSD (and that is just a few hundred each month) and am supporting myself, my adult son, and this old house on what little I inherited when my Mom passed. The bank account is steadily shrinking and I am doing the best I can to hang in here as inflation, my worsening health, and other issues are making it even harder.

While I have no funds to pay you, I can promise to promote the heck out of your appearance. You will be seen. I can’t promise a certain number of sales, but most guests do see a spike in their sales. Guests who are on the blog on a semi regular basis do far better than one off appearances, but everyone does see an impact. 

Questions/ pitches should be sent to me at Kevinrtipple AT Verizon.net 

I hope you choose to be a part of things here. Looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Kevin R. Tipple © 2024

Would You Like To Be A Guest?

 

As the blog rapidly closes in on three million page views, and since I have not mentioned this in some time, I thought I would remind you that I welcome guest posts here.

Guests are more than welcome. Unlike some folks and their places, I don’t have a lot of forms to fill out or hoops to jump through so I have made the process as easy as possible. Most questions you may have are already answered below so please read the post before reaching out.

The open days are currently Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. I usually run excerpts from published or about to be published works on Sundays as they seem to work best on those days.

Topic--pretty much anything goes. While my blog is mainly aimed towards items of interest for readers and writers of mystery and crime fiction, I am open to pretty much anything. I do ask that folks avoid the topics of religion and politics unless either or both directly relate to the work being discussed or promoted. I also am not going to run anything that advocates big pharma is hiding the cure for cancer. Folks that come up with that stuff deserve a special place in hell.

Before contacting me, please have an actual idea in mind. I absolutely do not assign topics. That means I am NOT going to tell you what to write about. This is your opportunity to write what you want to write about. You know your books, your expertise in topics, etc. I do not. Your idea does not have to be set in stone. It does need to have some detail. Have at least a couple of things that you know you want to have in your piece and tell me that in your pitch.

Word Count: Totally up to you. I do not set a maximum or a minimum word count.

When your piece is ready, you send it to me by email and include a 100 word or fewer bio. Also send any pics that you think should be included in the piece. While some guest posts are super heavy in pictures, I think it works best to have two or so. While I can and do lift author photos and book covers from Amazon and author websites, it is easier if you just send it from the start as well as any other pics you believe should be included.

This is, as always, a nonpaying opportunity. Yes, I absolutely value your work. I also have no income other than SSD (and that is just a few hundred each month) and am supporting myself, my adult son, and this old house on what little I inherited when my Mom passed. The bank account is steadily shrinking and I am doing the best I can to hang in here as inflation and other issues are making it even harder.

While I have no funds to pay you, I can promise to promote the heck out of your appearance. You will be seen. I can’t promise a certain number of sales, but most guests do see a spike in their sales. Guests who are on the blog on a semi regular basis do far better than one off appearances, but everyone does see an impact.

Questions/ pitches should be sent to me at Kevinrtipple AT Verizon.net

I hope you choose to be a part of things here. Looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Kevin R. Tipple © 2023

Guesting On My Blog

With over two million page views and climbing by thousands more each week, my award-winning blog is popular. These days, a slow month in page views is just about 10K. Most months have more than 12k. A month where I have a lot of new content--- guest posts of all types and reviews by me--- will come in above 15K in page views. I have been doing the review thing over two decades now so I am a known commodity. 

I get a lot of emails about being a guest on the blog. Guests are more than welcome. Unlike some folks and their places, I don’t have a lot of forms to fill out or hoops to jump through so I have made the process as easy as possible. Most questions you may have are already answered below so please read the post before reaching out. 

The open days are currently Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. I usually run excerpts from published or about to be published works on Sundays as they seem to work best on those days. 

Topic--pretty much anything goes. While my blog is mainly aimed towards items of interest for readers and writers of mystery and crime fiction, I am open to pretty much anything. I do ask that folks avoid the topics of religion and politics unless either or both directly relate to the work being discussed or promoted. I also am not going to run anything that advocates big pharma is hiding the cure for cancer. Folks that come up with that stuff deserve a special place in hell. 

Before contacting me, please have an actual idea in mind. I absolutely do not assign topics. That means I am NOT going to tell you what to write about. This is your opportunity to write what you want to write about. You know your books, your expertise in topics, etc. I do not. Your idea does not have to be set in stone. It does need to have some detail. Have at least a couple of things that you know you want to have in your piece and tell me that in your pitch. 

Word Count: Totally up to you. I do not set a maximum or a minimum word count. 

When your piece is ready, you send it to me by email and include a 100 word or fewer bio. Also send any pics that you think should be included in the piece. While some guest posts are super heavy in pictures, I think it works best to have two or so. While I can and do lift author photos and book covers from Amazon and author websites, it is easier if you just send it from the start as well as any other pics you believe should be included. 

This is, as always, a nonpaying opportunity. Yes, I absolutely value your work. I also have no income other than SSD (and that is just a few hundred each month) and am supporting myself, my adult son, and this old house on what little I inherited when my Mom passed. The bank account is steadily shrinking and I am doing the best I can to hang in here as inflation and other issues are making it even harder. 

While I have no funds to pay you, I can promise to promote the heck out of your appearance. You will be seen. I can’t promise a certain number of sales, but most guests do see a spike in their sales. Guests who are on the blog on a semi regular basis do far better than one off appearances, but everyone does see an impact. 

Questions/ pitches should be sent to me at Kevinrtipple AT Verizon.net 

I hope you choose to be a part of things here. Looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2023

Guesting on the Blog

 

With over two million page views and climbing by thousands more each week, my award-winning blog is popular. These days, a slow month in page views is just about 10K. Most months have more than 12k. A month where I have a lot of new content--- guest posts of all types and reviews by me--- will come in above 15K in page views. I have been doing the review thing over two decades now so I am a known commodity.

I get a lot of emails about being a guest on the blog. Guests are more than welcome. Unlike some folks and their places, I don’t have a lot of forms to fill out or hoops to jump through so I have made the process as easy as possible. Most questions you may have are already answered below so read the post before reaching out.

The open days are currently Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. I usually run excerpts from published or about to be published works on Sundays as they seem to work best on those days.

Topic--pretty much anything goes. While my blog is mainly aimed towards items of interest for readers and writers of mystery and crime fiction, I am open to pretty much anything. I do ask that folks avoid the topics of religion and politics unless either or both directly relate to the work being discussed or promoted. I also am not going to run anything that advocates big pharma is hiding the cure for cancer. Folks that come up with that stuff deserve a special place in hell.

Before contacting me, please have an actual idea in mind. I absolutely do not assign topics. That means I am NOT going to tell you what to write about. This is your opportunity to write what you want to write about. You know your books, your expertise in topics, etc. I do not. Your idea does not have to be set in stone. It does need to have some detail. Have at least a couple of things that you know you want to have in your piece and tell me that in your pitch.

Word Count: Totally up to you. I do not set a maximum or a minimum word count.

When your piece is ready, you send it to me by email and include a 100 word or fewer bio. Also send any pics that you think should be included in the piece. While some guest posts are super heavy in pictures, I think it works best to have two or so. While I can and do lift author photos and book covers from Amazon and author websites, it is easier if you just send it from the start as well as any other pics you believe should be included.

This is, as always, a nonpaying opportunity. Yes, I absolutely value your work. I also have no income other than SSD (and that is just a few hundred each month) and am supporting myself, my adult son, and this old house on what little I inherited when my Mom passed. The bank account is steadily shrinking and I am doing the best I can to hang in here as inflation and other issues are making it even harder.

While I have no funds to pay you, I can promise to promote the heck out of your appearance. You will be seen. I can’t promise a certain number of sales, but most guests do see a spike in their sales. Guests who are on the blog on a semi regular basis do far better than one off appearances, but everyone does see an impact.

Questions/ pitches should be sent to me at Kevinrtipple AT Verizon.net

I hope you choose to be a part of things here. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Would You Like To Be A Guest?

With over two million page views and climbing by thousands more each week, my award-winning blog is popular. These days, a slow month in page views is just about 10K. Most months have more than 12k. A month where I have a lot of new content--- guest posts of all types and reviews by me--- will come in above 15K in page views. I have been doing the review thing over two decades now so I am a known commodity. 

I get a lot of emails about being a guest on the blog. Guests are more than welcome. Unlike some folks and their places, I don’t have a lot of forms to fill out or hoops to jump through so I have made the process as easy as possible. Most questions you may have are already answered below so read the post before reaching out. 

The open days are currently Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. I usually run excerpts from published or about to be published works on Sundays as they seem to work best on those days. 

Topic--pretty much anything goes. While my blog is mainly aimed towards items of interest for readers and writers of mystery and crime fiction, I am open to pretty much anything. I do ask that folks avoid the topics of religion and politics unless either or both directly relate to the work being discussed or promoted. I also am not going to run anything that advocates big pharma is hiding the cure for cancer. Folks that come up with that stuff deserve a special place in hell. 

Before contacting me, please have an actual idea in mind. I absolutely do not assign topics. That means I am NOT going to tell you what to write about. This is your opportunity to write what you want to write about. You know your books, your expertise in topics, etc. I do not. Your idea does not have to be set in stone. It does need to have some detail. Have at least a couple of things that you know you want to have in your piece and tell me that in your pitch. 

Word Count: Totally up to you. I do not set a maximum or a minimum word count. 

When your piece is ready, you send it to me by email and include a 100 word or fewer bio. Also send any pics that you think should be included in the piece. While some guest posts are super heavy in pictures, I think it works best to have two or so. While I can and do lift author photos and book covers from Amazon and author websites, it is easier if you just send it from the start as well as any other pics you believe should be included. 

This is, as always, a nonpaying opportunity. Yes, I absolutely value your work. I also have no income other than SSD (and that is just a few hundred each month) and am supporting myself, my adult son, and this old house on what little I inherited when my Mom passed. The bank account is steadily shrinking and I am doing the best I can to hang in here as inflation and other issues are making it even harder. 

While I have no funds to pay you, I can promise to promote the heck out of your appearance. You will be seen. I can’t promise a certain number of sales, but most guests do see a spike in their sales. Guests who are on the blog on a semi regular basis do far better than one off appearances, but everyone does see an impact. 

Questions/ pitches should be sent to me at Kevinrtipple AT Verizon.net 

I hope you choose to be a part of things here. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Would You Like To Be A Guest?

With over two million page views and climbing by thousands more each week, my award-winning blog is popular. These days, a slow month in page views is just about 10K. Most months have more than 12k. A month where I have a lot of new content--- guest posts of all types and reviews by me--- will come in above 15K in page views. I have been doing the review thing over two decades now so I am a known commodity.

I get a lot of emails about being a guest on the blog. Guests are more than welcome. Unlike some folks and their places, I don’t have a lot of forms to fill out or hoops to jump through so I have made the process as easy as possible. Most questions you may have are already answered below so read the post before reaching out.

The open days are currently Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. I usually run excerpts from published or about to be published works on Sundays as they seem to work best on those days.

Topic--pretty much anything goes. While my blog is mainly aimed towards items of interest for readers and writers of mystery and crime fiction, I am open to pretty much anything. I do ask that folks avoid the topics of religion and politics unless either or both directly relate to the work being discussed or promoted. I also am not going to run anything that advocates big pharma is hiding the cure for cancer. Folks that come up with that stuff deserve a special place in hell. 

Before contacting me, please have an actual idea in mind. I absolutely do not assign topics. That means I am NOT going to tell you what to write about. This is your opportunity to write what you want to write about. You know your books, your expertise in topics, etc. I do not. Your idea does not have to be set in stone. It does need to have some detail. Have at least a couple of things that you know you want to have in your piece and tell me that in your pitch.

Word Count: Totally up to you. I do not set a maximum or a minimum word count.

When your piece is ready, you send it to me by email and include a 100 word or fewer bio. Also send any pics that you think should be included in the piece. While some guest posts are super heavy in pictures, I think it works best to have two or so. While I can and do lift author photos and book covers from Amazon and author websites, it is easier if you just send it from the start as well as any other pics you believe should be included.

This is, as always, a nonpaying opportunity. Yes, I absolutely value your work. I also have no income other than SSD (and that is just a few hundred each month) and am supporting myself, my adult son, and this old house on what little I inherited when my Mom passed. The bank account is steadily shrinking and I am doing the best I can to hang in here as inflation and other issues are making it even harder.

While I have no funds to pay you, I can promise to promote the heck out of your appearance. You will be seen. I can’t promise a certain number of sales, but most guests do see a spike in their sales. Guests who are on the blog on a semi regular basis do far better than one off appearances, but everyone does see an impact.

Questions/ pitches should be sent to me at Kevinrtipple AT Verizon.net 

I hope you choose to be a part of things here. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Guesting On The Blog

With over two million page views and climbing by thousands more each week, my award winning blog is popular and I get a lot of emails about being a guest on the blog. Guests are welcome and I have made the process as easy as possible. Most questions you may have are already answered below so read the post before reaching out.

The open days are currently Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. I usually run excerpts from published or about to be published works on Sundays as they seem to work best on those days.

Topic--pretty much anything goes. While my blog is mainly aimed towards items of interest for readers and writers of mystery and crime fiction, I am open to pretty much anything. I do ask that folks avoid the topics of religion and politics unless either or both directly relate to the work being discussed or promoted. I also am not going to run anything that advocates big pharma is hiding the cure for cancer. Folks that come up with that stuff deserve a special place in hell.  

Before contacting me, please have an actual idea in mind. I absolutely do not assign topics. That means I am NOT going to tell you what to write about. This is your opportunity to write what you want to write about. You know your books, your expertise in topics, etc. I do not. Your idea does not have to be set in stone. It does need to have some detail. Have at least a couple of things that you know you want to have in your piece and tell me that in your pitch.

Word Count: Totally up to you. I do not set a maximum or a minimum word count.

When your piece is ready, you send it to me by email and include a 100 word or fewer bio. Also send any pics that you think should be included in the piece. While I can and do lift author photos and book covers from Amazon and author websites, it is easier if you just send it from the start as well as any other pics you believe should be included.

This is, as always, a nonpaying opportunity. Yes, I absolutely value your work. I also have no income other than SSD (and that is just a few hundred each month) and am supporting myself, my adult son, and this old house on what little I inherited when my Mom passed. The bank account is steadily shrinking and I am doing the best I can to hang in here as inflation and other issues are making it even harder.

While I have no funds to pay you, I can promise to promote the heck out of your appearance. You will be seen. I can’t promise a certain number of sales, but most guests do see a spike in their sales. Guests who are on the blog on a semi regular basis do far better than one off appearances, but everyone does see an impact.

Questions/ pitches should be sent to me at Kevinrtipple AT Verizon.net

I hope you choose to be a part of things here. Looking forward to your pitches. 

Want To Be A Guest?

You could be and the process is as easy as I can make it. The open days are currently Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. I usually run excerpts from published or about to be published works on Sundays as they seem to work best on those days.

 

Topic--pretty much anything goes. While my blog is mainly aimed towards items of interest for readers and writers of mystery and crime fiction, I am open to pretty much anything. I do ask that folks avoid the topics of religion and politics unless either or both directly relate to the work being discussed or promoted.

 

Before contacting me, please have an actual idea in mind. I do not assign topics. This is your opportunity to write what you want to write about. You know your books, your expertise in topics, etc. I do not. Your idea does not have to be set in stone. It does need to have some detail. Have at least a couple of things that you know you want to have in your piece and tell me that in your pitch.

 

Word Count: Totally up to you. I do not set a maximum or a minimum word count.

 

This is, as always, a non paying opportunity. Yes, I value your work. I also have no income other than SSD (and that is just a few hundred each month) and am supporting myself, my adult son, and this old house on what little I inherited when my Mom passed.

 

While I have no funds to pay you, I can promise to promote the heck out of your appearance. You will be seen. I can not promise a certain number of sales, but most guests do see a spike in their sales. Guests who are on the blog on a semi regular basis do far better than one off appearances, but everyone does see an impact.

 

Questions/ pitches should be sent to me at Kevinrtipple AT Verizon.net

Want To Be A Guest?

You could be a guest on the blog. The open days are currently Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. I usually run excerpts from published or about to be published works on Sundays as they seem to work best on those days.

 

Topic--pretty much anything goes. While my blog is mainly aimed towards items of interest for readers and writers of mystery and crime fiction, I am open to pretty much anything. I do ask that folks avoid the topics of religion and politics unless either or both directly relate to the work being discussed or promoted.

 

Before contacting me, please have an actual idea in mind. I do not assign topics. This is your opportunity to write what you want to write about. You know your books, your expertise in topics, etc. I do not. Your idea does not have to be set in stone. It does need to have some detail.

 

Word Count: Totally up to you. I do not set a maximum or a minimum word count.

 

This is, as always, a non paying opportunity. Yes, I value your work. I also have no income other than SSD (and that is just a few hundred each month) and am supporting myself, my adult son, and this old house on what little I inherited when my Mom passed.

 

While I have no funds to pay you, I can promise to promote the heck out of your appearance. You will be seen. I can not promise a certain number of sales, but most guests do see a spike in their sales. Guests who are on the blog on a semi regular basis do far better than one off appearances, but everyone does see an impact.

 

Questions/ pitches should be sent to me offlist at kevinrtipple AT verizon.net

Sample Sunday: Excerpt from Hold Me Down by Clea Simon

Mystery author Clea Simon is following up her recent guest post with an excerpt today from her new book. Hold Me Down is now out on eBook format with the print version scheduled to be released by Polis Books on October 19^th.

 

Chapter 1. 

Ten songs in and she stumbles, her tongue tangled in a lyric she should have down by heart. So much for hubris, Gal tells herself, struggling to get back in sync. To get back on the beat, fingers moving one-two one-two over the thick bass strings. So much for aging.

Lina, her guitarist, looks over, the slight rise of her eyebrows as eloquent as the fill she plays to cover. She’s fast—all metal and speed, still—and she hangs on the last barbed note, stretching it out as she waits for the high sign, the cue from Gal. A stadium move, but it has the crowd cheering.

It’s been years since Lina’s had to do that, Gal realizes, chagrined. It’s been years, period. In response, Gal grabs the mic stand, pulling it closer with her left hand while her right keeps the rhythm, thrumming away on the open E. The move centers her. She stands a little straighter, and then she’s back. Belting out the chorus she knows as well as the tattoo on her wrist—an F clef, faded blue—as the song pours out of her, the words coming easily now. Winding up to the hook. The line with the hiccup. One extra beat that makes the rhyme different. Makes it stand out.

She sees that now. Feels the crowd inhale in anticipation as she rounds into the chorus for the reprise, once again in time with Lina and Bobbi Jo. She’s learned a lot about songwriting in the last twenty years. Knows the tricks that turn a pop progression into an earworm. Wields them at will when she sits down at the piano. Or tries to, anyway. She hasn’t had a hit like this one, written by instinct, since then, but she’s done all right. And tonight, well, tonight is all about revisiting the past.

A brief pause between numbers. Lina’s changing guitars; Barry acting as her tech as he runs out with the Strat. Gal takes a moment to eye the crowd, really check them out, before Bobbi Jo counts off the beat. She doesn’t need the set list. None of them do. They’re not doing anything new tonight, and the progression is obvious—one song to the next. She hears the tick-tick-tick of Bobbi’s sticks and the feedback begins to growl. Breathing deep, from the belly, she steps back up to the mic stand and once more begins to sing.

It shouldn’t be automatic. Not tonight, and certainly not after that memory slip. Still, Gal can’t help drifting. Maybe it’s the crowd. Too many familiar faces missing; too many gone for good. Maybe it’s the venue. After years of smaller clubs—coffeehouses, mostly—she’s forgotten how far back the Ballroom goes, its rear corners shrouded in darkness. The houselights are down, and she can guess how she looks—how the band looks—from out there, so bold and so bright. Older, sure, but tough with it. Initiates. Blooded, in ways they can only imagine.

What those upturned faces don’t suspect is how much is visible from up here. She can see almost everything from the stage, back into those dark corners, and in the touring years, she did. Fucking, fighting. The crowd as oblivious of her gaze as they are connected to her, as if she were, in fact, some kind of dispassionate god. The way they want her, up here, high above them. The power of it. Pure sex, drawing them to her still. The control.

She closes her eyes then. Tells herself she wants to concentrate. To be in the moment, for this number and the one that comes after. The big climax, Aimee’s song, the reason they’re all here tonight. Bobbi Jo plays the opening roll. Not Aimee—who is?—but steady, with the hi-hat offsetting the big bass beat. And then it’s time.

Gal waits for the surge of emotion that comes when she sings her old friend’s lyrics. “A different kind of love, but it’s got me.” It always takes her hard, leaving her wired and jagged after. “Different, sure, but right.”

Memories of touring, of doing these songs night after night. Of Aimee, a monster on the set, her shoulders mounded with muscle. Lina to her right. The women who came before, who came after. Musicians and mates, all blending together now. That must be why her mind is playing tricks on her. Why she would forget the words to “Hold Me Down,” her own breakthrough song, the one that made the band. Why she would think, for a moment, that she saw a face—his face—shining up, pale and sweat-slick, from the middle of the heaving crowd. 

Clea Simon ©2021

Author of the Witch Cats of Cambridge, Theda Krakow, Pru Marlowe pet noir, and Dulcie Schwartz series, as well as the standalone World Enough and Hold Me Down, Clea Simon is a writer, journalist, and avid reader. Her new psychological suspense, Hold Me Down, published by Polis Books, comes out on October 19^th in print and October 5^th in eBook. She’s at http://www.cleasimon.com 

Guest Post: Getting Real (aka the Katie Perry conundrum) by Clea Simon

Please welcome mystery author Clea Simon to the blog today… 

 

Getting Real (aka the Katie Perry conundrum)

 

"What do you mean, they won't let you have an event?"

 

That was the response from a friend last month when I was telling her about trying to set up promotional events for my new Hold Me Down. "Yup," I had to tell her. "I love XYZ Books, too. But my sales are too low for them to want to host me again."

 

Hard to admit, but it's true. As I watch my 29th – yup – mystery Hold Me Down head out in the world, I've had to come to terms with a couple of realities.

 

For starters, I am working to accept that I’m probably always going to have to do copy editing to support my "book writing habit," as I jokingly (?) labeled it a few years ago.

 

The second, and harder, truth is that I’m probably never going to be widely read. Or, not as widely read as I'd like despite what feels like nearly nonstop promotion. Along this line, my husband Jon often refers to an Andre Dubus essay in which he related the fellow author Richard Yates saying to him: “I don't need money. I need readers.”

 

But something happened a few years ago that has almost almost helped me to come to terms with the latter. Jon and I were at Jazz Fest in New Orleans a few years ago – sigh, I miss Jazz Fest. I miss all live events, don't you? But anyway, there we were, wandering through the crowd and trying to figure out who to listen to for the last set of the day, when I realized that Katie Perry was headlining the Fest's biggest stage.

 

Now, I like her hits. They’re fun. I even enjoyed her Super Bowl halftime show (I mean, even besides left shark). But I’m never going to go to a concert of hers, so we wandered over to hear a little, hoping for "Roar" or "Firework." And it was … canned. Boring. Stale. And totally, totally packed to the point where, even pre-pandemic, it was uncomfortable.

 

So by mutual agreement, we left after maybe a song and a half and went to one of the smaller tents, where local singer/songwriter Aurora Nealand was playing to maybe 50 people and just killing it. She was SO GOOD. The clip below is of her doing some of the trad jazz she excels at (and throwing a mean football), but she has a ton of originals too. And, you know, a lot of her songs sound as poppy to me as Katie Perry’s. But she's never going to have that kind of an audience. Anyway, while we were sitting there, entranced, it hit me that maybe I’m more Aurora Nealand than Katie Perry, and I’m ok with that.

 

https://youtu.be/O9c3qgtn4Mw

 

(Video: Aurora Nealand & The Royal Roses)

 

Clea Simon ©2021

Author of the Witch Cats of Cambridge, Theda Krakow, Pru Marlowe pet noir, and Dulcie Schwartz series, as well as the standalone World Enough and Hold Me Down, Clea Simon is a writer, journalist, and avid reader. Her new psychological suspense, Hold Me Down, published by Polis Books, comes out on October 19th in print and October 5th in eBook. She’s at http://www.cleasimon.com

Jeanne Reviews: Hope Rides Again: An Obama Biden Mystery by Andrew Shaffer

Please welcome Jeanne of the BPL back to the blog…

 

Yes, you read that right:  this is a mystery where the sleuths are the former president and vice-president of the United States.  And if reading that makes you skeptical, join the club.  I thought the idea was ridiculous.

 

Then someone talked me into reading the first book, Hope Never Dies, because it was very funny.  I needed funny at the time, so I gave it a try and nearly fell off the treadmill laughing a couple of times.  Sure, the concept is over the top but really no more so than having a baker solve all the murders in a small town (which has a LOT of murders!) or other series in which Jane Austen, Edgar Allan Poe, or Eleanor Roosevelt catch the criminals. 

 

The stories are narrated by Joe Biden, who is portrayed as being somewhat inept (his smartphone baffles him at times, for instance) but who is passionate about justice, America, and looking out for each other.  He’s an all-around decent guy who may not have all the answers but you know he’ll have your back.  Barack Obama is the cool guy, the professor, the one who wants to stop and take stock before Joe rushes in.

 

As the second book opens, Joe is mulling whether or not to run for president.  Since the book came out in July, 2019, Shaffer had to walk the fine line of “will he-won’t he” in Biden’s musings.  Biden is in Obama’s home town of Chicago for an economics forum, and traffic is terrible.  It’s St. Patrick’s Day weekend and the celebrations have already started, so that when Biden gets out of the cab to walk he smells the odors of corned beef, cabbage, and horse manure which made him “nostalgic for the Senate Chambers in August in the seventies” before the advent of air conditioning. 

 

It isn’t long before there’s the murder of someone Joe met and liked, and he isn’t sure that Mayor Rahm Emanuel is going to see that the investigation gets the attention it deserves. So Joe is going to take the case himself, with a little help from the guy in the tan suit.

 

I put off reading the second book in the series because I figured it just couldn’t be as good as the first.  After all, the element of surprise (if you will) is gone. Finally I picked it up and I was right.  It wasn’t as good as the first. 

 

It was better.

 

Others have disagreed, I’ll admit.  And maybe it’s more due to really REALLY needing something funny at the time I picked up Hope Rides Again but it seemed to me there was something to laugh at on every page.  I like Shaffer’s sense of humor and the way he portrays the “bro-mance” between Biden and Obama and the way their wives are always bemusedly a step ahead of them. And trailing in their wake is hapless Secret Service agent Steve, who has to be a glutton for punishment.

 

I don’t suppose there’ll be a third now but if there is, I’ll be reading it.

Jeanne Reviews: 15 Minutes of Flame by Christin Brecher

Please welcome Jeanne of the BPL back to the blog….

 

Nantucket candle maker Stella Wright is excited about the upcoming Halloween fundraiser for the town.  A friend has inherited a house with an old stone building in the back which has apparently been left unused for years—so long no one seems to remember what it was used for, though probably it was a work shed.  It will make the perfect setting for a Halloween stop.

 

It turns out it may be a little more perfect than expected when a woman’s skeleton is discovered hidden behind a hearth in the shed.  Wearing a Quaker style outfit, this is obviously not a recent death but as Stella delves into the history of the area she finds the past can still have deadly consequences in the present.

 

This is my first Nantucket Candlemaker Mystery and I did enjoy it, mainly because the author did play with expectations a bit.  Clues were given which seemed to lead in one specific direction but then did veer off.  The characters were well done and interesting enough for me to want to read more about them.  I will be interested to see how some relationships play out. While I had some qualms about some of Stella’s investigations, she wasn’t a totally reckless risk taker. 

 

I like a strong sense of place in a story, and this one did that admirably, using the area’s history and geography to good advantage.  The interior of a well figures prominently in some sections and the descriptions there were particularly vivid, but I also could envision the workshop shed and the house interiors.  

 

And since the avocation/hobby of the series is candle making, there are some tips provided.  Much revolves around scent, though some molding and shaping shows up.  Since going into candle shops (or other heavily scented places) gives me a headache in short order, I merrily skipped those parts.

 

At present I don’t see another series entry poised to be published, though I would certainly read another.  As for the previous books, I may pick them up at some point.  The author rather caught us up on backstory so I don’t feel a strong need to read those. (Translation: she identified suspects and victims from at least one previous murder so I do know who didn’t do it.) On the other hand, I did like the characters and setting, so if one came my way I might just read it.

 

The books in the series are:

Murder’s No Votive Confidence

Murder Makes Scents

15 Minutes of Flame

Jeanne Reviews: A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman, art & adaptation by Rafael Albuquerque

Please welcome Jeanne of the BPL back to the blog today….

I picked up this graphic novel from a review that ran on the Bristol Public Library’s Bookblog, so Ambrea did a good job of selling this book!

 

The short description is that this is a sort of The Great Detective Meets The Great Cuthulu but of course there’s a twist.  As the story opens, a veteran of the campaign in Afghanistan finds lodging with an idiosyncratic detective—does this sound familiar?—and the two of them are soon called to the scene of a shocking murder. Lestrad, the policeman, is suitable astounded by the swift deductions by the consulting detective and soon they are called to an audience with a Royal Personage who wants the case solved quickly.

 

 In Gaiman’s story, we soon learn that The Great Old Ones of Lovecraft conquered Earth and have become rulers of their various human countries, maintaining the Royal bloodlines.  Let’s just say I won’t ever quite look at Queen Victoria in the same way.

 

The graphic novel is based on a Hugo Award winning short story by Gaiman and now I really want to read the original just to see how some things are handled.  For example, the graphic novel boasts advertisements for various things, such as Doctor Jekyll’s Powders which are “Guaranteed to Release the Inner You!”

 

It’s this sense of playfulness amid the grim investigation and all the little inside jokes that made this such a hit with me.  I am more of a Holmes fan than Lovecraft so I’m sure I missed some things there, but the little fannish Easter eggs delighted me.  From some other things I’ve read, I have wondered if some reviewers missed a crucial plot point, but that certainly didn’t seem to mar their appreciation.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have actually read it over a couple of times, finding some new little tidbit each time.  For that reason, I highly recommend it.