Tuesday, December 21, 2021
Blood-Red Pencil: 2022 January - March and Early Registration Writers Conferences and Workshops
Bitter Tea and Mystery: The Last Noel: Michael Malone
Guest Post: My Imaginary Encounter With A Vampire by Cathi Stoler
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.
Monday, December 20, 2021
The Reading Room: We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker: Reading Room Review
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Cold Florida by Phillip DePoy
Phillip DePoy
has written four mystery series with 17 titles, in addition to more than forty
plays, two of which won Edgars. He was given the Georgia Author of the Year’s
Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. His mystery protagonists include the historical
Christopher Marlowe, contemporary private investigator Flap Tucker in Atlanta,
folklorist Fever Devilin in Appalachian Georgia, and former car thief turned
child protective services investigator Foggy Moscowitz in 1970s Florida.
Foggy made
his debut in Cold Florida (Severn House, 2016) in a madcap tale that
starts seriously enough. Foggy gets a call at 2:00 A.M. telling him a baby has
been taken from the neonatal unit at the local Fry’s Bay hospital. Even worse,
the baby was born to an addict mother and urgently needs treatment. Since the
mother is also missing, Foggy goes to her apartment hoping to find both of
them. He doesn’t but he does get enough leads to locate the baby in time to
return her to the hospital for life-saving medication.
From there
the story turns antic. Foggy learns the Seminole Nation is interested in the
addict mother as well as her baby and has taken them to their village, the
second time the baby has been taken from the hospital. He also hears that a hit
man named McReedy is after him for reasons unknown. Foggy is further confused
by the fact that members of the Seminole Nation are extending their protection
to him, again for reasons unknown. The rest of the story involves Foggy’s quest
to ensure the baby’s safety while staying away from McReedy.
This book
made me burble with delight when I tried to describe it to someone else. The
characters are works of art: fresh, relatable, and utterly enchanting. They
include a Seminole tribal elder who gives unsuspecting Foggy a hallucinogenic
tea with devastating results, a hit man who wears a tux as a disguise, a
neighborhood donut maker and occasional thug, and a cross-dressing male stripper
who loves babies and is the nicest person in the entire book. The history of
the Seminoles in Florida is woven into the narrative, giving it another
dimension. Several scenes are laugh out loud funny and the ending is deeply
satisfying. Recommended.
Library Journal starred review.
·
Publisher: Severn House
Publishers; First World Publication edition (April 1, 2016)
·
Language: English
·
Hardcover: 224 pages
·
ISBN-10: 0727885758
·
ISBN-13: 978-0727885753
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2021
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works
on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, December 19, 2021
Beneath the Stains of Time: Murder on the Orient Express (1934) by Agatha Christie
Guest Post: Plumbing Those Childhood Memories: “Number 10 Marlborough Place” by Elizabeth Elwood
Please welcome Elizabeth Elwood to the blog today as she explains how her short story, Number 10 Marlborough Place, came to life in the current issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.
Plumbing Those Childhood Memories: “Number 10 Marlborough Place”
Having been born just after the Second World War, I seem to have reached
the time of life where my childhood memories are other people’s history. On the
plus side, from the writer’s point of view, this gives me a rich treasure chest
to draw on when searching for inspiration. Of course, I only remember the aftermath of
the war: the food rationing, the blackout curtains in the attic, playing with
my brother on the rubble of bombsites, and my grandmother irate over the bottle
of brandy that she had nursed ‘for emergencies’ all through the war, only to
have it stolen by a burglar before any of the family could enjoy it.
I had never bothered to tap this fund of memories before, but recently,
there have been an abundance of series set during the fifties which, either
annoy me because of inaccuracies, or delight me because they trigger memories
long buried away. The latter, most notably, came from the Netflix production of
The Crown when I watched the episode on the Great Smog of London which
occurred in December, 1952.
Having startled my husband from his nap by squealing, “I remember
that!”, I paused the show for a moment and let my eyes turn inward. The television
screen morphed into a blur and I became lost in the past. There was a dank
chill in the air and I could feel my mother wrapping a scarf around my nose. We
were moving slowly along the street. Paving stones appeared beneath my feet,
but I was surrounded by a yellow haze that obliterated houses and hedges and
everything that was familiar. The image came back so vividly, all those years
later.
After we had watched the rest of the show, I found myself recalling two other
events that seemed connected to my memory of the fog. One of these was a terrible
three-train collision at the Harrow Wealdstone station. My best friend’s father
had been in one of the coaches and everyone in the neighbourhood had been
shocked at the dreadful destruction. I had walked up the road with my mother
and brother to see the wreck, and the towering pyramid of coaches soaring above
the station was still impressed on my mind. Curious to know why I had connected
the two events, I googled the crash to see what I could find online. It had
occurred in October of 1952, only two months before the Great London Smog, and still
is listed as the worst peacetime rail crash in the United Kingdom.
The second vivid memory that came rushing back was the fear run rampant
when the murderer John Reginald Christie was on the loose. Once again, Google
came up with the significant dates. Christie had been responsible for the
disappearance of several women over the course of the previous decade, but the
horror of the discoveries at 10 Rillington Place burst onto the news in March
of 1953 and mesmerized the country until he was apprehended at the end of the
month.
So it appeared there had been three dramatic incidents, all in one
winter, lurking in the background of my normal childhood life. Of course, they
were all secondary to what really counted: playing with our friends; doing
schoolwork; buying gobstoppers and sugar mice when we stopped at the newsagent
to pick up our Girl and Eagle comics; making sure our mother knew which Famous
Five book we wanted for Christmas; and most exciting of all, going to see the
pantomime put on at the Kodak factory. But all these years later, those events
called to me. What an exciting challenge to weave a story that ran through that
cold, anxious winter. And how thrilled I am to see it now in the
November/December issue of the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. “Number 10
Marlborough Place” contains many blasts from the past within the mystery. I hope
you enjoy it.
Elizabeth Elwood ©2021
A former English and drama teacher, Elizabeth
Elwood spent many years performing with music and theatre groups and
singing in the Vancouver Opera chorus.
Having turned her talents to writing and design, she created 20
marionette musicals for Elwoodettes Marionettes and has written four plays that
have entertained audiences in both Canada and the United States. She is the author of six books in the Beary
Mystery Series and her short stories have been featured in EQMM and
mystery anthologies. Born in England, Elizabeth lives on British Columbia’s
beautiful Sunshine Coast. Visit her website at https://elihuentertainment.com/
Saturday, December 18, 2021
Still An Amazon Associate
So, if you are inclined, when shopping at Amazon,
please go through my links for whatever you are ultimately buying. Doing so
helps me out and is always very much appreciated.
Thank you.
KRL This Week Update for 12/18/2021
Up in KRL this morning a review and giveaway of our last Christmas mystery of the season, "Frosted Yuletide Murder" by Kim Davis, Author along with a fun guest post by Kim about writing a Christmas mystery and a yummy cookie recipe https://kingsriverlife.com/12/18/frosted-yuletide-murder-by-kim-davis/
And a review of the final Crispin Guest mystery by Jeri Westerson, "The Deadliest Sin" along with an ebook giveaway of the first book in the series "Cup of Blood", a fun interview with Jeri about writing this series, and information on her virtual book launch that takes place December 19 https://kingsriverlife.com/12/18/the-deadliest-sin-a-crispin-guest-mystery-by-jeri-westerson/
Also a review of the new Agatha Raisin Christmas movie premiering on Acorn TV December 20, "Kissing Christmas Goodbye" https://kingsriverlife.com/12/18/acorntv-streaming-christmas-kissing-christmas-goodbye/
And we have a Christmas mystery short story by Bobbi Chukran https://kingsriverlife.com/12/18/aunt-jewel-and-the-christmas-spirits/
We also have the latest mystery Coming Attractions along with giveaways of books by Carol Perry and Alexis Morgan https://kingsriverlife.com/12/18/january-coming-attractions-new-books-more-reading-edition/
And a review and giveaway of the latest Murder She Wrote book, "Debonair in Death" by Terrie Farley Moran https://kingsriverlife.com/12/18/debonair-in-death-murder-she-wrote/
For those who prefer to listen to Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast directly on KRL here is the player for our new episode an excerpt from "Ghosts of Painting Past" by Sybil Johnson (set at Christmas) and read by local actor Karina C Balfour https://kingsriverlife.com/12/18/mysteryrats-maze-podcast-ghosts-of-painting-past-by-sybil-johnson/
Up in KRL last night a Christmas short story by Karen Harrington
https://kingsriverlife.com/12/15/the-party-a-christmas-short-story/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week a review and giveaway of "The Brief Luminous Flight of the Firefly" by Ellen Byerrum
https://www.krlnews.com/2021/12/the-brief-luminous-flight-of-firefly-by.html
And a review and giveaway of "Bittersweet Herbs" by Marty Wingate https://www.krlnews.com/2021/12/bittersweet-herbs-by-marty-wingate.html
Scott's Take: Gamora And Nebula: Sisters In Arms by Mackenzi Lee
Gamora And Nebula: Sisters In Arms by Mackenzi
Lee tells a story from two different points
of view. Gamora and Nebula are the daughters of Thanos which is a different
character than the movies. In the comics and in this book, Thanos is in love
with Death, who has a physical form and is female, and is trying to get her
back as they have a love/hate relationship. Abusive warlord wants what he wants
and he manipulates his daughters, who do not get along at all, so that they go
to the planet, Tordune, on separate missions to steal an object its core. Tordune
is a polluted and dying world that once was a lush green planet until a valuable
energy source was discovered beneath the surface. Mining has decimated the
world and now the population is oppressed by a massive corporation known as the
Mining Corporation.
In exchange for help to get to the core of the planet, Gamora
allies herself with the rebels that are attempting to free their world from the
Mining Corporation. At the same time, Nebula arrives on planet and allies
herself with the Universal Church Of Truth (a cult). She agrees to
“diplomatically” deal with the rebels so that the Church can continue to profit
off the energy source through their controlling interests in the Mining
Corporation. Like her sister, she is using this connection to get help to
travel to the core to recover the object. Both sisters individually soon
suspect that the object in question is far more important than they were told
and have to decide if they will fight or work together.
The story being primarily told through two different
perspectives that have very different personalities makes this read
interesting. Thanos has raised his daughters to see each other not only as his personal
living weapons, but as a direct threat and another face of competition. He has
thoroughly and repeatedly traumatized both girls as they grew up and each
sister has a different reaction to that ongoing trauma. The tale is heavily
defined by their sibling relationship which frequently leads to some
predictable cliches.
Gamora And Nebula: Sisters In Arms has action, drama, and humor and is a standalone book set
in the Marvel Universe. Other than the understanding that this Thanos has
little in common with the movie version, one does not need to know much about
the Marvel Universe to understand and follow. I recommend this book for Marvel
fans and newcomers alike. This author also wrote Loki:
Where Mischief Lies which is also a stand-alone book set in the
Marvel Universe. Both books are good and highly enjoyable.
Gamora And Nebula: Sisters In Arms
Mackenzi Lee
Marvel Press
https://books.disney.com/book/gamora-nebula/
June 2021
ISBN# 978-136802225-5
Hardback (also currently available in audio and eBook
formats)
400 Pages
My reading copy came from the Audelia Road Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.
Scott A. Tipple ©2021
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