L.A. Times Festival of Books - The Rest of the Story

O.k., so our morning was out of this world wonderful with the "A Dark and Stormy Night Panel" then checking out the booths. So, what came next?

Just before my 1:00, I spied Michael waiting at the Mystery Book Store Booth. He was forming a line in anticipation of Robert Crais signing at 1:00. We were both going to attend the 1:30 panel called "Mysteries in Black and White." So, I was discussing the game plan with him. I'd go wait in line for the panel (so we'd get prime seats) and he'd wait to get RC's autograph. Since I only had three books to be signed I was just planning to do the signing after the panel. BUT, before I headed over, I noticed Don Winslow at the Mystery Book Store Booth and I didn't have to wait in line to see him, so I moseyed my butt over and introduced myself. He was kind enough to sign my book, take my blog business card, and pose for this awesome picture:


Very nice guy. And in a few minutes we'll find out that he's also very funny!

On to the "Mysteries in Black and White" panel moderated by Sarah Weinman. Panelists included Denise Hamilton, Simon Lewis, and L.A. Times Book Award winner, Michael Koryta. Also to note, Simon Lewis was nominated in the Mystery/Thriller category for the Book Award as well. We've got some heavy hitters on this panel!

Sarah took a more formalized approach to this panel and addressed the theme of Black and White in several formats. She started out by addressing "black and white" as an absolute way of writing a crime novel. Does one have to write a certain way or go for all the shades of gray in between?

Denise explained that when she wrote her first book she was telling a story about a case she covered for the L.A. Times. She didn't know she was writing a novel until she finished, but she liked the idea of a formula for the crime novel then she discovered that there really ISN'T a formula. Instead, crime fiction is very mushy, very gray, and it has no formulas.

For Michael "it all lies in shades of gray." He has no interest in writing about white nights or purely evil characters. Instead he believes that great novels challenge the way the reader thinks about the characters and puts a question in the reader's head at the end of the book.

Simon set out to write about a crime that was very harsh, therefore, a very black event. Simon was focused on writing about the events so he didn't necessarily set out to write a "crime novel," that's simply where the events led him. Because the crime was so dark, his villains in turn were quite dark or black, but then so was his hero. In a normal context a corrupt Chinese policeman would be considered very black, but he becomes a white knight only because his quest in this case was a good one.

Next Sarah pointed out that all the panelists deal with outsiders in their writing, so she wanted to know if it is mandatory for crime fiction to have outsider characters?

Michael explained that the outsider is the most fascinating; "most people don't want to read about happy, well-adjusted folks." The reader wants to try to understand the world, to wrestle with something, and drama, in and of itself, is that struggle. Michael also pointed out that historically in noir the "protagonist is in search of a home."

Simon added a bit of a spin to that idea when he said he felt the "outsider's perceptions tell you a lot more about the insiders in the novel." They defamiliarize what is common.

The next element of the "black/white" theme that Sarah addressed was examining ethnicities. She asked the panelists how do they make sure they "get it right."

Denise was the first to respond to this question by pointing out she wasn't "brave enough" to have a protagonist outside her own race/culture, so she created the reporter who is "a lot like me." This allowed her to take the approach that the reader discovers and learns alongside the protagonist.

Michael approached the question a bit differently in that he emphasized how the "outsider" doesn't have be "outside" because of race or gender or culture. Using the example of Daniel Woodrell's WINTER'S BONE he illustrated how the protagonist is an outsider in her small "insider" world. Michael's first three books dealt with the "haves and the have nots." People with wealth and with power (insiders) manipulating those without (outsiders). Two movie examples that Michael used to illustrate this same point included THE DEPARTED and DONNIE BROSCO, in both movies a character is an outsider both in the police department and the crime family. He doesn't fit in either "world." By making the world smaller, an author can accurately show the big world.

Simon feels that writing across races is "contentious." But he wanted to tell the story of a crime that happened to the Chinese people, so it was simply inappropriate for his hero to be a white male. Simon felt the only appropriate way to present this story then was through the eyes of a Chinese person. But, as Simon also pointed out, race is only one thing that divides people. Writers write across gender and class and those divide people, too. So writing across race should be no different. In any of these cases the writer simply needs to do it as sensitively as he/she can.

The next question Sarah posed to the panel dealt with social commentary in crime fiction and where the authors view its importance.

Michael felt that "often the most honest commentary comes from fiction." As an example, Michael offered up that Charles Dickens was the great entertainer of his time, but gradually people recognized that he was making points about the human condition, and we see that to this day. Therefore, "fiction has a lot of lasting power." Another example from Michael: THE LAST GOOD KISS is good commentary about the 70s, and it's a detective novel.

Simon's take on this question was quite thoughtful. He feels that the modern literary novel examines psychology whereas the modern crime novel examines sociology. The crime novel looks at the people as a whole and the literary novel looks at one part of one element of the whole, it's much smaller in scope.

Denise felt that the beauty of crime fiction lies in the reader's ability to read about the secrets and the corruption and then find a solution. She also thinks that writers have to be careful with social commentary because ultimately the story has to come first, but when the writing is done correctly, the social commentary comes out naturally.

And finally, Sarah wanted to know from the panelist how they stick to their unique voices with all the other pressures that abound in the publishing world?

According to Simon the good thing about writing in crime fiction is "at least people read it." Simon is published by a small press that is willing to publish whatever he writes, and he's quite thankful to be in a nice spot like that. His recommendation to writers is to "go a little further down the road from what you did last time and before you know it, you've carved out a territory for yourself. It's a territory in which you can create."

Michael admires the writers who let the craft guide them. He believes that "to write anything and extract passion from it, you have to write what you want to write." I guess you can say that when you're a Times Book Prize winner, huh? But really, "if you write a really good book, that's what everyone still wants." Michael "would rather take nine good cuts and misses and then put the tenth out of the park at Wrigley's" as opposed to give up his voice.

Well, I haven't seen Michael take a miss yet, and this panel was no exception. As I mentioned, this was a bit more formal, less laughs, but great, solid content from some rising stars in the mystery publishing world. We exited his panel to immediately get in line for the final panel at 3:00. At 2:30 the line was already quite long because the final panel was Cops & Crooks in California, moderated by none other than Robert Crais!! We were fairly far back in the entrance line and when we re-entered the lecture hall, Michael (Alatorre), my sister and I thought we would have to sit over to the side. It was a decent view as we were in about the third row on the left hand side, but when they opened up the third row CENTER that had been originally reserved, we were able to move to prime realty! So, not only did Michael manage to get us into this panel, but we had a fantastic view! It was just meant to be - Elvis and Joe were making it so!


The panelists joining Robert Crais for "Cops & Crooks in California were T. Jefferson Parker, Joseph Wambaugh, and (yes, he's back) Don Winslow. I have to tell you all that I thought all four men were outstanding, but really and truly Crais and Winslow could tour doing stand-up comedy. These two simply played so well off each other that it was incredibly hard to believe that they really didn't know each other personally beforehand.

When RC introduced Don Winslow, he told the audience that he was convinced Don was a government assassin. Why you ask? Well, he was "born in New York City", went to "college in Nebraska", had a father who was "career military" (they like multiple generations), spent time in South Africa "guiding safaris" (also known as "covert missions"), has a "Masters in Military History" (what civilian earns a Masters in Military History?), and he directed a theater company (that has to be a cover story). Nope, RC is convinced that Don was "dropping bodies for Delta."

Yes folks, this was the start of this panel, and it never let up!

When RC explained that he did an Amazon search for Don's books, he said he discovered books he already knew about, but also discovered SLAVE GIRLS OF ROME, THE LITTLE RED DRESS, and DON WINSLOW'S VICTORIAN EROTICA. RC then announced that Don would be doing a dramatic reading from that and without blinking an eye, Don replied, "only if you wear the little red dress!" Of course this Don Winslow did NOT write those books, but it made for great fodder throughout the entire panel.


RC introduced Jeff Parker who was the one panelist born and bread in Southern California, in Orange County, and that led directly into the first question for the panelists: "Is there something about Southern California that is particularly identifying to 'us'?"

Jeff said he found it hard to imagine writing about anything else; "I don't have to go to a new place and ask questions." He felt he was vested in every way a human being could feel vested in a place.

And when the audience turned to Don for his response, it was, "I didn't write SLAVES GIRLS OF ROME."

After the audience finished laughing he explained that he came from Rhode Island, which is "mostly the size of this room," on a case; he worked as a Private Investigator. He was driving down the PCH and when he hit Laguna, he called his wife to tell her they were moving to California. Don feels that "classically California is a place where people go to reinvent themselves." And that's what Don did.

Joe Wambaugh was very concise in his response. He simply asked, "Would it have been the same if I had written something called 'East Pittsburgh Noir'?"

Each of the writers on this panel has written both a series and stand alones, so RC wanted to know what appeals to each of the authors about these two options in crime fiction.

Joe had primarily written stand alones with some non-fiction up until recently with his "Hollywood" series. He said he decided to do a sequel to Hollywood Station and thought it might be easier because he already had the characters. But, he ran into a problem. He discovered that "some of the characters from the first book didn't want to come back." Writing the series wasn't easier. The "characters didn't help with plotting," which Joe said was always a problem for him. In fact, he explained, "When I die, I'm going to be like the old screenwriter and have chiseled on my tombstone, 'at last, a plot.'"

Don compared writing to parachute jumping, "the practice is as dangerous as the actual event. Why bother?" Don started with series fiction, so he didn't know any different. He was writing P.I. fiction and thought that's simply what was required of the genre. He would be sitting on stakeouts reading Travis McGee, "which is why I was a lousy P.I." And while he said he "just got tired of Neal Carey," he also said he was open to the idea of bringing Neal Carey back and will probably do so now that he "knows a little better." Presently, though, he's bringing back the characters from THE DAWN PATROL in a sequel titled, THE GENTLEMAN'S HOUR.

And Jeff Parker has done mostly stand alones. He explained that he never saw Merci Rayborn as a series; he always planned to do three books with her and that was the extent of her character. But he's writing a series now because he has discovered that "you get a bigger canvas" with a series. It likes writing a "2000 page novel." With his present character, Charlie Hood, his imagination is fired up and he's going to continue working with that character until "the fire burns down the house around [him]." IRON RIVER is the title of the next book in that series.

Next the panelists briefly discussed screenwriting and whether they felt the work was as important as their prose work?

Joe says that adapting a novel is the only writing that's "actually fun," and "doesn't feel like hard work." Instead it's "like doing a crossword puzzle." Whereas the "other writing is all sweat and tears."

Jeff has never written for the screen and doesn't think he wouldn't know how. He would like to learn how and may get the chance because one of his books has been optioned for a television series pilot.

Don has done a little screenwriting, and he likes it. He says it's different from prose writing. A novel is in it's final form when it's sent to print, whereas a screenplay is an "intermediate" project.

When RC posed the question, "Why Crime Fiction? Why do you write it", Joe eloquently responded, "if I knew anything about ballet, I'd write about ballet. I mean, I was a cop. What else can I do?" RC also wanted to know who Joe was reading back before he was writing himself, and Joe said he liked Tom Wolfe and recommended him.

Don also felt that you should write what you know, and explained, "Frankly, I grew up around criminals." Don always loved to read, and he loved the genre. "Crime novels have it all. I'm greedy and crime fiction gives me the whole world."

When RC wanted to know if any of the writers had ever felt frightened during a book tour/signing, Don shared a story of a time he was doing a booksigning in Greenwich Village. There was a woman in S&M garb who had mistaken him for the Don Winslow who wrote SLAVES GIRLS OF ROME. He explained that when she walked up to him and HER voice dropped an octave, his ROSE two!

Jeff said he'd never really been scared but found that people will tell you the most surprising things at book signings.

And RC shared a scary story of his own from not too long ago. He said he was signing in Philadelphia and a woman was in line holding a toddler. When she made it to the front of the line, she plops her little boy on the table and says, "here's your daddy."

From here the discussion went into audience Q & A. And as I read back through this summary, I realize that while it's a fairly thorough summary, you simply can't appreciate the level of humor in this panel without actually hearing these four men for yourself. Even if I would have transcribed their exact words throughout the entire panel, it doesn't illustrate the level of energy they had nor the obvious fun they were having with each other. As my sister mentioned later, you could tell that the four of them were comfortable in this setting, not self-conscious at all. They were simply going with the flow and having a good time. And that then transferred to the audience. I would be surprised to hear that a single soul in that room walked out disappointed. It was an incredible panel.

But the fun didn't end there. I finally, finally, finally got to meet my hero. I took my books, stood in line and met Robert Crais. I was a bit of a blubbering idiot, but I managed to tell him I came from Ohio to see him. He signed all three books, plus a page for my scrap book. Then my incredible friend, Michael, was ready with camera in hand to snap some photos for me. Here we are:

Wow! It just doesn't get any better than this! A fantastic finale to a fantastic weekend. Thanks for letting me relive it with you all! And if you will be so kind as to indulge me, I have to thank both my sister and Michael Alatorre one more time. It doesn't seem anywhere near enough, though. They made this fantastic weekend happen and I am so grateful to them both. I am certainly blessed.

Happy Reading!

The L.A. Times Festival of Books - Saturday

Well, I planned and I plotted and I made it to the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. I attended the festival on Saturday and it was simply amazing.



I have to start off thanking my friend Michael Alatorre because he secured my panel tickets. He sent me an e-mail earlier saying "good news and bad news." The first two panels I wanted to attend he easily got the tickets for, but the panel with Robert Crais sold out immediately. However, he said, I'm not giving up. There are still some chances that we could get in. Well, Michael got us in! He went to the festival first thing Saturday morning and snagged some of the tickets that they hold back from Ticket Master. So as my sister was driving us from Oceanside to L.A., he called to give me the good news. I literally squealed into the phone. Very unbecoming, I know, but I was excited!! Robert Crais is who ignited this who trip for me in the first place. I wanted to see him!! But here is the man who made it all happen, my friend Michael:




So, we arrived on the UCLA campus and parked. Then we headed to Dodd Hall where all three of my panels would take place throughout the day. The very first panel was at 10:30 and it was titled "A Dark and Stormy Night." The moderator was Lee Goldberg (who writes the Monk books based on the TV series) and the panelists were Jan Burke, Stephen J. Cannell, Robert Dugoni and yes, it is so, Craig Johnson! Here are a few pics, but the light wasn't conducive to pictures, so they aren't a great quality:






The panel started by talking about developing a series. All the panelists have series and none of them set out with the idea to create a series. Stephen Cannell had experience with series having written for several television series before starting to write crime novels. Craig Johnson offered up the advice that Tony Hillerman offered him, "don't forget, it's about the characters. That's the A-number-one rule." Robert Dugoni's advice was "every book needs to surprise the reader."

Lee pointed out that Craig Johnson's considered not just a crime fiction writer but also a literary writer. Craig responded by saying he feels that the readers are at a high level and expect a great deal from the books they are reading. One of the elements he values (surprise, surprise) is humor! He shared another tidbit of advice, a tidbit he received from his training officer when he was a police patrolman, "You can lose your badge; you can even lose your gun; as long as you don't lose your sense of humor, you'll be alright." I think he's doing pretty dandy in that arena. Craig said that when he starts a book, he looks for a social issue he wants to address through the novel.

When asked if they felt a need to "break out" or chance losing their jobs in writing, Robert Dugoni pointed out that people in the publishing industry need to remember they aren't competing with each other but rather they're on the same team. As he pointed out, "there are enough great books to go around." And ultimately, you have "write honestly." Stephen reinforced this point by saying it's about the quality of the books. If the quality is there, the rest will take care of itself.

When Lee asked the panel to address the issue of "the audience has seen it all," Craig started to describe the readers as "cheap dates" and then decided, "I think that's all I'm going to say about that." The entire audience was laughing. It was truly a fun panel.

Lee Goldberg did an excellent job as moderator, and the audience enjoyed many laughs throughout the hour.

After this panel, we had a little time to roam and check out the various booths. Of course there were many booths and we didn't see all of them, but I made sure to see the important ones: Mysterious Galaxy Books, Los Angeles Sisters in Crime, and the Mystery Bookstore's booth. The Mystery Bookstore piggy-backed with SoCal's MWA organization, where I bought a GREAT t-shirt. I'm going to have to check and see if more MWA chapters have great t-shirts like this. I say this as though I actually need more t-shirts!






I also especially liked this booth. A better message couldn't be expressed!


I'll finish up the second half of the day with tomorrow's post. Hope you'll check back to hear about my panel with Michael Koryta and of course the final panel with Robert Crais!

Happy Reading!

The Mystery Book Store in L.A.

Back when I was still in the planning stages of my trip to SoCal, Chris Grabenstein said, "you should really go to the Festival Pre-Party at The Mystery Book Store." He told me it was the place to be. So, I checked with my sister, and she said, "sure, I'll take a half day off of work." Me, being the ignorant Mid-Westerner that I am said, "oh, you don't have to take any time off. I don't have to be there right at 5." My sister informed me that the traffic would be horrible on a Friday evening going into L.A. The drive is already about 2 hours without Friday traffic. We left early and were still sitting in this:

But, that allowed me time to snap pictures of street signs. I was SUCH the tourist! But I was so excited to see the places I read about in my novels!

I'm not sure if you can see it in this last picture here, but the Culver Blvd/Culver City sign on the left reads "EXIT XT EXIT." Any L.A. folks who can tell me what an XT EXIT is?

But then when I actually GOT THERE! Wow! If you ever have the chance to experience one of The Mystery Book Store's Festival Pre-Parties, I highly recommend you do so.

I had the exciting pleasure of meeting so many awesome writers! And you know what? They all seemed happy to meet me as well. So, either they really were happy to meet me or they're great performers in addition to great writers! LOL

Two new writers I chatted with were Susan Arnout Smith and James Scott Bell. Very nice folks. I'll be adding their books to my TBR list.

I have been in contact with John Lescroart recently and he was there. So, I introduced myself to he and his wife. Super, super nice folks. And John's wife took this awesome picture. I think she must be experienced at this process! ;)

You'll have to be checking back to see when John shows up again on the blog!

Jeff Parker was in attendance later in the evening. Very cool to meet him as well.

It was exciting to hob nob with Gregg Hurwitz who made time to stop and chat with Michael and I. He's a transplant to L.A. but he definitely loves his adopted city. Still loves his Giants, but he's an Angelean at heart, now. He also shared with us how he met his wife - shamelessly hitting on her in a sushi restaurant. (Shamelessly was his word, not mine.) I also believe he said it was the "worst sushi restaurant"! Too funny. And of course we talked about Gregg's new book TRUST NO ONE that is coming out in a couple months. After THE CRIME WRITER, I'm definitely looking forward to TRUST NO ONE. Gregg's a fun guy and incredibly nice. If you have the chance to meet up with him some time, do it!

Most of you know that my desire to go to the L.A. Times Festival of Books stemmed from the desire to finally have a chance to meet Robert Crais. Well, when I found out the next two authors were going to be in attendance as well, I knew I'd died and gone to heaven! And for both of them to be at the pre-party Friday night, I'd definitely died and gone to heaven!

Chris Grabenstein, as you know, is the creator of my beloved John Ceepak series. In addition, he has been so great to this blog and to me. So, it was an absolute thrill to finally have the chance to meet him! We talked quite a bit throughout the night. And he was telling me that for the MIND SCRAMBLER release party in NYC, they're having a magician. He's done something unique for all of the book releases, and he is a master at unique, isn't he? Blasted I wish I lived closer to NYC. Cool stuff goes on in NYC!

And you have to give credit to someone who is tolerant enough to put up with all my signature requests. I bought two new books that he signed: one for me and one for my precious dog sitter. He also signed a book I brought from home, the page for my scrapbook AND the elephant poo paper bookmark I bought at the zoo. That's not a joke either! :) And he can rest assured that these will NEVER show up on eBay! He was telling Michael and I how some of his autographed books have shown up there. I can't fathom that; books that I have signed are so special to me, but I'm a sentimentalist. I'll never be able to part with them! :)

I was getting a little nervous that I wouldn't have the chance to see this guy because he didn't show up until a little before 8. But, I'm not complaining one bit because when he showed up, I happened to be very close to the entrance and accosted him RIGHT AWAY! And because I did, my copy of THE DARK HORSE was the first copy he signed - ever! (The bookstores received permission to sell THE DARK HORSE early for the festival - it isn't due on bookshelves until the end of May.) Well, I'm sure he signed arcs of the book (which by the way, he gave all of his arcs to librarians this year - is that cool or what?), but for the actual hard cover "hot off the presses" first edition, mine was the first he signed. Oh yeah, did I mention that this is CRAIG JOHNSON!!!!

He told me his hat looked better on me, but I don't know. I think he's a rather dashing fellow with and without the hat! Regardless, this picture just became my Facebook profile picture. I just love this guy. I'll be talking more about him tomorrow, too, since I attended his panel at the Festival. And I'll be talking more about his books after that since I read two more on vacation! Since it was vacation, I made time for books I really wanted to read, not necessarily the ones I NEED to read! ;)

One final note to make about the pre-party on Friday night. I also got to meet my friend and fellow blogger, Michael Alatorre! He's responsible for many of these great photos both today and tomorrow. He hung out with me at the party and at the festival. It was wonderful to meet and talk; as I've mentioned before, he's just a super person and I'm honored to call him my friend! Thank you, Michael, for helping to make this one of the most memorable weekends of my life! You're the best!

I walked out of the Mystery Book Store on Cloud 9. Literally. I don't think my feet were touching the ground. Kudos to the staff at the store for a WONDERFUL evening.

Check back tomorrow for all the skinny on the actual festival Saturday. Happy Reading!

And the Award Goes To...

Hi all! Back on the homefront. Happy to be back with all my critters, but missing my sister and her critters, too.

I have lots to share with you. Friday night at the Mystery Book Store in L.A., Saturday at the L.A. Times Festival of Books and at least seven books to review. Whew! I think I need another week of vacation just to get this done.

But, before I do any of that, I have to wish MICHAEL KORYTA a hearty congratulations for winning the L.A. Times Book Prize in the Mystery/Thriller category for ENVY THE NIGHT! Way to go, Michael! This is a well-deserved award. ENVY THE NIGHT is a top-notch book; if you haven't read it yet, what are you waiting for? It's a must read! I wish I could have been present to see the actual award ceremony (it was a "closed" affair); Robert Crais presented Michael with his award. How cool would THAT ceremony have been?

Anyway, many congratulations to Michael! And keep checkin' back. I'll post my fun stuff as quickly as I can. And we have a lot of great fun coming up in addition to my SoCal trip as well...some new AWESOME interviews, some book giveaways, a new series of posts I'm putting together...maybe I'll even rustle up some new guest bloggers. I might need a rest after all this blogging! ;)

Happy Reading!

An Intimate Chat with Jane Cleland

Jane Cleland is the creator of the IMBA Best Selling Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery series, a cozy series described as the Antiques Roadshow of mystery novels. Josie was introduced in Consigned to Death, which was followed by Deadly Appraisal and Antiques to Die For. This month, the fourth book in the series, Killer Keepsakes, has been released. Jane was gracious enough to take time out of her busy schedule and chat a little with me. I was so humbled to share some great conversation with the woman who breathed life into one of my favorite female protagonists. And I am excited to share that chat with you. So here she is - Jane Cleland!

Q. You’ve mentioned that your mother was a mystery writer and you wrote your first mystery when you were 7 – a Nancy Drew story about a cow? Did you aspire to be a mystery writer even then or did you have other plans growing up?

Jane: I wanted to be a forensic anthropologist, an actress, a psychologist, a teacher, and a writer. I think the common thread is that I like figuring out things that I’m then able to communicate effectively.

Q. Obviously your mother must have been one of your influences, are there others who have influenced your writing? Your style?

Jane: In addition to my mother and several wonderful teachers, my favorite authors have had an enormous effect on my desire to write well.

Q. You live in New York City now, but prior to that you owned a rare books store in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. What led you to be a rare book store owner? And then what led you away to the “Big City”? You’ve said you’re not leaving New York now, but what’s one thing you miss about New Hampshire?

Jane: I love books! I like Portsmouth a lot, and it seemed a very suitable location for a rare book store—and it was. I miss many things about New Hampshire, but if I had to pick just one, it would be the lilacs in spring.

Q. And you live a double life now, working in the business world – publishing in the business world – and then writing crime fiction. So, can you give us an idea of what an “instructional designer and corporate trainer” does on a day-to-day basis?

Jane: To paraphrase my answer to question one, I figure out how to communicate procedures, facts, protocols, and other content people need to know so that lasting learning occurs.

Q. Josie Prescott is your series heroine, and she has some similarities to you, but you’ve also mentioned that she has some distinct personality differences from you as well. Can you talk a little about how Josie came to be? It was recommended to you that you should create a female, amateur sleuth who didn’t live in NYC, but what influenced your choices when you were putting her character together and making her come alive?

Jane: I needed to pick an occupation where the detective had an organic reason to do research, to be a curious person, and to interact with a variety of people—an antiques appraiser fit the bill; I knew the rare book market (and thus I was a bit familiar with the antiques world); I knew Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and at the time I began the series, I was enduring a tough time in my life: My mother died, my brother died, my cat died—and I was getting divorced after a 20-year marriage. I think I brought some of that angst to Josie.

Q. When you first tried your hand at fiction, you were going to write about a male P.I. And I find that absolutely fascinating because the element that stands out the strongest for me in the Josie Prescott novels are your amazing female characters: Josie, of course, Gretchen, Zoe. They’re smart, they’re independent – not infallible, we’re not talking about Superwomen here; they have their emotional times when everything is just overwhelming. But overall they are so dynamic, so dimensional. And their interactions with each other only add to that depth. Does that character development come naturally? Are there people who have been models for these women?

Jane: Wow, what a nice comment. Thank you. My mother was like that—strong, way ahead of her time, a feminist to her toenails, but also a girly girl who liked strong men. Maybe that’s where it came from.

Q. Josie’s father had many “wise sayings” Josie recalls throughout the books, and he obviously heavily impacted her life. Was her wise father based on any real person? (Can you tell I’m a fan of character?)

Jane: I’m a fan of character, too. My mother said a lot of those things... and a lot I’ve picked up myself through the school of hard knocks. I have an MBA and some of the business “wisdom” comes from my college professors.

Q. Killer Keepsakes is the newest Josie Prescott novel. And in this installment, Josie’s assistant Gretchen plays a key role. I know the first three books have mentioned that Gretchen’s past is rather vague. Josie doesn’t know anything about Gretchen before she walked through her doors looking for a job. Personally, I thought “now there’s a future story line.” So, do we find out about Gretchen’s past in this book?

Jane: Yes!

Q. Let me make sure I have this correct, in Antiques to Die For and Killer Keepsakes, you wrote a proposal or a broad summary of each story line before you started the actual writing of the books? So does that mean your plots drive your story more so than the characters? Do you stick to that original plan or do you find that the characters kind of take you away from it? Has a character ever surprised you while you were writing?

Jane: Having a broad understanding of the plot allows me to focus on the characters as I’m writing. Characters do take me off on side trips, and sometimes I have to negotiate with them about how far they’re allowed to go. Characters surprise me all the time. All the time.

Q. Killer Keepsakes is the fourth book in the Josie Prescott series. Is there more in the works for Josie? I know you’ve mentioned an idea for a stand alone novel; is that still a possibility for the near future?

Jane: I’m currently writing Josie #5, tentatively titled Marked for Murder. I have just finished a young adult novel, a kidnapping, called The Mask. My agent has it right now. I have an interest in writing a stand alone about three women in their 40s... we’ll see.

Q. Not only do you work as an instructional designer and corporate trainer AND write mystery novels, but you also are very actively involved with the Wolfe Pack and the New York Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. So when exactly do you fit in the snorkeling, gardening and cooking? And you obviously must fit it in because the plants in your apartment are stunning. I’m especially fond of those Christmas cacti I believe I noticed in your NY Times article.

Jane: I only snorkel when my husband and I go on vacation, so while I love it, it’s periodic. I do cook a fair amount. I find it relaxing as all get out! As to the gardening, I can’t take much credit... I have great northern light.

Q. You and your husband are cat people – four cats, correct? I, too, have cats. I also have a cat that, like your Louis, carts socks around the house. But what I want to know is how you can keep the cereal under your wing chair and the cats don’t bother it? Mine would never in a million years be able to leave it alone! No really, what I was going to ask is are there any thoughts about cats in Josie’s future?

Jane: I would never in a million years leave anything OPEN under the wing chair! No, Josie doesn’t think she’s home enough to have a pet.

Q. Do you find much time for pleasure reading in that busy schedule? Anything you’ve read recently that you would recommend to fans of Josie’s?

Jane: I don’t have much time for reading. Currently I’m reading In the Best Families, by Rex Stout, for a book discussion coming up later this month.

Q. O.k., a question just for fun. I know you’re very happily married to your husband Joe, but we’re going into the land of the imaginary. If you could go on a date a any fictional literary character, who would it be?

Jane: Spenser and Travis McGee.

Q. I promise this is my last question, but it’s the question every author hears from me. There is a book out called Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure. What would be YOUR six-word memoir?

Jane: Striving for clarity changed my life.

Thanks so much to Jane for this great interview. I certainly hope to see more of both she and Josie here at Jen's Book Thoughts!

Don't forget to stop by Jane's website where you can learn more about Jane, try your hand at appraisals, check out some of Mom's recipes, and even read "Killing Time", Jane's short story from the Alfred Hitchcock November 2008 Magazine that has been nominated for an Agatha Award.

A Quick Hello!

Hi all, sorry for the silence lately. I've been without access to the Internet since last Thursday. This was unexpected so I'm experiencing some withdrawal effects...you know, sweats, shakes, that sort of thing! ;)

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that tomorrow Jane Cleland will be returning for an interview. Make sure you stop by to check it out. Just love Jane and Josie!

Also, don't forget that you can still enter to win a copy of THE PROSECUTION RESTS. You have until the end of the month. Go here for all the relevant details. Good luck to all who enter.

I have some really fun stuff in the works for the coming months. I hope you'll visit often to see the upcoming interviews plus a special series of posts I'm working on as we speak.

And before I sign off of here (I'm running out of library time here), I wanted to thank my friend Michael who put in the order for this FANTASTIC weather I'm experiencing here in Southern California. I asked him for it before I left Ohio and man did he deliver! Tomorrow I'm headed to the Mystery Book Store in Westwood. Then Saturday is the Festival. I'll be back to share the fun with you next week. (Plus the six books I've read while I've been here!)

As always, happy reading

Book Geek Quiz

So, this little meme is going around on Facebook and I was tagged by my friend Patti from Patti's Pen and Picks. I thought it rather appropriate for a book blog, so I'm sharing it with everyone here.

1) What author do you own the most books by? I probably own the most Robert Parker novels, but I don't own all of them. I do own all of Michael Kortya's novels, all of Robert Crais' novels, Thomas Hollands', Alafair Burkes', and Chris Grabenstein's...as a matter of fact, I own all of Chris's plus one that hasn't been released yet. So, 100% of their novels!

2) What book do you own the most copies of? Wow! The answer to this question would have been totally different a year ago, but I got rid of almost all my duplicate novels last year. Now I own duplicates of only TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN.

3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions? Not in the least!

4.) What fictional character are you secretly in love with? Oh good golly, there's no secret about it. I am head over heals for John Ceepak, Elvis Cole and Mike Chapman

5) What book have you read the most times in your life (excluding picture books read to children)? That would probably be a toss up between TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, THE GREAT GATSBY, and ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. I taught all three in my American Literature class and re-read them every time I taught them.

6) What was your favorite book when you were ten years old? It might have been ARE YOU THERE GOD, IT'S ME MARGARET. I can't remember if I had read that at ten or a little later.

7) What is the worst book you've read in the past year? I try not to be hateful on here, so I'll keep that answer under my hat.

8) What is the best book you've read in the past year? I'm with Kaye on this one: "Just one?!" Alright, if I have to pick just one then MIND SCRAMBLER. I told you! I'm head over heals for Ceepak! :)

9) If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be? Well, first of all I am not tagging anyone. Second of all, I would never try to force someone to read something they wouldn't have any interest in. I'd love to hear that everyone loves Ceepak like me, but....if I was recommending a must read for mystery-lovers it would either be MIND SCRAMBLER (Chris Grabenstein), L.A. REQUIEM (Robert Crais), or ENVY THE NIGHT(Michael Koryta).

10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for Literature? Kaye and Patti both said that they don't seem to read what is usually nominated for Literature Nobel Prizes. I think that's me, too. Although Michael Chabon might be a decent candidate.

11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie? Anything I don't love would be perfectly fine. On the other hand, I'd like to see it happen for any of my author friends who WANT their books made into movies. I'd just like for them to be successful that way.

12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie? Anything I LOVE! Stick to your guns, R.C. Protect Elvis from the evils of Hollywood!

13) Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character. Uhmm, I'll not go there. I don't want anyone losing what little respect they have for me.

14) What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult? Gosh *blush* I don't think I've read anything lowbrow...if I did, I sure can't remember.

15) What is the most difficult book you've ever read? Ulysses was both the most difficult and the worst thing I've ever read. Joyce was an elitist and he meant for the book to be difficult. I am completely turned off by such people.

16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you've seen? I've not seen any Shakespeare that's obscure. I've seen rather bizarre interpretations...can you say Ethan Hawke?

17) Do you prefer the French or the Russians? They both have their place in the canon. I wouldn't compare them.

18) Roth or Updike? I guess I have to pick Updike because I haven't read Roth.

19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers? Kee-ripes! Can someone please give me a choice between mystery writers? I've not read either of these...now ask me Crais or Child - Crais; A. Burke or Grafton - definitely Alafair; Grabenstein or Patterson - Grabenstein...I can answer those!

20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer? Oh, don't make me choose between these masters. I love anything British between Anglo-Saxon and the Romantic period.

21) Austen or Eliot? Refer to answer #20!

22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading? I should probably read some more non-fiction.

23) What is your favorite novel? TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, I guess...if I have to pick just one.

24) Play? I think maybe "Our Town" although I really like "Death of a Salesman" too.

25) Poem? Can I say THE ODYSSEY since it's an epic poem? If that doesn't count than I would say most anything by Carl Sandburg or Robert Frost or Maya Angelou.

26) Essay? I can't even remember any essays I've read...oh, what about "A Modest Proposal." That's an essay, isn't it. Very funny. Love satire.

27) And... what are you reading right now? A book called A PURE DOUBLE CROSS by John Knoerle.

28) What's the best title for a book ever (you don't have to like the book). I still like ELLA MINNOW PEA. Although WHACK-A-MOLE is still a pretty darn good title, too. Especially given its significance in the plot.

So, do you think I passed? Do I qualify as a book geek? Hope you enjoyed it. And just a reminder: make sure you enter my PROSECUTION RESTS contest if you haven't already!

Happy Reading!

Guest Blogger Jane Cleland: Plotting in Your Sleep

Jane Cleland is the author of the popular Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery Series. In addition, Jane chairs the Wolfe Pack's literary awards and sits on the board for the New York Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. This week, as you know from my review Tuesday, is the release of the fourth book in Jane's highly award-nominated series, Killer Keepsakes, and Jane (and her cat Angela) took some time out to do a little blogging and share with us some plotting secrets.

It is my pleasure to share with you "Plotting in Your Sleep" by Jane Cleland!

The great American author, Edna St. Vincent Millay, once wrote that she couldn’t get the woman onto the porch. What she meant, of course, was that she couldn’t figure out an organically sound reason for the character to do as the plot demanded.

I struggle with this situation all the time. Plotting a mystery is, for me, a combination of architecture and sleight of hand. I lay the foundation, plan the structure, and use language to entice my readers to pay attention to something over here while something else is happening over there, unnoticed. In order for this complex process to flow seamlessly, I need to create characters whose actions mesh with the plot’s development.

It’s hard. If I have a boorish man, for instance, who blusters and creates awkward moments, certainly my readers will focus on him. But if, later, the plot demands that the character finesse something, I’m sunk. A boorish man who blusters would never finesse anything. Reconciling these two needs—a solid, architecturally sound plot and actions driven not by the plot’s needs but by the characters’ personalities is, for me, the most challenging part of writing.

How do I do it? I don’t know. I don’t know why, when I’m mentally outlining the plot, I know that a certain female character is well-dressed and socially savvy. The fact that she is, however, becomes important later in the plot—she hosts a ladies’ luncheon. It’s a good thing she’s that sort of woman because I needed her to host that event—but I didn’t know that the luncheon would occur when I started to write the book—at least not consciously.

I’ve concluded that much of the intricacy of plotting occurs on some unconscious level. For instance, I know that when I need to resolve something, I get the problem clear in my head just before I go to sleep, and when I awaken—I have the answer. Sleeping on it, for me, actually works when I need to figure out how to get the woman onto the porch.

Maybe it’s that my cats sleep on my pillow—sometimes on my head. Here’s Angela, my love bunny, at the foot of the bed.

It's a Giveaway! Courtesy of Hatchett!

Hi all! I have exciting news. The nice folks over at the Hatchett Book Group sent me a copy of the new Mystery Writers of America's THE PROSECUTION RESTS. This is a collection of short stories. Previously they had THE BLUE RELIGION (see my review here) and also DEATH DO US PART. Well, THE PROSECUTION RESTS is the new collection and it comes out this month from Little Brown & Co. I've started reading it, and so far I'm loving this collection.

Linda Fairstein edited the collection and she contributed a story. In addition there are shorts from James Grippando, Edward D. Hoch, Paul Levine, Michele Martinez, Barbara Parker, S. J. Rozan, Angela Zeman, one of my Twitter buddies, Joseph Wallace, and 14 other authors.

S. J. Rozan serves up a plot twist like nothing I've seen before. Awesome. And Joseph Wallace juggles a pretty dark plot intriguingly well. But, I'll review the collection as a whole when I'm finished. What I do have to share with you is the fact that those nice folks over at Hatchett want to give one of my readers a copy of this fine collection, too! That's very cool.

So, here's all you have to do to be entered into the drawing. First, send me an e-mail with your name and snail mail - so we know where to send the book if you win. If that link doesn't work simply use forbyone (at) yahoo (dot) com. In the subject line write "Hatchett MWA." That will get you an entry. You can earn two additional entries if you post a Tweet (be sure to include @jenforbus in your tweet so I can give you credit) on Twitter telling folks about the contest. Don't Twitter? Don't worry. You can earn your two extra entries if you send an e-mail to at least five friends telling them about the contest. Make sure you cc: me on the e-mail, so I can give you credit.

I'll take entries through the end of the month. Don't delay! Get your entries in this great contest!

Happy Reading and Good Luck!

THE SOLOIST - Steve Lopez

The Soloist is the true story of Steve Lopez's experience with a homeless, schizophrenic who also happens to be an amazingly talented musician on the streets of Los Angeles . Steve Lopez, a journalist with the L.A. Times, met Nathanial Ayers on Skid Row in L.A. Lopez was looking for a story for his newspaper column, and Ayers was a homeless man playing a violin, quite well, with only two strings. As Lopez spoke to Ayers a reference was made to Julliard, so Lopez began investigating. He was initially told no one named Nathanial Ayers had attended Julliard, but the information was later corrected. A Nathanial Ayers actually did attend for two years in the 70s before having to leave for "personal" reasons. Those "personal reasons" were the onset of schizophrenia. What started out as a mere story concept grew in to much more than Lopez ever imagined. This is the story of their friendship.

The Soloist is presently a movie starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr. I have not seen the movie so I cannot comment on the depiction of the story through the film. But the book is a rather amazing look at schizophrenia from a close "outsiders" experience. I word that as such because Lopez never really seems to be able to get completely "inside" with Ayers. There will always be a part of Ayers' world that Lopez will never have access to. They are definitely friends, but as Lopez illustrations in this passage, time with Ayers isn't always grounded:

He plays for awhile, we talk for a while, an experience that's like dropping in on a dream. Nathanial takes nonsensical flights, doing figure eights through unrelated topics. God, the Cleveland Browns, he mysteries of air travel and the glory of Beethoven. He keeps coming back to music. His life's purpose, it seems, is to arrange the notes that lie scattered in his head.

Lopez's writing is filled with musical language like that illustrated in this passage. And he says a lot through those words, but I also find myself wanting more of the story. To be fair, this is probably due to my love of the fiction story where there is very little gap. But The Soloist is composed more like a series of newspaper columns tacked together in sequential order. Because both men are so fascinating, I want to know more about each of them; I want to know about the time that occurs in between those columns.

The story takes the reader through an array of emotions. There is happiness at successes, fear and heartbreak at failures, mortification at the condition that exists for homeless people TODAY on our very streets, and elation at the generosity that people will show one another. There is also an awareness of a disease that is debilitating and unpredictable and even controversial, at least the issues connected to the disease are controversial.

This is not a book that is full of action, moving you to fly through the pages. Instead it is a book full of humanity that makes you savor each and every word. Lopez says, "From paranoia to poetry, sirens to violins, madness to genius. Nathanial's life is opera." Lopez has created the sheet music for that opera and it is titled The Soloist.

Killer Keepsakes - Jane Cleland

Josie Prescott returns in the fourth Antiques Mystery by Jane Cleland, Killer Keepsakes. This time an unidentified man shows up in Josie's assistant's apartment. But Josie's assistant, Gretchen is no where to be found. As Gretchen's mysterious past begins to unfold, Josie searches diligently to find Gretchen and bring her home.

As I've mentioned with the other Antiques Mysteries in this series, Josie is a wonderful character. She's so well developed that I can see us sharing tea or gauvatinis; I keep hoping she'll move out of New Hampshire and come buy the house across the street from me. One of the elements of her character that stands out especially prominent in this book is her caretaker tendencies, her motherly tendencies. And just as a mother will do anything for her child, so Josie will do for those who are near and dear to her. Unconditionally. In this short excerpt, the reader can catch a glimpse of the motherly nature in her character:

Mandy was such a sweet girl, spiraling down instead of rising up. Part of me wanted to shake her and ask if she couldn't see how bad Vince was for her. The rest of me wanted to hug her and wish her luck.

Josie is simply one of those people who sees the good in others. She isn't oblivious to the bad, but she also doesn't harp on insignificant things. If you've earned her friendship, she'd go to the ends of the Earth for you. Don't we all know folks like that? They're usually the folks we cherish most in our circles of friends.

On the flip side, Cleland can create an antagonist to make your skin crawl. Vince does just that. He's not an extraordinary villain; he's the bad guy we see too often in too many lives. And that is precisely what makes Cleland's characters come alive for me, the fact that I am able to visualize them in my own life. None of them have super powers - they can't stop speeding bullets with their over-developed pectorals - instead they possess characteristics like you and I. They could be devoted or obsessive or self-conscious or intelligent. Those characteristics make them palpable; they make them real.

Cleland's characters are realistic in another element as well. They help solve the mysteries using the talents God and education gave them, not amazing talents they magically develop in 15 chapters. Josie and team do not outsmart the police. Instead they work in tandem with the police AND the journalists. Everyone does what they do best. How refreshing not to have an incompetent, idiot police force!

But character isn't the only element of this novel that shines. The plot is outstanding. Every time I would think I had outsmarted Cleland and knew how the conclusion would play out, Josie would discover something that nipped my idea right in the bud. The nipping usually ended up happening on the very next page even. And when those discoveries were taking place, they were adding layers to the mystery, complexity to the plot. When some books attempt to do this the result is overbearing. The reader thinks, "good lord, what more can this poor character have to endure." But Killer Keepsakes builds complexity that pulls the reader further into the plot and the lives of the characters.

As I've come to expect from Cleland, the writing in Killer Keepsakes breathes life into the plot, the setting, the characters. Sometimes it even steals color right out of a character's cheeks: "She looked petrified, as if she were losing ground in a race against the devil." And Cleland doesn't need to be verbose, in a simple sentence like "I was in-my-bones upset" the message comes across loud and clear.

For a couple of days I stepped into Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and wrapped myself in the mystery of Gretchen's disappearance. It was time very well spent with friends I adore. Again, I begrudgingly waved good-bye as the wind chimes on Prescott's door bid me a fond farewell, and I found myself hoping it wouldn't be my final visit.

Killer Keepsakes is available in bookstores today.