You've the Right to Six Words: Week 7

Welcome back to the six-word memoirs from crime fiction's greats! We have another impressive group of writers sharing their six-word summations with us today. For those who might be stumbling across this series for the first time today, this was a project that kind of emerged from SMITH's Not Quite What I Expecting: Six-Word Memoirs of Writers Famous and Obscure. I read their book and found it quite amusing but the writers in it weren't really the folks I was interested in hearing from. So, I started asking the authors I interviewed here on the blog. And when readers enjoyed that question in all the interviews, I decided to ask more authors and make a series of just six-word memoirs. It took off and now I'm just trying to hang on.

Leading off for us today is another winner of the St. Martin's Press/PWA Best First Private Eye Novel contest. (For the record, we've now had memoirs from five of those winners - and who knows, maybe there will be more.) Michael Wiley's novel THE LAST STRIPTEASE won him that Best First Private Eye Novel award as well as a 2008 Shamus nomination. Earlier this year he released his second novel featuring Chicago Detective Joe Kozmarski, THE BAD KITTY LOUNGE. And he's working on a third. Even though Michael grew up in Chicago and his series is set in Chicago, he calls Florida home these days, where he teaches literature at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. When he's not teaching or writing, you can catch him at the 7 Criminal Minds blog. I also hear tell he's pretty handy at building things. Well, he did a good job of building his memoir (with a little help from his wife):

Four eyes. Three kids. Two jobs.

One memoir! I also have to mention that I had the pleasure of meeting Michael in Chicago at Printers Row. Looking forward to seeing him again in San Francisco!

Next up for Week 7 is an award-winning woman of mystery. Carolyn Hart has to have a very long mantel or a large display case for all her awards. She started her writing career on her grade school newspaper. After graduating from the University of Oklahoma, she worked as a journalist for The Oklahoma Daily and The Norman Transcript. In 1964 she began writing young adult mysteries. It wasn't until 1987 that she began writing her first adult mystery series, Death on Demand. April brought the 20th novel in this series, LAUGHED 'TIL HE DIED. Carolyn also publishes the Henrie O series and the Bailey Ruth Raeburn series. And if all that wasn't enough, she has 20 publications that don't fit into any of those series. That's a heck of a lot of writin'! One of those stand alone novels, LETTER FROM HOME, earned Carolyn a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction nomination, coming from the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers at Oklahoma State University - Tulsa. So how does this prolific woman wheedle it down to six words?

I came, I saw, I wrote.

She sure did! Many thanks, Carolyn!

And finally we have Tim Maleeny joining us today. Tim came to writing in a little more of a round-about way than our other two memoirists. He graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in Computer Science and then went to Columbia Business School. This combination somehow added up to a career in advertising. When the confines of the business office started stifling Tim, he began to entertain daydreams of murder and mayhem. (I think I can understand that, Tim!) Instead of turning those daydreams into actions, Tim turned them into critically acclaimed books. Tim pens the Cape Weathers Investigations series, but his most recent novel is a standalone entitled JUMP. Tim called San Francisco home for many years but has recently made his way back to the East Coast and is calling New York home these days. Whether he's using them in advertising or in murder, Tim is

Never at a loss for words.

Many thanks to all of our authors this week for their creative worth smithing. It's always such a joy to share these fun slices of creativity with you all. And this is going to wrap up June for us. Someone slow down the summer. I had to wait too long for it!

Happy Reading!

Technorati Tags: You've the Right to Six Words, Tim Maleeny, Michael Wiley, Carolyn Hart

The Versatile Blogger Award

Today was definitely a Monday, but a blogger I truly admire sent me a little message saying he was awarding me the "Versatile Blogger Award." Now my very good friend, Michael who blogs at Lazy Thoughts from a Boomer, is truly a versatile blogger. He is my guru on movies and audio books and music and Los Angeles. He's funny and smart. He's the patriarch of a most fabulous family that I wish I could hang out with far more often. This running on that I'm doing is just to emphasize how much I admire him. It's an honor that I get to call him "friend." So, it means a tremendous amount to me to be recognized by Michael.

Here's what the rules are for the award:

• Thank the person who gave you this award.
• Share 7 things about yourself.
• Pass the award along to 15 who you have recently discovered and who you think fantastic for whatever reason (I'm going to cheat. Partly because over half of Michael's list would have been my list so my favs are already recognized!)

But, despite my cheating - do you think they'll revoke my award for this - here are my 7 things:

1. I have a degree in English and Sports Medicine.
2. I'm allergic to something in Chinese Food, but I'm not sure what.
3. I was a baseball statistician in high school - LOVED. IT. I was pretty good, too.
4. I haven't watched television in 2 years, aside from occasional DVDs. So don't ask me about commercials - I haven't seen them.
5. It's been awhile since I've said this, so I ♥ Harry! (Connick, Jr., that is)
6. I hate roller coasters.
7. I love the smell of a campfire or wood burning in a fireplace.

Not especially exciting, but there you have it! My thanks to Michael for this recognition. It was a bright spot in my Monday!

Happy Reading!

National Audiobook Month: Narrators

In honor of National Audiobook Month, Jen from Devourer of Books is hosting an Audiobook Week. Jen's had a slew of activities going on both on her blog and on Twitter. Be sure you stop by her blog to see all the fun...and prizes! As part of that week, I'm dedicating today's Audiobook Thursday to the topic of Narrators. I've also asked two of my dear friends and fellow bloggers to contribute today. Naomi and Michael are both fans of the audiobook, and between the three of us, we will be talking about what we look for in a good audiobook narrator.

When you listen to audiobook fans talk, you will inevitably hear the comment "a narrator can make or break a book." And this is very true, even more so with a book that is just so-so. Last week when I interviewed Jeff Woodman, he pointed out a saying in the industry, "A good book needs a good narration, but a bad book needs a great narration." And narration is so much more than reading, it's acting. The challenge a narrator has is to act without the use of body language or facial expressions. That's quite a feat in and of itself, but when the narrator is having to compensate for a weak story as well, he/she is truly handicapped.

So then ultimately, what are we listening for to say, "this is a great narrator?" What characteristics make us look forward to a specific narrator's work? Maybe even try a book we wouldn't normally read because we enjoy the narrator? Sometimes it's hard to pinpoint that definition, but Naomi, Michael and I have tried to articulate exactly what we look for in an audiobook narrator.

Naomi:

When Jen asks a favor, who can refuse? In recognition of Audio Book Month, she asked Michael and me to write about our favorite narrators or what we listen for in a narrator. One thing leads to another, because to talk about what I listen for in a narrator, I have to start with my favorite narrator, Mark Hammer.

Mark Hammer was my audio introduction to the world of Dave Robicheaux, Clete Purcel, boudain, bayous, and New Iberia, all of which I already knew about from the wonderful books of James Lee Burke. The first time I heard Hammer's gravelly, whiskey-soaked tones, Burke's story and characters came to vivid life for me. When I listened to Hammer describe the evil deeds of the character named Legion (in Jole Blon's Bounce), I was in that world, facing that evil. So much so that whenever I listened in my car I became a danger on the interstates. Or, having by divine Providence made it safely to my destination, I would sit in the parking lot at work or the driveway at home, listening until the chapter ended. And sometimes longer. A lot longer.

I wish I could say that every audio book that I've listened to since has only extended that remarkable experience. Some have, but by no means all or even most. But every narrator, no matter how good at what he or she does, is not suited to read every novel. The right narrator is a wholly subjective choice, of course. Some listeners prefer Will Patton's readings of the Dave Robicheaux books. I prefer Hammer, and it's really for one simple reason: because Hammer's voice is the one I already heard in my head when I read the books. His voice conveyed both the years and the mileage on Dave Robicheaux, a recovering alcoholic and Vietnam veteran. His voice had a world-weary quality that could yet be genuinely shocked in the face of evil or still revel in the natural beauty of our planet.

The voice that develops in my head when I read a book is the result of what author Robert Crais talks about when he discusses why he won't sell Hollywood the film rights to his Elvis Cole series. He has said, and I'm paraphrasing here, that an author's book is a work of art that is not really complete until it is read by strangers. Those characters in a book are seen differently by every reader, and that is when the art becomes complete. Readers may have differing opinions on what Elvis Cole looks like or sounds like, but none of us are wrong because each of us completes the art in a different way. Putting those characters into film would force all of us to see that character one way, and one way only, and probably forever. In a sense, audio books do that, too. The reader is forced to accept one voice even though as he is listening, an altogether different voice may be developing in his head.

With a book, nothing comes between the author and me but a typesetter. With audio books, the narrator steps between the author and me. That narrator does not complete the work of art, but does forever alter my experience of it. In the case of Mark Hammer, he enriched my experience, brought it to life and and guided me through the world of Dave Robicheaux, the same way Scott Brick gave breath to the funny, obnoxious New York voice I heard in my head when I read Nelson DeMille's John Corey books.

Not all narrators have that wonderful effect on me. I hate to admit it but when it comes to a narrator, it takes little to put me off. A voice too high or too low or too nasal, a patently false accent, mispronunciations, a failure to convey the author's sense of humor, the inability to create distinct voices for the characters, dramatic pauses in the wrong places, any of those will have me reaching for the off button. Worst of all are the narrators who simply read, who have no feel for the characters, no ability to interpret the story. As the years have passed, producers have got better at choosing the right narrator for a book. But again, it's all subjective. The right narrator for me may have a voice that makes someone else want to scream.

What do I listen for in a narrator? I guess the short answer is that I listen for the echo of what I hear in my head when I read. Sounds impossible, right? That's why I'm amazed at how frequently I hear it.

Michael:

This being Audio Book Month, my dear friend Jen asked if I could contribute a couple of paragraphs toward what I look for in a narrator, or in my favorite narrator. Right off the bat, I have to say it still comes down to the words the writer puts down on the page. The story is still king, in my world at least. As much as I love to listen to the audiobook narrations from the likes of George Guidall, William Roberts, or Robertson Dean (to name a few), I'm not going to invest the time (we're talking hours in unabridged form listening across a couple of days, here) on a recording as uninteresting as someone reading the equivalent of a phone directory. It's not going to happen, folks. However, for a genre or writer I truly enjoy, when the work reaches audio form, I'll be there happily (with phones in ear). It's an oft repeated axiom by audiobook fans, and it remains real enough, but a good narrator can make all of the difference. It means all of the reader's vocal and delivery skills (or lack of them) can either enhance or diminish the content in an audiobook. It is quite telling (figuratively and literally) to the publication at hand.

A reader can immerse me to the point that I feel like I'm sitting right there with the novel's characters... breathing the same air, in fact. Or, they'll have me tune out every so often without hitting the pause button on my iPod (which is not a good thing). While some see a parallel with readers and the film/theater actor craft, I see another more illustrative analogy for the importance and role of the narrator in an audiobook. believe it or not, it's that of a fashion model in relation to a designer's clothing line. [I'll wait till you stop laughing] Ahem... If you don't already know, the model's job is to display (promote) the clothing (the product). [Note: this is the exact opposite of what men expect from the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit magazine edition, btw] In other words, the model (whether it's a woman or a man) is there to make the clothes look good. Of course, if the clothes are crap, it's just like putting lipstick on a pig. In print, the works of Ann Coulter would qualify, but I digress…

The same goes for the audiobook reader and the written material. Their role is to give voice to what the author has created--not themselves. The good ones make what is on the page alive in the minds of the listener through their prowess of voice, intonation, or dialect. Even knowing where the rhythm of the story demands a dramatic pause (by the reader) can't be overstated as a deftness for a skilled narrator. If the voice artist (or model) gets too histrionic or too dull, all they accomplish is drawing their audience to them, and away from the product or story. The reader cannot be purpose of an audiobook, only its distinction. The true ability of bringing the product to shining light, that which only the great professionals possess, is a rare commodity, in either field. This is a unique domain in which they operate. Both are really art forms themselves, one that is meant to draw people's eyes, ears, or minds to another form of art. That end result is a singular feat, IMO. It is one I continually search (and sometimes find) in the works of audiobooks. It is the place where pages and words are successfully melded into my head by the beautiful craftsmanship of an narrator. And, that is what I look for.

Jen (oh, right, that's me):

And now I have to follow THAT! Yee gads. Like Naomi, Mark Hammer IS Dave Robicheaux to me. When I read a Robicheaux novel, his voice is what I hear in my head. Likewise, I feel that way about George Guidall as Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire. As Michael pointed out, the quality has to start with the story. James Lee Burke and Craig Johnson have provided the quality stories and the narrators take over from there. I'm going to talk in terms of great story being a given, so on that even ground what qualities make me say, "this is one of my favorite narrators"?

Naomi made a vital point when she said no two readers read a character exactly the same way. And like Naomi, narrators I've judged as great are ones that come closest to interpreting the work the way I have; they give voice to what I have heard echoing in my head. They add dimension to my flat experience. And because of that interpretation factor, a narrator can do nothing essentially “wrong” and still not be the right fit in my mind.

Some items are not left up to interpretation, and this is where I tend to be most critical of a narrator. A big part of the narrator’s job is to know the author’s work. Walt Longmire is not 25 years old. He's nearing the end of his career and he's a tired man. That in turn influences the pacing and tone of Craig Johnson’s novels. That needs to be reflected in the narration. Dave Robicheaux has spent his life in the bayous of Louisiana. French words and accents aren't a new concept to him and they should roll off his tongue. Elvis Cole is sarcastic, hilariously so. O.k., maybe the "hilarious" part is interpretation, but the sarcasm should not be. A narrator who doesn't take the time to know the intimate details about the characters and overlooks the importance of those details, isn't doing his/her job.

Another factor I take into consideration is the vividness of emotion the narrator creates. A great example of this would be Jeff Woodman when he brings Samantha Starkey to life in Chris Grabenstein’s John Ceepak series. Samantha is perky and bubbly. Woodman’s tone and pace and energy bring that to life, and he doesn’t come across like a drag queen. I don’t envision Woodman in a studio reading, I see Samantha Starkey. I see the look on her face, the bounce in her step. Another prime example of this is Ralph Cosham narrating Louise Penny’s Three Pines series. Armand Gamache has a special affection for his detective Jean Guy Beauvouir. It is a deep, beautiful, compassionate relationship between two heterosexual males. Cosham brings the beauty and sometimes the pain of that relationship to life. The key here, and this is where many narrators fail for me, is to not go over the top. The emotion should come through naturally, not forced.

Finally, a great narrator makes you feel the experience of the audio book. If it’s a thriller, you may experience a shortness of breath. In a particularly emotional scene, you may feel an emptiness or loss. It could be joy for an accomplishment or relief that a monster is arrested or dead. In Michael Koryta’s SO COLD THE RIVER, Robert Petkoff sends chills up your spine with the eeriness of Campbell Bradford.

All of these narrators have been wonderfully matched with stories appropriate for their skills and talents. The characteristic that they all share? They each draw the reader’s attention to the story, not to themselves. Instead of using the story to show off their personal talents, they climb inside the work and use their talents to show off the story. The joy of a great audio book is the magical blending of the author’s great words with the narrator’s great voice and the reader’s imagination. The perfect triangle.


O.k., you've heard from us. Now it's your turn to share. What do you like in a narrator? What makes a particular narrator your favorite or what characteristics allow you to most easily enjoy a book on audio?

And don't forget to shoot over to Devourer of Books and find other great posts and discussions and contests about audiobooks as we continue to celebrate this story-telling art.

Technorati Tags: National Audiobook Month, Audiobook Thursdays

You've the Right to Six Words - Week 6

It's that time of the week, and we have another fun line-up of memoirs to share. But I had to go back and count. Six? Really? We've had six weeks already? Seems like we just started this back up again. Holy Moly. I typically try to include a newer member of the crime fiction community each week, but this week we have three old pros at this writing game.

I'm really not sure how our first memoirist found time in his life to write, but I'm sure glad he did. ROBERT FATE, born Robert Fate Bealmear, is a Marine Corps veteran who studied at the Sorbonne in France, rough necked in the oilfields of Oklahoma, fashion modeled in NYC, sold show scenery in Las Vegas, and cheffed (I know, I know it isn't a word, but work with me here) in Los Angeles. As a Hollywood F/X technician, he earned a coveted Academy Award for Technical Achievement. Yes, that's right, Oscar lives in Bob's home. Oscar and Bob both live in Los Angeles with Bob's wife, a ceramic artist, and his daughter, a senior at USC. He is the author of the highly acclaimed Baby Shark series: crime adventure in 1950’s Texas with a young, female protagonist. Last fall brought the fourth book in the Baby Shark series: BABY SHARK'S JUGGLERS AT THE BORDER. But Bob is veering a bit from his norm with the next book; he's working on a standalone with a male protagonist. He has a dog, two cats, and a turtle named Pharrell. There are folks who consider the Baby Shark series to be hard boiled crime fiction. But Bob says he writes

Cozies with a few brutal murders.

Whatever classification you tuck them inside, they're wonderful and enrich the whole genre.

Our next memoirist has an equally impressive resume. While I'm not sure what Duane Swierczynski's cookin' up in his kitchen, in the world of writing he's cookin' up just about everything. He's published fiction, non-fiction, AND comics. He's worked in the magazine world, the newspaper world, and the book world. Been in the editor's seat and the author's seat. His most recent professional announcement is his upcoming trilogy to be published by the newly announced Mulholland Books, Little, Brown's mystery/suspense imprint. In addition, Duane will be the new Black Widow writer beginning with issue #6 in September. So this is all the near future news on Duane, what the heck's going on in his present? Well that would be his stunning release, EXPIRATION DATE, from St. Martin's Minotaur. This Philadelphia dad knows who he is and what it takes to be a successful writer, no matter the format, but for everyone else he says,

My last name confused them all.

The name might confuse folks, but the work amazes them. Just give Duane a little bigger book so all the letters fit boldly on the cover!

Finally, wrapping up this week's memoirs is a man who's worked as a lawyer, a spy and an executive. Barry Eisler spent three years with the CIA before moving on to the role of technology lawyer and start-up executive in Silicon Valley and Japan. In 2002 he freed himself from the corporate binds and began writing full time. Best known for his John Rain series, Barry gave life to a new protagonist, Ben Treven, last year with FAULT LINE. Next week, the sequel, INSIDE OUT, will hit the bookstores. Appropriately, Barry has won the "Barry" Award as well as the Gumshoe Award for Best Thriller. His books have been translated into almost 20 languages and Sony Pictures Japan released a film version of his debut novel, RAIN FALL. Barry holds a black belt in Judo and lives in California. Obviously he has no regrets about his choices in life as the six words he's chosen as his memoir are:

Organizations, bullshit; rather work for myself.

Since he landed at number 18 on the New York Times Bestseller List with FAULT LINE last year, I think I can safely say that a lot of readers out there are glad he'd rather work for himself!

Once again, my heart felt thanks go out to our memoirists this week. None of these authors knew me from Adam...Eve?...whatever...but they enthusiastically jumped right in and agreed to participate. And they sure know how to make a gal feel appreciated. Thank you gentlemen! I know I do not speak only for myself when I say we so greatly appreciate your contributions to crime fiction. Write On!

And thanks to all the readers for stopping by. This would be no fun at all without you! Thanks for sharing it with me. Same time next week?

Happy Reading!




Technorati Tags: Duane Swierczynski, Robert Fate, Barry Eisler, You've the Right to Six Words

A NIGHT OF LONG KNIVES - Rebecca Cantrell

FIRST LINE: "Wind rustled in grass browned by the drought plaguing Europe."

Hannah Vogel is traveling to Switzerland from South America on a writing assignment when the zeppelin her and her young son Anton are traveling in is stopped in Germany. Hannah knows right away that the authorities have stopped the zeppelin to take she and Anton into custody. Three years prior they escaped Germany and the clutches of a head Nazi SA officer, Ernst Rohm. Rohm will stop at nothing to regain custody of Anton, who he claims is his son.

Rohm's men kidnap Hannah and Anton once the zeppelin has landed. They are separated and Hannah is taken to Rohm who insists she must marry him if she hopes to ever see Anton again. Hitler steps in to prevent Hannah from marrying Rohm; he has Rohm and his SA troops executed. But Hannah still does not have Anton. She's desperate to find him and once again escape Germany.

A NIGHT OF LONG KNIVES is Rebecca Cantrell's follow-up to her award-winning historical mystery A TRACE OF SMOKE. Returning to World War II and Nazi Germany, Cantrell develops a very dark and depressing setting. Where readers may be accustomed to the common view point of the Jewish character in such plots, Cantrell examines how Hitler affected those connected to the SA troops. The title of Cantrell's book comes from the actual event in history where masses of men were silently executed and their families were left with no answers, no remains to bury, nothing. This is a group where empathy is not as easily created, given they were initially part of Hitler's forces. But by running Hannah Vogel's desperate search for her own "son" parallel to the stories of the families affected by this slaughter, Cantrell allows the reader to connect and empathize. Family is the epicenter around which the major themes of this novel work, and readers can connect and identify with family.

What struck me the most in this novel was the way Cantrell so articulately depicted the inability to trust. No one knew who they could trust and who they couldn't trust. Families separated as allegiances are divided. Trust is such a vital, yet fragile commodity. And this utter lack of trust is a major element in developing the darkness shrouding the people of Nazi Germany. The loneliness emanates from the pages as the characters flounder in a sea of emotional isolation. It's also an important element in developing her characters and the relationships between them. Trust, when present, is the glimmer of light and hope, but it is not easy to come by.

Cantrell also examines the persecution of the journalists; a strong reminder of the importance of the freedom of speech and value of knowledge.

In the midst of an action-filled plot, A KNIGHT OF LONG KNIVES will make you think. It should remind you of all that we take take for granted on a daily basis. The blending of historical facts and the passionately imagined lives of these characters makes for a thought-provoking, riveting read.

A NIGHT OF LONG KNIVES is available today in hardcover (ISBN: 978-0-7653-2045-2) from Forge Books.

Technorati Tags: Rebecca Cantrell, Review, Historical Fiction, Crime Fiction

Chatting with MICHAEL KORYTA

This past week I had the wonderful opportunity to see Michael Koryta in three separate events. My first opportunity was in Chicago when I attended Printers Row (you'll hear about that more later), then he was in Lyndhurst (Cleveland) and finally he had an event at one of my favorite bookstores, The Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont, PA. Michael pointed out that it was three states in a week, and while I knew where I had been that fact didn't even strike me until he said it. I am happy, however, to report that no restraining order has been issued, at least as of this writing. ;-)

After this last event, Michael was nice enough to 1.) introduce me to Stewart O'Nan and 2.) sit down and chat with me about his writing and his most recent book, SO COLD THE RIVER. On camera even. And while I'm still working on improving my cinematography skills, I really think this is the best interview you'll find here on the blog, but I take no credit. Michael is very intelligent, absolutely fascinating, and above all else, one hell of a writer. I continue to be honored and humbled every time I'm able to have him involved here at the blog somehow. He has said that I'm a supporter of the mystery genre and his work in particular, and I am. Especially now that I've gotten over that supernatural jolt he threw us. But what Michael fails to mention is that back when I was even less of a nobody than I am today, he supported this blog. He was the very first interview on the blog, and despite how horribly bad I was at this interviewing stuff back then, he's still tolerating me today!

To give you some perspective on these videos, we were outside in Oakmont and situated between two streets. You can see in the background what a beautiful morning it was. The sky was gorgeous. We were actually on a cement staircase, and there wasn't a great place to put the video camera so you get the upward angle, but then again I'm allowed to put my heroes on pedestals, aren't I? So, try to overlook my less than stellar video skills and enjoy this informal, informative, fun interview with Michael Koryta:

Part I:



Part II:



Part III:




I still have difficulty listening to the sound of my own voice, but I enjoyed hearing what Michael had to say about all this. I hope you did, too. I'll be sharing more information from the events I attended as soon as I can get those written up.

My warmest thanks to Michael for taking time out to do this. He's been constantly on the go with his book tour - five states and three time zones in a week - so his willingness to give his time is beyond generous. I'm hoping that when he's knocking everyone off the New York Times Best Seller list he'll still be willing to chat with me. I also have to throw in a note of thanks to Stewart O'Nan, who informed me that he was up all night prepping Michael to sound intelligent for the interview. ;-) Ya done good, Stewart!

Happy Reading!


Note: If you'd like to check out more on Michael and his new novel, SO COLD THE RIVER, I encourage you to listen to his NPR interview here or listen to the archive of his live, online chat at Blog Talk Radio.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week Post

O.k., I received a lot of feedback and am very grateful to everyone who let me know their thoughts so I could decide on the posts I will submit for my Book Blogger Appreciation Week registration.

I am registering Jen's Book Thoughts in the Thriller/Mystery/Suspense/Crime Book Blog niche and the Author Interviews Feature Category.

For the Thriller/Mystery/Suspense/Crime Book Blog niche I decided on the following reviews:

• SO COLD THE RIVER by Michael Koryta
• THE KILLING OF MINDI QUINTANA by Jeffrey A. Cohen
• And my audiobook review of THE COLOR OF LAW by Mark Gimenez

For the other two posts, I've decided on:

• Detectives Around the World
• The final post for Crime Writers Caught Reading Crime.

Then I need to identify an additional five posts that will help distinguish the Author Interview Feature Category. The interviews I decided on are:

• Video interview with Tom Schreck
• Craig McDonald
• James Thompson
• Audiobook narrator Jeff Woodman

The last post can be one of my choosing that isn't an interview, so I'm opting for Ken Bruen's guest post during Detectives Around the World. While I didn't interview Ken, he does open up a part of himself for us, and whew what a glimpse we get!

Well, I tried to give a rounded view of what Jen's Book Thoughts represents. I hope I've done at least a decent job doing that. It was hard to make choices. The six-word memoirs aren't represented this year, but that's o.k.

Thanks everyone! And if you have your own book blog and you haven't registered yet, stop over and check out the options you have for registration, not all include this post.

Audio Book Thursday: Narrator Jeff Woodman

As you know - because I've been talking about it all month - June is audio book month. And while I hope to do many more of these, I'm so excited to tell you that in honor of audio book month I have an interview with audiobook narrator Jeff Woodman. If you are unfamiliar with Jeff's work, I STRONGLY encourage you to take a look at his audio-bibliography because I'm certain you'll find something that you would enjoy. He's narrated a wide range of books: adult and children's, fiction and non-fiction. If you read here regularly then his name should at least sound familiar because he is the voice of Danny Boyle; he narrates Chris Grabenstein's John Ceepak series.

Jeff has a million things going on in his life both personally and professionally, but he still took time out to chat with me at length and I'm so thrilled to share that with you today. Not knowing much about the recording process or about Jeff himself, my questions started out kind of general, but Jeff led those questions to many fascinating little nuggets of information. So let me stop yammering and put the spot light where it rightly belongs. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Jeff Woodman!

Q: Tell us a little about Jeff Woodman the person. As listeners/readers, we don’t have as much opportunity to get to know narrators as we do book authors. So what could we expect to see on a Jeff Woodman bio page?

Jeff: Personal Bio:I was raised in New England, and graduated from the SUNY Purchase Conservatory Theater Program. I live in NYC and have been happily partnered for 21 years.(Of course I was a mere child when we met.)We split our time between the city and a house in the mountains, where our gardening efforts go to support the local deer. I'm an avid film buff, especially the great product of the “Golden Years” of the Hollywood studios.

Professional Bio: OK, I'm gonna cheat here and slug in the bio that I use in theater programs! Broadway: Cymbeline (Lincoln Center). Off-Broadway: Tiny AliceBoys in the Band (WPA), The Libertine (Theatre Row), A Pirate’s Lullaby (Rattlestick), Smiling Through (Theatre Four). Regional: An Ideal HusbandEnchanted April (Goodman Choice Award/San Jose Rep); originated the title role in Tennessee Williams’ The Notebook of Trigorin opposite Lynn Redgrave as Arkadina (Cincinnati Playhouse); McCarter Theater - Private Lives (Elyot), Design for Living (Leo), School For Scandal (Backbite); Old Globe, Seattle Rep, O’Neill Playwrights Conference, etc... TV: “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: SVU”(twice), “Sex and the City,” “Cosby,” “Guiding Light” (recurring). Audiobooks: 300+ titles, six-time Audie finalist (2007 winner), 18 Golden Earphone Awards, a People magazine “Annual Top Five” citation, one of AudioFile (Second Stage), (SF Critics Circle Award/Berkeley Rep); magazine’s “Fifty Greatest Voices of the Century.”

Q: So with all of these credits on your resume, how did you get started narrating audio books? Was it something you aspired to? Something that happened on accident?

Jeff: Total fluke! I was doing a lot of regional theater, and teaching speech & dialects at Sarah Lawrence to pay the bills when I wasn't acting. One day my agent called and asked if I could convincingly sound like a teenager. I said I could try, and he sent me to audition for the audio version of Robert Cormier's I Am the Cheese at Recorded Books.

I got the job, a reviewer at Audiofile very kindly gave it an Earphone, and the next thing I knew I was being handed another, and then another, and I haven't stopped since. It's been a great way to make a living between theater and TV gigs. (And I still get to play kids, which is something I obviously can no longer get away with onstage!)

Q: I've read that you enjoy dialects and you mentioned teaching speech & dialect. Have you had any special training yourself with languages and dialects? Or what do you do to ensure authenticity?

Jeff: I inherited my grandmother's ear. If she could hear it, she could mimic it, and I was lucky in the same way. When I did my acting training I learned the mechanics of speech and dialect, and then was able to teach it to actors in a classroom, or in a rehearsal hall as a production dialect coach.

When I needed to hear a dialect I didn't know, I used to go to the Rogers & Hammerstein Sound Recordings Collection at the Lincoln Center Library. Now I suppose I'd just use the internet - though it's been a couple of decades since I've been called upon to do a dialect I didn't already know.

Q. Do you have any favorite dialects?

Jeff: North Country/Yorkshire! It's so much fun to do that if I'm doing a book with a British narrator (Lord John/Curious Incident) I'm always on the lookout for minor characters who can be North Country. In fact, for 20 years now I've been intentionally driving Chris [Grabenstein]'s talented wife J.J. Myers nuts when we work together, by spouting the same Alan Bennett line in North Country when we're told to say anything so the engineer can set sound levels -- works every time!

"I'd just taken her tea up to her this morning when she said to me, 'Graham, you know I think the world of you.'"

There, I just made J.J. cringe in front of her computer!

Q. I would think that keeping voices consistent would be a challenge, especially with a book that has a lot of different characters. Is there a trick? Does it just come naturally?

Jeff: It's easier than you'd think, because ultimately you're not playing voices, you're playing characters. If you've got four pre-adolescent boys as the protagonists, all with the same dialect, the only thing that's really going to distinguish them is who they are, not how they sound. One is the braggart, one painfully shy, one logical and methodical, and one, well, let's just say "not bright." If you can latch onto character qualities and act them consistently, your listeners will know who's speaking without major changes in pitch or vocal quality.

And usually the only "trick" would be having the engineer drop a "bookmark" on certain characters. If I have a minor character who appears briefly on page 12, and then crops up again on page 290, I'll sometimes ask to hear a few lines of what I did earlier just to make sure it hasn't changed. But again, if you really know who the character is, his voice is going to be consistent.

Q. Paul Ruben was quoted as saying your most compelling quality is your "intuitive ability to empathize with characters and the author's point of view and, in turn, connect with [your] listeners, enabling them to suspend their disbelief and become fully involved with the story and the storyteller." First, I would not have said it quite as elegantly as Mr. Ruben did, but that was exactly what I thought when I first heard you read the John Ceepak books. You ARE Danny Boyle in all his youth and sarcasm. And then you ARE John Ceepak, rigid code and all. Are you able to tap into these qualities by talking with the authors? By reading the books? How do you make sure you nail the psychology of these characters?

Jeff: First of all, it has to be on the page. If the author hasn't written clearly delineated characters then you have to resort to vocal "tricks." "OK, since the characters are undefined and there's nothing to act, this guy is breathy, this one's nasal, this one's from Massachusetts, etc..." If the author hasn't done his job, I feel free to take whatever liberties necessary to do mine. There's a wonderfully accurate saying in the audiobook world, "A good book needs a good narration, but a bad book needs a great narration."

I think the key to Paul's generous quote is "intuitive ability to empathize with characters." Isn't that really just a great capsule description of what acting is? It really doesn't matter whether it's acting on stage, screen, or in audio.

I know Paul is approached all the time by people who say, "My friends all say I have a good voice. I think I should narrate audiobooks." But there's a reason that audiobooks are narrated by actors, not announcers. A "good voice" is the least of it. (What exactly does that even mean, anyway?) If you're not a good actor, you're not going to be a good narrator.

Q. O.k., so the most important skill is the ability to act. Having that, can you give us an idea of how the narrating process works? Do you simply get assignments or is it more like a freelance arrangement and you choose what you record? Then what happens when you go in to narrate? On average how long does it take you to complete your part in narrating a book?

Jeff: We're freelancers, so the work is all 1099 as opposed to W-2 - we pay quarterly taxes and our own Social Security. Some companies (Recorded Books, Audible) work on an AFTRA contract, so while they don't deduct taxes or pay our Social Security, they do pay into our Pension and Health fund, so that's how I get my insurance.

If a producer is non-signatory, that is to say not offering a union contract, I put my salary through a paymaster, who makes the appropriate tax/P&H payments, and cuts me a check for the remainder. I have an agent for stage and TV work, but I negotiate my own contracts for audiobooks.

Maybe it's because I consider myself a stage actor first and foremost, but I've never solicited audiobook work, I just take what comes. The phone rings or I get an email, and if my schedule can accomodate it, I generally agree to do the book.

While in hindsight there were several that I realized too late I should have said no "thank you" to, only four times do I recall having turned something down for reasons other than scheduling. One was Izaak Walton's The Complete Angler (1653), because I just couldn't find a way into it - it defeated me.

Another was the Left Behind young adult series, because I found it to be the most offensive kind of exclusionary religious propaganda. The others I'll have to tell you privately so I don't offend the authors! (I really don't care if I offend the Left Behind authors - they offended me first!)

The industry standard now is working a higher "finished hour" rate (10 hours pay for a 10 hour books) rather than a lower "studio hour" rate (one hour's pay for each hour spent in the studio, regardless of how much gets accomplished).

I realized early on that, being a demon for preparation, I was shooting myself in the foot by agreeing to a studio hour. I had producers saying, "It's a 10 hour book, so it'll take 20 hours to record, so you'll get 20 hours pay totaling 'x' dollars." Then I'd finish the book in 15 hours, and get 5 hours less pay than I'd been told I could expect, effectively getting penalized for being prepared and efficient.

A week or so before going into the booth I'll usually submit a vocabulary list for any words or foreign phrases that I was unable to find myself, and it'll be ready for me when it's time to record.

Some narrators like to do 2-3 hour sessions, but I prefer to do 7-8 hours at a stretch. I find after 2 hours I'm just getting warmed up, and I always warn my engineers that they need to stop me when they want a break, because I get on a roll and forget that other people have bladders and appetites!

I'll eat something before we start, and then I'll keep a bagel or muffin in the booth to nibble on, just enough to keep the stomach gurgles to a minimum. Every time we stop for a stomach noise, my hourly salary effectively goes down, so I tend to record with pillows stuffed around my abdomen so I can gurgle undetected!

Ideally, I'll take a 10 minute break at the halfway point, drink a can of Ensure, and go back for the next half. I generally put an hour in the can in just under 90 minutes, so a 10 hour book will usually take me two full days in the studio.

Q. You've narrated both adult and children's books. And you've narrated in different genres. Fiction and nonfiction. Even the Bible. Do you have to prepare differently for different books? What kinds of things do you do in preparation for recording? Any special rituals?

Jeff: Every narrator has his own shorthand, it seems. Some color code, but I can't carry around that many pens! I keep a character list as I go, noting the page on which a character is first mentioned, and then the page on which he/she first speaks. I jot down anything the author has to say about the voices along the way. (Frequently we meet a character on page 10 and find out they have a "breathy voice" on page 247.)

If an author provides few (or no) clues as to a character's voice, I cast it in my head with an actor I think would be cast in a film version, or with someone from my life. (I'm amazed at how frequently my brother-in-law shows up in my narration!)

I'm often asked how male narrators play females without resorting to some kind of falsetto. First of all, what is a "woman's voice" supposed to sound like - Betty Boop or Bea Arthur? The simple truth is that one never plays gender (or race, for that matter, another potentially thorny issue), one plays character. I just play the character's intention, the same way I would on stage or on camera. The challenge is to create as fully rounded a character as I can without the use of two major actor's tools: my face and my body. It's like trying to play basketball with one hand tied behind you and your ankles shackled.

(Pet Peeve: When a friend asks what I'm doing at present and I say I'm recording an audiobook and they reply, "Oh, so you're not doing any acting right now." I want to say, "I'm doing a ton of acting, I'm just doing it with a major handicap!")

Q. Do you have a kind of book that you prefer working with? Maybe one that makes you more happy to go to work than others?

Jeff: For purely mercenary reasons, I like self help and non-fiction. Aside from scanning them ahead of time for any unfamiliar vocabulary, I can very often "cold read" them, since there are no vocal/character choices to make, and no plot to which I have to know the resolution before I begin. So I wind up with the same salary without investing the prep time, which generally equals the actual recording time.

Beyond that, I like books that are heavy on dialogue, because a really well written dialogue scene is so much fun to play. (Making a three-page description of a cathedral come alive for a listener is a chore, no matter who gorgeous the author's prose might be.)

I'm an actor because I love acting, and playing dialogue scenes is acting, even if you're playing all the parts yourself. That's why first person narrations are my favorite. Right after saying "Chapter One," you're playing a character, one who in effect is saying, "Hey, let me tell you what happened to me."

Danny, Ceepak and all Chris [Grabenstein]'s characters are so vivid they practically play themselves. And the weird thing is that when J.J. told me that Chris had just had his first book published (Tilt-A-Whirl), my knee-jerk reaction was, "I want to do the audio version!" It was she who put us together - me taking it on faith that the book was good, and Chris taking it on faith that I was a decent narrator. Happily, it's been a good match, and a great deal of fun.

When I'm going in to record one of Chris' Ceepak stories, I can't wait to get in there and play Danny! Chris has written the characters so well, and writes such great dialogue scenes, that my job is actually fun! Ditto any of Diana Gabeldon's Lord John series, or something like Mark Haddon's amazing The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.

Q. Any other authors you think do an especially good job with dialogue?

Jeff: Marc Acito (How I Paid for College, Attack of the Theater People) who not only writes great dialogue, but throws in musical numbers as well, which are great fun to do. Ironically, I've recorded some really lousy books with ludicrous plots that had some nifty, playable dialogue. Go figure!

Q. What book was the most challenging to record and why?

Jeff: For sheer number of characters I'd have to say The Westing Game and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, especially because all the characters in Midnight have the same damned Savannah accent, so you can't toss in a little North Country to help differentiate them!

But for overall difficulty, I'd have to say a Young Adult title called Who Was That Masked Man, Anyway? by Avi. It's written entirely in dialogue, without a single, "said Uncle Joe," so I was 100% responsible for letting the listener know who was speaking. Claudia Howard, the head of the Recorded Books NYC studios, engineered the book herself, and did so without the printed copy in front of her, thinking (rightly) that if she couldn't tell who was speaking without reading along, neither could the listener.

In one particularly difficult scene, six or seven characters are tearing around in a frenzy, shouting broken lines of dialogue and interrupting one another all over the place. I think that was probably the hardest thing I've ever recorded.

Q. To date, how many books have you narrated?

Jeff: I kept on top of the number for years, but I honestly lost track around 300 - probably somewhere around 500 by now.

Q. You have also performed both on stage and in front of the camera. How do your experiences in those venues help you as a narrator? And on the flip side do you have to recondition yourself at all, maybe break some stage habits or something, to be able to do your narrating work?

Jeff: Acting on stage or camera is about figuring out characters and bringing them to life - so it's all helpful to narrating. The flip side you speak of, though, is the opposite of what you're supposing. I've had to break audiobook habits when I've returned to the stage!

When I was doing Private Lives with a director with whom I'd worked several times, he said, "Lay off the words. Why are you over-inflecting everything?" I realized that my voice had been carrying the burden for so long that I'd forgotten that my face and body were now doing a lot of heaving lifting, and that I could relax a little vocally!

Q. Where do your own personal - for fun - reading preferences lay? What do you take to the beach with you?

Jeff: I tend to prefer non-fiction. I love biographies, histories and memoirs, and I read so much fiction for work that they make a nice break. It's sometimes hard for me to work up a lot of interest in things that never happened to people who never existed. When a story is true it has an extra fillip of fascination for me.

An unfortunate side effect of narrating is the loss of pleasure reading. Either I pick up a book for fun and feel guilty that I'm neglecting one I should be prepping for work (as I sit and answer these questions, a 593 page epic which is due in a week and a half is sitting across the living room singing "I'm Still Here!"), or I'm unable to turn off my narrator brain and just enjoy. I recently read a bio of Dashiell Hammett and decided to read some of his fiction, so I picked up The Thin Man. Of course I heard William Powell and Myrna Loy in my head, but when they were interrogated by a beat cop, and I found myself wondering if the cop should have a slight NY Irish lilt, I had to say to myself, "Knock it off - this is supposed to be fun!"

As far as beach reads go, my secret guilty pleasure (dare I confess this in a public forum?) is the oeuvre of Jacqueline Susanne. I have two copies of each of her four novels, and they live permanently on my nightstands in the city and the country. They're perfect for the 15 - 20 minutes of reading I do before falling asleep. You can dip into them at random and they're all equally, resplendently cheesy!

Once, faced with a 10 hour flight, I thought, "Wow, I could read Valley of the Dolls cover to cover in one sitting, like a junk food binge." But I was so ashamed of what I was reading that I grabbed the paper jacket from a trashy novel I'd recorded and wrapped it around Ms. Suzanne's opus. When I pulled it out on board, I realized that I had successfully disguised crap as crap.

Ha! At Printers Row last weekend, I found a great book cover you could have used just for that purpose, Jeff!

Q. How about audio books? Do you listen to audio books yourself - for pleasure not for work? Any readers you especially enjoy? Or maybe a match-up between reader and book that you feel is perfect?

Jeff: Not often, as I don't have much of a commute, and I've loaded my iPod with 300 hours of the Jack Benny radio show, so that gets me through my work out at the gym! I recently had to paint a shed (exciting, huh?) and got to listen to J.J. reading Chris's YA novel, Crossroads, which was great. I then emailed them and told them that the 3 of us had just painted a shed together.

And you can't go wrong with Barbara Rosenblatt. In fact, I have a commercially unavailable recording of her reading Daphne du Maurier's The Birds (in a fabulous Cornwall dialect) which I've listened to countless times. It's brilliant, and a brilliant match up of actor and material.

Well, unbeknownst to you, Jeff, while you were painting a shed with Chris and J.J., you may well have been mowing the lawn with me!

Q. If you could record ANY book that you haven't already done, what would you want to record and why?

Jeff: L. Frank Baum's original Wonderful Wizard of Oz because I used to read it aloud to myself repeatedly as a kid, and after all that prep work I wanna get paid!

Seriously, Wizard of Oz, Walter Lord's A Night to Remember (because I'm a major Titanic buff), and Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, just because it's got the most chilling opening (and closing) paragraphs I've ever read. The first two somebody beat me to, and the rights to the latter are being withheld by Jackson's heirs.

And even though it's about 3 female protagonists, I'd love to take a crack at Valley of the Dolls!

Q. Anything you wish the common person knew about recording audio books that we haven't talked about?

Jeff: That it's really a huge amount of prep work, at least for me. I wish I had a nickel for every time I've been asked, "So, do you read the book first?"

Q. I've asked many authors if they were to write their memoir in six words, what would their six words be. So, now you get the privilege of the question. What would Jeff Woodman's six-word memoir be?

Jeff: "He has a face. Who knew?"

I love it! It's definitely going in the scrapbook! Thank you so very much, Jeff. Your responses made this one of the most fun interviews for me; I hope you enjoyed it as well. I hope all of you stopping by to read have enjoyed it as much as I did. Since I'm an audio book fan, I find this all absolutely fascinating, but I really think it would be interesting even if you didn't listen to audiobooks like I do. AND maybe it just might entice one or two of you to give audios a try. It is Audio Book Month after all; what better time?

Thanks everyone! Happy Reading!

Technorati Tags: Jeff Woodman, Audio Book Thursdays, Narrator Interviews

You've The Right to Six Words

Welcome back for the fifth week of Season 2 in "You've the Right to Six Words: Six-Word Memoirs From Crime Fiction's Greatest Writers." This season is turning out to be a lot of fun for me because I'm meeting a lot of new writers. I met a lot in Season 1, but moreso this time around; many more are new to ME. And my TBR pile just keeps growing. Yesterday there was a discussion going on Twitter; Ron Hogan was taking questions dealing with authors being involved and connecting with their audiences, engaging their readers. The thread was fascinating and you can pull it up by doing a search for #pubQT on Twitter if you'd like to check it out. One especially poignant statement Ron made was "Publishers and authors should both stop acting like 'engaging readers' is a CHORE." Well, just take a look back and you will find a large slew of authors who reached out through their memoirs to engage their readers - YOU! They gave a little glimpse of themselves through this project. As one author I was recently speaking with said, "six is harder than sixty....hey wait!" :-) This isn't an easy task and you can see the time and thought that has gone into all of these. It's an honor to collect them up so that they can be shared with everyone. And I'm so thrilled that you all have enjoyed it as well.

Now let me quit babbling, because you know if I had to say anything in six words, we'd be in a lot of trouble. Here we go with an author I read for the first time this year:

Steve Hamilton submitted his first story to Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine when he was twelve years old. Now he is the author of the Alex McKnight series of PI novels. The first, A COLD DAY IN PARADISE, won that awesome PWA/St. Martin's Best First Private Eye Novel (we've seen memoirs from quite a few other winners of that same award). The contest was actually what prompted Steve to start the Alex McKnight series. Of course that was just the beginning. Steve also won the Edgar and Shamus for Best First Novel and had nominations for the Anthony and Barry as well. After seven Alex McKnight books, Steve tried his hand at a stand alone with NIGHT WORK and that was followed up early this year by another brilliant stand alone, THE LOCK ARTIST. Steve hails from Michigan but these days calls New York home. When asked if he could have his choice between hitting the winning home run for the Tigers in the final World Series game or hitting the New York Times bestseller list, he responded with, "That's easy. World Series home run for the Tigers. You can be a worthless hack and make it on the bestseller list. You win the World Series and people name their kids after you." Steve also has the great distinction of hosting the first date of Jon and Ruth Jordan - they attended one of his book signings. While his books may not end happily ever after, Jon and Ruth sure did. He has a magic touch. Steve's tendency to work on his writing in the wee hours of the night helps explain:

Turned empty nights into bedtime stories.

That memoir just makes me smile. I love it. When Steve won the Best First Novel Edgar he greeted the audience with , "Who are you people, and what are you doing in my dream?" We are all glad Steve allows us into his dreams!

Next up is a new friend of mine - I told you I was meeting new authors. Stephen Jay Schwartz made quite a huge splash into the crime fiction world last September with his debut novel, BOULEVARD featuring sex addict, police detective Hayden Glass. Stephen will be continuing Glass's story in BEAT due out this September. Before joining the ranks of L.A. Times Bestselling authors, he was the Director of Development for film director Wolfgang Petersen. That's just a small piece of his movie world talent! He's had his film work exhibited at film festivals, the Met in New York City, and even Walt Disney Studies in California. He's been both the screenwriter and the "script doctor." These days he has his own production company and calls Southern California home. The Schwartz household includes a labridoodle and a rat. And another stunning memoir:

In fiction observe report in truth.

Isn't it amazing how these authors in six words create distinct tone and atmosphere? I love it!

And wrapping up today's post is an author for whom counting is nothing new. As a matter of fact, these days Janet Evanovich is counting somewhere up around, oh say sixteen? SIZZLING SIXTEEN is her newest Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter, mystery due out on Tuesday. Janet started her writing career with romance novels; she then shifted to the mystery genre and breathed life into Stephanie Plum. Another mystery series penned by Janet is the Alex Barnaby series. TROUBLEMAKER, the third book in this series, is going to be a graphic novel, mother collaborating with daughter, Alex, this time around. Their foray into graphic novels is due out next month. But the mother-daughter adventure isn't the only family affair. Far from it. The whole family works to make Evanovich, Inc. run smoothly. Janet does the writing, Peter takes care of the financial aspects, Alex handles everything website-related, and Pete (Janet's husband) manages the business aspects of Evanovich, Inc. One big happy family/business.

Janet says her favorite exercise is shopping and her drug of choice is Cheeze Doodles. She enjoys reading comic books, watching happy movies and spending her money before she makes it. Janet is absolutely confident that

Life is more fun with birthday cake.

And here's to many more birthday cakes for all of our contributing authors. My most heart-felt thanks to all three memoirists for their beautiful contributions to the series. I'm honored and thrilled to have you visit. Thank you for taking the time to engage with us, your fans!

And thanks to everyone stopping by to read today. I hope this week's installment was as much fun for you as it was for me. Happy Reading!

Technorati Tags: You've the Right to Six Words, Steve Hamilton, Stephen Jay Schwartz, Janet Evanovich

MURDER IN THE ABSTRACT - Susan Shea

First Line: "I was hiding in the third floor ladies' room when my cell phone began to jangle."

Dani O'Rourke is in the midst of a large fundraiser for the Devor Art Museum, a fundraiser she is in charge of, when she is summoned to her office where her ex-boyfriend, an up-and-coming artist, had been thrown out the window to his death. As the police begin to investigate, it quickly becomes clear that Dani is among the suspects in the investigation due in large part to a letter sent to the deceased. The letter says it is from Dani, but she didn't write it. Dani refuses to sit back and be framed for a murder she didn't commit. The only question is, who would have motive to kill this man?

MURDER IN THE ABSTRACT is Susan Shea's debut novel. It's a light, fun who-dunnit; perfect for the beach or park or front porch.

Dani O'Rourke is an enjoyable protagonist. She's smart and funny. A respected executive for the art museum who obsesses over fashion and has her eye on the investigating police detective. Her ex-husband Dickie Argetter III is a humorous ladies man who still has a flame burning for Dani.

The plot itself offers up an interesting peek at the art world and how all its various players fit into the fabric.

Fans of Jane Cleland's Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery series will likely enjoy MURDER IN THE ABSTRACT with its smart and savvy, light-hearted plot, compelling characters and authentic backdrop.  

MURDER IN THE ABSTRACT is available June 24th in hardcover (ISBN 978-0-8034-7768-1) from Avalon Books.

Technorati Tags: Susan Shea, cozy mystery, book review

Book Blogger Appreciation Week 2010

I'm headed out to Printer's Row in Chicago this weekend, but while I'm gone, I thought you all might be able to help me out a little.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week has been announced for 2010. It will take place September 13 to the 17. There have been some changes to the process and I need to register Jen's Book Thoughts this year. As part of the registration process, I need to highlight and link to five past posts that "distinguish" Jen's Book Thoughts as a crime fiction blog.

This is how the BBAW Executive Board defines the "Thriller/Mystery/Suspense/Crime Book Blog":

"This blog offers the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in thrillers, mysteries, suspense, and/or crime. The blog may cover several of these subgenres or just one."

These five posts are going to be ones used to evaluate Jen's Book Thoughts later in the process. So, I'd really like your input on what posts I should use to best highlight Jen's Book Thoughts. Obviously I need to include at least one review (note: I need to include three and work on my reading of directions) since they specify reviews in the definition. So tell me what reviews you liked best - tell me your top two favorites - and then what other posts you think are the best representation of the blog!

Then, here's the next part. I want them to consider Jen's Book Thoughts for Best Author Interviews. Here's what they say about that:

"This blogger does his or her research and asks the questions no one else does. These interviews are top-notch. Note that this award reflects the quality of the interviews, not the popularity of the person being interviewed. [Note that nominated bloggers for this award are required to submit 4 interviews; 1 post is left to their discretion.]"

I have impressions of what interviews I liked best, but I want to know which ones YOU liked best. If you want to go back and re-examine any of them, they are all listed over in the side bar with links. So, tell me what three you liked best.

I'm going to take everyone's input into consideration as I craft my registration post. So, please, please, please let me know what you think is best to represent the blog. You can leave me your choices in the comments or feel free to send me emails.

And if you're a fellow book blogger, don't delay! Get over and register for this year's BBAW. You can register without being considered for awards if you don't want to do this post selection part; it isn't mandatory.

Most of all thanks for your help and for always hanging out with me to talk about books!

Audio Book Thursday - HELL HOLE

FIRST LINE: "It's almost 1:00 AM on a Saturday and the partiers inside the rental house at the corner of Kipper Street and Beach Lane are chanting like drunken soldiers chasing a runaway keg of beer."

When, by strange circumstance, Officer Danny Boyle ends up at a suicide scene outside of Sea Haven, he notices pieces of the puzzle don't fit with what he's observing. But this isn't Danny's jurisdiction. Notoriously sloppy crime scene investigator, Saul Slominsky, is more interested in his next snack than noticing the clues he's supposed to be collecting. So Danny discusses the scene with his partner John Ceepak. Ceepak is equally disturbed with the way the scene was handled and figures out a way to finagle he and Danny right into the heart of the matter. While Danny and Ceepak are trying to figure out why someone would want to disguise a murder as a suicide, Ceepak's father Joe "Six-Pack" Ceepak shows up looking for his ex-wife. Danny and Ceepak must juggle a platoon of Army Rangers looking for revenge, the sisters of the deceased, AND Ceepak's father while they wrestle this "hell hole" of a case.

HELL HOLE is book number four in Chris Grabenstein's John Ceepak mystery series. All the wonderful elements of the first three novels of this series are back in full force. Danny Boyle and John Ceepak are endearing characters that work so wonderfully together. The mentor and mentee, both taking turns playing each role. With each subsequent novel in this series, the reader is able to see more personal growth in the characters; that's a large part of what connects the reader with Danny and Ceepak. But Danny and Ceepak aren't the only wonderfully colorful characters. Each character inhabiting the Ceepak novels adds flavor to the overall taste of Sea Haven. It's like sitting on the boardwalk, people watching: Samantha Starkey joins the Sea Haven Police as a summer cop with limitless energy, Gladys from Tilt-A-Whirl returns running a health food deli on the beach, Joe Ceepak arrives in all his inebriated splendor, and an army-boot-wearing politician stomps through everyone's favorite oceanside resort town.

Chris Grabenstein has never let me down on the complexity of the plots in this series, either. There is plenty of humor and Grabenstein reminds us of its appearance in the ordinary, everyday events. Sometimes we're too close to these events in our lives to notice the humor, but stepping back we nod and acknowledge the comedy. But what lies beneath the surface of Grabenstein's plots is hefty and every book contains that "WOW" point where the hefty surfaces and reveals itself.

Danny refers to the "puzzle pieces" of solving a case in this novel, and that's precisely what a Ceepak mystery involves. But the puzzle isn't necessarily limited to the mystery of the plot. One of my favorite puzzles to work in each of these books is the layered meanings of the book titles. Of course each book is the literal name of a theme park/carnival ride or attraction. But that's the most basic of the title's meanings. There are always additional layers to fit together as well. HELL HOLE is especially felicitous with the backdrop of the Iraqi War.

This was the first Ceepak novel I listened to on a audio, narrated by Jeff Woodman. Normally when I've read this much of a series, a narrator can't live up to the sounds and personalities I've established in my brain already. That was not the case with HELL HOLE. Jeff Woodman does an absolutely magical job narrating this series. He nails Danny's sarcastic humor, Ceepak's brilliant cluelessness, Starkey's limitless energy, and Gladys' robust personality. He breaths life into the toughest Army Ranger and in the next breath gives voice to Rita, Ceepak's wife. Each character as beautifully distinctive in voice as they are in Grabenstein's descriptions. Woodman's attention to dialects and emphasis is meticulous. You can envision facial expressions and body language through his voice. What I hear when I listen to Jeff Woodman, is the passion I feel when I read Chris Grabenstein's books. This book-narrator combination is a match made in audio book heaven. Stick this pairing on the shelf next to Mark Hammer/Dave Robicheaux, George Guidall/Walt Longmire, and Ralph Cosham/Armand Gamache. Superb!

HELL HOLE and all the John Ceepak mysteries are available through Audible. In print HELL HOLE is available from St. Martin's Minotaur in both hardcover (ISBN: 978-0-312-38230-8) and trade paper (ISBN: 978-0-312-56561-9).

Technorati Tags: Audio Book Thursday, Chris Grabenstein, book review

You've the Right to Six Words: Week Four

Annnnnnnnnnnd...we're back for Week Four of Season Two in You've the Right to Six Words. I love that this week's memorists are going to showcase the diversity of the crime fiction genre. Most people are familiar with the mainstream mystery and the thriller novel. Those are the ones we see most often in the Wal-Mart or our local grocery stores because they're often on the New York Times Bestseller lists. But what about noir, graphic novels, horror? They all have a place in the over-reaching crime fiction genre. These three authors today make sure we maintain quality in those sub-sets of the genre.

Starting off this week we have a writer who's first dream was to be a baseball player. Jason Starr's dream to be a baseball player led him to read more sports magazines and baseball cards than books as a child. But his freshmen year in college ignited his desire to be a writer. His writing started off as play writing. But an early interest in film noir eventually brought Jason to the crime fiction world. Last year he released his ninth novel, PANIC ATTACK. In addition to his solo novels, Jason has written three Hard Case Crime novels with Ken Bruen and in January of this year, he published his first graphic novel, THE CHILL. This year Jason also wrote a five-part comic series of JUSTICE INC, called WORST NIGHTMARE. All of these experiences contributed to Jason's memoir of

I lived a very noir life.

Christa Faust grew up in New York City and earned a college degree, but she credits her work writing novelizations and tie-ins as her most beneficial education for writing. She prefers privacy for her writing as opposed to a public location like a coffee shop. Her work writing novelizations forced her into a more structured writing style, and while she doesn't get as detailed in her own personal writing, she's writing much less by the seat of her pants these days. That structure in her private setting produced the novel that was acknowledged with nominations from almost every award possible in the genre: MONEY SHOT. The follow-up to this Edgar-nominated sensation is CHOKE HOLD which will make its debut in March of 2011. In her own words, Christa is "older than you think and younger than I feel." She enjoys vintage shoes and vintage books and this is her "birthday month." She's going to celebrate in style all month long. So how would the birthday girl sum it all up?

Read pulp.
Wrote pulp.
Need more.

Thanks goodness because the crime fiction community needs more from Christa Faust, too.

And wrapping up this week's memoirists we have a writer who's been making a lot of noise in the industry lately. Joe Konrath, a.k.a. JA Konrath, is the author of the Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels thriller series and the editor of the THESE GUNS FOR HIRE anthology. When Joe isn't writing his novels or short stories that have earned him Anthony, Macavity, Gumshoe, Dagger and Barry nominations, he occasionally teaches writing and marketing at the College of Dupage. He also maintains an award-winning blog about publishing called "A Newbie's Guide to Publishing." Joe shook the publishing industry a bit last month when he announced that his seventh Jack Daniels novel, SHAKEN, would be published by Amazon's publishing imprint, AmazonEncore, since his long-time publisher Hyperion closed their mystery line. SHAKEN will first be available in the Kindle Store in October of this year followed by a print release in February of 2011. In the meantime Joe's sixth Jack Daniels novel CHERRY BOMB is available this month in paperback. Taking the publishing industry by storm,

He's everything he thinks he is.

And that is never, ever boring!

Thanks so much to all the authors participating this week. Another round up of great authors sharing with us this week. What I like best about this week is the representation of the diversity in this genre. These three authors are a bit of a microcosm of the genre. Genre's may be defined by rules and expectations, but the authors writing in crime fiction like to push, pull, and color outside those lines. And we readers get to benefit.

Happy Reading everyone!





Technorati Tags: You've the Right to Six Words, Joe Konrath, Christa Faust, Jason Starr

THUNDER BEACH - Michael Lister

FIRST LINE: "The neon-lit night is electric."

Merrick McKnight is an unemployed journalist who also happens to be in love with Regan, a married stripper. His intelligent sensibilities tell him he needs to cut all ties with Regan, but he's unable to tell her "no" whenever she calls.  Her hot and cold behavior patterns leave him in a constant state of unrest. However, Panama City's Thunder Beach motorcycle rally brings along a distraction for Merrick. On the cover of the rally's magazine Merrick discovers his former step-daughter. Merrick lost track of Casey and her brother Kevin after their mother, Merrick's wife, died in an auto accident with Merrick's infant son Ty. Wanting to connect with Casey and Kevin again, Merrick goes to work tracking Casey down only to find a world of trouble Casey has worked her way into, a world Merrick may not be able to help her out of.

Readers won't have to read far to note Michael Lister's signature prose. He brings a poetic sound to his writing and THUNDER BEACH is no exception. The characters and worlds come alive through the words:

"Vandals have broken all the windows of the tile and mason concession stand, and in purple spray paint written SATAN EATS HERE. All rides removed, all that remains of the once thriving amusement park is a dozen or so mostly empty buildings. Some of the rides appear to be present because their buildings, so identified with them, still stand - the old spooky structure of The Haunted Castle, the green monster of The Abominable Snowman, the red devil of Dante's Inferno - but they are just shells, gutted of the amusement they used to house."

Not only is Lister describing a deserted amusement park, but his choice of rides also work to set the tone and paint a vivid picture of the dark surrounding.

THUNDER BEACH is chock full of damaged characters, struggling to find their own identities, their places in life. Merrick narrates his tale, but Lister brings Merrick's own issues to light through Merrick's thoughts and interactions with the other characters. The psychological is a vital element of THUNDER BEACH, and Merrick displays all the classic signs of codependency:

"Is it that her pattern of cutting me off after having given me some of the connection I so long for has me addicted? Is the unhealthy dynamic actually feeding the flame of desire? Or does the deepest part of me - my what? Soul? Essence? - know something beyond thought, beyond reason? Of course, I want to think it's the latter, but can't help but worry it's the former."

The mental aspects of the novel tie in well to the distinctive formatting Lister uses throughout the novel. There are no quotation marks. Instead Lister makes use of an em dash to indicate a character is speaking. And Merrick is telling the story in the present tense. It is almost as though the reader is simply riding around the story instead Merrick's brain. The reader hears when Merrick hears, sees when Merrick sees.

The themes of THUNDER BEACH also lend themselves to a very dark, noirish novel: strip clubs, the sex trade, murder, intolerance.

Without giving any kind of spoilers, I will say there were a couple things that caught me off guard and I felt they weren't consistent with the rest of the story and the over-reaching tone, but overall I found myself reading through THUNDER BEACH quickly to reach the resolution. I continue to enjoy being caught up in Michael Lister's unique story-telling.

THUNDER BEACH is available now from Tyrus books in both hardcover (ISBN: 978-1-935-56205-4) and trade paper (ISBN: 978-1-935-56204-7).



Technorati Tags: Michael Lister, book review, crime fiction