The Crimes of Austin Carr

U.K. Gives Omex Permission to Raise Warship

2012-01-22T06:50:00.002-05:00

Copyright © 2012 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

(UKPA) – The remains of the first HMS Victory are to be raised from the sea bed nearly 300 years after it sank, it has been reported.

The vessel, predecessor of Nelson's famous flagship, went down in a storm off the Channel Islands in 1744, taking more than 1,000 soldiers to their deaths.

Along with a bronze cannon collection, some believe the ship was carrying a large quantity of gold coins from Lisbon to Britain, which would now be worth a reported £500 million.

According to the Sunday Times, the wreck is to be handed over to the Maritime Heritage Foundation, which is expected to employ Odyssey Marine Exploration to carry out the recovery. The American company found the ship four years ago.

A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: "Efforts to protect key parts of British Naval history such as the wreck of HMS Victory 1744 are very welcome and we hope to make an announcement shortly."

The guns and other artefacts will be displayed in British museums, while Odyssey is likely to receive the bulk of any treasure under the laws of salvage, the newspaper reported.

(This is my blog and I'm butting in here to say the above is false. There is no legal, unauthorized salvage of warships. But even better for Odyssey shareholders, OMEX has a signed contract and previous agreement for bulk of treasure!!! Okay, back to UKPA's Copywrited story:)

The Maritime Heritage Foundation was set up by Lord Lingfield, the Tory peer formerly known as Sir Robert Balchin.
He is a relative of Admiral Sir John Balchin who was on board the Victory when it sank, although he stressed he would not profit personally from the ship's cargo.

Lord Lingfield told the Sunday Times: "The foundation seeks to prevent damage to this historically important site and maximise its archaeological, scientific and educational value.

"We hope it will give a unique insight into the world of the mid-18th century Royal Navy."

The Hunting Ground of BLACK KACHINA

2011-09-15T08:03:00.004-04:00

Rising abruptly from the desert floor, the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument reaches an elevation of 10,834 feet at the summit of Mount San Jacinto. Providing a picturesque backdrop to local communities, the National Monument significantly contributes to the Coachella Valley's lure as a popular resort and retirement community. It is also a desirable backcountry destination that can be accessed via trails from both the valley floor and the alpine village of Idyllwild.

The National Monument’s boundary encompasses about 272,000 acres, including 65,000 acres within the San Jacinto Ranger District of the San Bernardino National Forest, and 89,500 acres within the Bureau of Land Management’s California Desert Conservation Area. The National Monument includes two federal Wilderness Areas: the Santa Rosa Wilderness which contains 61,600 acres of BLM and Forest Service lands, and 19,470 acres of the Forest Service’s San Jacinto Wilderness. Its boundary also surrounds lands owned and administered by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Fish and Game, other agencies of the State of California, and private landowners. An advisory committee comprised of individuals representing various jurisdictions and interests makes recommendations that help guide management of the National Monument.

The Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument was established by an Act of Congress on October 24, 2000 “in order to preserve the nationally significant biological, cultural, recreational, geological, educational, and scientific values found in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains and to secure now and for future generations the opportunity to experience and enjoy the magnificent vistas, wildlife, land forms, and natural and cultural resources in these mountains and to recreate therein” (Public Law 106-351). Establishment of the National Monument reflects the vision of local citizens and national leaders to ensure this special landscape is protected for all time.

Visit the Borrego Badlands in BLACK KACHINA

2011-09-12T22:28:00.006-04:00

To the heart of southern California's Borrego Badlands, scientists come from all over the world to study millions of years worth of geologic and paleontologic history. According to Desert USA's website, the "stark desert landscape (features) conglomerates, sandstones, claystones and mudstones, compressed and hardened, (and) chronicles a variety of landscapes, fossil life forms and climates that no longer exist at Anza-Borrego."

This view from Font's Point was described by Father Pedro Font in his 1775-76 diaries as "sweepings of the earth." Father Font was the chaplain on Spanish explorer Juan Baustista de Anza's expeditions in the area.

Anybody can get lost in these rugged and dangerous Borrego Badlands.

Still More Stuff from BLACK KACHINA

2011-09-11T13:07:00.009-04:00

The All-American Canal carries water from the Colorado River to half a million acres of prime farmland in California's Imperial Valley, and is nine desert cities' only source of water. For much of its eighty miles, the aqueduct runs parallel to California's border with Mexico, and since 1997, more than 550 people have drowned trying to swim across.

Some people south of the border believe the canal was constructed purposefully as a trap, although the revenue of 500,000 prime acres seems a more probable incentive than killing would-be immigrants. Fruits and vegetables are raised in the desert here all year round. But many citizens on both sides of the border would like the US to somehow make it safer.

The water moves dangerously fast. As the largest irrigation canal in the world, the All-American Canal transports more than 26,000 cubic feet of Rocky Mountain runoff per SECOND. Agricultural runoff from the All American Canal drains into the Salton Sea.

And if you're wondering what the lighter area around the Salton Sea might be, it is the outline of ancient Lake Cahuilla, a body of fresh water created over and over again by the Colorado River.

More Stuff from Black Kachina

2011-09-10T17:49:00.002-04:00

Naval Air Facility El Centro (NAFEC) is located in the heart of Southern California's Imperial Valley. It is a two hour drive from San Diego and Palm Springs, one hour from Yuma, AZ, and fifteen minutes from the Mexican border. With our year-round great flying weather and the proximity of several instrumented bombing ranges, NAFEC provides a singularly unique training environment that is appreciated around the world.

The proximity to ranges, ability to accurately simulate night field carrier landing practice and the harsh desert environment are capitalized on not only by Navy pilots, but also by pilots from all branches of the services as well as NATO allies. The ranges are a critical piece in the training cycle and one of the few places left where pilots can “train like they fight” to deliver ordnance to ground targets and are a vital part of the Southern California training complex.

Our mission is to ensure victory in combat through the superior training of our war fighters.

Our vision is to provide the highest quality facilities, services and products to the Naval Aviation community and all organizations using Naval Air Facility El Centro.

Thanks, ladies and gents of the U.S. Armed Forces. We appreciate what you do.

More Stuff in TFA's Thriller, BLACK KACHINA

2011-09-09T07:48:00.004-04:00

In this satellite shot of Baha California and the Gulf of California (also called the Sea of Cortez) please note how the gulf's top seems to have been filled in with sand. Where did you think the Colorado River deposited all that dirt from the Grand Canyon? The gulf's water used to extend past Palm Springs, although that was so long ago, a few sabertooth tigers were probably still around. The blue oblong mark near the top of today's sand pile is California's Salton Sea, the surface of which is 200 feet below sea level. The border with Mexico is just to the south.

Stuff In TFA's New Thriller, BLACK KACHINA

2011-09-06T10:13:00.003-04:00

McDonnell Douglas F-15 Strike Eagle

Non-Noir Entertainment

2011-08-30T07:48:00.009-04:00

Dead Head by Rosemary Harris
Ms. Harris is a wonderfully entertaining writer, and you will love DEAD HEAD if you enjoy hanging out with odd but appealing characters and laughing out loud. The protagonist Paula -- a financially challenged landscaper -- has a tongue sharp enough to fell trees, knows where to kick aggressive males, and owns a very funny view of the world. You will grin, giggle, and occassionally spit over her comments. Here's one that made everyone stare at me on the airplane: "She made disparaging remarks about my hair and alleged cup size. It went further south from there...still I stayed on the line. I was fascinated by her lung capacity. Perhaps she was a swimmer?"

Paula's sidekick Babe owns the Paradise Diner, and Babe's comments, straightforward attitude, and kind wisdom make your smile widen whenever the story turns back to the hangout. Ms. Harris's series (this is number three) gets lumped into that popular "hobby cozy" sub-genre because Paula is a gardener, but not so you'd notice. Ms. H will work her magic regardless of your assumed tastes.

If you've had enough of Janet Evanovich's same ol' same ol' plots, try Ms. Harris. Rosemary is also funnier.

BLACK KACHINA

2011-08-19T11:07:00.006-04:00

With both hands, I lifted Nataska’s mask from the blanket and pulled the Black Ogre’s likeness over my wounded face. A new current of dark strength raced through me, as if the black spirit flowed directly into my heart. I took comfort in the darkness, the cover such a screen provided my inner feelings, perhaps my soul. This was natural. All living things must have a black kachina to go to, a killing spirit of fierceness when they are attacked.

When I looked around in my life, I saw that everything in this world both ate and was eaten. Nature sought us out for slaughter, and staying alive on this earth meant protecting your darkness. We each needed the ability to wage personal war, to struggle for our lives. To run AND to fight.

While the white man and half the world criticized me, saw me as villain, I knew I fought for my people, my culture, myself. I fought for all the forgotten people everywhere in this harsh world. A place where everything is still eaten alive.

I have reached inside my black kachina, mined a vein of lust to kill the white man. I have done it because I must.

And with the determination of a desperate man, I light the candle. I care not if the fire engulfs us all.

A complete manuscript is available from TFA's agent, Grace Morgan. BLACK KACHINA is a 70,000 word thriller.

Marketing War

2011-08-14T07:59:00.000-04:00

TFA Dumps Me for a Doll

2011-08-06T08:45:00.003-04:00

So yesterday I'm sitting around the house, thinking up a new adventure for myself and Luis, when the phone rings. It's The Famous Author. To my shock and horror, he says, "Sorry, Austin. You're on the back burner for a while. There's this scary kachina character that needs my attention."

Ok, ok. I've been through this before. First it was Mama Bones with her own series. Then TFA said she was taking over my blog. Ha. I've heard this kachina stuff before, too. TFA has been whacking away at this story for years, actually writing the first sentences back in 2004 at some Oregon writers retreat with people like Elizabeth, Lorin, and Roman. They had me down in the mold-infested basement.

So when TFA says I'm on the back burner, I know better. He can't write anything but Screwball Mysteries. I put the hard squeeze on him. "Come on, TFA, who are you kidding? Has anybody read this kachina story yet?"

"Well, yes. A famous newspaper book reviewer read the first 50 pages and said it was awesome. My beta readers said it was the best thing I've ever done. And yesterday, the agent said this book was "going to make both of us some money."

"She always says that."

"Not really. In fact, she thinks stockbrokers are about as saleable as spoiled milk. You're a pariah, Austin."

"So who's the star of this new book? Your agent?"

"Ha. Nope. This is a story about a guy who dresses up like Nataska, The Black Ogre, and then wrecks havoc on Southern California."

"Sounds boring."

"My agent doesn't think so. Says we're hitting three NY thriller publishers with it next week."

"Phooey."

Chilling Bluegrass in Prose Form

2011-08-03T06:30:00.006-04:00

The Famous Author loved Scott Montgomery's review so much, he made me steal one of the best lines and print it here: "An album of chilling blue grass tunes in prose form."

If you want to read the whole review of Frank Bill's CRIMES IN SOUTHERN INDIANA STORIES, you'll have to go to the website of this Austin, Texas bookstore (and community) where Scott's review and Pick of the Month was featured in the newsletter. Read another review that compares Mr. Bill to -- gasp! -- Cormac McCarthy.

Clicking on my blog's headline works, too.

TFA says Farrar, Straus and Giroux doesn't print everybody's short stories. Perhaps we should have a look. Heck, if we can get TFA to spring for the cash, we might even buy a copy from this nice Texas bookstore.

TFA and other short story writers ought to at least take a peek at the style and wit that landed a top agent and then this FSG contract. Sounds like Frank Bill has provided TFA and other fiction-hacks with an entertaining form of education.

Hey Congress! Betty White's Had Enough!

2011-07-31T09:13:00.003-04:00

A Spiral Piece of Mystery

2011-07-24T13:15:00.004-04:00

This spiral galaxy lies in the constellation Ursa Major, about 46 million light-years from Earth. The orbiting Hubble Space Telescope snapped this photo of the galaxy NGC 2841, one of several chosen for a new study to observe stellar nurseries. Newborn stars are bright blue.

CREDIT: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration; M. Crockett and S. Kaviraj (Oxford University, UK), R. O'Connell (Univ. of Virginia), B. Whitmore (STScI) and the WFC3 Scientific Oversight Committee.

The Protagonist Inside

2011-07-23T08:29:00.003-04:00

Dear Publishing Company Acquisition Editor (you probably don't know who you are):

My name is Austin Carr. I'm a fictional stockbroker buried deep in your slush pile, dropped there last year by my hard-working, persistent agent. She's about given up on you (and me) and last week suggested I ought to think hard about self-publishing, adding my third adventure to the two that were published in 2007 and 2008. She says nobody likes stockbrokers. I'm a pariah.

Well, sor -- rey! I was just trying to make a living, and my boss said those collateralized default swaps and mortgage-backed bonds were golden investments. How was I supposed to know they loaned money to a bunch of deadbeats? But the truth is, all those bad investments that bankrupt our country and wiped out TFA's retirement income also made for great fiction. Think of all those angry customers. What conflict!

Anyway, Ms. PCAE, could you please just take a quick look at BIG MOJO down there? It has more laughs than a Conan O'Brien show, a great insider trading plot, and a knife-fight between Luis the bartender and a bad guy that'll make your knees quiver. Take a peek, will ya? I'd really rather not do this alone.

New Resource for Mystery Writers

2011-07-15T08:07:00.002-04:00

Hey there, Austin Carr fans.

My name is Tom Adair and I am a retired, internationally recognized, forensic scientist/CSI in Colorado. I am contacting writers of mystery/crime thrillers to let them know I have recently launched an informative blog called FORENSICS4FICTION.

I thought you and other mystery/crime writers you know might be interested in the information. I make an effort to explain the basics of forensics for authors of all experience levels. I have just started a section on historical forensics, and soon will be adding some fun categories for the science fiction and fantasy/paranormal writers as
well.

I love to answer questions about forensics and law enforcement in general so feel free to fire away if the need arises. Thanks for your consideration.

Thanks, Tom. Consider the word passed around. We've been to the site and found much to read. Check it out.

Redhead of the Week Has Cold Feet

2011-07-11T18:00:00.005-04:00

Emily Samuelson is a 21-year-old American ice dancer, the 2009 U.S. silver medalist, the 2009 Four Continents bronze medalist, and the 2008 World Junior Champion. Her male partner is some guy named Bates.

Emily was born in Southfield, Michigan and currently lives and trains in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She graduated from Novi High School in spring of 2008 and entered the University of Michigan that fall. She began skating at age five, competed in single skating through the Intermediate level and tested up to the Novice level in the USFSA testing structure. When she was nine, her coach, Karen Lingenfelter, recommended that she try ice dancing, and Sameulson briefly paired up with Lingenfelter's son Kurt and competed with him a local competition.

She began competing with Evan Bates at the Juvenile level in 2000 when they were paired up by their coach Gary Clark. At the 2001–2002 U.S. Junior Championships, they won the intermediate national title.

Thanks Emily and Wikipedia.

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-04T06:58:00.002-04:00

Dave County Headlines Debut Publication

2011-06-22T13:54:00.004-04:00

Speedloader is the debut title of Snubnose Press.

From the trenches of WWI to the abandoned rowhomes of Baltimore; From a rural charnel house to the Texas-Mexican border these six stories explore the dark heart of crime fiction today. All for 99 cents!

Speedloader features stories of…

…revenge that will challenge you to a game of uncle that you may not win and will haunt those who are able to finish it.

…clashing motives on the Texas Mexico border
…a slide into an alcoholic haze
…a struggle with the weight of a personal choice when confronted with the sins of the past
…getting caught up in actions far beyond one’s control
…small crimes covered up and lost amidst larger forces

Speedloader is six stories slammed home and ready to kill

With all new, original stories from Richard Thomas, Nik Korpon, Nigel Bird, newcomer WD County and Spinetingler Award winners Matthew C Funk and Jonathan Woods.

Guess Which One is TFA's Wife ... Prizes

2011-06-18T12:37:00.000-04:00

Guess Why Nata'aska is Dancing

2011-06-17T07:44:00.001-04:00

TFA Has a Grandson!

2011-06-04T07:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the Getze Family, James Henry.

OMEX Reaching New Highs

2011-06-01T09:25:00.003-04:00

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (OMEX0 is engaged in archaeologically sensitive exploration and recovery of shipwrecks worldwide. It employs advanced technology, including side-scan sonar, magnetometers, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and other advanced technology that enables the Company to locate and recover shipwrecks. It's wholly owned subsidiaries include Odyssey Marine, Inc., Odyssey Marine Services, Inc., OVH, Inc., Odyssey Retriever, Inc. and Odyssey Marine Entertainment, Inc. In November 2009, Odyssey acquired a 25% interest in SMM Project LLC.

Big Bird Eats Wolves

2011-05-23T06:34:00.004-04:00

The Golden Eagle is an awesome bird. AKA Aquila chrysaetos, this bird of prey exists across Eurasia, North America, and parts of Africa, the highest density of nesters right now being in Alameda County, California.

Powerful talons allow the eagle to catch and kill rabbits, foxes, cats, goats, and young deer. According to Wikipedia, "The Eurasian subspecies is used to hunt and kill wolves in many native communities, where their status is regarded with great mystic reverence."

Wing spans can reach eight freaking feet. They nest in cliffs, trees, or telephone poles.

Watch out up there in Alameda!

The World Could Change Today

2011-05-16T08:30:00.004-04:00

Another ho-hum shuttle launch today? Not so ho-hum, it turns out. SPACE.com reports the US is launching a bus-size collector of cosmic rays. Nobody has much of a clue what it might catch out there in space. But you can bet whatever we DO discover will change life on earth. Clara Moskowitz's full story can be read HERE.

By Clara Moskowitz
SPACE.com Senior Writer

When the space shuttle Endeavour lifts off one last time on Monday, it won't just be the culmination of the orbiter's career. It will also bring to fruition a 15-year, $2 billion quest to launch a device called the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to space.

The bus-size Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) is an astrophysics experiment that will use a magnet to detect cosmic ray particles. These particles could include bizarre antimatter or other exotic species that scientists hope will shed light on some of the greatest mysteries of the universe, such as the puzzling dark matter thought to pervade space.

SPACE.com spoke to AMS's principal investigator Samuel Ting, a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology:

SPACE.com: What question do you most hope the experiment will answer?

Ting: For us as experimental physicists, the most important thing to realize is really, now you are entering a new domain where people have not carefully explored before. What we really will see, nobody will know, because you open the door into a new region.

SPACE.com: How likely is it that AMS will find dark matter?

Ting: For experimentalists, the most important thing is to not offer bias. My opinion and your opinion is the same. Unless you do observations, you will not know. Physics doesn't depend on vote.

SPACE.com: Why should people care about dark matter and antimatter?

Ting: The difference between humans and animals is curiosity. It's curiosity that drives a physicist forward to search for the unknown. Let me give you another reason. A hundred years ago, the frontier of science is the discovery of electrons, and the discovery of X-rays. At that time, nobody cares. It's only from 1930s onward people know you can use for medicine, you can use for doing electronics. In 1920s, 1930s, the frontier of science is quantum mechanics, quantum physics. At that time people asked the same question, how do we benefit from this? Now, your IT, your telephone, your television, almost everything in daily life, is from the work around 1930s.

SPACE.com: Will you open a bottle of champagne?

Ting: To start with, I don't drink. It's very important to be very calm, to know that your ability is limited, to do it slowly and carefully. Not jump up and down.

Read the whole story and interview HERE.
You can follow SPACE.com Senior Writer Clara Moskowitz on Twitter @ClaraMoskowitz. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcomand on Facebook.

The New Novel Is a Little Long, But ...

2011-05-15T21:31:00.003-04:00

Spinetingler Gets Anthony Nomination!

2011-05-09T16:21:00.006-04:00

Winners of this year's Anthony Awards will be announced at Bouchercon in St. Louis, but today the nominees were announced and TFA's own Spinetingler Magazine was nominated for Best Website/Blog. These are fan nominations, kinda like The Peoples Award. TFA is very proud to be working for Spinetingler and it's founder, Ms. Sandra Ruttan.

Here we are, named with the best websites in crime and mystery:

Jen's Book Thoughts - Jen Forbus
The Rap Sheet - J. Kingston Pierce
Sirens of Suspense - Chantelle Aimée Osman
Spinetingler - Sandra Ruttan
Stop. You're Killing Me - Surber/Ulrich

Okay, you know what's next. If you're going, vote for us.

Sleeping With the Fishes

2011-05-02T07:23:00.003-04:00

Redhead of the Week Works Downstairs

2011-04-28T18:11:00.004-04:00

This lady's name is Rose Eleanor Arbuthnot-Leslie, our Redhead of the Week.

Rose is 24, Scottish, and learned acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She appeared in the role of Gwen, a housemaid, in 2010 in the British television series, Downtown Abbey. Last fall, she appeared at the Globe Theatre in Nell Leyshon’s play Bedlam. Thanks to Wikipedia and Anne O'Dyne.

Austin Runs to Prague

2011-04-19T10:12:00.006-04:00

The Famous Author here, checking in to report that my fictional stockbroker Austin Carr has turned up in the Czech Republic after disappearing for more than a week. I'm not sure when he's going to blog again, so I'll have to fill in when I can. If all of this seems too strange, go with it a minute. You're going to like where Austin went last night. Here's a taste:

"In Prague at the intimate Rekomondo record shop and bookstore, Eugene S. Robinson will be reading from his latest book, A Long Slow Screw."

Sounds like exactly the kind of literature Austin would enjoy.

Al Davis Signs Billion-Dollar Linebacker

2011-04-07T20:49:00.001-04:00

Music Academy Screws Up This Year

2011-04-04T07:53:00.004-04:00

Maybe you missed the news because they never show the VIDEO OF THE YEAR award on the television show, but my buddy Roman White should have won the top prize for film at last nights Academy of Country Music annual awards show. Roman directed 'Hillbilly Bone' by Blake Shelton, and featuring Trace Adkins.

His video lost to Miranda Lambert's, who led the 46th Annual Academy Awards winners with three trophies: Top Female Vocalist, Single of the Year and Video of the Year for her huge hit, 'The House That Built Me.' But it's our pal who makes the news around here. Go Roman! You definitely should have won like you did a couple of years ago for that cheatin' song by Carrie Underwood.

Check out Roman's incredible website here.

"Born and raised in a small suburb of Nashville, Tennessee, Roman White enjoyed a childhood filled with imaginative adventures, including his rise to world-renowned Bigfoot hunter. As an adult, he continues to use his penchant for the unordinary in his writing, directing and artistic endeavors," says his website.

"Working with such artists as Reba McEntire, Kelly Clarkson, Miley Cyrus and Alan Jackson, Roman has been nominated for eleven Emmy awards and has taken home three in addition to winning CMT’s Director of the Year for 2007 as well as the 2007 ACM Award for Best Music Video along with numerous other industry honors for his directing and special effects work in television and film. He most recently directed all nine music videos for American Idol winner Carrie Underwood, including the number one video of the year for “Before He Cheats.” Roman is also hard at work on his first feature film documentary titled Big Boned and his first feature film PRIMAL."

It's Baseball Season!

2011-03-31T05:54:00.002-04:00

The Famous Author and I are staying home today. (Like we ever go anywhere). The 2011 Major League Baseball season starts today -- the 111th involving both the American and National Leagues. The Yankees begin their drive for a championship after last year's loss to Texas in the ALCS.

This is the first time a season has started on a Thursday since 1976. The season ends Wednesday, September 28, with the All-Star Game set for Chase Field in Phoenix July 12. The 2011 World Series is scheduled to begin on October 19, and will end no later than October 28, says our source for all the above, Wikipedia.

Hey, B, where's the popcorn?

Win $1,000 for Your 20,000-word Mystery

2011-03-26T11:53:00.007-04:00

Some devoted fans of Rex Stout and his character Nero Wolfe -- they call themselves The Wolfe Pack -- sent The Famous Author an announcement this weekend, and while TFA seems disinterested, I can tell you the news has me thinking.

Do you smell smoke?

Mr. Wolfe wasn't the kindest of souls, but first, here's the announcement: The Wolfe Pack/Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine's annual Black Orchid Novella Contest is underway. The deadline is May 31, 2011. The winner receives $1,000 and publication in AHMM. We'd welcome your submissions.

Details are at The Wolfe Pack's den, but here's the Contest Entry Qualifications:

Each entry must be an original unpublished work of fiction that conforms to the tradition of the Nero Wolfe series.
The mystery should be "traditional" in flavor.

The crime must be solved using the deductive abilities of the sleuth. No coincidences.

The killer must be known to the victim. No random pycho shootings.

The characters (male or female) must have an engaging relationship.

There needs to be some wit.

The timing could be retro or current.

There should be no explicit sex or violence.

The detective could be a professional or amateur.

The setting could be NYC or Boston or wherever.

We're not looking for anything derivative of the Nero Wolfe character, milieu, etc.

Fer-de-Lance, Stout's first Nero Wolfe novel, appeared in 1934, according to The Pack's website bio. "More than seventy other Nero Wolfe books and stories followed. During World War II, Rex Stout waged a personal campaign against Nazism as chairman of the War Writers Board, master of ceremonies of the radio program, "Speaking of Liberty," and member of several national committees.

After the war, he resumed writing Nero Wolfe novels. In 1959 he won the Mystery Writers of America's Grand Master Award. Rex Stout died October 27, 1975 at the age of 88. A month before his death, he published the final Nero Wolfe book, A Family Affair."

So why am I, Austin Carr, interested in The Wolfe Pack's novella contest? I've never written anything but bad checks. Well, I met this young lady at Pazzo's in Red Bank last night. Happened to mention I was a character in my own series. You know. It just slipped out. Anyway, it turns out this fiery-haired woman named Lorraine is a writer, and she has this novella. It starts out like this:

Men were trouble, dead or alive.

I'm Never Going Shopping Again

2011-03-26T09:16:00.001-04:00

Barry, Amanda -- I'm Confused

2011-03-22T05:54:00.003-04:00

For more than $1 million, self-publishing genius Amanda Hocking is looking to go legit.

Ace thriller author Barry Eisler says he turned down $500,000 to self publish.

Plus, Barry was In Menlo Park this week talking to The Famous Author's ex-wife. Dude, we need to talk.

I am very confused.

Scott Kline took the photo.

The New Wonder Woman

2011-03-19T15:14:00.001-04:00

Thanks for this picture, David Cranmer.
All we can say is, wow.

What is the NRO Up to Now?

2011-03-12T11:40:00.005-05:00

By Denise Chow
SPACE.com Staff Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A new U.S. spy satellite soared into the sunset sky above Florida yesterday on a clandestine mission to preserve national security.

The satellite launched into space atop an unmanned Delta 4 rocket that lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 6:38 p.m. EST. High-altitude winds above the Air Force station's Launch Complex 37 delayed the satellite's launch by nearly a half hour, but cleared in time for a dazzling twilight blastoff.

Rocket launch provider United Launch Alliance orchestrated the satellite's trip to orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office. The Chantilly, Va.-based NRO is responsible for the design, construction and operation of the country's network of intelligence-gathering spy satellites.

"This mission helps ensure that crucial NRO resources will continue to strengthen our national defense," said Col James Ross, 45th Space Wing vice commander, in statement released by the Air Force Space Command.

The new satellite is part of the military's national defense program. Due to the classified nature of the mission, which is formally known as NROL-27, very few additional details about the launch or the satellite's purpose are publicly released. The mission went into a media blackout shortly after its successful liftoff.

"Congratulations to the NRO and to all the mission partners involved in this critical national security launch," Jim Sponnick, ULA's vice president of mission operations, said in a statement. "Our launch team understands the importance that these missions play in protecting our freedoms and supporting our brave men and women deployed around the world."

The liftoff comes less than a week after the U.S. Air Force launched its second secret X-37B space plane on a similarly hush-hush mission. That spacecraft lifted off on March 5 atop an unmanned Atlas 5 rocket, also provided by ULA.

Since September, five different NRO satellites have been launched into orbit, including today's. On Nov. 21, a Delta 4 Heavy booster – the United States' biggest unmanned rocket currently in service – delivered a huge spy satellite into space. The rocket used in today's launch is considered a medium-class version of the Delta 4 Heavy, officially a Delta 4 M+(4,2), according to Spaceflight Now.

"We have had an amazing five successful launches in the past 12 months, two in 2010 and three this year. I am looking forward to the launch of NROL-34 in April, which will conclude our most aggressive launch schedule in over two decades," Air Force Col. Alan Davis, director of the NRO's Office of Space Launch, after the successful liftoff.

The sixth NRO satellite is slated to launch April 12 on an Atlas 5 rocket out of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

A Delta 4 rocket stands 205 feet (62.5 meters) tall and is made up of one main booster with two small solid rocket boosters strapped to its side.

The rocket is built and launched by the United Launch Alliance, a partnership between Lockheed Martin and Boeing. It made its first flight in 2002 and is capable of launching payloads of up to 13.5 tons into low-Earth orbit and 6.6 tons toward the geosynchronous orbits used by communications satellites.

This is the third launch of the year for United Launch Alliance, and the 16th flight of the Delta 4 family of rockets.

You can follow SPACE.com Staff Writer Denise Chow on Twitter @denisechow.

Don't Miss JUSTIFIED Tonight

2011-03-09T05:21:00.003-05:00

Like The Famous Author, myself, and at least half the men in America, USA Today's TV Ace Robert Bianco is a fan of JUSTIFIED, the hit, hot, new FX television show based on a novella by Elmore Leonard.

"Looking for great acting rather than singing? (Bianco also likes American Idol) Look no further than yet another fabulously entertaining episode of Justified (FX, 10 ET/PT), which offers a tour de force of terrific TV acting, along with its quota of twists, jolts and shocks."

Bianco continues; "Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) follows the trail of some bad checks, while Boyd (Walton Goggins) deals with his scheming co-workers and Maggs (Margo Martindale) disciplines her wayward children."

Thanks, Robert. We'll be tuning in tonight as well. Shoot'em Ray!

Lacrimating Today

2011-03-05T14:12:00.002-05:00

Crying (also known as sobbing, wailing, weeping, bawling, or blubbering) is shedding tears as a response to an emotional state in humans, says Wikipedia. The act of crying has been defined as "a complex secretomotor phenomenon characterized by the shedding of tears from the lacrimal apparatus, without any irritation of the ocular structures."

The medical term for this is to lacrimate, which also refers to non-emotional shedding of "tears". A neuronal connection between the lacrimal gland (tear duct) and the areas of the human brain involved with emotion was established. No other animals are thought to produce tears in response to emotional states, although this is disputed by some scientists.

In many cultures, Wikipedia goes on, it is more socially acceptable for women and children to cry, and less socially acceptable for men to cry. Tears produced during emotional crying have a chemical composition which differs from other types of tears. They contain significantly greater quantities of the hormones prolactin, adrenocorticotropic hormone, Leu-enkephalin and the elements potassium and manganese.

Charlie Gets Shut Down

2011-02-24T22:42:00.004-05:00

"All those people told me to clean it up. Well, this is me, cleaning the f--k up. F--k you!"

Stranger Than Fiction

2011-02-24T05:59:00.006-05:00

So The Famous Author saw this picture on Facebook yesterday -- the old prospector's name is Clark -- and TFA remembered a story from four decades ago, a story so strange, he has refused to repeat it the last three. No one ever believed it, he said. Why make a fool of himself by standing up for the Truth?

I don't know about you, but I had to hear the tale after that. I wanted to make up my own mind about whether to believe it or not. Let's face it. TFA has been known to exaggerate. And so late last night, after several large tequila sours, our friend the bozo author said something like this:

"Clark and his wife lived in San Francisco. My wife and I were visiting for a week from Los Angeles, staying with them. Since the wives were ditching us all day anyway, Clark and I decided to go salmon fishing on the spur of the moment. Figuring we'd rent everything we'd need, we jumped in his truck and took off north on Highway 101.

"Late that afternoon, maybe six or eight hours of driving, we reach the Klamath River. It's in California, but almost Oregon. The river banks are elbow-to-elbow with guys in waders and poles. The river inself looks like the Yankees parking lot on a game day, packed with rowboats.

"Clark and I decide to have a drink, figure out what the heck we're gonna do, maybe find out where to rent stuff. We order a cocktail. Clark suggests we play a hand of dice poker to see who pays. He rolls. I roll. I pay. I pay and I pay and I pay. Twenty-two carefully measured rounds later, I have no money. I have paid for forty-four shots of scotch and bourbon.

"I don't remember much after that. Clark took me to a party. He knew people up there (maybe the bartender?). I slept in a corner until he drove us home in the morning. We told the wives we gave away all the salmon we caught to some poor hungry kids."

Austin's Note: Top this with a true story in the comments section, I'll have TFA send you a signed book -- his, or maybe Dennis Lehane, S.J. Rozen, Jeffrey Cohen, Chris Grabenstein, and others. He has a few.

Murphy

2011-02-23T05:17:00.004-05:00

FOUR FEET

I have done mostly what men do,
And pushed it out of my mind;
But I can't forget, if I wanted to,
Four-Feet trotting behind.

Day after day, the whole day through--
Wherever my road inclined--
Four-Feet said, 'I am coming with you!'
And trotted along behind.

Now I must go by some other round--
Which I shall never find--
Some where that does not carry the sound
Of Four-Feet trotting behind.
--- Rudyard Kipling

Another Broken Heart

2011-02-14T07:20:00.007-05:00

The Famous Author never tells me anything, and being a fictional character, it's pretty hard to read newspapers or watch television. So it was a shock and a surprise to learn this morning that ... gasp ... Shania Twain has remarried, and if you don't believe me, just click on the link to see pictures.

I don't know who the guy is. His name starts with a T.

Bastard. Swept Shania off her feet before I even had a chance. If TFA had only found a home for my novels, gotten numbers three and four out there, I know Shania would have fallen for me. I know it. I mean, come on, look at that picture in the sidebar. Don't I remind you of that actor, Johnny Depp? Shania would have rolled in a second.

Alas, my dream must again be placed on hold. Married chicks hold no interest. I feel like saying, "Here's hoping this one doesn't last as long as your marriage to Snuffy, or Sticky, or whatever his name was," but I don't mean it, Shania. I want only happiness for you.
Love, Austin

JUSTIFIED's Second Season Tonight!

2011-02-09T07:04:00.005-05:00

Tonight. 10 pm Eastern and Pacific. FX Networks. JUSTIFIED begins it's second season. I cannot wait.

Timothy Olyphant (Remember DEADWOOD?) stars as Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens, a character created by none other than our favorite fiction ace, Elmore Leonard.
Givens is a character returning to his home town in Harlan County, Kentucky, packing Elmore's favorite kind of justice -- swift and terrible.

Last year ended in a wild gun fight that killed Bo Crowder, and this year, the creeps, including the drug-dealing Bennett Clan, led by Mags Bennett (Dexter's Margo Martindale), move in to fill the vacancy. One of Mags' boys – a former high school rival of Given's -- gets some good scenes, plus, Bo's nutty son Boyd (played by Walton Goggins) offers new complications.

And on top of all that, Raylan could be falling in love.

Oh, boy. See you tonight!

Brrrrrr ...

2011-02-06T07:31:00.002-05:00

Snow is a type of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. (Duh!)

Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. (Not at my house. It's poison!)

It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by external pressure. Snowflakes come in a variety of sizes and shapes. (All of which suck.)

The process of precipitating snow is called snowfall. (Really?)

Snowfall tends to form within regions of upward motion of air around a type of low-pressure system known as an extratropical cyclone. Snow can fall poleward of these systems' associated warm fronts and within their comma head precipitation patterns (called such due to the comma-like shape of the cloud and precipitation pattern around the poleward and west sides of extratropical cyclones).

Oh, yeah? Thanks to Wikipedia for the info, but you know what? Snow just sucks.

Testy in Bad Weather, Are We?

2011-01-29T08:12:00.002-05:00

So things have been a little slow around the office, what with all the bad weather, the Famous Author working on some stupid thriller without me, and the mailman not bringing many checks.
In fact, last week we got tossed out of the office for failure to pay the rent, and we are now holed up at The Famous Author's house again. Sharing space as it were with Mrs. Famous Author, pictured here during a recent meal.

We know this can't last long. But we sure hope the weather improves before we find ourselves on the New Jersey streets. Austin Carr could soon be homeless. Oh, my.

Edgar Nominees

2011-01-19T10:18:00.002-05:00

Mystery Writers of America is proud to announce on the 202nd anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe, its Nominees for the 2011 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2010. The Edgar® Awards will be presented to the winners at our 65th Gala Banquet, April 28, 2011 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City.

BEST NOVEL

Caught by Harlan Coben (Penguin Group USA - Dutton)
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
Faithful Place by Tana French (Penguin Group USA - Viking)
The Queen of Patpong by Timothy Hallinan (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton (Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books)
I’d Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman (HarperCollins – William Morrow)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

Rogue Island by Bruce DeSilva (Tom Doherty Associates – Forge Books)
The Poacher’s Son by Paul Doiron (Minotaur Books)
The Serialist: A Novel by David Gordon (Simon & Schuster)
Galveston by Nic Pizzolatto (Simon & Schuster - Scribner)
Snow Angels by James Thompson (Penguin Group USA – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

Long Time Coming by Robert Goddard (Random House - Bantam)
The News Where You Are by Catherine O’Flynn (Henry Holt)
Expiration Date by Duane Swierczynski (Minotaur Books)
Vienna Secrets by Frank Tallis (Random House Trade Paperbacks)
Ten Little Herrings by L.C. Tyler (Felony & Mayhem Press)

BEST FACT CRIME

Scoreboard, Baby: A Story of College Football, Crime and Complicity
by Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry (University of Nebraska Press – Bison Original)
The Eyes of Willie McGee: A Tragedy of Race, Sex, and Secrets in Jim Crow South by Alex Heard (HarperCollins)
Finding Chandra: A True Washington Murder Mystery by Scott Higham and Sari Horwitz (Simon & Schuster - Scribner)
Hellhound on his Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr and the International Hunt for his Assassin by Hampton Sides (Random House - Doubleday)
The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science by Douglas Starr (Alfred A. Knopf)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

The Wire: Truth Be Told by Rafael Alvarez (Grove Atlantic – Grove Press)
Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks: Fifty Years of Mysteries in the Making by John Curran (HarperCollins)
Sherlock Holmes for Dummies by Steven Doyle and David A. Crowder (Wiley)
Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and his Rendevouz with American History by Yunte Huang (W.W. Norton)
Thrillers: 100 Must Reads edited by David Morrell and Hank Wagner (Oceanview Publishing)

BEST SHORT STORY

"The Scent of Lilacs" – Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Doug Allyn (Dell Magazines)
"The Plot" – First Thrills by Jeffery Deaver (Tom Doherty – Forge Books)
"A Good Safe Place” – Thin Ice by Judith Green (Level Best Books)
"Monsieur Alice is Absent" – Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine
by Stephen Ross (Dell Magazines)
"The Creative Writing Murders" – Dark End of the Street by Edmund White (Bloomsbury)

BEST JUVENILE

Zora and Me by Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon (Candlewick Press)
The Buddy Files: The Case of the Lost Boy by Dori Hillestad Butler (Albert Whitman & Co.)
The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee (Feiwel & Friends)
Griff Carver: Hallway Patrol by Jim Krieg (Penguin Young Readers Group - Razorbill)
The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman by Ben H. Winters (HarperCollins Children’s Books)

BEST YOUNG ADULT

The River by Mary Jane Beaufrand (Little Brown Books for Young Readers)
Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King (Random House Children’s Books – Alfred A. Knopf)
7 Souls by Barnabas Miller and Jordan Orlando (Random House Children’s Books – Delacorte Press)
The Interrogation of Gabriel James by Charlie Price (Farrar, Straus, Giroux Books for Young Readers)
Dust City by Robert Paul Weston (Penguin Young Readers Group - Razorbill)

BEST PLAY

The Psychic by Sam Bobrick (Falcon Theatre – Burbank, CA)
The Tangled Skirt by Steve Braunstein (New Jersey Repertory Company)
The Fall of the House by Robert Ford (Alabama Shakespeare Festival)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY

“Episode 1” - Luther, Teleplay by Neil Cross (BBC America)
“Episode 4” – Luther, Teleplay by Neil Cross (BBC America)
“Full Measure” – Breaking Bad, Teleplay by Vince Gilligan (AMC/Sony)
“No Mas” – Breaking Bad, Teleplay by Vince Gilligan (AMC/Sony)
“The Next One’s Gonna Go In Your Throat” – Damages, Teleplay by Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler & Daniel Zelman (FX Networks)

ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD

"Skyler Hobbs and the Rabbit Man" – Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Evan Lewis (Dell Magazines)

GRAND MASTER

Sara Paretsky

RAVEN AWARDS

Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore, Forest Park, Illinois
Once Upon A Crime Bookstore, Minneapolis, Minnesota

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER - MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
(Presented at MWA’s Agents & Editors Party on Wednesday, April 27, 2010)

Wild Penance by Sandi Ault (Penguin Group – Berkley Prime Crime)
Blood Harvest by S.J. Bolton (Minotaur Books)
Down River by Karen Harper (MIRA Books)
The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Live to Tell by Wendy Corsi Staub (HarperCollins - Avon)

# # # #

The EDGAR (and logo) are Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by the Mystery Writers of America, Inc.

Redhead of the Week Wore Red Shoes

2011-01-14T20:48:00.003-05:00

Moira Shearer King of Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, was a Scottish ballet dancer and actress who became internationally famous as the result of her first film role -- as Victoria Page in the ballet-themed film The Red Shoes, 1948.

In 1955, she starred in The Man Who Loved Redheads. Think that's on DVD anywhere?

In 1950, Moira Shearer married Ludovic Kennedy. They were married in the Chapel Royal in London's Hampton Court Palace. The couple had a son, Alastair, and three daughters, Ailsa, Rachel and Fiona. She died at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, England at the age of 80.

The Black Swan opens soon, another ballet-themed, much hyped movie. Thanks to Anne again and Wikipedia.

I've Been Telling You to Buy This Stock

2011-01-08T12:57:00.008-05:00

The E-Trade chart below shows Odyssey Marine Exploration (OMEX) rising over the past twelve months -- from one buck to three. Here's the original story from April 4 this year when I told you to take a shot. If a double or triple's not good enough for you, just hold on. I'm not selling a share until it clears five.
Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (Odyssey) is engaged in archaeologically sensitive exploration and recovery of shipwrecks worldwide. It employs advanced technology, including side-scan sonar, magnetometers, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and other advanced technology that enables the Company to locate and recover shipwrecks. It's wholly owned subsidiaries include Odyssey Marine, Inc., Odyssey Marine Services, Inc., OVH, Inc., Odyssey Retriever, Inc. and Odyssey Marine Entertainment, Inc. In November 2009, Odyssey acquired a 25% interest in SMM Project LLC.

Click on the blog headline to see OMEX's website. Oh, yeah, plus the usual disclaimer. If you buy this stock because of this blog post, you're taking financial advice from a fictional stockbroker. Try telling that to the judge if you sue.

Let's Behave in 2011, Okay?

2011-01-02T11:02:00.006-05:00

Are comments really necessary? Lindsey, Mel, and Charlie, you guys did it all last year. Every felony and misdemeanor known to society. Try a little harder this year, please?

Dionne's New Thriller

2010-12-31T06:52:00.004-05:00

"Fans of the late Michael Crichton will enjoy Dionne's exciting second ecothriller (after Freezing Point). Philippe Dumas, a Nobel Prize–winning French scientist deeply concerned about the future of life on Earth, agrees to attend an environmental summit in Santiago, Chile.
Summit organizer Rebecca Sweet, leader of the advocacy group Preserve Our Planet, hopes that Dumas's presence will get her conference the publicity she needs. Celebrity volcanologist Max Heat, who's been tipped off by Dumas that Chaitén, a Patagonian volcano dormant for 9,000 years, may soon erupt, hopes footage of the volcano will form the basis for a successful TV special. After Chaitén blows, researcher Sheila Kennedy seeks evidence to link the catastrophic event with some illegal sulfur dumping. Crisp writing keeps the pace fast, and the tight interweaving of story lines bodes well for this author's future efforts." -- Publishers Weekly

Happy Christmas!

2010-12-25T08:00:00.002-05:00

OMEX Sacrificed for a Painting?

2010-12-21T20:58:00.007-05:00

Odyssey Marine Exploration (OMEX) was named in several U.S. State Department cables obtained by WikiLeaks. Some of the released cables suggest the U.S. State Department offered special assistance in the “Black Swan” case to Spanish officials in exchange for help returning a French painting confiscated by the Nazis during World War II, and now held by Spain.

The leaked cables indicate the U.S. Government also provided confidential documentation on Odyssey to Spain, and support Odyssey’s previously stated version of events relating to the company’s activities in Spain, including the HMS Sussex project and the boarding of Odyssey’s vessels.

“While we are obviously concerned about these implications regarding the 'Black Swan' case, we are attempting to obtain additional information before taking any specific actions. I have personally sent a letter to the Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, requesting additional information and a review of the position taken by the U.S. in the ‘Black Swan’ legal case,” stated Greg Stemm, Odyssey CEO.

“We’ve wondered why the United States changed its long standing position on sovereign immunity, which prior to this case was consistent with U.S. law, international law and U.S. naval regulations that in order for a foreign country’s ships and cargo to be immune from the jurisdiction of the U.S. courts they must be engaged in military, non-commercial activities,” stated Melinda MacConnel, Odyssey Vice President and General Counsel. “These released cables do call into question the motivation behind the amicus brief filed by the Executive Branch supporting Spain in the ‘Black Swan’ case.”

Additional cables released support Odyssey’s statements that, contrary to allegations of certain Spanish officials, the company always cooperated with the Spanish Government and that permits from the Spanish government were granted for work on the HMS Sussex project. The cables also demonstrate the obstructionist activities carried out by certain Spanish officials who had personal reasons for trying to prevent Odyssey from working on the Sussex. These obstructions took place even though Odyssey has an exclusive contract for the archaeological excavation of this UK sovereign immune warship (which was on a strictly military mission when it sank in 1694 off the coast of Gibraltar).

Think I'll Go to Mexico

2010-12-10T17:31:00.004-05:00

The Famous Author disappeared against last night, and I'm not just sitting around here waiting for him to come back. I'm looking for him where the sun shines, the tequila pours, and the senoritas are friendly. Viva La Mexco!

Lorraine Bites the Dust

2010-12-02T06:23:00.004-05:00

As already well documented here, The Famous Author has been working on other things besides another story about me, Austin Carr. I'm tired of complaining. I'm sure you are, too. Nataska.
Desert rocks. Weird hit-man tales. Personally, I think TFA's one toke over the line, messing around with all these other projects. He should stick to what he knows -- stupid stockbroker tales.

But no. To view the latest diversion from what he should be writing, click on over to A TWIST OF NOIR for TFA's 632-word story, BOY SCOUT OF THE YEAR. The tiny tale gives new meaning to the phrase, Be Prepared.

Who the heck is Nataska?

Mystery Marriage Madness

2010-11-25T09:07:00.003-05:00

Who are these people and why did they get married?

I can't help it if we love contests around here. It's just a fact, probably because no one ever enters and we never have to really give anything away. So in keeping with that tradition -- don't you DARE enter and win -- who the heck is the married couple pictured here? That's right, just name these two people and you will win a free book. What kind of book, you ask? What kind do you want? Old, new, auto-graphed. TFA has a Dennis Lehane book of short stories he'd be willing to give up, signed by The Dennis himself. Of course its signed to TFA -- "Good luck with your stupid writing." Still, it is Dennis. How about you pick what book you'd like, and I'll try to deliver.

Who and why, best correct answer wins. I'm the sole judge.

Odyssey Uncovers French Privateer

2010-11-17T06:51:00.004-05:00

Odyssey Marine Exploration (OMEX) yesterday released extensive details about their discovery and archaeological investigation of La Marquise de Tourny, the first privateering frigate to be found in the international waters of the western English Channel. The shipwreck site, discovered at a depth of 80 meters during Odyssey’s ‘Atlas’ shipwreck survey – the most extensive offshore archaeological survey ever conducted – reveals a pile of iron cannon, mystery concretions, ballast and small artifacts, which are all significant clues to revealing La Marquise de Tourny’s fascinating place in history.

“The Marquise de Tourny is one of our most important discoveries in the English Channel”, said Greg Stemm, Odyssey’s Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Odyssey is committed to exploring and investigating deep-ocean shipwreck sites, such as the Marquise de Tourny, as part of our ongoing mission to bring the mystery and history of shipwrecks back to the light of day for the benefit of both the public and academic communities. Our advanced remote archaeological tools and technology allow us to conduct extensive archaeological documentation of sites like this, which sadly have revealed extensive signs of trawling damage and natural deterioration. Unfortunately this type of damage has been common to virtually every site we have discovered in the English Channel, which makes it clear that the policy of in situ preservation of shipwrecks, at least in this area, is simply not practical. It won’t be long before this site will be completely erased from history, which makes it all the more important for the private sector to step in and help with projects like this.”

The wreckage covers 35 x 25 meters from a frigate heavily armed with 25 iron cannon up to 3.2 meters long, some incised with French fleur de lis symbols. The Odyssey marine operation’s team painstakingly recorded fragments of blue glass French bottles, patches of lead hull sheathing and 13 massive concretions holding around 600 iron ingots. The star find was the ship’s bell, a crucial piece of information that names the vessel in Latin as La Marquise de Tourny and gives its launch date as the year 1744. The bell is lavishly decorated with a Cross of Calvary, a dolphin and three royal French fleur de lis.

Historical research by Odyssey shows that La Marquise de Tourny was a product of the War of the Austrian Succession, a great colonial struggle for control of maritime trade in the Caribbean, Americas and Europe between England, Spain and France that lasted from 1739 to 1748. The ship was a 460-ton frigate of Bordeaux named in honor of the wife of the Marquis de Tourny, Louis Urbain Aubert de Tourny, the royal administrative appointee who transformed Bordeaux into the most beautiful city in France.

The frigate was built for privateering, a legal form of piracy in which governments gave individuals a ‘letter of marque’ to attack enemy vessels and seize and sell their cargoes. La Marquise de Tourny was quite successful in her career as a privateer, having captured a number of English vessels among her prizes, including the Mortimer in 1747 and both the Finey and Charleston of Liverpool in 1746. Her final voyage likely took her from Bordeaux up the Channel to the French ports of St. Malo, Cherbourg, Dunkirk or Calais when she was lost in the late 1740s or early 1750s. The wreck of the Marquise de Tourny is the first privateer to be found off the UK.

According to Dr. Sean Kingsley, Director of Wreck Watch Int., who consulted with Odyssey on the research of the wreck, “Other than two French privateers found off Canada and France, the Marquise de Tourny is the only other corsair of this age known in the world. It is a rare symbol of the mid-18th century need to fuse business with warfare at a time when naval fleets were small. Many sea captains dreamed of finding enemy ships stuffed with treasure and becoming rich beyond their wildest dreams. In reality, the art of privateering was fool’s gold. In the war of 1739 to 1748 our new research shows that while the English seized 3,316 enemy ships, the French and Spanish in turn captured 3,493 English vessels. This was ultimately a lose-lose situation for the economy of Europe that ended in a political stalemate.”

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (NasdaqCM: OMEX) is engaged in the exploration of deep-ocean shipwrecks and uses innovative methods and state-of-the-art technology to conduct extensive search and archaeological recovery operations around the world.

Since its inauguration in 1994, Odyssey has mapped more than 10,000 square miles of seabed and discovered hundreds of shipwrecks ranging from 3rd century BC Punic sites to U-boats and Colonial warships. Odyssey discovered the Civil War era shipwreck of the SS Republic® in 2003 and recovered over 50,000 coins and 14,000 artifacts from the site nearly 1,700 feet deep. In May

2007, the Company announced the historic deep-ocean treasure recovery of over 500,000 silver and gold coins, weighing 17 tons, from a Colonial era site code-named “Black Swan.”

In February 2009, Odyssey announced the discovery in the English Channel of Admiral Sir John Balchin’s HMS Victory, the greatest warship in the age of sail. Odyssey also has an exclusive agreement with the Government of the United Kingdom for the archaeological excavation of HMS Sussex, an English warship that sank near Gibraltar in 1694.

Redhead of the Week Gets Under Your Skin

2010-11-12T15:39:00.004-05:00

Tattoo artist Kat Von D, or Katherine Drachenberg, has been in the news lately for dating some guy named Jesse who used to be married to to some big actress. Apparently, Jesse saw Kat on the television show LA Ink, had to have an image of Sandra Bullock tattoed on his ass, and flew out to meet Ms Von D. Or maybe not.

Anyway, Kat, 28, born in South America, moved at age 4 to Colton, California, where the Famous Author used win drag racing trophies. Lot of cement factories in Colton. Kat worked on TV's Miami Ink for the first three seasons, but was asked to leave. According to Wikipedia, Kat has said she hasn't spoken with members of Miami Ink since her departure.

I don't think she's really a redhead, but we found the photo, and that's good enough around here.

Thanks for Protecting Us!

2010-11-11T16:05:00.000-05:00

Odyssey Finds Another Treasure

2010-11-09T09:43:00.002-05:00

If you want to know who or what OMEX is, catch up with the previous post. I don't have time to explain. In their earnings press releases last week, Odyssey Marine Exploration talked about a hundred things before they got around to this paragraph, buried near the close:

"Based on preliminary results, there is evidence suggesting that at least one of the 'Robert Fraser Project' target shipwrecks has been located. Additional analysis and investigation is currently underway."

The lawyers don't let OMEX say things like that unless they're pretty darn sure. How big is it? Where is it? Can we bring that bad boy up and sell the hell out of her gold coins?

The stock went down a little, probably because it's doubled already this year. I'm not the only investor expecting big things.

OMEX Wins Hearing on Appeal

2010-11-02T07:47:00.002-04:00

Hot Off the Wires: Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. has been notified that the Company's Request for Oral Arguments in the "Black Swan" case has been granted. The hearings are tentatively scheduled to take place during the week of February 28, 2011.

Generally, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, where this case is pending, hears oral arguments in approximately 25% of all appeals cases. Odyssey is appealing the district court's dismissal of the "Black Swan" case based on the district court's finding of lack of federal court jurisdiction.

"We are looking forward to presenting oral arguments in the 'Black Swan' case to the appellate court. We believe the district court incorrectly dismissed the case based upon clearly erroneous factual findings and flawed legal analysis of basic admiralty principles and the concept of sovereign immunity," said Melinda MacConnel, Odyssey Vice President and General Counsel. "In addition, Odyssey and the other claimants in the case were denied their right to due process because the district court failed to conduct an evidentiary hearing on the disputed issues of fact."

Additional appeals have been filed by groups who have presented documentation indicating that if Spain is correct, and the recovered cargo originated from the Mercedes, they are descendants of the owners of Mercedes' cargo and have legitimate property rights. Those claimants have recognized Odyssey's archaeological recovery efforts and have acknowledged Odyssey's right to a salvage award. Their pleadings focus on the Eleventh Circuit's recent opinion in the Aqua Log case (Aqua Log, Inc. vs. State of Georgia, 594 F.3d 1330, 11th Cir. 2010) which requires a sovereign to have possession of property in order to claim that the property is immune from the jurisdiction of the court. They also point out that if the court does not have jurisdiction, it has no authority to transfer possession of the property to anyone but Odyssey which had possession prior to the litigation.

In May 2007, Odyssey announced the discovery of the "Black Swan," a Colonial-period site located in the Atlantic Ocean which yielded over 500,000 silver coins weighing more than 17 tons, hundreds of gold coins, worked gold, and other artifacts. Odyssey completed an extensive pre-disturbance survey of the "Black Swan" site, which included recording over 14,000 digital still images used to create a photomosaic of the site.

The coins and artifacts were brought into the United States with a valid export license and imported legally pursuant to U.S. law. Odyssey brought the artifacts under the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court by filing an Admiralty arrest action. This procedure allows any legitimate claimant with an interest in the property to make a claim.

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (Nasdaq:OMEX) is engaged in the exploration of deep-ocean shipwrecks and uses innovative methods and state-of-the-art technology to conduct extensive search and archaeological recovery operations around the world. Odyssey discovered the Civil War era shipwreck of the SS Republic(R) in 2003 and recovered over 50,000 coins and 14,000 artifacts from the site nearly 1,700 feet deep. In May 2007, Odyssey announced the historic deep-ocean treasure recovery of over 500,000 silver and gold coins, weighing 17 tons, from a Colonial era site code-named "Black Swan." In February 2009, Odyssey announced the discovery of Balchin's HMS Victory. Odyssey also has other shipwreck projects in various stages of development around the world.

Some Things Never Change

2010-10-27T21:11:00.003-04:00

Two o'clock in the morning. Drunken screaming. Call the cops. Hotel room. Naked man. Woman hiding in bathroom. Oh. Hi, Charlie.

New Sherlock Series Tonight

2010-10-24T07:55:00.005-04:00

The first of three new SHERLOCK episodes runs tonight on PBS Masterpiece Mystery. A contemporary take on the classic Arthur Conan Doyle stories, SHERLOCK is said to be a thrilling, funny, fast-paced adventure series set in present-day London.

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as his loyal friend Dr. John Watson, Rupert Graves plays Inspector Lestrade, and most of the important details from Doyle's original books are in tact. The two heros live at the same address, have the same names and, somewhere out there, Moriarty is waiting for them.

Tonight, in "A Study in Pink", Holmes and Watson meet for the first time, according to Omnimystery News. Watson is back in modern-day London after serving in the war in Afghanistan. His therapist, convinced that Watson is plagued by violent memories, urges him to express himself in a blog. But nothing much ever happens to Watson, and it's not that he's haunted by the war — he longs for it. Enter an eccentric roommate — one Sherlock Holmes. He plays the violin when he's thinking, sometimes doesn't talk for days, and has a dubious career as a self-described consulting detective.

When what appear to be serial suicide cases surface in London, a desperate Detective Inspector Lestrade reluctantly consults the freakish Sherlock. To Sherlock, a crime spree is like Christmas — only made better by the possibility that these crimes may be the work of a devious serial killer. The game is on, and before it is over, Sherlock will put his life on the line — all to keep from being bored to death.

A Hot Tip That's Working (So Far)

2010-10-18T21:14:00.003-04:00

Two months ago (August 26th), I told you the stock market could be ready to turn.

"Hey, I could be wrong. But experience tells me ... 1999 was the time to sell, 2010 is the time to buy. For long term investors, 50 or younger, it's time to bet on the future again. Play it safe and buy SPY ($105 a share) -- an index of the nation's top 500 companies. Or take a shot with TFA and buy OMEX ($1.50 a share). He thinks they're about to discover another $500 million treasure.

OMEX hasn't reported any new treasure yet, but the stock's up over 40% since then. Nice looking chart, eh?

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (OMEX) is engaged in archaeologically sensitive exploration and recovery of shipwrecks worldwide. It employs advanced technology, including side-scan sonar, magnetometers, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and other advanced technology that enables the Company to locate and recover shipwrecks. It's wholly owned subsidiaries include Odyssey Marine, Inc., Odyssey Marine Services, Inc., OVH, Inc., Odyssey Retriever, Inc. and Odyssey Marine Entertainment, Inc. In November 2009, Odyssey acquired a 25% interest in SMM Project LLC.

Oh, yeah, it's a gamble. And I'm a fictional character.

Redhead of the Week a Mystery!

2010-10-12T09:51:00.003-04:00

Okay, we need some action around here! A contest! One of our regular visitors here sent me this picture and suggested this lady would make a great Redhead of the Week. But who is this beautiful redhead? Where does she come from? Be the first to leave her correct name in the COMMENTS section and you will win a free book -- a brand new hardback release, an old classic -- anything you want that's available on Amazon.

Ann, you can't play!

Tales of Revenge

2010-10-05T20:10:00.005-04:00

Thanks to an ungrateful (or just thoughtless) writer, The Famous Author got his editor's dander up a few months ago, complained to his boss Sandra Ruttan, and Spinetingler Magazine's "Pay the Bitch Back" contest was born. Spinetingler readers were invited to write a short story of less than 5,000 words about revenge.

Man, did those boys and girls get into it! Revenge seems to be a common gene running through all human blood.Go check out Spinetingler's contest winners and three honorable mentions, among them Patricia Abbott, Stephen D. Rogers, and Copper Smith. Some really great fast fiction.

I know why the guy who owned the car cheated on her, do you?
(She can't spell.)

Elmore's New One, DJIBOUTI

2010-09-28T15:13:00.004-04:00

From Elmore's own website: Dara Barr, documentary filmmaker, is at the top of her game. She's covered the rape of Bosnian women, neo-Nazi white supremacists, and post-Katrina New Orleans, and has won awards for all three. Now, looking for a bigger challenge, Dara and her right-hand-man, Xavier LeBo, a six-foot-six, seventy-two-year-old African American seafarer, head to Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, to film modern-day pirates hijacking merchant ships.

They learn soon enough that almost no one in the Middle East is who he seems to be. The most successful pirate, driving his Mercedes around Djibouti, appears to be a good guy, but his pal, a cultured Saudi diplomat, has dubious connections. Billy Wynn, a Texas billionaire, plays mysterious roles as the mood strikes him. He's promised his girlfriend, Helene, a nifty fashion model, that he'll marry her if she doesn't become seasick or bored while circling the world on his yacht. And there's Jama Raisuli, a black al Qaeda terrorist from Miami, who's vowed to blow up something big.

What Dara and Xavier have to decide, besides the best way to stay alive: Should they shoot the action as a documentary or turn it into a Hollywood feature film?

October 12 is the drop date.

What's The Matter With Him?

2010-09-26T08:52:00.003-04:00

"When you meet someone and you immediately dislike them, always remember you are seeing a reflection of yourself -- there is something you don't like about yourself that you're not owning up to. When you see it in someone else, then you don't like that person, but in reality you are being displeased with yourself. Always remember that."

-- Bear Heart, aka Marcellus Williams

Redhead of the Week Top-Heavy with Talent

2010-09-20T09:48:00.006-04:00

Christina Hendricks, 35, is the Tennessee born actress best known for her role as Joan Holloway in the AMC cable television series Mad Men, and as Saffron in Fox's short-lived series Firefly. Hendricks was named "the sexiest woman in the world" in 2010 in a poll of female readers taken by Esquire magazine. According to Wikipedia, Christina is known for her "distinctive acting, sometimes bawdy humor, and voluptuous figure."

Hendricks was born in Knoxville and raised in Twin Falls, Idaho, where she began her acting career with Junior Musical Playhouse Company. In 1989 her family moved to Fairfax, Virginia, where Hendricks appeared in several Fairfax High School plays and local community theater.

In her best-known role -- Joan Holloway on the award winning Mad Men -- Hendricks' character is the office manager of advertising agency, providing mentoring to a group of women who must deal with the come-ons and callousness of professional advertising executives.

She is set to appear in a new action-thriller called Drive. She will star alongside Carey Mulligan and Ryan Gosling.

In July 2010 Hendricks' hourglass figure was highlighted as a positive influence for women by UK Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone who said "Christina Hendricks is absolutely fabulous...We need more of these role models.

Hendricks commented in September 2010 that the media is too focused on women's bodies and not their actual talents. "I was working my butt off on the show (Mad Men) and then all anyone was talking about was my body."

Sorry, Christina. We can't help it. It's in the genes.

We Need a David Thompson Writing Prize

2010-09-15T20:06:00.002-04:00

From two years ago, an "On the Road" piece TFA did for Liz Clifford.

HOUSTON, TEXAS -- Beside me is a friend, a writing chum, but I’m still nervous, apprehensive. Murder by the Book on Bissonnet Street here is rated one of America’s top mystery book stores. EVERYbody comes here. Michael Connelly, Carolyn Hart, Janet Evanovich, James Patterson, Anne Perry, and--today only--Jack Getze. Gulp.

Thanks to some fancy gab by PJ my PR Lady, I am talking today about my new novel at the center of American Mystery Fiction. Well...it’s a big, famous store, anyway. And The Big Stage is certainly what it feels like, shaking hands with storeowner David Thompson, and my co-author at today’s event, Baron Birtcher.

“Tell me you had Chinese for lunch,” Baron says. “Because if that’s not a noodle on your beard, I don’t want to know.”

My gaze finds an intimidatingly large stack of books David has pre-ordered for this event. A fine sheen of moisture dampens my collar. Hopefully, I’ll sell a few books for the store, get a few new readers for myself. My business plan calls for early round losses. I’m not worried about making money yet.

Good thing.

I wander toward the table where Baron and I will blab about our new releases. First time ever, there are more than 10 people gathered. Baron must be a hit.

“I loved your first book, Big Numbers,” a man in the front row says to me. Baron and I aren’t even seated. “I can’t wait to read this new one. Big Money. It’s a great series.”

I swoon. The store’s floor-to-ceiling racks of multicolored books swirl in a blurred jumble. The floor rolls like a Jersey Shore amusement ride. Baron has to grab my shoulder.

“It’s a fan, dude,” Baron says.

When it’s over, I’ve sold and signed more books than I’ve ever sold in a bookstore. Ever sold anywhere, really, except for the kickoff I threw, where purchase of the book was the price of admission to a cruise ship, with steak and lobster dinner, all-you-can-drink open bar, and a live concert by Madonna.

I did well at Murder by the Book, but I didn’t entirely deplete that stack of pre-ordered books.

“Sign what’s left and send me some bookmarks,” David says. “Why don’t you have bookmarks?”

“I thought they were like, for collectors. Not much good, really, there being so many other bookmarks around.”

He hands me the book I’ve just purchased, Megan Abbott’s Edgar winner, QUEENPIN. “Look inside,” he says.

Oops. Now I get it. Bookmarks with enticing blurbs about Megan Abbott’s other two books are stuffed between the pages. Duh! Bookmarks are a great form of one-on-one advertising--for the bookstore, AND the author.

“When a customer buys a book by another funny mystery author, I’ll stick one of your bookmarks inside,” David says.

My knees tremble. I almost pass out for the second time in an hour. “Expect a box next week.”

David Thompson was the nicest book store owner we ever met. Our whole genre suffers with his passing.

Author Revealed as Betrayer!

2010-09-13T20:16:00.004-04:00

No, no, no, not that. He's too old and ugly to be unfaithful to his wife. I'm talking about ME! I know for a fact The Famous Author spent the last few days previewing a new novel to a large room full of college-educated, middle-aged women -- that's right, folks, the people who buy at least two-thirds of all fiction.

But was this novel about me, Austin Carr, Branchtown stockbroker and hero of my own mystery series?

No, it was not. TFA obviously has betrayed me and is considering some new project. The little bitch. A spy within the room says I wasn't even a character in his new manuscript! Oh, gads, my life spins before me!

The spy also sent me two pictures. Nataska the Black Ogre and Three Very Smart Writer-Ladies. More later on where he was and what he did. I'm going to pin him down when he stops writing.

New Fiction from TFA

2010-09-12T17:40:00.004-04:00

Check out The Famous Author's short story over at A TWIST OF NOIR. If you can figure out what's in this picture, you'll have a great clue to the ending.

America Remembers

2010-09-11T17:41:00.001-04:00

A Big One for Cee Lo Green

2010-09-03T20:33:00.005-04:00

The eternal message of Cee Lo's hot number may go unnoticed by some -- people offended by four-letter words, for instance -- but we think Cee Lo packs a punch with this story/song, F*** Y**

Screw You, Vince

2010-09-01T09:18:00.004-04:00

Careful and/or long-time TCOAC readers will note a significant change today. Our three-and-a-half-year effort to drag a certain actor into the fold comes to an end. Like our President with Iraq, however, we will leave a few hardened troops behind, just in case the bozo who wasn't interested in playing me in the movies changes his mind. You never know with actors.

Meanwhile, a new actor adorns our blog today, and perhaps forever more. The redhead I met at the beach yesterday says this guy is even more popular with women than the last one. But does he read mystery blogs on the internet? I doubt it. Still, I'm betting it's a good kharma thing. Plant the idea in someone's cloud computer and maybe it will grow into a six-month option. TFA could use the cash, and I need some publicity.

The weird thing will be getting used to this new face in the mirror.

Take a Stock to Lunch

2010-08-26T09:04:00.004-04:00

Just over ten years ago, a health aide gave The Famous Author a stock tip. Buy AOL at $400 a share, he said. Being the contrarian he is, TFA immediately ran to his broker and wanted to short the entire NASDAQ market. If taxi drivers, health aides, and drugstore clerks were touting stocks, it was time to get out of the market.

TFA was early back in the fall of 1999. The stock market still had a few more months left to soar as individual investors (that's us, people, the little guys) poured their savings into the stock market. That watershed marked a record level of individual involvement in stocks -- close to 150 million Americans owned equity in corporations -- if not individual companies, then in mutual funds and 401K holdings.

In short, the little guy's interest peaked just before the crash of 2000.

Now it's a decade later and guess what? Individuals hate stocks. They've never hated them more. In fact, they just did something they've never done before. So far in 2010, small investors have liquidated $33 billion worth of stock mutual funds. Back in 1999, every month saw a billion going in. Now, the little guy is scared. He's pulling out completely. He thinks the stock market is headed to zero.

Hey, I could be wrong. But experience tells me TFA is dead right. 1999 was the time to sell, 2010 is the time to buy. For long term investors, 50 or younger, it's time to bet on the future again. Play it safe and buy SPY ($105 a share) -- an index of the nation's top 500 companies. Or take a shot with TFA and buy OMEX ($1.50 a share). He thinks they're about to discover another $500 million treasure.

New Joe Pike Novel In January

2010-08-10T13:57:00.002-04:00

Just received this flash news from Robert Crais headquarters: The new Joe Pike novel, THE SENTRY, will be published in the US on January 11, 2011, and in the UK on March 17.

Select excerpts will be available in November.

Oh, boy.

Buzz Babe of Bouchercon

2010-08-06T18:56:00.005-04:00

Though appealing, her long brown hair disqualifies her for Redhead of the Week, so we're coming up with a whole new category for Hilary Davidson. Yes, ma'am, the author of THE DAMAGE DONE, due for release September 28, Hilary is our first ever Buzz Babe of Bouchercon.

Hilary's short stories have been winning awards and attracting attention for several years. And by the time crime and mystery writers gather October 14th in San Francisco for Bouchercon, Hilary's debut novel from Forge could be among the hot topics, especially of the engaging plot keeps drawing rave reviews. How's this for a set-up:

Lily Moore, a successful travel writer, fled to Spain to get away from her troubled, drug-addicted younger sister, Claudia. But when Claudia is found dead in a bathtub on the anniversary of their mother’s suicide, Lily must return to New York to deal with the aftermath.

The situation shifts from tragic to baffling when the body at the morgue turns out to be a stranger’s. The dead woman had been using Claudia’s identity for months. The real Claudia had vanished, reappearing briefly on the day her impostor died. As Claudia transforms from victim to suspect in the eyes of the police, Lily becomes determined to find her before they do.

Is Claudia actually missing, or is she playing an elaborate con game? And who’s responsible for the body that was found in the bathtub? An obsessive ex-lover? An emotionally disturbed young man with a rich and powerful father? Or Lily’s own former fiancé, who turns out to be more deeply involved with Claudia than he admits?

As Lily searches for answers, a shadowy figure stalks her and the danger to her grows. Determined to learn the truth at any cost, she is unprepared for the terrible toll it will take on her and those she loves.

The Other Man

2010-08-04T06:18:00.003-04:00

Say hello, and goodbye, to a man named Chris Gulker.

As too many of us already know, maybe the worst, enduring wound of divorce is losing part of your children's life. After the screaming, fighting, and legal issues are done, emotional wounds heal over time and we get married again. So do they. Our children become part of another family.

I've seen some terrible stepfathers, and it was a frightening thing to turn my son over to another man 30 years ago. But as I told 150 people at "our" son's wedding twenty-seven years later, Chris Gulker probably did I better job raising my boy than I could have. Chris was always calm, patient, and understanding. Using only love and positive reinforcement, Chris taught our boy responsibility and courage, gave him love and self-confidence, and stood by him when the teenage years turned ugly.

Thank you, Chris. I love and will miss you always.

JG

Crimes on the Internet

2010-08-03T08:24:00.005-04:00

We still can't find The Famous Author, but who cares? We found lots of interesting stuff to read while he's gone, including these hot items currently tickling mystery and crime readers on the web.

Over at The Rap Sheet, author Timothy Hallinan talks about the background of his new Poke Rafferty Mystery, THE QUEEN OF PATPONG. See if this doesn't grab you: "The room is small--a bed, a couple of chairs, a table stacked with mismatched dinnerware," Tim writes. "The only light comes through a window that’s been covered in wax paper against the rains. Sitting on a metal stool in the middle of the room, her back bent into the letter C as though the weight on her shoulders were too heavy to allow her to straighten her spine, is a Thai girl of 16. At the moment the picture was taken, she had just learned that her grandmother was planning to sell her into prostitution."

David Cranmer's The Education of a Pulp Writer features the new cover for BEAT to a PULP's first anthology. Just about all of your favorite short-fiction crime writers appear. Check out the list over there.

Finally, Spinetingler Magazine offers a new feature, the Community Bulletin Board. You'll find links like these about new books, authors, and interviews.

Famous Author Missing

2010-07-25T05:38:00.010-04:00

The weather in New Jersey is so hot and humid, Mexico sounds good. But we have a hunch The Famous Author might have gone to San Diego. Tucked up against the Pacific Ocean, at the border with Mexico, San Diego enjoys 70-72 degree weather about 300 days a year. Go check out the current five-day forecast -- 70-72 in the middle of summer -- and the old wooden and glass bar at the Hotel del Coronado.

Then again, there's his favorite bartender Luis and all that great food in Puerto Vallarta. Yeah, he'd have to wear Number 80 suntan lotion in bed at night, but he'd probably just stay in the bar.

A dark horse in the "Where is TFA?" contest could be Miami Beach. He was in a dancing mood last week as his short story was posted on BEAT to a PULP.

Hot Crime Fiction News

2010-07-17T09:24:00.008-04:00

We thought we'd offer readers links to some of the places we've been hanging out this weekend. Lots of interesting stuff.

Over at Mystery Book News, Tess Gerritson writes about the source of her latest book and offers MBN readers an opportunity to win a copy. "The best plot ideas sometimes come from real life misadventures," writes Tess. "One such misadventure happened to me a few summers ago in upstate New York, when my husband and I were driving to a rustic bed and breakfast. Since we didn't know the area, we'd brought along our GPS and programmed it to take us in the most direct route possible."

A wrong turn forms the basis for Tess's new thriller, ICE COLD.

At David Cranmer's blog, Education of a Pulp Writer, author Timothy Hallinan talks about living in Thailand half the year, and how this influences his writing. Also, Tim talks about his unusual new thriller due next month. It's a thriller with a huge, separate backstory stuck in the middle. "And then we're in a new section of the book – the longest section by far – in which we go back twelve years to meet Rose as a 17-year-old village teenager named Kwan, which means “spirit,” but who is nicknamed “Stork” because of her extraordinary height," Tim tells Cranmer. "In one day, her entire world falls apart and she finds herself bound for Bangkok, in the company of an untrustworthy companion, to enter the world of the bars. And we stay with her for 45,000 words as she is transformed into the woman Poke met in the King's Castle Bar on Patpong. For I don't know how many pages, the nominal hero of the book isn't even in sight. It's like a novella squeezed between the beginning and the end of a thriller, because when Rose's interlude is over, the thriller is back with a bang."

Incredibly, The Famous Author has a short story published on the web this week at BEAT to a PULP.

And finally, here's a link to my favorite fiction webzine, Spinetingler. They just announced really big news: Mystery Writers of America will now consider short fiction published in Spinetingler for its annual Edgar awards.

A Writer's Life

2010-07-10T13:20:00.007-04:00

A friend of The Famous Author asked to guest blog anonymously today. We said okay, as long as it wasn't about his new book.

There’s a numbness on my skin this morning, a sheet of self-pity thick and gooey between me and the world. I haven’t been anywhere and I’m not going anywhere. Everything’s finished before it began. Nothing anyone says can help. Nothing.

Of course I feel this way every morning at 4 a.m. I’m a writer. Half the day I put words on paper, the other half I seek people to read them. The competition is worse than fierce. It’s mind-scrambling. There are twenty-four million people writing fiction today in the English-speaking world alone. There’s another twenty-million in Scandanavia.

I think my agent represents half.

But coffee helps, so I make a 10-cup pot and watch it brew. There’s nothing else to do. My world cannot continue until I change this mood, trust me. But with one cup down, mixed with lots of special ingredients, and another coming, this old boy is beginning to feel the sun. It’ll be up in another half an hour, too.

Pretty soon I’m tweaking yesterday’s copy and working on the new scene, advancing my plot, hiding character and secrets inside the dialogue, smiling to myself with excitement when a “what if” moment blossoms into wonderful.

I’m a writer. And nothing anyone says can help. Nothing.

Skilled Storytelling on Display

2010-07-05T19:44:00.006-04:00

The internet offers crime and mystery readers hundreds of free short stories, some okay, some great, some examples of the very best in storytelling. Here are links to places The Famous Author and I regularly check out, including Thuglit, Beat to a Pulp, Thrillers, Chillers 'N' Killers, and Spinetingler.

And here's a link to a prize-winning story by Chris F. Holm called Seven Days of Rain. It's a story every short story writer should read. It has everything -- character, tension, and a masterful weave of past and present making both tales explode at the end. It's a wow.

Chris is well known for his short story skills. We bet the novel in progress is going to be a big winner, too.

Redhead of the Week a Spy!

2010-06-30T07:04:00.002-04:00

By TOM HAYS and CRISTIAN SALAZAR, Associated Press Writers

NEW YORK – Anna Chapman has been called the femme fatale of a spy case with Cold War-style intrigue — a striking redhead and self-styled entrepreneur who dabbled in real estate and mused on her Facebook page, "if you can dream, you can become it."

Chapman's American dream, U.S. authorities say, was a ruse.

The 28-year-old Chapman, they say, was a savvy Russian secret agent who worked with a network of other operatives before an FBI undercover agent lured her into an elaborate trap at a coffee shop in lower Manhattan.
Though the U.S. has branded the operatives as living covertly, at least in Chapman's case, she had taken care to brand herself publicly as a striver of the digital age, passionately embracing online social networking by posting information and images of herself for the world to see.

Prosecutors have charged Chapman and 10 other suspects with following orders by Russian intelligence to become "Americanized" enough to infiltrate "policymaking circles" and feed information back to Moscow.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Farbiarz has called evidence against Chapman "devastating." She is "someone who has extraordinary training, who is a sophisticated agent of Russia," he said.

Her mother, who lives in western Moscow, said she is convinced of her daughter's innocence.

"Of course I believe that she's innocent," Irina Kushchenko told The Associated Press. She refused to comment further.

Chapman and nine others accused of being ring members were arrested across the Northeast and charged with failing to register as foreign agents, a crime that is less serious than espionage and carries up to five years in prison. Some also face money laundering charges. An 11th suspect was arrested in Cyprus, accused of passing money to the other 10 over several years.

Prosecutors said several of the defendants were Russians living in the U.S. under assumed names and posing as Canadian or American citizens. It was unclear how and where they were recruited, but court papers said the operation went as far back as the 1990s. Exactly what sort of information the agents are alleged to have provided to their Russian handlers — and how valuable it may have been — was not disclosed.

The FBI finally moved in to break up the ring because one of the suspects — apparently Chapman, who was bound for Moscow, according to court papers — was going to leave the country, the Department of Justice said Tuesday.
The court papers allege that some of the ring's members were husband and wife and that they used invisible ink, coded radio transmissions and encrypted data and employed methods such as swapping bags in passing at a train station.

Farbiarz called the arrests "the tip of the iceberg" of a conspiracy by Russia's intelligence service, the SVR, to collect information inside the U.S. The arrests raised fears that Moscow has planted other couples.
Such deep-cover agents are known as "illegals" in the intelligence world because they take civilian jobs instead of operating inside Russian embassies and military missions.

Russian officials initially denounced the arrests as "Cold War-era spy stories" and accused elements of the U.S. government of trying to undermine the improving relationship between Moscow and Washington. But the White House and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin expressed confidence that the arrests would not damage ties between the two nations.

At a court hearing Monday in federal court in Manhattan, where Chapman was jailed without bail, her attorney called the case against her weak. He said she had visited the United States on and off since 2005 before settling in Manhattan to start a business.

Chapman took an apartment a block from Wall Street and began using online social networks, including LinkedIn and Facebook, to develop business contacts and to market her skills. On her LinkedIn page, Chapman is listed as the chief executive officer of PropertyFinder Ltd., which maintains a website featuring real estate listings in Moscow, Spain, Bulgaria and other countries.

Biographical information on Chapman on the Lifenews.ru website said she was the daughter of a Russian diplomat, who at one time worked in Kenya. It said she moved to Britain after marrying a Briton whose father was Europe director for Auchan, the French supermarket chain, which operates many stores in Russia.

"Love launching innovative high-tech startups and building passionate teams to bring value into market," Chapman's LinkedIn summary says.

She lists previous jobs at an investment company and a hedge fund in London. The summary also says she earned a master's degree in economics at a Russian university in 2005.

In more than 90 photos posted to Facebook, Chapman is pictured in various countries, including Turkey, where she is in one of the rooms of the luxurious Hotel Les Ottoman, in Istanbul. There are also what look like family photographs from Russia and photographs of her dressed in a student uniform.

Her Internet footprints also include a photo of her posing with a glass of wine between two men at the Global Technology Symposium at Stanford University in March — it cost more than $1,000 to attend — and video clips, speaking in Russian about the economic opportunities in her adopted home.

Media reports quickly branded her a femme fatale, and tabloids splashed her photos on their front pages.
An acquaintance, David Hartman, owner of a New York real estate company, described Chapman as "pleasant, very professional, friendly."

"There's nothing too crazy about her that I knew of," he said.

A criminal complaint alleges that, unbeknownst to her business contacts such as Hartman, Chapman was using a specially configured laptop computer to transmit messages to another computer of an unnamed Russian official — a handler who was under surveillance by the FBI.

The laptop exchanges occurred 10 times, always on Wednesdays, until June, when an undercover FBI agent got involved, prosecutors said. The agent, posing as a Russian consulate employee and wearing a wire, arranged a meeting with Chapman at a Manhattan coffee shop, they said.

During the meeting, they initially spoke in Russian but then agreed to switch to English to draw less attention to themselves, the complaint says in recounting their recorded conversation.

"I need more information about you before I can talk."

"OK. My name is Roman. ... I work in the consulate."

The undercover said he knew she was headed to Moscow in two weeks "to talk officially about your work," but before that, "I have a task for you to do tomorrow."

The task: To deliver a fraudulent passport to another woman working as a spy.

"Are you ready for this step?" he asked.

"S---, of course," she responded.

The undercover gave her a location and told her to hold a magazine a certain way — that way, she would be recognized by a Russian agent, who would in turn confirm her identity by saying to her, "Excuse me, but haven't we met in California last summer?"

But Chapman was leery, prosecutors said.

"You're positive no one is watching?" they say she told the undercover agent after being given the instructions.
Afterward, authorities say, she was concerned enough to buy a cell phone and make a "flurry of calls" to Russia. In one of the intercepted calls, a man advised her she may have been uncovered, should turn in the passport to police and get out of the country.

She was arrested at a New York Police Department precinct after following that advice, authorities said.
In a video clip on a Russian website focused on investment in hi-tech start-ups, she talks about her ambitions to create a venture fund that would invest in projects in Russia and discusses the business opportunities offered by New York.

"Nothing has excited me more in life than the number and level of people I have met here. This place is full of ideas," she said, according to a translation from Russian.

"I'm trying to create a project that would connect two capitals — New York and Moscow — the two most important cities for me in the quest for ideas," she says.

Asked how someone new to business can meet the right people in New York, she says, "America is a free country, and it's the easiest place in the world to meet the most successful people. ... Here you can go out for dinner with your neighbor and meet a top venture capitalist."

Authorities say the undercover's parting words to her had been, "Your colleagues in Moscow, they know you're doing a good job. So keep it up."
___
Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Pete Yost in Washington, D.C., and David Caruso and Eva Dou in New York and Nataliya Vasilyeva, David Nowak and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow.

Deadline Passes, TFA in Twit

2010-06-25T17:20:00.006-04:00

The Famous Author's been married a few times; it took him two decades to sell my first adventure; and his agent has been out there pitching Austin Carr #3 for more than a year. Let's face it, TFA should be used to rejection. But now that he's been writing short stories, sending out submissions, the man has turned into a whining baby.

"I can't believe they didn't like that story," he said this evening.

Some online crime ezine said no, I guess. He didn't explain. Or maybe it was because he was whining and sobbing so loud I couldn't understand him. The jerk.

"Did you look at it again?" I said, "maybe try to figure why they quit reading?"

TFA stared at me. Obviously, the answer was no. The turkey was too busy feeling sorry for himself. I made him open the short story file and read the story outloud to me. I stopped him halfway through.

"I can tell you right now why that story was passed on," I said. "I mean, besides the fact it wasn't about me."

"Why?"

"The hook was in paragraph five. The editors never got that far."

"Are you sure?" he said. "I thought the bit about -- "

"Trust me, TFA."

I'm pretty sure TFA's going to spend the weekend moving up the hook and resubmitting that particular story somewhere else. Let's hope he learns his lesson, too: Do not send out material until it's ready -- let stories stew for a while and look at those words again.

All is not rejection, however. Remember TFA's first short story in 30 years is getting readied for online publication in July. Thank goodness TFA's tale isn't following the current offering at BEAT TO A PULP, an awesomely crafted piece by Edgar-winner Megan Abbott's mom, Patricia.

Sookie, Sookie, Fangs for the Memories

2010-06-22T09:49:00.004-04:00

Actually, The Famous Author and I both thought the first two episodes slow. Still lots of fun, the season-three premiere of Charlaine Harris's TRUE BLOOD series drew over five million viewers last week on HBO. The Hollywood Reporter says the sexy, violent, bloody show already has been renewed.

HBO programming president Michael Lombardo told The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd, "We're looking forward to more chills from Alan Ball and his gifted team next year."

"I am beyond thrilled to be able to continue working with this amazing cast and crew," creator Alan Ball told Hibberd. "This is the most fun I have ever had."

The Hollywood Reporter says "ratings for Sunday's episode are not yet available, (but) last week's third season premiere drew 5.1 million viewers -- up 38% from season two's opener. Season four will debut next summer. HBO has ordered 12 episodes, same as this year."

Fangs to Hollywood and Charlaine for making it all happen.

Kobe Wins His Fifth Ring

2010-06-17T23:55:00.006-04:00

Yes, I know this is not a photo from the finals. But then I would have had to show those green gomers from somewhere in New England. Apologies to the East Coast Posse, but TFA and I have been rooting for The Lakers since the lineup included Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, and Jerry West. And that means, like all Laker fans, we hate green.

Special hat tips to Ron Artest for the five steals, Sasha Vujacic for the clutch, last-second free throws, and Coach Jackson for trusting Sasha cold off the bench. But honestly, I think the green gomers would have won last night if Perkins had played. Without his size and presence, Gasol and Kobe killed the boards. 33 rebounds between them.

Two New Books to Read

2010-06-16T10:52:00.006-04:00

So The Famous Author opened one of those mass-marketing letters from American Express the other day. He must have been really bored. But instead of the usual promotions for insurance or travel deals, there was $140 worth of Amazon gift certificates. Wow! A home run. Now TFA can buy even more books to add to his TBR pile. Actually, it's more like a whole room. But anyway, just so you know, here are his first two purchases, both brand new:

First off, our former Redhead of the Week, Sophie Littlefield is out with her second novel, apparently a strong follow-up to A Bad Day for Sorry, which garnered more awards and medals than Napoleon. Of the new one, Publishers Weekly says: "When a tornado uncovers a mummified woman buried at the Prosper, Mo., fairgrounds, the police suspect Neb Donovan, whom (our hero) Stella Hardesty once helped kick an OxyContin addiction. Littlefield wields humor like a whip, but never lets it dilute the whodunit." Oh, boy, I'm gonna grab this one before TFA.

Another easy pick for TFA was Night of the Living Deed by E.J. Copperman. TFA knows (unike a lot of people on Amazon) that E.J. Copperman is a nom de plume for one of the best, easiest-reading mystery writers around, Jeffrey Cohen. The premise sounds interesting -- Newly divorced Alison Kerby wants a second chance for herself and her nine-year-old daughter, but her new Victorian fixer-upper is haunted -- but it's the writing of Cohen that brings TFA to this brand new novel.

Sophie's much better looking.

Catching Up With Shania

2010-06-11T07:44:00.005-04:00

Stephen L. Betts of The Boot, a country music blog, has a great feature story today on our beloved Shania Twain.

After Shania's very public separation and divorce from her husband-producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange after 14 years of marriage, The Boot looks back at the past two years of Shania sightings. Hell, this picture's good enough for us, but we were curious where our dream woman has been hiding. According to Betts and The Boot:

In June 2009, a year after her separation, Shania blogged about the past difficulties she'd endured and expressed her hopefulness about the future. She also candidly wrote of how her son Eja (who was seven at the time) sweetly comforted her in one of her more vulnerable moments.

"One time when I was having a weak moment, listening to some sad music and sobbing and slobbering over my computer's keyboard, Eja walked up behind me and asked me why I was crying. He wasn't sad at first -- just totally surprised to see his mom crying and didn't know what to make of it. During this intense period, I was managing to hide my devastation from Eja and cried only when I was alone; but this one time was just too hard for me to control and I broke down. I was quick on my feet to answer him though and told Eja that music was very powerful and can make people quite emotional. It can make you want to dance, feel angry, happy or sad and that THIS this song was sad and made me cry. He accepted this, hugged me and went back to what he was doing. Phew, that was tough!"

Wait. Shouldn't she tell the truth? That Pop ran off with the housekeeper and I'm humping her ex. Aren't children entitled to know what happened, why Mom is crying?

On August 29, 2009, Shania's 44th birthday, the singer offered fans another glimpse into her personal life via her website, opening up about her budding relationship with Frederic Théibaud.

"A dear friend and true gentleman by the name of Fred, has been the most constant companion of support for both Eja and me," she wrote at the time. "And having gone through the suffering of his family splitting apart at the same time under the same extreme circumstances, he understood me better than anyone. We leaned on one another through the ups and downs, taking turns holding each other up. We've become stronger and closer through it all, as have our children, Eja and Johanna (Fred's 8-year-old daughter)."

Earlier that day, a photo of the couple holding hands and wearing what appeared to wedding bands, sparked rumors of marriage, although a rep for Shania said they were neither engaged nor married, Betts and The Boot say.

I did see her earlier this year when Shania joined the 'American Idol' judges for some auditions. She went on to mentor the top six finalists later in the season, and more or less picked Crystal [Bowersox] and Lee [Dewyze] as the top two finalists.

And the promise of more Shania sightings is a reality -- or more specifically, a reality TV special. In April, it was announced that 'Why Not? With Shania Twain,' an hour-long special on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, would follow the singer "as she begins her climb back to the top, a personal journey filled with risk, revelations and unexpected adventures."

"I feel like in a way I'm starting over," Shania will tell Oprah. "This is a very personal experience that I think is important to share. This is an experience of recovery. I was in a very deep, dark slump, and I needed to find a way to get myself out of it. I had to force myself back out into life, back out into experiencing things."

The show will reportedly air in January 2011, the same month Oprah's network launches.

But when will Shania sing again? No word, but we have a hunch she's in the studio. What do you think?

Weapon of the Drug Wars

2010-06-08T05:25:00.006-04:00

For the American soldier fighting in the Philippine jungles a century ago, Colt's new revolver wasn't cutting the mustard. More specifically, the .38 caliber bullets barely slowed Moro guerrillas stoked on frog juice, mushrooms, and the best pot west of Saigon. Armed with machetes, spears, and knives, these drug-crazed warriors had "high morale," the Army said, and kept charging through a hail of thirty-eights to chop American asses.

In 1902, Chief of Ordnance, General William Crozier, authorized further testing of new service pistols. We need a bigger gun, boys, he pleaded. Stopping power is what we're missing

Some guy named Hiram S. Maxim had already designed a self-loading pistol using bullet energy to reload the chamber. Lots of governments and individuals worked on programs, including people like Mauser, Mannlicher, and Colt. But of the six designs submitted to General Crozier, only three chambered the new .45 cartridge. In field tests from 1907 to 1911, the Colt was fired 6,000 times by its designer, John Browning. Zero malfunctions.

The Colt semi-automatic was formally adopted by the U.S. Army on March 29, 1911, and thus gained the designation, M1911. The Army is nothing if not crudely logical. It was adopted by the Navy and Marine Corps in 1913, and though originally manufactured only by Colt, World War I expanded production to the government-owned Springfield Armory.

The M1911 is a single-action (you can't "cock" the hammer like cowboys do in movies) semi-automatic, magazine-fed, recoil-operated handgun. The .45 caliber weapon was the standard-issue side arm for the United States military from 1911 to 1985, and is still carried by some U.S. forces. Browning's design was widely used in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Reliable. Powerful. It even stopped those wild-eyed Moro guerrillas, and the Phillipines (and all that offshore oil) came under U.S. control.

Let's call this one Research #1. Thanks to John Browning, Colt, and Wikipedia.

TFA Gets His Comeuppance

2010-06-03T09:14:00.002-04:00

As we all know, The Famous Author has been sifting through the submission pile at Spinetingler for close to two years now, sometimes asking authors for rewrites, sometimes changing a confusing word, but mostly just reading the story as far as he was able, then clicking REJECT.

It's a tough job, but someone has to do it. Saying no to all those poor writers trying to have someone read their work. Ha, ha, ha. Now TFA is waiting on his own submissions. That's right, our own TFA is sending out short stories and watching -- with typical and well-earned apprehension -- his inbox for rejection or acceptance.

Eat a piece of your own pie, you old curmudgeon!

Soldier for a Day

2010-05-31T09:42:00.005-04:00

Billy wasn't going to college. He didn't like rules, books or writing things down on paper. Billy was an action guy. He worked, and he played, and he had a real talent for automobile engines. If your car wasn't running right, Billy knew why, and he could fix it with a screwdriver, pliars, or a wad of gum.

After high school, Billy went to work at an auto dealer and was on his way. A full mechanic's spot meant his own workstation, a regular line of cars to fix, and a steady, very nice paycheck for a 20-year-old. He met a girl. They planned on getting married.

There was a problem, though. See, the year was 1966, and America was fighting alongside South Vietnam in their civil war with North Vietnam. America had a draft. And Billy got drafted. We threw a big party for Billy and we all said goodbye and worried about him.

And with good cause. The day Billy landed in Saigon, they put his unit on a truck and headed out for a fire station that needed replacements. The truck ran over a mine. Billy and dozens of other brand new soldiers were killed.

We said goodbye again a month later. We said goodbye to a flag-drapped coffin. And not a Memorial Day goes by that we don't think of Billy and the life he never got to live.

Omniscient Takes a Hit

2010-05-30T06:34:00.003-04:00

Boy, am I glad they didn't say this about The Famous Author's new book. If he HAD a new book.

"There could have been an element of suspense involved had (the author) not chosen to take an omniscient approach to writing the book; from the reader's perspective, there is nothing remotely surprising or thrilling to any aspect of this often lurid story. Worse, there's a rather silly pseudo-romantic subplot involving (the lead detective) and (another character) that has absolutely no reason for being ... other than as filler to pad the already overlong text."

I know it doesn't matter what they say, as long as they spell your name right. But ouch.

Tell'em to drink Drano, Ms. E.

Angie in New TV Crime Show

2010-05-27T07:03:00.009-04:00

Tess Gerritsen didn't send us any ARCs or promotional items, but we're still pretty excited about her Rizzoli & Isles series being made into a television show set for next month. That's because Angie Harmon stars as Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli, who joins forces with medical examiner Maura Isles (Sasha Alexander) to solve crimes.

Take a long look at Angie. Oh, my. Can this show be anything but a hit?

Rizzoli & Isles is scheduled to premiere Monday, July 12th at 10 PM on TNT. Click on the link to see some film. Maybe I should show a few more shots of Angie.

Media Birdbrains Skip the Story

2010-05-25T07:17:00.004-04:00

By DOUG SIMPSON, AOL News

While the world remains fixated on the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, L.D. Manuel says people are forgetting an important fact: 11 men, including his son, died when the oil rig blew up.

"I'm following the coverage, but I don't know that I like what I'm seeing. Everyone talks about the birds and the damage to the gulf and everything, but they never talk about the guys that got hurt," said Manuel, who lost his son Blair in the explosion. "That really bothers me."

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded just over a month ago, on April 20, and relatives of the 11 men who were killed said that it's understandable that the news media and the public are focused on environmental concerns, government regulations, politics, the future of offshore drilling.

But they fear that the 11 victims -- their husbands, sons, grandsons, brothers -- have been forgotten.

"I can see that, definitely, the oil spill is everyone's first priority now. It's such an environmental problem. I understand that," said Nelda Winslette, whose grandson Adam Weise was killed in the blast.

"But those 11 men were trying to prevent that spill. Nothing ever gets mentioned about those men, and who they were."

A memorial service on May 1 was held for the 24-year-old Weise at the Lutheran church in Yorktown, Texas, his hometown. Relatives said it seemed the whole town came to pay their respects.

"It was filled to capacity in the balcony. That was really something, and it showed what a special young man he was. It was unfortunate he only had 24 years," Weise's sister, Judy Henze, told AOL News.

Weise was a standout lineman on the Yorktown High School football team. He was a sportsman who caught redfish, speckled trout and flounder in the gulf. He hunted deer and bobcats.

"He was a fisherman, a hunter, he was a prankster. He was the kindest hearted young man," Winslette said. "He would drop whatever he was doing to help anyone else."

Redhead of the Week an Aristocrat

2010-05-21T07:48:00.006-04:00

Damian Lewis, an English actor and producer, starred as Detective Charlie Crews in the NBC drama Life, which The Famous Author and I loved. We also liked Damian as Major Richard Winters (handpicked by Spielberg) in the HBO miniseries, Band of Brothers, and as Soames Forsyte in the British miniseries, The Forsyte Saga.

The dude has quite the pedigree. "I went to English boarding schools and grew up around people very much like Soames and in a milieu very much like the Forsytes's," Lewis told PBS in 2002.

Lewis was born in St. John's Wood, Westminster, the son of Charlotte Mary and J. Watcyn Lewis, a City broker. His maternal grandfather was Lord Mayor of London Ian Frank Bowater and his maternal grandmother's ancestors include Bertrand Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of Penn (a doctor to the royal family) and philanthropist Alfred Yarrow.

He was educated at the independent Ashdown House School in the village of Forest Row in East Sussex and at Eton College and graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1993, after which he served as a stage actor for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Lewis also appeared in Jonathan Kent's production of Hamlet, playing Laertes opposite Ralph Fiennes' Hamlet. This production was seen by Steven Spielberg, who subsequently cast Lewis as Richard Winters in the HBO/BBC World War II miniseries Band of Brothers, his first role of several that required a credible American accent.

In 2008, Lewis starred as the main character Charlie Crews in the U.S. television series Life on NBC. He starred as a police officer who had been framed for murder and held in prison for 12 years from 1995 to 2007. The series began with his exoneration and a trial reinstatement in his former position as a detective in the LA Police force after winning a 50 million dollar law suit over his wrongful internment. Detective Crews, who had studied Zen during his years in prison, closed his cases in a unique manner, as he secretly continued to track down the people who had set him up.

The show, which premiered in the United States on 26 September 2007, became a victim of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. Only half of the second season's shows were produced. When the critically acclaimed show returned, it was shuffled from night to night.

Damian is married to the actress Helen McCrory. They have two children.

Thanks to Damian, Ann OD, and Wikipedia

Auction for Writers, Readers

2010-05-16T06:24:00.010-04:00

Bestselling author Brenda Novak runs a fundraiser in honor of her youngest son who was diagnosed with Type 1 at five years old, and the millions of others who suffer from diabetes. The proceeds have one purpose—to help find a cure—and will go to the Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami. Brenda Novak’s Online Auction for Diabetes Research is a registered 501(c)3, so any cash donation is tax deductible.

This year the auction is dedicated to Brenda's dear friend who passed away last fall, Kate Duffy. Kate was an editor at Kensington Books. Last year, Brenda raised over $270,000. She's hoping to break that record this year.

Click on the flashing top banner to check out the goodies. If you're a reader, there are hundreds of autographed books and lunches with authors. For writers, there are dozens of editor, author, and agent critiques, lunches, and edits. The prices are cheap (so far) compared to what you'd pay a professional editor. The Famous Author Himself may bid on one evaluation by a hot shot mystery editor: For $47 bucks (current bid) he's thinking about getting the bosses at Tyrus Books to read his manuscript. Check out Brenda's auction ... for diabetes research.

Did We Miss Cinco de Mayo?

2010-05-07T06:58:00.003-04:00

Oh, my. The Famous Author came by for a heart-to-heart last week. We needed to hash out this Mama Bones thing, get a few mutual goals back in perspective. We had a shot of tequila, then another, and another. He told me he still wants me to be the star, but his Devil Agent believes Mama Bones may keep the series alive. I told him, if that's what it took, fine. But I think the old lady ought to get her own freaking blog.

We just woke up this morning, realized it was May 7, and that our favorite holiday had passed. Guess me and TFA started too early. Anyway, Happy Cinco de Mayo, gang!