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Jungle Red Roll Call, count off now!

July 11, 2015, 11:00 pm
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HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  Happy summer Sunday, everyone! Yesterday I trained home from Thrillerfest--such a crush and amazing! (Highlights! Nelson DeMille: "You have to know when to milk a scene." Clive Cussler: "I like the money."
Sandra Brown's utter gorgeous graciousness, chatting with John Sandford,
Karin Slaughter's amazing interview with the generous and hilarious Charlaine Harris, Lee Child interviewing Mark Billingham--the coolness level was incalculable.)






And here's my extra-meta photo of myAmtrak journey home--see what I mean?



So remember on Mickey Mouse Club? Jimmy would say: Mouseketeer roll call, count off now!



So let's do that, this Sunday! We'd love to know who's out there, those who comment faithfully (and thank you!) and those who don't (we love you, too!)  Reds and readers, where are you and what are you reading/thinking/doing? 


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The Ultimate Beach

July 13, 2015, 12:00 am
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RHYS BOWEN:  I have just returned from a vacation in Europe that included two weeks on a secluded bay in Corfu, a Greek island. Two weeks of doing very little except for sitting on my balcony reading, eating at bayside tavernas and lying in the warm waters of the Ionian sea. To make it more special our apartment belonged to the White House, which was where Laurence Durrell lived in the 1930s and where he wrote Prospero's Cell. Everything was perfect except the beach was stony, not sandy.

 So I realize I am being very picky but I started to wonder whether I had ever been to a perfect beach and what a perfect beach should look like.I once saw what I thought was a perfect beach near Darwin in northern Australia. But nobody was on it. I asked a park ranger whether it was okay to go swimming there. "Of course you can," she replied, "If you don't mind the sharks, the crocodiles or the jelly fish."
Okay, there are certain things the perfect beach shouldn't have. Sharks, crocodiles and jelly fish for starters.
But what should it have?
Clean water, for one thing. I went snorkeling on the island of Bali and was horrified to find so many plastic bags caught up on the coral.
It should be sandy. Have warm water. Some shade on hot days. A bar or cafe for moments of thirst. And not be crowded
.My contenders: the beach on Whitsunday Island, Queensland. Pure white sand. Tree lined. Only the occasional monitor lizard to make it scary.
Hanauma Bay on Oaha used to be a favorite until it became a national park and is now crowded with newby snorkelers.
The beach at Noosa on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland is another favorite. Unfortunately my brother moved away, so I don't go there any more.
In Europe a little beach outside Nice (which is stony). It's called the Baie des Fourmies and is pretty darned nice.But in the US? California ocean water is all too cold for me. Some Florida beaches are contenders. Naples was nice but no shade.
So I'm open to suggestions:
What does your perfect beach have to have and where is it?

HALLIE EPHRON: I'm a California girl and spent summers body surfing in Malibu and Manhattan Beach, so those are still my perfect beaches. Broad white sand and wave after perfect wave that you can swim in front of, get picked up by, and carried forward so just your head sticking out as you coast onto the shore. Hold onto your bathing suit top.

LUCY BURDETTE: I was imprinted on the beach near Hatteras, NC, which is the end part of the Outer Banks. We went every summer and spent hours roasting on the sand, and swimming--big rollers usually, and a perfect cool temperature. We'd be out there floating in the salt water and game would be to call out whether each wave was an "over" or an "under." The overs you could float over the top. The unders would grind you into the sand if you didn't dive through them. And the dunes are stunning too, planted with sea oats.
Several families would go at the same time and we'd have enormous games of kick the can and pounce at night. Wonderful memories, gorgeous beach.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Well, yeah. Out of the US? Easy. Easy! Nevis. It is..white sand. Turquoise water.  EMPTY. The beaches are so unpopulated, they don't even have names. We named the one we go to, though. (Cleverly.) Beautiful Beach.  Which says it all. There are palm trees, and we sit and read and watch the pelicans fly and soar and pounce, then shake their little tailfeathers when they catch a fish. My idea of a perfect beach is peaceful. This photo is Nevis--but it's very faded. Just up the chroma to intense blue and white..and that's it!

In the US? Truro on Cape Cod.  We go to the bay beach, and it is gorgeous. 

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Rhys, so jealous I am green. Sigh. Especially since we haven't taken a beach vacation in longer than I even want to admit... I didn't grow up going to the beach. Dallas is a LONG way from beaches, and my parents were into golf courses, not beaches. (Sighs again...) But there have been beaches that stood out. We stayed at a lovely place at the tip of Cozumel. White sand, palms, little rush huts to protect you from the sun, clear blue water that was lovely for snorkling off the beach if you didn't mind the friendly barracuda that hung out occasionally. But my favorite was a beach in Puerto Rico. Empty (this was years ago, mind) with lovely sand and palms AND the best thing was the hammocks strung between the palm trees... Beach, hammock, book=heaven.

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Not a well-known place, but the Canadian shore of Lake Erie is fantastic and where I went during the summer with friends while growing up in Buffalo, New York. These days, the family and I love the beaches of Narragansett, Rhode Island — which seems to be overlooked by tourists who opt for the Hamptons or the Cape (shhhhhh....). A day at the beach, then a lobster roll at Aunt Carrie's (now in its 95th year and going strong) — can't be beat.

And outside of the US, the beaches of the west coast of Scotland are beautiful, especially near Arisaig. (Yes, beaches in Scotland! No, I'm not joking!) The water is warmer than you might expect, thanks to a Gulf current passing by and the beaches are fine white sand and gorgeous! You may spot a seal!

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Rhys, if you think California water is too cold, the Atlantic Ocean off the Maine coast would kill you! I want to propose a different kind of perfect beach: Old Orchard Beach, located in its eponymous town in southern Maine. It's a throwback to the old vacation beaches of the east coast: a seven-mile-long golden-sand beach with a century-old Boardwalk extending out into the ocean; an inexpensive, small scale amusement park, candy stores and ice cream stores and t-shirt shops in between art galleries and Italian sausage stands. It's definitely not about lounging in the sands with a cocoanut-flavored drink, but if you want to sample an old-fashioned all-American summer, you have to try it.

I met Jessie Crockett, whom many of you know from Crimebake, and in 2016 she's going to have a mystery set in 19th century OOB coming out. So I know what will be in my beach bag when I go there next summer!

RHYS: So there you have it. Our favorite beaches. Which is yours?













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Rhys Stays Sane, Or does she?

July 14, 2015, 12:00 am
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RHYS BOWEN: As you now know, I've just returned from six weeks in Europe. And I'm about to set off on yet another book tour when Malice at the Palace comes out on August 4th.  I travel a lot (well, not compared to Hank, but to most sane people). And as you know, travel these days can be stressful....as when I was in France a couple of weeks ago and arrived at the train station to find that the trains were on strike and I was due to fly out of an airport two and a half hours away. I couldn't risk staying another night and hoping that the trains were operating the next day because I had no guarantee I'd get on the one flight out of Toulouse to London. AND I was flying home from London in two days time. So.... I had to bite the bullet and take a 300 Euro taxi ride.  And I am halfway to Toulouse when the driver informs me that officially the taxis are also on strike so he can't take me anywhere near the train station or the airport. He'll have to drop me at an undisclosed location in Toulouse, hopefully near a metro station so I can make my way to the airport to catch a plane that is about to depart.

I made it, only just. But you can see what I mean by stressful. On book tours it only takes one delayed flight, unexpected thunderstorm and the plans for the day fall to pieces. So I've found that one way to keep my sanity and banish stress is to take some friends with me.






These two are Sophie and Alexander and they come with me on my US flights. I keep meaning to make them a little house and furniture to take with me, but just their funny faces make me feel better.
And in case you think they take up space, this is how big they are:
And this is Hubyrd. My daughter Anne gave him to me last year and he has had his photo taken all over Europe. People have looked at me in amazement as I place him on Queen Victoria's head or at the edge of cliffs. But again he reminds me that life should be fun and that stressful flights really don't matter.

So what do you do when you travel? Hank, do you have any stress-busters? Anyone else have toys that have to travel with them? Or a particular book? Or am I the only one who is a little weird?
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Jefferson Bass-The Breaking Point

July 14, 2015, 11:00 pm
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 DEBORAH CROMBIE:  We are a gory bunch, we mystery writers and mystery readers. We want
to know what happens to that body we have done away with, and what's more, we want to know in intimate detail! So it's my great pleasure to introduce Jon Jefferson, the writing half of the collaboration that, with forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Bass, make up Jefferson Bass, author of the Body Farm novels. (I had to contain the "whoo hoo!!" here!) It was Dr. Bass, a professor at the University of Tennessee, who founded the Body Farm, and who--but here, I'll let Jon tell you...


The Body Farm: Its Life and Deaths, in Fact and Fiction

By Jon Jefferson

We modern-day Americans have a schizophrenic relationship with our mortality. On the one hand, we shun it, eschew it, and spend vast sums to fend it off—to fend off even the slight, sagging-skin portents of its approach. We ingest, inject, and insert a multitude of Fountain-of-Youth materials into our living bodies, and we marinade our dearly departed to create the illusion that they’re not dead, merely sleeping.

The Body Farm gate
And yet; and yet. We are absolutely, utterly mesmerized by death, perhaps in exact proportion to our scrupulous avoidance of it. We brake to gawk at ghastly highway accidents. We binge-watch old episodes of “Autopsy” and “Dr. G: Medical Examiner” on Netflix and Youtube. And some of us—the hardcore, twisted, lucky ones among us—spend years scrutinizing corpses and skeletons at the “Body Farm,” the macabre research facility at the University of Tennessee where forensic scientists document the buggy, gooey choreography whereby corpses shuffle shuffle shuffle, shuffle off their mortal coil.

Patricia Cornwell first put the Body Farm on the pop-culture map back in 1994, with a brief 
 
Jon and Dr. Bass examine one of the Body Farm's residents
but memorable scene in a novel that gave the facility title billing. My own initiation to the Body Farm came six years later, during my stint as a documentary writer/producer in Knoxville. Casting about for an interesting subject for a science documentary, I called Dr. Bill Bass, the forensic anthropologist who had created the Body Farm. Bass—a surprisingly genial guy, for someone up to his elbows in death and dismemberment—welcomed me and my National Geographic documentary crew, and for eight weeks we were Body Farm regulars. (If you’re curious, BTW, an updated version of the Nat Geo documentary, “Secrets of the Body Farm,” is posted on Youtube, but beware—it’s not for the faint of heart!).

I’d expected my relationship with the Body Farm to be shortlived—a one-fright stand, so to speak, from which I’d emerge with a few harrowing war stories—but life, or rather Death, had other plans for me. Bass asked if I’d be interested in helping him write a memoir; turns out I was, so I did, and we called it “Death’s Acre.” Then I asked if he’d be willing to let me transformogrify him into a crime-fiction hero named Dr. Bill Brockton; turns out he was game, too, and thus were born the Jefferson Bass “Body Farm Novels,” written by me, drawing on Bass’s voluminous case files and world-renowned expertise.

Jon and Dr. Bass at the Body Farm gate. Are they keeping things in--or out?
Nine novels and two nonfiction books later, Death still isn’t finished with me, nor with Bass’s doppelganger, Dr. Bill Brockton. Over the past nine novels, Brockton has done more than simply solve murders. He’s also butted heads with anti-evolution creationists (in novel #2, “Flesh and Bone”), pondered the relationship between science and faith (in novel #7, “The Inquisitor’s Key”), confronted evil incarnate (a serial killer named Satterfield, in novel #8, “Cut to the Bone”), and endured tribulations worthy of the biblical character Job (in the series’ newest installment, “The Breaking Point”).

And in what I consider to be a particularly wondrous achievement for a fictional character,
Bill Bass and Jon stab some pork ribs at a favorite Tennessee restaurant
Dr. Brockton has also helped shine light on the real-world abuses at a notorious Florida “reform” school—the Dozier School for Boys—which the state closed a few months after our book’s publication. What’s more, Brockton and I later helped catalyze a massive forensic investigation into deaths at the Dozier School—an investigation whose discovery of clandestine, unaccounted-for graves on the school’s grounds bears an uncanny similarity to Dr. Brockton’s unsettling finds in novel #7, “The Bone Yard.”

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction … and sometimes it’s a dead ringer for it.

In any case, today, two decades after Patricia Cornwell immortalized it, the Body Farm is alive and well. In fact, it’s flourishing. And in fiction, too.

Got a question or comment about the Body Farm, in fact, or in fiction? Post away; I'll answer/respond as best I can ... and whoever posts my favorite question/comment will get a free copy of "The Breaking Point"! 

DEBS: This is such fun. I'm going to start the ball rolling with two questions:

First, Jon, can you tell us a little about The Breaking Point? (No spoilers, of course!)  

And second, is the murder in The Breaking Point based on one of Dr. Bass's actual cases? It's an absolutely fascinating scenario.

Oh, and third, if I can sneak in one last question, isn't the news about the escaping Mexican cartel crime lord a bizarre coincidence?

Chime in everyone, and get your name in the hat for a copy of The Breaking Point. (I already have mine:-))

You can follow Jefferson Bass on Facebook to learn more about fact imitating fiction, and about Dr. Bill Brockton's adventures..






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Penny Pike Takes on Tough Research

July 15, 2015, 11:00 pm
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RHYS BOWEN: If you love chocolate as much as I do, then you're going to want to read today's guest post!
 Penny Pike has done some interesting things in the name of research--visited graveyards, tried out par courses, but this assignment takes the cake... or rather the chocolate. 
Penny Pike bears a remarkable resemblance to my good friend, Agatha-winner Penny Warner, writer of the successful Code Busters Club children's series, as well as two former cozy mystery series. I'm delighted to host her today to tell you more about her fun new food-truck series, so take it away Penny!

Chocolate Research – Someone Has To Do It
By Penny Pike AKA Penny Warner


            I’ll do anything for chocolate—even write a book like DEATH OF A CHOCOLATE CHEATER just so I can do the research. I’m highly addicted to the substance, but have found no support groups for my illness (other than a group that meets at Sees Candy, where we get free samples.)
I’ve done a lot of research on my problem and found that chocolate offers many health benefits. It’s a valuable energy source (one chocolate chip gives you enough energy to walk 150 feet, the length of your average Sees store.) Unfortunately, it takes me about seven billion chips just to get out of bed in the morning.
Other health benefits include alleviating depression, lowering your blood pressure, and relieving PMS (it cures crabbiness.) According to my go-to source, Wikipedia, chocolate “contains iron, helps prevent tooth decay, has antioxidants, minimizes aging,” and probably cures morning breath, soccer flop, and irritable bowel syndrome.
            Of course, none of this is written on a chocolate bar label. Doesn’t matter. Even if it came with a warning label that said, “This will kill you instantly,” I’d ignore it. Because everything tastes better with chocolate. Bacon? Potato Chips? Pizza? Carrots? All better if they’re dipped in chocolate.
            My chocolate counselor said I needed to channel this obsession or I might find myself eating chocolate more than seven times a day (a sign of a serious problem.) So I immediately signed up for the three-hour Chocolate Tour of San Francisco. Again, for research.
First we had to listen to a lecture on where chocolate comes from, which took the mystery out of it for me. Contrary to popular belief, chocolate was discovered by the Aztecs, not Mrs. Mary See.
            Back then they took the drug in drink form and believed it gave them super powers (which it sort of does, right?) Then “Hershey” Cortez got hold of it, took it to Spain, and added a bunch of fat and sugar so it would be more addicting. Finally, the Americans added even more fat and sugar, and voila—the Mars Bar was born!
            I won’t go into all the “bean to bar” details. That’s way too much information, sort of like knowing where babies come from. We learned words like conching (stirring) and lecithin (chemical), but not anything you’d use in daily conversation or see on a crossword puzzle hint.
            Next we learned how to eat chocolate. Apparently I’d been eating it all wrong. You’re supposed to use all the senses. Listen—it should snap when you break it. Look—it should be brown (unless it’s white chocolate which isn’t really chocolate). Smell—it should smell like, well, chocolate. Touch—if it melts in your fingers, you’ve been holding it too long. And finally taste—see if you can identify a “lingering banana with pound cake flavor” or “a rich green forest that’s been fertilized with sugar.” Or just eat it.
Finally we got to the good part—tasting gourmet chocolates by Recchiti Confections, Cocoa Bella, Chocolatier Blue, Neo Cocoa, and dozens more. We ate chocolates “infused” with ganache, cardamom, chili pepper, Nutella, quinoa, flax, and Dom Perignon (Oprah’s favorite!)
By the time I was done, I felt like Lucy Ricardo working on that conveyor belt and stuffing in as many chocolates as her mouth would hold. But all of this research went into my newest food truck mystery, DEATH OF A CHOCOLATE CHEATER. And while writing the book, I found another chocolate bonus—chocolate cures writers block.

Penny Pike AKA Penny Warner is the author of the food truck mystery series, DEATH OF A CRABBY COOK and DEATH OF A CHOCOLATE CHEATER, featuring Darcy Burnett and set in San Francisco. Her next book, DEATH OF A BAD APPLE, comes out in 2016. Contact Penny at www.pennywarner.com

Penny will be stopping by today to answer your comments and to give away a copy of Death of a Chocolate Cheater to one lucky winner.
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You all right then?

July 16, 2015, 11:00 pm
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RHYS BOWEN: I've just returned from England and every time I go there I notice that the language is changing. The latest thing I've noticed is that if you go into a shop or restaurant people no longer say "Can I help you?" or "What would you like?"
They say, "You all right then?"
This flummoxed me at first. Did I look sick? About to pass out? In need of help? It took me a while to realize they actually wanted to know what I wanted to pay for or order. How strange is this? And it was pretty universal all over UK. "You all right then?"
I was tempted to answer, "No, I'm not feeling wonderful today. My big toe is throbbing and I have some digestive problems," and then watch their faces.
I have been bemused for years by the ever evolving language in Britain. First it was "going pear-shaped" which took me a while to work out meant plans being derailed, everything going wrong.
Then there was "throwing a wobbly" which I realized meant having a fit, losing ones cool.

In the US my least favorite developments in language are a waiter or server saying "No problem" when you order something.
Me: Could I have a glass of water?"
Waiter:  No problem.
Of course there should be no problem, I want to yell. You are being paid to bring me water. Bringing me water is the only reason you are standing by my table right now.

The other one that drives me mad, even though I can tell they are trying hard, is "absolutely!"
Me: Could I have the swordfish?"
Waitress: "Absolutely!"
Me: And the garlic mashed potatoes with that?"
Waitress:  Absolutely!"
Me: And a side salad?
"Waitress (even more fervently) Absolutely!

It is interesting how slang and common speech has changed during my lifetime. Things have been "smashing"  "groovy""far out""cool""nasty""bad" and how wrong it sounds when a person of the wrong age-group tries to sound hip and gets the vernacular slightly off. This is a big challenge for me as I write historical novels. I have to make sure that Molly Murphy speaks as if she is in 1905, not 1890 or 1910. And some of the slang words used at the time can't be used in my books simply because they sound too modern. Far out, for example, was in common use in 1905, but who would believe it?

Lady Georgie is a lot easier for me as I remember how older people spoke when I was a child. Older folks still said things like "Spiffing" and "top hole" and "You are a brick, old bean."  Yes, they really did. And I only have to read a little Bertie Wooster to get right back in the feel of the Thirties.

So I'm interested to know what expressions have caught you by surprise? Which modern sayings drive you up the wall? Up the pole? Bananas? or whatever it is right now?


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Some Thoughts on Harper Lee

July 17, 2015, 11:00 pm
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 RHYS BOWEN: Here at Jungle Red Writers we tend to avoid anything too controversial, topical or political. However something happened this week that had concerned me greatly and think affects our industry.  I'm not talking about the Iran nuclear deal, I'm talking about the publication of
GO SET A WATCHMAN, the new/old book by Harper Lee.
It was published this Tuesday by Harper Collins. I haven't read it yet and frankly I don't know if I want to. I find it very disturbing that a woman who guarded her privacy so fiercely and who shunned any kind of limelight is now a topic of universal discussion. A woman who never wrote another book in sixty years now decides to publish an unpolished prequel or sequel of her magnum opus. What disturbs me most was a quote I read that the publisher has never spoken with her directly, only with her lawyer. How is that right? How can they know that her wishes are being observed? We don't even know that she is mentally capable of making decisions. We don't even know if she was even asked. Isn't it more likely that her lawyer got his hands on an unfinished manuscript and decided to cash in on it?So what do other Reds and readers think about this? I would hate someone to find a first draft or early manuscript of mine and thus tarnish my reputation. I admit that the only facts I know are those I've read or heard on radio. So please set me straight if I am wrong.

LUCY BURDETTE: I haven't been studying this carefully, but lots of the facts seem bothersome. I totally agree that I wouldn't want an old piece of work that I'd deemed unpublishable put out into the world. Gosh it's hard enough to feel like a finished manuscript is good enough. Because the recently published book is so "valuable", it certainly opens the process to accusations of exploitation. This reminds me of the struggle over Steig Larsson's unpublished work after his death. the stakes are very high in both cases.

I'm not sure I will read Watchman either Rhys. If you are curious about the change in Atticus Finch's character, you'll want to read this blog post by James Scott Bell: https://killzoneblog.com/2015/07/the-whole-truth-about-atticus-finch.html

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:   Jonathan is afraid to read it, because he doesn't want to ruin his vision of Atticus. And I talked to a person yesterday who was trying to explain to me how the change of Atticus's personality was a logical progression, envisioned through Scout's brain.

And I think it's fascinating, because in reality, to an author, we are creating characters, and with the stroke of a pen or the delete button, the characteristics can change. I have certainly made a character I thought was good into a bad guy, and it is not difficult to do.

But the good guy AND the bad guy can exist, just in different universes. One does not have to develop out of the other, or even be connected to the other, it's just a completely different character in a completely different story.

 It's not contradictory, it's just a different snapshot of a different time. It's not exactly the same, but it is kind of like the Wizard of Oz and Wicked.
(Yes, I admit, I have been relieved that Gregory Peck is not alive to read Go Set.)

I am looking at it as an interesting insight into the author's process. And the editor's process!

Jonathan, looking at it a different way, says it is terrible that the reputation of Atticus is getting ruined… For money.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Lucy, that's a very interesting piece by James Scott Bell. It made me wonder if it doesn't make Atticus Finch's defense of Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird more admirable, rather than less, when we know his political views. He upheld the law in spite of his opinions on race and segregation, which is what a lawyer should do, isn't it? I'd love to know what Jonathan thinks, Hank. Still, that doesn't make the older Atticus (from what I've read) any more appealing, but people are often both complicated and flawed.

Will we ever have a definitive answer to "Should it have been published?" Probably not. Has anyone actually read it yet, and if so, what did you think?





RHYS: Please share your thoughts on this. I really don't want to leap to judgment on this. I could be possible that the lawyer really has her client's best interests at heart and wants the world to be able to share this very different aspect of Atticus Finch. It could be a new national treasure. However.......







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Comfort Food from Home

July 18, 2015, 11:00 pm
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RHYS BOWEN:  I've lived in California for a large part of my life but I suppose part of me still looks upon Britain as home. So it's not surprising that when I go back to the old country one of the things I look forward to is the comfort food of my childhood, those quintessentially British dishes that meant home for me.

During my stay in England this summer I certainly indulged in cream teas (made with real Cornish clotted cream), fish and chips (made with fish that didn't taste like cardboard),  full English breakfast (so sinful but sooooo good) and the other English breakfasts that I like: poached haddock with a poached egg on top or kippers. But I think my absolute favorite is Cornish pasties.

These are half-moon shaped pastries with meat and vegetables inside a short crust dough. They have a thick edging of rolled dough around the outside and the origin of this was that they were the meal that Cornish housewives made for their miner husbands when they were down the tin mines. These men had no chance to come to the surface or wash their hands so they would hold the pasty by its rim and then discard that part when they had finished the good stuff.  Today you can find pasties with curried chicken, cheese and onion and all kinds of fancy fillings but I still like the traditional steak ones best.

Here is the recipe I was given that works really well:
Cornish Pasties Recipe
 Half a pound of good quality steak, sliced wafer thin
Carrots, turnip, potatoes all sliced very thinly
1 big onion chopped finely
small amount of beef bouillon
short crust pastry.
Pre-heat oven to 425
roll out pastry dough into circles about 8 inches diameter.
 on one half place thin layer of potato, carrot, turnip, onion and then top with thin slices of meat. Sprinkle some bouillon over it. Fold dough in half to make a pasty shape.  Crimp and seal the edges.
Bake  on baking sheet at 425 about 40 minutes or until it turns golden.
(The steam of cooking vegetables keeps the meat moist)

So what is your favorite comfort food when you go home?
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The Brave New World? Keeping up with the Kids

July 19, 2015, 10:30 pm
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LUCY BURDETTE: When our kids travel these days, they never make a hotel or B and B reservation. They even skip places like HomeAway and VacationRentalByOwner. It’s all about Air B and B.  They have been ecstatic about the places they find and they gloat about the dirt cheap prices.

Okay, says I, last time we traveled to Venice CA for a big celebration, I’ll try it. I searched the listings in Venice near our daughter, wasted many hours reading reviews, and finally settled on a cute guest house in someone’s back yard. It wasn’t cheap, I assure you (but what is in California?)--so I assumed they’d be delighted to have us. Then I got this message back: 

We would love to host you.... but could tell me a bit more about yourself, and fill out the BIO on this site...and a photo please...

Really? I need a bio to pay them money? And a photo? So I posted a few chipper lines about how I write and John has a retirement website and how we’d barely be there--our user footprint would be like nothing, and we definitely go to bed early. And then I chose the most cheerful picture of us that I could find. Nope, no ax murderers in this crowd!

Phew, we were accepted.

The other new thing I’m trying is Instagram. My daughter explained that posting on Facebook is deemed pathetic these days. So I’m trying--I get the part about choosing great pictures. But why does everyone have a weird handle? And how do the hashtags work (not like Twitter!) And is this a promotional device, or a way to share photos?

How about you reds, are you stretching yourself with tools from a younger generation?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Please tell me about Instagram. I would love to learn about it. I know, everyone's mom is on Facebook, what can I say.

I cannot watch TV on my computer, so forget that. How do you even do that?   But we have Roku and Acorn and Amazon TV, and those are great. Does that count?  (I still cannot turn the TV on, I leave that to Jonathan.)

And sorry,  my family is all about Airbnb, too. I say, and it's just me, I know:  yuck.   And Lucy, that story is only part of why. Not a chance.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I'm glad to know I'm not alone on the Instagram thing. Lucy, you are going to explain it to us, right? My daughter only does Facebook, no Twitter or Instagram, so I figure maybe I am not THAT out of it. And I'm with you on the Air B&B, too. I understand people wanting to know about you before they have you in their home--but I don't really want to stay in someone's else's home! Maybe I would try it for a night or two, but I wouldn't book a three week stay in London and not have any idea what I was getting into.

I do sometime watch TV on my computer. And we have had Roku for ages and watch almost everything streaming. Rick things I'm completely dorky because I still like to watch some things in real time, even though I'm recording them....

RHYS BOWEN: My son and daughter in law just returned from an air B and B stay in the village of Kais Kais in Portugal. Loved it and particularly loved being able to shop for their own fresh produce. I don't think it would be for me. I'd be uneasy about being in someone else's home. And I like Marriott style beds these days. We rented an apartment on Corfu and the beds were not good. Lots of grumpy mornings.

Instagram--I can barely manage Facebook and Twitter. And I don't see the point of pictures. I love the interaction with my fans on Facebook. I just passed the 11,000 mark and did a survey to show LIKES from every state except North Dakota and many countries around the world. So please don't ask me to learn Instagram now. But I do watch PBS and ESPN on my computer and we do have a smart TV. So not totally old fogies.  However today I got one of those calls from India purporting to be Microsoft with a message about my computer. I've tried everything with them. This time I said, "I'm sorry, honey. I'm just a little old lady and I don't know nothing about them computer things....  " Very satisfying.

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: I'm a different generation, but I still wouldn't do airbnb. I just wouldn't feel safe, especially if traveling alone. WHO ELSE HAS KEYS? I feel like it's a murder mystery just waiting to happen.

I agree Facebook is fading a bit, but I still love interacting with readers. Oh, and I refuse to learn to use Instagram — no more social media. No. More. Social. Media. (I take world's worst pictures anyway....) 

Twitter, though, has been growing on me. If you're on Twitter, you MUST follow fictional character, the Duchess Goldblatt. Here's her bio: "FEASTING ON THE CARCASSES OF MY ENEMIES: A LOVE STORY (Random House, '16). Inspirational author, AN AXE TO GRIND. Goldbatt Prize sponsor. Trophy ex-wife." 




Seriously. You'll thank me. Her Grace (and yes, you must address her properly) is often my reason for switching on the computer in the morning.


Red readers, how do you manage the newfangled technology? Can anyone help us with Instagram?? 

If you're on Instagram, tell us how to find you! You can follow Lucy here.
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When a Walk-on Character Refuses to Walk Off from Guest Sherry Harris #giveaway

July 20, 2015, 10:30 pm
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We love it on this blog when our writer friends succeed! And so the Reds are delighted to bring back Sherry Harris, with the second in her delightful tag sale mystery series. She's got a problem that many of us can relate to...

SHERRY HARRIS: Seth Anderson, I’m looking at you. How you ended up being a secondary character with a name and reoccurring roll in my Sarah Winston Garage Sale series, I’ll never know. Well, I guess I sort of know since I wrote you, but I didn’t intend for you to be more than a nameless, one-night stand, a mistake Sarah made and regrets.

When I started writing Tagged for Death, the first in my mystery series, Sarah was recently divorced from her husband, CJ Hooker, who cheated on her. One night home alone and restless, Sarah goes to a bar, meets a guy, and...you get the picture. That was supposed to be the end of him. But somehow the nameless guy decided to text Sarah and call her, which meant he needed a name. I kept writing and found out Seth was the DA of the county where Sarah lives and where her ex is the chief of police of the small town they live in, which means CJ works with Seth when a major crime occurs. And since I write mysteries of course a major crime occurs.
I kept trying to ignore Seth, but it turns out he’s hard to ignore. A magazine has named him “Massachusetts's Most Eligible Bachelor” two years in a row. He grew up in swanky Beacon Hill and his family has a compound on Nantucket. After Sarah finds this out and realizes he’s often in the society pages and usually dates Victoria’s Secret models, she’s determined to ignore him. She wonders how he could ever be interested in her when he usually dates models.

The ignoring is going along swimmingly. Sarah’s busy running around trying to figure out who framed CJ for a murder. (He might be a schmuck, but she knows he didn’t kill anyone and may even be protecting her.) One day as she leaves the police station, after meeting with CJ who’s being held there, she runs into Seth on the steps. I hadn’t planned for him to be there, but of course it made sense that he was. Seth will be the one to prosecute CJ, and he has no idea Sarah has any connection to CJ since she now uses her maiden name. She’s happy to no longer be a Hooker. He pulls her aside and asks her to please answer the next time he calls her. Sarah, much to my surprise and hers, says she will. 

By the time Tagged for Death came out I’d already turned in The Longest Yard Sale. Readers started asking me if Seth was in book two. The answer is yes. Whether I wanted him to or not, he has a mind of his own, and his mind is on Sarah and he keeps insisting on appearing in my books. Now that The Longest Yard Sale is out, readers are picking sides and have written to tell me they’re on Team CJ or Team Seth. Even my 88-year-old mother called saying she’d just finished The Longest Yard Sale and wasn’t sure who Sarah should end up with, but she was leaning toward CJ. Does Sarah make a choice? Well, let’s just say that book three, All Murders Final, has already been turned in. CJ is around and Seth Anderson still hasn’t walked off the pages either.

Readers: Do you have a secondary character you love in a series and would hate to see leave?

Writers: Do you have a character that unintentionally sprang to life? 


Sherry Harris started bargain hunting in second grade at her best friend’s yard sale. She honed her bartering skills as she moved around the country while her husband served in the Air Force. Sherry combines her love of garage sales, her life as a military spouse, and her years living in Massachusetts as inspiration for the Sarah Winston Garage Sale series. Read more at her website or on the Wicked Cozy blog.

Sherry will be giving away two books, so leave your email with your comment to be entered in today's drawing...








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What's in a name? Patricia Skalka's Dave Cubiak #giveaway

July 22, 2015, 2:00 am
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HALLIE EPHRON: Today I'm happy to welcome Patricia Skalka. I had the pleasure of getting an early look at her new book, DEATH AT GILLIS ROCK (the second Dave Cubiak mystery). It's a terrific police procedural with a moody broody detective and a haunting Green Bay Wisconsin setting. Fans of William Kent Krueger, C. J. Box and Nevada Barr: take note!

BOOK GIVEAWAY: Patricia will be giving away a copy of DEATH AT FILLS ROCK and DEATH STALKS DOOR COUNTRY to a lucky commenter.

She raises a great question about character names. What names stick with us?

PATRICIA SKALKA: One of my all-time favorite detectives is Arkady Renko, the brooding and conflicted hero I first met in Martin Cruz Smith's memorable Gorky Park. I like Arkady both as a man and as a protagonist. But I also like his name. It's short and snappy, easy to remember and eminently more pronounceable than most Russian monikers. If I could ask Smith one question, it would be: How'd you come up with the name?
That's a question I'm often asked about Dave Cubiak, the protagonist for my Door County Mystery series. The Door County Peninsula juts out between the cold waters of Green Bay and those of mighty Lake Michigan. It's a real place in northern Wisconsin, a mecca for artists and tourists and with all that shoreline, all those rich forests, all the blue sky and the stunning sunsets — a perfect locale for murder.
Thus, Death Stalks Door County, the first book, and now the newly released Death at Gills Rock... but Door County did more than give rise to the mysteries, it also inspired my hero's name. I wanted something short and snappy and easy to remember. I wanted an ethnic name, and although an authentic Polish spelling would be Kubiak, I allowed for a bit of poetic license. I also wanted a protagonist whose name would lend a bit of alliterative flair to the series title — the Dave Cubiak Door County Mysteries.

Readers seem drawn to Dave. Despite being badly bruised by life, he has a good heart. Men say they like him because he's a regular guy. Women fuss and worry about him. Is Dave okay? Is he getting better?


Since I turned from writing nonfiction to fiction, I've spent a lot of time thinking about character names. I scour news articles, play bills and concert programs for names that are unusual and appealing. I listen to other writers talk about their quests for names: how they do it, what appeals to them, what appeals to their readers. I also find myself thinking of characters that have resonated with me through time. Detectives like Arkady Renko, Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, Jane Marple, Lord Peter Wimsey, Nero Wolfe and, of course, the indomitable Nancy Drew who started it all for me.


Each protagonist began simply as a name in a mystery but quickly evolved into someone unforgettable. These are a few of the names — the people — on my list, and I wonder: Who's on     yours?


HALLIE: One fortunate thing about writing standalones is that if I go astray with a character name, I'm only saddled with it for one book. It's a huge responsibility naming a series sleuth and it's cool that Dave Cubiak echoes Door County. It's also unique, and it's got a "k" sound in it which I think is always a plus, I'm not sure why.

Names I like. Stephanie Plum is one that's stood the test. Evanovich says she picked the name because she wanted a nice juicy name...  or words to that effect. Not because "Plum" is a character in CLUE. V. I. Warshawski. Like Cubiak it speaks to Polish working class. I named a character Mina Staunton, and she promptly outgrew that name and become Mina Yetner. Needed some ethnicity.

I'm still stunned by how many of my friends have named characters Hallie or Hayley... nods to Lucy Burdette and former Red Jan Brogan. Me and Hayley Mills used to be only Hallies/Hayleys I'd ever heard of. 

What are the character names that have resonated with you? (Remember to qualify for the book giveaway you need to comment.)

ABOUT THE Dave Cubiak Door County series: Mysteries pit a former troubled Chicago cop against a roster of clever killers on the Door County Peninsula in the heart of the Midwest. Set against a backdrop of stunning natural beauty, the series kicks off with Death Stalks Door County and continues with Death at Gills Rock. 
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Books We Wish We Hadn't Read

July 22, 2015, 10:30 pm
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LUCY BURDETTE: I spent a few hours volunteering at the annual book sale to benefit the Scranton Library in my Connecticut town last week. As I worked straightening the assigned rows, I saw many books I'd read. I know some people like to reread books, and I always save my favorites, thinking I'll want to read them again sometime. Truth is, I very rarely reread. There are too many new books coming out. And besides, I already know what happens!

But I can think of a few that I read with such effortless joy that I only wish I hadn't read them, so I could experience them for the first time again. Some that fall in this category are THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett, THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY by Gabrielle Zevin, I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE by Wally Lamb, SHIZUKO'S DAUGHTER by Kyoko Mori.
How about you Red readers? Are you a rereader? What books do you wish were new to you?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: On, someone this very day told me she'd never read TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD , and had just downloaded it.  ( I know, risky territory here).  I was so --almost envious! Imagine reading that for the first time!  But on the other hand, I do think *when* we read them makes a huge difference. I loathed AGE OF INNOCENCE when I was forced to read it in high school. Later I realized how brilliant it was.  I'd love to read WINDS OF WAR for the first time, and oh, BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES. And THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD! And for thriller fun, DAY OF THE JACKAL. And CHARM SCHOOL. Oh, THE STAND! (For which, in 1980, I called in sick  to work when I was't sick.)  My favorite is WINTERS TALE, but you know, I'm happy with having read it when I did. 

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I feel like a heretic when I say that TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD is not one of the books I'd choose to experience anew. I liked it, but didn't love it, and have never been tempted to reread it. And there are so many other books that left me buzzing with the joy and excitement of discovery--A WRINKLE IN TIME, Ray Bradbury's THE ILLUSTRATED MAN, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, THE SHADOW OF THE WIND by Carlos Ruis Zafon, POSSESSION by A.S. Byatt. But you know what I would REALLY love to be just discovering? The Harry Potter books. Imagine being able to read the series for the first time without having to wait in between books!
 RHYS BOWEN: I am definitely a re-reader. I have my go-to old favorites for times when my brain is too overloaded to take in new material or I am too stressed to handle a difficult tale. I have every Agatha Christie and re-read the ones I can't quite remember (and always do remember in the middle). I too loved Possession and have read it several times, savoring the brilliant poetry. When I was younger I read THE LORD OF THE RINGS  every six months. I'm afraid the movies sort of spoiled that treat for me!  And how I wish that someone had just handed it to me and said "You'll enjoy this."  But would I love it as much as I did at sixteen?

When I look at my book shelves and see so many books that have given me pleasure I sometimes wonder whether I will get around to re-reading them or should just donate them all to the Friends of the Library sale. After all it's so easy to find anything on Kindle these days.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I'll agree with Debs and say the Harry Potter series. I actually did get to read them as they first came out, before they were on the big screen, because the Smithie and The Boy were exactly the right age as the books were first being published. I read the first three books aloud at bedtime, and by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, they were reading on their own. It was wonderful to come to the story without knowing anything about it and without being influenced by the movie version.

Other books? Almost anything by Michael Chabon. John Cheever's short stories, which I read in college and loved. Pride and Prejudice - can you imagine reading it and not knowing practically every line? What a joy. Oh, and The Stand by Stephen King, for the pleasure of scaring myself to half to death like I did when I first devoured it - stuck in bed with a miserable cold!

HALLIE EPHRON: Me three on the Harry Potter series. And "Holes" by Louis Sachar, a YA novel featuring Stanley Yelnats (whose name works backwards and forwards) and the powerful stink of smelly sneakers. W. P. Kinsella's "Shoeless Joe" for those among us who love baseball and poetic prose. Carol Shields'"The Stone Diaries" celebrating a home-centered life (Carol Shields: "I didn't think there were enough novels about women who didn't make the historical record.")

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Part of the joy of having a young kid around is sharing books you love with him. So, this summer, in addition to graphic novels, Kiddo and I are reading the Llyod Alexander books, starting with THE BOOK OF THREE, but I hope going on to THE BLACK CALDRON, THE HIGH KING, and TARAN WANDERER. Does anyone else remember these books? Such fun.

But in terms of books I could read fresh -- yes, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. And POSSESSION. And THE SECRET HISTORY. Let's see, THE STAND, yes, Julia! And MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, A WINTER'S TALE, NEVERWHERE, WICKED, THE LITTLE STRANGER, and EYE OF THE NEEDLE, PRACTICAL MAGIC, I CAPTURE THE CASTLE.... Whew! So many amazing books. Oh, and everything by Laurie Colwin.... But rereading in most cases is really almost as good.

LUCY: Yes, Susan, Memoirs of a Geisha belongs on my list and Laurie Colwin too. The lucky thing for me? I've only read the first Harry Potter (I know, I know!), so I have many more to go...How about you readers, which ones would you like to read from scratch?

FChurch, you are the winner of Jefferson Bass's The Breaking Point? Please email Debs through her website to claim your prize. And the winners of Sherry Harris's books are Libby Dodd and Jadedcup Schubert. Congratulations everyone!
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What If Nancy Drew Was 22 Years Old in 1968?

July 23, 2015, 10:30 pm
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JRW welcomes a guest blog by Kay Kendall
Lots of iconic fictional characters are repurposed and plopped into historical settings unlike those they originally inhabited in novels and plays. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, for example, became dancing and singing New York City teenagers in Westside Story.  Sherlock Holmes again inhabits London to catch evil doers, but his cityscape now includes the Millennium Wheel.

An icon of my early years was Nancy Drew. She was nosy as could be, always jumping into her roadster and whirling off to uncover clues. When I was eight, I’d no idea that the original series was set in the 1930s. If I’d realized that, I might have understood why no one in my small hometown in Kansas ever drove “roadsters” anymore. If you consider that Nancy’s first adventures took place even before World War Two, then you realize how daring she was for her times.

Many boomers like me grew up on Nancy Drew mysteries. As the years have passed, I’ve realized how much her ethos has stayed with me. When I transitioned into my second career of mystery author—I call myself a reformed PR executive—it seemed only natural to write about a female amateur sleuth. You may not recognize my protagonist Austin Starr as being related to Nancy Drew, but within Austin the spirit of Nancy carries on.

Once I knew the main character, I had to decide what decade she would live in. Since my favorite mysteries are historical, I began to write what I love. I started working on my debut mystery Desolation Row a year before Mad Men made the sixties unexpectedly hot, after being very, very cold indeed for a long time. But that time period fascinates me. After all, I grew up with the Cold War and Vietnam as my backdrops. There was no shortage of drama and violence. I wanted to make that era come alive again, but to treat it like history. And even though I can remember that decade, that doesn’t make it any less historical.


 In her first outing, Desolation Row, Austin Starr must prove her new husband did not kill the son of a United States senator. She is in a foreign land, having moved to Canada in 1968 with her draft-resisting husband. Scared and alone, she has to conquer her fears. But she does plow on, and in her second escapade, Rainy Day Women, she discovers she has a real yen for solving murder cases.


Besides the fun of including hippies, beads, macramé purses and Bob Dylan tunes, the virtue of the sixties time period is that crime solving did not involve CSI techniques. As a writer I am more interested in character and motivation than in fingerprints and DNA. Austin’s extreme inquisitiveness leads to anomalies that she can figure out through logic and a fine understanding of human nature. That world she inhabits is familiar but at the same time quite gone. Austin is forever searching for a payphone and if she misses a call at home, she doesn’t even know she has missed it. In the late 1960s, answering machines existed but were hardly ubiquitous.

I like delving into that world. And staying there for a long time. I like showing how issues that reared their heads then are still current today. My first mystery takes place during an unpopular war, and Austin develops a viewpoint that is anti-war but pro-soldier. My new book introduces Austin to the women’s liberation movement. Slowly but surely, she learns about what has become known as second-wave feminism. This is a subject I’ve longed to write about for years. Sadly, I just never realized the goal of female equality would remain as relevant as it still is today.

Kay Kendall is a long-time fan of historical novels and now writes atmospheric mysteries that capture the spirit and turbulence of the 60s. A reformed PR executive who won international awards for her projects, Kay lives in Texas with her Canadian husband, three house rabbits, and spaniel Wills. Terribly allergic to her bunnies, she loves them anyway! Her book titles show she's a Bob Dylan buff too. New York Times bestselling author Miranda James says, “Austin Starr is back, and that’s great news for mystery fans. Suspenseful and entertaining, this is a worthy follow-up to Kendall’s excellent debut, Desolation Row.”

Find Kay here:

https://www.facebook.com/KayKendallAuthor
http://thestilettogang.blogspot.com/
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Key Lime Parfaits #recipe @LucyBurdette

July 24, 2015, 10:30 pm
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LUCY BURDETTE: People look at me with suspicion if I show up somewhere with a key lime dessert (and that's with some good reason--I did off someone with a key lime pie in AN APPETITE FOR MURDER). But there's no reason you shouldn't have this delicious recipe, perfect for a summer party. They will never suspect a thing...

Beep! Beep! Beep! There's a calorie alert associated with this recipe. You should not go in with the idea (as I did) that a Key Lime Parfait would be a light dessert because  of the citrus...

With that warning out of the way, here's the story behind the recipe. The fifth Key West mystery (DEATH WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS) features a New York chef who's just opened a restaurant in Key West. She wants her new menu to reflect some of the tastes and history of the island, and this key lime parfait is one of the desserts she offers. So of course I had to try making one, and this is the result.



Key limes are smaller than regular limes--and here I have to tell the truth--kind of a pain to juice. John helped me and it took all the limes in a pound bag to end up with 1/2 cup of juice. (Next time, I might try the recipe with regular limes.)




INGREDIENTS


5 whole graham crackers, crushed, to make about one cup
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup key lime juice

key lime zest
2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla 

Preheat oven to 350. Crush the graham crackers. (Easy way--place the graham crackers in a ziplock bag, seal the bag, and roll them to crumbs with a rolling pin.) 

Mix the crumbs with the melted butter and brown sugar. Spread this on a foil-covered baking sheet and bake for ten minutes or until golden. Let this cool, then break into crumbs again.

Meanwhile, whip the cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla. (I used my food processor, which was a snap.) Set half of this aside for the topping.


Mix the condensed milk with the lime juice. The citrus will cause the milk to thicken. Gently stir in one cup of whipped cream. 







 
Now comes the fun part, in which you layer the parts you've prepared. I chose wine snifters--next time I would try something taller and thinner, as these servings were BIG.

Layer in some of the baked crumbs, then some of the key lime mixture, and repeat. When you have distributed all the ingredients, top with dollops of whipped cream and sprinkle with more crumbs and some zested lime if you want a stronger flavor.

And then lean back and enjoy the compliments! 

And the winner of Patricia Skalka's books DEATH AT GILLS ROCK and DEATH STALKS DOOR COUNTY is Margaret Turkevich. Please send your mailing address to hallie "at" hallieephron dot com. Congratulations! And come back tomorrow for another wonderful giveaway from Mary Kennedy!
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It's Only a Dream @MaryKennedybook #giveaway

July 25, 2015, 10:30 pm
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LUCY BURDETTE: I'm so pleased to introduce my friend Mary Kennedy, who's a practicing psychologist, a mystery writer, and a cat nut (8 cats in her home, count 'em, 8!) (HOW in the world does she manage all that?) I know you'll enjoy this essay about dreams, which gives some insight into her Dream Club mystery series too...

 
MARY KENNEDY: As a psychologist, I spend much of my time listening to my clients talk about their dreams. I always find this part of the session the most fascinating. Sometimes (well, many times!) my clients surprise me. 

A client who appeared shy and reticent confided that she was a Broadway star in her dreams. “Really?” I asked. “What was that like for you?”

Flushing with pleasure she admitted that she loved being in the spotlight, that her social anxiety had vanished and she was thrilled by the applause. We chuckled together at her playing a singer in Dream Girls and we theorized about why she had this particular dream at this time in her life. As it turned out, she was facing a stressful situation. As a newly engaged young lady, her fiancé planned to take her clear across the country to meet his large, extended family. There would be dozens of relatives—plus his parents, of course—to meet her for the very first time. She’d been dreading the big family celebration and felt (quite incorrectly) that she would be judged harshly.

So we explored the idea that this particular dream had given her the chance to “rehearse” being the center of attention. The situation her mind created—starring in a Broadway show—was much bigger than anything she would encounter in real life. But our minds do that when we sleep. They shift through all the story possibilities and come up with something that is often more “over the top” than the real life situation the dreamer is facing. 

She was so dazzled by her “Broadway show dream” that she wished she would have it again. I noticed she appeared more relaxed and outgoing than usual. When I asked her if she still felt the same trepidation about meeting her finance’s family, she smiled and said, “Well, I guess there’s  always the possibility they will like me.”  The story ended happily. Her visit went amazingly well, she had no anxiety and made a hit with her in-laws. 

In any case, it’s fun to explore our dreams and what they really mean, as the characters in the Dream Club do. The members like to think that they are uncovering clues to solving murders in Savannah and they seem to have had some success. They combine intuition with solid sleuthing skills and some dream work. But do clues from their dreams really solve crimes? Is it luck, or coincidence or a combination of the two?  I leave it to the reader to decide. 

Mary Kennedy is the author of over forty novels and has made the BookScan, Barnes and Noble and Publisher’s Weekly best-seller list. She is a psychologist in private practice on the East Coast and lives with her husband and eight neurotic cats. Both husband and cats have resisted all her attempts to psychoanalyze them, but she remains optimistic. You can visit her at www.marykennedynet or the Cozy Chicks where she blogs every Saturday. 

And leave a comment and your email to be entered in a drawing for either Nightmares Can Be Murder or a honeysuckle candle.

Dream a Little Scream will be out on August 4. Nightmares Can Be Murder, the first in The Dream Club Mysteries, can be found here.
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How Many Zzzs are Enough?

July 26, 2015, 11:00 pm
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DEBORAH CROMBIE: Imagine my surprise when I opened up the Parade magazine in my Sunday paper a week ago and there on the cover was Ariana Huffington (founder of the enormously successful Huffington Post website) propped up in bed in mauve silk pajamas. And she is reading (or at least holding) a real book! So what's with that? I wondered.

She's touting SLEEP, that's what. And I am 100% in her camp. After a collapse from exhaustion in 2007, Huffington has become a sleep advocate. And, boy, do we need one. We Americans are a sleep-deprived nation. 35% of the respondents polled by Parade reported getting less than five hours of sleep! We pride ourselves on working long hours, on being able to function fueled by caffeine, and even when we do get to bed, we don't turn off. (How many of you sleep with your cell phones, with the computer on in the same room, or with the TV on? According to research, the electronic glow disrupts the body's production of melantonin, which promotes sleep.)

But the truth is that no one functions well when they are sleep deprived, and most of us need a
good bit more than we get. I know I can't write when I'm tired--my brain feels like glue. I've learned from experience that, like Ariana Huffington, I do best on a solid eight hours of sleep. I can manage on seven (hopefully with a nap,) but on six hours or less, I am useless.

What does Ariana recommend? Her routine sounds like my idea of heaven: she turns off all her devices, takes a hot, scented, candle-lit  bath, puts on her (lovely) silk pajamas, and reads from a real, non-digital book. Sigh. I sometimes do some of these things. (No silk p.j.s, alas.) But I do try to take baths, because a) it's nice, and b) I know I always sleep better when I do. (I even make my own bath salts.) I turn off my computer, and although I do sometimes read on
my tablet, I've installed a blue light filter to cut down the electronic glow.

So, fellow REDS, do you know your sleep I.Q.? And what are your tricks for getting enough shut-eye?

LUCY BURDETTE: I wish I could function on 5 hours, but it's so not true. Part of my problem comes from the fact my office nook is part of the bedroom. In fact, I've been known to spend the day writing in bed. Which is terrible sleep hygiene, not to mention murder on my tendinitis. Still searching for the magic sleep bullet...

I wondered what effect electronic reading would have on sleep. Have you noticed a difference with the blue light filter Debs?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: No problem getting to sleep--I am so lucky about it, I can sleep anywhere. Plane, chair, anywhere. Of course, that probably means I am tired all the time, but we'll just skip that. I stay up too late, go to sleep about midnight usually and get up at 7. I read a book-book in bed, usually manage about three pages.  I mean--that's fine, right?  But no computer in the room, not even my phone, no TV on.  I'd adore to be able to manage on five hours--think of all I could get done! (And that's why I love to fly west-I get three whole extra hours of time, which is so fabulous!)  But if I have fewer than 6 hours of sleep I can really feel it. And I can see it in my face, too, when I am too tired. Can't you tell the difference, just by looking at yourself?

DEBS: Lucy, I haven't read anything on my tablet with the blue light filter, so I will keep you posted on that. Rick swears by it. He has it on his iPad, his computer, and even  his phone. It's cool because you can see it change right at sunset.

Hank, I think that is one of the worst things about getting older--it shows (eee gad) when you're tired. I stayed up too late reading last night (the downfall of all good sleep intentions...) and I just looked at myself in the mirror a few minutes ago and thought, "Are those caves under my eyes? And why is my face sagging???)

RHYS BOWEN: I need my sleep and I often battle sleep problems when I'm writing. I can fall asleep easily enough but when I wake at two in the morning I cant stop thinking. Wait, she would never have said that when the police questioned her.... and then my brain is racing and I am doomed to stare at the ceiling for hours. I do sometimes read a real book, but if there is something I really want to see on TV, I stay up past my sleep window and then I can't sleep.  I bought a fitness tracker that monitors sleep and was interested to see that on good nights I sleep for four hours without stirring, wake then sleep four more. On bad nights doze wake doze wake.

I don't work in the bedroom. I keep my iPad beside the bed but I don't look at it before going to sleep. Any tips on what to do if you wake in the middle of the night?

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Rhys, my doctor said if I couldn't get back to sleep within twenty to thirty minutes, to get out of bed, leave the room, and do some quiet, distracting work - read, work a jigsaw puzzle, knit. Something that absorbs your attention, but doesn't make you think too much.

When I hit menopause, I started to have a terrible time staying asleep. I improved my sleep hygine: no electronic devices in the my bedroom, no reading books in bed (that's a killer for me because I WILL NOT put a book down when I'm into it) same routine every night. I'm still bad about hitting a regular bedtime, which I really need to do, because, like Debs, I'm useless for writing without eight good hours of sleep.

I have to tell you, though the magic bullet for me was Trazadone. I wasn't big on the idea of taking a pill to sleep, but my MD asked me to try it and it changed my life. It doesn't knock you out, but it enables you to stay asleep throughout the night and slip back into sleep if you rouse because you're too hot or too cold or the G.D. cat takes a stroll over your chest. I swear by it. Oh, and my beloved black velvet sleep mask, of course!

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: I love sleep — and it's not illegal, immoral, or fattening! Naps — bliss! I think there's something about novel writing that really uses a ton of brain energy. I had dinner with Karin Slaughter this past May, and it turns out she's an unrepentant sleeper — ten full hours at night and a good two-hour nap in the afternoon. Hearing her say that made me feel so much better about needing so much sleep myself.

DEBS: Wow! Ten hours AND a two-hour nap in the afternoon? That's amazing, Susan. (But when does she read???) And Julia, I applaud your self discipline with the "no books in bed" rule. I've read last thing at night since I was a child, and it's the one thing I always do, even if it's only a few pages. It's my fixed point of comfort, and the anticipation of it has seen me through many less than
wonderful days.

(I just added the guy here because he was cute. My excuse is that Ariana recommends real alarm clocks...)

Readers, what about you? Do you know how much sleep you need? And what do you do to get it?
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Mark Haskell Smith--Naked at Lunch

July 27, 2015, 11:00 pm
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DEBORAH CROMBIE: I had the pleasure of meeting novelist and journalist Mark Haskell Smith when he signed his book, NAKED AT LUNCH, here in Dallas a few weeks ago. I know Mark's wife,  Diana, from visiting California, and when I heard they were both going to be here I jumped at the chance to see them--especially when I learned the subject of Mark's new non-fiction book. Who could resist the title alone, much less the subject matter! I should give you the whole thing--NAKED AT LUNCH: A Reluctant Nudist's Adventures in a Clothing Optional World. Isn't that fabulous? And Mark was funny and charming, and the book is, as Meghan Daum says on the cover, "...a total joy," and absolutely fascinating.

Here's Mark to give you the skinny (sorry, couldn't resist):



DEBS: What got you interested in writing about nudists in the first place?

MARK HASKELL SMITH:  I came to nonfiction by accident with Heart of Dankness(my book about the world’s best marijuana) and found that I really enjoyed getting out of the
house, traveling around and talking to interesting people.  I like the dive into another world where I have admittedly limited expertise.  I’m curious.  Can’t help it.  So I was bit by the nonfiction bug.

I wanted to follow up the cannabis book with a book about food that’s going extinct around the world.  Plants and cheese and meat and wine that will be gone forever in a few years, but I couldn’t get any publisher interested.  My novels are all published by Grove/Atlantic and so my editor called and asked, “any ideas that aren’t about food?”  I had a three hundred word sketch of an idea for the book about nudity.  I thought it might be interesting and nudists have similar legal dilemmas as cannabis growers so…  I sent it.  The next morning my agent calls and says, “I have an offer for something and I don’t know what it is.You’re going to what?!?”

Apparently at the editorial meeting people just laughed and laughed at the idea of sending me around the world to take off my clothes.  This is why I love Grove so much. They’re sadistic.
 
DEBS: Once you were committed to doing the research and writing the book, how hard was is for you to take the first plunge into the "sans textile" world? And where did you do it?

MARK:  The first place I went was the Desert Sun Resort in Palm Springs.  And, I’ve got to say, my initial reaction was ridiculous.  Excruciating.  All my worst anxieties and fears were coming out.  But eventually I walked out -- a book contract can give you courage -- and pretty quickly realized all my fears
were in my head.  The nudists didn’t blink.

DEBS: Are there certain social rules or conventions among nudists? (Like, NO STARING!)

MARK:  The etiquette is pretty straight forward.  Sit on a towel.  No staring or leering.  No sexual innuendo or any kind of behavior that could make someone feel uncomfortable.  No photography.  And, if you get an erection, cover it with a towel.  My favorite was a resort that had one rule:  Any behavior requiring an apology is not allowed.

DEBS: What starts most people down the nudist path?

MARK:  Skinnydipping.  Without a doubt swimming naked is the number one reason people get turned on to nudity.  And why wouldn’t they?  It feels great to swim nude. 

DEBS: If being naked is no longer considered sexy, what do nudists do to GET sexy?

MARK:  Open a bottle of wine, light a few candles, and put on some Barry White like everybody else.

DEBS: What did your lovely wife think about your undertaking?

MARK:  I like that the Los Angeles Times called my wife the “unsung hero” of the book. She was never opposed to my going off and doing the research, it just wasn’t her thing.  But when we finally went on the fancy cruise ship with 2000 nudists, she was curious (we’d never been on a cruise of any kind before), and, ultimately, when we were swimming in a pristine bay in the Bahamas, she finally understood some of the pleasures of nudism.  (it’s the skinnydipping!  Gets them every time.) 

I just did a signing at a big naturist gathering at a nude resort outside San Diego and she came along and didn’t bat an eye.  She just wrapped a sarong around her waist and took some photos like it was no big deal. (DEBS: Here's a great piece about Diana that Mark wrote for Salon.com.)

DEBS: What was the most fun thing you did?

MARK:  The hiking in the Austrian Alps.  I was with some really nice people, people from all over Europe, and the scenery was unbelievable.  I kept expecting Julie Andrews to come skipping over a hill.  And, like swimming, walking through nature naked is surprisingly delightful. 

DEBS: Did your experience change you in a fundamental way? And would you do it again?

MARK:  It really opened my eyes to a lot of issues.  Our society’s fundamental immaturity when dealing with issues about sex and nakedness; our lack of tolerance for people who are engaged in activities that we don’t understand but don’t hurt anyone; and the kind of bizarre double-standard we have about seeing naked people. And by that I mean, so many times I heard “well, if they’re hot, I don’t have a problem with it.”   That kind of comment really underscores one of the main benefits of nudism.  Mostly when we see naked people they’re in a movie or an advertisement and so we get a very skewed perspective of what a normal person looks like when they’re naked.  I think for a lot of people, going to a nudist resort or a nude beach is an eye opener because they suddenly realize that humans come in all shapes and sizes and that while they may not look like Angelina Jolie, they don’t look imperfect or ugly or unattractive or any thing that the cosmetic/fashion/diet industrial complex might have told them they were.  The body acceptance that happens for a lot of people who try nudism is revolutionary and liberating.  People get their self-esteem and self confidence back.  They realize that they don’t need to look a certain way to feel happy.  It’s really profound for a lot of people.

Would I do it again?  I don’t think I’d go to any of the resorts again. I’m not really a hang out by the pool kind of guy. A week shopping for groceries in the nude was enough for me, even if it was in the South of France. But I would definitely skinny-dip with my wife again.  In fact I’m looking forward to that.

DEBS: REDS and readers, Mark will be dropping in to answer questions, so fire away. This is so interesting, and something I'd never really considered. It really got me thinking about body acceptance and how we (women especially) are such slaves to the unrealistic way we're portrayed in the media. What would it be like to just...leave all that behind? 

What about you?  Would you consider a "clothes optional" adventure?
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Summer Splash

July 28, 2015, 11:00 pm
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DEBORAH CROMBIE: Can I just say that it's hot? I mean, really hot. Maybe not New Orleans hot, but sticky, icky, suffocatingly hot. Not that this should come as a surprise, because it is the end of July and it is Texas and it's not like this is something that hasn't happened before. (Like every summer.) But we had a cool, wet spring and early summer, and we got spoiled. Then suddenly we've hit 100
degrees, which feels like a 104 with the humidity, and people will kill for something cold to drink or a shady spot in a parking lot. 

So I started daydreaming about the green pool. Some of you may remember a couple of years ago I posted about my green inflatable swimming pool-The Notorious Green Pool! The Pool had lots of fans on Facebook and people would inquire about it regularly. Here is a photo taken when it was new and pristine. (Actually, there was more than one green pool over a couple of summers, because they tend to leak, but it wore its incarnations gracefully.) It stayed amazingly cold, and I would plop in its icy water at the very hottest part of the afternoon, or before bed, when I could float and look up at the stars through the leaves. It was gloriously refreshing and sometimes I'd even have to take a hot bath to warm up.

Alas, I had to give up on the green pool. Perhaps I should explain why we don't have a in-the-ground swimming pool. Our backyard is beneath an enormous canopy of elm and pecan trees that are probably a hundred years old. Heritage trees. And they shed. Constantly. Winter, spring, summer, and fall. The maintenance on a pool would be murder.

Unfortunately, the same turned out to be true of the green inflatable pool. There was no cover for it, and I spent half my day every day cleaning the thing with a pool skimmer. My back protested, and when the last incarnation got a slow leak, I gave up.

Fast forward to this summer. My back is again giving me fits, even without skimming the green pool. When I asked my doctor if he had any suggestions he said, "Get a hot tub. Seriously." But you don't just go out and buy an expensive hot tub--and pour a concrete pad for it--on the spur of the moment. So I said I would think about it. Later.

Then I came across this: the Bestway Laz-y-Spa Miami Inflatable Hot Tub. On Amazon. With Prime shipping. Supposedly, it holds four people. (Small, very cozy people, I suspect, but I don't care as long as it holds me.) It has a cover. It's got bunches of 4 and 5 star reviews, and lots of great review videos. And it's $257.00, including shipping. So we ordered it, and it arrives tomorrow. A few reviewers have complained that
it only heats up to 104 degrees, but right now I'm happy with the water temp straight out of the hose. I can get wet, and it bubbles.

When I told my doctor, he said, "Have a glass of wine in the spa every day. Seriously." I said I had actually thought of that. I even ordered a cup holder for it.

I will let you know if it's as terrific as everyone says, but it has to beat spraying myself down with a mister bottle to prevent heat exhaustion...

So, REDS, and readers, what are you doing to stay cool at the height of summer?


And cheers... 

 
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James Hayman--Murder We Wrote

July 29, 2015, 11:00 pm
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DEBORAH CROMBIE:  Is there something in the water in Maine that breeds terrific mystery writers? Although today's guest James Hayman is a transplant (as is our JRW Julia Spencer-Fleming,) he now lives in Maine and sets his USA Today bestselling Mike McCabe and Maggie Savage books in Portland. And he has some very intriguing thoughts on murder...



JAMES HAYMAN:  Murder We Wrote


When asked what she did for a living, another crime writer, I believe Chelsea Cain, responded “I kill people for money.” Well, so do I.  And so does everyone else who writes mysteries and thrillers for a living.  The vast majority of our books almost by definition involve one or more villains offing one or more victims.

In real life murder tends to be a fairly prosaic if unpleasant affair.  Husbands killing wives. Gangbangers killing rivals. Or, saddest of all, gun nuts walking into movie theatres or elementary schools and blasting away at strangers. Most of it horrifying. None of it particularly entertaining.

It is our peculiar and often challenging task as writers to make murder interesting, involving, entertaining and yes, sometimes, horrifying, but in a way that involves the readers’ imaginations far more than the bloody chaos that goes on in the homes and streets of America.

 There are many ways we go about this.

The writer can go for the cringe-worthy approach.  Hannibal the Cannibal eating his victims’ faces being a prime example

But there are other ways of making murder engaging.  One is the use of strange weapons.  A fellow writer and friend of mine named Joe Brady once considered committing murder in one of his books by having the victim be bitten by the poisonous pufferfish. The pufferfish, one of the few fish that can be considered cute to look at, emits a poison for which there is no antidote that kills by paralyzing the diaphragm, causing nearly instant suffocation.

The pufferfish not withstanding, I think my all-time favorite in the weird weapon category can be found in Roald Dahl’s classic short story Lamb to the Slaughter.  The heroine (villain?) of the piece is dear, sweet Mary Maloney who, when told by her policeman husband that he is planning to divorce her, becomes so upset that she whacks him over the head with the frozen leg of lamb she was planning to cook for dinner. When she realizes that her husband is indeed dead Mary, in a moment of inspiration, puts the murder weapon in the oven and roasts it.  Since the dead husband was a veteran cop, Mary knows all the detectives who come to the house to investigate the killing.  After these worthy fellows spend a fair amount of time searching the house for the likely murder weapon (could it be a sledgehammer?  A spanner? A heavy vase?), Mary convinces them to stay for dinner. Naturally, the main course is roast leg of lamb.

An interesting variation on Dahl’s technique of having the cops eat the murder weapon is Fannie Flagg’s idea of having them eat the victim.  This seemingly ghoulish denouement occurs in Ms. Flagg’s Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café where the heroine (the owner of the café, which is well known for its delicious barbecue) offs a bad guy by hitting him over the head, not with a leg of lamb, but with a frying pan. She then tosses the body into the café’s barbecue oven.  When the bad guy is thoroughly smoked, sauced and cooked, she cuts him into little pieces and offers some to the local sheriff who eagerly gobbles the delicious goodies down. I’m told barbecued human tastes remarkably like barbecued pork but I have no intention of testing the proposition.

For someone like me, who suffers from claustrophobia, one of the scariest way of dying has to be being buried alive.  This frightening fate is beautifully presented in Michael Kimball’s novel Undone.  The storycenters around an unscrupulous wife who somehow convinces her husband to agree to climb into a coffin and be buried as part of an insurance scam.  Of course, she promises to dig him up later and share the proceeds.  Of course, she doesn’t.  In the meantime, readers get to spend agonizing hours inside the coffin under six feet of soil suffering along with the poor schmuck of a husband. If you’re wondering why he ever agreed to such a thing, I won’t offer spoilers. You’ll just have to read the book.

The plot of my own first McCabe/Savage thriller, The Cutting, also centers around a particularly unpleasant way to die. The Cutting features a villain who runs a lucrative business selling illegal heart transplants to billionaire octogenarians suffering from advanced coronary disease. These are folks who can’t qualify for legitimate transplant programs because of their age but who do have the funds to seek alternate solutions.  Our bad guy charges each of the billionaires a flat fee of five million dollars for a healthy young heart. But where, you might ask, do the hearts come from?   In keeping with the spirit of the times, all are locally sourced, being cut from the bodies of attractive young women who are first kidnapped and then held captive until their hearts are needed.  When the time is right our villain wields his scalpel and…well you can imagine the rest.

What makes the murder compelling in my latest McCabe/Savage thriller, The Girl in the Glass, is neither the choice of weapon nor the brutality of the crime.  Rather it is the fact that the two young women who are killed are physically identical members of the same family who are murdered in precisely the same way one hundred and eight years apart.  The puzzle for my two detectives, Maggie Savage and Michael McCabe, is why the killer went to such lengths to carry out a near perfect imitation of a murder that happened more than a century earlier. And, of course, to figure out who the hell is he.

DEBS: Here's more about TheGirl in the Glass(and isn't that a GREAT cover? So Maine...) which will be published by Harper Collins ebook first imprint Witness Impulse on August 25th but can be pre-ordered at Amazon, BN.com et al now.

In June, 1904 the beautiful Aimée Marie Garnier Whitby is violently slain with no witnesses to the crime and no leads. The case is left untouched for decades until June 2012, when Aimée's nearly identical granddaughter falls victim to a copycat murder. Now it's up to the dexterous investigative duo of Mike McCabe and Maggie Savage to bring the killer swiftly to justice - but the key to unearthing the truth about young Veronica Whitby's death may have been buried with her ancestor all those years ago. An atmospheric and spine-tingling thriller from one of today's most exciting voices in crime fiction, THE GIRL IN THE GLASS is a crackling, twisty novel of suspense perfect for any lover of thrills, chills, and tales that keep you up at night.
 
I am so intrigued by the premise of this novel. And James, I hadn't thought about the Roald Dahl story in years! I loved it, and my daughter loved it. (Are we slightly warped, I wonder? And is it any wonder she grew up to love mysteries?) 

REDS and readers, what's your favorite twisty and complicated method of murder? Tell us in the comments. This is a challenge worthy of our devoted mystery readers!

James will be giving away a e-copy of The Girl in the Glass to a lucky commenter, and he will be dropping in to answer questions and respond to comments during the day.

James Hayman, formerly a creative director at one of New York's largest advertising agencies, is the author of the acclaimed Mike McCabe series: The Cutting, The Chill of Night, and Darkness First.




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Charles Todd--A Pattern of Lies

July 30, 2015, 11:30 pm
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DEBORAH CROMBIE: The only thing in the year I like as much as a new Ian Rutledge novel by Charles Todd every January is a new Bess Crawford novel by Charles Todd in August. And guess
what? It's that time! I'm so pleased to have Charles Todd (mother and son writing team Charles and Caroline Todd) here today to talk about it to chat about the new Bess Crawford, A PATTERN OF LIES.

I'm going to start with a synopsis, so that you'll have a little context for my questions about the book:


When Bess goes to the Abbey Hall where the Ashtons live, she learns very quickly that the trials the Ashtons have endured are quite real.  Someone throws eggs at Mark’s car, and just after luncheon with the family, Philip Ashton is arrested for the multiple murders of the men killed in the explosion.  And that night, someone tries to set the house on fire.  What’s more the police are adamant that Philip is not allowed visitors, and it’s later established that the inspector in Canterbury had a relative killed in the fire.  As Bess tries to understand what’s happening, she realizes that most of the village and even farther afield, people had lost loved ones—and that trying to pin down where all this new hatred of the family is coming from.  It could be anyone.

The Army had established that the explosion and fire were not sabotage, and they accepted the fact that it was a terrible accident. But they weren’t interesting in rebuilding the mill on site because it would mean clearing all the rubble first, very labor intensive. So the mill contracts were moved to Scotland where a similar mill could be expanded.  So loss of income was added to the loss of loved ones.

There was one witness to the explosion—at least only one had come forward two years before—and he is now in France.  The Canterbury police don’t feel that it’s necessary to send for him, and the lawyers for Philip Ashton seem to agree that this witness had never been questioned about anything but sabotage—and therefore no one could be sure just what he would say.

 Back in France, correspondence with the Ashtons indicates that matters are not improving, and that general feeling was running high against Philip—now that there was a focus for their grief and uncertainty, people who were once employed by him or dependent on the mill turned against him.

Bess gets in touch with Sergeant Lassiter, the Australian who has appeared in several books, and asks him to find the witness, a man in the Tank Corps by the name of Rollins.  But before he can find the man, Bess encounters him quite by accident, and when she had an opportunity to speak to him, she’s surprised that he’s adamant about refusing to return to England. He doesn’t seem to care either way about what happens to Ashton, and since he’s the best Tank man Britain has, he’s not interested in leaving France at this juncture in the war just to testify.

Not long afterward, a fellow nurse is attacked and nearly killed.  It’s put down to a drunken soldier, although he’s never found.  But this nurse had been assigned the quarters meant for Bess, who got in much later and was given another room.  Was this attack really just an accidental case of a soldier fumbling around in the dark?  Or was she the intended victim?   Someone is also attempting to kill Rollins.

So who in France wants her to stop searching for Rollins—and is just as eager for Rollins to stay in France—dead, if necessary.

I won’t spoil the rest for you.  But at one point the Ashtons fire their lawyers and Mark finds a new barrister in London, an interesting man in a wheel chair with a mysteriously competent valet who does his leg work for him. 

DEBS: I don't know Kent well, but the beginning of this book is so lyrically beautiful in its description of Canterbury and the countryside that Kent is now on my must-do list. There is also this wonderful sense of taking a breath before the coming end of the war. Of course I had to pull up Google Maps and explore the area while I was reading. (What did we do before Google Maps!)

Are the village of Cranbourne and the abbey real places?

C & C:   Actually they are.  We've changed the name of the
town--it's based on Faversham, with some changes to suit the story--and a real explosion and fire that demolished a gunpowder mill.  Because it really happened, with great loss of life, we wanted to use the story without touching on the tragedy.  We felt that would be rather ghoulish.  But we believed it would be interesting to explore the question of what happens to anyone who had gone through such a devastating event.  How does a town that had not only lost so many dead as well as their main source of income, react when a whisper campaign suggests that it wasn't sabotage by the Germans and it wasn't an act of God, but a human agency--a single person who did this awful thing out of greed.   How do you make that person pay???

DEBS: I've loved the covers of all the Bess books, but this one is just stunning. Does it look just the way you imagined?

C & C:  Yes, this is really how we imagined one scene where Bess borrows a coat from Clara and walks out to the ruins, now overgrown, and stands there for a moment looking at the lie of the land.  She's well aware of the way geography influenced this area and she wants to see it for herself, to understand it better.  And because--in our version of the story--the bodies were never recovered--this is a tomb as well.  We've been so fortunate in our jackets.  Morrow works closely with us on finding just the right one, and we've just seen the jacket for the paperback edition of the Rutledge that came out in hardcover in January.  It's quite stunning. We're really delighted with the art department there.

DEBS: The description of the explosion at the gunpowder mill was horrifying. Did that really happen in Kent?

C & C:  It happened in many places where gunpowder was being made.  It happened here on the Brandywine River in Delaware, where the Du Pont Company began as a black powder mill.  And the loss of life there was pretty steep too.  The tragedy in Kent should have been far worse.  Women didn't work in
the mill on Sunday, so there were only the male staff on duty. 106 men is the usual number given for the death toll. If it had been any other day of the week, you could add 350 or so women to the toll.  In a small village that would have been unimaginable.  And what's particularly horrifying, from the point of view of the people at the Oare Works, just outside of Faversham, is that they still don't know to this day what sparked the explosion, and whether the fire was what ignited it--or if the fire came afterward, caused by the dust.  Which from the point of a mystery writer is intriguing. 

DEBS: You must have done lots of interesting research on the manufacturing of gunpowder and how its supply affected the war. Did you learn things you hadn't known?

C & C:   The chemistry for the "new" (at that time) cordite was much more complex than the old methods of making black powder.  And what use the cordite was put to was determined by how long the "cord" of material was. Whether bullets for revolvers and rifles, shells for the Artillery or the battleships, mortars, you name it.  And the new precision of recoilless guns made it possible to drop ten or a hundred or a thousand shells on precisely the same spot, three or four a minute!  With the high explosive powder being
used in the Great War and the constant pounding,  the term shell shock was used to explain what happened to the men exposed to it.  We also learned that water was necessary for gunpowder works, and so was a particular kind of tree for the charcoal.  Each stage of the process had its own building. And so on.  Putting it all together was very interesting, and we tried to keep it simple enough in the story that people could understand what was happening without getting into the complexities that would have taken up a large part of the first few chapters.  After all, it was the aftermath that made the story, rather than how the mill worked.

DEBS: You two never cease to amaze me. Two books a year, and not only two books a year but two GREAT books a year. And on top of finishing A PATTERN OF LIES and writing the new Rutledge book that will be out in January you have been traveling whirlwinds! Tell us about some of the things you've
done.

C & C:  It's been slightly mad.  We traveled quite a bit in January and February for A FINE SUMMER'S DAY, the latest Rutledge--and all the while we were preparing this Bess for publication as well as working on the Rutledge for NEXT January, 2016. That's NO SHRED OF EVIDENCE.   That takes us once
more to 1920.  A FINE SUMMER'S DAY looked back to 1914, when the war began and Rutledge had to choose between duty and service to his country.  Then in April we were in France for two weeks researching the NEXT Rutledge, 2017.
After that came Edgar Week and Malice, where we were guests of honor, and then it was off to England to finish that research and start researching the next Bess, for 2016, already titled THE SHATTERED TREE.  Meanwhile we put together four of our previous Bess and Rutledge short stories for an e-anthology titled TALES, which has just come out in electronic format but
will be in print format as well in September for those who don't have ways to use the e-form.  We have a short story coming out in the Summer Issue of STRAND MAGAZINE--a non-series story, by the way--and we have just learned that another short story, a Rutledge, will be published in next year's Malice Anthology.  As soon as we finish writing Bess and promoting Bess, we're off to Scotland. And if you think you're confused, imagine how we
feel!  If we didn't have calendars, we wouldn't know where we were supposed to be!

DEBS: Was this Bess book special to you with this year being the Centennial? Did you do something special to honor the remembrance?

C & C : Actually, it was the Rutledge book this January, A FINE SUMMER'S DAY, that looked back to the start of the war, and was our way of commemorating it.  Bess will see the end of the war in another two books, and that will give us a chance to explore the Armistice.  Everywhere you go in England, you see the remembrance.  But here we've done very little because it wasn't until April of 1917 that the US entered the war.  The fact is, the more we've learned about the Great War and  its time, the more we
feel we did the right thing choosing it as a setting for our books.   
PS. Bess won't stop with the end of the war!  There's still a lot of her story to tell, and you'll be surprised at what lies ahead for her.

DEBS: What's in store for you, for Bess, and for Rutledge?

C & C: We never know what lies around the corner!  We've up for a Macavity at Bouchercon, and so we'll be in Raleigh for that. By that time we'll have started the next Rutledge.  It sounds as though we have no other life, but actually we do.  We manage to cram in a lot of fun here and there.  But you always work a year ahead, so by the time we put 1916 to bed, we will start on 1917. 

DEBS: Thank you, Caroline and Charles!!  Congrats on the Macavity! I see I have questions I forgot to ask, but will save them for our ongoing discussion in the comments. 

And I am so intrigued by the new lawyer with the handy valet... Can't wait to read more of this book!
The Todds are giving a copy of A PATTERN OF LIES to one of today's very lucky commenters, and they will be checking in to answer questions and comments, so get your name in the hat!
REDS ALERT! Kathy Reel is the winner of Mary Kennedy's Dream Club mystery. And Pat D gets a copy of James Hayman's THE GIRL IN THE GLASS! You know the drill--email me at deborahcrombie.com with your addresses (Pat, I only need your email) and books will wing their way to you!

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