Mystery Melange

One of the oldest and most celebrated of independent mystery bookstores is closing its doors at the end of the month. The Mystery Bookstore in Los Angeles has not only served the reading public and helped launch a few author's careers, it's been mentioned in several crime fiction novels by Michael Connelly, Robert Crais and more, with store employees even used as characters in books by Crais, Lee Goldberg and Duane Swierczynski. Owners Kirk Pasich and Pamela Woods said that "We simply cannot compete with the Amazons of the world and the impact of the economy." 'Tis a sad day, indeed. The small silver lining is that the store will continue in a more limited form, with recommendations, collectibles, and eBooks, on their web site and Facebook page.

Sisters in Crime just released the results of a commissioned mystery book buyer study. The organization's blog states that the report, titled The Mystery Book Consumer in the Digital Age, is "the first of its kind to provide an overview of the mystery/crime fiction book-buying landscape, with information on who buys mystery books, where they buy them, what they buy and why they make their mystery book purchases." Among the findings: the number one factor that determined how mystery readers became aware of books was found to be knowing/liking an author – making author "branding" even more important than conventional wisdom suggests.

Interested in learning more about mystery writing? Plan on being in the UK in April?  Then you can sign up for an intensive three-day workshop with expert tuition from RJ Ellory and Val McDermid. In addition to learning about writing, research and editing, there will be chance to discuss your individual projects in the course.

The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association used to include a compilation of the bestsellers among its member stores each month, but after several months' hiatus, they've returned with a new format. They'll now feature a different member bookstore each month, starting with the Seattle Mystery Bookstore in December and Mystery on Main in January. The idea is that the new listing will highlight the "quirky diversity of our membership, as well as displaying what mystery fans around the country are reading."

Timing is everything, probably why a brand new website has been created to take advantage of the boom in Scandinavian Crime Fiction as "your literary portal into northern deviance." There are currently 15 authors, and one would assume more to come. I found this tip, by the way, from the excellent Scandinavian Crime Fiction blog and companion web site created and operated by Barbara Fister. 

Steve Lewis's Mystery File blog is adding Tise Vahimagi to provide "an occasional series of observations on popular cycles and phases in the history of the TV Crime & Mystery genre." Vahimagi is currently the TV Database Editor for the British Film Institute.

Want to have an easy path to writing a crime novel and getting it optioned for TV? Work as a TV producer first. Following on Anthony Zuiker's (CSI) seven-figure deal with Dutton to create a series of three suspense-thriller "digital novels," Neal Baer (SVU) is making his novel writing debut with a series of three medical thriller books set in the world of forensic psychiatry.