Mystery Melange

The winner of this year's Crime Cologne Award for a German-language mystery is Die Spiele by Stephan Schmidt. The honor has been presented as part of the Crime Cologne conference since 2015 and is intended to honor a work from the previous year that is linguistically, thematically, and psychologically convincing - and at the same time offers exciting entertainment at an outstanding level. A four-member jury, consisting of Mike Altwicker, Judith Merchant, Birgitt Schippers, and Margarete von Schwarzkopf, selected the novels. The winner receives 3,000 euros (approximately $3,300 USD).

Elly Griffiths, who writes the Dr. Ruth Galloway Mysteries, the Brighton Mysteries, and the Justice Series, has won Author of the Year at the Booksellers Association Conference Awards. The awards honor key figures in the book industry and the work they do to support UK bookshops. The winners were selected by 489 booksellers from across the UK.

Mystery Writers of America's 2025 Barbara Neely Scholarship, an award named after the late trailblazing Black crime novelist chosen as a Grand Master by MWA in 2019, is now open for applications from authors who are Black, American citizens, and age 18 or older. Applicants must submit a brief biography, competed application form, a five-page sample of their writing in the crime genre, a 300-500-word statement, and a copy of their CV/resume highlighting their education/writing career. The deadline is November 8, 2024. Two scholarships of $2,000 will be awarded, one for an aspiring Black writer who has yet to publish in the crime or mystery field, and another for Black authors who have already published in crime or mystery.

NoirCon is moving from the East Coast to the West Coast this year, landing in Palm Springs from November 7-10. The event includes a variety of panels and speakers, classic film screenings with special guests, notable author events, in-person book signings, and more. The conference will also hand out the Jay and Deen Kogan Award for Excellence posthumously to Jim Nisbet, to be accepted by his widow, artist Carol Collier. The award reflects the preservation of literary excellence and achievement, and recipients have devoted a lifetime to cultivating a greater appreciation and pride in America's literary heritage by writing, and/or publishing the most authoritative editions of America's best and most significant writing within the genre of noir.

Banned Book Week (#BannedBooksWeek) is being commemorated this week by the American Library Association and a variety of organizations around the U.S. In a time of deep political divides, library staff across the country are facing an overwhelming number of book ban attempts. In 2023 alone, the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 1,247 efforts to censor books and other resources in libraries—an increase of 65% from the year before. In total, 4,240 unique book titles were targeted, many of them representing LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC voices and experiences. Even crime fiction books have been challenged through the years at some point, including Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell Tale Heart, and Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl.

Bedford Square Publishers announced that Maxim Jakubowski has joined as Editor-at-Large to acquire new titles both for the Bedford Square and the No Exit Press imprints. Jakubowski is a well-known novelist, critic, and reviewer, as well as editor of several award-winning anthologies and owner of London bookshop Murder One. Maxim spent several decades in publishing roles in France and at Virgin, Rainbird and Ebury Press, where he commissioned many important bestsellers and created several major crime imprints, including the now legendary Black Box Thrillers and Blue Murder. The first titles he will bring to the list will include the highly controversial French prize-winner Emma Becker’s La Maison; works by the king of the French locked-room mystery, Paul Halter, and the master of Western noir, Scott Phillips; and Keith Donohue’s The Motion of Puppets, which US critics have described as "Stephen King meets Toys."

The Strand Mystery Magazine published a rarely seen essay this week from the 1930s, written by crime author G.K. Chesterton. He remains best known for his Father Brown mysteries, but he was also founding president of the Detection Club, a gathering of novelists whose original members included Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and AA Milne among others. In the essay he wrote, "Detective fiction had grown a little dull," and proceeded to opine about new ways to tell crime stories.

Elizabeth Foxwell, editor of Clues: A Journal of Detection, announced a call for papers on the theme of "reappraising James Ellroy," in honor of the 30-year anniversary of James Ellroy’s American Tabloid in 2025. Guest Editors will be Nathan Ashman (University of East Anglia) and Steven Powell (University of Liverpool). The proposal deadline is March 1, 2025. For more information, follow this link.

Mystery Readers Journal editor, Janet Rudolph, is seeking articles, reviews, and author essays for the upcoming issue, "Mysteries Set in London." Author essays are first person, about yourself, your books, and the "London" connection. Reviews are for books both in and out of print that are set in London. Author essays and articles should be 500-1,000 words, and reviews 50-250 words. The deadline is November 1, 2024.

In April 2015, B.K. Stevens debuted the blog series "The First Two Pages," hosting craft essays by short story writers and novelists analyzing the openings of their own work. The series continued until just after her death in August 2017, at which point Art Taylor took over at the helm. This week, Art welcomed Avram Lavinsky for the first post in a series celebrating the latest music-themed anthology from editor Josh Pachter: Friend of the Devil: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Grateful Dead, coming out next week from Down and Out Books. In addition to Lavinsky, the anthology includes stories from Bruce Robert Coffin, James D.F. Hannah, Vinnie Hansen, James L’Etoile, G.M. Malliet, Twist Phelan, Faye Snowden, Joseph S. Walker, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine editor Linda Landrigan (with her first published story), and more.

In the Q&A roundup, James R. Benn, author of the Billy Boyle World War II series, historical mysteries set within the Allied High Command during the Second World War, applied the Page 69 Test to The Phantom Patrol, the nineteenth installment of the series; and Vicki Delany, author of over 40 novels in various crime genres, also took up the Page 69 challenge to the newest novel in her Year-Round Christmas mystery series, A Slay Ride Together With You.

Mystery Melange

The six finalists for this year's Booker Prize include Rachel Kushner's Creation Lake, a romantic spy thriller which sees an American woman infiltrate a radical anarchist collective in rural France, and Percival Everett's James, a retelling of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written from the perspective of the runaway slave, Jim. Kushner, Everett, and the four other finalists will vie for the £50,000 (roughly $65,800 USD) top prize, with the winner to be revealed November 12.

Bestselling author Nelson DeMille, who grew up on Long Island and earned a Bronze Star in Vietnam before turning to a writing career, has died at the age of 81. He made his literary debut in 1974 with the novel, The Sniper, which introduced Joe Ryker, a tough New York police detective, a character who would return in several more novels. DeMille was known for his series of books featuring U.S. Army investigator Paul Brenner, introduced in the 1992 novel, The General’s Daughter, which was adapted into a 1999 film starring John Travolta. The author's most recent book, Blood Lines, co-written with his son Alex DeMille, was published last year. Many of his fellow authors have taken to social media to pay tribute to DeMille for his generosity, kindness, and sense of humor.

The latest print edition of Clues: a Journal of Detection (vol. 42, no. 2) is a themed issue on BIPOC female detectives in a global context, guest edited by Sam Naidu (Rhodes University, South Africa). Naidu discusses the rationale for and content of the issue, including articles on the TV series Brooklyn Nine-Nine and the work of Eleanor Taylor Bland, Oyinkan Braithwaite, K’im Ch’aehu?i, Maria L. M. Fres-Felix, Pauline Hopkins, Tiffany D. Jackson, Vaseem Khan, Angela Makholwa, Marcia Muller, BarbaraNeely, Nnedi Okorafor, and Kwei Quartey.

In homage to the 1964 classic film, Goldfinger, the prestigious Burlington Arcade in Mayfair, London, has created a unique James Bond experience – The 007, open from September 18 until December 31. Three handcrafted golden hanging sculptures, inspired by the iconic Aston Martin DB5, are seen careering down the centre of the Arcade. As visitors walk underneath, a bespoke carpet features famous lines from the film. Other highlights include iconic movie props including Oddjob’s hat, a Fort Knox gold bar, Goldfinger’s golf shoes and the spyhole clock from his private plane, never before exhibited. There's also a chance to bid on a limited number of The Macallan’s highly collectible 60th Anniversary Decades whisky sets, with all proceeds being donated to charity. Plus, speaking of libations, there are two exclusively designed bars where fans may enjoy a dash of 007 with signature cocktails specially created in partnership with Belvedere, Blackwell Rum, Champagne Bollinger, and Macallan.

The CBC profiled Winnipeg, Ontario's crime bookstore, Whodunit, which houses more than 23,000 new and used novels and has been in business for over thirty years. The bookstore hosts a Mystery Reading Club and has featured readings and signings by various mystery authors through the years.

One of the latest themed book recommendation lists over at Crime Reads comes from Sofie Kelly: "Librarians on the Case." I have a soft spot for this one, as my mother was a librarian. For those hungry for more, here's a list of more bookish sleuths via Mystery Fanfare.

In the Q&A roundup, Richard Osman talked to Lee Child about class, success and the secret to great crime writing; author Julia Dahl chatted with Nerd Daily about her psychological thriller, I Dreamed of Falling, which follows the death of a young mother and how it triggers an avalanche of secrets in a small Hudson Valley town; and Tara Laskowski interviewed Josh Pachter, editor and author of over a hundred crime short stories and the 2023 novel, Dutch Threat.

Author R&R with Hannah D Sharpe

Hannah D Sharpe is an American domestic suspense author. She enjoys creating morally ambiguous female characters with stories that incorporate mental health awareness and struggles that women face today. Hannah also has an MSN Ed, with a background in emergency medicine, nursing education, and health insurance and a focus on underserved communities. Hannah lives in Northwest Washington State with her husband, three children (ages 10, 7, and 5), and a moody orange tabby cat. When not working, writing, and juggling the family’s extracurricular activities, you can find Hannah delving into the next home project while getting lost in an audiobook.

Between Lies and Revenge, Hannah's debut domestic suspense novel, centers on a daring jewel heist that becomes a lifeline for two women entangled in a web of deceit, pushing them to the brink of trust and betrayal in their quest for redemption and survival.

Hannah stops by In Reference to Murder to take some Author R&R about writing and researching the book:

 

It may or may not come as a surprise that my debut novel Between Lies and Revenge is not the first novel I’ve written. The unpublished manuscripts gathering proverbial dust in a folder on my desktop were the most valuable research I’ve done to date.

To write a compelling story requires research long before research for the novel is addressed. This begins with reading avidly in the genres of interest. Reading as a writer goes beyond pleasure by adding research in structure, pacing, character development, and layering of story. In addition to reading published books, it is important for a writer to connect with other writers and find critique partners, beta readers, and writing groups, where the writer not only receives feedback, but gives it to others. By reading other writers works and offering valuable feedback the writer becomes knowledgeable in recognizing mishaps, developmental opportunities, and the steps in which a writer can take to get their work from an initial draft to published.

I have traditionally been a pantser—learning my story as I draft—which meant researching a lot while I was drafting Between Lies and Revenge. There was rarely a writing session in which I didn’t need to pull up Google. Google and the internet have always been my primary go to for research, with anxiety and three children who are now ages 5, 7, and 10 (younger when writing this novel). Additionally, I’m fortunate to have obtained a master’s degree in nursing, which was, in itself, an education about research collection and validation, and came in handy when researching the following for Between Lies and Revenge:

Gemology / Lapidary – I know nothing about the craft of jewelry making, repair, and evaluation and appraisal. However, my character, Elle, made it clear early on that she does. This meant many, many, Google rabbit holes. I spent a long time learning about equipment, processes, education and training, and industry specific terms. I then crosschecked information between sources to determine whether the information found was the most reliable and widely known. This research didn’t end with my first draft, but continued through every edit up until the end, verifying the information I had on the page and strengthening it with new details.

Infertility – Despite having my own experience with infertility, and being a nurse, I needed to delve deep into research for this topic, as I wanted to make sure my novel portrayed the most up-to-date and accurate information. For those who experience infertility and seek fertility assistance, the journey is very personal and becomes deeply engrained. Getting the details right were imperative, especially knowing my character, Olivia, would have a journey that was unique to her, as fertility treatments are personalized and specific as decided by the individual and their provider. This meant going above and beyond the Google search and into professionally published research, as well as speaking to individuals who went through fertility treatments different than mine and reaching out to nurses and physicians who specialize in obstetrics and gynecology. I was also open to feedback and did not become defensive when the information I had on the page was interpreted as inaccurate. Instead, I went back through the research process to verify details, correct inaccuracies, and make sure it all aligned throughout the different stages of editing.

Multi-Level Marketing (and its dark side) – I did a deep dive into research on this component of my story long before I knew I would write this novel. I spent the early years after my children were born longing for a community of moms and having a desire to fit in somewhere. I hadn’t yet found the writing community, but on my phone, right in front of my face, there was a world that said it offered what I was looking for and was wrought with positivity. Desperate to be within these inner circles and to create true connections, I joined various MLMs, and supported many more, slipping into debt and hiding spending from my husband. It wasn’t until I was trying to step away and recover from the impact it all had on my mental health that I decided to incorporate this thread into my writing as a type of therapy. Once I’d committed, I spoke to others who had similar experiences as me, and even read a fantastic non-fiction on the topic of the dark side of MLMs, the hold they have on women, and the use of toxic positivity to mask the wrongs they make (Hey, Hun by Emily Lynn Paulson).

There were many other, smaller components, that required online research as well, such as how long a person can be missing before being reported deceased, and by whom. I also needed to become familiar with Leesburg, VA, and NYC, as I’ve never been to either place. However, in my research I felt like I’d come to know Leesburg well. I also had a writing friend who lives in Virginia verify details, such as the weather and how the grass looks at the end of August, because the east coast is drastically different than the west coast (where I live).

My research on how to structure and pace a novel came full circle when I had an unscheduled edit that I refer to as my “surprise edit” eight months before my novel was scheduled to be released. I’d been given examples of novels that had done what I was trying to do throughout the edit process, and it wasn’t until I’d fully learned what it was like to edit with a publishing house and an editorial team, that I could truly embrace what needed to be done. I knew that my knowledge and the research I’d done wasn’t enough, so I reached out to a critique partner who had been studying the structure and pacing of novel writing for many years, and with her help we rearranged the entire first half of the novel, strengthening the pacing exponentially.

The biggest advice I can give to writers is to be open and receptive to feedback, because you don’t know what you don’t know until you learn otherwise. And when you know that you don’t know, you can begin to learn and research, then do it again, and again, and again, until you have a finished product you can be proud of.

 

You can learn more about Hannah Sharpe via her website and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads. Between Lies and Revenge is available from Simon & Schuster and all major booksellers.

Author R&R with donalee Moulton

donalee Moulton is an award-winning freelance journalist who has written for print and online publications across North America, including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Lawyer’s Daily, National Post, and Canadian Business. Her short stories have been shortlisted for a Derringer Award and an Award of Excellence from the Crime Writers of Canada. Other short stories have been published recently in After Dinner Conversation, The Antigonish Review, and Queen’s Quarterly. Her first mystery novel, Hung out to Die, was published in 2023, and the latest, Conflagration!, won the 2024 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense (Historical Fiction).

Conflagration! is set on a warm spring day in April 1734, as a fire rages through the merchants’ quarter in Montréal. Within hours, rumors run rampant that Marie-Joseph Angélique, an enslaved Black woman fighting for her freedom, had started the fire with her white lover. Less than a day later, Angélique is in prison, her lover nowhere to be found. Though she denies the charges, witnesses claimed Angélique was the arsonist even though no one saw her set the fire. In an era when lawyers are banned from practicing in New France, Angélique is on her own. Philippe Archambeau, a court clerk assigned specifically to document her case, believes Angelique might just be telling the truth, but time is running out as Archambeau searches for answers. Will the determined court clerk discover what really happened the night Montreal burned to the ground before it’s too late?

donalee stops by In Reference to Murder to take some Author R&R about writing and researching the book:

The trial and tribulations of researching life – and death – in 1734

My second mystery novel, Conflagration!, is my first historical mystery. My publisher has a series of historical mysteries than span Canada from coast to coast. When she unexpectedly lost her Quebec writer, she offered me the opportunity to write the book and step back to 1734 when the colony of New France was ruled by King Louis XV. It was an opportunity I embraced. With trepidation.

At readings and book clubs, I joke that I am not from Quebec, I do not speak French as more than 80% of Quebecers do, and I do not write historical mysteries. So, of course, I said “yes” when my publisher offered me the opportunity to write Conflagration!. I am grateful I did.

What scared me most about writing the book was getting something wrong. Misspeaking. Misunderstanding. Misconstruing. The foundation for Conflagration! (and for all historical mysteries) is accuracy.  As a freelance journalist, I am used to writing on topics that I know little (and sometimes, nothing) about. I have written articles on everything from buying cyber insurance to surviving a helicopter crash to paying the tooth fairy. I know how to research, how to interview people, how to find people to interview, and how to find accurate sources of information. For the most part though, the research I’ve done was contemporary or contemporary adjacent. It wasn’t from 300 years ago.

Conflagration! chronicles the arrest, trial, and subsequent execution of Marie-Joseph Angélique, an enslaved Black woman accused of setting the lower town of Montreal on fire. When the flames were finally squelched, forty-six homes and buildings were gone. The quarter, where the merchants lived and ran their businesses, was destroyed. Fortunately, no one died.

I had never heard of Angélique, had never read her story in the many history classes I took throughout school and university. I was not alone in this lack of knowledge. That is because Angélique’s story is also the story of slavery in Canada, and for centuries we have avoided the topic or rewritten the facts to shape the narrative. Fortunately, Angélique’s story is more well known in Quebec, where a plaque has been erected in her memory in Old Montreal.

As I delved into the events of April 10, 1734, I discovered others had gone before me. There were books, websites, articles, documentaries, and shorts. I embraced them all. Some of these sources also referenced court documents, meticulously recorded, albeit in French. One site translated those documents although translations from old French to modern English are not always clear and understandable. The golden rule in journalism is you must have at least two sources before you use any information. I also embraced this rule.   

As nerve-wracking as ensuring my story accurately referenced the trial transcripts and sequence of events from the first flames to Angélique’s final breath, I discovered that the justice system was only one element of research required. At one point, I had my main character, Philippe Archambeau, a court clerk assigned specifically to document Angélique’s case, get up early and make himself a cup of coffee. Then I asked myself, “Did they drink coffee in New France in 1734?” (They did, but tea was more common.)

This issue of everyday life came up in a myriad of ways. Philippe goes to put on boots. (Did they wear boots three hundred years ago? What kind?) His wife, Madeleine, is making supper. (How do you make supper when there are no stoves, no ovens, no electricity? What do you eat?)

The answers to these and a multitude of other questions were answered thanks to reliable sources on the internet, books written by authoritative sources, individuals knowledgeable about aspects of the story, the time, the history – and more.

I owe them all a debt of gratitude.

 

You can learn more about donalee and her books via her website and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Goodreads. Conflagration! is now available via all major booksellers in ebook and print.

Mystery Melange

The organizers of the annual Bloody Scotland international crime-writing festival announced their shortlist of five titles for this year's McIlvanney Prize, including: A Divine Fury, by D.V. Bishop (Pan Macmillan); The Cracked Mirror, by Chris Brookmyre (Sphere); Past Lying, by Val McDermid (Sphere); Hunted, by Abir Mukherjee (Vintage); and A Spy Like Me, by Kim Sherwood (HarperCollins). The finalists, and also authors shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize, will lead a torchlit procession from Stirling Castle to the Albert Halls on the festival’s opening night of Friday, September 13, where the winner will be revealed. Presented annually since 2012, the McIvanney Prize is named in honor of Scottish author William McIlvanney, who passed away in 2015, with previous recipients including Chris Brookmyre, Peter May, Denise Mina, Alan Parks, and last year's winner, Squeaky Clean by Calum McSorley.

The longlist was revealed for the Petrona Award 2024, which honors the best crime fiction from Scandinavia. This year, ten crime novels from Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden will be competing for the title, including a mix of newer and more established authors, including previous Petrona Award winners, Jørn Lier Horst and Yrsa Sigurðardottir.

Registration is now open for Mystery Writers of America's MWA-U October 9th online Zoom session with Jeffery Deaver, who will be discussing "Writing a Commercial Thriller." The event is free to current MWA members and offered to nonmembers for $20. Jeffery Deaver is the author of 48 novels, 100 short stories, a nonfiction law book, who has received or been shortlisted for dozens of awards. His book A Maiden’s Grave was made into an HBO movie starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin (retitled Dead Silence). His novel The Bone Collector was a feature release from Universal Pictures, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. NBC television recently aired the nine-episode prime-time series, Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector, based on Deaver's book series, and the new CBS show, Tracker, is based on his novel, The Never Game, featuring his character Colter Shaw.

A group of 20-plus bestselling crime fiction authors are teaming up for a free online event as they talk about their books and answer your questions about their careers, books, or writing habits. Viewers can view the event live on YouTube Wednesday, September 18th at 5 PM PT/8 PM ET. Anyone who signs up beforehand can let them know if you have a question for one of the participating authors, including Megan Abbott, Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Laura Lippman, Walter Mosely and more. Note that this is also a politically-themed event, which is why it's titled "Crime Fiction for Harris."

The publisher Hard Case Crime announced that the story of iconic fictional sleuth, Sam Spade, will be continued by prize-winning crime writer Max Allan Collins. The Return of the Maltese Falcon will be released in January 2026, when the original Dashiell Hammett classic featuring Spade, The Maltese Falcon, enters the public domain. Hammett's novel, released in 1930, is known to movie fans for the 1941 adaptation starring Humphrey Bogart and is widely regarded as a model for the modern hard-boiled detective novel. According to Hard Case Crime, Collins’s new book will bring back Spade and Joel Cairo among other Hammett characters, and "a mysterious new femme fatale." Collins, whose Road to Perdition was adapted into a film starring Tom Hanks and Paul Newman, has a long history of working with famous literary detectives. He took over the Dick Tracy comic strip in the late 1970s after creator Chester Gould retired, and he was later authorized to continue Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer series. Jeff Pierce over at The Rap Sheet blog, has more about Collins and his other various latest endeavors.

It's long been a mystery of sorts that the creator of the scientifically minded Sherlock Holmes was also fascinated with the paranormal. Recently, six handwritten letters and notes from Arthur Conan Doyle to Captain John Allen Bartlett sold for £2,800 plus buyers premium of 30% at auction. The archive variously discussed spiritual matters, including one which references a letter to Captain Bartlett from Harry Houdini (1874-1926), and Conan-Doyle's reaction to it. Bartlett used the pseudonym John Alleyne when writing his poetry, lyrics and short stories, and was also an active spiritualist. It was his belief in psychic or paranormal phenomenon that linked Bartlett to Conan-Doyle and Houdini, with whom he almost certainly attended some seances. It was around this time that Houdini was unsuccessfully trying to convince Conan-Doyle that the seances were a magician's "allusions not the conversations with the dead he wanted to believe."

In the Q&A roundup, Matthew D. Saeman chatted with Lisa Haselton about his new suspense thriller, To Preserve, Protect and Destroy, featuring NASA geologist Terrence Sullivan; the New York Times (paywall) interviewed Liane Moriarty, author of the bestselling Big Little Lies and Apples Never Fall, both adapted for television; and Self Publishing Review spoke with Karl Wegener, a former Russian linguist, intelligence analyst, and interrogator who served in the U.S.military and the Intelligence Community during the Cold War, about his new novel, Operation Nightfall: The Web of Spies.

Author R&R with Richard Snyder

Richard Snyder is a new author and a writer of spy fiction. It’s a good fit for him since he is a former intelligence officer who uses his background and experience to feature the unpredictability and moral chaos of intelligence operations. He is currently working on a trilogy that follows the professional life of a young spy—Owen Roberts—from the beginning of his career to its end. Two of his three novels have been published and the third is being written as we speak.

In his debut novel, The Clandestine Education of Owen Roberts, the Iraq War is a raging storm of blood and violence, the Service is fighting for its survival on and off the battlefield, and an Iranian diplomat in Paris reaches out to a retired spy. What follows is a tale of self-discovery in the ruthless world of espionage as Owen operates in a sphere of deceit and self-delusion, all while trying to come up with a moral code that he can live by.

The second novel in the Owen Roberts’ trilogy, Defector in Paradise, is a political/spy thriller that takes place during an election year. Tragic circumstances force Owen to team up with a cagey Soviet defector to expose one of the Cold War’s last and biggest secrets: the identity of a high-level mole operating within the US government who has his sights set on the White House.

At its heart, Defector in Paradise is a novel about the unimaginable manipulation of American politics and the actions of those who refuse to believe truths they cannot accept.

Richard Snyder stops by In Reference to Murder to take some Author R&R about writing and researching his novels:

Being a new author, one of the first things I had to figure out was the right balance between the use of factual or historical research and just plain old storytelling. Which was more important to me in telling spy stories that merge the past with the present in a believable and dramatic manner? And, believe it or not, two quotes from vastly different personalities helped guide me along the way. One was from Albert Einstein, who once said “that imagination was more important than knowledge.” And the other was from Elmore Leonard, one of America’s best crime fiction writers, who said when asked about the reason for his success: “I just leave out the parts that no one reads.”

In my first novel, The Clandestine Education of Owen Roberts, I needed to understand the complexity of life in Baghdad during the war, and I mean every aspect of life in that war-torn city. It was part of the backdrop and the narrative of one of the key characters. I needed an insider’s perspective so I read multiple books written by those with boots on the ground that gave me the authenticity I needed, the kind of stuff where truth is stranger than fiction, where people saw things with their own eyeballs. I didn’t use online resources very much, but I did use online mapping tools to validate physical locations as well as the time and distance traveled by characters in the book. What I learned most about the value of research in writing my first novel was that it helped me connect the dots of my storyline between the past and the present, and that I wanted to use my research in a way where I didn’t lose my reader’s attention. I didn’t want my research to become ‘one of the parts’ that no one reads. 

 In my sequel, Defector in Paradise, I used mostly online resources and my own personal knowledge and experience because of the esoteric origins of some of the key plot lines. I wasn’t going to find the kind of information I needed in libraries or elsewhere for this novel. I came to appreciate how research can be a two-edged sword: too much reliance on research can constrain how your story evolves, but research can also open doors to new storytelling possibilities that you were not aware of previously. I came away with the understanding that your ‘research’ should fit the story and not the other way around. I don’t know if it is that way with everyone, but that is what works for me.

In bringing my comments to a close, I would say that how you use your research is more important than where you get it from as long as you are dealing with trusted sources of information. For the most part, I like folding my historical research into a character’s dialogue when possible because it seems more natural that way and reads less like a history lesson. There are parts of my novels, however, where I strayed from this preference, but only because I thought the reader would find the historical detail of interest.

I know there are many more research sources available to writers that I have not discussed in my post, but I know other writers posting In Reference to Murder have done a good job of doing that. As I said at the beginning, I am a new author, so every time I pick up the pen or type on the computer I am learning something new about myself, my craft, the research that goes into writing a novel, and the difficult but rewarding art of writing fiction.

 

You can learn more about Richard Snyder and his writing via his website. The Clandestine Education of Owen Roberts and Defector in Paradise are available via all major booksellers.

Mystery Melange

As I previously noted, last week's Bouchercon revealed winners of the Anthony Awards and Shamus Awards. But the top honorees of the Barry Awards were also announced during the opening ceremonies. The Barry Award is a crime literary prize awarded annually since 1997 by the editors of Deadly Pleasures, an American quarterly publication for crime fiction readers (from 2007 to 2009 the award was jointly presented with the publication Mystery News). The prize is named after the American literary reviewer, Barry Gardner. As posted on social media, this year's winner of Best Mystery or Crime Novel is Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane; Best First Mystery or Crime Novel is The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry; Best Paperback original is Who the Hell is Harry Black? by Jack Needham; and Best Thriller is Secret Hours by Mick Herron.

The recent Killer Nashville conference in Nashville, TN, revealed the winners of both the Silver Falchion Awards for published works and the Claymore Awards for unpublished manuscripts. You can see the full list winners and nominees here, including the overall Best Book of 2023, Ghost Tamer by Meredith R. Lyons. The conference also handed out the 2024 John Seigenthaler Legends Award to Charles Todd, New York Times bestselling author of the Inspector Ian Rutledge Series and the Bess Crawford series. (Charles Todd is the pen name of Caorline Todd, who passed away in 2021, and her son, Charles.)

It's always nice to see crime fiction authors supporting their local libraries, including the Chilterns Crime Quarterly, which began last year as a series of "meet the author" events during the UK's National Crime Writing Week, and featured authors Denise Beddows, Joanna Wallace, Dan Malakin, Louise Burfitt-Dons, and JA Marley. It grew out of the decision by Buckinghamshire Unitary Authority to defund local libraries, and Beddows's subsequent idea to make popular writers accessible to readers on a more affordable basis, while also raising much-needed funds to help keep the libraries going. The next event will be Saturday, October 14 with Steph Broadribb, MJ Arlidge, SJ Benett, Dave Sivers and Morgen Bailey taking part.

The National Trust in the UK is hosting a range of writing workshops at Agatha Christie’s holiday home in Greenway in September to encourage the next generation of budding writers. The events will include a crime fiction workshop with Cate Quinn, bestselling thriller writer and journalist. Lauren Hutchinson, Senior Marketing and Communications Officer, noted that "The house and garden at Greenway inspired Agatha Christie in a number of her novels, and it continues to inspire people today."

In the Q&A roundup, Rob Starr spoke with Shots Magazine about the importance of having female led characters in crime novels; and author and journalist Fiona Barton chatted with Deborah Kalb about her new novel, Talking to Strangers, the second installment in Barton's Detective Inspector Elise King series.

Farewell to a Fine Crime Fiction Publication

I just learned this morning of the closing of Mystery Magazine magazine (formerly known as Mystery Weekly). As their website notes:

 

Due to the subscription challenges we've faced following the closure of Kindle Newsstand, Mystery Magazine will cease publication with September 2024 being our final issue.

Since 2015, Mystery Magazine has published over one hundred issues, featuring nearly 800 original stories by over 700 authors. All issues are available in print and Kindle formats on Amazon and have never appeared online. Issue bundles are available through Amazon that serve as a veritable "who's who" of the mystery writing world, including both established and emerging authors.

It has been a privilege and an honor to share our love of short mystery stories over the years!

Kerry & Chuck

 

I was fortunate and honored to have three of my own short stories published in the magazine, and I join other authors of the genre both in mourning and in appreciation of all the work Kerry and Chuck have done through the years. Print magazines are a dying breed, it seems, and Amazon's decision to shut down Kindle Newsstand has led to the shuttering of several other publications in the past year or two. This also serves as a reminder: if you love crime fiction, consider subscribing to these magazines! It will help them, and you'll also benefit from the hours of reading pleasure they provide.