Hushpuppies, High School, and Joe Lansdale's Head

Wendall--every other Thursday 

The world, and a looming tax appointment, is too much with me this week, so I am turning back to one of my favorite weekends of 2024. May we all wind up at McIntyre's Books, for Crime Scene Mystery Bookfest, or just for a browse. Thanks, Pete! 

Last weekend I was honored to be included in the second CrimeScene Mystery Bookfest at McIntyre’s Books in Pittsboro, NC. Indulge me while I gush a little. 

 

 

Rabbit photo-op.

First, the store sits in the charming Fearrington Village, which features a few lovely places to eat and drink, tons of gifts items, one of the premier eateries in North Carolina—the Fearrington House Restaurant—and a gorgeous Inn. 

 

Fearrington House is an institution.

 

Pete and friends in the Village at night.

 

The whole thing sits amidst acres of hills and ponds and ancient trees, not to mention a few sculptural sheep!

 

So many lovely places to walk, and stop.

They almost look real. . .

Until you get up close.

It also has the advantage of being a two minute drive from my all-time favorite North Carolina-style barbecue joint, Allen and Sons, where I went with a dear friend I’ve known since I was twelve. Let’s just say hushpuppies were had. . .

 

An annual tradition.

CrimeScene is the brainstorm of Pete Mock, who curates the mystery book room in the store with the kind of intensity and discernment that landed him on the cover of Our State Magazine. Many of you probably know Pete, either from doing signings in the store, or running into him at one Bouchercon "Noir at the Bar" or another. He loves crime fiction, and his generosity towards writers is legendary.

 

He has been particularly kind to me, even down to book placement! I can't think of another bookstore where Cyd Redondo would land on a bookshelf with Carl Hiassen, Craig Johnson, Louise Penny, Ace Atkins, and Lee Child.

 

Fogged Off in proximity to Squeeze Me? I can die now.

 

The store’s owner, Keebe Fitch, was an incredible host and everyone who works in the store, or came to volunteer, made it one of the loveliest events I’ve ever attended.

 

The panels all took place in the legendary Barn.

 

This is just the entrance...

This is the inside. What a great venue.

And then, I met Joe R. Lansdale. He was the Guest of Honor and has been one of my heroes for years. Even sitting behind him was heady stuff. 

 

Joe's head. Proximity is everything!

  

He was very tolerant of my blabbering admiration, made me laugh, told some heartbreaking and hilarious stories about working with Bill Paxton and Sam Shepard, bought one of my books (!) and signed his.

 

I appeared on the “Humor and Homicide” panel, moderated by the wonderful Sara Johnson (The Bone Dead), to commiserate with Tim Maleeny (Hanging the Devil) and Mark de Castrique (Dangerous Women) about the challenges of making murder funny. 

 

Getting ready.

Our panel. These folks crack me up.

Ready to sign in Pete's Mystery Book Room.

The rest of the day featured an illuminating interview with Joe Lansdale, and great panel conversations with Thomas Mullen, Kevin Powers, Eli Cranor, Rebecca Renner, Martin Clark, Jamie Mason, Katy Munger, JG Hetherton, David Joy, and Juliet Grames. 

 

Katy Munger interviews Joe from the front.

Pete, introducing Jamie Mason, Tim Maleeny, Kevin Powers, and Thomas Mullen.

Of course, the weekend was especially great for me, because I grew up about fifteen minutes from the store. At one point in the day, seven of my friends from high school (and junior high!) were together in the signing room. It was so great it made my heart hurt. Friends from college, and even my old boss—the former head of the UCLA Professional Program—attended. It was a fabulous day.

Me with people I've known forever. So grateful they showed up.

And a few more old friends.

 

The other highlight of the day was the awarding of the "Beltie" prize, Pete's choice for Best Mystery of the Year. It went to Michael Bennett's Better the Blood.

The publishing world can be tough, but being part of the mystery community and this network of writers, readers, booksellers, and librarians is a privilege I never take for granted. Thanks, Pete, Keebe, and everyone at McIntyre’s Books for making me so happy to be a crime writer.

---Wendall

Distracted by Padua and Venice

Annamaria on Monday

It was Tuesday before I realized that I had gone AWOL last Monday.  I apologize.  Today I offer the following evidence for the power of my surroundings to rivet a person's attention and make the rest to one's commitments fade into the background.

This last shot is from this (Sunday) morning:

The setting full moon outside my bedroom window.

Home, Sweet Home!  it has its charms.

A Tale of Valentine's Day Past

Jeff–Saturday

 

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and I was so overwhelmed with book business that I neglected to engage in the usual and expected customs and traditions of the Day with those I love and hold near and dear.  Which includes each of you. 

 

So, in an effort to assure all of you that I'm still thinking of you in only the fondest of ways, I thought to post a gem of a Valentine's Day historical exploration that I first posted ten years ago. And to cap off the renewed post, I decided to reveal the cover to my 14th Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis mystery, coming April 1st, which in its title tells the tale of how its been work-wise for me this past week. Ah, the joys of the writing life... wouldn't give it up for the world...but will maintain my right to kvetch about it from time to time.   

 

 

 

This being a site hosted by crime writers, you might think I’m about to plunge into a discussion of the most famous bloody Valentine’s Day ever, February 14, 1929.  That’s when members of Al Capone’s South Side Gang—some dressed as cops—lined up seven men affiliated with Bugs Moran’s North Side Gang inside a garage and shot them dead as part of a war for control of organized crime in Prohibition-era Chicago. 

But you’d be wrong, for this piece is about hearts and flowers.  No, ye cynics, not bullets through the heart and flowers for a funeral, but those bouquets you give to your beloved on the 14^th of February—or risk consequences unmentionable in civilized society.

Yes, chocolates (a rumored aphrodisiac) and cards (did you know the first card was written in the form of a poem from a royal prisoner in the Tower of London to his wife?—even he knew forgetting was not an option) are also big Valentine’s Day favorites, too, but this is about flowers.

Charles, Duke of Orleans and first Valentine's Day card sender

But first a bit of history on how lovers became so obsessed with VD—hmm, any wonder why that acronym never caught on?

One legend says it began during a time of religious persecution in third century Rome, when Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage for soldier-age young men.  Single men fought better, he thought. [Ed. Note: With great will power I resisted inserting a joke here.] 

A young priest thought that unfair, and kept performing marriages in secret.  When Claudius discovered the priest’s violation of his edict, the Emperor sentenced him to death.  While in prison, the priest befriended and healed his jailer’s blind daughter, and before being put to death—on February 14, 270—sent a letter to her signing it “From Your Valentine.”

Yep, Valentine was his name, and the legend goes on to say that in 496, after Valentine had been sainted, Pope Gelasius declared February 14^th as a day to honor his memory as the patron saint of happy marriages, engaged couples and young people.

That’s disputed though, for some claim the date corresponds to the Roman fertility celebration of Lupercalia held between February 13^th and 15^th, and others claim it relates more to the period on the ancient Athenian calendar dedicated to the marriage of Zeus and Hera.   You knew I’d work the Greeks in here somewhere.

Lupercalia by Beccafumi

But it’s undisputed that the romantic love connotation to Valentine’s Day began in the 14^th Century with this simple line by one rather influential writer:

 

Translation available via Glasgow

Still, it wasn’t until the early 1700s that flowers became a tradition on Valentine’s Day. That’s generally attributed to Charles II of Sweden’s introduction to Europe of the Persian custom of the “language of flowers.”  Each flower had its own meaning, a sort of secret code between the sender and recipient.

And with the rose symbolizing passion and love, it’s no wonder roses are the number one best seller every Valentine’s Day (257 million in the US in 2014).  But there are other flowers finding their way to Valentines, and for those of you wondering just what your beloved may have meant by those flowers that arrived at your doorstep today, here’s a list of meanings. http://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/aboutflowers/flower-meanings

Just don’t shoot the messenger.

By the way, Valentine’s Day isn’t a big deal in Greece.  No reason to be, Greece gave Eros to the world.  Now it’s only looking to get some love back in return.

Happy (belated) Valentine’s Day, Barbara, Karen, Jennifer, Gavi, and Rachel. Okay, Jon, Terry, and Azi, too. And of course to….

Meeting Ann Bloxwich

Ann, mad as a box of frogs, very lovely and a extremely talented writer.

I'm a short, tattooed author, who loves cats, rock music, tea and cardigans. I live in the South West of Scotland with my family, having moved up from the Midlands a few years ago so I could pursue my dreams of becoming a best-selling crime writer (still working on that!). I'm the creator of the D.I. Alex Peachey series, which are contemporary, character-led police procedurals set in and around Wolverhampton. I'm currently working on the third in the series, and am also tinkering with a couple of standalones, one set in Scotland and the other in various places around the UK (and possibly abroad).

When I'm not writing I can usually be found at crime writing festivals, buying yet more books. Former jobs have included working with male strippers and drag artistes, and as an Oompa Loompa in a chocolate factory.

                                                                   

Many Americans read this blog, do British Police Officers drink tea all the time? And where did the character of DI Peachey come from?

I don’t know about British Police Officers, but folk from the Midlands drink gallons of tea, so it seems reasonable that they do, too. Let’s face it, a cup of tea makes everything better, doesn’t it?

Alex started out loosely based on my husband, Paul. He’s tall, has joints that crack, plays online roleplaying games like Skyrim, and also pen and paper roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons etc. Also, Paul is hugely supportive, will go out of his way to help someone in distress, and hates prejudice of any kind. Unlike my husband, Alex looks like Sean Bean as he was in Sharpe, but that’s just for my own gratification. Alex’s son, Joel, is based on my own son, who has the same disabilities. I’d never encountered a regular policeman with real-life personal issues such as this (apart from Mrs Taggart, who’s in a wheelchair).

                                                     

                                                            From her facebook page!

Although he’s the main character of your series, there are many other characters that steal the show from him. Is that easy to write?

Yes it is. As you know yourself, it’s important to have good supporting characters that work well together, and most of mine are based on people I know, which makes it easier. The plan is to focus on a different one in each book, to show their strengths and weaknesses.

The horrors of the survivors in this book read as very blunt and very authentic. No frills, that’s what happened. In the acknowledgments you say that some of it was based on your own life experience. How easy was that to write about?

It was very cathartic, but it brought back a lot of memories I’d buried, so it was also very harrowing. I felt that by writing about it, I was exorcising some of those memories, and showing others that we should never feel ashamed about what happened to us. The blame and shame belongs to those who committed the crimes. I also got to kill my own abuser on paper, something I’m not allowed to do in real life.

In your books a fair haired tall Glaswegian judge called Ramsay makes an appearance. She’s easily bribed by marmite and has a flatulent Staffordshire bull terrier called Mathilda. Is she base on anybody you know? Does she appear again? Does she win the lottery in your next book?

Judge Ramsay only had a small part, but she seems very popular, so I think she may appear in future books. She’s based on a fabulous, brilliant author I respect and admire. I’ll see what I can do with regards to her winning the lottery!

I’ve blogged on here about Crime and Publishment how has that helped you personally in your writing?

Crime and Publishment was the key to starting me taking my writing seriously. Up until then, I seriously doubted I’d ever produce anything good enough to get published, but the support, encouragement and help was the reason I decided to try. I still go along every year, as there is always something new to learn, and I think it’s important to pay forward the help and support to new writers.

I always think of you as one of the gang of four (or five, known collectively as the Twisted Sisters!.)  What support have they been to you in your writing career?

Quite simply, they are the reason I moved from the Midlands to Scotland. I’d never had that level of support, nor been taken seriously before, so it was wonderful to find my tribe, so to speak. We meet up at least twice a month, once at Moffat Crime Writers Plus, and in between times for coffee, general chat and so on. Three of us have just set up the Tuesday Murder Club, where we get together and write all morning. It gives us the push we need to get words down on paper.

                                                         

Am I right in thinking that all of you now have publishing contracts?

I’ve been previously published by two different Indie publishers, but am now self-published, so am working to get my books into libraries and shops, something that never happened before as my books were only available via Amazon. It’s not easy, but at least I know what’s happening at every step, and I get to choose my own titles and covers. I’ve just struck a deal with a brilliant narrator, so Alex and his team will soon be available in audiobook. Irene Paterson, who writes as May Rinaldi, has a deal with Black Spring Press, and the others are all still submitting.

Ann,  a woman who once gave me a personalised jar of Marmite!

Cheers

Ann and Caro