Last Week was Groundhog Day, So Let Me Repeat Myself...Again.

Jeff—Saturday

Today being Groundhog Day in the US (a tradition brought to Pennsylvania in the 1700s from Europe), if Punxsatawney Phil sees his shadow we’re in for six more weeks of winter, something none of us in the throes of the Polar Vortex wishes to imagine. That led me to search through my old blog posts for what I was certain was a piece I’d done before about that cute little critter.

But I didn’t find it. Or rather I stopped looking when I came across a parody I’d written six years ago to the day based upon Robert Frost’s most famous poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.  I couldn’t believe how on point what I wrote is for today’s troubles, even though it long preceded what we’re now experiencing.

Does that mean we’re always in troubling times of one form or another?  Or does it mean something else? I don’t know, I just wrote it. You’ll have to tell me what it means.

So, in the hope that Robert Frost forgives me, here we go—

Robert Frost (1874-1963)

Whose words these are I think I know.

My mind is on to pillage though;

To find something for blogging clear

Some thoughts that matter, not for show. 

My blogmates all must think it queer

To see a poem this time here

With so much news of fraud and fake,

And daily tales of more to fear.

 

But now I think it’s time to wake

And trust there might be some mistake.

To hope somewhere beyond the sweep

There will be peace for all God’s sake.

 

We know what’s out there’s dark and deep.

And if we choose we all could weep,

But I prefer to pause to reap,

The promises men swore to keep.

*****

As a footnote, permit me to offer this additional little ditty.

Of all the words Frost did compose.

The ones that hit it on the nose,

For how to live amid the whirl,

Are those his tombstone did unfurl:

“I had a lover’s quarrel with the world.”

Not a bad philosophy for all that’s about us these days.

—Jeff

****

Here's Jeff’s current tour schedule for A STUDY IN SECRET, (now out from Severn House, an imprint of Canongate Books):

 

 2026

All Live Events

Saturday, February 7, 3:00 p.m. CT
Murder By The Book
Author Speaking and Signing
Houston, TX

 

Wednesday, February 11, 6:00 p.m. ET
Mysterious Bookshop
Author Speaking and Signing
New York, NY

 

Thursday, March 26, 7:00 p.m. MT
The Poisoned Pen Bookstore
Author Speaking and Signing
Scottsdale, AZ

 

Friday, April 10, 6:30 p.m.

Mystery Lovers Bookshop
Author Speaking and Signing
Pittsburgh, PA

Book Covers: How the Sausage Gets Made & my New Cover!

Karen Odden – every other Thursday 

People who don’t know me well ask me if I design my own covers. This makes me laugh and laugh. For I have no visual talent at all. I can barely draw polka dots. 

Readers also ask whether I have input, and who decided what goes on them. These are great questions, and having worked with several different editors and publishers, each one does it differently. Here are some of the stories behind the covers -- just for fun. 

Before my first book was published, a mystery writer friend of mine told me that it was pretty unusual for an editor to take the author's wishes into account when it came to covers. "I was shown my book cover and pretty much told I could have two responses," she said. "I could say, 'Oh, it's great!' or 'Oh, it's fabulous!'" 

Fortunately, that hasn't been my experience. All of my editors were willing to take my wishes into account, and for that I'm ever so grateful. 

Fast forward to when I saw the first version of the cover for A Lady in the Smoke (on the left). I winced because my mystery was set in 1878, and this kind of railway train, with a long corridor along the side, wasn't around in England until around 1910. And the young woman? No Victorian woman would wear a lacy dress like that out of her house. It looked more like a nightgown than proper Victorian garb. 

But it was my first book, and I didn't know what to do! Although I liked the overall vibe, my persnickety historical soul couldn't say "great" or "fabulous." So I contacted my agent in a minor panic. He passed along my concerns to my editor, who was fabulously open to suggestions. Her design team came up with version 2.0 (on the right), which featured an 1870s train and a dress much closer to true Victorian. Some anachronistic rhinestones on the dress in the original clip art were airbrushed out, the train was reversed from left to right to fit the space, and the backwards numbers on the front of the train erased.

Then came A Dangerous Duet. This cover was also developed in stages, with the London scene's reflection mirrored on the piano top one of the final pieces. But what I found interesting was what happened when the book was translated into Italian. A dark-ish mystery set in the London Victorian music halls, with young boys being forced to thieve for their livelihood, the book was recast as a romance (the words on the bottom are Un duetto pericoloso: I Grandi Romanzi Storici Special) for the Italian market.

A Trace of Deceit is about a young woman artist at the Slade School in the 1870s; her brother Edwin is a convicted forger who has just been released from prison. This cover originally had a monochromatic brick red painting in the upper right hand corner. I asked if we could switch it out for the painting that is stolen from Edwin's rooms--the painting of Madame du Pompadour by François Boucher--which, because it was in the public domain, they were happy to do, so this became the painting in the upper right corner.

The cover of Down a Dark River was originally developed with a young woman who looked rather like Barbie to me. 

However, the main character is Scotland Yard detective-inspector Michael Corravan--a former thief and bare-knuckles boxer from the seedy area of Whitechapel. After some discussion, the publisher changed it, so both it and the sequel Under a Veiled Moon conformed to genre expectations, with a dark-figured man in the foreground and a London scene behind. 

Now, just for fun, let's look at the Russian versions (paperback and hardcover) of these books. Such a difference, right? Particularly in the paperbacks. The one on the top left, the Russian paperback of Down a Dark River, is a set of women's hands with blood running down them; the hardcover conformed more to the English language version. Similarly, the paperback of Under a Veiled Moon, about a steamship disaster, had a very different paperback cover (no ship, no inspector); the hardback was more like the English language version.

I remember I was asked to "look over these covers," which puzzled me no small amount. I don't speak Russian, aside from "nyet," which appears occasionally in the NYT Sunday crossword. So the back cover copy could have been virtually anything. Without Google Translate, it might be a recipe for scones for all I knew. 

Finally, here is my cover for the book coming in June. 

It's been reimagined, revised, tweaked—and I utterly love it. To my eye, it’s evocative, historical, heist-y, feminine, luminous. The jewelry is Victorian; the sleeves are Victorian; the hands even look like they’ll be clever and deft. Good thieving hands...  

(To preorder the book or ebook for June 2 delivery, click here: https://bit.ly/3Mp22Ll)

Readers -- what tends to draw you to a cover? 

And for the writers out there – do you have any fun cover development stories?

John, 1st Baron Tweedmuir Redux

Annamaria on Monday
I have been trying to pull myself away from Vera and Tolliver 5.  Every once in while I have to stop to look up something to keep my portrayal of British East Africa resonable accurate.  Today that meant I came across a name that seemed vaguely familiar.  "Didn't write a blog about this guy?"  I actually found said post, and thought some of you might never have seen this. So here it is.  If you've seen it before, I hope you find this reminder worth a look.

John Buchan keeps showing up in my life.  I would say he was stalking me, but he has been dead since before I was born.

Here are the facts of our relationship, if you can call it that.

I knew one of John’s stories long before I knew his name.  That story is The Thirty-Nine Steps, made famous because Alfred Hitchcock turned it into a movie.  What I remembered was the name of Buchan's main character: Richard Hannay, who was also featured in a BBC miniseries based on The Thirty-Nine Steps and in a hilarious spoof of the story produced by my beloved and brilliant Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival.

I was minding my own business, researching the Protectorate of British East Africa, when I came across a word I did not know: “greenmantlish.”  It was used in a book published in 1929 to describe an event in the life of the author, a Brit who had been a policeman in Nairobi in 1908. 

 

When I looked up the word, I found that Google had never heard of it—a fact amazing in itself since most of the terms I google get hundreds of the thousands of hits in a few seconds.  “Greemantle,” without the “ish” yielded about 216,000 hits in .34 seconds.  The first was a Wikipedia entry that featured the name of my old pal Richard Hannay.  I recognized that moniker right away.  “Greenmantle” it turns out was the sequel to The Thirty-Nine Steps and second in a series of five novels with Hannay as the main character.  By then, I knew John Buchan's name too.

Then John Buchan took another step into my life.  In the midst of further research into British East Africa, I came upon the old chap again, this time in relation to books he had written about World War I in Africa.  (My Africa series will take me into the World War One years once I get to 1915.)

Having encountered  John Buchan for the third time, I figured I’d better find out more about him.  Here’s a précis of what I have learned:

John Buchan, 1^st Baron of Tweedsmuir PC GCMG GCVO CH was born in 1875, the son of Scots clergyman.  He studied at Brasenose College Oxford, took a degree in law, but never practiced at the bar.  He became instead a novelist, historian, Member of Parliament, and eventually became Governor General of Canada.  He began his diplomatic service in Southern Africa.  During his long political career he supported free trade, women’s suffrage, national insurance, and curtailing the powers of the House of Lords.  Between 1896 and 1940 (the year he died), he wrote thirty-five novels (mostly adventure stories, mysteries, and thrillers) and fifty-two works of non-fiction, averaging two books a year while keeping his day job!

I have already lived longer than he and having just finished only my eleventh book, his output makes me feel like a piker. 

I've Been Everywhere, Man

 

Sara E. Johnson, 1^st Sunday

"I've Been Everywhere” is a quirky tune written by Australian country singer Geoff Mack in 1959. It’s comprised mostly of place names. Johnny Cash nails the North American version. (“I’ve been to Chaska, Nebraska, Alaska, Opelika, Baraboo, Waterloo, Kalamazoo, Kansas City, Sioux City, Cedar City, Dodge City, what a pity.”) The New Zealand rendition came out in 1966 and starts: “Well I was hitching a ride on a winding Hokitika road, when along came a lorry....

                                                

The narrator gets a ride. The lorry drivers asks if he’s ever seen such a dusty road. The response: "Look, listen mate, I've been everywhere in this here land. I've been to

    Kaparoa Whangaroa Akaroa Motueka
    Taramoa Benmore Pongaroa Horoeka
    Rimutaka Te Karaka Whangarei
    Nuhaka Waimahaka Motuhura Waikaka
    Motonui Hokonui Papanui Wainui
    Matawai Rongotai Pikowai. I've been everywhere, man.”

That’s how I feel about crime conferences. I’ve been everywhere, man.

Bouchercon Malice Domestic Left Coast Crime

Sleuthfest CrimeScene Killer Nashville Clam Bake

Suffolk Mystery Festival CrimeCon

Writers Police Academy ThrillerFest…

I exaggerate a little but you get the idea. This year I sought a different experience – one in which I could hone my work-in-progress and attend sessions on craft. I just returned from Writers in Paradise, a week-long, competitive conference held annually in St. Peterburg, Florida. Dennis Lehane and Sterling Watson cofounded it in 2005. Its mission is to provide talented and hardworking writers of all levels and genres the opportunity to learn from and work with other writers under the guidance of masterful authors.

This years ‘masterful’ authors included guest of honor Michael Connelly and instructors Laura Lippman (crime), Ann Hood (novel), Stuart O’Nan (novel), Michael Koryta (supernatural, horror, suspense), Andre Dubus (short story), Madeleine Blais (nonfiction), and Luis Alberto Urrea (memoir).

I submitted 25 pages and a synopsis of my work-in-progress. I was thrilled to be accepted into Laura Lippman’s crime fiction class.

                                            

                                                                   

At the opening night barbecue, WIP alumni Jemimah Wei (The Original Daughter) and Nancy Johnson (People of Means) gave tantalizing readings from their books while we sipped beverages.

                                                             

The next evening Michael Connelly was the keynote speaker. He was kind and modest. He writes tirelessly and with urgency. He gets joy out of creating a good turn of phrase. He writes one book at a time, front to back, and starts each day by revising what he wrote the day before. (Me too!) Michael Connelly tips:

• Keep your speed up. Momentum in writing is momentum in reading.

• Always look for the pivot.

• Character, character, character.

                                                    

Michael had started a new Bosch book just the day before. He shared the opening chapter with us. The first sentence is “Bosch walked between the headstones checking names as he passed.”

                                                 

Madeleine Blais, who as a staff writer with the Miami Herald won a Pulitzer Prize for feature writing, enthralled me with her craft session on research. She’s written many nonfiction books. Her latest is Queen of the Court: The Many Lives of Tennis Legend Alice Marble. Madeleine tidbits:

• Research is genre agnostic.

• Go there.

• Have authority when you use research. It pleases the reader.

At the panel The Writing Life, Michael Koryta challenged me to write lean and emphasized that a person can never have too many headlamps. (Okay. That’s not writerly advice except perhaps, metaphorically. It was funny, but maybe you had to be there.)

                                                  

                                           Laura Lippman and Sara

My group met three hours daily with Laura Lippman, who was just named a Grandmaster by Mystery Writers of America. My manuscript was workshopped first on the first day – gulp! The experience was nerve-wracking and helpful. In chapter three, Sophie the dog drops a frozen human hand at her owner Reba’s feet. Reba, who is 81, thinks Hugh is not here to tell me what to do. Then she flashes back to Hugh’s stroke two years earlier.

My fellow crime writers helped me understand that no one flashbacks when they are staring at a severed hand! Laura Lippman emailed additional comments: The thing I can never control/predict (and hence my love for WIP) is the class response. I don’t think I have ever seen a workshop more united in its love for a character (Reba).

I happy dance. Then -

Does it make sense if I say I loved Reba’s scenes, but I don’t love the hand/dismemberment? This is an extremely subjective opinion, but I feel the more our killers mess with their victims’ bodies, the more desensitized our readers become. Murder is bad enough, it doesn’t have to be heightened.

I am considering Laura’s point, because – well – she’s published twenty-five books, but she also said, “Only you know the book you’re trying to write.”

I learned as much about writing from the other writers in our group and their manuscripts. Do we look like the killers that we are?

                                             

Something happened at Writers in Paradise that has been lacking for me at other conferences: I made new friends: Cheryl from NC and Autumn and Christine from CA among others. Perhaps it’s because of the length of the conference: eight days or perhaps it was because of the small groups. It enhanced my experience and we plan to stay in touch and prod each other on.

                                                     

                  Andre Dubus III (House of Sand and Fog) objects.
   

Writer Idol, held two afternoons, is modeled after reality show American Idol. Brave participants, including me, anonymously submit the first page of their manuscript to be read aloud. A panel of three faculty members decide whether it passes muster. (Two raised hands and the piece gets gonged.) I sat on the edge of the seat, but mine was never fished from the pile. What stopped the panel on other first pages were:

• green eyes – overdone!

• starting with a dream

• taking too long to get to the point

• overwriting

I’m back in icy North Carolina now, digesting at least a portion of what I have learned. Excuse me while I delete a flashback from an opening chapter. The severed hand? Please buy my book when its published to see if it’s a goner. 

What conferences have you attended as a reader or writer? Do you have a favorite? 

Until next month, friends,

Sara Johnson, 1^st Sundays

YIPPIE, My Brand New Series Debuts This Week!!!

         

Jeff–Saturday 

It’s been a long time in coming, but three days from now on February 3^rd, the New York City-based novel I’ve been working on for close to a dozen years will be published by Severn House in the UK and US. I couldn’t be happier with how things have turned out for A Study in Secrets, the debut novel in my brand new “The Redacted Man Series.

It is a very different sort of book from any of my fourteen Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis novels, because it’s driven far more by the nuances of its characters and the intensity of their individual backstories than the sort of grandiose settings and unique cultural ways at play in my Greece-based Kaldis stories. 

 

 

In the opening scenes of A Study in Secrets my protagonist, Michael A, subtly offers his perspective on modern life and why he prefers a lifestyle reminiscent of elegant late 19^th Century living. That dichotomy provides a firm framework for moving the storyline forward at an ever increasing, more complicated pace. As for why I chose New York City over several other cosmopolitan international settings I’d been considering, I settled upon NYC because of how well I know the city and its secrets.

 

So, allow me to introduce you to Michael A, a Sherlock Holmes-worthy amateur sleuth possessing a complicated George Smiley secret-agent past. Michael is a true gentleman who lives a quiet, comfortable life since retiring from the intelligence services. Practically a recluse and partially handicapped, he spends his days imagining the lives of the anonymous people he watches in the park beneath the windows of his elegant New York City townhouse—number 221–his every need tended to by his housekeeper, Mrs. Baker. 

Never does he interact with the souls he watches from above, until one day he realizes he must abandon his solitude to help a girl facing terrible danger.   That decision plunges Michael into the New York underworld and back to using all the tricks of his former trade if he’s to keep himself and the girl alive.

As for reviews, the ones that have come out so far are terrific. And press interest has kept me writing essays and responding to Q&A interviews for weeks.

Now, all I need is for wonderful folk out there to buy a copy and bring great joy to both reader and writer. Here’s where to click to make all that happen. 

Thanks.

–Jeff

 

 2026

All Live Events

Saturday, February 7, 3:00 p.m. CT
Murder By The Book
Author Speaking and Signing
Houston, TX

Wednesday, February 11, 6:00 p.m. ET
Mysterious Bookshop
Author Speaking and Signing
New York, NY

Thursday, March 26, 7:00 p.m. MT
The Poisoned Pen Bookstore
Author Speaking and Signing
Scottsdale, AZ

Friday, April 10, 6:30 p.m.
Mystery Lovers Bookshop
Author Speaking and Signing
Pittsburgh, PA