Imitation of a Dark Blond

Annamaria on Hiatus


Though I never go anywhere near Dallas if I can help it, and I was not at Bouchercon this year, I am cashing in my B'con hiatus raincheck today because I am with a few thousand words of the end of a first draft of my WIP.  I cannot stop now, friends.  So I am sending an alter-ego to take my place..



Bjorn Leggo-Saab, standing in again - this time for Annamaria whose mind is otherwise occupied.

A fragment from my upcoming London Times bestseller: The Laughing Faceless Detective With the Frost Tattoo.

Dedicated

to

Everett Kaser

who, like me, lives in a gloomy place.

I rubbed my eyes, trying to force the image outside the car window to come into focus.

            I wished I had stayed with goop.  But it was illegal. The sticky, black-brown paste my brother cooked up in his lab at the university every Friday afternoon had had its base in hashish.  Hagar had spread it, still warm enough to be soft, onto cigarette papers, which we rolled and smoked.  Hagar had given it its American name—goop.

It lighted me up.

            If I could take a few hits on goop right now, this bleak landscape would assume the aspect of a brilliant minimalist painting. Even in this relentlessly somber light, where the color of the sky exactly matched the wet concrete pavement.

            If I were high on goop, this thin strip of blue water between the endless bands of grey would take on gleaming intensity.  Painful because it was the shade of Sigrid's eyes.  It reminded me of death.  One death I could not stop. And all the deaths I could not stop investigating.  Not even goop, with its silly American name—silly like all Americans—could erase my agony.

            It had, in the end, taken away Hagar's passion—his work at the university. He had been shamed into resigning.  "For using his laboratory to manufacture a banned substance," the letter from the Department Rector had said.  Hagar had taken his own life.

            I did not.  Coward that I am, I had turned to a weaker, but the only legal means of dulling my pain.  Drink.

            And so I never drive.  I look out the window while my partner drives us to the investigation of yet another death.  And I rub my drunken eyes.  And I try to bring into focus that thin stripe of blue between the interminable bands of grey.  And try not to see in it the color of Sigrid's eyes.

            "I think it's the next turning on the left," Nils said.  "Can you see the spinning light of the squad car through the mist?"

            I could not. "Yes," I said.


BTW, if you want an alternative to gloomy Scandanavia, here is a great suggestion:

CWA Awards and London Fun

Annamaria on Monday

I am in London, where I travelled for the CWA banquet and a chance to meet up with some friends.  But the huge highlight of the trip was attending the CWA Dagger awards ceremony with Leye Adenle, one of Sunshine Noir's two (out of the six!!!) nominees for best short story.

Stan warned us that the affair was very posh, so Leye and I did our best to make a good impression.

The tables were set with place cards that put us pals opposite each other.  

When I picked up my phone to snap this picture through the candles..

I found Leye taking the same photo of me.

The competition for the our category was stiff, and the award went to LC Tyler, but we agreed that our Sunshine hotties snagging two of the six spots was a huge honour. (This spelling courtesy of my laptop knowing that I am in the UK at the moment.)

I noted that of the six nominees for the International dagger...

...the only Nordic entry won,...

...but I was encouraged to note that four of the six nominees were hot clime writers--two Italians and two Spaniards.

A huge THANK YOU to the delightful Ali Karim for the picture of
 Leye and me above.

I spent the ensuing two days in my usual guise, as a Nerd in Paradise, researching at the British Library:

A few of the front page images that grace the walls of the Newsroom in the library

Three of the four volumes of bound copies of British East African newspapers
that were at my disposal.

You know you're a nerd when you look at a huge book full of these and say,
"Yum."

Thank You, Bouchercon, and Hello Book Tour

Jeff—Saturday

In an homage of sorts to Murder is Everywhere coming into being at a Bouchercon World Mystery Convention some half-dozen years back, during Bouchercon week (this year held in New Orleans) we get to put up our favorite posts from the past. It also allows us to spend more productive time at the convention hotel’s bar.

As it just so happens, ten days ago was the release date for my new Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis book, Santorini Caesars, and tomorrow marks the end of my second—and I promised Barbara my final—term as Chair of the National Board of Bouchercon.

So, instead of repeating a past post, I thought I’d instead take this opportunity to reflect on the past by thanking those I’ve served with on the Bouchercon National Board for their support and friendship in making my two years as National Chair a truly remarkable experience.

Yes, that's Zoë in the front row once again laughing at me.

To all these wonderful, all volunteer Bouchercon Board mates of mine, a sincere thank you from the very bottom of my deep, dark, murder-loving heart:

Al Abramson

JD Allen

Mike Bursaw

Stacey Cochran

Oline Cogdill

Janet Costello

Michele Drier

Heather Graham

Kim Hammond

Rae James

Jon Jordan

Ruth Jordan

Ali Karim

Don Longmuir

Dave Magayna

Erin Mitchell

Margory Mogg

Helen Nelson

Connie Perry

Carol Puckett

John Purcell

B.G. Ritts

Janet Rudolph

Stan Ulrich

Ingrid Willis   

And a heartfelt special shout out of thanks to our MIE blog mate Susan Spann for the extraordinarily generous donation of her time and prodigious legal talent in service to Bouchercon’s Board and General Membership.  

As for the plug for my new book, here’s the plotline of Santorini Caesars in a nutshell:

When a young demonstrator is publicly assassinated in the heart of protest-charged Athens, the motive is murky and the array of suspects immense.  Kaldis’ investigation leads him and his team to beautiful Santorini, and a hush-hush gathering of the Caesars, a cadre of Greece’s top military leaders seeking to form their own response to the crises facing their country. Is it a coup d’état or something else?  The answer is by no means clear, but the case resonates with political dimensions, and as international intrigues evolve, the threat of another—far more dramatic—assassination looms ever more real.

And here are a few blurbs from reviews picked at random (as if even I believe that):

“As always, Siger provides readers with an action-packed plot, well-developed characters with lots of attitude, breathtaking Greek scenery, and a perceptive take on the current political and economic problems affecting Greece. International-crime fans need to be reading this consistently strong series.” —Booklist

“While British and Scandinavian authors tend to dominate the conversation about European crime writing, there are some very fine authors operating in other continental locales… Greece is packed with tourist hotspots. Thanks to Wall Street lawyer turned crime scribe Jeffrey Siger, it's also home to a superb modern-day mystery series… starring Chief Inspector Kaldis and his likable team of Greek cops.” — Craig Sisterson

“Riveting story… bridging the social climate in Greece into the narrative…boasts great dialogue, a likable cast, good camaraderie and an intriguing plot that was masterly accomplished.” —Dru’s Book Musings

“Siger the Soothsayer has the uncanny knack of foreseeing chaos in the beautiful country that is Greece and then writing about it in such a way that readers see and hear and taste and feel that turmoil… and if you're wondering, the Greeks themselves love his books... I never miss one of Jeffrey Siger's books. Never!”—Kittling Books

“Jeffrey Siger's books may be set in Greece, but they deal with the world's problems as well...It's a message to the world.” —Lesa Holstine

“[W]ill keep readers on the edge of their seats, while chuckling at the antics of Kaldis's temperamental secretary. Part of a series not to be missed.”—Shelf Awareness

“Put this one at the top of your reading list… As the plot unfolded, I could imagine it actually happening…(and hope it’s not). You won’t be able to put it down. Jeffrey Siger does not disappoint. I don’t know how he does it; each book is better than the last.” —WindyCity Greek

Now, on to my post-Bouchercon tour schedule through the end of 2016. The 2017 tour dates and other additions will be posted as scheduled on my website under EVENTS 

Sunday, September 25, 2016 @ 2:00 PM

Sparta Public Library

22 Woodport Road

Sparta NJ 07871

Monday, October 10, 2016 @ 7:00 PM

(with Michael Kahn and Reavis Wortham)

A Celebration of Poisoned Pen Press

St. Louis County Library—Auditorium

1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd,

St. Louis, MO 63131

Saturday, October 15, 2016 @ 2:00 PM

(with Mark Pryor)

POISONED PEN BOOKSTORE

4014 N. Goldwater Blvd., Suite 101

Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Sunday, October 16, 2016 @ 2:00 PM:

CLUES UNLIMITED

3154 East Fort Lowell Road

Tucson, AZ 85716

Tuesday, October 18, 2016  @ 7:00 PM:

TATTERED COVER

2526 East Colfax Avenue

Denver, CO 80206

Thursday, October 20, 2016 @ 7:00 PM:

MYSTERIOUS BOOKSHOP

58 Warren Street

New York, NY 10007

Friday, November 11, 2016 @ 7:00 PM:

MYSTERY LOVERS BOOKSHOP

514 Allegheny River Boulevard

Pittsburgh, PA 15139

Thursday-Sunday, November 17-20, 2016

ICELAND NOIR

The Nordic House

Reykjavik, Iceland

That should be more than enough BSP for 2016.  Except of course for touting SUNSHINE NOIR (edited by MIE’s own Annamaria Alfieri and Michael Stanley)—now available in paperback—a not to be missed anthology that has Nordic Noir types shuddering in their frozen tundra boots.

See you in 2017 with Kaldis #9!

—Jeff

A Burg and a Polis

Annamaria on Monday

I’ve been on the move.

A week ago in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania:

This historic village is where, during the American Civil war, the Confederate Army made its northernmost incursion—a two-day event.  Charming and well loved by its inhabitants, it is now also the home of the Mechanicsburg Mystery Bookshop, run by the remarkable Debbie Beamer.  Debbie is passionate about the genre she sells and imaginative about the way she promotes her business and the authors who are lucky enough to visit her.

On this recent trip, I learned about other businesses run by women in the town, and as an entrepreneur myself, I am impressed by their attitude of mutual support and their success at pooling their talents.  In addition to the bookstore, Mechanicsburg has a tea parlor, a spice and herb store and garden, and a flower shop.  The women who run these four separate enterprises have found synergies among their businesses that benefit them all.  Last week, I was the beneficiary of three of them.

 

Once a year, Susanna Reppert, owner of The Rosemary House, herb and spice shope and garden, arranges for an author to present at a themed tea party. This year I had the privilege of being that writer on Sunday the 12^th at a ‘Traveling to Africa Tea.”  Susanna did all the organizing and coordinating.

 

Debbie and some of her helpers scheduled a book signing in the early afternoon.  

Folks showed up in Susanna’s beautiful garden, where the tables were covered with lovely African cloths.  Debbie sold books at one.  I signed at another.  Susanna's son—Cedar—dressed in his safari outfit, escorted the guests to us.

Susanna’s sister Nancy runs the tearoom next door and is skilled and imaginative to a nth degree.  Here is her menu for my event:

The servers were dressed in African print dresses.  Here are tables they decorated:

And some of the dishes:

The menu says, "Keep a Watchful Eye Out for the Zebra?"

And, "Do You See the Cheetah? Brownie"

A word about the Scottish scones—they were like delicious clouds.  Nancy could give lessons to all the lesser-talented bakers who made all the (a thousand by now) scones I have ever eaten.

Delighted, I spent the night with Susanna and her family.  And the next morning, on a drive to the train station in Harrisburg, I got to talk the book biz with Debbie—informative, funny conversation—with a great deal of mutual agreement.

On Monday evening, I made a cameo appearance in my New York apartment and headed out the next morning to JFK and a flight to Minneapolis.

Minneapolis, Minnesota:

—where Stan and I have a ton of work to do on the anthology of short crime fiction Sunshine Noir.  We have been editing up a storm.  We have made great progress, despite the occasional tiff over the definition of an independent clause.

And there has also been some of this each afternoon.  Yum.

And to delight you all, here is something we saw on the PBS News Hour, while we were sipping some of that nice bubbly.