MYSTERY WEEKEND ROUNDUP JUNE 14, 2013

Deadline Alert!

Submissions for the Book Passage Mystery Writers Scholarship ends today!! You still have a few hours (until 5 PM Pacific Time...which gives you East Coast writers some extra time) to submit via email a 1500 word fiction sample. More details:

2013 Conference Scholarship

One Mystery Writers Conference Scholarship will be awarded this year, including full conference tuition to the the 2013 conference (travel and accommodations not included). To be considered, please submit up to a 1500 word sample of your fiction writing, plus one paragraph about what this conference would mean to you in your writing life. The scholarship is sponsored by William C. Gordon, the author of The Chinese Jars and King of the Bottom.

Submissions must be received by 5:00 pm PST on Friday, June 14, 2013. Email submissions to bpconferences@bookpassage.com. The selected entry will be announced on our website and via an email to those who have submitted on Monday, July 1, 2013.

More on this mystery writers conference, which starts July 25th, is HERE.


More Conference News

• Thrillerfest starts in less than 30 days, featuring a heavy hitting lineup of guests, including Ann Rice, R L Stein and Michael Connelly. Kickoff on Wednesday, July 10 in New York City. Details and schedule can be found at their website.

• The Writer's League of Texas is hosting an Agents & Editors Conference on June 21-23rd in Austin, Texas.  This is the perfect place to make a pitch for that just finished novel.

• Hunt County Writers has a writer's retreat and conference July 5th and 6th in Middleburg, VA. Founded by a revolutionary soldier in 1787, Middleburg is the setting for a murder mystery published in 2005 by Jan Neuharth entitled The Hunt.

• Las Vegas is hosting the Public Safety Writers Conference from July 11 to the 14th. The large number of police, emergency personnel and firefighters makes this a great conference for those who want to inject realsim into their crime fiction. And by joining the Public Safety Writers Association, you can get a one-time free manuscript review by one of their published authors.

Writers Tip: Even if you aren't attending, check out the schedules of as many conferences as possible to see the latest bios for agents and publishers. It's a great way to see what categories they represent and helps narrow your search.


Podcast: Florida Crime Fiction and the New Face of America

Join On Point for a great podcast broadcast with guests Adam Gopnik (the New Yorker) and Oline Cogdill (book reviewer from Mystery Scene). They discuss the rise of Florida and Noir Crime Fiction



Contest News

Compliments of the MWA website comes this tidbit for flash fiction fans: a “Mysterious Photograph” contest appears in each issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, where you can submit your 250 word story inspired by the photograph they post. Winning stories are published in a later issue.

Mystery Times 2013 short story contest is accepting entries until July 15th. The top two winners will receive a new Kindle. All winners will be announced in August and receive publication in the book, scheduled for a November 2013 release.


Before you toss that wretched first sentence that won't stand the light of day, consider submitting it to the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. Compose the worst opening sentence to the worst novel ever written and send it in! Deadline is June 30th. Check out the link, where www stands for "wretched writers welcome". Winner receives a pittance and the admiration of their jealous friends on facebook.




Obits

Just saw this in the latest SINC Quarterly Newsletter from June. Robin Hathaway, mystery writer and member of SINC and MWA, died February 16, 2013. She was living proof that it's never too late to start writing, putting pen to paper only in her 50s. At age 64, when most people are thinking of retirement, her first novel, The Doctor Digs A Grave, won the Malice Domestic Award from St. Martin's Press. A year later, she won an Agatha. You can read more in her obituary from philly.com. She will be sorely missed.

TRUE CRIME TUESDAY JUNE 11, 2013

Costa Rican Wildlife Monitor Found Kidnapped, Killed

A 26 year old conservationist who patrolled Costa Rican beaches to protect nesting sea turtles and their eggs from poachers has been murdered. Jairo Mora Sandoval was kidnapped last week along with four female volunteers, three Americans and a Spaniard. The women escaped but Jairo was found on the beach the next day, bound and shot in the back of the head execution style.

Turtles eggs have a long tradition in Latin America as a delicacy, but efforts to protect them have grown over the past few decades as their numbers have plummeted. Poaching is a serious problem, and the evidence suggests that drug gangs may now be involved. According to the New York Times, "Sandoval had recently made statements in a national newspaper linking egg poaching to drug traffickers." For more on this story, click HERE.


Criminal Flees From Police, Hides in Police Station

Thank goodness criminals are so dumb...it makes it easier to catch them, and gives us a laugh. Like this example from St. Louis, where a suspect fled after a traffic stop, only to wind up hiding in a building occupied by the St. Louis County Police Dept. According to the story from KMOV, "Lt. Bryan Ludwig and another officer arrested the man after he ran into the police station. Ludwig joked that the man was actually headed for the jail and could have just cut out the middleman (officers) and gone straight to jail."


Indian Tourism Suffers After Rapes of Tourists

The high profile stories of recent sexual assaults against female tourists has caused tourism in India to decline, threatening the jobs of 20 million Indians as well an additional 60 million street vendors who sell trinkets and food to foreign visitors. Government officials have scrambled to boost security and reassure visitors that they will be safe when they visit the Asian sub-continent. Neha Thirani Bagri has an article on the growing problem in the latest edition of India Ink.


Classified Leak of Secret Surveillance by NSA No Big Deal...Until It Is

When the story of the NSA's gigantic data collection on ordinary Americans came to light last week, politicians rushed to explain that the program had been authorized by the government and had been going on since the Bush administration. It was much ado about nothing, they claimed, and much of the public supports it. But now that the leaker has revealed himself, Eric Snowden is a hunted man and pols from John Boehner to Dianne Feinstein are calling for his prosecution as a traitor.  Whether you consider him a Hero or Traitor?, one thing will never change...the political spin that comes out of Washington whenever Congress puts it's hypocritical hoof in its mouth.

The bigger problem may be the private contractors who have access to such sensitive data. According to the Wall Street Journal, in their article Spies For Hire, thousands of private civilians contractors have been paid to shift through the massive amount of sensitive data in an effort to prevent the next terrorist attack. Who controls them and what they can access, is a question that still must be answered.


After Newtown Tragedy, Parents Enter The Lonely Quiet, and Struggle To Survive

The recent political battles surrounding gun access and background checks have died down without any meaningful changes, and most of us have returned to our daily lives. But Mark and Jackie Barden must now continue on without their son, Daniel. Eli Saslow examines their journey in this sensitive piece, The Lonely Quiet. Please continue to keep them, and all the victims, in your hearts and prayers.

SISTERS IN CRIME JUNE MEETING INVITES JENNY MILCHMAN AND NANCY PICKARD

Sisters in Crime Kansas/Missouri chapter was proud to have Jenny Milchman, author of the terrific debut suspense novel, Cover of Snow, and best selling author Nancy Pickard at it's monthly meeting hosted by Mysteryscape bookstore on June 1st. The two writers lead a session on how publishing has changed in the past three decades. In this video highlight, Jenny and Nancy discuss the writing process, Jenny's 13 year journey to publication, and how books tours and self-publishing have changed the book industry. We had a lot of fun, and hope they come back soon!

MYSTERY WEEKEND ROUNDUP for JUNE 7, 2013

New TV Documentary Series - Swamp Murders

Investigation Discovery debuted a new series on Tuesday, called Swamp Murders. The opening episode focused on the Great Dismal Swamp, which straddles the border between Virginia and North Carolina. The story of Kathy Bonney is told, a 19 year old girl who was killed, perhaps by a family member, and her body dumped in the swamp. Check out this interesting new series, Swamp Murders.





Murder Mystery Novel Released by Young Hasidic Female Author

One Murder -- four witnesses -- each with a different account of what happened. This is the basis for a debut mystery novel, Shattered Illusions, by Leigh Hershkovich. This young author takes us into the history of the characters, where their personal beliefs color their interpretation of events on that fatal day. Completed when she was just 20 years old, this story will challenge you to look at the world through the eyes of a stranger.


Poison Pen Press announces winner of the Discover Mystery Award

Eileen Brady has won the second annual Discover Mystery Award for her novel, Dog Shows Are Murder. It's been described by the contest judge as "A promising first novel that will leave readers begging for more." The Discover Mystery Award  recognizes unpublished mystery writers with a $1000 cash prize and a publishing contract. Check out the details HERE to see the full list of finalists and read the entire story.


Use a Writing Group For Support As You Write

Writing is a lonely business, as anyone who has completed an novel length manuscript knows. But you don't have to wing it without some help, as Fiona McCann explains in this article from the Irish Times, The Group Think Method For Getting A Novel Finished.


Oh, The Treasures You'll Find In A Storage Locker!

Nobel prize winning author Pearl Buck finished a novel just before she died of cancer in 1973. An then, it vanished...for 40 years. Not her publisher nor her family knew it existed. Then The Eternal Wonder was discovered in a Fort Worth, Texas storage unit that was put up for auction when the renter failed to make payments. Pearl Buck's son, Edgar was quoted in the Star Telegram as saying, “I’m grateful that the woman in Texas was careful and literate enough to realize what she had stumbled on".

The manuscript has been returned to the family. Untangling the mystery of how it got there, and who took it after Ms. Buck died, may never be learned. But the novel is now available on Kindle. It will eventually be published in book form, assuming there's any justice in the world. Librarians everywhere, meanwhile, will be updating their bibliographies for Pearl Buck.



The Retro Cocktail Hour Returns with Two Hours of  TV Theme Music

If the babysitter just bailed on you, don't despair. The Retro Cocktail Hour, hosted by Darrell Brogdon, returns to radio Saturday night to dazzle us with a TV Tunes extravaganza! He features the usual suspects ( Peter Gunn, Perry Mason, Dragnet) plus a few other rare and exotic theme songs, including Perez Prado's take on the Monkees theme song. Starts Saturday at 7pm on KPR stations. Listen live at http://kansaspublicradio.org/ or on demand at http://www.retrococktail.org/.

FAMOUS JOB INTERVIEWS IN HISTORY

Like most writers, I have a day job, so I try to keep track of what the market is like, where it's going, and try to pick up career tips from newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal. But I think the editors had their tongues in their cheeks when they wrote this article, speculating on typical interview questions we've all heard (and sometimes been stumped by). How might they be answered by famous figures throughout history? Take a look. This is my personal favorite:

Interviewer: "Why should we hire you instead of the other highly qualified candidate?"
Answer:  "I don't think my brother's going to make it to the interview today." (Cain)

These were fun, too:

Describe your worst boss. "My boss used to murder his wives and then ask me to write the press release explaining why Anne Boleyn or Kathryn Howard would not be at the costume ball that Friday. It was a very tricky situation and required a lot of finesse on the part of yours truly." (Thomas Cromwell)

Do you take work home with you? "Well, duh! I mean, I am a spy." (Mata Hari)

What sort of compensation are you looking for? What would it take to make you happy? "Booty would be nice. Swag, booty, what have you. Ill-gotten gains would also be okay." (Genghis Khan)

What have you learned from your mistakes? "For best results, stay out of Russia, especially in December." (Napoleon Bonaparte)

TRUE CRIME TUESDAY JUNE 4, 2013

Federal Trial for Mobster Whitey Bulger Begins

Jury selection for the Whitey Bulger trial is slated to begin today in Boston. Bulger was on the run for 19 years after a rogue FBI agent warned him about an arrest warrant. Among the charges are indictments for money laundering, racketeering and over a dozen murders. Bulger was finally arrested in 2011 in California after witnesses spotted his long time girlfriend. The Wall Street Journal has an article about the trial at this link: Whitey Bulger Trial Starts.


Kansas City "Cold Case" Crime Fighter Retires After 30 Years

In 1984, long before Cold Case became a popular TV show, Janna Eikel began a career in law enforcement that would lead to the capture and conviction of some of the worst sex criminals ever to stalk the city. In the process she helped solved dozens of unsolved cold case crimes. She assisted in the capture of Kenneth McDuff, a serial killer from Texas who strangled over a dozen people, after he had been in Kansas City for a mere three weeks. Read more about this woman's remarkable odyssey, including why she was turned down by the Kanas City police department when she first applied for a job, in this article from the Kansas City Star.


DNA Gathering OK'd by Supreme Court

In a decision with profound implications for civil liberties, the US Supreme Court has ruled that states can gather DNA samples from people without a search warrant, even when that sample is used  to search for evidence in crimes unrelated to the original arrest, contrary to the fourth amendment to the US Constitution.  Ironically, the majority decision allowed the action by comparing DNA gathering to routine procedures such as mug shots and fingerprints, as an administrative tool, rather than justify its real intent...to find and identify suspects in other crimes.

The ruling was opposed by three liberal justices and joined by Antonin Scalia, normally a conservative law and order justice, who found the ruling hypocritical. In a scathing dissent which he read in open court, Scalia said “Make no mistake about it: because of today’s decision, your DNA can be taken and entered into a national database if you are ever arrested, rightly or wrongly, and for whatever reason,”. Read more about the decision at The New York Times.

Guest Blogger at The Rap Sheet

I'm a guest blogger over at The Rap Sheet, edited by J. Kingston Pierce. The award winning Rap Sheet is one of the mostly widely read blogs in the mystery fiction world, with news, reviews and a long running series, The Book You Have To Read. In my contribution to this outstanding series highlighting memorable mystery novels that have fallen out of notice, I discuss Patricia Carlon's The Unquiet Night. Please join me.

 

The Book You Have To Read: The Unquiet Night