Wednesday, 24 November 2010
Bruce Desilva's Rogue Island Poetic Turn
titleAs I have written about countless times, I love finding those inside jokes in mysteries. It never fails to make me smile to read about a character reading another author's work. It's a nice homage from one author to another.
Bruce DeSilva's debut novel Rogue Island is loaded with these references. DeSilva's hero is old-school newspaperman Liam Mulligan, who covers Providence, Rhode Island. He grew up in the area and knows every inch of his hometown as well as being
on a first-name basis with mobsters, bookies, cops, fire fighters, attorneys and strippers – mainly from his childhood.
Liam also is an avid reader. During the course of Rogue Island, Liam shows his good taste in novels with references to Dennis Lehane, Robert Parker, Ken Bruen and Tim Dorsey.
But tough-guy Liam draws the line at poetry. When a friend begins to read a slim volume of poetry by Boston poet Patricia Smith, Liam calls her "some lame poet." In the next scene balks when his lady friend wants to read aloud some of Smith's work.
But when he hears the poem -- which DeSilva includes -- he quickly changes his mind about poetry. Liam also wants to see the poet's photo and calls Smith "hot."
alt
I doubt that Smith's husband would object to Liam calling her "hot" because she is married to DeSilva. And I am sure that by now Smith has forgiven Liam for calling her lame, because she is anything but. This reference is an amusing way for DeSilva to pay homage to his wife's work and it also fits nicely in the story.
Patricia Smith is an award-winning poet and performance artist and a four-time national individual champion of the notorious Poetry National Slam.
In his debut, DeSilva, former Associated Press reporter, delivers a strong, well-plotted
mystery. Rogue Island looks at organized crime, political conspiracies and the newspaper industry. And a bit of poetry, too.
PHOTO: Patricia Smith and Bruce DeSilva in San Francisco
Bruce Desilva's Rogue Island Poetic Turn
Oline Cogdill
bruce-desilvas-rogue-island-poetic-turn
titleAs I have written about countless times, I love finding those inside jokes in mysteries. It never fails to make me smile to read about a character reading another author's work. It's a nice homage from one author to another.
Bruce DeSilva's debut novel Rogue Island is loaded with these references. DeSilva's hero is old-school newspaperman Liam Mulligan, who covers Providence, Rhode Island. He grew up in the area and knows every inch of his hometown as well as being
on a first-name basis with mobsters, bookies, cops, fire fighters, attorneys and strippers – mainly from his childhood.
Liam also is an avid reader. During the course of Rogue Island, Liam shows his good taste in novels with references to Dennis Lehane, Robert Parker, Ken Bruen and Tim Dorsey.
But tough-guy Liam draws the line at poetry. When a friend begins to read a slim volume of poetry by Boston poet Patricia Smith, Liam calls her "some lame poet." In the next scene balks when his lady friend wants to read aloud some of Smith's work.
But when he hears the poem -- which DeSilva includes -- he quickly changes his mind about poetry. Liam also wants to see the poet's photo and calls Smith "hot."
alt
I doubt that Smith's husband would object to Liam calling her "hot" because she is married to DeSilva. And I am sure that by now Smith has forgiven Liam for calling her lame, because she is anything but. This reference is an amusing way for DeSilva to pay homage to his wife's work and it also fits nicely in the story.
Patricia Smith is an award-winning poet and performance artist and a four-time national individual champion of the notorious Poetry National Slam.
In his debut, DeSilva, former Associated Press reporter, delivers a strong, well-plotted
mystery. Rogue Island looks at organized crime, political conspiracies and the newspaper industry. And a bit of poetry, too.
PHOTO: Patricia Smith and Bruce DeSilva in San Francisco
Sunday, 21 November 2010
Kathy Reichs and Science
altNot every part of an interview makes it into the final story. It just can't. There is never enough space to include every topic, every quote, every bon mot that comes out during the course of an interview.
I often ask a lot of questions and try to include as much in an author profile to give the reader a good sense of who that person is. But still, so much is left on the cutting floor.
During my interview with Kathy Reichs, which is the cover story of the Fall 2010 issue of Mystery Scene, she and I talked a lot of about science.
Reichs writes the novels about Temperance Brennan, a fortysomething forensics anthropologist who returns in the newly released Spider Bones. That mirrors Reichs other occupation. Dr. Reichs, who received her PhD. at Northwestern University, is one of only 82 forensic anthropologists ever certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology. For years she consulted to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in North Carolina, and continues to do so for the Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Québec, both of which she weaves in her novels.
So making sure the science aspects of her novels is correct is very important to Reichs. I wondered how her colleagues view her work.
"I get a lot of positive feedback from my scientific colleagues," she said. "It very gratifying to hear from medical school professors or my other colleagues that they like the books. The best thing I can hear is about my books is 'you got it right.' That is so rewarding for me."

Kathy Reichs and Science
Oline Cogdill
kathy-reiches-and-science
altNot every part of an interview makes it into the final story. It just can't. There is never enough space to include every topic, every quote, every bon mot that comes out during the course of an interview.
I often ask a lot of questions and try to include as much in an author profile to give the reader a good sense of who that person is. But still, so much is left on the cutting floor.
During my interview with Kathy Reichs, which is the cover story of the Fall 2010 issue of Mystery Scene, she and I talked a lot of about science.
Reichs writes the novels about Temperance Brennan, a fortysomething forensics anthropologist who returns in the newly released Spider Bones. That mirrors Reichs other occupation. Dr. Reichs, who received her PhD. at Northwestern University, is one of only 82 forensic anthropologists ever certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology. For years she consulted to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in North Carolina, and continues to do so for the Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Québec, both of which she weaves in her novels.
So making sure the science aspects of her novels is correct is very important to Reichs. I wondered how her colleagues view her work.
"I get a lot of positive feedback from my scientific colleagues," she said. "It very gratifying to hear from medical school professors or my other colleagues that they like the books. The best thing I can hear is about my books is 'you got it right.' That is so rewarding for me."

Thursday, 18 November 2010
Sara Paretsky Announced as 2011 Mwa Grand Master

paretsky_sara

The author Sara Paretsky has been named the recipient of the 2011 Mystery Writers of America (MWA) Grand Master Award, the highest honor given by the organization in recognition of extraordinary career achievement and contribution to the mystery genre.

Paretsky is best known for her award-winning V.I. Warshawski series, launched in 1982 with the publication of Indemnity Only. The series was one of the first to feature a gutsy female private investigator, now a favorite prototype of the genre. Decades later, the Chicago PI continues to be a protaganist remarkable for her intelligence, backbone, and humanity in works that have consistently refused to shy away from weighty issues ranging from 9/11 to health care to violence against women. In between penning a dozen Warshawski novels, Paretsky founded Sisters in Crime in 1986, and generated two standalone novels, a collection of short stories, and 2007 memoir, Writing in the Age of Silence.

"I'm so glad to win this," said Paretsky in a statement released by the MWA. "I'm glad to have this as my very own."

The Grand Master Award will be presented to Paretsky at the MWA Edgar Awards Banquet at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City on April 28, 2011. A PDF version of the full press release is available here.

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Mystery Scene extends our heartfelt congratulations to Sara Paretsky on her honor. For more on the author Sara Paretsky from Mystery Scene, please see our #112 Holiday 2009 Issue, featuring a cover story with the author.

Sara Paretsky Announced as 2011 Mwa Grand Master
Teri Duerr
sara-paretsky-announced-as-2011-mwa-grand-master

paretsky_sara

The author Sara Paretsky has been named the recipient of the 2011 Mystery Writers of America (MWA) Grand Master Award, the highest honor given by the organization in recognition of extraordinary career achievement and contribution to the mystery genre.

Paretsky is best known for her award-winning V.I. Warshawski series, launched in 1982 with the publication of Indemnity Only. The series was one of the first to feature a gutsy female private investigator, now a favorite prototype of the genre. Decades later, the Chicago PI continues to be a protaganist remarkable for her intelligence, backbone, and humanity in works that have consistently refused to shy away from weighty issues ranging from 9/11 to health care to violence against women. In between penning a dozen Warshawski novels, Paretsky founded Sisters in Crime in 1986, and generated two standalone novels, a collection of short stories, and 2007 memoir, Writing in the Age of Silence.

"I'm so glad to win this," said Paretsky in a statement released by the MWA. "I'm glad to have this as my very own."

The Grand Master Award will be presented to Paretsky at the MWA Edgar Awards Banquet at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City on April 28, 2011. A PDF version of the full press release is available here.

alt

Mystery Scene extends our heartfelt congratulations to Sara Paretsky on her honor. For more on the author Sara Paretsky from Mystery Scene, please see our #112 Holiday 2009 Issue, featuring a cover story with the author.