20 Over 30: Mystery Writers

I came to appreciate mystery fiction in college, so I'm glad to see the recently-launched Book Reporter Network site 20SomethingReads is featuring twenty mystery writers over thirty years old recommending their books and others to college students and twentysomethings. Among my favorites featured are Chatterrific guests Charles Ardai and S.J. Rozan, Joe Lansdale, John Lutz, and Ridley Pearson.

There's also a Mystery Lover's Bookshelf of twenty titles published in the past two years recommended by reviewer Joe Hartlaub.

At The 5-2: "The Escape" by Margaret Anderson

I thought this week's poem a fitting finale to National Poetry Month and 30 Days of The 5-2.

Also check out the audio by thriller writer J.T. Ellison.

The Noob, The Vet, and The Dead

I'm a longtime fan of NCIS, though not so much the last two seasons. This weekend, the show has figured into my comments on two blog posts.

Yesterday on Do Some Damage, Scott Parker pondered the popularity of grizzled, seen-it-all characters versus fresh-faced newbies.

And today on Criminal Minds, Chris F. Holm mourns dearly departed TV characters.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 29: Pulp Serenade

Pulp enthusiast, author, and editor of the Western fiction site Fires on the Plain, Cullen Gallagher discusses Keith Rawson's "$25".

And Cullen is the last blogger on tour. 30 Days of the 5-2 ends tomorrow with the final Poem of the Week for April, "The Escape" by Margaret Anderson.

Thanks again to all the participants. If the tour has inspired you, today is the last day to submit to guest editor Nancy Scott, who will choose the 5-2 Poem of the Week for May 28–June 3, 2012.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 28: Joan Leotta

North Carolina writer and storyteller Joan Leotta shares a poem of her own on what would have been her son's thirtieth birthday.

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 27: Lou Boxer

NoirCon organizer Lou Boxer discusses Stephen D. Rogers' "Too Easy by Far".

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

Following the 2012 MWA Edgar® Awards

I had the chance to read one of the finalist books, thanks to Ace Atkins, so I was rooting for THE RANGER for Best Novel as I followed the tweets of literary agent Stacia Decker. The book didn't win, but that reminded me of what an honor it must be to be nominated from the hundreds if not thousands of books submitted.

I was also glad to see a Raven Award go to M is for Mystery in San Mateo, one of the shops that carried The Lineup #4, and, sadly, closed in January 2012.

Here's a roundup of the awards from Mystery Scene Magazine's blog.

Congratulations to the winners and again to the nominees.

Still In Pursuit of Spenser

Smart Pop Books' IN PURSUIT OF SPENSER is currently Amazon's #1 bestseller in Mystery Reference. For the past few days, I've commented on Lee Goldberg's blog post about the book.

Best known for his DIAGNOSIS MURDER and MONK tie-in novels, Lee broke into screenwriting with the well-remembered SPENSER: FOR HIRE episode "If You Knew Sammy". Like me, he is a longtime Parker fan who doesn't shy from pointing out the shortcomings of Parker's writing.

As of yesterday, you can read Otto Penzler's introduction to the book on Smart Pop's website.

Cap In Hand

Once upon my childhood, Captain America was one of my favorite heroes. What appealed to me was he had no far-out powers like X-ray vision, super-breath, flight, etc.

I wasn't a kid anymore when the rumors of steroid use ran through Major League Baseball, but I was shocked to learn Mark "Big Mac" McGwire had used the then-legal supplement Androstenedione in breaking Roger Maris's longstanding single-season homerun record. Though "Andro" was legal, I didn't think it was fair. And then I realized Steve Rogers became Captain America by volunteering to take "Super Soldier" serum. This was similarly vetted by Uncle Sam, but was it fair?

Superheroes gain their powers in all sorts of ways, many by ingesting secret formulas. There was nothing "wrong" with it, but I was stuck on whether it was "fair". After all, Captain America was supposed to represent our country's highest ideals, one of which was fighting fair, and he himself had taken a shortcut. If he hadn't, he'd be physically incapable of serving.

I may be the only one to see the Super Soldier serum as a performance-enhancing drug, but it turned me off Cap for many years. With the quality of the recent Marvel movies beginning with 2008's Iron Man, I was curious how they'd present Captain America. I've had my eye on last year's Chris Evans movie until, yesterday, I bought it on Blu-ray at Amazon for $19.99.

Captain America's theme music sealed the deal:



It's the most stirring theme I've heard since Iron Man's "Driving with the Top Down", and it rivals John Williams's Superman theme.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 26: Sea Minor

As you may know, The 5-2: Crime Poetry Weekly has its roots in The Lineup: Poems on Crime. Author, blogger, and poet Nigel Bird discusses Patricia Abbott's "Articulating Space" from The Lineup #3, which was released for Kindle and Nook April 1.

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

#verseday Clothing

#verseday is a Twitter hashtag I came up with to promote poetry writing. I invite Twitter people to suggest poetry topics by noon Eastern each Thursday. Participants must then draft poems by noon Eastern Friday. The resulting poems can be submitted anywhere.

Even if you've never written a poem before, you're invited. Taking the time to think poetically can help your creativity on other projects. If you'd like to participate, tweet your topics, tagged #verseday, by noon Thursday, April 26. Since today is Poem in Your Pocket Day, my topic this week is clothing.

Write a poem about a favorite or otherwise significant piece of clothing by noon Friday, April 27.

Bill Granger Dies

By way of Jiro Kimura's Gumshoe Site and The Rap Sheet blog, it saddens me to learn journalist-turned-author Bill Granger died April 22. I enjoyed Granger's 1970s-90s November Man spy novels. He also wrote sports-themed mysteries about reporter Jimmy Drover and several standalones.

I had previously learned Granger suffered a stroke in 2003 that robbed him of much of his memory. I take solace that any ordeals he faced have ended.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 25: From Cop to Mom...

Kathleen A. Ryan returns to the tour from her personal blog, discussing Ray Succre's "Twelve Apologies".

See Kathleen's Day 11 post on Kimberly Poitevin's "Railway Sestina" on the group blog Women of Mystery.

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 24: Elizabeth A. White

Book reviewer and Web maven Elizabeth A. White interviews Indiana police officer C.J. Edwards about his poem, "Nothing to See Here".

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

At The 5-2: "Confessional Poem" by Paul Hostovsky

It's my pleasure to publish Paul Hostovsky for the third time between The Lineup and The 5-2. Enjoy.

If 30 Days of The 5-2 has inspired you, you're welcome to submit to 5-2 guest editor Nancy Scott through Sunday, April 29.

And if you'd like email notification of each 5-2 Poem of the Week, join our mailing list.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 22: Bloody Knuckles, Callused Fingertips

One of the first 5-2 alums, Keith Rawson presents a new poem today.

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 21: _holm

Scientist and author Chris F. Holm discusses "Reminder" by Stephen D. Rogers.

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 20: Tennessee Wordsmith

Multi-genre author and historian Troy D. Smith discusses "My Visit to the Gardner Museum" by Paul Hostovsky.

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 19: Thinking With My Skin

Mystery author Bill Cameron discusses "Hit and Run" by Bruce Harris.

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

#verseday Dick Clark

#verseday is a Twitter hashtag I came up with to promote poetry writing. I invite Twitter people to suggest poetry topics by noon Eastern each Thursday. Participants must then draft poems by noon Eastern Friday. The resulting poems can be submitted anywhere.

Even if you've never written a poem before, you're invited. Taking the time to think poetically can help your creativity on other projects. If you'd like to participate, tweet your topics, tagged #verseday, by noon Thursday, April 19. My topic this week is Dick Clark.

Write a poem about Dick Clark by noon Friday, April 20.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 18: Pattinase

Lineup #3 alum Patti Abbott discusses Chad Haskins' "Apparition".

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 17: Criminal Thoughts

R. Thomas Brown discusses "Enter the Sandman: 31S love affair" by Nyla Alisia.

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

Welcome Back, Cuddy.

Robert B. Parker's Spenser hooked me on P.I. fiction, but as my knowledge and taste within the genre developed, Spenser began to seem larger than life. He didn't age or feel the effects of a case for more than one book. By this time, I preferred characters who showed more humanity, who did more investigative work than rattling cages and seeing what developed. In a name, I preferred Jeremiah Healy's John Francis Cuddy.

Cuddy and Spenser have similar backgrounds, Cuddy serving in Vietnam as a military policeman, but Cuddy has a less intimidating presence and questioning style, gaining as much if not more cooperation. Like Spenser, Cuddy is monogamous, but the love of his life, Beth, died young from cancer before the series' first book. Though he tries to maintain a new relationship, he remains mindful of Beth, often visiting her grave for insight into cases.

For my money, the Cuddy series is one of the most cohesive and satisfying in all of P.I. fiction, so I'm pleased to share the news that the first nine Cuddy books are now available in Kindle, Nook, Apple, and Google formats from Mysterious Press/Open Road Media:

Blunt Darts (1984)
The Staked Goat (1986)
So Like Sleep (1987)
Swan Dive (1988)
Yesterday's News (1989)
Right to Die (1991)
Shallow Graves (1992)
Foursome (1993)
Act of God (1994)

In celebration of the ebook release, Healy will also publish a new Cuddy novel soon, his first in thirteen years.

At The 5-2: "The Hardest Thing" by Nancy Scott

On Day 16 of the 5-2's National Poetry Month blog tour, the site's inaugural poet, Nancy Scott, returns with "The Hardest Thing".

Also, April 29 is the deadline to submit to Nancy, who will choose The 5-2's Poem of the Week for May 28-June 3.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 15: Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine

Bill discusses "Suspect Has a History" by Jack Bates.

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 14: Temporary Knucksline

Crime author Charlie Stella surveys his favorite 5-2 poems and interviews Clarinda Harriss about "Sweet-talk Me on Valentine's Day".

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 13: Tao of JT

Thriller author JT Ellison discusses Nyla Alisia's "Enter the Sandman: 31s love affair".

JT also recorded "The Escape" by Margaret Anderson, which will end 30 Days of The 5-2 on April 30.

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 12

The first double-booked day of the tour: Steven Torres discusses Ray Succre's "Twelve Apologies" while Ron Earl Phillips discusses Peter Ivey's "Jenny Brown".

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

Boyd to Write Bond

British novelist and screenwriter William Boyd has been announced as the next James Bond author. His novel, not yet titled, will be published next year, and will return Bond to the late 1960s, as Kingsley Amis did in COLONEL SUN and Sebastian Faulks did in DEVIL MAY CARE.

I miss the continuity of Gardner's and Benson's Bond series, but the standalone approach probably generates more interest in James Bond year to year.

#verseday Fantasy Crush

#verseday is a Twitter hashtag I came up with to promote poetry writing. I invite Twitter people to suggest poetry topics by noon Eastern each Thursday. Participants must then draft poems by noon Eastern Friday. The resulting poems can be submitted anywhere.

Even if you've never written a poem before, you're invited. Taking the time to think poetically can help your creativity on other projects. If you'd like to participate, tweet your topics, tagged #verseday, by noon Thursday, April 12. My topic this week is fantasy crushes.

Write a poem about a crush you've had (or can imagine having) on an actor, actress, TV, movie, or book character by noon Friday, April 13.

If You Want to Know...

I've updated the former Writing Sample page of this blog to My Latest Stuff, highlighting reviews, blog posts, and tweets along with my creative work. I've also revised the About Me page. Have a look.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 11: Women of Mystery

Retired Suffolk County police officer and recent SMFS Derringer finalist Kathleen A. Ryan discusses Kimberly Poitevin's "Railway Sestina".

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 10: Edged in Blue

Jim Winter gushes over one of my favorite 5-2 poems to read aloud, "Some Like It Hot" by Charles Rammelkamp.

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

Sacrifice

As a Catholic, I've just gone through the season of Lent. Having few material vices (I don't have money to splurge on anything), it's hard for me to think of any material sacrifice. It seems hypocritical to give up something for forty days only to pick it back up on Day 41. In recent years, I've focused on behaviors I want to control better, and usually well before forty days are up, I catch myself falling back on the same behavior in the same situations I have for years.

Late last year, I discovered Verbal Judo when its founder, George J. "Rhino" Thompson, died. A core principle of Verbal Judo is that our natural responses to verbal abuse lead to more conflict because they are intended to assert or defend our own sensibilities. A trained response, on the other hand, consciously removes our sensibilities from the equation.

I looked into Verbal Judo because I was fed up with conversations that blew up into arguments. In the same way, I suppose, I was fed up with falling short of my Lenten goals. I've only begun to succeed as I've learned not to rely on instinct, but to seek practical training.

At The 5-2: "Too Easy by Far" by Stephen D. Rogers

Now nine days into this year's crime poetry blog tour, I'm pleased to publish this second 5-2 poem by Stephen, who is also a two-time Lineup alum.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 8: Monkey With a Pen

Anne Frasier showcases "Jenny Brown" by Peter Ivey. I was pleased to publish Anne's poem "Home" in The Lineup #3, which is available in print, Kindle, and Nook formats.

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

IN PURSUIT OF SPENSER, Ed. Otto Penzler

I'm a longtime fan of Smart Pop Books, which has previously published essay collections on such favorite topics as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, James Bond, and Firefly. In a blog post, editor-in-chief Leah Wilson muses that a P.I. of letters isn't Smart Pop's "usual fare," but publisher Glenn Yeffeth, "a huge Spenser fan," suggested the tribute. Having written a paper on Spenser once upon grad school, I'm oh-so-glad he did.

Not only do I know Spenser, I know the work of almost all the collection's contributors and have chewed the fat with them at least once if not many times. In several cases, the essayist is just the person a fan would want to weigh in on a given topic. For example, Ace Atkins, the Parker estate's choice to write new Spenser novels after Parker's death, reveals how much the Spenser books mean to him, how pervasive their influence on his life. Dennis Lehane, whose Kenzie and Gennaro books evoke his old Boston neighborhood the way Spenser did Parker's, describes Bostonians' distinct character. Lawrence Block, who impressively gives voice to several series characters, points out how identifiable and inimitable Parker's voice is. And in my favorite essay, S.J. Rozan takes on the polarizing Susan Silverman.

Sharing memories of meeting Parker over the years, several contributors brought him to life for me. As Spenser did time and time again, IN PURSUIT OF SPENSER delivers on its promise.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 7: Detectives Beyond Borders

Philadelphia copyeditor and crime fiction blogger Peter Rozovsky discusses "Outlaw at Peace" by Randall Avilez.

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 6: Waves and Words

Jeff Shelby, author of the Noah Braddock P.I. series, interviews Keith Rawson. Jeff also has a popular thriller, Thread of Hope, free today for Kindle.

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 5: Grift Magazine

Grift editor John Kenyon interviews Keith Rawson about his poem, "$25".

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

#verseday Baseball

#verseday is a Twitter hashtag I came up with to promote poetry writing. I invite Twitter people to suggest poetry topics by noon Eastern each Thursday. Participants must then draft poems by noon Eastern Friday. The resulting poems can be submitted anywhere.

Even if you've never written a poem before, you're invited. Taking the time to think poetically can help your creativity on other projects. If you'd like to participate, tweet your topics, tagged #verseday, by noon Thursday, April 5. My topic this week is baseball.

Write a poem about baseball by noon Friday, April 6.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 4: In Reference to Murder

2012 Derringer-winning fiction writer and poet B.V. Lawson discusses Jackie Sheeler's Occupy Wall Street poem, "Lt. Machine".

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

30 Days of The 5-2 - Day 3: Pluck You, Too

Today, Thomas Pluck discusses one of The 5-2's early poems, "$25" by Keith Rawson.

See the full 30 Days of The 5-2 schedule.

At The 5-2: "Suspect Has a History" by Jack Bates

This week's poem was inspired by police radio chatter. Thanks again to Alison Dasho and Thomas Pluck, who helped record the poem with me.

"Suspect Has a History" marks Day 2 of 30 Days of The 5-2. The tour began yesterday with Kevin Burton Smith discussing "Last Straw" by Susan Kelley. Yesterday also marked the fourteenth anniversary of Kevin's P.I. fiction reference site, Thrilling Detective. Kevin is celebrating with an update of the site, including poll results for the fourteen best P.I. novels of all time.

And submissions opened yesterday for 5-2 guest editor Nancy Scott.

Jennifer L. Knox Blogging about Funny Poetry

This first week of National Poetry Month, Lineup #2 alum Jennifer L. Knox is guest-blogging at The Best American Poetry about the place of humor in poetry. Recently I wondered aloud, "If a poem isn't meant to be funny, but people laugh, is it a funny poem?" I answered myself, "Sure, why not?"