Hi everyone,

Brian has pointed out more than once that my entire life could be neatly summed up as an ongoing quest for entertainment.

As Exhibit A — a thoroughly entertaining spouse — I think he may have a case.

Certainly entertainment has been my criteria for picking jobs. And after five years at Mystery Scene, I can honestly say that boredom has never threatened. We work with hundreds of interesting people — writers, editors, booksellers, critics, and librarians.

Just as importantly, we work for mystery readers — people who demand and properly value entertainment.

True entertainment is not only the pleasure of a moment. It’s a layer added to life — a joke that illuminates, a character that inspires, a story that pulls us into its world and shows us new aspects of our own.

So onward with our quest!

From the time he was four years old, Joshua Green has been an avid Sherlockian — a passion he shares with his father, Richard, and a growing circle of friends. A photo essay chronicling their activities is on page 12.

For years, Charlaine Harris produced well-written, interesting mysteries that made excellent use of their southern settings. Her career hit the stratosphere, though, when she added elements of the supernatural to her books. The Southern Vampire Mysteries are funny, romantic, action-packed, and scary, although it’s often the humans who chill the heart rather than the “monsters.” Equally effective, although darker in tone, are her Harper Connelly books about a woman who can “sense” the dead. Charlaine discusses both in her interview this issue.

With only three books published, Theresa Schwegel is a newcomer. But what books! Cheryl Solimini catches up with this fast-moving writer to discuss her signature blend of crime, cops, and Chicago.

We also offer for your inspection two authors whom time seems to have forgotten: Erle Stanley Gardner, creator of Perry Mason, and mystery innovator Anthony Berkeley aka Francis Iles. Then there’s Steve Hockensmith’s amusing interview with Roger Corman, the legendary B-movie producer and one of Edgar Allan Poe’s greatest fans.

The always entertaining Donna Moore turns on the light in the genre bedroom, revealing all. We’re shocked! Shocked!

In addition we have a mini-interview with TV reporter-turned-novelist Hank Phillippi Ryan, and Ed Gorman chats with suspense writer Tom Piccirilli. Brian has tracked down Jerome Doolittle for a “What’s Happening With” interview and, of course, our Mystery Scene Gift Guide offers all manner of delights.

We’ll have our final report on the Mystery Scene Fund Drive for the New Orleans Public Library in our next issue. It’s looking good, though—$4,270.00 and counting! We’ll continue to donate $5 for every back issue or gift subscription purchased through 2007, so solve some holiday gift dilemmas and help out New Orleans at the same time. Happy New Year!

Kate Stine

Editor-in-chief

Mystery Scene Magazine