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
HOLIDAY ISSUE #107
Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008Hi everyone,
Once again we’ve searched high and low for items for the annual Mystery Scene Gift Guide. In fact, Kevin Burton Smith found so many great gifts that we couldn’t fit them all in. You’ll see a couple of ideas on this page and there will be even more on our blog in the coming weeks. Feel free to post suggestions! And we’d love to hear your thoughts on the first ever color section in Mystery Scene.
Left: Dust jackets are at the intersection of the literary and visual arts and Diane Plumley’s engaging jewelry proclaims your love of both. Prices range from $10.00-18.00 for pins, necklaces, earrings, and tie tacks. Visit picture-perfect-designs.com to see more offerings.
Reading the financial news these days is more horrifying than anything Stephen King ever dreamed up. Don’t you wish that someone as competent as John Putnam Thatcher of the Sloan Guaranty Trust were in charge? Jim Huang is a long-time fan of Thatcher’s creator, Emma Lathen, and in his timely article, “Right on the Money,” makes a convincing case that you should be, too.
As the hometown of our next president, Chicago is also in the news. Sean Chercover gives a rousing tour of “the ultimate insider town” in his well-reviewed sophomore effort, Trigger City. In this issue, he talks to Oline Cogdill about writing, politics, and his ongoing love affair with the Windy City.
After you read the news, you’ll need some cheering up. May we recommend Donna Andrews? Her funny, sweet-tempered mysteries are just the thing to get you back on the sunny side of the street.
It’s not only criminals who are crafty these days. “The Arts & Crafts of Crime” takes a look at a variety of sleuths who interrupt their knitting, pot-throwing, doll-making, home-canning, and quilting to catch bad guys.
Brian’s hands-down favorite article this issue is “Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered,” Scott Ratner’s look at puzzle mystery films from the 1930s. Also in this issue, we’ll look at the intriguing Baroness Orczy of Scarlet Pimpernel fame, check in on Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan who is crossing boundaries yet again, and find out what happened to Erle Stanley Gardner’s missing “Fiction Factory.”
This coming March, Brian and I will be travelling to Left Coast Crime, our first ever trip to this conference as well as to Hawaii. (Hmm, coincidence? I think not.) Mystery Scene is sponsoring a “Meet the New Authors” Breakfast and a “History of Mystery” lecture showcasing fantastic art from the Mystery Scene archives. Hope to see some of you there!
Best wishes from all of us for a happy, healthy, and highly entertaining New Year.
Kate Stine
Editor-in-chief
Posted in Announcements, Commentary, David Morrell, Donna Andrews, Emma Lathen, Erle Stanley Gardner, Gift Guide, Laura Lippman, Scarlet Pimpernel, Sean Chercover | 1,079 Comments »