Stephen J. Cannell

 By that I mean that no matter their level of success, most authors are approachable both to fans, other writers and, yes, even a few critics. Meet one author and he or she is sure to introduce you to another, whose books you’ll also enjoy.

   Regardless of whether an author’s novels are always on the best-sellers lists or the writer is just starting out; the mystery genre seems to have some of the nicest people. Oh, sure, there are a few, rare exceptions. (And we all know who they are!)

   Of course, I don’t know what the authors say behind our backs, but their attitude usually seems genuine.

   It was brought home to me again during a recent interview with producer, screenwriter and author Stephen J. Cannell.

   Cannell has been responsible for many of TV’s most iconic series, including The Rockford Files, The A-Team, Baretta, The Commish, 21 Jump Street and Adam-12. His latest novel is The Pallbearers.

  I was only supposed to have a half-hour telephone interview with Cannell, due to his busy schedule. We ended up talking for nearly an hour and never once did I get a hint that he needed to go or was tired of the questions.

He was a pleasure to talk with and a fountain of information.

   I am sure that Cannell will bring the same nice-guy attitude when he is one of the guests of honors during this year’s Sleuthfest, the annual writers’ conference sponsored by the Florida chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. The fun and games begin Feb. 26-28 at the Deerfield Beach Hilton in Deerfield Beach, Florida. That’s a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, for those of you unfamiliar with South Florida.

   As in the past couple of years, Sleuthfest will feature two guests of honor: David Morrell on Friday and Stephen J. Cannell on Saturday. Morrell has written more than 25 thrillers and numerous nonfiction books, starting with his 1972 novel First Blood. Many know the film version – a little flick called Rambo with Sylvester Stallone.

   Sleuthfest is one of the best conferences and one of the few devoted to writers instead of fans. If you’re interested in writing, this is the conference to attend.

   In addition to Morrell and Cannell, Sleuthfest also brings in many published authors from across the country to discuss writing techniques and agents and editors to discuss publishing.

   Mystery authors scheduled to be at Sleuthfest include James W. Hall, Charles Todd, Peter Robinson, Paul Levine, William Dietrich, James Grippando, P.J. Parrish, Barry Eisler, Lisa Black, Elaine Viets, James O. Born, Neil Plakcy, Les Standiford, Christine Kling, Jonothon King, Jeremiah Healy. Samdra Balzo and Joanna Campbell.

And, yes, there are more but I just ran out of space!

  Sleuthfest registration, which includes some meals, is $235 for members; $255 for nonmembers. There are still openings, so come on down.

As an incentive, the weather is darned nice!

Contact Linda Hengerer at SleuthFestLinda@gmail.com or verowriter@gmail.com. The Web site is www.sleuthfest.com.

If an average picture is worth a thousand words, then Ichiro Okada’s portraits of Lawrence Block in the Summer Issue of Mystery Scene add up to a magnum opus. We asked Ichiro to give us images that reflected both the man and the writer and, as you can see, the results are stunning. For more of Ichiro’s work, visit his website at <www.ichirookada.com>.

Larry himself likes to supplement the written word with pictures and other interesting items. Be sure to read about the “Philatelic Edition” of the latest Keller novel, Hit and Run, in our interview; an example of the specially-printed U.S. stamp is is shown here.

In Stanley Ellin’s classic short story “The Day of the Bullet,” a young boy’s future—and eventual death—is determined the day he sees his idolized father humiliated by a local mobster.

A similar—albeit more positive—turning point in the life of a young Florida boy came the day he turned on the TV and found Police Story, Joseph Wambaugh’s groundbreaking anthology series.

That day sent Jim Born into law enforcement, then into a career writing about cops, and eventually into this issue with a heartfelt tribute to his literary hero.

Other highlights of this issue include a chat with southern cozy writer Mary Saums; an appreciation of Thomas B. Dewey; and a look at what happens when lawyers go to the movies.

In the intriguing “Music, Murder & Mayhem,” Kevin Burton Smith considers “The Long Black Veil”— a song which has become something of an obsession of mine. Kevin calls it “timeless backwoods noir” and plumps for The Band’s 1968 cover as the best ever. Well, he’s right about the song but so wrong about the singer. After listening to dozens of versions—my iPod playlists are a strange brew—I’m here to tell you that nothing beats the Dave Matthews duet with Emmylou Harris. Unfortunately it hasn’t been released for sale and the only way to hear it is in a TV video clip from the 1999 All Star Tribute to Johnny Cash. Check it out on YouTube, it will give you shivers.

Best wishes,
Kate Stine
Editor-in-chief

P.S. What’s your favorite crime song? Let us know and we’ll create a Mystery Scene Playlist for the Fall Issue.