Saturday, 31 December 2011
Randy Wayne White's Seal Swim

White_RandyWayneFor the past four years, Randy Wayne White, author of the Doc Ford novels, has started the new year off swimming with the SEALS.

Navy SEALS, that is.

The swim across Tampa Bay is a fundraiser to raise money for those brave men and women who have fought for this country. Last year, with only three weeks notice, more than 100 people gathered at Gandy Beach to swim and offer support, raising more than $30,000 for a severely injured active duty Navy SEAL.

The swim has been formally named the Tampa Bay Frogman Swim and is supported by the Navy SEAL Foundation. The 2012 Tampa Bay Frogman Swim's 5k Open Water Swim and Fundraiser will be Jan. 8. More information is at the Web site.

The swim is open to anyone who can make the swim.

Randy has been making the swim for the past three years but this year there is a wrinkle in his plans.

Randy tore his rotator cuff and can't do the actual swim. But he will be there as a safety volunteer.

In an email, he mentioned that he was not happy to have to forgo the swim but wants to support the fund-raiser.

"Warm this year so an easy swim, damn. I'll bring box of books to sign for those who donate!" he wrote.

I was on the beach when Randy made his first swim with the SEALS. I was there to interview him for a cover story for Mystery Scene. My husband and I waited on the beach on Tampa Bay on what was one of the coldest mornings as the swimmers came ashore. (The photo was taken by my husband, Bill Hirschman). (The interview ran in the Winter 2010 Issue, No. 113.)

It was an amazing sight and no could help but be moved by watching these hearty men and women come ashore, freezing, but happy and knowing they had just raised money for a SEAL who had been disabled fighting for our country.

In the Mystery Scene profile, Randy discussed his volunteer work and I hope the story gave readers a different view of this author. His latest book Chasing Midnight, his 19th novel about Doc Ford, a marine biologist and former government op who lives on Florida’s Sanibel Island, will be published in March.

Happy New Year to all our readers. The entire Mystery Scene staff is grateful to each of our readers;

And best of luck to those who are making the swim and those, such as Randy Wayne White, who are there as safety volunteers.

Randy Wayne White's Seal Swim
Oline Cogdill
randy-wayne-whites-seal-swim

White_RandyWayneFor the past four years, Randy Wayne White, author of the Doc Ford novels, has started the new year off swimming with the SEALS.

Navy SEALS, that is.

The swim across Tampa Bay is a fundraiser to raise money for those brave men and women who have fought for this country. Last year, with only three weeks notice, more than 100 people gathered at Gandy Beach to swim and offer support, raising more than $30,000 for a severely injured active duty Navy SEAL.

The swim has been formally named the Tampa Bay Frogman Swim and is supported by the Navy SEAL Foundation. The 2012 Tampa Bay Frogman Swim's 5k Open Water Swim and Fundraiser will be Jan. 8. More information is at the Web site.

The swim is open to anyone who can make the swim.

Randy has been making the swim for the past three years but this year there is a wrinkle in his plans.

Randy tore his rotator cuff and can't do the actual swim. But he will be there as a safety volunteer.

In an email, he mentioned that he was not happy to have to forgo the swim but wants to support the fund-raiser.

"Warm this year so an easy swim, damn. I'll bring box of books to sign for those who donate!" he wrote.

I was on the beach when Randy made his first swim with the SEALS. I was there to interview him for a cover story for Mystery Scene. My husband and I waited on the beach on Tampa Bay on what was one of the coldest mornings as the swimmers came ashore. (The photo was taken by my husband, Bill Hirschman). (The interview ran in the Winter 2010 Issue, No. 113.)

It was an amazing sight and no could help but be moved by watching these hearty men and women come ashore, freezing, but happy and knowing they had just raised money for a SEAL who had been disabled fighting for our country.

In the Mystery Scene profile, Randy discussed his volunteer work and I hope the story gave readers a different view of this author. His latest book Chasing Midnight, his 19th novel about Doc Ford, a marine biologist and former government op who lives on Florida’s Sanibel Island, will be published in March.

Happy New Year to all our readers. The entire Mystery Scene staff is grateful to each of our readers;

And best of luck to those who are making the swim and those, such as Randy Wayne White, who are there as safety volunteers.

Wednesday, 28 December 2011
Peter and the Starcatcher Broadway Bound

altDave Barry and Ridley Pearson's popular 2004 novel Peter and the Starcatcher tells the story of Peter, an orphan who becomes Peter Pan.

The series resonated with readers, especially boys, who could not resist Peter's tales of pirates, sea battles, flying camels, devious villains, and worthy heroes.

Peter and the Starcatcher is adventure telling at its finest.

And soon the creation of Barry and Pearson will be coming to Broadway.

Disney Theatrical Productions is developing Peter and the Starcatcher to open next spring on Broadway.

The theatrical version of Peter and the Starcatcher was well received last spring by critics and viewers during its run at the New York Theatre Workshop.

Casting has not yet been finalized for the Broadway run, but Adam Chanler-Berat who starred as Peter in the workshop version is expected to return to the role.

According to several newspaper and web sources, the production is being adapted by Rick Elice (The Addams Family, Jersey Boys) and will include the same creative team as the New York Theatre Workshop production, with Roger Rees directing. The British actor Rees also directed The Addams Family, which closed a couple of months ago on Broadway but is now having a second life in tour.

Can't get to New York City? Then, as usual, I highly recommend the books.

Peter and the Starcatcher Broadway Bound
Oline Cogdill
peter-and-the-starcatcher-broadway-bound

altDave Barry and Ridley Pearson's popular 2004 novel Peter and the Starcatcher tells the story of Peter, an orphan who becomes Peter Pan.

The series resonated with readers, especially boys, who could not resist Peter's tales of pirates, sea battles, flying camels, devious villains, and worthy heroes.

Peter and the Starcatcher is adventure telling at its finest.

And soon the creation of Barry and Pearson will be coming to Broadway.

Disney Theatrical Productions is developing Peter and the Starcatcher to open next spring on Broadway.

The theatrical version of Peter and the Starcatcher was well received last spring by critics and viewers during its run at the New York Theatre Workshop.

Casting has not yet been finalized for the Broadway run, but Adam Chanler-Berat who starred as Peter in the workshop version is expected to return to the role.

According to several newspaper and web sources, the production is being adapted by Rick Elice (The Addams Family, Jersey Boys) and will include the same creative team as the New York Theatre Workshop production, with Roger Rees directing. The British actor Rees also directed The Addams Family, which closed a couple of months ago on Broadway but is now having a second life in tour.

Can't get to New York City? Then, as usual, I highly recommend the books.

Sunday, 25 December 2011
Denise Hamilton's Homage to Writers

altI always am looking for those tributes that authors give other writers in novels.

In Denise Hamilton's Damage Control, her heroine Maggie Silver finds that perfumes trigger her deepest memories. (See my post here)

But Maggie also is a reader and Hamilton shows Maggie's personality by telling the reader the books on her nightstand.

During Damage Control, Maggie reads a lot. The books she mentions are:

Toby Barlow’s first book, Sharp Teeth, a verse novel about werewolves: "Fangs, claws, furs. What's not to like?"

Georges Simenon: "whose dogged Paris police inspector understood how affairs of the heart could turn -- given the right mix of motive and circumstance -- to affairs of blood.

Charlaine Harris: "binging on vampires."

Hamilton, who writes a perfume column for the Los Angeles Times, mentions several authors, such as Jeffrey Marks' The Scent of Murder, in the column she wrote about perfume as clues to crimes.

Denise Hamilton's Homage to Writers
Oline Cogdill
denise-hamiltons-homage-to-writers

altI always am looking for those tributes that authors give other writers in novels.

In Denise Hamilton's Damage Control, her heroine Maggie Silver finds that perfumes trigger her deepest memories. (See my post here)

But Maggie also is a reader and Hamilton shows Maggie's personality by telling the reader the books on her nightstand.

During Damage Control, Maggie reads a lot. The books she mentions are:

Toby Barlow’s first book, Sharp Teeth, a verse novel about werewolves: "Fangs, claws, furs. What's not to like?"

Georges Simenon: "whose dogged Paris police inspector understood how affairs of the heart could turn -- given the right mix of motive and circumstance -- to affairs of blood.

Charlaine Harris: "binging on vampires."

Hamilton, who writes a perfume column for the Los Angeles Times, mentions several authors, such as Jeffrey Marks' The Scent of Murder, in the column she wrote about perfume as clues to crimes.