Monday, 23 May 2011

crimefestThe CrimeFest Awards were handed out at the CrimeFest Gala Dinner May 21, 2011, at the Marriott Royal Hotel in Bristol, United Kingdom. This year's awards were for crime publications published in the UK in 2010. The annual convention draws top crime novelists, readers, editors, publishers and reviewers from around the world and gives delegates the opportunity to celebrate the genre in an informal atmosphere.

Congratulation to all the winners and nominees.

Winners

tyler_herringinthelibraryLast Laugh Award (best humorous crime novel first)
L.C. Tyler for The Herring in the Library (Macmillan)

E-Dunnit Award (best crime fiction ebook)
Field Grey, by Philip Kerr (Quercus)

Sounds of Crime Awards (best abridged and unabridged crime audiobooks)
Abridged: Our Kind of Traitor, by John le Carré; read by John le Carré, abridged by Peter Mackie (AudioGO)

Unabridged: Dead Like You, by Peter James; read by David Bauckham (Whole Story Audio Books)

For a complete list of nominees and winners please visit CrimeFest.com.

2011 Uk Crimefest Awards Winners Announced
Mystery Scene
2011-uk-crimefest-awards-winners-announced

crimefestThe CrimeFest Awards were handed out at the CrimeFest Gala Dinner May 21, 2011, at the Marriott Royal Hotel in Bristol, United Kingdom. This year's awards were for crime publications published in the UK in 2010. The annual convention draws top crime novelists, readers, editors, publishers and reviewers from around the world and gives delegates the opportunity to celebrate the genre in an informal atmosphere.

Congratulation to all the winners and nominees.

Winners

tyler_herringinthelibraryLast Laugh Award (best humorous crime novel first)
L.C. Tyler for The Herring in the Library (Macmillan)

E-Dunnit Award (best crime fiction ebook)
Field Grey, by Philip Kerr (Quercus)

Sounds of Crime Awards (best abridged and unabridged crime audiobooks)
Abridged: Our Kind of Traitor, by John le Carré; read by John le Carré, abridged by Peter Mackie (AudioGO)

Unabridged: Dead Like You, by Peter James; read by David Bauckham (Whole Story Audio Books)

For a complete list of nominees and winners please visit CrimeFest.com.

Sunday, 22 May 2011

altIt's a time of change for the fourth season of In Plain Sight.

Characters are changing. The marshall's office has a new muffin-bearing officer.

And Mary Shannon's pregnancy hasn't even been dealt with yet.

In Plain Sight—about the US Marshall’s highly secretive branch of the witness protection program (WITSEC) which relocates federal witnesses—airs at 10 pm Sundays on the USA Network.

altMystery Scene recently interviewed Mary McCormack, who plays Mary Shannon, and Frederick Weller who plays Marshall Mann. The first installment of the interview ran May 1, 2011.

Here's the second part of that interview.

Half of this season of In Plain Sight already had been shot when McCormack announced she was pregnant in real-life. McCormack and her husband producer Michael Morris are expecting their third child; they have two daughters.

Rather than having her stand behind desks, be seated a lot or wear jackets (in the New Mexico heat!) to try to hide her pregnancy, the writers are making Mary Shannon pregnant, too.

Will this new development make Mary Shannon even grumpier?

“I started out pretty cranky,” said McCormack, with a laugh.

“Yes, she might have been maxed out on crankiness already,” added Weller.

In Plain Sight melds solid plots with character studies each week. The chemistry between McCormack and Weller is a highlight of the series. The two are friends off-camera and McCormack is godmother to Weller’s daughter.

altThe actors have their own ideas about what keeps viewers returning.

“I think it's a great drama with a sense of humor. And I don't think that's a very common combination on television,” said Weller.

“USA really does characters well," added McCormack. “Even if you weren't interested in the procedural side of our show, or the witness protection side of it, I think the character relationships are really rich and fresh and funny. I love reading the scenes between me and Fred and I love Paul Ben-Victor's character so much.”

The WITSEC background helps, too.

“Witness protection just makes for exciting stories and it's a really rich sort of place to grab stories from,” said McCormack.

“People starting over completely, saying goodbye to their lives before. That never ends in terms of story opportunities.”

And Mary Shannon herself offers endless story opportunities, too.

“The pregnancy obviously is the huge shift around which all other shifts are defined,” said Weller.

“Mary Shannon is a person who doesn't let people in,” said McCormack.

“She barely lets Marshall in and he's the closest person in her life to her. And so to me the pregnancy is an opportunity for the audience to just know the real her. The audience has a really intimate relationship with her, even though she doesn't really allow anyone else to," said McCormack.

”And the stabilization of the family is continuing obviously. [Mary Shannon's sister] Brandi is engaged and getting married. And so far her relationship seems to be going great. And [Mary Shannon's] mother is still sober and doing great, and so that's all confusing for Mary Shannon. But I think in an interesting way.”

Photos: Mary McCormack and Frederick Weller, top; Weller and Paul Ben-Victor; McCormack. USA Network photos

In Plain Sight Interview Part Ii
Oline Cogdill
in-plain-sight-interview-part-ii

altIt's a time of change for the fourth season of In Plain Sight.

Characters are changing. The marshall's office has a new muffin-bearing officer.

And Mary Shannon's pregnancy hasn't even been dealt with yet.

In Plain Sight—about the US Marshall’s highly secretive branch of the witness protection program (WITSEC) which relocates federal witnesses—airs at 10 pm Sundays on the USA Network.

altMystery Scene recently interviewed Mary McCormack, who plays Mary Shannon, and Frederick Weller who plays Marshall Mann. The first installment of the interview ran May 1, 2011.

Here's the second part of that interview.

Half of this season of In Plain Sight already had been shot when McCormack announced she was pregnant in real-life. McCormack and her husband producer Michael Morris are expecting their third child; they have two daughters.

Rather than having her stand behind desks, be seated a lot or wear jackets (in the New Mexico heat!) to try to hide her pregnancy, the writers are making Mary Shannon pregnant, too.

Will this new development make Mary Shannon even grumpier?

“I started out pretty cranky,” said McCormack, with a laugh.

“Yes, she might have been maxed out on crankiness already,” added Weller.

In Plain Sight melds solid plots with character studies each week. The chemistry between McCormack and Weller is a highlight of the series. The two are friends off-camera and McCormack is godmother to Weller’s daughter.

altThe actors have their own ideas about what keeps viewers returning.

“I think it's a great drama with a sense of humor. And I don't think that's a very common combination on television,” said Weller.

“USA really does characters well," added McCormack. “Even if you weren't interested in the procedural side of our show, or the witness protection side of it, I think the character relationships are really rich and fresh and funny. I love reading the scenes between me and Fred and I love Paul Ben-Victor's character so much.”

The WITSEC background helps, too.

“Witness protection just makes for exciting stories and it's a really rich sort of place to grab stories from,” said McCormack.

“People starting over completely, saying goodbye to their lives before. That never ends in terms of story opportunities.”

And Mary Shannon herself offers endless story opportunities, too.

“The pregnancy obviously is the huge shift around which all other shifts are defined,” said Weller.

“Mary Shannon is a person who doesn't let people in,” said McCormack.

“She barely lets Marshall in and he's the closest person in her life to her. And so to me the pregnancy is an opportunity for the audience to just know the real her. The audience has a really intimate relationship with her, even though she doesn't really allow anyone else to," said McCormack.

”And the stabilization of the family is continuing obviously. [Mary Shannon's sister] Brandi is engaged and getting married. And so far her relationship seems to be going great. And [Mary Shannon's] mother is still sober and doing great, and so that's all confusing for Mary Shannon. But I think in an interesting way.”

Photos: Mary McCormack and Frederick Weller, top; Weller and Paul Ben-Victor; McCormack. USA Network photos

Wednesday, 18 May 2011

altThe good people who arrange the annual Malice Domestic conference are impressively organized. The 2011 conference in Bethesda, Maryland, just ended a couple of weeks ago -- probably some of those who attended haven't even unpacked -- and already the details for the 2012 conference are up.

That is inspiring. Makes me want to reorganize all my drawers and kitchen shelves.
Of course, anyone who has organized a conference knows that you have to keep on top of things at all times. You start planning for the next conference before the current one has even begun.

altMalice Domestic is one of my favorite conferences but, unfortunately, I haven't been able to attend for about five years because of other conflicts and timing. But I want to get back there as I always enjoyed the conference.

Malice Domestic celebrates the traditional mystery, such as those written by Agatha Christie.

As much as I admire Christie's work, I think that today's authors of the traditional mystery have surpassed even Dame Christie's work.

Many traditional mysteries come down to family relations, workplace situations and daily life.

The amateur sleuth novels that revolve around occupations give us an insider's window to worlds we are curious about.

altThose are exactly the types of novels that the 2012 Malice guests of honor write.

Guest of honor will be Jan Burke, top, the multi-award winner of the Irene Kelly series and several stand-alone thrillers and short stories. Her new Irene Kelly novel Disturbance comes out in June.

Toastmaster will be Dana Cameron, at left, who writes the Emma Fielding series of archaeological mysteries and some excellent short stories.

Simon Brett, who writes delightful British cozies, will pick up the Lifetime Achievement

The late Tony Hillerman will be the honoree of the Malice Remembers. Hillerman, of course, showed us the Southwest and the Native American culture in his long-running series.

The Poirot Award will go to Lee Goldberg, author, TV producer, and scriptwriter.
And since Malice is a fan-based convention, the Fan Guest of Honor will be Ruth Sickafus.

Malice Domestic 24 will be April 27 - 29, 2012, at the Hyatt in Bethesda, MD. Start packing your bags.

PHOTOS: Jan Burke, top, Dana Cameron.

2012 Malice Domestic Just Around the Corner
Oline Cogdill
2012-malice-domestic-just-around-the-corner

altThe good people who arrange the annual Malice Domestic conference are impressively organized. The 2011 conference in Bethesda, Maryland, just ended a couple of weeks ago -- probably some of those who attended haven't even unpacked -- and already the details for the 2012 conference are up.

That is inspiring. Makes me want to reorganize all my drawers and kitchen shelves.
Of course, anyone who has organized a conference knows that you have to keep on top of things at all times. You start planning for the next conference before the current one has even begun.

altMalice Domestic is one of my favorite conferences but, unfortunately, I haven't been able to attend for about five years because of other conflicts and timing. But I want to get back there as I always enjoyed the conference.

Malice Domestic celebrates the traditional mystery, such as those written by Agatha Christie.

As much as I admire Christie's work, I think that today's authors of the traditional mystery have surpassed even Dame Christie's work.

Many traditional mysteries come down to family relations, workplace situations and daily life.

The amateur sleuth novels that revolve around occupations give us an insider's window to worlds we are curious about.

altThose are exactly the types of novels that the 2012 Malice guests of honor write.

Guest of honor will be Jan Burke, top, the multi-award winner of the Irene Kelly series and several stand-alone thrillers and short stories. Her new Irene Kelly novel Disturbance comes out in June.

Toastmaster will be Dana Cameron, at left, who writes the Emma Fielding series of archaeological mysteries and some excellent short stories.

Simon Brett, who writes delightful British cozies, will pick up the Lifetime Achievement

The late Tony Hillerman will be the honoree of the Malice Remembers. Hillerman, of course, showed us the Southwest and the Native American culture in his long-running series.

The Poirot Award will go to Lee Goldberg, author, TV producer, and scriptwriter.
And since Malice is a fan-based convention, the Fan Guest of Honor will be Ruth Sickafus.

Malice Domestic 24 will be April 27 - 29, 2012, at the Hyatt in Bethesda, MD. Start packing your bags.

PHOTOS: Jan Burke, top, Dana Cameron.