Author Topic: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself  (Read 95005 times)

JBValeri

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #45 on: June 14, 2019, 11:53:45 am »
Hi All!

My name is John B. Valeri, and I'm a lifelong lover of crime (fictitious, of course).

It all started with Nancy Drew, who I assumed I was going to marry -- until I came to the realization, alas, that she was not a real person. But those books served as my "gateway" to adult authors. Mary Higgins Clark was my first love. And Murder, She Wrote.

I eventually "legitimized" my fondness for murder and mayhem by making it my life's (partial) work, first with the Hartford Books Examiner column (2009-2016) and then as a freelance writer/reviewer. I currently contribute to Crimespree Magazine, Criminal Element, The New York Journal of Books, The Strand Magazine, and Suspense Magazine ... and Mystery Scene, of course!

Writing for Mystery Scene has been a dream come true. Literally. I was a fan long before I ever dared to think there might be a place for me here. And I continue to be impressed by the enormity of the coverage. Every time I read an issue my TBR pile grows. And grows. And grows. (Yours too, I bet!) It's not a bad problem to have.

Looking forward to chatting with you all here!

John

JRob

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #46 on: June 14, 2019, 05:51:37 pm »
I agree with John. Every time I read an issue, the list of books I want to read grows!

RevPhil

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #47 on: June 15, 2019, 05:54:46 am »
Hi
For several years I've been curating Divine Detectives, an Index of crime fiction characters with religious vocations; clergy of various kinds, non-ordained professionals or laity (monks & nuns, church administrators, musicians, and others), or family members, from a variety of relions and denominations. My intent is to write a book exploring the particular issues related to religion, faith, and crime solving. With this in mind I'd like to have contact with authors whose characters would meet this distinct criteria. If you are an author or a fan with your own religious vocation, please let me know. I met a few authors at Biuchercon in St Pete last year, but would like to meet more. This overlap of Mystery, divine and terrestrial, is an unexamined but fascinating sub-genre.

Brian

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #48 on: June 15, 2019, 10:42:18 am »
Hi
For several years I've been curating Divine Detectives, an Index of crime fiction characters with religious vocations; clergy of various kinds, non-ordained professionals or laity (monks & nuns, church administrators, musicians, and others), or family members, from a variety of religions and denominations. My intent is to write a book exploring the particular issues related to religion, faith, and crime solving. With this in mind ...

Hi RevPhil and welcome!

Have you got the Reverend Thaddeus Dean, from The Mysteries of Reverend Dean by Hal White on your list? I really enjoyed this one.

From Hal: "A retired pastor has seen a lot of life, and has a perspective that, for example, a lawyer or a policeman doesn’t have. That’s not to say that those professions don’t have valuable experiences, but they’re different—and I would argue, not as balanced—as a reverend. Policemen see people at their worst, and lawyers only see people vis-à-vis a specific problem they want help with. But a pastor who has seen people day-in and day-out for three decades has seen all aspects of an individual, and that gives him the kind of expansive perspective I wanted."

Jim Huang

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #49 on: June 17, 2019, 03:22:44 am »
I love Josephine Tey! It's sad that she didn't write more. The one that sticks in my mind the most is the one about Richard III. I didn't know about the LHJ connection, my mother used to get the magazine.

I too wish that Tey had written more!  I'm a huge fan of DAUGHTER OF TIME, which these days is I think the gateway novel for Tey lovers.  But I also think MISS PYM DISPOSES and BRAT FARRAR are especially brilliant.  I'm leading a discussion on MISS PYM in Carmel, Indiana next week (June 26 at the library) and I'm looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks about it.

Jim Huang

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #50 on: June 17, 2019, 03:36:35 am »
I was supposed to introduce myself, wasn't it?  I'm Jim Huang.  I've been reading mysteries since middle school, but really fell in love with the genre when a high school English teacher suggested that I read GAUDY NIGHT, the book that really demonstrated for me to power of the genre.  Besides reading, I've edited a book review newsletter devoted to mysteries, owned a bookshop devoted to the genre, helped organize conferences (including the 2009 Bouchercon in Indianapolis), and served on the national board of Sisters in Crime.  These days, I continue to run a small press that publishes books for mystery lovers, while my day job is running the bookshop at Bryn Mawr College.

JRob

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #51 on: June 17, 2019, 03:48:59 am »
Hi Jim!

Wow, you have quite the resume within the mystery genre. I'm sure all the hard work organizing a Bouchercon must've been worth it once the convention went off.

Kate Stine, Editor

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #52 on: June 17, 2019, 07:04:17 pm »
Hi Jim, nice to see you here! Your bio covers a lot of ground. Are you still working on the programming for the Magna Cum Murder convention in Indianapolis?

CarolK

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #53 on: June 19, 2019, 11:01:13 am »
Hello from Carol Kubala, retired librarian who now has time to read some of the mysteries that have been sitting on my TBR pile. I'm a fan of those that put me smack dab in the locale, nature or medical themed, realistically strong female characters, and plots that leave a trail of clues to lead me to a conclusion. I believe twists are used far too often and I really don't like to know that there may be one or more as I'm then looking for them which takes some enjoyment away from the read.

Some of my favorite series mysteries
Julia Spencer Fleming - Rev. Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery
Becky Masterson – Brigid Quinn
Craig Johnson – Walt Longmire
Amy Stewart – Kopp Sisters
Paul Dorion – Mike Bowditch
Robert Dugoni – Tracy Crosswhite
Cuyler Overholt – Dr. Genevieve Summerford

After meeting and reading Stephen Mack Jones' August Snow I'm hooked. Two other recent finds that are right up my alley and tick off many of my check-marks are Diane Les Becquets' Breaking Wild and The Woman in the Forest, and The Glacier Mysteries by Christine Carbo.
 
Due to a strong new interest in DNA and genealogy I've started to read Nathan Dylan Goodwin and Steve Robinson.

Loved Anthony Horowitz's Magpie Murders and Stuart Turton's The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.

I'm certain I'll never get to all I'd like to read in the mystery genre but I'd be happy to die trying.

CarlaZ

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #54 on: June 19, 2019, 11:16:12 am »
Hi all, I'm Carla. I'm a reader and subscriber to Mystery Scene. I like to find long-running series with strong local color and then read them all. I love the Walt Longmire mysteries by Craig Johnson set in Wyoming and Armand Gamache novels by Louise Penny set in Quebec. Also, the Guido Brunetti mysteries by Donna Leon set in Venice.

I like to collect quotes from mystery novels, films and TV. One of my favorite features in the magazine is THE HOOK! I hope to see some good quotes in the Jokes, Quotes, and Anecdotes section.

SmartCracker

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #55 on: June 19, 2019, 04:01:31 pm »
Hi,

I'm just a reader, living near Toronto. We have a great mystery bookstore here, if you ever visit, called Sleuth of Baker Street. We used to also have Mostly Mysteries, and there was one more for a while but I forget the name. Sleuth is a great store.

I particularly like Cara Black, Peter Robinson, and G.M. Malliet.

JRob

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #56 on: June 19, 2019, 04:14:05 pm »
Nice to see some new people signing up and joining in on the board here! Hi CarolK, CarlaZ and SmartCracker!

bobmrg

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #57 on: June 20, 2019, 01:41:32 pm »
My name is Bob Gardner, and I fit into the reader/subscriber category. I write textbooks for aspiring pilots, so no fiction involved. My list of favorite authors is long and varied; suffice it to say that when I log onto Stop, You're Killing Me, some names just jump off of the screen and onto my buy list. Marcia Muller/Bill Pronzini are favorites (she wrote me into Both Ends of the Night as an airport manager), as are Steve Hamilton, Dana Stabenow, Patricia Smiley, C. J. Box, Peter Robinson, Ian Rankin, and fellow Seattleite Mary Daheim.

I'm ready and willing to field questions about civil aviation...communications is my specialty: I wrote "Say Again, Please - A Guide to Radio Communications."
« Last Edit: June 20, 2019, 03:16:43 pm by bobmrg »

RayPace

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #58 on: June 20, 2019, 04:39:38 pm »
About Ray Pace


I'm a member of the Authors Guild and the Alliance of Independent Authors. I'm founding President of the Hawaii Writers Guild, and a member of the Waimea Writers Support Group.

My works of fiction are:

Hemingway in Hawaii

Bearstone Blackie, Detective

Captain Mike's Honolulu Fright Night Tour, a ghost story.

 

My book, Hemingway, Memories of Les is a memoir dealing with my friendship with Leicester Hemingway, author of My Brother, Ernest Hemingway.

 

Some of the places I've worked as a writer:

 

Newspapers:

The Miami News, Miami, Florida

The Ft. Lauderdale/Broward Tribune, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

West Hawaii Today, Waimea, Hawaii

 

Magazines:

Miami Magazine, Miami, Florida

Florida Keys Magazine, Key West, Florida

Honolulu Magazine, Honolulu, Hawaii

Beckett Baseball,

Beckett Football,

Beckett Basketball, Dallas, Texas

 

Broadcast News and Public Affairs:

WAXY, Miami/ Ft. Lauderdale

WSBR, Boca Raton

WCAI, Ft. Myers

WIIS, Key West

KHVH, Honolulu

 

I've also worked for a consortium of record and video labels, handling publicity for the San Francisco Bay Area. The fifty labels featured jazz, country, new age, and blues. I live in Waikoloa Village on the Big Island of Hawaii.

JRob

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #59 on: June 20, 2019, 06:33:32 pm »
My name is Bob Gardner, and I fit into the reader/subscriber category. I write textbooks for aspiring pilots, so no fiction involved. My list of favorite authors is long and varied; suffice it to say that when I log onto Stop, You're Killing Me, some names just jump off of the screen and onto my buy list. Marcia Muller/Bill Pronzini are favorites (she wrote me into Both Ends of the Night as an airport manager), as are Steve Hamilton, Dana Stabenow, Patricia Smiley, C. J. Box, Peter Robinson, Ian Rankin, and fellow Seattleite Mary Daheim.

I'm ready and willing to field questions about civil aviation...communications is my specialty: I wrote "Say Again, Please - A Guide to Radio Communications."

Bob, I'm a big fan of C.J. Box too. I also have a great love for Mary Daheim's Alpine series. But I'm really disappointed in how her publisher is only putting her new go-round with the Alpine series out as an e-book series. I don't have an e-reader and refuse to do so. They should have a print on demand option.