Updating the Site and more

I've been busy.  Writing, real life, and ... I'll bet you've been busy, too.

I've just completed sending in a load of edits on my website to the talented folks at xuni.com, so you should see a few changes soon.

Doug Lyle and I have been recording some great interviews for Crime and Science Radio.  We'll also be together for a fundraiser for the Friends of the Placentia Public Library on March 7th.  You can buy tickets for the luncheon at the library.  More schedule details here.

Since I know you want a new book, I'll keep this brief.  Thanks for your continued support!


Jan

Happy Halloween — and a couple of recommendations

Hope you all have a happy Halloween tomorrow. (Yes, my parents had the coolest furniture ever.)

I'll be away from the blog for a couple of days. 

If you are looking for a fascinating book to read in this haunted season, I highly recommend Deborah Blum's Ghost Hunters. At the end of the 19th century, and in the face of scorn from other scientists, William James — renowned Harvard professor of psychiatry — and a group of eminent scientists decide to study ghosts, spiritualism, and psychic phenomena in an empirical way. 

This is one of my all-time favorite works of nonfiction.

I also hope you'll listen to Crime and Science Radio on Saturday (10 AM Pacific, 1 PM Eastern, 5 PM GMT) -- our guest is forensic anthropologist Marilyn London.

Eighteen on Audio

I'm so happy about this review in Mystery Scene Magazine for the audio edition of Eighteen, from Brilliance!

You can buy this edition from Audible, AudioBookstand, Amazon, and Indie Bound -- and other audible book dealers.

What I'm Reading

Tim and I read together (and separately as well). We just finished Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, which we have read many times before. I never grow tired of it, even if there is always that point when I want Marianne to get over herself sooner than she does.

The books still in progress are appropriate for this haunted month.

We haven't read Roger Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October as many times as Sense and Sensibility. I think this is our third or fourth time through it. We are better able to appreciate his skill with each reading. The humor still makes us laugh, the unsettling still unsettles, the anticipation of the next chapter remains. We notice something about the way it builds, the masterful hand at work. Like many other readers, we tackle it one chapter each night through the month.

New to us, but completely captivating and beautifully written is Peter V Brett's The Warded Man (first published in the U.K., as The Painted Man). This is the first book in the Demon Cycle Series.
I am grateful to my friend and talented author Lia Matera, who recommended The Warded Man so enthusiastically, I had to give it a try. Lia's brilliant. Give her books a try, too.


The lovely photo above was found on Morguefile, and is the work of GaborfromHungary, who kindly gave me permission to use it here.

A Brief Saturday Evening Post

I want to thank all of you who sent suggestions for improving the new  sidebar. I will be incorporating them over the coming week. 

Meanwhile, what am I reading?

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.

 "...his will was read, and like almost every other will, gave as much disappointment as pleasure."

Justice Done

This is the newest of my series of six ebooks.  Justice Done includes four stories and is only $1.99.

You can purchase and download it here or buy it from your favorite e-bookseller.

The stories are: 

The Quarry

Miscalculation

Two Bits

An Unsuspected Condition of the Heart

"The Quarry" is a new story about Bunny Slye, a character you met in my story in A Study in Sherlock.

I fell in love with World War I veteran Boniface Slye and his friends Dr. Max Tyndale and Aloysius Hanslow, and their world of the 1920s. I hope you'll enjoy watching them work together to solve the murder of the owner of an abandoned quarry, a neighbor for whom Bunny has no love.

The last three are reprinted from Eighteen, a collection of my first eighteen short stories.

"Miscalculation" takes place on the Queen Mary. The story has lots of true statistics about the ship and information about its history woven into it, and the key to the mystery is based on a little known fact about its wartime use during World War II.

"Two Bits" was nominated for an Anthony for Best Short Story. Writing it gave me a chance to solve a historical crime — the most infamous kidnapping in American history prior to the Charles Lindbergh, Jr. case — to my own satisfaction by using it as the inspiration for this one.

"An Unsuspected Condition of the Heart" is set in the Regency period in England. I'm hoping it will make you laugh and feel a little unsettled all at the same time. I love reading Georgette Heyer, and while I don't pretend to possess her wit, I loved being able to give a nod of appreciation in her direction.

Enjoy!

Come to the Military Book Fair!

Today I drove to San Diego to meet with family and friends, and to drop off a donation of books for the upcoming Military Book Fair.  I hope you'll be able to join me for this event, which will be held on the U.S.S. Midway Museum on 

Saturday, November 8th 9:00-5:00 PM

Get full details here:

http://www.militarybookfair.org/event.html

Admission: free with admission to the U.S.S. Midway Museum, which is $10 for San Diegans, and $20 or less for others. See this site for the ticket prices (and buy tickets online and save:) 

http://www.midway.org/hours-tickets

I'll be on a panel at 10:00 AM with J.T. Ellison, T. Jefferson Parker, Charles Todd, Bob Hamer, and Andrew Peterson. Our Panel Master is W. Craig Reed.

Iris Johansen, Catherine Coulter, James Rollins, Dale Brown, Ted Bell, Grant Blackwood, D.P. Lyle, and Andrew Kaplan are among the many other authors who will be there, along with some amazing veterans, Navy Seals and Marines.

You can help veterans, meet some of your favorite authors, and more! Plus, you get to tour the Midway Museum! 

A Saturday Evening Post: Why I Love Reading: Zelanzy's Night in the Lonesome October

The man had a strange way of regarding one's face, one's clothing, one's boots; and of listening.

As a watchdog, I could appreciate the mode of total attentiveness he assumed. It was not a normal human attitude.  It was as if his entire being were concentrated in the moment, sensitive to every scrap of intelligence our encounter furnished.  

—Snuff, a character in Roger Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October, describing a meeting with the Great Detective. 

A fine, concise description of Sherlock Holmes, wouldn't you say? If it is Holmes. (Of course it is.)

Snuff is a watchdog. And more. As he tells us from the beginning:

I like being a watchdog better than what I was before [Jack] summoned me and gave me this job.

You'll have to read the book to figure out who Jack is, but I believe Zelzany's to be one of the freshest approaches to that legend, too.

My husband and I reread this book, a chapter each night, throughout this month. Max Gladstone wrote a fine appreciative post about it here.

Convicted: new short story ebook includes an Irene Kelly story

For those of you who want to read more about Irene Kelly, "The Anchorwoman," a new short story about her, is out today in Convicted. It's one of four stories in the ebook collection, which costs $1.99.

In "The Anchorwoman," Irene is a journalism student who hears a comically strange story from someone she knew in high school — a story that Irene comes to believe is no laughing matter.

The collection also includes "Revised Endings," "The Muse," and "Devotion." "Devotion" features Frank Harriman, Ben Sheridan, and Bingle.



For ordering information, click here to go to
http://books.simonandschuster.com/Convicted/Jan-Burke/9781476749167

All Kinds of News! 3 Stories and 2 Events

Until April 14, 2014, you can read Caught Red-Handed for free! 
Pocket Books is offering the opportunity to read this ebook, which contains a new short story about Frank Harriman, for free on their XOXO After Dark site for a limited time.  Click here to read more about the book and to read it free.

Apprehended, the next ebook in this series, is now available for $1.99.  Apprehended includes "The Unacknowledged," a new Irene Kelly short story.  Click here to learn more about it!

Another new short story, "Stepping Into the Dead Zone," appears in Games Creatures Play, edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner will be available on April 1. This anthology brings the supernatural together with games and sports. I chose Dodgeball. I will be blogging soon about this story. 

I'll be participating in the North Carolina Literary Festival.

First, on Friday, April 4 at 8:00 PM, I'll be one of the storytellers at The Monti. The other storytellers  include R.L. Stine, Davey Wreden, Jami Attenberg, and Karen Fowler.Visit the site to learn more and purchase a ticket ($15).

Then, on Saturday, April 5 at 12:15 PM, at I'll join Cat Warren, Deborah Blum, and Lisa Mayhew for the Forensics Panel at the North Carolina Literary Festival. Visit this site for more information and to see what else is happening at the festival.  This event is free and open to the public. 

New ebook out next week: Apprehended includes a new Irene Kelly story!

Apprehended, a new ebook containing four short stories, will be available for $1.99 starting on  
St. Patrick's Day: March 17, 2014!

Apprehended includes four short stories.  One of them, "The Unacknowledged," a brand new short story featuring Irene Kelly as a young journalism student learning the ropes from Jack Corrigan.  You may remember Corrigan from Bloodlines.  

I think you'll enjoy seeing Irene at this early stage of her career!


You can learn more about the ebook on Simon & Schuster's Website, and see options for ordering it.

Places I'll be, things you can read, good stuff to listen to

Having enjoyed my weekend with the Baker Street Irregulars and Forensic Fest with Orange County Sisters in Crime, I thought I'd let you know some of the places I'll be over the next few months.  More will be added as details are confirmed!

Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Left Coast Crime 2014 Writing Workshop (I'm teaching with Jerrilyn Farmer)
Portola Hotel & Spa
Two Portola Plaza
Monterey, CA 93940

(Please note that space is limited -- register now!)

March 20-23, 2014

Left Coast Crime 2014 -- Calamari Crime

Portola Hotel & Spa
Two Portola Plaza
Monterey, CA 93940

Saturday, March 29, 2014, 8:45 AM to 4:00 PM

OC Sisters in Crime's Ladies of Intrigue 

Huntington Beach Hotel  (near Bella Terra Shopping Center)

7667 Center Avenue

Huntington Beach, CA 92647

April, 2014

North Carolina Literary Festival – more information soon!

June 6-7, 2014

A Scintillation of Scions VII

Hilton Garden Inn, Baltimore/Arundel Mills

7491 New Ridge Rd

Hanover, MD 21076

July 8-12, 2014

ThrillerFest/CraftFest 

Grand Hyatt New York

109 E 42nd Street (at Grand Central Terminal)

New York, NY 10017

November 13-16, 2014

Bouchercon 2014

Hyatt Regency Long Beach

200 S Pine Ave

Long Beach, CA 90802

And if you haven't already ordered my new ebooks, such as Caught Red-Handed, available now, remember that you get four stories for $1.99, including a new story about Frank Harriman in this first book, and a new one about Irene Kelly in Apprehended. (Apprehended will be available March 17, but can be preordered now.)

Finally, I hope you've visited Crime and Science Radio's site and listened to the ten shows we've already posted there.  You can listen to them free a number of ways: from the site, on BlogTalkRadio, from Suspense Magazine's site, or via iTunes (under podcasts, use the search term "Crime and Science Radio Suspense" and the free download options will come appear).  

To name a few of the interviews you'll find there: Marcia Clark on legal matters; Leslie S. Klinger on Sherlock Holmes and Forensic Science; Deborah Blum on The Poisoner's Handbook, Cat Warren on What the Dog Knows: The Science and Wonder of Working Dogs; David Corbett on being a private eye; Katherine Ramsland on The Devil's Dozen, the psychology of serial killers; Jefferson Bass, aka Dr. William Bass and Jon Jefferson, on forensic anthropology; and next weekend, Dean Giamalas, director of the crime lab for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.  We also post additional links for further information.

I've loved doing this show with DP Lyle, MD and Suspense Magazine Radio.  I hope you'll give it a try!  

Caught Red-Handed Is Available Now!

I'm excited to announce that the first of a new series of ebooks is out now!

Caught Red-Handed is only $1.99 from most sellers of ebooks and is available for Amazon Kindles, Nooks, iPads and iPhones, and other devices.  You can order it here or from any ebook retailer.

This collection of four short stories includes "The Privileged," a brand-new short story, and three stories from Eighteen. ("The Loveseat," "Ghost of a Chance," and "White Trash.")

"The Privileged" is set in Bakersfield, California, where Frank Harriman is a rookie officer, about to answer his first "bad smell from a trailer" call with his training officer.  Some of you will remember the training officer, Bear — who introduced Frank to Irene — from Hocus.

It's a chance to see Frank as a young officer just out of the academy, learning the ropes, dealing with department politics and unexpected situations.  You'll learn a little more about him, and how he became the man you know from the Irene Kelly series.

I'm excited to announce that D.P. Lyle and I will be hosting an online radio program, Crime and Science Radio, part of Suspense Magazine Radio.

I'll have more news about that soon, but in the meantime, plan to listen to our first program on Saturday, September 7.

In other news, in addition to the new short story about Frank Harriman, "The Privileged," I've completed a short story about Irene Kelly, "The Unacknowledged."  Both stories are set when they were younger and not yet met.

For those of you who are fans of The Messenger, I've also completed a new short story about Tyler Hawthorne, "Little Birds," set near the time of the American Civil War.

So yes, three stories about three characters you know, giving you a chance to see them in earlier times.  When we are closer to their release dates in 2014, I'll give you more details.

In the meantime, you can always read "The Amiable Miss Edith Montague," in MWA's The Mystery Box.  I loved these characters so much, I hope to return to them soon.

To answer the two questions I am asked most often:  I am at work on a standalone thriller, a book that is not a part of any series.  Yes, I do plan to write more Irene Kelly books.

News and so on...

Just returned home from two back-to-back family trips, one the tri-annual reunion of the Moriarty family (yes, fellow Sherlockians, I am aware -- there is also a John Watson in the family tree), the other to visit my husband's family near Buffalo.  I have been working even on the road, but on this day of laundry and washing out a suitcase attacked by a loose tube of toothpaste (yes, we usually put such things in plastic bags, etc.) and sorting through mail, I have looked up and seen that I am again long overdue in posting here.

So some news, with more to come:

I've written a supernatural story for a new collection edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner, Games Creatures Play.  The story I wrote is about dodgeball and stolen children -- in the sense of those taken by the fae -- read the haunting W.B. Yeats poem, "The Stolen Child" to see what I mean.  These lines from the poem

Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

are quoted in the story, which (mostly) takes place during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

As we get closer to the pub date of April 2014, I'll have more to say, a picture of the cover art, and so on -- but since anthologies can be hard to find if you wait too late to order, I thought I'd give you a heads up now.


I've recently completed a story about Frank Harriman.  When you read it, you'll get to see Frank as a rookie, just before he meets Irene.  As soon as I have word from my publisher, I'll let you know when it will be available.

Other stories are listed on the short story page of my Website.

Events:

I will be speaking at the Orange County Sisters in Crime meeting on July 28th.

On October 19th I'll be at the Forensic Foray sponsored by the Arctic Cliffhangers, the Alaska Chapter of Sisters in Crime.

Next year, in March I'll be at Left Coast Crime 2014.  Jerrilyn Farmer and I will be teaching the Writing Workshop there, which has limited space available -- sign up now.

And in November, I'll be at Bouchercon in Long Beach, California!

Photo credit: Scott Liddell http://www.scottliddell.com

Holy Smoke

I can't believe I haven't posted here since December.  Every time I come to this page thinking it has only been a few weeks since I posted something, I'm reminded that just thinking about doing something does not get it done.  Now in a better ordered world, there would be hardworking author elves, but alas...

So a few notes and a little news:

My newest story, "The Amiable Miss Edith Montague," appears in Mystery Writers of America Presents The Mystery Box, edited by Brad Meltzer.  This anthology is available now in hardcover, paperback, and ebook editions.

I enjoyed seeing Brad, R.L. Stine, James O. Born, and many of the other contributors at The Mysterious Bookshop in New York for the launch of the anthology.  The event was SRO -- here's Brad on a ladder talking to the crowd about the book.  The camera does not capture how gracious he's being.  Brad writes dynamite thrillers, hosts an intriguing television show (History Channel's Decoded), and is an Eisner Award-winning comic book author.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  He's also one of the most generous people I know in a generous community of writers (my genre rocks) and gives back in so many ways.  For example, through this charity.

The launch took place during Edgars Week, at the end of which Mystery Writers of America gave out the Edgar Awards at a ceremony held at the Grand Hyatt.  This year, I handed a Raven Award to the most deserving Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore, which also celebrated its 20th anniversary this month.  I am so happy that MWA has named Charlaine Harris as its new president!

At the banquet I was seated with Leslie S. Klinger and friends, among them Brian Skupin and Kate Stine of Mystery Scene.

Thinking of Sherlockian friends, I just realized, to my dismay, that this dearth of posts means I have not yet talked about the thrill of being "given a shilling" by the Baker Street Irregulars.  That must have a post of its own!

You may have read in the New York Times that in March I had the honor of officiating at the wedding of Twist Phelan and Jack Chapple.   Twist, who won the Thriller Award for her short story "A Stab in the Heart," has a new story in the July 2013 issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, "Footprints in Water."  You can read an excerpt from it here.

Tim and I also had loads of fun at Left Coast Crime in Colorado Springs, a well-organized conference.  Have you signed up for LCC in Monterey next year?

I also see I missed posting about another adventure which deserves a post of its own, my appearance (is it an appearance on radio?) on The Dinner Party Show in December.  I was on the program with Marcia Clark and hosts Christopher Rice and Eric Shaw Quinn.  It's a cross between a riot and a royal banquet.  A particularly hilarious riot/banquet.  You can listen to our episode online here.

Ways to keep up with me during the long wait between days when I say, "I need to blog" and the days when I actually blog?

Twitter:  @jan_burke

I'm on Facebook, and I now have a fan Page on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/WriterJanBurke

And I usually tweet every weekday for @crimelabproject

Oh, and yes, I am writing a book and finishing a short story.  The book is a standalone novel, the short story is about Frank Harriman.  More news...well, if not soon, eventually!

Hello from the worst blogger ever

Well, okay, not ever.  And I suppose other criteria for worst would leave me far out of the running.

But I have been terrible about keeping up here.

So here's a little news!


1) There's a new trade paperback of Bones available now.


2) I have a fan page on Facebook!  Yes, finally!  And since it will be a little easier to update than the Website or blog, news will probably be there first.  You can "like" it if you are on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/WriterJanBurke

3) Those of you on Facebook are invited to participate in a chat with Marcia Clark, Christopher Rice, and me on Thursday, August 30th at 3 PM Pacific, 4 PM Mountain, 5 PM Central, 6 PM Eastern time in the U.S., 11 PM GMT.  Marcia's hosting the first one, so just "like" her Facebook page -- if you have trouble with the link, then just search for "thatMarciaClark," which is also her Twitter handle.
She's already got some great questions in mind, so hope to see you there.

4) I will be at Bouchercon in Cleveland!
This event -- fewer than 80 days away -- is nearly sold out, so if you want to attend, now is the time to sign up.

5) Other schedule updates can be found on my Website.  The schedule page is at
http://janburke.com/schedule.php

6) For those who may not know, I'm also on Twitter.  Follow me at Jan_Burke --
http://twitter.com/Jan_Burke

First, about Ian in Disturbance.

I posted something about this on Spoilerville, but since some of you are asking about it here -- Yes!  There is a typo in the hardcover edition of Disturbance.  The confusing Ian is Kai.


What happened?

I had named the character Ian in an earlier draft.  Changed the name.  (If you want to know why, please read about it on Spoilerville.)  Apparently, one slipped through despite several people reading through several other drafts.

In other words, I made a mistake.  I know, I know... but really, happens all the time.

Sorry for any confusion, and especially for yanking some of you out of the story and irritating you more than I would have believed possible.

Jungle Red and other adventures

Safari (or Mozilla, or whatever browser works) over to Jungle Red, where Rhys Bowen interviewed me.  I talk about Disturbance, whether or not Irene is my alter ego, writing about "dark subjects," the Book Passage Conference, and Spoilerville.  Please stop by and leave a comment -- if nothing else, help me to reinforce the idea that the actual title of my new book is Disturbance.

I'm back from St. Louis and signed books today at Apostrophe Books.  Next week, I'm traveling to the San Francisco Bay Area.   Here's the schedule through the end of July:

July 21-July 23
Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference
51 Tamal Vista Blvd.
Corte Madera, CA 94925
(Just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco)


Saturday, July 23, 2 PM
M is for Mystery
86 East 3rd Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94401
(650) 401-8077

Tuesday, July 26, 7-8 PM
Redondo Beach Main Library
303 N. Pacific Coast Hwy
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
310-318-0675
Free event.
Books will be available from Mysterious Galaxy, which will soon open a new store in Redondo Beach!

Apostrophe Books this Saturday!

As you know, I'm heading to St. Louis for an event on Thursday.  But I'll be back in So Cal on Saturday,  July 16th for signing at a lovely bookstore in Long Beach, California — Apostrophe Books!  This store is in Belmont Shore between Park and Roycroft, next door to Starbucks.  (See map below -- click on the address to go to Google Map.)

I'll be there from 2-4 PM, and hope I'll see some of you who recognize parts of Las Piernas as belonging to your home town!

Apostrophe Books
4712 E. 2nd St
Long Beach CA 90803
562-438-7950



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