Radio tonight

I'll be on Desert News Talk Station KNewsRadio.com 94.3 FM with host Christopher Rice tonight at 7:15 PM Pacific talking about the Crime Lab Project. If you get a chance, listen in and call in! http://www.knewsradio.com

Books on the iPhone/iPod

There are a number of formats you can use to read (or hear) my books now, including electronic editions. An addition to these formats is one I just became aware of -- Iceberg Reader offers several of my books for the iPhone and newer iPods. Just go to the App Store on your phone and search by my name, and you'll see the list of currently available books.

If you'd rather listen to the books on your iPhone or computer or other device, you can also download or purchase other formats of my audio books from iTunes, Recorded Books or Audible.com.

Fallbrook's Writers Read is final 2009 appearance

I'll be in Fallbrook, California for an evening with Fallbrook's Writers Read on Tuesday, December 8 at Café des Artistes, 103 S. Main Street. Fallbrook is in northern San Diego County, just inland from Oceanside. I recommend arriving in town early enough to take a walk through its galleries and stores in the downtown area. I often have lunch at Café des Artistes when I'm in town -- definitely worth a stop if you're in the neighborhood.

Doors open at 5:30 with a supper menu available. I'll be reading and signing books beginning at 6 PM.

There's an open mic for others to share original poetry and prose from 6:45 to 7:30 PM.

My friends at San Diego's fabulous Mysterious Galaxy Books will be providing books for sale and signing.

Except for a sold-out event at the Los Angeles Regional Crime Lab, this will be my last scheduled public appearance for this year. I've intentionally kept my schedule clear until March 11-14, 2010, when I'll be at Left Coast Crime in Los Angeles, where I'm a Guest of Honor.

I hope to see you in Fallbrook and hope you have signed up for both Left Coast Crime and the special Forensic Science Day at the convention.

Happy Holidays, and thank you again for your support this past year!

Not Going to World Fantasy Convention

I'm sorry to say that due to circumstances beyond my control, I won't be at the World Fantasy Convention. I'll be offering my membership to the convention through the Live Journal site:

http://community.livejournal.com/worldfantasycon

I look forward to trying to get to this one in the future. For those who are going, have a great time!

Music on Hold - Or While You Wait for Me to Post Advice for Writers...

I'm trying to get the next book finished, so not much posting going on, I know. But for those of you who are looking for writing advice and publishing advice, let me give you a couple of links to sites that are worth your while. Read them. Twice.

First and foremost: SWFA's Writer Beware. My friend Lee Goldberg spearheaded a successful effort to get additional support for this site from MWA — and MWA deserves praise for pitching in -- one of its many efforts on behalf of writers.

I strongly encourage you to spend a lot of time on that site.

Then, take a look at Pub Rants (short for Publishing Rants.) Agent Kristin Nelson kindly takes the time to instruct newcomers (and experienced writers as well) on this blog, which will give you her views on the business of publishing and help you to understand the work of agents and how they can help you -- and how you can best approach them. Start with the Agenting 101 blogs!

More later. I have to get back to work....

Next Up -- More October Events

Alas, I won't be at Bouchercon this year, so I'll miss seeing those of you who are going. But I've got a full schedule of appearances this fall, so I hope we'll meet up at one of these events!

Friday October 9 - Nashville, Tennessee
Southern Festival of Books: A Celebration of the Written Word
12-1 PM session followed by signing
War Memorial Plaza
Nashville, TN
Evening: Authors in the Round Dinner

Thursday October 22 - Costa Mesa, California
"Will You Kill My Boss For Me?" and Other Harmless Requests:
My Life as a Crime Fiction Writer
CSULB Orange County Alumni Event
Orange County Speakers Series
Wyndham Resort, Orange County
3350 Avenue of the Arts
Costa Mesa, CA
Cost of event: $50 CSULB Alumni Association members, $55 non-members Reception at 6 PM, Presentation and discussion at 7 PM
RSVP by 10/16/09 - Click here for ticket information.

Thursday, October 29 to Sunday, November 1
World Fantasy Convention
San José, California
This event is sold out, but if you have an attending membership, I look forward to seeing you there!

For more information, please see the schedule page of my Website!

A Forensic Science Panel & a Book Fair-- Stop by and say hello!

I've got two public appearances coming up soon -- more to come in October and November!

Tuesday, September 29, 11:45 AM-2:30 PM
California Forensic Science Institute Forum
"Challenges Facing Forensic Science"
Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center
Los Angeles Regional Crime Laboratory
William T Fujikoka Room
1800 Paseo Rancho Castilla
Los Angeles CA 90032

Call CFSI for more information at (323) 343-4877

Sunday, October 4

West Hollywood Book Fair

West Hollywood Park

647 N. San Vicente Blvd

West Hollywood [click here for a map and link to parking info]

Noon - Crossover/Supernatural/Mystery Panel (which probably has a better name by now, but this is the only one I've been given) in the Fiction Pavilion

2:30 PM Sisters in Crime: How Far Have We Come?

in the Mystery & Suspense Pavilion

There will be signings after each panel, and at 4 PM I'll also be signing at the Sisters in Crime booth.

Coming soon: appearances in Orange County, CA; Nashville, Tennessee; San Jose, CA; Muskego, Wisconsin; and Fallbrook, CA. See my Web site's Schedule page for more info!

Dog Fairness

Some have wondered why I talk about two dogs, but only have a photo of one on my book jackets. That's because Cappy is the only one who sat still long enough to be photographed on the day we took the jacket photo. If you look closely at that photo, you can see that I am restraining him from running after the squirrels that made Britches too much to deal with that day.

Britches was the model for Shade, though -- there is a slightly altered picture of him above, the second image in the line-up in the illustration bar at the top of my blog and Web site.

And here are a couple of photos of him. The hedgehog toy recovered from the attempted drowning.

Thoughts on a petty version of Le Corbeau

I'm far from the first person to consider the downside of Internet anonymity, but a recent post to a blog I came across a couple of days ago has brought the subject to mind, so you get to hear me vent.

I'm not going to name the blog or link to it, because I think the person behind it would love nothing more, and I don't want to gratify him or her with more traffic. You see, I don't know if it's a he or a she, because if you want to hide your identity on the Web, going genderless is apparently the next step after devising what you believe to be a catchy pseudonym. This person wants us to think It (so much more fitting in this case than s/he) is a professional in the business of the mystery genre. An important It, It wants you to know, too important to be named, here to share insights with the great unwashed, but from behind a curtain. Where's Toto when you need him?

There are some cases in which I can see the reason for shielding one's identity. Consequences in the workplace are one. If you're living under an oppressive regime, by all means, save your life and liberty with a pen name.

Even if someone wants to offer advice without making specifics about his life known to everyone with a Dell, fine by me. One hopes against hope that readers of such a site will be cautious about anonymously given advice, since they really don't know if it's being given to them by a con artist or a benevolent expert. Caveat everybody.

I've seen some anonymous advice blogs handled well, and they have this in common: they are never used to insult people who then won't know who just attacked them.

Anonymity used to escape a more personal level of responsibility, used as a shield to allow one to be uncivil or otherwise behave badly is never praiseworthy.

What bothered me about this blog was that the anonymous It seems to enjoy sending a kind of modern version of a poison pen letter. (Not to be confused in any way with the mystery press and bookstore, by the way!)

Here's what bothered me: A point that could have been made otherwise (easily!) comes off instead as a thinly veiled way to stir the pot, to make trouble. An author (not me) and her work are disparaged, a load of names that will increase traffic to the blog are dropped, and in the end we know nothing of the person making the remarks other than what It claims to be true about Itself.

Maybe there's a special place in hell where certain people burn without ever having any idea who sent them there. I have a feeling they'll discover a high percentage of anonymous bloggers in that neighborhood.

The mystery writing community is a relatively small town, on the whole supportive and friendly. Sewing seeds of mistrust there is helpful to no one. We can do without this corbeau.

Celia Fremlin

"Fremlin is here to stay as a major mistress of insight and suspense."
New York Times, April 3, 1960

"Celia Fremlin is certainly one of today's more gifted writers."
Los Angeles Times, May, 1963

I've just learned that English novelist Celia Fremlin passed away this summer, on June 16, 2009.

Fremlin, born in 1914, wrote two novels of manners before turning her pen to crime fiction and suspense. She won the Edgar for Best Novel for The Hours Before Dawn, first published in 1958. If you've never read it, find a copy as soon as possible. I strongly recommend it. It's superbly written, unsettling and perceptive.

Beyond that, I think those of you who want a look at women's lives in late 1950s -- as well as some insight into women's lives now, will find that without the least bit of preaching, Fremlin gives you something to think about. It's available from Chicago Academy Publishers.

Her eighteen other novels include Uncle Paul, The Jealous One (also available from Chicago Academy Publishers), The Spider-Orchid and Dangerous Thoughts. A bibliography is available here.

I've been collecting her books over the last ten years, and can tell you that the critical acclaim was well-deserved.

I'm indebted to Elizabeth Foxwell for sending me a link to Martin Edward's blog, where I learned of Fremlin's death, and I agree wholeheartedly with all he has to say there about the stunning lack of notice her passing has received.

Inside The Messenger: Memento Mori and Mourning Rings

"Also, I do will and appoint ten rings of gold to be made of the value of twenty shillings a piece sterling with a death's-head upon some of them."

— a will dated 1648, quoted in Finger Ring Lore by William Jones

Those of you who've read The Messenger know that a special memento mori ring is part of the story. While only Tyler and Amanda can tell you where to find a ring exactly like the one in the book, memento mori rings are real.

Rings have long symbolized the eternal -- the unbroken circle. "Memento mori" is a Latin phrase that literally means "remember you shall die," and refers to objects that serve as a reminder that death awaits us all, and for those who believe in an afterlife, that it, too, awaits.

"As I am, so shall you be."

Memento mori and mourning rings were often made of gold or silver, might include gemstones, enamel work, or hair art. They were often decorated with symbols of death and mourning: skulls, skeletons, hourglasses, coffins, urns, willows, acacias, and garlands, to name a few. In my research I came across a few that had a single eye painted on them -- the deceased keeping watch. A little unnerving for the surviving spouse, one would think.

Memento mori rings have been worn since ancient times. Some of the most elaborate were made in 16-19th centuries in England, but they were also worn in many other countries.

William Shakespeare bequeathed memento mori rings to his wife and his daughter -- it was not uncommon at that time (and in later centuries) for wills to contain instructions that mourning rings be made with inscriptions to reminder the wearer of the deceased.

In Searching for Shakespeare, Tarnya Cooper writes that "Memorial rings were not only given or bequeathed as a lasting token of remembrance, gratitude and affection at death, but were also exchanged in betrothal and marriage." The book shows several examples of these rings.

Here are some links to photographs of memento mori rings and places where you can find more information about them:

The Art of Mourning Lots of historical information and many beautiful photographs of rings.

A ring worn at Jamestown, early 17th century. Possibly worn by Captain Christopher Lawne.

Laurell Antique Jewelry This site also has beautiful photographs of mourning rings.

Victorian Hair Art - This page shows a lovely example of mourning jewelry made with hair art -- a fascinating subject of its own!

Morning Glory Antiques - has photographs of several other examples of hair art from the Victorian period, including mourning rings

Brief notes

I hope you are planning to attend Left Coast Crime 2010 in Los Angeles next March! I'm the Guest of Honor -- along with some guy named Lee Child. You may have heard of him? Yeah, I think he's great, too. Anyway, we'll be there along with Bill Fitzhugh and lots of others, so please register now. And don't forget to sign up for the Forensic Science Day -- it's going to be so cool!

The Crime Lab Project blog is running a Death Quiz -- find out how much you really know about death investigation in the U.S. -- and then tell your friends to take the quiz. Ignoring the dead can cost us our lives.

My Web Master is as overwhelmed with work as I am, so it may be a little while before my schedule on the site shows this, but -- I'm going to have some new additions to my October schedule, including the Southern Festival of Books, October 9-11 in Nashville, Tennessee. Stay tuned for details.

Speaking of Web sites, don't know if I've mentioned it or not, but one of my nieces, Heather Cvar, is a makeup artist, and her recently updated site has some cool photos on it. You can see them at HeatherCvar.com

Artistic ability runs in the family -- her mom, my sister Sandy Cvar, will be one of the print-makers featured at the International Printing Museum's Los Angeles Printers Fair on August 29. And if you go to the Orange County Fair, look for one of Sandy's prints in the Fine Arts Professional Graphics exhibit!

That's it for now. I have a ton of stuff to post here, but it will have to wait while I work on my next book.

Keeping up with me while I fall behind

I know it's not great to have a blog and not post to it for over a month, but the thing is, I'm writing. Figure most of you would rather see a novel than a post. But if you are just dying to know what I'm up to on a more frequent basis, you can always follow me on Twitter (Jan_Burke) or add me on Facebook.

I stopped in here, by the way, to let you know that over on Murderati, Cornelia Read has revealed that I am both mean and a whiner. Sad but true. Of course, "sad but true" is what got me into this trouble in the first place.

And now, back to work!

"The Fallen" is nominated for a Barry Award!

I'm so pleased and honored to announce that "The Fallen," which appeared in the August 2008 issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, has received a nomination for Best Short Story for the Barry Awards!

Barry Awards are named in memory of avid mystery fan Barry Gardner. The Barrys are voted on by readers of Mystery News and Deadly Pleasures. Winners will be announced at the 40th annual Bouchercon, which will be held October 15-18, 2009 in Indianapolis.


For a full list of nominees in all categories, click here:
http://www.blackravenpress.com/BarryAwards2009.htm

New Audio Books!

New audio books are now available!
You can now listen to
Goodnight, Irene
Sweet Dreams, Irene
Dear Irene,
Remember Me, Irene
Hocus
and
Liar
on Recorded Books. Click here for a link:
http://tinyurl.com/mcmav9
The books are unabridged and are also available at Audible.com and other audio book sites.

Other titles are on the way!

Why it's a good time to read Bones

Pocket Books has just released a new paperback edition of Bones!

For those of you who haven't read it in a while, this might be a good time to re-read it. Why?

Let's just say that in the book I'm writing now, Nick Parrish is making the news again.

California Crime Writers Conference

I'll be at the California Crime Writers Conference, sponsored by the LA chapters of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America, on Sunday, June 14th at 2:00 PM. I'll be teaching a session with Doug Lyle, "CSI: The Real Facts." The event is being held at the The Pasadena Hilton, 168 S. Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, CA. This is part of a two-day conference for writers that should be very helpful for those of you who are working on manuscripts. Hope to see some of you there!

I have some news about Bones and Liar, but I'll save that for the next post. A deadline and a few other matters have kept me from being more active on the blog, but don't give up on me!

Back from Mayhem...and about Facebook

Just back from a wonderful time at Mayhem in the Midlands. It is one of the best organized fan conventions in the U.S., and always held at a size that allows people to actually spend time together -- as opposed to the usual feeling one gets of having waved to all of one's acquaintances while crossing Grand Central during a marathon.

This year Dana Stabenow was the Guest of Honor and Zoe Sharp was the Caroline Willner International Guest of Honor. Dana and I have been good friends for some years now, and she asked that I serve as the "Toastmaster" this time, which means I interviewed her at the convention on Sunday. At some point, that interview will be available online. I really enjoyed getting to know Zoe, and look forward to reading her work. The first books in her series have been picked up for reissue by Busted Flush Press, so watch for announcements from the BFP Website next year.

Ann asked about Facebook. Here's a badge that I think will get you through to my page there:




I'll try to put that in the sidebar of the blog. Wish me luck! First I have to deal with an unruly dry cleaner. Seriously. More on that soon.

Facebook & Twitter & Emailing me directly

A few of you have asked about this, so here's the contact information:

I'm on Facebook -- Jan Burke.

I'm on Twitter. (Yes, before the recent tidal wave of celeb sign ups.) You can see my Tweets here on the blog or follow me -- Jan_Burke. You can send a message to me on Twitter using the usual Twitter commands. (@ or D)

And if you want to send me an email, puzzle this out, because if I write it out here, spammers will collect it off the blog and drive me nuts. So:
My last name
a dot
TheMessenger
at
Gmail
usual dot com suffix.

So the first part is Burke.TheMessenger

If you post a comment here and put your email address in your comment, I will read the comment and get back to you, but I won't make your comment public. That's to keep you from getting hassled by spammers.

CSULB Library

This post is a test -- I've had a really odd message from Google on my blog's dashboard, so I'm not sure the blog is working.

Had a wonderful day today at the CSULB Library. Saw ORCA, its automated system for retrieving books and journals not kept in the usual stacks -- amazing, something almost out of science fiction. And the high-tech Spidell Center within the library is a great way for students to be able to use computers and search online for information. In a hundred other ways, the space has been opened up, made airier and brighter. There were lots of students there, making use of its resources.

There are many other plans, all of which will benefit the students, and I hope funding comes through for them. So if you're also a 49er -- one of CSULB's alumni -- consider a gift to the University Library. Visit it and you'll see they're making good use of the funds.

We now return to you after dropping off the face of the planet

I can't believe I have fallen so far behind on posting here.  It's not because I am quiet by nature or haven't got a thing to talk about.  Mostly, it has been a matter of trying to focus on all the stuff on my plate right now and to catch up after traveling.  First the main part of the tour, then the American Academy of Forensic Science meetings, and most recently Left Coast Crime 2009 in Hawai'i.  I've also had day-long local events, such as the fabulous ALPHA event in Fullerton yesterday.  And then there is the work I've been doing on the next Irene Kelly novel -- I'm trusting none of you will mind if I make that a bigger priority than blogging.

I do wish the elves would come to my house and prepare my taxes.  My accountant would probably feel that was an improvement, too.

My current desire to blab here comes from a response to being involuntarily silenced.  A couple of days ago, the guys repairing our roof apparently cut through the fiber optic cable that carries our telephone, television, and Internet connections.  It was like blowing the circuit breaker on our doorway to the rest of the world. 

We've definitely gone longer without television, phones, email or using the Web, but it was *planned* on those other occasions.   This time, the timing was not so hot.  If we hadn't had a pair of iPhones, we wouldn't have been able to do much business.   Since we get a crappy level of cell phone signal inside the house (I suspect our attic is lined with cell-signal-kryptonite), this meant holding some interesting conversations on the front lawn.  Our neighbors already think we're crazy, so it wasn't too big a risk.  

The one or two pressing needs (printing the directions to the event I was at on Saturday, sending an afterword to Jim Seels for ASAP Publishing's special edition of two terrific Ken Bruen short stories) were taken care of at my sister's house.

So we survived.  All of this made me think about how dependent we've become on this one cable running from a pole in the backyard to our roof. As you might expect, for the first hour or so we felt really frustrated, as we ran around and tried to figure out what had happened. But once we reached the "nothing we can do about it until Verizon repairs it" stage, we found plenty to do with our time.  After all, writing a manuscript doesn't require an Internet connection -- although this did interfere with my ability to enjoy my usual pastime of rationalized procrastination -- aka indulging in research.

It's fixed now (yes, Verizon came out here on a Sunday).  I may just plan -- I do like it so much better when it's planned -- to go for a few more stretches like that.

Invest Your Forensic Science Reality Check

Two years ago, the U.S. Congress mandated a study of forensic science by the National Academy of Sciences. Founded by a law passed during the Civil War, the NAS provides expert studies of scientific matters for the government.

So many have eagerly (or with trepidation) awaited their report on the state of forensic science in the U.S., and its recommendations on how it might be improved. That report was made public last week. You can read about here:
http://www.tinyurl.com/NASforensic

The report should serve as a reality check to those who believe in the fantasy world version of forensic science. The NAS called for "major reforms and new research," said that forensic science in the U.S. is "badly fragmented," that it is lacking in "rigorous certification programs," that "many forensic science labs are underfunded, understaffed, and have no effective oversight."

And that's just part of the first paragraph of their press briefing.

You may notice that much of this fits in with what the Crime Lab Project has been saying for some time.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be reading the full report from the NAS (you can read it free online, pay for a full-report pdf, buy chapters, or order a hardcover on the NAS Web site). I'll post my thoughts about it here, but I encourage you to read it for yourself. The more people who are informed about the challenges facing forensic science, the better our chances of seeing real change.

Sculpture on a Monday

I'm back home until Left Coast Crime, and have lots of stuff to talk about from the American Academy of Forensic Science meetings, more about The Messenger, and other topics. But before launching into any of that, I thought, why not take a moment for beauty?

Many thanks to my friend Donald Grant, who told me about Kristen Hoard's sculptures and other works of art. You can see her work by clicking here. ( http://www.metalphoria.com )

Above: "Small Fire Tree" by Kristen Hoard

Poetry on a Wednesday -- Or, Another reason to love G.K. Chesterton

A discussion list I'm on has been reading Georgette Heyer's mysteries, most recently The Unfinished Clue. Much as I like many of her other books, I'll admit that I'm not a great fan of her detective stories, and find this one particularly weak. I have a theory that Heyer despised many of her contemporaries, because so many of her books portraying them are heavily populated with unlikable characters.

One of the characters in The Unfinished Clue quotes lines from a poem by Frances Darwin Cornford, which led one of the list members to provide a link to this site:
http://tinyurl.com/crp5fg

I'm so glad I followed it, for the sake of the amusement to be found in G.K. Chesterton's response to the poem.

I'll add that while I laughed, Cornford was far from unread in her day, and should be remembered for other poems -- "All Souls' Night," for example, which appears in the Wikipedia article about her.

Bookplate update

The last of the bookplates have been given away -- these are no longer available -- many thanks to all of you who asked for them! I'll try to do something like this again in the near future.

Yours,

Jan

My apologies for being so late getting the bookplates out -- I sometimes have this notion in my head of "Miracle Jan" who can do things like go on a book tour and sign and mail out good stuff on the few days she has home -- and still do local events, spend time with her husband and dogs, respond to a thousand emails, get stuff to the dry cleaners, do laundry, go to the grocery store, and all other necessary errands and tasks in those same two days. Did I mention sleep?

Anyway, Miracle Jan was a no show last month, so I'm catching up now and will sign and get those bookplates out this week. If you want one and didn't get a chance to ask before, just send your name and address to burke.themessenger at gmail.com. I'd write it in a plainer fashion, but one must do what one can to foil spammers.

Paul Anik

I'm heartbroken to report that Paul Anik, book collector and mystery lover who was organizing Left Coast Crime 2010 in Los Angeles, died suddenly of a heart attack.

I have seldom known anyone who was so enthusiastic about life and the books he loved. He will be missed.

Jan

Invading other blogs

I'm back home now, and have a few minutes to come up for air and thank all of you who showed up at events where I was signing. That's the part of touring that I love most -- meeting readers! If you missed seeing me at the stores listed in recent posts, many will still have signed books available. And if you don't live near those stores, all of the ones listed on the sidebar to the right will ship signed books while supplies last. Also, I do have other events on my schedule, and you can click here for more information about them.

I've been traveling a bit on the Internet, too -- a couple of friends invited me to guest blog.

Recently, Elaine Viets allowed me to vent about devising the pitch for a new book on The Lipstick Chronicles.

Rhys Bowen interviewed me on Jungle Red Writers.


They're both fun blogs, so take a look around while you're there!

Signing Schedule - Week of January 18

Tuesday, January 20, 6:30 PM
Murder by the Book
2342 Bissonnet Street
Houston, TX 77005
713-524-8597
Toll free: 888-4-AGATHA (888-424-2842)
Click here for a map
or go to http://tinyurl.com/mbtbhtx

Wednesday, January 21, 7:00 PM
Borders - Lee's Summit
1664 Northwest Chipman Road
Lee's Summit, MO 64081
816-347-0044
Click here for a map
or go to http://tinyurl.com/bblsmo

Thursday, January 22, 7:00 PM
Left Bank Books (Central West End)
399 North Euclid Ave
St Louis, MO 63108
314-367-6731
Click here for a map
or go to http://tinyurl.com/lbstmo

Ohio and Kentucky

I'm leaving for Ohio in the morning, getting ready for some signings and other events there and in Kentucky.

I was interviewed by Mark Perzel on Cincinnati's NPR station, WVXU, For the "Cincinnati Edition" show. You can listen to the interview online by clicking here for the complete show for January 10 -- you can find the interview at about the halfway point. If you buy the book through the station's Web site, a portion of the sale benefits WVXU.

A review of The Messenger and my interview with Vick Mickunas appears in today's Dayton Daily News. You can read that article by clicking here.

Here are a few of the interviews scheduled (more about others soon):

On Tuesday morning, January 13th, I'll be on TKR-Cable TV's Northern Kentucky Magazine show at about 10:30 AM.

On Wednesday, January 14th, I'll be on WDTN-TV's 2 News at Noon.

On Thursday, January 15th, I'll be on WKYT-TV's 27 Noon News.

The bookstores where I'll be this week are listed on my schedule page and this post below:
Is this thing on?: Schedule for The Messenger Tour - Week of January 11

Gaza Protests in Westwood Result in Cancellation of Today's Mystery Bookstore Signing

Sometimes the best laid plans must be laid aside --

Today I had two signings planned for The Messenger. I had just left Mysteries to Die For after a great signing there in Thousand Oaks and started down the 101 freeway, when I got a call from Bobby, the manager of the Mystery Bookstore in Westwood. Because of a large number of protesters at the nearby Federal Building and on some of the streets of Westwood, law enforcement had blocked freeway exits to the area and all of the surface streets leading into Westwood Village, so he asked to cancel the signing. Another author had been unable to reach the store, and Bobby felt sure I wouldn't be able to get to the store from outside Westwood.

Bobby later kindly brought preordered books to my house, and I signed them for any of you who had requested them. I also signed some stock for those who order books or come by the store after today.

I hope none of you were caught in the heavy traffic or frustrated in trying to get to the store, and also apologize to the two fans in Westwood who apparently managed to get the store. I hope I'll see you at another local event.

Schedule for The Messenger Tour - Week of January 11

I'll be on several television and radio programs this week in Ohio and Kentucky -- I'll post more about that soon.

Tuesday, January 13 at 7:00 PM
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
Rookwood Commons
2692 Madison Road
Cincinnati, OH 45208
513-396-8960
Click here for a map
or go to http://tinyurl.com/jbcinoh

Wednesday, January 14, at 7:00 PM
Books & Co.
Greene Shopping Center
4453 Walnut Street
Beavercreek, OH 45440
937-429-2169
Click here for a map
or go to http://tinyurl.com/bcbcoh

Thursday, January 15 at 7:00 PM
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
161 Lexington Green Circle
Lexington, KY 40503
859-273-2911
Click here for a map
or go to http://tinyurl.com/jblfky

Saturday, January 17th at 1:00 PM
Book Carnival
348 Tustin Avenue
Orange, CA 92866
714-538-3210
Click here for a map
or go to http://tinyurl.com/bkctca

I have more signings coming up and I hope you'll be able to stop by and say hello. Here are some stores where I've already signed books, and while supplies last, these stores will happily ship autographed books to you if you order by calling the store or visiting its Website:

Mysterious Galaxy
858-268-4747

Poisoned Pen
480-947-2974
Toll free: 888-560-9919

M is for Mystery
650-401-8077
Toll free outside the San Francisco Bay Area: 888-405-8077

Book Passage
415-927-0960
Toll free: 800-999-7909

Books Inc. in the Marina
415-931-3633

Mysteries to Die For
805-374-0084

Mystery Bookstore
310-209-0415
Toll free: 800-821-9017

Signing Schedule - Week of January 4

The Messenger is now in stores! Here's where I'll be the week of January 4th -- please stop by and say hello!

Monday, January 5, at 7:00 PM
Barnes & Noble Huntington Beach
7881 Edinger Avenue
Huntington Beach, CA 92647
714-897-8781
This store is in the Bella Terra Mall, near the Cheesecake Factory.
Click here for a map
or go to http://tinyurl.com/bnhbca

Tuesday, January 6, at 7:00 PM
Mysterious Galaxy
7051 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, Suite 302
San Diego, CA 92111
858-268-4747
Click here for a map
or go to http://tinyurl.com/mgsdca

Wednesday, January 7, at 7:00 PM
Poisoned Pen
4014 North Goldwater, Suite 101
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
480-947-2974
Toll free: 888-560-9919
Click here for a map
or go to http://tinyurl.com/ppbsaz

Thursday, January 8, at 1:00 PM
Book Passage
51 Tamal Vista
Corte Madera, CA 94925
415-927-0960
Toll free: 800-999-7909
Click here for a map
or go to http://tinyurl.com/bpcmca

Thursday, January 8, at 7:30 PM
Books Inc. in the Marina
2251 Chestnut Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
415-931-3633
Click here for a map
or go to http://tinyurl.com/bimsfca

Saturday, January 10, at 1:00 PM
Mysteries to Die For
2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd.
Thousand Oaks, CA 91362
805-374-0084
Click here for a map
or go to http://tinyurl.com/mtdftoca

Saturday, January 10, at 4:00 PM
Mystery Bookstore
1036 Broxton Avenue, Suite C
Los Angeles, CA 90024
310-209-0415
Toll free: 800-821-9017
Click here for a map
or go to http://tinyurl.com/mblaca

Free Bookplate Offer

The last of the bookplates have been given away -- these are no longer available -- many thanks to all of you who asked for them! I'll try to do something like this again in the near future.

Yours,

Jan

A large, signed edition of this book plate of Shade, the cemetery dog in The Messenger, is available free to those who are on my mailing list and fans of this blog.

These bookplates were designed by Sandra Cvar. Only a limited number are available, so for now, we'll only send one per household.

To receive a book plate, just send your name and address to this e-mail address:
burke.themessenger -- at -- gmail.com

replace the spaces and "-- at --" with the usual e-mail symbol.

This offer is void where prohibited.

An Introduction to The Messenger & Tour Info

Starting today, I'm going to be telling you more about my newest book, The Messenger. And tomorrow I'll also tell you about an offer for those of you who faithfully read this blog or belong to my mailing list.

Q: When will The Messenger be published?
The official publication date is December 30, 2008. I've been hearing that some people are already receiving copies. You can order The Messenger on the website of your favorite bookstore, through Indiebound, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other online booksellers, or by calling your local bookstore. If you want a signed copy, many of the bookstores I'll be visiting on my tour will ship a book to you -- call to ask.


Q: What's it about?
The Messenger is a supernatural thriller. I'm going to tell you more about the characters, the story, and some of my research for the book over the next few days. You can also read about the book on my website. Here's a brief introduction to it, though — and skip the rest of this section if you really don't like any kind of spoiler!

Far below the surface of the Caribbean Sea, a salvage diver hears an eerie voice coming from the wreckage of a 19th century ship. The voice belongs to Adrian de Ville, who offers the diver power and wealth if he will pledge his service and help Adrian find Tyler Hawthorne. It's a bargain the diver comes to regret.

Tyler Hawthorne lives in Los Angeles. To all appearances twenty-four, he is in fact more than two hundred years old and nearly immortal. In 1815, as he lay dying of his wounds at Waterloo, Adrian offered him a memento mori ring, and the opportunity to recover and become The Messenger. Tyler has since had the ability to hear the thoughts of the dying in the last moments of their lives and conveys their final messages to their loved ones. With only a cemetery dog named Shade to bear him company, he leads a solitary and nomadic existence.

Now, in L.A., he finds himself drawn to a woman named Amanda Clarke, who has secrets of her own.

The dying give messages to Tyler, too, and lately they've indicated that his life is about to change. But will this change allow him to grow closer to Amanda, or bring him under the power of his old enemy?

Q: The Messenger isn't an Irene Kelly book -- does that mean you've stopped writing about Irene?
No. I'm working on a new Irene Kelly book now.

Q: Will you be on a book tour for The Messenger?

Yes. Here are the places I'll be:

Monday, January 5, 7 PM
Barnes & Noble Huntington Beach, CA

Tuesday, January 6, 7 PM
Mysterious Galaxy San Diego, CA

Wednesday, January 7, 7 PM
Poisoned Pen Scottsdale, AZ

Thursday, January 8, 1 PM
Book Passage Corte Madera, CA

Thursday, January 8, 7:30 PM
Books Inc. in The Marina San Francisco, CA

Thursday, January 8, TBA
M is for Mystery San Mateo, CA—stock signing

Saturday, January 10, 1 PM
Mysteries to Die For Thousand Oaks, CA

Saturday, January 10, 4 PM
Mystery Bookstore Los Angeles, CA

Tuesday, January 13, 7 PM
Joseph Beth Cincinnati, OH

Wednesday, January 14, 7 PM
Books & Co Dayton, OH

Thursday, January 15, 7 PM
Joseph Beth Lexington, KY

Saturday, January 17, 1 PM
Book Carnival Orange, CA

Tuesday, January 20, 6:30 PM
Murder by the Book Houston, TX

Wednesday, January 21, 7 PM
Borders (Lee Summit) Kansas City, MO

Wednesday, January 22, 7 PM
Left Bank Books St Louis, MO

Be sure to keep checking the schedule page on my website for updated information.

Thankfulness

In the U.S., we've just celebrated our Thanksgiving holiday. I have so much to be thankful for, and this holiday, which gives a chance to reflect on that, is one of my favorites.

As always, I thank my fans for their loyal support, and hope your own holiday has been fabulous.

And on the lighter side, here's something to make you smile!

At my feet

A few leaves, as one would expect on a November afternoon -- even a summer-hot November afternoon. But on the driveway today, the salt and pepper of ash. Fragments of distant trees, brush, and homes. Nomadic bits of ruin.

Smoke Gets In Our Skies

Raymond Chandler wrote a great short story about life in LA during a Santa Ana wind, "Red Wind." It's been a while since I've read it, so I don't remember if he mentioned the fires that seem to be the inevitable result. Perhaps fewer people had built homes in the hills then. But right now, in areas where houses have been built since before Chandler's time, people are being burned out of their homes, and wildlife areas are being destroyed.

Fortunately, our home is not in a danger zone, but if you live anywhere in the LA basin right now, you are probably getting a gray snow of ash on everything. The air smells as if you've got your head up a chimney. And the day has been darkened by smoke.

The photo above was taken many miles from any active fire, looking southwest (toward the coast), at two in the afternoon. The brown in the sky is smoke, and that blue stripe is what the day should have looked like. It seemed more like dusk than the middle of the afternoon.

For information on the fires : LAFD and this Fire Map.*

*This link has been updated -- the earlier map link was not regularly updated.

Is it a sin to love a computer?

My Macintosh G4 is dead. I'm sad about that.

It's not loss of data -- I'm probably going to be able to recover even the small amount that wasn't backed up. I haven't used it as my main computer for some time now. But it has been a part of my life since 2000, and made my life easier in a thousand ways.

Before I go on, I'm going to say a word about the other side, just to set something straight -- I really don't have a problem with those who love Windows. I say this because I've noticed that when we who are Mac users start talking about loving an Apple computer, we get profiled as maniacal worshippers who will not admit that there is anything to like about the competition -- seriously, there's this assumption that we're all rabid. Not so. I've used both systems, I like Macs better, but I don't feel the need to make a religion out of it.

The late G4 was one of a long succession of Macs in our home. I bought my first Apple computer when I was a graduate student -- an Apple IIe. I had used an Apple II and an Apple II+ owned by other family members, but this one was my own. It was a major investment for me on my student budget, but I loved it and made constant use of it. After I met Tim, our roommate's new Mac caught our attention. Eventually, we bought an SE/30 -- Goodnight, Irene, my first novel, was written on it. I loved my first laptop -- a Powerbook 100. We bought a Performa from a young computer salesman who is now a computer genius. Other Macs in the house have included a Mac Mini, a G5, a titanium Powerbook, and a Macbook. Although Tim talked me out of owning a Newton, we both have iPhones.

I loved the G4, though. For one thing, it was the only computer in the house that still ran OS9 (I refused to upgrade it from the last of OSX versions that would run Classic, and all the software that didn't make the transition. I do wish Aspyr would create a version of MahJong Parlor -- the real game, not that POS solitaire -- that would run on OSX.) There is software on it that runs peripheral devices, and those may need to be replaced now, too.

The guy at the Apple store (where I dragged the carcass in desperation) diagnosed the problem as the power supply, but said Apple doesn't stock repair parts for computers more than five years old. He also told me that hanging on to OS9 is "like living in a condemn house." This from the company that condemned it. For some of us, the historic has its value. But okay, I understand what he meant, and after all, I did move forward. We are using new Macs and Leopard in the house. I just liked the old Mac and all it offered before its power supply bit the dust.

And not just because of the OS. Many pages of novels and short stories were written on it. I communicated with many of my friends and fans using that computer. Any number of projects and organizations were aided by the work I did on it. When I think of the time spent sitting before it and its (at the time of purchase) futuristic two-ton monitor, I feel as if I'm saying goodbye to an old friend.

If I can't find a way to bring it back from the dead, it will be recycled. We'll have more room -- that monitor is a real space hog.

It is, ultimately, an object.

I tell myself that, and to just move on.

But the truth is, I loved it, and I already miss it.

We interrupt this blog for an important message

VOTE!  

If you are eligible to vote in the United States, please take time to go to the polls.  Vote early if you live in a place where that's an option, or plan time to vote on November 4.  Don't kind of sort of think about maybe doing it at some point on Tuesday -- make the plan now!   Click on this Google map link to find your polling place.

I will return to give you all sorts of news and information about The Messenger, the upcoming tour, and other items of interest about my books and stories, but right now, this is message #1:

VOTE!

Train Twitter

I love riding Metrolink, and recently discovered that Metrolink is on Twitter.  So I signed on as a follower.  Frankly, I expected dull notifications.  But this is the first Twitter posting I received from them:

San Bern Line train 331 delayed 30 mins due to unruly passenger at Upland stn.  Passenger removed by local police.

And that, ladies and gentleman is the kind of thing that comes to mind when people ask me "Where do you get your ideas?"

The Messenger

I invite you to visit my Web site, janburke.com, to see information about the new book, The Messenger. The site currently says it will be out in "December," but that's kind of misleading. Officially, at this moment, the release date for the book is December 30th, and you can pre-order it from online booksellers now for delivery then.   The tour for the book starts in early January.

All of that nitpicking aside...if you follow the link on my home page, you'll find information about the book.  And as on this blog -- some new artwork.  Enjoy!

first look at the new look

The new images at the top represent scenes from the new book, The Messenger.

http://ping.fm/p/MIVXL - Outside a Mexican restaurant in Orange Co

http://ping.fm/p/dePj3 - Power plant #1, seen outside an LA vegan restaurant

New forensic science class at CSULA

The California Forensic Science Institute is sponsoring a series of extended education courses at CSULA that are open to the public.  The first, "Basic Crime Scene Investigation," is a two-day course taught by Ruben A. Flores, a Supervising Criminalist at the LA County Sheriff's Dept lab.  He's also worked for the Huntington Beach PD and the LAPD.  

According to a course brochure sent to me by the CFSI, "...Students will learn the fundamentals of physical evidence identification, documentation, collection, and packaging.  Through class exercises and a fun homework assignment, students will get practical experience in the common methods of crime scene investigation...."

The course is scheduled for 11/15 and 11/22, 8:30 AM to 5 PM, and is limited to 25 students.  The course fee of $275 includes a booklet and other course materials.

Call the CFSI at 323-343-4900 for more information or to register for the class.

About ten posts worth of random notes

Many thanks to Maryelizabeth Hart of Mysterious Galaxy for letting me know about this gem.

~~~

My sister, Sandy Cvar, will be teaching "Introduction to Linocut" at the International Printing Museum on Saturday, September 13, 9:30-4:00. This will be an easy way to learn how to carve linoleum to make a print. You don't need to be an artist to have fun with this method of printmaking!

We loved our recent visit to the museum. Even if you don't want to try working with linocut, if you're in the South Bay area, stop by and visit them.

~~~

We just subscribed to HBO. Why? True Blood, which is based on Charlaine Harris's fabulous Sookie Stackhouse series. We are also looking forward to the next David Simon project.

~~~

Last few days have been hectic. Having finished proofreading The Messenger, I sent it back to my editor. Sandy has finished some graphics for the update of the Web site, and Madeira James is at work on the new look.

I made a trip to see my folks, was a party to -- won't bore you with the long story -- destroying the firmware on my dad's iPhone. (Yes, in their 80s, my parents are using iPhones and texting, using Maps, checking stock quotes, downloading apps for games and all sorts of other cool stuff. And yes, at that age, I hope I'm willing to take space shuttle trips or use whatever cool tech is available then.) So I took the phone into the Apple store in Costa Mesa, and with the kind and efficient help of Genius Bar genius Johnny, got it up and running again. So two trips out of town, but I got to see the parents a little more often that way, which is always a good thing.

~~~

One of these days I'm going to have to post something about the Skeptical Inquirer. Which may sound like a strange thing to say, since I've just written a supernatural thriller. But there you have it. I don't really believe there's a city in Southern California named Las Piernas either. Sorry if I just made anyone cry. But I also saved you gas money by preventing you from driving around looking for it.

Anyway, great article in the Nov/Dec 2007 issue (yes, I'm behind on almost everything) by Denis Hamel. It's about a quotation floating around the Internet and elsewhere, lauding astrology and falsely attributed to Einstein. You might say that you don't have to be Einstein to suspect that he probably didn't believe in astrology, but the hoax persists. Hamel's article not only shows that Einstein didn't author this "quote," but shows that even given proof that it's a hoax, some folks refuse to remove it from their sites. I'm not the first person to tell you not to believe everything you read online, right?

~~~

I'm going to do a little work for the Crime Lab Project and then get back to work on the new book. Follow me on Twitter if you want details from here.

Have a good one! And thanks, Vgan -- I'm also glad the world did not implode when they fired up the black hole machine today. Not that I was really worried.

Done with the galleys. Now on to the next item on The To Do List From Hell.

Nature's dust mop rides again

The contest is on.  

If you go to this site (aka http://ping.fm/p/AFvQH ),

you'll see one of my dogs, Britches, wearing an attractive yellow leaf.

Britches is one of nature's dust mops.  He goes outside, and a little bit of outside comes back in with him.  If you have a dog or a cat that provides a moving sampler of nature on four paws, link to a photo from the comments section.  If you need an easy way to this, consider opening a ping.fm account.  (As previously noted, I love ping.fm -- makes it easier for me to blog, keep up with Facebook and Twitter, etc.)

No prizes.  Just my complete sympathy.

Planting the last two of seven California native plants I bought at Las Pilitas -http://ping.fm/OaqqQ

Galleys!

The galleys for The Messenger have arrived!   It's always an exciting day when galleys are in, for several reasons --

The book starts looking like a book! Gone are the double-spaced manuscript pages, the ones I produced on my computer, and we're also past the stage when the symbols of copy-editing covered those pages.  This is the phase of production of a book in which those manuscript pages have been given over to the artistry of those who design and layout the type and pages -- the final look of the book itself.  If you can image an unbound book being photocopied, single-sided, you now have some idea of what galley pages look like.  The first time I see any book at this stage is a wonderful moment, a moment when the book-as-book comes closer to being a reality.

It's also the last chance I'll have to correct errors.  This is truly unnerving.  If you're an author, when you see your copy-edited manuscript (previous stage of work), you become aware that your brain filled in all sorts of things that your fingers did not type on the keyboard, and that you, until now -- despite numerous readings of screens and printed pages before now -- never noticed were missing or unclear.   So you work hard to stay focused while going over a copy-edited manuscript.  Then, thinking you've caught whatever problems you and a team of experts could catch, you mail it back.   A few weeks later, you see the galleys -- and yes, there is always something that has been missed by the folks who were looking for errors before now.   

You also know that despite your efforts and those of your publisher, some howlingly funny, boneheaded error will remain, and you will be hearing about it by e-mail within the first week after the book is published.

Galleys also bring a sense of urgency with them -- there is never a lot of time between when one receives them and when one's publisher wants them back.  So I'm off to work on galleys!

Enjoying ping.fm -- brilliant idea!

Um...helps to put the right date for an event on one's blog. Previous post should read "September 6." Yes. Saturday.

Making prints

Not fingerprints, this time, but artwork.   

As some of you know, my sister is printmaker Sandra Cvar, who will be giving printmaking demonstrations at the International Printing Museum on Saturday, September 6th*, between 10 AM and 1 PM.  It's Family Printmaking Day, and Sandy will be demonstrating everything from potato prints to linocuts.  I plan on being there, and I hope you'll join in the fun if you're in the area.

The museum includes a collection of antique printing machinery.  Admission to the museum is $8 for adults and $7 children/students.  Pay at the door, but RSVP to Rachelle Chuang at 

bookarts --at-- printmuseum.org.  (Convert that into an email address.)

The International Printing Museum/Book Arts Institute

315 Torrance Blvd

Carson CA  90745

310-515-7166

*Not, as previously bumbled, 9/9.  Sorry about that.

iTunes!

Okay, forgive me for wearing my shades indoors -- I'm feeling too cool for the room. ;-)

The audio version of Goodnight, Irene is now available on iTunes!

Click here, or go to:

http://tinyurl.com/5z2mqt

Why I didn't feel the quake

I was here, not there. Hope all my friends in So Cal are okay.

Help find Jeddah

My friend Maria Lima says she loves working at Matrix Group International in those hours when she's not writing her great vampire series, and this story in the Washington Post gives one example why that's understandable.

Matrix is sponsoring the Help Find Jeddah Web site:

http://www.helpfindjeddah.com

Jeddah, pictured above, went missing from her airline-issued kennel at Dulles Airport.  Her owner, John Weisner, is a U.S. Army soldier on his way to a year-long assignment in Saudi Arabia.   Weisner and his wife, Ronia, need your help to find their beloved dog.  Spread the word, and if you live in the Dulles area, please help in the search.

More Audio Books!

I'm happy to say that two more Irene Kelly books — have been released as audio books by the wonderful folks at Recorded Books!

Sweet Dreams, Irene and Dear Irene, are now available unabridged on CD and audio tape. (Unabridged means the whole book is recorded — every page read.) Recorded Books offers sturdily bound CD and tape editions for libraries. For the average consumer, they offer several choices -- you can buy them as CDs, as cassette tapes, or you can rent them in either format.

As with the audio edition of Goodnight, Irene, Eliza Foss is the reader for these two.

Click here for information on ordering the audio edition of Goodnight Irene:
http://tinyurl.com/gniaudio

Click here for information on ordering the audio edition of Sweet Dreams, Irene:
http://tinyurl.com/sdiaudio

Click here for for information on ordering the audio edition Dear Irene,:
http://tinyurl.com/diaudio

Sightings Near the Downtown Interchange

I was recently stuck in traffic in downtown Los Angeles when I saw the 1800Autopsy van, which didn't bother me until I realized it was traveling in the wake of the "training bus."

It sounds so much easier than writing them

Perusing the impressive biography of Andrew Malcolm on the LA Times political blog page, I came across this startling sentence:

He is the author of 10 nonfiction books and father of four.

All well and good until it rains

My sister Sandra, who is an artist, spotted this cool blog post about an artist who doesn't just scrawl "wash me" on dirty car windows.

http://tinyurl.com/4fhvmj

And if you want to see some of Sandra Cvar's work, click here:

http://www.sandycvar.com/gallery/index.htm

Go crows!

A story from Reuters about my favorite birds, defending their homes. And wreaking a little havoc at the same time.

Cover for The Messenger!

Here it is -- there will be a few changes, but this is the preliminary cover for the new book, which will be out in January.

I'm on my way to Texas for the Southwest Chapter of MWA's writing conference, "Hardboiled Heroes and Cozy Cats."  See you there!

"The Fallen"

He watched her for a moment before he left for work, thinking that he could have drawn a map of her body, served as a kind of cartographer of every plane and curve of her surface, as it was not so very long ago. Jared McKay believed he could trace — strictly from memory — Catherine’s body as it had been, when he had been her explorer, eager to know the line of her neck, the curve of a shoulder blade, the dimple behind her knee.

These are the opening lines of "The Fallen," my newest short story, which is appearing in the August 2008 issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (aka EQMM).  

Jared is a police detective who returns from leave to take an assignment on a surveillance job, looking for distractions from his troubles at a difficult time.  It's an assignment that will result in revelations about his own life, and the lives of those closest to him.

I find that Jared is still on my mind, many months after I finished the story.  I hope you will enjoy reading "The Fallen."

A couple of people have told me they've received their copies of the August EQMM magazine, so subscribers should have it in their mailboxes any day now. If you aren't a subscriber and want to see the story, I have information below about how to get the magazine.

Those of you who follow my short story writing know it has been a while since I've had a new one out. I fell behind on my novel manuscripts, so I had to catch up there before I set time aside to write a story. The most recent story was "Zuppa Inglese," really a novella, I suppose, which appeared in 2006 in Otto Penzler's Murder at the Racetrack.

As I've stated elsewhere, I love the short story form, both as a reader and a writer. I'm proud to be included in this issue of EQMM — the magazine has a rich and wonderful history, and here in the Burke household we continue to look forward to each issue.

Now -- for the promised info about getting a copy of the story:

If you want to subscribe to the magazine, you can do that online, at Dell Magazines' Mystery Place Web site.  I don't think the July issue information is up yet, so I'm not sure when they'll have information about the August issue, but you can get subscription information there, or subscribe on Amazon.com.

If you don't want a subscription but want a copy of the magazine, there are several ways to get one.  

If you want an electronic version (many formats available), it should soon be available through Fictionwise.  The August issue isn't posted on Fictionwise yet, but I imagine it will be there soon.

You can find EQMM at many newsstands, at some independent mystery bookstores, and at retail outlets including the following:

B Dalton

Barnes & Noble

Borders

Eastern Lobby Shops

Gateway Newsstands

Relay

The Great Canadian News Company

Waldenbooks

Keep in mind that limited copies are available, so you may want to order one in advance from your local store.

Finally, you can also order individual copies as back issues from Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.  Details can be found by clicking here -- see item #3.

If you do get a copy of it, let me know what you think of the story!

Yours,

Jan

An Overdue Update

I'm excited to say that The Messenger, my next book, is a step closer to actually being a book. The revisions are in, cover art is nearly ready (I'll put it up here and on my Web site as soon as possible), and it looks as if the publication date will be set for January, 2009.

As some of you already know, this book has a supernatural element. It has thriller elements as well, and I think those who read the Irene Kelly series will enjoy meeting Tyler Hawthorne and friends.

Especially those of you who love dogs. Wait until you meet Shade! I'll talk more about him, and the plot of The Messenger, very soon.

I'm also working on a new Irene Kelly book. That one will possibly be out in the fall of 2009. The main reason you haven't seen much of me here is that I'm trying to get two manuscripts finished this year -- hoping to make it up to all of you for not getting a book out this year.

I'll soon have a story coming out in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, too. I'll give details about that and tell you how you can make sure you get a copy of it in my next post!

It was great seeing those of you who came to Mayhem in the Midlands. That's one of my favorite conventions, and next year I'll have the pleasure of serving as its toastmaster. The guest of honor is my good friend Dana Stabenow, so we'll have fun. When the 2009 registration links are available, I'll let you know.

Mayhem is held in Omaha. A lot of my extended family can be found in the midwest, so I arrived a little early, and drove through four states during my visit there. I saw cousins, aunts, uncles, and nieces and nephews. One day I joined cousin Martha Burke and one of her friends, artist Paula Fagan, for lunch in Kansas City, Missouri. We had lunch in the city's art district, at a fabulous place called Pizza Bella. Just down the street on Baltimore Ave is the historic TWA Building, recently restored, Moonliner II and all. You can see a better photo of it than the one above on this Wikipedia link, but this is one I snapped with my iPhone. If you have a chance to visit this part of the city, go!

This is a beautiful time of year to be driving past farmland, and some of the most lovely and serene vistas can be found in the Flint Hills of Kansas. I spent a lot of hours in the rental car this trip, and I think that part of the drive remains my favorite.

My next public appearance will be June 13-14, at the Hardboiled Heroes and Cozy Cats Writers Conference, which is sponsored by the Southwest Chapter of MWA. If you live anywhere near Dallas, Texas, and are working on a manuscript, I hope I'll be see you at that event.

Now I'm going back to work on a manuscript of my own....

Malice Domestic

I hope to see some of you next week at Malice Domestic!

This convention is always fun and friendly, and of course, I love having a chance to visit the Washington D.C. area. This year's worthy honorees include Charlaine Harris, Lindsey Davis, Daniel Stashower, Peter Lovesey, and Elizabeth Foxwell. For a list of attending authors, visit this page of the Malice Website.

See you there!

Happy Birthday, Peter O'Donnell!

Today, April 11, is the 88th birthday of my greatly admired friend, Peter O'Donnell. He created Modesty Blaise and also wrote wonderful gothic adventure novels under the pen name Madeline Brent. To learn more about him, visit Modesty Blaise, Ltd.

Home again

At the end of March, Tim and I traveled to Buffalo, New York, to visit family there, and were saddened to learn that one of his aunts, the truly fabulous Jean Fancourt, was in the hospital. She died the day after we arrived. We loved her dearly, and our time with our Burke cousins was a celebration of her well-lived life.

After a few more days in Buffalo, where there was April snowfall, Tim went home and I went on to Manhattan. I made a visit to MWA headquarters, where Margery Flax is busy with both Edgar preparations and packing up the office to move to its new digs.

The next day I spent time with my editor, and with the publisher and the editor of my paperbacks. All kinds of news.

I'm happy to say that Pocket Books will be reissuing Bones.

I also learned that my next book will be out in early 2009. More details will be posted here re pub date, title, and about the book itself the next few weeks. For now, I'll tell you that this book is not part of the Irene Kelly series -- in fact, it's not crime fiction. Something new and different, but I hope you'll become as attached to these new characters as I have. Did I mention the dog? Okay -- more about all of that later.

I went from Manhattan to Pittsburgh. You've heard about some of that part of the trip in earlier posts. The Wecht Institute event was great, but I had to leave early, because one of my favorite librarians, Joyce Hensley, had asked me to be part of Literary Orange in California. So I spoke with my suitcase next to the dais, took a few questions, and hurried off to the airport. (Later I learned that Laura Lippman and I were probably wandering through the Pittsburgh Airport at about the same time. Although I missed seeing her there, fortunately Laura and I had a great afternoon together in So Cal, when she was here to sign her new book, Another Thing to Fall, at Book Carnival.)

Weather in Houston (where my flight connected) meant a delayed flight, so I didn't get into LAX until after 1 AM. But I was able to get home and to the event the next day, where I saw Patty Smiley, Naomi Hirahara, and other friends, including Joyce.

One other note about 2009 -- I'm hoping to get a new Irene Kelly novel out later that year. Working on it now. That probably means I won't be posting here on the blog quite as often as I'd like, but I hope you'll all be understanding about that.

As for future travel -- DC, Omaha, and Dallas are in the works. I'll be at Malice Domestic in April, Mayhem in the Midlands in May, and at Hardboiled Heroes & Cozy Cats 2008 in June. So if you are going to be at any of those events, please say hello!

Cyril Wecht Institute at Dusquene University

I've had a couple of radio interviews here today, including a lovely hour spent talking to lively Lynn Cullen, talk radio host on WPTT.   I was also able to talk briefly to PJ Maloney on KQV.

This is all in preparation for the 8th Annual Forensic Science and Law Conference, presented by the Cyril Wecht Institute at Duquesne University.  The theme this year is "Where Fact Meets Fiction."

If you are anywhere near Pittsburgh between now and Saturday, come to this conference!   The faculty includes writers, hosts, and producers of CSI, Criminal Minds, Monk, Forensic Files, Autopsy, 48 Hours Mysteries, Trace Evidence, Diagnosis Murder, and other television shows.  I'll be joined by writers including Robert Tannebaum, Ann Rule, Lee Goldberg, Jon Jefferson, and D.P. Lyle.  Leading forensic scientists and law enforcement experts, including Henry Lee, forensic pathologists Michael Baden and Cyril Wecht, former FBI agent and criminal profiler Mark Sarafik, law professor James Starrs, forensic psychologist Michael Welner, Judge Donald Shelton (who has studied the "CSI Effect") and many more.  There are still a few places left, so please call 412-396-1330 or register online here.  The cost is very reasonable, $35-75 depending on how many events you want to attend.

Pittsburgh Television

I'll be on WPIX's "Night Talk" show, hosted by Mike Pintek, tonight.  The program begins at 8 PM.  Viewers can call 412-333-PCNC to tell the station what you think of the topics discussed.  

This is in connection with my appearance at the Wecht Institute Conference, "Where Fact Meets Fiction."  Hope to see some of you there!

Audio Books!

Exciting News! Audio Books!

Many of you have asked me if there will ever be a book on tape or other audio version of my books. I'm pleases to announce that Recorded Books is offering the first of the Irene Kelly books in unabridged form, read by Eliza Foss.

Goodnight, Irene will be available June 30th. You can order now. The recording will be available on both cassette and CD, and can be rented or purchased. See the Recorded Books Web site for more information.

Two Oddities of the Day

A school crossing guard holding a long conversation on a cell phone.  While holding up the sign, etc....Parents, don't you feel great about that?

A teaser for a local television news broadcast.  I swear this is what they actually said:

"We'll show you where an albino moose was spotted...."

Left Coast Crime in Denver

I hope to see you at Left Coast Crime 2008, which will be held in Denver, Colorado, March 6-9. The convention is honoring Stephen White, and Elaine Viets will be the Toastmaster. Those of you who have been to mystery conventions will realize why librarian Michael Masliah is the Fan Guest of Honor. In what I believe is a first, this convention also features a Celebrity Chef, Joanne Pence, and a Celebrity Singer, Parnell Hall.

You can learn more about the convention at its Web site, http://www.leftcoastcrime.org/2008.

If you want to learn more about where I'll be appearing in the coming months, visit the Schedule page on my Web site.

Return to Me

Those of you who have read my books know that missing persons cases are of particular interest to me. They've been a part of the series from Goodnight, Irene to Kidnapped. I've known people whose family members have been missing. Some still wait. It's a particular kind of hell.

One of the best stories I've seen on this subject is "Return to Me," by Stacey Chase, which ran in yesterday's Boston Globe Sunday magazine. Like most articles about the missing, most of its focus is on missing children. (I am all for making every effort to find missing children, who are so vulnerable. I just wish missing adult cases mattered more to us — the National Center for Missing Adults also needs your help.) Chase's article is well worth reading, and I hope you'll take the time to do so.