Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room

Where is the On Switch on a Vacuum?

by Barbara Poelle

So Husband is coming home after doing whatever it is that he does for the last five weeks. Maybe it’s venture capital investing. Maybe it’s another family. Who knows? The fact remains is that unfortunately, whenever he leaves on these extended jaunts, he takes the carpenter, the contractor, the maid, the cook, the laundress, the pastry chef and the plumber with him, so the apartment looks like it has been home to several weeks of bacchanalian revelry.

Umm, which it has.

Top that off with the fact the toilet overflowed late Friday night (and I really and truly had a moment where I considered just shutting the door and having Husband deal with it this week. I mean seriously, it was heinous. Like, what, did the entire building meet up for chimichangas that night?)  and throw in about 5 weeks of takeout containers, and I got myself one heckuva barn burner on my hands.

And perhaps the last few times we’ve spoken I have been less than straightforward about the standard of living around the old abode. There is a slight possibility that Husband is under the impression that the bed has been made once while he’s been gone or that I used the kitchen for more than just blender drinks and shoe storage. But in my defense, our communication has been a bit opaque in our last few exchanges, as one of the last few times we spoke I was also screaming into the phone, “The toilet is overflowing….DO SOMETHING!”

So now I have to spend most of the evening preparing for the return of His Nibs, and by preparing I mean drinking this chardonnay while gazing languidly around the room and then when he calls from the taxi on his way from JFK, I panic and shove a whole bunch of stuff in the oven and under the mattress on my side of the bed.

Listen, he married it.

Anyway, so it is entirely possible that this entry may be a bit shorter than previous ones. But! Many good things happen in shorter versions. For example, I have this client we’ll call Matthew Q. Martin, because that’s his name. MQM pitched to me at Crime Bake last year (awww! It’s our anniversary this weekend!) and although I didn’t sign him out right, for whatever odd reason, we hit it off and became friends. And to add some fangs to the kitten, HE is friends with an editor whom we’ll call Hottie McModelface because, please. Look at her. Anyway, the three of us somehow formed this bizarre triumvirate where we would meet up every few months for booze and bickering. Nobody had signed or sold to anyone, but we still managed to maintain this bastardized version of a functional author team.

 Anyway, MQM has this fabulous 6 word story page on his site (check it out: http://www.matthewquinnmartin.com/SixWordStoriesTestPage.html) and Hottie McModelface and MQM and I spent our last outing spouting our six word stories at each other. Now, Hottie kept counting syllables, like a Haiku, (look at her, she’s so adorable you don’t even CARE) and I was well into martini number 2, but good ol’ MQM came up with my favorite six word story of all time. (It’s kinda cheat-y when you use the title this way, but hey! It’s the title.)

Ahem:
An Editor, An Agent and An Author walk into a Bar

The Bartender says, “This a joke?”

Wheeeeeeee! Isn’t it fun? Can you please oh please write me a 6 word story today?  For inspiration, go take a peek at MQM’s site.

*The final note is I have thrown a curve at our precarious trio by signing Matt, but please. You would have almost hurt yourself getting to the phone after reading the latest. We seem to be doing fine, and my next goal is to sell something to Hottie McModelface just to even out the playing field. And by even out, I mean I win everything.

Have fun! Can’t wait to read!

It Should Happen to You. But Can It?

Jeff Cohen

In 1954, Garson Kanin (Born Yesterday, Adam's Rib) felt that his wife, the actress Ruth Gordon, needed some cheering up (hang on; the relevance will become apparent shortly). And spying an empty billboard in Manhattan, he conceived the notion of having "Ruth Gordon" painted on it, and actually investigated the plan, finally deciding that despite it being relatively affordable, it wasn't a great idea. When told of the plan, Ms. Gordon was emphatic in confirming that her husband had made the correct decision.

But Kanin couldn't let the idea die, so he wrote and directed a film called It Should Happen to You, in which an out-of-work model played by Judy Holliday gets her name painted on billboards around Manhattan, attracting both Jack Lemmon (in his first film) and Peter Lawford (in not). And merry mix-ups ensue from there.

I couldn't help but think of that premise on my weekly drive into Philadelphia last week (sorry, Phillies fans, but the Yankees were just the better team, and by the way, what is a "Phillie"?), as I passed an eye-catching billboard advertising a book by Philadelphia-based author Sara Segal and her mystery novel 

Murder at the Mikvah (if you have to ask, you might not be the target audience for this book, and then again, you might), which was published by iUniverse in February.

Intrigued (because I'd never seen a book billboard before, except maybe one for a "brand name" author like Stephen King or James Patterson, and hardly ever even them. A mystery by an unknown author? A giant outdoor advertising campaign? How did it work? How much did it cost? How effective was it?

(In other words, could I do it?)

I got in touch with Ms. Segal, and asked those questions in a somewhat less self-absorbed fashion. She said that she had a certain advantage, since she has family in the billboard business, but "I have to tell you, the billboard campaign has been instrumental in getting my book publicized. I don't know how I could have generated the interest that I did any other way. Magazine/Newspaper subscriptions are down, the options for advertising online are numerous and hard to sift through; but billboards... hey, most people still get in their cars and drive, right?

"I've been doing book talks for several months now, and without fail, the billboard campaign is always mentioned.  One of the questions I am asked is why more writers (or publishers) don't use the outdoor advertising medium, and the only answer I can give is that their brains are simply used to thinking a certain way, doing business a certain way, and promoting their titles via specific strategies which do not include the use of billboards."

Now, what's affordable to one author with connections in outdoor advertising might not be so affordable to the rest of us. Sara reports that a billboard like hers, on a highway into a major city that she estimates will see 100,000 sightings per day, would be about $2000 a month based on a four-month contract. Not all of us can devote $8,000 to a plan, no matter how successful it might be. 

But the idea of seeing your book advertised in that public a forum (and, let's face it, on that scale) can be irresistible to an aspiring midlist author. "And keep in mind," Sara adds, "unlike a newspaper ad which a reader is not guaranteed to actually see, billboards cannot be missed. Even if you happen to be fiddling with your phone one day on your drive in to work and do miss the ad, no problem-- that 20 x 60 foot message will be waiting for you the next day and the next and the next. To me, it's a no brainer."

It is certainly something to think about. Anybody got an extra eight grand they're not doing anything with?

But enough about me

Kim Malo

Hello, my name is Kim and I (ducks head shyly and scuffs toe in the sand—note to self: MUST vacuum more often) am a mystery fan.

 

It started small, when I was young. Entry books? Oh the usual things for the time. Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Alfred Hitchcock’s Three Investigators… even, yes, Cherry Ames. I liked it, maybe a little too much, but I was sure I could handle it; I could stop anytime.

 

But then someone introduced me to the hard stuff: Ellery Queen, Dorothy L Sayers, Margery Allingham, Delano Ames, Elliot Paul, and more, much more. I was young, we weren’t in Kansas anymore and this was heady stuff, not meant just for kids. In fact, there was a little contretemps with my mother over Ellery Queen, whose paperback covers at the time featured scantily clad women draped around things in mildly suggestive poses. My mother didn’t read mysteries, so there was no convincing her exactly how misleading they were, and I wasn’t going to admit to not being quite sure what the suggestions were supposed to be about (I really was pretty young). But I digress…

 

Anyway, I was in deep, and that was before I started to touch real hardcore stuff… Mickey Spillane, Shell Scott, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett (The Glass Key remains one of the best books I've ever read), John D. and Ross McDonald. This wasn’t just a different world from the one around me, it was a different universe, and I was lost forever exploring it.

 

The really fun part came as I got older and discovered that there were more and more of these mystery universes out there, with more and more people populating them all the time. Historicals are my favorite. I was born with a gypsy’s wanderlust and love the combination they offer of mystery puzzle paired with vicarious travel in place and time. The best give you a real "you are there" feel as they use both the mindset and tools of a different time to tell an intense story.

 

Then I discovered a new kind of fun telling people about the mysteries—what makes this one under-rated, why do you remember this writer days later or only wish you could forget that one within 20 minutes of closing the covers. Why do I recommend this one, while saying it's really not to my taste, or say I like that one but still refer to it as mind candy… not to be despised, but not really very satisfying when you want more.

 

And so I became (scuffs toe again—where DID all this sand come from anyway?—while gulping bravely) a mystery fan AND a reviewer. OK, the dark secret’s out and I look forward to sharing more about it with you. Sharon set quite a standard for me to live up to (Nope, sorry Sharon, not a rugby fan, but LOVE basketball which has its own oddly shaped balls), and I hope you have fun reading while I try.

Dinner Out

Robin Agnew

 

The publishing industry is trying all kinds of new ways to market authors.  One of them, apparently, is to take an as yet unpublished author (book comes out in March) around to meet store owners in different parts of the country.  I was happy to be included in a group that included other strong local and regional independents at a dinner Minotaur threw for newcomer Paul Doiron.

 

The guest list was chosen by the publicist in New York I guess – interesting that neither large chain with a presence here in town was invited.  I was surprised to be included as we are a much smaller operation than either Nicola’s (local independent) or Schuler’s (regional independent).  However, we are the only mystery specific store in the state and the book is a mystery. The author was a very nice guy, very excited and somewhat overwhelmed by the whole thing.

 

It was interesting to talk a bit to the other booksellers.  They have different people that handle each part of their operations – instead of us, where I handle events, publicity, accounts, the book club, the newsletter and web, while my husband does the all buying and most of the day to day operations.  Without his used book expertise we’d be toast.

 

A lot of what they were talking about was much more large scale.  We deal with a couple of publisher’s reps but order much of our stock from Baker & Taylor.  And like a couple other mystery booksellers I can think of, I’ve had a recent epiphany.  And that is: used books and events.

 

The Nicola’s buyer said Agatha Christie doesn’t sell well for them – I said she does for us, used.  I also said we didn’t carry new James Patterson books, again, we only sell them used.  The mark up on used books is much better than the mark up on new books, and they really carry the day. Think about it:  you buy a used book for $.25 or $.50, sell it for $3.50 or $5.50.  Good markup.  A new, $6.99 paperback costs us roughly $4.20.  And we have to sell it twice, really, to make a profit. 

 

And the other part of the equation, which we all shared, are events.  Events can really boost the bottom line but they have to be planned and chosen carefully. Everyone has a story of an odd author pairing or the use of a keg or a pot of coffee or bottle of wine to stimulate sales.  However, you just can’t escape events – nor would I want to.  They’re a part of the business I truly enjoy.

 

Because we are so small, we are bottom feeders (used books) and guerilla marketers.  If my mother happens to meet a famous author at a dog show and convinces him to come to

Ann Arbor

, I’ll take it.  Meeting authors and reaching out to them is both the most and the least I can do.  Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.  But it keeps us in the book biz, and that’s the big thing.  Not only that, but it gets us a free night out.  Thanks, Minotaur!

Goodbye to all this . . .

Sharon Wheeler

It's an appropriate day to be going out with a bang, as it's Fireworks Night in the UK. Knowing me, it'll be more like a damp squib …

You know, I was never going to blog. I'd got too many better things to do, and anyway, why would anyone care about my train being late, or the row I'd had with an annoying colleague, or the fact I'd pitched the latest willy-waving thriller against a wall? But then along came the silver-tongued Jeff Cohen, and I found myself one of the Dead Guy gang.

Over the course of almost three years (erk!), I've tried to stand up for the poor beleaguered reviewer. We're not all mean, nasty creatures who kick defenceless moggies or nick choccie from small children. Most of us care deeply about the genre and review for the love of it.

And I've had a ball ranting about the art of reviewing, self-publishing, BSP, religion, the state of GLBT writing, religion, self-publishing, trains, BSP, genre clichés, religion, sloppy grammar, religion, men with funny-shaped balls …

I did talk about crime fiction some of the time, honest! And I detect a thread in my blogs when it comes to my affection for European crime fic, small indie presses and my guilty pleasure in the form of a pristine Dick Francis novel just waiting for me to wallow.

It's time now, though, for me to take a break and concentrate on my new adventures – a PhD in modern British drama, a playwriting course and a new journalism book for Routledge. And I'll still be reviewing and acting as editor-in-chief for RTE. So I won't be giving up writing any time soon …

It's time now for me to hand over to the lovely Kim Malo, who a lot of you will know through her reviews and the excellent Crime Thru Time site. I know I'm leaving you in good hands, even if I don't think she's a rugby fan! Thanks to all my fabulous Dead Guy blog mates, past and present, and to everyone who's read my ramblings and taken the trouble to comment. I've promised Jeff that I'll still be available for weddings, bar mitzvahs and when someone sneaks off on their hols ('blogger emeritus' sounds sooooo sophisticated!), so it won't be goodbye for good …

Ten reasons publishers don't offer feedback on submissions

That should read MOST publishers, since at the moment we offer a pretty substantial report, if the author asks for it and pays us a very modest fee. To my knowledge, we’re the only publisher in the UK who offers a paid-for feedback service.

 

And probably MOST submissions too, since one which is currently lying on my desk came with copies of half-page rejection letters from three editors. Creative writing tutors are keen to point out the different ‘levels’ of rejection: printed rejection slip, printed rejection slip with brief note from editor, individual letter from editor, individual letter from editor inviting further submissions, individual letter from editor with feedback (always brief) explaining why manuscript almost made it but still is being rejected. I don’t count exchange of letters with editor culminating in ‘sorry, I lost the vote in the commissioning meeting’ – that one’s too heartbreaking.

 

But mostly publishers don’t give feedback. Here’s why Crème de la Crime is giving some serious thought to dropping its unique paid-for service.

 

1.  The guy who disagreed with the feedback and phoned three times to bend my ear about it.

 

2.  The (other) guy who disagreed with the feedback and sent four (badly spelled) e-mails demanding his money back ‘or else!’.

 

3.  The various people who rewrite the extract and resubmit it, having completely ignored (or missed) the main point the feedback was making.

 

4.  The several people a year who resubmit an extract two or three times, asking for new feedback every time. See 10 below if it’s not obvious why this is unacceptable.

 

5.  The people who phone ahead, and tell me the tragic story of their life as a way of convincing me that their novel deserves feedback for no fee. I’m deeply sympathetic, but hey, we’re running a business here.

 

6.  The suspicious people who demand to know the credentials of the editor who will provide the feedback. Isn’t it enough that she’s an editor working for a publishing company?

 

 7.  The other suspicious people who demand, a week after the date on the submission, to know why their cheque has been banked and they haven’t received their feedback yet.

 

8.  The people whose manuscripts are single-spaced in faded ink and 10-point typeface. This is not a good way to persuade an editor to read your manuscript, even if you’ve paid for feedback.

 

9. The people who ask for feedback on manuscripts which don’t fit our criteria at all – showing that either they haven’t read the guidelines, or they are cynically using us as a cheap appraisal service.

 

But mainly  10 -  because it rarely takes less than an hour and a half to read, think about and write a 500-word report on a 10,000-word extract, and we only charge £25. Some professional appraisal services charge £200 or more for feedback on the first 10,000 words of a novel, and provide no more than a couple of hundred words; in one case I came across, a three-line paragraph.

To give it another perspective: the mechanic who serviced my car a few weeks ago charges an hourly rate of £48, and the accountant who prepares our annual profit and loss account costs us close to double that.

To a small publisher who has to be marketing and production departments as well as editorial, an hour and a half is thirty pages of copy-editing or proofreading, three press releases, planning a book launch, or an awful lot of e-mail answering and general admin.

 

So even though most authors accept the constructive criticism with good grace, or at least dignified silence, I have to ask myself if it’s time well spent.

Hurry! It's Already Tomorrow Somewhere!

by Barbara Poelle

Okay, I so totally meant to carve a pumpkin on Friday but here’s the thing. On my way to Frank’s Market I passed by a restaurant where my friends Jen and Rachel beckoned me in to try something called a Cosmorita. It was all tequila and vodka and salty rim and…then it was morning. And a homeless man was poking me with some rebar asking me to get out of his living room.

Then on Saturday, I totally meant to do laundry but then there was this thing that happened where I didn’t do laundry. Instead I just went out and bought new pants. Two, actually.

Then on Sunday I really, really meant to call all of the people who had invited me out for Halloween festivities and explain how busy I was NOT doing laundry that I missed their party. But instead I had to watch the CSI marathon, because, hey, CSI.

So then I had to write this blog, but this thing happened where all of the bones in my fingers liquefied so I had to just slap at the keyboard like a walrus (I was also making that barking noise, but I do that when I type anyway).  And then I realized, hey, no one WANTS me to bitch slap my QWERTY (Which I think would be the lyrics to my break out rap song should I finally sign with Def Jam records. They so want me.) So I’ll just take it easy and phone in it today…

But then I was gchatting with a colleague we’ll call Colly Doot and it went something like this:

Me: …so then I was like, “Uhh, I am allergic to hard candy and don’t think that’s legal anyway. Then”

CollyDoot: Hate to interrupt you on this fascinating tale, but it’s NaNoWriMo and I

Me: OMG You are stroking OUT! Do you smell toast? Raise your arms in the air, stick out your tongue and say the name of your first grade teacher...oh no wait, that’s for a plane crash...okay, spell the word “alphabet” backwards, clap three times and

CollyDoot: Put down the flask. It ‘s National Novel Writing Month.

Holy crap, it’s NOVEMBER already!!! And that indeed means NaNoWiMo is upon us!!! (http://www.nanowrimo.org/) So no more procrastinating people! Put down the cosmorita! Pay that homeless dude to do your laundry! Tell Grissom and gang you’ll see ‘em in December and get TO IT!!!

I would be tickled chartreuse if you indeed hammered out a first draft in this month. In fact, I may even take a peek at some initial pages if you PROMISE ME that you indeed wrote EVERY SINGLE DAY. I mean it. If you lie, I’ll know it. I am everywhere. I am nowhere. I am the ubiquitous ogler. (That’s the name of my rap album with Def Jam btw).

So here’s the thing. It all starts with the log line, the pitch, the hook. Let me hear it today, and then get cracking! (And all of you kids who are already represented, or elbows deep in your current manuscript,  feel free to give me a hook solely for my entertainment. And if you’re Tom Schreck, try not to hurt yourself.)  

What are you waiting for? Seize the Carp!

Nobody Expects...

Jeff Cohen

Things I Considered Blogging About Today

1. Politics

2. Religion

(I'm totally serious about those two, but then I remembered that I hate when someone tries to impose their stupid opinions on me, so I decided against--for now)

3. My daughter's upcoming driving test

4. Baseball

5. The ridiculous overprotective nature of people at Halloween (blending into Swine Flu)

6. The impending holiday season, and why I wish I could move to Saturn until it's over

7. Taking offense at all the ads aimed directly at me for prostate medication

8. A billboard I saw

9. The book proposal I'm "working on" (writing about it is WAY easier than writing it)

10. E.J. Copperman, and who he/she might be

I gave each of these serious consideration, since one or two of them are actually decent topic ideas, and a couple are even relevant to this blog. It took a good deal of time and thought, and so naturally, I chose to write about:

Monty Python.

There was broadcast very recently (and you can probably still catch reruns) a very good six-part documentary about the British comedy troupe on IFC (and you can catch a Q&A session that WASN'T broadcast here) in which the five surviving members--Graham Chapman died of throat cancer in 1989--discuss their work, its origins, its influence and stuff like that. And there are some relatively interesting interviews with childhood friends of the comedians, and current comedians, as well as, for reasons that defy explanation, Russell Brand.

If you were a teenager in the mid-1970s, there is no need to explain and no way to overstate the influence of the Pythons, as they choose to be known. If you weren't, you might not appreciate the impact they had. They were, for a time, something very much approaching the Beatles of Comedy, aided and abetted by at least one moptop (George Harrison's company produced the team's film The Life of Brian, which got them into a great deal of trouble with people who didn't bother to understand it). 

There is some curiosity in seeing how "the boys" are doing now (Cleese resembles a school headmaster more every year; Jones seems obsessed with history, Gilliam laughs at everything; Idle is a little grumpy, and Palin is trying very hard to make sure everyone has a good time), and there is always value in seeing their groundbreaking work ("oh my god, the parrot sketch AGAIN!!!"). But what's really interesting is the clarity with which they seem to see their careers. 

The stories don't contradict each other, even when Pythons are being interviewed separately. Perspectives might be a little skewed, but the events always seem to be remembered in the same way. Contrast that to The Beatles Anthology, in which there were always four points of view, which didn't always seem to have been present at the same events, and it's really something to see how unsentimental and clear-eyed a group of self-aware icons can be.

Is it overstating things to suggest that the Python troupe was as influential as the Beatles? Maybe, since we're not yet seeing Monty Python Rock Star, and there isn't anyone in the group yet whose first name is "Sir," but to comedy maniacs (and there are more of us than you might suspect), this is a team as important and game-changing as any. 

The idea that hilarious comedy could be made by asking Karl Marx about soccer scores or that a sketch consisting almost entirely of names of cheeses might be riotous don't seem all that impossible now. Before the Pythons (mostly in the TV shows, but sporadically in the movies as well), sketch comedy was the thing that came from vaudeville and music halls, and was practiced (from my generation's perspective) by people like Bob Hope, smug rich guys who carried golf clubs onstage and pretended to speak truth to power between dinners at the White House.

After the Pythons, it was acceptable to schedule Saturday Night Live, even if it had to begin after the kids were supposedly in bed. It was possible for people like Steve Martin to include references to philosophers and artists in his stand-up act. Mel Brooks could give Blazing Saddles an ending that was not only surreal, it had nothing to do with the plot that had been established for the previous 75 minutes. 

Did that all come about because of Monty Python? Probably not. But I have to make my argument out of SOMETHING. Go ahead--prove I'm wrong. Yell at me. Attack my logic. Humiliate me.

After all, this time, I AM expecting the Spanish Inquisition.

A note about DEAD GUY:

This week, we'll be saying a reluctant "ta-ta" to our beloved Sharon Wheeler, who is just too damn busy to keep posting every Thursday. Shaz will fill in here and there when necessary and possible, and she promises she'll poke her head in and keep us honest. We love you, Shaz--don't you dare be a stranger!

Taking Shaz's Thursday spot is our former Sunday blogger Alison Janssen. And taking Alison's former posting day is Kim Malo, a wonderful book reviewer and crime fiction fan who runs the site Crime Thru Time about historical mysteries. Kim is an intelligent, thoughtful reviewer and is going to bring an entertaining and informative perspective to DEAD GUY. Welcome, Kim!

... and I'm talking OUT LOUD to any ... librarian ...

When was the last time you visited the library?

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I don't visit mine often -- barely at all, in fact. But this past Wednesday, I was reminded of how awesome libraries are when Ben and I were invited to speak at the Monona Public Library.

Librarians Toni and Erick asked us in to discuss publishing and how the process works, from our perspective, from idea to bookshelf. Though it was (apparently) also a World Series game night, we had a great crowd turn up to listen to us talk, and we even brought along veteran Bleak House author John Galligan to add his insights to the discussion.

It was AWESOME. And not just because Toni (who is also an author) made fresh-baked cookies for the event. Though that did add to the awesomeness. (They were lemon-oat cookies, you guys. This is a cookie I did not know existed before Wednesday. I, um, took home all the leftovers because omg, yum.)

Ben and I rambled a bit in our introduction, and then the crowd (and some authors, proxied via email by Toni) asked us some really great, really interesting questions. Questions like, "Why do I need an agent?" and, "Do I need to copyright my own book?" I love doing sessions like this -- I don't pretend to know every in and out of this crazypants business, but I do have a handle on the basics and some subtleties and I love to feel useful, so when I can answer something for an aspiring author, I relish the opportunity. (Thank you, Toni and Erick!)

My favorite question of the night may have been (and I'm paraphrasing, so please forgive the non-exact quotes), "I prefer to write without any profanities or sex scenes -- will an editor tell me I don't have enough of that, and will I be asked to add it?" I loved this question because it was the opposite of what Ben and I normally hear ("Will you make me cut all these curses?"). The answer to both is to write with the language that serves your story -- it's about matching your tone and your intent, not about trying to fit into a pre-defined box an editor has laid before you. If I object to a swear word in a manuscript, I'm not objecting the author using that word; I'm objecting to that character in that place at that time using that word in conversation with that other character.

We were asked some wonderful questions about writing, as well, and I'm so glad we had John along to help us field those. Besides writing the outstanding Fly Fishing Mystery series, John teaches writing here in Madison at MATC, and always has insightful advice. Such as: "Start the scene partway through the action, and end it before it's over." "Only give backstory in really small doses -- and don't give it up front. Wait until the reader is dying to know the backstory surrounding a given event, and then only give them part of it." (Readers of John's will recognize this bit of advice in perfect practice with regards to the Dog and Eamon. And readers who haven't yet read John's books ... well, what are you waiting for?!)

Judicious use of backstory can be an excellent way to change readers' established opinions of your characters in a hurry. I like to point at the TV show Lost as a good example of this: Many characters are set up so viewers will dislike them (ahem, BEN), and then three episodes later are given a backstory which inspires sympathy, thus causing viewers enough cognitive dissonance to maybe challenge their former response. (Sorry, I'm SUPER into Lost these days, as I've been marathon-ing episodes nonstop on Netflix. We're now mid-way through Season 5 (please, no spoilers!), so pretty much everything I look at reminds me of something on Lost. "Hey, that guy is playing a guitar outside the coop!" "Oh, that reminds me of this one time on Lost when Charlie [though I insist on pronouncing it Chy-aaaaaaaaaaaah-lee, like Claire does] was playing HIS guitar outside, and it started to rain, and then DESMOND showed up and was all, 'Do I know you, brother?'". This is what it's like to hang around me these days, honestly.)

But back to libraries: Take some time this week and visit yours. Check out what programs they have to offer. Or, if you can't physically get to the library, check out their website. Monona's has a "Librarians' Picks" page (and I fully endorse their fifth pick, naturally). They also have really handy e-newsletters, which you can sort and tailor to your specific tastes. And they're on Twitter!

I'm vowing right here and now to start exersising my library card again. Join me, won't you?

Oh, and tomorrow, in case you didn't get enough of my ramblings just now, I'll be interviewed over at Do Some Damage. The interview may or may not include me asking someone -- anyone! -- to autotune an audiobook for my amusement.

And, because it's been awhile since I've mentioned it, you can follow me on Twitter here, or follow Tyrus Books here.

"Dead, Brutalized Women Sell Books"

Robin Agnew

I imagine many of us have seen the Guardian piece about reviewer/writer Jessica Mann's refusal to review any more of the almost pornographically violent books which are at the present moment bestsellers.  The article and the response on Salon.com singles out female writers (though there are certainly male writers I can think of who fit the bill).  The writers specifically mentioned were Tess Gerritsen, Mo Hayder, Karin Slaughter and Kathy Reichs.

There are several issues at play here, I think, and the article caught my attention because at Bouchercon there was a panel devoted to "Telling Women's Stories", where the ultra violent books were mentioned repeatedly by the panelists as undesireable.  I contacted Mary Saums, who was on this panel and seemed to have especially strong views, and here's some of what she had to say: "Tess Gerristsen commented on Sarah Weinman's blog that writers who want to sell books should listen to what women want, and I agree,  What she hears from women is very different from what I hear, that they're so happy to find mysteries without graphic insane violence." 

Natasha Cooper, quoted in the original article, put it another way:  "There is a general feeling that women writers are less important than male writers and what can save and propel them onto the bestseller list is if they produce at least one novel with very graphic violence in it to establish their credibility and prove they are not girly."  Do these women then hate their sex, or are they looking for a career?  As my own husand remarked, in a sadly casual manner,"What works in popular culture is dead women."

So some of this is actually about sales and respect, and some of it is about the level of violence.  In my humble opinion, it's a phase, and merely a small segment of crime fiction.  As a bookseller, I can tell you that the energizer bunnies of bookselling are not the big bestsellers (some of whom we don't even carry because they are so heavily discounted elsewhere) but the vast array of cozies, also written by women.  Men may win many of the awards, but women are writing the books that people are reading, on both ends of the scale.

There's a reason that some of our bestselling authors are named (we sell lots of used books) Christie, Stout, Allingham, Doyle and Sayers.  Eventually people come back to good writing and well told stories.  I don't imagine that will ever change, no matter what form books eventually take.  Saums also commented "Gentle readers have a right to their own reading preferences, just as much as gore lovers do."  True.  But I also am a fan of the writers mentioned in the article, especially Slaughter, Gerristsen and Hayder, who are often pushing boundaries and creating interesting characters.  Sometimes I just skip the ultra violent parts, and read on ahead.  For me, the good stories there are worth it.

I'm probably not reading the number of violent books that reviewer Jessica Mann is reading, however.  I can pick and choose what I read, and I like a variety.  To be fed a steady diet of this kind of thing would indeed make me weary and probably angry.  I just think there's a bigger pictture.  Mary Saums also said (she's a passionate woman):"It's the tired-ass cliche of Weak Stupid Woman Must be Mutilated that bothers me.  No amount of high-and-mighty bullshit from bestselling authors, male or female, justify bringing more of those horrors in the world."  While Saums and Mann may skip the books, and I just skip the "yucky" parts, it's a readers choice.

I had an ephiphany earlier this year when I paired a well known male thriller writer with an ultra cozy writer.  He was selling a big stack of hardbacks - but we sold through her stack as well, and I realized that for every one of the male writer's books, we would ultimately sell 5 of the type this female writer produces.  Maybe not five by her specifically, but five cozies.  Everyone has their own taste.  As a bookseller all I can do is push the books I happen to like.  As a reviewer, Mann has taken the same stance.  For the rest of you, read at will.