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

Hail and Farewell

Jeff Cohen

So that was it. We hope you liked it.

This is the 3464th post on HEY THERE'S A DEAD GUY IN THE LIVING ROOM, and unless someone else parachutes in and decides to add some thoughts, it is the last. We've had quite a good run here but it's time to shut off the lights and lock the doors before we stop saying anything anyone wants to hear.

For me DEAD GUY has been any number of things. It started when Deni Dietz and I defected from Murderati a long, long time ago and thought we'd start our own blog, but we didn't want to examine crime fiction strictly from an author's point of view. So we recruited editors, publishers, readers, librarians, reviewers, agents and booksellers, among others, to provide perspective we as writers couldn't offer. 

I'll continue to post blogs every now and again (look next Tuesday for sure) and hope you'll look for those moments, but as for DEAD GUY, this is the end of the line, and that's because we have all agreed it's better to go out while we're still wanted and not overstay our welcome.

But it wasn't all about publishing. The rule among us at DEAD GUY was that there were no rules. If you wanted to post about your section of the crime fiction world, great. If not, go for it. I have personally posted about digitizing my vinyl record collection, interviewed my daughter, had my dog write a guest post, talked about my health issues (ad nauseam), ranted about having to master barre chords, introduced a pseudonym, shamelessly promoted my work, bragged about blurbs, discussed the importance of making attractive letters when filling in a crossword puzzle, mentioned comedians I especially admire and occasionally made dives into such popular subjects as religion and politics. I recall once explaining how to deal with the atheist on your Christmas card list.

This blog has been more than a simple repository for my random thoughts. I've made good friends here. I've managed to blow off steam or express emotional truths when I had to. It served as a steam valve when I needed it. And a couple of times it served to let me write silly song lyrics. 

The most gratifying part of the weekly post was to connect with those who decided to visit us here. Hearing from readers and other writers, among many others, was a great comfort and sometimes an ego stroke when it was most needed. Writers write because we want to communicate something. Knowing that people were taking notice was a very large help at times.

For me the schedule forced me to write whether I had a great idea in mind or not. Some of my favorite posts were those that came when I was backed against a deadline wall. 

Everyone who has ever posted here will tell you that coming up with a post every week could be a trial. It's not easy to keep going and not repeat oneself. There have been nights that I've sat here looking at a blank screen for an hour wondering what would appear on the blog page at 12:00 a.m. that Monday. The closest I've ever come to believing in "Writer's Block" has been related to these posts. But I still don't believe.

The people with whom I've been part of DEAD GUY are amazing, smart, funny, warm and dedicated. I am grateful and honored to have been associated with each and all of them. I won't mention all the names here because I'm certain to forget some and that would bother me deeply even if it wouldn't rankle those I failed to cite. But assume if you've read a post here and it wasn't one of mine that it was written by someone I admire greatly, someone who inspires awe in me. I thank each of them. 

For those who have chosen to check in here every day or every week or once a year, we can't possibly thank you enough. It has been wonderful being part of your lives. Don't mourn the DEAD GUY. We stopped because we didn't want to disappoint you. You deserve our best. We hope we've given it to you. Thanks for everything.

 

 

Oh. And pitchers and catchers report in 44 days.

Don't Be Sad... It's Just a Blog

First: Our most fervent hopes that everyone in the path of the recent terrible storms is okay and that life will return to normal soon.

But now a bittersweet announcement: Every day here at DEAD GUY we try to bring you something that can add to your day. Most often that something has to do with crime fiction publishing, as our lineup of bloggers has been constructed to know about that category. And over the past 10 we have done our best to provide every possible viewpoint on the subject.

But, as they say, whoever they are, all good things (and the rotten ones too, truth be known) must come to an end. 

As much as we've all loved being DEAD GUY bloggers, we've agreed it's time to close the proverbial doors around here. Coming up with useful, entertaining content every day has gotten to be a little too much after all this time and we want to go out while we're still at the top of our game. 

So the December 31 post will be the last one here at DEAD GUY. While it's a little sad to think this is coming to a close, we prefer to focus on the idea that we've done good work here, people have enjoyed it, and we've kept it going since January 2007, which ain't bad. 

The cast of characters has changed over the years, but never the mission: To provide perspective on writing, publishing, reading, editing, promoting and enjoying books, mostly in the crime fiction area. We're all still committed to that concept and we'll keep expressing our opinions when we feel they're relevant. Just not here at DEAD GUY after 2017 becomes 2018. 

In the ensuing months, please know we'll keep posting as we have before, so don't tune us out of your daily web scan just yet. And along the way, we'll be hearing from some DEAD GUY alums who have graciously agreed to come back for one more visit before the lights are put out and we group-hug our way to the end of the Mary Tyler Moore Show. 

Keep reading. That's what this has always been about.

What do your books tell others about you?

I've been a book gatherer most of my life. One time, in a move, I got rid of boxes of books because I had no choice. Much of my fiction, and a lot of mysteries, including all my Christies, which I felt sure I could always find in a public library.

But I kept buying books...mostly mysteries, but I also have a lot of reference books, humor, history, books on movies and the theatre, volumes on theology, spirituality and feminism. But my mother did ask me once, “Do you have any novels where someone isn't murdered?”

Today, we began preparing for the semi-annual library book sale. We opened and unpacked boxes and boxes of books. There were some books withdrawn from the library collection, but most were gifts from patrons.
Sometimes there are huge collections as a book collector passes away or moves to retirement quarters in Arizona or Florida. Some of these can be quite interesting.

There were dozens and dozen from one source. They included Bibles, books on pastoring, spiritual guides, etc. There were also at least 40 books about weight loss or how women shouldn't be judged by their weight and appearance and lots of cook books.
I surmised that someone was eating a lot while she read her Bible. Then there were political books which said to me that this overweight religious woman was also a member of the Tea Party.

Then someone else collected hard cover fiction books in the romance and romantic suspense genres. There were complete runs of Janet Evanovich (mysteries and romances), Catherine Coulter, Nora Roberts (and all the paperback J.D. Robb), plus a few other prolific writers. Here was someone with a romantic bent.

Also in the donations were about 15 old Nancy Drew books. They were the editions that come out in the 30s and 40s. Had someone saved her old copies, or were they passed down to younger members of the family? That's what I did with mine and I was sure of getting at least two Nancy Drews for Christmas and at least one more for my birthday.
Those were the days when public libraries seldom carried them or the Hardy Boys because they weren't “literary” enough.

There were also a lot of “classics” printed in the early 1900s. Not in good enough shape to be collectible, however.

If you don't attend you public library's book sale, you are missing a chance to pick up some great items at a bargain price and help your library raise money to buy the new books you want to read.
A lot of people come in and take a bag or box full and return them for the next book sale. No pesky overdue fines that way.
Besides books, there are also magazines (which we ask people NOT to bring, but they do) and DVDs, VC tapes, 78 and 45 records as well as LPs. And there are tapes, including some 8 tracks once in awhile and CDs.
The one job I hated as a librarian was “weeding” the collection, especially fiction. And getting rid of my books will be even harder, but I think that it would be a kindness to get rid of at least half of them so my brother won't be faced with the task. He'll just have hundreds instead of thousands with which to contend.
Check with your local libraries to see when they are having a book sale, or if you are in the vicinity of Fostoria, Ohio come Thursday, Friday and Saturday for out book sale. They will be a buck a bag next Monday. You can always Google Fostoria to see where it is.

About this dead guy....

When Jeff asked me to blog every other Sunday, I thought, “What do I know about dead guys in living rooms....except from reading mysteries for decades?”

But then I recalled that my father was found dead on the living room couch, in our family home He wasn't murdered, but died of natural causes, including old age. The last book he was reading was DEATH BED: A FATHER KOESLER MYSTERY, by William Kienzle. My brothers and I hope Dad had time to finish the book. We also thought the title should have been DEATH COUCH.

 

As you can surmise, my Dad was a mystery reader. It was the one good addiction I inherited from him. Besides the mystery novels that were always around, there were those great radio mysteries. (Yes, I am old) There was “Inner Sanctum” with its creaking door, “The Shadow” who always knew what “evil lurks in the hearts of man.”

Also “Suspense” and “The Whistler” along with a more than one featuring a married couple who solved crimes. Thanks to the joys of the electronic age, it is possible to still listen to these shows. Yes, the “good old days” when murder was often featured on the airwaves instead of the hatred which seems to spew forth these days.

 

So what I was always looking for was a “death by homicide” in my life, though not in my living room. In 2000 I went to a Public Library Association conference in Charlotte, N.C. Not too long before I had read a book, CUTTINGS, by Anne Underwood Grant (c1999). In that book a body is found at a flower show at the Charlotte Convention Center where PLA was being held. I was so disappointed as I looked in every nook and cranny which I could locate, but there was not a corpse in sight. What a disappointment. <g>

 

If I wanted to be an amateur sleuth I lived in an ideal small town, of which a nearby city newspaper headlined: “Fostoria...another week, another murder.” Yes, and as the librarian and avid mystery reader, did I go out and try to solve the crimes. Nah, I let the police handle it. Two of the cases involved teens, and yes, I knew some of them and their families. Alas, besides being chicken, I had no friend who was as mystery-mad as I, nor a suitor on the police force or in the sheriffs' departments. (Our town is in three counties). No relative was a dispatcher at a local law enforcement agency and besides I worked well over 40 hours most weeks.

 

Then there was the time a former in-law died in Colorado. It was either an accidental overdose, suicide (with no note) or murder. She was with a boy friend who was not at all popular with her parents nor her former husband as he tried to take everything of value which she had. Now had I been one of my favorite heroines, I would have rushed to the airport and grabbed a plane for Denver. But I thought better of it and if I remember correctly the death was ruled an accident. Had I done that and gotten on a horse to go up to the mountains where she died, I know I would have fallen into that TSTL (Too Stupid to Live) category.

 

As much as I love reading, especially mysteries, I have become more selective over the years. I won't read a book that I've started and isn't entertaining or intriguing me. And I have some pet peeves which I will share later. And also tell you about the books that I really, really liked.

 

Also I will share some of the great things about being a mystery fan, including going to conferences and meeting my favorite authors and contacting them on-line. Do you suppose readers wrote fan letters to Jane Austen. Did she have book signings?

 

I know I'll never be a writer or a detective, amateur or professional. I will continue, however, to be an avid reader who likes to talk about what she has learned from reading and how that led to my ideal profession of being a librarian who worked as a public servant for over fifty years. And I will have thoughts, serious or silly, that I will share with you over the coming months.

Doris Ann Norris, the 2000-year-old librarian