First things first: the proceeds from Bouchercon’s Murder Under the Oaks go to the Wake Country Public Libraries. And folks, reading is cool. In November 2013, thieves broke into a Modesto, CA orchard and made off with 140,000 pounds–70 tons–of in-shell walnuts. In February 2012, a shade to the north, 40,000ish tons of walnuts went missing from a Butte…… Continue reading Behind: “Crack-up at Waycross”
Category: Crime, Mystery & Suspense
Behind: “Two Bad Hamiltons and a Hirsute Jackson”
Violet Celucci is a better angel and an inner demon. A frigging genius is how Vi might describe herself, a bastion of sanity in a disorderly world, a process improvement-seeking missile. An over-obsessed stickler for efficiency is how she’d never describe herself. Sorry, Vi. The truth hurts, and so can life. Tough as you are, I see the breaks in your armor. I…… Continue reading Behind: “Two Bad Hamiltons and a Hirsute Jackson”
Satire: Philip Marlowe’s 1939 Christmas Card Note
Bob’s note: written for the season of good natures and with love and respect for Raymond Chandler’s work. The main case referenced below is the plot thread of Farewell, My Lovely, my favorite of the Marlowe books and set in 1939. Christmas Eve, and a blade-straight wind is scraping dirt off the San Gabriel Mountains. Out…… Continue reading Satire: Philip Marlowe’s 1939 Christmas Card Note
Behind: “Death or Taxes”
Behind the Writing Scenes of “Death or Taxes,” published in the July ’14 issue of Mysterical-E. Summer 2011: it was that purplish state of dawn. My eyes flew open. My breath caught in my throat. Inspiration had come. It was ready to bubble out, like it or not. And I liked it. In short order I had finished 1800…… Continue reading Behind: “Death or Taxes”