Sunday, June 7, 2015
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Shamus Award Nominees
Best Hardcover P.I. Novel
The Hollow Girl by Reed Farrel Coleman The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
Toyko Kill by Barry Lancet
Hounded by David Rosenfelt
Peter Pan Must Die by John Verdon
Best First P.I. Novel
Invisible City by Julia Dahl Bad Country by C.B. McKenzie
Last of the Independents by Sam Wiebe
Wink of an Eye by Lynn Chandler Willis
City of Brick and Shadow by Tim Wirkus
Best Original Paperback P.I. Novel
The Detective and the Pipe Girl by Michael Craven Beauty With A Bomb by M.C.Grant
Critical Damage by Robert K. Lewis
Street Justice by Kris Nelscott
Moonlight Weeps by Vincent Zandri
Best P.I. Short Story
“Clear Recent History” by Gon Ben Ari in Tel Aviv Noir"The Ehrengraf Fandango " by Lawrence Block in Defender of the Innocent
“Fear Is The Best Keeper of Secrets ” by Vali Khalili in Tehran Noir
“Mei Kwei, I Love You” by Suchen Christine Lim in Singapore Noir
“Busting Red Heads” by Richard Helms in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine
Best Indie P.I. Novel
The Shadow Broker by Trace Conger Nobody’s Child by Libby Fischer Hellmann
Played To Death by BV Lawson
The Kids Are All Right by Steve Liskow
Get Busy Dying by Ben Rehder
Lambda Literary Award Winners
Gay Mystery: Blackmail, My Love by Katie Gilmartin (Cleis Press)
Other Nominees
Boystown 6: From the Ashes by Marshall Thornton (MLR)
Calvin’s Head by David Swatling (Bold Strokes)
DeadFall by David Lennon (BlueSpike)
Fair Game by Josh Lanyon (Carina Press)
A Gathering Storm by Jameson Currier (Chelsea Station)
Moon Over Tangier by Janice Law (Open Road)
The Next by Rafe Haze (Wilde City Press)
Lesbian Mystery: The Old Deep and Dark by Ellen Hart (Minotaur)
Other Nominees
The Acquittal by Anne Laughlin (Bold Strokes)
Done to Death by Charles Atkins (Severn House)
Slash and Burn by Valerie Bronwen (Bold Strokes)
UnCatholic Conduct by Stevie Mikayne (Bold Strokes)
HT: The Rap Sheet
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
What's in a Title: Guest Post by Lori Roy
Today I welcome Lori Roy. Lori is the author of the Best First Novel Edgar Award for Bent Road. It was also named a New York Times Notable Crime Book, and named a 2012 notable book by the state of Kansas. Her second mystery, Until She Comes Home, was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. Her third novel, Let Me Die in His Footsteps, launches today! Lori Roy lives with her family in west central Florida.
Lori Roy:
What's in a Title
It’s August 12th, 2014, midmorning on a Tuesday. Here in Florida, I have my most recent novel up on my computer screen. Denise Roy, Dutton Senior Editor, has the same pulled up in her New York office. Looking for phrases that might inspire a title, we’re paging through the text together. Some of our ideas are too familiar. Others, too forgettable. Yet others have been used too recently or too frequently. Today is the day we must, absolutely must, decide on a title for my third novel. Our deadline is noon.
Titles are tricky business. Many theories exist as to what makes a good title. There’s even a website that will quantify a title’s chances of becoming a bestseller. As to my own theory, I’m searching for those perfect few words that will intrigue a reader as her eyes scan the bookshelves of her favorite bookstore, and that will further offer insight once she has read the book.
By late morning, I have filled a page in my spiral notebook with ideas. Denise and I decide to hang up and work separately to see what new possibilities we might shake loose. I stare down on my list and let out a sigh. A few are of the titles are intriguing but not necessarily insightful. I would call them trite. Others are insightful but not intriguing. These, I would call befuddling. I continue scanning the manuscript for the one perfect phrase that will capture the heart of my 95.000 word novel, and approximately 45 minutes before our deadline, I receive an email from Denise. While googling a phrase from the book, she stumbled upon a Bob Dylan song titled LET ME DIE IN MY FOOTSTEPS. What do you think of this direction, she asks.
I click on the link Denise has included in her email and listen to the song. I google the lyrics and read along as I listen yet again. I go so far as to sing along. The noon deadline is nearly upon us. I email Denise back to tell her I like this direction. I like it a lot. And as I wait to hear if the new title has been accepted, I do some research.
The song was written during the Vietnam War Era, and there are various theories as to its intended meaning. While I won’t speculate as to Mr. Dylan’s intentions, I hear a song that cautions against allowing the weight of fear or judgment to put us in a figurative grave long before we are put in a literal grave. At the heart of my third novel, which we are trying desperately to title, is a community that allows itself to be guided by such fear. The people of the small, fictional town choose to sacrifice another in order to ease their own fears and recapture hope for better times. The consequences of their actions are disastrous and deadly. Alternatively, there is one character in the novel who doesn’t succumb to fear and demonstrates the courage to seek a better life. While this character does not appear often in the novel, he is among the most significant. Given his important role, Denise and I decide to make a slight change to Mr. Dylan’s title—choosing to use ‘his footsteps’ instead of ‘my footsteps.’ Intriguing and insightful. It meets both of my tests.
A few days later, I see a tweet that references this new title. Yes, Denise confirms, it’s official. The title of my third novel, out today, June 2, 2015 is LET ME DIE IN HIS FOOTSTEPS.
Lori Roy:
What's in a Title
It’s August 12th, 2014, midmorning on a Tuesday. Here in Florida, I have my most recent novel up on my computer screen. Denise Roy, Dutton Senior Editor, has the same pulled up in her New York office. Looking for phrases that might inspire a title, we’re paging through the text together. Some of our ideas are too familiar. Others, too forgettable. Yet others have been used too recently or too frequently. Today is the day we must, absolutely must, decide on a title for my third novel. Our deadline is noon.Titles are tricky business. Many theories exist as to what makes a good title. There’s even a website that will quantify a title’s chances of becoming a bestseller. As to my own theory, I’m searching for those perfect few words that will intrigue a reader as her eyes scan the bookshelves of her favorite bookstore, and that will further offer insight once she has read the book.
By late morning, I have filled a page in my spiral notebook with ideas. Denise and I decide to hang up and work separately to see what new possibilities we might shake loose. I stare down on my list and let out a sigh. A few are of the titles are intriguing but not necessarily insightful. I would call them trite. Others are insightful but not intriguing. These, I would call befuddling. I continue scanning the manuscript for the one perfect phrase that will capture the heart of my 95.000 word novel, and approximately 45 minutes before our deadline, I receive an email from Denise. While googling a phrase from the book, she stumbled upon a Bob Dylan song titled LET ME DIE IN MY FOOTSTEPS. What do you think of this direction, she asks.
I click on the link Denise has included in her email and listen to the song. I google the lyrics and read along as I listen yet again. I go so far as to sing along. The noon deadline is nearly upon us. I email Denise back to tell her I like this direction. I like it a lot. And as I wait to hear if the new title has been accepted, I do some research.
The song was written during the Vietnam War Era, and there are various theories as to its intended meaning. While I won’t speculate as to Mr. Dylan’s intentions, I hear a song that cautions against allowing the weight of fear or judgment to put us in a figurative grave long before we are put in a literal grave. At the heart of my third novel, which we are trying desperately to title, is a community that allows itself to be guided by such fear. The people of the small, fictional town choose to sacrifice another in order to ease their own fears and recapture hope for better times. The consequences of their actions are disastrous and deadly. Alternatively, there is one character in the novel who doesn’t succumb to fear and demonstrates the courage to seek a better life. While this character does not appear often in the novel, he is among the most significant. Given his important role, Denise and I decide to make a slight change to Mr. Dylan’s title—choosing to use ‘his footsteps’ instead of ‘my footsteps.’ Intriguing and insightful. It meets both of my tests.
A few days later, I see a tweet that references this new title. Yes, Denise confirms, it’s official. The title of my third novel, out today, June 2, 2015 is LET ME DIE IN HIS FOOTSTEPS.
Monday, June 1, 2015
Mapback Monday: Lady in the Tower
MapBack Monday: Lady in the Tower by Katherine Newlin Burt. 1946. (Dell Mapback #191)
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