Monday, March 4, 2019
Sunday, March 3, 2019
2018 NERO AWARD & BLACK ORCHID NOVELLA AWARD WINNERS
The Wolfe Pack.
NERO AWARD WINNER
August Snow by Stephen Mack Jones (Soho)
The Nero Award is presented each year to an author for the best American Mystery written in the tradition of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories. It is presented at the Black Orchid Banquet, traditionally held on the first Saturday in December in New York City.
BLACK ORCHID NOVELLA AWARD WINNER:
Minerva James and the Goddess of Justice by Mark Bruce
The Black Orchid Novella Award is presented jointly by The Wolfe Pack and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine to celebrate the novella format popularized by Rex Stout.
Saturday, March 2, 2019
CHARLES MCCARRY: R.I.P.
From the NYT:
Charles
McCarry, a former C.I.A. agent who used his Cold War experiences to
animate his widely admired espionage novels, notably The Tears of
Autumn, a best seller about the assassination of President John F.
Kennedy, died on Tuesday in Fairfax, Va. He was 88. His son Caleb said the cause was complications of a cerebral hemorrhage caused by a fall.
The
soft-spoken Mr. McCarry followed other former spies into writing
fiction, a group that includes Graham Greene, Ian Fleming and David
Cornwell, who writes under the pseudonym John le Carré.
And over nearly 40 years, Mr. McCarry’s dense plotting, realistic
detail and brisk writing style brought him a reputation as one of
espionage fiction’s leading practitioners.
“McCarry
is the best modern writer on the subject of intrigue — by the breadth
of Alan Furst, by the fathom of Eric Ambler, by any measure,” the
political satirist P. J. O’Rourke wrote in a review of Mr. McCarry’s “Old Boys” (2004) in The Weekly Standard.
Old
Boy is the sixth of seven novels that center on Paul Christopher, an
urbane agent for the Outfit (read: the C.I.A.), who first appeared in The Miernik Dossier (1973), an inventive tale told through letters,
surveillance reports, diaries and transcripts of phone conversations.
The Christopher character — Mr. McCarry’s equivalent of George Smiley —
returned the next year in The Tears of Autumn.
The Tears of Autumn,
Mr. McCarry’s biggest seller, reimagines the Kennedy assassination as
payback by the South Vietnamese — using Cubans and the Mafia as
go-betweens — for the White House’s role in the coup that led to the
death of President Ngo Dinh Diem weeks before Kennedy was gunned down.
Christopher travels the world to prove that his theory is correct.
McCarry’s years as an undercover operative served him well,” the critic Patrick Anderson wrote in
The Washington Post in 2005, when Tears was reissued. “Some of the
novel’s best moments show Christopher meeting with a variety of
revolutionaries, rogues and killers.”
He added, “The Christopher novels are brilliant, but their flaw is that their hero has no flaw — he is too good to be true.”
Although
he described his undercover work — the dead drops, the cover stories,
the clandestine rendezvous — as unglamorous and tedious, Mr. McCarry
said he had surrendered to it as the foundation of his intricately
plotted novels.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DR. SEUSS! Read Across America Day
The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more you learn, the more places you'll go."
— Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut! Even though Green Eggs & Ham is the most popular of the 'food' Seuss books, and, by all means read it and make some green eggs and ham, since it's Dr. Seuss's Birthday, read Happy Birthday to You and Bake a Cake! Check out a copy from your library or buy a copy and read it to or with a child. To enhance the experience, bake a few chocolate cakes, cupcakes or buy a chocolate Sheet Cake, and have the children decorate.
You could also read Thidwick, the Big-Hearted Moose and serve Chocolate Mousse sprinkled with red candy hearts.
Here's a classic recipe for Cat in the Hat Cookies: Melt white chocolate in the microwave. Dip a round cracker or cookie in the white chocolate, place on wax paper and top with a marshmallow. Allow to cool. Pipe bright red icing as rings around the marshmallow and cover the top.
And from Parents Connect, here's a recipe for Dr. Seuss's Sneetch Treats. Perfect as a companion to reading The Sneetches.
Dr Seuss's Sneetch Treats
Ingredients
8 ounces butter, melted
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups uncooked, 1-minute oatmeal
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup golden raisins
2 chocolate bars, chopped into squares
6 large marshmallows
Wooden skewers soaked in water or BBQ forks
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°
Combine melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a bowl. Mix well.
In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add to butter mixture.
Add oatmeal, walnuts, and raisins. Mix well.
Drop batter (1 Tbsp at time) onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Flatten each cookie slightly with the back of spatula.Bake 12 minutes until golden and firm. Remove cookies to cake rack to cool.
Once cookies have cooled, put square of chocolate onto each cookie.
Heat up grill (or smoker... or fire pit... or oven).
Place marshmallows on skewers or BBQ forks. Slowly roast marshmallows over grill until golden on each side.
Carefully slide marshmallows off forks and onto t chocolate-covered cookies.
Place another cookie on top of the Marshmallow.
Theodor Seuss Geisel (March 2, 1904 – September 24, 1991) was an American writer and cartoonist best known for his classic children's books under the pen name Dr. Seuss. With millions of books in print, and nearly all of his titles still available for sale, Dr. Seuss was, up until his death in 1991, one of the most prolific living writer behind Barbara Cartland. His Green Eggs and Ham is the third largest selling book in the English language. He wrote 44 children’s books. His best-sellers included: Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Horton Hatches the Egg, Horton Hears a Who!, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Seuss’s first book And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street was published in 1937 after being rejected almost 30 times.
Check out this cute Cat in the Hat Birthday Cake from Christine Guzman, owner of The Quaint Cake Co in Boca Raton, FL. It was a chocolate cake, of course! They're no longer making cakes, but be sure and check out their gallery...site is still up for your enjoyment!
Friday, March 1, 2019
CWA Diamond Dagger
CWA (Crime Writers Association) Press Release:
“The Dagger award recognises authors whose crime writing careers have been marked by sustained excellence, and who have made a significant contribution to the genre.” Goddard will be given this commendation during the CWA’s Dagger Awards ceremony in London on October 24.
Martin Edwards, Chair of the CWA, said: “Robert Goddard has been entertaining crime fiction fans across the world for over thirty years. His books are notable for their breathtaking plot twists, sharp characterisation, and insights into history. It is a genuine pleasure to celebrate his illustrious career with the award of the Diamond Dagger.”
Robert Goddard said: “I’m greatly honoured to be this year’s CWA Diamond Dagger recipient, particularly since it’s an award conferred by my fellow writers, who know about the challenges of the craft from the inside. Looking back, I’m not exactly sure when trying to make a go of writing turned into a career, but it’s been a hugely enjoyable and satisfying experience and recognition like this is much appreciated. It also gives me encouragement, for which I’m very grateful, to look ahead to all those books yet to come!”
HT: J.Kingston Pierce, TheRapSheet
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