Pet peeves

by Carola Dunn

Trying to get ms finished as there is now a pub. date (December) which, though far in the future, is not far enough for me.

They've already produced the cover art!

 So here is a link to a blog about "pet peeves" in mysteries.  Chester and I both contributed via DorothyL.

http://istoriabooks.blogspot.com/2013/02/mysterious-monday-pet-peeves-in.html

Do leave a comment about your own particular pet peeves--so that we can try to avoid them! 

Supporting an Author You Love

by Jaden Terrell

I've been reading Chester Campbell's new thriller, POKSU, and wondering why this guy is not selling hundreds of thousands of his books. I have the same thought when I read something by Timothy Hallinan or some other lesser-known author whose work blows me away. (That includes you, my fellow Murderous Musings contributors.)

We all know there's a handful of authors who need no help in the promotion department because everyone already knows who they are. James Patterson. J.K. Rowling. For most, though, the key to growing a readership is word-of-mouth. No one buys a book they don’t know exists. But with more than two hundred thousand new books launched this year, getting the word out is a challenge.

So how can you help create buzz for an author whose work you love? Let's call her Sally Wimpleton, and let's say she's written a novel called The Garden Gnome Murders. (Sheesh, now I want to write that!) 

1. Ask your local librarian to order The Garden Gnome Murders by Sally Wimpleton.

2. Post a review on Amazon, B&N, Goodreads, Shelfari, or other sites that allow reader reviews.

3. Click the “Like” button the B&N and Amazon pages for The Garden Gnome Murders and for Sally's author page, if she has one. On Amazon, the hardback, Kindle, and audio versions must all be “liked” separately.

4. Make one or more appropriate Amazon lists and add The Garden Gnome Murders to the list(s). Goodreads also has a list function now.

5. “Like” Sally Wimpleton's Facebook page and help keep the discussion there rolling. Invite others to “like” the page and participate as well.

6. Spread the word on your social networking sites, like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. Retweet Sally's tweets, share her relevant Facebook posts, etc.

7. Recommend the books to all your friends and family members who enjoy the kind of books Sally writes.

8. If you’re in a book club that reads mysteries and is open to author visits, ask if they would like Sally to come and speak to the group (or Skype with them).

9. If Sally has a website with links, articles, or other content readers might like, visit it often and encourage others to do the same. (If she has a newsletter, sign up for that and encourage your friends to sign up too.)

10. If you know people who acquire books for airports, Walmart, Sam’s, Costco, Target, K-Mart, etc., tell them about The Garden Gnome Murders.

11. If you know people in other countries where Sally's book has been translated, let them know about the translation. 

12. If you know a major motion picture director or producer, or any big-name actor who might like to play one of the roles, steer him or her toward the book. Who wouldn't want to see a movie about Garden Gnomes? And Murder?

13. When you order your copy of The Garden Gnome Murders, order another mystery by a well-known author in a similar genre. That gets Sally on the “people who bought x also bought y” list.

Can you think of other ways to help draw attention to a favorite author?

*Note: Sally Wimpleton and The Garden Gnome Murders are fictional creations. Any resemblance to real people or novels, living or dead,is purely coincidental.

Chester Campbell and THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE MURDEROUS

By Jaden Terrell

I've long been a fan of Chester Campbell's work. His sleuthing sextagenarians Greg and Jill McKenzie are like old friends, and Sid Chance, the...pentagenarian?...of his new PI series is a strong, understatedly sexy hero you can depend on. Sid's herculean size (he's 6'6") is reminiscent of Lee Child's Jack Reacher, but unlike Reacher, with his legendary propensity to roam, Sid has roots that run deep. He's been wounded, but maintains his connections to friends and loved ones. And, while Chester doesn't expressly say this, I suspect Sid changes his underwear more often.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should say Chester and I have been friends and in the same critique group for about 15 years now. A long-time journalist, he was always the most polished writer among us, and at every meeting, we struggled to find room for improvement. Partly because of that, and partly because of his tenacity, no one doubted that we'd see his work in print. Because of its setting (partly in Nashville and partly in the Holy Lands), I always had a soft spot for his first published novel, Secret of the Scroll, but the first Sid Chance novel, The Surest Poison, quickly became a favorite. With every book, Chester does the seemingly impossible: he just keeps getting better.

The Good, the Bad, and the Murderous, Chester's latest book and the second in the Sid Chance series, continues this trend. As the book begins, Djuan Burden, a young man recently released from prison after serving time for a murder committed when he was twelve, has been arrested for a second murder. Djuan claims to have found the victim dead and fled the scene in panic, which explains why witnesses placed him at the scene. Despite Sid's doubts about Djuan's innocence, Sid is persuaded to investigate the case. This decision leads Sid and his partner, Jaz LeMieux, into a complex web of murder, police corruption, Medicare fraud, and false accusations. Chester deftly weaves these plot elements into a compelling tale of greed and redemption.

The Good, the Bad, and the Murderous is a top-notch mystery by a top-notch mystery writer. Highly recommended.

Killer Nashville's Coming

By Beth Terrell


It's that time again. That time of year when Killer Nashville founder Clay Stafford and I survive on four hours of sleep a night as we chip our way through to-do lists longer than our legs (and Clay has very long legs). It's all worth it, though, because the final result is going to be...well...Killer.


Jeffery Deaver is our Guest of Honor, and I hear Jeff is not only a delightful speaker, but a pretty fair guitar player as well. We're hoping he can be persuaded to join us around the pool for music and conversation. Don Bruns (who won the Silver Falchion Award two years ago for Stuff to Die For) will be there will his guitar, as will Stacy Allen, who sang for us at last year's awards dinner.


Since the conference begins early on Friday, many attendees arrive at the hotel on Thursday night. In the past, there have been no Killer Nashville festivities that night, but this year, Greg and Mary Bruss of Mysteries & More independent bookstore, are hosting Mystery Team Trivia at 7:30. Greg asked me to be sure and emphasize that valuable prizes will be awarded.

On Friday morning, the fun begins with a presentation called "CSI Don't Think So," in which law enforcement consultant Lee Lofland discusses how television gets it right--and wrong. Lee will intersperse interesting forensic science tidbits throughout the presentation. There are five tracks this year, because we had too many wonderful authors coming to fit them into four. Attendees will hear from a Marine sniper/sniper trainer, forensic psychologists, TBI agents, private investigators, attorneys, and police officers, in addition to agents, editors, and a host of terrific authors, including our own Chester Campbell (who won last year's Silver Falchion) and our own Bente Gallagher (aka Jennie Bentley). Among those attending are Charles Todd (NYT bestseller), Steven Womack (Edgar winner), David J. Walker (Edgar winner), PJ Parrish (Shamus and Anthony winner) and Annie Solomon (Rita Award winnier). There are sessions on character, pacing, dialogue, YA, historical fiction, marketing and promotion, and many that are designed to appeal especially to readers. And, oh yes, there's the mock crime scene staged by TBI agents Dan Royse and Mike Breedlove and solved by attendees.

I could go on and on, but I'd be sure to leave out something important; there's a detailed schedule on the conference site. (Warning: it's a slow-loading site.) As you can see, you don't have to be a crime fiction writer--or even a writer at all--to have the time of your life at the Killer Nashville Crime Literature Conference.

Last year, on Sunday afternoon of the conference, one of my fellow conference organizers came to the registration table where I was sitting and said, "Beth, there are writers sleeping all over the lobby."

I knew we'd done our job.

And the Rains Came Tumbling Down

By Beth Terrell

For the past few weeks, I've caught myself singing a little song I learned in Sunday School when I was a child:

The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
And the house on the rock stood firm.

Chester has already discussed the recent floods around Tennessee, but it's a topic that's foremost in every Nashvillian's mind. Everyone has suffered a loss or knows someone who has. Homes were covered with water, only their roofs visible. There were close to 1000 boat rescues, most conducted by regular people who risked their lives to help complete strangers. Even so, the last count I heard was twenty-six dead. At least two people drowned on Interstate 40, less than two miles from my office.

My family and I were lucky, but many of my colleagues were not. Some lost their homes and/or their vehicles. At least one lost a friend. My friend and dog trainer was rescued from the top floor of her two-story home just as the water reached the eaves. She lost several of her dogs and both of her cats; their loss hurt her more deeply than the loss of her home.

Today, when I saw her, she and her husband were moving what they could salvage into a rental house owned by a friend. Other friends have pitched in to provide supplies for her, her husband, and her surviving dogs. "I always thought dogs were better," she said, "but the people...I never knew people could be like this."

The spirit of generosity has been seen all over the city--no, all over the state. As I sang that little song today, it occurred to me that, despite the damage and the heartache, Tennessee been a house on a rock. A rock of friendship, a rock of faith, a rock of determination. We have stood firm.

J.T. Ellison, a fellow Nashvillian and the author of the Taylor Jackson thrillers, has shared her thoughts about the flood in a remarkable post for AOL News. If you'd like to see some powerful images of the devastation, check out this video on J.T.'s site; it's followed by a list of local charities.

Why I Write About Senior Sleuths

by Jean Henry Mead

I write senior sleuth novels because there’s a growing market for retirees who like to read in their own age group. I was intrigued years ago by Miss Marple and Hercule Periot, who were wise and perceptive, but never seemed to have any fun.

That’s not true of today’s seniors who are less inclined to retire to their rocking chairs than previous generations.

Pat Browning, who wrote Absinthe of Malice, said: “A St. Martin's editor gave me a piece of advice I have never forgotten: ‘Be careful not to turn your characters into cartoons.’ I try to picture older characters as they are--the same people they always were, only older. This is especially true when it comes to romance and sex. For all the jokes about senior sex, it is a very real part of senior life, and it's no joke to those lucky enough to have a romantic partner late in life.”

I agree. Not unlike Janet Evanovich’s character, Grandma Mazur, who is eccentric enough for a cartoon character, most seniors have the same interests they’ve always had, with the possible exception of roller blading and downhill skiing. On second thought, I once interviewed Buffalo Bill’s grandson Bill Cody, who learned to donwhill ski at 65 to keep up with his much younger wife.

Mike Befeler writes what he calls “Geezer-lit.” His first novel, Retirement Homes are Murder, features his octogenarian protagonist, “who is short on memory but has a sense of humor and love of life. He accepts his ‘geezerhood,’ solves a mystery and enjoys romance along the way.” He followed it up with Living With Your Kids Can Be Murder and is busy working on another book in the series.

My second senior sleuth mystery, A Village Shattered, takes place in a California retirement village. The plot is generously sprinkled with humor but none of the seniors resemble cartoon characters, although a couple come close, a redneck Casanova and love starved widow. Diary of Murder followed and I portrayed the two 60-year-old protagonist widows as quite capable of traveling the country in their motorhome as well as chasing down killers who happened to be drug dealers.

Another senior writer, Beth Solheim, spent years working in a nursing home and says she loves the elderly and their “humorous, quirky insight to life, love and longevity.” Her protagonists are 64-year-old twins in her humorous, paranormal cozy series, The Fifi Witt Mysteries.

Chester Campbell, an octogenarian, writes the Greg McKenzie Mysteries. He said, “My friends in this [age] bracket are out going places and doing things. Some, like me, continue to work at jobs they enjoy. I chose to use a senior couple in my books who are long married, get along fine, and do a competent job as private investigators. Greg, who narrates the books, is aware of his limitations from age and makes up for physical shortcomings by outsmarting his adversaries. My hope is to dispel some of the absurdity of the stereotypes about seniors that are all too familiar. Like the old song says, "Anything you can do I can do better."

Chester recently started a new series featuring 59-year-old private investigator Sid Chase in The Surest Poison.

Like so many other novelists, I write what I enjoy reading. My readers are mainly retirees and baby boomers who number over 78 million. Some 8,000 boomers are moving into the senior column every day, the fastest growing potential book buying market on record.

We’re experiencing the graying of America. What better subgenre to write for?

Killer Nashville and the Silver Falchion

By Beth Terrell

This past weekend, the Killer Nashville Crime Literature Conference went by in a blur for me. As one of the conference organizers, I rarely get to see or hear the sessions, but I have the time of my life anyway. This year, I was thrilled to meet guest of honor J.A. Jance and law enforcement expert Lee Lofland, whom I've been wanting to snag for the conference for years. (Lee did six presentations that blew the attendees away.)

The high point of the conference for me, though, was Saturday's Guest of Honor/award dinner. There were a number of great moments at the dinner, including the look of surprise and utter delight on J.A. Jance's face when she was presented with the traditional Killer Nashville guitar. Of course, being given the SEMWA Magnolia Award for service to the chapter made me tingle from head to toe. (I've worn the little silver magnolia every single day since then.) But of all the wonderful things that happened at the dinner--and, in fact, the whole conference--the best was when event founder Clay Stafford announced the 2009 winner of the Silver Falchion.

The Silver Falchion is awarded to the attending author of the best novel published during the current or previous year, as voted on by the other conference attendees. With approximately 175 people in attendance, that's quite an honor. There were 14 fine authors nominated for the award, and the competition was fierce. Then Clay held up the shiny black-and-silver plaque and said, "And the winner is...Chester D. Campbell, for The Surest Poison."

Chester is the author of two mystery series, one featuring private detectives Greg and Jill McKenzie and the other, of which The Surest Poison is the first, featuring PI Sid Chance. Chester is a classy writer. His books are crisp, clean, and always professional. He's also a classy guy. "He'll do anything for anybody," his wife, Sarah said to me, and that is the absolute truth. Chester and I have been in the same critique group for more than a decade, and he has helped me every step of the way. He helped me get my first agent, he helped me get my self-published book reissued by a better publisher, and he's helped me become a better writer. He's also a role model when it comes to marketing and promotion: twittering, tweeting, Facebooking, Crimespacing, blog touring, live touring...whatever it takes, he's out there doing it, tirelessly and with gentility and grace.

Chester is a true gentleman, in the very best sense of the word. He's always been a winner, and now he has the plaque to prove it. I'm honored that he is my friend.

And congratulations, Chester. It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

The Surest Poison

I want to say something about Chester Campbell's The Surest Poison.

Sid Chance and Jaz LeMieux are fresh, new characters, and fun folks to follow. And I know something about the subject matter of the book: TCE and tracking down from whence it came. For twenty years I defended TCE pollution cases, as TCE was the most commonly used degreaser in the world up until the mid-eighties and it's found its way into the groundwater in many areas.

How did it get there? Sometimes from dumping, but usually from plant spills, leaking pipes or product stored outside.

And the chemical is interesting. While it's allegedly harmful to many systems in the body, it's like beer; it's not stored. It quickly leaves the body through urination. The original EPA mouse/rat studies which led to the "Possible Carcinogen" determination, were flawed, seriously flawed. The studys' flaws were similar to those which led to the erroneous determination that saccharin was cancer causing, which it took the EPA over thirty years to correct. Indeed, TCE used to be the decaffeinating agent in coffee. If you drank Sanka, you drank TCE. And it was used in the dry cleaning process. If you wore dry-cleaned clothing, you wore TCE.

But there's a more dangerous aspect to TCE than its immediate harmful affects on the body or even its effects over time. TCE changes its chemical composition, and when it does so, it evolves into much more dangerous chemicals, known cancer causing agents, agents like PCE or vinyl chloride. Allow TCE to percolate long enough in your ground water and you will find these chemicals there. And they can kill you. And this is just the groundwater. Soil gases, gas percolating upward, is also dangerous.

So Chester's spot on, and the problem with TCE cleanup is finding who to blame. Cleaning the groundwater, so it's free of these chemicals is very expensive. It requires pumping stations and filtration equipment. You have to draw the flow in, clean it and then disperse it so it flows naturally, not an easy thing to do. And in many cases, the party responsible for the TCE leaching into the soil and groundwater is dead or ceased operations many, many years ago. In some cases, the government is even responsible, because the government took over the operation of some plants during the Second World War. Chemical procurement records must be researched, aerial views, if they exist, must be studied, loan and property ownership records, and trucking company records. It's a tough job. We had a case in Rockford, Il where we found over eighty companies had used TCE during the period 1940-1980. The groundflow was from the industrial area into suburbs that didn't exist during most of that period. The cost of cleanup was in the hundred million dollar range. The cost and number of companies involved was so high, the city, in conjunction with the EPA, organized a special cooperative arrangement to manage cleanup and funding.

So the problems Sid and Jaz face in The Surest Poison are real. Many companies have gone bankrupt facing the prospect of TCE cleanup. The opportunity for crime is high.

Bravo, Chester, for bringing this to light and for the opportunity to meet folks like Sid Chance and Jaz LeMieux.

The Senior Sleuth Market

by Jean Henry Mead

I write senior sleuth novels because there’s a growing market for retirees who like to read in their own age bracket. Years ago I was intrigued by Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple and Hercule Periot, who were wise and perceptive, but never seemed to have any fun. That’s not true of today’s seniors who are less inclined to retire to their rocking chairs than previous generations.

Pat Browning, our blog team mate, said a St. Martin's editor gave her a piece of advice she never forgot: ‘Be careful not to turn your characters into cartoons.’ Pat said, “I try to picture older characters as they are--the same people they always were, only older. This is especially true when it comes to romance and sex. For all the jokes about senior sex, it’s a very real part of senior life, and it's no joke to those lucky enough to have a romantic partner late in life.”

I agree. Not unlike Janet Evanovich’s character, Grandma Mazur, who is eccentric enough for a cartoon character, most seniors have the same interests they’ve always had, with the possible exception of roller blading and downhill skiing. On second thought, I once interviewed Buffalo Bill’s grandson Billy Cody, who learned to downhill ski at 65 to keep up with his much younger wife.

Mike Befeler writes what he calls “Geezer-lit.” His first novel, Retirement Homes are Murder, features his octogenarian protagonist, who is short on memory but has a sense of humor and love of life. He accepts his ‘geezerhood,’ solves a mystery and enjoys romance along the way.

My latest senior sleuth mystery, A Village Shattered, takes place in a California retirement village. The plot is generously sprinkled with humor but none of the seniors resemble cartoon characters, although a couple come close, a redneck Casanova and love starved widow.

Another senior writer, Beth Solheim, spent years working in a nursing home and says she loves the elderly and their “humorous, quirky insight to life, love and longevity.” Her protagonists are 64-year-old twins in her humorous, paranormal cozy series, The Fifi Witt Mysteries.

Octogenarian Chester Campbell writes the Greg McKenzie Mysteries. He said, “My friends in this [age] bracket are out going places and doing things. Some, like me, continue to work at jobs they enjoy. I chose to use a senior couple in my books who are long married, get along fine, and do a competent job as private investigators. Greg, who narrates the books, is aware of his limitations from age and makes up for physical shortcomings by outsmarting his adversaries. My hope is to dispel some of the absurdity of the stereotypes about seniors that are all too familiar.”

Like so many other novelists, I write what I enjoy reading. My readers are mainly retirees and baby boomers who number more than 87 million. Some 8,000 boomers are moving into the senior column every day and are the fastest growing potential book buying market on record. We’re experiencing the graying of America. What better subgenre to write for?