Ich bin ein Berliner

ROSEMARY HARRIS: Okay, I'm not really a Berliner. (And I'm not JFK either.)

But dang if I don't feel like giving my German publisher a big fat sloppy kiss.

I just received copies of the German edition of Dead Head - Das grune Versteck (Ein Gartencrime)!

The one on the right is Pushing Up Daisies aka Der weisse Garten, which sounds suspiciously like the White Garden - another good title for the book.

How beautiful are these??

I have to say, I liked the American covers for these books before I saw the German ones. These look like - sigh - novels and aren't quite so cartoonish.

Here's one of Hallie's German covers - also very cool.

It is pretty cool to think some German mystery lover is hunkering down with Paula Holliday.

Here's what a German blogger had to say about Das grune Versteck

Mir hat das Buch wirklich sehr gut gefallen: Die Spannung und der Humor haben mich überzeugt und ich werde auf jedenfall Band 1 noch lesen. Für Krimifans mit einer humoristischen Ader sehr empfehlenswert!

Translation - I really liked the book very well: the power of humor and have convinced me and I will read in any case, even a band. For fans of crime fiction with a humorous vein highly recommended!Undo edits

Not sure what the band comment is about but just learned Das grune Versteck means The Green Hideout. Go figure!!

On the flip side of don't they do better covers than we do - take a look at the strange cover for one of Rhys' books - (Who is that woman??)

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I love my German covers--they're always very romantic and Gothic looking. That's the new edition of No Mark Upon Her on the left, with a special price sticker. I think the title translates as "The Still Waters of Death," which is pretty cool.

My French paperback covers used to be absolutely horrible, but they've improved. I really like this one in the middle, which is Now May You Weep. And on the right is the Czech version of the same book. The Czeck covers used to be very pulp-noir, but they've also gone a bit more upmarket these days. Still, I love the smoking gun!

Come and Find Me

JAN: It's the moment we've all be waiting for. Halle's new thriller Come and Find Me is about to hit the shelves. It's about a recluse who works and lives online who must now brave the real world when her sister goes missing.

I asked Hallie to tell us about her recluse protagonist, Diana Highsmith, a computer security expert and reformed hacker and how she came up with her character.

HALLIE: The inspiration for Diana in "Come and Find Me" came to me when I tripped over an ad for a year's supply of dehydrated and freeze-dried food. The photo showed a pyramid of cans in lovely pastel colors.

Chirpy ad copy explained: "...this package will give you variety, nutrition, and peace of mind."

Now, maybe if I lived on the San Andreas Fault or in a floodplain I might have ponied up $999.99. But instead I sat there trying to imagine who in the world would see 84 gallon-sized cans with a shelf life of up to 25 years as the ticket to peace of mind?

The answer was Diana, a recluse who is afraid to leave her own house. Someone who's been traumatized. As I gazed out my office window, looking at the one-story ranch house next door, I imagined that the person lived there.

JAN: On the surface Diana seems completely different from your last protagonist Ivy Rose. Is she or are there any similarities? And how hard was it to create a completely different heroine?

HALLIE: At one level they're very different. Ivy in "Never Tell a Lie" is married, pregnant, and desperate to have a child. Diana is single, a recluse whose only "real" friend, other than the ones she interacts with on the Internet, is her sister.

Both books are about betrayal and trust. In "Come and Find Me," Diana has to brave the real world when her sister vanishes. Along the way, she has to trust real people or she won't survive.

JAN: How did you go about your research into computer hacking and security?

HALLIE: I used to work in high tech, so networking with old friends I found a couple of amazing experts on computer security, one of them an expert on cyber-terrorism, another an ex-hacker. They helped me understand why people hack, and what real dangers they pose.

I envisioned Diana working in a virtual world where she could conduct business meetings, investigate security breaches, and "climb" Alpine mountains without ever leaving home. After a little research, I discovered Second Life on the Internet was just such a virtual world.

Armed with enough information to be dangerous, I created an account for myself on Second Life and logged in. First, I created an avatar, a skinny brunette with attitude. I figured out how to make her walk, run, turn, sit, and it was so exhilarating when I finally got her aloft. It felt like I was perched on her shoulders (think: Harry Potter on the shoulders of the Buckbeak the hippogriff) as she soared over the island at the entrance to Second Life. Not so exhilarating was when, seconds later, she plunged into the virtual blue (very blue) ocean. I actually found myself gasping for breath. After that my computer crashed.

Neither me nor my hardware were ready for SecondLife, so I turned to some generous folks who play and work in Second Life, and who let me ride shotgun while they went about their business in virtual reality.

Among other things, I learned that a good percentage of female avatars are created by male players. I learned that even bucolic corners of the virtual world can be infested by "griefers," mischief-makers who rain down toasters or phalluses on unsuspecting players, and how genuinely terrifying it feels to have a cage dropped down on your avatar, even when you know it's "only a game."

JAN: Where will you be talking about the book?

HALLIE: First stop is Brookline Booksmith next Monday, March 21 at 7 PM. Then BookEnds in Winchester Thursday, March 24. Then I'm off to Florida, Ohio, Pittsburgh (A shout-out to Mystery Lovers Bookshop!), Sacramento for the Bee Book Club, and more. I'm updating my web site with new events all the time. I hope lots of Jungle Red readers will COME AND FIND ME.

Hallie's book becomes a movie!

JAN: As many of you may know, Hallie's terrific thriller, Never Tell a Lie, has been made into a movie. And Baby Will Fall premiers at 8 p.m, Sunday night (1/23) on the Lifetime Movie Network.

Like the book, the movie is about a young married couple about to have their first baby. When they clean out their house and hold a yard sale, a classmate from high school shows up and disappears inside their Victorian fixer upper, wreaking havoc on their lives. I asked Hallie, who has seen a rough cut of the movie, what it like was like to witness her characters come to life.

HALLIE: Ivy Rose, (the protagonist) isn’t physically the way I envisioned. I thought of Ivy as tall and long-looking -- in all dimensions -- early Cher, with long dark hair. My vision of her was -- she wasn't a beauty, but she was the kind of of woman you looked at twice, because she was interesting.

In the movie version, Ivy, played by actress Anastasia Griffith,is blond. She's kind of cute, but not beautiful. I was very quickly over “but she’s a blonde" issue. Anastasia is fabulous. This actress really got the character. I felt her vulnerability and her determination not to be victim, which was what I wanted for Ivy. And her confusion. And how upsetting it all was.

And I thought the actor who played Ivy's husband, David, Brendan Fehr, was terrific, too. He’s sweet and loving and strong. And completely baffled and still he’s hiding something. I just felt the two of them and the dynamic were spot on.

JAN: How about the plot? Were there many changes?

HALLIE: The plot changed a lot. In the screenplay, they simplified, took out some subplots – which I expected. The ending is different and I’m not sure how I feel about it. But I understand why they did it. My ending was open and ambigious, leaving it for the reader to decide. There is no subtlely in the movie ending. It’s very clear who is culpable.

JAN: How about the setting, which was such an important part of the book.

HALLIE: I set the book in Milton (Massachusetts) although I called it Brush Hills. The movie isn’t set in New England. It looks like it could be New England, but it could be anywhere. They did a good job with the house, though. In the book, the house is a big Victorian. And for the movie, they used a Victorian exterior. It feels right.

JAN: What was your favorite part of the movie?

HALLIE: Let's see... that it was made. And that they nailed the relationship between Ivy and David. And how lies and distrust can poison a relationship. I thought they really got that even if they changed the title. And I like that it's very suspenseful. It really moves along and makes you want to keep watching. What I wanted in my book was for the reader say: What is going on here?And they do a good job with that. It’s quite compelling.

JAN: If you could change one thing about the movie, what would you change?

HALLIE: Maybe the interior of the house, I had a number of details in the book, like the stained glass and the window seat, that aren't in the movie version of the house. I miss the space. The house is a really important character in the book, less so in the movie.

JAN: Your parents were both famous screenwriters, and all three of her sisters, Nora, Delia and Amy are screenwriters. Did this affect your critique of the screenwriting in And Baby Will Fall, or your expectations about how the movie would be made?

HALLIE: I think that background -- everything I already knew about how movies are made, gave me low expectations. I knew that when you write a novel and you sell it, you don’t own it anymore. And unless you are Dennis Lehane, no one is going to ask what you think. So I was pleasantly surprised by how much they respected the original story.

JAN: So the author gives this film a big thumbs up! Don't forget -- 8 p.m. Sunday night, on the Lifetime Movie Channel To see a trailer or learn more:http://www.mylifetime.com/movies/and-baby-will-fall

And come back tomorrow, when I'm going to be talking about the relative importance of dreams in our novels, in our psyche and why we persist in seeing dreams as predictors of the future. And it's not too late to join the Writers' Challenge -- make sure to check in this Sunday. (check the 1/16 blog for rules)

First Monday in January

ROSEMARY: On the first Monday in October, the Supreme Court opens for business - this first Monday it's my job to bang the gavel and open Jungle Red for business for another year of commentary, interviews, conversation, writing advice and encouragement, rants, cheers, jeers from six - and soon to be - eight mystery writing women. Yup, the picture above still shows six of us, but in the coming weeks we'll be joined by two new voices - stellar talents from coast to coast - (that was a small hint) who will be flashing their talons as soon as they get their Jungle Red manicures.

Right now, I'm looking at the new year like a new ream of paper - what's it going to be filled with in 360 or so days? Will I hit my marks? Surprise myself? Lose the last five pounds? Climb another mountain? I've unwrapped my brand new Frogs calendar and started to fill in...

This week is a busy one as I deliver page proofs for Slugfest (in an italics quandary which I would love to get feedback on later in the week..) On Wednesday I bang the gavel again as the new President of Mystery Writers of America's New York Chapter. Next day it's off to San Diego with 15 fabulous writers - T Jefferson Parker, Naomi Hirahara, Kate Carlisle, Vickie Doudera, Jeri Westerson, Joanne Fluke, Gary Phillips, Ken Kuhlken, Tim Hallinan, Sue Ann Jaffarian, Sophie Littlefield, Kelli Stanley, Dianne Emley, Harley Jane Kozak and our own Hank Phillippi Ryan for a party at Mysterious Galaxy on Friday night and an all day event at MidWinter ALA the next day.

How are you kicking off the new year?

HALLIE: Starting it off so delighted that we're being joined by two of my all-time favorite writers. One from north and one from south of us (another clue.)

Otherwise, same old same old. Writing writing writing, one word/sentence/page at time. Counting counting counting as I go. I do love the new book I'm working on--trying to get a good head of steam because March 22 I'll be taking a break to promote "Come and Find Me."

And looking forward to Lifetime running the movie of "Never Tell a Lie" -- and I can finally stop telling people I DON'T KNOW when they ask me when is it going to run. I think I'll be watching it like I watch Red Sox games, with my eyes closed, afraid of what they're going to do to it next.
On a personal front, trying to slow down enough to show my sweet husband how much I enjoy his company. Staying connected with my daughters and cherished friends. And trying to cook a few dishes I've never used before--maybe this is the year of the croquembouche chez moi.

ROSEMARY: Just tell us when to come over for the croquembouche!

ROBERTA: Oh yes, are we ever excited about our upcoming new members! And can't wait for Hallie's movie. Since they didn't consult you on anything, you can't be held responsible right? Unless it's fabulous of course!

I am psyched about my new food critic series. Headed to Key West tomorrow to attend the Key West Literary Seminar, which is focused on food writing this year. Will get a chance to meet (or at least hear from!) Frank Bruni, Ruth Reichl, Calvin Trillin, and lots more...and then I must go back to writing like the wind. Deadline looming very very large on the horizon. And I still have to get used to my new name (Lucy Burdette!) and figure out how the heck to integrate her into my life. Suggestions very welcome....

I'm so jealous about ALA, Ro, maybe next year....

JAN: The last five pounds, Ro, where are they? And Hallie, um.... so WHEN is the movie version of "Never Tell a Lie" going to run? My daughter, who read Hallie's book TWICE, will want to know, along with the rest of us.

One of the first things I'm going to do in 2011 is initiate another Writers Challenge on Jungle Red, so stay tuned here and on Twitter at @janbrogan #JRWritefirst -- I'm hoping to finish two books in 2011. That sounds incredibly ambitious, except that I've been working on both of them --one fiction, one non-fiction - for quite some time. I'm especially excited about the non-fiction book, tentatively titled The Combat Zone --about a murder and trials of the 1976 murder of a Harvard football player in Boston's Combat Zone.

On the personal front, the first goal never changes (and I have made SOME progress) CHECK my EMAIL less, and practice guitar more.

HANK: Hallie, when when when? There's something about a new year, right? Where so many wonderful things can happen. (And oh, yes, we've got SUCH a lovely surprise for you! We're so happy!) (And there were clues in my New Year's poem--did you see that?)

As for me--madly juggling day-reporter job and writer-job. Working on some big stories for TV. Working on a new book--but almost afraid to talk about it, why is that?

But, owning it, it's new, it's different, it's a challenge, and I have no idea if it's good. I should know by now, shouldn't I? Since I'm on page 267.

My calendar is filing up like crazy--I'm already having to turn gigs down. Isn't that amazing? San Diego, then NYC for the national board of MWA meeting. And I promise I am going to try to keep a little bit better balance this year. Which I'm going to kick off by taking the red eye home from California. Okay dokey then. I'll start AFTER that.

RHYS: my first priority in the New Year is seeing my orthopaedist tomorrow and hopefully getting this cast off so that I can type again and not rely on battling with a speech program that doesn't always understand me.
I too am absolutely thrilled that our new Jungle Red Writers are two of my favourite people in the mystery world and two of the best writers that I know. Are you all suitably curious now? We should have a sweepstake and hear your guesses on who they are.

As far as my own work is concerned I start a new book the moment this cast comes off, we head back to Phoenix where I can work in peace and I look forward to long walks in the sunshine and desert. Oh, and I do need to lose five pounds too after all those holiday parties. Those parties all made sense in the old days when cakes and puddings and sugar were treats and when one needed the calories to keep warm all winter. Now we should really get together and serve celery intimate juice at our parties (I've left this misspelling in to show you what my program is doing to me -- I said tomato juice)

RHYS: And I would have said that one of my resolutions was like Hank - not to go rushing around so much, to kick back and enjoy life more. But I've just been filling in my new calendar and I see that I'm going somewhere about every two weeks until May. Someone needs to chain me down!

ROSEMARY:...I'm so glad Rhys is not really drinking something called "intimate" juice..

Stop back on Wednesday for a visit from Vito Colucci, author of Inside the Private Eyes of a PI. Vito's been called a "real life blend of Columbo, Kojak and Serpico" and has worked some of the nation's highest profile cases including the Michael Skakel, Jayson Williams and honeymoon widower) George Smith cases. Come back and pick his brain (I have!) and the best question or comment of the day will win a copy of Vito's book.

Phoning It In

"Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you."

**attributed to Alexander Graham Bell as the first phone call in 1876.

"There's an app for that."

**attributed in some circles to Alexander Graham Bell (the twentieth) as the first call on the iphone.

HANK: Love-hate. Approach-avoidance. That's my relationship with my cell phone. It's--complicated. (I have a regular flip-phone. Usually the batteries are charged.) Jonathan wanted to get me an iphone for Christmas. "Yes! Wonderful!" I said. All enthusiastic about access and connections and all the general cool stuff I could do.

Then three minutes later, I changed my mind.

As much as I want a cool phone, I don't want one. I was on the elevator the other day, and the other person in the 'vator with me was on her iphone. Completely, totally focused on her phone. She didn't even flicker a look at me. The doors opened, and in walked another person, focused on HER little screen. The phone-people didn't look at each other, didn't acknowledge me. They were in phone world.

At booksignings recently, I've seen people walk into stores, oblivious. Focused
on their phones. They're not even where they are--they're in phone world. Their only reality is on the small screen.

I vote: no. Probably because I know my own weaknesses. I'd easily be right there in total phone world. And I don't wanna go. You?

ROBERTA: I did go for the iphone and I love it when I travel--no need to lug the heavy computer unless of course, I'm planning to do some writing:). My hub and I are addicted to the maps application--after that first doozy of a fight when I didn't get how to use it and we drove past our turn-off at least three times. John uses his like an ipod too, listening to podcasts and Spanish lessons while he exercises.

But I'm not a phone addict. I don't have it with me half the time and I don't feel obligated to answer every time it rings. I think that phone world thing can happen no matter what kind of instrument you use. Don't you think?

HALLIE: Is it the people or the phones? Especially I see the rudeness at the checkout counter, where the customer is doing the phone thing and not even bothering to thank or make eye contact with the clerk.

HANK: Hmm, you may have a great point there...

HALLIE: Still, if someone GAVE me one I wouldn't return it. I love being able to search for a great restaurant NEAR the street corner I'm standing on. But the value of most of the apps would escape me.

RO: I'm not a phone person so my having an Iphone would be a little like someone who hated to drive having a Maserati. I rarely call anyone and when my phone rings it's usually because my husband's phone has accidentally gone off in his backpack. I did need to replace my phone this year and it took me months to it because I don't enjoy buying new electronics.

I did own an Iphone for about 7 hours. It never left the Apple store though because it took 7 hours for the "geniuses" to erase all the mail on my minicomputer and then try to retrieve it from the "cloud" or wherever they'd sent it. (They never did, so if anyone emailed me last April and I didn't respond, it wasn't my fault.)I was there so long I saw the employee shift change. They saw a change in me too. I started out nice enough but by the time I left I'd turned into Cruella DeVil. I have a feeling some of the employees are still undergoing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Eventually I bought a Blackberry which I love...as long as I remember to charge it and take it with me.

JAN: Well, I almost got an I-Phone for Christmas, but the AT&T store in Manhattan screwed up so badly, changing the price at the last minute, Bill walked out. ATT shut off my service, by mistake, and it took four days to get my service AND internet access on my L-G phone back The moral of this story:

Cell phones don't always make life easier. They actually take quite a bit of work in the buying and maintaining (of course I maintain FOUR of them for the family. )

Bottom line?? I got a MAC instead. And I'm totally psyched!! But I agree with Hallie, it's not the phone its the phone USER. I really hate getting calls on my cell. I always find it startling and inconvenient, so I don't encourage people to call. And its also really rude when people are texting someone else when they are with you. But sometimes texting is the most well behaved way to communicate. (ie. I tell my kids if they AREN'T coming home, to text me instead of calling. This way, IF I WAKE up to worry, I can see they are all right, but they don't wake me to let me know they are all right.)

And Hank, from one email addict to another -- I was worried I'd be checking email all the time on my cell phone -- but on the LG at least, it's okay to read, but a pain to reply, so I tend not to get into it It's strictly as NEEDED.

RHYS: I have the most basic cell phone and only use it to call John and tell him my flight just landed or I'm in hotel room number 309. He only uses his to ask if we're out of Brussels sprouts and did I pick up a newspaper.
There is one great benefit of cellphones. I have always driven around in my car to work through a scene I'm writing. I like to talk my way through it, dialog and all. In the past people would look at me as if I was crazy, driving along, talking, animated. Not any longer. They just assume I'm on the Bluetooth.
But don't you find it worrying when people walk toward you talking to themselves? I never know whether they are crazy or just on their cell phone.

HANK: Or, you try to talk to them and they can't hear you because their ears are plugged up.

RHYS: But I must confess--I have an ipod touch.

(HANK: Oops.)

RHYS: It does all the cool things that the iphone does (without the ATT involvement) I can check email, Google Maps, weather, stocks, find restaurants. The only problem is that I need the wifi hotstop. I only wanted it to play my music so I haven't yet invested in any apps, games or cool stuff. But I may download Scrabble and even virtual tennis.

HANK: Virtual tennis. Sigh.

BREAKING NEWS: Hallie's smashing best-seller NEVER TELL A LIE is now out in paperback! Cue the marching bands and majorettes...! And it's an INDIEBOUND feature.

HANK: And now--how about you all? Are you going to order Hallie's book on your iphone? Or where do you stand in the communication wars?

(Coming up this week: Toni LP Kelner! (And free books) Brad Parks! (And free books.) Thursday, something special. And Friday--looking ahead to--gulp--2010.)

What's on your mind?

RO: Most mystery fans know that Carl Hiaasen has pretty strong views on the environment, in Florida, in particular. And why should he hide them? He's got a bully pulpit now. But it wouldn't work if he hadn't written some terrific books first. The Cosby Show was enormously popular before the anti-apartheid posters starting showing up in the kids' bedrooms. Later on this week (Wednesday!)our guest blogger will be NYTimes best-selling author Linda Fairstein, who, as a former NYC prosecutor and former head of NY's Sex Crimes Unit has made no secret of some of the issues that are important to her.

I gently (I am still a newbie, after all) raised the issue of day laborers in Pushing Up Daisies, and casino gambling in The Big Dirt Nap. How comfortable are you mentioning real issues in your books? We know the story has to be served first, but what about after that's done?

JAN: I always have an issue in my books. In Teaser, it was the dangers social networking pose for teenagers; in Yesterday's Fatal it was the exploitation of illegal immigrants in staged car accidents; and A Confidential Source it was casino and state-sponsored gambling. But I wouldn't exactly call it a bully pulpit. I'm not sure murder mysteries are an effective forum for advancing social change. They are more an avenue for me to research and explore the crime trends that fascinate and disturb me.

RO: Well, I guess I'm asking, not so much about advancing social change (would that we all had the power of Oprah, or to a much lesser degree Carl Hiaasen) as I'm asking about revealing your own positions on issues.

HALLIE: I think it works when Hiaasen does it because he's so funny about it. You do it with humor, too, Ro. So even though there may be a serious intent, it doesn't come off as confrontational.

ROBERTA: I think we all reveal ourselves (whether we start out with that intention or not) in our choice of characters and story. As long as the opinions read like they come from the characters rather than the heavy hand of the author, I'm all for it. Celebrities do have unusual opportunities to bring attention to world problems and I admire the ones who do that.

HANK: Yes, Roberta, I agree. It's a great way to put a spotlight on reality without beating readers over the head with it. For instance? Franklin Parrish, Charlie McNally's producer, is black. That's not really discussed, except for one brief introduction. Except...in each book there are situations that, unfortunately, would happen to Franklin and not to Charlie, who is white. He's pulled aside by airport security. He's followed by suspicious salespeople in a used car lot. He's ignored by salespeople in a posh store.
"Look at the bright side," Charlie suggests. "At least they're not bothering you." "There is no bright side," Franklin says. Charlie pauses. "I guess not." As an author, I don't need to say any more.

RO: That's that famous Ryan touch. Not too heavy, not too light!

HANK: Aw. Thanks. xo.

RHYS: I also strive for a balance between light and dark in my books.Even though I write historicals, I focus a lot on social issues and I leave the reader to draw interesting comparisons between the early twentieth century and the present day. My latest Molly book is all about the role of women in society, how women leave Vassar with bright, awakened minds, only to marry and be caged by what society thinks a wife should be. We've come a long way in that respect, but I've also written about conditions in sweat shops and the powerlessness of the immigrant--which haven't changed all that much. Even my Royal Spyness books, light as they are, have a darker underpinning of the great depression. I think that if my sleuth is a real person, she can't fail to be aware of conditions and injustices around her and they have to creep into the book.

RO: As readers and writers how do you feel when you're reading a mystery and you can feel the writer's political or social positions coming out? Do you need to agree with the main character's opinions in order to enjoy the book?

(And don't forget to come back Wednesday for the first of our two interviews with Linda Fairstein.)

On Libraries

" My library was dukedom enough " The Tempest

Brooklyn Public Library, Grand Army Plaza

RO: Anyone who knows me, knows how bullish I am on libraries. Perhaps it was all those days spent in the children's section at the Clarendon Branch of the Brooklyn Public library, before I graduated to the temple of knowledge at the library's Grand Army Plaza branch.

When I was in the first grade, I was a transfer student from a Catholic school in my former neighborhood (two months and I still have the scars..but that's another blog.) My name was put at the very bottom of a large chart in my classroom. Stickers were put next to our names for every book we read that year. Maybe there was a prize, I don't remember, but for me it was the honor - and I had some catching up to do. I wanted to have the most little stickies and be known as the best..even though I was the new kid. (Hank...how's that for competitive?)

I haunted the library and the librarian kept them coming..biographies, horse books, dog books, children's classics. I did eventually have the most stickies and more importantly, a love for reading that continues today.

This weekend I'll be in Denver for the MidWinter meeting of the American Library Association; I'll be spending one day at the St. Martin's booth and the other helping out at the Bouchercon booth.(If you're there, stop by,say hello, pick of an ARC of The Big Dirt Nap and some snazzy Jungle Red bookmarks.)

Librarians today can be a mystery writer's best friends. They don't care how big your marketing budget is, or how many days it's been since your pub. date. All they care about is that you've written a good book and are willing to visit their libraries. I've visited dozens in the last year and didn't do one event at a Barnes & Noble (not that I wouldn't, if you're out there..;-)

Anyway, on Wednesday Jane Murphy from the Westport, CT Public Library will be guestblogging here. She's one of the organizers of a new mystery event being held in Connecticut this April, Murder203, http://www.murder203.com Come back to see what Jane has to say, and in the meantime, how about telling us some of your best library experiences?

JAN: I loved bringing my kids to the library when they were little. The Westwood Library had (has) a terrific children's room and in the summer used to award the kids leaves to put on the tree mural for every book they read. My kids developed a love of reading that endured.
But most of all the library is what gives me the strongest sense of community. It's sort of like the Cheers bar -- where everyone knows your name.

ROBERTA: I spent a ton of time at my hometown library in Berkeley Heights NJ when I was a kid. We all hauled home stacks of books and then disappeared into our rooms to read. Last month, I was elected to the library board in my current home town. (My husband was the chair for eight years so I believe this could be a case of political nepotism...) On election night, we had a huge disappointment when the bond for major renovations was voted down by a slim margin. Some people--not many but enough--think we don't need libraries these days because we have the Internet. That sounds crazy to me!

RO: That's because the internet is so reliable and 100% accurate, right? (I'm joking, of course...)

RHYS: The public library was my first big adventure. It was the first place I was allowed to go alone in the evenings in my teens. And the first time I was allowed to prowl the adult section, unsupervised (yes, I did take a peek at Lady Chatterly and similar items, I guess, but I also discovered Dorothy Sayers, and all those wonderful Golden Age mystery writers). I spent so long there that my father was convinced I went there to meet a boy--he was very protective. At that stage in my life, twelve or thirteen, the books were more enticing than any boy.
Since being a writer I have done library events all over the country and love connecting with readers and librarians.

HALLIE: I remember getting my first library card, and reading a gazillion biographies (Clara Barton, George Gershwin, Marie Curie...) and all the Betsy, Tacy and Tib books. They didn't ALLOW children in the adult section back then, and what I remember is the momentous day when I reached whatever age it was that I could go upstairs and breathe the rarified air up there. I still don't know why they had that rule. Maybe to keep the noise down upstairs, or maybe to protect our fragile minds from the muck of Faulkner and Lawrence.
A little silver lining of the downturn in the book business has been a boom in library use. I love mine. YAY MILTON LIBRARY. And they're about to reopen a brand new library in a few months.

HANK: Yay NEWTON LIBRARY! It's beautiful, welcoming, relaxed, and the folks there are infinitely knowledgeable. And of course the Boston Public Library is the elegant lady of the city. Gorgeous, full of riches and full of wonderful secrets. I adore it.

RO: I just found out that I'll be doing an event there this March...I'm so honored to have been asked.

HANK: When I was growing up, waaaay in the exurbs, the nearest library was in my school. I treasured my library card, and somehow it made me feel like a part of something. I read the encylclopedia, volume by volume, sitting in that library. All those blue biographies when I was like, eight: Clara Barton, Girl Nurse? Or Dorothea Dix, Girl of the Streets? Something like that? ('Girl of the streets' doesnt sound exactly right...but you know what I mean.) On the school bus, I would lug home the limit, ten books. And not let my sisters touch them.
And you had to be really really really quiet. Scary quiet. Now, chatting with librarians, I know they're trying to change their image from stern disciplinarians into being wonderful guides through a fantastic new world. Maybe they need--superhero uniforms?

RO: Yes..all those biographies...Booker T. Washington and Luther Burbank were two that I remember reading when I was little...and something about someone who took care of lepers! (I was a serious kid..) Wonder what bios kids are reading today? Anybody know?

Yard sale madness and inspiration...

HALLIE: One of the (many) things I hate about New England winters is that there are no yard sales. And then, come the first warm days of spring, signs sprout on street corners and beckon with their siren song.

I've picked up all my favorite platters at yard sales. The silver clip-on earrings I wear everywhere. Each spring I restock my supply of fancy soaps (why don't people appreciate good soap?) And of course, the idea for "Never Tell a Lie" which I didn't even have to pay for.

My husband is a yard sale maniac. Every Saturday he suits up and leaves the house early-early, stakes out the yard most likely to have his kind of stuff, and waits for the homeowner to take pity on him. Our basement is crammed with his finds -- scores of vintage small appliances (fans, radios, hotplates, curling irons...) that peer out at me from dark shelves whenever I lug down the laundry. Upstairs our shelves are crammed with old books. Hey, it could be bedroom sets that he's dragging home. I blame my husband's obsession with yard sales on his mother--she traumatized him by throwing out his baseball cards.

Do you yard sail? What have been your finest finds?

HANK: Does he think he's going to find the cards? Oh, that's heartbreaking.

ROBERTA: You have to be so patient with yard sales. I guess I've gotten more impatient as I've gotten older. And tag sales in Connecticut don't seem to have the great stuff they did when I lived in Florida. Years ago, my sister scored a swan-neck rocking chair--that's an upholstered overstuffed rocking chair with carved wooden arms, the head of a swan on each. She had it re-covered and it was gorgeous. I searched all over for one like it. (This was before craig's list and ebay.) Finally I had the idea of putting a wanted ad in the local paper. A woman two towns over called and sold me two for fifty bucks--I have one in the den and one upstairs. Love those chairs!

RHYS: I used to love yard sales but it seems recently that people have become greedy and the quality of the stuff has gone down. When we were first married and had used our last pennies to buy our first home, we furnished it almost entirely from yard and garage sales. My best finds? An ivory chess set from China, all the figures are Chinese warriors. We got it for $5 because there was a piece missing. When I got it home, I found the lining of the box was torn and the missing piece was inside!

I think you East Coasters do much better than we in the West. Most people couldn't bring too much stuff with them when they made the transcontinental trek so it's less likely that anyone finds treasure in their attic, or good antiques at garage sales. But I still look hopefully for that overlooked painting that will be the star of the Antiques Roadshow! I think we still carry that hunter/gatherer gene, don't you?

HALLIE: True, Rhys, there's nothing like feeling you got something for nothing... or a song. I once bought an old radio at a friend's yard sale, googled it and discovered the thing was worth over a thousand dollars. The next day I gave it back. Now, if that person had been a complete stranger, I'd have been cackling with glee instead. Moral: Better not to buy from friends.

Ro: Whenever my husband and I are driving and we see one of those handwritten signs on dayglo oaktag(sp?) we look at each other and his hands tense on the steering wheel. Do we stay the course or is the game afoot?

I never met a tag sale or church sale I didn't like. It's just not the same thing finding an item on ebay..although I've done that a few times.

I won't bore you with a complete list of the things I haul home..just a smattering...vintage lamps from the 30's-60's - panther tv lamps to sputnik balls to torchieres - anything barkcloth, adirondack frames, herringbone and iris glass, old gardening books and tools, sheet music, bakelite radios, bird and plant prints, ceramic deer vases, vintage handbags, flowered china, exercise equipment - I now have a gym that most small high schools would be proud of...I'd better stop.

Unlike a woman I know, I've never bought a desk and discovered that it was an actual Stickley (not repro)..but all of it makes me smile, so that's enough for me.

JAN: You have to get to a yard sale early Saturday morning to get the good stuff. I'm still having coffee and reading the paper. Plus, I'm not a patient or particularly discerning shopper. I did, however, find a really great tapestry for over my couch once -- it wasn't cheap though. That's another thing, I hate haggling. I even hate feeling that I should haggle. So yard sales aren't for me.

HALLIE: I hear you, Jan...my husband actually sallies forth twice each spring/summer Saturday. Once at about 7:30 and I wave groggily. Then he stops home mid-sail an hour or two later and I often join the fray.

And Ro, we DID once get a Stickley bookcase (with hammered copper pulls) for $25.

So, are you a yard sale maven or would you rather sit them out?

Mystery Sisters

HALLIE: First, one kind of mystery sisterhood--Jan and I launched our books last night at Red Bones in Cambridge. Hank was on-hand. Kate's Mystery Books in Cambridge has signed copies of TEASER and of NEVER TELL A LIE. I'm posting photos in the "Gallery" on my web site later today. Future events are posted on each of our web sites.

Another kind of sisterhood--I grew up in a family of four girls. If a novelist had created my family, there would have been fewer sisters. Four is just too many to write about and keep them all distinct. Three is my upper limit. (I've often wondered if Alcott didn't bump off Beth because four were so hard to write.)

But Lauren Baratz-Logsted blows off the roof writing eight sisters. in her Sisters Eight mystery series for kids. Octuplets. With eight cats, no less.

Welcome to Jungle Red Writers, Lauren...

JRW: We have to ask if you come from a family of girls, and if not where did you come up with the idea of a mystery series with eight sisters?

LBL: Thank you so much for having me here - it's an honor! I have just one sibling, a brother who's two years older, so it didn't come from there. It actually came from Jackie. Short version: we were stranded in Colorado by a blizzard and, needing fresh entertainment and since I'd always wanted to write a book Jackie could read, I asked what she'd like. Being an only child, he
said a book about sisters. I asked how many and she said eight. So there you have it - creativity at work!

JRW: The sisters feel like a profusion of Pippi Longstockings… so independent and spunky. Did you have a literary model in the back of your mind when you created the sisters Huit (love that their last name is the French word for “eight”)?

LBL: Well, Jackie used F. Scott Fitzgerald as her source material, while Greg... No, seriously, we were just trying to create something fun to amuse ourselves and, before we knew it, things got away from us! If we had any other books in mind at all, I'd say we were thinking "Lemony Snicket" (whom we all love) but for a slightly younger set and with a strong emphasis on Girl Power...and cats."

JRW: Any tips on how to write with eight main characters? How do you keep them each so distinct and vibrant?

LBL: I tell you, it's been the challenge of my career! The key has been to create characters so strong in certain personality traits that readers can tell who's speaking even if there are no dialogue tags. For example, I've been reading the books to Jackie's third grade class and if I ask them which character would say, "Oh no! It is raining so hard, we will need to build an ark!" they will all answer "Petal." You can even have a personality profile done by taking a quiz at www.sisterseight.com to see "Which Eight Are You?" I must say, though, it's disturbing to see how many people turn out to be Rebecca.

JRW: Can you share with us a little how you collaborate with your husband and your daughter?

LBL: Basically, I'm "the pen." This means that after brainstorming the general idea for each book, I write all day, then read the day's output to Greg and Jackie, who then tell me what's right/wrong and what needs to be done in the next chapter. And sometimes we go out for editorial lunches. A good portion of the final five books in the series exist only thus far on napkins.

JRW: A lot of excellent mystery writers have turned their hands to writing YA books. Did you start writing for adults?

LBL: Oh yes. Something like my first six were published for adults, only one of which - VERTIGO - would fit into the mystery/thriller category, before I started writing for both.

JRW: Can you give our writer-readers some insight into what’s hot right now in the YA mystery market?

LBL: Lisa McMann's WAKE, which I'd categorize more as a suspense novel, is amazing; and the followup, FADE, is soon to be released. There's also a great recent book for slightly younger readers, MASTERPIECE, by Elise Broach, that's about an 11-year-old boy and a talented beetle who become involved in solving the mystery behind an art heist. Truthfully, though, given the wonderful variety of books currently being published as YA, there's a sad shortage of mysteries...so get writing, JRWers!

JRW: And would you share inside scoop on how you sold your series to Houghton Miflin?

LBL: All sales should be this easy! Just like Curious George, I sat down and started to write. When I finished the first book in the projected nine-book series, I really felt that we might have something here that might amuse more people than just the three of us. So I sent it off to my favorite editor in the world, Julia Richardson at Houghton Mifflin, and she saw something
worthwhile there too, enough to buy the first four books in the series and publish the first two as twin lead titles.

JRW: Would you be willing to check back today and answer our readers questions about your books or writing mysteries for kids?

LBL: Absolutely!

JRW: Question for Lauren? Please, pile on!

Facing our darkest fears

HALLIE: At last, "Never Tell a Lie" is published. I labored over that sucker for nearly three years, so now when people tell me "I couldn't put it down! I finished it in three hours!!" I have distinctly mixed feelings.

The idea for the book came to me, innocuously enough, at a yard sale. Just like the yard sale that opens the novel, it was at a big Victorian house around the corner from me. New owners had painted the outside mauve and purple. I was dying to know what they'd done to the interior, so I peppered the poor woman throwing the yard sale with a million questions.

Finally, probably as much to get rid of me as anything else, she said, "Would you like to go inside and look around?" She pointed the side door. "Let yourself in."

I did. Inside, there was a brand new kitchen. Upstairs, the bedrooms were straight out of House Beautiful. As I started up to the third floor, the mystery writer in me kicked in and I thought: What if a woman goes to a yard sale and somehow she manages to talk her way into the house? She goes inside. . . and she never comes out.

Thoroughly spooked, I bolted down three flights and out the door.

Have you ever been spooked by a thought that turned an everyday situation sinister?

HANK: OH. Constantly. Daily. It's a sickness. Even that, you know? I'll cough, and then think--what if this is the beginnning of the plague, and I have it and... And suddenly, I'm in The Stand.

Jonathan goes out to get the paper. It's just at the end of the driveway. "Be careful!" I always tell him. "Of WHAT?" he says. It's potentially dangerous, in my mind. In his, it isn't. What if the people handing out free food samples at the mall are really terrorists, and the food is poisoned? (Actually, I may use that in a book so forget you read it.) And I completely got PTSD after seeing the movie "The Dark Knight." I was clutching Jonathan all the way to the car, terrifed someone/something was going to leap out of the darkness.

I may have seen too much TV news.

HALLIE: LOL. That's gotta be it.

Not sure why but that reminds me of once when I was walking with my daughter and we were playing "what's that thing" (pick up a small scrap of trash from the street and try to guess what it was part of)...and I picked up a red plastic tab that said "DO NOT REMOVE." Where's CSI when you need 'em.

HANK: I still have a little red ticket from a sweepstakes drawing that says "Keep this ticket." So hey, I kept it. Because what terrible thing might happen if I don't?

RHYS: Congrats on the new book, Hallie. As you say, this is one of the pitfalls of being a mystery writer. The brain switches so easily to "what if?" And we have trained ourselves to act on that what if. A snippet of overheard conversation becomes sinister, a stranger lurking on the corner becomes a potential ax murderer... And I've always been afraid of the dark. I grew up in a big spooky house that I was sure was haunted. The wind used to make the rug outside my bedroom door flap up and down and sometimes windows opened on their own. When I talked about this to my brother, years later, he replied, "of course it was haunted." So I'd never go up three flights of stairs in a purple-painted house.

RO: Oooh, as a diehard yard sale fan, I'll never be able to go to one again and walk up those stairs to where I've been assured "the good stuff" is. Even if the house isn't purple. That's my idea of something really scary, the everyday thing that turns into a nightmare. I mean, who's going to be fooled by a drooling 7-ft stranger with tattoos and an eyepatch? Just run...no story.

My sort-of-scary moments occur whenever I'm on a driving trip and I have to use the facilities - or buy a can of diet red bull- at a gas station. It's not the toilet that scares me (Dr. Roberta...you hear that?)Ever see The Vanishing or Breakdown? Yikes. It crosses my mind every time I stop in one of those remote service stations.

HANK: Oh. The Vanishing (the Dutch one) is the scariest movie I've ever seen. Ever. I almost wish I hadn't see it.

ROBERTA: Ro, I'm not worried about the toilet, I'm worried about the diet Red Bull!:) Hallie, big congratulations! So excited to see your book on the shelves! And what I've learned from the tag sale story is to never, ever, let a stranger into the house, even if she SEEMS like a nice, nosy middle-aged lady. Maybe especially that. I too see danger and plot twists everywhere. It's kind of exhausting, isn't it?

HALLIE: What about never ever GO INTO a house, no matter how hunky the man is who invites you in to "have a look around."

JAN: Wow, was it really three years, Hallie? It seemed like that book flew off your computer!! Congratulations on its release and the many terrific reviews.

When I was still dealing with my plane phobia (now conquered!!) I once had a cognitive behavioral therapist tell me that my problem was I had too much imagination and I applied it to EVERYTHING. That probably applies to all of us!

For me, it really was the toilet.... but not the germs. It all started as a small child, when I convinced myself there was a monster in it. I used to open the door, flush the toilet and run like hell. Sometimes when I go to lock the garage door at night, I'll let in the thought... what if someone was in the garage just waiting.... and I get that full body fear thrill people go to the movies for. But I've spent a lot of energy trying to NOT let those thoughts in my head, and I think it's net gain.

HALLIE: My daughter used to be afraid of squirrels, so I'd send her out with a can of Lysol (AKA magic squirrel repellant) to protect her on her Hot Wheels.

So, is your monster in the toilet? Or in your attic? Or up a tree and hopefully staying where it belongs? (Hopefully not in your bookstore where I hope you are ALL headed.)

Please join the conversation. We're dying to know.