Category: Blog Series Page 66 of 232

Saturday Miscellany—3/30/24

On March 30, 2024

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet Laurent de Brunhoff, author of Babar children’s books, dies at 98—”Babar author Laurent de Brunhoff, who revived his father’s popular picture-book series about an elephant-king and presided over its rise to a global multimedia franchise, has died at the age of 98.
bullet For Book Recommendations, People Are Always Better Than Algorithms: Maris Kreizman Reveals Some Tricks of the Trade for the Semi-Professional Book Recommender—good post, and some great recommendations, too.
bullet With Melville in Pittsfield—an interesting piece about a reader, Melville, and somehow Frank Castle/The Punisher is involved, too.
bullet How Comic Book Fans Mistakenly Claimed the Term ‘Trade Paperback’ as Theirs: Unfamiliarity with book terms led comic book fans to adopt a standard book term, “trade paperback,” as a comic book term—huh. Kinda always wondered about this.
bullet On Letting Go of the Idea of “Keeping Up”: “So, what have you read lately?” It sounds like an innocent question, but it came with a pile of expectations.—Molly Templeton’s being her regular thought-provoking self, and ends up sounding pretty healthy
bullet Behold The Music—among the many, many good things I read on Tolkien Reading Day (which I once again forgot about until the day), was this guest post from Pages Unbound
bullet How much does it cost to start a book blog in 2024? || 3 months of blogging—Laure’s looking at what she’s learned in 3 months of book blogging and asks some questions I should probably think about myself.
bullet Why I Love Buying Books!—I think we all can relate
bullet My Problem with “The Problem with Classics”
bullet Tanis Half-Elven was a deeper character than I thought (warning: SA, CA discussion)—excellent points. (although I’m a bit biased, always thought Tanis deserved more fan attention)
bullet Thinking About Stories: Appreciation Bottlenecks—Pete’s being insightful again…and I’m stealing/appropriating the term “Appreciation Bottleneck”
bullet Nerd Church – Should We Judge Older Books By Modern Standards? —good stuff
bullet March 2024 Book Blog Wrap-Up—Celeste’s monthly recap of the best posts you’ve missed
bullet The Best Books I Have Read Published in Each Year of My Life—Fantastic idea.

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet The Conversation with Nadine Matheson 2.60 Neil Lancaster: True Detective and New Chapters
bullet Libro.fm Podcast EP 27 Interview with S.A. Cosby (Author of All the Sinners Bleed & Razorblade Tears)—another good Cosby interview

Things I learned from reading this week (that I can’t imagine finding a use for):
bullet Grated cheese predates The Republic—Plato talks about it—and it apparently was used to treat injuries? (an idea Plato did not endorse, I hasten to add). I don’t know why I assumed grating it was only a few hundred years old, but it seems I did. Source: Great Minds on Small Things by Matthew Qvortrup
bullet Speaking of Plato, I think I’d encountered the fact that he’d been a wrestler in his youth (a successful competitor in the Isthmian Games), but I didn’t know that his actual name was Aristocles—and that Plato might be a nickname from the Greek for “the broad-shouldered one.” Sure, Macho Man or The Rock are catchier, but that’s a pretty good (and on the nose) wrestling name. Source: Great Minds on Small Things by Matthew Qvortrup

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Rhythm and Clues by Olivia Blacke—the third, and best to date (as I recently opined), Record Shop Mystery. Junie doesn’t find the body this time, but she’s looking for the killer, for sure.
bullet The Devil You Know by Neil Lancaster—the 5th Max Craigie book finds the team working with Davie Hardie of all people to close a cold case. This is also a reminder that I should write about book 4.
bullet Poetry Comics by Grant Snider—”These poems explore everything you never thought to write a poem about, and they’re so fun to read you’ll want to write one yourself. Not to worry, there’s a poem for that, too!”
bullet You’d Look Better as a Ghost by Joanna Wallace—this is a black comedy about a part-time serial killer dealing with the grief over her father’s death and a blackmailer.
bullet How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin—”about a woman who spends her entire life trying to prevent her foretold murder only to be proven right sixty years later, when she is found dead in her sprawling country estate…. Now it’s up to her great-niece to catch the killer.”
bullet One in the Chamber by Robin Peguero—a political satire/thriller about Senate aids working with/against each other during the confirmation hearings for the first Black chief justice.
bullet Bunyan and Henry; Or, the Beautiful Destiny by Mark Cecil—a dark re-imagining of the folk heroes.

A Few Quick Questions With…J.M. Gulmire

By HCNewton

On March 29, 2024

In A Few Quick Questions With..., Dogs, Fiction, Science Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

Back in September (about the time I should have been sending him my part of this Q&A), J.M. Gulmire stopped by with a Guest Post, “Shaping Smiles with Kay-9 The Robot Dog,” giving a little BTS about the book I posted about this morning. Last week, I finally got around to sending the questions that have been rattling around in my brain since then–and he was gracious enough to get the answers back right away, so I can talk about this charming book a little bit and bring you this post. I hope you enjoy.

Why don’t you take a moment to introduce yourself to the readers, and tell us about your path to publication?
Sure sure. Well, I’ve been a storyteller for about 300 years now, it feels like. About a dozen years ago I started querying agents. I submitted mountains of work as I kept writing during this period, and got some great responses praising my work but no takers. I usually received comments about how great my stories are but that they’re not what agents are looking for.

I fell in the “too different” category. That tends to happen when you live with elves and have conversations with your dog.

So last year, the elves and my dog demanded to read my books in book format and that drove me to test out self-publishing.

My first title, “A Vacuum for my Birthday” hit #1 in its genre on amazon and since then I’ve released two other books that have all become Amazon bestsellers.

In addition to writing, your other big artistic endeavor is claymation. What kinds of things have you learned from claymation that have helped your writing—and vice versa?
I love swimming in clay. When I decided to self-publish a little birdie told me that marketing is super tough and that I’d have to do something different so I decided to practice making shorts so I could create my own book trailers. I grew up on Will Vinton and always had a strange obsession with claymation and stop motion work.

Claymation is super tough. The elves lent me some play-doh and I started writing scripts. Script writing helps get right to the action. It keeps things moving and filming reminds writers that timing matters. Thankfully I’m now actually working with clay, which doesn’t dry out as fast!

On the opposite end, writing has helped me realize my characters and bring them to life onscreen. The shorts I created for my “Kay-9 the Robot Dog” trailer were so fun to make, even when the clay took on a mind of its own.

So every book I’ve read for the MG audience about a kid who creates a robot/super-computer/etc. focuses on the end result—and the creation (or most of it) happens “off screen” or in the literary equivalent of a montage. But you don’t take that approach—the book is almost all about the creation-stage. Was that a conscious choice on your part to depart from the norm, or was that just the way it came about?
That was a pure choice. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

One of my elves asked me to get them a robot dog book, but I couldn’t find one. Worst of all, most of the robot books were all about the robot’s experiences instead of its creation.

I was overly aware of this while writing “Kay-9.” Thankfully the subject was so fun and my dog offered a few suggestions because I love finding untold stories. That old saying, “every story has already been told” or something like that was created to be proven wrong. I think Mark Twain or some old timey author started that rumor just so people would work harder to make something new.

There’s a recurring theme (at least I think there was) about what makes a good parent running throughout the book. Frequently it’s Ryan’s mother telling/reminding him something like “I’m your mom, of course I’m going to ____.” Was that something you set out to layer in or did it just come up organically and you decided to run with it?
I’m so glad that came through. Yes. Raising a house full of elves and critters, I know how often little ones need to be reminded that they are supported by their family, especially their parents.

I also hoped that the children who read “Kay-9” would feel more connected to their parents through Ryan’s relationship with his mom, and how important his connection with his dad was even though he was gone.

What was the part what was the biggest surprise about the process of writing Kay-9? Either, “I can’t believe X is so easy!” or “If I had known Y was going to be so hard, I’d have skipped this and watched more TV”?
I found myself spellbound at how desperately the book seemed to want to be written. I would sit down and write and it poured out so well and so fast that I had to slow down and stretch my fingers to keep from losing my head. I didn’t want to rush it but knew that I was on to something.

This is typically where I ask about what’s next for an author, but your next is already here—tell us a little about Monster Camping Trip.
Yay. Thank you! “Monster Camping Trip” is my third best selling Amazon new release.

This one didn’t exactly know what it wanted to be called. The original title was, “Too Many Kids” because it’s about the ups and downs of being part of a big family, but it’s also about how families support each other even if they’re a little crazy at times.

This one sets Ava on a search for a mysterious cryptid that lives in Wisconsin. She learns about the legend of the hodag and ends up going on an adventure with her twin brother in search of it on their family camping trip.

And there’s no end to writing with me. I plan to release my fourth book, “Keku’s Mission,” in September. It’s my Lord of the Rings, but with all animals and a lot less wandering through the forest because the animals are small and can’t go as far. Imagine Frodo as a girl toad who is on a mission to find a plant that will heal her friend who is sick.

All of my books are about overcoming the odds and the importance of supporting others and being supported. They all have jokes and silly situations in them as well, because I don’t like cough medicine but laughter (and pineapple juice) are the best cure for everything.

Thanks for your time and participation! Thanks also for introducing me to Ryan and his friends/neighbors!
THANK YOU so much!! I love writing and am always happy to spend time giving my manuscripts time to cool off. LOL

Readers, go check out all of Gulmire’s books at Amazon!
A Few Quick Questions

WWW Wednesday, March 27, 2024

By HCNewton

On March 27, 2024

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., WWW Wednesday

We’ve all seen the Strange Planet comic strip about reading, right? Well, that’s where I am at the moment, thanks Seanan McGuire. I’d say more, but then I wouldn’t shut up for 600 words or so.

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Seems easy enough, right? Let’s take a peek at this week’s answers:

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire and Minds on Small Things: The Philosophers’ Guide to Everyday Life by Matthew Qvortrup. I’m also listening to Little Ghost by Chris McDonald, read by Robert G. Slade on audiobook.

Blank Space

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Carrie Vaughn’s Bannerless—an intense read—and Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection by Charles Duhigg on audio. It wasn’t Duhigg’s most interesting book, but probably the easiest to apply.

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What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be Cooked Goose by Laura Jenski, if only because it seems light, and boy howdy, do I need that. My next audiobook should be Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones Trilogy by Derek Landy, read by Rupert Degas—I started the series ages ago (both in print and then in audio)—it’s going to stick this time. Probably.

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What do you have cooking?

Saturday Miscellany—3/23/24

By HCNewton

On March 23, 2024

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet Why Ban Books When You Can Ban Book Awards?: Suburban Illinois District Cancels Caudill Awards—The Caudill Awards of all things?
bullet A Letter to the Editors of Literary Magazines—I’ve seen variations of this idea before, it never fails to make me smile. Here, a writer offers some critiques of the rejection letters she’s received.
bullet Reimagining Nonfiction—a local library here will be closed for two days (shudder) to reorganize their Adult Nonfiction section, getting rid of Dewey Decimal. On the one hand, I like the concept. But it feels sacrilegious to monkey with Dewey Decimals, right?
bullet Speaking of the Nampa Public Library, their Treasure Valley Book Fair is just around the corner! There are some familiar names on their list, but many that aren’t. I’m looking forward to meeting some new people—and hopefully featuring some of them soon.
bullet The Weirdness of Ambrose Bierce: From “Owl Creek Bridge” to Horror and Satire—I’m always happy to read about Ambrose Bierce, and this is a good piece on him. It’s also a good reminder that I should open the new copy of The Devil’s Dictionary that I recently picked up.
bullet P.L.’s TOP 25 INDIE SFF AUTHORS—P.L. Stuart, who knows a thing or two about Indie SFF, lists his top 25.
bullet Books I’ve Read With Animals In The Title—a good list (and a good list idea for those who need one)
bullet Tough Questions with A Literary Escape—W&S Bookclub puts a favorite under the harsh lights.
bullet My Wife Reacts to My Favorite Books—author Dave Lawson gives his wife’s impressions of some covers. Fun idea.

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet Fiction Fans Interview: Translations with Nevena Andrić—questions I’ve always wanted to ask a translator

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
None. It was an entirely dead week here except for a Monday Miscellany because my schedule was just that messed up. I did note the release of Night Broken by Patricia Briggs, and a couple of news-y or silly items that are pretty much dead links now. Fun week around here, eh?

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet The Girl in the Dark by Zoë Sharp—Blake & Bryon team up again to look into the murder of someone who saved Blake’s life.
bullet A Midnight Puzzle by Gigi Pandian—this release snuck up on me, I should’ve been waiting for it instead of hearing about it days later. Tempest Raj suspects that her family’s business is being framed, and it’s up to her to beat the killer at their own game.
bullet The Best Way to Bury Your Husband by Alexia Casale—based on the title, this is a book I will obviously keep from my wife. Based on the description, this sounds like a dark comedy with a lot of heart.
bullet Kill For Me, Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh—Swapping murders for revenge, in a straight-out-of-Hitchcock move, but with a Cavanagh twist. I’m far behind on my Cavanagh reading, this looks like it might be enough to force me to catch up.
bullet The Blues Brothers: An Epic Friendship, the Rise of Improv, and the Making of an American Film Classic by Daniel de Visé—a look at the Ackroyd and Belushi from childhood, to SNL, to the creation of the band and then the beloved movie. How can I resist this? Why would I try?

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Laure, who subscribed to the blog this week. I hope you enjoy the content and keep coming back.

WWW Wednesday, March 20, 2024

By HCNewton

On March 20, 2024

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., WWW Wednesday

It’s still, Wednesday, right? Well…it is here, anyway.

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Seems easy enough, right? Let’s take a peek at this week’s answers:

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn, (I cannot believe I waited 6 years to open this!) and am listening to Heaven’s River by Dennis E. Taylor, read by Ray Porter on audiobook. It’s been too long since I listened to Book 3, love getting back to this world.

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What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished the rather fun The Tenacious Tale of Tanna the Tendersword by Dewey Conway & Bill Adams and Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs, read by Lorelei King on audio.

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What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire and my next audiobook should be Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection by Charles Duhigg. I really enjoy the way Duhigg tells a story, and hopefully, I can learn from this one.

Blank Space

What’re you up to this week?

Saturday Miscellany—3/16/24

By HCNewton

On March 16, 2024

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet Is It A Betrayal To Publish Dead Writers’ Books?: Inside the ethically thorny world of posthumous publishing.
bullet I didn’t get the credit for my bestselling book: the secret life of the celebrity ghost writer—Liam Pieper describes the reality that’s close to what I expected, but is nice to see confirmed.
bullet Not Just Covers, But Every Page: Why Writers Should Talk About Book Design Early On: Debbie Berne on the Intricacies of Literary Interior Design
bullet Why Are These 90s Young Adult Books So Irresistible?—For readers of a certain age, this is a fun collection of posts/articles from Pocket.
bullet Famous Works of Irish Literature as Limericks—what better way to note St. Patrick’s Day than with Amanda Lehr’s latest post to McSweeny’s?
bullet Bookish Death Cleaning: On What We Keep, and What It Means
bullet Page Turners vs. Screen Scribes: The Endless Debate of Physical Books vs. Ebooks—nothing revolutionary here, but that’s not neccesarily a bad thing.
bullet Breaking into the indie market with the Break-Ins! —Over at Before We Go Blog, The Fictional Escapist has a great interview about a great idea.
bullet Bookmark Chat: Guess Who’s Back…—The McBooknerd is back!
bullet A Voracious Reader was under the pressure of handling Witty & Sarcastic Bookclub’s Tough Questions this week (I really need to get on my answers)
bullet Thoughts From A Grumpy Year Of Reading—2024 isn’t treating our pal Peat too well…

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet The Conversation with Nadine Matheson 2.58 S.A. Cosby: We Tell Lies To Tell The Truth

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
bullet Red Rising by Pierce Brown—the beginning of a beautiful book friendship for me…
bullet And on the other end of the tonal spectrum…Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet The Ballad of Sprikit The Bard (And Company) by Sean O’Boyle—I’ve seen this described as “A ‘Discworld’ meets ‘Lies of Locke Lamora’ Adventure.” Which is enough for me. Hearing a lot of good about it, too.
bullet Say Hello to My Little Friend by Jennine Capó Crucet—a “darkly comic” book about a Pitbull imitator (the rapper, not a canine) teaming up with a magical orca to become a real-life Tony Montana with shades of Moby Dick. The novel sounds so strange that it just might work.
bullet Black Wolf by Juan Gómez-Jurado—This thriller looks so good that I’m getting the first in the series from the Library today. Click the link, I’m not going to try to summarize it.

Teaching Moments by Troy Lambert: A Tale of Horse Thieves and a Serial Killer

By HCNewton

On March 15, 2024

In Fiction, Literary Locals, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Teaching Moments

DETAILS:
Series: Max Boucher Mysteries,  #2
Publisher: Unbound Media
Publication Date: January 18, 2022
Format: Paperback
Length: 368
Read Date: August 24-26, 2023

What’s Teaching Moments About?

It seems that after the events of Harvested, Max Boucher has developed a specialty when it comes to his PI work—animals. Granted, most of these are pretty small cases without a lot of excitement, but work is work, right? And if he’s getting the bills paid, he can spend more time thinking about the new evidence he found at his old home at the end of Harvested.

But that’s for another time, really. Max has been hired to leave Seattle and come to Cedar Peak—a small town in Idaho*, where someone from out of town sticks out like a sore thumb. He’s been called upon to investigate a missing—presumed stolen—horse, worth a pretty penny.

* I kept changing my mind about what city it’s based on, and decided to stop trying because it really doesn’t matter.

But before he can even start this investigation, he stumbles across a murder. Now, that’s not why he’s in town, but he sort of befriends the woman dating the dead man (who turns out to be related to the horse’s owner). He’s warned off by the local police, but he ends up looking into the murder, too.

It’s not long at all before Max discovers that almost nothing is what it seems and that he might have bitten off more than he can chew this time.

The Other POV

Interwoven with Max’s story is the first-person account of a young woman becoming a serial killer. On the one hand it’s easy to see why we get this (her weapon of choice is used in the murder)—but it frequently feels like it could be a different book.

Actually, you could excise these chapters (or at least almost all of them) and publish it as a stand-alone novella. You’d probably need a different conclusion to make it satisfactory—but it’d work that w
This isn’t entirely a criticism (although it does feel a little out of place from time to time)—the way this story ends up merging with the rest of the novel really works and adds to the overall impact of the novel.

The only real complaint I have about it is that all these chapters are in italics, and it just bugs me to read that much italicized material, there’s gotta be a better way to set that kind of thing off from the rest of the text.

The Series Arc

After the way that Harvested ended (and well, the way that most of that book went), I assumed we’d get a lot more time and space devoted to the murder of Max’s daughter and the disappearance of his wife in this book. I didn’t expect that he’d solve everything so soon, but still.

And while Max (and/or Lambert) didn’t blow off the topic, the novel didn’t focus on it as much as I’d assumed. I think it’s good for the long-term health of the series, as long as Lambert doesn’t drag things out in this regard. The closing pages of this novel bring in a new twist to the series that can help out with the overall arc(s), too.

So, what did I think about Teaching Moments?

It feels pretty uncharacteristic of me not to mention Max’s dog so far. Russ is one of those rescued at the end of Harvested and he’s become an important part of Max’s life. He’s a very good boy, and a canine I’m pleased to make the acquaintance of.

I don’t think I was as surprised at a lot of the serial killer story as the novel wanted me to be. That may be because I read too many things in this genre. It was well-executed and I don’t have any noteworthy negative things to say about it beyond I thought it wasn’t that unexpected. I don’t need to be shocked, I just want a good story, and that’s what Lambert delivered.

A solid PI novel is one of my favorite things in the world. Lambert’s Max Boucher novels are good examples of the genre. Yes, the setting and the central crime might not be common for the genre, but they work well in Lambert’s hands. I’m definitely looking forward to more of these, and recommend them to you. Even if you’re not looking for a series, Teaching Moments could work as a standalone. Either way, you should give this a shot.

3.5 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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WWW Wednesday, March 12, 2024

By HCNewton

On March 13, 2024

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., WWW Wednesday

Well, today got away from me. Let me get this up and I’ll try again tomorrow.

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Seems easy enough, right? Let’s take a peek at this week’s answers:

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading still A Blight of Blackwings by Kevin Hearne, as with the first in the trilogy, as much as I’m enjoying the book, I need to take a break from it every now and then. but hopefully I finish it before next week’s post. I’m also listening to a very odd take on Peter Pan, Darling by K. Ancrum, read by Angel Pean, on audiobook.

Blank Space

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished a couple of very entertaining books: Olivia Blacke’s Rhythm and Clues and Dead Ground by M.W. Craven, read by John Banks on audio.

Blank Space

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be the ARC of The Tenacious Tale of Tanna the Tendersword by Dewey Conway & Bill Adams (soooo many ARCs lately, how am I ever going to make TBR progress?) and my next audiobook should be a quick trip to Painter’s Mill, Ohio (the most crime-ridden Amish community in the States) in A Hidden Secret by Linda Castillo, read by Kathleen McInerney .

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Whatcha readin’?

PUB DAY SPOTLIGHT: Women Who Murder by Mitzi Szereto

By HCNewton

On March 12, 2024

In Book Tour, Non-Fiction

I’m very pleased today to Spotlight Mitzi Szereto’s new release, Women Who Murder: An International Collection of Deadly True Crime Tales. This looks like one to keep you up all night! Sorry for any sleep this causes you to lose.

Book Details:

Title: Women Who Murder: An International Collection of Deadly True Crime Tales
Editor: Mitzi Szereto
Genre: True Crime
Publisher: Mango Publishing Group
Release date: March 12, 2024
Format: Paperback/Ebook
Length: 224 pages

About the Book:

Deadly Dames and Murderous Damsels

Explore the fascinating psychology behind these killer women, unraveling their motives and unveiling the infinite complexities of human behavior in Women Who Murder: An International Collection of Deadly True Crime Tales.

From chilling stories of black widow murderers to spine-tingling narratives of women who shocked the world with their sinister deeds, this anthology spans eras and continents, offering an electrifying and thought-provoking exploration of the darkest corners of human nature and the female psyche. Like Mitzi Szereto’s popular The Best New True Crime Stories series, Women Who Murder includes all-new and original nonfiction accounts from an international cast of writers, all of whom prove that women can be just as deadly as men—if not more so!

Book Trailer:

Purchase Links:

Amazon US ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Books-A-Million ~ Bookshop.org ~ Amazon UK ~ Blackwell’s ~ Waterstones ~ Amazon CA ~ Indigo ~ Angus & Robertson ~ Fishpond

About the Editor:

Mitzi Szereto (mitziszereto.com) is an American-British author, anthology editor, and short story writer whose work spans multiple genres. Her widely acclaimed true crime series The Best New True Crime Stories features the volumes Crimes of Famous & Infamous Criminals; Unsolved Crimes & Mysteries; Partners in Crime; Crimes of Passion, Obsession & Revenge; Well-Mannered Crooks, Rogues & Criminals; Small Towns; and Serial Killers. Aside from her many popular books, she has the added distinction of being the editor of the first anthology of erotic fiction to include a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. A contribution from her crime fiction anthology Getting Even: Revenge Stories also received the Crime Writers’ Association Short Story Dagger “Highly Commended.” Mitzi has appeared internationally on radio and television and at literature festivals, and taught creative writing around the world. She produced and presented the London-based web TV channel Mitzi TV and portrays herself in the pseudo-documentary British film, Lint: The Movie. Follow her @mitziszereto on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, Mastodon, and Spoutible.

Author Links:

Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram ~ TikTok
~ YouTube ~ Bluesky ~ Threads ~ Mastodon ~ Spoutible ~ Goodreads

One more time, Women Who Murder is out now—get it today!

Saturday Miscellany—3/9/24

By HCNewton

On March 9, 2024

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

The last few weeks have been heavy on non-reading/blogging tasks/events/changes. And (to me anyway), that’s been clearest when it comes to these posts. But yesterday was (theoretically) the last tweak, so I should be able to start adjusting to things soon and things will return to some form of normal in the next couple of weeks.

Huge thanks to Peat Long for the return of Friday Five, so I could add a couple of items to beef this list up.

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Your new literary dream job: reader-in-residence.—I’ve spent the last couple of days fighting the urge to move to Fort Collins to chase my dream.
Counterfeit Books Are a Growing Problem, but a Solution May Be Near—the biggest question here is how long it’ll take pirates to work around it.
This Facebook post from the NYT about Worcester Public Library’s March Meowness will bring a smile to your face even without going beyond the paywall
Wander into This Miraculous Miniature Library with Thousands of Books Made Entirely by Hand—oooooohhhhhhh (said best in Toy Story’s LGM voice)
When Indie Publishing Meets Corporate Bookselling: Michele Herman on the Challenges of Getting—and Keeping—Her Book on the Shelves
IBPA Publishing MAP (Models and Author Pathways)—this looks handy for the writers who are looking at this post
Chinese Science Fiction Before The Three Body Problem
“Longmire” series author Craig Johnson talks about its development and its future—I’m always down to read/listen to/about Johnson
A Punk Noir Interview with M. W. Craven—there’s a lot to enjoy here, I loved the last answer from someone else I’m always down to read/listen to/about.
AC/DC’s Back in Black Inspires New Book of Murder Mysteries, Including New Jack Reacher Story—sure, the wrong Child is writing the Reacher story, but some of the rest sound promising (Coleman and Eldridge in particular)
Genres Are Historical and Cultural, Not Scientific: why rigid rules for genres never quite work—Lincoln Michel has many good things to chew on here (as per usual)
We got two new entries in Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub’s Tough Questions series this week, you should see how JamReads and Featuring Fantasy Book Nerd handled the pressure.
Weaving some Wyrd & Wonder—it’s almost time for the TBR expanding celebration of Fantasy. This year’s theme is really appealing.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week? (clearly a slow week)
Death Without Company by Craig Johnson—here’s where I decided to get serious about reading Walt Longmire books
and I noted the releases of: The Player by Brad Parks (I know he’s doing well with his stand-alone thrillers, but I miss Carter Ross), Half-Off Ragnarok by Seanan McGuire (the third InCryptid novel and the first narrator switch), and Notes from the Internet Apocalypse by Wayne Gladstone (something I never got around to reading, but still looks amusing)

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire—Aunt Mary, the baby-sitting ghost, takes center stage in this new InCryptids installment. I cannot wait to dive in (but must for a little bit)
Rift in the Soul by Faith Hunter—Soulwood #6 brings readers action, love, family, answers, and more questions. I yammered on about it some yesterday (and really wanted to keep going on)
Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano—Finlay and Vero hit Atlantic City and (almost certainly) chaos ensues.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to AndOnSheReads, who followed the blog this week. I hope you enjoy the content and keep coming back.