Decorating with Mystery Flair

This stunner can be found here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/90435600/sherlock-holmes-union-jack-dictionary

Today's guest post is from Kim Hammond.

As I may have mentioned before in another post, one of my addictions is Etsy. I typically come across things accidentally while searching for something else. I previously purchased a Sherlock Holmes pendant from Natura Picta, but that’s not all they make. Take a look at these.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/125101453/the-game-is-afoot-sherlock-holmes?ref=shop_home_active&ga_search_query=sherlock

Each print is printed on a vintage dictionary page that could be in any language. The background is not always the same as the picture above. Each time they do a print they use another page from rare book of a different century, from 1600 to 1900. It sounds like they rescue damaged books and save the good pages to use in their craft. This is not only a one of a kind gift, but an amazing conversation piece.

Another addictive website is Pinterest.com. I can be on there for what seems like 10 minutes and when I look at the clock it has been over an hour. I can across a picture of a metal plate mounted to a wall and it was used as a floating book shelf. When 4-6 books were stacked you couldn’t see the metal plate anymore. I coveted this and I re-pinned it. That was 3 months ago and I finally came across these metal plates at www.umbra.com.

Here’s what a single and double shelf look like. What you can’t see is the underside of the bottom plate. There’s a notch on each side and when you slide the back cover of the bottom book over the plate the edge comes to rest on the notches and stays in place.

I found my shelves at The Container Store and I purchased the large size. When I got them home and picked out some of my coveted autographed books, I realized that the books weren’t wide enough to slide over the plate and reach the notches. My husband had to find me some of his old college text books to temporarily use until I can get to the used bookstore and look for some larger sized mystery books. So I recommend checking the dimensions because you may want to purchase a size smaller. Amazon also carries these.

So before you make that next birthday, Christmas or Hanukkah purchase for the avid reader in your life, take a look at these websites for something more one of a kind.

The Baker Street Translation by Michael Robertson

Kerry Hammond has a great review of The Baker Street Translation by Michael Robertson over on Criminal Element and we thought we'd share. 

The Baker Street Translation by Michael Robertson is the third book in the Baker Street Letters mystery series featuring Reggie and Nigel Heath, barristers whose office address happens to be 221B Baker Street in London.

I am a big fan of anything Sherlock Holmes, and there have been many different spin-offs related to the master detective. You even see modern day Sherlocks on television, giving the sleuth 21^st century cases to solve. What I loved most aboutMichael Robertson’s version is that it’s kind of based in reality; the reality of fiction of course.

You can read the rest of Kerry Hammond's review here on Criminal Element. 

Taking on Jane Eyre: Joanna Campbell Slan

Today we have a Q&A with the author of The Jane Eyre Chronicles,  Joanna Campbell Slan. 



1)     Why did you decide to write The Jane Eyre Chronicles?

While I was on a panel at Malice Domestic, the mystery conference, someone asked what my favorite mystery of all time was, and without thinking I said, “Jane Eyre.” That started me thinking, why not revisit the classic?

2)     What did you love most about Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë? 

Edward loves Jane for her spirit, and I find that enchanting. I also empathized with a character who was poor, unassuming and overlooked. That described me perfectly as a young woman.

3)     How did you prepare to write about such a well known and beloved character?

It’s strange, but I had to distance myself from the original. Otherwise my writing mimicked Brontë’s, and that would have been a bit too much for modern readers. But of course, I re-read the original, I bought study guides and every book about the Regency, the Brontës and their works that I could find. I also bought an 1816 two-volume set of Bewick’s History of British Birds, which is what Jane is reading when the classic opens. Just running my hands down the binding gives me chills.

4)      Did you visit England? If so, what did you learn that didn't make into the books? 

From 2001-2, my family and I lived in Sunningdale, outside of London, near Windsor. Living in a country is very different from visiting as a tourist. I learned a lot about the British mindset, and I believe that is apparent in my work. I realized quickly that people are both proud of the monarchy and have their criticisms of it. There’s so much that won’t be in one of my books, as I tried to see and do everything I could, and I’ve been back many times since.

5)     What are your thoughts on other works, such as the Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, that also use Jane and Edward Rochester as characters?

In a word, wonderful! I also love The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey and Wide Saragasso Sea by Jean Rhys. As the author of several other mystery series with original characters, I can think of no finer tribute than to inspire others to keep one’s characters alive.

6)     Besides writing an entertaining book, did you have any other goals when you started this series?

Yes, I hoped to bring a new generation of readers to Jane Eyre. My proudest moment was when the Voice of Youth Advocates said, “For readers who love Jane Eyre, she lives on in Joanna Campbell Slan.”

Ace Atkins and Smooth Sweet Tea

Today's guest blogger in our summer read and matching drink recommendation series is Gerald So from The 5-2: Crime Poetry Weekly and My Life Called So, blogs. 


Ace Atkins is getting attention as the choice of G.P. Putnam's Sons and Robert B. Parker's estate to continue Parker's Spenser series of Boston private eye novels. Atkins' two novels, ROBERT B. PARKER'S LULLABY (2012) and ROBERT B. PARKER'S WONDERLAND (2013), are steeped in Spenser's history, respectful of Parker's legacy, yet confident in where they take the characters. At the same time, Atkins is writing his own Quinn Colson novels. The first two, THE RANGER (2011) and THE LOST ONES (2012), were nominated for Best Novel Edgar Awards.

In THE RANGER, Army Ranger Quinn Colson returns to his hometown of Jericho, Mississippi for his uncle's funeral. The townspeople believe Quinn's uncle, Sheriff Hampton Beckett, committed suicide, but Quinn doesn't accept it, feeling loyalty to a man who helped raise him.

I identified most strongly with the theme of coming home, being forced to revisit the past, reopen old wounds. In the process, Quinn finds himself opposed to the county's most prominent developer and the muscle hired to compel Quinn to sell land inherited from Hamp. THE RANGER has the feel of a contemporary Western. Good and evil aren't black and white, giving the novel its complexity and surprise.

Atkins and Parker share the eloquence to spin a fully realized tale without wasting a word. Quinn and Spenser are both tough-minded, but the Colson series differs from Spenser in atmosphere and narrative style.

The third Colson novel, THE BROKEN PLACES, was published May 30, 2013. I hope you enjoy the Colson series with some sweet tea. Here's a recipe (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Smooth-Sweet-Tea/).

Today's guest blogger, Gerald So, edits The 5-2: Crime Poetry Weekly (http://poemsoncrime.blogspot.com). From 2001 to 2009, he edited the original fiction section of Kevin Burton Smith's Thrilling Detective Web Site (http://www.thrillingdetective.com). To see what else he's reading this summer, visit My Life Called So (http://geraldso.blogspot.com).

Tom Stoppard's Arcadia and Set Painting

We had the opportunity to see Tom Stoppard's wonderful play, Arcadia, at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. (Shakespeare in Love fans may remember that Tom Stoppard wrote the script for that wonderful movie.)

Before the play, A.C.T. arranged a lecture on how the romantic murals were painted on the set by A.C.T. Charge Scenic Artist Jennifer Bennes. 

Stoppard's story takes place in the same English country house during two different time periods - modern day and the time of Lord Byron. The modern characters are studying history and are trying to figure out what actually happened when Byron was there. Since the set couldn't be fully changed when the years changed, a background was needed that suited both time periods to reflect the mixture of the classical and romantic in the play. 

The first step was to repurpose a backdrop from a previous A.C.T. play...

Next she showed us how they made the stencil to paint the mural. This is called pouncing and it's an ancient technique. Here's a great video from the National Theater in London explaining the technique in great detail.

After the stencil has been used to get the drawing on the background, these stamps carved from upholstery foam were used to make leaves for the trees. 

Here you can see Jennifer in action using the stamps. The large backdrop was painted on the floor so the paint didn't drip and destroy the image. Putting the stamps on sticks helps get the work done without breaking anyone's back (sorry, Michelangelo).

Once the mural was finished and dry, it is taken to the theater and hung. In the photo below our mural hangs a full ten feet away from the windows in the set. In front of the mural hangs a thin screen of made of tulle called bobbinet (bobbinet originally got it's name from bobbins and net since it was the first kind of tulle/lace that was manufactured rather than made by hand. The bobbinet helps create the illusion of glass in the windows looking out at the scenery. 

Here is the final product on stage.

Arcadia runs at the A.C.T. through the June 16th. I highly recommend it. 

California Veggie Wraps with Kate Carlisle & Giveaway

Today's guest post is by Kate Carlisle, author of A Cookbook Conspiracy. She is also giving away a hard cover copy of her new book, A Cookbook Conspiracy, to one lucky Mystery Playground reader. Giveaway details are at the end of the post. 

Award winning author Kate Carlisle spent over twenty years working in television production as an Associate Director for game and variety shows, including The Midnight Special, Solid Gold and The Gong Show. She traveled the world as a Dating Game chaperone and performed strange acts of silliness on The Gong Show. She also studied acting and singing, toiled in vineyards, collected books, joined a commune, sold fried chicken, modeled spring fashions and worked for a cruise ship line, but it was the year she spent in law school that finally drove her to begin writing fiction. It seemed the safest way to kill off her professors. Those professors are breathing easier now that Kate spends most of her time writing near the beach in Southern California where she lives with her perfect husband.

A lifelong love of old books and an appreciation of the art of bookbinding led Kate to create the Bibliophile Mysteries, featuring rare book expert Brooklyn Wainwright, whose bookbinding and restoration skills invariably uncover old secrets, treachery and murder. Find Kate online at www.katecarlisle.com.

In California, we are blessed with an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, many available year-round. Ours is a very fertile state. I’m sure that plays a role in the great number of Californians who are vegetarian or even vegan.

I’m a carnivore, but I’ve learned that a meal can be complete without meat or even dairy. (I’d have a tougher time living without cheese than I would without meat.)

One of the greatest pleasures I get from writing the Bibliophile Mystery series is in widening my readers’ perceptions of some lifestyle choices that aren’t necessarily mainstream. Brooklyn Wainwright, the world-class bookbinder at the center of the series, grew up on a wine country commune, where her parents still live. 

Yes, her parents are aging hippies who used to follow the Grateful Dead on tour. But they’re also very savvy vintners and business people who have made a successful venture of their commune’s vineyard. Yes, her sister Savannah is a vegan with a quirky, bald head. But she’s also a Le Cordon Bleu educated chef whose vegan dishes wow the San Francisco elite.

(She’s also the prime suspect in the death of her ex-boyfriend, an overbearing celebrity chef… but you’ll have to read A COOKBOOK CONSPIRACY to find out about that.)

This California Veggie Wrap is a simple and delicious explosion of plant-based flavor. And if you’re not ready to go completely vegan, even for one meal, you can add some cheese. I won’t tell!

California Veggie Wrap

4 6-inch flour tortillas
4 T cilantro pesto (recipe follows)
2 green onions with tops, sliced thin
¼ cucumber, sliced thin lengthwise
1 large avocado, sliced thin
1 small tomato, sliced thin
1 carrot, sliced thin lengthwise
4 sugar snap peas, sliced thin lengthwise
2 large strawberries, halved and sliced thin

Warm the tortillas in a dry pan over medium heat. Spread 1 T cilantro pesto on each, then top with the vegetables. Wrap and enjoy!

Cilantro Pesto

1 C fresh cilantro
¼ C pecans, walnuts, or almonds
1 clove garlic
¼ t salt
2 green onions, cut into chunks
1 t fresh jalapeno, without seeds
1 t lime juice
¼ - 1/3 C olive oil

Place everything but the olive oil in a food processor. Pulse several times, scrape sides, then pulse again. Add the olive oil a little at a time, pulsing the food processor between additions, until it reaches a spreadable consistency.

The cilantro pesto tastes great with pasta, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese, or as the sauce on a pizza with Mexican ingredients.

Get your own copy of a Cookbook Conspiracy

Kate Carlisle is giving away one hard cover copy of her new book here on Mystery Playground. All you have to do is comment below with your e-mail (if it's not already attached to your Blogger id). The contest is open to U.S. residents only and ends at midnight tonight (June 12, 2013). 

Thank you Kate for such a wonderful post and recipe.

Book Club: Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

This month's book club selection was Life After Life, by Kate Atkinson. You may have read some of Kate Atkinson's mystery novels, such as Case Histories, One Good Turn.  This book is not a mystery and it takes more for concept so often examined in science fiction literature (and many incarnations of Star Trek) of the same person's life several alternative timelines.

Here's the blurb from the back of the back of the book:

What if you had the chance to live your life again and again, until you finally got it right? 

During a snowstorm in England in 1910, a baby is born and dies before she can take her first breath.  

During a snowstorm in England in 1910, the same baby is born and lives to tell the tale. 

What if there were second chances? And third chances? In fact an infinite number of chances to live your life? Would you eventually be able to save the world from its own inevitable destiny? And would you even want to? 

Life After Life follows Ursula Todd as she lives through the turbulent events of the last century again and again. With wit and compassion, Kate Atkinson finds warmth even in life’s bleakest moments, and shows an extraordinary ability to evoke the past. Here she is at her most profound and inventive, in a novel that celebrates the best and worst of ourselves.

As far as book club selections go this one was moderately successful.  There is plenty to discuss and it made for a lively meeting, although some members found it hard to get into and some didn't want to finish the book. At more than 500 pages it was a little longer than our usual picks. At least one member of the club absolutely loved the book.