Saturday, January 31, 2015

Agatha Award Nominees Announced



The Agatha Awards Nominees were announced today recognizing the best of 2014's traditional mysteries. They will be given out at a glass ceremony at the Malice Domestic Convention on May 2 in Bethesda, MD. Congratulations to all who were nominated. 

It is so great to see Mystery Playground guest bloggers Amanda Flower, Terrie Farley Moran and Edith Maxwell nominated this year. 

And here are the nominees:

Best Contemporary
The Good, The Bad and The Emus by Donna Andrews (Minotaur Books)
A Demon Summer by G.M. Malliet (Minotaur Books)
Truth Be Told by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge Books)
The Long Way Home by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books)
Designated Daughters by Margaret Maron (Grand Central Publishing)

Best Historical Novel
Hunting Shadows by Charles Todd (William Morrow)
An Unwilling Accomplice by Charles Todd (William Morrow)
Wouldn't it Be Deadly by D.E. Ireland (Minotaur Books)
Queen of Hearts by Rhys Bowen (Berkley)
Murder in Murray Hill by Victoria Thompson (Berkley)

Best First Novel
Circle of Influence by Annette Dashofy (Henery Press)
Tagged for Death by Sherry Harris (Kensington Publishing)
Finding Sky by Susan O'Brien (Henery Press)
Well Read, Then Dead by Terrie Farley Moran (Berkley Prime Crime)
Murder Strikes a Pose by Tracy Weber (Midnight Ink)

Best Nonfiction
400 Things Cops Know: Street Smart Lessons from a Veteran Patrolman by Adam Plantinga (Quill Driver Books)
Writes of Passage: Adventures on the Writer's Journey by Hank Phillippi Ryan (ed) (Henery Press)
Death Dealer: How Cops and Cadaver Dogs Brought a Killer to Justice by Kate Flora (New Horizon Press)
The Art of the English Murder by Lucy Worsley (Pegasus Books)
The Poisoner: The Life and Crimes of Victorian England's Most Notorious Doctor by Stephen Bates (Overlook Hardcover)

Best Short Story
"The Odds are Against Us" by Art Taylor (EQMM)
"Premonition" (Chesapeake Crimes Homicidal Holidays) by Art Taylor (Wildside Press)
"The Shadow Knows" (Chesapeake Crimes Homicidal Holidays) by Barb Goffman (Wildside Press)
"Just Desserts for Johnny" by Edith Maxwell (Kings River Life Magazine)
"The Blessing Witch" (Best New England Crime Stories 2015: Rogue Wave) by Kathy Lynn Emerson (Level Best Books)

Best Children's/Young Adult
Andi Under Pressure by Amanda Flower (ZonderKidz)
Greenglass House by Kate Milford (Clarion Books)
Uncertain Glory by Lea Wait (Islandport Press)
The Code Buster's Club, Case #4, The Mummy's Curse by Penny Warner (Egmont USA)
Found by Harlen Coben (Putnam Juvenile)

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Great First Lines Mug


One of my favorite Christmas gifts that I received was a mug with great first lines of books. 

It has great first lines like:
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man of large fortune must be in want of a wife."  
                 - Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen 

"Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself."
                - Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolfe


"Marley was dead to begin with."
              - A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

I feel smarter every time I take a sip of tea...


Friday, January 30, 2015

Drinks with Reads: Feta Attraction

It’s cold outside, but it’s a perfect day for a cocktail and a good mystery

Susannah Hardy is here to tell us about her new book and the perfect drink to match.

Thanks for inviting me to Drinks with Reads today. I notice that “Drinks” comes before “Reads,” but I won’t comment on that, LOL! 

My cozy mystery, Feta Attraction, released in January. My heroine, Georgie, isn’t Greek, but she married into a Greek family and works in the family restaurant. The Greeks love their ouzo, which is a delicious (and potent!) anise-flavored liquor. So it seemed only appropriate that I invent an ouzo cocktail to go along with the recipes in the book.

I hope you’ll give the Cherry Ouzotini and Feta Attraction (not necessarily in that order), a try, and let me know what you think. Opa!





Cherry Ouzotini

1 oz. ouzo (an anise-flavored Greek liqueur)
1 oz. citrus-flavored vodka
4 oz. orange juice
½ oz. maraschino cherry juice (more if you like a sweeter drink)
Splash of seltzer or lemon-lime soda

Place ouzo, vodka, orange and cherry juices into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake it, shake it, baby! Pour into martini glass (there’ll be some left over for a second drink), add a splash of seltzer or soda, then garnish with orange slice, maraschino cherry and a mint leaf. 


Links:

Website: www.susannahhardy.com  – Sign up for my mailing list
Facebook: http://goo.gl/eRQqkp -- Please like the page
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SusannahHardy1 @susannahhardy1--Please follow me on Twitter


Bio: Susannah Hardy thinks she has the best job in the world: making up stories and inventing recipes to go along with them. A native of northern New York, where she attended St. Lawrence University, Susannah now lives in Connecticut with her husband, teenage son, and Elvira the Wonder Cat.




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Thursday, January 29, 2015

Crafty Thursdays: Bookish Valentine's






Today we have a super easy and most therapeutic Valentine's Day craft. It's making Valentine's out of book pages and wallpaper samples. 

Lisa Alber gets a special mention for instigation because she started a massive Valentine's card (retro & homemade) exchange with her Facebook friends. And she's agreed to come back in the next couple of weeks and share her retro Valentine's Day haul with us. In the meantime, you can see which book she paired with her book, Kilmoon.

So let's get started...




Here's what you need:

  • Blank cards with envelopes
  • Book pages from a damaged book
  • A Glue Stick
  • Scissors
  • Wallpaper samples (optional)


Step One:

  • Cut out hearts. You remember how to do this from kindergarten, right? Fold the paper and cut a half a heart, then your heart will have two side the same size. It feels so relaxing to cut out those hearts.


Step Two:
  • Arrange the hearts on a card
Step Three:
  • Glue the hearts on using glue stick. I like to put my hearts on at an angle so it's a little more whimsical. 
  • Let them dry! 
How easy is that? We're giving away four cards (US Residents only). Don't forget to comment below to enter.





Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Book Review: The Kind Worth Killing



Kerry Hammond reviews Peter Swanson's new book, The Kind Worth Killing. The book gets released on February 3rd. 


The Kind Worth Killing grabbed me right from the beginning, and kept me hooked until the end. You’ll understand when you read it, but when I say “until the end” I really mean it. It also stayed with me for days, and I really love when a book can do that. I found myself thinking back to the characters and certain plot points days after finishing the book.

In an airport lounge in London, waiting for a flight to Boston, Ted and Lily meet. As they get to know each other, and with the help of some Dutch courage, Ted tells Lily that his wife Miranda is cheating on him. He caught her, but she doesn’t know it, and he’s not sure whether or not to confront her with the information. He even admits to Lily that he feels like killing Miranda for what she’s done to him. When he admits this, Lily isn’t shocked or appalled. She actually tells Ted that she’d like to help him kill his wife. After all, Ted’s wife seems like the kind worth killing.

After arriving home in Boston, Ted and Lily go their separate ways. But their friendship isn’t finished, and Ted and Lily begin to take the steps necessary to execute their plan. We follow Lily and find out that she has some very deep and very dark secrets. We follow Ted and watch as he keeps what he knows from his wife, while simultaneously planning her murder. The book jacket calls the book “a modern reimagining of Patricia Highsmith’s classic Strangers on a Train.” I think that is a wonderful description, and Peter Swanson does the concept justice by taking his characters into a new and twisted realm. Not since Dexter have I felt such an affinity to a character plotting a murder.


The way this book was written was extremely unique. Each chapter was written in first person from the character whose name was at the top, alongside each chapter number. The points of view alternated and the reader was able to get the character’s personal point of view of the story. Sometimes, when the events overlapped, the reader got to see the same scene played out from two different perspectives, and that was brilliant. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book and felt that the author did a great job pulling off a difficult challenge and writing style. The uniqueness of this, and the skill with which it was executed, made for a really great book.


Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Set Your DVRs: The Americans Returns




One of my favorite TV shows, the twisted spy drama, The Americans, returns on Fox this Wednesday night. 

When last we left our dear double agents - Elizabeth and Phillip Jennings "The Center" (code for KGB boss people) have decided that their daughter teenage daughter Paige would make a wonderful second-generation spy. Phillip is opposed, but Elizabeth is entertaining the possibility. 

Their friendly neighborhood FBI agent, Stan Beeman, had to decide whether or not to save his beautiful Russian double agent spy girlfriend or betray the United States. He couldn't betray his country and now the Russians will make her pay. Nina may be gone, but Stan lost his wife anyway...

And we have lots more to look forward to this season...




According to Entertainment Weekly, this season Frank Langella joins in a recurring role as "Gabriel", their previous handler, who returns to take over from Martha. Based on other handlers we've seen for the couple, this handler will be no angel either. 



Karen Pittman also joins this season as a Defense Department employee targeted by a Jennings sting opp according to Deadline Hollywood. Elizabeth goes undercover to become Pittman's character's new Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor. Super despicable and probably very effective. 



Julia Garner joins the cast as a young woman who "unexpectedly and dangerously" meets up with the Jennings' according to Hollywood Reporter



Check out this Russian Cabbage soup recipe. It's the perfect entree to eat while watching the first episode of this season's The Americans

Monday, January 26, 2015

The Queen Mary


Kerry Hammond has been fulfilling her dreams on a magnificent ship...


It’s been a dream of mine to stay on the Queen Mary ever since I found out that it had been converted to a hotel. I love the romantic idea of traveling across the Atlantic Ocean in the 1940s aboard such a ship. I’ve watched television shows that highlighted the ship’s history and its many famous passengers. I’ve even watched a ghost hunter episode that took place recently aboard (this was a bit hokey, but still fun). 



Last month I got the chance to stay on board this historic ship while attending the Long Beach Bouchercon conference. I strolled the Promenade Deck and wondered what it was like to be a passenger way back when. I stood in my cabin and tried to imagine the gentle rock I would have felt on a voyage. I marveled at the woodwork and Art Deco décor in the dining areas and lounges. I took in all of the displays of furniture and dishware from her original travels. I shopped at the vintage gift shop on board and bought lots of goodies. I enjoyed a pumpkin spiced latte from Starbucks. Ok, I’m pretty sure this wasn’t part of the original list of amenities, even in first class. But that didn’t bother me. I read fiction, so I can accept certain things and still stay within the story.


The RMS Queen Mary sailed from 1936-1967 for the Cunard Line (originally the Cunard-White Star Line).  She and the RMS Queen Elizabeth were built to maintain a two ship weekly express voyage between Southampton, England and New York. Because of her speed, she was painted and used during World War II to bring Allied soldiers to England to join the war effort. Her new color and her speed earned her the nickname the “Grey Ghost.”I watched a recent clip on Sunday Morning and found out that the ship was so fast that it could outrun a torpedo, so it was useless for the Germans to even try to attack it with their submarines. It was rumored that Hitler was so mad that he offered a reward to anyone who could hit it. Clearly, no one collected.



At the end of the war, the ship was even used to take war brides across the pond. They traveled in far less cramped quarters than the soldiers. (On one voyage, she carried over 15,000 men from New York to England.) After the war, the Queen Mary was re-fitted as a passenger ship and commenced its transatlantic voyages until airplane travel took over in the late 1950s. She left Southampton for her last voyage on October 31, 1967 and sailed to Long Beach, California, where she sits today. There are several restaurants on board, a museum , and other exhibits. You could spend a 3 day weekend and never have to leave the ship. I won’t say that my room was haunted, but I will point out that I was startled awake one morning by the sound of water pouring from the faucet into my tub. When I tried to turn off the spout, it was already off. Again, I read fiction, my imagination has no limits.


A stay on the Queen Mary is highly recommended for anyone who loves the romance and history that such a place contains. If you’re a light sleeper, bring some earplugs, as the walls are very thin. It made me wonder if the sounds of the engines used to cover up the noise and lull the passengers to sleep.







Sunday, January 25, 2015

Literary Bracelets


These works of art from JezebelCharms on Esty are the most fun bracelets I've seen in a long time. Taken from famous stories from everything from  Shakespeare to Sherlock they highlight some of the best passages in fiction through the ages. 

Some of my favorites come from MacBeth. Take a look at the quote from MacBeth, 
"Out Damned Spot" 
as Lady MacBeth says when she is trying to cleanse herself spiritually from murder. Or the witches from MacBeth, 
"From the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes".



Here's a quote from the three witches in MacBeth, 
"When will we three meet again? In thunder, lightning or in rain." 

 I also love these Sherlock Holmes inspired bracelets. The one below even has a blueprint of 221b. 








Saturday, January 24, 2015

Interview with Cindy Brown




Cindy Brown visits today to tell us about her new book, MacDeath. And she's giving away a paper copy, so comment below on your favorite work by Shakespeare. US Residents only.


Where did you get the idea for this book? How did you know that was the book you wanted to write?

One day I woke up with a character in my head. I knew the character’s name, Ivy Meadows. I knew that she was a struggling actor in Phoenix, Arizona who also worked part-time for a private detective. And I knew that I wanted her story to take place during a production of Macbeth. 

Why “the Scottish play?” To begin with, I played Lady Macbeth many moons ago, so I have a good feel for it. But the other, creepier reason is that theater lore says that Macbeth is cursed, that all manner of bad things happen during productions. I didn’t believe in the curse until one night during a production of Barefoot in the Park. I had decided to prove the curse was nonsense and so said, ”Oh Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth!” right before the show. I became a believer (and a bit of pariah with my fellow cast members) when the theater lost power for 20 minutes in the middle of the performance. 


If you could meet any author alive or dead, who would it be and why?

Shakespeare, of course! I’d love to ask him some serious questions about writing, especially how he managed to go back and forth between tragedy and comedy so well. Also, Shakespeare wrote several sonnets for a mysterious raven-haired lover, “the Dark Lady,” as she’s called. Scholars have never been able to agree on her identity.  Some believe she was a prostitute, others think a married woman-about-town, and still others point to a feminist poet. I want to ask him who “the Dark Lady” really was.  And of course, I want to know if he really wrote all those plays and poems.

Do you ever base characters on people you know?

The other day, Patrick Cox (of Portland Actors Ensemble) was telling me how much he liked Macdeath. When I asked why, he said, “All of us theater people have known and worked with those characters. We’ve all had directors like Edward and fellow cast members like Simon and Bill Boxer.” That’s exactly what I was going for. So yes, the characters are based on real people, but they’re usually a bit of a mash-up of several different character traits. And since I write comedy, I exaggerate wildly.


Do you share any traits with your protagonist?


I am easily distracted—wait, is that Elvis out there? (from an actual conversation: my writers group was deep in discussion when a white pant-suited Elvis walked by the windows of the coffee shop. This is Portland, after all.)




You can see the other stops on the tour here (and where the giveaways are): 


Tour Participants
January 19 - Back Porchervations - Review
January 20 – Kelly P's Blog – Guest Post
January 21 – Latte Da! (blog) - Interview with Cindy
January 22 – LibriAmoriMiei - Review, Giveaway
January 23 – Shelley's Book Case - Review, Guest Post, Giveaway
January 24 – Mystery Playground - Interview, Giveaway
January 25 – The Gal in the Blue Mask - Review, Interview, Giveaway

January 26 - Queen of All She Reads - Review, Giveaway

Friday, January 23, 2015

Drinks with Reads: The Mysteries of Machu Picchu



Kendra Kelley joins us today to match the perfect drink with Turn Right at Machu Pichu. Kendra is an enthusiastic world traveler, accomplished cook & foodie, avid sports fan and active community volunteer – you can follow her escapades at KMJtravels & BoozeHouse.


In 1911, explorer Hiram Bingham stumbled upon one the world's new wonders, Machu Picchu and questions have swirled around it's existence ever since.  Why was it built? What was its purpose? Why was it abandoned? To this day, many researchers have yet to agree on one single theory.  It's a spot that will forever captivate me, so when I spotted Mark Adams' tale Turn Right at Machu Picchu, I snapped it up quickly.

In 2008, I was lucky enough to hike the Inca Trail and visit this Lost City - it was a grueling, magnificient journey.  And after three long days of hiking through the Andes, upon arrival it remained shrouded in mystery to us, covered in a dense fog:


Luckily, the mist dissipated as the sun rose, at which point all you can do is marvel at the destination and ponder, how did they build this?  Each rock's placement seems to have strategic reason and the entire site is an engineering marvel - so where to begin unraveling the mystery?




In his travelogue, Adams takes the reader along on his own journey to Peru while inter-weaving his stops with the history of Bingham's path.  One fascinating fact:  Bingham wasn't even looking for Machu Picchu.  The tale is a great way to learn more about Peru, the Incan culture & the history of the ruins, with the humurous side of Adams' hike providing levity to the weight of Bingham's personality and journey.




 Progress continues to be made at the lost city site- just two years ago an archaelogist discovered a "secret door".  What new questions & mysteries will that bring us?  Whew, it must be time for a drink while we ponder...

 The most popular liquor in Peru is, of course, Pisco - a brandy produced by distilling wine.  Most folks have only enjoyed it in the Peruvian National drink, the Pisco Sour, so I decided to mix things up:  instead I propose you enjoy a Pisco Punch - it will take some extra time as you need to soak the pineapple in the pisco for a couple days, but the result is worth it.

The Machu Picchu Pisco
Ingredients (makes 6)

  • 1 peeled, cored pineapple, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 bottle (750 milliliters) pisco
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (from 4 limes)
  • Ice
Combine pineapple with pisco in a nonreactive bowl. Cover, and refrigerate for 3 days (make sure fruit is submerged). Bring sugar and water to a boil; stir to dissolve. Let syrup cool. Stir 1/2 cup syrup and lime juice into pisco mixture. Fill 6 glasses with ice and punch. Garnish with soaked pineapple.


Thursday, January 22, 2015

Crafty Thursdays: English Paper Piecing with Barbara Graham


Author Barbara Graham is here today for Crafty Thursdays to tell us how to do English Paper Piecing and to tell us about her new book, Murder by Gravity. And we're giving away three paper piecing kits so you have all the supplies to try out this wonderful technique at home. Just comment below to enter (US Residents only).

English Paper Piecing, often abbreviated as EPP, is a simple technique for piecing quilt blocks by hand. Few supplies are needed—a needle, a neutral colored thread like gray or beige, scraps of fabric and paper templates. The templates can be most geometric shapes like triangles, squares and diamonds but the one most of us are familiar with are hexagons, sometimes referred to as “hexies”. The pattern known as Grandmother’s Flower Garden is made of hexes.





Templates are available for sale in quilt shops, on the internet and as free printable downloads (these require you to cut them apart as accurately as possible. The size of the hexagon is the measured length of one edge, not the size across the middle and range from ¼ inch to several inches.

General instructions: Place a paper template against the wrong side of the fabric piece and secure with a straight pin on the front. Smooth one fabric edge over the paper to the back and baste it into place. Continue around the shape, folding the fabric smoothly over the template and basting as you go.

For hexagons smaller than 1 inch, it is possible to baste a fabric square into shape taking only stitches in the corners on the back side. The best way to handle larger hexagons is to cut a fabric hexagon about a quarter inch larger on all sides than the paper and actually stitch through the fabric and the paper using long stitches. This is a great way to use up odd colors of thread you may have.

Most frequently, the hexagons are stitched into a flower shape with a central hexagon of one color surrounded by six hexagons of another color. To stitch the hexagons together, hold two basted hexagons, one center + one petal with right sides facing and whip stitch along one edge. The stitches should be somewhat horizontal and close together enough and tight enough to be stable when you open the twosie. Add the next hexagon and stitch along the center edge and then fold again and stitch along the edge it shares with the first petal. Continue until the center is surrounded. Then, and only then, you can remove the paper from the center hexagon. Remember to remove basting threads before trying to extract the paper.


Always leave the papers in the outside edge pieces until they are sewn to other pieces or until they are stitched onto the background fabric. It is the same process for anything from a small coaster or pincushion to a king sized quilt. 

Once stitched down to the background, you can make a small slit in the fabric under the back side of the hexagon and using tweezers, pull the paper out. 

If you need extra help, there are great tutorial videos available for free on the Internet. 




Murder by Gravity: The Coffin Quilt is the 6th “Quilted Mystery” featuring Tennessee Sheriff Tony Abernathy and his wife Theo, a quilt shop owner. Snow before Halloween shocks the residents of tiny Park County. More upsetting is the private plane passenger who reportedly jumped, without a parachute, into the most remote spot in the county. Problems increase with a stabbing and the theft of a priceless quilt. As the sheriff, Tony hates Halloween. Even so, he never expected a valuable coffin, and the body inside, to go missing.


Don't forget to comment to be entered for the English Paper Piecing Kit. US Residents only.