COUNTDOWN TO THRILLERFEST: 4 WEEKS!

One of the highlights of ThrillerFest ‘06 was the auction. Brad Meltzer was the auctioneer and people walked away with baskets of goodies donated by some of the biggest names in the thriller community – Steve Berry, Sandra Brown, Lee Child, Linda Fairstein, Tess Gerritsen, R.L. Stine and many others. Baskets were filled with amazing one-of-a-kind items like rare manuscript pages, a handwritten letter, photographs, signed books and even a beautiful gold & diamond butterfly ring, courtesy of MJ Rose.

But this year ThrillerFest is promising to be even bigger and better. They are not just having an auction, there are going to be two auctions! I checked in with the committee in charge, Shane Gericke and Britin Haller, and they were happy to answer my questions.

BB: I understand you guys are in charge of the auctions. There are two? What's up with that?

SHANE: We’re aiming at two different audiences this year—CraftFest, for writers working on their craft, and ThrillerMaster, for fans, authors and general attendees. So I asked everyone to consider making two separate donations. The level of “yes” was remarkable. I still don’t know how we got so many world-class authors to make such superb gifts.

BRITIN: We blackmailed them with pictures.

SHANE: Oh, right. And it worked so well, too . . .

BB: I know the schedule is up, but the authors are busy looking to see what panels they're on, and the fans are busy trying to figure out how to be in three places at once. So when and where are the auctions?

BRITIN: The CraftFest auction will be held on Thursday, during the Dangerous Vegetables and the Simple Truth luncheon.

SHANE: Saturday afternoon plays host to the big ThrillerMaster Reception and Charity Auction, and features our ThrillerMaster 2007 himself, James Patterson.

BB: What kind of stuff are you auctioning off?

SHANE: Take home your bite of the Big Apple by becoming a character in a thriller! Imagine yourself as a spy in a Gayle Lynds espionage tale. A tough guy in a Lee Child extravaganza. Sinner, saint, or something else, courtesy of David Morrell, M.J. Rose, Jeffery Deaver, Tess Gerritsen, James Rollins, Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child or other world-class author. And in a “two-fer” exclusive to ThrillerFest 2007, Jon Land will make you a character in a thriller and in his next movie screenplay.

BRITIN: But character namings are only part of the fun. You’ll win “something special” from Brad Meltzer. Share a drink with R.L. Stine of Goosebumps fame, break bread with the editor of a big New York publishing house. Win a character naming plus meal with Grant Blackwood . . . see your own manuscript reviewed by Shirley Kennett . . .

SHANE: . . . win a sunset cruise with Douglas Preston, in Maine, on his very own lobster boat . . . er, yacht! Take home an original, signed, Joseph Finder manuscript . . . let all thirteen Killer Year 2007 authors sign and ship their debuts to you when they’re hot off the presses . . . chat with your favorite author over a meal or drinks . . . learn book-promotion secrets from the master, M.J. Rose . . . have a sailboat named after you in a Christine Kling novel. And that’s not all! Call in the next ten minutes and we’ll include a free set of ginzu knives just for ordering. But wait! Call in the next three minutes and . . .

BRITIN: Down, boy! All kidding aside, Shane's a machine. He's done a terrific job on this auction, and he's just getting started. I take off my crown to him.

SHANE: Oh, no, you have to keep it, Britin. You look so regal it in, and besides, I don’t have enough hair to hold the pins any more . . .

BB: Are you looking for more stuff, and if so, like what?

BRITIN: Donations are coming in as we speak, and we have several big-name authors we're still hoping to obtain commitments from. We're also seeking a behind the scenes—

SHANE: MORE, MORE, WE NEED MORE . . .

BB: Will there be a fast talking auctioneer? Care to drop names?

BRITIN: Of course. The one and only Jeremiah Healy will be doing the honors at both auctions.

BB: What are you going to do with all the money you raise?

BRITIN: I've always wanted to go to the South Seas, and Shane does still have that pesky gambling debt, so if there's any left over....

SHANE: Hey, I paid my bookies just this week! So all the money can go to our favorite literacy programs.

BB: And they are?

SHANE: ITW will donate a portion of the proceeds to the James Patterson PageTurner Awards (www.pattersonpageturner.org), which grants $500,000 in cash prizes to “celebrate the people, companies, schools and institutions who find original and effective ways to spread the excitement of books and reading,” and Reading Is Fundamental (www.rif.org), the nation’s largest children’s literacy organization.

BB: Anything else you'd like to share?

BRITIN: Bid High and Bid Fast.

SHANE: Just bid high. Auctioneer Jerry will take care of the fast!

A passenger after my own heart...

I loved this story: a man was behaving erratically on a flight from Minneapolis to Boston and a couple of the passengers helped out the flight attendants and subdued him. But what I loved was this happy ending:

>>Hayden's wife [Hayden was one of the passengers who subdued the guy] of 42 years, Katie, who was also on the flight, was less impressed. Even as her husband struggled with the agitated passenger, she barely looked up from "The Richest Man in Babylon," the book she was reading.

"The woman sitting in front of us was very upset and asked me how I could just sit there reading," Katie Hayden said. "Bob's been shot at. He's been stabbed. He's taken knives away. He knows how to handle those situations. I figured he would go up there and step on somebody's neck, and that would be the end of it. I knew how that situation would end. I didn't know how the book would end."

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/06/05/graying_duo_keep_passenger_in_check/ger_in_check/

http://tinyurl.com/2n8bqc

SAILING TO THRILLERFEST!

I am thrilled to be going to ThrillerFest 2007 in 8 weeks - but I'm just flying up to NY from south Florida. Ho hum.

Author Christine Kling had a better idea. She's sailing from Fort Lauderdale to ThrillerFest! She's trying to leave this weekend via Grand Bahama Island if the winds behave, otherwise she'll head up on the Intracoastal. Either way, she's going to be blogging about her trip, posting pictures along the way, and also working on her new stand alone thriller so she'll be blogging about that too. Check it out: http://www.sailblogs.com/member/kling/

Pick up a copy of her latest book, WRECKER'S KEY, where heroine Seychelle Sullivan finds some danger on the high seas....

As Chris likes to say, Fair Winds!

THRILLERFEST - FOR FREE!?!

Are you a debut author with a book out in 2007 or 2008? Would you love to attend ThrillerFest 2007 in New York City but haven't quite figured out how to pay for it?

ITW is offering two scholarships for debut authors to attend ThrillerFest 2007 in New York City July 11-15. The scholarship is for the conference registration fee, CraftFest, and the Thriller Awards Dinner. Lodging and transportation is not offered as part of the scholarship.

CRITERIA: You must have a book published or scheduled for publication in 2007 or 2008 by an ITW recognized publisher. You do not have to be an ITW member to apply.

To apply, you must send the following information to the Scholarship Committee Chair, Allison Brennan at allison@allisonbrennan.com:

NameContact information (address, phone number and email)
Pen Name (if any)
Book Title
Publisher
Editor
Release date (tentative is okay)
Brief synopsis (one page or less)
Essay telling the committee in 500 words or less why you would like to attend ThrillerFest and what you hope to gain from the experience.

All submissions are blind. Only the committee chair will have the identity of the author; the synopsis and essay will be sent "blind" to the committee for review and discussion. The deadline for applications is May 31, 2007. The two scholarship winners will be notified by June 7, 2007. If you have any questions, please email the committee chair at allison@allisonbrennan.com.

THE OVERLOOK

Michael Connelly's latest is just proof that good things come in small packages. Reviewed on the webiste (hint: it's fabulous!) here are some bonuses for after you've read it --

Extra goodies - Connelly posted an additional chapter - a new last chapter, if you will, on his website. But don't go reading it until after you've read the book! SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!
http://www.michaelconnelly.com/Bonus/bonus.html

Now this is really fun. The publisher has come up with some cool stuff too - since the investigation never leaves one page of the Thomas Guide map, they created a trivia game.
And here's some language that might help you out: Explore the scene of the crime as The Overlook by Michael Connelly jumps off the map. Test your Los Angeles knowledge and earn your LAPD rank!
http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/features/overlook/overlook.html

Have fun!

Q & A WITH ALAFAIR BURKE

BookBitch: You are following in some mighty big footsteps - your father, James Lee
Burke, is one of the most talented authors being published today. Did you find it more challenging or intimidating to venture into his field, and how has he been supportive of your efforts?

Alafair Burke: I didn’t even consider my relationship with my father when I was writing my first book. Then when the book was about to be published, it dawned on me that people would obviously make the connection. I dreaded a deluge of readers demanding their money back because my books weren’t set in the bayou. Fortunately, my work is so different from my father’s that people realize straightaway I’m doing my own thing. Both of my parents are delighted that I’m writing, but my father’s support, like my mother’s, is parental and not specifically as a writer. I’m grateful for that.

BB: Michael Connelly and Robert Crais tend to hide oblique references to one another's books within their own books. Laura Lippman claims she hides references to Robert B. Parker's books within her own. Your new book, Dead Connection, has a thinly veiled reference to the main character that is in most of your father's books, and let's face it, you share your name with one
of his characters. Do you think your father will be referencing your characters in any of his books? Do you see this as an ongoing or one time only thing?

AB: I have tremendous fun with all of the crime fiction cross references. I was so delighted to see that in Lee Child’s new book, Jack Reacher spends two nights with a Portland prosecutor named Samantha, a reference to my earlier series character, Samantha Kincaid.

In past books, I’ve referred to Jack Reacher and Harry Bosch. In Dead Connection, Ellie Hatcher notices a woman reading Laura Lippman’s To the Power of Three. I hadn’t planned on bringing my father’s character, Dave Robicheaux, into Dead Connection. But when Ellie needed to contact a law enforcement officer in New Iberia, it only made sense that it should be Dave. After so many years of reading my father write the fictional Alafair Robicheaux, writing Dave’s voice was a blast.

I have no idea if the cross-over will ever happen again. Can you imagine Dave Robicheaux in New York? What a great story.


BB: Dead Connection focuses on a rather deadly Internet dating service. I understand that you met your husband online and indeed, the dedication reads, "For Sean Simpson, I can't believe I found you on a computer". Do you believe that Internet dating is more of a danger or a great way of making a love connection? What do you think about non-dating sites like MySpace that have been instrumental in getting people together? Is this the way to meet people in 2007?

AB: When I first met Sean, I was mortified when people would ask how we met. Now I just answer the question because I know how common internet dating has become. Meeting people online, whether for dating or for socializing ala MySpace, etc., is no more dangerous than the old-fashioned stuff, as long as people are conscientious. The risks aren’t inherent in the internet; they’re inherent when people let their guards down. A street-smart woman, for example, would never think to wander off to an unknown location with a stranger, but people forget that the charming emails they receive online are from total strangers. It’s just like we tell our kids – don’t get in another person’s car even if they say they know Mommy. Well, the internet makes it easy for people to lie about who they are. Because we’re being optimistic about our chances of finding friendship or love, we adults don’t always follow our own lessons once we’re online. That’s why I had to write about the dangers, even though it all worked out beautifully for me.

BB: I've read that you wrote the Samantha Kincaid series about a District Attorney in Oregon because of that old adage, write about what you know, and you share that same background with her. But your new book doesn't go near a courtroom and your main character is a New York City cop. With three books under your belt, were you feeling more confident about spreading your wings and writing about something outside your frame of reference? Where
did you get your inspiration for this character?

AB: I’m still writing what I know. The internet dating plot in Dead Connection grew directly out of my own experience. I live in New York now and wanted to write something set here. And I know police procedure and cop culture. I worked out of a precinct as a prosecutor for two years and taught search and seizure and use of force law to police. Even though the professional resemblance to Samantha is more obvious, Ellie Hatcher carries more of my personal story. Like me, she was raised in Wichita, Kansas, and a large part of her backstory is her decision to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a police officer.

BB: This is probably not a question you get every day, but as a New Yorker I have to ask. I understand that you live in Manhattan, and teach law at Hofstra University on Long Island. That makes for a most unusual commute; city-to-suburb rather than the more typical suburb-to-city. Do you enjoy your commute or is it work time? Do you ever see yourself leaving the city and moving to the island? Or is the goal to write full time and give up teaching?

AB: I’m that rare author who loves my day job. I have academic freedom, I get to teach, my colleagues are intellectually challenging, and I have time to write both legal scholarship and fiction. My one and only complaint is the dag nab commute, which I call my nemesis. But if a car ride is my only complaint in life, I really don’t have much to complain about, do I? I ease the pain with a mix of satellite radio, audio books, and my iPod. I try to look at it as an excuse to listen to whatever I want for two hours a day, a few days a week. However, if you see a woman with shoulder length brown hair shaking her fist at you on the LIE, it isn’t me.

Reprinted by Permission of Library Journal

Shh...Library launches sex hotline

VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- This isn't the typical whispering you might expect to hear at a library.
Vienna's City Hall has launched a "sex hotline" to raise money for the capital's main public library, officials said Tuesday.

It's unusual, but it's not particularly raunchy: Callers pay 39 euro cents (53 U.S. cents) a minute to listen to an actress read breathless passages from erotica dating to the Victorian era.
City Hall set up the hotline earlier this month to help the library raise cash for planned remodeling and expansion, Austrian media reported.

Anne Bennent, a famous Austrian stage and film star, reads passages from the Vienna library's collection of 1,200 works of erotic fiction from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, the library said.

Officials said the hotline would be operational through May 31.

And don't ask because I don't have the phone number - sorry!

I spent the day with Jonathan Santlofer!

Friday, April 20, 2007

If you haven't read my reviews then you may not know that I am enamored of this gifted artist and writer - and if you haven't read him, please do.

Jonathan was in Miami for Sleuthfest, the annual mystery writers' convention (more about Sleuthfest on the BookBitchBlog.) We met shortly before lunch, and got to chat a bit. While we were chatting, Jonathan got a phone call from his mom. She lives nearby and drove down with a friend to see him, so I got to meet her too.

Mrs. Santlofer is gorgeous, gregarious and smart. She told me that when Jonathan was about 7 years old, his teacher told her he would end up working in the arts. That was some smart teacher, and some smart mom. She encouraged his artistic talent, finding a summer program for him at Adelphi College when he was about 13 years old. He was the youngest student in the program, by far. Mrs. Santlofer told me that she almost fainted when she walked into the class to see him drawing a nude, from a live model! But she continued to encourage him, and said that her home is filled with his art, and his books.

Jonathan's wife did not accompany him on this trip, but you can hear the love and pride in his voice when he speaks of her, and his daughter. His wife is a former librarian turned food historian, and is hard at work on her own book. His daughter is also a writer with a dream job; she writes a fashion column for a popular New York magazine - she gets to shop, write about it, and get paid for it!

Jonathan told me he dreams of someday doing a graphic novel, but that his knowledge of computer graphics is limited so would have to draw all the illustrations by hand, a monumental endeavor, so that project remains just a dream, for now. His latest novel has over 100 hand drawn illustrations though, and he worked hand in hand with the publisher to get the pictures as he wanted them in the book. He actually drew several more, but only left in the illustrations that he felt furthered the plot. It is a unique and incredible book.

ATLANTA “Save the Book Review” READ-IN!

WHAT: ATLANTA Save the Book Review READ-IN! Bring a book (or many books!) you love, and let’s create a critical mass of readers to put the pressure on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to reverse its terrible decision to “reorganize” its book review out of existence! They got rid of the book review editor, and without an official champion for books within the paper, the quality of books coverage is endangered! It will become disorganized and sporadic, if not simply perfunctory, until, worse, it’s no longer there.

TIME: 10:00 AM until…you decide!

DATE: THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2007
*rain or shine

LOCATION: Converge in front of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Hold open your book and read aloud or to yourself. Trust me, you won’t be the only one. Picture hundreds of people doing the same thing! [*directions below]

WHO: Open to any and all readers and lovers of books and newspapers. Come one, come all Atlantans (or ATLiens), Georgians, and maybe even some of you hardcore out-of-staters.

WHY: Because the city of Atlanta wants a robust, reader-friendly, intelligent book review, not just a section run on auto-pilot from above. Teresa Weaver has created and run exactly this kind of section for almost ten years now and we want the AJC to reward her expertise, not eliminate her job.

Again, if you haven’t signed the "Protect Atlanta's Book Review " petition yet, here’s the link to it:

"Protect Atlanta's Book Review "

http://www.petitiononline.com/atl2007/petition.html

This week, the National Book Critics Circle’s launched a big campaign to help save book review sections in newspapers nationwide, and the momentum will continue next week. Read what authors, critics, and many other voices in the world of books and publishing have been saying about the issue.

http://bookcriticscircle.blogspot.com/

Thank so much for your support, and PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD.


Bet you never thought of book reviews in terms of the endangered species list!

Los Angeles Times Book Prize winners

LOS ANGELES, April 28 (UPI) -- The winners of the 2006 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes were announced at UCLA, with the Robert Kirsch award going to William Kittredge.

The Kirsch award is considered one of the Times' most prestigious awards and is given to a writer who has made a distinguished contribution to American letters, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

Other awards given out at the ceremony, hosted by author and PBS anchor Jim Lehrer, went to:

Israeli novelist A.B. Yehoshua for "A Woman in Jerusalem"

Neal Gabler for "Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination"

Lawrence Wright for "The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11"

Ian Buruma's "Murder in Amsterdam: The Death of Theo van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance"

Michael Connelly for "Echo Park"

Each prize included a $1,000 cash award.

Also the Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction went to Alice Greenway for "White Ghost Girls" and the poetry award went to Frederick Seidel for "Ooga-Booga."

ELAINE VIETS BOOKSIGNING
a letter from Joann Sinchuk of Murder on the Beach

Dear Customers and Friends,

As you may have heard, Elaine Viets had a stroke two weeks ago. Recovering from emergency brain surgery, Elaine is not able to tour for her new book in the Dead End Job series, Murder with Reservations. So I, and some local authors, are stepping in to maintain her book tour and hopefully keep her book sales up.

The book launch party for Murder with Reservations will go on as planned on Wednesday May 2 at 7 pm at Murder on the Beach. Instead of hearing Elaine speak, we will have a panel discussion with Barbara Parker, PJ Parrish, Rhonda Pollero, Randy Rawls, and Prudy Taylor Board on the Dead End Job series. I will be moderating.

Please mark the date on your calendar and plan to attend. We will be serving refreshments. Vicki Landis will be bringing a cake. Randy, we have enough Killian's. And we will serve the wine from the vineyard owned by Oceanview Publishing that I won in the raffle at Sleuthfest. The Sun-Sentinel and the Delray News are running stories about the signing-by-proxy.
See you on Wednesday May 2 at 7 pm.

Joanne Sinchuk
Murder on the Beach Bookstore
Pineapple Grove Way
273 Ne 2nd Ave
Delray Beach, FL 33444
Phone: 561-279-7790
Winter Hours: Mon - Sat 10-6, Sun 12-5.

MWA Announces 2007 Edgar Award Winners

Mystery Writers of America is proud to announce the winners of the2007 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television and film published or produced in 2006.

BEST NOVEL: The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR: The Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson (Random House)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL: Snakeskin Shamisen by Naomi Hirahara(Bantam Dell)

BEST FACT CRIME: Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson(HarperCollins)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL: The Science of Sherlock Holmes: From Baskerville Hall to the Valley of Fearby E.J. Wagner (John Wiley & Sons)

BEST SHORT STORY: "The Home Front" Death Do Us Part by Charles Ardai(Hachette Book Group)

BEST JUVENILE: Room One: A Mystery or Two by Andrew Clements(Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)

BEST YOUNG ADULT: Buried by Robin Merrow MacCready(Penguin YR)

BEST PLAY: Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure by Steven Dietz(Arizona Theatre Company)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY: Life on Mars; Episode 1, Teleplay by Matthew Graham (BBC America)

BEST TELEVISION FEATURE/MINI-SERIES TELEPLAY: The Wire, Season 4, Teleplays by Ed Burns, Kia Corthron, DennisLehane, David Mills, Eric Overmyer, George Pelecanos, Richard Price, David Simon & William F. Zorzi (Home Box Office)

BEST MOTION PICTURE SCREENPLAY: The Departed, Screenplay by William Monahan(Warner Bros. Pictures)

First Crime Novel Competition Announced During Edgar Awards Week

NEW YORK, April 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Daniel J. Hale, Executive
Vice President of Mystery Writers of America (MWA), and Andrew Martin, Vice
President and Publisher of St. Martin's Minotaur, today announced the first
annual St. Martin's Minotaur/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel
Competition.

This contest provides a previously unpublished writer an opportunity to
launch his or her career with a major mystery imprint, St. Martin's
Minotaur. The winner will receive a one-book, $10,000 contract.

The competition will be officially announced during MWA's April 2007
Edgar(R) Award festivities by Mr. Martin. Entries will be accepted
immediately through December 15, 2007. The winner will be recognized at the
2008 Edgar Awards banquet, and his or her novel published in 2009.
"We at Mystery Writers of America are excited to partner with St.
Martin's Minotaur in offering this terrific opportunity to get an
unpublished writer's career off the ground... way off the ground!" said Mr.
Hale.

Mr. Martin commented, "For more than 60 years MWA has been recognized
as the preeminent organization devoted to the craft of writing mysteries
and crime fiction. For more than 50 years, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur
have been a publishing well-spring of award-winning crime fiction. Now we
come together to discover great new talent. Only one question: What took us
so long? I'm thrilled to begin this exciting new program with MWA and can't
wait to announce our first winner at next year's Edgar Award ceremony."

The competition is open to any writer who has never been the author of
a published novel. Details, rules and specific guidelines on eligibility,
as well as entry forms, are available at the St. Martin's Minotaur website:
http://www.minotaurbooks.com.

Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is the premier organization for
mystery writers, professionals allied to the crime writing field, aspiring
crime writers, and those who are devoted to the genre:
http://www.mysterywriters.org.

St. Martin's Minotaur is an imprint of St. Martin's Press which
launched in 1999 and which publishes 130 hardcover crime fiction titles a
year. St. Martin's Minotaur grew out of a fifty-year tradition of
publishing quality crime fiction at St. Martin's Press.

St. Martin's Press is part of Holtzbrinck Publishers, the U.S.
publishing group owned by Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GMBH of
Stuttgart, Germany.

GUEST BLOGGER: RON BLOCK ON "MUCH ADO ABOUT BOOKS"

I am so excited to introduce my very first guest blogger, Ron Block. Ron works for the Jacksonville Public Library but prior to that, he was my boss (poor guy - but he did survive and he's all the stronger for it!) I miss him dearly, and was supposed to go visit last weekend and attend Jacksonville's famed book fair, Much Ado About Books, but I had to cancel at the last minute. Ron was kind enough to write about his day at the book fair. Great job, Ron, and thanks!

Much Ado About Books
Prime Osborn Convention Center
Jacksonville, Florida
April 21, 2007

http://www.muchadoaboutbooks.com/

I had the privilege to be able to attend the 11th annual book festival in Jacksonville. Viewing the line up of authors and programs, I thought this would prove to be a great event.

As a fan and friend of Stacy Alesi, (www.bookbitch.com), I was especially excited to have her join me to show off the Jacksonville literary community and also to use her to brush closer to the authors I knew she has already befriended(Ok, I am a celebrity hound and never miss an opportunity to get near them, while still trying to look cool and unfazed).

Unfortunately, Stacy was unable to attend, so I had to put my dark glasses and hat away and attend the festival as a normal booklover.

When I arrived, I was surprised to find so many people attending. I quickly checked out the location board and planned my attack. First up was a trip to the author tables. They were laid out in a huge rectangle and I decided to just scout out the talent. There were authors signing their book in abundance! They included authors works in Chick Lit, Florida travel and history, Children’s Literature, Romance, Fiction, Thrillers and Mysteries. As I walked toward the back the names got bigger and bigger…Steve Berry, Sandra Brown, Alex Kava, Tim Dorsey, James Grippando, Joseph (Call me “Joe”) Finder, Lee Child, Luanne Rice and Brad Meltzer. If only Stacy were with me, I would have jumped behind the tables and had my picture taken with them, helped them sell books and protect them from other stalkers!

After I began to breathe again, I went to a panel discussion featuring Alex Kava, Joe Finder and David Hagberg. This seemed an odd grouping, but the moderator started things off on a light note by injecting a lot of humor into the introductions and as the time passed the authors shared a wealth of information about their research methods, writing style, backgrounds and convinced me that I should begin that long awaited novel writing career right away. This panel easily could have been the featured panel of the day. When it was time to wrap it up, neither the standing-room only audience (including Lee Child and Steve Berry-how psyched was I???) nor the panel wanted to leave the room.

My only complaint about the day thus far was the luncheon that was served in the main room ahead of the featured panel. It was a lame attempt at a chicken salad already set up on every table and a dessert. There was no telling how long it had been there-but it was easily pushed aside to focus on the main event. The stage was huge with dual rock concert sized screens on either side so even the little people in the back could get a close look. I was expecting Barry Manilow to come out!

The program began with speeches from representatives of the Library Foundation and Local Government, followed by a charming presentation to local students who had entered an won a “Young Writer’s Award” presented in several different categories.

When the Young Writer’s had received their award and had their picture taken, Pat Yack, the Editor of the Florida Times-Union, took to the podium and introduced the featured author panel of Luanne Rice, Sandra Brown and Brad Meltzer. He did a bang up job interjecting his laid back North Florida/South Georgia style to really make the panel feel at home and make the setting feel very intimate.

After a few microphone mishaps, the panel got to answer some prepared questions from Pat. These included many standards such as what clothes they wear while writing, how much time do they write each day, etc. There were later a few very pointed questions as well that I took special notice of.

Luanne Rice relayed a wonderful story about her father’s contributions during WWII and while researching it for her new book, got to feel closer than ever to her father who had died not long ago. Sandra Brown (who is even more beautiful than her book covers suggest) displays an easy laid back Texan charm sure to win her instant friends and fans told a great story about cooking chili (the only thing she knows how to cook) for famous southern author Pat Conroy-I can’t imagine how interesting and amazing that pairing must have been!

If Brad Meltzer ever wants to take on another career, he can easily slide into stand up comedy. His quick wit and self deprecating delivery made him a huge crowd pleaser. When the moderator had to step away to check on additional microphone problems, Brad decided to interview himself to fill the gap:

“Brad, how DID you get to be so handsome?”

“Well, Brad, it’s all in the genes.”

The crowd of over 600 ate it up. He then went on to describe how his largest demographic sales turn out to be in Boca Raton, Florida - his mother. He credits her with single handedly getting him on the map down there and being his biggest fan. How else could someone edge out sales in huge cities like New York and Los Angeles!

Following the panel, the authors signed copies of their books and took a lot of time talking to attendees. The afternoon was full of writing workshops which generated a lot of positive feedback and buzz for next year, but I could not go. I was in greater need of a Bombay Sapphire Martini…

All in all, this event has gotten better and better each year. The caliber of authors has steadily grown as well as overall attendance. At this rate Much Ado About Books will soon sit alongside it’s bigger siblings in New York and Miami, but with a more laidback style.

Great Job, Jacksonville Public Library Foundation!

Ron Block

The Dying Art of the Book Review?
Is this even possible? What is going on in this country?

First I read this post on DorothyL this morning:

"Of even more concern is this news from Oline Cogdill, a friend to DorothyL and one of the country's most important mystery reviewers:

... We have just undergone a redesign of our lifestyle/arts section and books space has been cut back. I will still be doing mysteries, for now, but it may not be as many books per week as in the past. in addition, thetribune co. just got sold so who knows. bad times for newspapers....on that cherry note... Oline

Oline works for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel but her reviews are syndicated to papers all over the country. Letter writers man (or woman) your writing implement! Con Lehane"

and this afternoon, I received this press release from the National Book Critics Circle, of which I am a member:

April 23, 2007

Last week, the Los Angeles Times folded its book review section into an opinion section, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution eliminated its book review position. Not a good week for book criticism, but not a surprising one, either: in the past few years, newspapers from the Chicago Tribune to the Dallas Morning News to the Village Voice have seen book coverage shrink.

The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) is not taking these developments lying down. This week, in an effort to support book reviews, book editors, book pages, and book culture, the NBCC is launching a Campaign to Save Book Reviews. During the last week in April and throughout the month of May, the NBCC is asking authors and editors, journalists and publishers—and in fact anyone interested in literary culture—to speak out on the value of books and book reviewing.

The campaign’s launch pad is an effort to save the book review position at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, held until last week by Teresa Weaver. Explains NBCC president John Freeman, “Teresa has the opportunity to apply for a job within the company, but it's not clear what the fate of the book page will be—whether it'll be reassigned to an existing editor, whether it will go entirely to wire copy, or whether it will be removed altogether.”

A petition to save Weaver’s job has already secured nearly a thousand signatures, including those from luminaries as varied as Michael Connelly, Richard Powers, and Ian Rankin. Those interested in signing should go to
http://www.petitiononline.com/atl2007/petition.html.

Throughout the campaign, Critical Mass, the NBCC’s blog, will feature Q&As, posts by concerned writers, and advice on petitioning the media to assure continued book coverage. Current posts include a lengthy Q&A with David L. Ulin, editor of the Los Angeles Times Book Review.

Checkout http://bookcriticscircle.blogspot.com/ to join in our efforts and to track developments in this ongoing and important campaign.The National Book Critics Circle, founded in 1974, is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization consisting of nearly 700 active book reviewers nationwide who are interested in honoring quality writing and communicating with one another about common concerns. It is managed by a 24-member all-volunteer board of directors.

For more information, please go to www.bookcritics.org.

For questions, contact Barbara Hoffert, hoffer@reedbusiness.com or646-746-6806.