Guest Blogger: LISA BLACK

This week, forensic scientist and author Lisa Black answers a question we have all asked ourselves: why are there so many people in uniforms just standing around at any crime scene or accident?

First of all, any scene serious enough to warrant crime scene tape will have one officer there to record who enters the scene and who leaves, and when. That is their entire job. They can’t perform other duties and be absolutely sure about personnel going back and forth at the same time. Also officers will be stationed, one in front, one in back (at a minimum) to make sure no unauthorized person enters the scene. Otherwise an attorney will say someone snuck into the scene and planted the evidence that implicates their innocent client. If you are that client, you want that scene secured. In other words, once we leave we cannot come back, so these officers will remain there until we have done everything we think might possibly need to be done, which could be hours to days. The PIO may be gathering information to give to the press. The traffic homicide investigator willl be noting skid marks and taking measurements. Then you have people like me, who spend a lot of time walking out to my vehicle and back to get various pieces of equipment as I need them. I may be waiting for a co-worker to finish videotaping before I go inside to photograph, during which time they will wait outside for me. I may be waiting for a co-worker to bring some unforeseen piece of equipment from the station. We could all be waiting for a search warrant, which, though detectives will tell you they’ll have it in twenty minutes, always takes several hours. We also have to wait for the Medical Examiner’s Office investigator to arrive before we can touch or move the body. The crime scene is our jurisdiction, the body is theirs, and they cover three counties, so if they’re having a busy day we have to work around their schedule, almost always an hour or more. Higher-ups may arrive in order to do what they should do: get their butts out into the field to see what their subordinates are doing. Almost always they are disciplined enough not to enter the scene if it is not necessary, so they will be standing out by the road. Yes, some may be those who simply wanted to get out of the office or those who feel the need to stick their nose in to everything, but believe it or not, that’s fairly rare.

So yes, as in any aspect of human life, a large part of crime scene or accident work means standing around and waiting.



Lisa Black’s fourth book Defensive Wounds was released by Harper Collins on September 27. Forensic scientist Theresa MacLean battles a serial killer operating at an attorney’s convention. Lisa is a full time latent print examiner and CSI for a police department in Florida.

Visit Lisa Black online

Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn

Really excited about this new book! And you should be too - you can win your own copy!

THE KITCHEN COUNTER COOKING SCHOOL: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks is essentially “What Not to Wear” meets Michael Pollan. Inspired by a supermarket encounter with a woman loading up on processed foods, Le Cordon Blue graduate, and author of The Sharper Your Knife the Less You Cry, Kathleen Flinn decided to use her recent culinary training to help a group of nine culinary novitiates find their inner cook. These students invited Kathleen into their kitchens where she took inventory of each person’s refrigerator, cabinets and eating habits. After kitchen “makeovers” and a series of basic lessons where they learned to wield knives, trust their taste and improve their food choices, the women found a common missing ingredient—confidence. In this new book, Flinn follows these women’s journeys and includes practical, healthy tips to boost readers’ culinary confidence, strategies to get the most from their grocery dollar and simple recipes to get readers cooking.

Now this gets interesting...Kat Flinn has her own YouTube channel with some really great videos. Check out the official book trailer.

Demo and shopping tips videos: Learn knife skills, vinaigrette lesson, and how to make Pasta Pomodoro for example. Check out Flinn’s YouTube Channel for more!

Finally, check out the author's website for recipes and more.

To win your own copy of the Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn, just send an email to contest@gmail.com, with "KITCHEN COUNTER" as the subject. Make sure to include your name and mailing address in the US or Canada only. This contest is only going to run for a week, so your odds of winning are pretty good - if you enter by Columbus Day, Oct. 10, 2011!

More good deals on ebooks

Harper Perennial is offering 20 ebooks for less than $20, or just $.99 each. There is more information on their Facebook page, but I can tell you that the ebooks are available for the month of August at all major ebook retailers like Amazon.com and BN.com, and also at independent booksellers. They also posted more info on their Olive Reader Blog, with the added incentive of having a place for you to ask for recommendations if you're not sure which book you want. But frankly, at that price, I'd buy them all!

Finally, I saved the best news for last. Harper is also running a promotion on Facebook where you can enter to win a $20 gift card for the e-reader of your choice!

Prize Eligibility: Only persons residing in United States who are at least 15 years of age can enter.
Sweepstakes Starts: August 03, 2011 @ 08:00 am (EDT)
Sweepstakes Ends: August 10, 2011 @ 05:00 pm (EDT)

Lisa Unger giveaway!

BookBitch regulars know that Lisa Unger is one of my favorite authors (and favorite people, for that matter!) So I am delighted to share a giveaway that Lisa is doing. Here's all the info:

One lucky reader will win...

Set of signed/first edition hardcovers.
$100 giftcard from a bookseller of your choice.
e-Reader of your choice.

DARKNESS, MY OLD FRIEND goes on sale in one week!
If you pre-order now, and let Lisa know you did, she will enter you in a contest that she's been running on Facebook. You can also email. August 9th, Lisa will draw a winner for an e-Reader, set of signed/first edition hardcovers and $100 bookseller giftcard.

ANGEL FIRE also re-releases in one week!
Lisa's first novel (writing as Lisa Miscione, her maiden name.) And it is currently available to pre-order for just $0.99 (limited time offer for ebook version from Random House).

NATIONAL SATELLITE RADIO & BOOK TOUR
Lisa will be heading out on the road next week, and really looks forward to seeing a lot of you in person! Everything kicks off on August 9th, so please check her events page for the most up to date details.

Win FALLEN by Karin Slaughter!

A couple of weeks ago, I was in New York City for the International Thriller Writers annual event, ThrillerFest. I had a blast, and tweeted my way through #ThrillerFest. I was really excited to learn that Karin Slaughter was being presented with the ITW Silver Bullet award.

Hailed by critics as “one of the best crime novelists in America” (The Washington Post), #1 internationally bestselling author Karin Slaughter’s signature trademark is her ability to weave unrelenting suspense and provocative human drama into unforgettable stories. Her latest novel FALLEN combines these two elements with razor-sharp precision into a tale of a cop willing to go to extreme lengths to save her family.

Off the page, Slaughter is going to extreme lengths of her own to save our libraries. She is passionately spearheading a multi-faceted fundraising initiative called Save the Libraries (www.SaveTheLibraries.com) to help raise community awareness and support for the needs of public libraries.

Slaughter has long used her writing as a means of social commentary and to explore crucial issues such as prejudices against those with disabilities, racial divides, corruption, and failings in our correctional and justice systems. In FALLEN, these issues are paramount as Will Trent, Sara Linton and Faith Mitchell return and must confront the “thin blue line” that hides police corruption, bribery, even murder. The personal and the criminal collide, and conflicted loyalties threaten to destroy reputations and ruin lives as they search for truth in all its complexities.

The fiscal crisis the entire American Library system is facing: for nearly 85% of children living in rural areas, libraries provide their only access to books outside of school. For urban children, libraries are often their only safe haven to grow and learn. According to the American Library Association, library use increased 23% from 2006-2009, but the 2012 federal budget proposal will cut $20 million from library funding.

The pilot Save the Libraries event at the Dekalb County Public Library in her home state of Georgia, which, with fellow bestselling authors and long time library advocates Kathryn Stockett and Mary Kay Andrews, raised over $50,000 for the 25-branch library.

If you would like to win a copy of FALLEN, just send an email to contest@gmail.com, with "FALLEN" as the subject. Make sure to include your name and mailing address in the US or Canada only. This contest is only going to run for a week, so your odds of winning are pretty good - if you enter by August 3, 2011!


Karin Slaughter is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of eleven thrillers, including Broken, Undone, Fractured, Beyond Reach, Triptych, and Faithless. She is a native of Georgia.

Authors Academy at Murder on the Beach

First Workshop Saturday, June 11

Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore Presents:

The Authors Academy
Writing Workshops for Tomorrow's Authors

Saturday July 16 from 10am - Noon.

What a Character! Creating and Developing Characters that Withstand the Test of Time.
An interactive workshop that will explore the different roles characters play, how to create and develop them, and what makes them memorable. Hands-on exercises involving building your own characters and making them come alive through complexity, consistency, appropriate dialogue, and "show versus tell" techniques.


Instructor: Sharon Potts
Sharon Potts is the award-winning author of In their Blood and Someone's Watching, suspense novels about ordinary people in extraordinary situations set in South Florida. Her work received the 2010 Benjamin Franklin Award for best mystery/suspense novel, as well as a starred review in Publishers Weekly. A former teacher-turned-CPA-turned-business-exec-turned-writer, Sharon is currently VP of the Florida chapter of Mystery Writers of America.

Workshop cost: $25 per person.

And coming up:
Sat Jul 23 You Are There: How to use setting to shape your characters and drive your story forward.
Sat Jul 30 Stay on the Yellow Brick Road: Keep your story from wandering.

Sessions are held at Murder on the Beach Bookstore, 273 NE 2nd Ave, in Delray Beach. The charge for each session is $25 per person for a two hour workshop. Reservations are required. Cash, Check, Mastercard, Visa, Discover and American Express accepted.

Reservations: 561-279-7790 or murdermb@gate.net

Live video chat with Elin Hilderbrand!

On Wednesday, July 27 at 3 p.m. ET, come to BookTrib.com and celebrate summer with style! We are having the “Queen of the Summer Novel” herself, Elin Hilderbrand, for an online e-vent with live video chat to celebrate the release of her absolutely fabulous, New York Times-bestselling novel SILVER GIRL!

Elin will discuss SILVER GIRL, Nantucket, and answer your questions! Fifteen lucky party-goers will win an exclusive Silver Girl tote bag courtesy of The Elegant Setting along with an autographed copy of the book. Below are details and more about SILVER GIRL.

THE “QUEEN OF THE SUMMER NOVEL” IS BACK!

“Another winner from Hilderbrand….A sensitive and suspenseful tale.” —Booklist

“Longtime fans and newcomers alike will delight in this timely, touching story of loss, love, friendship and forgiveness.” —Publishers Weekly

Recommended by the Los Angeles Times and Orlando Sentinel as a perfect beach book!

With several bestsellers under her belt and over a million copies of her books sold to an ever growing audience, Elin Hilderbrand has established herself as the go-to writer for expertly plotted, gorgeous summer novels. However, don’t be mistaken: Hilderbrand may write against the backdrop of a blistering Nantucket summer, but her books are anything but fluff. She brings complicated, fully realized women to life, making each book moving and full of dramatic truths, while also presenting each as a scorching page-turner. Never has that been more evident than in SILVER GIRL (Reagan Arthur Books / Little, Brown 6/21/11), Hilderbrand’s highly anticipated new novel.

Meet Meredith Delinn, a woman whose husband has cheated rich investors out of billions of dollars and, in the process, humiliated Meredith so fully that she’s lost everything: her friends, her homes—even contact with her beloved sons. More down-and-out than she ever thought possible, Meredith reaches out to the only person she has left: her oldest friend, Constance Flute. Despite a painful rift between the women, Constance, who is herself mourning the loss of her adored husband, can’t turn her back on Meredith and takes her to Nantucket to hide—and to heal. When it seems as if the present is too difficult to endure, Constance and Meredith revisit their shared history. A surprise visit from Toby, Constance’s brother and Meredith’s high school sweetheart, forces Meredith to confront both her present and her former self, and decide who it is she will become in the aftermath of her personal tragedy. Amid the salty sea air and sandy dunes, both women must learn how to forgive each other, and themselves. In SILVER GIRL, Hilderbrand has added depth and humanity to a character we thought we already knew, and has crafted a suspenseful story of friendship, love, and the power of forgiveness.


Elin Hilderbrand lives on Nantucket with her husband and their three children. She grew up in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and is an enthusiastic Philadelphia Eagles fan. She has traveled extensively through six continents but loves no place better than Nantucket, where she enjoys hogging, cooking, and watching her sons play Little League Baseball. Hilderbrand is a graduate of Johns Hopkins university and the graduate fiction workshop at the University of Iowa.

The 2011 Duffer Awards: Legendary Characters. Ridiculous Awards!

For the month of June, AlafairBurke.com will host the first annual Duffer Awards. Each day she will post a new poll featuring two beloved characters.

Post a comment beneath your vote, and you'll be automatically entered to win weekly prizes including signed copies of Alafair's books and $50 gift certificates to your favorite bookseller.

And while you're there, read about her new book, Long Gone, coming out June 24th and available for preorder.

Follow up on Joplin - please help!

The Joplin Public Library has established a fund to assist the ten employees
who lost their homes and were injured during the tornado. Please send checks
to the Joplin Public Library Staff Relief Fund, c/o Jacque Gage, Joplin
Public Library, 300 South Main Street, Joplin MO 64801. The library is on
Facebook at www.facebook.com/joplinpubliclibrary and messages of support are
appreciated.

The Missouri Southern State University Foundation has also established a
fund to assist faculty, staff and students who lost their homes and were
injured during the tornado. You can donate online at www.mssu.edu then click
on Giving, or by check to Missouri Southern Foundation, 3950 East Newman
Road, Joplin MO 64801. Please write: Tornado Emergency Relief Fund on the
memo line of the check.

The Joplin Public Schools were very hard hit by the tornado. Seven students
and one staff member were killed, and many have lost their homes and were
injured. Three schools, including the high school, were completely
destroyed; three schools were severely damaged, two schools have possible
roof damage, and several district support facilities were damaged. The
school district has also established a relief fund. You can donate at any
U.S. Bank in the country or send checks to Joplin Schools Tornado Relief
Fund, Attn: Kim Vann, 102 North Gray Avenue, Joplin MO 64801. You can follow
the Joplin Schools recovery on their web site at www.joplink12.mo.us.

St. John's Regional Medical Center was severely damaged by the tornado and
six people were killed. Many hospital employees lost their homes and were
injured. The medical librarian and her family are safe and unhurt. The
hospital has already established a temporary facility to continue to treat
patients. You can donate to Mercy Co-Worker Tornado Relief online at
www.mercy.net/#search-mercy and click on Donate Now.

Please help the Joplin Public Library

I received this email today, forwarded from the American Library Association. I want to share it in case anyone out there is trying to find a way to help. Sometimes people send money to organizations like the Red Cross, which is always a good thing, but if you would like to help on a more personal level, maybe this is good place to do that.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jacque Gage
Date: Tue, May 24, 2011 at 10:56 AM
Subject: [Mpld] Joplin
To: MPLD


JPL in a kind of nutshell:


Again, the library received NO DAMAGE. We are enough north of the storm area that our building is fine.

Of our staff, 8 completely lost homes. Two others sustained significant damage. Two employees sustained minor injuries -- one girl a broken arm -- one guy with thousands of abrasions on his back sustained when the place in which he took shelter collapsed.

The library is open normal hours today. We still have a skeleton crew, with some just not able to find clear routes to get to the library -- well, actually they could head west into Kansas and come around from the north, or east far enough to circle around and come in from the north..... but other staff has had no difficulties getting in.

Yesterday library usage was virtually non-existent, even for the computer lab. We've tried to get word out through the media and through every FB relief page we could find that we are open for cell phone/computer charging and have good internet connection. Today people are beginning to come in for computer use. We have set up our labtop lab for overflow from the regular lab.

As far as library help, if the demand for computer access continues to grow, we might need some help preparing computers we have in stock to get them online. We have about 50 computers still in boxes that have arrived to replace older computers, but they are not formatted etc etc etc. If anyone is capable of this type activity and willing to, I can forward names to my IT person. She IS particular and volunteers would have to follow her directions on how she wants them set up...... :-)

Also, if library personnel from across the state were so inclined, if any financial support is sent to me in care of JPL, I will see that affected staff received this aid. 5 of the 8 who lost their homes are only employed part-time, including a single mom (with a now-broken arm and no medical ins) with kids, already struggling before this hit.

I have not personally seen the devastation except through pictures to which you all have access online. I live 40 miles north and have not a purpose to drive through the area. Despite my curiosity, I have stayed out of the way of workers. Those to whom I have spoken who HAVE seen it, say the pictures absolutely do NOT do justice to the situation. I can only fathom. The library is location on Main St. in the center of town. There are so many emergency vehicles running with lights and sirens blaring up and down Main St., it is incredible.

On another personal note, my 24 yr old daughter was working in ER at the remaining hospital during the tornado. She is still in shock from it. She has *almost* completed her radiology tech training and Freeman had hired her for PRN work. What she experienced is very much akin to wartime casualties. She has not worked in the medical field enough to have developed the thick skin needed, so it was really hard for her. I only heard her describe a couple cases, and just thinking about those with having my "baby" have to deal with them, hurts a mother's heart. I know she barely scratched the surface with those incidents, since Freeman was designated as a place for only life-threatening cases.......

Your prayers for the City and my daughter are appreciated. I may post updates from time to time on our FB page or through the MPLD list.


Jacque Gage, Director
Joplin Public Library
300 S. Main Street
Joplin, MO 64801
417.623.7953 - voice
417.625.4728 - fax
www.joplinpubliclibrary.org

Writing Workshops for Tomorrow's Authors

Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore Presents: The Authors Academy
Writing Workshops for Tomorrow's Authors

Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore will be sponsoring writers workshops for beginning to intermediate level writers on Saturday mornings throughout the Summer. Topics range from the fundamentals of writing, to getting the final book published. The eight instructors are all multi-published local authors with experience in writing, publishing and teaching, with almost 100 published books, and 20 writing awards among them.

Sessions are held at Murder on the Beach Bookstore, 273 NE 2nd Ave, in Delray Beach. The charge for each session is $25 per person for a two hour workshop. Register for all eight for $175, and get one free! Reservations are required.

The schedule is as follows:

Saturday June 11, 10am - Noon
Where Does Your Novel Start? Show me the story and I’ll show you the book.
Instructor: Randy Rawls, author of the Ace Edwards PI mysteries. www.randyrawls.com

Saturday June 25, 10am - Noon
From Idea To Novel. Plotting, the backbone of every book.
Instructor: Karen Kendall, author of Take Me For a Ride. www.karenkendall.com

Saturday July 16, 10am - Noon
What a Character! Creating and developing characters that withstand the test of time.
Instructor: Sharon Potts, author of Someone’s Watching. www.sharonpotts.com

Saturday July 23, 10am - Noon
It’s Not Just Scenery. How to use setting to build emotion and drive your story forward.
Instructor: Allison Chase, author of Outrageously Yours. www.allisonchase.com

Saturday July 30, 10am - Noon
Stay on the Yellow Brick Road. Keep your story from wandering.
Instructor: Jonathon King, author of Midnight Guardians. www.jonathonking.com

Saturday August 13, 10am - Noon
Point of View. Whose head are we in and why are we there?
Instructor: Diane A.S. Stuckart, author of the Leonardo da Vinci series.www.dianestuckart.com

Saturday September 10, 10am - Noon
How To Get Published. Learn what it takes to get your work published.
Instructor: Joanna Campbell Slan, author of Photo Snap Shot.www.joannacampbellslan.com

Saturday September 24, 10am - Noon
Finding an Agent. Query letters, synopses, and the pitch!
Instructor: Nancy J. Cohen, author of the Bad Hair Day mysteries. www.nancyjcohen.com


Contact Murder on the Beach Bookstore at 561-279-7790 or murdermb@gate.net.

2011 Edgar Allan Poe Awards

Mystery Writers of America is proud to announce the winners of the 2011 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2010. The Edgar® Awards were presented to the winners at our 65th Gala Banquet, April 28, 2011 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City.

BEST NOVEL

The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton (Minotaur Books)


BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

Rogue Island by Bruce DeSilva (Tom Doherty Associates – Forge Books)


BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

Long Time Coming by Robert Goddard (Random House - Bantam)


BEST FACT CRIME

Scoreboard, Baby: A Story of College Football, Crime and Complicity
by Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry (University of Nebraska Press – Bison Original)


BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and his
Rendezvouz with American History by Yunte Huang (W.W. Norton)


BEST SHORT STORY

"The Scent of Lilacs" – Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Doug Allyn (Dell Magazines)


BEST JUVENILE

The Buddy Files: The Case of the Lost Boy by Dori Hillestad Butler (Albert Whitman & Co.)


BEST YOUNG ADULT

Interrogation of Gabriel James by Charlie Price (Farrar, Straus, Giroux Books for Young Readers)


BEST PLAY

The Psychic by Sam Bobrick (Falcon Theatre – Burbank, CA)


BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY

“Episode 1” - Luther, Teleplay by Neil Cross (BBC America)


ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD

"Skyler Hobbs and the Rabbit Man" – Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
by Evan Lewis (Dell Magazines)


GRAND MASTER

Sara Paretsky


RAVEN AWARDS

Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore, Forest Park, Illinois
Once Upon A Crime Bookstore, Minneapolis, Minnesota


THE SIMON & SCHUSTER - MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
(Presented at MWA’s Agents & Editors Party on Wednesday, April 27, 2011)

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)


# # # #
The EDGAR (and logo) are Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by the Mystery Writers of America, Inc.

MACMILLAN TO LAUNCH PUBLISHER-NEUTRAL CRIME AND MYSTERY COMMUNITY WEBSITE

CRIMINAL ELEMENT (CriminalElement.com)

NEW YORK, NY, 4/26/2011--Macmillan announces the launch of a new crime and mystery-focused community website with a focus on sharing and enriching the experience of crime story fandom. Liz Edelstein, Senior Manager and editor at Macmillan Community Network, made the announcement, and said that the site will highlight different areas of the genre, from noir to cozies and everything in between.

The site will feature pre-release excerpts, original short stories from various authors in the space, topical blog posts, and will eventually be offering downloads and podcasts. It’s a place for fans of the genre to come together in one exciting online space. At launch there will be excerpts, original fiction and articles by authors Joseph Finder, Steve Hamilton, Rosemary Harris, Charles Ardai, Luis Alberto Urrea and more.

Much like its successful sister sites, science fiction community Tor.com and romance community HeroesandHeartbreakers.com, CriminalElement.com is "publisher neutral," meaning that it will include author participation from all publishers and other content creators, and is not exclusive to Macmillan authors.

“This is not a typical review or promotions site,” says Edelstein. “We think of CriminalElement.com as a community for fans, by fans, and the focus is on editorial content rather than on marketing.”

CriminalElement.com will have a social media presence on both Facebook and Twitter as well; visit www.facebook.com/crimehq and www.twitter.com/crimehq respectively.

With CriminalElement.com, Macmillan is leading the charge in creating a themed community for authors and fans to interact and share their love of crime fiction and nonfiction.

Original short story submissions and pre-release excerpts from authors at any publishing house or other interested parties are truly welcome. Those interested should contact Liz Edelstein at submissions@criminalelement.com

About Liz Edelstein, Senior Manager and editor, CriminalElement.com

Working in the intersection of the digital publishing revolution, Edelstein started her career in technology as a product manager at Netscape/AOL and later moved into online book marketing. Prior to taking on this latest role, Edelstein was the Digital Content and Marketing Manager at Macmillan Audio. Edelstein is also an award-winning author, having published thirteen romance novels under the pseudonym Liz Maverick. Edelstein and her books have been featured in USA Today, Cosmopolitan, San Francisco Magazine, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Toronto Star, and more.

For more information on CriminalElement.com, please contact Liz Edelstein [Liz.Edelstein@macmillan.com] or Sarah Melnyk [sarah.melnyk@stmartins.com]

Guest Blogger: ED LYNSKEY

Why I Titled My Latest Noir Lake Charles

Lake Charles, Tennessee, the setting, and title, of my Appalachian noir, doesn’t exist as far as I know. The manmade body of water is a product of my imagination. Later, I discovered there is a Lake Charles in Louisiana while I was reading a title in James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux series, either The Tin Roof Blowdown or The Glass Rainbow. But Charles just happens to be my middle name, and it fit nicely when I was looking for the name of my lake. Lake Charles takes place in the Great Smoky Mountains, where I’ve spent a fair amount of time.

Back when those “dirty hippies infested” the mountains (as one of the cranky locals told us) in the early 1970s, I hiked on the Appalachian Trail for 150 miles. We embarked on our long trek from Fontana Dam, a hydroelectric dam actually located in North Carolina. The Appalachian Trail spans the top of the lofty dam built by the TVA during the 1940s to generate cheaper electric power to the region. Anyway, the backed up lake submerged the mountain hamlet of Fontana. Learning this bit of trivia as a kid had a strong tug on my imagination.

The TVA also constructed my Lake Charles. But mine is impounded by an earthen dam that my hero, Brendan Fishback, observes is leaky and growing unstable. So, his regard for Lake Charles further dims. The marina where he puts in his bass boat was a happening spot—a lot of dancing, laughing, and smoking—with the youth of his parent’s generation. Not so much nowadays.

Brendan is freaked to find a putrid green scum covers the once pristine water’s surface. His friend Cobb voices their mutual contempt, declaring only carp can thrive in such a “cesspool,” and their hopes to catch any bass are dashed. A stubborn cuss, Brendan refuses to turn around and leave, as most visitors would do. He persuades Cobb how they should make a day of it. The fun-loving Cobb agrees, and with Brendan’s twin sister Edna racing on her jet ski, they head out to the middle of Lake Charles.

Brendan is besieged by vivid dreams, how he communicates with his girlfriend Ashleigh. She’s dead. He was arrested for her murder and then bailed out of prison. He wanted to forget his legal troubles and escape his disturbing dreams by getting away to Lake Charles. Unfortunately, the polluted body of water is a cursed lagoon where a person’s hard life can only turn harder.

Before the day is finished, Edna has disappeared on her jet ski. So, Brendan and Cobb decide to hunker down for the night and get up at dawn to launch their search for her. Late after they’ve fallen asleep, unseen combatants swarm and bushwhack them. First blood is shed when one bushwhacker is shot dead in the chest. The next morning, they deep six the corpse in the lake’s scummy depths, break camp, and slog along the thicketed shores.

By now, it’s obvious to the reader that only dire things can ensue from spending any time near Lake Charles. In the distance, Brendan sees the gray-black columns to forest blazes pluming the sky. He encounters no wildlife. All the prime hardwood has been lumbered. The sunken foundation to the homes of former residents warns him that they had better also desert Lake Charles while it’s still possible. An enterprising criminal has adopted the remote area to grow the illicit marijuana crop that sells quite well.

Once again, tragedy strikes Brendan. He then calls in Cobb’s father. Mr. Kuzawa, a Korean War vet, knows how to deal with the criminal element. They leave behind Lake Charles and the narratives shifts into an almost detective novel mode as they go track down Edna and pry Brendan off the hook for murder. As the noir’s title suggests, Lake Charles is still not yet done with Brendan. He can’t secure any real peace of mind without his final return despite his fervid vow to remain away from it.

Geography doesn’t usually play such an instrumental role in my novels. Lake Charles is my first book taking its title from a specific place. Whether this was a conscious decision in my writing strategy isn’t clear. The dying lake as a cancerous blight in an otherwise picturesque landscape provided a central theme to hang the narrative on. That’s how Appalachian noir works.



Ed Lynskey is the author of the P.I. Frank Johnson mystery series (including The Zinc Zoo out in 2011) as well as a small town cozy mystery, Quiet Anchorage, also now out.


Read the first chapter Lake Charles to learn more about the book and author.

Lake Charles is up for pre-order sales at Amazon Books.

THRILLERFEST NEWSFLASH

Ken Follett to teach at CraftFest.

Karin Slaughter to be awarded the 2011 Silver Bullet Award for her “Save the Libraries” program.

Joe McGinniss to receive the ITW True Thriller Award.

AgentFest to be the largest event of its kind in the world! Over 55 agents will join us this year!

ThrillerFest VI is less than 4 months away!

Joining us are 2011 ThrillerMaster R. L. Stine, 2010 ThrillerMaster Ken Follett, and Spotlight Authors Diana Gabaldon, John Lescroart, and Robert Crais.

Back at the Grand Hyatt in New York City from July 6-9th, 2011.

Get a terrific room rate at the Grand Hyatt of only $209.00 per night!! This room block is selling out, so make your reservations right away to ensure that you get this fabulous room rate. (You must be registered with the conference to receive this hotel room rate.)

Just call: 1-888-421-1442 to make a room reservation, or click on the link at www.ThrillerFest.com

Time is running out. Register now: www.ThrillerFest.com

Can't wait to see you there!