I liked the Calamity Jayne series and don't see it on here often.

I need to quit adding new authors and new series to my "let's hurry up and read right now" and go back and finish up some of my old series friends. As I flip through my notebooks (my bible of what I have read, am reading, and want to read) I have so many series that there is anywhere from 1-3 books that I haven't read to finish the series. Then there are series like McKevett's Savannah Reid that I have read 4 of the books and there are now 15--and quite truthfully I probably should go back and read those first 4 because I really don't remember the stories. My mind is willing but my flesh is weak and even though I tell myself to quit adding new books now I just can't help myself. I see someone's post and the book sounds good or I read a review in the paper and I'm adding that book to my library requests. Books are my addiction. I confess, my name is Denise and I am a bookaholic.

Denise wrote: "Melissa wrote: "I went thru some of the comments posted on this thread..and I dont think..anyone posted a comment about
G A McKevett. I have read one of her books and have a couple more on my shel..."

Denise, I understand about getting sidetracked. Thats whats happened with me. I have 3 (maybe 4?) of her books on my tbr shelf, and..I find myself trying to finish 5 books right now. lol
Im looking forward to reading more of G.A. McKevett books. :)

Denise wrote: "Melodie wrote: "Melissa wrote: "Melodie, What is the new Savannah Reid book called?.."

The new one for January is called ."

Is Wicked Craving ..."

Yes, it's the 15th.

Melodie wrote: "Melissa wrote: "Melodie, What is the new Savannah Reid book called?.."

The new one for January is called ."

Is Wicked Craving #15 in the series? I want to make sure I have them all listed.

Melissa wrote: "I went thru some of the comments posted on this thread..and I dont think..anyone posted a comment about
G A McKevett. I have read one of her books and have a couple more on my shelf. Has anyone read any of her books and what did you think of them?.."

I have read the first four of the Savannah Reid series. It has been a long time but as I remember they were okay but I just got sidetracked to other series and I haven't been back to McKevett. I have done this with several authors and need to go back and catch up or in some cases finish up the series that I have started.

Susan Conant's dog lovers mysteries (she wrote a fan letter to my Malamute once ;)

Tamar Myers Den of Antiquity (antiques) and her Penn-Dutch series

M.C. Beaton's Hamish McBeth and lesser known Agatha Raisin series

deb

Melodie wrote: "Melissa wrote: "Melodie, What is the new Savannah Reid book called?.."

The new one for January is called ."

Thanks Melodie!
I guess I better get this book wishlisted right away~

:)

Melissa wrote: "Melodie, What is the new Savannah Reid book called?.."

The new one for January is called .

Melodie wrote: "Melissa wrote: "I went thru some of the comments posted on this thread..and I dont think..anyone posted a comment about
G A McKevett. I have read one of her books and have a couple more on my shel..."

Melodie, What is the new Savannah Reid book called?
I havent read anything yet by Earlene Fowler or Susan Wittig Albert. Heard alot of nice things about their books, though!

Melissa wrote: "I went thru some of the comments posted on this thread..and I dont think..anyone posted a comment about
G A McKevett. I have read one of her books and have a couple more on my shelf. Has anyone re..."

Have read all the Savannah Reid books and am anxiously awaiting the next which comes out in January. I love all the characters, even Dirk, and reading one of those books is like visiting with old friends. I feel the same way about Earlene Fowler's Benni Harper series and Susan Wittig Albert's China Bayles series.

I went thru some of the comments posted on this thread..and I dont think..anyone posted a comment about
G A McKevett. I have read one of her books and have a couple more on my shelf. Has anyone read any of her books and what did you think of them?
The one that I read is called Just Desserts.

I'm going to try to resurrect this thread. I just went through my authors that I have read to answer another question. While going through my "old favorite" authors I realized that no one talks about Katherine Hall Page's Faith Fairchild series. I haven't read any of these for a while, the last one I read was #15 in the series, The Body in the Snowdrift A Faith Fairchild Mystery. Looks like I have three to catch up on. I notice that she has one out for Christmas this year called The Body in the Sleigh.

Betty wrote: "I also don't see much mention of Aaron Elkins, author of the Skeleton Detective Gideon Oliver series. Another of my favourites."

One of my favorites too, but I haven't read any in a long time, possibly because there haven't been any new ones lately?

I also don't see much mention of Aaron Elkins, author of the Skeleton Detective Gideon Oliver series. Another of my favourites.

Melodie wrote: "Do you guys consider Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon books cozies? Probably not as they get graphic with the murders sometimes, but they are really good books. Not a series I recall seeing mentioned here."
I suppose by some standards it would be a cozy, certainly a fast and interesting read. I've read a few and have several more in my to-be-read pile (huge pile!)

Denise wrote: "Has anyone read any of the Jean Hager series? I think I have read everything that she has written. I liked all of her books:

The Tess Darcy, Iris House B&B series,
The Molly Bearpaw, Investiga..."
I loved Jean Hager's books and just managed to get "Redbird" and as a used hardcover I hadn't seen before, also "Masked Dancers" (used h/c) which I read as a library book a few years ago. I've read at least some of all three of her series.

Another series that I haven't seen discussed is the Nancy Herndon series with protagonist Elena Jarvis, a police detective. I also like her series written as Nancy Fairbanks with protagonist Carolyn Blue, a forty-something food writer.

Has anyone read any of the Jean Hager series? I think I have read everything that she has written. I liked all of her books:

The Tess Darcy, Iris House B&B series,
The Molly Bearpaw, Investigator for Native American Advocacy League,
Mitch Bushyhead, 1/2 Cherokee Police Chief

I wrote to Ms. Hager a while back and she has retired from writing.
She also has several pen names but I have only read the books published under the name Jean Hager.

Melodie wrote: "Do you guys consider Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon books cozies? Probably not as they get graphic with the murders sometimes, but they are really good books. Not a series I recall seeing mentioned here."

To answer your question, according to http://www.cozy-mystery.com/Nevada-Barr.... Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series is a cozy. I haven't read it yet but do have Nevada on my very very long list of "to read".

This series may not be considered cozies, but I love the Inspector Jury mysterys by Martha Grimes, especially the earlier ones.

Do you guys consider Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon books cozies? Probably not as they get graphic with the murders sometimes, but they are really good books. Not a series I recall seeing mentioned here.

I was looking through my notebooks and found a series that I thought was really really good but hadn't read in a while. I have never seen her work discussed in our group. I have sent an email to the author to see if she is going to write any more in the Claire Reynier series. The author's name is Judith Van Gieson and she lives New Mexico. Here are the two series list of books:

She has 2 series, I have only read the Claire Reynier series. Clair is a university librarian archivist. Here are the titles:

The Stolen Blue 2000
Vanishing Point 2001
Confidence Woman 2002
Land of Burning Heat 2003
The Shadow of Venus 2004


Her other series is the Neil Hamel series. Neil (female) is a lesbian/attorney. Here are the books:

North of the Border 1988
Raptor 1989
The Other Side of Death 1991
The Wolf Path 1992
The Lies That Bind 1993
Parrot Blues 1995
Hot Shots 1996
Ditchrider 1998


Her website is at www.judithvangieson.com

Her email is jvg24@aol.com

Sandy wrote: "The Jason Lynx mysteries by A.J. Orde (Sheri Tepper). These are out of print but available used.
Jason is an interior designer who gets involved in solving muders. Sherri Tepper also wrote anothe..."

I've read both, and they're both good. It's been years, though, my mom had them.

The Jason Lynx mysteries by A.J. Orde (Sheri Tepper). These are out of print but available used.
Jason is an interior designer who gets involved in solving muders. Sherri Tepper also wrote another series as B.J. Oliphant which I haven't read.

Kimberly, I totally agree I love that series! Another one that is similar to Nina Wright, lots of humor is Susan Goodwill, there are two in the series; Brigadoom and Little Shop of MMurders.

One series that I love, but rarely see mentioned is Nina Wright's A Whiskey Mattimoe Mystery. The characters are quirky and fun; plus the story lines are always good. There are 5 books in the series so far:

Whiskey on the Rocks
Whiskey Straight Up
Whiskey and Tonic
Whiskey and Water
Whiskey with a Twist

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/406...

Beth wrote: "The authors who I met by their real names before they published under pseudonyms still answer to their real names when I talk/email them. However, in a public setting, such as a mystery conference,..."

Thank you, Beth, that is helpful. If I understand you correctly when I write to an author it is preferred that I use their "real name" if I know it. If I am at a book signing it is preferred to use whatever name the book is published under so as not to confuse other fans. I can understand why you get confused. I would think that an author with multiple pen names would almost feel like a person with multiple personalities. I think it would be hard to get used to being called by some other name and actually remembering to answer to it. Like getting up in the morning and saying "okay, today I am Susan" and then remembering to answer to Susan when my real name is Denise.

The other tricky thing about "real names" vs pseudonyms for authors is trying to figure out the author's given name. If you look back to previous posts on this question we had a debate over Cleo Coyle's "real" name. I looked at her website and also found two pseudonym websites that listed her as Cleo Coyle and her pen name as Alice Kimberly under which she writes the "Haunted Bookshop Series". Come to find out her real name is Alice Alfonsi and that she co-writes both her "Coffeehouse series" and her "Haunted Bookshop series" with her husband under the two pen names. So nowhere that I looked (her own websites nor the pseudonym websites) had the correct information. We finally found the "real story" on Wikipedia. Go figure!

On Pseudonyms...

I have never even considered using a name other than my own. I feel very passionate that when a person writes and they sign their own true identity to the writing that they have made statement that they will remain true to who they are and not escape into a fantasy of writing under another identity. I know that not all authors agree...but I maintain that when I sign my real name, a name connected to who I am in everyday life that I am keeping it real... that I am holding myself accountable for my words.

Elizabeth Eagan-Cox
www.ElizabethEaganCox.net

The authors who I met by their real names before they published under pseudonyms still answer to their real names when I talk/email them. However, in a public setting, such as a mystery conference, they prefer to be addressed by their pseudonyms, so other fans don't get confused. Instead, I'm the one who gets confused!
- Beth

Beth wrote: "To answer Denise's question about pseudonyms:

I chose to write under my real name because it is so unique. If you Google "Beth Groundwater" all you get are website references to me and my writing...."

So Beth, you mention author friends that write under a pseudonym--what do you call them? What do they want to be called by fans? That is my dilemma.

To answer Denise's question about pseudonyms:

I chose to write under my real name because it is so unique. If you Google "Beth Groundwater" all you get are website references to me and my writing. I couldn't have chosen a better writing name if I tried! My full first name is Elizabeth, so my writing name is not the same as the legal name I use to sign contracts & checks & such, but it's the name I answer to in real-life, so it's the one I wanted to use for writing, too.

Author friends who have used pseudonyms have done so because:

1) their writing was dark/sexy and clashed with their own or a spouse's real-life persona/career, as a minister, for example,
2) they were trying a new genre very different from one in which they've been writing and wanted to distinguish the two styles for their fans (an example is Nora Roberts and her J. D. Robb pseudonym),
3) they were writing a series as "work for hire" where the publisher developed the concept and characters and owns the rights to those, and the author wants to keep her real name to use when she writes books she developed on her own,
4) the author's real name just doesn't match the genre she's writing, such as "Daisy Goodman" writing horror.

I'm sure there are other reasons, too!

Here's one I have never seen anyone talk about:

The Jesus Creek series by Deborah Adams. It is about an eccentric town in Tennessee. There are 7 books in the series starting with All the Great Pretenders and ending with All the Dirty Cowards. The last book was written in 2000 and according to her website (which I had a heck of a time tracking down)http://deborahadams.wordpress.com/ she is not writing any more books.

Denise wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Denise wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Melodie wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Denise wrote: "Here's another series that I really like (I've only read seven of them because they are hard to find) bu..."

Denise wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Denise wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Melodie wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Denise wrote: "Here's another series that I really like (I've only read seven of them because they are hard to find) bu..."Kimberly, I took a look at her website and you are right really creative! I love it!

Kimberly wrote: "Denise wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Melodie wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Denise wrote: "Here's another series that I really like (I've only read seven of them because they are hard to find) but it is the Chris..."Thanks Kimberly! I have that site written down to reference it. I will take a look!

Kimberly wrote: "Melodie wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Denise wrote: "Here's another series that I really like (I've only read seven of them because they are hard to find) but it is the Chris Bennett series by [author:Lee H..."Usually I will put two or three words or a small sentence to try to remember what I liked about a book or what type it was, I'd really like to figure out a better catagorizing system...any ideas let me know. So to answer your question, yes I do have the problem of not remembering details!But the little notes thing helps, probobly not enough but...I put down a list on paper and on a wish list feature on computer of to be read next. Anyway I'd love to know how I could do it on a spreadsheet and put when I read it and notes,category of book, details etc

Denise wrote: "Melodie wrote: "I started keeping spreadsheets by year for the books I read in 2003. I keep a separate one with books I have that I haven't read yet. I delete books as I read them and add to the ..."

I had a friend who challenged me about 3 years ago to start keeping a list of how many books I read a year. I just wrote the author and title down in a notebook to keep track. Kinda neat to see at the end of the year. I don't really have a method for picking out my next books either. I just go through the pile and pick something that sounds good.

Kimberly wrote: "Denise wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Melodie wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Denise wrote: "Here's another series that I really like (I've only read seven of them because they are hard to find) but it is the Chris..."

Thank you so much for the reference in Wikipedia. I love Wikipedia and I never thought to look there. I need to remember to always check there in addition to the other places I look. Even her website did not make it clear what her "real" name is and in fact it was rather misleading. Wikipedia had a reference to an interview with Cleo Coyle for anyone that wants to read it you can find it at:

http://www.gumshoereview.com/php/Review-...

Melodie wrote: "I started keeping spreadsheets by year for the books I read in 2003. I keep a separate one with books I have that I haven't read yet. I delete books as I read them and add to the list as I acquir..."

I do write down (in a spiral bound notebook) all the books that I read as I finish them. This includes everything, not just cozies. However I just last month started putting the date that I finished it because I was going to ask someone to be a friend here on Goodreads and they asked the question how many books you have read this year (maybe that was even you, Melodie, I'm not sure). I have no idea how many books I have read this year (or any other year for that matter) because I didn't have the dates down in my notebook. I think I need to start writing a brief sentence or two about the book because I find myself looking at a title and although I can look in my notebooks and tell if I have read it or not I can't remember the details of that specific book. I just read too many books and read them too fast I guess for all the details to stick in my head. Does anyone else have this problem?

I really enjoy hearing how our Goodreads members keep track of what they read and also how they go about chosing what they are going to read next. I really don't have a specific method for picking my next books. I get ideas everywhere (including here of course).

Denise wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Melodie wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Denise wrote: "Here's another series that I really like (I've only read seven of them because they are hard to find) but it is the Chris Bennett series..."

From what I understood, both are. Alice is her real name. However, she said a different last name than Kimberly. Oh here ya go, I looked it up on wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleo_Coyle

Gotta go check out that website - it sounds neat.

Kimberly wrote: "Melodie wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Denise wrote: "Here's another series that I really like (I've only read seven of them because they are hard to find) but it is the Chris Bennett series by [author:Lee H..."

Okay, Kimberly, now I'm confused. Is Cleo Coyle the pseudonym or is Alice Kimberly the pseudonym? From everything I could see Alice is the pen name. Even if you go onto the website for the coffeehouse mysteries (www.coffeehousemystery.com) she has a link for the haunted bookstore mysteries and it says:

Welcome to Cleo's H a u n t e d Bookshop
A mystery series Cleo Coyle writes under
the pen name Alice Kimberly

I cut this directly from the website.

BTW: Whether you like the coffeehouse mysteries or not (and we have had this discussion before) you should check out her website. It is so cool. It has almost too much information on it though. But the coolest thing is she has a "meet the Village Blend staff" section and she has avatars representing each of her characters. I have never seen a website that has this before.

Please, everyone go look at it. I think this is one of the best websites I have ever seen.

Melodie wrote: "I started keeping spreadsheets by year for the books I read in 2003. I keep a separate one with books I have that I haven't read yet. I delete books as I read them and add to the list as I acquir..."

Wow, I really liked the spreadsheet idea!!!

I started keeping spreadsheets by year for the books I read in 2003. I keep a separate one with books I have that I haven't read yet. I delete books as I read them and add to the list as I acquire books. On my yearly spreadsheets I list book title, author, number of pages, grade (I grade on a scale from 1 to 10 and have rated VERY few books a 10 since I started the sheets), date finished and comments. I have been part of a mystery/thriller group for about 12 years that started on AOL and migrated to Goodreads in April. We always do a "year's best" thing at the end of every year and having all this info handy makes it easy when it comes time to list my picks! I also use Goodreads "shelving" system to a great degree, too.

Melodie wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Denise wrote: "Here's another series that I really like (I've only read seven of them because they are hard to find) but it is the Chris Bennett series by Lee Harris. C..."

It's Alice Kimberly. Funny that you mentioned this. I was just at the bookstore and overheard two ladies talking about the coffee shop books. 1 lady was raving about it to her friend and telling her the correct order, etc. As I was leaving the aisle I told them that I really enjoyed that series too. The 1 lady said Alice, aka Cleo, was her roommate in college. She knows her and her husband. So she recommended the Haunted Bookshop series. I had never heard of them before that.

Denise wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Well I especially like the series by G A Mckevett ( I believe this is a pen name for Cleo Coyle)

Lisa, hi. G.A. Mckevett is a pseudonym of Sonja Massie.

Regarding Cleo Coyle: ..."Thanks, I think having a website thread would be helpful. Can't help being curious about a few details of books/writters we enjoy!

Denise, I'll offer an answer to the first part of your question. Authors choose to write under a pseudonym for many different reasons. But often it's at the request of the publisher, who might feel that a new series is too different from the earlier books and doesn't want the readers to expect one thing and get another. (for instance, changing from cozy to hardboiled). I haven't written under a pseudonym (yet), so I can't say how I'd prefer to be addressed. I think, though, I'd find it rather odd to be called by another name!

Mary Ellen

Beth wrote: "Hi everyone,
I'm catching up on the group's msgs after enjoying a few days off the computer for the 4th of July break. I enjoyed reading Denise's comments on how she keeps track of authors and whic..."

Beth: Thanks for the nice comments about my organization of who/what I read. I just had to do something. I started out with a journal but that didn't work because I couldn't keep it in alpha order and had to scan pages and pages to see if I had read a particular book. So then I went to the looseleaf notebook. That way I can add pages as needed. Just today I had to divide my notebook into two because it was just getting too thick. So now I have notebook one with authors A-L and notebook two with authors M-Z. In the second notebook I also have a front section with book websites, book blogs, Interlibrary loan requests, and Library purchase requests. I have to keep track of the last two because our library restricts the number of requests you can make in a month. Also I don't want to send the request to buy the same book multiple times as I might do if I didn't keep track.

BTW: I did go check out your website. It is very nice. It will take me a while to check out all the Links and things you have. This is where I get many ideas for new authors. I have also put in a request for my library to buy your books. I will read A Real Basket Case when I can get hold of it!

Also could you answer a question for me? (also Mary Ellen and any other mystery writer that reads these posts) Why do some authors choose pseudonyms and how do you decide what to write under a pseudonym vs under your real name? Then part two of this question--and really important to me as I write to authors quite frequently--when a fan writes to you do you prefer we write in your "real" name or your pseudonym? For instance I have written to Jill Churchill. I know her real name is Janice Young Brooks. So I end up doing a Jill/Janice salutation and I just don't like that but don't know what else to do. I guess I am asking what is the proper etiquette for addressing an author whether it be in a letter/email/or at a book signing? I would be ever so grateful if you would answer this. Thanks in advance.

Lisa wrote: "Well I especially like the series by G A Mckevett ( I believe this is a pen name for Cleo Coyle)

Lisa, hi. G.A. Mckevett is a pseudonym of Sonja Massie.

Regarding Cleo Coyle: I believe that is her real name and she also writes "The Haunted Bookshop" series under the name of Alice Kimberly.

As I was researching this for you I found these two websites for pseudonyms:

www.trussel.com/books/pseudo.htm

and also

www.myunicorn.com/pseudos.html

I believe I am going to start a new thread just for book websites. I need to look first to see if anyone already has that out there. I see websites mentioned and I mention websites all the time but I think we need a specific thread just for websites and not for discussing books, etc. That way if we need to look up a resource it would be separate and distinct.

Denise wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Denise wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Hi Denise, I have to agree with you on the Grace and Favor series, that was the first thing I read by Jill Churchill and I really enjoyed getting an idea of..." That's ok, I truly understand being passionate about books!! And its interesting to see how other's handle getting their books! I have a whole system too, I make a list of the next 20 books or so I want to read, I ask at the library and if they don't have it I check if an interlibrary loan or if they might purshase it, that usually will cover about two thirds of the list. Whatever is left, I go to the used bookstore or order used, occasionally I'm in a big hurry and buy it new. Then when I get everything read I take it to the used book store and sell them, then start over. ( I don't have space to store any more books!! I only keep reference books or an occasional book I just loved, very occasional. I have a budget and calculate my book money into that each month. I also keep a list of everything I've read in a big binder notebook, so I can carry it with me if need be. I'd like to have as copy on computer but I'm not sure how to do that?? Anyway, thanks for sharing! By the way there is another series that I liked about an active older gal who is an ex Cia agent, and she moves to the country after her husband passes and starts a new life there, jogging and martial arts every day etc and solves a few murders, expert marksman ( markswoman?), anyway its got a bit of a supernatural bent. There are two in the series, Thistle and Twig and Mighty Old Bones by Mary Saums. I thought they were cute and funny! I hope I'm that fit at her age! Anyway, don't know if you will like them but give it a try.

Lisa wrote: "Denise wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Hi Denise, I have to agree with you on the Grace and Favor series, that was the first thing I read by Jill Churchill and I really enjoyed getting an idea of what life wa..."

Me too. I put in a "request to buy" at my library. I know the funds are limited but I hope they buy it. With the economy the way it is people don't or can't buy as many books as they used to and if libraries cut back on buying then I'm afraid we will lose more of our favorite authors. So many times when I write to an author about a particular series the reason that they quit writing the series is because their publisher isn't interested any longer or won't promote the books, etc. I always look to see how many copies of a book that I am putting on reserve the library owns. Some of the older books there are lots of copies and some of the popular authors they still buy lots of copies. But some titles the library only has 1 or 2 copies. I am lucky to live in Columbus OH where our library has ranked #1 library in the US for two years straight. I had to quit buying most of the books I read because of space as well as money. I have thousands of books in my house, multiple shelves in every room, and boxes of books in closets etc. I used to go into a bookstore and buy books by the box. At auctions too. One time we bought 3 racks of cookbooks at a book auction. I am a book junky! When I got into cozy mysteries I knew things had to change because I can read a cozy in a day if I really get into it. Last night I was up till 3 a.m. finishing Plum Spookyand starting The Case of the Bouncing Grandma. My job situation has been up and down (mostly down) over the last few years as well as my health (need double knee replacements which makes me pretty sedentary)so now I buy rarely. I buy more books to give as gifts now than I buy for myself. Well, I got way off the subject didn't I. Sorry but I am truly passionate about books.