Chris Chan's Blog

What Would You Like to See on this Blog?

What Would You Like to See on this Blog?

 

Do you have any suggestions for what you’d like to see on this blog?  Please leave your ideas in the comments.  Thanks!

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

 

Chris Chan’s book Sherlock Poems was published on June 30th!  He is also the author of the CWA Dagger Long Listed The Autistic Sleuth, written with the professional guidance of his mother Dr. Patricia Meyer Chan, and he has also written the Agatha and Anthony-nominated book on the Columbo killers, Some of My Best Friends Are Murderers! He is the author of the Funderburke and Kaiming novels Ghosting My Friend and She Ruined Our Lives and Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History, released by Level Best Books.  He is also the author of the comedic novels Sherlock’s Secretary and Nessie’s Nemesis, published by MX Publishing, as was his anthology Of Course He Pushed Him and Other Sherlock Holmes Stories Volumes 1 & 2.  His Agatha-nominated book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

Save The Milwaukee Public Museum Website

Save The Milwaukee Public Museum Website

 

There’s a new website promoting the work that concerned citizens are doing to raise questions about what’s happening with the Milwaukee Public Museum.  Please check it out– it’s not too late to make a difference!

–Chris Chan

 

 

 

Chris Chan’s book Sherlock Poems was published on June 30th!  He is also the author of the CWA Dagger Long Listed The Autistic Sleuth, written with the professional guidance of his mother Dr. Patricia Meyer Chan, and he has also written the Agatha and Anthony-nominated book on the Columbo killers, Some of My Best Friends Are Murderers! He is the author of the Funderburke and Kaiming novels Ghosting My Friend and She Ruined Our Lives and Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History, released by Level Best Books.  He is also the author of the comedic novels Sherlock’s Secretary and Nessie’s Nemesis, published by MX Publishing, as was his anthology Of Course He Pushed Him and Other Sherlock Holmes Stories Volumes 1 & 2.  His Agatha-nominated book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

The Shepherd Express Best of Milwaukee Awards are Open!

 The Shepherd Express Best of Milwaukee Awards are Open!

 

The Shepherd Express has opened their 35th annual Best of Milwaukee Awards!  Those who wish to participate can vote for their favorite stores, restaurants, medical practitioners, entertainment venues, and other benefits to the community.

 

I encourage anybody who’s interested to vote.  It’s totally free– all you need is an email address.

 

In the past, some kind supporters have nominated me for Milwaukee Author and my detectives Isaiah Funderburke and Nerissa Kaiming for Local Character.  Thanks for your past support, and if you choose to continue your support, thanks again!

 

Also, if you have an interest in preserving the Milwaukee Public Museum, including the Streets of Old Milwaukee and other unique exhibits, please consider voting for Preserve MKE for Non-profit/Human Services Organization.

 

Thanks!

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

 

Chris Chan’s book Sherlock Poems was published on June 30th!  He is also the author of the CWA Dagger Long Listed The Autistic Sleuth, written with the professional guidance of his mother Dr. Patricia Meyer Chan, and he has also written the Agatha and Anthony-nominated book on the Columbo killers, Some of My Best Friends Are Murderers! He is the author of the Funderburke and Kaiming novels Ghosting My Friend and She Ruined Our Lives and Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History, released by Level Best Books.  He is also the author of the comedic novels Sherlock’s Secretary and Nessie’s Nemesis, published by MX Publishing, as was his anthology Of Course He Pushed Him and Other Sherlock Holmes Stories Volumes 1 & 2.  His Agatha-nominated book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History Makes the Chanticleer Clue Long List!

Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History  Makes the Chanticleer Clue Long List!

 

The Chanticleer Book Awards just announced the Long List for their Clue Awards for Suspense/Thriller, and Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History made the Long List!  Congratulations to everybody who made the Long List!

 

This past weekend, the Anthony Awards were announced, and though Some of My Best Friends Are Murderers was nominated in the Nonfiction Category, it did not win.  Similarly, She Ruined Our Lives was nominated for Best Literary at the Silver Falchion Awards but did not win.  Congratulations to the winners of those awards, as well as the other Anthony nominees!

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

 

Chris Chan’s book Sherlock Poems was published on June 30th!  He is also the author of the CWA Dagger Long Listed The Autistic Sleuth, written with the professional guidance of his mother Dr. Patricia Meyer Chan, and he has also written the Agatha and Anthony-nominated book on the Columbo killers, Some of My Best Friends Are Murderers! He is the author of the Funderburke and Kaiming novels Ghosting My Friend and She Ruined Our Lives and Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History, released by Level Best Books.  He is also the author of the comedic novels Sherlock’s Secretary and Nessie’s Nemesis, published by MX Publishing, as was his anthology Of Course He Pushed Him and Other Sherlock Holmes Stories Volumes 1 & 2.  His Agatha-nominated book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

 

A Potential Preserve MKE Commercial

 A Potential Preserve MKE Commercial

 

(We open outside the Milwaukee Public Museum.  Large crates are being hauled out.  A CONCERNED CITIZEN approaches the workmen.)

 

CONCERNED CITIZEN.  What’s in the crates?

 

WORKMAN.  Oh, just a bunch of items that won’t be making the move to the replacement museum.  Antiques from the Streets of Old Milwaukee, animal exhibits, artwork from ancient cultures….

 

CONCERNED CITIZEN.  Wait… These exhibits are not going to be on display anymore?  What’s happening to them?

 

WORKMAN.  Some will go into storage.  Others will be thrown out, given away, or sold.

 

CONCERNED CITIZEN.  What?  What’s going to get thrown out?  Who will get these exhibits or buy them?

 

WORKMAN.  Don’t ask me.  The museum’s not saying.  I’m just doing my job.

 

(Cut to a Milwaukee public park.)

 

CONCERNED CITIZEN.  Hey!  What’s going on at the park?

 

DEVELOPER.  It’s not a park anymore.  It’s been rezoned for a housing project.  

 

CONCERNED CITIZEN.  You can’t tear up these woods.  This is a public park!

 

DEVELOPER.  Not anymore.  It’s been rezoned for construction.  Now go away before I have you arrested for trespassing.

 

(Cut to the Charles Allis Art Museum.)

 

CONCERNED CITIZEN.  What’s happening to the art museum?

 

REALTOR.  The county’s selling the building.

 

(Cut to a public pool.)

 

CONCERNED CITIZEN.  What can’t I take a swim?

 

LIFEGUARD.  The pool’s being sold.  It’s going to become a bar.

 

CONCERNED CITIZEN.  I can’t believe it!  All of this valuable property is being sold,  and artwork and historical treasures are being sold or thrown away.  What’s going on?  Where is the money going?  Why isn’t the news covering this?  What’s going to be gotten rid of next?

 

(Fade to black.  These words appear on the screen:

IF WE DON’T ACT NOW, MORE AND MORE OF MILWAUKEE’S PRICELESS TREASURES WILL BE GONE FOREVER.

 

SAVE THE MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM.  IF WE LOSE IT, WHO KNOWS WHAT WE’LL LOSE NEXT.)  

For more information, get in touch with Preserve MKE, please!

 

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

 

Chris Chan’s book Sherlock Poems was published on June 30th!  He is also the author of the CWA Dagger Long Listed The Autistic Sleuth, written with the professional guidance of his mother Dr. Patricia Meyer Chan, and he has also written the Agatha and Anthony-nominated book on the Columbo killers, Some of My Best Friends Are Murderers! He is the author of the Funderburke and Kaiming novels Ghosting My Friend and She Ruined Our Lives and Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History, released by Level Best Books.  He is also the author of the comedic novels Sherlock’s Secretary and Nessie’s Nemesis, published by MX Publishing, as was his anthology Of Course He Pushed Him and Other Sherlock Holmes Stories Volumes 1 & 2.  His Agatha-nominated book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

Misconceptions and Realities about the Milwaukee Public Museum Move

Misconceptions and Realities about the Milwaukee Public Museum Move

 

I’m continuing to work with Preserve MKE to warn the city that many beloved exhibits at the Milwaukee Public Museum are at risk of being destroyed.  The planned move and destruction of the museum could be disastrous to the city’s culture and history, and there are a lot of misconceptions about what’s going on, so here is a list of misconceptions and realities about what’s happening:

 

FALSE: The entire Milwaukee Public Museum is moving to another location.

TRUE: The developing museum is too small to hold more than a tiny fraction of the existing exhibits. Many beloved exhibits may go into storage and never be seen again. Much of the new museum is composed of LED screens. Works of art and historical significance will be destroyed.

 

FALSE: The Milwaukee Public Museum leadership has been open about what’s going on with the move and the developing museum.

TRUE: There are a lot of unanswered questions about what’s going on, and the powers that be have not responded to many of our questions and concerns. We don’t know what’s happening to famous and beloved exhibits.

 

FALSE: The exhibits belong to the Milwaukee Public Museum and they can do what they want with them.

TRUE: The contents of the Milwaukee Public Museum belong to the county and the people who live here. Valuable assets and works of art may be lost without our permission. Shady changes in terminology have been imposed to justify a right to decide what happens to famous exhibits. Milwaukeeans have a right to know what’s happening to the county’s property.

 

FALSE: The developing museum will preserve Milwaukee’s history.

TRUE: The developing museum does not consider local history to be part of its focus, preferring to focus mainly on natural history. The Milwaukee Public Museum has traditionally employed experts in local history. Over the last few years, many of these positions have been eliminated. The most famous exhibit celebrating Milwaukee's history, The Streets of Old Milwaukee, will be destroyed and replaced with a very different exhibit that removes many critical aspects of the city's history.

 

FALSE: The existing museum is damaged beyond repair.

TRUE: There is strong evidence that it would have been cheaper to repair the existing museum than to build another one. There is no reason to tear down the existing structure.

 

For more information, get in touch with Preserve MKE, please!

 

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

 

Chris Chan’s book Sherlock Poems was published on June 30th!  He is also the author of the CWA Dagger Long Listed The Autistic Sleuth, written with the professional guidance of his mother Dr. Patricia Meyer Chan, and he has also written the Agatha and Anthony-nominated book on the Columbo killers, Some of My Best Friends Are Murderers! He is the author of the Funderburke and Kaiming novels Ghosting My Friend and She Ruined Our Lives and Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History, released by Level Best Books.  He is also the author of the comedic novels Sherlock’s Secretary and Nessie’s Nemesis, published by MX Publishing, as was his anthology Of Course He Pushed Him and Other Sherlock Holmes Stories Volumes 1 & 2.  His Agatha-nominated book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindleedition.

I Have a Story in The Most Dangerous Games!

I Have a Story in The Most Dangerous Games!

 

A new anthology, The Most Dangerous Games, is coming out on August 26th!  It’s an anthology of short crime stories with connections to various games.   It’s edited by Deborah Lacy. Contributing authors include:

 

Heather Graham
K.C. Selby
Alan Orloff
Shannon Taft
P.M. Raymond
Kerry Hammond
Rebecca Lugones
L.L. Kaplan
BV Lawson
Stephen M. Pierce
Maya Corrigan
Bruce Kubec
JD Allen
Jane Limprecht
donalee Moulton
Kirlagh James
Robert Lopresti
LaToya Jovena
Sharyn Kolberg
Shawn Reilly Simmons
Daphne Silver

 

And me!  My short story, “Escape the Money Launderers,” a Funderburke and Kaiming mystery, features my detecting duo working on a case connected to an escape room company.

 

Please check it out!

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

 

Chris Chan’s book Sherlock Poems was published on June 30th!  He is also the author of the CWA Dagger Long Listed The Autistic Sleuth, written with the professional guidance of his mother Dr. Patricia Meyer Chan, and he has also written the Agatha and Anthony-nominated book on the Columbo killers, Some of My Best Friends Are Murderers! He is the author of the Funderburke and Kaiming novels Ghosting My Friend and She Ruined Our Lives and Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History, released by Level Best Books.  He is also the author of the comedic novels Sherlock’s Secretary and Nessie’s Nemesis, published by MX Publishing, as was his anthology Of Course He Pushed Him and Other Sherlock Holmes Stories Volumes 1 & 2.  His Agatha-nominated book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindleedition.

A Great Review of Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History in Gilbert!

A Great Review of Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History in Gilbert!

 

Big thanks to Dale Ahlquist for his review of Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History in Gilbert!  Here’s an excerpt!

 

The amazing literary output of our own Chris Chan continues to astound us. His latest is a well-woven mys­tery that keeps the reader thinking about big ideas while keeping track of little details, but what he really keeps the reader doing is turning the pages…

 

There seems to be an insoluble problem: not the murder mystery (though it remains unsolved), but the moral dilemma of a vengeance that may seem justifiable but is never satisfactory. When the righteous become s   self-righteous, we are torn. We pity the loss of inno­cence, but we are distressed when it is not accompa­nied by wisdom or the gaining of any maturity. Chan gets us to manage a tinge of sympathy for the most un­sympathetic of characters, and what’s more surprising, perhaps a dollop of disdain for the most sympathetic. He does not let us easily untie the knot of justice. We see that one of the purposes of law is to put a limit on revenge, even while we are maddened at a justice sys­tem that is less interested in justice than in preserving the system.   

 

It's complicated.

 

Please consider subscribing to Gilbert and reading Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History!

 

 

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

 

Chris Chan’s book Sherlock Poems was published on June 30th!  He is also the author of the CWA Dagger Long Listed The Autistic Sleuth, written with the professional guidance of his mother Dr. Patricia Meyer Chan, and he has also written the Agatha and Anthony-nominated book on the Columbo killers, Some of My Best Friends Are Murderers! He is the author of the Funderburke and Kaiming novels Ghosting My Friend and She Ruined Our Lives and Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History, released by Level Best Books.  He is also the author of the comedic novels Sherlock’s Secretary and Nessie’s Nemesis, published by MX Publishing, as was his anthology Of Course He Pushed Him and Other Sherlock Holmes Stories Volumes 1 & 2.  His Agatha-nominated book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindleedition.

 

My Story “The Revealed Room” Has Been Published in Sherlock Holmes: Into the Fire!

My Story “The Revealed Room” Has Been Published in Sherlock Holmes: Into the Fire!

 

Just released: Belanger Books has released Sherlock Holmes: Into the Fire, an anthology of stories that retell some of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short stories with a twist.  Conan Doyle wrote a collection of tales featuring crimes, twists of fate, and weird events and titled it Round the Fire Stories.  None of these tales directly featured Sherlock Holmes (though there is a possibility that Holmes is referenced obliquely in a couple of them).  In Sherlock Holnes: Into the Fire, each of these stories has been retold in order to feature Sherlock Holmes in a prominent role. 

 

 

My story is “The Revealed Room,” a reworking of Conan Doyle’s “The Story of the Sealed Room.”  Take a look!

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

 

Chris Chan’s book Sherlock Poems was published on June 30th!  He is also the author of the CWA Dagger Long Listed The Autistic Sleuth, written with the professional guidance of his mother Dr. Patricia Meyer Chan, and he has also written the Agatha and Anthony-nominated book on the Columbo killers, Some of My Best Friends Are Murderers! He is the author of the Funderburke and Kaiming novels Ghosting My Friend and She Ruined Our Lives and Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History, released by Level Best Books.  He is also the author of the comedic novels Sherlock’s Secretary and Nessie’s Nemesis, published by MX Publishing, as was his anthology Of Course He Pushed Him and Other Sherlock Holmes Stories Volumes 1 & 2.  His Agatha-nominated book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

 

Thanks to the Peninsula Players for Inviting Me Back to Talk about Misery!

Thanks to the Peninsula Players for Inviting Me Back to Talk about Misery!

 

The Peninsula Players in Door County just finished their run of the play Misery, based on the novel by Stephen King.  This past Wednesday, they invited me back to talk about Stephen King and Misery and his crime novels.

 

And my talk was advertised in Broadway World!  Take a look!

 

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

 

Chris Chan’s book Sherlock Poems was published on June 30th!  He is also the author of the CWA Dagger Long Listed The Autistic Sleuth, written with the professional guidance of his mother Dr. Patricia Meyer Chan, and he has also written the Agatha and Anthony-nominated book on the Columbo killers, Some of My Best Friends Are Murderers! He is the author of the Funderburke and Kaiming novels Ghosting My Friend and She Ruined Our Lives and Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History, released by Level Best Books.  He is also the author of the comedic novels Sherlock’s Secretary and Nessie’s Nemesis, published by MX Publishing, as was his anthology Of Course He Pushed Him and Other Sherlock Holmes Stories Volumes 1 & 2.  His Agatha-nominated book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.