Clea Simon's Blog, page 18

Booklist loves “A Cat on the Case”

“Clara, a small calico cat with the magical power to shade herself into invisibility, has the big job of watching over her human companion,” this review (in the January issue of Booklist begins. “Cat-loving cozy fans with a taste for the paranormal will find a lot to like in this third in the series.”

Thanks so much, Booklist!

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Mystery Loves Georgia!

Hurry! The Mystery Loves Georgia auction is almost done. Today (Friday, Dec. 11) is your last day to bid on everything from cozies to thrillers, manuscript critiques to agent meetings, cocktails to getaways, and a few hundred more treats! Yeah, I donated a cozy book bundle (“a clowder of cat cozies“) but if you browse through you’ll find some real treats – like an unpublished Laura Lippman story or a chance to get your name in a NYT bestseller. All the fun ends tonight at 6 pm! https://www.32auctions.com/MysteryLov...

Ready for some light!

This year more than ever I’m ready to light the first candle! Happy Chanukah, everyone!

Jólabókaflóðið: The holiday we need this year!

It’s party time, people! And as December dawns here at Chez Thisbe, we’re getting ready to celebrate Jólabókaflóðið! That’s the Christmas Eve tradition of book-giving that will get us through the long winter nights – and spread some cheer as well. (Those of us who celebrate Chanukah can give the books a bit earlier – maybe aim for them to arrive on or before Dec. 18, the holiday’s last night.)

This holiday is perfect for this year. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough with the “can’ts” – Can’t gather. Can’t dine. Can’t party the darkest nights of the year away. Let’s focus instead on what we can do – read! This year, we have more time than ever for indulging in the new releases that made up the original “Christmas book flood” that gave Jólabókaflóðið it’s name. But I won’t tell if you instead decide to re-read an old favorite. “Rebecca,” anyone? “Crystal Cave”? The key is to give – and to read, a pleasure we can enjoy together, even while we’re apart. In that spirit, I’m giving books – go to your favorite indie‘s website or the general indie clearinghouse of Bookshop.org – and send a book (or a gift certificate)! If you want, add a note that we should all start reading together on Jólabókaflóðið. (In a note, you don’t have to pronounce it – though Read It Forward has  phonetic pronunciation is yo-la-bok-a-flot, or you can listen to it pronounced here.)

I credit Lesa Holstine – the librarian and book blogger – for this great idea. Noting, wisely but sadly, that big family get-togethers aren’t the best idea this year, she announced that she was buying books from independent booksellers for her loved ones near and far and having them delivered. Her sister then suggested they all open – and start reading – on Jolabokaflod. What a brilliant idea! (And, please, check out Lesa’s blog too, now at: Lesasbookcritiques.com )

So what am I going to give? Jon had already decided on the new Richard Ford for his brother, and we think another friend is going to get that too. (Yes, it’s listed as February, but it is available now.) A dear muso is getting David Hajdu‘s Adrianne Geffel for its knowing laughs. A health sciences-loving buddy is getting American Contagions, for sure. No, my own A Cat on the Case won’t be out until January, but you can start a friend off with the first in the series, A Spell of Murder – last I checked, Porter Square Books still has signed copies. I’m thinking of doing a deep N.K. Jemisin dive for a fantasy-oriented friend…

The party is already starting!

#GivingTuesday

This year has been so tough, and I’m thrilled to see that neighbors real and virtual are responding by getting into the holiday spirit early. No, I don’t celebrate Christmas, but I love to see your lights on my evening walks! I’m savoring your photos of trees and wreaths on social media! And come Dec. 10 – the first night of Chanukah – I’ll do my best to reciprocate with photos (maybe a video) of the candles on my family menorah.

But today is a different holiday tradition, a newer one: Giving Tuesday. This year has been so difficult for all of us that it’s easy to forget those who may have started with less, those whose lands and livelihoods have been utterly ravaged by natural disasters, or whose livelihoods depend on the social interaction that usually ramps up right about now. Not to mention the various groups who are always struggling, from animal rescue groups to food pantries.

You don’t have to give a lot. Most of us are making do with less. But even a small gift can go a long way – especially today, when so many donations are being matched. And the feeling of connection, of community, in this time of enforced separation? That’s priceless.

Be well, my friends!

#NoContact book tour welcomes Barbara Ross

It’s cold out. It’s getting dark earlier, and between the virus and missing so many of our familiar holiday gatherings, I’d say it’s the perfect time for a cozy! My own A Cat on the Case will be out in late January, but until then, why not cozy up to Barbara Ross‘s newest,  Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door,? Barbara is a master of the genre, and I’m pleased as punch to have her warming (and heartening) presence here today!

Tell us about your book!

Hi Clea! My latest book is Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door, the second in the Jane Darrowfield Professional Busybody series. In the novel, Jane is approached by her next door neighbor with a challenging assignment. “I want you to figure out if I’m crazy.”

Though initially reluctant, Jane takes the case and is soon is the harrowing world of digital gaslighting—terrorizing victims from a distance by manipulating their home security systems. The book takes place in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a place you know well. It’s available exclusively in print and exclusively from Barnes & Noble for one year. You can order it here.

Are you working on anything now? Is your process or routine different?

I’m working on the synopsis for the tenth book in my Maine Clambake Mystery series. The ninth book, Shucked Apart, comes out in February.

My routine has remained the same in that I work at home alone anyway. I can’t go out to do research and all of my appearances are over Zoom, but most full-time writers I know say it’s embarrassing to tell people how little our lives have changed. We’re very lucky.

Do you think your writing will be changed by this crisis?

That is such a good question. For my current series, I think it depends on whether there is a palpable “before” and “after.” My books take place in the “indefinite now.” But some things cannot be ignored. For example if you are writing about New Orleans after Katrina or New York after 9/11. Landmarks and life have been changed forever. If we are still wearing masks two years from now, bumping elbows instead of shaking hands, and avoiding large gatherings, then those behaviors will have to be reflected in my books. If we’ve all gone back to life exactly as it was before, then the books won’t be change unless I’m writing something that specifically takes place during the pandemic. I’m more likely to do that in a short story than a full-length mystery.

On a personal level, crises like these cause us to take stock of who we are and what we want. I have been thinking a lot about what kind of books I want to write next. I do expect those thoughts to have an impact on my career.

What’s the first thing you’re going to do when we’re free to be social again? 

My husband has a large family of extended siblings, nieces and nephews, exes and honoraries. We haven’t seen any of them since just before Christmas last year. There have been babies born and engagements announced. We miss them terribly, so a family party of some kind will be the first thing. Dare I hope by the time of my nephew’s college graduation in May?

Barbara Ross is the author of the Maine Clambake Mysteries and the Jane Darrowfield Mysteries. Her books have been nominated for multiple Agatha Awards for Best Contemporary Novel and have won the Maine Literary Award for Crime Fiction. Barbara’s Maine Clambake novellas are included along with stories by Leslie Meier and Lee Hollis in holiday anthologies from Kensington Publishing. Barbara and her husband live in Portland, Maine. Readers can visit her website at www.barbararossauthor.com

“Good Spirits,” indeed!

“You don’t have to be a cat lover to appreciate this cozy mystery…”

When I heard that Publishers Weekly had included my A CAT ON THE CASE in a roundup of cozy mysteries, I was thrilled. Then I SAW the piece – four cozies, all due early next year, all with some paranormal or supernatural element – but not only is A CAT ON THE CASE the only mystery from a small(er) press, it’s the lead book, with the longest write-up that includes praise for the entire witch cat series. I’d have been honored to be listed with heralded newcomer Valerie Wilson Wesley, Traci Wilton, and Lucy Ness. But like this? I’m beyond thrilled! Thank you, PW!

“Fans of feline cozies will be charmed,” says PW

“Simon’s pleasing third Witch Cats of Cambridge mystery,” begins the review in Publishers Weekly, which winds up by concluding “Fans of feline cozies will be charmed.” Well, I’m charmed – and grateful – that my upcoming A CAT ON THE CASE is already winning such praise! You can find out yourself in January (and pre-order it here)

A Cat on the Case: A Witch Cats of Cambridge Mystery

Clea Simon. Polis, $26 (304p) ISBN 978-1-951709-26-6

Simon’s pleasing third Witch Cats of Cambridge mystery (after 2020’s An Incantation of Cats) finds Becca Colwin working at Charm and Cherish, a New Age shop in Cambridge, Mass. It’s the perfect place for the aspiring witch detective, even if she doesn’t really have magical powers, as her three talking cats—Laurel, Clara, and Harriet—know. One day, a woman stops by the shop and accidently leaves behind a violin case containing a “very old instrument.” The search for the violin’s owner leads Becca and her coven of two other aspiring witches, along with her skeptical best friend, into a complicated case involving theft and other crimes. Meanwhile, Becca is in danger of losing her apartment when the building goes condo. The three witchy cats, each with its own distinct personality, do what they can to help Becca, in addition to discussing such matters as how they fit into Becca’s life and their own hierarchy. Fans of feline cozies will be charmed. Agent: John Talbot, Talbot Fortune. (Jan.)

Sometimes sleuths work from home…

That’s the premise of my short story, “The Inside Job,” which will be featured in MASTHEAD: The Best New England Crime Stories 2020, coming Nov. 25 from Level Best Books. The story takes place post-pandemic, but my heroine – a homebody anyway – finds it hard to venture out. That doesn’t mean she can’t see when something isn’t right, or work to see justice done.

I don’t often write short stories, and I’m particularly proud of this one! I’ll be posting links as soon as I get them! We may not be able to celebrate Thanksgiving as usual this year, but that means more time for reading. And with short stories, there are no leftovers!

#NoContact book tour with Martha Reed

It’s been a while, but after the election anxiety couldn’t we all use a good read? How about a good Martha Reed? Martha has just launched a new New Orleans-based series, and I know I’m ready. I missed my annual pilgrimage to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fest back in April, and this particular adventure is long overdue! (Bouchercon is scheduled to return to NOLA in August ’21. Hope to see you all there!)

Tell us about your book!

Love Power is the first in my new Crescent City NOLA Mystery series introducing disgraced ex-police detective Jane Byrne who blows into New Orleans on her Ducati motorcycle looking for a fresh start, never expecting to uncover a hate crime serial killer targeting NOLA’s inclusive LGBTQ community.

Jane’s new landlords, Leslie and Ken Pascoe and Leslie’s Aunt Babette, a mediumistic voodoo queen offer Jane a haven. Ken is the sole surviving remnant of The WarBirds, an ’80’s one-hit wonder heavy metal band whose single stadium anthem mega hit “Love Power” was one of the first music videos produced for MTV.

At a surprise birthday party we meet Gigi Pascoe, Ken and Leslie’s transgender daughter and Gigi’s two BFFs. After one of her friends goes missing, Gigi’s concern turns to fear that their LGBTQ world is being targeted for hate crime violence when a second friend vanishes.

Dissatisfied with the NOPD force and local FBI bureau agency responses, Jane and Gigi team up only to discover that their united effort has refocused the serial killer’s hate-filled intent on them.

Why use New Orleans for your setting?

My Nantucket mystery series was conceived as a three-book set and when I finished “No Rest for the Wicked” (Book 3) I started casting around for a new location where my characters could get into trouble. MAt first, I thought about using Las Vegas, but then I attended the 2016 Bouchercon crime fiction writer’s convention and after three days in NOLA I realized New Orleans was a place where you could get into real trouble. In the end, NOLA won my heart and stole my vote. 

I also wanted to share NOLA’s jazzy insane excitement with my readers especially in our current environment when travelling is restricted.

Martha the Cafe du Monde, NOLA

Why did you decide to include LGBTQ characters?

In 2014, at another Bouchercon in Long Beach, California, I heard some great general discussion about the lack of diversity in the crime fiction/mystery genre and in our writerly community. A friend of mine noted that while the mystery world had made some strides into including under-represented voices, we still had a long way to go with the LGBTQ community.

As soon as she said that the omission seemed odd to me. She was right, so I decided to create characters who represented different aspects of the queer world, to give them a voice. Of course, once I did that, Love Power’s main themes of gender definition and fluidity and political empowerment automatically rose to the surface and they needed to be addressed.

One reviewer noted that Love Power offers the opportunity of “allowing us to see the characters for who they are, not what they are and keeping me enthralled at what transpired from beginning to a surprising end.” I’m over the moon with that observation. It tells me I did my job right.

Are you working on anything now?

Yes! I’m busily drafting “Street Angel,” Book 2 in the Crescent City NOLA Mysteries now with a goal of meeting a mid-2021 publication date with Buccaneer, my indie publishing imprint. Bouchercon 2021 is returning to NOLA. I’d love to have two books in this series ready for it.

“Street Angel” will offer its own set of dark themes which I can’t share because they’re huge spoilers. I am having great fun researching and writing it and if the FBI or Homeland Security is reading this blog I’ll admit right now that my browser history is probably suspicious. I am a writer. It can’t be helped.

Do you think your writing will be changed by the COVID-19 crisis?

I can see using the COVID lockdown to increase a story’s suspense. Trapped in a house with a killer is the very definition of a locked room or country house mystery. I don’t currently have any plans of using it although that may change depending on my future story needs. 

Is your process or routine different now?

Strangely, no. If I’m going to write a novel and put 85,000+ words down on the page, the process is the same as it’s always been. I show up every day, open my laptop, launch my manuscript, and get to work. My heart-felt sympathy goes out to those writers who are working from home while home-schooling the kids.

What’s the first thing you’re going to do when we’re free to be social again? 

I’m going to travel! New Orleans is at the top of my list plus I can’t wait to attend the mystery and crime fiction conferences like Bouchercon, Malice Domestic, and Killer Nashville in person again. Online attendance is a great option, but there’s nothing better than overhearing the creative, insightful conversations and topics being discussed in a hotel bar.

Want to read a sample? Click here.

Martha Reed is the Independent Publisher (“IPPY”) Book Award-winning crime fiction author of the John and Sarah Jarad Nantucket Mystery series. Love Power is the first book in her new Crescent City NOLA Mystery series featuring transgender sleuth Gigi Pascoe.

Martha is an active member of the Florida Gulf Coast and the Guppies chapters of Sisters in Crime, Inc., Mystery Writers of America (MWA) and in a moment of great folly at Bouchercon 2016 she joined the New Orleans Bourbon Society (N.O.B.S.) Follow her on Facebook, Twitter @ReedMartha or visit her website reedmenow.com for more detail.