Clea Simon's Blog, page 49

Revising is like…

Sometimes, I think revising is like grabbing a snake by the head and working your way down to the tail all the while hoping to hold the snake in place. Only, while it is lashing furiously, you’re also trying to make changes to the tail because of what you find at the head. OK, maybe not…

Sometimes, I think revising is like sorting a bunch of rocks. Most of them are good rocks, only they’re out of order. Because you need the big rocks on bottom, for stability. Except when you want to sneak that little rock in because it’s a clue. OK, maybe not…

Sometimes, I think revising is like brushing out knotty hair after a restless, fevered night of sleep. There are tangled parts you really have to work at, with care, because you don’t want to rip or tear. And there’s the natural curl that you want to preserve. Only sometimes you have to cut whole bits out. OK, maybe not…

Um, this is why you haven’t heard from me in a week. See you on the other side! (And if you have a favorite manuscript revising metaphor or story, please share.)

What is the Pulpwood Queens Girlfriend Weekend?

Imagine 40-plus authors and 100-plus readers/bookgroup members in one room. Now visualize them in hot pink, leopard print, and tiaras – all talking about books, reading, their favorite characters, their latest discoveries, and how those all those stories got writ, and you’ve got a rough idea. The genius brainchild of the incredible Kathy L. Murphy, the Pulpwood Queen Girlfriend Weekend is an annual celebration of readers, a total immersion in a world of fun and reading.

Authors assembled before the BBQ dinner

The set-up is simple: Every year, from Thursday through Saturday night of Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, all these book people (which includes men, the Timber Guys) gather in the piney woods city of Nacogdoches, Texas (Texas’s first city!) for shared meals, chat, panel discussions, and parties. The fact that it’s a single-track event – all the events (save for one dinner) took place in the beautifully restored retro-chic Fredonia Hotel – means that everyone hears everything. And that means that after Jamie Ford’s emotional address or the panels on Southern Gothic or the stories of motherhood and adoption, it’s easy to turn to the person next to you and say, “Wow! Did you know that writer? What did you think about that?” Thus, conversations begin, and friendships are formed.

(The one off-site event – the Friday night Texas barbecue dinner – was right around the block at Mast Hall. That’s where we authors gathered, in costume as hippies [see the pic above] to go with this year’s theme of “Bohemian Rhapsody,”  first to dine among ourselves, and then to greet and serve the readers – all while keynote speakers M.J. Rose and Randy Susan Myers had everyone in stitches.)

By the Saturday night Big Hair Ball – more costumes, each more outrageous than the last – we were all buddies – and that meant the dancing and jokes were wild! (Lorna Landvik’s salute to Kathy, almost a Mad Libs kind of mockumentary of how they *might have* met in a strange Central European republic, helped set the tone for sure.)

To be honest, I wasn’t sure how I’d fit in with this crew at first. Not only am I a New Englander – a majority of the Pulpwood Queens are Southern – but Kathy’s bookclub choices tend toward historical fiction and the kind of relationship-based books that at one point were called “women’s fiction.” Yes, my World Enough is about relationships – and about my protagonist’s discovery that her memories and nostalgia are, at best, suspect – but there wasn’t a lot of crime fiction at the weekend. Still, I found the crew incredibly warm and welcoming. I had wonderful in-depth conversations with readers (Betty Hunt Koval, I’m looking at you), bloggers (Tonni Callan), authors (Romalyn Tilghman, Judithe Linse Little, Christa Allen, Laurel Davis Huber, Bren McClain), and dozens of others! (Excuse me if I left you out – I’m still a bit dazed.) And both Kathy and her right-hand woman, Tiajuana Anderson Neel, made sure that even this newbie felt at home. Yes, it’s a bit of a trek to get to Nacogdoches, but I honestly don’t know anything like it.

Kathy L. Murphy addressing PQGF

There’s more, of course – like the silent auction of author’s themed gift baskets to raise money for the Pat Conroy Literacy Center, the tiara and costume contests, and prizes given for some truly wonderful books (Bren McClain! Lisa Wingate!). Finally, as this year’s Girlfriend Weekend came to a close amid hugs and tears, the theme for next year was announced: How the West Was Won. Did I whet your appetite? Check out the PQ site at http://www.thepulpwoodqueens.com – early bird discounts are available. And maybe I’ll see you there again. This was one weekend, I’m never going to forget!  

Rock ‘n’ remembrance: The Rockerzine interview

“Before Clea Simon became known as a world-class mystery writer, she was a music journalist in Boston. During the ‘80s she was writing regularly for Boston Rock, the Herald and a few national publications, and has the battle scars—and a closet full of vintage vinyl and cassette demos—to prove it.  Clea and I shared many a life-changing show in those days, and we can both claim bragging rights for being at the Rat the night Husker Du opened for R.E.M….

Music critic Brett Milano and I chatted about music, memory, and the nature of nostalgia in the latest issue of Rockerzine.

Read the full interview here.

“Shimmers with brilliance…” Thank you, Richmond Times-Dispatch!

“[A]n intricate and smart plot, authentic dialogue and a heartfelt rendering of remembrance and regret, and Simon’s dark story shimmers with brilliance  — and stands as her finest.” – Richmond Times-Dispatch on World Enough

here’s the full writeup in the Sunday, Dec. 31 paper

 “Y’know my heart keeps telling me/ You’re not a kid at thirty-three.”

— Danny O’Keefe, “Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues”

And certainly not at fortysomething, no matter how strong the call of lost youth.

The intersection of present and past dominates “World Enough” (224 pages, Severn House, $28.99), a thematic departure for the talented and prolific Clea Simon, author of four mystery series.

Simon’s story opens in 2007 with former music journalist and punk rock clubber Tara Winton mourning the loss of a onetime singer, Frank Turcotte, found dead at the foot of his basement steps after an apparent fall.

But Tara — now a corporate communications specialist bored with her job — suspects something more sinister; her reportorial instincts kick in while she pursues a freelance feature story about Boston’s club scene in the 1980s. Could Frank’s demise be linked to the death two decades earlier of Chris Crack, the charismatic lead singer for the Aught Nines?

Simon also is a former music journalist, and her background provides a wealth of material in her intelligent and sensitive portrayal of Tara. Add an intricate and smart plot, authentic dialogue and a heartfelt rendering of remembrance and regret, and Simon’s dark story shimmers with brilliance — and stands as her finest.

 

Happy new year!

Happy new books!

I hope your holidays brought lots of good reads! (I’m finally getting around to George Saunders’ “Lincoln in the Bardo,” with an ARC of James Lee Burke’s “Robicheau” up next – and all four of Ursula K.LeGuin’s sweet and whimsical “Cat Wings” books for when I simply need a break!)

I’m also hoping to provide you all with some good adventures in the new year. First up, the third Blackie & Care mystery, Cross My Path, will be published by Severn House this spring (March in the UK, which means it will be available before its July US pub. date). Then, in August, Poisoned Pen Press will bring out the seventh Pru Marlowe pet noir, Fear on Four Paws.

I’m hard at work, meanwhile, on A Spell of Murder, the first witch cats mystery for Polis Books! More on that and other projects as I get it. In the meantime, happy new year! And happy reading!

 

“shimmers with brilliance…” Thank you, Richmond Times-Dispatch!

“[A]n intricate and smart plot, authentic dialogue and a heartfelt rendering of remembrance and regret, and Simon’s dark story shimmers with brilliance  — and stands as her finest.” – Richmond Times-Dispatch on World Enough

here’s the full writeup in the Sunday, Dec. 31 paper

 “Y’know my heart keeps telling me/ You’re not a kid at thirty-three.”

— Danny O’Keefe, “Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues”

And certainly not at fortysomething, no matter how strong the call of lost youth.

The intersection of present and past dominates “World Enough” (224 pages, Severn House, $28.99), a thematic departure for the talented and prolific Clea Simon, author of four mystery series.

Simon’s story opens in 2007 with former music journalist and punk rock clubber Tara Winton mourning the loss of a onetime singer, Frank Turcotte, found dead at the foot of his basement steps after an apparent fall.

But Tara — now a corporate communications specialist bored with her job — suspects something more sinister; her reportorial instincts kick in while she pursues a freelance feature story about Boston’s club scene in the 1980s. Could Frank’s demise be linked to the death two decades earlier of Chris Crack, the charismatic lead singer for the Aught Nines?

Simon also is a former music journalist, and her background provides a wealth of material in her intelligent and sensitive portrayal of Tara. Add an intricate and smart plot, authentic dialogue and a heartfelt rendering of remembrance and regret, and Simon’s dark story shimmers with brilliance — and stands as her finest.

 

The alphabet ends at Y

The wonderful, warm, witty Sue Grafton has passed away. Because she never wanted a ghost writer to continue her works, the alphabet now ends with Y, thanks to her “Y is for Yesterday,” out in August. Her daughter Jamie posted the following on Facebook:

Hello Dear Readers. This is Sue’s daughter, Jamie. I am sorry to tell you all that Sue passed away last night after a two year battle with cancer. She was surrounded by family, including her devoted and adoring husband Steve. Although we knew this was coming, it was unexpected and fast. She had been fine up until just a few days ago, and then things moved quickly. Sue always said that she would continue writing as long as she had the juice. Many of you also know that she was adamant that her books would never be turned into movies or TV shows, and in that same vein, she would never allow a ghost writer to write in her name. Because of all of those things, and out of the deep abiding love and respect for our dear sweet Sue, as far as we in the family are concerned, the alphabet now ends at Y.

(Clea here). I have always loved her books and cannot imagine a year in which there is not a new alphabet mystery with the great Kinsey Milline. But more than that, I will always remember meeting Ms. Grafton (at Bouchercon in Albany) and working up the courage to introduce myself. She was lovely and chatty and, of course, asked if I wrote as well. On hearing that I too wrote series, she  leaned forward and almost whispering in my ear, said, “It’s hard, isn’t it?” She made me feel like part of the team, and I will miss her. RIP, Sue Grafton

Presenting CROSS MY PATH

Here it is – the cover of my third Blackie & Care mystery, to be published by Severn House. (Yes, you can pre-order it here.)

The reappearance of an old enemy from the past spells trouble for young private investigator, Care, and her feline companion, Blackie.

Care’s reputation as a private investigator is growing and clients are beating a path to her door. An elderly woman seeks her help in finding out what happened to her brother. Blackie senses he’s met this woman before, some time before he became a cat. But who is she – and what is their connection?

At the same time, a dockworker asks Care to find a colleague who’s gone missing. But how come a poor labourer has the funds to pay for Care’s services?

As Blackie and Care delve further, it becomes clear that neither client has been telling the whole truth. Then a body is discovered at the waterfront, and the investigation takes a disturbing new twist …

Happy boxing day

Cats love boxes. Enjoy!

Happy Jolabokaflod!

Did you know that Iceland has a tradition of giving books on Christmas Eve? Called Jolabokaflod – literally “Christmas book flood” – this tradition dates back to World War II, and results in cozy nights, when families and friends gather for peaceful evenings by the fire, books in hand…. sound nice? We think so too.

(and if you want to be extra nice, buy your book gifts from an indie bookseller! (We recommend Harvard Book Store, Porter Square Books, and Brookline Booksmith, up here in the Boston area, in part because they have signed copies of all my books. Yes, they ship!)