Clea Simon's Blog, page 85

PW gets "Stages of Grey" and Dulcie!

PW loves Dulcie! Reviewing my upcoming (Oct.) STAGES OF GREY, the review notes my "endearingly fragile but determined protagonist." So happy!


Simon’s diverting eighth Dulcie Schwartz mystery (after Grey Howl) finds Dulcie, now a fifth-year Harvard grad student, in need of a break from her academic toils. As a distraction, Dulcie attends a “disco interpretation” of Ovid’s Metamorphosis at a

"Brilliant"! She said I wrote "brilliantly"! Thank you, Kings River Life!

"A strong heroine who sometimes acts much too impulsively, sarcastic humor and a respect and affection for animals enhance this tightly plotted mystery where the motives for killing prove to be all too human." Wow, thank you, Cindy Chow. To read more of this wonderful, detailed (and favorable!!) review by a librarian, in Kings River Life please click here.

"'Panther Play for Keeps' is a sure winner." Thank you!

"Each new adventure in this series gets deeper and more intense as the author carries her creations to new heights of angst and anxiety. I highly recommend that you read this book. Beg, borrow or steal a copy, just read it and enjoy."

Wow, thank you, Nora-Adrienne! To read the full review, click here.

GREY HOWL is a "favorite." Thank you!

"Multiple plot lines and well-developed characters will keep the reader engaged" What a nice way to start the day! The Conscious Cat may be predisposed to like cat mysteries, but this is still high praise -- both for "GREY HOWL" and for the entire Dulcie series. Thank you so much!

"Clea Simon’s Dulcie Schwartz mystery series, featuring the Harvard graduate student, along with her kitten Esme

"Up there with the greats." Thank you!

Clea Simon's "ability to juggle so many people and multiple crossing plots make her books a genuine pleasure to read, collect and share with friends." So says NoraAdrienne, avid mystery fan. If you want to read more, please click here.

"Grey Howl" – a Gothic homage

"Simon pays sincere homage to the gothic tradition while having a lot of fun with it." So says the Bookblog of the Bristol Public Library. Want to read more? Click here.

"Pru is back..." A review and a PANTHERS PLAY FOR KEEPS giveaway!

"Pru Marlowe is back and she's better than ever!" So says The Conscious Cat,who adds, " found this fast-paced and well-plotted book hard to put down, and I’m already looking forward to the next book in the series." Read the entire review - and sign up for the giveaway here.

Chatting with Hank Phillippi Ryan about how the sausage gets made

How do we write when Facebook is so tempting? What are the biggest obstacles to getting the daily word count done? Over at the Sisters in Crime New England blog, mystery superstar Hank Phillippi Ryan and I chat about the mechanics, and more...

Here's a sample:
Hank: When you need to do your writing for the day, how difficult is it to get yourself to begin? Why?

Me: It’s not difficult at all.

Talking books (and cats) with Nancy Adams

Nancy Adams, blogger over at Saints and Trees, and I chatted writing, mysteries, and more:

NA: Tell us a bit about your writing journey: when you started to write, your journey to publication, and so on.

CS: I have always loved making up stories and have been writing stories since I could read. But it took me a while as an adult to think my stories had any validity. I became a journalist and

When life imitates art: a panther appears in Massachusetts...

The dodo is extinct. The passenger pigeon as well, although some intriguing backward-engineering of DNA may soon change that. The Eastern cougar? That’s another matter. Last month, amid growing community concern, repeated sightings of a large, tawny cat just outside of Boston have made what was once a closed issue open to debate. ...

Read my entire guest blog at The Conscious Cat.