B.V. Lawson's Blog, page 244

Media Murder for Monday

MOVIES

Stephen Hunter's fourth Bob Lee Swagger mystery, The 47th Samurai, is being adapted for film. It's the  second in the series to be adapted—Hunter's Point of Impact novel, which introduced Swagger, was made into the 2007 movie Shooter.

Sir Isaac Newton, Action Hero. That's the possible premise behind a project from director Rob Cohen and producer Gene Kirkwood, to develop a franchise based on Newton (known for his work in physics and mathematics) as the chief detective and head of the British Mint.

Omnimystery News posted more new trailers for the upcoming movie Savages, adapted from the novel by Don Winslow.

Samuel L. Jackson is joining the remake of RoboCop, playing a megia mogal named Pat Novak.

TV

The TCA (Telelvision Critics Association) announced nominations in various categories for their annual Awards. The shows honored include Homeland in several categories, Justified, Revenge and Sherlock.

The new A&E series Longmire, based on the character of Wyoming Sheriff Walt Longmire in Craig Johnson's novels, scored a ratings record for the network and made it the top cable drama launch of 2012.

Tomorrow night on Encore, David Morrissey plays the title character in Thorne, a new two-part adaptation of Mark Billingham's crime fiction novels featuring Inspector Tom Thorne. In the opener, Throen tries to track down a ruthless predator while confronting nightmares from his own past. 

TV Guide has a sneak peak of the opener of Burn Notice's new season June 14 on the USA Network.

NBC announced that Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen has been cast in the role of Hannibal Lecter in their new crime series based on the novels of Thomas Harris.

BBC America released a trailer for their new crime drama Copper, set in 1860s New York City about a rugged Irish-immigrant cop (Tom Weston-Jones) working the city's notorious Five Points neighborhood. This is the network's first original drama on their schedule and will debut in August. (Hat tip to Omnimystery News.)

NBC may have renewed the crime drama Body of Proof for a third season at the last minute, but they did not pick up the contracts for three of the show's stars, including John Carroll Lynch, Nicholas Bishop and Sonja Sohn. Lynch, at least, has already snagged a new role in NBC's Jekyll & Hyde medical thriller Do No Harm.

Eric Szmanda has re-upped for the 13th season of the long-running procedural drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, continuing his portrayal of the character Greg Sanders. Also, Rocky Carroll signed a new deal to return for the upcoming 10th season of NCIS.

Digital Spy reports that Lara Pulver, known to many as "The Woman" from BBC's Sherlock series, has been cast as a series regular in the new fantasy drama Da Vinci's Demons. The series follows the "untold" story of Leonardo da Vinci (played by Tom Riley) during his tough days as a youngster in Renaissance Florence. Digital Spy also noted that Southland actor Clifton Collins Jr has joined the cast of ABC's upcoming drama Red Widow as a series regular, playing FBI Agent James Ramos.

The lineup for ComicCon in July continues to fill out, with Warner Bros. announcing the casts of several TV shows will be on hand, including Person of Interest and the entire cast of Fringe.

PODCASTS/WEBCASTS

Author Gillian Flynn was interviewed on NPR about her new novel, Gone Girl, and writing a dark story about marriage when you're married.

Friday's "Forgotten" Books - Murder at the Foul Line

In honor of the NBA finals starting Tuesday between the Oklahoma City Thunder and either Boston or Miami (whoever wins tomorrow night), I thought it would be appropriate to choose a little basketball-themed murder for this week's FFB feature. In 2006, Otto Penzler released the anthology Murder at the Foul Line, with stories contributed by a Who's Who of crime fiction: Lawrence Block, Jeffery Deaver, Sue DeNymme, Brendan DuBois, Parnell Hall, Laurie R. King, Mike Lupica, Michael Malone, Joan H. Parker and Robert B. Parker, George Pelecanos, R. D. Rosen, S. J. Rozan, Justin Scott and Stephen Solomita.

Michael Malone's winningly deadpan "White Trash Noir," about domestic violence from a former NCAA star that seemingly drives his wife to murder, was nominated for the 2007 Edgar Award for best short story, but had to be withdrawn because it had been previously published in a collection by the author. There are other winners, though: Lawrence Block's hitman character Keller takes in a Pacers game in "Keller's Double Dribble," but the assignment doesn't go as planned and we get glimpses into Keller's past; "String Music" by George Pelecanos focuses on a streetwise D.C. kid trying to escape his troubled life by playing pickup basketball; Laurie R. King's "Cat's Paw" features the coach of a girl's junior high basketball team who is haunted by repressed memories and whose life is shaken up after she runs over a cat; and Jeffery Deaver's "Nothing But Net" is filled with Deaver's trademark twists and turns, featuring con men trying to swindle a naive NBA player.

Penzler would probably argue there's plenty more fodder for murderous takes on professional basketball. As he notes in his Introduction, "Perhaps the biggest difference in the game is the level of criminal activity. One of the big crime stories of the 1950s was when some Manhattan College, CCNY, and Long Island University players conspired to fix games so that certain gamblers could make a killing. The scandal rocked the sport for years, and those teams, then national powers, never recovered. Today, of course, that would be looked upon as kid stuff. Now we're really talking. Stars are commonly arrested for drug abuse, drunk driving, wife (and girlfriend) battering, barroom brawling, rape, and so many other acts of violence and criminality that it is difficult to keep track."

Murder at the Foul Line is the fifth installment in Penzler's sports mystery anthology series, so if you're not a fan of basketball, instead try Murderer's Row (baseball), Murder on the Ropes (boxing), Murder is My Racquet (tennis) and Sudden Death (football). I should point out that these books were published by the defunct New Millennium publishing arm, and that Penzler successfully sued the company claiming breach of contract. It's an unfortunate conclusion to what was originally an intriguing collaboration, but that doesn't change the fact the stories still stand on their own, with many sparkling three-pointers among them.

BEA Away

 

Book Expo America is still the largest gathering of publishing industry personnel in North America, if not the world (more than 1,300 exhibitors this year), and there are always interesting panels, discussions, news and announcements that go along with it. Already we've learned that:

 

Tor Books and Forge Books, imprints of Macmillan, are launching a DRM-free e-book store for their titles. Readers will be able to buy and download e-books there without embedded digital rights management restrictions, so they can be transferred from one reading device to another. DRM has been a sticking point with many book fans, and to have publishers like Tor switch tactics in this regard signals a newer approach for legacy publishers. Tor/Forge publishes a wide range of mystery, suspense and thriller titles.


Kobo is launching a self-publishing platform for authors, promising better royalties, improved data and statistics reporting, as well as the ability to sell e-books through a variety of vendors. Authors will also be able to publish their books as "free" without any exclusives, unlike with Amazon's Kindle Select program.


Amazon just bought the romance and mystery publisher Avalon Books , including its more than 3,000 back-list titles. The publisher of the 62-year-old company said that she "chose Amazon Publishing because they care deeply about the writers, readers, and categories that have long mattered to our family business and they are uniquely positioned to assure that our titles make the leap forward into the digital future."


Despite the increase in e-book sales, the American Booksellers Association reports their membership of independent booksellers rose 3.5%, or 55 stores, in the past year, which sounds like a win-win scenario to me.

 

For each day's event schedule, and a live webcam (where you might even see somebody you know), check out the BEA's Happening page. You can also follow updates via the Twitter hashtag #BookExpoAmerica, where they also have announcements such as a live-streaming interview with author Michael Connelly today.

Mystery Melange

Congratulations to the latest award winners and nominees, including: James Sallis, who was honored with the 2012 Hammett Prize for his novel The Killer is Dying; the inaugural Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award given out at the Bloody Words conference in Toronto to Gloria Ferris for her debut mystery Cheat the Hangman; the 2012 Nero Award nominees, including Marcia Clark, Tess Gerritsen, Anthony Horowitz, Paul McEuen, Dana Stabenow and Persia Walker; and also all the nominees in the various categories that were just announced for the 2012 Shamus Awards.

Mike Ripley's monthly Getting Away with Murder column for Shots Magazine reminds us that the second annual Crime in the Court is scheduled for July 3rd at Cecil Court in the heart of London's West End. Authors currently scheduled to attending include Tom Benn, Rory Clements, Lindsey Davis, Sophie Hannah, Matt Hilton, Erin Kelly, Ali Knight, Adrian Magson and Claire McGowan. Check out the rest of the column for the usual entertaining collection of news, reviews, people and events.

Janet Rudolph is seeking nonfiction submissions on legal mysteries for an upcoming Mystery Readers Journal, including  articles, reviews and also Author! Author! essays that are 500 to 1500 words about your books and the "legal" connection. Deadline: June 15. Email Janet Rudolph for more info. Also, Janet passed along details on the upcoming Literary Salons in Berkeley, California, including Bryan Gruley on Tuesday, June 12 at 7 p.m, and Katherine Hall Page on Tuesday, June 19 at 2 p.m. Space is limited, so drop an e-mail to Janet for reservations.

This week's Q&A roundup includes Bruce DeSilva, speaking with the Murderous Musings blog, and in a slightly-oldie-but-goodie, Craig Sisterson reprinted his interview with Val McDermid in honor of her birthday yesterday.

If you are a South African writer (or ex-pat) and have a crime story set in South Africa, then send it along to the editors of the upcoming anthology Bloody Satisfied. They are looking for new voices and stories between 2500 to 5000 words to join those commissioned by Roger Smith, Hawa Golakai and Michael Stanley. The "king" of South African crime fiction, Deon Meyer, is writing the Foreword.

Media Murder for Monday

MOVIES

The American Cinematheque in Los Angeles will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the first James Bond movie by screening all 22 Bond films, from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace. Showings will take place in both the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood and the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica starting June 8. 

James Sallis, fresh off his win for the 2012 Hammett Prize, announced his new book Driven is being adapted for film. The first book in the series, featuring a character known only as "Driver," was released in 2011 and starred Ryan Gosling. (Hat tip to Omnimystery News.)

Producer Nick Wechsler has acquired film rights to The Prophet, the upcoming Michael Koryta novel to be published in August, and has hired Reid Carolin to adapt the novel to film. The book is about two brothers in a small Ohio town whose torment over the murder of their sister in their teens leads one brother to avenge the killing.

Director Matthew Vaughn has optioned the unpublished thriller Lexicon by Max Barry, due to land in bookstores next year.

The producers behind Only God Forgives, an upcoming crime thriller film written and directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, released some on-set stills. The project revolves around a mother, played by Kristin Scott Thomas, who orders her son (Ryan Gosling) to avenge his brother's death.

Universal released an official trailer for The Bourne Legacy, starring Jeremy Renner as he takes over the reins from Matt Damon. This is the fourth in the film series based on Robert Ludlum's spy novels.

The title of the Tom Cruise-vehicle movie, based on the novels and characters created by author Lee Child, has changed from One Shot to Jack Reacher. Cruise recently stated he was "sensitive" to the backlash that arose after it was announced he was cast as Reacher.

TV

At the BAFTA awards for excellenece in British television, Andrew Scott, who plays Moriarty in the BBC Sherlock series, won for Best Supporting Actor (beating out fellow cast member Martin "Dr. Watson" Freeman). Steven Moffat, writer and producer of both Sherlock and Doctor Who, was presented with the 2012 BAFTA Television Special Award.

Norwegian crime novelist Anne Holt's "Hanne Wilhelmsen" mysteries are being developed for television, although no network has picked up the series just yet. (Hat tip to Omnimystery News.)

Lionsgate is looking at converting several movies into TV series, including The Expendables (about a group of elite mercenaries) and Red (featuring a group of retired special ops members called back into service).

The CTV has ordered a new Canadian police procedural to start next January, titled Motive, about a female Vancouver homicide detective who matches wits with killers.

Showtime's serial killer drama Dexter is adding Swedish actress Katia Winter in a recurring role, to play a Russian stripper who works at a Miami club. Also new to the cast are Jason Gedrick, as the manger of the same Miami strip club, and Ray Stevenson, playing the leader of a Russian organized crime syndicate.

Former Hung star Thomas Jane is in talks to join the period crime drama L.A. Noir, if it gets a full-season order from TNT. Jon Bernthal (Walking Dead) will star as Joe Teague, the LAPD cop pursuing mobster Mickey Cohen.

RADIO

Radio 4 in the U.K. plans a tribute to Martin Beck, the Swedish fictional detective created by husband and wife writing team Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. The duo helped inspired the genre of the modern police procedural novel and also served as a model for characters such as Ian Rankin's John Rebus and Henning Mankell's Wallender. Radio 4 will dramatize the entire 10-book series.

Friday's "Forgotten" Books - An Air That Kills a/k/a The Soft Talkers

Today is the third in a series of the special features coordinated through Patti Abbott's Friday's "Forgotten" Books. The first was Donald Westlake, the second John D. McDonald, and today it's Margaret Millar (1915-1994). Millar was married to Kenneth Millar, better known as crime fiction author Ross MacDonald, but despite having an Edgar Award and over 25 novels to her credit (with some critics saying she was the better writer of the two), she never gained the same popularity as her husband. My local public library only had one of her books in the stacks, but several MacDonalds. A likely reason for the neglect is that she didn't have a breakout series character like MacDonald's Lew Archer, writing mostly standalones.

The Millars made a good writing team, such as the times Margaret helped her husband with dialogue. "I did teach him to write better dialogue so that everybody didn't sound like him. In the first two books, all of the characters talked like Ken! I don't even know anybody who talks like Ken. And I told him he had to listen...And we went around to a lot of places: pawn shops, low bars...And he realized how different people talk." Apparently, Kenneth also once said that the best lines usually resulted from the many arguments the couple had. If you want to read a truly indepth article on the writing Millars and how they influenced each other's work, see if you can grab a copy of Mystery Readers Journal from Fall 2001 and read "Ross Macdonald and Margaret Millar: Partners in Crime" by Tom Nolan.

The Soft Talkers is the U.K. title for Margaret Millar's novel from 1957, originally released in the U.S. as An Air That Kills. It follows the seemingly perfect married couple, Harry and Thelma Bream. Harry's best friend Ron Galloway invites his pals to his lakeside hunting lodge for the weekend, but then fails to show up. The worried friends call Galloway's house and speak to his wife, Esther, to find out what's keeping him, but the wife tells them Galloway left a long time ago. Then Thelma drops the bombshell on friend-caught-in the-middle Ralph Turee that she is pregnant with Ron's child. The investigation grows cold, and it isn't until much time has passed, when Ron is found dead buckled into his submerged convertible, that the even colder, twisted truth comes to light.

Millar's attention to dialogue is evident, part of the meticulous detail she gives to building her characters. Although she admittedly wasn't a fan of action-driven plots, her meticulous weaving of plot, clues and misdirection are all in fine form here, as is her zingy prose, examples of which you can find on nearly every page, like these:

He had a sensation that he and Harry were stationary and the night was moving past them swiftly, turbulent with secrets. To the right the bay was visible in the reflection of a half moon. The waves nudged each other and winked slyly and whispered new secrets.

Thelma, the day-dreamer, who fed her mediocrity with meaty chunks of dreams until it was fat beyond her own recognition. Under this system of mental dietetics Thelma became a woman equpped with great psychic powers...

It was merely theh skeleton of the truth. Only an expert could add the flesh and blood and muscle and all the vital organs that would make it a whole, borrowing a little here, a little there...

Although it's a shame Millar isn't as well known as MacDonald, it's nice to see that a couple of her novels have been reissued recently by Stark House Press. Maybe new readers can discover why Anthony Boucher said of her writing, "Devilishly devious trick-plotting given substance by acute and terrifying psychological insight."

Mysterious Women Who Know Their Place

On Friday, June 8 at the American Women Writers National Museum, five nationally acclaimed mystery writers in the D.C. area will take part in a panel discussion about settings in novels. Place is often considered as important a "character" in a novel as the protagonist and the antagonist, and the panel will talk about how they use the mid-Atlantic and its many famous and less well-known landmarks in their books.

Participants include:

President Reagan Press Secretary Jim Brady's former deputy—turned thriller author Karna Bodman (Castle Bravo) writes about issues of technology and national defense around the Beltway;


Agatha Award winner Marcia Talley (Last Refuge) has her protagonist Hannah Ives sleuthing in the Chesapeake Bay and Annapolis area where Tally used to work at the U.S. Naval Academy library;


Long-time print and radio journalist Ellen Crosby (The Sauvignon Secret), a former U.S. Senate economist, sets her mysteries with vineyard owner Lucie Montgomery in Virginia's wine country;


Multiple-award winner Donna Andrews (The Real Macaw) features blacksmith Meg Langslow and locales in Andrews' birthplace of Yorktown, Virginia;


Panel moderator Elizabeth Foxwell reviews books for Publisher's Weekly, is managing editor of Clues: A Journal of Detection and editor of the McFarland Companions to Mystery Fiction series. 

The event is free and open to the public, with a Meet & Greet from 11:30 to noon and the panel discussion following.

(In order: Donna Andrews, Karna Bodman, Ellen Crosby, Elizabeth Foxwell, Marcia Talley)

Mystery Melange

Each month, Omnimystery News lists the upcoming new hardcover mysteries, and June is no exception, with an overview and detailed listing. If you're more interested in paperbacks, they've got that covered, too.

Some terrific new short-story books have just been published: Sandra Seamans, writer and blogger over at My Little Corner, has a "rural noir" collection titled Cold Rifts, published by Snubnose Press; and the International Thriller Writers have released Thriller 3: Love is Murder, edited by Sandra Brown and featuring 29 stories of romantic suspense by Lee Child, JT Ellison, D.P. Lyle, Alexandra Sokoloff, and more.

Otto Penzler's new anthology of tributes to an iconic crime fiction creation is titled In Pursuit of Spenser: Mystery Writers on Robert B. Parker and the Creation of an American Hero. There are contributions from Ace Atkins (who is now writing the Spenser novels with the blessing of Parker's estate), Lawrence Block, Reed Farrel Coleman, Max Allan Collins and many more. Criminal Element is running a contest via their Facebook page, and if you enter the contest throuh June 4th, you may win a copy of the book.

In the Q&A spotlight this week, Craig Sisterson's Crime Watch blog snagged Edgar Award-winning crime writer Steve Hamilton (The Lock Artist) to talk about his favorite crime fiction heroes, most unusual experience at a book signing, and more. Also, Crime Fiction Lover interviewed Danny Miller, author of the Vince Treadwell novels set during the "dark heart of the Swinging 60s."

Do you have young folks in your household or family and want to recommend some good YA mystery novels for them to read? Author F.T. Bradley lists five fundamental YA mysteries, and "why they deserve a spot on your bookshelf."

Crime Fiction – Here and There, Now and Then

The above refers to an upcoming conference November 9-10 at the Institute of English at the University of Gdansk, Poland. The aim of the conference is to "discuss crime fiction across national borders, across time periods, across languages, across genres and across boundaries between the literature and the other arts (film, theatre, graphic novel etc.)." Toward that end, conference organizers have a call for papers that deal with one or more of the subjects listed on the website (although it's not an exhaustive list). The conference will be held in English, so the papers should also be in English and are due June 30th.

Peace, Victory, and Valor

"Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God." - Tomb of the Unknown Soldier