Frances di Plino's Blog, page 2

The Hand that Held the Knife #crime

I thought it would be interesting to construct a timeline of the important activities and changes in forensic science over the decades, but was astounded to discover the first use of a forensic medical examination to determine cause of death was made way back in 44 BC.
Apparently, the surgeon who examined the body of Julius Caesar after his assignation decided, as a result of an autopsy, that although Caesar had been stabbed 23 times, only one wound was fatal!
I wonder whose hand held that particular knife.
I also discovered that fingerprints were used for identity purposes as far back in history as the 600s. It seems Arabic traders attached copies of fingerprints to bills to identify the debtor. A hundred years later, in the 700s, Chinese officials were using fingerprint analysis to identify owners of documents and clay tablets.
I’ll be adding to this timeline on a regular basis, so check back in a month to see what came next in the field of forensic advances.

Special offer #crime

As part of Crooked Cat Publishing's crime week, the e-book version of Bad Moon Rising has been reduced to 99p/99c until Friday. Don't miss out - the price will be going back up to the RRP at the weekend.

Reviews - an author's life blood

All authors rely on reviews to help spread the news about their work - and to encourage people to buy! Obviously, not all reviews are one hundred percent positive, but even those where readers find something they don't enjoy or agree with are usually welcome as it gives a balance to the more positive reviews.
The latest review on the fourth of my D.I. Paolo Storey series, Looking for a Reason, is relatively positive (four star) but also points an element the reader wasn't as overjoyed about. You can read the review here.
Thank you to everyone who has left reviews on my books. If you've read and enjoyed them, but not yet commented on any Amazon site, please do take a moment to pop over and let me know what you liked and what you didn't!

More Evil than Fiction #crime

I spend a great deal of my time researching crimes and criminals to make sure my novels are as credible as possible. Quite often what I discover during the course of my research is far more shocking and depraved than anything I would feel comfortable writing about. In fact, I often wonder what any agency of the law would make of my browsing history!
However, during the course of my recent browsing I came across a brilliant site and thought I’d share it with you. Historical Crime Directive  is a place to discover forgotten crimes and forgotten criminals lost to history. I wandered onto the front page and was soon lost in long forgotten crimes.
If you fancy a few hours spent in the company of some truly dreadful criminals, this is definitely the site for you!
I was so engrossed in finding out those real life horror stories that I’ve decided to add a regular feature to this blog. Each month I’ll uncover a past crime I feel worthy of note and will write it up.
Happy reading,
Frances

One Day Sale @crookedcatbooks

The publishers of my crime series, Crooked Cat, are holding a one day sale on all their titles, across all genres. 
Now is the chance to pick up all four D.I. Paolo Storey novels for the price of one, as each e-book is priced (for today only) at 99c/99p.

You can visit the Amazon page for my books here. This is a global link, so will take you to the Amazon site in your country.
If you want to find out about the other Crooked Cat titles, visit their Amazon page here.

Looking for a Reason #review @crookedcatbooks

Getting a good review is always a wonderful feeling, but it is even better when you stumble across one when you weren't even looking. This one from last month made my day when I spotted it!

5.0 out of 5 stars Good readingBy Elaine TomassoTOP 1000 REVIEWERon 19 September 2015Format: Kindle EditionVerified PurchaseI don't understand why Ms Di Plino doesn't have a wider audience as her books are consistently well plotted and compulsive - I never want to put them down as I can't wait to see what's coming next. Looking For A Reason is no different. It is, however, not for the faint hearted as it involves a fair amount of rape. It opens with a blog by Nemesis describing the rape and torture of Jason Corbett which the police only find out about when called to the hospital where he lies, unidentified, in a coma. At the same time they have to investigate the vandalism of a plaque commemorating the opening of the new youth centre which turns out, almost inevitably, to be more than mere vandalism.
Looking For A Reason is an intricately plotted novel with a linear plot line with each development following on logically from the previous one and I will admit to being gripped, not only by the investigations but by Paolo's ongoing love life and the run up to Dave's wedding which seems all too familiar. Paolo Storey is a good protagonist as he is a decent man with no real hang ups (unlike most detectives) and a determination to see justice done. The rest of his team are not so well developed as characters but Dave's wedding run up provides some light relief. It is, however, not all gore and there are some genuinely sad scenes towards the end and the final few paragraphs have left me desperate to know what is coming next - read it and see!
I recommend Looking For A Reason as a very good read.

Book sale - all at #99c #77p

Crooked Cat Publishing are having a sale of their e-book titles and all four D.I. Paolo Storey novels are currently priced at 99c/77p. If you've read the first in the series, now is the time to snap up the next three in line.

Bad Moon Rising
Someday Never Comes
Call it Pretending
Looking for a Reason

All four novels for the price of a good cup of coffee - what a gift!

Win a signed copy #free

For my newsletter subscribers only, I’m running a free competition. The prize is a signed copy of number five in the D.I. Paolo Storey series – No Easy Sacrifice. This title will only be released in August 2015 and the draw will take place on launch day.
This means, to be in with a chance of winning the signed paperback, all you need to do is fill in the box below and become a subscriber to the free newsletter.
If you haven’t yet read any of the D.I. Paolo Storey series, the first book, BAD MOON RISING, is available as an e-book for just 99c/77p.

Ten facts about … Harper J. Dimmerman @harperdimmerman

When did you first realise you wanted to be a writer?I think I’ve always secretly wanted to be a writer. It was something I knew all the way back in grade school. My problem though has always been my confidence. For some reason I had a lot of negative reinforcement from various teachers and so I think I questioned whether I could even do it. As an adult, I went through a traumatic experience about ten years ago and that’s when I couldn’t get around the inescapable truth: I am a writer because I have no other choice.
How long does it take you to write a book?About a year but I’m pretty slow these days. Sometimes a year doesn’t do it either. Last year I struggled through what amounted to little more than a stillborn effort. I actually wound up abandoning the project. It was just time to move on. I intend on going back to it but I guess you might say it took a year to write a negative book, as in minus one book.
What is your work schedule like when you're writing?I teach a college class and have my own law practice during the week. So my schedule is pretty tight. I write what I can at night, when I’m not reading. These days, I’m on a bit of a roll and getting in close to 1k words a night. I’m not complaining right now but there may be others who are (or at least should be).
How many crime novels have you written?I guess 4 if you consider a spy thriller with a diabolical villain a crime novel. To be safe though, I’ll just say 3 – these represent the Hunter Gray legal thrillers. One was published and the other 2 are done, just awaiting a little TLC before sicking them on the public.
Which is your favourite and why?I would have to say Justice Hunter because it’s my first published book. It was a struggle to get it done and I suppose I’ll always feel a little tug of pride when I reflect on that process. The one I’m doing now isn’t bad though. It’s a supernatural thriller and I think it’s my most intentional writing to date. What I’m trying to say is I think I’m finally in a place where my current stuff is my strongest because it is my most refined and deliberate product. Reading it doesn’t make me nauseous, which I think is a pretty good litmus.
Where do you get your ideas?I pull them out of my -- . In all seriousness, I’m inspired by the fallibility of mankind and the city where I was raised – Philadelphia. Law also plays a part because I’m a lawyer and so I like to weave this sort of existence into interesting situations. The last part would have to be writing who and what I don’t really know. If an idea comes too easily I try to resist.
Who is your favourite character from your own work and why?Right now I would have to say either Detective Phelps or Jack, one of the protagonists in my current one. Phelps is a washed-up f-up but he’s a lot smarter than he lets on. I sort of like that contradiction. Jack isn’t half-bad either. He’s a guy who came from nothing and finds himself living a privileged yet far less stable existence than he wants to believe.
Which character from the work of others do you wish you’d invented and why?Good question. I would say just about anyone created by Amis or Murakami. They’re 2 of my favourite writers: they don’t make too many mistakes in my eyes. As for Amis, it would be Nicola Six from London Fields, maybe Keith Talent … For Murakami, I’m intrigued by the aspiring novelist in IQ84. Novelists just intrigue me. What can I say?

If you could have been someone from history involved in crime (good or bad) who would that be and why?I have no idea. Maybe the guy who should’ve saved Kennedy…
What are you working on now?Like I said, it’s this supernatural thriller, also set in my hometown – Philly. It’s been getting my blood flowing for the past few months and I’m really excited about the prospect of having what I’m pretty sure will be a very solid first draft. I had that feeling last night, the one that reminds me of why I do this masochistic thing to myself. I know you know what I’m talking about. I immediately emailed my writing coach and I’m pretty sure he thought I was high on something. Well, he would’ve been right. I was high on the process, knowing my fingers couldn’t keep up with my brain and that the words on the page weren’t too bad . . .  
Harper J. Dimmerman is a novelist, lawyer and professor living in Philadelphia. He is the author of JUSTICE HUNTER
Twitter: @harperdimmerman
Website: http://www.harperdimmerman.com

NOIRCON 2014 by @MarshallStein1

Marshall Stein at NoirCon 2014. Photo by Helene Stein.

NoirCon is a five day celebration of all things noir, books, films, authors, etc. It is held every two years in Philadelphia under the inspired guidance of Lou Boxer and Deen Kogan. From October 29th through November 2nd there were panels on the Politics of Noir, Jewish Noir and Existential Noir, presentations by the leading biographers of Patricia Highsmith and Flannery O’Connor, a panel of four of the contributors to a collection of short stories based on songs of Bruce Springsteen, readings including a marathon of three minute readings, Three Minutes of Terror, given on Halloween, and then an Awards Dinner. 
The three awards were given in the category of novels [Thief by Fuminori Nakamura], publishers [Bronwen Hruska of SOHO Press], and film [Eddie Muller of The Film Noir Foundation]. This is a partial listing.
Participants and attendees came from around the world. Fuminori Nakamura flew in from Tokyo, and his interview was conducted through a translator. At one point he was shown a full page story from the L.A. Times with his photo. While he could not read the piece, the photograph produced an ear to ear grin. On Three Minutes of Terror the readers were from England, Ireland and ten states in the U.S.
I was on the Jewish Noir panel. Because I dream of having my noir crime thriller RAGE BEGETS MURDER turned into a movie, I chose a related topic. I spoke on the impact of European Jewish Émigré Directors on American film noir. It was well received. I have been asked by several folks, including Frances di Plino, to share it.
Fritz Lang has been called the father of film noir. While working in Germany he produced two masterpieces, M and Metropolis. M starred a young Peter Lorre as a child murderer. It is brilliant. When the killings bring out a massive police presence, shutting down crime, the underworld begins a parallel hunt, captures Lorre, and tries him. The concept of the criminal world providing due process is one of the many fascinations in M. If anyone reading this has not seen it, go out and rent it NOW. Lang, and the other directors named below, were trained in the world of German moviemaking where they learned to dramatically use light and dark.
They brought this to the U.S., one of their gifts to American film noir. They were a jump ahead of the murderous Nazi pursuit of Jews, and that produced the template of the protagonist pitted against a vast and often insane world out to destroy him. In Hollywood Lang directed such noir films as Fury, You Only Live Once, The Woman in the Window, and many others. Other Jewish European directors who brought their training and talent to Hollywood were Robert Siodmark (Phantom Lady, Cry of the City, The Spiral Staircase), Billy Wilder (Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity – co-authored with Raymond Chandler, directed by Wilder), Otto Preminger (Laura, Whirlpool), Edgar Ulmer (The Strange Woman, Ruthless), and Anatole Litvak (Sorry, Wrong Number). All of these directors were strongly affected by the Holocaust, but all of them escaped and found safety in America.
This was not the case for Roman Polanski. As a young child he was trapped in the Krakow Ghetto. He watched his father being marched off to Mauthausen; his mother to Auschwitz; both died in these camps of slaughter. Polanski’s Chinatown is one of the masterpieces of noir cinema. Faye Dunaway’s character, Evelyn Mulwray, had been sexually abused by her father, played by John Huston, and bore a daughter that she describes as both “my sister and my daughter.” Evelyn Mulwray tries to hide and protect her now grown daughter from her father. The film ends with a police bullet killing Evelyn Mulwray, her father clutching the daughter and leading her away, as dark an ending as in any film I’ve seen.  According to Polanski’s biographer, Christopher Sandford, “Polanski . . . use[d] the memory of his mother, her dress and makeup style, as a physical model for Faye Dunaway’s character in . . . Chinatown.”
In his masterpiece, The Tin Roof Blowdown, James Lee Burke wrote that for Faulkner the past is always with us, but the protagonist, Dave Robicheaux, said there is only the past. For the Jewish émigré directors that escaped the Holocaust it was always with them, but for Roman Polanski there is nothing but the past.
SOURCES: DRIVEN TO DARKNESS, Jewish Émigré Directors and the Rise of Film Noir, Vincent Brook, Rutgers University Press, 2009; Roman Polanski, Wikipedia citing to, among others, Christopher Sandford
RAGE BEGETS MURDER is set in Bandstand era Philadelphia in the early 1950s. It has been called an “author’s tour de force”. RBM can be purchased at Amazon UK and Amazon in the United States.

http://www.marshallstein.com