Joseph Demakis's Blog, page 4

Quotation of the Day

The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool
- William Shakespeare - - As You Like It -

Quotation of the Day

Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans
- Allen Saunders -

Quotation of the Day

Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life
- Mark Twain -

Quotation of the Day

It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it
- Maurice Switzer -

Quotation of the Day

It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live
- J.K. Rowling -- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone -

Quotation of the Day

As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once
- John Green -- The Fault in Our Stars -

Maine Author - Julia Spencer-Fleming

Bestselling author JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING is the winner of the Agatha, Anthony, Macavity, Dilys, Barry, Nero Wolfe, and Gumshoe Awards, and an Edgar and Romantic Times RC Award finalist. She was born at Plattsburgh Air Force Base, spending most of her childhood on the move as an army brat. She studied acting and history at Ithaca College, and received her J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law. She lives outside of Portland, Maine.Most new mothers are lucky if they manage to fit in a shower and a hot meal immediately after the baby arrives. Julia Spencer-Fleming completed her award-winning first novel, In the Bleak Midwinter. “Virginia was born on August 19th, and I finished the book in a torrent of writing over Labor Day weekend,” she says. “Then I worked on rewrites and editing during the rest of my maternity leave. I’d have the nursing baby under one arm and the manuscript under the other.”The usual route for a first time author is to secure an interested agent. But Spencer-Fleming was juggling two older children plus the new baby, a 180-year-old farmhouse in the Maine countryside, a dog, a cat, a husband, and a demanding legal practice. She didn’t have time to send out letter after letter to agents. “I found out about the St. Martin’s ‘Best First Novel’ contest a week before the deadline. I shipped out my manuscript on Halloween and told myself I didn’t have to do anything more to try to get published until they announced the winner in early April. I figured at least an editor would take a look at it, and maybe I’d get some good feedback.”Instead, she got a call from legendary mystery editor Ruth Cavin informing her In the Bleak Midwinter had beaten out over two hundred and thirty other manuscripts to win the 2001 Best First Traditional Mystery Award. St. Martin’s, the country’s largest publisher of mysteries, has since 1989 sponsored “Best First” awards for private eye and traditional mysteries. Previous winners have gone on to collect Edgar, Anthony and Agatha awards and nominations.Her editor describes the book as “an outstanding addition to our award-winners,” a judgement confirmed by the book’s outstanding reviews in the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the L.A. Times, the Washington Post, Publishers Weekly and other major newspapers. As In the Bleak Midwinter’s print runs sold out again and again--it is now in its fifth printing-- St. Martin’s quickly signed the author to a two-book contract for a third and fourth in the series. Now she’s said good-bye to the law office and hello to the life of a full-time author.Spencer-Fleming’s debut success owes much to its chillingly accurate portrayal of life and death in a small upstate New York town. “Millers Kill is an amalgam of the towns and villages that I knew as a child.” she says. “My family settled in the Adirondack Piedmont in the 1720s and I spent a lot of time tramping around those hills, hearing stories of Indian massacres and Revolutionary battles and eavesdropping on the small-town gossip about who was pregnant and whose dairy was failing. That part of New York, where poor farms and Saratoga money and the mountains all come together, has always held a bone-deep fascination for me.”Along with the Millers Kill series, she has plans for a thriller involving a stand-off at a snow-bound prison. She says life in upstate New York and Maine has given her an affinity for wintery murder and mayhem. “You realize how snow and ice can rule your life. The weather, like any well-written villain, is both fascinating and deadly.”Awards2002 Agatha Award for In the Bleak Midwinter2003 Anthony Award for In the Bleak Midwinter2003 Macavity Award for In the Bleak Midwinter2003 Dilys Award for In the Bleak Midwinter2003 Barry Award for In the Bleak Midwinter2007 Nero Wolfe Award for All Mortal Flesh2007 Gumshoe Award for All Mortal FleshIn the Bleak Midwinter
It's a cold, snowy December in the upstate New York town of Millers Kill, and newly-ordained Clare Fergusson is on thin ice as the first female priest of its small Episcopal church. The ancient regime running the parish covertly demands that she prove herself as a leader. However, her blunt manner, honed by years as an army pilot, is meeting with a chilly reception from some members of her congregation. Chief of Police Russ Van Alystyne , in particular, doesn’t know what to make of her, or how to address “a lady priest” for that matter.The last thing she needs is trouble, but that is exactly what she finds. When a newborn baby is abandoned on the church stairs and a young mother is brutally murdered, Clare has to pick her way through the secrets and silence that shadow that town like the ever-present Adirondack mountains. As the days dwindle and the attraction grows between the novice priest and the married police chief, Clare will need all her faith, tenacity, and courage to stand fast against a killer’s icy heart.Praise

“Superb!” 
—Library Journal

“Terrific action scenes...what really distinguishes In the Bleak Midwinter, however, is the author's skillful portrayal of her protagonist's inner conflict.” 
—Washington Post Book World

“A riveting page-turner from start to finish.” 
Publishers Weekly (starred review) —

“Without ever slighting the central situation of the abandoned mother and her abandoned child, Spencer-Fleming shows admirable resourcefulness in the changes she rings on it.” 
Kirkus Reviews —

“Compelling...many twists.” 
—Romantic Times

“Filled with many twists and turns...[a] warm tale.” 
—Midwest Book Review

“The prose soars...the story twists and turns to the last page.” 
Maine Sunday Telegram —

“Julia Spencer-Fleming is already a winner, but she deserves a triple crown. In a strong, distinctive voice, she sets her characters down In the Bleak Midwinter and pits them against public murder, personal demons, and the power of nature itself.” 
—Kathy Lynn Emerson, author of the Face Down Mysteries

“One of the most impressive "first" crime novels I've read. A priest, a cop, a baby on the doorstep, and a lot of snow combined with suspenseful results for one great book.” 
—Charlaine Harris, author of Shakespeare's Counselor

“Don't miss this one! You'll be rooting for Clare Fergusson in this engaging and vital mystery.” 
—April Henry, author of the Claire Montrose mysteries and Learning to Fly

Awards2003 Anthony AwardNamed in honor of critic, writer and editor Anthony Boucher, the Anthony Awards are presented annually at the World Mystery Convention, Bouchercon. » Read "Bright Lights, Sin City; Bouchercon 34 and Me".2003 Agatha Award2003 Dilys Award2003 Macavity Award2003 Barry Award2002 nomination for Mystery Ink's Gumshoe Award for Best First Mystery2001 St. Martin's Press/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery
All Mortal Flesh
One horrible murder. Two people destined for love or tragedy. Emotions explode in the novel Julia Spencer-Fleming's readers have been clamoring for.Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne's first encounter with Clare Fergusson was in the hospital emergency room on a freezing December night. A newborn infant had been abandoned on the town's Episcopal church steps. If Russ had known that the church had a new priest, he certainly would never have guessed that it would be a woman. Not a woman like Clare. That night in the hospital was the beginning of an attraction so fierce, so forbidden, that the only thing that could keep them safe from compromising their every belief was distance---but in a small town like Millers Kill, distance is hard to find.Russ Van Alstyne figures his wife kicking him out of their house is nobody's business but his own. Until a neighbor pays a friendly visit to Linda Van Alstyne and finds the woman's body, gruesomely butchered, on the kitchen floor. To the state police, it's an open-and-shut case of a disaffected husband, silencing first his wife, then the murder investigation he controls. To the townspeople, it's proof that the whispered gossip about the police chief and the priest was true. To the powers-that-be in the church hierarchy, it's a chance to control their wayward cleric once and for all.Obsession. Lies. Nothing is as it seems in Millers Kill, where betrayal twists old friendships and evil waits inside quaint white clapboard farmhouses.
Editorial ReviewsFrom Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. Clare Fergusson, a helicopter pilot turned Episcopal priest, and Russ Van Alstyne, police chief of Millers Kills, N.Y., are suffering in the wake of their affair in Anthony-winner Spencer-Fleming's fifth mystery, her most captivating yet (after 2005's To Darkness and to Death). After Russ separates from his wife and Clare's Albany superiors chastise her, the "problem priest" vows never to see Russ again. But when Russ's wife is found murdered in the Van Alstynes' home and the New York State police deem him the prime suspect, Clare risks everything to clear his name. The high-stakes plot evolves seamlessly with totally unexpected twists and turns, culminating in a climax that surpasses the drama of previous outings. Clare and Russ continue to struggle with their feelings and the confines of their respective vocations, while interesting new characters join the familiar residents of Millers Kill. Fans, once they start reading, will hang Do Not Disturb signs on their doors. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.From BooklistAnglican priest Clare Ferguson has become a problem: her relationship with the sheriff of Miller's Kill, Russ van Alstyne, a married man, has become the stuff of gossipmongers and church officials alike. The last thing Clare wants is to lose her parish; the last thing Russ wants is to end his marriage with Linda. Then Linda's disfigured body is discovered in the van Alstyne home, and guess who comes under suspicion? Why was she murdered? The latest entry in Spencer-Fleming's intelligently written series puts the relationship between Clare and Russ on a new track while once again broaching some thoughtful questions about religion, relationships, and morality in the modern world. That's a far cry (and perhaps a pleasant surprise) from what readers will be expecting given the jacket--which would have better suited an old Victoria Holt gothic than this contemporary mystery with ethical underpinnings. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reservedReview“Spencer-Fleming does it again! Taut prose, brilliant pacing and two of the most interesting characters around make All Mortal Flesh all the mystery you could desire.” ―New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner

“In a story as unpredictable as its characters, the resolution takes this series in a direction that should give the good bishop heart palpitations.” ―Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

“A hybrid amateur sleuth/police procedural with a healthy dose of romance....There's much to recommend this novel, including a pair of personable, complex protagonists.” ―Boston Globe

“Fans, once they start reading, will hang Do Not Disturb signs on their doors.” ―Publishers Weekly

“The latest entry in Spencer-Fleming's intelligently written series puts the relationship between Clare and Russ on a new track while once again broaching some thoughtful questions about religion, relationships, and morality in the modern world.” ―Booklist

“Murder, mystery and scandal are the backbone of this captivating mystery set in the middle of small-town America. The compelling characters bring to life this riveting installment that's quite possibly the best in the series.” ―Romantic Times (Top Pick!)

“[A] dizzying roller coaster of a ride, with one wholly unexpected plot twist after another following in rapid succession. And just when things seem sorted out at last, the author has one last surprise in store for the reader, one that raises all sorts of questions about where the series is headed.” ―Denver Post

“It's an enjoyable series (despite some grisly crimes) and there's a real pleasure in seeing how Spencer-Fleming moves the pair's friendship with frissons along....It's a snowy, sordid path to the answers. But, like a bad wreck, Spencer-Fleming's fans will be unable to look away. Hang on: It's an unsettling ride and just when you think it's done, there's a last, long, unsettling drop.” ―Portland Oregonian

“Spencer-Fleming is a fine writer, and she conveys the dizzying blankness of shock as well as anyone.” ―Houston Chronicle
Review“Easily the best yet in what was already an amazing series. . . . Subtle, intense, tough, tender, intelligent--a definite must-read and an automatic book of the year.” ―Lee Child

“In a story as unpredictable as its characters, the resolution takes this series in a direction that should give the good bishop heart palpitations.” ―The New York Times Book Review
“Intricately plotted and packs plenty of unexpected surprises . . . and a gutsy ending.” ―The Boston Globe

“Her most captivating yet . . . Fans, once they start reading, will hang Do Not Disturb signs on their doors.” ―Publishers Weekly

“The compelling characters bring to life this riveting installment that's quite possibly the best in the series.” ―RT Book Reviews
From the Back CoverObsession. Lies. Two souls destined for love―or death. Emotions explode in the latest novel from multiple award-winning author Julia Spencer-Fleming.
"Intricately plotted…packs plenty of surprises."―Boston Globe

Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne's first encounter with Clare Fergusson was in an emergency room on a freezing December night. A newborn had been left on the steps of the town's Episcopal church, where Clare just happened to be its new priest. That night in the hospital was the beginning of an attraction so fierce, so forbidden, that both Russ and Clare risked compromising all of their ethics and beliefs…
"Captivating."―Publishers Weekly

In the small community of Millers Kill, gossip spreads like wildfire. So when Russ's wife kicks him out of the house, he figures it's nobody's business but his own―until a neighbor stops by and finds Mrs. Van Alstyne's butchered corpse on the kitchen floor. To the townspeople and church folk, the murder is proof that the whispered rumors about the police chief and the priest were true. But nothing is as it seems in Millers Kill, where betrayal twists old friendships―and evil waits inside quaint white clapboard farmhouses…
"A dizzying roller coaster of a ride."―Denver Post

Quotation of the Day

The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid- Jane Austen -

Quotation of the Day

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle- Albert Einstein -

Quotation of the Day

Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring- Marilyn Monroe -