Death in the Footlights

Crime and the theater have always had a mutually beneficial relationship. As an extremity of human behavior, crime is dramatic. We see this in plays that we might not immediately think of as mysteries. Oedipus Rex, of course, and Medea, which could be viewed as an ancient Cornell Woolrich revenge story—The Bride Wore Poison. O’Neill’s Mourning Becomes Electra is, among other

MUG SHOT: CARRIE SMITH

Carrie Smith has won writing awards and a fellowship to the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. Her debut mystery novel is SILENT CITY. In this Mug Shot profile, she lets us in on her writing routine and who some of her favorite authors are.

A Cavalcade of Cozy Mystery Authors

Host Robert Daniher (far left) with the cozy crew of (left to right) Mary McHugh, Carole Bugge (aka C.E. Lawrence), Susan Breen, and Peggy Ehrhart. On Saturday, October 17, Madison Public Library and MWA-NY hosted the first-ever Bones & Scones reading event in Madison, New Jersey. A cozy mystery version of Noir at the Bar, Bones & Scones was the brainchild of

CATCHING UP WITH THE CREATURES, CRIME, AND CREATIVITY CON

During the last weekend of September, I attended the Creatures, Crimes, and Creativity (C3) conference in Hunt Valley, Maryland. The C3 is an annual book lovers’ event for fans and writers of horror, mystery, suspense, thriller, fantasy, and paranormal. Attendees were greeted with a tote bag of goodies, including a copy of Prose ‘n Cons magazine, a notepad and pen set, and

MUG SHOT: C.J. CARPENTER

C.J. Carpenter was born and grew up in Upstate New York. She worked in advertising and television production before she decided to embark on a writing career. About her first novel, Never Alone, Kirkus Reviews wrote: “A promising debut for fans of the procedural thriller. The complex heroine and startling denouement lift this one above the average and bode well for future installments.” Her second novel, Hidden Vices, was released in July.

INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES: THE INSIDE STORY — LESSONS LEARNED

On the blog, we have recently published reports on four bookstore interviews I conducted recently: Doylestown Bookshop, the Mechanicsburg Mystery Bookshop, Moonstone Mystery Book Store, and Buffalo Street Books. This project began because Sisters in Crime asked Stefanie Pintoff and me to interview Otto Penzler and Ian Kern of Mysterious Bookshop about the state of the retail book business. SinC

ENTER SHOOTING: HOW THE THEATER CAN HELP YOUR FICTION

All the lying and the hiding and the subtext of theater add up to the best elements of a good crime story. Many novelists, like David Mamet and Theresa Rebeck, have launched their novel-writing careers from a background in theater. Theater has taught them how to tell a story. Is it any surprise then that the most dramatic of novel

INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES: THE INSIDE STORY — DOYLESTOWN, PA

Meet Glenda Childs, owner of the Doylestown Bookshop. BACKGROUND: Doylestown Bookshop is a general bookstore that has been in business 18 years and has excellent community support. The customer base skews somewhat to women of all ages, and they have regular children’s programs. They have eight bookclubs. The store is 6,000 square feet, and it 75% books with 25% gift

Scroll to Top