Imaginarium!

DRS members took part in the 2023 Imaginarium 3-day extravaganza this weekend (July 14-16). There was a large crowd of people, some who traveled from all over the country to be here.

 

 

 

Congratulations to DRS member Carol Preflatish for winning runner-up in the Best Screenplay Long Format category. And we also congratulate DRS member Lynn Slaughter, for being nominated in the Best Young Adult Novel for her novel Deadly Setup.

 

 

 

 

DRS authors who attended included Carol and Lynn, as noted, as well as President Elaine Munsch, Susan Bell, Lorena Peter, and Linda Rees. Pam Hirshler and Leanne Edelen also volunteered to help staff the two tables we purchased to sell our wares. Carol, Lynn, Linda, and Lorena all sat on various panels, which is a great way to share your knowledge and also a valuable way of getting your name out there and networking. See Elaine’s thoughts below.

Notes from Elaine on the weekend:

Congratulations to our own future Oscar winning screenwriter, Carol, who won the runner-up award for best long format screenplay.

Carol used Tony Acree’s talk on screenwriting as the starting point and SAVE THE CAT screenwriting book to turn her first Nathan Perry mystery, HOMECOMING TO MURDER, into a screenplay.

Thanks to Pam and Leanne for giving of their time to help man the table.

The general consensus of the authors attending was that this is really a networking event. Sales of our books were decent. The Bourbon anthology caught everyone’s eye as they passed the table so several of these jumped off the table.

The most note-worthy networking was with the Kentuckiana Romance Writers, who had a table directly across from us. Their current president, Dona Whitehead, crossed the aisle to talk with us about doing some collaborative meetings. The incoming president offered a suggestion about our groups sponsoring a one-day event spotlighting ‘Strong Women Writers and Strong Women in books’. Obviously, this will require quite a bit of exploration before it can be accomplished.

But that was one idea discussed. We invited their members to sit in or zoom in on our meetings and they did the same for us. They meet the day after we do, second Sunday of the month. Details to follow.

We met publishers and a ton of authors and hopeful authors. Invitations were extended to all to attend our meetings. I’m sure we’ll get a speaker or two out of this.

Top of the morning to you, and top o’ the rest of the day for some good Irish reading.

Since it is the month of St. Patrick, I thought it would be a good time to muse about some Irish mystery writers and some writers who write about Ireland.

Tana French

The first name that jumps to the head of the line is Tana French, who penned the Dublin Murder Squad books. The first book in the series, IN THE WOODS, is excellent. The ensuing books in the series feature a different protagonist in each, but are tied together since this person appeared in the book previous as one of the noticeable characters, but definitely not the lead.

Ken Bruen

Many years ago, my daughter and I visited Ireland on a short trip. We dashed from Dublin to Galway on the train, which took a blink of an eye to go from one coast to the other. Ireland is, after all, about the same size as the state of Illinois. We explored Galway. After we returned home, I discovered author Ken Bruen, who is from Galway and sets his books there. The first one, THE GUARDS, introduces us to Jack Taylor, an alcoholic ex-Garda who solves problems. The books were very successful and made into movies starring Ian Glen as Taylor.

Adrian McKinty

Adrian McKinty was born in Northern Ireland, but now lives in Australia. He drew on his heritage to write a series of books featuring Sean Duffy, a Catholic cop in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Each time before Duffy gets in his car, he stoops down to study the undercarriage in case there is a bomb. This award-winning series is definitely worth your time.

Stuart Neville

Another Irish author whose books are set during the Troubles is Stuart Neville. THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST is an award-winning book worthy of your time.

Irish Cozies

The aforementioned authors do not write cozies, which have become the better selling sub-genre of mystery. Irish cozies pepper the bookstore shelves and customers devour them in stacks. A good browse and you will discover that not only do Irish authors write about Ireland, but a plethora of American authors have discovered the Emerald Isle as a setting. These authors’ protagonists live abroad, working in a variety of occupations, but always stumbling upon a body or two which dot the beautiful countryside and graveyards. At this rate, Ireland may decide to close its borders to Americans for fear the homicide rate will rise as its visitors ramble around the cities, towns and villages. Some of the authors to look out for are: Carlene O’Connor, Cathie Murphy, Sheila Connelly, and Dicey Deere among others.

Brew yourself a ‘cup o’tae’ or pour a bit of Jameson to sip as you turn the pages of any of these wonderful works. Sit back and let the leprechauns peek over your shoulder.

 

 

A few weeks ago, I was talking with Miki and she mentioned reading The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. This stirred up long-forgotten memories of my introduction to Tey’s seminal work. I was a freshman in college (ancient history now) and my English teacher, Sister Josepha, recommended this book. We had been reading Richard III (“Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this son of York.”) by Shakespeare.

If you have not read (and why not?) The Daughter of Time, published in 1951, it features as its protagonist Inspector Allan Grant, a bedridden patient in hospital. To cheer him up, his friends bring him a variety of books. When a friend brings him a portrait of Richard III, Grant begins his research into the hunchbacked king and his era. Long story short, he does enough research to question the long-held version of Richard, believing the ‘bad’ king could have been a ‘good’ king, had he lived.

This book sent me on my own quest to discover the real Richard. Somehow in the pre-Google age, I connected with the American branch of the Richard III Society, dedicated to clearing Richard’s name. And then, lo and behold, I joined like-minded Ricardians to form the Ohio chapter.

Most of the members lived in one of the Ohio ‘C’ cities: Cleveland, Columbus, or Cincinnati. We organized ourselves, agreeing to meet quarterly, traveling up and down I-71. We established a newsletter, all the trappings of a chapter.

I don’t remember all their names, but what an interesting group of people. Tom, a history teacher, was a culinary expert in medieval foods. He would bring ‘desserts’ to the meetings. Another was a member of the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism). He made his own chain mail, not as easy as knitting a sweater. At every meeting one of us would present a short paper on an aspect of medieval life or the life of Richard. Very intimidating for such a dilettante as myself, but I always made a decent showing in spite of my shaky knees.

Our chapter was asked to host the Annual General Meeting. Quite the honor. Naturally, I volunteered to organize this event with the help of another member. And that we did. Held at the Marriott in Cleveland, Tom, the culinary expert, worked with the hotel to provide a medieval feast (without throwing bones on the floor). Everyone donned their costumes and we spent the weekend back in the fifteenth century. A grand night indeed.

Many years later, my daughter and I made a trip to York, England, where we visited the Richard III museum, a very moving experience.

I cannot close without mentioning a most beautiful book about Richard. The Sunne in Splendor, written by Sharon Kay Penman, is a meticulously researched book about the ‘hunchbacked king.’ Penman insisted authors who wrote of historical events and personages should adhere to the facts or acknowledge the bending of them. As well as penning volumes close to one thousand words each, she also created the Justin de Quincy mystery series set in medieval times. My recollection is that she was a Sister in Crime, one I sadly never had the opportunity to meet. Sadly, she passed away in 2021.

The Daughter of Time sent me on a mysterious journey. I became a member of the Richard III (say who?) Society and, in a roundabout way, to the Sisters in Crime (say what?). And I’ve had a roaring good time along the way.

January 12^th marks the forty-seventh anniversary of the passing of Agatha Christie. She was 86 years old. Only the Bible and the Bard outsell her books. No wonder she is the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of all times) in the mystery writers’ realm.

 

Christie created two of the most enduring sleuths: Hercule Poirot, he of the little gray cells, and Miss Jane Marple, she of the knitting needles and quiet observations. To say that Christie’s books, especially the Poirot or Marple books, have provided film makers with a plethora of stories is quite the understatement. The number of adaptations for both the silver screen and the little box is amazing, and providing work for so many actors portraying the two sleuths.

The American public met Christie in 1920 with the publication of THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES. Monsieur Poirot, meet your adoring public.

Her last book, SLEEPING MURDER, was published in 1976, but written in the 1940’s. This was Jane Marple’s last case.

Overall, Christie wrote seventy-four novels, plus many short story collections. She penned sixteen plays. The most famous, THE MOUSETRAP, opened in London in 1952, and ran continuously until the pandemic of 2020 closed all the theatres. There is a report that the production is finally coming to Broadway in 2023, though no specific details are available.

Not only did she pen mysteries, but her life also provided one: the missing eleven days in 1926. Books and movies have taken over the speculation of this ‘hidden time’ in her life.

A fairly recent publication, THE SCIENCE OF MURDER, The forensics of Agatha Christie, by Carla Valentine, examines how the Dame and her thinking/methods predate the modern science of forensics. The chapters cover the various aspects of the science as we know it today, from fingerprints to toxicology. If you are an aficionado of Christie, this book is a nice addition to your library.

I leave you with some quotations, either from her works or in her own words:

“Every murderer is probably someone’s best friend.”

“I specialize in murders of quiet, domestic interest.”

“The best time to plan a book is while you’re doing the dishes.”

And finally, worthy of contemplation,

“Very few of us are what we seem.”

Remembering Debi Huff

It has been a year since we lost our dear friend, Debi Huff. She continues to be missed. Let’s take a minute and remember her smile and her wit.

 

Happy New Year from your 2023 board. We hope this will be an exciting year for all of you with new works-in-progress or finding a home for those completed works.

A few notable changes coming with the new year:

 First, as a result of the survey sent out, we will be changing the starting time of our meetings to 11 a.m. with the program starting at noon. Please note: our January meeting will be at the old time of noon with the program at 1 PM. This was set with the speaker before we changed the time of our meetings.

Second, while we will continue to work on the craft of writing, our format will change. Our sessions will be more interactive. All of you will be contributing as we discuss various topics or dissect various aspects of the craft.

For example, in January, we are going to start at the very beginning, which Julie Andrews in THE SOUND OF MUSIC tells us, is a very good place to start. We are going to discuss Where do you get your ideas? Our published authors will speak to the origin of their stories. Those of you who are still working on a story can tell us where your idea came from. Those searching for ideas can ask questions or relate your ideas for future stories.

In February, now that we have the idea, what is next? Do we outline? How detailed? If not, what is the ‘seat of the pants’ writing?

In March, we sit down and start the process of putting words on that blank piece of paper.

Get the idea? We want everyone to participate. There are no dumb statements. Really, there aren’t.

Programming goals are to have speakers that will teach us something about the writing process or the publishing process. Mixed into that line-up, we want to have some technically savvy presenters so we learn some of the basics of police procedure, private investigator practices and, hopefully, a field trip or two for some in person learning.

Also, each month we want to spotlight one of our Derby Rotten Scoundrels via our web site blog – that is to say, we would like a brief article (about 500-600 words, plus abt 50-word bio), especially from those who haven’t already posted an article, on some topic related to yourself, your writing, your favorite authors – this will be very open and flexible. This will be a good way to meet each other and learn an unexpected thing or two about our sisters. You can volunteer now by emailing Elaine and we will set up the queue.

Thank you for reading all this. We hope to see you on January 14^th, at noon, via Zoom. Our speaker is John DeDakis, a former senior editor at CNN and author of several books. The most recent is FAKE, a Lark Chadwick novel. Be sure to register for the zoom when Susan sends out the invite.

Lastly, a big thank you to all who attended the Holiday Book Signing at Barnes & Noble on December 3^rd. All of the authors appreciate your support.

New Year, New News. Sit right down and write yourself a book!

Your board: Elaine, Carol, Susan, Leanne, Patience and Miki.