Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts

Monday, January 9, 2023

The Textbook for this class

 It's amazing what you'll stumble across when googling.

lifelong learners logo
Lifelong Learners: An Independent Collaborative (an outfit out of Boston, apparently) offered a course last year called The Mysterious World of Art Crime, Fictional and Factual.


This is the list of course materials:

Books and Other Resources:
The Art Forger, B.A. Shapiro
The Rembrandt Affair, Daniel Silva
Stealing Mona Lisa, Carson Morton
The Strange Case of the Dutch Painter, Timothy Miller
Painted Ladies, Robert Parker
The Art Thief, Noah Charney
The Raphael Affair, Ian Pears

Now I nothing about this outfit or whether, like the Ted Baxter Famous Newscasters School, they only attracted one student. And no, I don't know whether the course will be repeated (Although if you want to rise up as a mob and demand it, go HERE .)

But it's nice to be included, one way or another.


Ted Baxter Famous Newscasters School.



Thursday, September 8, 2022

Listen up!

 It's finally here!

audible logo

I have been listening to the brilliant rendition of my book The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle by Peter Noble and I'm just delighted. I hope you will be, as well. This Sherlock Holmes novel available at all the usual suspects, including

Audible

Audiobooks

Amazon

...and other letters of the alphabet.

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Eliza will be heard

I have had people ask me whether the audio version of The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle will be available in Audible format.

Lo and behold, it is apparently available in that format for pre-order right now, at the low low price of $12.24, which is a savings of over 5 buckaroos.

I don't know how long it will be available at that price, so hie thee to:

Amazon

Or if you prefer,

Audible

The book is narrated by Peter Noble, who does a fantastic job. I really think you'll enjoy it.


Saturday, July 2, 2022

All the cool kids are doin' it

audiobooks logo

 Now hear this.

 Now hear this.

The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle is now available  for pre-order from Audiobooks.com in audiobook format (obviously), suitable for listening to, or...listening to louder.

Avoid the Sept. 6th crush, pre-order now.


Monday, May 16, 2022

Coming Soon to an ear near you

audrey hepburn as eliza
 

Okay, I can finally announce that the audiobook version of The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle is "coming soon"

--"soon" meaning in September.

From Tantor Media.

Also, Eliza Doolittle Day is May 20. Mark your calendars!

Thursday, April 14, 2022

At War with the Ants

At War with the Ants poster
 Here's a blast from the past. 

A screenplay which I wrote in 2010 was subsequently filmed by our local community college, BPCC. And now, barely 12 years later, there's a trailer up on Youtube. If you're curious, it's called At War with the Ants

Check it out.

And I guess, just in case you're so wowed by the trailer, that you'd like to see the whole movie, Go Here to buy.

Monday, February 14, 2022

I'm not insane!

gauguin self portrait
Have saber, will travel.


I mean, I had this figured out long before any German scientists.

"The story of van Gogh's madness was part of a coverup, the authors say, by none other than van Gogh's friend and fellow artist Paul Gauguin."

For the full article, 
check out NPR 



Scion Society hazing

 The admissions test was brutal.
First they blindfolded me. Then:

Crew of the Lone Star Barque Society membership card
(Actually I just had to give my name)
1) They asked me whether the train from Paddington at 8.30 would get me to Devon by noon.

2) They asked me to discern five different types of tobacco ash by smell alone.

3) They asked me to recite "The Great Rat of Sumatra" word for word.

4) They asked the middle name of Watson's fifth wife.

5) They asked me in which story Holmes first mentions "the little grey cells."

6) They told me to put on a deerstalker cap backwards.

7) They swore me to secrecy.

But I passed! I'm now a member of the Crew of the Lone Star Barque Society (based in Dallas). I can put a swagger in my step.

Monday, February 7, 2022

Book burning

man throwing book into fire
 Face it: if you read books, you read banned books. If you ban books, you don't read books.

This is really a war between readers and non-readers.

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Launch Day!

a compelling central mystery foreword review

 Run, do not walk, to your nearest bookstore, kibrary, computer or cellphone--

It's out!

Friday, October 1, 2021

First Review of The Dutch Painter

 

So...it's still available to subscribers only on Booklist, but I have the okay to share with you the first review of



dutch painter cover
The Strange Case of the Dutch Painter:


The Holmes pastiche industry rolls on. This time we don't have a newly unearthed Watson
manuscript with a waspish Holmes and boneheaded Watson. Rather, the great man is
concealing his identity under a borrowed name, Vernet. Appropriate, since he's distantly related
to the artistic Vernet family and the case he's working is art theft. The ersatz Watson, there to aid
the investigation, is art maven Lermolieff, who understands his job is to observe Holmes-Vernet
as well as record the investigation. He has much to offer, from first finding the bloodhound "a
carnival attraction that took in clues and spat out solutions," to understanding that deduction
"was a mask for his real passion: justice." Their inquiry takes them through the Parisian art world in the waning nineteenth century and features encounters outlandish and entertaining. Holmes investigates van Gogh's suicide and crosses swords—literally—with Gauguin, while Lermolieff gets the world's first electroshock treatment. It's a fine tale, stylishly written.
Don Crinklaw

Monday, June 28, 2021

Now available for pre-order.

Hello again! 

My second novel, The Strange Case of the Dutch Painter, is now available for pre-order On Amazon.

Dutch painter cover
Paris, 1890. When Sherlock Holmes finds himself chasing an art dealer through the streets of Paris, he’s certain he’s smoked out one of the principals of a cunning forgery ring responsible for the theft of some of the Louvre’s greatest masterpieces. But for once, Holmes is dead wrong.

He doesn’t know that the dealer, Theo Van Gogh, is rushing to the side of his brother, who lies dying of a gunshot wound in Auvers. He doesn’t know that the dealer’s brother is a penniless misfit artist named Vincent, known to few and mourned by even fewer.

Officialdom pronounces the death a suicide, but a few minutes at the scene convinces Holmes it was murder. And he’s bulldog-determined to discover why a penniless painter who harmed no one had to be killed–and who killed him. Who could profit from Vincent’s death? How is the murder entwined with his own forgery investigation?

Holmes must retrace the last months of Vincent’s life, testing his mettle against men like the brutal Paul Gauguin and the secretive Toulouse-Lautrec, all the while searching for the girl Olympia, whom Vincent named with his dying breath. She can provide the truth, but can anyone provide the proof? From the madhouse of St. Remy to the rooftops of Paris, Holmes hunts a killer—while the killer hunts him.


Friday, April 16, 2021

No More Cover-up

  I would like to unveil for you the cover of my second novel due to be released (tentatively) in January of 2022, The Strange Case of the Dutch Painter. I don't want to say too much about it right now. Suffice it to say that Sherlock Holmes investigates the murder of Vincent van Gogh.

That's right--I said murder.

dutch painter cover



Wednesday, April 14, 2021

A Cautionary Tale

New Lagniappe story up, set in my dawlin' New Awlins. Check it out.



A snippet: 

two silhouettes on the shade"Pretty soon, though, some disturbing news filters its way down to Ed. The newspapers are full of it. Some society babe, apparently, last year’s queen of Comus, has had her house on St. Charles burglarized. Nothing missing, ma’am, except her shadow. This is a new one, even for New Orleans cops. They sit around scratching their heads and sipping hot coffee even in the heat, because that's what cops do."


Monday, April 12, 2021

The Begging Bowl

coffee cup
I've gone and done it. I've signed up with Buy Me a Coffee, which, if you're not familiar with it, is a simple method by which you can drop a dime--no, that doesn't sound good--drop six bits on me in appreciation for what you see here. It's mainly for readers of my Lagniappe feature, but on Blogger I'm not able to assign de widget to de specific page. 

(According to my stats, some of you are reading it, or have at least wound up on that page by pure accident and run shrieking into the night. You might give me a hint.) 

Of course, you do not have to give a wooden nickel. I am not so easily discouraged and will continue to accost you with material one way or another. But if you feel an itch to do so, I will toast you as I down each cup of delicious Jamaica Blue Mountain (if I should make such largesse. JBM is not for the cheap seats.)

There's a little yellow button on the side of the page, along with all the other junk. If you feel insulted by the very idea, let me know in the comments below. I'm not wedded to the idea, and those used coffee grounds are good for three, four days. Thanks.

(There's a new Lagniappe feature soon to arrive.)

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

As they say in The Godfather

lots of elizas left
 

My book supply is almost completely deleted now. 10 books are winging their way to the winners of my Goodreads giveaway in the far-flung corners of America and up in Canadi-i-o.  I hope they enjoy the book and they let me know about it, one way or the other. I like hearing from readers. I'n a habitual reader myself.

 

keep your friends close and your readers closer

As they say in The Godfather,





Monday, April 5, 2021

Also...Indie Bookstore Day!

indie bookstore day
April 24th.
Find out how you can support your local indie and score a free audiobook! Am I good to you or what?

 

It's National Library Week !



                            Celebrations during National Library Week



  • Monday, April 5: State of America's Libraries Report released, including Top Ten Frequently Challenged Books of 2020.
  • Tuesday, April 6: National Library Workers Day, a day for library staff, users, administrators and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers.
  • Wednesday, April 7: National Library Outreach Day, a day to celebrate library outreach and the dedicated library professionals who are meeting their patrons where they are.
  • Thursday, April 8: Take Action for Libraries Daya day to rally advocates to support libraries.


Monday, March 29, 2021

Goodreads Gods

 Well, my Goodreads giveaway is over. 2800 people vied for ten copies of my autographed novel. There must have been blood in the streets.

 And I thought I'd contact the winners to see if they wanted any particular inscription.  The personal touch, you know? And I did contact a couple of them. But then I got this message from the Goodreads gods:

goodreads warning`

Well, fair enough. I don't want to spam anybody. But if there's a chance in hell any of the winners read this post and would like a personalized note, contact me sooner than later. Congratulations! I never win these things.

Saturday, March 13, 2021

A Book by its cover

Jennifer Do By the way, I'm extremely pleased to announce that Jennifer Do, the artist who did such an amazing job on the cover for The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle, is on board once again for my second endeavor,

The Strange Case of the Dutch Painter. Can't wait to see what Jennifer has up her sleeve up with this time.