With love, from my house to yours

By Gayle Carline
Mystery Author and Woman-Whose-Sanity-is-Slipping

This is my last post for 2013, and I want you all to know how much I enjoy being a part of this crew. I learn a lot from the other folks, and I can only hope I've been of some use to everyone, even if it's only for comic relief.

My family has its holiday traditions, one of which is the Christmas photo. We began in our living room when our son was a tot. One year, we included the dog in the picture. The next year we added the cat. When I bought my first horse, we had to get creative, so we moved everything (including the cat) out to the ranch where Frostie is stabled. Over the years, we've lost one dog, gained two more, and of course, have two horses now.

We've also gotten the photo session down to a science. In the old days, we used to do a lot of scrambling to find the perfect location, get the animals settled, and pray that there were more than six exposures left on the roll of film. Our prayers were rarely answered, so with each click of the camera we were hoping that everyone was at least facing the same direction.

Now, Dale and Marcus take the dogs and cat while I get the horses out. Frostie, my little red mare, stands with either my hubby or my son. I have to hold Snoopy, because he's a nibbler. It begins with his muzzle on your shoulder, followed by his lips, then the teeth come out.

At one point this year, Snoopy wanted to sniff Duffy's butt. Duffy was not having it, and turned around to bite Snoopy's nose. It could have been World War III if I hadn't been there to spank the horse and kick the dog. (Oh, I didn't KICK him, really. I just pushed his tush around with my boot.)

All I can say is, thank God for digital cameras.

This is what we started with:

This is how it all ended:

If you'd like a very badly narrated version of the Carline Christmas letter, go to my blog post. Otherwise, I will see you all in 2014. I'm really looking forward to it - it's gonna be great!

Holiday Gifts for Mystery Readers and Writers

If you're a reader of this blog, chances are you know somebody who's going to get you a book you've already read for Christmas. Print the following list, and give it to that person.

A chocolate pistol,

typewriter bookends,

 

British mystery knowledge cards,

The Ex kitchen knife set ,

 a bloody bath mat,

 

 and a shower curtain to go with it.

There are many, many gifts to be found for people like us.  Tell your friends to try sites like Think Geek, Cafe Press, The Literary Gift Company, or just google "gifts for mystery book lovers".  Many places will ship in time for Christmas until December 20th.

And if they're really running late, tell your friends you'll be happy with a gift card from your local bookstore.

Happy holidays!  Merry Christmas!  Joyeux Noel!  Buon Natale! Feliz Navidad!

'Tis the season...

A few weeks ago, I shared some books I'm looking forward to this fall.  Here's the first book on my list, being released tomorrow.

Duck the Halls (Meg Lanslow #16) by Donna Andrews (Minotaur hardcover, 22 October 2013).

reviewed by Marlyn Beebe.

As usual, Meg and her husband Michael have a lot on their plates.  Not only do they now have twin four-year-old boys, Michael has signed up to be a volunteer fireman, and it's almost Christmas.
A few days before the holiday, they are awakened in the middle of the night by an emergency call summoning Michael to the New Life Baptist Church.

Luckily, there's no fire.  However, the choir loft has a cage full of angry skunks in it, who have done what angry skunks do.  As a result, even after the skunks have been removed, it will be impossible to use the church for any Christmas events.  Trinity Episcopal, which Meg's mother attends, offers to let the Baptists use their sanctuary for their Christmas concert.  Meg is conscripted to create a schedule for the other events planned at the Baptist church, but there are complications.

At the concert itself, a boa constrictor slithers out of the Christmas tree, and the next morning, the parishioners of the Catholic church arrive to find it filled with hundreds of ducks.  Meg's task is becoming more complex by the minute. 

So far, the pranks have been harmless, but then there is a fire at Trinity Episcopal, and an elderly vestryman is killed.  Obviously, this is not the work of the original pranksters, but Meg doesn't know how to prove it.

This story is vintage Andrews.  Meg's family and the  residents of Caerphilly are, as usual, just eccentric enough to be believable.  This is bound to become a classic Christmas mystery.



FTC Full Disclosure:  Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for the e-galley.

Duck the Halls (Meg Lanslow #16) by Donna Andrews (Minotaur hardcover, 22 October 2013).
- See more at: http://crimefictioncollective.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2013-10-09T00:00:00-07:00&max-results=8#sthash.qDM0I2Af.dpuf

Duck the Halls (Meg Lanslow #16) by Donna Andrews (Minotaur hardcover, 22 October 2013).
- See more at: http://crimefictioncollective.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2013-10-09T00:00:00-07:00&max-results=8#sthash.qDM0I2Af.dpuf

Duck the Halls (Meg Lanslow #16) by Donna Andrews (Minotaur hardcover, 22 October 2013).
- See more at: http://crimefictioncollective.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2013-10-09T00:00:00-07:00&max-results=8#sthash.qDM0I2Af.dpuf

Duck the Halls (Meg Lanslow #16) by Donna Andrews (Minotaur hardcover, 22 October 2013).
- See more at: http://crimefictioncollective.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2013-10-09T00:00:00-07:00&max-results=8#sthash.qDM0I2Af.dpuf

Duck the Halls (Meg Lanslow #16) by Donna Andrews (Minotaur hardcover, 22 October 2013).
- See more at: http://crimefictioncollective.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2013-10-09T00:00:00-07:00&max-results=8#sthash.qDM0I2Af.dpuf

Duck the Halls (Meg Lanslow #16) by Donna Andrews (Minotaur hardcover, 22 October 2013).
- See more at: http://crimefictioncollective.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2013-10-09T00:00:00-07:00&max-results=8#sthash.qDM0I2Af.dpuf

Duck the Halls (Meg Lanslow #16) by Donna Andrews (Minotaur hardcover, 22 October 2013).
- See more at: http://crimefictioncollective.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2013-10-09T00:00:00-07:00&max-results=8#sthash.qDM0I2Af.dpuf

Duck the Halls (Meg Lanslow #16) by Donna Andrews (Minotaur hardcover, 22 October 2013).
- See more at: http://crimefictioncollective.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2013-10-09T00:00:00-07:00&max-results=8#sthash.qDM0I2Af.dpuf

Duck the Halls (Meg Lanslow #16) by Donna Andrews (Minotaur hardcover, 22 October 2013).
- See more at: http://crimefictioncollective.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2013-10-09T00:00:00-07:00&max-results=8#sthash.qDM0I2Af.dpuf

Appreciating the Season

I read and review books about crime and murder on a regular basis, but I don't recall ever being directly affected by violence.  (I'm knocking on wood, right now.)  And one of the differences between crime fiction and real life is that most of the fiction has a happy ending. 

Christmas is generally a cheerful time of year, but the incident in Connecticut just ten days ago adds some poignancy to the atmosphere.  It was deeply troubling, and as a result many of us are making a point of appreciating our loved ones more than usual.

I read one statement that really struck me, and I'm sorry I don't remember who wrote it.
The writer expressed regret that what's remembered after incidents like this is the name of the perpetrator, and not the victims'.

That this is undoubtedly true made me very, very sad, so I'm going to  pay my respects to everyone who suffered due to the violence in Newtown by listing the names of the twenty children and six seven women whose lives were ended so abruptly.

- Charlotte Bacon, 2/22/06, female
- Daniel Barden, 9/25/05, male
- Rachel Davino, 7/17/83, female
- Olivia Engel, 7/18/06, female
- Josephine Gay, 12/11/05, female
- Ana M. Marquez-Greene, 04/04/06, female
- Dylan Hockley, 3/8/06, male
- Dawn Hochsprung, 06/28/65, female
- Madeleine F. Hsu, 7/10/06, female
- Catherine V. Hubbard, 6/08/06, female
- Chase Kowalski, 10/31/05, male
- Jesse Lewis, 6/30/06, male
- James Mattioli , 3/22/06, male
- Grace McDonnell, 12/04/05, female
- Anne Marie Murphy, 07/25/60, female
- Emilie Parker, 5/12/06, female
- Jack Pinto, 5/06/06, male
- Noah Pozner, 11/20/06, male
- Caroline Previdi, 9/07/06, female
- Jessica Rekos, 5/10/06, female
- Avielle Richman, 10/17/06, female
- Lauren Rousseau, 6/1982, female (full date of birth not specified)
- Mary Sherlach, 2/11/56, female
- Victoria Soto, 11/04/85, female
- Benjamin Wheeler, 9/12/06, male
- Allison N. Wyatt, 7/03/06, female
- Nancy Lanza, 52, female


(And many thanks to NBC and THE VOICE for providing the perfect video to accompany this post.)

Christmas Sing-a-long

It's a busy week here at the Carline house. Baking, wrapping, getting the engine in my 14-year old minivan rebuilt... Ho. Ho. Noooooo. At any rate, nothing lightens my mood like singing a rousing Christmas carol or two. Of course, being an author with books to sell, a tie-in would be nice.

I was itching to do a promo video, and asked my son to provide the soundtrack. Unfortunately, he was all tied up with things like finals and juries (these are finals that you sing), so he was unable to help. That means it's up to you.

Let's have a sing-a-long! Here's your motivation (in addition to not being a singer, I'm also not a photographer, but play along):

Okay, in your best Karen Carpenter Dulcet Tones, sing along with me:

(insert beautiful piano/string intro here)

I'll be home for Christmas,
You can count on me.
Please have Nooks,
And lots of books,
And Kindles 'round the tree.

Christmas Eve will find me
Where the stories lead.
I'll be home for Christmas,
With lots of stuff to read.

Happy Holidays with much love for your support and friendship,

Gayle.

P.S. Here's the original, in case you'd rather listen to her.

Holiday Chaos

  By Gayle Carline

Everyone here at the Collective has been trying to get their latest novel finished, editing done, book released, etc. They are all nearly collapsing under the weight of their deadlines and begging for a holiday break. Personally, I'm fresh as a daisy.

The guilt is staggering.

You see, I'm working on the third book in my Peri Minneopa mystery series. I keep saying that I'm "in the middle of writing" it, but the truth is, I've only gotten 13,000 words, which is not nearly the middle. While not wanting to rush the process, I want to get it written and edited and out sooner, rather than later.

Time IS money to writers, these days.

In addition to getting this book finished, I have an idea for another mystery, either a standalone or a new series. I can only work one story at a time, so I'm just jotting notes here and there to remind myself what I want to do with the new book while I work on the current project.

So I should be carving out time each day and getting a goodly number of words on the page. It's my plan. My goal. My raison d'être.

But it's also Christmas.

I promise myself I'll write, just as soon as I:

1. Get the Christmas picture taken (see this blog post for how that went).

2. Get the Christmas letter written.

3. Print Christmas card-letter and mail (see this blog post for how that went).

4. Clean living room to prepare for tree.

5. Go get tree.

6. Decorate tree (oh, just go here for the rest of this).

7. Decorate rest of house.

8. Clean rest of house before attempting No. 7.

9. Shop.

10. Shop some more.

This isn't the whole list and you can see how my writing is going. In addition, I still have riding lessons to teach, and riding lessons to take (don't judge, this is my de-stresser), and a Corgi who pouts when bored, so I must walk him and/or play with him at intervals.

So I have one question for my fellow Collective: How the hell do you get anything done during December?

Happy holidays, anyway, from me and my familia!