In this issue of the Blood-Letter: a preview of our January guest Chelsea Cain, awards, and more!

January 2016
CONTENTS:

Bloody Thursday, January 28th Welcomes Chelsea Cain

“How to trick yourself into writing a novel: gimmicks, tips, and techniques”

Chelsea Cain is the author of The New York Times bestselling Archie Sheridan/Gretchen Lowell thriller series (Heartsick, Sweetheart, Evil At Heart, The Night Season, Kill You Twice, and Let Me Go), and the Kick Lannigan series (One Kick, and the upcoming Kick Back). Her Portland-based thrillers, described by The New York Times as “steamy and perverse,” have been published in over 30 languages, recommended on “The Today Show,” and appeared in episodes of HBO’s “True Blood” and ABC’s “Castle.” Stephen King included two of her books in his top ten favorite books of the year, and NPR named Heartsick one of the best 100 thrillers ever written. According to Booklist, “Popular entertainment just doesn’t get much better than this.” Both of Chelsea’s series are in development for television. She is currently writing a Mockingbird comic book for Marvel.

Ms. Cain won the Spotted Owl Award for her book, One Kick.

Please join us for our first meeting at our new location, The Old Church. Social time will begin at 7:00 pm, with the program beginning at 7:30 pm.

Back to Top

New Meeting Location: The Old Church

Old Church
“The Old Church is a nonprofit, non-religious, concert and event venue with a rich history and a dynamic 21st century identity. Built in 1882, the structure served as a church until 1967 when the congregation had dwindled and the building faced destruction. A band of dedicated citizens got together, saved the building, and helped form a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Our mission is to preserve and celebrate The Old Church as a historic and vital architectural structure, and, to best utilize its inherent qualities as a performance space by creating, fostering and promoting programs that reflect and enhance the artistic and cultural life of the community. Today the Old Church is a contemporary, comfortable space that is wheel chair accessible and air conditioned.” (Used with permission from The Old Church website.)

The Old Church is located at:
1422 S.W. 11th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97201

Directions on how to find the church are available at: www.theoldchurch.org/directions/

The Old Church doesn’t own a parking lot, but there is parking available in the neighborhood. There is a City Center Parking lot next to The Old Church on Clay at 10th, and metered street parking in the area.

We are excited about our new location, and hope that you will join us for our inaugural meeting in our new space.

Back to Top

Awards

stephen-king-francois-sechet-paris-02 The 2015 Hammett Award

Stephen King was awarded the Hammett Prize for a 2014 work of excellence in crime writing by a US or Canadian author. He received the award for Mr. Mercedes on October 3, 2015. It is given by the International Association of Crime Writers (North American Branch).

The 2015 Shamus Awards

The Shamus Awards are given annually by the Private Eye Writers of America to honor excellent work in the PI genre. They were announced on October 9th at Bouchercon 2015 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

BEST HARDCOVER PI NOVEL
Hounded, by David Rosenfelt

BEST FIRST PI NOVEL
Invisible City, by Julia Dahl

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL PI NOVEL
Moonlight Weeps by Vincent Zandri

BEST INDIE PI NOVEL
The Shadow Broker, by Trace Conger

THE EYE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
Parnell Hall

Back to Top

Spotted Owl Committee Narrows the Field

The members of the Spotted Owl Committee have been hard at work, reading mysteries written by authors living in the Pacific Northwest. They expect to make their decision around the beginning of March. Some of the authors/books that have garnered very positive responses are:

  • Dugoni, Robert. Her Final Breath
  • Easley, Warren. Never Look Down
  • Ford, G.M. Threshold
  • George, Elizabeth. A Banquet of Consequences
  • Hobbs, Roger. Vanishing Games
  • Lawson, M.E. Viking Bay
  • Lawson, Mike. House Rivals
  • Limon, Martin. The Ville Rat
  • Talton, Jon. High Country Nocturne
  • Thoft, Ingrid. Brutality
  • Weston, Julie. Moonshadows

If you haven’t read some of these books, now is the time to give them a try.

Back to Top

Upcoming Mystery Conferences

Left Coast Crime

Phoenix, Arizona
February 25-28

Left Coast Crime moves from Portland to Phoenix, Arizona at the end of February.

American Guest of Honor is Gregg Hurwitz, best-selling author of 14 thrillers, most recently Don’t Look Back.

International Guest of Honor is Ann Cleeves, author of two series. The Shetland series began with Raven Black, and the most recent available in the US is Thin Air. The other series features her character Vera Stanhope. The most recent novel available in the US is Harbour Street. There is a seventh novel in the series, The Moth Catcher, but currently it is only available in the UK. Cleeves has been inducted into the British Crime Writers Hall of Fame.

The Toastmaster is Catriona McPherson. She writes the Dandy Gilver detective stories, set in 1920’s Scotland, and standalones As She Left It and The Day She Died. McPherson was born and raised in Scotland, moving to California in 2010.

If you’d like more information, check out their website: www.leftcoastcrime2016.org

Future Bouchercons

If you want to plan ahead, here are the locations for future Bouchercons:

Bouchercon 2016
New Orleans, Louisiana
September 15-18
US GOH: Harlan Coben
International GOH: Mo Hayder
Lifetime Achievement: David Morrell

Bouchercon 2017
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
September 12-15
Canadian GOH: Louise Penny
US GOH: Megan Abbott
Intl. GOH: Christopher Brookmyre
B’Con4Kids GOH: Chris Grabenstein

Bouchercon 2018
St. Petersburg, Florida
September 13-16

Bouchercon 2019
Dallas, Texas
September 12-15

Back to Top

Upcoming Meetings

March 24th – Dr. Karen Gunson
May 26th – David Osborne

We hope you will join us.

Back to Top

Member News

Friends of Mystery is happy to publish news and press releases from our members in our Member News section, with the following considerations:

  • The news must be related to mystery or true crime writing, films, and television, as well as non-fiction examinations of the mystery genre.
  • Friends of Mystery will not be able to edit announcements, and will publish them as provided.
  • Friends of Mystery will include one image with each announcement, if provided.
  • Friends of Mystery is not responsible for the content of news announcements, and we reserve the right to not publish any announcements which we feel will reflect poorly on the organization and do not advance the organization’s mission.

Back to Top

Submissions Needed

Members and readers are encouraged to submit book or film reviews, comments on authors, and recommendations for books to read or questions about mysteries, crime fiction and fact. If you have suggestions of mysteries worth sharing, please contact the editor at: jvoss@pcez.com