Maine Crime Writers

(Note from fellow Crime Writer Sandy Neily: “Enjoy Maureen’s excellent post to get out and support Maine authors for yet another day!  …  Tuesday, the 21st.  (I’ll be posting on Wednesday, the 22nd.)

I often hear from readers about how they they really like to support local authors. Thanks! We appreciate it. And guess what? This time of year is the best time for readers in Maine to get out and support local authors who they love, as well as to find new ones. Yes, there are author events in the other seasons, but when the nice weather [theoretically] ramps up, so do the opportunities to catch Maine authors doing what they do second-best [after writing, of course], which is talking to you about writing, books, Maine and everything else.

I know! You’re busy. Very busy! There’s the lawn and the kids and the porch and the visitors from away and the ice cream and the lake and the lobster and the beach and the cozy sunsets and the camping and the garden and that part of the state you’ve never been to but vowed to drive to when the weather was okay and the [if we’re lucky] a few short months to do it all in. Good news! Author events don’t have to be a chore that you wedge into an otherwise fun schedule. Your local library or craft fair likely has some Maine authors scheduled. Or the place you’re visiting does. Come on! We are a fun bunch and we are always happy to see you.

If you’ve never been to an author panel or author talk at  your local library, how about checking one out? They are free of charge, usually are about 90 minutes long. Frequently, light refreshments are served. It’s fun to meet authors and listen to what they have to say. You can bring the kids, bring the old folks, bring the visitors from away. You’ll also be showing some love for your library.

I love doing library events — I wouldn’t be a writer if it weren’t for the excellence of the local libraries I spent so much time in as a kid, first taken there by my mother, then on my own. [In particularly, major shout-out to Augusta’s fantastic Lithgow Public Library, where I’d devoured the entire mystery section by the time I was 16.]

Maine Crime Writer Jule Selbo, standing, with camera, takes a photo of Dick Cass, far left, as the crowd gathers before a Making Your Own Mystery event at the South Portland Public Library in February. Library events pick up in the summer, and are a great way to support Maine authors and the libraries that made us. (Photo by Maureen Milliken, third author on the panel).

Participating in a library author talk or other event is pretty low-effort on your part. All you have to do is show up. Not only will the author appreciate it, but successful events help libraries stay in the good graces of the municipal government that funds the library. Having lived in a town where the library was under threat of being closed down for several years, I can assure you it’s not just hyperbole on my part. As an author, when only a few people show up for an event, I charge right ahead, full speed. I don’t feel bad for myself, but I do feel bad for the librarian who put so much time and effort into making the event happen.

I don’t mean to guilt-trip you! You should go because you want to. You’re interested, you want to support local authors and you want to support your library. You are not required to ask a question. You are not required to buy a book [though if the feeling moves you, we appreciate it]. It’s free. And THERE ARE OFTEN LIGHT REFRESHMENTS.

An even less commitment-heavy way to support local authors during the summer and early fall months is to check out local craft, art and literary fairs, where authors often have a table. There’s no pressure. You don’t have to be there at a certain time. You can leave when you want. There are other things to see, too, and other creators to support. You’re responsible for your own light refreshments, though I do know of at least one author, who will remain nameless but her initials are KF, who usually has a bowl of free candy on her table.

When we have a table at these events, we’re honestly just happy that people come by and chat, and pick up some bookmarks or other free material. No pressure to buy a book. If you do want to support local authors, though, buying a book [or two] is a great way to do it.

Buying a book directly from an author at an event not only usually gets you a signed book, but the author also makes a little more money than they do when you buy one on Amazon or at a store.

Maine Crime Writers Matt Cost, Kate Flora, Maureen Milliken and John Clark at the Belgrade Village Green Craft Fair in June last year. The authors donated some of their proceeds to the Friends of the Belgrade Public Library.

Not that we don’t also love bookstores and book sellers! You can support both indie book sellers and local authors by buying from Maine book stores. Don’t worry if the store doesn’t have the book or author you’re looking for in stock — they may be able to order it from their distributor. Many local booksellers now also have online stores where you can find books that aren’t on their shelves from the comfort of your smart phone or laptop place.

Don’t want to buy a book? You can also ask your local library to order books from your favorite author. Or you can get them through an intra-library loan.

We don’t mind if you borrow our books from the library, rather than buying it. Or even read one handed down from a friend or family member. Because the best way to support local authors is to read their books. If you read them, and enjoy them, tell your friends and family. That’s also a great way to support local authors. That word of mouth is gold.

And, as KF says, “Books make great gifts.”

Maine Crime Writers list some of the events we have coming up in our weekly update blog post, which comes out on Saturday morning. You can also find events on authors’ Facebook pages and websites, the Maine Crime Writers Facebook page, your local newspaper listings, your library’s social media, and everywhere else stuff like this is posted.

What do I have going on this summer? Thanks for asking! Here’s the schedule so far:

Tuesday, JULY 9, 6 p.m., Tuesday, Topsham Public Library, 25 Foreside Road, Topsham, I’ll be participating in a Casting Call panel with fellow Maine Crime Writers Kate Flora, Vaughn Hardacker and John Clark. We’ll talk about how different writers choose the attributes of their characters – the victim, the sleuth, and the villain – along with additional characters such as sidekicks, alternative suspects, witnesses, and others who fill out the cast.

Friday, JUNE 21, JULY 19 and AUGUST 16, I’ll be sharing a table with fellow Maine Crime Writer Kate Flora, 4-7 p.m., at the Bath Art Hop, downtown Bath.

Friday, JULY 12, AUGUST 9 and SEPTEMBER 13, I’ll be sharing a table with fellow Maine Crime Writer Kate Flora, 4-7 p.m., at the Brunswick Art Walk, downtown Brunswick.

AUGUST 25-26 – I’ll have a table at Maine BookFest, Saturday and Sunday, Head of Falls, Waterville, Maine. On one of those days, I’ll share with Kate Flora, and on the other, I’ll be sharing with another great Maine author. More information coming soon.

One final note: Be sure to keep an eye out for the fourth in my Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery series, DYING FOR NEWS, coming out late summer or early fall. What’s that? You haven’t read the first three? Well, summer is a great time of year to catch up on some good mystery reading, too. Check out my website, maureenmilliken.com, or hunt me down and we can discuss that in person.

by Jule Selbo

James Lee Burke, age 87 now, is an American author who we know from the David Robicheaux series (17 books so far, by my count) and the Sheriff Hackberry Holland series (13 books by my count). He’s got a few Edgar Awards and he’s been presented with the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America, he’s got a CWA Diamond Dagger and a Gold Dagger and the Grand Prix of Litterature Policiere and he’s a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts in Fiction.  Some of his other books are historical fiction, some are collections of short stories about love and honor and survival, some are coming-of-age tales. He earned his Master’s in English and taught at universities and the Job Corps, served as a case worker for felons and the criminally insane, worked as a pipeliner, newspaper reporter, and long-distance truck driver. A NY Times reviewer suggested his work is a bit like Faulkner, a bit like Sartre and – then, of course, a lot like James Lee Burke.

            I was excited to see he wrote an introduction to a crime/mystery book I was reading and settled in to see what he had on his mind. This is what he wrote (I am cherry- picking the best parts, the ones that resonated the most to me):

James Burke: “I have always been puzzled by our collective tendency to place American writing into categories, particularly when the categorical description is not meant to be complimentary… Terms like ‘mystery’ and to some degree ‘crime’ fiction have connotations that may not be derogatory but are hardly laudable, at least not laudable in the way the categorical terms ‘literary’ fiction and ‘metaphysical’ poetry, and my all-time favorite, ‘metafiction’ are used.”

Burke continues: “Academics do not teach James M. Cain, even though he is one of our best writers – his novel Mildred Pierce is arguably as good as any book Henry James wrote using a female protagonist. By the same token, I would suspect most academics would probably not want to call Robert Stone’s Dog Soldiers a crime novel, even though its subject is heroin smuggling and the moral insanity of a profligate society. Why not? You got me. Perhaps books that win the National Book Award are automatically excluded from the crime-novel category….

More Burke: Edna Buchanan and I both blurbed for The Black Echo (by Michael Connelly). I’d like to quote from my words…

‘…one of the most authentic pieces of crime writing I’ve ever read. When Connelly takes you into a tunnel beneath the earth, either in Los Angeles of Vietnam, you feel that you’re entering a domain of moral darkness that only Joseph Conrad could adequately describe…’

Continuing to quote Burke: “We forget sometimes that the genre begun by Edgar Allan Poe was actually a metaphor, at least for Poe, about the decay of Western civilization. James M. Cain once said that the premise of all his plots was the tragedy that befalls us when we eventually get what we want…”

Now this is just me, Jule: Just some of the “oldies” I admire that got me into the crime/mystery genre when I was a kid: John Fowles, Martin Cruz Smith, Graham Greene, P.D. James, Patricia Highsmith, John Le Carre, James M. Cain, Umberto Eco, James Lee Burke, Daphne Du Maurier, and a whole whole whole bunch more.

Among the hall-of-famers of my crime/mystery youth:

Le Carre…Smith… duMaurier… Fowles………. Highsmith…..  Cain

Eco….                 Greene………… Christie….   Chandler ….    P.D. James

As a lifelong reader of all genres, I am continually gobsmacked when I hear (or overhear) the denigration of the crime genre, the romance genre, the horror genre, disaster genre, western genre, comedy (humor) genre and others  – those that are not embraced under ‘literary fiction’.  Novelists dedicated to examining the whys and wherefores of characters and situations, of good and evil, or morality and immorality, of ethical and unethical behaviors – for me, it’s all one stewpot. And that’s what my favorite books explore.

I can appreciate all sorts of stories, but I am partial to crime/mysteries because of their  strong story engines, the creation of actions that garner great consequences, the building of puzzles of who-done-what-and-why, the examinations of malfeasance and evil and selfishness and of those who try to find some semblance of justice in the world.

Like James Lee Burke, I wonder why – just why –  why sometimes the respect (in certain circles) for the crime/mystery writer is not up there at the top. I know you all have opinions that will edify this quandary that flits through my mind – just sometimes.

Would love a list of your “old” favorites to add to mine.

I took a bit of a break from writing since I last spoke to you. I turned in my latest manuscript to my editor, CRUEL & BITTER THINGS, jumped on a plane and traveled out to the Czech Republic. Prague, to be more specific.

If you haven’t been there, you should go. Prague is a stunning city with castles and cathedrals around every corner. Cross the Charles Bridge and climb the steep hill to see the St. Vitus cathedral and the Prague Castle. There’s the apartment where Franz Kafka stayed while working there, and where he wrote one of his books. See the first Bible translated into Czech and all written by hand. When you’re done getting your fill of history, there’s an amazing brewery called U Dvou Slunco nearby that brews its own style of Czech beers and serves traditional Czech food.

Walk around the historic Old Town Square and wait with the crowd for the Astronomical Clock to chime. Sample the sausages, potato pancakes and ham shoulder that is slow cooked over a coal fire. Have a Czech beer to wash it all down and then stroll over to Wenceslas Square and the National Museum.

My favorite beer halls were U Rudolfina and U Pinkasu, both Pilsner tank pour pubs. U Pinkasu has the tap that served the first Pilsner Urquell and it also has a Gothic beer garden. We had a tremendously filling meal consisting of duck, sausages served in dark beer gravy sauce, red cabbage, sauerkraut, potato and bread dumplings, and toasted garlic bread with beer cheese. And all of this was washed down with many tank poured Pilsners. The price of all this for the three of us was roughly fifty dollars.

Prague is beautiful, clean and gorgeous. It is the safest city I’ve ever traveled around in. The people there are genuine and nice, and the architecture stunning to behold. Even more impressive is how inexpensive everything was. The hotel in the center of the city cost $80 a night for the three of us.

Now that I’m refreshed and renewed, it’s time to return to my next manuscript.

Safe travels!

Best,

Joe