The Carnival of Criminal Minds has come to town courtesy of the lovely and talented Barbara Fister. Come one, come all.
There are no sideshows in this carnival, just main attractions, that is, links to other crime fiction blogs so you can check 'em out. (Some might argue that this isn't really a crime fiction blog, and who am I to argue? Still, I'm going to use the word other because I want to.) You can find the previous carnival here, and the next one will be here. But I digress.
Where should we begin? Well, I guess we could begin and end with Crimespot, the blog aggregator that will give you links to a lot more blogs than this one will. I won't end there, however, even though my natural laziness leads me to want to. Instead, I'll press on.
Next up is A Writer's Life, where Lee Goldberg reviews books, gives you the TV Main Title of the Day, and tells of his great love for fanfic.
Bookgasm doesn't devote itself exclusively to crime fiction, but there are a lot of reviews of it there. Not to mention other good stuff. It's a don't-miss daily visit.
Jon the Crimespree guy doesn't update the Central Crime Zone every day, but when he does, you don't want to miss out.
And speaking of Jordans, there's the velvet fist in the iron glove of Jennifer Jordan, Human under Construction. Not always mystery-related, but I, of all people, can't complain.
You all must already have Sarah Weinman's blog bookmarked. She gets more hits in ten minutes at Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind than I get in a week.
Wanna know what's happening in crime fiction in Ireland? Declan Burke says that Crime Always Pays.
Over at the Crime Fiction Dossier, David Montgomery will tell you about the Book of the Week, among other things. (Yes, it's true that none of my books have never been Book of the Week, but I'm a big-hearted guy.)
You gotta keep up with the Crime Dogs, and Anthony Neil Smith is Crimedog One.
Short stories? I love 'em. So do the folks at Criminal Brief.
Lonnie Cruse writes books about '57 Chevrolets, so you know I'm going to check her blog and go Cruse'n with Lonnie now and then.
How young is Dave White? Dave White is so young that I have shirts older than Dave White. His Writing Block often features video from an obscure TV series that only he watches.
Peter Rozovsky keeps as close watch on crime fiction outside the U.S., and you'll want to keep up with Detectives Beyond Borders, too.
Speaking of which, Martin Edwards, over in Merrie England, has a thoughtful and entertaining blog with one of my favorite titles: Do You Write under Your Own Name?
No matter whether he's writing about books or movies or anything else, Ed Gorman is always worth reading. A definite must.
There are too many Femmes Fatales for me to list, so just check the blog.
Allan Guthrie is a Hard Man, and those are good to find.
Hey, There's a Dead Guy in the Living Room is another group blog. And wotta group! You'll have to take a look if you didn't click the link above. They hosted the carnival before me.
I'm sure none of The Lady Killers has ever really killed anyone. Right? Right?
Some very funny women write The Lipstick Chronicles, but sometimes they get serious.
The Murderati are something like the literati except they write about murder. And a whole lot of other stuff.
The best source of crime-related writing research on the 'net? Maybe Steve Lewis's Mystery*File. See if you agree.
Reviews of short stories? What a great idea. They can be found at Nasty, Brutish, and Short.
Patti Abbott writes crime stories. Hey, she lives in Detroit. What would you expect? Motown tunes?
Poe's Deadly Daughters is another group blog, always fun to read.
Mark Coggins sits behind Riordan's Desk. Interesting posts and interesting pictures.
James Reasoner is the author of Dust Devils, one of the best books of 2007, as well as a few hundred (I'm not making that up) other books. He's a nice guy with a few Rough Edges.
Sandra Ruttan is shy about expressing her opinions, but occasionally she'll let something slip at Sandrababbler.
I've known Sandra Scoppottone for a while. I'm even tuckerized in one of her books. So naturally I read her Writing Thoughts.
Sean Doolittle is another of the Crime Dogs.
I can't spell Duane Swierczynski's name, but I can refer you to the Secret Dead Blog. Maybe you can learn to spell it. His name, that is.
Steve Hockensmith and I recently interviewed each other, so naturally he's a fine guy and someone whose blog you should read. Now.
Steven Torres writes about Precinct Puerto Rico, but he blogs at The Crime Time Cafe.
Beth Foxwell, aka The Bunburyist, will keep you posted about lots of good stuff.
While I love the glamor shots at The Good Girls Kill for Money Club, the posts are good, too.
Everybody needs a laugh. Steve Brewer will send you one from The Home Front.
Don't we all want to know The Naked Truth about Literature and Life?
The Rap Sheet is essential reading. 'Nuff said.
Ray Banks is The Saturday Boy. He's shy and retiring.
When the apocalypse comes, Victor Gischler, Crime Dog, will be ready. He already hosts the Blogpocalypse.
J. D. (Dusty) Rhoades is another shy flower. One of these days he'll let go and speak his mind at What Fresh Hell is This?
Writers Plot isn't about gardening. Well, sometimes it is.
Cats & Crime & Rock & Roll is Clea Simon's blog. I love the name. What more could one ask for?
Patrick Shawn Bagley is the Maine Crime Writer. And a poet, to boot.
The Sons of Spade is devoted to the fictional P. I. It's hosted by J. V. D. Steen, who writes P. I. novels and rock criticism. The site's in English, though Steen isn't. English, that is.
Ben Rehder writes very funny books, and sometimes his posts are funny, too. Sometimes, though, they're about bunnies.
Paul Bishop is an L. A. cop and a writer of good books. He walks Bish's Beat.
Susan Wittig Albert walks the Texas Hill Country, and you can find out what's blooming there at Lifescapes.
I got carried away, didn't I? I guess it was to be expected, and while I didn't include all the things I could (and probably should) have, it's time to close down the carnival for today. I hope you all had fun and that you won at least one stuffed animal.
No jokes from me today, but here are some good ones from the past.
And how did the jokes on April Fool's Day get started, anyway? Apparently, nobody knows.
Frequent commenter Benjie Potter writes about Of All Sad Words.
The Brownwood Bulletin - Brownwood, TX > Archives > News > Author to be featured at this year’s Robert E. Howard Days: "CROSS PLAINS: An author who gained international fame when his Conan character was immortalized by Hollywood will again be the focus of a weekend of study and events in Cross Plains during June.The humorous writings of Howard will be examined at a celebration dinner on Friday, June 13, in Cross Plains, and the speaker will be Mark Finn of Vernon, author of “Blood and Thunder: The Life and Art of Robert E. Howard.”"
Check out this interview with Murdaland editor Michael Langnas. Great stuff.
If you don't know who John D. Loudermilk is, then you must by younger than I am. Even at that, you might have heard one of his songs. He wrote a lot of good ones.John D. Loudermilk - bio, pictures, lyrics, songs - extensive webpages about the man and his music: "John D. Loudermilk was born on March 31, 1934 in Durham, North Carolina. One of the most productive Nashville songwriters in the 1960s, he acquired a prominent place in the rock, teen, pop and country music of that decade."
winnipegsun.com - Ian Shanley - Holy visions: "Owner Michael Wilk from Wisconsin was astonished and almost sober when he noticed white markings pop out against a backdrop of black scales on the side of his four-feet long pet alligator's side, spelling the word God."
Beach dinosaur a horny vegetarian with frills - 26 Mar 2008 - NZ Herald: Science News from New Zealand and around the World: "Scientists have discovered a new species of plant-eating dinosaur in Mexico whose large neck frill and three giant horns helped it attract mates and fight predators on a jungly beach 72 million years ago.Mexico's Coahuila desert - now rocky and cactus-filled - was once covered by ocean where dinosaurs of all kinds thrived along the coast and hid from a giant relative of the fierce predator tyrannosaurus rex.Palaeontologists say they have found evidence of a new species here related to the triceratops, known to have the largest head of any animal ever to have walked the earth."
Top 10 Most Outrageous Moments from "The Transporter" Film Series | AlwaysWatching.org: "In honor of yesterday's news that Jason Statham will soon be kicking some more collective bad-guy ass in a new Transporter film, here are the top 10 most outrageous, awesome, and insane moments from the cinematic masterpieces that comprise The Transporter series."
The 101 most useful websites - Telegraph: "There are tens of millions of sites to visit. Not forgetting telegraph.co.uk, here are the only ones you actually need. Compiled by David Baker."
We got back from the AggieCon yesterday around noon, so we had plenty of time to clean up after the cats and catch our breath. As always we had a great time at Texas A&M, and even though Joe Lansdale wasn't there this year, we caught up with Scott and Sandi Cupp, Wille and Chuck Siros, Tom and Barbara Knowles, Kim, Renee, and others. The culinary highlight of the weekend was a trip with Tom and Barbara to Hullabaloo's, where I had the Redneck Philly Cheesesteak sandwich, which is a regular Philly Cheesesteak, with a couple of slices of thick-sliced bacon added. Ummm, bacon.
You'll have to let Allan Guthrie explain.
Madonna wants to remake Casablanca - and of all the places in all the world, she plans to set it in war-torn Iraq | the Daily Mail: "It is one of the greatest films of Hollywood's golden era, a triple Oscar-winning classic with electrifyingly charismatic stars and a script bursting with memorable lines.But now Madonna has stunned the movie industry with plans to remake Casablanca – and this time set it in Iraq."
It appears on the Campaign for the American Reader blog, and the questions came from Steve Hockensmith. My questions for Steve will be published tomorrow. Check 'em out.
I read Neil Gaiman's book several years ago and liked it quite a bit. However, I think in this case, rare as it is for me to say this, I liked the movie even more. It's a little too long, but that's the only fault I can find with it. Movies like this, for whatever reason, seem to drag out their endings, and this one's no different. Aside from that, though, I loved it.
Fine performances all around. Michelle Pfeiffer is maybe more beautiful than ever. Robert DiNiro seems to be having a wonderful time, and Claire Danes is a lovely star, not that Sienna Miller is bad, herself. The lightning-catcher airship is everything you could ask, and while I'd never seen Charlie Cox before, or at least that I remember, he was dandy as the young hero.
I seem to remember that Stardust was a disappointment at the box office. I have no idea why that would be. I thought it was a fine piece of entertainment. I guess not everbody likes the same things I do. Imagine that.
Reason Magazine - Hit & Run > Successful Medical Necessity Defense in Texas Marijuana Case: "This week Tim Stevens, a 53-year-old Amarillo man who smokes marijuana to relieve the cyclical vomiting syndrome associated with HIV infection, used a necessity defense to win an acquittal on a possession charge. His attorney, Jeff Blackburn, says this appears to be the first time the defense, which argues that breaking the law was necessary to prevent a harm worse than the one the law is aimed at preventing, has been successful in a Texas marijuana case."
The Carnival of Criminal Minds has come to town courtesy of the lovely and talented Barbara Fister. Come one, come all.
