Sulari Gentill, An Interview

Sulari from PPPress

We recently congratulated Sulari Gentill for her award nominations for her book Crossing the Lines. Sulari is also the author of the Rowland Sinclair mysteries, published by Poisoned Pen Press. The fifth in the series, Gentlemen Formerly Dressed, was released in June. Copies are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2N5KsYB

Gentlemen Formerly Dressed

Here’s the summary of Gentlemen Formerly Dressed.

There’s an Evelyn Waugh-meets-Agatha Christie feel about this series.

Handsome, wry, and witty despite his impeccable manners, and the dedicated black sheep of his conservative, wealthy Australian family, Rowland Sinclair prefers to leave managing the immense family fortune and politics to his elder brother, Wil, while pursuing a life as a gentleman artist. A life in company of boho housemates Clyde, a fellow painter; Milton, a plagiarising poet; and Edna, the beautiful, emancipated sculptress who is both his muse and the (unacknowledged) love of his life.

Having barely escaped 1933 Germany while reluctantly pursuing an off-the-books mission in Munich, the usually stoic Rowly remains horrified and deeply troubled by the changes that have come about under the Nazi government. The country which he knew in his early twenties as the centre of modern art and culture, is now, under Hitler, oppressed and sanitised. Tortured by the SA for the degeneracy of his own paintings, he bears both physical and emotional scars. For the first time he is moved to take a stance politically, to try and sway the political thought of the time. A friend of the Left and son of the Right, Rowland doesn’t really know what he is doing, or what should be done, but he is consumed with a notion that something should be done. Plus he needs to recuperate.

And so Rowly and his friends make for England rather than returning to Sydney. In London, in the superlative luxury of Claridge’s, they feel safe. Then Viscount Pierrepont is discovered in his club, impaled by a sword. Pierrepont is sporting a frilly negligée and makeup – so, a sex crime? Too embarrassing. And too bizarre a death for this aging gentleman, and him newly wed. His murder, and the suspicion falling on his young niece, quickly plunge the Australians into a queer world of British aristocracy, Fascist Blackshirts, illicit love, scandal, and spies ranging from London and its suburbs to Bletchley Park and Oxford, and inevitably drawing in Wil Sinclair as well as players like H.G. Wells and Winston Churchill. It’s a world where gentlemen are not always what they are dressed up to be.

*****

Michael Barson recently interviewed Sulari Gentill for Bookreporter.com. We’d like to share the link to the article. https://bit.ly/2L2Nfkp

Mark de Castrique, Award Nominee

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Poisoned Pen Press authors are on a roll lately. Mark de Castrique is a nominee for the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award for his novel, Hidden Scars. The award is presented annually for printed works that focus special attention on Western North Carolina. Signed copies of Hidden Scars are available through the Web Store.  https://bit.ly/2L2fHmE

Hidden Scars

Here’s the summary of Hidden Scars.

When Asheville, NC, private eyes Sam Blackman and Nakayla Robertson are asked by an eighty-year-old client to investigate the suspicious death of her brother, they warn her there is little chance of success. Paul Weaver died nearly seventy years earlier. The only documentation she has is the sole surviving copy of a coroner’s report stating his death was caused by an accidental fall while hiking.

There’s a red flag: local son Weaver knew every inch of the mountain trails. The returning World War II veteran had enrolled at Black Mountain College, a liberal local school with an international reputation for innovation, thanks to its stellar faculty and advisers like Buckminster Fuller and Albert Einstein. The college of the 1940s is currently being portrayed in a film being shot on the site of its former location. The plot is based on a book by a local author. The research behind both may provide a lead in the Weaver case.

One is drawn from movie crew member Harlan Beale, an octogenarian mountaineer who knew Weaver. In a late-night voice message, Beale tells Sam he’s found something to show him. Then Beale is discovered dead in the Black Mountain College Museum. His murder turns the cold case white hot. When a second killing follows, the question becomes how to separate dark doings in the present from dark days and hidden scars of the post-war past. In typical de Castrique fashion, the answers aren’t what you expect.

No-nonsense Nakayla and veteran Sam with his prosthetic leg love their investigations which always carry a thread from the past, and love each other. An interracial couple in the South, even the new South around Asheville, they’ve surrounded themselves with a terrific support team including an unorthodox lawyer and a veteran cop, and use humor both to bind them all together and to deflect insults. Plus, it helps deal with the tragedies their work uncovers.

Sulari Gentill, Award Nominee

sulari

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know of Poisoned Pen author Sulari Gentill. She’s answered questions “In the Hot Seat”. https://bit.ly/1Vw5ZL2. She’s written about her beloved Australia. https://bit.ly/2onytv

Now, she’s nominated for two Australian awards for her book, Crossing the Lines. You can order it through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2DdMLE1

Crossing the Lines

Here’s what Poisoned Pen Bookstore owner Barbara Peters said in her latest newsletter.

The 2018 NED KELLY AWARDS SHORT LIST
The Ned Kelly Awards are Australia’s oldest and most prestigious prizes honouring published crime fiction and true crime writing.
Sulari Gentill, Crossing the Lines 
Other nominees:
Marlborough Man by Alan Carter
Under the Cold Bright Lights by Garry Disher
Redemption Point by Candice Fox
The Lone Child by Anna George
Class Act by Ged Gillmore
Pachyderm by Hugh McGinlay
Big Red Rock by David Owen
The Secrets She Keeps by Michael Robotham
The Student by Iain Ryan
Clear to the Horizon by Dave Warner
The 2018 DAVIT AWARD SHORT LIST (Sisters in Crime Australia)
“At the risk of sounding like a cracked record, Australian women’s crime writing just gets better and better every year – and Davitt judges aren’t the only ones who think so”
Sarah Bailey, The Dark Lake  (2017 First Mystery Club Pick)
Sara Foster, The Hidden Hours
Candice Fox, Crimson Lake 
Sulari Gentill, Crossing the Lines 
Jane Harper, Force of Nature 
Emma Viskic, And Fire Came Down
Crossing the Lines:
When Madeleine d’Leon conjures Ned McGinnity as the hero in
 her latest crime novel, she makes him a serious writer simply because the irony of a protagonist who’d never lower himself to read the story in which he stars, amuses her. When Ned McGinnity creates Madeleine d’Leon, she is his literary device, a writer of detective fiction who is herself a mystery to be unravelled. As Ned and Madeleine play out their own lives while writing the other’s story, they find themselves crossing the lines that divide the real and the imagined.

Diana Gabaldon & A California Bandit

Caught your attention with that headline, didn’t I? Diana Gabaldon wrote the introduction for John Rollin Ridge’s The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta: The Celebrated California BanditOnce you know the story of Murieta, the background of the book, and learn about Gabaldon’s interest in it, you might want to order a copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2J2ybSf

Joaquin

Here’s the book summary from the Web Store.

The first novel to feature a Mexican American hero: an adventure tale about Mexicans rising up against U.S. rule in California, based on the real-life bandit who inspired the creation of Zorro, the Lone Ranger, and Batman

With a new foreword by Diana Gabaldon, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Outlander series

An action-packed blend of folk tale, romance, epic, and myth, The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta tells the story of the Gold Rush-era Mexican immigrant Joaquín Murieta, whose efforts to find fortune and happiness are thwarted by white settlers who murder his family and drive him off his land. In retaliation, Murieta organizes a band of more than 2,000 outlaws–including the sadistic “Three-Fingered Jack”–who take revenge by murdering, stealing horses, and robbing miners, all with the ultimate goal of reconquering California.

The first novel written by a Native American and the first novel published in California, The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta speaks to the ways in which ethical questions of national security and racialized police violence have long been a part of U.S. history. This edition features excerpts from popular rewritings of the novel, including Johnston McCulley’s first novel about Zorro, The Curse of Capistrano (also known as The Mark of Zorro).

*****

Barbara Peters, owner of the Poisoned Pen, had this to say.

Ridge, John Rollin. The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta (Penguin Classic $17). Signed not by Ridge who died in 1867 and wrote this, his only novel, in 1854, but by Diana Gabaldon who has written a compelling Foreword I recommend to all—her discussion of what being called “Mexican” as well as considerations about the outlaw hero are two components.

You T. Jefferson Parker fans will be familiar with Joaquín Murieta and his famous head in a bottle. You may even be familiar with the thought that this novel based on a real life bandit-hero “inspired the creation of Zorro, the Lone Ranger, and Batman” although I’m not sure about Batman. Still… Murieta operated in California during the Gold Rush when incoming white boomers murdered his family and pushed him off his land. Murieta organized a band of more than 2000 outlaws to strike back, robbing, rustling, and murdering with the goal of taking back California…. Ridge’s book is both “the first novel written by a Native American (Cherokee) and the first novel published in California.” And it’s still a rousing adventure read.

Hsuan L. Hsu supplies a detailed Introduction presenting both period and publishing history with footnotes and a useful Suggestions for Further Reading section. This edition features some rewritings including “The Curse of Capistrano,” aka “The Mark of Zorro.” At a time when conversations ring about identity, Ridge and Gabaldon speak powerfully to us.

*****

If you read Gabaldon’s books, you might want to read the story she wrote about her parents. You’ll understand why she’s interested. You can find “Myth and Mountain Birthdays” on her website at https://bit.ly/2u2qRBz

Paul French & City of Devils

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Mark this on your calendars. Historian Paul French will be at the Poisoned Pen on Thursday, July 12 at 7 PM to discuss and sign his new nonfiction book, City of Devils: The Two Men Who Ruled the Underworld of Old Shanghai. Signed copies are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2KPt2BX

City of Devils

Here’s the summary of City of Devils.

By the New York Times bestselling author of Midnight in Peking—winner of both the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime and the CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction—comes rags-to-riches tale of two self-made men set against a backdrop of crime and vice in the sprawling badlands of Shanghai.

Shanghai, 1930s; it was a haven for outlaws from all over the world: a place where pasts could beforgotten, fascism and communism outrun, names invented, and fortunes made—and lost.

“Lucky” Jack Riley was the most notorious of those outlaws. An ex”“U.S. Navy boxing champion,he escaped from prison and rose to become the Slots King of Shanghai. “Dapper” Joe Farren—a Jewish boy who fled Vienna’s ghetto—ruled the nightclubs. His chorus lines rivalled Ziegfeld’s.

In 1940, Lucky Jack and Dapper Joe bestrode the Shanghai Badlands like kings, while all around the Solitary Island was poverty, starvation, and war. They thought they ruled Shanghai, but the city had other ideas. This is the story of their rise to power, their downfall, and the trail of destruction left in their wake. Shanghai was their playground for a flickering few years, a city where for a fleeting moment even the wildest dreams could come true.

Hot Book of the Week – Metamorphica

Something a little different this week. Zachary Mason’s Metamorphica is the Hot Book of the Week at the Poisoned Pen. You can order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2lXml2N

Metamorphica

Here’s the summary of Metamorphica.

A brilliant and daring novel that reimagines Ovid’s Metamorphoses

In the tradition of his bestselling debut novel The Lost Books of the Odyssey, Zachary Mason’s Metamorphica transforms Ovid’s epic poem of endless transformation. It reimagines the stories of Narcissus, Pygmalion and Galatea, Midas and Atalanta, and strings them together like the stars in constellations—even Ovid becomes a story. It’s as though the ancient mythologies had been rewritten by Borges or Calvino; Metamorphica is an archipelago in which to linger for a while; it reflects a little light from the morning of the world.

Celebrating Ian Rankin

Have you registered yet for the celebration of Ian Rankin’s thirty years publishing in the U.S.? The September conference is a two-day conference. Check out the details.

Rankin conference

Guest of Honor: Ian Rankin
Celebrating 30th Years of Publishing in the U.S.
Hosts: Hank Phillippi Ryan, James Sallis & Dana Stabenow!

Date: Sunday Sept. 2nd & Monday Sept. 3rd
To register, call 480-947-2974 or 888-560-9919

Registration Fee: $125 (includes both days)
**Seats are limited! Prepayment required**

There will be a bit of swag for you. And we are importing Ian’s photographic memoir, Rebus’s Scotland, A Personal Journey (price TBA) for sale.

The Panelists
(other than Ian and the Hosts)
Michael Brandman
James R Benn
Mark De Castrique
Warren Easley
Mary Anna Evans
Mette Ivie Harrison
Annie Hogsett
Stephen Mack Jones
Thomas Kies
Sujata Massey
Francine Mathews
John Straley
David Wagner
Tina Whittle
Reavis Z. Wortham
The Conference Location
Reserving Rooms
For Preferred room rates please go to
https://www.arizonabiltmore.com/ 
 
Use code: 2726435
Rooms: $109 + Tax & Room Fees

Here’s what will be happening for the two days.

The Program
(so far)
Sunday, September 2

9:00 AM Check In 

9:30 -11:15 Panels
11:30-12:15 Dana Stabenow interviews James R. Benn and Francine Mathews
12:15-1:30 Lunch on your own
1:30–4:30 Panels

4:30 PM An Agatha Christie “Hats and Tea” sponsored by William Morrow with Quizmaster and Host Hank Phillippi Ryan

Quizzes, Prizes, and a Poirot approved treat! We will have Signed copies of the new Sophie Hannah Poirot for sale

Fancy a Fascinator? Wear a period hat, male or female, if you wish

Monday, September 3 
9:30-10:15 Panel
10:30-11:15 Dana Stabenow and John Straley Talk Alaska Mystery
11:30-12:15 Panel 

12:30-2:00 PM (Lunch included) James Sallis interviews Ian Rankin

2:15-3:45 Ian Rankin Talks His Career, Scottish Literature….
3:45… Catch any of the authors for chat and signing

Creative Writing Classes & Workshops

Are you secretly dreaming about writing? Now is your chance to take some steps toward that dream.

NEW CREATIVE WRITING CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS (THE PIPER WRITERS STUDIO | SUMMER AND FALL 2018)

The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at ASU is proud to announce new creative writing classes and workshops in fiction, creative nonfiction, memoir, poetry, screenwriting, flash, hybrid forms, and more for Summer and Fall 2018:

 

Start Date Class & Instructor
July 10 From Notes to Narrative: Building Stories from Our Daily Liveswith Warren Glynn
Aug 4 Experimental Games of Found Writing: A Workshop with Justin Noga
Aug 4 Jump Start. Reset. Recharge. Fiction Writing Intensive with James Sallis
Sep 4 Writing from Dreams: A Multi-Genre Workshop with Kelly Lydick
Sep 8 Between Inventory and Invention: A List-Poem Workshop with Carolina Ebeid
Sep 10 In a Flash: An Exploration of Flash Fiction for Curious Readers and Working Writers with Patrick Michael Finn
Sep 15 Where the Devil Is: The Craft of Specific Detail with Tara Ison
Sep 24 Advanced Fiction Workshop with James Sallis
Sep 29 A Deeper Image: A Poetry Workshop with Joshua Marie Wilkinson
Oct 2 The Body Electric, Memoir-Style with Andrea Avery
Oct 4 The Big Picture: Writing Your First Screenplay with Beverly Smith-Dawson
Oct 20 Performance Narrative: Literary Wordplay Breaks into Stageplaywith Walonda Williams
Oct 27 At Work in Sound and Vision: A Poetry Workshop with Dan Beachy-Quick
Nov 16 Two Workshops: Poetry of Witness, Poetry as Trace and Poetry of the Body with Andrea Scarpino

 

All classes take place at the Piper Writers House (450 E Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281). Hours and costs vary. Discounts are available for students and ASU affiliates. To learn more and register, you can download a flier, find classes on facebook, visit our website at https://piper.asu.edu/classes.

The Poisoned Pen’s Book Clubs

Once in a while, it’s time to remind you about the Poisoned Pen’s Book Clubs. July is perfect as the dividing point in the year.

The new cycle begins with July to December, earning members of each club but Mystery of the Month a $25 Gift Certificate to spend in January. January seems a long way off but we already see a wealth of wonderful books publishing then.
Here’s what you need to know about the Book Clubs.

Book Clubs

Too busy to pick out books? Let us send our selections to your door. We have a variety of automatic-selection book clubs designed to provide you with fresh and exciting books each month in a variety of crime and other fiction.


British Crime Club

For the reader of British mystery, traditional and contemporary, trade paperbacks or unsigned hardcover books published in the US or the UK. One paperback or hardcover per month. More info »

Cozy Crimes Club

For the reader of Cozy Crimes. Members of this club will receive books published in the US or the UK. Six signed hardcovers per year. More info »

Discovery Club

For the reader who likes to discover new fresh fiction. One paperback or hardcover per month. More info »

First Mystery Club

Excellent for collectors interested in hot new voices, but also for readers who want to try something new without just guessing what’s worthwhile. Range is US, UK, or Canadian. The First Mystery Club will be one signed first per month. More info »

Hardboiled Crime Club

For the reader who revels in noir crime fiction. Patrick is the staff member who generally picks the books, although, as with all our book clubs, all staff make recommendations. Most Picks are US eds. Monthly. More info »

History Paperback Club

A monthly paperback selection includes mass market and trade pbk fiction. We look for first novels or first books in new series or just something a bit different. US or UK titles. Monthly. More info »

History/Mystery Club

For the reader who delights in historical fction, almost always historical mystery though we’ve been known to sneak one or two great historical fictions into the lineup. Picks are often UK. eds. Monthly. More info »

Modern First Editions

Any significant fiction. It can have a mystery element but is not considered a crime novel. Though we look for new works the Pick can as well be from an established author. Picks are almost always US. You may check new monthly releases on our website or subscribe to our monthly Booknews. Monthly. More info »

Mystery of the Month Club

Need a gift for someone who is difficult to buy for? Would you like to treat yourself to a surprise? We have the perfect gift for you, a gift that lasts the year though. More info »

SciFi/Fantasy/Horror Club

This club is smaller, 6 books per year, and all signed hardcovers. For fans of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. More info »

Surprise Me! Club

This is great fun, a book with unexpected delights whether in subject or in style. It can be a first novel but more usually is from an established author with something fresh. Usually a US ed. Monthly. More info »

Thriller Club

One First per month, mostly signed. More info »

Michael Bennett’s Things That Make White People Uncomfortable

Football player. Activist. Philanthropist. Those are all words that describe Michael Bennett, along with author. He was recently a speaker at Town Hall Seattle. We can share the program with you, however, we’d like to share the book first. You can order Things That Make White People Uncomfortable through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2tAQ9Gy

Bennett book

Here’s the summary.

Michael Bennett is a Super Bowl Champion, a three-time Pro Bowl defensive end, a fearless activist, a feminist, a grassroots philanthropist, an organizer, and a change maker. He’s also one of the most scathingly humorous athletes on the planet, and he wants to make you uncomfortable.

Bennett adds his unmistakable voice to discussions of racism and police violence, Black athletes and their relationship to powerful institutions like the NCAA and the NFL, the role of protest in history, and the responsibilities of athletes as role models to speak out against injustice. Following in the footsteps of activist-athletes from Muhammad Ali to Colin Kaepernick, Bennett demonstrates his outspoken leadership both on and off the field.

Written with award-winning sportswriter and author Dave Zirin,Things that Make White People Uncomfortable is a sports book for our turbulent times, a memoir, and a manifesto as hilarious and engaging as it is illuminating.

*****

For the first time in its over twenty-year-long history, the 1000-seat venue Town Hall Seattle sold out two nights in a row! The occasion? NFL player Michael Bennett, promoting his book Things that Make White People Uncomfortable, on June 18 and 19, an event you can watch here. The popularity of the events was unsurprising, considering that Things that Make White People Uncomfortable was a New York Times bestseller for the month of May in the Sports and Fitness category.