Sleuthfest 2014 schedule

I'll be keeping busy at Sleuthfest 2014 in Orlando, Fla., next month, with a full schedule of events over the four days.

– On Thursday 2/27 at 1:15, I'll be conducting a "Third Degree" workshop on "Good Bad Guys and Bad Good Guys: Giving Depth to Your Sterling Characters and Humanity To Your Nasty Ones."

– On Friday at 3:40, I'll join Twist Phelan, Jennifer McMahon,and Amanda Kyle Williams for the panel "What You Say Can Be Used Against You: Creating Smooth Dialogue."

– On Saturday at 11 a.m., I'll be back with Amanda for the panel "Urban or Rural Settings: Appraising the Merits of Each" along with Michael Sears and Lisa Unger, moderated by the fabulous Hank Phillippi Ryan.

– That same day, at 3:40, I'll be talking about "Why I Write About Him/Her/Them: Characters Who Monopolize Our Time," again with Lisa, as well as Jamie Mason and Guest of Honor Laura Lippman. Signings will follow each panel.

Registration and hotel info can be found here.

The Five Best Heist Films You've Never Seen

Everyone knows the classics of the genre, but over at the Criminal Element website, I offer some picks for five great under-seen and under-appreciated heist films, including the 1950 classic ARMORED CAR ROBBERY.

COLD SHOT TO THE HEART audio cover

Here's the cover art for Blackstone Audio's forthcoming unabridged audiobook of COLD SHOT TO THE HEART, the first Crissa Stone novel, read by the award-winning Coleen Marlo. Blackstone has also released an unabridged audio version of SHOOT THE WOMAN FIRST, with KINGS OF MIDNIGHT to come later this year.
(Click on image to enlarge)

Anthony Lee's MARTIN QUINN reissued

Anthony Lee's NYC-set MARTIN QUINN is one of my favorite crime novels, the story of fatherless Irish-American street kid coming of age in a Russian mob family. Originally published in 2003, it was sadly out of print for many years. I was glad to hear a new edition was in the offing, and honored to be asked to write an introduction for it. You can find that edition, with a new cover and a slightly tweaked title (the book was briefly reprinted in 2005 as a trade paperback called THE FIX) here.
I've written about the book in the past, first in 2007 as an off-shoot of The Rap Sheet's "One Book Project," and then later as one of the titles in my list of "The Five Best Crime Novels You've Never Read." It's highly recommended, and it's great to have it back in print.