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Member since 01' Berkeley Crime Fiction Intensive April 18th, 2009 How did a Berkeley mom with twins write a first novel nominated for an Edgar® award? What does a top literary agent hope to see in a query letter? What are the most common mistakes crime novelists make when they create fictional cops and P.I.'s? Learn the answers to these questions and tips on how to find your "voice," overcome the biggest obstacles to writing, and promote yourself and your work effectively--before and after publication--with Bay Area crime novelists Cornelia Read, David Corbett, Juliet Blackwell, Tim Maleeny, Sophie Littlefield, and a hard-boiled gang of law-enforcement professionals. Renowned literary agent Amy Rennert (whose authors include Jacqueline Winspear, Jimmy Buffett, Michael Krasny, and Kris Kristofferson) will be our panel guest during the afternoon session. Please join us on Saturday, April 18th, for a full-day mystery writing conference at the historic Berkeley City Club, designed by Julia Morgan. The $140 registration fee includes breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks, and parking validation—with a no-host cocktail reception/book-signing at the end of the day. For more information and a downloadable registration form, please visit http://www.corneliaread.com Hope to see you there! REVIEWS: Book List's Top Ten Mysteries 06' Every page is a pleasure in this mystery debut featuring barb-wielding ex-debutante Madeline Dare. A newspaper reporter trapped among the white trash of Syracuse, New York, she becomes enmeshed in the 20-year-old unsolved murder of two young hippies. Read’s plot crackles and pops, but her characters steal the show. Among them: a lustful livestock auctioneer and a batch of in-laws who make the cast of Deliverance seem urbane. This is sure to be loved by fans of comic mysteries, but don’t be surprised if Tom Wolfe readers are equally smitten by Read’s venomously witty portrait of a fallen WASP. Read's impressive debut stars the unusual Madeline Dare, a jumble of contradictions who comes from an old-money Long Island family but is married to Dean, a railroad worker, in Syracuse, N.Y., which our heroine likens in a moment of exasperation to "some mental dust bowl." Dean's job requires frequent travel, while Madeline writes fluff features for the local newspaper. Nothing in her background prepares her for trying to solve the bizarre 20-year-old murder of two young women, a crime that her cousin, Lapthorne Townsend, might have been involved in. Read writes with verve and passion as Madeline sets out to clear her cousin's name, an effort that develops into a much larger, life-changing struggle. Some readers may find Madeline's volatile character less than credible, but the fine supporting cast—notably husband Dean and flaky, flamboyant friend Ellis—consistently delights. The author's sharp social commentary on everything from the idle rich to the environment adds to the pleasure. 5-city author tour. (May) |