I. J. Parker

, Female

United States

Profile Information:

About Me:
I write historical mystery novels and stories, and mainstream historical novels.
To amplify: Four novels in the Akitada mystery series and some eleven short stories on the same subject are in publication. The novels have been published by St. Martin's Press and Penguin and translated into a number of foreign languages. All the stories have appeared in AHMM.
The fifth novel in the series is due to be released September 28.
The Akitada novels take place against the background of eleventh century Japan. Their protagonist is a minor official in the imperial government who gets drawn into criminal cases either because of his official duties or because he has a personal interest in a case of injustice. One of the short stories won a Shamus award. Check out the web page for more detail.
I also recently finished a novel involving the Heike Wars and am currently working on a thriller set in eighteenth century Germany.
I Am A:
Reader, Writer
Website:
http://www.ijparker.com
Books And Authors I Like:
I like British police procedurals, as well as some of the Scandinavian ones. I also like Hillerman and some books by a number of other authors. Of the new ones, I like Olen Steinhauer and Kevin Wignall and Stuart MacBride. I'm afraid this is only a sampling.
Movies And TV Shows I Like:
Mostly I dislike them. I'm watching reruns of MASH and THE SOPRANOS at the moment.

Comment Wall:

  • Angie

    Hi, Ingrid! Nice to see you made it over to crimespace. There are quite a few MWF members running around here, too.

    Apr 7, 2007

  • Daniel Hatadi

    Welcome aboard, Ingrid. Glad you made it. Now do we get to see a photo? :)

    Apr 7, 2007

  • Steven Torres

    Hi Ingrid,
    Could this mean that you'll soon be entering the blogging world (aka The Blogosphere)?

    Apr 8, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    Hah, Angie, I thought the name sounded familiar. Daniel wants a photo. I keep those top secret. On the other hand, that silhouette just isn't me.

    Do I take it that we can blog here if we feel like it? I may not get any more writing done.

    Seriously, it's so nice to find old friends here. I already like the place.

    Apr 8, 2007

  • Angie

    Well, you don't have to use a photo of yourself - you can use whatever image you want as an avatar, including a book cover.

    And yes, you can blog here if the mood strikes. Daniel's done a great job with this place - tons to see and do!

    Apr 9, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    Now, where else can you check your e-mail and find a whole bunch of people who want to be your friend? Thank you all! Some of you are friends already, and I'm more than grateful to some for their past friendship. The new friends are wonderful.

    I staggered to my computer this morning (massive sciatica attack -- Curse it!) and immediately experienced a warm and fuzzy feeling.

    I'll do something about the photo soon and may write the occasional blog. It will be about writing. My mind is on a single track lately. However, just now I'm behind with a chapter for my readers and have to do battle with a POV switch.
    Thanks to all my friends again!

    Apr 10, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    Yes, that would work, Daniel. Bless your nosiness. Now Bryon mentions how much fun it is to watch me take technological leaps (That reminds me that my daughter gave me a new camera and I threw away the teeny $60,00 card thingy, not knowing what it was.), so I'll have to figure out how to get the art into the image space. It'll probably kill my computer. :)

    Apr 10, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    Okay, as you can see I mastered the trick. Thanks to a very good site. My compliments. Few things work the way they should.
    The passport photo is old. Never mind how old. It is also absurdly flattering. I saved it, hoping for some such opportunity as this. :)

    Apr 11, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    Thanks, Judy. That is nice. Wish more people felt that way. Sigh! It's hard to sell a new novel when everybody looks at your sales first.

    Apr 11, 2007

  • Angie

    Aw, that's a great photo! See? You're way more techno-savvy than you thought!

    Apr 11, 2007

  • Daniel Hatadi

    You're real! :)

    Apr 12, 2007

  • Eileen

    Hi Ingrid,
    We've briefly chatted before. I am a fan. I love historicals. Nothing better than old, er, former English teachers. :)

    Apr 14, 2007

  • JackBludis

    Yes, who can forget the PWA barbecue, and the miles and miles of brush and scrub we had to ride through to get there. PWA always has those good dinners--not just dinners and awards, but whole shows.

    Apr 16, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    Austin was not a great experience for me (my first Bouchercon and I was convinced everybody hated me). I have since been to Chicago, and that was great, especially the PWA banquet. Not sure if you were there. I have a very soft spot for PWA and its people. My kind of people.

    Apr 17, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    Hi, Scott. Well, you've been warned. That's a very old photo. Maybe I should have put the dog up instead. This place has innumerable cats but not enough dogs.

    Apr 24, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    A bar? There's a bar here? Fantastic. What will Daniel think of next?

    Apr 25, 2007

  • EDWARD C MORGAN

    Hi Ingrid...nice to run into a fellow MWFer on here...

    Apr 29, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    Hi, Clay. Good to see you here. What are you working on?

    Apr 29, 2007

  • Lee Lofland

    Hi Ingrid. i was browsing and ran across one of your posts. What a small world!

    May 9, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    Welcome, Lee. How handsome you look in your picture. This site is lucky to have you for your expertise and experience. You will be very popular.

    May 9, 2007

  • Lynette Hall Hampton

    Hi Ingrid, I'm glad to see you here. It's nice to see the faces of friends from MWF.

    May 15, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    Thanks, Lynette. I thought I'd beat you, but you're quite right.

    May 16, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    I took early retirement a few years ago to concentrate on writing. I live in Hampton Roads, Keith. Two years go I was in Raleigh for a signing. Absolutely loved that part of North Carolina.

    May 25, 2007

  • Otis Twelve

    Here at your request, Ingrid. Figure if you're hanging out at this locale, the company must be engagingly disreputable.

    Jun 28, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    Well, as you see, a lot of friendly and disreputable -- as well as very talented -- characters hang out here. And the discussions are mostly very good. Sandra Ruttan generally comes up with interesting topics.

    Jun 28, 2007

  • carole gill

    really top advice just now. thanks again.

    Aug 17, 2007

  • Clea Simon

    Hi IJ- You might enjoy the Franklin. I'd recommend the slightly harder-edged "City of Shadows," rather than her sweet, but softer new one, "Mistress of the Art of Death." As you can probably figure from my site, I seem to have a higher tolerance for the softer stuff. (That said, I'm now reading Michel Faber's short story collection, "Vanilla Bright Like Eminem," and he is one sick f*ck.)

    Sep 5, 2007

  • Timothy Hallinan

    Boy, do you deserve that PW star. My editor sent me an ARC (I don't know how she got it, since she's at Morrow) and I devoured it: one extremely long night's worth of reading.

    I've liked all your books enormously, and I hope this one goes through ten printings in six months.

    Sep 8, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    Just found your comment, Timothy. Thanks. It's enormously appreciated. These days I live for reviews and the occasional praise from a reader. Word of mouth moves very slowly, at least in my case.

    Sep 14, 2007

  • Timothy Hallinan

    Well, you're on a short list of my favorite writers. (So is Naomi Hirahara, who's also on Crimespace.) I think you do all of it well -- plotting, characterization, structure, and (especially) setting. And I'm really picky.

    Sep 14, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    Thank you. Such praise always means much more from a colleague.

    Sep 15, 2007

  • Ann C. Theis

    Yup, I'm Ann the Overbooked . . . I'm working on the Oct featured titles now - Island of Exiles will be included (I'd planned on this before the nice note from you).

    Sep 27, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    I think the mention of the PW star is already up, Ann. As I said, Overbooked always gives me joy when I google book my titles. It's a wonderful thing to do for writers. I wish Kirkus, Booklist, and Library Journal had bothered to review. I seem to get fewer reviews every year.

    Sep 28, 2007

  • Pepper Smith

    Saw your flash ad in the Shelf Awareness newsletter. Looks pretty cool!

    Sep 28, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    Thank you, Pepper. So that is what Shelf Awareness referred to when I got it in an e-mail. Still not quite sure what it is, but if people see it, then it must be good.

    Sep 28, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    Oh, thank you. You are very generous. I like the forum and chatting with other writers (well, readers, too).

    Oct 5, 2007

  • Daniel Hatadi

    Ingrid, to get the flash ad working right, you have to add an image by specifying 'insert an existing image', then point it over here:

    http://www.ijparker.com/images/island-flash-ad-3.gif

    Oct 9, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    Thanks, Daniel. I've replaced the flash ad (which is long and narrow and doesn't fit well), with the image above.

    Oct 10, 2007

  • Byron Leon McAllister

    Sho'nuff, you're here--though when I cut and pasted, what came up was Otis Twelve. Turns out one needs spaces after I. and J. to find your website. I was gonna bid for "friend," but can find no such option on either of our profile pages. Navigation at this site is really something! I don't think it'd be worth while to increase the frequency of my visits to it: each visit I discover something else that doesn't work. Byron

    Oct 28, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    Byron, I've had the same problem with the "friend" thingy. Never mind: I know we're friends and I may yet figure it out. Yes, Otis is here, but he hasn't posted in the forum yet. Bryon is here, too. And Caro. I just found her.

    Oct 28, 2007

  • Timothy Hallinan

    Hi, there --

    I just wrote something nice about you in a blog about what I read in November. It's maybe half of the way down, under remarks about Robert Van Gulik's "The Chinese Nail Murders."

    The URL is http://www.timothyhallinan.com/blog/?p=63

    Hope you enjoy it. And I get relatively good traffic, so who knows? It might sell some books.

    Dec 9, 2007

  • I. J. Parker

    Much appreciated, Tim. I left a comment. I like your blog. How do you find the time to read so much? I must go back and take notes next time. There were a number of things I'd like to read myself.
    Am just finishing up Godwin's THE SNAKE STONE. Very much like his Edgar winner. In fact, one wonders if he has nothing new to say. Some readers like the sameness, though.

    Dec 9, 2007

  • carole gill

    Your research must be meticulous. How do you do it? Did you study it at University?

    Jan 30, 2008

  • I. J. Parker

    Thanks, Carole. Well, yes, I'm university-trained, though not specifically on Japanese matters.

    Jan 31, 2008

  • I. J. Parker

    Hi, Sally. Well, I've returned to watching MASH reruns. Life was simpler then.

    Feb 11, 2008

  • L.J. Sellers

    Hi I.J. This is L.J.
    Those unexpected, out-of-nowhere great reviews on Amazon are the best! They keep me smiling for days.
    Congratulations on finally getting the recognition you deserve.

    Mar 7, 2008

  • I. J. Parker

    Hi, L.J. Thanks. Well, I've had great reviews before, but I especially loved this one. (I notice the lines ran together in the copying process. Maybe I need to fiddle with it.)

    Mar 7, 2008