Alan Cook's Posts - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T05:16:17ZAlan Cookhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/alcwriterhttp://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/60986192?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://crimespace.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=alcwriter&xn_auth=noAmazon Kindle Books Downloadable to iPod and iPhonetag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-03-11:537324:BlogPost:1874542009-03-11T22:16:02.000ZAlan Cookhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/alcwriter
I'm glad to see that Amazon has made Kindle books compatible with iPod and iPhone because 7 of my books are on Kindle. This opens them up to a whole new world. On the other hand, I still like to read real books. It takes all kinds.
I'm glad to see that Amazon has made Kindle books compatible with iPod and iPhone because 7 of my books are on Kindle. This opens them up to a whole new world. On the other hand, I still like to read real books. It takes all kinds.HONEYMOON FOR THREE wins Readers Choice Awardtag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-03-24:537324:BlogPost:1328142008-03-24T21:36:30.000ZAlan Cookhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/alcwriter
Honeymoon for Three has won the Readers Choice award for best Mountain West book. See the logo among my pictures.
Honeymoon for Three has won the Readers Choice award for best Mountain West book. See the logo among my pictures.Award for HONEYMOON FOR THREEtag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-11-06:537324:BlogPost:900182007-11-06T02:15:02.000ZAlan Cookhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/alcwriter
The American Author's Association has announced that my mystery, HONEYMOON FOR THREE, has won a Silver Quill award. Each year the Association recognizes members' works that demonstrate excellence in their field. That brightened up my day.
The American Author's Association has announced that my mystery, HONEYMOON FOR THREE, has won a Silver Quill award. Each year the Association recognizes members' works that demonstrate excellence in their field. That brightened up my day.MOON OVER MURDER on Amazon Shortstag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-10-06:537324:BlogPost:786532007-10-06T00:00:39.000ZAlan Cookhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/alcwriter
<p>My short story, MOON OVER MURDER, is live on Amazon Shorts. It is downloadable for only 49 cents at</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Over-Murder/dp/B000WH7DNI/ref=dp_shrt_new_0/105-6270387-5936403">http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Over-Murder/dp/B000WH7DNI/ref=dp_shrt_new_0/105-6270387-5936403</a></p>
<p>Such a deal!</p>
<p>A teenage boy in the 1950s gets a dream summer job working in a restaurant beside a lake, owned by his aunt and uncle. It doesn't hurt that three pretty female…</p>
<p>My short story, MOON OVER MURDER, is live on Amazon Shorts. It is downloadable for only 49 cents at</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Over-Murder/dp/B000WH7DNI/ref=dp_shrt_new_0/105-6270387-5936403">http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Over-Murder/dp/B000WH7DNI/ref=dp_shrt_new_0/105-6270387-5936403</a></p>
<p>Such a deal!</p>
<p>A teenage boy in the 1950s gets a dream summer job working in a restaurant beside a lake, owned by his aunt and uncle. It doesn't hurt that three pretty female cousins are waitresses. But the dream turns into a nightmare when he finds one of them dead on the beach. Suspected of the murder, himself, he tries to make sense of relationships that are more complex than he had imagined.</p>
<p/>Mystery Limerickstag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-07-31:537324:BlogPost:594842007-07-31T19:51:27.000ZAlan Cookhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/alcwriter
<p>I started writing limericks in high school. That was before I got into trouble for publishing a high school look-alike of the 1950s <em>Confidential</em> magazine (a fictional version of the story appears in my mystery novel, <em>The Hayloft</em>). I no longer write scandal sheets, but I do still write limericks. Here are some of my mystery limericks:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Of hostage talks writes Jeffery…</font></p>
<p>I started writing limericks in high school. That was before I got into trouble for publishing a high school look-alike of the 1950s <em>Confidential</em> magazine (a fictional version of the story appears in my mystery novel, <em>The Hayloft</em>). I no longer write scandal sheets, but I do still write limericks. Here are some of my mystery limericks:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Of hostage talks writes Jeffery Deaver:*</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">To negotiate be a deceiver.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Try to help them survive</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">So there’ll be some alive</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">When it’s time to become a retriever.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">*<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">A Maiden’s Grave</i></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">#</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">A mystery writer named Poe</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Wrote stories that you and I know,</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Of gold bugs and letters,</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">And victims in fetters,</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">And murders and poems full of woe.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">#</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">The amazing Ms. Agatha Christie </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Wrote tales that are turny and twisty,</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">On boats and on trains,</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">In snows and in rains,</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">And mansions in moors that are misty.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">#</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">The story of Grafton, sweet Sue, </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Is one of an alphabet stew,</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">From A through to Z;</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">She’s done B, G and P.</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">She’s doing it all just for U.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">#</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Ms. Hamilton, first name Denise, </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Writes tales of LA without cease.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Her reporter named Eve</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Has skulls up her sleeve</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">And sings lullabies to the police.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">#</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">The most famous Bradbury is Ray, </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Who chronicled Mars in his day.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">A warning is spun</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">In “451.”</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">The Wicked and Death have their say.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">#</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">A mystery author named Pari, </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Writes of a night sky that is starry</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">In New Mexico,</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Where Sasha her pro-</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Tag solves crimes, does PR, isn’t sorry.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">#</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Let’s hear it for spy author Gayle,</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Whose Spymaster breaks out of jail.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">With action nonstop</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">You’ll run till you drop.</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">The forfeit is death if you fail.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">#</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">A prominent writer named King </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Causes horror and evil to swing.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">There’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Carrie</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Christine</i>,</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">And <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Misery</i>’s queen,</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><em>The Shining</em> and each <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Needful Thing</i>.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">#</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">A detective, Miss Nancy Drew, </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Has a sporty convertible (blue).</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">She’s brave and she’s bold;</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Why she never gets old</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">We wish she would give us a clue.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">#</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">The Follett whose first name is Ken </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Wrote <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Eye of the Needle</i>; two men</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Had to track down a spy,</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Both the Needle and eye,</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Before he got back to his den.</font></p>
<p/><p/><p/>Drawing for copies of Honeymoon for Threetag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-07-21:537324:BlogPost:565322007-07-21T21:42:25.000ZAlan Cookhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/alcwriter
I have at least 5 copies of my new book, HONEYMOON FOR THREE, to give away to Crimespace members. Let me know if you are interested. I will need addresses of the winners. My email address is alcook@sprintmail.com.<br/><br/>Contest closes July 26.
I have at least 5 copies of my new book, HONEYMOON FOR THREE, to give away to Crimespace members. Let me know if you are interested. I will need addresses of the winners. My email address is alcook@sprintmail.com.<br/><br/>Contest closes July 26.Honeymoon for Three is outtag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-07-05:537324:BlogPost:527852007-07-05T18:56:31.000ZAlan Cookhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/alcwriter
My new suspense novel, HONEYMOON FOR THREE, is out. Told from 3 POVs, it features the bride, the groom and the stalker who has a bellybutton fetish. It takes place in some of the most beautiful areas in the Western United States, including national parks and the northern California coast. And let's not forget about Reno and Seattle, although I don't know whether anybody ever called them beautiful. Suspense takes a thrill ride.
My new suspense novel, HONEYMOON FOR THREE, is out. Told from 3 POVs, it features the bride, the groom and the stalker who has a bellybutton fetish. It takes place in some of the most beautiful areas in the Western United States, including national parks and the northern California coast. And let's not forget about Reno and Seattle, although I don't know whether anybody ever called them beautiful. Suspense takes a thrill ride.Honeymoon for Threetag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-06-09:537324:BlogPost:472362007-06-09T17:53:55.000ZAlan Cookhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/alcwriter
<p>My new suspense novel, <em>Honeymoon for Three</em>, is coming out at the end of June. Here is a synopsis:</p>
<p><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><font size="3">It is 1964, 10 years after Gary Blanchard’s high school adventures in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Hayloft</i>. He and his love, Penny, are going on the trip of their lives, and, oh yes, they’re getting married along the way. What they don’t know is that they’re being stalked by Alfred, a high school classmate of Penny…</font></span></p>
<p>My new suspense novel, <em>Honeymoon for Three</em>, is coming out at the end of June. Here is a synopsis:</p>
<p><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><font size="3">It is 1964, 10 years after Gary Blanchard’s high school adventures in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Hayloft</i>. He and his love, Penny, are going on the trip of their lives, and, oh yes, they’re getting married along the way. What they don’t know is that they’re being stalked by Alfred, a high school classmate of Penny who has a bellybutton fetish.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><font size="3">Gary and Penny met through a Los Angeles computer matching service, and they’re positive they’re meant for each other. Penny is afraid that her previous flip attitude toward marriage may jinx her. Her best friend, Emily, was murdered a year ago, two days before her own wedding—and she was ideal marriage material. Why should Penny be luckier?</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><font size="3">Alfred has never been successful with girls—he attributes his problems to his outie bellybutton—but he knows that Penny is the girl for him. He intends to get her any way he can, and he is prepared to do whatever is necessary to eliminate Gary.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><font size="3">The suspense crackles amid some of the most scenic spots in the western United States, including Lake Tahoe, Reno, Crater Lake, Seattle, and in Glacier, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton National Parks, as well as the redwood trees and rocky cliffs of the northern California coast.</font></span></p>
<p> </p>