Hi Joan- which of Arturo Perez-Reverte's works is your favorite? I'm partial to both CAPTAIN ALATRISTE and THE CLUB DUMAS, myself.

My pleasure.

New to Crimespace, huh?

Love The Club Dumas (horrible Johnny Depp movie, though), Seville Communion, The Fencing Master. Queen of the South I couldn't get in to--I like the Spain stuff, I guess. I keep re-reading The Flanders Panel, deconstructing it because it's fairly straightforward and the novel I'm trying to finish writing is very similar in some ways. Thanks for commenting. Your novel sounds good--love historical mysteries, as you can probably tell...

You're welcome, Joanie. If you make it to Thrillerfest, please stop me in the hall and say hello. You'll love T'fest--it's a grand group that welcomes all, writer and reader alike. If you're just jumping into thriller writing, consider signing up for CraftFest on Wednesday. It's a daylong writing school taught by the best in the business--folks like Lee Child giving seminars, for instance. www.thrillerfest.com for details.

Actually, I just read your blog, and looks like you're coming to T' and CraftFest after all. Good goin'!

Thanks, Joan for passing along the info on
Authorfest.
It's amazing how someone always knows someone else somewhere when you least expect it.
Morgan Mandel

Hi Joan. Thanks for the invitation. It's always nice to meet another Jeff Deaver fan. He's a great guy.

Once upon a time, I lived in Raleigh. Enjoy the early days of writing (oh, hey, that's right--it gets even better!).

Great to see someone else giving Paul Bowles a mention.

Not exactly crime fiction, but Bowles' stories have the greatest 'arc' to them, don't they?
What are you working on? I will check out your bio later--I'm supposed to be working now. Thanks for the invite!

The arc is everything, and you're right, he does it perfectly.

Not working on anything at the moment - have just put my new book to bed (due out November) so I'm wasting time without the pleasure of knowing I should be doing something else...

Hi, Joan - I was so crazy about The Flanders Panel when it came out. I need to re-read it. Also loved The Shadow of the Wind which I read about a month ago. Nice to meet you and best of luck with your writing!

You are welcome to Aus. anytime.
Like your choice of books.

I never actually got into Nice itself - too busy battling the builders at the ****ing villa!

... Tho I did go to Cap d'Antibes, for lunch at the Eden Roc hotel, as a self-indulgent treat on my final day, when the hammering, drilling, crashing and radio-playing got too much to bear. Insanely over-priced, but a nice, indulgent way in which to end an otherwise rugged stay.

Thanks for the comments about "The Window". Funny thing about you mentioning Ludlum, the publishers catalogue copy for the forthcoming book is something like, "Move over Jason Bourne, here's Conrad Hirst...", although typically, the similarities in this case are quite superficial.

Thank you, Joan, I'll see you in NYC
And I LOVE Paul Bowles too!!
Jason

Hi Joan,

Just dropping by to return the favor for commenting on my page. Good luck with your writing.

Hi, Joan! Thank you for leaving a comment.

So, basically, you visited the south of Portugal. And now you're addicted to Port wine, which is produced, bottled and shipped in the north, where I live. :) Have you really tasted good Port? Well, it's a shame I can't send you a bottle, I don't think Customs would like that :) But if you ever come back to Portugal, I'll be happy to show you the city of Porto and the wine cellars in Gaia, on the opposite bank of the Douro river.

Also, if you'd like, join my Space Dog Network and check out a couple of movies of those locations.

Cheers!

P.S. That was actually italian wine I was drinking, Lambrusco ;)

Looks like you read all the right authors for a thriller background. (BTW the name Jack has actually made a comeback for heros. It lay dormant for a lot of years.)

Hi Joan - cool, we can be newbies together ... Declan is a pretty common name in Ireland ... actually, there's a crime writer called Declan who's picking up some really good reviews right now, Declan Hughes, he's well worth reading ... anyway, any and all tips you can give me about CrimeSpace protocol will be very much welcomed ... Cheers, Dec

Thanks for stopping by, Joan. Have you already finished the first draft of your thriller? Good luck with your writing.
Evelyn

NC has a rich tradition in literature. Your feet are treading the creative pathways that become familiar with use. In time, readers will discover your wit and style. May your sales come soon!

Angel of Death, maybe? Who knows? But I like it, too. It's one of my better covers.

I think you are correct. We take from our experiences and write about them. Thank you for your kind words. I am writing a novel called, "Biography of you and I" it is about me and my sister from birth until the day she died and the day I began to live without her. I have been writing on this novel for nearly 8 months but it's passionate, filled with so much emotion that it is hard at time to convey that in words. It's also a great therapy for me. Without her, I wouldn't be writing.

Look forward to getting to know you better.

Hi, Joan

Thanks for the friendship. Hope you have a great weekend. :)

J. K.

Kali figures in the story, too. I had a lot of fun with the novel because of a long-standing interest in Eastern religions.

Hi Joan, no, thank you. I hope you manage your trip to Russia, it's a place I've long wanted to go. I was going to go to Vladivostok for research for my first thriller - The Living Room of the Dead - but then life in the form of my mother getting cancer and me having to help take care of her reared its ugly head and I couldn't. It ended up being a huge, from afar, research job and I think it worked out pretty good, but I'd have much rather gone. Unfortunately I don't know anyone there at the moment.

thanks for the invite...so cool you're writing a thriller

I loved ThrillerFest! I'm already making plans to go back next year, so maybe we'll see each other there. :)

J. K.

S'up, homegirl?

Draft House reunion next time you're in Raleigh?

You betcha.

Keep writing, is all I can say. It is my joy and I turned it to go purpose. My book, The Beatitudes, is a paranormal thriller set in New Orleans. It will be out in the fall and I am donating all royalties directly to the New Orleans Public Library Foundation. Libraries support the infrastructure of a great city, so I have started The Beatitudes Network to promote awareness of the importance of public libraries in NOLA.
The blogsite www.beatitudesinneworleans.blogspot.com describes the Network, has excerpts from The Beatitudes, recipes, and more. Merci mille fois. Lyn Lejeune.
Writers, please pass the word…..it’s for a good cause….don’t let the libraries of New Orleans or the US go the way of The Great Library of Alexandria. P.S. just posted an excerpt on my page here on crimespace.

Hmmm, even the message I tried to send you through Crimespace - the private one - got bounced back to me. So, here it is on your comments page. (Everyone else, please ignore this.)

I just heard from a friend of mine who is an actress in NYC. She's Czech, but has a Russian friend who she thinks might be of some use. Here's the contact information:

Tell her that you got her name and email from Dana Krizova. The woman is named Olga Kosheleva and her email is olgakosheleva@yahoo.com

Unfortunately I have no idea what she does or how useful she might be or not. All I know is that Dana said: "She is really nice girl and I am sure she could help." I've still got one email out in search of a journalist for you.

Eric

Sorry about that, Eric. Thanks so much for the contact. I'm going to get in touch with Olga. I'll let you know how it works out.

Hi, Joan - thanks for adding me.

Good luck with your goals!

Thanks, Joan! Great to meet you!

~Gemma

Hi, Joan -- Boy, are you on the nose in your blog. We all have to write what we want to write, and do it the best we can, and that's all we can do.

There may be writers who can sustain the interest and energy necessary to do 100,000 words on an idea that doesn't really mean much to them, but I'm not one of them. And I'm not sure I'd like to be.

Hi, Joan, and thanks for the nice words about the reincarnation blog. I have to admit that I laughed out loud when I was writing it, but it's nice to know someone else was interested, too. By the way, this blog also appears on my own website, and I've had two letters of protest from people who (a) think China can't do anything wrong, ever, and (b) have no sense of humor whatsoever. Maybe I'll put up a couple of those notes and my replies in the next few days.

Sure, grateful for the answer. I liked your list of reading pleasure. Please get back to me with news of that thriller of yours.

Thanks, hope your book works out for you. You seem to be over the worst bumps in the road. - As it happens, your description of life in crimey-norway is not so far off. If you had thrown in some berserk vikings and a snowed down santa claus, you'd really hit the mark:-)

Hi Joan, thanks for accepting my invite! I am interested in seeing how your thriller is (assuming it is) by any one, some, or all of the authors you've listed as ones that you like.

Hi Joan
Interesting collections of favorite authors. You don't often see Kafka and Gerritsen in the same list.
Good luck with your writing.

Thanks for your support. I hope you enjoy The Sex Club.