Clea Simon's Blog

"Shades of Grey" September

Yow, it's September! And Shades of Grey, my first Dulcie Schwartz mystery, is making its US debut (in reality) with a (virtual) tour.

Yes, I will be doing some line in-person readings. But this time out, I'm focusing on the online world. That means you can… Continue

Added by Clea Simon on September 3, 2009 at 12:30am — No Comments

Thank you, Oline!

"It's easy to get caught up in the adventures of grad student Dulcie Schwartz." – Oline Cogdill, Sun-Sentinel

Big sigh of relief - and big thanks out to Sun-Sentinel critic Oline Cogdill!

Simon makes her elements of the supernatural work in `Shades of Grey'

By OLINE H. COGDILL

Sun-Sentinel

-"Shades of Grey," by Clea Simon; Severn House (216 pages, $28.95)

It's easy to get caught up… Continue

Added by Clea Simon on August 13, 2009 at 12:15am — No Comments

Thank you, Library Journal

"This series launch ... is for readers who like their feline cozies mixed with a touch of the paranormal." – Library Journal on Shades of Grey

Full review (including what I hope is a typo: Theo?)

REVIEW

Author: CLEA SIMON

Title: SHADES OF… Continue

Added by Clea Simon on August 7, 2009 at 2:02am — No Comments

Thank you, Booklist!

"Well paced and tightly plotted, Shades of Grey debuts a promising series from the author of the Theda Krakow mysteries." Thank you, Booklist!

Author: CLEA SIMON

Title: SHADES OF GREY

Publication: BOOKLIST

Issue: 1ST AUGUST 2009

Shades of Grey, Clea Simon. Severn, $28.95 (240p), Sept 2009, ISBN 978-0-7278-6781-0

Twentysomething Dulcie Schwartz is a doctoral student at Harvard, struggling to find a thesis topic,… Continue

Added by Clea Simon on July 30, 2009 at 2:03am — No Comments

Zinged by Joyce Carol Oates!

From today's New York Times Sunday Magazine:

Joyce Carol Oates: "If you're going to spend the next year of your life writing, you would probably rather write 'Moby Dick' than a little household mystery with cat detectives."

Oh, REALLY?? And have you ever tried writing a mystery with cats in it, Ms. Oates?

Added by Clea Simon on April 13, 2009 at 4:42am — No Comments

Happy Pub Day!

Probable Claws is officially out today!

Without, it seems, my acknowledgments...

Added by Clea Simon on April 11, 2009 at 6:25am — No Comments

PROBABLE CLAWS acknowledgments

Somehow, these don't seem to have made it into the book. Damn! Anyway, here's what I wrote:

Not sure what happened,but here they are:

Acknowledgments

Writing is solitary work and the support of friends and family make it easier. For all the cups of coffee and tea, the queries and cheers, I’d like to thank the following: Caroline Leavitt, Vicki Constantine Croke, Brett Milano, Ann Porter, Sophie Garelick, Frank Garelick, Lisa Jones, and Iris Simon. My readers – Jon,… Continue

Added by Clea Simon on April 11, 2009 at 6:25am — No Comments

HBO's "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency"

And I, in turn, take on the Anthony Minghella production in my review in the Boston Phoenix. I quite liked it, largely because Minghella was quite respectful of the books. That said, he did change some things. One difference that I couldn't fit into this review was a new character, an openly… Continue

Added by Clea Simon on March 21, 2009 at 3:51am — 2 Comments

California dreamin'

I'm sitting here in my Cambridge office, hoping the temperature really does hit 50 degrees today, but in my heart I'm in California. In print, too: The San Francisco Chronicle ran my review of "Revenge of the Spellmans" today. Fun book - and if any of you liked the first of the series, and the second less so, take heart. Lisa Lutz has discovered new sources for madcap mayhem in this third… Continue

Added by Clea Simon on March 19, 2009 at 2:38am — No Comments

Separated at birth?

Since I posted my Shades of Grey cover (left), my buddy Brett pointed out its similarity to this REM… Continue

Added by Clea Simon on March 6, 2009 at 2:40am — 2 Comments

Introducing "SHADES OF GREY"

Coming in June from Severn House.… Continue

Added by Clea Simon on March 4, 2009 at 3:56am — No Comments

When I write "pissed"...

I mean "pissed off," that is, "annoyed." Imagine my surprise to read that my British copy editor assumed that my character was "tipsy."

Two people, separated by a common language! (Still working through Shades of Grey copy edits.)

Added by Clea Simon on February 28, 2009 at 2:23am — 9 Comments

sick as a dog, happy as a cat

Jon and I are taking turns wandering from room to room and falling asleep on various pieces of furniture. Musetta seems to approve. Wish I felt like a human, but just found out that "Shades of Grey" is now available for pre-ordering on Amazon, which makes it seem much more real. Why pre-order, though? Why not just available for ordering? (I'm not questioning… Continue

Added by Clea Simon on February 9, 2009 at 8:27am — 1 Comment

Thank you, PW!

Publishers Weekly, Feb. 2, 2009

Probable Claws Clea Simon. Poisoned Pen, $24.95 (264p) ISBN 978-1-59058-564-1

Music journalist Theda Krakow once again proves a feisty and determined sleuth in Simon's lively fourth cat-themed mystery (after 2007's Cries and Whiskers). Theda alternates between the cat world, dominated by her pet, Musetta, and the Boston area music scene, about which she writes for local magazines and newspapers. When her retired policeman boyfriend, Bill, buys… Continue

Added by Clea Simon on February 4, 2009 at 3:29am — No Comments

"Shades of Grey" sent!

Yesterday at around 3 p.m. I finished the revisions on "Shades of Grey" and sent the manuscript back to my editor at Severn House in London. Within minutes, I'd gotten a very nice response (which makes me wonder about the hours she keeps). I guess I must have been more keyed up than I thought, because I teared up as I read the last page and then suddenly felt exhausted. The cat was enjoying her… Continue

Added by Clea Simon on January 31, 2009 at 4:13am — No Comments

Talon show

I love living in Cambridge. I was walking into Inman Square. Had my head down to look for icy patches, and suddenly I see a movement to my right. There, sitting on a fence, was a hawk, eating a pigeon. He looked at me - we were just about eye level - as if to say, "Yeah, lady? Whadya want?" I'm afraid I went "eep," and he flew off, right in front of me - INCHES away – across… Continue

Added by Clea Simon on January 22, 2009 at 8:22am — No Comments

Introducing Dulcie Schwartz

Dulcie Schwartz was born for academia. A grad student at Harvard, she lives for research. Her discipline – the Gothic English novel of the late 18th Century – may seem minor to some. But for Dulcie, it's reason to dive into the library, into the ordered, reasoned world of books. At least, until her roommate is murdered, her mother starts calling with some strange psychic dreams. And the ghost of her late, great cat Mr. Grey appears to help her through it all ... or over the… Continue

Added by Clea Simon on January 15, 2009 at 2:12am — No Comments

Heartbreaking

No, this is not my big announcement, but I have to write this.

One of the perks of my life is that my husband often brings home books to me. Books he thinks I might like to review, or books that he is pretty sure he won't want to assign for review but that he'll think I'll like. Sometimes these pile up and gather dust. Sometimes, though, I love… Continue

Added by Clea Simon on January 14, 2009 at 2:14am — 1 Comment

Drumroll, please

Am waiting for something to arrive in the mail, but as soon as it does, I will have a big announcement!

In the meantime, Chris Verstraete hosted me in her series of writing tips over at her Candid Canine blog. Drop on by to see what I and her other guests have suggested!

Added by Clea Simon on January 13, 2009 at 6:55am — No Comments

A Revolutionary mystery!

Long-time friends Jill Lepore and Jane Kamensky didn't set out to write a bodice ripper in Blindspot (Spiegel & Grau). But when the two historians – Lepore is the David Woods Kemper professor of American history at Harvard and Kamensky is chair of Brandeis' history department – started drafting a two-character sketch for the 70th birthday of… Continue

Added by Clea Simon on December 6, 2008 at 2:30am — No Comments

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