All this week I'll feature great books by one of my favorite authors, Brenda Novak. To kick it off, check out my review of White Heat.

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Rachel Kessop, a beautiful, self-assured agent and Nate Ferrentino, handsome tough guy both work for the same private security contractor tracking down bad guys. The relationship is strained after Rachel, in a moment of weakness, lets herself into Nate’s apartment, and awaits his arrival in bed. After a passionate night together, Rachel claims her love to a reluctant Nate.

Now as a dangerous cult quickly takes over the desert ghost town of Paradise, Arizona, Rachel and Nate must go undercover posing as a married couple to nap the leader, Ethan Wycliff.

How will they handle the close quarters of a pretend marriage? Will Ethan’s infatuation with Rachel put her life in mortal danger? Find out in this exciting read, White Heat. I had trouble putting this book down before the exciting conclusion.

For more information, check out Brenda Novak's web site at; http://www.brendanovak.com/

White Heat is available on Amazon

Want some "heat" of your own?  At the end of this week I'll be drawing for all three, autographed copies of the "heat" novels.  Just leave a comment in this (or any of Brenda Novak's spots) and I'll do a random drawing for them on Sunday May 15th.

Good Luck!

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Born and raised in Waterford, Michigan, Ann Margaret Lewis attended Michigan State University, where she received her Bachelor’s degree in English Literature. She began her writing career writing tie-in children’s books and short stories for DC Comics. Before Murder in the Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes, she published a second edition of her book, Star Wars: The New Essential Guide to Alien Species, for Random House.

 Ann is a classically trained soprano, and has performed around the New York City area. She has many interests from music to art history, to theology and all forms of literature. She is the President of the Catholic Writers Guild, an international organization for Catholic Writers and the coordinator of the Catholic Writers Conference LIVE. After living in New York City for fifteen years, Ann moved to Indianapolis, Indiana with her husband Joseph Lewis and their son, Raymond. Together they enjoy their life in the heartland.

 Now for some questions for this author!

 Interview with the Ann Lewis

 First, tell us a bit about Murder in the Vatican!

Ann: I have a tagline I like to use that also appears in the trailer: “A sudden death in the Vatican. An international incident over stolen artifacts. A priest’s wrongful imprisonment for murder.” But really, Murder in the Vatican is a collection of three stories (novellas) that tell “untold tales” from the Sherlock Holmes canon. “Untold tales” are stories that Watson mentions, but never gives us the details. With this book, Watson alluded to three Church-related cases, two of which deal directly with the Pope of his time, Pope Leo XIII. “The Vatican Cameos” is mentioned in The Hound of the Baskervilles, “The Case of Cardinal Tosca” is mentioned in “The Adventure of Black Peter,” and “The Second Coptic Patriarch” is mentioned in “The Retired Colourman.” So fans of the original stories can go back and find those references if they are so inclined.  

 Has anyone ever tried this sort of story before?

A: “Pastiche” writing, or writing Holmes stories in imitation of Conan Doyle’s style, has been done by many authors. Nicholas Meyer, Isaac Asimov and even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s own son Adrian have given it a try. There are literally thousands of these kinds of stories published. (Curious folks and find an exhaustive database of Holmes-related fiction here: http://www.michael-procter.com/holmes/_index.html .) Many of these are takes on “untold tales” and all three of these very church mysteries have been tackled by other authors independently. But no one has written all three of the church mysteries mentioned in the original stories and collected them together in one volume.

 It’s obvious that you imitate Doyle’s voice in this book (it wouldn’t be a Holmes story otherwise), but you also write in the voice of the Pope.  What did you do to create a “voice” for someone who really existed?

A: You mean Holmes isn’t real? {Big cheesy grin} Seriously, though, Pope Leo was a writer himself, in fact one of the most prolific popes in history. So I read his writing—encyclicals mainly.

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Catholic schools have not been the scene of such violence since Robert Cormier's The Chocolate War.

Paul Varderman, an everyman high school student, just tries to keep it together as he navigates through bullies, girls and strange teachers at his private school. But this school is home to its own frightening sociopath. Roth, big, neanderthal, strong and brilliant thrives on the groveling and simpering of fellow students. Roth threatens Paul if he does not become a delivery boy to a rival at the neighboring school. That terrifying encounter is the unraveling of the lives of bullies and "the freaks." This is an unforgettable story that you and your friends can talk about for days.

ENDERS' Rating: ****

Anthony's Website

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Are serial killers on the decline? Slate seems to think so, both in actual fact and in the popular imagination.

However, since serial killers often prey on people who are seldom missed (the homeless/prostitutes), just because we don’t know if they are out there doesn’t mean they aren’t. Look at the the four women whose bodies were recently found near Long Island. Until they were found, no one knew a serial killer was on the loose.

I will say I am tired of books where serial killers have increasingly bizarre targets (like brides) or bizarre ways of killing them (like encasing them in life-sized sculptures). Real life isn’t nearly so cinematic. It’s usually ugly and brutal and sad.

a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2280097/pagenum/all/#p2">You can read the Slate piece here</a>.

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Blank Confession by Pete Hautman

This book begins with Shayne Blank entering a police department to confess a murder.   The question for readers is how this kid who is new to school got into the situation.  Mikey is a kid whose mouth always gets him into trouble.  Though he thinks he wants to blend in and be invisible at times, he dresses in secondhand suits that make him stick out from the regular high school crowd.  When Shayne seems interested in being his friend, Mikey has just ticked off his sister’s boyfriend, drug dealer Jon by dumping a bag in order not to be caught in a sweep of the school.  Jon now says that Mikey owes him $500 and that he will pay it back.  As the tension grows throughout the novel and the damage done by Jon and others gets more intense, readers will be caught in flashbacks looking for the trigger to the murder.  A riveting and tense story about truth, friendship and what one is capable of, this slim novel will hook many readers.

Hautman has written a novel with a structure that creates tension all on its own.  Add in some evil drug dealing teens, a mouthy unusual teen who tells the bulk of the book in his voice, and the natural vibe of the police department, and this is one pulse-pounding book.  Additionally, Hautman puts the characters in situations where murder is not only possible but likely.  This adds to the taut nature of the book even further.  The characters are interesting, especially Shayne who is very bright, very tough and a complete mystery.  Mikey is a character who would be easily unlikeable but because much of the book is shown through his perspective becomes understood at least by the reader. 

That said, the book is not perfect.  The ending was brilliant, twisting away from the twist I had expected to my great delight.  But the book should have ended a chapter earlier than it does.  It should have left us hanging a bit, figuring it out for ourselves.  With the final chapter added in, the mystery of Shayne is revealed and it is all a bit too neatly resolved.  I’d have much preferred the mysteries and questions to remain.

A book that teens will relate to and be unable to put down, this is a tense and thrilling ride from confession to deed.  Appropriate for ages 16-18.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster.

• Also reviewed by:
• TheHappyNappyBookseller
• The Ninja Librarian
• YA Books and More

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Review: The Shadow of the Bear: A fairy tale retold

 Doman, Regina.  (2008) The Shadow of the Bear: a fairy tale retold.  Front Royal, VA: Chesterton Press. ISBN #978-0-981-93180-7.  Author recommended age 14+. Litland.com recommends age 14+.  See author website for parent guide to aid you in deciding acceptability for younger readers.  http://www.fairytalenovels.com/docs/Picky%20Parent’s%20guide%20to%20Shadow.pdf

 Our thoughts:

 Modeled after the original Brothers Grimm fairy tale Snow White and Red Rose, this isn’t your Disney princess spoof. Anyone familiar with the real fairy tales of old know they spin morals and virtues contrasted with evil throughout the tapestry of the story. Doman’s book includes the best of this feature without some of the hideous and difficult storyline that traditional fairy tales are known for. 

It is a tale of two sisters named…you’ve got it, Blanche and Rose! The teenagers live with their widowed mother in New York City. Not a simple whodunit at all, the reader is led with suspense through the dark streets, halls and buildings; parties and conversations with the popular kids you know are setting them up for a fall; envy, jealousy, almost-despair, uncertainty. Fear. The description and self-dialogue realistically portray true inner emotions of the two sisters as they face ridicule, bathroom bullying, and school authorities. School-age readers can relate entirely; adult readers are glad to not be in high school anymore.

 Far from the typical one-dimensional view of teen angst given to us in entertainment today, this story is enriched by the affinities and intelligence of its characters. In addition to an occasional Chesterton or Tennyson quote, the description wrapped around their interactions is culturally-rich; thought-provoking wisdom is their normal discourse. Rose’s emotional melt-down in the park, playing her violin in the rushing wind with an impending storm at bay is dramatically told. We can feel her lift “her bow from the strings in the silence of the rushing winds…” after playing that “distant, bold note flying high as a bird to the clouds”.

 Not all is as it appears.

 Good and evil subtly mirror one another throughout the tale. It can be a rough exterior compared to a gentle personality. The rumored drug dealer’s virtuous behaviour compared to the popular, good looking guy using and manipulating all around him. Self-discipline and self-denial vs. hedonism and selfishness. White martyrs and red martyr vs. evildoers.

 A 200-page book should be a quick read. I usually slide right through one. Some books, however, just have more to say. And this book is one of those. Without a word wasted, Doman has given sufficiently rich detail in both the physical and emotional settings that we can feel we are there. We see in our mind solitary Rose playing an ominous tune on her violin in the middle of the park with the same fervor as the wind. From the beginning, the girls imagine that the human exterior merely covers up for a magical interior, and we are then swept through a fast-paced story full of emotion and suspense. Litland.com highly recommends this story for teens and adults. While its content is “clean”, parents should decide if a story line with drug dealers, beer parties, and murder are acceptable for their younger gifted reader. Grade for these schoolgirls? A++!

 (Follow the movie at http://theshadowofthebear.blogspot.com/ ! )

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David Canter is Professor of Psychology at the University of Hudderfield. Widely known for developing systemic offender profiling in Britain and creating the emerging field of Investigative Psychology, he also provides evidence to government enquiries and major court cases. His new book is Forensic Psychology: A Very Short Introduction, and in the short excerpt below he looks at what a ‘psychopath’ really is.

There are many individuals who commit crimes who understand perfectly what they do and its illegality but who have no obvious mental problems. They are lucid and coherent with no signs of any learning disability or psychotic symptoms. Some of them can be superficially charming and are intelligent enough to be very plausible on first acquaintance. They do not hear voices or think that they are commanded by forces beyond their power to commit crimes. Yet, over and over again, they abuse people, lie without any compunction or remorse, can be unpredictably violent, and seem unable to relate effectively to others over any extended period. Various forms of criminality are almost inevitably an aspect of the lifestyles of these individuals. In the jargon of mental health professionals, such people may be given a diagnosis that implies that their ‘personality’ is somehow disordered.

In psychiatric medicalization of human activity, a whole set of ‘personality disorders’ has been identified that attempts to distinguish different ways in which individuals may have difficulty in relating to others. The one that has found its way into popular discourse is ‘psychopathic disorder’. There are complications here because the term ‘psychopathic disorder’ is not a medical diagnosis but a legal term under English and Welsh law that refers to a ‘persistent disorder or disability of the mind’, not that far removed from the McNaughton rule that first emerged over a century and a half ago. Thus there is some debate as to which of the psychiatric diagnoses of personality disorder are closest to the legal definition of ‘psychopathic disorder’, and whether any of them relates to the popular conception of a psychopath.

The Hollywood portrayal of the psychopath is someone who is inevitably a merciless serial killer, often some sort of cross between Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster. Silent films from the 1920s such as The Cabinet of Dr Caligari to the more recent Kalifornia, or No Country for Old Men, never really provide any psychological insights into the actions of the monsters who are the anti-heroes of their dramas. They are presented as pure evil. The rather more psychologically interesting films such as Psycho or The Boston Strangler provide pseudo-Freudian explanations for the nastiness of their villains, but still present them as rather alien individuals who can appear unthreatening but deep down are malevolent.

Until you have met someone whom you know has committed horrific violent crimes but can be charming and helpful, it is difficult to believe in the Hollywood stereotype of the psychopath. Without doubt, there are people who can seem pleasant and plausible in one situation but can quickly turn to viciousness. There are also people who just never connect with others and are constantly, from an early age, at war with those with whom they come into contact. If we need a label for these people, we can distinguish them as type 1 and type 2 psychopaths. The former have superficial charm, are pathological liars, being callous and manipulative. The clearest fictional example of this sort of psychopath is Tom Ripley, who has the central role in

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by Stuart Gibbs Simon and Schuster  2010 When the recently-deceased hippo mascot of a zoo turns out to have been murdered it falls to a 12 year old boy to solve the mystery none of the adults seem to be able to, but not without the help of a girl.  Did that sound cynical?  Huh, I wonder why. Could it be another mystery (albeit with an unusual victim) solved by a kid where no adult seems able

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Under the Dome by Stephen King. 2009. [November 2009]. Simon & Schuster. 1088 pages.

From two thousand feet, where Claudette Sanders was taking a flying lesson, the town of Chester's Mill gleamed in the morning light like something freshly made and just set down.

How many books can you think of that make you thankful--really thankful--for fresh air, for oxygen?

Stephen King's Under the Dome is quite a book. At over a thousand pages, it has plenty of drama to offer readers. King's message that absolute power corrupts absolutely is well played out in its pages. As readers meet some really dirty, really corrupt, downright evil politicians.

The book begins by introducing us to Dale Barbara, one of the heroes--one of the good guys; he is on his way out of town. After having one too many confrontations with "Junior" the son of the most evil politician (who just happens to be a used car salesman too) in town, Barbie has decided he's had enough. It's time to move on. And quickly. But. He never makes it out of town. Something stops him. The dome. On the day the dome appears (October 21), life changes dramatically and drastically. The dome isolates this little town. No one can get in or out. In fact, nothing can get in or out. Not water. Not wind. Not rain. Not air. (Not much air at any rate.)

What's to keep the residents from panicking? Not much! Especially with Jim Rennie in charge. In fact, he thinks Dome Day is just about the best thing that ever happened to him. Suddenly, he's the guy in charge. There is no one to stop him. He can implement anything in the name of "doing good for the city" and who can challenge his authority? The fact that the President of the United States has chosen Dale Barbara to take command? Not gonna stop Big Jim! It's just one more reason why Barbie (or Baaarbie needs to be taken care of). And Barbie knows it. As do his friends.

How long can a community stay a community? How long before residents start turning on one another? How long before they become "us" and "them"? How long before the mob mentality takes over completely? Will any one be safe under the dome?

I imagine it has enough appeal for readers of horror and readers of science fiction. Is it for everyone? No. I don't think a book has to be for everyone. This one has plenty of horrific details. The language. The graphic nature of death and violence and sex and drug use. It's going to turn some readers off. Also this one could definitely be offensive to those who are religious. King's depiction of Christianity is abrasive, harsh. (No question about that!) What I wasn't expecting exactly in this very dark, very horrific book is the humor. (Though it was often a dark sense of humor.) Like this description of a trucker colliding with the Dome:

The trucker might have been overloaded and moving too fast, Barbie thought, but at least he was getting a Viking funeral. (41)

Or this one of an unlucky farmer:

On God Creek Road, Bob Roux had been digging potatoes. He came in for lunch (more commonly known as "dinnah" in those parts), sitting astride his old Deere tractor and listening to his brand new iPod, a gift from his wife on what would prove to be his final birthday. His house was only half a mile from the field he'd been digging, but unfortunately for him, the field was in Motton and the house was in Chester's Mill. He struck the barrier at fifteen miles an h

1 Comments on Under the Dome, last added: 2/1/2010

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survivinglifedaily said, on 2/1/2010 7:06:00 AM

I was truly wondering how you would review this book. It keeps popping up and I saw that you were reading it, sounds like an engaging book, thank you!

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Neil Websdale, PhD is Professor of Criminal Justice at Northern Arizona University and Principle Project Advisor to and former Director of the National Domestic Violence Fatality Review Initiative.  His book, Familicidal Hearts: The Emotional Styles of 211 Killers, uncovers the stories behind 196 male and 15 female perpetrators of this shocking offense, situating their emotional styles on a continuum, from the livid coercive to the civil reputable.  Websdale attempts to answer to important questions, why do individuals kill their families and why does familicide appear to be on the rise? In the excerpt below Websdale looks at the role of emotion in familicide.

Familicide is one of the consequences of modern emotional formations.  It remains a mystery why many men, and in all likelihood a (much smaller) number of women, experience this insurgent array of emotions and yet do not commit familicide.  The insurgent array of negative emotions in the the familicidal hearts seems profoundly linked to the ways men and women live out various ideas about masculinities and femininities.  It is almost as if these gender prescriptions offered an all-too-important lifeline for social order.  This observation raises the question of whether some offenders “perform gender” as they commit familicide.  It is possible to argue that when Marcus Sims killed his estranged wife, Gloria, with his barbells, he was doing his version of manhood, his particular form of masculinity.  Sensing that Gloria had abandoned him for another man, Marcus temporarily discharged his unbearable sense of shame with humiliated fury.  Similarly, Mandy Miller, replaced in her husband’s life by another woman, stashed her bullets in her sewing basket, a place were her husband Andrew would not go.  She bided her time for several weeks, then wrote Andrew a letter reminding him of her contributions over the years, her child-rearing, her housework, and their lovemaking.  Unlike Marcus Sims, Mandy did not use violence or fly into a rage at her departing husband.  Her approach was more considered, her emotional style more subdued and civil, even reputable.  Mandy told him she wanted him to be proud of her modest achievements in the field of volunteer work.  Andrew moved on anyway.  As she committed familicide, did Mandy perform the gender work of the humiliated housewife and mother, rejected for another woman?

The insurgent array of emotions that plagues the lives of perpetrators of familicide reflects the way these offenders were unable to life up to the gendered cultural prescriptions of their day as breadwinners, lovers, fathers, mothers, wives, and nurturers.  It is probably no accident we see these killings (where data exist) in homes evidencing a traditional or conventional sexual division of labor, with women being principally responsible for child care and housework and men for primary breadwinning.  Perhaps it is among these nuclear family forms that we see the greatest potential for profound shame and painful disappointment about the seemingly inadequate performance of gender scripts.  It is the failure to fulfill one’s perceived responsibilities within intimate interdependencies that strikes me as particularly important.

The failure of offenders like Marcus Sims and Mandy Miller to maintain intimacy w

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Alphin, Elaine Marie. 2000. Counterfeit Son. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 180 pages.

He chose the Lacey family at first because of the sailboats.

This was completely an impulsive read. There was no urgency in getting to it. It's not a new book. (Though I believe it is soon to be reprinted soon in paperback by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. January 2010, according to B&N.) But the moment I picked it up, the moment I read the first page, I just had to keep reading this one. It was so very readable, so very compelling. Which--just so you know--was so unexpected, because this is not a book in my comfort zone, this genre is not one I usually read. At all. And yet for some reason, it grabbed my attention from the start.

Long story short, I was surprised by this one. And I definitely recommend it! It is the 2001 winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Young Adult Mystery.

What is it about? It's about a son who hates his father. With good reason. Cameron, our narrator, is a young boy--fourteen, I think--who has been through so much. His father, a man he calls Pop, is a serial killer and child abuser. But there is light, there is hope. Now that his father is dead--killed in a police raid--Cameron sees his chance. He wants a new life, a real life. By claiming to be someone he's not, by pretending to be one of the victims, Neil Lacey. But will this plan work? Or will his past catch up with him?

You can read an excerpt here.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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New kids are used to hearing stories about the places they move into from the local kids. Almost immediately upon driving up to their place, Logan meets the kid next door, Arthur. It doesn’t take long for Arthur to tell Logan that he was surprised anyone bought the place, considering what happened there. It’s not called the murder house for nothing.

Logan cannot believe that his mom and dad bought their new house knowing that someone was killed there. Logan’s folks think that Arthur is exaggerating, and while they agree that Mrs. Donaldson did die in the house, they doubt she was murdered.

Ever helpful Arthur takes Logan to the local library to check out the old newspapers from the time of Mrs. Donaldson’s death. Turns out that there is a lot more to the situation with Logan’s house than he even heard about from Arthur. There is missing money from Mrs. Donaldson’s job at a now abandoned theme park, and tremendous amounts of family drama, including the fact that Mrs. Donaldson’s son-in-law might have somehow been involved in this whole situation.

Now Arthur is the kind of kid who marches to his own drummer, and really doesn’t care what other kids think. Logan is fine with that although he is a little worried about what might happen once school starts. But they do have a long summer ahead of them, with unscripted days. Arthur is soon leading the charge for him and Logan to solve this old mystery. Logan’s a bit unsure about the whole thing, since it includes lots of bike riding up many hills and skulking around a creepy abandoned theme park.

Mary Downing Hahn has written an atmospheric and just creepy enough story. Don’t be fooled, there are issues of spousal abuse that make this a read for the older tween, but all of the details are appropriate to the story. Arthur, while unlikable, is believable and his story gives insight into the way that many children live. It’s a powerful thing to see a character shunned from his own mother, to the other kids at school, just keep moving on and be strong enough to believe in himself. The juxtaposition of Arthur and Logan’s families will definitely give readers something to think about.

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“In the game Clue there’s a library, but no little plastic book to use as a murder weapon. What’s up with that? Should be able to do in Col. Mustard, in the Library, with the Book.”

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Yesterday, I bought SHOES!! For years, the shoe-loving side of me was untapped. I bought reasonable, sensible shoes. And I wore them to the point of collapse. I had a pair of black Born (run a dagger through the "o", please) slip-ons that I wore for over six years until the sole split right across the insole. I LOVED those shoes.

I know that I am insinuating that I bought killer heels or princess shoes, yesterday. I didn't. I'm still that earth-mama who needs her comfortable shoes but...I bought FOUR pairs of shoes all in one day. I am - all in and of myself - an economic stimulus package - at least for the shoe industry. I never buy more than one pair of shoes and the moths fly out of my wallet when I do. Yesterday was different.

Hub-man and I went shopping this morning, too. I bought some blouses with a gift card and then we visited the newly opened branch of The Christmas Tree Shops. I'm thinking that the dollar stores and surplus stores are going to have a run for their money now that the Christmas Tree Shops are in town.

Books, right, books...that's what this blog is all about. Books and stories. Well, there is a story of my inner shoe lust above. Now, books. I just read the most recent entry in the Inspector Ian Rutledge series by Charles Todd, A Matter of Justice. This is a character-driven series. The book opens with a secret crime and revenge planned for that crime. So right off, the reader knows who is behind the eventual murder. This makes Rutledge's search for answers frustrating because without knowing about the secret crime, the murder doesn't make any sense and in the aftermath of the Great War, investigators couldn't Google their victims or their suspects. Rutledge perseveres, pokes his nose in where it's not wanted, asks the inconvenient questions and figures it all out by the grisly end. The largest tension arises from wondering how long Rutledge can keep his shell-shock caused demon at bay. I love these books.

On March 1st, I will be telling stories at Godfrey Daniels again - with the accordion, of course. The program is part of Godfrey Daniels/Lehigh Valley Storytelling Guild's Children's series and starts at 2 pm. Admission is charged. Kops 'n' Kids will be there handing out free books so the event is a BARGAIN, for sure. I hope to see you there.

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Today I have been sitting on a fast boat in the middle of Falmouth Bay in deepest Cornwall, terrified out of my wits by huge waves, moaning with fear, and wishing very much that I could murder the person who got me into this sea-nightmare of speed and spray and sheer gut-churning panic . I’d never do it for real, of course—I’m far too much of a law-abiding citizen, but it got me musing on my very first paper murder. Back I go in time, to another sea, another bay, in Donegal on a dark and stormy January morning…. (At least it wasn’t night, or I’d have to commit self-murder for using dreadful clichés.)

What do I do to prepare for this premeditated crime? First I put on my writer’s hat. Very important, that hat. It’s protection, get-out clause and freedom-from-prison all in one invisible piece of headwear. I sit down. Flex fingers. Close eyes. Engage brain. This is the fatal weapon. But it’s the first time I’ve done this violence thing. I’m nervous. Will I have the courage? She’s such a nice girl, Magret from Hootcat Hill. She’s had a horrid life—cruel father, family all dead apart from the boring old cousins. And now I have to kill her just when it’s all looking rosier. Is that fair? Is it honourable? I pause on the keyboard…. But then my tapping fingers are taken over by the film scene unfolding frame by frame in my head. The dragon rises inexorably behind the innocent girl in the moonlight, talons stretching to spear her through the torso. My heart is beating overtime, and my fingers are flying, creating the pitter-patter of the red blood drops on the still black water. She’s dead. I’ve killed her, and it feels horribly satisfying.

Oh dear. I’ve committed my first deliberate murder with violence, and I’m going to get away with it.

Magret wasn’t meant to die in the first draft. It was all a bit unexpected, really. But then she got into my head, talking to me, and I saw that her death was inevitable if the plot was going to move forward. I’d already killed her brother, right at the beginning. Somehow, that didn’t seem so bad, he brought it on himself really, by meddling with forces best left unmeddled with. I suppose I killed the rest of her family too, in a few brief written asides. But Magret Bickerspike was different. I knew her, heard her voice, felt sorry for her, liked her.

And now she’s dead.

I’ll kill more people in other books and get away with it. But she’s my first true premeditated paper murder—the one I’ll always remember. Sorry, Magret. R.I.P.

PS: For those who are interested, I currently intend my next paper murder to be a gruesome and horrific drowning. I’m plotting it in my head already. I think it will involve unleashing death by ancient marine monster on any person who makes me go out to sea on a rough day again. Satisfying, but legal. Ahh! The power of the pen!

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We begin with a murder. A triple murder, in fact. The man Jack was trying for a fourth, but the little baby had a habit of wandering, and he had left his crib, bumped down the stairs, and gone out into the night.

Jack wasn't worried, however. He knew that his keen sense of smell would lead him to the child. He ends up at the graveyard, and he knows that the child is there. What he doesn't know is that after a visit from his newly dead mother, the baby has been taken in by some "residents" of the graveyard, and that he is being protected by a "man" named Silas. Jack is sent off.

The child, named Nobody Owens, exists in the graveyard with ghostly teachers and friends, exploring and learning while knowing that Jack is out there, and is still out for him.

Gaiman has brought a wonderful story in the vein of Coraline. Superbly creepy, outright scary, yet sweet and filled with melancholy. I simply cannot wait to see Dave McKean's art added to the mix for the final copy. Also head on over here for additional information and some incredible illustrations.

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Dave Miller is stuck in his dead end job at the Last Stop convenience store. Really stuck. Ever since he applied for the job and the owner turned him into his own personal vampire wage slave. The only bright spot in his nights is when the goth girls leave the local juice bar and come into the store to pick up snacks. Dave is particularly taken with the beautiful Rosa, but feels destined to be "just friends". Especially since there are other gorgeous vamps like Wes around, who are ready to make girls like Rosa who think they want to be vamps into their vampire brides.

Vegetarian (re blood bank drinker) Dave challenges Wes not to use his powers over Rosa, and to try to win her the old fashioned way. Will the good guy win?

The amazing team of Jessica Abel, Gabe Soria and Warren Pleece have created a fabulous vampire story that takes away some of the romance and makes readers see that life as the undead isn't as glamorous as it seems. Eternity is, after all, just that. The panels on page 139 brilliantly portray this.

Now as a former goth girl, I am a little particular about the portrayal of that segment of our population. I think that Life Sucks hits it spot on. From the clothing and style of the goth kids, to the reactions of those outside of the circle, it all felt right. The illustrations themselves are rich and defined, and the reader seems somewhat unaware of the fact that everything is taking place at night.

Do yourself a favor and pick it up. A great and different take on the vampire story.

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It's 19th Century England, and the Professor's daughter Lillian has gone and fallen in love with the handsome mummy of Imhotep IV. Not exactly the best match, hmm? After Imhotep gets loopy from taking tea and smashes up the tea room, police come calling. Lillian doses the tea she offers to the police, thinking that she will be able to get Imhotep out of her father's suit, and put away before any more trouble ensues. Alas, she ends up killing the officers, and what follows rivals many an action film.

From long lost fathers, to kidnapping, to noble sacrifices for love, Joann Sfar and Emmanuel Guibert have put together a graphic novel that zips along. The far-fetched story did not grab me as much as the GORgeous illustrations. From the sepia tones of early panels to the bright red coats of the palace guards, The Professor's Daughter is a visual stunner.

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In this show: What does critical literacy mean to you? Having and relating knowledge that is indispensable or essential for success. Podcasts and Blogs Mentioned: MF Edoomcator Pandora Podcast Thanks To: William R. Hale Kevin Seale Let me know where you are: Click on ‘Join the CLIP Frappr Map’ in the menu bar. Post a comment: Click the comment button below or leave a voice mail by [...]

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