Resort to Murder Readings and Signings--December

Resort to Murder makes a great gift! Come meet the authors and get your own signed copy! We'll read excerpts from stories, take questions, and sign books at the following locations (please check with host location close to date in case of changes)
The December reading will be the last of the group readings, so it will be your last chance to get multiple authors to sign.

Resort to Murder editors Ellen Hart, Carl Brookins, and William Kent Krueger (collectively known as Minnesota Crime Wave) will carry on with readings and signings of Resort to Murder as well as their own numerous books. For the latest on their touring schedule, visit their website.

Don't forget! You can purchase Resort to Murder at many fine bookstores throughout the Midwest and beyond.

DECEMBER 2007

Friday, December 14, 7:00 pm, Barnes & Noble Minnetonka

November Events--Resort to Murder

Resort to Murder authors will appear at a number of events in November (more may be added, so check back).

NOVEMBER 2007

November 1, 7 pm Borders, Woodbury
November 2, 6-8 pm, CANCELLED Back to Books 520 second Street, Hudson, Wisconsin
Nov. 3, 7 pm CHANGED (to December) Barnes & Noble, Minnetonka

Resort to Murder at Raking through Books

Tuesday, October 9, 5:30 p.m.
HAPPY HOUR BOOK CLUB
RAKING THROUGH BOOKS—Resort to Murder
Resort to Murder continues in the same tradition as Nodin Press’ Silence of the Loons, with some of the state's best writers delivering creepy, spine-tingling tales all of which are set at Minnesota vacation resorts, stories far more haunting than the cry of a loon and crimes more lethal than a lump of lutefisk. Featuring Carl Brookins, Pat Dennis, Michael Allan Mallory, David Housewright, Judith Yates Borger, Scott Pearson, and Joel Arnold. This event offers readers the chance to discuss literature with writers and each other in a super-casual setting. Free appetizers.
Cosponsored by the Loft, the Rake magazine, Kieran’s Irish Pub, University of MN Book Store, Peace Coffee, and KFAI Radio.
Kieran’s Irish Pub, 330 2nd Avenue South, Minneapolis. Free.

Resort to Murder Authors in Local Media

Resort to Murder authors have been featured in local media recently. Judith Yates Borger made an appearance on WCCO TV on Oct. 6, where she explained the premise of the book and the genesis of her story. The interview can be seen on the WCCO site. She was also interviewed in the Park Rapids Enterprise.
Joel Arnold was the subject of a story in theSavage Pacer. They wrote, "Writing has been a passion for Joel Arnold ever since the second grade when he won a writing contest. 'My teacher told me I’d be a writer someday, and I believed her,” said Arnold.'" (Savage Pacer, September 20, 2007).

Armchair Interviews Review

"Nodin Press and thirteen talented Minnesota writers took on a challenge of writing mystery stories that take place at a Minnesota resort. Let me tell you, going ‘up north’ to the cabin (resort) will never be the same for me. I will constantly search the woods for stray bodies, wonder what is buried near the volleyball court, and I will always check out the resort handyman—I could go on and on. Suffice to say, the thirteen Minnesota writers hit the mark with their anthology." Read the complete review by Andrea Sisco.

Resort to Murder Authors Head to Courtroom Sunday September 30th!

Resort to Murder authors will appear as part of the 125 Years of Words and Music celebration of the Schubert Club and the St Paul Public Library. Find us in the stately woodpaneled Courtroom #326, Landmark Center, 3 pm, Sunday, September 30th, 2007.
The day starts with a Parade, at noon, running along 4th Street, from at Wabasha Street and ending at Rice Park, followed by speeches from the mayor, the library director, and special guest Franz Schubert.
Also on the day’s calendar are everything from raptors to book arts, dance performances, gamelan, mariachi, accordian, storytelling to poetry to mystery, drummers, choirs, the history of the State Fair, plus the Café Accordion Orchestra, Teddy Bear Band, Minnesota Percussion Trio, Bill the Juggler, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, strolling musicians, costumed authors and composers from the past 125 years, and more!
Events will take place at the Central Library, at Rice Park, and the Landmark Center.
For the compete schedule, see the library website. The event is supported by Minnesota Public Radio, the Saint Paul Pioneer Press and Landmark Center.

Resort to Murder Readings and Signings--October

Come meet the authors! Resort to Murder authors will appear at a number of events at bookstores, libraries and other events. Here are some upcoming events (more will be added, so check back).

OCTOBER 2007

Oct. 4, 7 pm, Barnes & Noble, Apple Valley
Oct 9, 5:30 pm Raking Through Books, Kieran's Pub co-sponsored by: Kierans, U of M Bookstores, The Rake and The Loft
Oct 13, 10–5 pm, Minneapolis Book Festival, Minneapolis Community and Technical College
Oct 14, 2 pm, Borders, Rosedale
Oct 16, 7 pm, Barnes & Noble, Har Mar
Oct 17, 7 pm, Barnes & Noble, Maplewood
NEWLY ADDED: Oct. 21, 2 pm, Barnes & Noble, Edina (Galleria)
Oct 23, 7 pm, Barnes 7 Noble, Eden Prairie
Oct 29, 7 pm, Borders, Minnetonka

Resort to Murder Launch--September

SEPTEMBER 2007

Join us as we celebrate the launch of Resort to Murder: Thirteen More Tales of Mystery on Monday, Sept. 24, 7 pm at Once Upon a Crime, Minneapolis, Book Launch Party! This will be one of your few chances to purchase a fully signed book. Make sure to reserve a copy by calling Once Upon a Crime.
The store is located at 604 West 26th street, just east of Lyndale Avenue South. 612-870-3785.
Other upcoming readings for October and November are listed in entries below.

Resort to Murder Review—Pioneer Press

"Resort to Murder is the second in a series (following "The Silence of the Loons") commissioned by Minnesota Crime Wave - William Kent Krueger, Ellen Hart and Carl Brookins. They asked contributors to "Resort to Murder" to set their stories at a Minnesota resort, and the 13 authors delivered. Some of the stories are about revenge, including David Housewright's "Miss Behavin' " and Hart's "14-A." Several tales offer an O. Henry-style twist, including Brookins' "A Fish Story" and Judith Yates Borger's "Hunter's Lodge." Pat Dennis describes a very odd mother-son relationship in "Mother's Day," and Deborah Woodworth evokes the dark north woods in "The Moose Whisperer." Barbara DaCosta's "Cabin" is the most surprising, and Michael Allen Mallory's "Bird of Prey" shows how far a writer will go for her craft. The sweetest tale is Joel Arnold's "Leave No Wake," featuring a pair of gay senior citizens. For lots of fun, there's Jess Lourey's "The Locked Fish-cleaning House Mystery," featuring a lively sleuth who lives in a nursing home and crashes weddings." - Mary Ann Grossmann (St Paul Pioneer Press, 9/23/07)

Meet the Authors: Pat Dennis

Pat Dennis grew up on the outskirts of south side Chicago, born into a pack of relocated southerners and religious fundamentalists. She's performed stand-up comedy for corporate events, woman’s shows, comedy clubs and on national television. Her fiction and humor have been published in publications such as Woman’s World, Minnesota Monthly, The Pioneer Press, Sun Current, and even Gurnee Gardening. Her short story "Jake" was featured in The Silence of the Loons.
Pat opened her own publishing company, Penury Press. Her book of culinary mysteries Hotdish to Die For, in which the weapon of choice is hotdish, was called by the Minnesota Women’s Press “wickedly wonderful.” It soon became a regional hit, selling close to 15,000 copies. Who Died In Here? is a collection of mystery short stories where the crime occurs in the bathroom, written by twenty-five of the top mystery short story writers. Hotdish Haiku, featuring 50 haiku and 30 tantalizing oriental hotdish recipes (such as Crouching Chicken, Hidden Veggies) was written by 13 exceptional humorists. She has just finished her first novel for middle-grades. Pat can be found at her website.

Meet the Authors: Barbara DaCosta

Barbara DaCosta's story "Cabin 6" marks her debut as a mystery writer. "Lake Superior has a certain tug on many of us," she says, "and I wanted to explore what could go wrong on one of those misty evenings when one goes down the wrong path."
After many years of writing for work and school, Barbara decided to try her hand at something that would require a plotline instead of a deadline. She's at work completing her novel Death by the Depot.

Meet the Authors: Jess Lourey

Jess Lourey spent her formative years in Paynesville, Minnesota, a small town not unlike her Murder by Month series' Battle Lake. She currently lives in St. Cloud, Minnesota, where she teaches writing and sociology full time at the local college. When not raising her wonderful kids, teaching, or writing, you can find her gardening and navigating the niceties and meanities of small-town life. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, The Loft, and Lake Superior Writers.

"The Locked Fish-Cleaning-House," her short story contribution to Resort to Murder, is set in Battle Lake--the same town her series is set in--and features Mrs. Berns, a recurring but peripheral character in the series. The story puts a Minnesota spin on the classic locked room mystery. And for the record, writing a short story is a lot harder than writing a novel. Her website has information about her newest release Knee-High by the Fourth of July.

Meet the Authors: Michael Allan Mallory

Michael Allan Mallory grew up in Minneapolis and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in English Literature. Death Roll, his debut novel with Marilyn Victor, was published in May 2007 and features the first zoologist sleuth in the person of Lavender Snake Jones.
The original idea for "Bird of Prey" came to Michael over twenty years ago. He enjoys writing mysteries because in a mystery, "the world is made clear—motives are understood, actions are explained, connections between events are revealed. Not so in real life. In real life we often grope around in the dark hoping to find answers. As a mystery writer I can insert order and clarity into the universe, even if it is imaginary."

Meet the Authors: Scott Pearson

Scott Pearson's first publication was in 1987 with “The Mailbox,” a Minnesota Monthly Tamarack Award winner about an elderly farming couple. Over the last twenty years he has published humor, poetry, short stories, and nonfiction such as The Mosquito Book, which he coauthored with Scott Anderson and Tony Dierckins, and a number of Star Trek stories. “Out of the Jacuzzi, Into the Sauna,” in Resort to Murder is his first mystery story. Scott says, "What appeals to me about writing mysteries is trying to create real characters and then putting them into thrilling, scary situations that we all hope we wouldn't find ourselves in. And, of course, I like the idea of trying to create the puzzle for the character—and the reader—to solve." The motivation for “Out of the Jacuzzi, Into the Sauna” was a particularly trying trip to a Lake Superior resort. Please visit Scott on his website.

How Resort to Murder Came to Be

You might think that three successful, busy writers might already have enough on their plates besides editing an anthology, but when they tried their hands at such a task in 2005, the result was the very popular Silence of the Loons. The three editors (each of whom also contributed a story) William Kent Krueger, Ellen Hart, and Carl Brookins who comprise the authors' team known as Minnesota Crime Wave came up with a highly original idea. "We wanted to bring the Minnesota Mystery community together in order to showcase the talent of these wonderful writers and friends. A short story anthology seemed the perfect way. But that, in itself, was too easy. These are writers used to dealing with locked rooms and battling serial killers. We realized we needed to give them an additional challenge, something that would, in its way, unify the collection. This was the challenge. We created a set of eight clues or elements, a pool from which each author had to dip into in order to construct their stories."
Each author invited to be in the book had to include at least eight of the clues, among them a page torn from a dictionary, the sound of a train whistle, a wig— and the one that possibly piqued the public's fancy the most: a headless Barbie doll.
Naturally, readers demanded a follow-up volume, and thus was born Resort to Murder, thirteen stories united by one common theme: each had to take place in a real, but fictionalized Minnesota resort.
The result is a book that will keep you up late at night reading. Enjoy!

Resort to Murder's First Review

Resort to Murder has been reviewed in the prestigious Publishers' Weekly. Here's what they had to say: "The Minnesota Crime Wave’s entertaining second volume of short stories from Minnesota writers (after 2005’s The Silence of the Loons) introduces some promising talent to a wider audience. Taking a somewhat darker tack than the previous anthology, many of the 13 stories center on actual or suspected infidelity or some other betrayal, concluding with satisfying but somewhat anticipated twists. No stories stand out as either duds or stunners, though Pat Dennis’s “Mother’s Day,” about a neglected son’s homicidal plans for the holiday, and David Housewright’s “Miss Behavin’,” which follows a philandering physician down a spiral of bad luck and poor choices, are particularly taut and suspenseful. Several authors include notes of local color, giving a nice sense of continuity from one piece to the next and appealing to Minnesotans and visitors alike." (Publisher's Weekly 7/23/07)

Interview with Resort to Murder Editor

Carl Brookins, one of the three editors of Resort to Murder, was interviewed in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune this week. He was asked why there were so many mystery writers in Minnesota, what were some of the personality traits of said writers, and what were some characteristics of the mystery field. Carl pointed out that mystery writers are "not really writing about killings and beatings and things of that nature, we're really writing about the human condition." Click here for the complete interview. Carl, along with Ellen Hart and William Kent Krueger, edited the volume, and together make up Minnesota Crime Wave.