tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-212765132009-11-30T17:45:37.596-08:00Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-73994405019356300242009-11-30T17:44:00.001-08:002009-11-30T17:45:37.607-08:00

The site was migrated to a new server at my hosting company today. As it happens this FUBARed my configuration, and I have just got it corrected. Please enjoy your regularly scheduled updates.Thanks,The Management

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-32676245718750484002009-11-23T06:46:00.001-08:002009-11-23T06:46:27.713-08:00

My Internet service has been restored! And there was much rejoicing.

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-77756563169327065652009-11-22T18:36:00.000-08:002009-11-22T18:38:16.450-08:00

My Internet service is down right now, so CrimeSpot will not be able to update until it's restored (I'm posting this from work). Hopefully this will all be resolved tomorrow. Sorry about the inconvenience!

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-47270588094451981772009-10-30T11:02:00.001-07:002009-11-01T09:40:11.550-08:00

As I was driving home yesterday I saw this posted on the marquee of a bar not far from where I work: "Adventure is really just poor planning." And I have to say that the Indianapolis Bouchercon is a great example of this, because I had no plan whatsoever but managed to fall ass over backwards into a good time at every turn. To wit: The "Behind the Black Mask" wrap party. I was standing in the

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-105902305517189772009-10-23T05:40:00.000-07:002009-10-23T05:44:44.841-07:00

I've been reading Parnell Hall's "Stanley Hastings" books for years, but I didn't realize he was on my team at the annual Bouchercon basketball game until one of my teammates called, "Parnell! Parnell!" Being from New York, Parnell naturally shot it instead of passing.Anyway, I was surfing his site at about 3am and found this delightful video. Enjoy.

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-66194611978566852662009-10-20T23:52:00.000-07:002009-10-20T23:53:41.625-07:00

A CrimeSpot tradition! Due to the fact that I am working 10-hour graveyard shifts all week, my BoucherCon diary will be delayed until this weekend. But then, dramatic revelations and salacious gossip galore!

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-45117733295557909252009-10-19T02:37:00.000-07:002009-10-19T02:39:35.202-07:00

Reed Farrell Coleman will be signing at Legacy Books in Plano tomorrow night - that's Monday, October 19th, at 7pm. Unfortunately I won't be able to make it, as my son's pee-wee baseball team is in the fall-ball playoffs, but I urge everyone to go.Coming tomorrow: BoucherCon, a diary in three parts.

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-32728473262314248912009-10-14T17:02:00.000-07:002009-10-14T17:08:03.273-07:00

Tomorrow I head off to glamorous Indianapolis, Indiana, for BoucherCon 2009. I have only been to one B'Con - 2002 in Austin - and only one other mystery convention, the late, lamented ConMisterio, in Austin in 2005. I am looking forwards to seeing some old friends, making some new ones, and putting faces to people I only know online.There are those who won't be going, and I'm really sorry I'm

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-11350955412547614122009-09-05T06:49:00.000-07:002009-09-05T07:35:39.075-07:00

This week brings some news from the ranks of the Crimedogs (no, not him). First, Victor Gischler's new opus Vampire A Go-Go lands on the shelves at finer bookstores everywhere. This book is not a sequel to the fine Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse, but just another brazen attempt to cash in on the current go-go dancing craze, and I am deeply disappointed that Gischler would sink to the level of an

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-84943472405095765112009-07-19T19:56:00.000-07:002009-07-19T20:02:12.954-07:00

There may be a CrimeSpot outage tomorrow (Monday, 7/20) as we're having our house painted this week, and I will need to turn off my computer so that they can paint the room. I am going to try to run the site remotely from my laptop, but in the event that this doesn't work, well, you've been warned.

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-23730173951816327572009-07-10T21:13:00.000-07:002009-07-10T21:16:26.970-07:00

Sorry about the extended down time the past couple of days. My hosting provider, NearlyFreeSpeech.net, is normally excellent, and I'd recommend them to anyone, but they uncovered a security problem that required replacing the rights on all the files on all the servers.In order to fix this they disabled FTP uploads until all the files had the new properties, and this apparently took a very, very

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-18870492499457516072009-04-27T10:36:00.000-07:002009-04-27T10:46:31.175-07:00

A couple of quick notes on a cold April day (for Texas; it's 62 degrees). First up, don't forget that this Friday, May 1st, is International Buy Indie day. Be sure to head to the local independent bookstore. If you're in the mood, double-dip by picking up a small press book.For some, that's easier said than done; there are very few independent booksellers in Dallas/Fort Worth. Some of these

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-54550330716629920942008-12-31T12:50:00.000-08:002008-12-31T13:05:11.431-08:00

Richard Helms over at the The Back Alley has just announced their latest issue, with a roster of all-Canadian authors, including the likes of Nick Andreychuk and Art Montague. Didn't those guys use to play for the Maple Leafs?A couple of other new webzines that you may have missed: CROOKED has just launched with hot, fresh Issue #1, featuring Sandra Seamans and Sandra Ruttan (among others).

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-7805085188903959952008-09-18T16:26:00.000-07:002008-09-18T16:36:16.844-07:00

The wheel of life turns again. Soon after the deaths of Gregory McDonald and David Foster Wallace, James Crumley has passed away at age 68.I met him briefly at ConMisterio in Austin in 2006. He seemed to be in poor health at the time, moving around rather slowly. He also seemed to think the whole thing was faintly ridiculous. I spoke with him a few moments but was too starstruck to talk long. My

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-38010753583052342102008-07-12T17:54:00.001-07:002008-07-12T18:13:42.814-07:00

Plus: The end of the Stories, The Lineup has landed, Crimedogs on parade.I got an email earlier today from Hard Case Crime's mailing list, touting a new series of books set to debut next year - and I'm already salivating. The series is called The Adventures of Gabriel Hunt, and it's an attempt to do for pulp what Hard Case did for hardboiled crime fiction. Each book will be credited to "Gabriel

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-22775253666994646342008-05-12T09:37:00.000-07:002008-05-12T09:47:29.258-07:00

Plus: LaSalle Lives On!Two bits of Crimedog-related news to pass on today. First, it's Psychobilly Monday, the day you all agreed to rush down to Barnes & Noble and buy a copy of Neil Smith's Yellow Medicine. You say you didn't agree to this? I've got your signature right here on this for. No? Sure looks like it to me.So here's your chance to help Neil stick it to the Man. The proceeds

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-60555529606953685622008-04-22T10:29:00.000-07:002008-04-23T07:26:48.829-07:00

So romance author Deborah MacGillivray got all wound up about a mediocre review on Amazon.com, to the point she's encouraging her fans to mark the review as "abusive", ensuring its removal.Worse, she has apparently dug up some personal information about "Reba", the reviewer. What possible use could she make of this information? You're mystery readers, use your imaginations.Worst of all, however

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-20368166224178356442008-03-20T10:47:00.000-07:002008-03-20T10:56:17.199-07:00

Here's an interesting article on Rita Mae Brown from Time. While her fiction is not considered cutting edge - cat mysteries get a lot of grief in some quarters - she's apparently fearless in real life. She's never felt a need to hide her homosexuality, and in fact her first book, Ruby Fruit Jungle, was a comic coming-of-age story about a young lesbian. It sold a million copies.She was also

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-4439682860962411952008-03-03T08:05:00.001-08:002008-03-03T08:11:54.865-08:00

See that widget over there to the left, showing how much CrimeSpot readers have donated to the United Way? If you were planning on dropping some spare cash, you'd better get to it soon, as it's going away after this weekend. Some will be disappointed that they won't constantly be reminded how cool they are for contributing; others will be relieved that they won't be faced daily with evidence of

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-66648508056101114402008-02-22T18:53:00.000-08:002008-02-22T18:54:46.156-08:00

Plots With Guns has returned from the dead! There's only two possible outcomes here: A) "The savior of noir has returned!", or B) "BRRRAAAAAAIIIIIIIIINNNNSSSSSSSS..."

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-52408993428337410742008-02-10T10:15:00.000-08:002008-02-10T15:10:16.235-08:00

Welcome to the Carnival of the Criminal Minds for February, 2008. This month we've got the all-singin', all-dancin', all audio-visual carnival, focusing on mystery podcasts and promotional videos.You can find January's carnival at Detectives Beyond Borders. March's carnival will be at In Reference To Murder. And a special no-prize prize to the first reader who can identify which writer's "best

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-47451045278164021632008-02-06T18:41:00.001-08:002008-02-06T19:01:06.176-08:00

Actually February is Black History Month, so here's a few links to tide you over until I have the Carnival of the Criminal Minds up this weekend.* Room To Swing is generally considered to be the first novel to feature a realistic black detective, Toussaint Moore. Ed Lynskey profiles author "Ed Lacy" (actually Leonard Zinberg) at MysteryFile.com.* Brian Lindemuth provides an interesting overview

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-89474197497226895982008-01-30T17:53:00.000-08:002008-01-30T17:57:52.998-08:00

Prolific Texas writer James Reasoner today reports on his blog that his house has been destroyed by fire. He is the author of more than 200 books, including the classic Texas Wind, last year's well-reviewed Dust Devils, and the new anthology Graveyard Shift.The good news: no one was injured. I can't be sure at this point but I the fire was probably caused by yesterday's windstorm here in north

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-29497248492069368012008-01-22T11:11:00.000-08:002008-01-22T11:34:06.934-08:00

Just got an email from Daniel Hatadi the other day. Seems that this humble site was mentioned in a Reuters article entitled "Web yields deadly tricks for crime writers", which has been widely syndicated. Woohoo! I expect a flood of tens of new visitors.This news comes hard on the heels of a book called "The Bookaholics Guide to Book Blogs" (via Bill C.), which also mentions CrimeSpot. There

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21276513.post-17450201427744710432008-01-05T06:41:00.001-08:002008-01-06T16:42:22.429-08:00

Due to technical issues, updates to CrimeSpot.net will be intermittent over the next couple of days. Issues with my provider mean that the updates can only run when I'm sitting at my computer to run them manually. Sorry about this, and I'll have it resolved as soon as possible.Update: The support staff at Applied Innovations got the problem fixed quickly, much to my relief. Thanks, guys!

Graham Powellnoreply@blogger.com