Donald Bain
 Don was the proud recipient of the IAMTW's first Grand Master award.  Here's an excerpt from Murder on Parade. (161.2KB) Reader's view on QE2. (30.7KB) Renee's article about Don in Tied-In (627.5KB) |
Welcome JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2010 Listen to an interview with Donald Bain on the Author e-zine website. See below for link. A New Year brings new energy and we're gearing up for a busy schedule once again. Renée and I took a break from our promotional activities during the holidays but are rarin' to go now that they're over. We'll be listing our appearance dates on the "Events" page as they're scheduled, but here's a glance at what's coming up. Recently, I was interviewed by author and book reviewer Bill Kenower of Author, an online magazine for writers and readers. It was a relaxed, informal discussion (Bill is a skilled and erudite interviewer) in which I spoke about many aspects of my long writing career that's resulted in 107 books. But as I'm fond of saying, that only counts books written as of this moment. I'm hoping there will be many more to come, including three more in the "Murder, She Wrote" series as well as a couple of books being ghosted for a well-known person. Those are already in the works. The 20-minute interview with Bill Kenower is now available on his website. It may take a few minutes to download, so please be patient. In March we head for Los Angeles and the Left Coast Crime murder mystery conference. This gathering of murder mystery fans, editors and agents has been a mainstay of the mystery writing community since 1991 and attracts more than a thousand attendees each year. We'll have a chance to catch up with friends out west, do some signings, and take part in the myriad panels devoted to the mystery genre. April will find us back in Nashville to celebrate and promote the publication of NASHVILLE NOIR. Nashville is a wonderful city and we're looking forward to touching base again with all the folks who helped us the last time we were there researching the book. And, of course, we'll be soaking in the music for which Nashville is famous. I'll be signing books at a few bookstores beginning with a terrific book shop devoted to the murder mystery genre, Mysteries & More. It's owned by a dynamic husband and wife duo, Mary and Greg Bruss, who are working to keep the independent book shop alive and kicking. They have an apartment called the "Authors' Attic" in which authors visiting the shop for a signing can stay. I'll be signing books there on Saturday,April 10. By the way, Mysteries & More will be celebrating the second anniversary of the shop on that date and we're delighted to be part of that celebration. On May 1 I'll be the featured speaker at the annual fundraising dinner of the American Association of University Women in Connecticut. The AAUW has been a leading voice in numerous social and professional advances. It boasts 100,000 members in 1,000 branches across the country. I spoke at the dinner a few years ago and am flattered that I've been invited back. We've already made our reservations for next fall's Bouchercon. Our appearance at Bouchercon last October was both pleasurable and successful. (Don't miss our photos on the "Events" page.) At the Book Bazaar, Renée and I gave out TRICK OR TREACHERY, the perfect choice for this October event. All our copies were gobbled up in no time. You'll find an excerpt from this Halloween-themed book on the Discussion page. The writing has begun on COLD AS ICE, the latest book in the series. It takes place in Cabot Cove and finds Jessica immersed in the world of big-time figure skating. Competitive figure skating is a fascinating , with big bucks at stake and inflated egos at every turn. The manuscript is due at the publisher on April 1, and the book will be published a year after that, April 2011. NOTE: Because another murder mystery being published by our pubisher prior to our novel is using the "Cold As Ice" title, we've come up with Skating on Thin Ice as a substitute working title. That might change but for now we're going with it. Our friends, Lee Goldberg and Max Allan Collins, founders of the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers (IAMTW), of which Renee and I are proud members, are compiling a book to be published in the spring in which members of the association will contribute essays, memoirs, and tales from the life of tie-in writers. I've penned a long piece about the genesis of my involvement with the "Murder, She Wrote" books series. I hope you'll find it a fascinating look at how publishing works and the events leading to my writing the first book 22 years ago. Never did I dream that 22 years later I would still be writing the series that now numbers 32 books published and still in-print, two more already written and to be published this year, and three more to go on the new contract. Out just in time for the holiday was a special two-book package, Murder Never Takes a Holiday. The compendium brings together two of Jessica's toughest cases in the series, each with a holiday theme: Manhattans & Murder and A Little Yuletide Murder. There are excerpts from both these book on the Discussion page. Even though we won't be adding any more excerpts from past books to the site this year, we'll keep the previous ones we posted as part of our Anniversary Special on the "Discussion" page for you to peruse. We hope you've enjoyed last year's celebration of 20 years of Murder, She Wrote in print. Here's the latest news on the books: Out next April is this exciting tale of young talent, betrayals, double crosses, and murder, of course, all set to the twang of an acoustic guitar in the country music capital of the world. If you haven't heard it yet, please look to the left for a link to the song "Nashville Noir," composed for us (and you) by award-winning song writer David Stewart. David has been writing country songs since he was six years old. A four-time finalist in the NSAI-Country Music Television Song Writing Contest, this year David and his co-writer Mary Beth Stone walked away with the Grand Prize. We think both the book and the song are winners. A peek into this distinctly American celebration, as well as an intriguing mystery to solve, the book takes place in Cabot Cove the week before Thanksgiving. Jessica has a lot on her plate. She's grappling with a rare case of writer's block just as she's got to work on the town's holiday pageant, feed the needy at the Senior Center, and figure out how she's going to squeeze in extra places for all those people she's invited to Thanksgiving dinner. Joining Jessica in Maine is a special guest, Scotland Yard Inspector George Sutherland. George not only experiences a traditional New England Thanksgiving dinner, he helps Jessica solve the murder of an enigmatic newcomer to town. Now out in hardcover. Jessica Fletcher is back in New York City, although as a visitor this time. Over her initial objections, she's taking part in the filming of a television commercial together with a television chef, a New Age guru and a writer of exposes. Fans of Jessica Fletcher's nephew, Grady, will be pleased that he'll be back in this book playing a major role. Donna is there, too, of course. And you'll get to meet their 9-year-old son Frank, named for Jessica's late husband. The book has received great notices including one on the Hartford Examiner site. Out in hardcover and Kindle, and soon in paperback, the novel takes place in this quintessentially southern city renowned for mystery. When her friend Tillie Mortelaine dies, Jessica is invited to solve a 40-year-old murder case. At stake is a million-dollar bequest for the local literacy program that she and Tillie established. As Jessica settles into Tillie's Savannah mansion and meets its collection of odd boarders, she begins to suspect that the spirit of the murder victim, Wanamaker Jones, is haunting the premises--and that there are those in Savannah who are looking to cash in on Jessica’s failure. Savannah has been receiving wonderful reviews, including one from Publishers Weekly, the publishing industry's leading publication, which reads, in part, "Ferreting out who killed Wanamaker is tough work, but Jessica, as always, rises to the challenge. Ghostly assistance adds to the charm of the spunky sleuthing...", as well as five stars from reviewer Harriet Klausner, who calls the book "an entertaining cerebral cold case whodunit" and "one of the best cases Mrs. Fletcher (and Donald Bain) has worked on." And Elisa Preston wrote in the Savannah Morning News, "A Slaying in Savannah is fun and interesting, and the authors nailed Savannah right on the head. It's a murder mystery filled with the city's charm and uniqueness." Thank you, Elisa! Now in paper, celebrate The Fourth of July in Cabot Cove with traditional, festive parades, contests, events for the youngsters, and, of course, fireworks. But this year, the "bombs bursting in air" includes a fatal gunshot that takes the life of one of the town's most controversial citizens. Jessica finds herself right in the middle of the investigation, aided (or perhaps hindered) by a stranger whose arrival in Cabot Cove has tongues wagging. Former sheriff Amos Tupper makes a return appearance in this novel, published in April 2008. And Seth Hazlitt, who's seriously wounded by a mugger, faces a tough decision that has Jessica worried, and will determine whether he closes down his medical practice and retires. Remarkably, every book in the "Murder, She Wrote" series is still in print. The "Murder, She Wrote" series, the Veronica Lake autobiography, "Charlie and the Shawneetown Dame," and "Coffee, Tea or Me?" are among the more than 100 books I've written over a long career (the actual number as of November 2008 is 104). The stories behind these books and all the others, are contained in the new, large format paperback edition of my autobiography, "Murder HE Wrote: A Successful Writer's Life," published by Purdue University Press. For reviews and endorsements from top publishing figures and fellow-writers, please click on the book's title, "Murder HE Wrote" to your right. Perfect gift for the writer in your family. The Purdue University Press reissue of a book I wrote more than 30 years ago, CHARLIE AND THE SHAWNEETOWN DAME, continues to create a buzz in Hollywood. It's a dramatization of a true story from the Prohibition era, involving one of the more bizarre gang wars in the annals of crime in America, replete with tank wars, bombing from an aircraft, and chronicling the life of Charlie Birger, a flamboyant, slightly mad Al Capone wannabe. I've completed a screenplay based upon the book, and of the more than 100 books I've written, this has always been a particular favorite. Click on the title at the right for reviews, and an excerpt from the book. Often called a "cult classic," the reissue of the controversial THE CIA'S CONTROL OF CANDY JONES is difficult to find in stores, but used versions are available on amazon.com and at barnesandnoble.com. Twentieth-Century Fox bought the film rights many years ago as a vehicle for Jane Fonda but has never made the movie. I've tried to buy back the rights, as have a dozen Hollywood producers. For some reason, Fox won't let go. That's a shame because it would make a wonderful motion picture. Besides, the American public should know about the perverse CIA experiments that took place during the "Cold War." Penguin Books' reissue of COFFEE, TEA OR ME? includes a new foreword by me, and all the original Bill Wenzel illustrations. Stop back again soon. Donald Bain |
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