Come on down! This Saturday, August 19th, I’ll be at the San Diego Union Tribune Festival of Books in conversation with the wonderful Kwei Quartey. If you’re on the Left Coast, drop in!
Archive for Blog
Japanese Maltese Falcon Award!
Hey, I’ve just won the Falcon Award from the Japanese Maltese Falcon Society! It’s given for the best hardboiled book published in Japan in a given year. My winning book was PAPER SON, which came out here in 2019 but was only recently published in Japan.
The award itself is a hand-carved falcon statuette. It’ll be here in 6-8 weeks — it’s being carved as we speak. In the meantime, here’s Sam Spade contemplating the original.
ANTHONY NOMINATION!
CRIME HITS HOME, the anthology I edited for the MWA, has been nominated for an Anthony Award!
As you crime people know, that’s given at Bouchercon, which this year will be in San Diego over Labor Day weekend. It’s the editor who gets listed on the nomination; but an anthology editor is like a choreographer, and no matter the concept of the piece, it’s the dancers — and the behind the scenes people — who make the thing work.
So, a huge congrats and thank you to the MWA, who asked me to take this on; to Hanover Square Press, who published it; to the well-known writers who agreed to send stories so the contest winners would be sharing a book with established names; to the judges, who read all the contest entries, discussed, debated, and sent me the ones they rated the best, to make the final choice; and of course, to the writers who took a chance and entered the contest.
Everyone now needs to read all the Anthony nominated works in all categories before September, so you’d better get to work.
A new year is coming (fast!) and so are the 2023 calendars!
Yes, folks, the 2023 SJ Rozan Calendars are now available for your date-keeping pleasure. This year we have four: Bella the Cat, Colors, Plants, and New York City. All money raised goes to The Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Get one for your home, one for your office (even if they’re the same), one for a friend, and one to put above your cat’s water dish!
Gung Hay Fat Choy!
As some of you might know, I’m working on a new project, something different.* It’s not top secret but it’s hard to explain. You’ll hear about it soon enough. But right now, what you need to know is it’s a novel, set in 1924, in London, with a Chinese narrator — and it contains a lot of kung fu. What do I know about kung fu? Zee-ro. But luckily I found, through a friend, a fabulous consultant. Sifu Paul Koh, of Bo Law Kung Fu here in NYC, is working with me. He’s great, and he invited me to his studio to see their Chinese New Year show. These are highlights. Sifu Koh is the one in the red scarf.
*Lydia and Bill fans, don’t panic, I’m not abandoning them. This is in addition, not instead.
Newsletter, and not mine
Novelist Karen Odden writes seriously thrilling historical thrillers. She also keeps up a monthly newsletter, and this month she features me! Why? Who can say? But check it out, to see her cacti and my cowboy boots. And, you could win a signed copy of FAMILY BUSINESS! Thanks, Karen!
Come on down!
Hey, folks! On Thursday Jan. 27, at 6pm ET, I’ll be speaking with the inimitable Jonathan Santlofer in a virtual event with Northshire Books in Saratoga NY. Was hoping to go up there, but Omicron. Still, Jonathan and I can have fun in any format. One hour, plenty of time for Q&A. Tickets are free (or you can get ticket plus book, which is not free) but you need to get them on Eventbrite to get the Zoom link. Come on down!
Sue Grafton Award Nomination!
Hey, FAMILY BUSINESS has been nominated for the Sue Grafton Award!
“The Sue Grafton Memorial Award honors the Best Novel in a Series featuring a female protagonist who also has the hallmarks of Sue’s writing and Kinsey’s character: a woman with quirks but also with a sense of herself, with empathy but also with savvy, intelligence, and wit.”
While you’re here check out the rest of the Edgar Nominees.
What a stellar bunch!
Chinatown, Now and Then
My new Lydia Chin/Bill Smith book, FAMILY BUSINESS, is set in Chinatown and concerns real estate. (Well, this IS New York.) To celebrate we’re showing some (mostly vintage) Chinatown photos here on the blog. This is Pell Street in 1949.
The photographer is Angelo Rizzuto. Related to Phil? Who knows? This is New York.
For more info: https://bit.ly/3H6xINZ
Chinatown, Now and Then
My new Lydia Chin/Bill Smith book, FAMILY BUSINESS, is set in Chinatown and concerns real estate. (Well, this IS New York.) To celebrate we’re showing some (mostly vintage) Chinatown photos here on the blog. This Library of Congress photo is from 1903. The shop on this corner, though under a different name, still sells imported porcelains, dolls, toys, etc.
To learn more: https://bit.ly/3H6L10Q
