There’s a particular pleasure in revisiting a story that you haven’t read in a while. A couple of weekends ago, I read “Sturm und Drang” from A Dark and Deadly Valley to my wife. I’m not sure that I’ve read the story since it was published in 2007. It was almost like reading another person’s work and I have to say that I was very pleased with the tale. Alas, the anthology didn’t get very wide distribution.
I was approached by the good folks at The Wicked Library to see if I would give them a story to be read on their weekly podcast. I perused my archives and decided that “Knock ’em Dead” would be a good fit. It was first published in When the Night Comes Down from Dark Arts Press along with three other of my stories (the closest thing I’ve done to a collection yet). The story was inspired by a story I heard another author tell about someone having a heart attack at or before their reading. It’s a writer’s story, told from the point of view of a debut novelist who is suddenly thrust into the limelight and sees a chance to scale the ladder of success quickly. I think it’s a funny story, one that Jeff Strand might get a kick out of. Again, I haven’t revisited the story in a while, so it was with great pleasure that I listened to Nelson W. Pyles’ terrific narration. You can see something of its vintage with references to PDAs and Larry King, but Nelson’s rendering of Larry King’s voice was one of my favorite parts, so I’m glad I didn’t update it. I hope people will give it a listen: I think it’s a pretty kick-ass story. Or, as the promo copy at the site says, “quite possibly the most actually wicked story [sent] to the Wicked Library.”
There was definitely a Doctor Who sub-theme working on the second episode of the third season of Death in Paradise. One of the guest stars was Doc #5, Peter Davison, who plays the beleaguered screenwriter for a zombie movie being filmed on the island, and the lead actress in the zombie flick was played by Michelle Ryan, aka Lady Christina.
Motive is an underappreciated (in my opinion) crime series. It’s filmed in Vancouver with mostly Canadian actors, including Kristin Lehman from The Killing, and its conceit is that the killer and the victim are revealed before the opening credits, though not in Columbo fashion. A big part of the joy in the show is finding out how these oft-times seemingly unrelated characters come together and what causes one to murder the other. The show usually plays against expectations. The guy just released from prison isn’t the killer, he’s the victim, or the cute little thang is the killer. Also, I really enjoy the relationship between Lehman’s character and her partner, played by Louis Ferreira, who was Declan on Breaking Bad. They have a comfortable familiarity that shines through in underplayed moments and little bits of seemingly impromptu dialog. There’s one episode in the second season that appeals to two aspects of my daily life: crime writing and chemistry.
