In Good Company

I received new information about The Blue Religion, the Mystery Writers of America anthology that contains my short story “Rule Number One.” The book is edited by Michael Connelly and features stories from Connelly, Jon L. Breen, Alafair Burke, Leslie Glass, John Harvey, Edward D. Hoch, Laurie R. King, T. Jefferson Parker, Peter Robinson and 12 other outstanding writers. It’s being published by Back Bay Books, part of the Little Brown family, on April 14, 2008. Here’s the Amazon page for the book.

Connelly’s story, “Father’s Day,” is a Harry Bosch. “From Hawaii at the turn of the twentieth century to the post-Civil War frontier, from smoggy Los Angeles to the woods of Idaho, these gripping stories trace the perils and occasional triumphs of lawmen and women who put themselves in harm’s way to face down the bad guys. Some of them even walk the edge of becoming bad guys themselves.”

Needless to say, I’m thrilled to be among such fine company. Alafair Burke is James Lee Burke’s daughter, by the way. Alafair is also the name of Dave Robicheaux’s foster daughter in his novels.

I found out a couple of days ago that the Canadian sitcom Corner Gas is on late nights on WGN, so I taped an episode and watched it last night. It’s probably a little dry for some people, but it’s absolutely classic Canadian TV, reminiscent of The Beachcombers, which was one of the staples when I was growing up. The story takes place in and around a gas station in Western Canada. The main characters work in the station, the diner or are RCMP members. It’s a shame it’s on so late, or I’d watch it on a regular basis.