The Passing of Sidney Sheldon

Just moments ago, we lost one of our greatest writers....

Los Angeles - Sidney Sheldon has passed away from complications of pneumonia at age 89.

Sheldon was born Sidney Schechtel in Chicago, Illinois to a German Jewish father and a Russian Jewish mother.

His career began in 1937 in Hollywood, California, where he reviewed scripts and collaborated on a number of B-movies.

After a stint in the military as a pilot in the War Training Service, a branch of the Army Air Corps, during World War II, Sheldon returned to civilian life and began writing musicals for the Broadway stage while continuing to write screenplays for both MGM Studios and Paramount Pictures.

Over the years, Sheldon wrote for television, film, and stage, winning an Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay (1947) for The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, a Tony Award (1959) for his musical Redhead, and earned Emmy nominations for his work on I Dream of Jeannie, an NBC sitcom. Additionally, he created The Patty Duke Show and the ABC mystery series Hart to Hart.

In 1969, Sheldon wrote his first novel, The Naked Face which earned him the Best First Novel Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America. His next novel, The Other Side of Midnight, went to #1 on the New York Times bestseller list as did several ensuing novels, a number of which were also made into motion pictures or TV miniseries. He struggled with bipolar disorder for years; he nearly committed suicide at 17.

Edgar Nominees

And the nominees for the 2007 Edgar Awards, given out by the Mystery Writers of America, are:

BEST NOVEL

The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard (HarperCollins)
The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Gentleman and Players by Joanne Harris (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
The Dead Hour by Denise Mina (Hachette Book Group - Little, Brown and Company)
The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard (Random House – Ballantine Books)
The Liberation Movements by Olen Steinhauer (St. Martin's Minotaur)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

The Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson (Random House)
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (Crown - Shaye Areheart Books)
King of Lies by John Hart (St. Martin's Minotaur – Thomas Dunne Books)
Holmes on the Range by Steve Hockensmith (St. Martin's Minotaur)
A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read (Warner Books – Mysterious Press)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

The Goodbye Kiss by Massimo Carlotto (Europa Editions)
The Open Curtain by Brian Evenson (Coffee House Press)
Snakeskin Shamisen by Naomi Hirahara (Bantam Dell Publishing – Delta Books)
The Deep Blue Alibi by Paul Levine (Bantam Dell Publishing – Bantam Books)
City of Tiny Lights by Patrick Neate (Penguin Group – Riverhead Books)

BEST FACT CRIME

Strange Piece of Paradise by Terri Jentz (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger (W.W. Norton and Co.)
Finding Amy: A True Story of Murder in Maine by Capt. Joseph K. Loughlin & Kate Clark Flora (University Press of New England)
Ripperology: A Study of the World's First Serial Killer by Robin Odell (The Kent State University Press)
The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allan Poe and the Invention of Murder by Daniel Stashower (Dutton)
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson (HarperCollins – William Morrow)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

Unless the Threat of Death is Behind Them: Hard-Boiled Fiction and Film Noir by John T. Irwin (Johns Hopkins University Press)
The Science of Sherlock Holmes: From Baskerville Hall to the Valley of Fear by E.J. Wagner (John Wiley & Sons)

BEST SHORT STORY

"The Home Front" – Death Do Us Part by Charles Ardai (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown and Company)
"Rain" – Manhattan Noir by Thomas H. Cook (Akashic Books)
"Cranked" – Damn Near Dead by Bill Crider (Busted Flush Press)
"White Trash Noir" – Murder at the Foul Line by Michael Malone (Hachette Book Group – Mysterious Press)
"Building" – Manhattan Noir by S.J. Rozan (Akashic Books)

BEST JUVENILE

Gilda Joyce: The Ladies of the Lake by Jennifer Allison (Penguin Young Readers – Sleuth/Dutton)
The Stolen Sapphire: A Samantha Mystery by Sarah Masters Buckey (American Girl Publishing)
Room One: A Mystery or Two by Andrew Clements (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
The Bloodwater Mysteries: Snatched by Pete Hautman & Mary Logue (Penguin Young Readers – Sleuth/Putnam)
The Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery by Nancy Springer (Penguin Young Readers – Philomel/Sleuth)

BEST YOUNG ADULT

The Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks (Scholastic – The Chicken House)
The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson (Penguin YR – Sleuth/Viking)
Crunch Time by Mariah Fredericks (Simon & Schuster – Richard Jackson Books/Atheneum)
Buried by Robin Merrow MacCready (Penguin YR – Dutton Children's Books)
The Night My Sister Went Missing by Carol Plum-Ucci (Harcourt Children's Books)

BEST PLAY

Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure by Steven Dietz (Arizona Theatre Company)
Curtains by Rupert Holmes (Ahmanson Theatre)
Ghosts of Ocean House by Michael Kimball (The Players' Ring)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY

The Closer – "Blue Blood", Teleplay by James Duff & Mike Berchem (Turner Network Television)
Dexter – "Crocodile", Teleplay by Clyde Phillips (Showtime)
House – "Clueless", Teleplay by Thomas L. Moran (Fox/NBC Universal)
Life on Mars – Episode 1, Teleplay by Matthew Graham (BBC America)
Monk – "Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink", Teleplay by Hy Conrad (USA Network/NBC Universal)

BEST TELEVISION FEATURE/MINI-SERIES TELEPLAY

Conviction, Teleplay by Bill Gallagher (BBC America)
Cracker: A New Terror, Teleplay by Jimmy McGovern (BBC America)
Messiah: The Harrowing, Teleplay by Terry Cafolla (BBC America)
Secret Smile, Teleplay by Kate Brooke, based on the book by Nicci French (BBC America)
The Wire, Season 4, Teleplays by Ed Burns, Kia Corthron, Dennis Lehane, David Mills, Eric Overmyer, George Pelecanos, Richard Price, David Simon & William F. Zorzi (Home Box Office)

BEST MOTION PICTURE SCREENPLAY

Casino Royale, Screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade & Paul Haggis, based on novel by Ian Fleming (MGM)
Children of Men, Screenplay by Alfonso Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby, based on a novel by P.D. James (Universal Pictures
The Departed, Screenplay by William Monahan (Warner Bros. Pictures)
The Good Shepherd, Teleplay by Eric Roth (Universal Pictures)
Notes on a Scandal, Screenplay by Patrick Marber (Scott Rudin Productions)

Obit: Barbara Seranella

Barbara Seranella, an auto mechanic-turned mystery writer, died Sunday in Cleveland, Ohio, of end-stage liver disease while awaiting a third liver transplant. She was 50 years old.
After writing her first book, "No Human Involved," which was published in 1997 and was No. 5 on the Los Angeles Times best-seller list, she gained popularity for suspense novels based on the adventures of Munch Muncini, a female auto and motorcycle mechanic/detective with a checkered past not unlike that of the author.
She went on to see seven more books in that series published. A new book, "Deadman's Switch," based on a different character, is expected to be released in April.
Born in Santa Monica, Seranella grew up in Pacific Palisades and ran away from home at age 14, joining a hippie commune in San Francisco and riding with an outlaw motorcycle gang known as the Heathens. During that time, she became all too familiar with drugs, alcohol and jail time. She was arrested 13 times for various offenses.
At age 22, she got sober and decided to settle down. She worked at an Arco station in Sherman Oaks for five years, then for a Texaco station in Brentwood, where she became service manager and married her boss, Ron Seranella, in 1994. They had homes in Laguna Beach and in La Quinta.
At the urging of her husband, she retired soon after they married to pursue writing, something she'd wanted to do since childhood.
She wrote her first book in 1995, sold it in 1996 and saw it published the following year.
In the process, she went from tough biker chick to genteel, conservative, well-dressed author, active in local writing groups, such as Sisters in Crime Orange County, and frequently was asked to speak to mystery fans and aspiring writers.
In the summer of 2005, she had two liver transplants – the second coming only three days after the first.
Last year, she learned the second liver, too, was failing.
"Barbara died at 50," said her husband, Ron, "but she wasn't really 50. She was 75 in life experience."
She is survived by her husband, Ron; parents, Nate and Margie Shore; stepdaughters, Carry Seranella, Shannon Howard; brothers, Larry and David Shore.
Services are pending.
The family asks that instead of sending flowers, friends and fans add the pink organ-donor dot to their driver's licenses in memory of Barbara Seranella.

A reading and writing update

I have mentioned several times in the past that there are few true masters of the short story alive working today. Neil Gaiman may very well be the best short story writer alive, in my opinion.

Gaiman is a highly versatile writer. He wrote the Sandman graphic novels, a number of best selling novels, at least one movie script I know of, two best selling childrens books and a slew of short stories.

Just before Christmas, Fragile Things, Gaiman's second collection of short stories was released in hardback and I picked it up the other day. I must say that the man has lived up to his reputation. Imaginative, creative and amazingly vivid, this collection of short stories is a must read. If you haven't already read them, be sure to pick up Smoke and Mirrors, too.

Gaiman's books are usually found in the "fantasy and sci fi" section of book stores, though that is a category that isn't quite right. In fact, his books defy categorization.

WRITING
I'm currently working on a short story -- what appears to be becoming a rather long short story or perhaps a novella -- titled the Gauntlet.

The original idea was pretty simple. A man of the cloth is tired. He's angry at people, the world and God. His life and his service to the Lord has not been what he intended or imagined. My thought at this idea was two-fold: 1) What kinds of things brings a person to this level? and 2) What can bring them back?

One scene, which is very short, is very pivotal, I think. This man doesn't want to come out and ask an elderly priest for proof that God exists, so he asks a different question.

"Father, does evil, real evil, exist?"
The old man sighed deeply and looked into Jon's eyes.
"My son," he said in a frail voice. "Ask the true question in your heart. Does God really exist?"

In my crazy little brain, it didn't take long to develop a story line in which this man, like many humans in a moment of despair, challenges God to prove His existence. Then the question popped into my head...what if God takes you up on your challenge? They say God works in myserious ways....

It's been an interesting and fun journey so far.

Thoughts

The last few days have been quite interesting to me, writing wise.

I began developing a new character...didn't intend to, but he insisted.

I think he derives from this thought.

I believe with all my heart there is true evil in the world. I'm not sure about supernatural evil, but certainly there are men who simply evil and commit the most horrible of acts.

I also believe in balance. There are people of good in the world, and maybe, just maybe, some of them exist to fight that evil.

My new character doesn't know it yet, but he's on the verge of becoming one of those people.

Read this book!!!

Still Life With Crows by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

This book features the recurring character FBI agent Pendergast - a most interesting character. I've read one or two other Pendergast books and very much enjoyed them, but I have to tell you "Still Life With Crows" freaked me the fuck out. It has been a very very long time since a book put a chill in me like that.

A MUST read.