Part two of the mystery class used Novelist and What do I Read Next as well as local and national sites that will help lead readers to new mystery authors. Here, in their rough hewn form, are the class notes:
What we are doing today:
Using subscription resources Novelist, What Do I Read Next, web sites and blogs to find good mystery authors.
To find Novelist and What Do I Read Next go to your Library Web site.
Novelist Plus: your guide to reading
Search by Author, title or subject
Search #1: Iron Lake
All Results: all books and reading lists with the words Iron and Lake in their titles
Books: Same information given, but only books listed by Novelist, not their recommended lists.
Author Read-Alikes: Suggested authors who write like your queried author. Only one is listed for the Iron Lake search: C.J.Box
Award Winners: Iron Lake is an award winning book. Other book awards that may appeal to you are suggested.
Recommended Reads: Suggestions for other titles you may like.
Iron Lake Detail Screen: Series and publishing information, author web site link, Subject Headings applied to this book. Click on any of those to find more books that are on this topic. Full reviews from professional review sources. Note FIND SIMILAR BOOKS in the middle of the screen. The check boxes on the next page allow you to customize somewhat which elements of Iron lake you liked and which you didn’t, so you can try to find more books like this.
Search#2 William Kent Krueger
All Results: All of William Kent Krueger’s books, plus results you might get from other searches within Novelist.
Books: William Kent Krueger’s book titles, plus two other MN author titles, minus the subject category results.
Author Read-Alikes: Again only C.J.Box
Award Winners: Other award winning lists are linked
Recommended Reads: Only a Murder anthology is listed
What We’re Reading: a Novelist contributor apparently was reading a W.K.K. novel in January of 2006. Note that no contributor’s have updated their “What I’m Reading” lists since December of 2007, at the most recent.
Series: Helps you identify if the novel is part of a series or a standalone novel.
Search #3 Author Read-Alikes
Alphabetical Listing by Author. Lists authors who have been covered in detail by Novelist staff. Describes their work in detail then lists and describes other authors who write similar books. Pick Authors A-B/Fiction-Non-Fiction, then click on Elizabeth Adler to see an example.
Noted:
Award Winners: Award winning books listed by category/subject
Book Discussion guides: Author biography, detailed book summary, questions for discussion
Feature Articles: Novelist does subject overviews and recommendations. Note on their main page they currently feature Gothic Fiction, Classics and 20th and 21st Century Works. (also they have a Mystery category and a Humor category within that)
Recommended Reads: Another topical list of recommended reading.
What Do I Read Next?
Search#1 Author Search: Monica Ferris
Use the “Name Contains” search. Note title list is not up to date or complete. Click on the selection “Betsy Devonshire series” to get a list of similar authors.
Search #2 Title and series search for Murder by the Month (no results), Mars Bahr (gives you a Tami Hoag recommendation, Besty Devonshire (long list of recommendations that are similar), Cork O’Connor (while Novelist only recommended C.J.Box as similar, What do I read next lists: Giles Blunt, Elizabeth Gunn, P.J. Tracy, David Housewright, Steve Hamilton)
Search#3 Help Me Find a Book Type: May Day, Pick Jess Lourey from the list. “No books were found containing the same set of topics as May Day. The title you have requested does not currently include subject terms. Please try another title.”
Twin Cities Web Sources
Sisters in Crime, Twin Cities Chapter www.twincitysinc.org
Useful for its list of Minnesota Mystery Authors, which is not up to date, but it is more complete than you can find elsewhere. No descriptions, just the list.
Once Upon a Crime Site www.onceuponacrimebooks.com
Author web links, nice for one stop linkage.
List of appearances
Minnesota Crime Wave www.minnesotacrimewave.org
William Kent Krueger, Ellen Hart, Carl Brookins
Newsletter, television show that is on local cable or can be viewed on the site—features interviews with local authors. These three are also behind the anthologies “Silence of the Loons and Resort to Murder” which feature established and new Minnesota Authors.
DorothyL www.dorothyl.com
Named after Dorothy Sayers
Mystery discussion list
Need to subscribe and discussion is emailed to you daily
Both readers and writers post on DorothyL
Reviews, recommendations, discussions
Cluelass www.cluelass.com
Dead as of September but site up temporarily.
Note Bloodstained Bookshelf, alas my all time favorite resource now gone.
Now links to Mystery Readers Journal and Fantastic Fiction sites.
Stopyourekillingme www.stopyourekillingme.com
Search by author, title, series, character. Hot linked to Amazon for book descriptions.
Mystery Readers International www.mysteryreaders.org
Subscription to Mystery Journal with membership. Discussion groups, mystery reading groups and bookstores listed.
Author Sites and Blogs
Note on blogs vs web sites: usually a web site is all information and it promotes the authors work.
A Blog is more personal, can be an online diary or random observations about any topic by the author.
Monica Ferris
Personal Site http://monica-ferris.com/
Appearances, contest! Information on the author and her books. She blogs with other authors on Killer Hobbies.
Killer Hobbies www.killerhobbies.blogspot.com/
K.J. Erickson www.kjerickson.org
Personal site but not updated since 2006
Jess Lourey
Personal site: www.jesslourey.com
She blogs with other authors on: Inkspot: a gathering of Midnight Ink Authors www.midnightwriters.blogspot.com
William Kent Krueger www.williamkentkrueger.com
Personal site includes Blog
Google Searches to try:
1. If you like (insert your author's name)try
2. (insert your author's name) readalikes
More Blogs with multiple authors to try:
The Cozy Chicks Cozy up to some killer Books www.cozychicksblog.com
The Good Girls Kill for Money Club www.good-girls-kill.com
Poe’s Deadly Daughters a blog for Mystery Lovers http://poesdeadlydaughters.blogspot.com
The Lady Killers http://theladykillers.typepad.com/the_lady_killers
General Mystery Web Sites
Looking for a mystery? www.sldirectory.com/mystery.html
Mysteries by time period, list of British mysteries, links to additional resources
Mystery Ink www.mysteryinkonline.com
Mystery and thriller book reviews, author interviews and more! Gumshoe awards site for best crime fiction writing.
Virtual Murder: what’s on the web for mystery buffs? www.barbarapaul.com/virtual.html
By Mystery author Barbara Paul (Marian Larch mysteries) Guide to mystery author pages, publishers, booksellers, magazines
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