Some Company for the Holiday

With the extended Labor Day weekend descending upon those of us in the United States, it’s time to think about what to read over the quieter hours to come. Let me suggest a couple of new author exchanges on the Web.

First comes the legendary ex-jockey, Dick Francis, who answers questions at the Crime Squad site about horse-race fixing (a main plotting focus of his forthcoming novel, Under Orders), the comeback of Sid Halley, and how finding a new love in his life helped propel him back into the novel-writing game after a six-year hiatus. Usually, questionnaires elicit pretty pat answers, but Francis seems wonderfully forthcoming here.

Second, let me direct you to a Mystery Morgue interview with Cornelia Read, author of the highly acclaimed debut novel A Field of Darkness. During the course of their discussion, Read talks with interviewer Jeffrey Cohen about her similarities to Darkness protagonist Maddie Dare, her debts to both renowned photographer Ansel Adams and author Lee Child, why serious praise for her work terrifies her, and “how to escape baseball bat-wielding assailants in a New York alley.”

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And while it doesn’t deal exclusively with crime fiction, Helen Brown’s recent piece in the London Telegraph about the allure of series characters will certainly be of great interest to mystery readers who gravitate toward the continuing adventures of familiar fictional figures. I must admit, I too am in that camp, preferring the company of known quantities when I’m in the market for a recreational read.