There’s Never Enough News, Right?

• Bouchercon in San Francisco is still a week away, but already many people are looking forward to NoirCon 2010 in Philadelphia (November 4-7). Here’s the schedule for that gathering, which will include appearances by Christa Faust, Duane Swierczynski, George Pelecanos, and Laura Lippman. And here’s a short profile of keynote speaker Joan Schenkar, the author of The Talented Miss Highsmith.

• In the lead-up to next week’s Bouchercon, Mystery Scene contributor Oline Cogdill has been writing posts for the magazine’s blog about San Francisco-set crime fiction. There aren’t any tags on the posts to make it easy to pull them all up on one page, but you can go to them separately. Here are some headline links: “San Francisco Legal Thrillers”; “Read Dashiell Hammett--It’s the Law”; “Marcia Muller and More San Francisco Authors”; “Historicals Set in San Francisco”; and “Bouchercon, San Francisco Short Stories.”

• A reminder from Sandra Seamans: “Patti Abbott’s flash-fiction challenge, La Ronde, is underway. The first story went up yesterday and there will be one every Tuesday until December 21. Lots of good reading ahead!” Abbott’s Part 1 posting is here. You can find out more about the challenge by clicking here.

• A collection of classic Mike Shayne paperback book covers, with illustrations by Robert McGinnis.

• Author Reed Farrel Coleman has been popping up all over the Web in the last several days, talking about his new novel, Innocent Monster (Tyrus). Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes interviews him here. Spinetingler Magazine’s Keith Rawson chats with him here. And Coleman even puts some questions to himself here.

• Speaking of interviews, Cullen Gallagher recently spoke at some length with Hilary Davidson (The Damage Done), and J. Sydney Jones goes one-on-one with Will Thomas, author of the Cyrus Barker/Thomas Llewelyn historical mysteries.

• With CBS-TV’s rebooted Hawaii Five-O series still trying to establish itself as distinctive from its 1968-1980 namesake and stay entertaining enough to remain on the air, TV Squad suggests “Four Ways Hawaii Five-O Can Stand Out from Other Procedurals.”

• In the wake of TV producer Stephen J. Cannell’s death last week, blogger Marty McKee looks back at one of Cannell’s lesser-known series, Unsub (1989). I have to admit, I’d forgotten about this show, too.

• Republicans want to turn back the culture clock in America.

• On the other hand, this is good news.

• Esquire magazine’s Tom Junod has posted a fine remembrance of actor Tony Curtis, who died last week at age 85. (Hat tip to Ed Gorman.)

• I’ve never been a big collector of TV tie-in novels, but there sure have been a lot of them published over the years--more than I remember. Click on the links here to see examples of the breed linked to Griff, The Mod Squad, and The Persuaders!

• And the Web site Five Books speaks with M.C. Beaton, Scottish-born author of the Agatha Raisin novels, about her favorite cozy mysteries. (Hat tip to Campaign for the American Reader.)