Passion and Persistence Pay Off

I had only vaguely noticed recently that The Thrill Begins, a Web publication associated with the International Thriller Writers organization, had launched a series it calls “The Advocates.” The idea, I gather, is for crime and mystery writers to celebrate people who support and inspire the larger genre community.

The first person to be cheered in this new series was blogger and small-press supporter David Nemeth. And then today, university English professor and author Art Taylor devoted his tribute to editor-blogger Janet Rudolph … and me. Yes, that’s right: I woke up to some pretty hearty applause from Taylor, who I know from running into him occasionally at Bouchercons. He remarks, in part:

Janet’s blog, Mystery Fanfare, and J. Kingston Pierce’s blog, The Rap Sheet, each have their own flavor. Janet’s is the go-to spot for lists of holiday mysteries (Happy Valentine’s Day! Find your books here!) and she’s always quick to post a clever cartoon. But both Janet and Jeff stay on top of major mystery news, and Jeff’s “bullet points” editions of The Rap Sheet are must-reads for their encyclopedic coverage of all corners of the mystery world, culling fascinating bits from other blogs—and his blogroll is one of the most extensive I’ve ever seen. This past weekend’s round-up covered television (Columbo, Endeavour, and the new series Gone, based on a Chelsea Cain novel), film (adaptations of Agatha Christie and Stephen King), music (the soundtrack from the short-lived ’70s series Archer), announcements of forthcoming books (Kate Atkinson, Ann Cleeves, James Ellroy), a flurry of author interviews (too many to list), news from the publishing world (the fresh imprints Scarlet and Agora), and much more—including, not incidentally, an announcement about the latest issue of Janet Rudolph’s Mystery Readers Journal.

The Rap Sheet features a couple of ongoing series speaking directly to the theme here: 158 installments so far of “The Book You Have to Read,” with today’s authors and readers revisiting forgotten titles, and 82 entries so far in “The Story Behind the Story,” with writers offering glimpses at the inspirations and artistic processes behind their own works. Several times a year, Jeff offers comprehensive lists of forthcoming titles in both the U.S. and the U.K., focusing on both the major publishing houses and the small presses. Together, these initiatives offer shout-outs to mysteries past, present, and future.

The Rap Sheet has been a passion project of Jeff’s for nearly 13 years now, but his work isn’t confined to the blog. He’s also a long-time editor at January Magazine; he runs a second blog, Killer Covers, focused on classic cover designs; he covered mysteries and thrillers for six years for Kirkus; and he’s now contributing long-form essays to CrimeReads, too.

(Again, the full piece can be read here.)

Although I don’t usually like to toot my own horn, or have others blow fanfares on my behalf, I’m very heartened by Taylor’s comments. The nature of my work is, on the whole, solitary, and outside of occasional cheers from editors to whom I submit my essays and interviews, I rarely hear from “satisfied customers” who read The Rap Sheet, Killer Covers, and the stories I’ve placed elsewhere. But a little validation of my efforts now and then helps to keep my enthusiasm up for the writing I have come to love so much. Thank you, Art. And congratulations as well to Janet Rudolph.