Thursday, April 1: Femme Fatale
YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST
by Deborah Elliott-Upton
We at the Criminal Brief headquarters are pleased to announce the publication of a first edition of what we hope will be an annual event. Utopia Publications has agreed to publish a collection of short stories written by the Criminal Brief staff and we couldn’t be more thrilled. This is an honor for us and we hope you’ll be as excited as we are about this endeavor. Actually, this book is in response to the e-mails we have received asking for such a collection. Without our fans’ support, this couldn’t have happened.
We have created a short story for each month, including murders, thefts and spies. The range reaches from cozy to police procedural to thriller . . . and there’s more: we’ve managed to add some bits of humor in a few capers.
Criminal Brief Presents Twelve Mysteries for the Masses includes these titles and authors:
- “New Year Caseload” by Rob Lopresti
- “Valentine’s Box of Chocolate Murders” by Deborah Elliott-Upton
- “St. Patrick’s Death Plot” by Leigh Lundin
- “The Foolish Burglar” by James Lincoln Warren
- “Angela Potts Solves the May Day Murder” by John F. Floyd
- “Junebug Jailhouse” by Steven Steinbock
- “Independence Militia” by Leigh Lundin
- “The August Night Killer” by Deborah Elliott-Upton
- “Labor Day Blues” by Rob Lopresti
- “Columbus Day Detective” by James Lincoln Warren
- “Theft of the Thanksgiving Turkey” by John Floyd
- “Holiday Crime Spree” by Velma
Utopia promises a nationwide booksigning with most of the authors in attendance at each signing. Yea! We’ll be coming to a town near you. Please come out and meet us face-to-face (we’ve been wondering what all of you look like in person!) Until then, the books can be pre-ordered directly from the publishers. Mention that you have commented on this date at Criminal Brief and the publisher will issue an automatic half-off price for the second book you order. Thereafter each book will be discounted another 15 ½ %. Shipping is free to the Continental United States and its territories.
One more surprise: we were honored to have the Foreword written by the talented Bill Crider.1
- Who else? [↩]
What a day! And about time, too.
When you autograph my copy, please would you make it out “To Lirpa”
Many thanks
Congrats all around! I’m excited to get my hands on a copy can you post a link?
Cindy
Who else, indeed? The honor was all mine.
Exciting news! I look forward to reading these stories and to meeting you all when you come to the NYC area.
Wow! I can’t wait to read it!
Fantastic news! May we hope for a Mississippi signing?
Or it could be this an April Fool’s Day post.
Who is John F. Floyd?
How wonderful for all of you!! I am really happy for you guys!!! :]] (and can’t wait for a copy!!)
John F. Floyd is an almost alias…he tries to pretend he’s someone else sometimes. LOL
It’s best to use another name when you travel with Velma.
This is as good as it gets.
I have been waiting sooooo long to read something by the eminent Velma!
Congratulations!!
Terrie
Congrats everyone! Maybe I can supply a police escort if you end up in my neck of the woods.
Dahlin’s, I’m so thrilled to be published. Most of my friends have been booked and printed, but never published! It’s so exciting!
Can I play JLW in the movie adaption?
Can I play JLW in the movie adaption?
I had my heart set on Christopher Lee.
Fine. Dash my dreams. You are no different than countless literary agents and editors.
Wow indeed. That’s terrific! Congratulations, one and all!!
Okay, if this isn’t an April Fool’s Day prank, you must post a link to the publisher so I can be the first to preorder.
Isn’t Louis the anthology editor?
Ooh. Looking forward to reading this. There are lots of talented writers on this website, and a book of short-stories by them should be interesting.
This just keeps getting better and better.
I like the idea of a film adaptation of Criminal Brief. Our next contest should be to come up with the best cast list. The prize will be a walk-on role in the film.
The best thing is having so many of you be happy for the Criminal Brief staff (have to include Velma on this one — she’s an “official” published author now!). And isn’t the book cover just absolutely perfect for this particular project? btw, please forgive me for not adding the link to pre-order the book! It is http://www.jokestersrus.com
Hope your day (and every day!) is filled with smiles and one is sitting on your face just about now.
WOOOW!!! Congratulations!!!
Let me know when you come on tour in Europe or Japan, and I’ll be there.
Oh yeah, Happy April Fools’ Day, everybody! (And boy, am I glad this is not a joke! Some people here are way too paranoid…) 😛
Deborah,
Thanks for finally giving up the gag.
I fell hook, line and sinker. I actually started a blog post to link to yours to spread the word. When I realized there was no publisher link, I emailed James so he could provide it for my post.
You guys got me. Job well done.
Terrie
We should follow through on this…
if our readers don’t murder us first!
Now wait a minute! I already sent Utopia a check!
Cindy
Oh, you had me! Really!! To top it off (and tie this to the EQ “Calendar of Crime”) I read this just before going to bed, late on March 31. The date didn’t hit me at all!! Perfect!
AND NOW, how about writing those stories for real? The titles are too good to waste (and I wanna read John’s Nick Velvet story!)There’s a precedent: in 1948, Astounding (Sci-Fi) Magazine published a gag letter from a fan reviewing the contents in the Nov. 1949 issue, complete with authors and titles! Editor John W. Campbell contacted the authors and they produced the Nov. 1949 issue!
Oh, and I was so sure I hadn’t been April Fooled this year! You got me good!!
LOL!!
What should we expect – you guys are masters! The date never crossed my mind … LOL!
Guys, I fell for it, and I’m one of the supposed contributors! Nice job, Deborah. And I assume JLW designed the cover. Tally ho!
On Facebook I am still getting congrats for this book sale! I love it! Our fans at CB are great and I am hoping a lovely publisher out there would consider such a collection from us — I think we could make a profitable alliance. Thanks to all our cyberspace friends who can take a good joke…and uh, even if it was my idea, I do think it was a good April Fool’s joke. (And yes, JLW did the beautifully deceptive cover that should have supplied you guys with some clues.) — Oh, and I think I might be able to talk Bill Crider into writing a real Foreward for a real book deal. Any nice publisher interested? 🙂
*whacks forehead*
I was well and truly suckered.
Terrie – forget ‘eminent’, it’s the imminent Velma you should watch for!
Great news, Deborah! I hope Fort Worth is on your signing schedule.
I wanted to order it today, but that link you gave us(http://www.jokestersrus.com) doesn’t work at the moment. Must be my internet connection again! Darn!
Funny, how some still think it’s an April Fools’ prank and keep insisting the book is not real . . . 😀
Hmm, at this point the book could be real…just waiting on the perfect editor/publisher to make us an offer.
Oh, some wise guys, eh? Well, the police escort is still on, however the destination will now be somewhat more restrictive. As for signings…well you’ll sign a few things alright–confession is good for the soul.
Oh, it is a joke?
That is too bad since I thought it was a very cool idea and took the deal seriously. I am rather annoyed right now so I will end here before I really say something I might regret later.
Since several commenters have congratulated us on the joke it is only fair to say that Deborah deserves all the credit/blame for this little masterpiece. I was as surprised as anyone. Mucho clever.
It was never my intent to annoy anyone with this April Fool’s joke and I sincerely hope everyone had a good laugh at the end of the day. Thanks to all who took the time to read my weekly blog. We love you all.
Deborah,
You did a fine job and I’m sure that anyone who pretends to be annoyed is just April Fooling. Thanks for the fun.
A Broad Abroad,
If Velma is imminent, we’re all in trouble.
Terrie
I agree! This was wonderful! (By the way, the “cover” fooled me with the Joker from Batman and, of course, what this blog is generally about!)
Just for the record, unlike some, I was not playing then or now.
I was very annoyed No, I was not kidding with my comment. No, I was not playing some sort of prank here myself with my comment on being annoyed about a fake book.
I took it seriously and still don’t find it funny. I guess because I take getting published and reviewing books seriously as well as this site.
Clearly, it worked for most. More power to them. It didn’t work for this reader/reviewer.
Damn.
I was hoping to go on a crime spree with Velma. I love her shoes. 🙂
Oh, thank you, dahlin. Most people think the way I dress is a crime.