LOVE AND THE MAD TEA PARTY

by Steve Steinbock

For those of you who didn’t visit me over in Murdurati-land last week, you can still take a look at the wild discussion there. At last count there were thirty-five comments. Can you imagine? Here at Criminal Brief, we get thirty-five comments in a good week! My guest column there was all about love scenes, and how men and women tend to write them differently.

Some of those who commented hinted that I went too far in drawing the differences between men and women – and by extension the way they write about sex. Others seemed to suggest that I didn’t go far enough. The entire discussion was fun, friendly, and at times downright flirtatious.

One of the common threads that wove through the comments was the complaint that women writers aren’t taken seriously. I respectfully beg to differ. Perhaps the Snoberati at the Times or the New Yorker don’t give women writers of romantic suspense their rightful credit. But the marketplace certainly does. And in some ways, perhaps because there are more female fiction readers than male ones, the blade of credibility slices in the opposite direction.

It struck me in the days following my Murdurati trip that there is a gross inequality between the way men and women describe arousal. I’ve been coming across passages written by women that include references to becoming wet “down there” and thoughts of “him inside me.” This is mainly in the Daphne Uviller novel I mentioned last week. But I’m finding this stuff everywhere.

Would you ever come across anything like that written by a man? If Harlan or Lee or Michael wrote a passage like “she touched me and I felt myself go hard,” it would be the end. No one would take them seriously.

Men of Sensitivity

I mentioned last week that I was reading Martin Edwards’ first “Harry Devlin” mystery, All the Lonely People. While I’ve finished the book and gone on to other things, the quality of Edward’s writing has stayed with me. As with the other works by him that I’ve read, All the Lonely People shows a deep sensitivity to the male psyche without ever being melodramatic, maudlin, or heaven-forbid pornographic. Through the archetypal hero of Liverpool solicitor Harry Devlin, Edwards gets at the very core of loneliness, longing, infatuation, and attraction. This stuff isn’t just masculine – it’s human.

Mystery Seen

The Winter 2009 issue of Mystery Scene arrived the other day. What a fantastic magazine and a fantastic issue. Page after page brought me delight. S.J. Rozan graces the cover with a very serious expression, but the photos of her on page 1 and page 30 show her with the smile I associate with her. A photo on page 2 from the French film “Tell No One” shows Harlan Coben in the background. My pal Jonathan Santlofer poses with his Nero Award on page 10. Below that is word that Kenneth Branaugh is starring in a series based on the novels of Swedish author Henning Mankell. Cool. Another friend, Art Taylor, has a historical analysis of Christie’s “Miss Jane Marple.” A Shot Rang Out: Selected Mystery Criticism by Jon L. Breen is reviewed by Ed Gorman on page 40. Last but not least is Short & Sweet, a column about short stories by blogger extraordinaire and occasional Criminal Brief visitor Bill Crider. Then there’s all the stuff I’m leaving out.

MUM is the Word

Another magazine that arrived on my desk this week is the March 2009 issue of MUM, the official organ of the Society of American Magicians. I am mentioned (very) briefly on page 23 with the single sentence:

Steve Steinbock demonstrated some nice ring-and-shoelace moves.

You should see my French Drop!

A Kindle in the Wind

Any time you stop by Amazon (and on principle, I’m not including a hyperlink), the first thing you see these days is the big promotion for the new sleeker, deeper, longer lasting device, the Kindle 2. No, it’s not a marital aid. It’s an electronic book. The Kindle looks pretty cool, and if I had a bottomless wallet, I suppose I’d get one. Several friends have purchased the new Kindle, and they’ve proudly demonstrated for me it’s ability to download this week’s issue of New Yorker or today’s Wall Street Journal, as well as more than 240,000 books! And the new Kindle can even talk to you.

Has anyone noticed that the Kindle 1 has completely disappeared? Out of curiosity I checked around. I assumed that with the new Kindle 2 selling for 360 bucks, the old version might be available for a song and a cup of coffee. No such luck. What gives? Amazon is very quick to sell second-hand books, CDs, and anything else. They appear to have totally blocked the sale of second-hand first-generation Kindles.

I’m not one to poo-poo Amazon. I’ve given them plenty of my money, and I’m sure I’ll continue to. But tell me, Mr. Bezos, isn’t this a bit of a double standard?

The Prosecution Reclines

A new collection of short stories – all with courtroom themes – is due out next month from Little, Brown and Company. It’s the newest MWA anthology, The Prosecution Rests, edited by Linda Fairstein. I haven’t read my advance copy yet, but it looks like a winner. The book leads off with an Ed Hoch story, and includes stories by Kate Gallison, James Grippando, Daniel J. Hale, S.J. Rozan, as well as stories from two of our very own Criminal Briefers: Leigh Lundin and Angie Zeman. Watch for it in mid April.