January 9 at 2 pm for a FREE writer's workshop

Please join us Saturday, January 9 at 2 pm for a FREE writer's workshop taught by author CC Harrison at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore.

CC writes *fast-paced suspense under her name and romance under the name* Christy Hubbard *She is also the author of hundreds of articles and short stories.

Her book Running From Strangers was a finalist for the 2009 National Readers Choice Award, the 2009 Golden Quill and the 2009 Aspen Gold award. While her title Charmstone won for - Best Romantic Suspense - 2008 Golden Quill, Best First Book - 2008 Golden Quill and was a finalist for the 2008 Colorado Award of Excellence.

CC will be covering: *ARE YOU A PLOTTER OR PANTSER? - *Do you plot your book, or write it by the seat-of-your-pants? Do you outline your story or just sit down and start typing? Which is the best way to write a novel? C. C. Harrison, award winning author of *The Charmstone* and *Running From Strangers*, will talk about the advantages and pitfalls of either technique, and give some hints on how to make each method work for you including:

THREE BASIC OUTLINE FORMATS

· EIGHT THINGS PLOTTERS MUST DO

· SEVEN THINGS PANTSERS MUST DO

There will be time for Q & A following the workshop.

The Poisoned Pen Bookstore
4014 N Goldwater
Scottsdale, Az 85251
480 947 2974

* Visit CC Harrison's website at: http://www.ccharrison-author.com/

external-link <http://www.ccharrison-author.com/>*

“Harrison’s intense novel of romantic suspense is filled with enough
surprises to keep the reader entertained and guessing to the end.” - *Booklist

Friday, January 8 at 7 pm Robin Burcell and Steve Hamilton

Friday, January 8 at 7 pm It TGIF again with authors Robin Burcell and Steve Hamilton.


Burcell Signs The Bone Chamber (Poisoned Pen $25), the second for forensic artist Sydney who debuted in Face of a Stranger ($7.99).

Special Agent Sydney Fitzpatrick, forensic artist to the FBI, returns to Quantico to help identify a brutally murdered young woman. But when Sydney's friend and colleague, the forensic anthropologist who assisted her, is killed in a hit-and-run, a covert government team takes over the investigation, and Sydney is suddenly removed from the case. Certain her friend's murder is connected to the first case, Sydney investigates. She discovers that the first victim was not only an archeological student, but also the daughter of the ambassador to the Holy See. Just before she was killed, the ambassador's daughter claimed to have found one of three keys that just might lead to a map of the long lost Templar treasure. Sydney's search for answers takes her to the streets of Rome, and into the underground crypts and caverns in Naples, one step ahead of a ruthless killer. Time is running out for Sydney as a fellow government agent is kidnapped. And the ransom demanded? The Templar map.

Hamilton signs the Lock Artist (Minotaur Books $25)

"I was the Miracle Boy, once upon a time. Later on, the Milford Mute. The Golden Boy. The Young Ghost. The Kid. The Boxman. The Lock Artist. That was all me.

But you can call me Mike."

Marked by tragedy, traumatized at the age of eight, Michael, now eighteen, is no ordinary young man. Besides not uttering a single word in ten years, he discovers the one thing he can somehow do better than anyone else. Whether it's a locked door without a key, a padlock with no combination, or even an eight-hundred pound safe ... he can open them all.

It's an unforgivable talent. A talent that will make young Michael a hot commodity with the wrong people and, whether he likes it or not, push him ever close to a life of crime. Until he finally sees his chance to escape, and with one desperate gamble risks everything to come back home to the only person he ever loved, and to unlock the secret that has kept him silent for so long.

After signing we will have drinks with the authors

MONDAY, JAN 4: Tami Hoag 7 pm

Please join us MONDAY, JAN 4 for an evening with author Tami Hoag 7 pm

Hoag signs Deeper Than the Dead (Dutton $26) at her first visit to The Poisoned Pen

Thomas Crane is a normal ten-year-old boy, except for one thing - his father may be a serial killer. Peter Crane is a community leader, but his seeming generosity may be a clever cover for cultivating his own victims. Meredith Crane plays the role of the perfect wife, standing by her man, but is she standing in the way of justice? Duane Larkin has a history of violence that may determine his son's future and send him down a dark path. Even at the tender age of ten, Dennis Larkin is a troubled boy with twisted fantasies of cruel acts committed against the weak and vulnerable. Tony Mendez is a tenacious veteran homicide detective, determined to bring the killer down - no matter who he might be. And FBI Special Agent Anne Navarro is a woman in a man's world, a scientist in the midst of hard-nosed cops. But with her own quiet determination she will do her part to solve the crimes - and perhaps save a child in the process.

SUNDAY, Dec 27 Fred Ramsay 2 pm

Join us SUNDAY, DEC 27 for and afternoon with Fred Ramsay 2 pm

Fred Ramsay starts a new series, Pre set in Botswana with Predators (Poisoned Pen $25) and hosts a discussion about the new age of African mystery. It's not all Alexander McCall Smith. We're sure to have holiday treats to serve too. With us will be some residents of Botswana.

"The American State Department permits Earth Global CEO Leo Painter, his wife, stepson and other executives to travel to Botswana to negotiate with officials to allow his firm to extract minerals. He believes the mineral rich African country will prove profitable for his energy, mining and realty company. However several of his companions believe Leo is too old and ethical sot hey want to push him aside at the firm along with his spouse. He would like to rest but knows a respite means death from the human hyenas stalking him.

At the same time, Sekeo the elderly lion once ruled his pride with a strong alpha paw or two. However, he is not only turning weak with age, but suffers from HIV/AID, which compounds his health issues. The younger males want to replace him and challenges are coming all the time. He would like to rest but knows a respite means death from the lion hyenas (or the game ranger) stalking him.

With a darker look at human nature than Alexander McCall Smith's genteel "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" and Michael Stanley's Detective Kubu police procedural, Frederick Ramsay provides a super parable thriller as the king of the jungle rules fleetingly. The story line is fast-paced but it is the cast especially the parallel Leos who meet their respective Snows of Kilimanjaro Hemingway moments that makes for one of the year's best glimpses at what drives the living. "-Harriet Klausner

Tonight, MONDAY, DEC 14 Mike Chamberlain 7 pm

Join us Tonight, MONDAY, DEC 14 for an evening with Mike Chamberlain 7 pm

Local sports/newcaster Chamberlain displays his writing and musical skills with a holiday concert and signing of God Has a Sense of Humor...for Heaven's Sake. This popular guy has performed over 300 concerts around the Phoenix area and has recorded a Christmas CD we will also feature. Come join us for a celebration of the season

Wednesday December 9 Sue Grafton 7:30 pm at the AZ Biltmore Hotel

U IS FOR YULE
Wednesday December 9 at 7:30 pm

It's a Christmas Party from us to all of our customers to say Thank You.

We can't do such a holiday event at the bookstore so we are delighted that the Arizona Biltmore has offered us their beautiful Gold Room for the evening. You enter the Gold Room from the Main Lobby of the hotel; it's just on the left.

The hotel is decorated, there's a tree on the lawn.
Wear red to the party!

The event is free. You don't need to buy a book.
No reservations are required.

Sue and Barbara will chat and take questions
starting at about 7:45 pm

If you wish to get a copy of U Is for Undertow by Sue Grafton signed, you may purchase it at the bookstore or at the event.

We will be selling books at the event.

You will get an unnumbered ticket. The signing line is first come first served. We will have presigned books for those who wish to avoid standing in line.

Free parking or valet parking (a couple of dollars). Cash dessert/coffee/soft drinks bar and beverages may be purchased at the hotel bar and brought into the event.

The Arizona Biltmore is located on E. Thunderbird Trail (East off 24th Street between Camelback Road and Lincoln Drive. )

MONDAY, DECEMBER 7 JA Jance 7 PM

Join us MONDAY, DECEMBER 7 for an evening with author JA Jance 7 PM

JA Jance comes back to the store with a real corker of a novel set in Sedona, Prescott, Camp Verde, and Phoenix. One of her very best, it brings Sedona's Ali Reynolds up to the Sheriff Joanna Brady level as Reynolds takes a PR job with the Yavapai County Sheriff's Department in Trial by Fire (Touchstone $26).


This is a dynamite gift for anyone living in Maricopa and Yavapai or wishing to learn more about Arizona -- the Bradys are set south in Cochise County.

We have a few copies of Jance's autobiographical After the Fire (Univ. of Arizona $20) on hand, another great gift idea.

And her extensive backlist for Beau, Brady, Reynolds, and the Hour of the Hunter trilogy.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5 Zachary Lazar 4:00 PM

True Crime at the Poisoned Pen on SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5 with Zachary Lazar 4:00 PM

The murder of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles, never clearly solved, haunts our city still. Patrick is very excited to do a program with Lazar, author of Evening's Empire (Little Brown $25), who has his own personal and family history linked to the Bolles case.

He writes: "In 1975 Phoenix accountant Ed Lazar was murdered in a downtown parking lot the day before he was to testify against his former business partner, Ned Warren Sr., who was known in local circles as "The Godfather of Land Fraud." The gangland style execution, which was soon followed by the assassination of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles, led to the IRE investigations into the rampant corruption which infested local business and politics. Lazar's son, Zachary, recreates this milieu with archival interviews and research, combined with his own personal story of how the murder affected his community. An essential read for anyone interested in Phoenix history and crime."

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5 Betty Webb 2:30 PM

Join us SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5 at 2 :30 for an afternoon with Betty Webb

Betty will sign her new book Desert Lost and we have just learned that Library Journal has named its FIVE BEST MYSTERIES OF 2009 and Betty's Desert Lost (Poisoned Pen $25) is one.

The other is our own JM Hayes' Server Down (Poisoned Pen $25 Signed).

Here is new bookseller Dana Stabenow's rave for Desert Lost:

"The polygamists of Webb's Desert Wives ($15 reissued in new pakcage) are unfortunately alive and well in Desert Lost, and, much to PI Lena Jones' dismay, breeding more in downtown Scottsdale.

When the body of one of the wives is tossed out of a car practically at Lena's feet, she is determined to find out who murdered her, especially since the victim looks so familiar. Lena takes a bullet and loses a boyfriend in her search for the truth, which includes more less than welcome insights into her own past and the foiling of the stalking of a TV star friend. Tight plot, solid characters, and the desert blooms in Webb's prose.

Start with Desert Noir; Desert Wives; Desert Shadows; Desert Run; Desert Cut ($15 each)

Thursday, Dec 3 Mark Coggins and Michelle Gagnon 7 pm

Mark Coggins signs The Big Wake-Up (Bleak House $14.95), an August Riordan mystery.

The Big Wake-Up is scheduled for release by Bleak House Books in the fall of 2009.
"What you hope every PI novel will be."—Megan Abbott, Edgar-winning author of Bury Me Deep
"Outstanding ... Coggins pulls no punches."—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

The odyssey of María Eva Duarte de Perón--the Argentine first lady made famous in the play and the movie Evita--was as remarkable in death as it was in life. A few years after she succumbed to cervical cancer, her specially preserved body was taken by the military dictatorship that succeeded her deposed husband Juan. Hidden for sixteen years in Italy in a crypt under a false name, she was eventually exhumed and returned to Buenos Aires to be buried in an underground tomb said to be secure enough to withstand a nuclear attack.
Or was she?

When San Francisco private eye August Riordan engages in a flirtation with a beautiful university student from Buenos Aires, he witnesses her death in a tragic shooting and is drawn into mad hunt for Evita’s remains. He needs all of his wits, his network of friends and associates, and an unexpected legacy from the dead father he has never known to help him survive the deadly intrigue between powerful Argentine movers and shakers, ex-military men, and a mysterious woman named Isis who is expert in ancient techniques of mummification.
The fifth novel in the August Riordan series, The Big Wake-Up plunges everyman PI Riordan and his sidekick Chris Duckworth into their most terrifying and anguishing case ever.

Michelle Gagnon signs Gatekeeper (Mira $7.99)

From the moment sixteen-year-old Madison Grant is abducted, an unthinkable terrorist plot is set in motion—pitting Special Agent Kelly Jones against her most powerful adversary yet. The kidnapper's ransom demands aren't monetary...they come at a cost that no American can afford to pay.As Kelly's fiancé, Jake Riley, races to find Madison, Kelly is assigned to another disturbing case: the murder and dismemberment of a senator. At first the two cases don't appear to be related. But as Kelly navigates her way through the darkest communities of America—from skinheads to biker gangs to border militias—she discovers a horrible truth. A shadowy figure who calls himself The Gatekeeper is uniting hate groups, opening the door to the worst homegrown attack in American history.

"High stakes, tension, excitement—I loved The Gatekeeper." —New York Times bestselling author Lee Child

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2 Joseph Wambaugh 7 pm

JOSEPH WAMBAUGH signs Hollywood Moon (LittleBrown $27) in his first appearance at The Poisoned Pen. Yay!

The cops of Hollywood Station don’t police your typical cop beat. Midgets-for-hire, meth tweakers, steroid-pumped monsters, costumed crackheads, drag queens and trannies populate the boulevards and back streets of Los Angeles’ most surreal precinct. Even dead hobos writing checks from beyond the grave and an intimate assault with a Barbie doll are all in a day’s (or night’s) work.
The cops themselves aren’t exactly typical either. There’s Hollywood Nate, who still dreams of movie stardom but is worried that he’s too good-looking to be a character actor; Dana Vaughn, a tough no-nonsense cop who can’t stand the fact that her fellow officer Leon Callaway has turned from chauvinist pig to guardian angel since she saved his life; and Aaron Sloane, who has fallen head over heels in love with his beautiful, more experienced partner Sheila. But there’s a darker side to Hollywood’s weirdness. All that glitz and glamour provide the perfect cover for the city’s underworld, and in a place where anything goes, even small-time crime can easily get out of control. Fraudster Dewey Gleason and his chain-smoking, wisecracking wife Eunice--the real mastermind of the pair--have a nice line in mail-box theft and stealing credit cards. But when they hatch an audacious kidnap plan without knowing that their hired help lives a double life as a serial sex attacker, things start to get very dangerous indeed

They're Back WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 2 Anne Hillerman and Don Strel 6:00 pm

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 2 Anne Hillerman and Don Strel 6:00 pm
We sold out of our original order of Tony Hillerman's Landscape (Harper $29) and have snagged more for those of you who may have
missed their event Nov. 1. Or those who want another copy for a gift.

Join us for half an hour to hear about Tony's ties to Arizona and take advantage of this repeat opportunity to remember one of our all-time favorite authors and persons. He is much missed.

Harper has repackaged the Leaphorn/Chee mysteries into the "tall' mass market paperbacks ($10 each).

TUESDAY DECEMBER 1 Louise Penny and Peter Robinson 7 pm

Please join us TUESDAY DECEMBER 1 For An Evening of Canadian Crime with Louise Penny and Peter Robinson 7:00 pm










Please join two of Canada's premier crimewriters in a discussion of their work and the publishing scene as they see it....

And discover if they read each other's books!

Louise Penny signs The Brutal Telling(St Martins $25)

Peter Robinson signs The Price of Love (Morrow $25)

Outstanding story collection....Banks fans will be delighted....An excellent introduction to one of the best voices in contemporary crime fiction." (Publishers Weekly (starred review) )

"The writing is, as always with Robinson, colorful and evocative, and the characters are brilliant in their unpersonable way. This book is a must for Peter Robinson completists, of course, but also for anyone who appreciates good stories well told." (Globe and Mail (Toronto) )

"This collection distinguishes itself from recent crime anthologies....The final novella is a deeply satisfying procedural." (Library Journal )

A splendid collection of stories including two Alan Banks novellas. In fact, any reader of the novels will find this a Must.

Robinson won his Edgar for a story; he's a real master of the form. This will be his only US signing for the book which will make a wonderful gift for anyone on your list.

Don't miss Karl Alexander signing MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30 7 pm

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30 Karl Alexander 7 pm

Alexander signs Jaclyn The Ripper (Forge $25) the long-awaited sequel to Time After Time, the bestselling novel and hit film starring Malcolm McDowell and Mary Steenburgen, H.G. Wells didn't just write The Time Machine; he actually invented and built two of them. Jack the Ripper stole one and traveled in it from 1893 London to 1979 San Francisco. By the time Wells could follow the Ripper to the future, the killer had struck. When Wells arrives, he falls in love with young Amy Catherine Robbins...who thus becomes the Ripper's next target. With Amy's help, Wells sends Jack to the end of time and returns to 1906 London with Amy. Alas, in a tragic accident, her time travel frees Jack the Ripper from his prison in the far future. Worse, Jack's DNA mixes with some of Amy's, and Jack is transformed into Jaclyn the Ripper who sets out on a new killing spree in today's LA....

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19 7 PM two debut sci-fi authors John Brown and Larry Correia 7 pm

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19 7 PM two debut sci-fi authors John Brown and Larry Correia 7 pm




John Brown will be promoting his excellent fantasy debut, Servant of a Dark God (Tor Books; October 09).

"In Brown's engrossing debut, the first installment of the Dark Gods saga, one of the mysterious Divines, godlike rulers capable of harvesting a person's life force, has vanished. Young Talen's relatively idyllic life is turned upside down when his family is accused of being soul-eaters who worship a twisted god. Pursued by fearful clansmen and a nightmarish earthen monstrosity known only as Hunger, Talen begins to investigate his latent world-changing abilities. Soon he learns of his family's extensive role in the enigmatic Order, whose mission is to break the yoke of the Divines, and the nature of the dark power that hunts them. Brown's narrative takes a few hundred pages to get up to speed, but the latter parts are breakneck-paced and action-packed. Patient readers will be rewarded with a thoroughly enjoyable fantasy adventure." - PW

Larry Correia signs Monster Hunter International (Baen $7.99)

Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a fourteenth story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer. It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Officially secret, some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. On the other side are the people who kill monsters for a living. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.
It's actually a pretty sweet gig, except for one little problem. An ancient entity known as the Cursed One has returned to settle a centuries old vendetta. Should the Cursed One succeed, it means the end of the world, and MHI is the only thing standing in his way. With the clock ticking towards Armageddon, Owen finds himself trapped between legions of undead minions, belligerent federal agents, a cryptic ghost who has taken up residence inside his head, and the cursed family of the woman he loves.

Business is good . . . Welcome to Monster Hunter International.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17 Clive Cussler 7 pm

Clive Cussler signs The Wrecker (Putnam $28) and Barbara will talk to him about it first.

In The Chase ($10), Clive Cussler introduced an electrifying new hero, the tall, lean, no-nonsense detective Isaac Bell, who, driven by his sense of justice, travels early-twentieth-century America pursuing thieves and killers . . . and sometimes criminals much worse.


It is 1907, a year of financial panic and labor unrest. Train wrecks, fires, and explosions sabotage the Southern Pacific Railroad's Cascades express line and, desperate, the railroad hires the fabled Van Dorn Detective Agency. Van Dorn sends in his best man, and Bell quickly discovers that a mysterious saboteur haunts the hobo jungles of the West, a man known as the Wrecker, who recruits accomplices from the down-and-out to attack the railroad, and then kills them afterward. The Wrecker traverses the vast spaces of the American West as if he had wings, striking wherever he pleases, causing untold damage and loss of human life. Who is he? What does he want? Is he a striker? An anarchist? A revolutionary determined to displace the "privileged few"? A criminal mastermind engineering some as yet unexplained scheme?

Co-author Justin Scott writes me that he's put to good use his years of skiing to create a compelling opening and closing frame set in the 1930s to the Wrecker's story. And of course there is all the great stuff for train buffs and for lovers of the early 20th Century American West..

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16 Brandon Sanderson 7 pm

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16 at 7 pm Brandon Sanderson signs Gathering Storm (Tor $29.99),

Brandon Sanderson signs Gathering Storm (Tor $29.99), at the Scottsdale Library, 3839 N. Drinkwater. Free.

Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author of the Mistborn books, was chosen by Jordan's editor---his wife, Harriet McDougal---to complete the final book. The scope and size of the volume was such that it could not be contained in a single book, and so here is the first of three novels that will make up A Memory of Light. This short sequence will complete the struggle against the Shadow, bringing to a close a journey begun almost twenty years ago and marking the conclusion of the Wheel of Time, the preeminent fantasy epic of our era. Technically this volume is called #12 in the series.

Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, struggles to unite a fractured network of kingdoms and alliances in preparation for the Last Battle. As he attempts to halt the Seanchan encroachment northward---wishing he could form at least a temporary truce with the invaders---his allies watch in terror the shadow that seems to be growing within the heart of the Dragon Reborn himself..

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

For a video interview between Jordan's editor and widow and Sanderson, go here

For a video iinterview with Sanderson (and links to other related materials), go here

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14 Guys Night Out

join us at the Arizona Biltmore SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14 for a Guys Night Out with authors John Sandford, Josh Bazell, Martin Limon. Thomas Perry, James Rollins, and Don Winslow. 6 pm at the Arizona Biltmore in the Mesa-Flagstaff Room.

Cash bar and food. Free parking (garage at the west of the property which is located by turning East off 24th Street onto Thunderbird Trail going north from Camelback Road).

We can rock on while the authors are up for it. Plenty of room to party. This event is free. We ask only that you thank the hotel for hosting by patronizing the refreshments and the authors for coming with applause and some book purchases.

We are not using numbers for the signing line but we will give you an unnumbered ticket with your purhcase. You can buy books early at the store or you can buy them at the event.

Mail order customers may order as usual. Since the authors will just be signing mail order at the hotel we may not be able to get books inscribed if there isn't enough time, so please be aware.

What's in the book room?

Bazell, Josh. Beat the Reaper ($15). An amazing debut with one of the true surprise endings. A First Mystery Pick from last winter in hardcover. We have acquired three hardcover firsts ($65 Signed0.

Limon, Martin. GI Bones (Soho $24), newest entry in his brilliant Slicky Boys series set in occupied South Korea. Limon, retired from the military and fascinated with Korean culture and the inevitable clash between it and the occupying forces, has written some of my all time favorite, raucous, unorthodox, yet deeply respectful and penetratingl serious novels. Plus who can result the two military cops, aka the Slicky Boys? While the setting may be a military base and the Korean ville that's grown up around it, and the Slicky Boys are subject to military procedure, they read just like Ed McBain's 87th Precinct Novels. They are at once unique in place and time, and yet universal and timeless. Jade Lady Burning; Slicky Boys; Buddha's Money; Door to Bitterness; Wandering Ghost ($14 each).

Praise for the Sueño and Bascom series:

"Limón's compelling stories of murder, greed, and abuse of power are set off by the Korean culture and 1970s atmosphere."-Library Journal, starred review

"Altogether engaging."-The Washington Post Book World

"Combining the grim routine of a modern police procedural with the cliff-hanging action of a thriller movie."-The Wall Street Journal

"It's great to have these two mavericks back."-The New York Times Book Review

"Easily the best military mysteries in print today."-Lee Child

"Martin Limón does what the best storytellers do: take you away to a brand new world."-Michael Connelly

Perry, Thomas. The Runner (Harcourt $26). A welcome surprise, the 6th Jane Whitefield novel, out last January. We have lots of Tom's backlist including his classic The Butcher's Boy ($14), winner of the 1983 Edgar Award for Best First Novel and featuring an unnamed hitman. One of my favorites is Death Benefits ($7.99) where Perry has fashioned a truly ingenious insurance scam. Lovely stuff.

Rollins, James. Doomsday Key (Morrow $28, probably 2nd prints). The latest thrller for Sigma Force. Turning towards Young Adult fiction go for Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow ($17) and for readers 12 and up, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($26 or $7.99).

Sandford, John. Rough Country (Putnam $27). A new case for Virgil Flowers who is, as I've said, so much fun: he's a Lucas Davenport as a younger, single, swinger guy. The Minnesota resort setting and the odd foray to the city is engrossing and colorful, the premise of the book both fun and poignant and certainly unusual. Plus the insights into what it takes to become a star (country-western or other) make you think.... If you've missed reading Virgil, is earlier cases are Dark of the Moon and Heat Lightning ($10 each). Flowers works for Davenport in the Minnesota BCA so Lucas is in and out of the stories.

Sandford is making a special trip to Phoenix because his fans here are so enthusiastic and supportive!

Winslow, Don. The Dawn Patrol ($14 and a few firsts at $24). And the sequel, The Gentlemen's Hour ($26 UK trade pbk). Why a UK pbk you ask? come and find out. We've nearly sold out but we rush ordered more. Love these books for the San Diego and surfing culture, the humor and the genuine pain, the surfer culture and words new to me (see Arsenault above, what words in Winslow's vocabulary for these stories belongs in an official dictionary?). It's hard to resist Boone Daniels, that laid-back private eye, and his Pacific Beach buddies...plus the murkier side of surfing.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 12 Emily Arsenault 7 PM

Emily Arsenault signs The Broken Teaglass (Delacorte $25)).

The author signs this literary debut for those who love words here on Nov. 12. We sold out but secured some additional first printings!

The dusty files of a venerable dictionary publisher . . . a hidden cache of coded clues . . . a story written by a phantom author . . . an unsolved murder in a gritty urban park-all collide memorably in Emily Arsenault's magnificent debut, at once a teasing literary puzzle, an ingenious suspense novel, and an exploration of definitions: of words, of who we are, and of the stories we choose to define us. I think of this as a literary rather than a mystery novel but in fact, it is both.

The New York Times - Marilyn Stasio
"...[an] oddly endearing coming-of-age story about a recent college graduate who lands a job as an apprentice lexicographer and discovers clues to an unsolved murder embedded in the citation files."

Publishers Weekly

"In Arsenault's quirky, arresting debut, two young lexicographers find clues to an old murder case hidden in the files at their dictionary company. Billy, the narrator, is a "strapping" recent grad with a football player's physique, a penchant for philosophy and a painful chapter in his past that he hasn't quite closed. Mona is a girls' college grad with an ambivalent relationship to her stepfather's wealth and a habit of falling for older, wiser men. The two are drawn together by tantalizing clues left-they assume by a former employee-in the company's citation files. As Billy and Mona spend more and more time hunched over the mysterious "cits" from a book called The Broken Teaglass, they realize the murder may involve colleagues and acquaintances who are still roaming around the office, and Billy struggles to overcome the challenges of entering the adult world and leaving his old life behind. The result is an absorbing, offbeat mystery-meets-coming-of-age novel that's as sweet as it is suspenseful."

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8 Jeri Westerson and Pete Goodman

Join us SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8 For Two Smoking Guns: Unusual Private Eye Novels 2:00 pm

AuthorsJeri Westerson and Pete Goodman will be discussing their new books

These two authors present two unusual private eyes working unexpected beats: Westerson's the mean streets of medieval London, Goodman's a Mayan setting with a sacred cenote and a killer dressed up as a Mayan war chief.

Jeri Westerson signs Serpent in the Thorns (St Martins $25)

Convicted of treason, Crispin Guest was stripped of his title, his land, his money and his friends. Now with only his considerable wits to sustain him, Guest works the mean streets of 14th century London, building a small reputation for his skill.

In 1383, a simple-minded tavern girl comes to his door-a body was found where she works and she's the only person who could have killed him. Except for the fact that the man was killed in place by a precisely aimed crossbow bolt. Making matters worse, the murdered man was one of three couriers from the French king, transporting a relic intended to smooth the troubled relations between France and England. Events quickly spin out of control and Guest now finds himself the prime suspect in the murder, one with terrible diplomatic implications. As the drumbeat of war between the two countries grow, Guest must unravel the con spiracy behind the murder to save not only his country, but himself as well when a real surprise is unveiled. I like the time of John of Gaunt a lot and will be interested in debating my view of him with that presented by Westerson.

Westerson's debut novel Veil of Lies ($15), a History Club Pick, was a 2009 Shamus Award nominee for Best First Private Eye Novel

Pete Goodman, Pete signs Smoking Frog Lives ($15).

The scene is Yaxnax, a minor Maya city, abandoned for over a thousand years. In the opening scene we see someone dressed as Smoking Frog, a great war chief of the pre-classic period, decapitating a bound captive in a Maya ritual slaying. But the time is today.

Switch to Nick Michaels, a private investigator with a bad history and split from his girl, who signs on to a dig in an attempt at a career change. He is trained in archaeology. When he arrives at the Yaxnax site, he quickly learns that his fellows are of course pursuing different agendas, while Nick ends up pursuing the elusive killer "Smoking Frog." Nick's eventual strategy is to set up a lengthy con--will Smoking Frog go for it?

This is an excellent book for fans of Elizabeth Peters' Vicky Bliss series--The Night of Four Hundred Rabbits ($6.99) for instance -- and for those of the late Lyn Hamilton although antiques do not figure into the story. I like author Goddman's evocation of place. And of course we've seen such rivalrous academics in Tony Hillerman's Edgar-winning The Thief of Time ($10).

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7 Collectors Crash Course 2 pm

Jon us SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7 for a Collectors Crash Course at 2 pm

We will webcast this for those of you who cannot join us Just click http://www.poisonedpenblog.com/

To celebrate Independent Bookstore Day, we offer a course in book collecting.

It's not that a book must be collectible to be enjoyed. But if you are going to buy a new book in hardcover, you might as well buy the copy with the best value.

As trade paperbacks begin to dominate the original form for publication and as we move into a digital age, let's not forget the book as an art form either.

Arizona State University's Pyracantha Press (see history below) and Professor John Risseeuw will begin our workshop with a discussion of early printing and and provide examples of metal types, printing, book binding, and various projects combining art and print including books in editions ranging from a single copy to 200 copies as produced at Pyracantha.

Moving on to the collector of modern fiction, topics will include:
What should I collect?
What's the difference between a first edition and a first printing?
Internet bookselling and the potential for fraud (example: fraudulent signatures).
How to care for your books.
Sourcing collectible fiction.
Participants are asked to bring a gem from their collection (if they have one) and tell us why it's special and what's its history.

Barbara Peters and Patrick Millkin of The Poisoned Pen will conduct the workshop

The Pyracantha Press was established at Arizona State University in 1982 as the production and research imprint of the ASU Herberger College School of Art's book arts program. The press undertakes book arts projects that have particular merit in literary content, result in visual or technical research or provide for significant collaboration between writers and artists or between artists. Publications of the press are not done as class projects, but are produced with professional care and quality by the director, the staff printer and graduate research assistants.

Professor John Risseeuw, who came to ASU in 1980 to establish a book arts program within the printmaking area of the School of Art, directs the press. In addition to being a printer/typographer, he is a printmaker and papermaker. Dan Mayer, full-time book arts printer, manages the shop and may also speak at our workshop

Pyracantha Press editions may be purchased from Vamp & Tramp Booksellers LLC

http://www.vampandtramp.com/finepress/p/pyracantha.html

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4 Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4 Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Barry and Pearson sign Peter and the Sword of Mercy (Disney $19)

they are not just hilarious to listen to speaking about their work, they often throw out prizes to the crowd. Kids can sit down front on the floor or bring a sit-upon.

The year is 1901--it's been twenty-three years since Peter and the Lost Boys returned from Rundoon. Since then, nobody on the island has grown a day older, and the Lost Boys continue their friendship with the Mollusk tribe, and their rivalry with Captain Hook. Meanwhile in London, Molly has married George Darling and is raising three children: Wendy, Michael, and John. One night a visitor appears at her door; it's James, one of Peter's original Lost Boys. He is now working for Scotland Yard and suspects that the heir to England's throne, Prince Albert Edward, is under the influence of shadow creatures. These shadow creatures are determined to find a secret cache of startstuff which fell to London many centuries ago. The starstuff is hidden in an underground vault which has only one key: the Sword of Mercy, a legendary weapon kept with the Crown Jewels. Molly is determined to help, but when she suddenly goes missing, it is up to her eleven-year-old daughter, Wendy, to keep the starstuff out of the Others' clutches. She has heard her mother's stories of a flying boy named Peter Pan, and he may be her only hope in saving the world from a shadowy doom...

The first three Peter prequels are: Peter and the Starcatchers; Peter and the Shadow Thieves; Peter and the Secret of Rundoon ($9 each).