FREEBIE FRIDAY - DEATH BY DENIM!

Happy Friday!!!

As promised, I am posting below the three posts I did for Penguin. You can comment here or at the Penguin Blog. Each comment equals an entry to win this week's Freebie Friday, which is:

The first ever advanced readers copy of DEATH BY DENIM. Oh, yeah. : )

Enjoy, and have a great weekend!!!

This freebie will remain open until Tuesday, November 18.

Friday's Penguin Post

More Fun with Forensics

This summer I had the opportunity to be the visiting author when COSI, our local museum of science, hosted the CSI Exhibit. Talk about being in research heaven! The exhibit featured three different crime scenes and walked participants through the process of using scientific inquiry to solve the crimes. I’ve been able to incorporate what I learned into a presentation I do for schools about the use of Forensics in Fiction. Today, for your entertainment, I present my top three favorite forensic fun facts:

1. One of the earliest ‘modern-day’ authors to make use of forensic science in his writing was Edgar Allen Poe. Edgar Allen Poe looks an awful lot like Bill Murray.

2. You probably know that forensic scientists can determine the approximate time of death by analyzing the larval stage of maggots hatched in a dead body, but did you know they can also use those maggots to determine if the deceased had taken (or been given) drugs before expiring? Entomologists (scientists who study bugs) whir the maggots in a blender and test the resulting liquid for the presence of toxins. Gross, but true.

3. The popularity of such television shows as CSI, Bones and Dexter has caused what some analysts call the CSI Effect, wherein viewers come to expect real-world investigators to solve crimes with the same high-tech efficiency we see on TV. Hint: it rarely happens.

What about you? What do you find fascinating about forensic science? Or, do you find it interesting at all?

Wednesday's Penguin Post

Lessons Learned - Confessions of a Rabid Researcher

One of the cool things about writing the Death By books was researching what happens when people die. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not a serial killer at heart. I just found the whole dead body thing to be very interesting.

As I dug into researching various methods of murder, I discovered all sorts of fun and gruesome facts. In Death by Bikini, for example, I planned to leave my victim dead on the beach, strangled by the strings of her bikini top. While researching what the results of strangulation might look like, I came across an interesting article about a man who had strangled his wife and then stuck her body in the bathtub to make it looked like she had drowned. Investigators quickly disproved his story because of little pinpoint red marks called petechiae they found on the wife’s face and eyes. Petechiae are the result of blood leaking from the capillaries, which could be caused by the extreme pressure of strangulation, but would not be present from drowning.

Well, I thought I was pretty clever to have discovered this exciting fact, so I tried to work it into the scene where Aphra discovers Bianca’s body. While everyone else was speculating that Bianca drowned, Aphra wisely notes the petechial hemorrhaging on Bianca’s face, proving that she had been strangled. Here’s where the lesson comes in. I had never given Aphra any basis for knowing about petechial hemorrhaging. She’s just an average sixteen-year-old, not a forensic scientist. I never even gave her a keen interest in watching CSI or Bones or anything like that. My attempt to show off my newfound knowledge was obvious and clunky. I had to pull it from the scene.

I still love to research, but now I’m painfully aware of this kind of author intrusion and have to be very careful not to endow my characters with knowledge or sensitivities they haven’t ‘earned.’

Have you ever come across this sort of thing when reading a book or watching a movie? Does it pull you out of the story or do you shrug it off and just enjoy the ride? Inquiring authors want to know!

Monday's Penguin Post

Death by FAQ

No, that’s not the title of my next book. For the first time online, here are some of the questions I am most frequently asked about Death by Bikini and Death by Latte when I visit schools.

How do you come up with your ideas?
I have an overactive imagination. Plus I read and travel a lot.

Did you make your own covers?
No. Authors don’t usually design their own covers, but if I did, I’d want them to look just like the ones I have! My cover designer is the fabulous and talented Theresa Evangelista. You can read about the process of her cover designs for this series here on Melissa Walker's Blog.

Where is Death by Bikini set?
wasThe setting for Death by Bikini was inspired by a visit to Maui several years ago. There’s a beautiful road to a small town called Hana on the east side of the island that winds through some of the most beautiful tropical rainforest you’d ever want to see - pristine and primitive. In fact, Puohokamoa Valley featured in the opening sequence of Jurassic Park. I couldn’t imagine a more perfect setting for a private, secluded island resort.

Why don’t you ever say in the book where it is?
Did I mention the resort is private and secluded? Aphra was not at liberty to reveal its location.
Is it a coincidence that you named Natalie’s partner Joe in Death by Latte?
No coincidence. Joe is old slang for coffee, which plays a significant role in the book.

I already miss Seth. Where can I meet him?
Read Death by Denim in May!

Do you have questions about the series? Now’s your chance to ask!

New Rules for This Week

Happy hump-day! Anyone else anxious for the weekend? We had a bout of food poisoning today at my house so I'm ready for a break!

FYI, the second post on the Penguin blog is live!

Just a quick note - it has been brought to my attention that leaving comments on the Penguin site may be a little more complicated than I had anticipated. Some people have mentioned not being able to find the link to leave a comment (you have to scroll all the way down to the bottom past the blue "trackback URL" bar where it says "add comment.") And even then, the moderator needs to approve the comments before they will be posted and I'm hearing that it's taking a while, so...

In the interest of being fair, I'm going to repost all the Penguin posts on my blog on Friday and you can leave your comments there instead to qualify for this week's Freebie Friday.

If you are patient enough to navigate the Penguin site, I appreciate it! Mostly I like my publisher to see that I have friends online. : ) But you will not be penalized if you'd prefer to comment here.

See you Friday!

Linda

Winner!

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend!

This week's Freebie Friday winner is:

Aimee

Please shoot me a message with your mailing address at gerb at lindagerber dot com and I'll get the Borders card sent out to you!

Everyone else, this week I'll be doing Freebie Friday a little differently - I'll be blogging over at the Penguin Books blog all week (three posts.) On Friday, I'll post this week's Freebie Friday giveaway on this blog. To be entered to win, leave comments on the Penguin blog throughout the week and/or on Friday's blog post here. Each comment will get you one entry. Have a great week and I'll see you over at Penguin!