Read the Mystery Scene blog or I'll shoot my neighbor's dog

James O. Born

Okay, so I won't shoot the little yappy bastard, but I have considered relocating him for a quieter existence. Using that rational I'd have to board my wife somewhere too. Regardless of my plans for a more peaceful home life, I want you to take a look at a blog I've been reading lately.

Among the best blogs on the mystery genre was the Sun Sentinel’s Off the Page, which was written by famed reviewer Oline Cogdill. The key element was not blog posts on blockbuster novels on the way or bestselling authors selling more books, but rather a glimpse into lesser known books and authors. The blog did mention big time writers like the final post on Michael Connelly’s appearance on the TV show Castle. That hit the web on September 19th of this year. Then, for whatever reason, the Sentinel pulled the plug on the blog. If the web is the future of newspapers and newspaper give up on the web, my advice is: Don’t invest in newspaper stocks. Off the Page could have been a beacon to other newspapers gasping for life and searching for the avenue to the future. Instead, the Sun Sentinel only provided others with a chance to snatch up one of the most insightful chroniclers of the crime fiction scene.

Enter the brilliant Kate Stine of Mystery Scene Magazine. Last year at Bouchercon, Kate asked Oline if she would be willing to do a blog for Mystery Scene. Oline’s response, “I was doing the Sun Sentinel blog but I have a big mouth so I figured I could do both. What I like about doing the blog is it lets me talk about things happening in the mystery that either don’t fit into a review but are interesting, quirky and readers would enjoy reading about. Not every thing about the genre is strictly a review or an interview.”

The result of that conversation is at www.mysteryscenemag.com/msblog , a wonderful , professional view of the crime fiction community written by Oline and a few other contributors.

This photo is of Mystery Scene Magazine Publishers Kate Stine & Brian Skupin receiving the Poirot Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Mystery at Malice Domestic on May 2, 2009.

Oline went on to say, “I have blogged about authors being trivia answers; about why people should attend Bouchercon; about the inside jokes in some mysteries -- how authors will have their characters read other mystery authors. I also can be more immediate -- we might not have the lead time to get in a review about an upcoming PBS mystery film in the magazine, but I can review it for the blog. I have done DVD, movie and TV reviews many times. In a review or an interview, one has to be objective and focus on the work, not yourself. In a blog I think I can let my personality and sense of humor and even personal life show.”

Oline sums up her experience perfectly. “I am loving doing the blog for Mystery Scene. Suggestions are more than welcomed.”

What would you like to see on a Mystery blog?

Oh yeah, the photo of the dog at the top of the post is Oline's dog, Gizmo. Ha, ha, ha.