The Mysterious Disappearance of Agatha Christie

Posted by the one, the only, the accept-no-substitutes Dinah Galloway.

My author, Melanie Jackson, and I got an early Christmas present: a review in Kliatt that says Shadows on the Train “evokes and blends the best of Gardner, Hitchcock and Christie.” Well, speaking of Christie – that’s Agatha, not Mr. – did you know that she mysteriously disappeared for eleven days back in 1926? Yup, it’s true. Already a bestselling novelist, Agatha upped and left her house in
Berkshire, England with no explanation to anyone. The newspapers blazed out headlines: why had Agatha vanished? Had someone murdered the murder writer?

Then, calmly as you please, Agatha turned up again – and never told anyone, not a single soul, what she’d been doing. There’s a theory floating round that maybe she suffered temporary amnesia, but who knows? In any event, disappearing would be a great publicity stunt, wouldn’t you say so, Melanie? … Er … Melanie?

Book Bites

Orca author Kari-Lynn Winters was interviewed last week on Book Bites for Kids, a series of interviews with children’s authors. She talked about Jeffrey and Sloth, Orca and life as a writer.

Listen to the interview here.

Comics on the Brain

On BlogTO, Liam O’Donnell is interviewed about graphic novels for kids. Liam is the author of Wild Ride, Orca’s first graphic novel, which is coming this fall.

And recently on Salon.com, we heard from Douglas Wolk about comics culture and how it’s changing or should be changing, with the increasing popularity of graphic novels, for both kids and adults.

Another new Orca book this fall will be a Currents novel about a comic fan: Manga Touch.

So, why are comics becoming more and more popular? They’re really fun to read, for starters! What do YOU think?

PS: What else are we up to at Orca? It’s been a while since the event, but check out this post about the launch of Just J on BookLust. What a cake!!

What’s New? Authors & Illustrators!

Sometimes names on the covers of books are mysterious. Who is that author, one wonders, and what made them think of this novel? What kind of research does the illustrator of a children’s book do? If your friend is an author, just how likely are you to end up appearing in their next novel?

These questions will soon be answered: the new Authors & Illustrators section will feature an author and/or an illustrator every month. Features will include fun photos, extended biographies and, best of all, interviews! July’s featured author is Monique Polak, who does dialog research in some interesting places… read the interview to find out where.

If there’s a question you always want to ask authors or illustrators, please leave a comment or email it to me… it just might show up in next month’s feature.

Racing for Diamonds in the news

Anita Daher’s reading from Racing for Diamonds draws press and excitement in Yellowknife. It’s “the very first book written about the Junior Canadian Rangers.”

Junior Canadian Rangers is a free program for youth in remote communities, run by the Canadian Rangers. The program offers youth ages 12-18 an opportunity to learn Ranger skills, and promotes traditional cultures and lifestyles. For more information, see the Canadian Rangers’ website.

Pictured: Anita Daher and JCR founder Warrant Officer Chuck Bachmanek.