THE ORPHAN SCRIVENER -- ISSUE # ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN -- 15 DECEMBER 2018

Since we last darkened subscribers' in-boxes, we've had an eventful time of it (in the Chinese curse sense) after three household appliances -- washer, cooker, and heating boiler -- got together in a plan to conk out within a month or so of each other. At the time of writing they've been replaced or repaired, so hopefully there won't be more domestic drama for a while. Speaking of which, we present this last issue of Orphan Scrivener for the year. Have at it!

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ERIC'S BIT or AN OLD-FASHIONED CHRISTMAS

Christmas isn't what it used to be -- driving SUVs to crowded malls to buy electronic gizmos to stick under artificial trees. Give me an old-fashioned Christmas like the ones I used to know.

Driving a Volkswagen Beetle through the white and drifted snow put one in touch with the winter season. The heater used to blow flakes into the interior and everyone emerged with rosy cheeks at the shopping center.

Those quaint old shopping centers had real stores. You needed to go outside to visit each one. They weren't just big rooms all under the same roof. It's just not Christmas without icy sidewalks and rock salt stains on your shoes.

And none of this tree in a box, some assembly required rubbish. If you wanted a tree in the old days you had to trek through the wilderness of the Agway parking lot to make a selection. When you got home you needed to hack the bottom of the trunk to make it fit the tree stand.

Then there are today's electronic games. Where's the holiday spirit in that? An electric speedway race car set...now there's a gift that says Noel.

Everything these days is too far removed from nature. When I lived in New York City I turned on my good old-fashioned black and white television set and while carols played in the background watched a grainy picture -- just like grandpa used to see -- of a real burning yule log. Kids today don't even know what a yule log is. Or a black and white TV.

No, the holidays aren't what they used to be. Even the aftermath is different. If you overspent and were late with a department store payment you'd receive a little note, which typically began "Maybe you forgot?" Do you remember polite bill collectors? That was a long time ago.

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NECESSARY EVIL or THE BSP TICKER

There's a fair bit of news to cover so follow the ticker tape...

AN EMPIRE FOR RAVENS HAS FLOWN or THERE'S A GIVEAWAY!

Now that An Empire For Ravens has taken wing into the world, reviews are beginning to appear. The latest is online over at Kings River Life, where Diane Hockley recommends John's latest adventure, saying "This twelfth story in the John, the Lord Chamberlain, series does not disappoint. Although the story starts slowly, it builds to a crescendo of violence, betrayal, and tragedy as the answer to Felix’s disappearance unfolds. John is an interesting and sympathetic character, enigmatic but immensely likable." Oh, and there's a giveaway too!* Point your clicker here for more info:

http://kingsriverlife.com/12/08/an-empire-for-ravens-by-mary-reed-and-eric-mayer/

*Ends December 22nd!

A SECOND CHANCE or MURDER IN WARTIME REDUX

On Veterans Day Mystery Readers Journal editor Janet Rudolph reposted a link to the summer 2017 issue. Its theme was Murder In Wartime and our essay appeared therein. Entitled His Debts Were Settled At Last, it concerned the real life case of a murderer who thought he had covered his tracks exceedingly well -- but was wrong. While ours is not online, links lead to essays by James Benn, Maureen Jennings, and Peter Lovesey. Index of all contributors and their topics:

https://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.com/2018/11/murder-in-wartime-mystery-readers.html

TEN AUTHORS SPEAK! or WE HAVE IT COVERED

On 30th October ten authors contributed their thoughts on covers by nominating a favourite and commenting on why it caught their eye. After all, a striking cover encourages readers to pick up a book and isn't that one of the most important steps towards making the purchase?

https://annelouisebannon.com/mary-reed-does-a-survey-on-book-covers/#.W9iz-2hKieE

Anne's blog is an eclectic mix of her various passions, including sewing, cooking, and living green, as well as presenting a variety of stray thoughts plus guest posts, featuring authors writing about their work or themselves.

ACCENTS AHOY! or RUINED STONES RETURNS

December 4th saw the debut of an extract from our WWII mystery Ruined Stones featured on Kings River Life's Mysteryrat's Maze podcast. Actor Paddy Myers did a marvellous job all round, especially on the varied accents involved, so we listened with grins from ear to ear. The podcast is available at

https://mysteryratsmaze.podbean.com/e/ruined-stones-by-eric-reed/

and is also available on iTunes and Googleplay.

Podcast episodes feature short mystery stories and chapters of mystery novels read by actors from California's San Joaquin Valley. As new episodes are uploaded, older ones may be accessed at https://mysteryratsmaze.podbean.com/ To check whose work will be featured and when, sign up for the newsletter at http://tinyletter.com/kingsriverlife

MORE REVELATIONS or OLD CONNECTIONS

On November 1st Book Reporter uploaded a new interview, whose revelations included how we connected with the then very young Poisoned Pen Press (an unlikely story if ever there was one), why the Gutenberg site is our friend, and how our writing approach is derived from world-building in science fiction and fantasy.

https://www.bookreporter.com/authors/mary-reed/news/talk-110118

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MARY'S BIT or DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT ONE!

Ambrose Bierce's Devil's Dictionary defines a barometer as an ingenious instrument indicating what kind of weather someone is having. This stuck in memory because a while ago I suddenly noticed a positive rash of barometers appearing in all manner of cinematic and TV productions as well as the written word.

So just for the heck of it, I started to note them down as spotted. They're proving to be more numerous than anticipated, in the strange way that sometimes happens once you become aware of a particular thing. A couple of examples: there are two John Mills films where a barometer was observed lurking in the background -- The Long Memory, a crime film wherein Mills played a man falsely imprisoned for murder who returns after his release to enact revenge on those who framed him, and The October Man, featuring an excellent noir plot in which his character, because he is suffering badly from the result of a brain injury, is not certain if he's guilty of murder or not.

On the less fraught front, Dry Rot, adapted from a popular farce of the type presented for many years by London's Whitehall Theatre in London. Starring Brian Rix, a mainstay of this type of comedy, the plot concerns a kidnapped racehorse (its French jockey is also grabbed), both hidden in a secret room in a country hotel equipped with the hall barometer so commonly seen in a certain class of household and hostelries. Did Rix lose his trousers at some point? Of course he did! Meantime, pint-sized comedian Arthur Askey's character is working as make-up man for a TV network in Make Mine A Million and assists shady Sid James to publicise a new brand of washing powder by breaking into national broadcasts with advertisements, in what may well be the earliest cinematic example of a hacking.

As for TV appearances, subscribers may have noticed the barometer in the hall of the BBC's historical reality show The 1940s House, another in the foyer of the Fawlty Towers hotel in John Cleese's comedy series, and a truly magnificent specimen in an episode of The Ghost and Mrs Muir.

There's even an historical mystery reference for aficionados. The instrument is mentioned in The Reigate Puzzle, the sixth story in Conan Doyle's Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. A burglary takes place in a country house near the titular town, the thieves running off with a strange collection of loot, to wit, a volume of Homer, a pair of candlesticks, a letter-weight, a ball of twine -- and a small oak barometer. Holmes of course immediately deduces what this odd assortment means.

Finally, a couple of favourite literary references from A Tramp Abroad, in which Mark Twain relates the amusing origin of barometer soup and the tale of the narrow escape of a Mont Blanc guide who was among those swept away in an avalanche. About to fall into a glacier crevice as happens to the other sweptees, his life was saved by the long barometer strapped to his back. It served as a bridge across the chasm, holding him suspended there until rescuers arrive.

Cautious Alpine travellers, there you have it. Barometers: Don't Leave Home Without One!

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AND FINALLY

We'll close with best wishes for the season to our subscribers and a hope the new year will be better for all of them than the current year has been, while also reminding them that the next Orphan Scrivener will arrive in their in-boxes on 15th February.

See you then!
Mary R and Eric

who invite you to visit their home page, to be found hanging out on the virtual washing line that is the Web at http://home.earthlink.net/~maywrite/ There you'll discover the usual suspects, including more personal essays, a bibliography, and our growing libraries of links to free e-texts of classic and Golden Age mysteries, ghost stories, and tales of the supernatural. There's also the Orphan Scrivener archive, so don't say you weren't warned! Our joint blog is at http://ericreedmysteries.blogspot.com/ Intrepid subscribers may also wish to know our noms des Twitter are @marymaywrite and @groggytales Drop in some time!

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