I packed up and moved in the middle of the night. Please visit my new blog at the following address. You'll have to cut and paste the address into your browser. (Which is just one of the reasons this blog has moved.)

http://benrehder.blogspot.com/

Recently I discovered how to download podcasts, and that's a pretty cool thing. I walk my dog twice a day, so it's nice to have some new listening options. The first thing I downloaded was the current podcast of This American Life. I've listened to TAL before, but only when I stumbled across it on the local NPR station. I never actively tuned in to hear it. Anyway, I've always found the show compelling, and the podcast I'm listening to right now is no different.

The theme is "stories of people leaving the situation they're used to and striking off for something less familiar." One of the segments is about Jerry Springer. Yes, that Jerry Springer. I knew he used to be mayor of Cincinnati, but I had no idea what sort of fall from grace he'd suffered.

Here's the short version: Springer was a young, but very charismatic, political candidate. He supposedly had the same type of magnetism as Reagan, Bobby Kennedy (for whom Springer was a volunteer), and Bill Clinton. Hard to believe, isn't it? On the show, someone described him as a "golden boy." He ran for Cincinnati city council and won. Then he got caught writing a check to a hooker in Kentucky. Stupid, yes, and he resigned. He figured his political career was over. But people still liked him. (Never forget what a powerful variable that is in political life. Just being liked can change a politician's fortunes.)

A year later, he ran for council again, and won again. Then he ran for mayor and won. He eventually ran for governor, but lost. Now he was more or less broke and jobless. He was offered a job as anchor on a local news broadcast, and he took it. He was given a few minutes at the end for commentary, and his segments usually ran fairly liberal.

Then he was offered a national talk show--something that was supposed to be a successor to Phil Donahue. The first shows tackled issues such as homelessness and gun control. Ratings sucked. Then a new producer came aboard, and as they said on TAL, you know the rest. Now his show is one of the vilest pieces of crap on television.

On TAL, near the end, a woman (I didn't catch her name) said that the Springer story was like a Greek tragedy. A very good Greek tragedy. I have to agree.

One of the reasons this interests me: Occasionally, when I'm creating a character in one of my novels, I think I'm going too far. I'll write, for instance, about some senator doing something outrageous, and I'll think, "Nobody will believe this. This is too ridiculous." Then I hear something like the Springer story, and I remember that nothing I create can top real life.

Before I get to the tidbit below, let me mention that the contest for a free ARC of Julia Spencer-Fleming's newest book is still going on. See the post below this one.

This is a bit of news from Publisher's Lunch, which is a daily email sent to folks in the publishing industry:

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Harris Interactive surveyed American adults to find out "What is your favorite book of all time?" The answers:

1. The Bible
2. Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
3. Lord of the Rings (series), by J.R.R. Tolkien
4. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
5. The Stand, by Stephen King
6. The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
7. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
8. Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown
9. Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand
10. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger

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Very interesting list, and not what I would've expected. The first entry doesn't surprise me at all, but there are some big names missing, and a few surprising names on there. Instead of Hemingway, for instance, we have Dan Brown. Twice. I would have never guessed that.

I'm also surprised that it's almost entirely fiction. (Some people would say it IS entirely fiction, but I won't go there.)

What books are missing from this list? Let me hear your thoughts.

By the way, I'm pretty sure the Blanco series came in at #11.

If you haven’t read a Julia Spencer-Fleming novel, you don’t know what you’re missing. She writes what are known as “clerical mysteries,” because the protagonist is a member of the clergy. In this case, it’s Clare Fergusson, the first female priest in the small Adirondack town of Millers Kill. Clare shares the spotlight with Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne. Julia’s website sums the series up as “Novels of faith and murder for readers of literary suspense.” The novels are unique, fresh, and amazingly well written.

From the beginning of the series, Julia has been lavished with well-deserved awards and critical praise. Marilyn Stasio, the respected New York Times critic, summed up Millers Kill this way: “Yes, this is a very small town, but under Spencer-Fleming's grave touch it becomes a world that you want to visit and hate to leave.”

Now here’s the best part: Julia’s newest novel--I SHALL NOT WANT--comes out in June. Word is already starting to spread, and Julia is a friend of mine, so I wanted to mention the book here. Then we came up with a better idea...

Julia has agreed to let me give away some advance readers copies (ARCs) of I SHALL NOT WANT. A dozen of them, in fact. So here’s the deal: Visit Julia’s website (www.juliaspencerfleming.com), then send me the title of just one of her other books. Any title will do. The first dozen people to respond correctly will receive a free ARC. Pretty simple, huh? Just email me through the link on my website (www.benrehder.com), or post a PRIVATE comment to this blog (so nobody else will see your answer).

Julia will even sign the ARC for you. And you’ll get to discover a new author. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

For all you slackers who have never signed up for my electronic newsletter, here's the text from the latest issue....

The official Ben Rehder Newsletter

Contents of this issue:
• CORDIAL GREETING
• ANNOUNCEMENT OF UPCOMING BOOK, WITH ON-SALE DATE
• HEARTBREAKING NEWS
• BOOK DESCRIPTION FROM A QUESTIONABLE SOURCE
• REVIEWS THAT CAN ACTUALLY BE BELIEVED
• BOOKSIGNING SCHEDULE
• EQUALLY CORDIAL SIGN-OFF

Dear Faithful Readers,

For the sixth time, I have strung together a bunch of random
words and those words have been assembled into the latest
Blanco County novel. It’s called "Holy Moly," and the
official publication date is May 13. Chances are, it will
be in stores several days before then. So feel free to go
to your favorite bookstore, pull up a chair, and wait.
Better yet, pre-order it now right here:
http://mcsv.net/cgi-bin/redir?MCid=i1hzyOoLCKaf10b512ee

"Holy Moly," I’m sad to say, is the finale in the Blanco
County series. No, don’t cry. You knew this would happen
eventually. It’s time for me to explore new horizons, to
branch out and grow as a writer. Perhaps I’ll try my hand
at haiku or cinquain. (Limericks, on the other hand, have
been done to death.)

Any questions? Yes, you in the sixth row. You want to know
what the new book is about? Here’s the official description:

“When televangelist Peter Boothe decides to build a
megachurch on the banks of the Pedernales River, he thinks
his biggest problem will be a few unhappy neighbors.
However, when backhoe operator Hollis Farley unearths a rare
fossil on the construction site——a discovery that could lead
to plenty of embarrassing publicity——the cover-up begins.
Soon, Farley is dead, shot in the back with an arrow, and
Game Warden John Marlin is asked to help with the case.
What he and the local deputies find is a suspect list of
biblical proportions: Could it have been the bitter geology
professor? The private fossil collector with a somewhat
unusual fetish? The minister’s wife who takes the
Commandments rather lightly? Or the geriatric
environmentalist with a mean right hook? Nothing is sacred
in Rehder’s most laughable satire yet, a twisted tale of
greed, corruption, infidelity, and, yes, paleontology.”

The question is, should you trust a press release written by
some underpaid, overworked junior publicist toiling away in
a windowless Manhattan office? The short answer? No, you
shouldn’t. The long answer? No, you shouldn’t, sir or madam.

So get a load of these reviews, from perfectly objective and
respected sources:

"Edgar-finalist Rehder’s sixth Blanco County mystery may be
the best to date in this rollicking crime series. Rehder’s
satirical take on greed, faith and foolishness moves at a
swift clip, punctuated with dizzy twists and even bittersweet
turns, like a good toe-tapping, country and western tune."
—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"Ben Rehder in his hilarious 'Holy Moly' places televangelists
and the creationism vs. evolution debate under the
microscope. [He] takes readers on an adventure into the
multimillion-dollar realm of the televangelist on whose land
the fossil was found, life in small-town Texas, and the inner
workings of police investigation in the latest entry in this
Edgar Award-nominated series. Combining sophisticated prose
with down-home Texas crime, he leaves no part of Texas life
untouched."
—Library Journal

"Could Blanco County, Texas be peaceful for a change? Not on
your life. As usual, John Marlin shows us that he's more than
just a game warden, and is up for anything the crooks can
throw at him. I loved the time I spent in Texas Hill Country
in real life, but it doesn't compare to my enjoyment at
reading a new Rehder novel."
—Deadly Pleasures

By now, you’re in a veritable state of frenzy for the new
book, aren’t you? Okay, good. Then why not come see me at
one of the following events:

Friday, May 9, 7:30 pm
Booksigning and discussion
Barnes & Noble Westlake
701 S. Capital of Texas Hwy.
Austin, TX
(512) 328-3155

Saturday, May 10, 11:00 am–2:00 pm
Booksigning
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
4801 La Crosse Avenue
Austin, TX
(512) 292-4100

Thursday, May 15, 6:30 pm
Booksigning and discussion
Murder By The Book
2342 Bissonnet St.
Houston, TX
(713) 524-8597
(888) 4-AGATHA

Saturday, May 17, 1:00 pm
Booksigning and discussion
Cody Public Library
11441 Vance Jackson
San Antonio, TX
(210) 696-6396

Saturday, May 17, 3:30–5:00 pm
Booksigning
Barnes & Noble Fiesta Trail
12635 West IH-10
San Antonio, TX
(210) 561-0718

Saturday, May 17, 6:00–8:00 pm
Booksigning, discussion, and dinner (Call for tickets)
Boerne Public Library
210 N. Main Street
Boerne, TX
(830) 249-3053

Saturday, May 24, 1:00–3:00 pm
Booksigning
The Bookshop
212 Main Street
Marble Falls, TX
(830) 693-7276

That’s all the news from here, friends. I’ve had a
wonderful time writing the Blanco County mysteries, and I
appreciate everyone who gave up valuable video-game time to
read them.

All my best,

Ben