... Ann Parker here, every other Thursday blogger on the LadyKillers, begging for a little compassion as I only remembered at the eleventh hour that this post was due. It's been a little crazy lately.
I just finished a month-long bout of intense science writing on two nifty topics: a technique for measuring isotopes that requires no vacuum chambers, no sample preparation (very very cool; take my word for it) and some recent research on climate science/global warming (which is actually pretty much of a downer, when you take it all in).
And
OH YES...the other news from the past week+ is...
~ Mercury's Rise is nominated for the Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel!! ~
The full list of nominees for this award is as follows:
Best Historical Novel:
Naughty in Nice by Rhys Bowen (Berkley)
Murder Your Darlings by J.J. Murphy (Signet)
Mercury's Rise by Ann Parker (Poisoned Pen Press)
Troubled Bones by Jeri Westerson (Minotaur)
A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear (Harper)
What's more, LadyKiller Penny Warner is nominated for an Agatha Best Children's/Young Adult Award (!!) for The Code Busters Club, Case #1: The Secret of the Skeleton Key. (Do your kids like secret codes and puzzles? If so, they'll love Penny's book ... guaranteed!)
You can view all the Agatha Awards and their nominees here (scroll down a bit, and you'll see them).
The winners will be announced at the Agatha Awards banquet on April 28, at the Malice Domestic convention.
I'm honored, stunned, and excited, and I feel I should be shouting all this from the rooftops (or at least announcing it in every Yahoo group I belong to and doing all the social media stuff one should do)... However, I have three (shorter, much shorter) science writeups I need to complete in the next six days or so and barely enough time to do them and meet the impending deadlines.
Before I disappear down that particular rabbit hole, I do want to thank everyone who gave a thumbs up for my protagonist Inez and helped place her on the list. Poor woman has been through a lot in the past four books.
Hmmmm, to bring this back to the topic of the week, I wonder: Should I show a little compassion towards Inez and start her down the road to a "happily ever after" type of resolution in Book #5? (And just what would that future look like?)
Oh, tough call! I want to be compassionate toward Inez, but I love her exciting life of conflict and adventure!
Congratulations on the nomination, no matter what befalls Inez!
Posted by: Camille Minichino | February 23, 2012 at 12:25 AM
Congratulations on the Agatha Award nomination, Ann!
I think being compassionate toward Inez would involve giving her more adventures. I'm not sure she would appreciate "happily ever after" as that was defined for women in her time.
Posted by: Margaret Lucke | February 23, 2012 at 09:15 AM
There are some people in Inez's life who deserve "adventure" while she catches her breath. (Indian Jones-type come to mind, dating me.)
Posted by: Liz | February 23, 2012 at 10:32 AM
Congratulations on your nomination, Ann!
I think Inez might find life a little too dull if you gave her a "happily ever after" resolution. You could always give her a "happy right in this moment, but the future is doubtful" resolution. = )
Posted by: Staci | February 23, 2012 at 12:12 PM
It's tempting to start working out Inez's life...a great way to avoid working out Dani's life! I'd better pass. I know you'll do it just fine, of course. and congrats on all these lovely award nominations - quite something!
Posted by: Susan Shea | February 24, 2012 at 01:36 PM
super congrats, Ann, and well deserved!!!! The only thing harder than being single is being in love, so I'm confident you'll find ways to get Inez into interesting trouble, even if she hooks up with Mr. Right. Mr. Right is never Mr. Easy, in my experience ;)
Posted by: Mysti Berry | February 25, 2012 at 01:57 PM
Thanks for the congrats... And good points, everyone! And there's actually a little of the "mean girl" inside of me who loves to make Inez squirm. So, I guess I'll save compassion for the living, and heap on the trials and tribulations for the fictional folks in my life! ;-)
Liz: I have had people plead with me to "give Inez a break." A break?? Bwaaa-ha-ha! About the only way I can envision doing this is to take a secondary character and spin a story for him/her, and allow Inez to rest in the shadows for a bit...
Posted by: Ann | February 25, 2012 at 11:44 PM
Congratulations on the well-deserved nomination, Ann! Mind you, I think Inez deserves it so don't stay down in the scientific rabbit hole too long... I want more pain and suffering for one of my top fav characters! No mercy here.
Posted by: Priscilla | February 29, 2012 at 12:22 PM