Thursday, January 1, 2009

The Dog Men by Patricia Crandall


The Dog Men
by Patricia Crandall

Book Information:
Publisher: PublishAmerica (October 12, 2008)
$16.95
Paperback: 84 pages
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1606720856

Patricia Crandall about Patricia Crandall:

I was born Patricia Crandall in Bennington, Vermont. In my early years, my family moved often as my father was a purchasing agent for General Cable Corp. Whereby, we lived in Rhode Island, New Jersey, Vermont and New York.

Presently, I live with my husband, Art, at Babcock Lake in the Grafton Mountains near Petersburgh, New York. My daughter and her family live nearby. Also living near us is our son. I have two granddaughters and one grandson. I devote time to my family, writing and community work. I enjoy reading, skiing, golfing, knitting, walking/hiking, swimming, exercising and traveling.

I have a vast number of poetry/haiku, numerous articles and short stories published in many small press magazines and a variety of newspapers. I have won many poetry awards and have two books in print, Melrose, Then and Now, a historical volume and I Passed This Way, containing poetry.

I am currently working on several mystery-crime stories, a series of contemporary/family short fiction and novels. I put aside whatever free time I have for writing.

My feelings as a poet have affected my role as a mother by allowing me to capture in poetry the formative years of my children. These poems are snapshots in words. Whenever I read them, I see my children as they were during that moment in time.

I like to write mysteries because I like to read mystery stories. It all began with the Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene when I was a pre-teen in the 1950s. Each holiday, I would request the latest Nancy Drew title and upon receiving it, I would curl-up in an oversized chair and begin reading the fast-paced adventure. Prior to that time, I was hooked on the Bobbsey Twins.

My first effort at writing a mystery story detailed a long, frightening chase by a sinister man. A dark tunnel appeared, leading to (of course) a haunted mansion. The not-so-brilliant ending had me saved by the man of my life at the time - my father.

As a writer, I find Agatha Christie an excellent study, particularly in developing characters, descriptive scenes and her exceptional talent attributed to writing a variety of books including original mystery plays, romantic novels, a memoir of archaeological expeditions in Syria, poetry and her area of expertise, plotting mysteries.


Wednesday - More about the book The Dog Men


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also visit Vivian's Mysteries and Prairie Dog Cowboy

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9 comments:

Morgan Mandel said...

Nancy Drew sure hooked a lot of us on mysteries, didn't she?

That Dog Men title is very catchy. I do need to know more about it. I'll have to read more.

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
http://www.morganmandel.com

Karen Cioffi said...

I still have my collection of Nancy Drew books.

Looking forward to learning more about The Dog Men.

Karen

Rena Jones said...

Sounds like an interesting book. Looking forward to hearing more about it.

When I was younger, my mom almost moved her family to Vermont. I often wonder how different my life would have been if she had. It's such a beautiful state.

Lea Schizas - Author/Editor said...

I loved reading Agatha Christie as a teen. She was basically my first introduction in the art of writing mystery.

Donna McDine said...

Hi Vivian...wonderful profile on Patricia...I look foward to reading more about The Dog Men. Happy New Year to youand your family!

Warm regards,
Donna McDine
http://www.donna-mcdine.blogspot.com

P.S. Thank you for your lovely congratulatory note on my new position at SFC...much appreciated!

Vivian Zabel said...

Thanks for all the visits and comments.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson said...

Patricia, congratulations on your book. As a poet, I know how hard that genre is to promote. In fact a fellow writer and I are writing a book on promoting the so-called hard-to-promote writing and it really isn't that hard once you know the secrets. Looks as if you are off to a good start.

Best,
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Multi award-winning novelist, poet and author of the HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers
www.howtodoitfrugally.com
Also blogging at Writer's Digest 101 Best Web site www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com

Joyce Anthony said...

Hmm..interesting title!!! I'll defintely be back to see what it is all about and learn more about Patricia!

elysabeth said...

I agree - we all seem to have gotten hooked with Nancy Drew. I recently (well I say recently but within the last 10 years or so really) purchased some of the newer versions of the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy mysteries to try to get my daughter interested in reading and found that I didn't really like the layout of the books as well as the older versions. They just didn't seem to have the same look or feel about them as the older ones did. Now, although I did enjoy Nancy Drew, I tended to read more of the Hardy Boys books than Nancy Drew. Guess I was more a tomboy than the girlie girl.

Interesting background on Patricia. Can't wait to see what the book is about - thanks for sharing with us Vivian. E :)