The Crime Cafe

By: Debbi Mack
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  • Interviews and entertainment for crime fiction, suspense and thriller fans.
    © 2015 - 2021 Debbi Mack
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Art Literary History & Criticism Social Sciences
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Episodes
  • Interview with Leonard “Kris” Krystalka – S. 10, Ep. 10

    Interview with Leonard “Kris” Krystalka – S. 10, Ep. 10
    Oct 13 2024
    This week’s episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with paleontologist and crime writer Leonard “Kris” Krystalka. Check out his reading from The Bone Field! Grab a PDF copy of the transcript here! Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest today is both a professional paleontologist and a novelist. He writes the Henry Przewalski - is that correct, I hope? Przewalski? Leonard: Literally, it reads as Przewalski but it's actually a Russian-Polish name, named for the discoverer of Przewalski's horse, that small kind of dwarfish horse that lives wild on the Asian steppes. So it's pronounced in the Russian sense. Debbi: Got it. All right. I'll try to remember that. It's my pleasure to have him with me today. It's Leonard Krystalka, who goes by Kris. Like Kris Kristofferson, may he rest in peace. Leonard: May he rest in peace. A terrific person. Debbi: Indeed. Yes. Leonard: Yes. Wonderful artist. Debbi: He was, yes. I want to thank you for being here so much. It's good to have you on. Tell us about Harry Przewalski. I almost screwed that up again. How much did you draw from your own experiences in creating him? Leonard: A great deal. I named Harry Przewalski as a homage to the study of the life of the past and the study of present biodiversity. So, Przewalski's horse is this miniature horse that roams wild on the steppes of Asia. It almost became extinct by over hunting, and in World War II, the German soldiers ate what is reputed to be some of the last Przewalski's horses in a zoo in Poland. But enough were saved to repopulate the wild steppes of Asia. Przewalski's horse is this miniature horse that roams wild on the steppes of Asia. It almost became extinct by over hunting, and in World War II, the German soldiers ate what is reputed to be some of the last Przewalski's horses in a zoo in Poland. Debbi: Interesting. Did you choose that name deliberately? Leonard: I did. I chose it deliberately, although it's hard to pronounce, and as a homage to the paleontological studies of the evolutionary history of life on Earth, the three billion year history of life on Earth. Debbi: That is so cool. How many books do you have in the series, and how many do you plan to write? Or do you have a plan for the series? Leonard: There are four books now in the Harry Przewalski series. There's THE BONE FIELD, DEATH SPOKE, THE CAMEL DRIVER, and the newest one just published this year called NATIVE BLOOD. I have a fifth novel, which is not in that series. It's a historical fiction of a murder that occurred in Lawrence, Kansas in 1871. A doctor accused of murdering his patient because he was having an affair with the patient's wife. The doctor was arrested and the resulting trial was equivalent to … imagine the OJ Simpson trial in 1871 in Kansas. You have sex, you have murder, you have adultery. It attracted reporters of every single newspaper in the country from San Francisco, from Chicago, from St. Louis, from New York, Washington, Detroit, and so forth. This is 1871 Kansas. It's only six years after the end of the Civil War. So the trial was a national sensation, and one of the Lawrence women becomes the heroine. She talks the editor of one of the Lawrence newspapers into hiring her as the first woman correspondent west of the Mississippi. She covers the trial and solves the murder. Debbi: Wow. Leonard: She also fights for women's rights. She fights for suffrage for women and blacks. Yeah, she's quite a woman. Debbi: And which book is this again? Leonard: This is called THE BODY ON THE BED. I could hold it up for viewers to see. Debbi: That's very cool. I noticed that book was outside the series. Leonard: Yeah, it is. I'm writing the sequel to that now. It's called The Body on the Bricks. She is the heroine of that book as well. But your original question was about the Przewalski series of which there are now four, and yes, there may well be a fifth. Debbi: Fantastic.
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  • Philip Marlowe in ‘Daring Young Dame on the Flying Trapeze’ – S. 10, Ep. 9

    Philip Marlowe in ‘Daring Young Dame on the Flying Trapeze’ – S. 10, Ep. 9
    Sep 29 2024
    This week's episode of the Crime Cafe features another story from The Adventures of Philip Marlowe. This episode comes to you ad-free. Relatively. :) The following is an unedited AI-generated transcript. Does an awesome job, huh? :) (00:00:12): Hi, everyone. (00:00:14): This is The Crime Café, your podcasting source of great crime suspense and thriller writing. (00:00:20): I'm your host, Debbi Mack. (00:00:22): Before I bring on my guest, (00:00:23): I'll just remind you that The Crime Café has two e-books for sale, (00:00:28): the nine-book box set and the short story anthology. (00:00:31): You can find the buy links for both on my website, debbiemack.com, under the Crime Café link. (00:00:38): If you'd like to (00:00:39): You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. (00:00:45): You'll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, (00:00:49): along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. (00:00:53): Unfortunately, our scheduled guest was unable to make it this week. (00:00:58): However, (00:00:58): I have instead another episode from the files of Philip Marlowe, (00:01:02): Private Eye, (00:01:04): Daring Young Dame on the Flying Trapeze. (00:01:06): Enjoy! (00:01:11): For the safety of your smile, use Pepsodent twice a day, see your dentist twice a year. (00:01:27): Lever Brothers Company presents the Pepsodent program, (00:01:30): The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, (00:01:32): starring Van Heflin. (00:01:40): Pepsodent presents Philip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler's famous private detective. (00:01:45): You've seen him on the screen in Lady and the Lake, (00:01:47): Murder, (00:01:47): My Sweet, (00:01:48): The Brasher Doubloon, (00:01:49): and The Big Sleep. (00:01:50): Now Pepsodent brings you the adventures of Philip Marlowe on the air and starring (00:01:55): MGM's brilliant and dynamic young actor, (00:01:57): Van Heflin. (00:01:59): Pepsodent (00:02:15): There comes a certain time in the year when I don't want to see midget auto races. (00:02:19): I just want to see midgets. (00:02:21): When I prefer sawdust to stardust, and popcorn to all other kinds of corn available in Hollywood. (00:02:28): The circus was moving in on the grounds at Washington Boulevard and Hill Street, (00:02:32): and I was turning in my usual fine job as sidewalk supervisor. (00:02:37): It was exciting. (00:02:38): It brought back all the sounds and sensations and convictions of childhood. (00:02:43): And then someone had me firmly by the wrist, (00:02:45): and I turned to look into a pair of steady, (00:02:47): smoky, (00:02:48): dark eyes that could be dangerous. (00:02:51): Excuse me, sir, but you are a private detective? (00:02:54): I'm a detective, but I don't get much privacy. (00:02:57): Yeah, my name is Ralph Tassinari. (00:03:00): Who told you I was a detective? (00:03:01): My feet aren't that flat. (00:03:03): Do you know a gentleman named Al Sicanolfi? (00:03:06): Well, I know an Al Sicanolfi. (00:03:08): He pointed you out. (00:03:09): He asked me what was the big idea. (00:03:11): What was my angle hiring a private detective? (00:03:13): He gave me an idea. (00:03:14): When has Al Sicanolfi had any ideas to spare? (00:03:17): Mr. Marlowe, besides owning one-third of this very fine little circus, I am Tassinari. (00:03:23): Of Tassinari, the Swede, and Glorian. (00:03:26): Trafisto. (00:03:27): The most brilliant aerial act in the business. (00:03:29): I own this circus with Glorian and the Swede. (00:03:32): Well, where does Al Sicanolfi fit in here? (00:03:34): Now, the Swede gets drunk and gambles fantastic sums of money. (00:03:38): This circus is worth a quarter of a million dollars. (00:03:40): Already,
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  • Interview with Tom Fowler – S. 10, Ep. 8

    Interview with Tom Fowler – S. 10, Ep. 8
    Sep 15 2024
    This week’s episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Tom Fowler. Check out our discussion of his Baltimore-based crime fiction. Click here for a PDF copy of the transcript. Debbi (00:55): Hi everyone. My guest today is the USA Today bestselling indie author of the John Tyler thrillers and the CT Ferguson crime fiction series. Born in Baltimore, he now lives in the Maryland suburbs of DC, a place that I know well, or at least I used to know it well. It's my pleasure to have with me Tom Fowler. Hey, Tom. How are you doing today? Tom (01:21): Good, Debbi. Thanks for having me on. Debbi (01:23): Excellent. My pleasure. I was particularly intrigued by the fact that you are writing hardboiled mysteries that take place in Baltimore. You're originally from Baltimore and you've also written a whole lot of those books. How many books do you have in the CT Ferguson series? Tom (01:44): Sixteen currently. Just put up the pre-order for number 17. My hope is to have it out a little before Christmas. Debbi (01:56): Well, I got to tell you, I love a hardboiled mystery, and I love the idea of the setting in Baltimore. How many books do you plan to write for the series? What's your plan for the series in general? Tom (02:09): Yeah, I don't have any plan to end it. I think it's common in the genre to have these kind of open-ended series, and we look at the Spencer series. Robert B. Parker wrote 40 or 41 before he died, and there's been another 11 or 12, I think since his passing. Ace Atkins wrote the first nine or 10, and now Mike Lupica has taken over. So Jack Reacher was more of a thriller character, I would say, than mystery, but that's a 27 or 28. And again, there's an author transition happening there too. So I think it's very common to see these series just keep going, and as long as people are interested in reading them, I'm certainly interested in writing them. I have a lot of fun with these books. Debbi (02:56): That's cool. I've noticed they tend to be on the short side. Is that intentional? Is it just the way you write? Tom (03:04): I guess it's just the way I write. They're usually 70 to 75,000 words. The more recent ones have been closer to 70, so I'd say most mysteries are probably somewhere in the 75 to 80 range. So I hope I'm not writing too short, but it's the right length for the story. I don't want to pad the word count unnecessarily. They're first-person stories, so there's not a lot of side quests, if you will, happening that the other characters are going on, so. Debbi (03:34): Exactly. Yeah, and personally, I like short reads, so I mean, that just really appeals to me. Tom (03:41): Yeah. Debbi (03:44): What prompted you to write that series? Tom (03:49): A few things. I've mentioned before, I think I have a longer bio that mentions I wrote a "murder mystery" (in air quotes for those who can't see me) when I was about seven years old in which no one actually died, so no murder. And I named the, I guess I can't really call him the killer, but the person who stabbed people, the stabber, like in the first paragraph. So not a mystery either. Oh for two, but it's because I was at my grandparents' house a lot, and they would watch shows like The Rockford Files. This was probably the early eighties, and they were probably in syndication by then, but Columbo, shows like that where you had a cop or a PI, someone solving a mystery, and I've read a lot of different genres over the years, but I wanted to, at some point in the late two thousands to 2010, I wanted to write my own, and I really started writing that book. (04:52): I know I had a finished draft of the first book, The Reluctant Detective, around November, December of 2010. I wouldn't publish it until October of 2017. So the process took me about seven years, but I wanted to do, I like the crime genre a lot. I was big into shows like Monk and Psych and things like that at the time,
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