Month: August 2011
100 Posts, 2000 Hits
Blog Week comes to an end, achieving a few records along the way. Not surprisingly, my 100th post was a Friday Cocktail. I am amazed, however, to witness 2000 hits. I don’t think I imagnied achieving that milestone so soon. A big Thank You to all of you who’ve stopped by The Poisoned Martini. I… Read More ›
Friday Cocktail
It’s shooter time with this Friday Cocktail, the Chocolate-Covered Cherry, or alternatively, Cherry Cordial. I first had this drink at the Eaton Centre’s City Grill in Toronto a number of years ago. Sadly, the City Grill closed in 2009. The drink, however, lives on. Tasting similar to the cherry cordial candies, this drink can be… Read More ›
A Taste of Murder
Enjoying a good book is always a treat. Having a treat along with your reading is even better. This Autumn, I’m hosting a mystery book discussion series, “A Taste of Murder,” at my Library. It’s an opportunity to read culinary murder mysteries and sample delectable treats! After all, isn’t the image of reading a book… Read More ›
Drood the Musical
It’s the solve-it yourself Broadway Musical! One of the first musicals I ever saw–and still one of my top ten favorites–is The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which played in Syracuse at the Civic Center on October 17 & 18, 1988. I was drawn to it because it was a murder mystery and was thrilled to… Read More ›
Introducing The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Who killed Edwin Drood? Was he killed? We’ll never really know the answers because Charles Dickens died before finishing this, his last novel. Perhaps the Victorian Age’s most iconic author, Charles Dickens died on 9 June 1870. Only a scant two months prior, Dickens’ newest tale, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, began appearing in monthly… Read More ›
Criminal Element
This site was recently featured the July 2011 issue of Library Journal. Launched in April, the site is spearheaded by Macmillan, but is a “publisher-neutral crime and mystery community.” The site features original crime stories, exclusive excerpts, blog posts, giveaways, and more. Everything seems to be covered here from mystery novels, thrillers, true crime, TV series, and… Read More ›
Character vs. Plot
It is the quandary of mystery writing. Which is more important to readers–and writers–of mysteries? The Character-driven story or the Plot-driven one? This is not to say that character-driven stories don’t feature a strong puzzle plot or plot-driven stories can’t have good characterizations. Generally though, most mysteries fall to one side or the other. For example… Agatha… Read More ›
Blog Week (August 22 – 27)
Welcome to The Poisoned Martini’s first Blog Week! What is it? All week long, there’ll be something new to see, read, or experience on The Poisoned Martini. That means daily posts, and maybe more. Check out the site daily for this intensive week of posts! Sincerely, Brian Abbott Your host here at The Poisoned Martini.
Friday Cocktail
This Friday’s Cocktail is the Kamikaze. Named for the Japanese pilots who carried out suicide attacks against U.S. naval forces int he closing days of World War II, this cocktail, which apparently had its start as a shooter, can sneak up on you if you have more than a couple. Strangely, Wikipedia’s listed recipe, pulled from the… Read More ›
Type M for Murder
The newest addition to my blogroll is Type M for Murder. Boasting an award as one of the 100 best online blogs for creative writing, a variety of authors give voice to this blog. Presenting their perspective of the mystery genre and the writing process are Frankie Bailey, Rick Blechta, Donis Casey, John Corrigan, Barbara Fradkin,… Read More ›
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