A Quartet of Culprits
The next phase of the Curated Crime Collection -- which I'm calling "The Crime Wave Crests" -- will feature four authors and four criminal characters. The rogues' gallery includes:
- Clifford Ashdown's Romney Pringle
- Josiah Flynt's Ruderick Clowd
- Miriam Michelson's Nance Olden (combined with Flynt)
- G. Sydney Pasternoster's the Motor Pirate
Readers can enjoy the "complete crimes" of Pringle, whose adventures were originally published in two magazine series for a total of twelve adventures. The Motor Pirate is featured in another "complete crimes" volume, originally published as a novel and its sequel, but published here all in one book.
Romney Pringle applies yet another perfect disguise, only one of his criminous skills.
Clowd and Olden are "complete," too, but both appeared in novels short enough that I combined them in a single "partners in crime" volume. They work together nicely because Flynt and Michelson, both American authors, each brought a unique sensibility to the wave of criminal-focused fiction that followed Sherlock Holmes's original big splash in mystery fiction. Flynt's novel has a jagged edge of realism while Michelson's transfers the feeling of comedic farce from the stage to the page. If I were forced to recommend just one volume in the Curated Crime Collection, it might be this two-in-one volume. I'm very glad I found them.
But that's true of each book in this series. Carefully reading a variety of possible material -- and choosing the very best of it -- is at the heart of the Curated part of the Crime Collection, after all. (I discuss the process of rejecting some of the contenders here.)
Selected But Not Proofread
Unfortunately, all of this doesn't mean the next three volumes will be available anytime soon. The formatting and proofreading process now begins, and that takes time. Not long ago, I told a writer that I have my own indy press, and without hesitation, she informed me that books published independently are filled with typos and other mistakes. She said it to my face. She said it to my Ph.D.-in-English face! But the stereotype exists for a reason, and far too often, that accusation is justified.
Rest assured, I do my Ph.D.-in-English-face's best to fix errors. Along with my own efforts, I have two remarkably keen proofreaders. While mistakes do slip through, I must say I've found such flubs in books published by the most esteemed university presses. It's aggravating but inevitable.
So when will The Complete Crimes of Romney Pringle, The Rise of Ruderick Clowd & In the Bishop's Carriage, and The Complete Crimes of the Motor Pirate be available? I can't be any more specific than: this autumn. And then work begins on the three volumes of "The Crimes Wave Crashes"!
In the meantime, the three volumes of "The Crime Wave Rises" are available. Learn more about them here.
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