Friday, April 25, 2014

Murder is Academic By P.M. Carlson Giveaway and Excerpt


Murder is Academic
By
P.M. Carlson

BLURB:  

MURDER IS ACADEMIC (Maggie Ryan 1968)
An Anthony Award nominee
Vietnam, assassinations and riots. In the spring semester of 1968, a series of brutal attacks draws campus women together to study self-defense and the psychology of rape. Graduate student Mary Beth Nelson struggles to keep the Lords of Death at bay by immersing herself in researching Mayan languages. Her new housemate, Maggie Ryan, has her own secrets. When murder strikes close to home, Maggie investigates with a little help from her friends.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

ABOUT MURDER IS ACADEMIC, A 1986 ANTHONY AWARD NOMINEE
“Murder Is Academic treats violation of truth in tandem with assault and rape—true violations of person, mind, and body—and presents a cogent case for the inviolability both of persons and truth. . . . Maggie Ryan, statistician, proves that one can alter, but, in the final analysis, not suppress data, and that is the murder-mystery writer's dictum. P.M. Carlson has spent time in academia, obviously, but has emerged with not only a healthy attitude toward female scholarship but also toward the necessary inviolability of truth.” — Susan L. Clark, The Armchair Detective



EXCERPT

 MURDER IS ACADEMIC excerpt 266  (266 words):
An upstate New York university, January 1968:
 
            Mary Beth jogged back for her shower with a sense of well-being she’d thought might never return, her body worn and delighted from the good workout.
 
            During semester break the gym was almost deserted, eerily vacant.  Shead her hand on the big gray door to the locker room stairs when she heard, faintly, the sound of a flute.  She paused, puzzled.  Mozart?  Here?  And proficiently played.  She crossed the hall and opened the door to the basketball court.  The sound was coming from high in the bleachers, echoing a bit in the vast hall.  Mary Beth untied the sweatshirt from her waist, pulled it on, and climbed up the bleachers.  Here the acoustics were better.  The woman flutist glanced up and then gazed into space as she continued the piece.  Nice tone.  A blue sweatband held back her black curls.  The music wound up and down, sweet and controlled, to its foreordained and perfect conclusion.  Mary Beth watched her take the flute in one hand and lean forward a little to perch her elbows on the back of the seat in front of her.  She returned Mary Beth’s look of good-natured appraisal.
 
            “Hey,” blurted Mary Beth, “you’re really very good.”
 
            “Thank you.  Glad to meet a fellow spirit.  Anima sana in corpore sano.”
 
            Mary Beth pushed a strand of blonde hair from her eyes.  “Not so much healthy as thirsty, right now.”
 
            “In soul or in body?”
 
            “Maybe both.”  Jesus, what am I saying, thought Mary Beth, suddenly embarrassed.
 
            “Me too.”  The flutist stood up and added pragmatically, “Let’s go get a Coke.  I’m Maggie Ryan.”
 
 

AUTHOR INFORMATION:
P.M. CARLSON BIO
P.M. Carlson taught psychology and statistics at Cornell University before deciding that mystery writing was more fun.  She has published twelve mystery novels and over a dozen short stories. Her novels have been nominated for an Edgar Award, a Macavity Award, and twice for Anthony Awards. Two short stories were finalists for Agatha Awards. She edited the Mystery Writers Annual for Mystery Writers of America for several years, and served as president of Sisters in Crime.
Author Website  
http://www.pmcarlson.net:
Publisher Website:  
http://www.crumcreekpress.com/carlson
Buy link (print, Kindle, Nook, other e-books): 
http://www.crumcreekpress.com/shop/
 MURDER IS ACADEMIC: 2-minute video chat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyNcISwcI60


Personal comments on the background of MURDER IS ACADEMIC

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13 comments:

  1. FrangiePaniApril 25, 2014 at 6:06 AM

    i like the suspense on finding out who did it.

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    Replies
    1. UnknownApril 25, 2014 at 8:31 AM

      Yes, Lisa, I agree. My favorite mysteries have interesting characters working hard for their goals (helping loved ones, creating art, recovering from trauma, etc.)-- and then their struggles are intensified by the threat of murder. So as a reader I hope they are safe and also that they achieve their goals. That increases the suspense for me! So I try to write stories like that too.

      Delete
  2. Goddess Fish PromotionsApril 25, 2014 at 6:54 AM

    Thanks for hosting!

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  3. Janet W.April 25, 2014 at 6:57 AM

    I love trying to figure it out myself and see if I'm right!

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    Replies
    1. UnknownApril 25, 2014 at 8:55 AM

      Yes, Janet, I love that too. Good mysteries keep you involved with the people emotionally AND mentally. When I'm writing I like to add a twist at the end so that Maggie Ryan and the readers have to solve the mystery twice!

      Delete
  4. UnknownApril 25, 2014 at 8:58 AM

    It's great to get your comments! Thanks to Deal Sharing Aunt for hosting.

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  5. Rita WrayApril 25, 2014 at 12:06 PM

    Sounds like a compelling read.

    Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownApril 25, 2014 at 3:36 PM

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. UnknownApril 25, 2014 at 3:41 PM

      Thanks, Rita! I was delighted that mystery readers enjoyed MURDER IS ACADEMIC enough to nominate it for the major fan award, the Anthony, the year it first came out. -

      Delete
  6. AnonymousApril 25, 2014 at 1:24 PM

    Thanks for the excerpt!

    vitajex(at)aol(dot)com

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    Replies
    1. UnknownApril 25, 2014 at 3:45 PM

      Later in the book Mary Beth and Maggie are going to come face to face with a rapist and murderer, so I wanted them to start out more pleasantly, with the music they both love.

      Delete
  7. LynneApril 25, 2014 at 6:40 PM

    I like seeing if I can notice things as I am reading that don't seem like a big deal, but turn out to be very important by the end.

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  8. UnknownApril 26, 2014 at 12:25 PM

    Lynne, you're right, the best clues in fair-play mysteries are hidden in plain sight, like Poe's "Purloined Letter." As a writer I like to have a really good character-based story going-- in MURDER IS ACADEMIC, it involves Mary Beth and Maggie struggling to come to terms with secret pain in their past. That makes it easier to tuck in clues, while it looks like the story is just about the characters' emotional joureys. But the main reason I like to write like that is that I get really involved in the characters and their stories too-- their struggles aren't just to hide the clues, it's more that the murder helps motivate them to overcome their problems.

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