Wednesday Scramble (and Mystery by Twitter)

Tomorrow's Guest Blogger

Blogger friend and mystery author Alan Orloff will be here tomorrow to talk about his novel (Killer Routine) which debuts a new mystery series featuring a stand-up comic.


Speaking of Mysteries, Here's a New Twist

The crime writing festival Magna cum Murder that takes place in late October in Muncie, Indiana (home of Ball State University) is going to have a bit of fun this week on Twitter. Here's the scoop direct from the Magna cum Murder e-mail:

Magna cum Murder intern Austin Lugar is a Telecommunications major at Ball State University. This semester he is in a Pop Culture and Communication class and they were assigned a project to show the power and potential of Twitter. For his project, Austin decided to craft a murder mystery that will take place entirely through a real time Twitter feed.

Seven characters are going to a mansion for a dinner party when--what do you know--a murder takes place. Along with the host of the party, his surly butler, and the determined detective the crime will (probably) be solved.

You can follow along on Wednesday, March 30th starting at 7PM EST. It will take place for about three hours.

There are two ways to watch all of the comedic action. Keep track of the hashtag #popclue. All of the tweets will have that tag.

Or you can follow all 10 characters which you can find at these links:

http://twitter.com/DetectiveNotes
http://twitter.com/JennyFlowers01
http://twitter.com/LowlyButler
http://twitter.com/MisterGainey
http://twitter.com/MsProfessor
http://twitter.com/NextBestGangsta
http://twitter.com/PinkNRad
http://twitter.com/SteveOnTop
http://twitter.com/VirtualMom18
http://twitter.com/WriterTy

This will be an entertaining experiment in telling a story with a new platform. There will be plenty of jokes and clues through the duration. The more people follow along the more fun it will be. So if you think this sounds good, please tell your friends to follow these accounts or the hashtag. (If you write about this, I would love to know.)

"I hope to see you on Twitter this Wednesday at 7PM!" says Austin.

That's tonight, folks, at 5PM Mountain Time.


Adding to My Kindle Library

I just bought Alex J. Cavanaugh's CassaStaR and I already have Headwind by KK Brees. I need to pick up a couple of mysteries as backup.

I've had the Kindle since Christmas, but keep on reading hardcovers and paperbacks when I'm at home. I'm getting ready for a trip though, and I'll have a three-hour layover at O'Hare Airport in Chicago. All I need is a venti latte from Starbucks and my Kindle and I'll be fine.


The A to Z April Blog Challenge Begins on Friday

Even if you don't plan to participate this year, you might want to visit some of the fine bloggers who will keep the challenge going. The list is at Arlee Bird's tossing it out blog.


What I'm Reading

The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

I'm just hoping these folks all said their longevity is directly related to their daily intake of wine and chocolate (in moderation, of course).