Has anyone been seeing posts from either Catherine Vanicek or Kevin 
binson??
I'm afraid Cate is ill or her husband might be.  Maybe it is just computer 
problems.  Anyone know?  I have not seen her posts in the packets I just 
downloaded since Aug. 5th when we left town. . . .
And I never see Kevin Robinson, although a message way back in the beginning 
of this packet mentioned he has a newsletter.  Anyone get this address?  Is 
it for the disabled, or is it for mystery fans??
(Either way, I would like to get it.)
Obligatory On Topic Comments:
I just started three different series (reading not writing!!).
Selma Eichler:  Murder Can Ruin Your Looks and two others (I am not at
  my own computer at the moment to check the titles).  Her protagonist,
  first of all, is a fat lady (or BBW, or whatever!) and not ashamed to
  defend her personal worth or show her face--bravo!  And her writing is
  a better style than many I have seen.  The books are actually funny!
  (Unlike many of those billed as humorous, such as the Diane Mott
  Davison, which I feel have been worsening and worsening, the characters
  and everything getting more lame and the humor getting self-consciously
  forced and not funny.  Although the recipes are fine, and they may be
  the reason the books apparently continue to sell well.)  These are
  hard-boiled type detective mysteries and she's a PI but not as fake as
  VI Warshawski or as drab as the alphabet series has become (K is for
  Killer, E is for Endless....)  I say search these out and support this
  author!  You'll like these books.
Jon Katz:  The Family Stalker (not as good as the first two), Murder
  by Station Wagon, the Last Housewife.  These books are well written
  (though I don't think a new author could get away with the amount of
  reflection the caracter does often) and interesting, hold your attention,
  and all that good stuff.  His person is also a detective, but he's an
  ex-stockbroker who is not making much money and is kind of a house-
  husband while his wife makes the money as a counselor/psychologist.
  There is much emphasis on the interactions of people in a small
  community of wealth--I mean a country club suburb.  Anyway, I think
  people would enjoy these; though the mysteries aren't the puzzle-est,
  they are solid, it seemed to me as I was reading them the first time
  anyway, and the narrative carried me along.
Jacqueline Girdner:  Murder Most Mellow, *Fat-Free and Fatal*, Adjusted
  to Death, and other titles.  I like this lady's protag, who is a mail-
  order seller of joke gifts like Spencer's used to be (Jest Gifts),
  and who is in love with a very homely man who scares people but is
  beautiful on the inside, and who seems to get mixed up in murders.
  She had a friend who was going to be her sidekick in FF&F (the best
  of the books except for the very latest, which is in large-format
  paperback and I had to borrow it so I can't find the title but it is
  in print and on shelves) in the beginning, and this friend was a
  psychic, so she used that as a schtick for a while, but now it seems
  that friend is not major at all and her ugly man is her major helper,
  along wiht a columnist who gives her news info in trade for help.
  These started out better than most, but now they've gotten a little
  less well written, although nothing major is wrong; it's just that
  she has a lot of phone calls and people just showing up on the
  doorstep to tell their clues, and I think that's laziness on the
  part of the author to do that instead of having the person active
  (not proactive, please!!)  But that could be she's rushed to get
  books out, which may mean she will be around for a while.
Sorry if this is not appropriate place to post reviews, but I thought it 
would be. . . .
ss
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