GMG Classical Music Forum

Cato cranked out 3 murder mysteries some years ago, with an intended audience of recalcitrant, unenthusiastic, aliterate adolescents.

But the books are good for adults too!   ;D

The first book has been published by a small company in Texas: Why Begins With W is "presented" by two teenagers who "found" the diary, which describes a highly disturbing murder-suicide at a high school in Lynchburg, but the state for this town is never named.  The diarist - a 14 year old who might be a boy or a girl (the writer plays games about this) - is experiencing school-life for the first time, having been home-tutored for years.

Even though the police have closed the case, the diarist is contacted by a witness to the suicide, who says it was not suicide, but a second murder, and that the killer must still be on the loose...perhaps still in the school.

The price is highly reasonable for such an experiment in literary futurism!   0:)

See:  www.TimeCapsuleMurders.com  (http://www.timecapsulemurders.com)

http://www.amazon.com/Why-Begins-Lesson-Capsule-Murders/dp/1595943587/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257886129&sr=1-1  (http://www.amazon.com/Why-Begins-Lesson-Capsule-Murders/dp/1595943587/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257886129&sr=1-1)

Amazon.uk and Amazon.de are also offering this questionable tome!

If you have a card, Barnes and Noble offers a discount:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?ean=9781595943583&box=978-1595943583&pos=-1
(http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?ean=9781595943583&box=978-1595943583&pos=-1)
Order today and get a FREE Ginsu Knife Set!!!    0:)
(Well, not really!)

There is even a FaceBook discussion group:   :o

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=178936327378&ref=ts

A certain composer, whom you will recognize, is also a member of this group! 

Great Christmas present!   0:)

Really fun book.  I devoured it in an afternoon and evening.

Very cool, sir. Congratulations.

Quote from: MN Dave on November 30, 2009, 03:07:18 PM
Very cool, sir. Congratulations.

Many thanks!

Karl Henning wrote:

QuoteReally fun book.  I devoured it in an afternoon and evening.

Thanks for the review!

One of my 7th Grade students - a highly talented bespectacled descendant of Vikings - today said he was on page 90.  When I asked him which part he liked the best, he shrugged and said: "I just like the funniness of it."

A former student - again highly talented, but a descendant of Lombards and the Irish - wrote to me yesterday about the book:

Quote"I have read about half of your book so far, it is really good! I loved in the very beginning about the lawmakers and the lawbreakers and how the lawbreakers should make our laws to make our system more efficient. I have to ask, who are the two "presenters" that you have on the cover of your book and at the beginning explaining the book? I am also curious about their names and why you chose those names. Hopefully your book can get into bookstores! I certainly think it is store-worthy, especially when all that junk, "Twilight" and "Harry Potter", fills bookstores."

The deceit and conceit behind the book is that it is from an "Author Unknown" but has been found and edited by two teenagers:

Hamish DeLamet     ???    and Chandral Ramon.   :o

Hmmm!   $:)

www.TimeCapsuleMurders.com (http://www.timecapsulemurders.com)

(http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs060.snc3/14741_1089934667707_1806717670_187847_5868148_n.jpg)

Spooky stuff, huh?

In some cases a little too good: I have a little 7th Grade girl who refuses to buy it because "that cover's too scary!"

Quote from: Cato on November 30, 2009, 04:54:16 PM
In some cases a little too good: I have a little 7th Grade girl who refuses to buy it because "that cover's too scary!"

She's right. Far too scary for me!

Congratulations, Cato.

Quote from: Elgarian on December 01, 2009, 12:25:34 AM
She's right. Far too scary for me!

Congratulations, Cato.

Many thanks, Elgarian!

One reader claims that the shadow reminded him of Pazuzu, the demon from The Exorcist! 

(http://mel.vadeker.net/paranormal/pazuzu/exorcist_pazuzu.jpg)

The book's "funniness" is greater than its shock factors: no vampires or werewolves...or demons!   0:)

I hesitate to mention my favorite bits, for fear of spoilerage!  Love the narrative twists.

I won't show you the cover of the book I'm currently reading.  :o

Oh, that's probably for the best, mon vieux ; )

Quote from: MN Dave on December 01, 2009, 04:17:04 AM
I won't show you the cover of the book I'm currently reading.  :o

My eyes are closed, anyway.

Quote from: Cato on November 30, 2009, 02:45:00 PM
Amazon.uk and Amazon.de are also offering this questionable tome!

Congrats, Cato. I just placed my order. Unfortunately it's not in stock in Germany but it might arrive before Christmas (Amazon.de says three to five weeks).

Sarge

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on December 01, 2009, 07:28:23 AM
Congrats, Cato. I just placed my order. Unfortunately it's not in stock in Germany but it might arrive before Christmas (Amazon.de says three to five weeks).

Sarge

Thanks to Sarge and others who have bought the book!  Spread the word!

(I am assuming everyone will like what they read!   0:)   )

An unsolicited review from a reader:

"I recently finished Why Begins With W. Great fun!  Doubt that most references would be picked up by the average teen. I especially liked the androgynous Patrick MacGoohan narrator and the plot development of unblossoming; very Agatha Christie.  Indeed, half way through I thought the author might even be going for a Murder on the Orient Express finish, where a clique of jealous upperclasmen kills (the victims).  The (...) twist was unseen, but totally justified in restrospect. Excellent story.  Hope it catches on. Will leave a review on Amazon."

Slightly edited to avoid spoiling things for those of you out there who plan on reading the book!   0:)

Bravi, Ramon & Hamish!  Many positive reviews more!

I included Why Begins with W on a list of "Books You Should Read Over Winter Break" in my university's newspaper this week. The author is listed as "anonymous." My list will be printed on Friday.

The other four books are In God We Trust (All Others Pay Cash) by Jean Shepherd, I Served the King of England by Bohumil Hrabal, Shroud for a Nightingale by P.D. James and Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift.

I lent my copy to a friend.

Quote from: Brian on December 02, 2009, 07:31:14 PM
I included Why Begins with W on a list of "Books You Should Read Over Winter Break" in my university's newspaper this week. The author is listed as "anonymous." My list will be printed on Friday.

The other four books are In God We Trust (All Others Pay Cash) by Jean Shepherd, I Served the King of England by Bohumil Hrabal, Shroud for a Nightingale by P.D. James and Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift.

Many thanks for the publicity!  And what great company!  8)

'Patr Celelapin: Yes, if the book sells enough, then there are two more to finish the series: "Dial Emma For Murder"  :o   and "Hex High School."   $:)

Quote from: Cato on December 03, 2009, 08:27:08 AM
'Patr Celelapin: Yes, if the book sells enough, then there are two more to finish the series: "Dial Emma For Murder"  :o   and "Hex High School."   $:)

Emma sounds like a girl who can get things done!  ;D ;D ;D ;D

Quote from: Brian on December 03, 2009, 08:28:46 AM
Emma sounds like a girl who can get things done!  ;D ;D ;D ;D

Oh yes!  She takes no prisoners (verbally at least)!   8) 

In her first appearance in Why Begins With W she is using a scalpel!   :o

I had a copy of this, but before I could read it, it disappeared! I think my kid nicked it when he went back to college. Maybe he's planning on wrapping it and giving it to me for Christmas...

Quote from: owlice on December 05, 2009, 08:50:19 PM
I had a copy of this, but before I could read it, it disappeared! I think my kid nicked it when he went back to college. Maybe he's planning on wrapping it and giving it to me for Christmas...

The chances of theft!   $:)

Also a good reason to buy multiple copies!   0:)

One of my brightest 7th Grade boys just finished Why Begins With W.

So I asked him: "Well, what do you think of it?"
He: "It was pretty good."
I: (with mock astonishment)  "Just 'pretty good'!?  Not 'great'?"
He: (slightly smiling) "No, but it was pretty good."

He admitted that he does not prefer contemporary mysteries: usually he is reading one of these large fantasy books (the Redwall series, or "Eldest" which has a dragon on the cover).

On the other hand, his mother is reading it, and she gave me a 5-star rave!   0:)

Interesting how things percolate: an assistant principal in Memphis, Tennessee contacted me about using the book for his  English classes.

That could turn out to be a good sale!

Excellent!  Onward & upward!

Yesterday the mother of a student who has read the book cornered me at a Christmas party sponsored by the pastor.

She told me that she also read the book, and "thought it was wonderfully written" and continued to praise it highly, except...  :o

"It really doesn't have a strong moral message, does it?  I mean, I think if it had a really good moral message, it could be a best seller!"

I: (very diplomatically) "Well, there is a certain moralism in the attitude of the narrator, and the actions of the characters lead to certain consequences.  So an implicit morality is certainly present."

She: "But that's just the problem.  Maybe I should read it again, but I just didn't pick up that strong moral message that good books usually have."

I: "I agree.  You should read it again.  Moral problems are present and dealt with in the story.  And they become more involved in the next two volumes."

She: "I don't mean to criticize, but there's another problem I thought needed to be fixed.  That part about the school janitor stalking the girl, that's not very moral, is it?"

I: "No, which is why the janitor's family disputes the claim, which becomes the heart of the story!  It is a murder mystery after all, so some 'not very moral' things will be happening in it."

Fortunately the pastor interrupted us!   0:)   I later discovered she is part of a "We Are More Catholic Than The Pope" conventicle.

And I thought: "Write your own book, lady!"   $:)

Another review and a comment on the previous posting above:

Quote"I am laughing as I read your email concerning the conversation with the mother!  I loved the book ( I finished it just the other day) and felt that there were plenty of subtle moral messages.  Maybe she should read some of the other young adult books out there!  Or as you say, write her own book!

I felt as if I was listening to a real person talk as I read the book.  A genuine personality really comes through in the narrator.... I can't wait for the second murder mystery to be published.  I have to tell you that when my son opened your book, which was a Christmas present, he was thrilled.  We opened gifts Christmas Eve and when he went to bed he said he would be up for a while reading your book!  He came down to breakfast this morning and said it was his favorite present.  I am not kidding you. "

Bravo!

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on December 26, 2009, 02:58:43 PM
Bravo!

Many thanks!

About 9,999 more like that and I might get that retirement account fleshed out a little more!   :o

As it is, my retirement account has been flushed out...several times!   0:)

My (very limited) readership - the ones who know that I am the author of Why Begins With W - is demanding the next two books in the series.   :o    A good number of them received the book for Christmas, read it, and now want to know more about the story.

For those here who have read the book, the next two titles are Dial Emma For Murder and Hex High School.

My literary agent (aka my millionaire brother) plans a promotional blitz later this month for the book: so if sales increase to a certain level, then we will see what the publisher says.

www.TimeCapsuleMurders.com (http://www.timecapsulemurders.com)

Huzzah for ze promotional blitz! Jawohl!

From Amazon by a Dr. J (not the basketball player, I would assume!)

"Who Begins With W

"Who would have thought a novel of high school angst would appeal to someone of my baby boomer age? But, indeed, this is a fun story. The ample and arcane references to 1960's TV shows and cinema noir slang ages the author/s as well beyond high school too. Half the fun was identifying the allusions to American pop culture. But, it is a murder mystery, after all, and done quite well, with unexpected plot twists and an expanding list of victims worthy of Agatha Cristie (sic) herself. But why is the narrator so aggressively androgynous? Why so much homage to the original TV series, The Prisoner? Do we find out at the end of the book? That would be telling!"

Wooot!

I am waiting on the book.   :P

Any chance of a Kindle edition?

Quote from: KevinP on January 10, 2010, 12:49:46 PM
Any chance of a Kindle edition?

Greetings!  I have been sidelined for the last two weeks by the sudden illness and death of my father-in-law.  So  I have not been around here much, plus first semester grades were due, and parent conferences, etc etc etc.

My agent and the publisher have been wondering about Kindle: it seems the book needs to hit a certain number of regular sales before it will be considered.

Greetings Literature Lovers!

Why Begins With W now has a promotional spot on YouTube!   8)

See:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzb9W7E0v_U&fmt=18  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzb9W7E0v_U&fmt=18)

What fun!

http://www.youtube.com/v/Wzb9W7E0v_U

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on February 07, 2010, 06:01:30 AM
What fun!

http://www.youtube.com/v/Wzb9W7E0v_U

Thanks Karl!


We are not quite at the "viral stage" yet, but over 40 people today have viewed it!

Quote from: Cato on February 07, 2010, 01:04:50 PM
Thanks Karl!


We are not quite at the "viral stage" yet, but over 40 people today have viewed it!

I watched it yesterday. Mrs. Rock was in the next room and wanted to know what music I was playing. She loved it. Very impressive vid. By the way, my copy did arrive before Christmas but I haven't cracked it yet. Shame on me.

Sarge

I bought 2 copies this week.

Quote from: Anne on February 08, 2010, 06:45:58 PM
I bought 2 copies this week.

Many thanks for your support, Anne!

The script for a second promotional spot on YouTube and elsewhere is finished, but my agent (who co-wrote and handled the first one) says that the new script (by me) seems to be one of Salvador Dali's nightmares.   :o

I took that as a compliment!   0:)

Forsooth!

(I first typed foresooth, and was nearly going to let the typo stand, for fun.)

I've got my copy of the book back!  Now, to re-read!

You are welcome!  Glad to do it.

Chaaarge! . . . (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7150324)

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on March 11, 2010, 05:30:29 AM
Chaaarge! . . . (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7150324)

Many Thanks, Karl, for the positive - and fun - review!   ;D

Barnes and Noble, it was dispatched from the USA but STILL hasn't arrived.     ???   :(   :'(

Quote from: John on March 11, 2010, 10:08:01 AM
Barnes and Noble, it was dispatched from the USA but STILL hasn't arrived.     ???   :(   :'(

The boat must be overloaded with peanut butter, or even better, BUCKEYES!

Edible Buckeyes: an Ohio specialty!

(http://www.pecanturtles.com/productpics/bigpics/buckeyes.jpg)

Not so edible Buckeyes: also from Ohio, and other areas!   8)

(http://rattlesnakesforsale.nstemp.com/images/buckeyes.jpg)

I am reading this which arrived from Barnes and Noble yesterday.

Can't you see this kind of thing being good, mid teen - adult television?  I can.  Already the reading feels it offers everything a good murder mystery needs...I'll report back soon with a wee review.

POW!

I have lent my copy to a friend who will read it on her way home to Portland tomorrow.  The other item I lent her is a DVD of John Cleese's The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It.

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on March 25, 2010, 07:52:22 AM
I have lent my copy to a friend who will read it on her way home to Portland tomorrow.  The other item I lent her is a DVD of John Cleese's The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It.

I hope my little book is not evidence for the Cleese DVD!   :o

Merely a clew, Watson . . . .

Quote from: John on March 18, 2010, 05:05:11 AM
I am reading this which arrived from Barnes and Noble yesterday.

Can't you see this kind of thing being good, mid teen - adult television?  I can.  Already the reading feels it offers everything a good murder mystery needs...I'll report back soon with a wee review.

John:Many thanks for this praise, and yes, I will easily sell the rights for a TV/movie deal! 

I will give a discount for the entire package, since there are two more novels: it is a trilogy!   $:)

Now the price...how much?  Details, details!   0:)

  0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:)

Have ten years gone by since this trilogy entered American Literature?!

For the newer members here (and a gentle reminder for those who have been here for a longer time:

If you are looking for some Christmas presents - like books! - to get away (or to get some else away) from the computers and T.V. screens - books with a mystery and a sarcastic narrator    ;)    who offers Juvenalesque commentary on the follies of our modern society....let me recommend a trilogy:

The Time Capsule Murders:

Why Begins With W

Dial Emma for Murder

Hex High School

Barbara Brooks Wallace, winner of the Edgar Mystery Writers' Award, wrote of the series:

Quote

"Sam Spade meets with Holden Caulfield in the person of a young high-school detective of today.  Hard-boiled slang is replaced with pitch-perfect TeenSpeak....It's definitely a 'Can't-Put-It-Down-Until-You've-Read- It-All' kind of series.  Trust me!"

See:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Time+Capsule+Murders?_requestid=5466656
(https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Time+Capsule+Murders?_requestid=5466656)

For those not averse to Amazon:


https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Time+Capsule+Murders&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_no (https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Time+Capsule+Murders&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_no)ss



(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/512mIc1zL0L._SX321_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51vAmbVo4LL.jpg)

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51l-AEsDFUL.jpg)

Quote from: Cato on November 27, 2020, 09:22:36 AM
  0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:)

Have ten years gone by since this trilogy entered American Literature?!

For the newer members here (and a gentle reminder for those who have been here for a longer time:

If you are looking for some Christmas presents - like books! - to get away (or to get some else away) from the computers and T.V. screens - books with a mystery and a sarcastic narrator    ;)    who offers Juvenalesque commentary on the follies of our modern society....let me recommend a trilogy:

The Time Capsule Murders:

Why Begins With W

Dial Emma for Murder

Hex High School

Barbara Brooks Wallace, winner of the Edgar Mystery Writers' Award, wrote of the series:


See:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Time+Capsule+Murders?_requestid=5466656
(https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Time+Capsule+Murders?_requestid=5466656)

For those not averse to Amazon:


https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Time+Capsule+Murders&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_no (https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Time+Capsule+Murders&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_no)ss



(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/512mIc1zL0L._SX321_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51vAmbVo4LL.jpg)

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51l-AEsDFUL.jpg)

I enjoy periodically revisiting these, so I can affirm that Barbara Brooks Wallace's enthusiasm is merited.

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on November 27, 2020, 10:15:19 AM
I enjoy periodically revisiting these, so I can affirm that Barbara Brooks Wallace's enthusiasm is merited.

Hi Karl, many thanks for the recommendation!

Karl is the best of my readers: his enthusiasm for my works, published and unpublished, has kept me going through my sporadic, Dostoyevskyan, "What's-the-use?" moods.

Quote from: Cato on November 27, 2020, 09:22:36 AM
  0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:)

Have ten years gone by since this trilogy entered American Literature?!

For the newer members here (and a gentle reminder for those who have been here for a longer time:

If you are looking for some Christmas presents - like books! - to get away (or to get some else away) from the computers and T.V. screens - books with a mystery and a sarcastic narrator    ;)    who offers Juvenalesque commentary on the follies of our modern society....let me recommend a trilogy:

The Time Capsule Murders:

Why Begins With W

Dial Emma for Murder

Hex High School

Barbara Brooks Wallace, winner of the Edgar Mystery Writers' Award, wrote of the series:

Quote

"Sam Spade meets with Holden Caulfield in the person of a young high-school detective of today.  Hard-boiled slang is replaced with pitch-perfect TeenSpeak....It's definitely a 'Can't-Put-It-Down-Until-You've-Read- It-All' kind of series.  Trust me!"

See:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Time+Capsule+Murders?_requestid=5466656
(https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Time+Capsule+Murders?_requestid=5466656)

For those not averse to Amazon:


https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Time+Capsule+Murders&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_no (https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Time+Capsule+Murders&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_no)ss



(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/512mIc1zL0L._SX321_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51vAmbVo4LL.jpg)

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51l-AEsDFUL.jpg)

A little over 3 weeks until Christmas!   ???    It is snowing today in Ohio, 2-4 inches tonight perhaps!  CHRISTMAS is definitely coming!   :D

  0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:)


With two weeks and a day left to buy presents...

For the newer members here (and a gentle reminder for those who have been here for a longer time):

If you are looking for some Christmas presents - like books! - to get away (or to get someone else away) from the computers and T.V. screens - books with a mystery and a sarcastic juvenile narrator    ;)    who offers Juvenalesque commentary on the follies of our modern society....let me recommend a trilogy:

The Time Capsule Murders:

Why Begins With W

Dial Emma for Murder

Hex High School

Barbara Brooks Wallace, winner of the Edgar Mystery Writers' Award, wrote of the series:

Quote

"Sam Spade meets with Holden Caulfield in the person of a young high-school detective of today.  Hard-boiled slang is replaced with pitch-perfect TeenSpeak....It's definitely a 'Can't-Put-It-Down-Until-You've-Read- It-All' kind of series.  Trust me!"

See:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Time+Capsule+Murders?_requestid=5466656
(https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Time+Capsule+Murders?_requestid=5466656)

For those not averse to Amazon:


https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Time+Capsule+Murders&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_no (https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Time+Capsule+Murders&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_no)ss



(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/512mIc1zL0L._SX321_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51vAmbVo4LL.jpg)

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51l-AEsDFUL.jpg)


Thank you in advance for your support!