Happy Birthday Gotye

Gotye, the Belgian-Australian recording artist who sings "Somebody That I Used to Know," turns 32 today. 


A few weeks ago, my 14-year-old son introduced me to the fascinating song; he said it was the number one song on iTunes. I was immediately hooked; I quickly learned the rest of the world is crazy about it, too! The song, a slow-building duet with New Zealand singer Kimbra, is achieving phenomenal success. 


Richard Smirke of Billboard describes it: "The song, which mixes sparse, shuffling percussion; spooky tremolo sounds; and an earworm melody played on a xylophone, has since topped the charts in more than a dozen countries..."


Michael Martin (@Michael_Kronicle) of @HuffPostEnt interviewed Gotye last month, and among the topics discussed is Gotye's experience in writing the song. A video of their interview (just shy of 24 minutes) appears on @HuffPostEnt. 


To date, the video of the song has been viewed more than 218 million times. In Australia, "Somebody That I Used to Know" has been certified 8x Platinum! 


Another video gone viral is a cover version of the song, performed by Walk Off The Earth, in which the five band members play one guitar ~ it's super cool!


I'm addicted to it ~ the haunting melody, harmony and the intensity of the singers' emotions ~ as if they truly were scorned lovers. The song certainly has struck a chord with worldwide listeners. What about you? Have you heard this song before? Like it? Love it? Hate it? 

Bouchercon 2011: St. Louis

I am very excited and thrilled to be a moderator at a terrific panel called, "Writing From the Headlines," with a spectacular line-up of panelists at next month's Bouchercon in St. Louis. Our panel's title is "She's Not There" (all panel titles were taken from True Blood, Wire in the Blood, and various shows written by Robert Crais) and will occur on Friday, September 16, 2011 from 11:30 am - 12:30 p.m. in "Landmark 4" room of the Renaissance St. Louis Grand.

I will have the privilege of introducing and interviewing: Pamela Callow (@PamelaCallow) Diane Fanning (@DianeFanning), Ryan David Jahn (@RyanDavidJahn) Karen E. Olson (@kareneolson) and Rick Reed (@JackMurphy1010).

I am grateful to programming chairs Judy Bobalik and Ruth Jordan for arranging such an awesome group and bestowing upon me the absolute honor of moderating this panel.


If you are attending Bouchercon next month, I hope to see you at our discussion ~ and come prepared with intriguing questions for these talented authors who have written true crime and/or written mystery, thriller, and detective fiction influenced by or based on true crime events.

I will devote blog posts to each of these authors to get to know each one of them better ~ so stay tuned!

My Chat with Author M.M. Gornell

I'd like to thank M.M. Gornell, the award-winning California author for inviting me to chat with her today on her blog. I had the pleasure of meeting Madeline at the Public Safety Writers Conference in Las Vegas in 2009 and 2010 (Photographer Sherman Lee caught us chatting at the 2009 conference - see photo below). BTW, the 2011 PSWA conference is scheduled at the Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, July 14-17. There's a break on the cost if you register before March 31.

If you're not familiar with PSWA, here's some background info, as found on their website:

Founded in 1997 as the Police Writers Club, the Public Safety Writers Association is open to both new and experienced, published and not yet published writers. Members include police officers, civilian police personnel, firefighters, fire support personnel, emergency personnel, security personnel and others in the public safety field. Also represented are those who write about public safety including mystery writers, magazine writers, journalists and those who are simply interested in the genre. The association also welcomes publishers, editors, agents and others who help writers realize their writing goals.

Authors M.M. Gornell & Kathleen A. Ryan, Las Vegas, 2009

photo taken by Sherman Lee

If you have a moment, please stop by and visit and say hello to Madeline. She's the author of Uncle Si's Secret, Death of a Perfect Man, and Reticence of Ravens, published by Aberdeen Bay. You can also find Madeline, (a member of Sisters in Crime in L.A. and Nevada, and the California Writers Club) on Facebook. You can read more about Madeline in The Examiner, in a lovely "Spotlight" interview with Morgan St. James.