Mrs. McMahon was the ultimate matchmaker in my elementary school. She had an uncanny knack for putting the perfect book in each kid's hands. In my case, that meant Encyclopedia Brown, Harriet the Spy, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and The Egypt Game.
In 2010, when Downton Abbey the series premiered on my local PBS station, I watched, as the world watched, a television phenomenon unfold. With each episode, I fell deeply entranced by the Crawley family and servant saga. With each season, I became even more addicted to the lush scenery, stunning costumes, and opulent time period. Recently, when I learned that a third and final Downton Abbey movie will be released in theatres in September of 2025, I knew instantly that I needed to revisit the series in preparation––revisit being code for marathoning all six seasons, or 52 episodes, and two movies in a single week.
Today we are interviewing Jack Dickson, author of the Jas Anderson series and a score of other amazing books. On behalf of the Kings River Magazine, thank you for giving us a little of your time today, answering questions fans of the genre really want to know.
Whenever June approaches, I find myself waxing nostalgic for the summer reading program we participated in every year at our local library when I was a child. It was a program filled with reading incentives. The more books you read, the more prizes you received. Top readers then duked it out for the Top Reader Prize which was a certificate of achievement and a boxed set of books; oh, and loads of bragging rights!
This month we are interviewing mystery author Neil S. Plakcy. On behalf of the Kings River Magazine, thank you for giving us a little of your time today, answering questions fans of the genre really want to know.
It’s 4 a.m. and I can already hear the birds chirping as they usher in a new day. But I have not been to bed yet, and I find their melodic voices are grating on my nerves. I can’t sleep because I’m worried about the direction our country is headed in and my 401(k) that’s going with it.
Felice Picano died March 12, 2025. He was well beloved, respected, talented, and will be missed. I’ll let those more eloquent than I say how much Picano will be missed.
When I lived in Japan, I was struck by how bookstores offered to wrap books at checkout. I never turned down the service; it was free. An employee would whip out a sheet of paper printed with the store’s name and logo and, with origami precision, fold it around the book. Was the goal to protect the book’s cover—or to hide it?
As we usher in spring and naturally warmer weather, I can’t help but get excited at the thought of visiting my local farmers market with my friends. We like to meet up and pick up fresh produce, sample gourmet treats like iced sugar cookies or fresh-made donuts, and interact with the local purveyors who take great care to bring us unique wares.
This missed title from March is a re-release from publisher ReQueered Tales and is termed misadventure which places it at the edges of the mystery-thriller-suspense genre. Set in the Mexican-American community of East LA, Trebor Healey's Faun is an urban fantasy, a new fairy tale about pagan earth spirit, lust and faith, Los Angeles, and history.
