The Agatha Awards - and a trip to remember

I returned recently from a wonderful trip to Central and South America, and while I was away, the news was announced that The Golden Age of Murder is among the titles nominated for an Agatha Award at Malice Domestic this year. There are some fine writers among the nominees, and it's flattering to be in their company. None of my novels or short stories has been nominated for any American award until recently. Yet in late April, this book will be in the running for two awards in the space of seventy-two hours. A weird quirk of fate, and very gratifying.

I'm interested to see that The Golden Age of Murder is the only title common to the shortlists for both the Edgar awarded by the Mystery Writers of America, and the Agatha Award. This illustrates the growing number and range of critical/biographical books related to crime fiction. Not so long ago, I could claim to have read a majority of books about the genre - now I'm struggling to keep up. It's a good thing, surely, that crime fiction is now deemed a worthy subject of study, in book form as well as in countless blogs and social  media groups.

I've also heard from the publishers that demand for the hardback edition of the book continues to exceed expectations. This is due, in part at least, I think, to the fact that Harper Collins have done such a good production job, so that many people think it's a really nice volume to have on the shelves. As a result, the paperback edition is, at least in the UK, likely to be postponed for a while. It may appear later this year, or possibly next year. Suffice to say that I never expected that my best-selling hardback would prove to be a book about the Detection Club....

Anyway, a few words now about that magical trip, which took me back to Jamaica and then to three countries I'd never visited, before. In Costa Rica, there was a chance of a river cruise through the jungle, and a close look at fascinating wild life, not least an alligator lurking just below the surface of the water...

In Panama, one can cross from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific in an hour: a fascinating trip. There's a lot of history (along with lots of skyscrapers) to be seen in Panama City, including an old ruined cathedral, and much else besides...

Colombia was absolutely fascinating. Cartagena is a gorgeous place, oozing with history..

while Santa Marta, again on the coast, offers a mix of fabulous wildlife, in the gardens which celebrate the legendary Simon Bolivar (who died there) and also on the beach..........

As ever, I seized the opportunity to combine sight-seeing with plenty of reading. And the fruits of that reading will be revealed soon, with a number of new entries in the Forgotten Books series.

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