Tag Archive for: February

Interconnected February Celebrations

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by Paula Gail Benson

I remember seeing the 1942 black and white movie Holiday Inn with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. Bing ran an inn that only opened on the holidays. In 1952, Kemmons Wilson named his chain of hotels Holiday Inn after the movie, seeking to give guests the same special relaxing accommodation experience.

The movie’s Holiday Inn opens on George Washington’s Birthday and Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday. While this movie introduced Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas,” it has not often been shown in recent times due to its depiction of black characters and a performance using blackface. A new musical version of Holiday Inn appeared on Broadway in 2016, eliminating the Presidents’ birthday recognition numbers from February and using only Valentine’s Day from that month.

I thought both Washington’s and Lincoln’s Birthdays were federal holidays, but I was wrong. Washington’s Birthday was informally celebrated across the country after his death in 1799, and was designated as a federal holiday on January 31, 1879. Later, it became celebrated on the third Monday in February pursuant to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed on June 28, 1968. Lincoln’s Birthday was never recognized as a federal holiday, but was celebrated in some states.

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 (or, by the dating system at the time of his birth February 11, 1731—the British Calendar Act of 1750 moved to the Gregorian calendar). Since 1896, the United States Senate has had a member read Washington’s Farewell Address on February 22 each year.

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809. His birthday is observed as a holiday in Hodgenville, Kentucky (where he was born), Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, California, Missouri, and New York.

The Mount Vernon website indicates the name of the federal holiday has never been changed to “Presidents’ Day.” It contends that happened as a merchandizing effort for sales.

African American communities began celebrating Black History Month in February as part of the commemoration of Lincoln’s Birthday. In the 20th century, the recognition also sought to honor Frederick Douglass’ Birthday of February 14.

To celebrate the holiday, here’s a link to Washington’s Farewell Address, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, and Douglass’ Fourth of July Speech.

Frederick Douglass
Image from Wikipedia

Crimes of Passion

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by Sparkle Abbey


We have a confession. February, the month of love, bring us thoughts of hearts, flowers, and. . . murder.

Over the past few years, with the growing popularity of true crime podcasts, American’s are gobbling up true crime stories like discounted Valentine’s Day chocolates at Walgreens. Who’s not listening to the wildly popular podcast My Favorite Murder? There’s even a Netflix show called, Murderous Affairs — “True crime stories of lovers and spouses driven to kill.”

Obviously, love and murder go well together. Why? Maybe because both involve passion, an emotion so strong it can push someone over the edge. Thriller writer, John Lescroart

once said there are 14 motives for murder, but he summarized them as love, lust, lucre, and loathing.

As a motive for a crime of passion, love and murder are clearly a great match. However, in addition, love also often becomes a part of the storyline for the characters solving the mystery. It’s no accident that popular crime shows often feature a love interest. Love is a common human experience. Almost everyone can relate to it. Love motivates our decision making. In fiction those decisions are mostly bad, which only amp up the tension, keeping us on the edge of our seats.

A lingering glance over a dead body, repressed romantic feelings during a serial killer investigation, a confession of love when two people are convinced they are about to die, only to be denied when both people survive—reasons that keep us watching our favorite shows, episode after episode.

So what do you think? Do you like a serving of love with your mystery? Or would you rather keep the hearts and flowers far away from your crime fiction?


Sparkle Abbey is actually two people, Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter, who write the national best-selling Pampered Pets cozy mystery series set in Laguna Beach. Their series features former Texas beauty queen cousins, Caro, a pet therapist and, Melinda, a pet boutique owner. The most recent installments (book nine) BARKING WITH THE STARS and  (book ten) THE DOGFATHER continue Caro and Mel’s murder-solving adventures.

Love and Murder

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by Sparkle Abbey


February, the month of love, brings thoughts of hearts and flowers, and (at least for those of us who write crime fiction) murder.

Love and murder go so well together. Why? Maybe because both
involve strong emotion. Let’s see, what do you suppose the main motives are for murder?
Thriller writer, John Lescroart lists on his website “14 Motives for Murder” but he summarizes them as love, lust, lucre, and loathing. We think
he’s onto something.


As
motive for a crime of passion, love and murder are clearly a great match. However, in addition, love also often becomes a part of the storyline for the characters solving the mystery. It’s no accident that popular crime shows, like Castle,
often feature a bit of romance. There’s been a lot of online discussion about
the Castle/Beckett pairing, and whether their upcoming wedding vows will ruin
the romantic tension in the show. Many fans of the 1980s private detective show Moonlighting felt getting
Maddie (Cybil Shepard) and David (Bruce Willis) together was responsible for
the demise of the popular show.

The idea of love and crime together has become so popular
over the years that there has become a whole sub-genre in movies and novels called
romantic suspense. These stories often have a central romantic theme as well as
the intrigue.
Lisa Gardner, a master of suspense
fiction, talks about the hazy definitions of the sub-genre and some of the
prejudices in her great series of lectures on the Secrets of Romantic Suspense. Kinsey Millhone, Sue Grafton’s, no-nonsense PI isn’t really the romantic type, but still there have
been a few men her in life from Dietz, a fellow PI, to longtime friend, Cheney. In some mysteries, there’s a full-blown love interest and in others there’s just a hint of romance.

In our Pampered Pets mystery series featuring former Texas beauty queen cousins,
Caro and Melinda, we truly had no plans to go there. But…well, the stories just
naturally evolved to encompass a bit of “love, lust, lucre and loathing.” And
no spoilers here, but we think you’ll like where the series is headed. 



So what do you think? Do you like a serving of love with
your mystery? Or would you rather keep the hearts and flowers far away from
your crime fiction? We’d love to hear what you think!
Coming soon: Our first short – “Project Dogway” (Out
February 24th) 

February Already, Goodness!

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Who besides me is having trouble with how fast time flies?

Seems like it was just the beginning of January and everyone was talking about their New Year’s Resolutions–now it’s time to gear up for income taxes. Eeeek!

The older I get, the faster the days go by. I’m an early riser, so I do get started early. But I’ve found that checking my email, answering it, doing things that I have to do that comes in the email, and taking a peek at Facebook, making sure I’ve promoted whatever is on my own blog for the day http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com and whatever household chores really must be taken care of, half the day is gone.

I sure don’t remember the time disappearing like that back when I was raising five kids, working half day, and going to college in the evenings. Somehow I managed to grocery shop, cook, clean, do the laundry, and homework.

I’m working on a new book and though I have plenty of ideas I’m finding it difficult to find the time to actually write.

Oh, I know what you’re going to say, write first, then do all the other stuff. I know that’s what I should do, but what if there’s something really important in my email?

This month will go by even faster because it’s shorter than all the rest.

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com