Editor's Choice

Abstract

den Tex. There isa considerable gap between the female authors and their male colleagues. For example, as ofMay 2010, Saskia Noort's first book, Terug naar de kust (Eng. Back tothe Coast, 2009) has been in the top sixty forseven years without interruption. "Popular translated authors include Stieg Larsson, Hen ningMankell, Dan Brown, Nicci French,Karin Slaughter, John Grisham, Lars Kepler, Patricia Cornwell, and a number of oth ers. In thepast, Slaughter, French, Ian Rankin, Mankell, David Baldacci, Minette Walters, Philip Margolin, and many others have been chosen tobe recognized for Crime FictionMonth and have written a novella especially forthisevent. "But, putting popularity aside, is crime fictionconsidered 'important' by critics?That would depend on which criticyou ask. Crime fictioncriticsconsider itvery important. In justover tenyears' time,Dutch crime fictionhas reached maturity, you might say. But ifyou were to ask a literarycritic, the answer would be very different.To literarycritics, crime fiction is of littleimportance. Itplays no role in the literarylandscape. Some simply say it is 'pulp/ "Some of the crime fiction is national in orientation. But most of the books written here have universal qualities. They focus on themes and subjects that are equally important or interesting to readers here or elsewhere." With Wachtwoord just hitting the bookstore shelves, Den Tex is considering his plans for the future."I have just finished a trilogy about Michael Bellicher, a communication and man agement consultant who gets caught in thewheels of Internet crime.De Macht vanMeneer Miller (The power ofMister Miller) unraveled theplot ofbig business using the Internetto manipu late the information we receive. InCel,Michael's identity is sto len andmisused, and he is suspected ofbeing part of a terrorist organization. InWachtwoord, he is confrontedwith thewhite slave trade, traffickinginwomen. The trilogy is a departure from theusual corporate thriller. Michael Bellicher has his own style, his own pace, and the corporate affairs recede into the background. "In the future," says Den Tex, "I may want to explore the psychological thriller. The novella Iwrote forthisyear'sMonth ofCrime Fiction is in that line, and there ismore for me todo there.At the same time, I have a feeling I haven't seen the last ofMichael Bellicher yet." Universityof Oklahoma J.Madison Davis has been writing on international crime and mystery for WLT since 2004. The author of several crime novels and nonfiction books, he serves as president of the International Association of Crime Writers and teaches novel and film-scriptwriting in the Gaylord College of Journalism & Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma. THEGRAND ARRAY WRITINGS OHNATURE, SCIENCE, AND SPIRIT PATTIANN ROGERS illillli^ Pattianh:Rck(?rs ':^:pfP^;F::: ;- ' '.. ' ^mggff: (Trinity University Press,2010) illllillllli ;;??!!!!?|??|! Pathanri?ojgershave ?j Spiritual Writing,and in:'fi?f*??heaxt Bni?^ selections frornher first mnel>ookswere cfM^^^^^P^r?oe^^^mi intenrtews^fi the Soul's Habitation," aarot^-ivhic^ tions whirl,Rogers ponders thegrid V^^^S^^-v^-'j?i^ oursel^esjllii^: iBcubt?S ::grid^?|||iii .|(|||pj|p descdiji^lpj base our v^khowled^ v????fflfl Out of a universeof ?|^:::^l{M3i6itB' ^th^^|i^?if^;;c^,^auqfe;;!c|f|f; the IL': ;;beingi|;||p||?ii _i one '?fiiiipp IIIIII infuseit withmeaning, as itcontinues t???iM inforap us, body and soul.We embrace strongly a^;^e; |o?e in ten;^ :of r?c?pjK|^ -f^^?^^^-^oWi SherodSantos'sA Poetry tfTi??Min?s, V^?MS?^s God;?p| ?? the Imagination, andGeralc};Stem's V/hat| ?ear Losrngv* .,,WHg,.m?,.i.!?v!^.,?i,^i^iiM?_?^^ : of th?;H?M invojBIK September-October 2010 111 ...