U.S. PRESIDENTS AND THEIR CATS! by Yvonne Saxon

 

 Of all the pets that have come with Presidents to the White House, I believe the cats have stolen the show! Martin Van Buren's tigers really did until Congress made him give them to a zoo, and Coolidge's lion cubs for a time, but the real stars were the domestic cats!

The first president to have a cat in the White House was Abraham Lincoln. Because the Lincolns left their dog in Springfield, Illinois when they moved to Washington, Secretary of State William Seward gave them two cats. Tabby and Dixie took up residence in August of 1861. Mary Todd Lincoln, when asked by a reporter about Lincoln's hobbies, commented with one word: cats. Lincoln was said to have quipped once that Dixie was smarter than all the members of his cabinet!

Rutherford B. Hayes and First Lady Lucy Hayes were given a Siamese cat in 1878 by the American Consul in Bangkok. Siam, according to records, was the first Siamese cat in the United States. Unfortunately she fell ill within nine months, and even though the President's personal physician was called in, his treatment of fish, oysters, cream, duck, and chicken didn't help, and she didn't recover.

Perfect Starts by Maria Hudgins

 

My favorite English mystery writer is Peter Lovesey so I was saddened by his recent announcement that his newest novel, Against the Grain, would be his last. His first was the prize-winning Wobble to Death, and it was published 50 years ago! Wow! He will at least continue writing short stories and I look forward to reading them. It was his novel, The Vault, that first taught me the value of a great opening line.

"Some weird objects are handed in at Bath Police Station."

I don't know about you, but I cannot stop there. Like what? What sort of weird object? Is he going to give me an example? He had better, because I feel like I HAVE to know! It can't be a gun because it's a police station and a gun would not be a weird thing to hand in there. A purse? That's not weird either. A set of false teeth? Weird, but why would you take them to a police station? I have to know more.

I read further, of course, and learn that a man wearing the uniform of a guide at the city's main tourist attraction, the famous Roman Baths, is standing in line at the front desk and holding a pizza box with a lump in it. The lid won't go all the way down.

What's in the box? I'll pause while you think about that.

I read on until I found out what was in the box but by that time I was hooked. I had to read the rest of the story.

Another Lovesey story--and I can't remember its name--starts with the single word, "Naked?" I thought about how I couldn't stop reading there and was inspired to start my first Dotsy Lamb Travel Mystery, set in Italy, with "Strip-search?" It worked. A lot of people read the book.

First lines are important. First lines in a mystery are especially important because there are so many mysteries out there. The writer is facing stiff competition. Nobody has to read past the first line if they don't want to. You have to make them want to. Here are some of my favorites:

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier. This line is often quoted as a great first sentence.

"I have done this before." Poirot's Last Case, Agatha Christie

"Death is my beat." The Poet, Michael Connelly

"Eunice Parchman killed the Coverdale family because she could not read or write." A Judgement in Stone, Ruth Rendell. 

A first line like this one, or the one from The Vault can be used to spark the reader's curiosity or it can be used to set the mood for the whole story. It can help the reader decide if he wants to spend a few hours living in the world you have invented.

What about you? Have you ever been captivated by the first word or a first line that grabbed you and made you read the whole thing? When was the last time you felt like Tom Cruise when he said, "You had me at Hello?"

I'd love to hear your answer. Leave me a comment.

COASTAL CRIMES 2: DEATH TAKES A VACATION By Mystery by the Sea Authors

 

 March 10, 2025 (Monday) 7pm Est – Zoom Meeting – Session open to the public

Topic: Coastal Crimes : Death Takes a Vacation anthology. Come hear the authors discuss their story location, characters, and story inspiration on a moderated panel.

Description: Get ready to travel to mysterious vacation destinations in Coastal Crimes: Death Takes a Vacation anthology by members of Sisters in Crime, Mystery by the Sea chapter.

The stories are set in and around Virginia. Each of the fourteen stories transports readers across a rich, unique, and deadly landscape in the Coastal Plain of Virginia, North Carolina, and east of I-95. This collection includes vacation getaways from the shores of Virginia Beach to the Eastern Shore, and the Outerbanks of North Carolina. So, pack your bags to visit premier destinations filled with mystery, murder, and a coastal view.

Teresa Inge is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Mar 10, 2025, 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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https://sistersincrime-org.zoom.us/j/5192298030...

Meeting ID: 519 229 8030

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SENDING VALENTINES: AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE by Penny Hutson

Ever wonder how the current Valentine’s Day card-sending craze in the United States got started?

How did we become so obsessed with sending cards in the first place? We have a card for everything these days. They used to be only for special occasions, a few holidays and for getting well. Now, there are cards for retirees, as well as those getting their first job or those simply changing to a new job. We have cards for friends, lovers, and those somewhere in-between. There’s hello, goodbye, sorry, and a whole host of other messages we used to write in letters to people, or we called them on the telephone and told them. Amazingly, we can even buy blank cards to write our own messages!

And no other holiday, aside from Christmas, do we feel the need to give cards more than on Valentine’s Day. Elementary students make them at school for all their classmates, parents, siblings, and other family members.

So, how did all this get started? Well, you can thank or blame (depending on your view) the current obsession of giving Valentines cards on the Victorians or at least, in part, for setting the stage. In the 1830’s, the London stationary firm of Joseph Addenbrooke discovered how to make paper that looked like lace. They used it to embellish practically everything, including what was soon to become all the rage in Victorian culture – Valentine cards with cutouts of hearts, cupids, flowers, and of course, lace paper.

Then, in 1847, a young woman named Esther Howland created the very first American paper Valentine card after receiving a commercially made English one from a friend. Esther’s father, who was a stationer, had supplied her with the special lace paper to make them. However, it was her traveling salesman brother who came back with an order for five thousand, after showing them to his customers on the road.

Esther wasted no time. She and a few friends began the first assembly-line production of American made commercial valentines in a spare room of their house. These creations were so popular, despite their high price, that in 1880 she sold her business to the George C. Whitney Company (an American Valentine competitor) for over $100,000.

Miss Howland is now credited with being the “Mother of the American Valentine.” So, whether you love or hate the tradition, perhaps she is the one truly responsible for our national infatuation.