From AI Plot Paradox to Stallone's Unfinished Screenplay
Plus a question for you
Hello mystery fans,
It’s the inaugural issue of MysteryPlease! I thank you for taking a moment out of your plans to join me.
Speaking of, how’s your summer going so far? June and July are usually busy for me. That’s when a lot of the writing conferences I attend are happening. The dog days of summer are approaching too which, for a heat-sensitive human like myself, can be ruff (ba dum tss).
I recently got into a “robots are taking over the world” conversation with a friend. Points were made about how AI is changing the publishing landscape and authors are nervous. My personal opinion is that AI is a huge and concerning unknown gray area, but it can’t replace human writers. That doesn’t mean it’s not harming us in other ways. And AI is a major sticking point for the folks in the ongoing WGA strike. What’s your take on AI (in general, not just related to publishing)?
On to the fun stuff. I’ve got a great link roundup for you below. And, quick reminder, you can find more mystery related content at @moremysteryplease on Instagram.
AI’S TACKLING THE MYSTERY GENRE
Laura Miller’s Slate article examines the differences between AI generated plot and prose in Death of an Author, a mostly AI “written” mystery created by Stephen Marche.
That might explain why even artificial intelligence can’t solve the puzzle of Cain’s Jawbone, puzzle-expert Edward Mather’s 1934 novel published with all of its pages out of order, despite Kenna Hughes-Castleberry creating an entire competition focused on just that.
TIPS FOR READERS TO GET ORGANIZED
Scott Parker at Do Some Damage offers up a fun way to track what you read and watch.
While at LitHub, Emily Grosvenor provides excellent suggestions for corralling overflowing book collections.
BOOK BLIPS
Grady Hendrix and Riley Sager, two of my favorite authors, discuss horror and thriller novels in this CrimeReads article.
Also on CrimeReads, L.M. Chilton explains why dating is like a whodunnit and Olivia Rutigliano presents her list of The 19 Most Polished Detectives in Crime Film and TV.
At Book Riot, Carolina Ciucci provides clues for how to tell if you’re the detective or the sidekick in a mystery novel.
Jake Rosen tells the true and unsolved tale of Virginia’s TV Fairy at Mental Floss.
And on Something Is Going To Happen, Bev Vincent discusses mystery novels post-pandemic and whether they should ignore or reflect current world events.
SLY’S POE DREAM
Did you know Sylvester Stallone has been working on an Edgar Allan Poe screenplay for decades? I didn’t until I came across this mundane article about Adele refusing to buy Stallone’s house unless he left the Rocky statue by the pool. Stallone started drafting a biopic on the iconic writer and poet long before lifting a pen to script Rocky. And, as of 2019, he's still hoping to one day finish it. In the screen legend’s own words: YO, POE…we gotta go.
That’s all for this newsletter. I’ll be back in your inbox in a couple of weeks with more links. Until then, I have a question for you: Do you carry physical books with you when you travel, and are they hardback or paperback? Let me know.
A fellow mystery fan,
Kate