Jane's Going to Alaska

This year's Bouchercon Conference is being held in Anchorage, so Jane's going to Alaska.

"I've never been," Jane says. "I'm psyched!"

Jane's first novel, Consigned to Death, has been nominated for a Macavity Award for Best First Novel by  Mystery Readers International.

The Macavity Award will be presented at the Thursday evening opening ceremony.

Cooking Tip from Josie's Mom

"One of my mom's closest friends was a woman named Antoinette Chan, a Chinese American who lived two doors down from us in Newton, where I grew up. I was really good friends with her daughter Brooke all through elementary school," Josie explains.

"Mrs. Chan was a fabulous cook, but her seasonings were exotic and hard to find and her preparation methods were time-consuming and complex. When my mother complained that she'd love to be able to duplicate her spare ribs recipe, but couldn't because it was too hard, Mrs. Chan invented an Americanized version."

"Mrs. Chan's American Spare Ribs recipe is not as tasty as the original," Josie says, "But it's pretty darn good! I spoke to Brooke the other day and she said her mom's ribs were just as yummy as I remembered."

Unpublished Fact About Josie

Josie loves to read poetry, and sometimes she writes it. She doesn't talk about it much because she considers it a private pleasure.

Here's a verse Josie recently wrote. She calls the poem:

Love Perceptions

Gold fields, or dry and dying?
I met his eyes; I'm trying.
Talk to me.

"I've only written one verse so far, but I have no deadline," Josie explains. "It's a hobby."

Living by the United Nations

I live on the block that ends at the United Nations. The General Assembly is about to sit for its annual assembly. Many countries' leaders are in town. Security is high.

Security has always been high, but since 9/11, it's been astonishing. Last year, for the first time ever, I was stopped from entering my own block. The president of Pakistan was stepping out from his hotel into a limo as I stood watching, a block away. I wonder if anything similar will occur this year.

Visit Jane's MySpace site to find out more about Jane and Josie, and to become one of their "friends!"

Jane Will Speak on
Art in Mysteries
at Sotheby's Institute

In mid-October, Jane will conduct a two-hour seminar at the prestigious, New York City Sotheby's Institute.

Antiques Collecting Fact:
Did You Know?

Marks identify more than the maker. Many objects bear maker marks — furniture, silver, and porcelain, for instance. But some convey extra meaning. For instance, this mark, symbolizing "Augustus Rex," is from the prestigious porcelain factory, Meissen.

It was also used to mark objects selected for the court of his son, August III, who succeeded him in 1733. This mark was always applied by hand in underglaze blue. Because all of the marks were applied by hand, there's great variance in individual appearance. Further, several objects marked with the royal monogram were given as gift to royal or favored visitors.

In the fourth Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery, fiction mixes with fact. In the still untitled novel, Jane has King Augustus giving a vase to England's King George who in turn bestows it on his mistress, Henrietta Howard.

Jane swears she's not revealing another word about the plot.

The third Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery, Antiques to Die For, will be released in April 2008.