Purchase "Faithful Unto Death" celebratory apparel from Cafe Press

We've set up a site for folks to order cool stuff with book cover and/or Anna's headstone, including some nifty dark items just in time for the Halloween season, ohboy.  I think I need some pajamas for the Benzonia trip!

Mushroom invasion in the front yard!

We came home the other night and found the 'shrooms had colonized the trees in our front yard.  We've seen pictures like this in kids' books, complete with elves or hobbits, but never in our own yard.  Too utterly cute!

-bt-

Library Journal gave "Faithful" a swell review!

Here's what they say, in their Xpress Reviews—First Look at New Books, July 29, 2011:

"Thacker, Becky. Faithful unto Death. Univ. of Michigan. Aug. 2011. c.284p. ISBN 9780472034697. pap. $22.95. MYSTERY
Did solid, dependable William Henry Thacker really poison his beloved wife, Anna, with arsenic? His children deny it, but the Congregationalist town of Benzonia turns its collective back on him, convicting him with dispatch in this highly detailed portrayal of late 19th-century rural Michigan. Scrolling through the family's story, readers are invited to evaluate the evidence and speculate about what goes on behind closed doors. Poor Henry was burdened by having his sickly and venomous sister-in-law Charlotte living with them, but he also had a crush on the family's housekeeper, a collegiate Jezebel. In a staunchly religious community, how things appear can be enough to turn the tide. It's up to Roy, Ralph, and Lottie to figure out how to rectify a wrong, even if they can't solve the crime.
Verdict Authentic atmosphere and a remarkable portrayal of brave children make for a good read. There's more here than you'll ever need to know about arsenic poisoning, but the courtroom scenes are riveting. Drawing on her own family history, Thacker offers a crime story with Midwestern gothic overtones, not unlike Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. Regional collections will want.—Teresa Jacobsen, formerly with Solano Cty. Lib., Fairfield, CA"

I'm so delighted with this--not everyone gets such kind treatment from the LJ!

-becky t-

Library Journal has a review of Faithful Unto Death.

Makes me want to read it :)

Here's the Powerpoint we used for the presentaton at Ann Arbor library.

The library folks really had it together, all was in readiness and they did everything to make it all run smoothly.  My dear cousins Penny and John and Allen and Carol were right there all the way, and made quite a party of the whole event.  Photos to come when we get them uploaded, argh.

Hey, I got top billing at the Ann Arbor library!

Penny and John are going all out to make us welcome, and plan to round up as many pals as are in town to attend the library 'do'.  The library plans to film this presentation, no pressure or anything.   Maybe I could come down with the measles or something :)

There'll be a (short) slide presentation and I'll tell the story of how the book happened, trying not to give TOO much away!  I think it might be sort of cool.  Fingers crossed, anyway.