September 20, 2003, the date of the 10th annual Sacramento Book Fair sponsored by the Central Valley Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association dawned bright, sunny and unseasonably hot – but inside the spacious Scottish Rite Temple, the location for the show, it was cool and comfortable – which might have contributed to the fact that the afternoon sales seemed to be just as brisk as the morning ones. This book show is consistently well produced and well attended. Bill Ewald of Argus Books, the Fair Director, and Rebecca Frederickson do a great job both before the show in publicizing it, and in all of the organizational details during the show. The large booths in the main room are always sold out, and usually the even bigger booths in the side room are full too. Set-up is available on Friday afternoon and evening before the show, complete with a really tasty and varied buffet dinner, which gives booksellers a chance to relax and catch up on some trade talk in the midst of the work of setting up. Three members of IOBA were among the 54 dealers participating: Vic Zoschak of Tavistock Books in Alameda, Susan and John Hardy of Hardy Books in Nevada City and Chris Volk and Shep Iiams of Bookfever.com in Ione. One of the pleasures of participating in a show like this – especially for those of us who sell mostly on the internet – is the chance to see old customers, and even more significantly to let potential new customers see your stock: the quality, the condition, the variety and depth of your offerings. The successfulness of a book show cannot be measured just by the number of books sold (or bought) in one day; it is an invaluable way of advertising your business to a group of serious collectors. However, the CVABA show is also usually considered a success based on sales also: five minutes before the closing of the show, booksellers were still writing up their final sales of the day. It is only a mild complaint when I say that we were too busy in the booth to really check out the collections showcased in the lobby, or even the offerings of other booksellers. At the end of the day, most of the tired dealers were also seen to be smiling. Chris Volk (text) Shep Iiams (photos) chris@bookfever.com

This erstwhile IOBA member was, after the fact, pressed into service as Pasadena Book Fair Correspondent by the Standard’s pugnacious editor, Shirley Bryant. Having recently celebrating a 51st birthday, one can easily imagine the Correspondent’s difficulties in recalling events that transpired yesterday, much less at a book fair 2 months ago… yet, duty calls. So, if not specifics, impressions can be provided for all the many readers of the Standard. GOOD FRIENDS. GOOD BOOKS. GOOD TIME. And pictures are available, albeit primarily of yours truly for, not having this commission prior to the event, my camera-woman was more interested in Moi & my booth, rather than the many other worthy exhibitors one found at this event. Stay-tuned. Santa Monica is next July, and I’ll turn camera-woman loose on the entire event. Vic Zoschak vjz@tavbooks.com

Tattoos are raging in popularity today, with no signs that demand for them will be abating any time soon. In 1996, tattooing emerged as the sixth fastest growing industry in the country (behind internet and cell phone companies) and it is estimated that one new tattoo shop opens every day. A 2003 Harris Poll found that while 16% of the population is tattooed, that number blossoms to 36% for people between the ages of 25 and 29. However, for people contemplating their first (or fifth) tattoo, the choice of an image is often a stumbling block. A comprehensive, informative exploration of the colorful world of tattoos, The Tattoo Encyclopedia presents concise descriptions of symbols both common and unusual, and sheds light on their historic, religious, and cultural significance. Organized in a convenient A-Z format, cross-referenced, indexed, and illustrated with 300 pieces of authentic tattoo line art by world renown tattoo artist Greg James of Sunset Strip Tattoo in Hollywood, it features a stunning array of images from ancient Buddhist and Chinese designs to those sported by twenty-first century bikers. The definition of each symbol (over 800 symbols) includes the widely accepted interpretation based on historical fact and cultural sources, as well as various interpretations that have developed across different cultures and time periods. Whether choosing a personally significant tattoo, wanting to learn more about a symbol, or simply interested in tattoos as a form of art and body decoration, readers will discover the richness of tattoo culture in this fascinating treasury. “Looking for that perfect gift for your teenage son or daughter – that free-spirited, be-myself, make-a-statement child whose idea of establishing an identity is permanently dying their skin? Voila. It’s ‘The Tattoo Encyclopedia … ‘” — The St. Louis Dispatch “Everything you wanted to know about tattoos but were afraid to ask….. the book will not only provide an invaluable tool to artists and collectors alike, it’s also a great read for trivia buffs.” — Tattoo Revue magazine “… delves into the fascinating realm of why people get tattoos and what images they choose.” — Publisher’s Weekly “Guilty pleasure” — Kansas City Star .

The 25th Annual Out-of-Print & Antiquarian Book Market Seminar convened in scenic Colorado Springs this past August 3-8th. Thirty-six participants from all over the United States and Canada found their way to the foot of Pikes Peak for an intense week of lectures, discussions, networking, and hands-on learning at the unofficial “Boot Camp for Booksellers.” As coordinator, I had been working at my job since early in the year; gathering and organizing information, answering queries, sending confirmations and encouraging interested people to register. It is always a great pleasure for me to meet and greet participants as they arrive on the Colorado College campus where I can finally put a name to a face! At registration on Sunday afternoon, we armed participants with notebooks, t-shirts, book bags and maps to prepare them for the busy week ahead. Later that evening we all gathered at a reception and Keynote address, which is a wonderful opportunity to meet faculty and fellow students, and begin “networking.” In addition, the Keynote address and reception is the only portion of the seminar open to the public, so we invite local booksellers, librarians and even former seminar participants who have stopped by on the way home from the Denver Book Fair to join us for the evening. Of course after introductions, the highlight of the evening is always the Keynote address. This year’s talk was delivered by Dan DeSimone, Curator for the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection of the Library of Congress. In addition to stories about his experiences in the book trade, Dan outlined strategies and practical advice to booksellers for developing professional relationships with libraries as customers. One enthusiastic participant commented that DeSimone’s speech was worth the total price of the whole seminar! “The Faculty was beyond outstanding.” 2003 participant. In addition to Dan De Simone, who stayed for the week after his Keynote presentation, this year’s faculty included experts in many areas of the book business. Michael Ginsberg, the seminar director, is a businessman, consultant, appraiser and past president of ABAA who led discussions on appraisals, book scouting, the mail order book business and directed the “Auction.” Ed Glaser, a veteran of all past book seminar faculties as well as noted specialist in rare and important books in science and medicine and another ABAA past president, is our expert on producing catalogs and on ethics in the trade. Jennifer Larson guided students through bibliographical description, an exhibition of binding and printing and led discussions on the Library as a market. This year, Jennifer was joined on the faculty by her husband and business associate Jeffrey Marks, a lawyer and bookseller. Jeff along with friend and partner Rob Rulon-Miller acted as Specialist Dealer describing adventures and experiences in high end book selling. John Townsend, owner of Town’s End Books, mail order specialist and our computer “wizard,” was our technology professor covering many aspects of this new and very important tool in the trade. Mary Ciletti and Lois Harvey, our outstanding Colorado business owners, taught practical lessons on owning and running a bookstore and on book fairs. Last, but certainly not the least, of our faculty members was Jim Canary, book conservator, repair specialist and Head of the Special Collections Conservation at the Indiana University Libraries. Jim ran several very popular and well-attended tutorials on the nitty-gritty of book repair and conservation.“I’m not sure how so many long days can make up such a short week!” 2003 participant. The schedule was jammed packed from 8:30am Monday until the closing luncheon on Friday. Classes ran until 6pm most days and Tuesday and Wednesday included evening tutorials. Even lunchtime was used for casual discussions and individual one-on-one with faculty. “Loved the time staff devoted to teaching, even at lunch.” 2003 participant Of all the special features of the seminar, the Auction Demonstration is one of the favorites and most fun. Items are donated by faculty, our friends in local book shops, and supportive businesses from all over the country. All proceeds are donated to the libraries that loan us reference books for the week. At our final session on Friday, we said goodbye to our new friends and colleagues with hugs and certificates. We eagerly collected evaluation questionnaires (submitted anonymously so we know they are going to be honest and critical) to begin work on improving the experience for our next seminar. It is always a pleasure to hear that we did a good job! “Basically, this was one of the best weeks of my entire life! Not only did I get what I came for– a new direction for my business as well as better skills, but I was able to get to know people I would never have had the opportunity to meet and make friends with who will be a part of my life for years to come. It was an incredibly invigorating week.” I look forward to Book Seminar 2004! Kathy Lindeman, Book Seminar Coordinator Pictures courtesy of Sue Gallagher, of Denver’s The Gallagher Collection, our great friend and perpetual volunteer! Kathy Lindeman klindeman@ColoradoCollege.edu

By: Michael Zwerdling zna@nursepostcard.com Postcards of Nursing: A Worldwide Tribute is an extraordinary book detailing the history of 20th Century nursing through the eyes of artists and photographers using picture postcards. The book gives the reader a unique glimpse into nursing, and acts as a visual history of a profession that is quite unlike any other. The book offers the symbols of nursing care, and nursing art in general, which have been created on postcards by the industry’s greatest artists, e;g. Wain, Mucha, Dudovich, Nanni, Kirchner, Bompard, Fisher, Sager, Schmucker, Gassaway, Drayton, etc. The art styles include art deco, art nouveau, modernism, impressionism, futurism and even anime and manga. The book also has a very good selection of real photo postcards featuring studio portraits of nursing, nursing establishments, and on site clinical care specialties. There is a comprehensive section, comprising over 20 pages of illustrations, on royalty, which delineates their contributions, including of the funding of medical services, donation of funds to build hospitals and nursing schools and the actual nursing that royalty has done in the past century. Over ten wars are covered, with photos of nurses in action, as well as through the art used as Red Cross recruitment posters, propaganda for the war effort in general (including rare Third Reich Red Cross propaganda), and even hand-drawn postcards of nurses done by patients recovering in hospitals. Naturally, the nursing profession has changed over the course of the century, and that change is reflected not only in the way the uniforms have changed (the book has a stunning comparative section of black and white uniform styles), but most noticeably in the way nurses have been portrayed in advertising, and on stage and screen. The book traces the development of U.S. advertising, using nurses as the model, from 1893 to 2002, and then illustrates the European varieties over the same period. Performers, likewise, are shown in a chronological sequence, from the silent movie era through Star Trek (the nurse on Star Trek was the wife of Gene Roddenbury, the series’ producer) to the modern magna advertisements popular in both Japan and the United States. Postcards of Nursing is designed so the reader can approach each chapter as if it were a museum or gallery exhibit, each double-page spread representing one wall. If desired, he or she can read the narrative introduction to each exhibit (chapter) or simply walk right in, so to speak, and wander around. Captions offer insights into the pictures. Whenever the reader comes to an image of particular interest to him or her, the endnotes offer more detailed information. A bibliography and an index provide additional support. At a time when the health-care profession is so clearly in the spotlight it’s nice to be able to take a step back and give credit to the men and women who make up the backbone of the profession-with a book that not only entertains but educates. A Worldwide Tribute indeed. * * I am a full time registered nurse, working in the ER of a central city hospital in Washington, D.C. Before I became a nurse, I was a martial arts instructor, and, although it may seem odd, I see nursing as a natural extension of the martial arts, which, after all, is based on the understanding that the opponent and the self are not two. I have been collecting postcards for over 25 years, and, while a martial arts teacher, was a part time postcard dealer. Since becoming a nurse, and being interested in the historical aspect of the profession as well as the clinical aspect, I had nurtured a desire to contribute in both areas. In particular, I thought it a shame that the images of nursing as found on postcards, the most interesting of all the various graphic genres, were virtually unknown not only to nursing, but to the general public as well. I decided that one day I would find a way to return those images to the nursing heritage, to be enjoyed by both nurses and patients (the difference between the two is very, very slight…just a matter of time) but always had the project on the back burner, so to speak. Then, one day, while driving home from work, I saw a billboard on the side of a gas station that said “A dream is a goal with no energy behind it.” That struck home, and from there the book took form. Three years later, with the help of hundreds of generous folks, you can now hold my dream in your hands.

The Independent Online Booksellers Association is pleased to announce the launch of IOBAbooks.com, a website where IOBA members will offer their books for purchase online. Book buyers can be assured that all IOBA member booksellers will provide professional and reliable service, as provided by the IOBA Code of Ethics. IOBA members can participate in IOBAbooks.com at very favorable rates. The site is operated for IOBA by Choosebooks.com and is based on their full-featured, high-quality software. Please write to webmaster@ioba.org with any questions about this exciting new project of the Independent Online Booksellers Association.

Burke crafted another haunting tour de force with Purple Cane Road, not his latest Dave Robicheaux novel, but one of his best. It is laced with the poetic, evocative imagery and fully fleshed-out characters, often hacked from the seamiest strata of real life, that typify his work. And it sets the New Iberia detective on a driven course to find the true story behind his mother’s death. Complex subplots provide additional twists and turns as Robicheaux gropes his way toward a solution. The mystery haunts him–and stirs up feelings of anger and vengeance so powerful that they threaten to demolish his long-held concepts of morality, justice and his own responsibilities as an officer of the law. His friends fear that his obsession may destroy him. Even Clete Purcell, Dave’s former partner on the NOPD and never known for his restraint or caution, shows concern. “What you want is God’s permission to paint the trees with bad guys. That ain’t going to happen, big mon.” His boss, the New Iberia Sheriff, and partner, Helen Soileau, share Clete’s view. In the end, however, all three help him solve the mystery and at least partially exorcise his demons. If you haven’t read any of Burke’s Robicheaux books before, Purple Cane Road is a good choice to try for openers. If you’re already a fan, don’t miss this one!

(Editor’s Note: I apologize. Since this issue of The Standard is so late in going live, this event was held this last weekend. Hopefully Ken Fermoyle can report on it in the next Standard issue. I’m sure it went very well indeed, as always.) As if the location wasn’t enough, Left Coast Crime 2004 organizers report that the February 19-22 event in Monterey, CA will feature Walter Mosley and Sharan Newman as Guests of Honor. Toastmistress will be Gillian Roberts (Judy Greber) and Fan Guests of Honor will be Bryan Barrett and Thom Walls. All this insures that LCC 2004 will once again be the year’s premier West Coast convention for mystery authors and dedicated fans. We attended the LCC 2003 event in Pasadena, CA and were mightily impressed. Robert Crais was Guest of Honor and did his usual fine job as a speaker. Walter Mosley is a great choice to follow the popular Crais. I’ve heard him speak a number of times in recent years and can confirm that his talks are as provocative and insightful as his writing. Mosley’s best-known book, Devil in a Blue Dress, introduced Easy Rawlins. One of his latest, Fear Itself, brings Rawlins back and in more trouble than ever. Sharan Newman specializes in historical mysteries. Her Catherine Levendeur Medieval Mystery Series now consists of eight books, with release of the latest, Outcast Dove, on November 5, 2003. The 14th event in the LCC series will be held at the Double Tree Hotel in Monterey, CA, setting of some of John Steinbeck’s most famous novels and not far from the John Steinbeck Library in Salinas. Monterey itself, of course, offers Fisherman’s Wharf, a greatly sanitized and commercial Cannery Row with its colorful John Steinbeck Plaza, the famous Aquarium and capping it all, the gorgeous Monterey Bay. Special events available to registrants include a wide variety of: panels, goodies and programs. Among them will be the Opening Reception at the Monterey Aquarium; Noir Film Night with Eddie Muller, Award and Guest of Honor special Luncheon, Continental Breakfast Daily, Bookbag and free books, the Dealers Book Room (where you can find great books) and the opportunity to meet fans, writers, editors, agents, publishers in fantastic Monterey, one of the most beautiful sites in America. And, there’s more. There will be several special publications available only to registered participants: Program book; book of original short stories written for LCC by guests of honor Walter Mosley, Sharan Newman, Judy Greber (Gillian Roberts) and Richard Lupoff; Bibliography of attending authors; and pocket program. Nearly 250 mystery authors had already registered to attend as this article was written (11/03). Mystery Organizations that will be represented at LCC 2004 include: Black Raven Press (Chris Aldrich) Deadly Alibi Press Ltd. (Margo Power) Deadly Serious Press (Kate Derie) Friends of Chester Himes Friends of Mystery (Jay Margulies) Jen’s Book Exchange (Jenifer Nightingale) Little Bear Productions (Rochelle R. Bernet) Mystery Place Online (Stephanie Shea) Mystery Readers International (Janet Rudolph) Poisoned Pen (Barbara Peters) Sisters in Crime  St. Martin’s Minotaur (John Cunningham) The Double Tree Hotel is sold out. Here are some other possibilities: The San Carlos Days Inn is walking distance (8-10 minutes) from the convention center. Rates range from $89-$129, depending on the room type. Phone 1-800-227-6332. Casa Munras Garden Hotel (least expensive, short walk or drive to the convention center); phone number is 1-800-222-2446 from CA and 1-800-222-2558 anywhere else in the US. Hotel Pacific is around the corner from the Doubletree, a gem and pricey. Wonderful suites. Phone 1-800-554-5542. Reference number is 6996 or Left Coast Crime. Reservations should be made early for the “gourmet” hotel, as rooms go real fast at this time of the year. The Monterey Hotel at 406 Alvarado St. Phone 1-831-375-3184. Room rates are at special group rate of $115 plus tax. Rooms are on a first hotel registration basis and are limited in number. Please note that this hotel is located in a restored building from 1906 and is not recommended for persons with disabilities. To register on-line or to find out more about Left Coast Crime 2004, go to: http://www.lcc2004.com/

One of the most pernicious knids in the last several hundred years of bookselling has been odoriferous books. As all booksellers know, most books stink, but some of them go so far as to smell. It breaks the heart to tear into a lovely milk crate of potentially mortgage- paying volumes only to discover that they have been stored in the back of a disused lavatory along with the owners’ collection of rare molds & spores. There are many makeshift methods to drive odors out of books, from a dose of sunlight to a good strong coating of Febreze®. But they may work or not work or even damage the invalided book. So, if you have recently unearthed a nice fat modern first whose mindless half-wit of an owner had a fondness for pellet burning wood stoves and you would like it made more socially acceptable in a reasonable amount of time, I suggest you try my exclusively made Book Deodorizer*. It is made from harmless chemically neutral highly absorbent granules, (with the recent addition of real cedar scent!*) and when put in an air tight container with the convalescent tome it is guaranteed to absorb odor molecules. Length of time necessary for the abrogation of the odor is dictated by the severity of the stench. Available in either the original clay based or the new biodegradable corn cob-based. There is no risk as each bottle is guaranteed. Hundreds of bottles have been sold over the years with no refunds…as yet. *We have tried including NO smellum in the product, however since the odor remains in the granules, it gives the distinct impression that nothing is happening; besides cedar is nice and repells bibliovores. *see: http://www.bookdeodorizer.com J. Godsey 14 Pleasant St. Methuen, MA 01844 Selling books since 1980 Publisher of Sic, the Book Humor magazine Distributors of “Book Deodorizer” http://www.bookdeodorizer.com

By: Robin Gutterman robin@titlesdirect.com Database URLs: http://www.MyOwnBookshop.com and http://www.BookTrakker.com  TitlesDirect.com, Inc., the parent company of MyOwnBookshop.com and the developer of BookTrakker Pro, is pleased to report a number of site changes and recent developments. In the forefront is an announcement concerning SmartSearch, new technology that produces accurate booksearch results. Introducing SmartSearch Technology TitlesDirect.com has developed new search technology for producing accurate search results. The first implementation of this new technology, coined SmartSearch, is in use on MyOwnBookshop.com’s website and supersedes Advanced Search. In a recent statement, Robin Gutterman of TitlesDirect.com, Inc., commented, “The accuracy percentages using SmartSearch have far surpassed our original goals. We are confident that SmartSearch provides the most accurate Internet booksearch results to date, opening new dimensions for discerning customers and book collectors. SmartSearch produces highly accurate results even using data previously considered unusable, commonly referred to as “dirty data” by those in the trade. The full scope of its accuracy will become more readily apparent over time as dealers reupload their inventories and refinements are made. This is new technology; we are on new ground. Time will tell how far we can go with it; however, we have a good head start on further refinements.” MyOwnBookshop.com In other news, MyOwnBookshop.com recently began a new initiative to improve the bottom line for booksellers, streamline book orders, and increase overall site activity. Three significant changes form the base of this altered selling model: the abolishment of fees and commissions on direct orders to dealers; onsite posting of complete bookseller contact information to increase direct orders to dealers; and a new and simple flat fee structure on credit card orders processed by the website. Fees and commissions on direct-to-dealer orders have been eliminated and website shoppers can view full contact information, as provided, anytime by clicking on Buy From Bookseller. Booksellers lacking their own bookselling websites can take advantage of this opportunity by selling direct to their customers using the MyOwnBookshop.com website. MyOwnBookshop.com is encouraging booksellers to include their own email addresses, telephone numbers, FAX numbers, and their business website URLs in their onsite contact information. A simplified fee structure for credit card orders processed by the website became effective November 1, 2003. Briefly stated, the new fee structure, which replaces separate commission and credit card fees, is a flat 16% on site-processed payment with a limit of $50 per order. Chargeback fees on credit card orders processed by MyOwnBookshop.com will not be charged to the bookseller. These cost-cutting measures, coupled with the existing policy of no application and monthly fees, are being implemented to provide an improved and more lucrative selling ground for booksellers. BookTrakker Pro Automated Internet Bookselling and Inventory Management Software BookTrakker has entered the late-alpha testing stage for its automated Internet bookselling and inventory management software upgrade, BookTrakker Pro Version 3.0. A number of key features and enhancements will debut in this major upgrade to the software, including a quantity field and a speedy shortcut for multiple sales. In order to provide more value-added services for the book trade, the company is pursuing development of additional software tools for booksellers and collectors. With ISBN Lookup becoming a critical issue for many online booksellers, a stand-alone ISBN Lookup Tool is at the top of the list. The ISBN Lookup Tool would integrate seamlessly with BookTrakker Pro V3.0, as well as 2.0 and 2.1 and can also be used as a stand-alone tool by users of other database programs. About MyOwnBookshop.com MyOwnBookshop.com is an online marketplace for used and rare books, ephemera, and other unique or unusual items discovered by dealers, and caters to booksellers, collectors and the book buying public. The website is owned and operated by TitlesDirect.com, Inc. About BookTrakker Pro BookTrakker Pro Software provides automated Internet bookselling and inventory management software for online booksellers, used and rare book dealers and book collectors. BookTrakker offers a no-hassle 30-day Free Trial of the full version of BookTrakker Pro, which provides advanced inventory, wants and contact management and custom catalog creation.

What’s most interesting in the case is what impact it may have on other authors, particularly those in the crime and sci-fi categories. If Activision wins, will this mean game creators can steal characters and ideas from novels with impunity? The film and TV industries traditionally have paid good money for rights to use authors’ works, never mind that the final product often bears little resemblance to the written version. “Since news [of the suit] broke, we have received literally hundreds of posts and emails,” reported the webmaster for Crais’ website, robertcrais.com “…To those of you who sent letters of support and good wishes, we extend our deepest thanks and gratitude.” Crais has long been known for his careful stewardship of the Elvis and Joe characters, the whole Cole series, in fact. Despite lucrative film and TV offers, he has steadfastly refused to sell rights to his Cole novels or their main characters. He pointed this out in the following statement on his suit against Activision. ”To quote a character from The Monkey’s Raincoat, where it all began: ‘He accepts the duty of protecting what is his.’ ”To that end, I have engaged Bruce Van Dalsem and Henry Gradstein of Gradstein, Luskin & Van Dalsem to help in the effort. Requests from journalists are forwarded to them. Legally, I can make no comment upon the case so long as we have a pending action. I look forward to sharing my views with the jury.” Crais ended his comments with a bow to the fans who registered support in e-mails and on his website Forum: ”Thanks for your good wishes and support.” Here is how Activision describes the game. “The streets of Los Angeles are being overrun with criminal scum and it’s going to take a renegade ex-cop like you to clean them out for good. As Nick Kang, your brutal reputation and lethal skills have landed you a nasty job: heading up an undercover task force to stop the Chinese and Russian gangs from turning the City of Angels into their hellish playground. Across hundreds of square miles of L.A., you’ve got to drive, fight and blast your way through a branching storyline comprised of a massive array of unpredictable missions, using stealth techniques, martial arts moves, and an ask-questions-later arsenal. Looks like the hardcore streets of L.A. just met their match.” Here is the comment of a journalist who covers the video game beat. True Crime taken to true court L.A. crime author Robert Crais sues Activision over Nick Kang character Activision saw its drive to publish True Crime: The Streets of LA hit a pothole today as crime author Robert Crais reportedly announced that he is taking legal action to stop the game’s November 4 release. ”Crais filed suit in Los Angeles US District Court and is currently seeking an injunction to prevent Activision from shipping the game. The suit also seeks undisclosed monetary damages and “destruction of all infringing works.” What’s Crais’ beef? The writer claims that Nick Kang, the grizzled ex-cop antihero of True Crime, is a rip-off of Elvis Cole, the grizzled ex-cop antihero of nine Crais novels, including L.A. Requiem and Free Fall. “‘True Crime is substantially similar to the Elvis Cole novels,’ states the suit, which accuses Activision of copying “protectable expressions.” (Those who’ve read Crais’ novels and seen footage of True Crime will notice Kang and Cole also share an affinity for mirrored sunglasses and beating criminals senseless.) “E-mails to Crais were not returned and Activision representatives wouldn’t comment on the matter except to say it expected the game to ship as scheduled. “Developed by Luxoflux, True Crime LA is one of Activision’s most heavily promoted Q4 releases. The title’s combination of Grand Theft Auto-like shooting and driving with martial arts-influenced hand-to-hand combat has generated significant interest among gamers.” – by Tor Thorsen, GameSpot [POSTED: 10/17/03 11:10 AM (Actually, ol’ Tor doesn’t seem all that familiar with the Crais mysteries. It’s Joe Pike who wears mirrored sunglasses and is the more physical one of the partners.) Does Crais have a legitimate beef in this case? Not having seen the game yet, I can’t speculate. The fact that people who have seen it and spotted the parallels does suggest that there is at least some smoke hovering over the situation. Is there fire there, too? Stay tuned; we’ll update you on this suit next issue.

By: Jim Arner jarnersr@wyomerc.com As TomFolio.com, the web-site owned/operated by ABookCoOp, enters the fourth year of operation, we wish to announce several recent enhancements to the site. Sticky Pages – TomFolio members can use the site as a virtual private web-based bookstore. You can provide the customer with a search form that searches only your listings on the TomFolio site. Very useful for those dealers who do not operate their own private websites. Auto-Category Display – No longer does a TomFolio dealer have to create a list of categories to be displayed on their dealer page. This is now done automatically. Every category that the dealer uses is now displayed at the bottom of the dealer page. Clicking on any category opens up a list of sub-categories; click on any of these brings up a complete listing of all books, for that dealer, in the particular sub-category. Specialty Category/Sub-Category List – Even though the full cat/sub-cat list is now automatically displayed, a TomFolio member can still create a list of specialties to be displayed on the dealer page. This works in much the same way as the previously, dealer-definable cat/sub-cat display feature. Specialty Author List – TomFolio members can now add links, on their dealer page, to specific authors. Clicking on any author link opens up a complete listing of all books, for that dealer, for the particular author. New features, coming soon: Multiple Categories – In the near future, the TomFolio uploads will allow a dealer to place a book into multiple categories, not just the single selection currently available. Want Lists – Customers will be able to create want lists and receive email notifications whenever new items are added to the TomFolio website. Personal Web-Site Pages – TomFolio will soon be able to host individual domain names. Dealers can operate their own private websites, with their own domain name, through the TomFolio service.