Mary Higgins Clark, on writing:

Writing is storytelling.

No matter how you slice it, you're saying, 'Once upon a time.'

That's what writing is all about.

- Mary Higgins Clark.

Recommended reading - City of the Dead

City of the Dead

by Herbert Lieberman.
 
Hardcover.
First published 1976.
Published by Simon & Schuster.

ISBN 13: 9780671222727
ISBN 10: 0671222724
ASIN: 0671222724

Description:
 

The grim and fascinating world of the big-city pathologist is the backdrop for this terrifying journey into the depths of the human soul.

In 1970s New York, a forensic pathologist must use his professional skills to save his own daughter in this “harrowing” award-winning crime novel (The New York Times).

 

In the gritty seventies, Manhattan is a dark, dangerous, and threatening place. One of the bright spots in this decaying metropolis is Paul Konig. As the city’s chief medical examiner, he has developed an impressive reputation for his skills in forensic pathology – skills that will be put to the ultimate test when a dangerous psychopath kidnaps Konig’s daughter.

 

Awakened by phone calls featuring his daughter’s desperate screams each night, Konig finds his life unraveling, not only personally but professionally. Between the case of a serial killer who leaves a trail of severed body parts in his wake, an investigation into the forensic work on an alleged prison suicide, and a nakedly ambitious deputy medical examiner, he is at the end of his rope, and it will take every ounce of his strength to save his own life – as well as his family’s.

Perfect for fans of Patricia Cornwell or Kathy Reichs, City of the Dead is a chilling thriller by the author of Crawlspace and a winner of the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, featuring “a massive amount of authoritative detail” about the life of a coroner (Kirkus Reviews).

Born on this day – Charles Perrault:

Charles Perrault

Writer

January 12, 1628 – May 16, 1703

Credits:
 
Written work:
 

Bluebeard; Cinderella / aka Little Glass Slipper; Little Red Riding-Hood; Little Thumb; Riquet of the Tuft; Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals (Histoires ou Contes du Temps passé): Tales of Mother Goose (1697); The Fairies; The Master Cat / aka Puss in Boots; The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood.

 

Movies and television:
 

A Princess in Disguise (1904); Abel Classics (2022–2023); Anansi Storytime (2019); Aurora (2018); Aventuras de Pulgarcito (1942); Barbe bleue (1979); Bluebeard (1901); Bluebeard (1909); Bluebeard (2009); Bluebeard's Castle (2022); Bye bye chaperon rouge (1989); Caperucita roja (1947); Cendrillon (1922 / 2011); Cendrillon, d'après Charles Perrault (2013); Cenerentola - Una favola in diretta (2012); Cenerentola (1949); Cinderella (1898 / 1899 / 1911 / 1914 / 1922 / 1950 / 1955 / 1961/ 1963 / 1965 / 1970 / 1977 / 1979 / 1994 / 1996 / 1997 / 2009 / 2015 / 2018); Cinderella and the Magic Slipper (1917); Cinderella by Charles Perrault (2022); Cinderella or The Glass Slipper (1912); Cinderella's Curse (2024); Cinderella's Revenge (2024); Cinderella's Twin (1920); Donkey Skin (1906 / 1970); Donkeyskin (2013); Duke Bluebeard's Castle (2020); El gato con botas (1961); El gato con botas (1964); Érase una vez (1950); Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998); Faerie Tale Theatre (1983–1985); Favorite Fairy Tales (1986); Ferozz: The Wild Red Riding Hood (2010); Festival of Family Classics (1972–1973); Freshwater Assassins (1947); Grands pas classiques (1978); Great Performances (1996); Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics (1988); Grisélidis (1912); Hey Cinderella! (1969); Hop o' My Thumb (1905); I diki sou moira me sernei (1964); I riassuntini (2018); Jackanory (1966); La belle au bois dormant (1922 / 1973/ 1993 / 2000); La caperucita roja (1960); La Cenerentola (1982 / 1983 / 1988 / 2017); La Cenicienta (1981); Le avventure erotix di Cappuccetto Rosso (1993); Le chateau de Barbe-Bleu/La voix humaine (2015); Le dernier chaperon rouge (1998); Le fil rouge (2006); Le petit chaperon rouge (2008); Le Petit Chaperon Rouge, d'après Charles Perrault (2013); Le petit poucet (1954); L'homme au parapluie: Une histoire de Cendrillon (2012); Little Red Riding Hood (1901 / 1911 / 1918 / 1922 / 1930 / 1995 / 2009); Little Tom Thumb (1901); Lort & Lagkage (2002); Mágica aventura (1973); Maleficent (2014); Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019); Massenet: Cendrillon (2020); Mr. Fuzz (1908); My Favorite Fairy Tales Volume 1: Puss n' Boots/Little Red Riding Hood (1986); Omnibus / Mother Goose (1952); Parlez-moi de Vous (2016); Peau d'âne (2013); Poor Cinderella (1934); Prestige de la musique (1964); Pulgarcito (1912); Pulgarcito (1958); Puss in Boots (1903); Puss in Boots (1908); Puss in Boots (1931); Puss in Boots (1954); Puss in Boots (1969); Puss in Boots (1988); Puss in Boots (1993); Puss in Boots (2011); Rossini: La Cenerentola (2005); Rossini: La Cenerentola (2020); Rudolph's Shiny New Year (1976); Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958); Si Perrault m'était conté (1966); Sleeping Beauty (1903 / 1954 / 1959 / 1987 / 1995 / 2016); Stories from My Childhood (1998); Television Theater (2014–2022); The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie (1973); The Company of Wolves (1984); The Devil's Seven Castles (1902); The Glass Slipper (1959); The Golden Treasury of Classic Fairy Tales (1982); The Little Red Riding Hood (2006); The Metropolitan Opera HD Live (2014–2022); The New Adventures of Cinderella (2017); The Puss in Boots (1968); The Sleeping Beauty (1954 / 1959/ 1964 / 1989 / 2010 / 2013); The Sleeping Princess (1939); The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella (1976); The True Story of Puss'N Boots (2009); The Wacky World of Mother Goose (1967); Timeless Tales from Hallmark (1991); Tom Thumb (1909 / 1912 / 1938 / 1972 / 2001); Trois contes merveilleux (2007); Welcome To: Tales from Mother Goose (2017); World Fairy Tale (1995).

Born on this day – Jack London:

Jack London

Writer

January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916

Credits: 

Books:

Jerry of the Islands (1917); Michael Brother of Jerry (1917); A Daughter of the Snows (1902); Burning Daylight (1902); The Kempton-Wace Letters (1903); The Sea-Wolf (1904); The Game (1905); White Fang (1906); Before Adam (1906); Martin Eden (1909); Theft (1910); The Abysmal Brute (1911); Adventure (1911); Hearts of Three (1911); Smoke Bellew (1912); The Valley of the Moon (1913); The Star Rover (1914); The Mutiny of the Elsinore (1914); Daughters of the Rich (1915); The Little Lady of the Big House (1916); The Assassination Bureau, Ltd. (1963); The Lodger (2015); The Wisdom Of The Trail (1899); The Man with the Gash (1900); The God of His Fathers (1901); The Cruise of the Dazzler (1902); The Death of Ligoun (1902); To Build a Fire (1903); The Shadow and the Flash (1903); The Marriage of Lit-Lit (1903); Demetrios Contos (1903); The Call of the Wild and Typhoon (1903); What Life Means to Me (1905); Love of Life (1905); The Enemy of All the World (1907); Flush of Gold (1907); The Heathen (1908); The Iron Heel (1908); The Taste of the Meat (1910); The Eternity of Forms (1910); A Daughter of the Aurora / A Piece of Steak (1911); The Scarlet Plague (1912); The Jacket (1914); At the Rainbow's End (1914); When Alice Told Her Soul (1916); Curious Fragments (1986); The League of the Old Men (2004); The Story of Keesh (2008); The Chinago (2008); To the Man on the Trail (2008); A Thousand Deaths (2010); Bulls (2013); Confession (2013); The Red One (2014); The Men of the Forty Mile (2014); Hoboes That Pass in the Night (2014); The Fuzziness of Hoockla-Heen (2014); The First Poet (2014); The Hanging of Cultus George (2014); A Flutter in Eggs (2014); The King of Mazy May (2014); Jack London - The Son of the Wolf (2017); The Faith of Men (2017); The Night Born (2019); The Call of the Wild (2019); The Son of the Wolf (1900); Dutch Courage and Other Stories (1900); The Faith of Men and Other Stories (1902); Children of the Frost (1902); A Daughter of the Aurora (1902); Amateur Night (1903); The Call of the Wild and Selected Stories (1905); Tales of the Fish Patrol (1905); Brown Wolf and Other Stories (1906); A Day's Lodging (1906); The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and Other Stories (1906); Brown Wolf (1906); Moon-Face and Other Stories (1906); The Passing of Marcus O'Brien (1907); Aloha OE (1908); To Build a Fire and Other Stories (1908); The Strength of the Strong (1909); The Madness of John Harned (1909); The Benefit of the Doubt (1910); South Sea Tales (1911); A Son of the Sun (1912); The Yukon writings of Jack London (1912); The House of Pride (1912); The Night-Born and Other Stories (1913); In Hawaii with Jack London (1916); The Turtles of Tasman (1916); The Human Drift (1917); On the Makaloa Mat (1919); The Bones of Kahekili (1919); The Sun-Dog Trail And Other Stories (1951); Jack London's California: The Golden Poppy and Other Writings (1955); White Fang, and Other Stories (1963); The Sea-Wolf and Other Stories (1964); Stories of Hawaii (1965); The Call of the Wild and Other Stories (1965); The Science Fiction Stories of Jack London (1975); The Unabridged Jack London (1981); Klondike Tales (1982); The Dream of Debs / Account of the San Francisco Cooks & Waiters Strike (1985); Tales of Hawaii (1989); Tales of the Pacific (1989); The Collected Jack London (1991); Five Great Short Stories (1992); Northland Stories (1997); Fantastic Tales (1998); The Plays of Jack London (2000); Jack London in Aloha-Land (2000); Lost Face And Other Stories (2005); Stories of Ships and the Sea (2006); Jack London's Tales of Cannibals and Headhunters (2006); The Asian Writings of Jack London (2009); San Francisco Stories (2010); Sailing Ships and Other Adventures (2011); Island Tales... (2012); The Science Fiction of Jack London (2012); Uncollected Stories (2013); When God Laughs and Other Stories (2013); 'The Turtles of Tasman' and Other Stories (2013); 'The Red One' and Other Stories (2013); 'The Strength of the Strong' and Other Stories (2013); The Curious Fragment (2013); The Classic Works of Jack London (2014); The Leopard Man's Story (2014); The Complete Poetry of Jack London (2014); Negore the Coward (2014); Small-Boat Sailing (2014); The Complete Short Stories of Jack London, Volume 1 (2015); The Complete Short Stories of Jack London, Volume 2 (2015); The Complete Short Stories of Jack London, Volume 3 (2015); The Poetical Works of Jack London (2015); Brown Wolf and Other Jack London Stories (2016); Tales of the Klondyke (2016); Jack London - Moon-Face & Other Stories (2016); Jack London - The Science Fiction Stories - Volume 2 (2017); Lost Face (2018); Love Of Life And Other Stories (2019); Love of Life & Other Stories Illustrated (2019); Jack London Dog Stories (2019); Jack London's Stories for Boys (2020); The People of the Abyss (1903); The War of the Classes (1906); The Cruise of the Snark (1907); The Road (1907); Revolution and Other Essays (1909); John Barleycorn (1913); Essays of Revolt (1926); No Mentor But Myself (1978); Sporting Blood: Selections from Jack London's Greatest Sports Writing (1981); Our Hawaii (2015); The Boy Scouts Book of Campfire Stories (1921); Great Tales of Action and Adventure (1958); The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May 1959 (1959); 50 Great American Short Stories (1963); A St. Nicholas Anthology (1969); 21 Great Stories (1969); Perspectives in Literature: A Book of Short Stories, Vol. 1 (1983); Adventure Stories for Boys and Girls (1985); 100 Dastardly Little Detective Stories (1993); The Campfire Collection: Spine-tingling Tales to Tell in the Dark (2000); The Little Big Book of California (2005); The Arctic: an anthology of the finest writing on the Arctic and the Antarctic (2007); San Francisco Noir 2 (2009); 50 Classic Novellas (2011); The Most Dangerous Game and Other Stories of Adventure (2011); Easy Reading for Difficult Devils: An Anthology of Dark Fiction (2014); Beach Books Anthology (2023).

Movies and television:

A Thousand Deaths (2014); Adventure (1925); Alaska (1944); Alaska Kid (1993); Alaska. Lost Face. (2020); Alaska-Kids großer Coup (1979); An Odyssey of the North (1914); Barricade (1950); Build a Fire (2011); Burning Daylight (1920 / 1928 / 2010); Burning Daylight: The Adventures of 'Burning Daylight' in Civilization (1914); By the Law (1926); California's Gold (1994); Call of the Wild (1923 / 1935 / 1992 / 1996 / 2000 / 2009); Call of the Wild: Howl, Buck (1981); Captain David Grief (1957–1960); Cara de luna (2011); Cara Perdida (2003); Cautatorii de aur (1986); CBS Library (1980); Conflict (1936); Construire un feu (1930); Crochet au Coeur (2005); Cry of the Black Wolves (1972); Das Ende vom Lied (1976); Das verschollene Inka-Gold (1978); Der Mexikaner Felipe Rivera (1984); Der Seewolf (1971 / 2008); El mexicano (1944); Emperor of the North (1973); Fareler (2005); Ficciones (1974); For Love of Gold (1908); Giants of the Open (1922); Hora once (1971–1972); Into the Void (2019); Jack Johnson (1970); Jack London's a Piece of Steak (2014); Jack London's Adventures in the South Sea Islands (1913); Jack London's Love of Life (2012); John Barleycorn (1914); Jour blanc (2004); Kit & Co. (1974); Klondike Fever (1979); La mia grande avventura (1973); L'aventure humaine (2016); Le steak (1992); Les cent livres des hommes (1972); Les Chroniques du Mea (2019); Les mutinés de l'Elseneur (1936); Lockruf des Goldes (1975); Lost Face (2016); Man's Genesis (1912); Martin Eden (1914 / 1979 / 2019); Martin Iden (1976); Morganson's Finish (1926); Mutiny on the Elsinore (1937); Neural Surfer (2019); North to the Klondike (1942); Northern Exposure (1992); Pirates of the Deep (1922); Por un bistec (2004); Prowlers of the Sea (1928); Queen of the Yukon (1940); Radio Theater Project (2015); Road Book (2021); Romance of the Redwoods (1939); Scene (1977); Schlitz Playhouse (1952); Sea Wolf (2009); Seemann im Sattel - Das Leben des Jack London (1967); Siesta Z (2017); Sign of the Wolf (1941); Smoke and Shorty (1976); Smoke Bellew (1929); Sócios (1991); Somerset Maugham TV Theatre (1951); Son of the Wolf (2024); Stage 7 (1955); Stormy Waters (1928); Tales of the Klondike (1981); Tales of the South Seas (1998–2000); Tales of the Wild (1995); Television Theater (1957–1958); The Abysmal Brute (1923); The Adventures of Martin Eden (1942); The Assassination Bureau (1969); The Ballad of Buster Scruggs / Segment: All Gold Canyon (2018); The Call of the Wild (1972 / 1976 / 1997 / 2020); The Channel Raiders (1922); The Chechako (1914); The Devil's Skipper (1928); The Fighter (1952); The Great Adventure (1975); The Haunted Ship (1927); The Iron Mitt (1916); The Last Sleep (2016); The Law of the Sea (1922); The Legend of Sea Wolf (1975); The Legend of White Fang (1992–1994); The Life and Various Deaths of Ambrose Bierce (2016); The Little Fool (1921); The Minions of Midas (2020); The Mohican's Daughter (1922); The Mutiny of the Elsinore (1920); The Sands of Life (1914); The Sea Wolf (1907 / 1913 / 1920 / 1926 / 1930 / 1941 / 1993 / 1997); The Siege of the Lancashire Queen (1922); The Son of the Wolf (1922); The Star Rover (1920); The Valley of the Moon (1914); The White Fang (1946); The Wolves of the Waterfront (1923); The Yellow Handkerchief (1923); Timberland Treachery (1922); To Build a Fire (1969 / 2003 / 2016 / 2017 / 2019); Torture Ship (1939); Tropical Nights (1928); TV de Vanguarda (1957–1960); TV Teatro (1958); Two Men of the Desert (1913); Un siècle d'écrivains (1995); Veterán (2020); White and Yellow (1922); White Fang (1925 / 1936 / 1973 / 1991 / 1993 / 1997 / 2018); White Fang Story (1982); olf Call (1939); Wolf Larsen (1958).

Born on this day – Arthur Ripley:

Arthur Ripley

Writer

Editor

Producer

Director

Cinematographer

January 12, 1897 – February 13, 1961

Credits:

A Celebrated Case (1914); A Hollywood Theme Song (1930); A Lady of Quality (1924); A Price for Folly (1915); A Wrestler's Bride (1933); A Yankee Doodle Duke (1926); All Night Long (1924); Am I Having Fun! (1936); Barnum Was Right (1929); Behind Prison Walls (1943); Blindness of Devotion (1915); Boobs in the Wood (1925); Captain of the Guard (1930); Caravan (1934); Cavalcade of America (1952–1954); Colt .45 (1959); Counsel on De Fence (1934); Courting Trouble (1932); Dance Hall Marge (1931); Dr. Rameau (1915); Edgar Hamlet (1935); Elmer Steps Out (1934); Fiddlesticks (1927); Gasoloons (1936); General Electric Theater (1953); Happy Tho' Married (1935); Heart Trouble (1928); Heart Trouble (1928); Hide-Out (1930); His Busted Trust (1916); His First Flame (1927); His Marriage Wow (1925); Hold 'er Sheriff (1931); Hold Your Temper (1943); Hooked at the Altar (1926); How to Behave (1936); How to Train a Dog (1936); Hypnotized (1932); I Met My Love Again (1938); In Conference (1931); In Love at 40 (1935); In the Dog House (1934); In-Laws Are Out (1934); Just a Bear (1931); Life's Darn Funny (1921); Long Pants (1927); Love on a Ladder (1934); Lucky Stars (1925); Monkey Business in Africa (1931); Plain Clothes (1925); Prisoner of Japan (1942); Remember When? (1925); Saturday Afternoon (1926); Scrappily Married (1940); Shannon of the Sixth (1914); Shivers (1934); Should a Mother Tell (1915); Siren of Atlantis (1949); Smith's Surprise (1927); Smith's Uncle (1926); Soldier Man (1926); South Seasickness (1935); Speed (1931); The Adventures of Jim Bowie (1958); The Bluffer (1930); The Bride's Mistake (1931); The Chase (1946); The Chaser (1928); The Christophers (1957); The College Vamp (1931); The Dog Doctor (1931); The Golf Specialist (1933); The Green-Eyed Monster (1916); The Jolly Jilter (1927); The Leather Necker (1935); The Pharmacist (1933); The Reel Virginian (1924); The Star and the Story (1955); The Strong Man (1926); The Third Generation (1920); The Wonderful Adventure (1915); Three Blonde Mice (1942); Three's a Crowd (1927); Thunder Road (1958); Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1926); Twincuplets (1940); Voice in the Wind (1944); Wandering Waistlines (1924); Waterfront (1939); Wedded Blitz (1942); Will Power (1936); Your Jeweler's Showcase (1953).

Born on this day – Mississippi Fred McDowell:

Mississippi Fred McDowell

Blues singer

Songwriter

Guitarist

January 12, 1904 – July 3, 1972

Credits:

Albums:

61 Highway Blues (2011); A Dose Of Double Dynamite (2006); ABC Of The Blues Vol 33 (2010); Amazing Grace & My Home Is in the Delta (2013); Amazing Grace (1966); Ann Arbor, 1971 (Live) (2021); Best Live Country Blues (2022); Blues Masters: Mississippi Fred McDowell (1969); Come and Found You Gone: The Bill Ferris Recordings (2010); Downhome Blues, Vol. 1 (2009); Eight Years Ramblin' (1972); Fred Mcdowell (2014); Fred McDowell, Vol. 2 (1966); Going Down to the River - Mississippi Fred McDowell 1959 (2020); Heritage Of The Blues: Mississippi Fred McDowell (2003); I Do Not Play No Rock 'n' Roll (1969); Jesus On The Mainline (2023); Les pionniers du Blues, Vol. 15 : Mississippi Fred McDowell (2019); Levee Camp Blues (1980); Live at the Gaslight: Set One (2000); Live at the Gaslight: Set Two (2000); Live in New York (1972); Long Way From Home (1966); Long Way From Home: The Blues of Fred McDowell (1990); Mama Says I'm Crazy (2002); Mighty Mississippi (Rerecorded) (2009); Mississippi Delta Blues (1964); Mississippi Fred McDowell (1995); Mississippi Fred McDowell in London (Volume Two) (1970); Mojo Hand: Previously Unreleased (2022); Ole Miss Blues (2022);Portraits: The First Recordings (1997); Sail On, Little Girl, Sail On (2012); Shake 'Em on Down (2015); Shake 'Em On Down: Live In NYC (2016); Standing At The Burying Ground (1996); The Alan Lomax Recordings (2011); The Best of Mississippi Fred Mcdowell (2001); The Complete Friends of Old Time Music Concert (Live) (2024); The Essential Fred McDowell (Live) (2022); The First Recordings (1997); The Man from Como, Miss (2020); The Train I Ride (1993); This Ain't No Rock n' Roll (1995); Timeless Blues: Mississippi Fred McDowell (2011); You Ain't Gonna Worry My Life Anymore (2010); You Gotta Move (1989).

Songs:

61 Highway; Baby Please Don't Go; Como; Do My Baby Ever Think of Me; Everybody's Down on Me; Fred's Rambling Blues; Frisco Line; Get Right Church; Goin’ Down to the River; Going Away - Won't Be Gone Long; Going Down the River; Gravel Road Blues; Highway 61; I Heard Somebody Call; I Looked at the Sun; Jesus Is On The Main Line; John Henry; Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning; Levee Camp Blues; Meet Me Down in Froggy Bottom; My Baby; My Bottleneck; Red Cross Store Blues; Shake 'em on Down; That's Alright; What's the Matter Now?; When I Lay My Burden Down; When the Saints Go Marching In; Write Me a Few Lines; Write Me a Few of Your Lines; You Got to Move.

Born on this day – Luise Rainer:

Luise Rainer

Actress

January 12, 1910 – December 30, 2014

Credits:

Poem: I Set My Foot Upon the Air and It Carried Me (2003); The Gambler (1997); A Dancer (1991); The Love Boat (1984); Combat! (1965); Die kleinen Füchse (1963); BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950–1957); Der erste Kuß (1954); Suspense (1954); Lux Video Theatre (1950–1953); Schlitz Playhouse (1952); Faith Baldwin Romance Theatre (1951); By Candlelight (1949); The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre (1949); Hostages (1943); Dramatic School (1938); The Great Waltz (1938); The Toy Wife (1938); Big City (1937); The Emperor's Candlesticks (1937); The Good Earth (1937); The Great Ziegfeld (1936); Escapade (1935); Heut' kommt's drauf an (1933); Madame hat Besuch (1932); Sehnsucht 202 (1932).