From the Booking Desk:
The name Charles Todd might as well be a synonym for excellence. This mother-son writing duo never fail to satisfy their fans, whether they are writing a book in one of their two series, a stand-alone, a short story, an essay, or likely even their grocery list. In our eyes, they can do no wrong.
Today, I am thrilled to welcome both halves of this writing team in what is the first-ever two person BOLO Books Composite Sketch. Both Charles and Caroline are fascinating and I wanted to make sure that we got a sense of who they were individually, after years of enjoying the joint contributions.
If you have ever encountered these two at one of the many crime fiction conventions they attend, you know how personable they are – always willing to chat with readers. If you have not yet had the pleasure of meeting them, you must make the effort, you will be glad that you did. As for their books, if you have read them, I *know* you are a fan; and if you haven’t yet cracked the spine, please make sure you give them a try, you would be hard-pressed to find better historical crime fiction out there.
Name: Caroline Todd
Location: East coast, USA
This person from my personal life is such an inspiration:
It will have to be two people: my parents, who read to me as a child and opened the world to me as a person, encouraging me to believe that a woman could reach for the stars.
One of the people I admire most in the crime fiction community is:
Much harder! It would have to be Dorothy Dunnett, the late British author of the Lymond series, whose books taught me that historical fiction could be as sharp and exciting and challenging as today’s latest thriller.
STALKER ALERT! If this fictional character were real, they would likely need to get a restraining order against me:
Atticus Finch. As Gregory Peck played him too. He’s the struggle every one of us faces as we look for our better selves, and the stand he took was courageous and honorable, something we all aspire to but sometimes fall short of. Good, kind, decent, smart, troubled, but brave enough to follow his conscience. Simply an amazingly human character.
People are always surprised that I am a fan of this individual (singer, actor, or artist):
Dr. Who. I’ve loved the series, and the various actors who’ve played the Doctor in recent years have given him such enthusiastic, humorous and absolutely out of this world plots. He’s a marvelous example that imagination doesn’t know any bounds.
My personal catch phrase is (or should be):
Don’t worry—I’ll get to it. Two series a year and lots of short stories in between make finding time for everything a challenge.
Name: Charles Todd
Location: East Coast USA
This person from my personal life is such an inspiration:
My parents who read to me, exposed me to travel and the wonders of the world.
One of the people I admire most in the crime fiction community is:
Martin Edwards whose love of the Lake District and wealth of knowledge of the golden age of mystery is only matched with his generosity to fans, writers and lovers of mystery.
STALKER ALERT! If this fictional character were real, they would likely need to get a restraining order against me:
Columbo fascinated me. I love the series because it focused on how he solved crimes rather than who did it. We never knew much about him except how much he loved his wife and dog.
People are always surprised that I am a fan of this individual (singer, actor, or artist):
Pink Floyd, I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon.
My personal catch phrase is (or should be):
Patience is a virtue.
You can find out more about Charles Todd in these locations:
website, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Two of the nicest people ever…and great writers, too.
Thank you! That means a lot to us!
This is wonderful, Kristopher! Thank you!
Such awesome people, both of them! And Charles and I both listed Martin as a truly admirable fellow, and Pink Floyd — well, I didn’t say them for my composite sketch, because no one would be surprised to learn that I was a fan. Maybe Charles and I can do a karaoke version of Comfortably Numb at Malice this year…
I hate I will miss your performance. Have no fear Caroline will be there to cheer you on!
Thank you, Kristopher, for featuring Caroline and Charles Todd. I’ve had the good fortune to talk to them at conferences, and they are lovely. When people ask me for a book recommendation, books by Charles Todd are among the first ones I list.
Two for one. How fun!
Two of my favorite mystery friends AND favorite authors! Thanks, Kristopher!
I love that both of you chose your parents as the people who most inspired you, and here you are, a parent-child writing team. Lovely.
I’m always impatient for the next book by them!
Not long now, NEXT TUESDAY – The Black Ascot.
Great sketch.
Two of my favorite people in the mystery/crime community. They both are so well versed in the history surrounding their two series. I could listen to them talk about the period of WWI in England all day long. And, of course, they translate all that knowledge into great historical mystery fiction.