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Page 123 - Tag, I'm It?

Fellow Crime Fiction Blogger J. Kingston Pierce, has tagged THD for the current round of cyber chain mail fun. (Can I use the word Cyber? Does anyone know what that that means? Everyone saw Wild Palms right? Hello? Wild Palms? Jim Belushi? Anyone?)

This is called Page 123. And here are the rules.

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

Well I have already broken the rules as I have done half of 5, but lets not let that bother us.

Nearest book. I'm at work surrounded by.... work related books. On my right is a biography on Barbara Stanwyck, but I am left handed so I pick, Houdini's Escapes and Magic by Walter B. Gibson. Published by Blue Ribbon Books, Inc., NYC

I open to page 123. It is a Chapter entitled The Double Box Escape.

Sentence Five will remain a mystery as the next three read:

But for the presence of the top board, the middle board could be lifted from the rods. There are three catches in the upper edge of the middle board. These engage openings in the highest of the three boards.

I initially worried that the IBM would take issue with the publishing of any portion that might explain one of Houdini's most spectacular escapes, but I feel the Brotherhood understands the pressures of living up to the Page 123 chain letter.

Next into the Thunderdome. Jared Case, Kristen Merola, Abbey Hendrickson, Robyn York, and lets go for a Celebrity, an honest to goodness big name that will knock your socks off, Duane - Let me double check that spelling - Swierczynski. ( I cut and pasted from his blog so if it's wrong it is Duane's fault.)

Thanks to The Rap Sheet for this fun little Tuesday Morning diversion.

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Jared said…
Bah! I got tagged!

I don't subscribe to chain letters too much (or memes, in the virtual world), but this one seems to be going around mostly to mystery writers, and I've been tagged by a friend, so I'd hate to let him down...

I first saw this at The Rap Sheet, posted by J. Kingston Pierce, who tagged Dan Wagner over at The Hungry Detective, who tagged me. It's a simple little exercise called "Page 123." What you do is this:

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Go to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence. (A virtually useless step as the action comes next...)
4. Post the next 3 sentences
5. Tag 5 people and acknowledge who tagged you.

I am currently reading Trunk Music, by Michael Connelly. Page 123 falls in Chapter 2. I haven't actually read that far yet, so this will be as surprising to me as it is to you:

"It was Rhonda."
"Rhonda, whatever, never-the-fuck mind. She said you said he was dead."

Ooh, pretty cool. Three short sentences with conflict, vulgarity and a little staccato dialogue. I'm a late-comer to Connelly, but I'm enjoying him. Reading him chronologically, of course. God, I'm so anal.

I am going to tag local mystery author and recent Book of the Year nominee Charles Benoit at Type M for Murder, local mystery author with upcoming book LL Bartlett at Writers Plot, far-away mystery author (is Indiana far?) Trey Barker, and good friends Beavis and Spanky. (Don't ask. You'll only get answers. And that is something you do not want.)
6:29 AM
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