I spent some time Friday taking photographs for an upcoming book talk.  Can anyone tell me where this picture was taken or what the flags commemorate?

Not sure?  Tell you what, here's a few more views from the same location.  Perhaps they'll help.

Still not certain?  Okay, here's a picture taken from directly beneath the flags.

The photos were all taken from Liberty State Park.  But I wasn't there for shots of the Statue of Liberty.  I was there for the flags.

The flags are there to commemorate the explosion at Black Tom Island.  Once upon a time, Black Tom Island was a quiet little, unassuming island in the waters of New York Harbor, between Jersey City and Manhattan.  In 1915, before the U.S. officially entered World War One, the government used Black Tom Island as a top secret munitions depot from which we sent munitions to England to support their war efforts.  Like many government secrets, it was secret only from the American people.  The Germans knew all about Black Tom Island.  On July 30, 1916, German saboteurs set off a massive explosion on the island.  The explosion was big enough to cause damage in New York City and in Jersey City.  Ellis Island had to be evacuated.  Metal from the explosion damaged the skirt of the Statue of Liberty.

At first, the US government said nothing.  After all, the government didn't want Americans to know that Germany had successfully attacked a top secret munitions depot in New York Harbor.  But after the war, the explosion on Black Tom Island was prosecuted as a war crime.

The Germans denied the charge.  And they came up with a helluva theory of their own.  Mosquitos, they claimed were responsible for the explosion on Black Tom Island.  Well, not directly, but still responsible.  You see, the area was well known for it's mosquitos.  Ten years previous, a minor league baseball team that played in Jersey City was named the Skeeters, out of respect for the mosquitos that inundated the ballfield.

Anyway, mosquitos.  You see, in 1916, they didn't have all the nifty insecticides and repellents we have today.  The most common way to keep the mosquitos at bay was to light smudge pots.  Their smoky flames would keep the mosquitos at a distance.  The Germans postulated that the explosion on Black Tom Island was most likely the result of a night watchman who was careless with a smudge pot, accidently igniting the top-secret munitions.

The war crimes tribunal (and history) found against the German government.  But I kinda like the mosquito story.

RedHairedCelt is requesting tips about how to set up book events.  There's a mystery bookstore perhaps 10 miles from my home.  When A Minor Case of Murder was released, I figured I'd certainly be able to schedule a book signing at my neighborhood mystery bookstore.  But when I spoke with the owner, she declined to host a signing.  Because A Minor Case of Murder was released in a hardcover edition and the focus of her store is on the relatively inexpensive paperback mysteries.  There's another mystery bookstore approximately 1200 miles from my home.  I sent the owner an email.  And did one of my largest, most successful booksignings. 

So, you never know.  But here's a few things that have worked for me:

•  Join a professional writers' organization and take advantage of the opportunities it offers.

Every published writer (and most aspiring writers as well) should join an organization of professional writers.  In my case, it's the Mystery Writers of America.  Some of my best book events have been arranged and promoted by MWA.  Sometimes these events result in significant book sales, sometimes not so much, sometimes the event is designed to give books away for free, but whether or not they result in increased sales, these events build my name recognition among mystery writers, readers, booksellers and librarians.

MWA gets me into places I couldn't necessarily go on my own and gets me more attention than I could garner on my own.  And these events are offered by MWA to any member who wants to participate.  So it's a very easy way to start doing book events.  

• Sign up to be an exhibitor at a book festival.

Book festivals are a great place for up-and-coming authors to get attention.  Even if you're not a featured author at the festival, you'll get lots of foot traffic and lots of opportunity to sell.  For several years, I participated at the Baltimore Book Festival.

It was a good experience, but I was never entirely happy with the set-up.  Last year, I went to the Collingswood Book Festival.  Collingswood is a small town just a few miles from Philadelphia.  It only cost me $25 to be an exhibitor.  I had traffic non-stop for six hours and sold quite a few books.  This year, I've been invited back as a featured author, which means I get an hour to speak on the "main stage" and the festival handles my book sales for me.  And I was able to add two author friends to the program as well.  Exhibitor fees vary tremendously, so look for a popular book festival, close to home, with reasonable fees and big crowds. 

• Do a charity event.

My town has an annual Community Unity Day.  Local businesses and civic associations typically purchase exhibit space to support the event.  Thousands of citizens spend the day wandering among the exhibits and re-connecting with friends and neighbors.  Last year I signed up as an exhibitor and announced that I would donate the proceeds from all book sales that day to a local youth program.  The High School Marching Band is a big deal in town, an award-winning band of approximately two hundred kids.  They do a lot of fundraising to support the music program.  And they perform at Community Unity Day.  So I arranged to donate the funds to the music program.  I didn't make any money that day, but I sold a bunch of books, I talked to a lot of new readers, I garnered a lot of good will and I made a substantial donation to the music program.

To be continued...

how about three dead Romanians

and one undead Romanian.

(At the risk of being redundant, I hope to see some of you tonight at 6:30 at the Mid-Manhattan Library for Laugh or I'll Kill You).