The story of Lincoln’s Hand centers around the historical attempt to steal Abraham Lincoln’s body. Were the grave robbers successful? FBI Special Agent Zane Rigby is on the case. Authorities might need to call him back because thieves are still stealing from Lincoln’s tomb.

In early November, a three-foot long copper sword wielded by a Civil War officer atop the tomb was broken off and stolen. Tomb custodians do not know why the sword was taken. One theory is that the sword if of historical signifigence. Others believe copper in the sword would fetch a pretty penny. Still others think it is pure vandalism.

Whatever the reason, Lincoln’s tomb is again the target of thieves. As one who has conjured up a story based on an actual grave robbing attempt, I wonder if the sword theft could be a diversion for seeking a larger catch.

Perhaps, the thieves are ultimately after what the grave robbers of 1876 sought — Lincoln’s corpse

But then again, it may already have gone missing. Read Lincoln’s Hand to find out.

Below: Te Civil War officer missing his sword.

They say that criminals often revisit the scene of the crime and I had that sense of returning to where it all happened when I went back to the place where a major portion of my first mystery novel, Lincoln’s Hand, is set: Springfield, Illinois.

The reason for my concern — now that the book is out, I wondered if I messed up anything with the location. My novel came out six years after my last fact-finding trip to Springfield. A lot can change in six years. Did I remember everything correctly? Did streets become One-Ways? What about the train depot in the near-by town of Lincoln, Illinois, up the road from Springfield, where I set a scene … were the railroad cars moved away for a more modern building?

On my return to Springfield, I was to speak in the evening at the city library– called the Lincoln Library, naturally. I had done research at the library six years before. In Lincoln’s Hand, I had set some scenes in the library as my protagonist, FBI agent Zane Rigby was chasing down clues. One particularly important scene was in a special collection room of the library known as the Sangamon Valley Collection. I assumed that this room must still be there.

But when I arrived at the library at midday and went up the main staircase to the second floor I couldn’t find the room! There was an open space with many study carrels and tables. I panicked.

I had highlighted the page in my book to read that night in which the scene took place in the Sangamon Valley Collection Room. Had the library been remodeled to make room for more tables? What was I going to say?

Muttering to myself, I began walking down the stairs when I had a revelation. Could the collection room be on the third floor? I didn’t think so but turned around and headed up to check

There, to my great relief, was the room, pretty much as I remembered it.

But what about the pictures on a near-by wall that depicted Abraham Lincoln from various stages of his life in Illinois? I had described them in the book. I checked. They were still there. Good.

That night, I spoke to a gathering at the library and included my story of concern that the pictures would no longer be posted. (I was too embarrassed to admit I misplaced the room.) A librarian told me that the pictures had been donated by a former mayor who had passed-on and the pictures would soon be gone, too.

Apparently, I published just in the nick of time.

But it has me thinking, over the course of writing a book, which is set in an area that the author does not reside, how often should the writer check back to see that everything is as he or she remembers? In some cases, books take years to write. As we all know, many changes can occur in that time.

It is the author’s duty to get the facts and locations right. Therefore the writer should follow up to keep up with changes. With the use of modern technology that is easier that it once was. But there are occasions where old-fashion phone calls or a return trip to the site might be called for.

As I prepare for my next book I will keep this in mind. Problem is, I have an important scene in a place I probably won’t get to: Cocos Island three hundred miles off of Costa Rica. Google Earth will have to do.

What do you think, is it too risky using real but remote settings for a novel when the work could take a long time to complete?

The following blog first appeared in Mason Canyn’s Thoughts in Progress Blog

Your book, Lincoln’s Hand, use history for the basis of your mystery. I’d say you have an obvious passion for history.

Joel—Yes, I love American history. I would have been a history major in college if it weren’t for that darn language requirement. History can be very dramatic. Like any good drama, stories from history contain conflict, interesting characters and unusual settings, especially unusual to the modern eye. I like all of American history: the Revolutionary period, westward expansion, the turbulence surrounding the Civil War era, the old west right up through World War II.

You have taken an unusual story from American history as the catalyst for your modern day mystery story. How did that come about?

Joel—I learned about the attempt to steal Abraham Lincoln’s body from his grave from an old movie. The movie, made in the 1950s starring one-time Oscar winner Victor McLaglen, was titled the Abductors. It was a B-movie that didn’t receive a lot of attention. When I saw it as a teenager on a late night television showing I was shocked at the outrageous idea of trying to steal President Lincoln’s body. I was more amazed to find out the story was true. Eleven years after the assassination thieves tried to steal the body in hopes of exchanging it for a counterfeiter who was in prison. They were foiled. But the idea stuck with me and I realized it could make part of dramatic story.

But your book, while based on that strange historical event, is a modern day mystery. Is history woven throughout your story?

Joel—I don’t use flashbacks, but I use the strains of history that makes us the people we are as a fabric that runs through the story. Not only is the story driven by the question: Is Abraham Lincoln in his tomb – a reasonable question, by the way, because the coffin was moved many times and opened twice after the grave robbing attempt to be certain it was there – but I also have a terrorist attacking American monuments. The terrorist’s goal is to attack this country by attacking its history, its myths, as he says, that are represented by the monuments. Myths become an important part of the American story. They are built on facts. The rugged individualist American attitude that turned into the myth of the lone cowboy seeking justice in the old west. That’s an important piece of America’s makeup. Cheering for the underdog comes naturally to Americans because this country started as an underdog in battling for independence against the world’s strongest power, the British Empire. History can show us where our attitudes of today came from. It so happens that my protagonist, FBI agent Zane Rigby, possesses those culture traits of the lone man seeking justice and fighting for the underdog.

How did the idea of Abraham Lincoln’s DNA come to be part of your story?

Joel—Well, no one would be allowed to open a president’s grave without an extremely compelling reason. Finding the DNA, which matches DNA in bone kept from Lincoln’s autopsy, made a compelling reason and moved the story along.

So did you have to do a lot of research?

Joel–I had to do enough to make sure the history was right. But the favorite thing I did was travel to the place where most of my story takes place, Springfield, Illinois. I spent days there visiting the historical sites and driving around the countryside. I had a small tape recorder and I would record my observations such as the endless sea of corn cut by roads that were numbered but carried no name. When I got back to my hotel at night I would transcribe my notes from the recorder and would have them when I needed them once I started writing to describe a setting for the book.

Is Zane Rigby, your FBI protagonist, a series character? If so, can we expect more “presidential” plots?

Joel—Exactly right. I’ll take some unusual historical note from a president’s story and use that as my catalyst for Zane Rigby to solve the historical puzzle and an associated modern day murder. The working title of my next mystery is: FDR’s Treasure.

The first question on anyone’s mind who read my last post is: Did the rubber ducks help with the book sales? As a refresher, I gave out one of various kinds of rubber ducks to those who purchased a book. The answer is—maybe.

Certainly in one or two cases the duck was an attraction. And, sitting there on display, they did bring people to our table.

But, let’s face it, rubber ducks have little to do with my mystery story. If a potential reader was not drawn in by the unusual event in American history, the grave robbing attempt on Lincoln’s body, or mystery stories themselves, then a flock of rubber ducks wouldn’t have closed the sale.

I was certainly satisfied with the turnover of books at the festival, just a few shy of the total I sold at my initial book festival in Chicago last year. It helps to work the two full days at the event. I spent a couple of hours each day at the Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles tent and talked about, sold, and signed a few books there, as well.

It’s hard to tell how well the festival was received. We heard feedback from some of the visitors to our booth. This was the first year at USC and more than one person said they appreciated the flat ground in contrast to the two levels and stairs that had to be climbed at UCLA. Others thought the organization was lacking at this event, but it was the first year at a new location. Sitting in one booth, I could not measure the turnout compared to other years. I understand many of the lecture events were full.

I shared the booth with other talented mystery writers from smaller publishers who have some interesting stories to tell. Check them out on our shared website, Murder-we Wrote.com.

Busy times ahead this week as I participate at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on the campus of USC, Saturday April 30 and Sunday May 1. I was at the original festival of books held at the UCLA campus some 15 years ago. The event has grown considerably and is now changing locations to a more central spot in the Los Angeles region — if there really is such a thing.

This will be my second large book festival adventure and I hope the LA one works as well as my first experience in Chicago at the Chicago Tribune Lit Fest last June. It was the kick off event for Lincoln’s Hand and we did quite well.

Picked up a trick at that event in which one of the other authors gave away a premium of a rubber duck with each book sale. We (my wife Cydney and I) were surprised how well it worked, so, yes, we will be carrying a supply of rubber ducks with us. I’m not bothering to ask the question: Would Mark Twain stoop to a rubber duck give-a-away to sell books?

I’ll spend most of my time at the Book Festival at Booth 903, which a few author friends and I are co-sponsoring. It’s called Murder-We-Wrote in the program. I’ll also be at the LA Sisters in Crime Booth (373) from 2 to 4 pm Saturday and Noon to 2 pm Sunday.

You can also find my book at the Pepperdine University Booth (94). No official time for signing but I’ll drop by.

Hope to see folks there.

And join me on my Blog Tour starting April 27 at the Thoughts in Progress blogspot. I’ll be writing about history’s influence on my writing. You can visit the blogspot here.

My third visit to Left Coast Crime was both fun and interesting. This was the first time I attended as a published author.

The meeting this year in Santa Fe, New Mexico was at the La Fonda hotel, an historic hotel that you needed a GPS system to navigate. It reminded me of the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. The Mystery House has stairways leading nowhere. The stairways in the hotel lead you somewhere but it took a while to figure out where you were going along the crooked corridors and different levels.

I appeared at the new author’s breakfast on Friday. Moderator Mike Befeler of Geezer Lit fame, did a superb job of giving everyone an opportunity to describe their new publications. I did note that as someone with a 30-year career in politics I wasn’t too surprised that I was added to a panel entitled, “Stretching the Truth.”

Following the breakfast, I participated in a mini-Men of Mystery panel. The Men of Mystery conducted by Joan Hansen, delivers a great show in the Fall when 50 male mystery writers appear before an audience of 400 to advocate for their books, and do so with a sense of humor. I hope to be back there again this year.

I also appeared on the last panel of the last day of the conference, the aforementioned “Stretching the Truth,” that had to do with researching our books.

Our panel was moderated by Rob Kresge, author of an Old West mystery, Murder for Greenhorns. Rob also was the program chair for the entire event, which was no small task. He was even shuffling speakers and making program changes right to the end of the conference.

Another first time novelist and a veteran writer were also on the panel. Curt Wendelboe writes a modern day mystery in the West, entitled Death Along the Spirit Road. Jerry Weinberg has a number of books, in which he uses his vast scientific knowledge to solve mysteries. You can find Jerry’s books here.

All the writing was great and I encourage you to pick up the books from these authors.

The panel was lively and revealed some tricks of the trade we employed to do our research and get the information out without lecturing. In my book, a Smithsonian researcher who has a crush on FBI agent, Zane Rigby, reveals to Rigby and the reader what they have to know about the history I rely on to create my mystery story.

Next year, Left Coast Crime takes place in Sacramento, California. I’m already signed up.

I had a half hour with Barry Eva, moderator of “A Book and A Chat” on Internet radio March 15. Barry does a great job of keeping it casual as if two blokes (he’s British) are chatting over tea or a beer. It was a quick and fun half hour and while we talked about Lincoln’s Hand, of course, he also steered the conversation in different directions and delved a bit into my background.

For instance, I told of my bar tending days at Disney World when it first opened its doors. I also revealed where my main character got his name and gave some of the history behind the grave robbing attempt and what happened next.

Listen here to a recording of the conversation. I think you will find it amusing.

On March 15, at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time, I’ll be Barry Eva’s guest on “A Book and a Chat.” The Internet radio show “is a program for writers and readers, not so much a literary show, more like… let’s sit around have a cup of tea and a few laughs.”

I’ll be on to discuss Lincoln’s Hand and writing in general. And you can call and ask questions!

Take this opportunity to join us. Learn more about Lincoln’s Hand and call with a question or two. You can help make the show a success and keep me on my toes.

The call-in number is: (347) 237-5398

Learn more about A Book and a Chat by visiting the show’s website and listen to some past shows.

Read what the guests are saying about the show here.

Hope to hear from you March 15.

I’ve been selected to a panel discussing research to produce better mystery novels at the Left Coast Crime conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The conference runs from March 24 to March 27. My panel will be on the last day at 10 am.

Research is important to my mysteries because I bring a historical background to the novel. The history has to be as accurate as possible to make it real for the reader with knowledge of the history.

In my case dealing with Abraham Lincoln’s tomb, I visited Lincoln’s hometown in Springfield, Illinois. I had been there before and taken some of the tours through the tomb and the historical part of Springfield, but coming to town with a book in mind, I looked at the surroundings with a different eye. I took notes on a small tape recorder as I was driving around and transcribed them when I got back to my hotel. I looked not only at the historical sites, but at the current landscape knowing that different scenes in my book would be placed around town. I didn’t know where some scenes would take place until I had spent a few days looking around.

Other locations that appear in the book, such as the town of Lincoln 35 miles to the north with its fabulous historical courthouse, appear in the book only because I stumbled upon it driving around. I was not aware of the town or its history. However, once I saw the courthouse, I knew I had to make it part of the story and did so, adding other descriptions of Lincoln, Illinois and its history in the process.

Library work also came in handy. At the Springfield Municipal Library, I found a great photograph reprinted in a 1967 newspaper of those who viewed Lincoln’s body during the 1901 reburial. It was in a file in the Sangamon Valley Collection research room. The picture not only made it into the novel as a key clue to the mystery, I carry copies of the picture with me and show it off at my talks.

Research is so important to what I do, that, in fact, it helped me solve the mystery. The resolution of a key part of the mystery in Lincoln’s Hand occurred to me after reading a book on Lincoln’s tomb that I found in my research trip to Illinois. No more about that because I don’t want to give anything away. Safe to say, research helps you create a realistic setting and can help create important plot points for your story.

For those who cannot be at the Left Coast Crime conference, I’ll report what happened on my panel and other events associated at the conference.

With the year coming to a close, I was pleased to learn that Lincoln’s Hand finished in the top ten for sales at the Los Angeles Mystery Bookstore for adult trade and mass market paperbacks! I’m pleased with that result and thank again everyone who showed up for the signing in August, which I’m sure was a big boost in gaining that top ten spot.

Here’s the release from the bookstore listing the mass market paperback and trade top dozen sellers:

THE MYSTERY BOOKSTORE’S BESTSELLERS OF 2010

Our readers are some of the smartest, savviest mystery fans out there, and we had a terrific year of visits from some of the biggest names in the business. As 2010 draws to a close, we were curious about which books were our biggest sellers, and thought you might be, too.

Many of these titles are still on our shelves – some in signed first editions! – so if you missed any, call or email us to check availability.

2010 Adult Paperbacks (trade and mass–market)

1. Denise Hamilton, ed., LOS ANGELES NOIR 2 (Akashic Books, $15.95)
2. William Link, THE COLUMBO COLLECTION (Crippen & Landru, $18.00)
3. Kate Carlisle, IF BOOKS COULD KILL (Signet, $6.99)
4. Kate Carlisle, HOMICIDE IN HARDCOVER (Signet, $6.99)
5. Gary Phillips, ed., ORANGE COUNTY NOIR (Akashic Books, $15.95)
6. Alex Dryden, MOSCOW STING (Ecco, $14.99)
7. Denise Hamilton, ed., LOS ANGELES NOIR (Akashic Books, $15.95)
8. Attica Locke, BLACK WATER RISING (Harper, $14.99)
9. Joel Fox, LINCOLN’S HAND (Echelon Press, $15.99)
10. Megan Abbott, BURY ME DEEP (Simon & Schuster, $15.00)
11. Naomi Hirahara, Eric Stone & Juliet Blackwell, eds.; MURDER IN LA–LA LAND (Top, $12.95)
12. (tie) Angela S. Choi, HELLO MISS KITTY MUST DIE (Tyrus Books, $14.95), and Mark Haskell Smith, BAKED (Grove, $14.00)