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Explosives

AND THEN, IT WENT KABOOM!
By Linda Maria Frank

Every high school chemistry student, studying the incredible nature of nitrogen bonds, has heard the story of Alfred Nobel and his creation of dynamite. As the Industrial Revolution chugged along, the need for faster and more powerful methods of construction became increasingly important.

The two know explosives at the time were black power (gun powder), a relatively low grade explosive, and nitroglycerine, powerful, unstable, and deadly dangerous to use. The key ingredient in these two is the nitrogen bonds in the chemical ingredients. When the bonds between nitrogen atoms and the atoms of other elements are broken, tremendous energy is released.
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Abandoned Boats on LI

Have you ever wondered about the story behind a boat you’ve seen up on the beach, or one that’s been found
abandoned and adrift? It’s interesting to speculate on how the vessel came to be forsaken.
By Linda Maria Frank
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From Editors to Tweets

The most important thing I did this year, book-wise, was to publish “Secrets in the Fairy Chimneys”. And the most important lesson I learned was that you can’t fool around when it comes to editing. One of the low marks self-published books receive is for the quality of the editing.

There is an industry standard. The Chicago Manual of Style is what book editors use. Your friend who worked as a magazine editor, or your English teacher buddy probably won’t produce the clean results you want. You need someone working in the industry NOW. I used the editor provided by my publishing house . The proof is in the pudding.

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Girl with Pencil, Drawing

GIRL WITH PENCIL, DRAWING

Chapter 1

The Saturday Art Class

The screech of iron wheels against iron rails trilled through my body, making my teeth ache. I tightened my knees against the large art portfolio as the New York City subway train lurched through a turn, slowing towards the Spring Street station. Not able to control my nervous energy, I left my seat and headed for the sliding doors. I balanced the precious portfolio between my knees and looked at my reflection in the door windows, checking for obvious defects in my appearance.

Boy, I thought, You are nervous, girl. Let’s see.
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The Madonna Ghost – Chapter 1

THE MADONNA GHOST

Chapter 1

Escape

“Here, hold this for me, Annie.”

I looked at my aunt Jill with utter disbelief as she thrust two ferry tickets at me. I had a large suitcase in each hand, my roller blades slung over my shoulders, Aunt Jill’s tennis racket under my arm, and the car keys she had given me to hold a minute ago between my teeth. I muttered my protest, finding it impossible to get my tongue past the car keys. What came out was more drool than intelligible language. Finally, she looked up from the purse she was digging in to see what the trouble was.
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Secrets in the Fairy Chimneys

The third exciting book of the Annie Tillery Mysteries is now live, soon to be available on amazon.com. Award winning author, Linda Maria Frank, has created another page-turning, can’t-put-it-down mystery. After clicking on the Authors Show website (Children’s), be sure to select Frank’s interviews from the menu on The Authors Show website, “The Madonna Ghost “or “Girl with Pencil, Drawing”.

“Secrets in the Fairy Chimneys” has it all. The story is set in exotic Istanbul and Cappadocia, a land of enchanted caves and rock formations. The plot involves ancient mysteries, archaeological secrets, and thieves who will commit murder rather than give up the treasures they steal. Annie acquires new friends. Cedric Zeeks is trying to find a link between his African ancestors and the inhabitants of a 9,000 year old town in Cappadocia. Yelda and Ahmet Atsut, twins with a Ouija board and awesome sleuthing talents, help Annie and boyfriend, Ty Egan, solve the mysteries, both the ancient ones and the ones that threaten them as they work the archaeological dig. FC 6X9 RGB – twins in cave R1
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Forensic Trivia – Smithereens

Forensic Trivia: “Smithereens”
January 19, 2014
images (7)On Dec. 21, 1988, Pan American flight 103, originating in Frankfort, Germany landed at London’s Heathrow Airport, and after loading passengers and luggage, took off for New York’s JFK airport at 18:25 p.m. At approximately 19:02 p.m. air traffic control lost contact with it. A few seconds later the radar showed the plane’s blip on the screen fracture into five separate ones, trailing away from each other. The plane had exploded and the debris rained down on the Scottish town of Lockerbee.

243 passengers and 16 crew, dead, as well as 11 residents from Lockerbee.

This was one of the most famous plane crashes in history, both for the horror it was, the subsequent political implications, and the forensic investigation that ensued leading to the arrest and conviction of one of the terrorists involved.

The USA’s FBI, and the British equivalent of our NTSB, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, laboriously collected every piece of wreckage from the plane, and pieced together the smithereens they found into a whole plane.

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Agatha Christie and The Lindberg Kidnapping

Did Agatha Christie know her forensic science? What some consider her most perfect mystery, “Murder on the Calais Coach”, better know as “Murder on the Orient Express”, was based on the Lindbergh kidnapping in 1932. Charles Lindbergh, the famous aviator…

Annie Tells You about DNA in Secrets in the Fairy Chimneys

In “Secrets in the Fairy Chimneys”, DNA is a very important clue. My dad asked me to explain DNA to him. I was shocked. “Everyone knows what DNA is, Dad!” I exclaimed. He replied that he knew it was called…

Annie Talks About the Crime of Arson

WHAT ANNIE TILLERY KNOWS ABOUT FORENSIC SCIENCE In “Girl with Pencil, Drawing”, a fire does extensive damage to the brownstone building where one of the main characters is hiding some important information that becomes important in solving the murder of…