Saturday, November 25, 2006

Join the Sleuths


Join the Nancy Drew Sleuths! Or, send a membership to a chum as a great holiday gift!

www.ndsleuths.com

Jenn:)

Nancy Drew in Firsts!


Nancy Drew & Mildred Wirt Benson: A Mystery Revealed. The original “Carolyn Keene,” nom de plume for the continuingly popular Nancy Drew mystery series, was “nobody’s sweet grandma.” She was Mildred A. Wirt Benson, a feisty, adventurous spirit. A career newspaperwoman, she set the standard for the enduring heroine that many fondly remember and still read today.

Read all about Nancy Drew and Mildred Wirt Benson in my article in the December 2006 issue of Firsts, a literary magazine for book collectors and enthusiasts. Firsts can be purchased on their website: www.firsts.com or in many independent and used/collector book stores!

A new licensee for Nancy Drew! Literarture is reproducing dust jackets for books 1-56, in limited sets of 200 for each title. www.literarture.net

Jenn

Monday, October 23, 2006

Nancy Drew News & Updates


I must be insane to plan so much at the same time, but I guess that's why I like multi-tasking! I managed to pick Sept./Oct. to be the time to finish my book proposal and get it sent off to publishers, write an article for Firsts Magazine, put together the first printed edition of The Sleuth and get it mailed out, finish planning and excecution of the Sleuths' 6th annual convention in Chicago, and keep up with all of my Halloween party planning and sales. I think I need a vacation--and not the Nancy Drew adventure type vacation either:)

Some news! Of course, these dates are somewhat tentative at the moment, but are probably the final dates for next year's Sleuth convention: June 13-17. The premier of the Warner Brothers movie is on June 15. They say the dates are never set in stone, but it's likely these dates are since they've moved the date around so many times.


Above left, is the cover for the Nancy Drew: Girl Detective book, Murder on the Set which comes out next July--should be an interesting book, not sure if there is a tie-in to the movie coming out in anyway--something I need to look in to.

I'm also posting a few pics from the Sleuth convention which was a lot of fun! Members toured "River Heights Country" while solving mysteries at Red Gate Farm and found a Hollow Oak treasure! Activities included: All Day Bus trip of book hunting, antiquing, visit to a real life Red Gate Farm, Hollow Oak treasure hunt, Sleuth Madonna's Red Gate Farm party, Chicago sightseeing, visit to the American Girl Store to view Nancy Drew book on display, Danger on the Great Lakes dinner cruise on Lake Michigan, presentations at the Chicago Children's Museum, a Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza dinner, a Joker's Revenge game, and a fun Nancy Drew theme gift exchange. The pictures are of the book at American Girl, the cake at Madonna's party, and the image I put on cards I gave as part of my gift in the gift exchange--using sayings from Nancy Drew books.

Next year is a pretty big year for Nancy Drew--hope you are all as excited as I am!

Jenn:)

Monday, August 21, 2006

Nancy Drew News!

It has been awhile since I've posted:) I've been working on the book and planning the Sleuths' upcoming convention in Chicago this October!

Quick highlights to note:

Release Date Changes! The Nancy Drew movie is now scheduled for a June 15, 2007 release instead of August 10! Barring any other changes, the Sleuth convention will now be in June of next year.

The Nancy Drew Sleuth Book will be reprinted next summer--July 2007.

Expect to see the Hardy Boys meet Nancy Drew again when the Girl Detective and Undercover Brothers series get together sometime in the near future.

Jenn

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Nancy Drew News & Updates

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted an entry in this blog!

Not much Nancy Drew news to tell right now. I did put up a Nancy Drew book for auction, a very scarce format 1 Nancy Drew Hidden Staircase with a dust jacket at eBay!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230007886271

Ends Sun. July 23. I also listed a full set of the Trixie Belden books if anyone is interested!

I've been working on my book and other Nancy Drew endeavors--including planning of the Sleuths' 6th annual convention in Chicago this October:

http://www.ndsleuths.com/ndsconventions.html

If you want to come, deadline to register/RSVP is August 1st, 2006.

I've added a few neat things to my collection! One is a ND movie director chair back. Also, an interesting issue of Variety from the early 1980s that features an ad for the 1970s Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew TV show, while they were in reruns plus some fun clippings and ads for the TV show.

Debuting next year is Girl Detective #24 in July 2007, titled Murder on the Set--might be some sort of play upon or tie in to the movie coming out next year?

I've also updated The Sleuth Shop at my website with a shopping cart system for immediate purchasing--Sleuth members don't use this, just contact me with what you want so I can give you your 15% off! I've added a lot of Nancy Drew books and vintage series books (boys' and girls') to the page and some gift items.

http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/thesleuthshop.html

Jenn:)

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Frankie Thomas aka "Ted" Nickerson Has Passed Away


Frankie Thomas, who played "Ted Nickerson" in four 1930s Nancy Drew movies, Nancy Drew...Detective, Nancy Drew, Reporter, Nancy Drew, Troubleshooter and Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase, passed away last Thursday, May 11, 2006. While Frankie starred in quite a few movies and on Broadway, on TV as Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, and later in life became a mystery writer, I wanted to note a few memorable Nancy Drew film related moments.

“Duped again!” Poor “Ted” Nickerson was always at the mercy of scheming Nancy Drew in the Nancy Drew movies. The basic premise of each movie was that something mysterious happened and Nancy got involved. Nancy drug Ted into her sleuthing schemes–often bribing or manipulating him. Carson Drew told Nancy to stay out of it. Captain Tweedy did not take Nancy very seriously. Nancy and Ted got involved in a daring plot regardless of Carson’s orders to stay out of it, and they ended up getting caught. In the end, Carson Drew and the police rushed to Nancy and Ted’s rescue. (He was Ted instead of Ned because the filmmakers thought the name Ned was too old-fashioned.)

In Detective, Ted had to dress up as a nurse to help Nancy sneak into a sanitarium. Other ruses that Nancy talked Ted into included posing as a reporter and then pretending to be boxer One-Round Loogan in Reporter. (Shown in a black and white still.) Ted did more than his fair share of the work and often ended up in trouble due to it.

In Hidden Staircase, Nancy made Ted, who worked for an ice company at the time, write a fake suicide note for which he got arrested at the movie’s end. Ted borrowed a gun from his uncle so Nancy could run a test, and left a note with it, “Pest, I’ve gone to work. Don’t bother me today on account of I was docked for stalling around with you yesterday. P.S. Don’t blow your head off.” Not to be put off by this note, Nancy pretended to be a “Mrs. Brown” ordering ice and had Ted deliver it into rural location. She used the ruse to get Ted to fire the gun. He said, “Someday I’m going to be psychoanalyzed to find out why I’m such a dope.”

Ted fired the gun and discovered the sign he hit said no shooting, sirens were heard and Nancy drove off leaving Ted to get in trouble. Later, Nancy threatened to turn Ted into his employer for goofing off on the job so he’d help her do some investigating and he ended up having to spend the night in the Turnbull mansion to take a picture of the “ghost.” In the night, the “ghost” stole Ted’s clothes so he had to dress up in women’s clothing and got arrested. Ted was the classic comedy straight man to Nancy Drew.

A clumsy character, Ted fell over ladder causing a pigeon to escape, fell over containers causing Nancy to lose site of a suspect and ran from a goon at a sanitarium and fell over in Detective. In Trouble Shooter, Ted ran to see about a nearby fire–right through lattice work off a porch and later got caught up in a rope and then fell on his head when Nancy cut through rope. As boxer One-Round Loogan, he flailed around the boxing ring and ended up knocked out in Reporter. In Hidden Staircase, Ted fell down hill running with his pants down and later while trying to stop Nancy from breaking into the Turnbull mansion, he fell through a window and said, “I’m going to give myself up.”

He made us laugh!

(Look for a more indepth article in the October 2006 issue of The Sleuth! Subscribe here: http://www.ndsleuths.com/thesleuth.html )

Jenn

Monday, May 08, 2006

Nancy Drew & the Clue Crew Fun Stuff

The newly relaunched former Nancy Drew Notebooks are now Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew. The first two books are now out in some areas. There is a fun "junior detectives" club and membership card. There is a membership card you can cut out of the book--yikes! But collectors never fear, they have the same card online you can print out--full color. (I'd suggest printing it on card stock.) They also have activities from each book that are fun and a personality quiz to see if you are a Bess, Nancy, or a George.

Check out the website:

http://www.simonsays.com/content/destination.cfm?sid=808&pid=511133

Once there click on "activities", and the membership card and other activities will be there to click on.

Jenn

Nancy Drew Update: Girl Detective Series

Here's a synopsis for the upcoming books in the Nancy Drew: Girl Detective series, #20 Getting Burned and also the intriguing #21 Close Encounters:

Getting Burned--The animal shelter where Nancy volunteers burns down--which leaves a lot of displaced orphaned animals and a big case for Nancy. She and her friends put on a concert to raise funds for rebuilding the shelter. Strange people keep joining the volunteer staff though, and someone's trying to foil their plans. Whoever it is has picked the wrong gal to mess with!

Close Encounters--Nancy, Bess, and George head to Brody's Junction, Vermont, to fly down the slopes. Little do they realize they're in for flying saucers! Hundreds of tourists have invaded the town to watch the purported UFO sightings, which are odd enough. Odder still are reports of townspeople being abducted and the strange clues that seem to point to little green men as the culprits. Nancy's mantra, though, is "innocent until proven guilty," and she's hoping to have a close encounter with some hard facts before the town spins out of control.

In other Nancy Drew News, if you remember the 1995 Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys TV series (if you don't, many didn't see it either as it wasn't distributed well), you can order the shows at Amazon Canada (you might also see copies at eBay for sale too.)

http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000F0UU3C/sr=1-1/qid=1146730913/ref=pd_bowtega_1/701-1180950-3103530?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=dvd&v=glance

Jenn

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Nancy Drew Movie Update

Movie News: The May issue of Elle Girl has an article on Emma Roberts who plays her in the movie--she mentions a little bit about playing Nancy Drew.

Latest Cast List:
Max Thieriot as Ned
Josh Flitter as Corky
Kelly Vitz as Trish
Daniela Monet as Inga
Tate Donovan as Carson Drew
Emma Roberts as Nancy Drew
Barry Bostwick as Dashiel Biedemeier
Amy Bruckner as Bess Marvin
Kay Panabaker as George Fayne
Laura Harring as Dehlia Draycott
Rachael Leigh Cook as Jane Brighton
Caroline Aaron as Barbara Barbara
Cliff Bemis as Chief McGinnis
David Doty as Father Murphy
Robert Merrill as Century Actor
Jared Weber as Henchman #3
Craig Gellis as Thug #1
Chris Kerner as Basketball Player #35
Richie Rayfield as Vintage Movie Film Crew
Thom Williams as Henchman
Joanne Barron as Costumer
Pat Carroll as Landlady
Adam Clark as Sgt. Billings
Christina Leigh as Medical Patient
Ryan Raddatz as Assistant Director
Rich Cooper as Charlie
Pablo Espinosa as Security Guard
Curtis Ray Husted as Calculus/Woodshop Student
Perri Lauren as Click Girl
Ashley Sherman as No Woman
Shaina Vorspan as No Girl #8/No Woman #6

Jenn

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Nancy Drew Cover Mystery Revealed...



A fellow Nancy Drew fan, sent me this image and corresponding text along with it on the graphic regarding a cover art image for the new Nancy Drew: Girl Detective series. Thanks Jarrell!

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Nancy Drew Goes Sci Fi!





Oh boy, shades of #58 The Flying Saucer Mystery!

Nancy has a close enounter--but is of the alien kind?!

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Major Movie News


The release date has been pushed back further--August 10, 2007 is the projected date at this time. So, the Sleuths' convention next year will be in August.

Though I cannot comment in specifics, I recently spent time on the set of Nancy Drew and it was so much fun. There is definitely a flair for the classic Nancy Drew books!

Misinformation out there seems to indicated that Emma Roberts is too young to play Nancy Drew because she's only 15 and Nancy Drew is 18. Nancy Drew is only 16 in the movie so it's really not a big deal considering. A little factoid: Nancy Drew was 16 when she was originally introduced to readers in 1930 and this stayed that way for some time after that--she was only aged to 18 to deal with driving laws in all states--of course now, you can get your license at 16, but at one time in some states, you had to be older.

The movie is not a period piece as I've seen suggested on some message boards and forums. It is set in modern day Los Angeles. Regardless of the time it is set in, it definitely has a classic/timeless feel to it.

The image at left is a scan of a short article in Time's April 3, 2006 issue. The "clues" booklet is neato in person.

Jenn:)

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Nancy Drew News & Movie Update

More cast additions:

Robert Merrill as Century Actor
Jared Weber as Henchman #3
Craig Gellis as Thug #1
Chris Kerner as Basketball Player #35
Richie Rayfield as Vintage Movie Film Crew
Thom Williams as Henchman
Joanne Barron as Costumer
Pat Carroll as Landlady
Adam Clark as Sgt. Billings
Christina Leigh as Medical Patient
Ryan Raddatz as Assistant Director

The Sleuth news: We go to a printed version in October--subscriber only format. Lots of fun Nancy Drew stuff in our zine. Check out the details and how to subscribe:

http://www.ndsleuths.com/thesleuth.html

Nancy Drew DVD News: The 1995 TV series is coming to DVD in May: 1st season. You can order it through Amazon Canada.

Nancy Drew Sleuths Convention news: Chicago, IL: Oct. 11-15, 2006. For all the details, sleuth here:

http://www.ndsleuths.com/ndsconventions.html

Jenn

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Update: Nancy Drew Movie News

Added to the cast are:

Caroline Aaron as Barbara Barbara
Cliff Bemis as Chief McGinnis
David Doty as Father Murphy

Also, the release date has been set as April 2007--so look for a huge Nancy Drew Sleuth convention in Hollywood, CA in April 2007. When I have more exact dates, I'll post them.

Jenn

Friday, February 17, 2006

News & Clues


Fellow Sleuthers,

Several things of interest!

1. Have you seen this Nancy Drew game? Clues: It's in Norwegian, produced in the 70s in Norway, the game board is similar to the US in graphic style with translated words in Norwegian. I'd love to acquire one--contact me if you come across one.

2. Nancy Drew Movie News: Actress Rachael Leigh Cook has been cast as Jane Brighton in the Nancy Drew movie. It would appear the movie is going to be coming out in 2007--many sites have mentioned it as 2007 and some have suggested 2006, but it's becoming more clear it's not as likely to have a 2006 release unless it gets rushed during post production. Therefore, the Nancy Drew Sleuth convention will be in Chicago in October 2006. http://www.ndsleuths.com

(Snicker Snicker)...Please pass this info onto David Gregory, as he is apparently supposed to be the "go to boy" on "breaking news!" ;)

3. Preview of the upcoming Nancy Drew: Girl Detective book, #16 Dangerous Plays:

"Dad, Bess, and I are all set for London when Ned's Shakespeare professor asks us to do a simple favor: to take a look at his townhouse while we're there, since he can't seem to locate the housekeeper and fears something's wrong. Sounds easy enough, so I take the key.

Eager to cross the favor off our list, we stop by 53 Banbury Square shortly after we land. And let's just say things in the townhouse aren't quite tip-top. And the key? Well, it unlocks a Pandora's box of serious trouble."

Hope the townhouse is spooky!

Jenn

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Nancy Drew Movie Cast

An update!

Max Thieriot as Ned
Josh Flitter as Corky
Kelly Vitz as Trish
Daniela Monet as Inga
Tate Donovan as Carson Drew
Emma Roberts as Nancy Drew
Amy Bruckner as Bess Marvin
Kay Panabaker as George Fayne
Laura Harring as Dehlia Draycott

Dehlia is the actress whose death Nancy Drew investigates in Hollywood Hills.

I'd like to take a moment to plug the Nancy Drew stationary items from Chronicle Books! They are so nicely done, I'm very impressed. About a year ago, I was contacted about lending books from my collection to be photographed for their products. Another Sleuth member had also lent them some of her books. I sent in the following book covers which were reproduced:

The Secret of the Old Clock (2nd cover art)
The Bungalow Mystery (2nd cover art)
The Sign of the Twisted Candles (1st cover art)
The Sign of the Twisted Candles (2nd cover art)
The Password to Larkspur Lane (2nd cover art)
The Mystery of the Moss-Covered Mansion (2nd cover art)
The Quest of the Missing Map (2nd cover art)
The Secret in the Old Attic (2nd cover art)
The Mystery of the Tolling Bell (1st cover art)
The Clue in the Old Album (2nd cover art)
The Ghost of Blackwood Hall (1st cover art)
The Clue of the Leaning Chimney (1st cover art)
The Clue of the Velvet Mask (1st cover art)
The Scarlet Slipper Mystery (1st cover art)
The Witch Tree Symbol (1st cover art)
The Hidden Window Mystery (1st cover art)

One of my favorite items out now are the postcards shown above and also the address book featuring Mysterious Letter 2nd art cover on the front. Very neat--instead of "name" it has "suspect" and then has "last known address" and also a line for "suspicious behaviors." A lot of the internal artwork from the books is featured too and also endpapers.

The quality is great--they could have just done what some companies do and just slap a cover from one of the books on and do nothing original to the inside nor nostalgic to tie in the books. Instead, they went the extra mile to create something appealing and fun.

http://www.chroniclebooks.com/nancydrew

Jenn

Sunday, February 05, 2006

Halloween Nancy Drew Style


I finally got around to sleuthing in my digitals saved on myriads of cds and found two pictures I took of a window silhouetted Nancy Drew silhouette this past Halloween--here's one.

I gave out Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys trick or treat bags which were a hit. These included leftover promo Nancy Drew watches.

I also found digitals I took from the NBC Today Show segment on Nancy Drew--screen caps--which I've added to the website.

MOVIE NEWS: Not confirmed yet...Barry Bostwick playing the character of Dashiel Biedemeyer?

Jenn

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Emma Roberts AKA Nancy Drew


Emma Roberts as Nancy Drew during filming--source TMZ--reddish hair but darker than a strawberry blonde. George may be played by actress Kay Panabaker.

Jenn

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Nancy Drew Girl Detective: Framed #15


I just read the latest Nancy Drew: Girl Detective book, Framed, #15 and had a few comments. For those of you just tuning in, this is the main Nancy Drew series in print. The original series--Nancy Drew Mystery Stories--ended with #175 in Nov. 2003. This new Girl Detective series replaced it in 2004 starting over at #1 and the biggest change was that Nancy speaks to the reader in first person.

I thought the first person concept was great at first since it would allow a reader to get inside Nancy's head as she solves a mystery and goes through life's little moments. Now, I'm not so sure at times that I'd rather have it in 3rd person where Nancy might remain a little more of a mystery to the reader. I go back and forth on this one.

I enjoyed this mystery overall, quick read. But at times, it seemed like Hannah was made to be too bossy. And snippy with this comment to Nancy after she called Nancy to the phone: "I hope my piecrust didn't burn while I was waiting for you." (pg. 2)

In the originals, Chief McGinnis was much more of an equal to Nancy and there was mutual help and respect. I realize that this was deemed to be not very realistic, so it made sense at first that making them more of rivals in the new series and her more of a pest to the police might seem more realistic. But, given the fact that River Heights is not a huge town, a place where everyone knows everyone else, it's not so far of a stretch that she would be held more in esteem with the police department. There was a comment in the book that people in River Heights didn't think Chief McGinnis could find his way out of a paper bag when it came to crime solving. To me, that's taking this reality concept a bit far with his being characterized as so bumbling. It's just very at odds with classic Nancy Drew.

I often wonder what kids think when they read some of the classic books which are still in print--1-56 in those glossy yellow spines which are still very popular sellers apparently, when they pick up one of these new books and see such a contrast in the characterization. I think most kids are smart enough to pick up on the differences.

I half way wished Bess would run off with the prince and become princess Bess!

Overall it was a fun read, typical of this series, but I do wish we could have more suspense, villain foibles and peril for our dear heroine like in the classics--these were tried and true formula hits that kept the series popular for years.

What is everyone's impression of the Girl Detective series so far?

Jenn:)

Monday, January 30, 2006

Nancy Drew Movie Begins Filming Jan. 31st

On the eve of filming commencing for Warner Brothers' Nancy Drew movie, it seems with the news of a few of the actors cast in the movie, that people are already apprehensive at what is to be done with such a popular teen sleuth that everyone has their own vision of. Ever the optimist, I say wait until the movie comes out and keep an open mind! But of course, naysayers always take offense at an optimist as someone who probably never finds fault and cannot accept criticisms. It's not that optimists can't accept criticisms, but the criticisms need to be valid ones to be taken seriously! And what's so ironic is that there is nothing much to even criticize yet--the movie hasn't even been filmed yet LOL!

Saying Nancy Drew's going to be too modern, when the movie is set in modern present day is not a valid criticism. Feeling that Nancy Drew is too young in the movie based on who has been cast might be a valid criticism considering Nancy Drew is 18ish in the books. Being that 16 is such a huge departure from 18 (yes sarcasm), I'm not too worried really. And Nancy was 16 in the original text versions and much more mature as characterized then as she was in later texts. So it's really a toss up.

Seriously folks, as long as Nancy Drew stays tried and true to who she is and what she has always stood for--through every decade and modernization she's gone through since 1930 to present day--this will be a cake walk.

Nancy Drew--whether she was wearing a cloche hat and roaring around in her roadster in the 1930s or a demure deb from the 1960s or snooping in jeans and a T-shirt in the modern books of today--has always been independent, on the go, free to seek adventure, kind to others, strove to right wrongs and seek justice for those who couldn't, always had a smile, was forever an optimist, and always had a mystery to solve with romance on the back burner. No matter the decade, the clothing, the setting--peel away all these layers and as long as Nancy Drew is the same as she has been all these years, she'll still be our Nancy Drew--she'll just look a little like Emma Roberts!

Just had to get that off my shoulders!

Onto other news, I've been debating whether or not I'll be taking the bar exam in AZ in July, but I think due to a few things going on and some consulting I'm working on, that I may just be too distracted in the next few months, so next February is looking a little less stressing at the moment. Not sure, on the fence about that one. Then there is the issue of the upcoming Sleuths' convention this fall. Probably we'll have it in Chicago if the Nancy Drew movie does get released next year. If it gets rushed into production for fall/early winter release this year, we'll be hanging in Hollywood Hills for a movie theme convention. I'll keep everyone posted!

Jenn

Saturday, January 28, 2006

A Nancy Drew Blog

Fellow Nancy Drew enthusiasts,

I've decided to start a Nancy Drew blog where I can informally chat and post comments related to Nancy Drew collecting and the various books, series, and collectibles. And, anything else that thrills me at the moment.

Last year (2005) was Nancy Drew's 75th anniversary and it was quite a year for fans with two conventions dedicated to Nancy Drew. Lots of new products were introduced on the market from licensees of Nancy Drew owner, Simon & Schuster, Inc. This year should be an interesting one as far as new items go.

Also, the big Warner Brothers movie, Nancy Drew: The Mystery in Hollywood Hills. Filming begins next Tuesday (Jan. 31st.) Cast thus far includes: Max Thieriot as Ned Nickerson, Amy Bruckner as Bess Marvin, Tate Donovan as Carson Drew, Josh Flitter as Corky (a side-kick), Kelly Vitz as Trish, Daniela Monet as Inga. Filming will run through early April and then there will be the usual post production. You'll see the release date stated as 2006 and as 2007 on some sites--most likely it will be 2007, but they haven't determined that for sure.

I welcome your comments--but please, since there are kids viewing the website, keep them clean and sane! Post news as you have it!

Jenn