The Real Hollywood Trivia Interview with Author Renee Hand, and The Crypto-Capers and the Case of the Missing Socks

How would you convince seven shipwrecked individuals on a deserted island to buy your book? If you were asked to give a speech on the Book Walk of Fame what would you thank and why? Find out all this and win prizes when The Real Hollywood’s Book chat welcomes author Renee Hand, author of the novel The Crypto-Capers and The Case of the Missing Socks.


About the Book:

In this story siblings Max and Mia Holmes, along with their good friend Morris and their flamboyant Granny Holmes, are know as The Crypto-Capers. They are a group of detectives who unravel crimes by solving cryptograms that criminals leave behind. Mia is an expert puzzle solver. Max is great at deduction and reasoning. Morris is a computer genius, and Granny…well, Granny is the muscle of the group. Don’t let her size or age fool you—she is quite handy.

The Case of the Missing Sock leads the Crypto-Capers to Florida, where they are hired by a Mr. Delacomb. The mystery leads the team to different locations. Clues flourish throughout the mystery. Suspects by the handful seem to pop up at every turn, but who committed the crime? Help the detectives solve the case by solving the cryptograms and puzzles.

Good luck!




1. Gilligan’s Island Trivia – Taking a three hour boat tour, you find yourself shipwrecked on this tiny little remote island where 7 people were also shipwrecked. How would you convince this varied audience to read your book? Remember on this island besides The Skipper, his little buddy Gilligan and MaryAnn, is the smart Professor, the rich Mr.& Mrs. Howell who have the money to make your book into a movie and Ginger the movie star who might have a starring role. Please talk to the audience not to me.

“I am glad everyone is safe. Now, there is no reason to panic. I know what we can do. It just so happens that I am a mystery author, and let’s face it, how we are going to get out of this mess is a mystery. I am sure that each of us has talents that will be useful in the success of us getting out of here, and now would be a good time to talk about them. Now, on the way here, I spoke to most of you, so I have a pretty good idea of what each of you would be good at. I know some of you are frightened, so I have an idea that will help us relax and yet work out our problem at the same time. In my story I have a group of detectives called The Crypto-Capers who travel all around the world solving cases. My characters run into situations like this all the time. So, each of you grab a book and we can pretend like we are some of the characters. Ginger, I know that you will like this.
“As you glance through the pages let me assign each of you a role. Professor, I have the perfect character for you. You can be Morris. He is the computer genius of the group and helps the team get out of trouble. Yes, this role would suit you to a tee. Mary Ann, you can play the role of Mia. She is a sweet girl who loves to solve puzzles and is down to earth. Skipper, you can play the role of Maxwell, he is Mia’s brother, and Gilligan, you can help him with whatever task he needs help with. Ginger, I have the best role for you. I think that you can be Nellie Holmes. She is an eccentric but well liked woman who knows when to be tough. Lastly, Mr. and Mrs. Howell, you can be the teams’ new client. There, everyone has a role to play and now we can start solving the problem of us being shipwrecked. Does everyone know what to do? Good, let’s go and find some bamboo. I hear it can come in handy.”


2. Wheel of Fortune – you have been asked by the Wheel of Fortune writers to create a word puzzle spelling one of the books characters his/her name. Which character name would you want on the Wheel of Fortune puzzle board and why?

Definitely, Nellie Holmes. She is a unique and fascinating character that keeps the readers on their toes. You never know what Nellie is going to do. She is a very unpredictable and ever-changing.


3. Gone With the Wind – If Rhett Butler were to change his famous line from “Frankly, My Dear I don’t give a damn” to Frankly, My Dear I think you should read this paragraph from this bestselling novelist. What paragraph is Rhett referring to? Tell us how it fits into the novel?

“FIVE MINUTES! JUST FIVE MORE MINUTES,” said Max
Holmes quietly as he surveyed the dark room in front of him. This should be the last place to reach, the highest test of his skills. He switched off his flashlight. He faced
a rugged stone wall. From somewhere far above him, a crack let in a single, narrow beam of sunshine. It hit about the middle of the wall, barely lighting up a recess,
an indention shaped into a rectangle, slightly taller than wide. A box could fit in there, Max thought, and he grew just a little nervous. “Did I come here for nothing?” he
asked in frustration as he glanced more intently at the wall. “Did I pick the wrong way?” For just a moment, he reviewed his route to this stone box of a room. No, he
had made each choice carefully. “This has to be the right place. It has to be here!”

This paragraph gives the reader an idea of the kind of rationalizing that Max Holmes goes through on each case. He gets put into high pressure situations and the only thing that stands in the way of solving the case and finding the correct thief, is interpreting clues correctly.


4. Hollywood Book Walk of Fame – A bookstore in Hollywood, California had decided that books should have their own walk of fame. So they have lined the sidewalk in front of their store with book molds in the sidewalk. Your name is to appear on one of these book molds. You give an acceptance speech at the ceremony. What would you say and who would you thank?

First, I would like to say, what an honor it is to be a part of this moment. I am so fortunate and blessed to have something like this happen to me. I want to say thank you to my family. You are my greatest supporters and without you, I wouldn’t be able to do what I love. I would also like to thank my publisher and editor, who not only believes in my work, but in me and my abilities. And last, but certainly not least, I want to thank my readers. Without your devotion and dedication, I would not be where I am today. I am so thankful that you allow me to entertain you with my stories.

For more information about the author and book one of the Crypto-Capers Series, check out various bookstores, as well as online at Amazon, www.amazon.com and Barnes and Nobles, www.bn.com. Please check out her website at www.reneeahand.com and e-mail her or visit my blog.
The two books in the series available now are:
The Case of the Missing Sock ISBN# 978-0-87839-304-6
The Case of Red Rock Canyon ISBN# 978-0-87839-309-1



Thank you Renee for stopping by The Real Hollywood blog today. I wish you continued success on your virtual book tour and who knows your book might just make it to the silver screen.

THE CASE OF THE MISSING SOCK VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR '09 officially begin on June 1 and will end on June 26. You can visit Renée's blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of June to find out more about this great book and talented author!

As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors' blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.