Happy dual birthday, Robert B. Parker/John Creasey.

Author Robert Brown Parker, creator of Spenser, Jesse Stone, and Sunny Randall, turns 74 today. You can hear Parker in my June interview with him here, or check out The Robert B. Parker Companion, coauthored by myself and Dean James.

British mystery phenomenon John Creasey, who is credited with publishing more than 560 novels (yes, you read that right: 560), was born on this day in 1908. He died in 1973. His many memorable characters include Sexton Blake, the Hon. Richard Rollison (aka "The Toff," who bears some similarities to Leslie Charteris's "The Saint"), Roger West of Scotland Yard, Superintendent Folly, spy Gordon Craigie, and reformed thief John Mannering. The film Gideon's Day (1958), starring Jack Hawkins and directed by John Ford, is an adaptation of Creasey's novel of the same name (aka Gideon of Scotland Yard).