Tom Schreck, author of On the Ropes, wrote a beautiful post today at Inkspot about a normal Saturday at a boxing gym.
My pal Christa Faust is in the current issue of Penthouse Magazine. No, she doesn't have a staple through her tummy, though I truly think she'd enjoy that. Christa was interviewed by the magazine about her new novel, Money Shot. Look closely and you'll even see Christa's name on the cover!
This past week Reviewing the Evidence had a drawing for three copies of THUGS AND KISSES. The winners are:
Thugs and Kisses, the third book in my Odelia Grey mystery series was released just a couple of weeks ago. And I mean just a couple of weeks ago. So imagine my shock and surprise when I received an e-mail from Becky Zins, my production editor from Midnight Ink, telling me the book was about to go into a 2nd printing! Yes, a 2nd printing. Seems they've just about run out of the 6,000+ copies they had initially printed.
Yesterday, along with about 24 other women at the Biggest Loser Club, I started a 30 day weight challenge called the Blarney Challenge. Basicially the challenges are contests for a set length of time to see who can lose the most weight in a month. We take turns hosting it and this month it's my turn. I've offered the prize of the winner's name as a character in one of my next books. I've been futzing around with my diet for the past 2 weeks, not paying much attention to it since the launch of Thugs and Kisses. I gained a bit after Seattle but then the flu took care of the gain. Nothing like being sick for losing weight. Anyway, yesterday when I weighed in for the challenge, I was exactly where I was 2 weeks ago - still with my 15 lb loss. I'm shooting for at least another 10 lbs during this challenge, which ends March 17th.
As most of you know, I’ve embarked upon the writing of The Ghost of Granny Apples, the first book in my new Granny Apples mystery series due out in September 2009. Recently, I decided it would help to read other “ghost” novels to see how the authors handled the appearance and disappearance of the ghosts, as well as other details. Can they be seen by others or only by the protagonist? Can they be felt physically, or passed through like fog? Can they move solid objects or hide them beneath their clothing? Although I had pretty well decided what Granny Apples could and could not do as a spirit, this inquiring mind wanted to know how others had set it to paper.
Topper.
I just started reading The Ghost and Mrs. McClure by Alice Kimberly, given to me by friend Sybil Johnson. It looks like a fun read. In between these books, I’ve also watched a couple of movies with ghost action.
charming and wonderful bookstore filled with the best the mystery community has to offer in books and knowledgeable and fun people. And check out their blog where each guest author gets to write something to commemorate their experience. This store is a must and should be featured on Seattle's tourist pamphlets.
hich she did, carefully editing the non-PG parts. Soon we had an audience (ok, mostly men) and went forward with our Naked Lady presentation, followed by a book signing. From there we headed to the Barnes and Noble at University Village. Here we were just scheduled to sign stock. It was a shame this stop was so quick because this huge multi-level B&N was teaming with people on an early Saturday night. Next time I'm in Seattle, I want to make sure it's on my signing schedule.
The conversation was lively and eclectic and we all agreed to sign releases that none of it would be uttered once we left the Zig Zag. Christa doesn't drink, but that doesn't inhibit her one bit. Geez, I wonder what she'd be like with a bit of sauce in her?! It's almost scarey to think about. After Marcus and Kim left, Vince, Rosemarie, Christa and I tightened our ranks and more releases were signed. My deepest regret is that I didn't get a photo of Vince and Rosemarie to commemorate the evening. Back at my hotel, I curled up with a book and read for another 2 hours.
Today I'm doing my blogging duties over at the Inkspot. Come on over and say hello.
This weekend was the Naked Ladies Launch celebrating the two-fisted double launch of my Thugs and Kisses and Christa Faust's Money Shot. Saturday night we kicked the books off with a launch party at the Mystery Bookstore in Westwood. It was a great turn out and a fun time and the festivities lasted way past the designated hour. Christa and I spoke about why we were launching our books together -- one of the reasons being to show that both noir and soft-boiled mysteries can be enjoyed by all and contain many of the same themes. And we were happy to see many of our individual readers buying both books and looking forward to exploring something new.
porn star Angel Dare never sounded so sweet and repentant. The guest speaker was security expert Ben Malisow, who himself is no slouch in the humor department. As part of his presentation, Ben ran a "game show" with Christa and me heading up teams. Of course, Christa's answer to almost every question was "blow job" and I was annoyed because she yelled it out first. But in the end, Team Odelia Grey was victorious over Team Angel Dare. But only because I was wearing Crocs and Christa was wearing 6" hooker heels and couldn't run up to the front with the answers ahead of me.
