The Latest

Greetings!

*blows off dust*

Last year was, um…a bit chaotic. This year, I’m aiming for a lot more productivity. Starting with…BLOGGING!

No, not my own blog (though I plan on reposting there). I will be blogging every Sunday on the wonderful international crime fiction blog, Murder Is Everywhere, featuring Cara Black, Leighton Gage, Caro Ramsey, Jeff Siger, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, and Michael Sears/Stanley Trollip AKA Michael Stanley. I’m taking over for Tim Hallinan (mighty big shoes to fill!), who promises to guest post when we need him (I’m thinking the week after next).

Anyway, my inaugural post is here!

Having a fantastic time at Bouchercon Cleveland. So fantastic that I have forgotten to post my panel times.

Tomorrow, Saturday Oct. 6, 10:15, Grand Ballroom A — “Murder is Everywhere” — international crime fiction authors explore the countries where their fictional crimes take place, with Timothy Hallinan, Jeff Sigur, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Michael Stanley, moderated by Peter Rozovsky.

Sunday Oct. 7, 10:15, Grand Ballroom A — “The Politics of Murder” — books with politically charged plots, with Allison Leotta, Pete Morin, Stuart Neville, Mike Lawson, moderated by me.

Also, my wonderful publisher Soho is hosting in the hospitality suite tomorrow from 12 – 2. And don’t forget Stuart Neville’s party celebrating the launch of his new thriller, “Ratlines,” tomorrow at 4 PM!

May 1 is the official launch date of GETAWAY! We will be marking the occasion with an event at Mysterious Galaxy Redondo Beach, starting at 7:30 PM, featuring reading, discussion, beverages and snacks. And you know what’s really cool? I’m celebrating with Dana Fredsti, whose wildly original take on the zombie mythos, Plague Town, from Titan Press, is burning up the charts!

Hope you can make it!

It’s 1:00 AM here in Venice, California, meaning that it’s the official launch day of “Year of the Tiger”—that’s “Rock Paper Tiger” in British! I’ve had such a great time working with editor Jane Johnson, editor Emad Akhtar and the entire Harper Fiction team.

BTW, you can see videos of me discussing the book at the HarperCollins crime fiction blog, Killer Reads — here, and here. I talk about China then and now, the heroine of the book, Ellie McEnroe Cooper, my checkered past, and a little about the business of writing. As a special bonus, you get to meet my cat, Ghost. She was born for the camera…

with Space Monkeys!

Now that my taxes are filed and I have a few days at home, time to catch up on a few things. First off, my pal Nathan Bransford’s second book, JACOB WONDERBAR FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSE, is out! This is a fabulous middle grade series, reminding me a bit of Douglas Adams and Roald Dahl. Don’t take my word for it–check out the trailer! And watch out for rogue space monkeys…

Tomorrow I will attempt an actual blog post on my recent adventures…