The Latest

This has been a busy year for me, both travel and event-wise. I just got back from New York (fantastic!) and I haven’t even written about my trip to Ashland yet (awesome!). But before I sit down to write anything complicated, here are the rest of July’s events (more detailed information on the calendar):

July 14: I’m at the Wiseburn Library in Hawthorne, 7 PM, with a bunch of awesome mystery authors from Sisters in Crime—Eric Stone, Hannah Dennison and Jeri Westerson—authors’ books will be on hand courtesy of Debbie Mitsch’s wonderful Mystery Ink! We’ll be discussing the use of foreign settings in crime fiction, outsider versus insider protagonists, historicals, research, accessibility, and, you know, a lot of cool stuff!

July 20: I’ll be discussing SAN DIEGO NOIR at the San Diego Central Library at 6:30 PM, along with editor Maryelizabeth Hart and contributors Jeffrey J. Mariotte, Martha C. Lawrence, Ken Kuhlken, and Diane Clark!

July 22: I’ll be at the San Diego Comic Con on a panel discussion of “Crime as modern morality tales” at 12:30 PM with so many authors I don’t know if I should even try to list them but what the hell…

“Max Allan Collins (Kiss Her Goodbye, The Nate Heller series), Barbara Collins (Antiques Knock-Off), Jeff Mariotte (CSI: The Burning Season), Diane Clark and Astrid Bear (San Diego Noir), Gar Anthony Haywood (Cemetery Road), Gary Phillips (Angeltown), Paul Malmont (The Astounding, the Amazing, and the Unknown), Lisa Brackmann (Rock, Paper, Tiger), and Gregg Hurwitz (You’re Next) explore the dark streets of imagination with San Diego Noir editor Maryelizabeth Hart. Room 8”

And we’ll all be signing in the autograph room after that.

Finally, rounding out my July, on July 30 I’ll be signing and chatting at the Manhattan Beach Barnes & Noble, from noon till 2 PM? Ish? We get tired? Not sure.

As for August, I plan on sleeping. A lot.

My house and cats are in the hands of a sitter, and I’m heading for NYC shortly on a red eye*, the excuse being that ROCK PAPER TIGER was nominated for Best First Novel in the Strand Magazine Critics Awards, and they’re throwing a party. I really don’t expect to win (I mean, look who I’m up against!) but I’m thrilled to be in such fine company.

This will be my first trip to New York in years, and certainly my first trip as a published author. I figure, I’m getting a bit of a late start on this career, and I want to enjoy every moment of it. Well, the moments that don’t involve obsessive angst over comma placement and “like” versus “as if.”

I’ll be meeting with writer friends I know only from the interwebz, and I hope to visit some of the fine people I work with at Curtis Brown and Soho Press. Plus do a fair amount of strolling and sidewalk cafe sampling.

Can’t wait!

(*my eyes are already soooo red from the copy edits)

I’m doing a couple more events for SAN DIEGO NOIR — the first at the wonderful Bay Books in Coronado on June 23rd, the second at the Ocean Beach Branch of the San Diego Public Library on June 25—I don’t have a time for that yet, but since it’s Saturday, I’m assuming during the day.

Two things writing this brief post made me think about…

First, independent bookstores are awesome. You’ve probably heard me say that before. I had such a great time at the Mysterious Galaxy Birthday Bash—an event like this, where literally hundreds of loyal customers turned out to celebrate Mysterious Galaxy, its role in the community, in bringing authors and readers and books together, really brings home the value of local bookstores. Bay Books is another San Diego treasure—an absolutely lovely store on a charming street that’s well-worth a visit and a stroll.

Second, libraries are awesome. And you’ve probably heard me say this as well. I just did a quick scroll through the San Diego Public Library’s events calendar. My event isn’t posted yet, but have a look anyway. The incredible diversity of the offerings is something we should all be celebrating. Libraries are repositories of our collective knowledge and aspirations, and they are centers of community—the values and resources that we hold in common. The opportunities that libraries provide all citizens, particularly those who are poor and struggling, are absolutely invaluable.

We’re living in a tough time, and it’s more than the bad economy. I’d call it an almost spiritual crisis (and I’m not religious). It’s a collapse of the notion that we have a commons, places that belong to all of us, that we all support and that support us in times of need. Libraries, parks, schools, wilderness: all these are a part of our commons, things that shouldn’t belong to individuals, but to all of us, and to our children and their children to come.

(I’d add in health care, a social safety net and a secure retirement, but I am trying to step off my soapbox, so…)

Er, Oregon. First stop on June 7, Powell’s! After that, Klamath Falls, Ashland and Medford! Check my events calendar for information…hope to see some of you along the way…

I’ll be doing a few events in Oregon in early June, including the world-famous Powell’s Books in Portland on June 7. I’ll also be in Ashland and Klamath Falls — more details to come, but here’s a link to the wonderful organization who is sponsoring my Ashland leg, the Ashland Mystery Readers Group. Events there are scheduled for June 10th and June 11th.

I’m really excited about this! I have never been to Oregon, and it’s past time to remedy this situation.

For those of you in the San Diego area, as mentioned, I’ll be at the fabulous Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore’s 18th Birthday Bash on Saturday, May 14, along with a whole bunch of authors signing Akashic Book’s latest Noir release, San Diego Noir. There are signings going on all day, and cake! Mysterious Galaxy is a fantastic indie bookstore, and those of you in the San Diego who haven’t been there are missing out—what better time to visit?

(for details, addresses, directions, times, etc., just check the events calendar)