News

Here is the updated list of events I’ll be doing in support of HOUR OF THE RAT!

JUNE 15: Sisters in Crime Angeles Speakers Bureau Event: Lisa Brackmann, Naomi Hirahara, and Jeri Westerson will speak about writing novels set in international locales, 2:00 p.m. at the Santa Monica Public Library’s Ocean Park Branch, 2601 Main Street, Santa Monica.

JUNE 18: HOUR OF THE RAT OFFICIAL LAUNCH! Mysterious Galaxy Redondo, 2810 Artesia Blvd., Redondo Beach, CA 90278 ~ 310-542-6000, 7:30 PM! (I am pretty sure there will be wine and cupcakes. And there’s plenty of parking!)

JUNE 22: Mysterious Galaxy San Diego, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Suite #302, San Diego, CA 92111 ~ 858-268-4747, 2 PM, with author Richard Lange!

JUNE 22: Mystery Ink, 8907 Warner Avenue, #135, Huntington Beach, CA (714) 960-4000, 6 PM, with Author/friend Tim Hallinan!

JUNE 23: Book ‘Em, 1118 Mission St., South Pasadena, CA 91030 626-799-9600 1-800-4BOOKEM, 2 PM!

JUNE 24: Joint appearance with debut author Ramsey Hootman at A Great Good Place for Books, 6120 La Salle Ave, Oakland, CA 94611, (510) 339-8210

JUNE 25: Joint appearance with debut author Ramsey Hootman at Books Inc.The Marina, 2251 Chestnut St., 415-931-3633, San Francisco, CA, 7 PM!

JULY 13: I host debut author Maer Wilson for a discussion and reading of her urban fantasy/supernatural thriller RELICS, at Mysterious Galaxy Redondo Beach! (time TBA)

JULY 14: Sisters in Crime Los Angeles July Meeting, I am a featured reader, MEET-AND-GREET: 2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., PROGRAM: 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., South Pasadena Library located at 1115 El Centro Street, South Pasadena CA

JULY 14: Noir at the Bar, Mandrake, 2692 S La Cienega Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90034, Los Angeles CA, 8 PM — Confirmed!

JULY 19: NEW! I sign at Watershed Books in Lakeport, CA! (707) 263-5787,305 North Main Street, Lakeport, CA 95453, (time TBA)

JULY 21: NEW! Discussion, signing and WINE! At Lake County Wine Studio! 9505 Main Street #1, Upper Lake, CA. (time TBA)

AUGUST 7: NEW! Reading, discussion and potluck at Janet Rudolph’s Literary Salon, Berkeley CA, 7 PM! (contact me for details)

HOUR OF THE RAT launches on June 18th, which is starting to feel…soon. Very soon.

Here are some events I’ll be doing in support of the release…I’ll be updating this page as new events are added. Details also on calendar to the right. Or will be. I’m getting there…

JUNE 6: Quiet Lightning, Neighborhood Heroes Edition, (RSVP HERE), at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, featuring Jane Smiley, Glen David Gold, Lisa Brackmann, Michael David Lukas, Susan Steinberg, Kevin Killian, Joseph Lease, Tom Comitta, Karen Penley, Chris Peck. 6:30 PM!

JUNE 15: Sisters in Crime Angeles Speakers Bureau Event: Lisa Brackmann, Naomi Hirahara, and Jeri Westerson will speak about writing novels set in international locales, 2:00 p.m. at the Santa Monica Public Library’s Ocean Park Branch, 2601 Main Street, Santa Monica.

JUNE 18: HOUR OF THE RAT OFFICIAL LAUNCH! Mysterious Galaxy Redondo, 2810 Artesia Blvd., Redondo Beach, CA 90278 ~ 310-542-6000, 7:30 PM! (I am pretty sure there will be wine and cupcakes. And there’s plenty of parking!)

JUNE 22: Mysterious Galaxy San Diego, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Suite #302, San Diego, CA 92111 ~ 858-268-4747, 2 PM, with author Richard Lange!

JUNE 22: Mystery Ink, 8907 Warner Avenue, #135, Huntington Beach, CA (714) 960-4000, 2 PM, with Author/friend Tim Hallinan!

JUNE 23: Book ‘Em, 1118 Mission St., South Pasadena, CA 91030 626-799-9600 1-800-4BOOKEM, 2 PM!

JUNE 24: Joint appearance with debut author Ramsey Hootman at A Great Good Place for Books, 6120 La Salle Ave, Oakland, CA 94611, (510) 339-8210

JUNE 25: Joint appearance with debut author Ramsey Hootman at Books Inc.The Marina, 2251 Chestnut St., 415-931-3633, San Francisco, CA, 7 PM!

JULY 14: Sisters in Crime Los Angeles July Meeting, I am a featured reader, MEET-AND-GREET: 2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., PROGRAM: 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., South Pasadena Library located at 1115 El Centro Street, South Pasadena CA

JULY 14: Noir at the Bar, Mandrake, 2692 S La Cienega Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90034, Los Angeles CA, 8 PM — not confirmed yet, but this is one of my favorite events to participate in and to attend, so I’m hoping!

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…

Here is my panel schedule for Left Coast Crime:

Friday March 30, 10:15 AM in the Magnolia Room: “Tough Chicks,” moderated by Sophie Littlefield, with Denise Hamilton, Julie Kramer and Helene Tursten!

Saturday March 31, 2:45 PM, in the Magnolia Room: “Been There, Wrote That–A Game Show,” moderated by Gar Anthony Haywood, with Bruce DeSilva, Catriona McPherson and Brad Parks!

I can’t wait!

Books! From the UK! Check out the gold foil! Yes, it’s YEAR OF THE TIGER, aka ROCK PAPER TIGER. It’s a real kick seeing how different the US and the UK versions of the book are. The great folks at Harper did some really cool things with this version. I love the gold tiger on the spine and elsewhere in the book! AND you get a preview of my next book, DAY OF THE DEAD aka GETAWAY!

I have a mailbox address that’s about a half hour’s walk from my house, where I have things like this sent. I decided to check it today, and as usual, I walked — it’s a nice thing to do after sitting on the couch all day.* I was thrilled to see that I’d gotten a package. I was not, however, expecting it to be quite this big. So, a half hour’s walk home with a big box of books weighing 6.2 KG (that’s British for close to 14 pounds).

I feel well-exercised…

And I might just have to do some kind of contest…

*NOTE: the couch AKA my office