March is certainly for
madness—where is this month going?? Maybe it’s the nice weather that’s making
time fly, or my giant to-do list…
In any case, on the
writing side, I’m almost done with edits on my crime novel for adults. This
project has been a long time in the making, but I‘m finally seeing the end. I’m
not quite ready to spill the beans too much (I prefer to keep works-in-progress
close to the chest, for fear of jinxing stuff), but I’ll say that the working title
is 39, and the novel is set in the Deep South. To be continued…
School Visits
I don’t normally talk
about school or Skype visits, because it feels too much like I’m tooting my own
horn… But man, did I have the MOST AMAZING SCHOOL VISIT EVER!
I was invited to Campus
Middle School in the Denver area, where they host an annual event called One
Book One Campus. The librarian Derek Phelan and his staff choose a book that
they wrap a week’s worth of events around, including games, activities, and book-themed
decorations throughout the school. The kids don’t know what book is chosen
until the start of the event—this year, I was honored to be the invited author.
A thousand copies of
Double Vision were handed out to the kids; I did presentations, and was pretty
much treated like royalty. The whole school looked like Paris, which is where Double Vision is set. Super cool. The Villager (local paper) and the Cherry Creek school district both wrote lots of nice things about the event.
School visits are a good
reminder that you can really make a difference as an author. What fun, and what
an honor…
Mystery Books and TV
I’ve been reading Heartbreak Hotel by Jonathan Kellerman,
which I’d say is one of his best. The premise of the story goes back to the
1950s, to crime bosses and Hollywood. My only (tiny) gripe is that I wish Kellerman
had shared a bit more at the end of the book about whether any of it was based
in real life history; it was fascinating stuff, and his writing always makes
the reading pleasurable.
On the nightstand right
now is The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. This title came flew across my radar
several times, recommended by various review sites, so I thought I’d give it a
go.
So far, it’s a contemporary Agatha Christie with a side of Bridget Jones,
on a cruise ship. I’m having fun reading this one. Easy to read, other than the
sudden introduction of lots of characters (very Christie).
Mystery TV has me
watching Major Crimes on TNT. Mary McDonnell
is great, and the cast of characters is always nice to revisit—kind of like
hanging out with friends. At Bouchercon (mystery fan conference) in Cleveland,
the writers/producers hosted a panel for fans, and I was impressed by how hard
they work to get the crime/cop/law stuff right.
For Writers
Come to Pikes Peak Writers Conference! I’ll be on faculty, along with a lot more famous people. It’ll
be fun. Plus, Colorado Springs is a great place to visit; with some luck, you’ll
catch the spring blooms and a bit of sunshine.
In the book department, I’m
reading Be the Gateway by Dan Blank
from We Grow Media, which came out earlier this month. I took a class led by
Dan a few years ago, and have loved his personal, human approach to reaching
readers, and enhancing productivity along with career satisfaction. Buy this book, follow his blog. Dan Blank sends out a newsletter every Friday that
always has me inspired.
What are you reading,
watching, writing?
