So,
as you know, I’ve been absent. A
lot. Couldn’t be helped really. The past
couple months have been a rollercoaster of highs and lows. First, my dad passed away less than two weeks
ago. With his health as poor as it was, his
passing was a blessing of sorts, but that doesn’t make it any easier,
especially since we didn’t have the greatest relationship near the end. He was a very difficult man. But he’s my dad; I love him regardless, and I’m
gonna miss him. A lot.
But
the bad was tempered with a bit of good. A few months ago, I mentioned that my
debut, The Mistaken,
had been nominated for four, then finaled for three, 2014 eFestival of Words Best
of the Independent eBook Awards. Well, turns out, yesterday, it WON
two of those awards—Best Thriller & Best Audiobook! I found this out not ten minutes before I
picked up my father’s ashes. I’d like to
think there was some magic at work there.
But
I wasn’t the only winner. While you can
watch the
video presentation of all the winners here, and I had many other friends in
nearly every single category, I would like to give a special shout out to my
Blogger buddies who won or were runners-up:
And now to wrap it
all up, I decided to play filmmaker last week.
I put together a little book trailer for my second novel, Leverage,
book 2 in The Mistaken Series. Take a looksee, and give it a thumbs up if you
like it. Thanks!
I’ve
been quite remiss for the last month or so, only dropping in for the IWSG when
I clearly announced my return from a much-prolonged hiatus. Seems habits are hard to break. It’s more than that though. It’s been rough for me lately. Personal stuff. My dad.
He has Alzheimer’s and had to be admitted to a care facility. It’s for the best, especially for my mom, and
I thought, hey, he deserves it; he’s treated everyone in his life like crap for
as long as I can remember. But…yeah…easier
said than done. My heart isn’t quite as
hard as I thought it was. Then bad went
to worse, and he was hospitalized yesterday.
They think it’s a stroke.
Whatever it is, just like everything else, it’s not a solvable
problem. There’s no happily ever after
to this story.
And
yet, every nugget of misery seems accompanied by a hint of happiness. While I struggled with with my dad, I had
some really good news come in. My debut
dark romantic thriller, The Mistaken,
became a three-category finalist (best
hero-heroine, best thriller,
and best
audiobook) in the eFestival
of Words 2014 Best of the Independent eBook Awards. It had to pass the peer nominations stage to
get there, but now that it’s a finalist, it’s all up to public voting.
And
while you might have never heard of these awards before, winning, or even
coming in second, can be very impactful.
My BFF, Lisa Regan, won in
2013 for Best Heroine and was the runner-up for Best Novel for her debut, Finding Claire Fletcher, and it’s
gone on to be very successful, and Lisa now has a contract with Amazon
Publishing’s Thomas and Mercer imprint. This year, Lisa’s follow-up, Aberration, is a multi-category
finalist, including Best Thriller,
Best Villain, and I’ve Been Shameylaned (best twist). How’s that for impressive?
So
I’m hopeful. Maybe something will come of this for me. I could really, really REALLY use your help
though. The registration is a tad convoluted, not too bad, but the voting is super easy. I’ll
leave easy-to-follow instructions at the end to assist you should you want to
vote. Either way, I have a LOT of
friends who’ve also finaled, many of whom you’ve heard of, like…
Alex
J. Cavanaugh, Best Science Fiction, CassaStorm
Cassie
Mae, Best YA & The Harvey Award, Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat friend
Michelle
Kemper Brownlow, Best NA & Best Villain, In Too Deep
Michael
Infinito, Best Horror, 12;19 & I’ve Been Shameylaned, In Blog We Trust
Carrie
Butler, Best Series, The Nexus Series, & Best NA, Strength
And
some you might not have heard of, but should definitely check out, like…
MK
Harkins, Best NA, Best Sweet Romance, & Best Villain, Intentional
Julie
A Richman, Best Romance, Searching for Moore
JB
Hartnett, Best Erotica, Inky
Kristine
Cayne, The Harvey Award, Deadly Addiction
Dana
Mason, Best Romance & Best Mystery/Suspense, Dangerous Embrace & Best
Hero, Precious Embrace
And
before you think anyone has any category wrapped up, think again. We’ve got two long months of public voting to
endure, so each and every vote helps every single one of us. I know I’d appreciate your vote if you have a
moment. Thanks in advance for your
support!
3. Confirm your
account: To pass validation, click on the survey question (typically a benign
question about your car or income,) then type the revealed, easy CAPTCHA into
‘Your answer’.
4. Ignore the
sponsor offers and click ‘Submit’. You are now registered and may login
Look at me, two posts in one week! And I'm not even
back from hiatus yet either. But this is
super important, so I hope you can take a quick moment to give this some
consideration.
Now, I realize, some will not want to vote for a book they
have not yet read, and I totally understand that, so no spanking necessary.
But if you don't object and wouldn't mind going through the process of
registering then voting, I would really love your help!
You see, not only is Finding
Claire Fletcher a superbly written and fantastic story -- one
ripped from the headlines BEFORE there even were headlines -- it rates 4.8
stars on Amazon with 60 of its 70 ratings at 5-stars, and 8 more at 4-stars.
Plus, unlike its leading competition in
the awards, Finding
Claire Fletcher ranks consistently well in sales. That should
tell you something: Not only do people love it, they WANT to buy it!
It's that good!
So, if you're on board to help, this is how you can vote:
1. Go HERE and
register. (REGISTER is
at the top OR just click on this link).
Don't worry, you will NOT receive any unwanted spam mail from them at
all.
Tips:
At the CONFIRMATION CODE captcha --
if it's a video, hit the play button and a phrase will come up along the bottom
of the video after 2-4 seconds. Just type that phrase into the blank space at
the bottom of the video box. If it's only a simple captcha, then just input the
characters.
Below that, after you AGREE TO THESE
TERMS and hit SUBMIT, you're actually DONE.
It will take you to a page that says, "You're almost finished…" THAT'S AN AD. You don't actually have
to do anything there. So close out the page.
There will be a list of polls. BEST
HERO/HEROINE is closer to the top and BEST
NOVEL is almost halfway down the list. Just click on each
poll (or the links I provided above) and you will be taken to a list
of books to vote for. You can go back to the Awards Hall and vote on
other polls.
THAT'S IT!! Thank you so very much for your time
and consideration. I hope we can pull Lisa's book up to the #1 position
it so rightly deserves.
second novel, the
super creepy crime thriller, Aberration.
I LOVE this book, and actually had a bit of a hand in it,
working extensively with Lisa over the last couple years to help her get it
just right. And oh, how right it
is!! Go read my Amazon
review here.
And now, to celebrate this momentous occasion, Lisa is
hosting the Aberration Bloghop. On June 6th & 7th, participants will list their
top 5 choices for the most aberrant characters in fiction, television, or
movies. If you're a writer, feel free to include a short paragraph about your
own aberrant character.
Participants will be entered to win an Amazon gift card for
either $25, $15, or $10, plus, 1 of 3 signed copies of the Aberration paperback
and 1 of 5 ebooks. How cool is that?!
Played by deliciously sexy Brit, James Purefoy, Joe is a
diabolical serial killer who creates a cult of serial killers, and turns the
act of murder into a pseudo-sexual experience for himself and his followers.
This character is suave,
charismatic, and brilliant. He loves the
culinary arts, and, when not assisting the FBI in solving serial murder cases,
prepares extraordinary carnivorous meals for his friends and colleagues. Trouble is and unbeknownst to his guests, the
main ingredients are harvested from his many victims. The food preparation and dining scenes, while
beautifully choreographed and filmed, totally gross me out.
Those are all long-standing villains, of course, but if you
want to sink your teeth into a few new members of this elite Club Aberration,
check out Lisa’s books.
And in Aberration,
you’re dumped deep into the psychopathic mind of an obsessive creep who’ll have you
constantly looking over your shoulder for crazed stalkers.
Powered by Linky Tools Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list...
I’M SO EXCITED! Thursday was the launch of Finding Claire Fletcher, the poignant tale of a young woman who was kidnapped at
the age of fifteen and held captive for ten years. This incredible novel of love, loss, and hope
was written by my very best friend, Lisa
Regan.(Read my
review of FCF here.)
I was lucky enough to have read this book as a critique
partner a couple of years ago, and since then, I’ve read it an additional three
times. That’s how much I love it! I know you’ll love it, too. As a preview, I’d like to give you a bit of
insight into Lisa and her novel so you can see just how wonderful and talented
she really is. So here is an interview I
conducted. Enjoy!
Why the obsession
with missing children?
I think it was from being bombarded as an adolescent by
missing child stories. Jacob Wetterling
and Jaycee Dugard were both abducted within two years of each other and the
news coverage was extensive. Certainly
something I’ve never forgotten. Right
around that time, that TV miniseries I Know My First Name is Steven about
Steven Stayner came out and that had a big impact on me. I was the same age as Wetterling and Dugard
and I think it was a that-could-be-me kind of thing that started the obsession.
You’ve been writing
since you were a child, so what is it about Finding
Claire Fletcher that made you want to seek representation and a publishing
contract?
It was the first thing I wrote that had a discernible
plot! As an adult it was the second
novel that I finished. In my first novel
I was trying to do too much. But FCF was
pretty simple: girl is abducted. Here’s
what happens. Man tries to find
her. FCF seemed much better written than
everything that came before it. I just
had this feeling that after all those years of trying, I had written something
worth reading.
How long was it from
the day you started writing Finding
Claire Fletcher to the day you finally signed your publishing contract, and
was there ever a time you just wanted to give up, tuck Finding Claire Fletcher into a drawer, and move on? If so, why didn’t you?
I started writing it sometime in early 2004 and I signed my
contract on 4/3/12 so it was eight years from first word to contract. If I had a dollar for every time I wanted to
give up, I wouldn’t have to work. Yes,
there were times I wanted to put FCF into a drawer. There were times I felt like I should put it into a drawer and move
on. But Claire’s voice was so compelling
to me that I simply couldn’t. The whole
time I was writing it, I felt like she was standing behind me with her hand on
my shoulder, whispering the words into my ear.
She became like a real person to me, and I felt like I owed it to her to
see her story through. Maybe because she
represents all the children who have lived through an abduction whose stories
most people turn away from.
What is the most
important lesson you learned during this time between writing and publication?
Ask for help. When I
was growing up, I approached so many teachers asking for help or direction with
my writing, and I was consistently blown off.
So by the time I started writing as an adult I had a bit of a chip on my
shoulder. I didn’t want to ask for help
because I was sure no one would give it.
But my college professors were wonderful, and, later, after I started
querying unsuccessfully, I found plenty of other writers willing to help me
(wink, wink, nudge, nudge).
Unfortunately I didn’t have critique partners or beta readers until after I started querying for FCF. I really believe if I had gotten the type of
feedback I got between 2006 and 2010 from CPs and betas before I sent out my
first query, my journey would have been a lot shorter. Plus this is not a journey you want to take
alone. You need other writers to support
and encourage you—only they can understand the unique misery you’ll
experience. Get involved in a writing
community—in person or online and accept their help and support.
Do you think the
subject matter in Finding Claire Fletcher
made it a hard sell, and why?
Absolutely. It’s the
element of sexual assault that makes it a hard sell. I’ve found that murder and dismemberment are
easier for people to deal with than rape.
But I purposely did not want to shy away from it. It happens to women all over the world every
day. It is real, and it is
damaging. We shouldn’t pretend it
doesn’t exist. We shouldn’t minimize it.
I think that would be a disservice to women (and men, too) who are recovering
from it or have survived it—and their loved ones whose lives are also affected
by sexual assault. You know, Diane
Sawyer asked Jaycee Lee Dugard why she went into detail about the sexual
assaults she suffered at the hands of her abductor in her memoir and Dugard
said, “Why not look at it? You know,
stare it down until it can’t scare you anymore?” I think that is incredibly brave.
With real-life cases
like Shawn Hornbeck, Elizabeth Smart, and Jaycee Lee Dugard so well-known, why do think the Big Six
turned Finding Claire Fletcher down
on grounds they thought it unbelievable that a kidnap victim allowed to leave her
prison would not seek help from the authorities?
Well obviously I can’t speak for the Big 6 but I think the
real issue is that most people have a hard time believing the real-life
instances. I think a lot of people look
at kids like Hornbeck, Smart, and Dugard and, in the back of their minds, there
is a nagging question as to why they didn’t try to escape. What people don’t realize is that, first of
all, these were children. Do you
remember how you felt when you were 11 or 14?
Do you think you would have been equipped to handle being torn away from
everything you knew and systematically tortured, both physically and
emotionally for a sustained period of time?
Because make no mistake—what happened to these kids was torture. Second, they were completely terrorized and
broken down by their captors. By the
time people see them on the news, they’re grown up. They look like and they are now adults. People forget that they were just kids when
they were taken. So I think a lot of
people want to say, “Why didn’t they just walk away?” But no one looks at a Prisoner of War and
says, “Why didn’t he just bust out of there like Rambo?” They are kids and they’ve been tortured. I think that’s the point people miss. But to answer your question, some publishers
may have reasoned that if people find it hard to swallow that real life kids
don’t leave at the first opportunity, then they won’t buy a fictional account.
After all the hard
work getting Finding Claire Fletcher
a home, what’s been the most difficult part since?
Managing my time. I
had no idea that this part would be so busy!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m ecstatic and euphoric. It has just been hard finding time for everything
on top of working full-time and raising a child. But I wouldn’t have it any other way!
What can we look
forward to next from you?
More of the same!
LOL. Well there is Aberration
which comes out on 6/6/13. It’s about an
FBI profiler working on a serial killer case where she turns out to be the
object of his affection. The WIP I’m
working on now is about a single mom who is a detective in Philadelphia investigating a series of sex
crimes. After that I had planned on
working on a new book that would have Connor and Claire in it, but we’ll see
how successful FCF is—if people like it, I’ll bring Connor and Claire
back. If not, I’ve got a few other
things up my sleeve, but whatever it is you can count on dark and gritty.
·1 signed copy of the paperback of Finding Claire Fletcher
·1 e-book version of Finding Claire Fletcher
All you have to do is visit the Finding
Claire Fletcher Blog Tour & Giveaway page and comment on that page
letting Lisa know whose blog you’ve just come from. Each commenter will be assigned a number and
then the winners will be chosen using random.org. Winners will be announced on 12/24/12!
Hey, I had this whole raving-lunatic-post written and ready
to go for today, ‘cause you guys are like, you know, awesome and always ready
and willing to rally around a writer in need, but there’s some big, BIG news coming down the pipeline and it
just doesn’t feel appropriate right now.
Sooooo… there goes my post.
Now I got nothing because I can’t, or shouldn’t, really, say
what’s coming. And to be frank, I’m a
bit confused. I mean, I thought I knew
what it was, and, for once, I felt like one of the super cool kids included in
on the secret, however inadvertent.
A hint, it has a little sumpm sumpm to do with this bad boy:
Then another little birdie whispered something in my ear
and now I’m not so sure. But
I can’t say. I guess by the time this
hits the press, you’ll all know, or at least have an inkling, even while I’m
still snoring away in ignorance out here on the west coast.
*sigh*
Well, at the very least, I have this to report: In case you forgot, or I forgot to remind
you, I’m guest posting today over at Arlee
Bird’s Tossing It Out. Check it out
and tell me what you think.
Also, in case you missed it on Friday, here’s the awesome
new book trailer for Lisa Regan’s debut novel, Finding
Claire Fletcher, launching December 6th. I’m reading this book again, for the 4th
time, this time in paperback, and it is even better than I remembered. Easily one of my favorite books of all
time! Check out the trailer and see for
yourself…
And lastly, you might have heard that I will be working with
Stephen
Tremp,Mary Pax, C.M. Brown, and Christine Raines and their new support group, Writere4Writers,
which will feature my book, The Mistaken,
on the W4Ws December 6th debut campaign. Participants will join in and help bring
awareness to newly released novels and hopefully increase sales.
The
bloggers we really miss…
and the ones we would really miss!
Do you have a couple blogger buddies who aren’t posting as often? Those who’ve
pulled back and seem absent from the blogging world? Do you have blogger
buddies you are grateful they are still around and would miss if they vanished?
Now is your chance to show your appreciation and spotlight them!
On November 16, list one to three bloggers you really miss and one to three
bloggers you would miss if they stopped blogging. Then go leave a comment on
those blogs.
Our blogger friends are special – time to let them know!
I only blog on Mondays, my day to post and make
the rounds, but there are a couple of blogs I visit every day or every day I
know there’ll be a new post. And while I
follow and love so many blogs, and most of them are active, there are a couple
of bloggers who don’t post as much as I would like.
First, two I miss because they don’t post as often as they
used to:
Jennifer Hillier at The Serial Killer
Files – Jenny’s a big time author now with two incredibly popular books,
her 2011 debut, Creep,
and this year’s follow-up, Freak,
plus she’s working on a new novel, so it’s no wonder she doesn’t post as
often. But I really, really miss her,
especially since she moved away from Seattle
almost a year ago. Lucky for me, we chat
via text, email, Facebook, and phone calls so I never truly lose touch.
Janet Reid’s Query Shark – Yes, I
know, Ms. Reid has her own regular
blog here, but I really love Query Shark.
I’ve learned so much from that blog.
But she hasn’t posted since September 30th, and for months
before that, her posts were sporadic, at best.
I miss waking up on Sunday mornings and tuning in to read how The Shark
has ripped to shreds yet another query written and submitted by someone who’s
failed to read all the other queries, as directed. Better still, I miss those few queries that
hit it spot on the very first time, even when they break all the rules—like the query forJosin Mcquein’s
Premeditated. I realize I’m past
this query stage, but I still learn a lot from reading them.
Which brings me to a blog I would miss if it were to ever
disappear: In fact, when this blogger
took a short break earlier this year, I found out just how much I did miss it. And him.
And that blogger is…
Matthew MacNish at The QQQE or The
Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment – Much like Janet Reid, Matt
has serious skills when it comes to dissecting and analyzing queries and
determining what works and what doesn’t then suggesting ways in which to fix
it. So if you have a query you are
thinking of submitting to agents, send it to Matt first. The man knows what he’s talking about. And his commenters help a lot, too.
And finally, the one blog I never, and I mean NEVER, EVER miss, is your friend and mine…
Alex J. Cavanaugh - There are
very few bloggers out there who are as consistently and truly inspiring,
relentlessly selfless, and remarkably entertaining as Alex. He is the highlight of my Monday, Wednesday,
and Friday mornings. In fact, I
typically read his posts before I even get out of bed in the morning. So if Alex’s blog were to ever cease to
exist, I would be crushed. He is a
lesson to us all on how to be humble and pay it forward. And what's more, I've met most of my Blogger friends through Alex, so he's kind of a matchmaker of sorts. Many thanks and cheers to you, Alex!
With less than 3 weeks until the December 6th
launch of Lisa Regan’s debut
novel, I’d like to share with you her book trailer for Finding
Claire Fletcher. So without further
ado…
It’s Day 10, into the home stretch. Yippee!
I sure hope you all are surviving Sandy in safety and good spirits.
Today is very special to me. I’m being interviewed by my
very best friend in the whole world, fellow author and pub-sister, Lisa Regan. I’ve posted about Lisa at least a dozen times,
probably more. We started as critique
partners and became as close as sisters, best friends who email long letters to
each other several times a week. And
that’s in addition to all the texting we do just about every day. Most of you know by now that, although we’ve
been best friends for two years, we only just met in person for the first time
earlier this month at Bouchercon. And while I’m grateful that we get to publish
together and remain on this journey, side-by-side, more than anything, I’m so
happy I met her, for not only has she made me a better writer, she’s enriched
my life beyond my wildest dreams. Don't miss Lisa's debut release, Finding Claire Fletcher coming from Sapphire Star Publishing on December 6th.
You can also find me over at Falling For Fiction today, where Hope Roberson asked me some questions and was kind enough to allow me a little shameless self-promotion.
Who has impacted your writing life the most?
Remember, every follower who comments here during my tour will be entered into a drawing for an ARC of The Mistaken and a bookmark. Plus, 5 runner-up winners will each receive
an ebook copy. Winners will be
determined using Random.org and notified
via email.
I made it to Day 9, three-quarters of the way through my big
tour,
and time to splash a little water on my face.
Today’s guest post is over at Heather M. Gardner’s The Waiting is the
Hardest Part. Although Heather often
posts lighthearted subject matter—Stormy, anyone?—I get a bit more serious. You see, Heather beta-read my manuscript
right before my book deal, when I was trying to decide whether or not to
compromise on content just to get it published.
She did me a great service, and I will be forever grateful and in her
debt simply because of her honesty.
Check it out and tell me what you think.
Would you ever consider compromising content to get published?
As always, every follower who comments here during my tour will be entered into a drawing for an ARC of The Mistaken and a
bookmark. Plus, 5 runner-up winners will
each receive an ebook copy. Winners will
be determined using Random.org and
notified via email.
Tomorrow on Day 10, my best friend, Lisa Regan, interviews me over at
her joint. And Falling For Fiction gives The Mistaken some love.
__________
THE MISTAKEN ~ the
hell of revenge, the hope of redemption
Wow! That’s about all
I can say right now. I’m sitting at a
crowded gate at the Cleveland
airport, trying to find a way to sum up Bouchercon
2012, my first ever writer’s conference.
But seriously, B-con was so much more than that.
It wasn’t just a convention for writers and authors, but for
readers and fans of all types of crime fiction, as well. So while I was in absolute heaven being surrounded
by other writers who truly understood me and my passion for writing and my
genre, and I learned an incredible amount of information at the panels, I also
had the opportunity to chat and socialize with the very people who might buy my
book when it “hits the stands” next week.
But before I get into all that, let me first fill you in on
the personal side of this big excursion.
As most of you already know, I was planning to meet my bff, Lisa Regan, in person for the very
first time. She didn’t get there until
my second day, so I met my other bestie first, Jennifer Hillier, author of Creep and Freak.
Jenny and I
I hadn’t seen Jenny since she moved from my neck of the
woods last December. Though she was
suffering from some back pain, she managed to make the trip, and we had a grand
time catching up, eating and drinking, and attending panels. And when Lisa finally arrived, Jenny was
there to capture it all on video. But
that’s a private moment I’m keeping to myself right now. I do, however, have a
couple of photos Jenny took.
Lisa and I
The three of us spent no small amount of time partying it up
at The
Renaissance. This newly renovated
hotel, a grand dame dating back to1915, was opulent and conveniently located at
TowerCity, another beautifully revitalized
structure also housing The Ritz Carlton, an entire shopping mall, food court,
and cinemas, plus the RTA or local rapid transit train, which delivered me from
the airport for only $2. Everything we
could ever want was right at our doorstep.
We never even had to venture outside.
Me, Lisa, and Jenny
The Renaissance at Tower City at night
...and in the morning
The grand lobby staircase
Tower City entrance
The Renaissance lobby fountain
The street view out our room window at The Renaissance
But, of course, we did since the opening ceremony took place
at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That
was a fun event with wine, beer, and hors d’oeuvres. Best of all, it was emceed by famed master
author, John Connolly. We did have an incident where a close-talking
stalker fan latched on to Lisa, but we managed to shake him, thank God. Then it was back to the hotel bar for a
nightcap where we were constantly surrounded by famous authors like Lee Child
and Chelsea Cain.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Lisa, me, and Jenny out front of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Author John Connolly was quite the comedian emcee
Inside the reception hall at the museum
Author Charlaine Harris of the Sookie Stackhouse mysteries (True Blood)
Jenny and Chelsea Cain
Author Will Lavender and Jenny
Friday and Saturday were again chock full of wonderful
panels. They were moderated and debated
by panelists such as John Connolly, Chelsea Cane, Charlaine Harris, Linwood
Barclay, and countless other rock stars of the genre and industry. I learned
more than I ever thought possible on subjects such as morally challenged
heroes, adapting novels into movies and television, crafting thrillers,
character development, avoiding the unbelievable, and serial killers, the last
of which was paneled by Jenny herself.
And all that barely scratched the surface.
I met so many wonderful people, especially other writers and
a few debut authors like myself. One in
particular was Mark Pryor, a
friend of both Lisa and Jenny and author of The
Bookseller, launching tomorrow, Tuesday, October 9th from
Seventh Street Books and As
She Lay Sleeping, true crime from New Horizon Press and already available
on Amazon. I found Mark incredibly
charming as he spent an entire evening regaling a group of us women with
stories of his job as a prosecuting attorney in Austin, Texas.
Mark, Lisa, and I were all on the New Authors panel where we
were unexpectedly instructed to stand before the crowd and speak about
ourselves and our books. And although it
was intimidating as hell, the moderator, legendary author Val McDermid, was so hilarious, she put
us all at ease as we belly-laughed at her early morning Scottish humor.
Val McDermid
Lisa and I after our New Authors panel
At the Museum party, we met a group of women—readers and
librarians from Lisa’s neighborhood in Philly—and just like so many of the
attending fans, they were thrilled to learn that Lisa and I were launching
books this year and were anxious to read and possibly share them. How cool is THAT?!!
Seriously, Even though Jenny was wracked up and I had some weird eye infection the whole time, we had a blast, and I could go on and on about how wonderful and
fulfilling this trip was, but with all I have to say, it would take 5000 words, at least, and to be honest, I drank more alcohol in last 4 days than I have in the
last 4 months, so I’m a tad exhausted what with getting up everyday before 6am. But I know so many of you were cheering me on
here and on Facebook and Twitter, so I at least wanted to give you a glimpse
into the most spectacularly fun 5 days of my life!
Have you ever been to a writer's conference like this?
But
I wasn’t the only winner. While you can
watch the
video presentation of all the winners here, and I had many other friends in
nearly every single category, I would like to give a special shout out to my
Blogger buddies who won or were runners-up:
