LCC, TFOB, bars with sharks

I'm back from Left Coast Crime in Los Angeles and the Tucson Festival of Books and I know I need to write a long and thoughtful post about the experience but Dog threw up on the couch and the kids ate all the food while I was gone so I need to do some serious housewifery catch-up around here. So I thought I'd share the highlights, which conveniently all took place in a bar whose name I forget somewhere in downtown L.A. on Thursday night.

I was out with my pals Juliet Blackwell and Gigi Pandian and Boyd Morrison and Brett Battles and Graham Brown, plus Graham's wife Tracey who I had just met but who we instantly absorbed into the 'borg with great success. In fact it was Tracey's awesome idea to jam all of us into the photo booth at once. Tracey weighs about eleven ounces so I can see why she thought this would work, but I'm a sizeable serving of woman and it turns out it took two shifts. Also at some point Brett slipped out with this dude who I thought was hitting him up for his autograph but it turns out it was actually his editor, oops, maybe I shouldn't of elbowed him out of the way and taken his stool. Oh well, at least we stuck him with the tab.

me, Gigi and Julie

Boyd, Tracey, Gigi and Graham

Arrival of the ARCS

Last week was awesome. Tuesday, I got a package containing my BANISHED advance reader copies. Ran around the house screaming. Read about a hundred random paragraphs. Caressed, fondled, smooched the ARC. seriously, I did. I'm kind of embarrassed to admit it but if you could see how gorgeous it is in person you would too.

The next day, my friend Lisa stopped by for a visit and handed me a package that had been on the porch. PRETTY arcs!!! Oh lord in heaven, how we drooled over them. That cover, it'll stop your clock, it's THAT good.

The fact that they arrived here means they are also winging around the globe - okay, maybe not the globe but around these US of A. Proof of which came in the form of a few reviewer friends emailing me to let me know they received them. Aaack! That's the can't-turn-back moment, I think - when people who aren't your publisher or your agent or your cabal or your long-suffering family crack the spine.


BANISHED is dedicated to Junior, and PRETTY is dedicated to T-wa

Book Club Sales (and some random stuff)

Hey I just found out PRETTY's sold to the book clubs. Yay! This pup's coming around the bend fast - only three months to pub date. Rumor has it the ARC's are out, so I'm sending sparkly blessings into the universe for them. Go go go, little book!

Speaking of pups, y'all are probably wondering how Dog is doing, right? After several months on the glass shard and electric component diet, she is growing up nicely. At nearly 6 months old, here's Dog in all her glory:



and if that's not enough "Awwww" for ya, here's a pic of T-wa getting fitted for a tux for Junior Prom: