Valentine's Day Approaches

Today is February 11.  This year, Valentine's Day is on Saturday.  It's all about romance--and as you know, I write romances as well as mysteries.   

Since my mysteries include my Superstition Mystery series, I had to look up superstitions surrounding Valentine's Day.  There are a lot of them, including how you can meet your future spouse.  Supposedly, the first name you read in the newspaper or hear on TV or the radio will be the same as that of the person you will marry.  I don't recall that happening when I met my husband, though. 

If you find a glove on the sidewalk on Valentine's Day, your true love will be carrying its mate.  Of course here in L.A., where I live, not too many people are wearing gloves, but I know that a lot of you living elsewhere in the country are happy to have gloves on in the cold and snow. 

Watch out for birds.  The kind you see could help to predict the sort of person you'll marry, or so people have believed.  For example, goldfinches mean money, sparrows mean poverty yet happiness, and doves lead to peaceful, happy marriages. 

Should you happen to see a squirrel on Valentine's Day, you'll unfortunately marry a cheapskate who'll not spend money on you.  Good thing I'm already married to a wonderful guy, since we frequently have squirrels appear in our backyard.  Oh, and by the way, Valentine's Day is actually the anniversary of the day we got engaged, quite a few years ago now. 

But if any of those superstitions, or others, have come true for you, I'd love for you to let me know! 

Tomorrow night I'm moderating a panel of romance writers at the Flintridge Bookstore in La Canada Flintridge, California.  It's at 7PM, so if you happen to be in the area be sure to drop in! 

So Happy Valentine's Day to all of you.  My fingers are crossed that you have, or will find, your true love in your life.

Launches of Fun

As I mentioned last week, my second physical launch party for my first Superstition Mystery LOST UNDER A LADDER was last weekend at the Flintridge Bookstore in La Canada Flintridge, California.  The first one had been at Mystery Ink in Huntington Beach.  I had a lot of fun at both parties!  Why?  Because even though I went with a program in mind, including a reading, I really enjoyed interaction with my audience members both times. 

 

At my second one, the crowd wasn't huge either, but nearly all the attendees were friends whom I knew from different situations and for different reasons.  Some were writing friends but not all of them.  Some I'd met only recently and others I'd known for a while. 

And because the group wasn't too large I had an enjoyable discussion with them about my book and its theme and characters, and we talked a lot about superstitions. 

Many of the attendees bought copies of LOST UNDER A LADDER, and I had the fun of signing them. 

Afterward, most of us adjourned to the coffee shop that's part of the store and indulged in--what else?--coffee, as well as some pastries.  I happily treated.  After all, it was my book launch. 

Do I have any more launch parties planned?  No, but I still have a lot going on in addition to writing, including Bouchercon, some other event and library appearances, and more. 

And it's all fun!

The Pleasure of Signings

Book signings are fun! At least they are for me. So far, I’ve been on three for BEAGLEMANIA, the first book in my new Pet Rescue Mystery series. The first was at the grand reopening of Flintridge Bookstore, in Flintridge, California, along with several other mystery writers. Fun event!

The second was at Mystery Ink, in Huntington Beach, California. Two wonderful pet rescue groups brought dogs along for attendees to play with, and Sandy Robins, a delightful writer on nonfiction pet topics, brought a Toyota Venza equipped with special pet-friendly safety accessories to demonstrate, too. People popped in and out and bought books. Delightful!

Then, last weekend, I signed at Mysteries to Die For in Thousand Oaks, California. People from their book club attended along with people I knew from writing and pet-related organizations. I gave a presentation that mostly consisted of answering questions about my new Pet Rescue Mystery series, where it is so far and where it’s going. I also discussed aspects of the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery series, from which the Pet Rescue series has spun off.

One of the most fun things for me was the ideas people tossed to me about ideas for more Pet Rescue books! I made notes, and you never know. Some might appear in the future!

Am I done? Not hardly. Next Saturday is my signing at Vroman’s bookstore in Pasadena, California. It’s in conjunction with the Pasadena Humane Society’s adoption event. Rain is predicted, but I hope the weather behaves enough to permit a good turnout of pet adopters and book buyers.

The following weekend, on Saturday, March 26, I’m signing at the Bookstar in Studio City. Bookstar is located in a former movie theater--and my name is already on the marquee! That signing will be at the same time as a weekly pet adoption event on Ventura Boulevard right outside Bookstar.

That pretty well covers my March signings, but I’m also signing in April. Plus, I’m on some panels. I’m keeping busy. I’m selling some books. And I’m also having one heck of a good time meeting people, getting ideas--and, yes, encouraging the idea of pet adoptions.

Do you attend book signings? Where, and do you enjoy them?