Chill Me, Thrill Me and The Big Read--Plus a Contest

I've had a dream week for an author.

Chill Me, Thrill Me
On Wednesday, I was part of a panel called "Chill Me, Thrill Me" for the St. Charles City-County Library. The event was organized by Fedora AMIS, and our "Queen of Clues" was Eileen Dreyer. Let me tell you that Eileen is a tough act to follow on any panel because she's "roll in the aisles" hilarious. Eileen is a nurse by training, and she said that one reason she loves writing mysteries is that in her books the bad guys get theirs and the good people live happily ever after. Also on our panel was Wilfred Bereswill, who stopped by a local casino to do a little research beforehand, Eleanor Sullivan, who became a fiction writer after writing textbooks, and Angie Fox, who wrote before the sun came up on a daily basis until she penned a New York Times extended list bestseller which has just gone back for a second printing.

My friend and bookseller Lynn Oris was there from Barnes & Noble, so we went out to eat afterwards. She has such a lively mind, and she knows her books. I learned from Lynn that the practice of allowing booksellers to return unsold books began after WWII when the economy was bad. Bookstores were afraid to take a chance on new authors, so booksellers said let us ship you books and if they don't sell, return them.

The Big Read
On Friday my dear friend Emilie Richards came to town for The Big Read, and we had a perfect dinner at Cafe Napoli outside on the little patio where people-watching was almost as fabulous as the Chicken Napoli we ordered.

On Saturday, I met with Emilie, Tess Gerritsen and Julie Compton for an interview with Claire Applewhite. Claire asked great questions, and once it's done, I'll be sure to link this blog to it. I always enjoy seeing Tess. She has such a scientific mind, and she'd gone to The Big Read early to catch a panel on a topic that interested her.
I had "met" Julie over the 'net, and liked her immediately, so it was great to meet her in the flesh. She's from St. Louis, and set her book Tell No Lies here. I just started reading it and was blown away by her talent. Once in a while, you read a book and think, "Wow, I wish I'd written that." Tell No Lies made me pea-green with jealousy. That girl can WRITE.

And Emilie, well, she's such a dear to me. I told her I wanted to try my hand at quilting again, so she brought me the five books on quilting that were created to go along with her Shenandoah Album series. I'm reading Touching Stars from that series, and everytime I read something by Emilie, I'm struck anew at how deftly she uses internal conflict in her characters to propell the plot.

I moderated The Big Read panel, and boy, was I nervous. I wanted to show Tess, Emilie and Julie in the best light possible--to ask questions that really gave the audience a sense of what fabulous women they are as well as a taste of what they write.

Marketing Your Book

After the panel, Angie Fox and I taught a class called Marketing Your Book. We had worked hard on the outline, and I believe that paid off. Emilie and Julie sat in. They said it was the best, most concrete session on the subject they'd ever heard. High praise from those two experts!

Julie, Emilie and I went to dinner at Trattoria Marcella's on The Hill, the Italian section of St. Louis, and then on to Ted Drewes for custard. (Angie had a babysitter to relieve.)

It's been a charmed few days. To celebrate, I made this Big Read journaling box. Isn't it fun? Email me at savetales@aol.com and I'll send you the file. Well, creating the journaling box was not nearly as much fun as I've had the past few days!

CONTEST

Introducing Magnificent Mondays! From now on the THIRD Monday of every month will be a Magnificent Monday. Starting NEXT Monday if you are one of the commenters, you can win a prize. In keeping with the season, our prize NEXT Monday, October 20, will be a copy of The Wheels of Darkness, a spooky thriller by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Want to enjoy a shiver up your spine? Post a comment next Monday and maybe you'll win! Tell your friends and maybe they'll share!

And check out my personal blog http://joannaslan.blogspot.com/ I'll be writing about my year as a debut author PLUS offering cool prizes there as well.

BLOG VISIT

I'll be a guest blogger on The Lipstick Chronicles, Saturday, October 18, 2008, the same day I'll be appearing at the Kingsport (TN) Times Women's Expo.

I figure we all need a laugh, and I think you'll get a chuckle out of my guest post about my husband's ongoing battle with moles.

Check it out at http://thelipstickchronicles.typepad.com

This and That for July 2007

Every so often I like to journal small stuff, like the minutia of life. Here’s a sample:

Well, It’s Been a Busy Week in St. Louis, My Hometown—Saturday I did a combination booksigning and make’n’take for Main Street Books of St. Charles (msbstchas@sbc.global.net). We had seven folks—six ladies and a husband!—come try their hands at making a miniature album. The paper was kindly provided by Corey Dankocski of rock paper scissors. Each time I drop by, I walk out with all sorts of cool products. Corey definitely has “an eye” for what’s new and stylish. You can bet I’m going to sign up for one of her classes. Check them out at http://www.rockpaperscissorsblog.blogspot.com/

Barry Eisler—I snagged a plum assignment from Love Is Murder on Dark and Stormy Nights. These two Chicago mystery writers’ conferences combined to become an awesome Midwest resource, check them out at http://www.loveismurder.net/ They have asked me to interview their 2008 headliners. I posted my interview with Tess Gerritsen on http://midnightwriters.blogspot.com/ Next up, the Love Is Murder folks will run my interview with Lee Child in two parts. (Wait ‘til you read about his connection with David Beckham!). Now I’m prepping for my interview with Barry Eisler, which I can already tell is going to be lots of fun. You gotta love a guy who writes about a stone-cold assassin but sends emails with emoticons in them. Plus…the man definitely has a sense of humor, as you can tell from his response to my first question: “Did you know your nickname is Barry Easy-on-the-Eyes?”


LOL! One look at me bleary-eyed and with bed-head (i.e., right now) would cure them instantly... :D



Barry

Niche Novels— Jane Henderson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Book Editor interviewed me for an article subtitled: “Hobbies and mystery plots ‘cozy’ up as a subgenre proliferates.” It ran on the front page of the Sunday Arts & Entertainment section. Wow. How cool is that? I only wish I had copies of OverExposed to sell right now! Check out the article:

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/stories.nsf/books/story/55D3CFBC5C7D41F186257326005AE78C?OpenDocument

All in all, July has been a fabulous month.