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LowDown Articles February 11, 2008 I'm a
little remiss in posting news about my two signings for TOO PRETTY TO DIE the
first weekend of February. That, I'll blame on my book deadline! The Borders event
on February 2 was terrific. Jessica Carter and Co. had a perfect niche carved
out for the event complete with balloons and stacks of TOO PRETTY. It was a lovely
crowd with folks even standing to hear me talk about writing the fifth and final
mystery in my Debutante Dropout series. My local Borders has been a great supporter,
and they were wonderful hosts as well. (If anyone's looking for a signed copy
of TOO PRETTY, you can contact Jessica at 314-918-8189, and she'll be happy to
help you). On Sunday, February 3, Ed and I headed down to my favorite mystery
indie, Big Sleep Books, where I got to sign books and spend time with good friends
who showed up to wish me well. Store co-owner and friend Helen Simpson came to
chat as did my trainer Nicole Long, and fellow scribes Scott Phillips, Eleanor
Sullivan and Julie Earhart. Unfortunately, Scott left before my dad took this
pic of me surrounded by (left to right) store co-owner Ed King, Eleanor, Julie,
my Ed, and Nicole. Nice looking bunch!
January 22, 2008 I
had a lively conversation with Deb Peterson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last
week, and she wrote a nice bit about my forthcoming books and my upcoming wedding
for her
column on Saturday. I'm gearing up for several signings for TOO PRETTY TO
DIE fast approaching: February 2 at 2 p.m. at my local Borders in Brentwood and
February 3 at 1 p.m. at Big Sleep Books in the Central West End. Despite being
about a month until my wedding (and lots of details demanding my attention--just
call me "Bridezilla"), I'm writing daily, trying to get LOVE, LIES AND TEXAS DIPS
turned in before I head out on my honeymoon! I've made great progress so my fingers
are crossed that all will work out. And, yes, if you're noticing that the second
YA book used to be called GUYS, LIES AND TEXAS DIPS, my editor and the marketing
department at Delacorte made a wee change in the title. They thought "guys" was
too weak a word and asked for my suggestions, and "love" instantly popped into
my head. Hmmm, I wonder why? Actually, the title suits the book to a T, so I'm
feeling great about the tweak. I just saw the cover proofs for THE DEBS, and it's
fabulous! My editor wrote the back cover copy, and it's perfect! Man, this year
is going to be crazy-fun, what with TOO PRETTY capping off my Deb Dropout Mysteries,
marrying the love of my life, and THE DEBS series kicking off in August. Hope
the good juju keeps on comin'! January 2, 2008 It's
still weird typing "2008" when I'm so used to writing "2007." But I'm happy that
it's a New Year, and I'm already starting this one in much better shape than the
one before! The holidays are pretty much a blur now, but Ed and I had fun splitting
our time between my family, his family, and our family (well, we do have fur-kids!).
We got a live tree this year, so it wasn't very big. But it's cool thinking we
can plant it in the spring and watch it grow in the years to come. My folks, on
the other hand, got a HUGE tree as always. My mom seems to pick out a larger one
every year! It's like "The Tree That Ate Pat and Jim's Living Room"--but it's
lovely, huh? We had dinner with the McBride clan on Christmas Eve (that's the
photo of me in the pink sweater with Ed on the piano bench). The next morning,
we opened gifts at my folks' house (um, yeah, we're on the piano bench again,
this time I'm in my "Peace" shirt) and then we went to Ed's parents' house to
have dinner with his family. We were pooped afterward, but it was wonderful to
be so at ease this Christmas-time and not worried like last year. Now we're looking
forward to our wedding in seven weeks...my gosh, it's right around the corner!
Better get this second YA book done before the honeymoon, don't ya think?
November 19, 2007 Finally,
the names of the winners in the October contest for a sneak peek at TOO PRETTY
TO DIE (sorry I was so slow with this!). There were lots of entries, more than
I'd imagined, so I drew six names from the emails received. The following fab
readers will be receiving bound galleys of TOO PRETTY TO DIE, the fifth Debutante
Dropout Mystery due out February 1, 2008: Beth Higdon, Beth Santiago, Sandy Toth,
Margaret Franson, Juanita Bason, and Terri Ladage Randolph. Congratulations, ladies,
and thanks to everyone who entered! November 1, 2007 Ed
and I spent the last weekend of October doing something really fun. We drove down
to Ste. Genevieve and stayed at Crown Ridge, a tiger sanctuary owned by the Crown
Valley Winery. There's a fantastic restaurant on the gated grounds, where they
grow all their own herbs, veggies and even beef and bison. We thoroughly enjoyed
the chow, no question about that. But the best time was spent visiting the rescued
tigers...and one lioness. The tigers include Mohan, a white Bengal and the father
of Gracie and Thor. Their mother, Raja, is there as well, and the sanctuary recently
rescued a young tiger. His name is Izzy and he's about six months old. We caught
a glimpse of him on Sunday morning, as he's not on public display just yet. The
lioness is called Alexis, and she's a hoot. She was raised by a traveling circus
in a cage with monkeys and, yeah, thinks she's part monkey. The sanctuary had
to nurse her back to health from the brink of death, as she was 60 pounds and
in terrible shape when they got her. She's now around 250 pounds, I think, and
playful as can be. I was amazed at how much like our housecats the big cats are.
Ed and I had just been to the St. Louis Zoo a week or so before and viewed the
big cats there, but it's nothing like Crown Ridge. The sanctuary is really beautiful,
nestled amongst trees on a hilltop with the valley below clearly visible (and
a sight to behold, especially at night when the moon was full and yellow). The
animals' pens are very good-sized and guests are able to get within about four
feet of them...from behind two fences, of course. When you take the tiger tour,
you're allowed time on an observation deck to photograph the amazing creatures
without the fence in between. We were lucky to catch the "bone-throwing" on Saturday.
I've got a photo of Mohan enjoying his treat. The caretakers obviously love their
charges, though they do have a no-touch policy. They don't want the tigers and
lioness to feel like pets. They want them to live out their lives with grace and
respect, and you can tell the animals (and their protectors) are very happy with
the arrangement. We did have some time on Saturday afternoon to drive into Ste.
Genevieve and eat at the Anvil Saloon (their "ho-made" pies are yummmmy!). I dragged
Ed to about five antique stores (okay, some were more junk than antiques), where
I made a couple good buys. There's also a Mo-sart studio, which features work
from Missouri artists. Got a few Christmas presents while I was there! All in
all, a glorious weekend. If you're ever able, I highly recommend a visit to Crown
Ridge. It was one of those experiences I'll never forget, and Ed and I are already
anxious to get back! (We're planning a spring trip.)
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