mostly clear, windy, cold
a long but very fun day at Magna Cum Murder, here in Muncie. Started with an 8am breakfast - where different authors hosted discussions at their tables. Mine was: Resolved: That character development slows pace amd plot. Some very interesting ideas. Clearly both character and plot are necessary. One of my favorite contributiuons came from a man named John who said that plot might get him to the end of the book, but character will make him buy the next one.
Then had a TV interview at 10:15, and at noon, over lunch, was the feature interview with me on stage. A wonderful author named Beverle Myers did the interview, and people were very kind. At 2:30 I had a signing, then at 5:15 I had another round table. Then the banquet at 7 and another signing. The other guest of honour, Sharon Randall, is a newspaper columnist and gave a fabulous after dinner talk. Lovely woman. Very funny and touching.
Then back to the hotel to sleep -
Michael drove in to Montreal today and is catching a train to Toronto. I was supposed to fly out of Indianapolis at 7:30 tonight - arriving at 9:20pm - but JD, who runs Sleuth of Baker Street said he's driving back to Toronto right after lunch and maybe I'd like to hitch a ride. The only problem was that I thought someone from the literary festival I'm going to in Toronto was going to meet the plane - but I spoke to Michael and he said when he arrives in TO he'd cancel that.
So will hop a lift with JD. 8 hour drive. That's not bad. Should arrive before the plane. Very kind of JD to offer. I actually have an event at his store in Toronto this Wednesday.
Oh, that reminds me - Mari emailed to say THE MURDER STONE made the beststeller list it's first week out! I'm thrilled. Thank you all who bought it!
Must run. Need to pack, check out and get to the convention. Have a panel this morning, another signing and need to report on our round-table discussion.
Tomorrow we have off in Toronto. Plan to sleep, and just be with Miuchael.
But a huge congratulations to Kathryn Kennison, Jim Huang and everyone else who organized this year's Magna Cum Murder. A fabulous conference.
Showing posts with label magna cum murder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label magna cum murder. Show all posts
Sunday, 26 October 2008
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
The roast has left the building...
rain, cool, temps 7
They were calling for wet snow this morning but fortunately we only got rain. Am in Montreal now. Have an event at the Pierrefonds library at 7:30 tonight. And the Pointe-Claire library at 7pm tomorrow.
Just spoke to Michael (who is waiting in Sutton for the NY publishers - Minotaur - to deliver 300 books to sign) and he says Tony finally managed to dislodge the pot roast. Both it and I have left the building and Michael (Dear One) is left in peace.
Need to spend the afternoon reading Brat Farrar. It's the book featured at this year's Magna Cum Murder, this weekend in Muncie. Wouldn't you know it? They chose the one book to study by Josephine Tey I hadn't yet read. And I'm an excrutiatingly slow reader, as I've mentioned. But what a brilliant book. Am alternately awe and cowed by her. Still, I need to finish by Friday.
Will leave you now and get back to the divine Miss T.
They were calling for wet snow this morning but fortunately we only got rain. Am in Montreal now. Have an event at the Pierrefonds library at 7:30 tonight. And the Pointe-Claire library at 7pm tomorrow.
Just spoke to Michael (who is waiting in Sutton for the NY publishers - Minotaur - to deliver 300 books to sign) and he says Tony finally managed to dislodge the pot roast. Both it and I have left the building and Michael (Dear One) is left in peace.
Need to spend the afternoon reading Brat Farrar. It's the book featured at this year's Magna Cum Murder, this weekend in Muncie. Wouldn't you know it? They chose the one book to study by Josephine Tey I hadn't yet read. And I'm an excrutiatingly slow reader, as I've mentioned. But what a brilliant book. Am alternately awe and cowed by her. Still, I need to finish by Friday.
Will leave you now and get back to the divine Miss T.
Monday, 24 March 2008
That Chocolate Bunny's a killer
Sunny, cold, highs near minus 5
I just got out of the hospital. I was in a speed-reading accident. I hit a bookmark.
Steven Wright
I'm beginning to be quite annoyed by the length of this winter! I know, there's nothing I can do. But every now and then I get warmed beside the righteousness of a good complaint. Like now. There are two feet of snow out outside. It should be plus 5 and melting. Instead it's minus 5 with more snow forecast. At this rate it'll be August before it goes.
There - that felt better.
This is actually the first day I've felt stressed about the long winter. It's really a lovely day - brilliant sun - dazzling off the - WAIT! SNOOOOOWWW. Ugh.
Had a call this morning from Kathryn Kennison. She's a dynamo. She heads of the Ball Centre at Ball State University in Indiana. And she runs a crime writers festival called Magna Cum Murder. She's asked me to be the guest of honor this year - which of course I agreed to. It's a marvelous festival, in October. We go caught up and yakked and had a fun time. She hurt her leg and her doctor said it would never really be perfect again. She told the doctor this was distressing news because there were really only 3 good parts to her body. One was her legs, another were her gums and the last were her occipital bones. Now she was down to the final 2.
She's hilarious.
Wrote like a fiend this morning, which is why I'm late with the blog. Busy times. Am about 2/3rds of the way through the book. I hope. Either that or it will be the longest book ever written. Some days are harder than others. I find sometimes I just want to do anything but write. Root canal, peeling, wash the curtains. Anything. But I still write. If I give in to the laziness, well there's frankly no end to it. I think a huge amount of success in writing isn't so much creativity as perseverance and discipline. And, of course, gummi bears.
Looked around me at some stage early this afternoon, after I'd come up for air, and noticed I'd built a little fort around me. Books stacked everywhere. Reference books, cook books, poetry books, note books.
What a great life.
Our diets took a hit this past Easter Weekend, though not as bad as it might have been. As followed home from Richford by a chocolate bunny. or two. And a few eggs.
Michael, brilliant man, has discovered the real secret to losing weight. He re-adjusts the scales and has announced he's at his goal weight. No doubt with the help of the chocolate rabbit.
Who am I to disagree. And if he's there, then so am I!
We're off to Montreal tomorrow. I'm giving a talk and reading tomorrow afternoon at the Cote St Luc library. Oh, by the way, we've added an event in Boston to my schedule. I'll be doing a talk/reading/signing at the harvard Square Barnes&Noble on Friday May 9th. Just back from London and Washington. I'll be the one followed by chocolate wildlife. Hard to miss.
Be well - I probably won't blog tomorrow or Wednesday - but will speak to you Thursday.
I just got out of the hospital. I was in a speed-reading accident. I hit a bookmark.
Steven Wright
I'm beginning to be quite annoyed by the length of this winter! I know, there's nothing I can do. But every now and then I get warmed beside the righteousness of a good complaint. Like now. There are two feet of snow out outside. It should be plus 5 and melting. Instead it's minus 5 with more snow forecast. At this rate it'll be August before it goes.
There - that felt better.
This is actually the first day I've felt stressed about the long winter. It's really a lovely day - brilliant sun - dazzling off the - WAIT! SNOOOOOWWW. Ugh.
Had a call this morning from Kathryn Kennison. She's a dynamo. She heads of the Ball Centre at Ball State University in Indiana. And she runs a crime writers festival called Magna Cum Murder. She's asked me to be the guest of honor this year - which of course I agreed to. It's a marvelous festival, in October. We go caught up and yakked and had a fun time. She hurt her leg and her doctor said it would never really be perfect again. She told the doctor this was distressing news because there were really only 3 good parts to her body. One was her legs, another were her gums and the last were her occipital bones. Now she was down to the final 2.
She's hilarious.
Wrote like a fiend this morning, which is why I'm late with the blog. Busy times. Am about 2/3rds of the way through the book. I hope. Either that or it will be the longest book ever written. Some days are harder than others. I find sometimes I just want to do anything but write. Root canal, peeling, wash the curtains. Anything. But I still write. If I give in to the laziness, well there's frankly no end to it. I think a huge amount of success in writing isn't so much creativity as perseverance and discipline. And, of course, gummi bears.
Looked around me at some stage early this afternoon, after I'd come up for air, and noticed I'd built a little fort around me. Books stacked everywhere. Reference books, cook books, poetry books, note books.
What a great life.
Our diets took a hit this past Easter Weekend, though not as bad as it might have been. As followed home from Richford by a chocolate bunny. or two. And a few eggs.
Michael, brilliant man, has discovered the real secret to losing weight. He re-adjusts the scales and has announced he's at his goal weight. No doubt with the help of the chocolate rabbit.
Who am I to disagree. And if he's there, then so am I!
We're off to Montreal tomorrow. I'm giving a talk and reading tomorrow afternoon at the Cote St Luc library. Oh, by the way, we've added an event in Boston to my schedule. I'll be doing a talk/reading/signing at the harvard Square Barnes&Noble on Friday May 9th. Just back from London and Washington. I'll be the one followed by chocolate wildlife. Hard to miss.
Be well - I probably won't blog tomorrow or Wednesday - but will speak to you Thursday.
Monday, 25 February 2008
snow storms and schedules
partly cloudy, mild, highs minus 4
I was wrong about the weather yesterday. When I let the dogs out I thought it was bitterly cold (and God knows it was clear - almost a sure sign it's extremely cold). But it wasn't cold at all! It was one of those amazing days when it's sunny and very mild. Temperature must have been hovering around freezing. Gorgeous.
Today is similar, though not quite as bright. And a little windy, so the windchill comes into effect.
Another storm forecast for tomorrow and Wednesday - and of course we have lots to do on those days. We're trying to figure out our schedule.
So far this is the plan;
Drive to Hovey Manor at 8 tomorrow for breakfast and to discuss the possible launch of the next book there. It's a stunning Inn on the shores of Lac Massawippi, about an hour from us.
Drive 1 1/2 to Cowansville for Michael's test for new glasses.
Try to get to Montreal (about another hour drive) before the snow storm closes in.
Stay night in Montreal. Write Wednesday morning in Montreal. Then Michael has a hearing test Wednesday afternoon. Will probably stay the night Wed. too. Drive back Thursday.
I'm also feeling a little overwhelmed by the degree of details descending. Thank God for Lise. But with all the mystery conventions I'll be going to in the next year I'm having difficulty remembering which one's I've registered for. And if I can't also register for hotel rooms at the time I register for the convention, then I can forget that too.
So far we'll be going to:
*Malice Domestic in Washington (flying direct from London for that) at the end of April
*CrimeFest - in Briston, UK, in June
*BookExpo Canada in June (flying direct from UK to Toronto for that)
*Wolfe Island Festival - in August in Kingston, Ontario
*Bouchercon, in Baltimore, in October
***Magna cum Murder in Muncie in October - I'm the guest of honor with delights me
*Left Coast Crime, in Hawaii, in March 09
I'm normally quite organized, and Lise is ulta-organized - but woke up at 3am wondering about Bouchercon. Sure don't want to miss that.
And, have to say how thrilled I am to be asked to be Guest of Honor at Magna. It's a fantastic, intimate, smart festival run by Katherine Kennison out of the Univeristy in Muncie. It's three days (really 2) and you get to meet and mingle with some wonderful mystery writers. It would be fun to see you there.
On another topic, we received the Russian copies of STILL LIFE late last week. What a thrill. Though a little odd since my name doesn't appear to be on the cover. It is, of course, only in Cyrillic - so I can't read it. So it could be by anyone. But I know whose book it is. And it sends shivers down me to see my first baby translated into Russian. This book no one wanted.
Life astonishes - if we just keep breathing, and trying our best.
Thanks for reading - not sure if I'll be able to write for the next few days, as we battle schedules and snow, but will try. Be well.
I was wrong about the weather yesterday. When I let the dogs out I thought it was bitterly cold (and God knows it was clear - almost a sure sign it's extremely cold). But it wasn't cold at all! It was one of those amazing days when it's sunny and very mild. Temperature must have been hovering around freezing. Gorgeous.
Today is similar, though not quite as bright. And a little windy, so the windchill comes into effect.
Another storm forecast for tomorrow and Wednesday - and of course we have lots to do on those days. We're trying to figure out our schedule.
So far this is the plan;
Drive to Hovey Manor at 8 tomorrow for breakfast and to discuss the possible launch of the next book there. It's a stunning Inn on the shores of Lac Massawippi, about an hour from us.
Drive 1 1/2 to Cowansville for Michael's test for new glasses.
Try to get to Montreal (about another hour drive) before the snow storm closes in.
Stay night in Montreal. Write Wednesday morning in Montreal. Then Michael has a hearing test Wednesday afternoon. Will probably stay the night Wed. too. Drive back Thursday.
I'm also feeling a little overwhelmed by the degree of details descending. Thank God for Lise. But with all the mystery conventions I'll be going to in the next year I'm having difficulty remembering which one's I've registered for. And if I can't also register for hotel rooms at the time I register for the convention, then I can forget that too.
So far we'll be going to:
*Malice Domestic in Washington (flying direct from London for that) at the end of April
*CrimeFest - in Briston, UK, in June
*BookExpo Canada in June (flying direct from UK to Toronto for that)
*Wolfe Island Festival - in August in Kingston, Ontario
*Bouchercon, in Baltimore, in October
***Magna cum Murder in Muncie in October - I'm the guest of honor with delights me
*Left Coast Crime, in Hawaii, in March 09
I'm normally quite organized, and Lise is ulta-organized - but woke up at 3am wondering about Bouchercon. Sure don't want to miss that.
And, have to say how thrilled I am to be asked to be Guest of Honor at Magna. It's a fantastic, intimate, smart festival run by Katherine Kennison out of the Univeristy in Muncie. It's three days (really 2) and you get to meet and mingle with some wonderful mystery writers. It would be fun to see you there.
On another topic, we received the Russian copies of STILL LIFE late last week. What a thrill. Though a little odd since my name doesn't appear to be on the cover. It is, of course, only in Cyrillic - so I can't read it. So it could be by anyone. But I know whose book it is. And it sends shivers down me to see my first baby translated into Russian. This book no one wanted.
Life astonishes - if we just keep breathing, and trying our best.
Thanks for reading - not sure if I'll be able to write for the next few days, as we battle schedules and snow, but will try. Be well.
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