Thank you, Burlington!!!

Thank you, thank you, to everybody who came to my signing May 13th. And a great big thanks to Chris and Tom at B. Dalton!!!!! It was wonderful seeing and visiting with everyone!! Thanks for making the event such a success!!


The Hawk Eye

Following are the bestsellers for the week of May 10 to 16 at B. Dalton in Westland Mall.

1. "Before I Wake," Anne Frasier
2. "Play Dead," Anne Frasier
3. "You: The Owner's Manual: An Insider's Guide to the Body That Will Make You Healthier and Younger," Michael F. Roizen
4. "Hush," Anne Frasier
5. "One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey," Sam Keith
6. "Sleep Tight," Anne Frasier
7. "Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld's 2005 Breakthrough Health: Up-to-the-minute Medical News You Need to Know," Isadore Rosenfeld
8. "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," Ann Brashares
9. "Baby Signs: How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk," Linda Acredolo
10. "Broken Prey," John Sandford

crimespree magazine

have you seen crimespree magazine?
their sixth issue just came out. lots of articles, photos, and reviews. cost is $20.00 a year. you can also check out previous issues online.

crimespree

to bouchercon or not to bouchercon

i've never been to bouchercon. this year it's in chicago, a short flight for me, plus i'm fairly familiar with chicago. and this year they're having thriller panels -- which i won't speak on simply because i hate public speaking and am a total failure at trying to teach writing. for one reason, i hate to have to break down and analyze what i do.
okay, so who's going?

bouchercon

can you go home again?

i wonder what it means when you visit your hometown after being gone for five years and fall in love with it all over again? and this is after thinking very little about the place for five years. does it just mean i was way overdue for a vacation? does it mean i'm crazy? delusional? or is it time to pack it in and return to my roots?

Snake Alley -- Burlington, Iowa

"Ripley's Believe It or Not!" labeled Snake Alley "The Crookedest Street in the World" The Alley, which drops 58 feet, had both practical and aesthetic purposes. German immigrants in 1894 built it so horse-drawn carriages could get downtown without going down the steep inclines of other streets.

back to the subject of creativity

The original premise for BEFORE I WAKE was this: A killer’s execution is webcast. One of his adoring fans is watching at home, his walls plastered with articles and photos about the killer. Once the killer dies, the fan takes on the killer’s persona and MO.

That was the original concept, which doesn’t exist anymore after plot revisions. By removing the mad fan, it becomes a completely different story. Certainly not the story that was somehow fully formed, just waiting to be excavated. With my last three books, I’ve found myself struggling to hit markers that have nothing to do with the creative process, and I think that method of plotting can subtly upset the pace of a story and certainly make it so it doesn’t unfold in a natural way. You start to feel like you’re playing Twister.
hmmm...

i just noticed i've been doing a lot of bitching lately.

note to self: this isn't your private diary; delete this entry very soon....

is this the end of paperback culture?

Have you noticed the big shift? The lack of paperbacks in bookstores, even grocery stores and discount stores? Are mass market paperbacks soon to be a thing of the past? Some bookstores no longer display regular paperbacks in the new release section AT ALL. Those coveted spots are now reserved for trade paperbacks and hardcovers. I can’t help feeling sad about the death of the paperback, and not just because I am published in mass market fiction and my books will now be much harder to find. I feel sad because mass market paperbacks have always been a part of our culture. It seems there is this kind of subconscious, elitist movement away from all things white trash. While some people like my friend Bonnie might embrace her trailer park roots, many of us are admiring our wine sense while trying to forget those roots ever existed.

Here are some excellent articles on the history of the paperback, plus some other cool paperback sites.

A Short History of Paperbacks:
Link

this is a really cool site:
Link

more:
Link

more:
Link

Those Gorey Covers!
Link