It’s odd, but the past few days I’ve felt like three Lauries in one. The first Laurie is fighting summer traffic to hospitals, making a thousand phone calls to doctors and caregivers, overseeing the move from hospital to rehab center (Somehow the statement “My husband’s in rehab†evokes more Robert Downey with sunken eyes than an Anglo-Indian Father Christmas in a walker, but maybe that’s just the Californian in me.) The second Laurie is the ghostly person blithely steering a new German car across the autobahns of northern Europe, closing in on London, looking forward to the extended family’s end-of-season punting expedition in Oxford on Sunday (it’s going to rain.) And a third Laurie is standing with Brother Erasmus and Sergeant Bonita Mendez looking into a cave dwelling in a fictionalized version of my home town, in the short story I’m writing for Michael Connelly. All three Lauries happily going about their business, all three equally real, given the right point of view.
Anyway, I meant to say that if you’d like a bookplate for The Art of Detection, you can either send me a sase (PO Box 1152, Freedom, CA 95019) or, if you’re writing from a European address, ask the good people at Poisoned Pen Press UK. They will assume you want one with the UK cover, but if you write me and want the UK rather than the US cover, you’d better say so.
And I’ve received my marching orders for BoucherCon, being held in Madison, WI from Sept 27th to October 1. I’ll be on two panels, the first on Thursday at 3:00 for IF I COULD GET AWAY WITH IT along with John Connolly, Jan Burke, David Corbett, and Chris Grabenstein, talking about what perfect crimes we’d like to pull. Then Saturday at 1:00 comes JUMPING GENRES when Val McDermid, Nevada Barr, Dana Stabenow and I will talk about—well, what does it matter what we’re talking about? It’ll be a hoot whatever. For those of you who saw an earlier edition of this panel at the Las Vegas BoucherCon, no, I can’t promise to toss a plastic drinking cup at Val and land it on her microphone again. Some things are best not repeated…
By the way, the fall LRK newsletter is about to go out. If you’d like to receive it, you can still sign up on the web site.
Marianne McA says
September 2, 2006 at 4:24 pmJust relating to the UK Art of Detection, I went in to order it from Waterstones today. They tried, but got a recorded message saying that the publication date had been postponed. The girl in Waterstones is to try to speak to a real person on Monday, and then phone to let me know when the book will be available. [Didn’t know whether to mention it, because you’ve obviously got enough on your plate right now, but I thought if you hadn’t heard, you might want to know. Crossing my fingers it’ll be out by Monday.]
crimeficreader says
September 2, 2006 at 8:36 pmHi Laurie,
Before I say anything else, I wish your husband all the best for his recovery, and you and your family all the best also, at this time.
Thanks to “Chris from Edinburgh” I finally made a start on the Martinelli series earlier this year and then things moved on. I subsequently made contact with Jennifer at PPP and agreed to feature the Martinelli novels on my blog to coincide with the release of “The Art of Detection” in the UK. It’s now all done and dusted and I am so pleased to have read the Martinelli series.
There’s over-hyped genre fodder out there with a power pack of marketing budget behind it. There’s also extremely good and intelligent crime writing out there that UK readers may not be so aware of. You fall into the latter category, without doubt, and I hope that UK readers will find you as a result of my “features”.
Thanks for entertaining me so well with your Martinelli stories. And thanks for getting me “in the loop” on what it is like to live in San Franciso!
I hope more UK readers of crime fiction become aware of your titles, and very soon.
All the best,
crimeficreader
Andrew says
September 3, 2006 at 1:07 amHi Laurie,
I’ve been to other writers’ conferences but not to bouchercon. It sounds like a good time. Enjoy, and congratulations on the work with Michael Connelly! I enjoy his work too.
Andrew
To Love, Honor and Dismay
Marianne McA says
September 4, 2006 at 2:49 pmFWIW, the girl from Waterstones just phoned and said the publishers told her the publication date had been delayed, but weren’t able to give her the new release date. She advised me to try again in a couple of months.
I’m happy to wait and support the UK edition, or to buy the US edition from Amazon – whichever you’d prefer.
Roxanne says
September 5, 2006 at 1:14 pmI don’t know how you do it. I just don’t know how you can deal with everything on your plate and still write (books, short stories, blog, etc.). I want to be like you when I grow up. (And since I am approximately your age, I had better get going!)
BTW: I am on my fourth Kate Martinelli title–having been “forced” into the books after purchasing and reading The Art of Detection (read first, even though most recent in the series, due to its Sherlock Holmes connection). I am so fiercely loyal to the Mary Russell books, I couldn’t imagine devoting my attention/affection to another character/series. With you as the author, I should have known better. Saturday a week ago I finally found a copy of A Grave Talent. And sat up all night reading it. Next I devoured To Play a Fool–making notes in the margins and inside the front cover! Last night–unable to discover a copy of With Child and having (temporarily) admitted defeat–I started on Night Work. Yum. More note taking.
I am astounded by your knowledge and skill. At the risk of sounding saccharine, you are my hero. I hope that writing provides you with at least a portion of the respite you have accorded me with your words. My continued prayers are with you.