Posts by Laurie King
When Intellectuals Read Crime
Part of February’s month-long celebration of A Grave Talent. A writer tosses books out into the world without much clue about where they will wash up or whose hands they will end up in. Naturally, this is especially true with a first book. What, people who don’t know me will read it? Wow. With A…
Read MoreThe Fans
Part of the month-long celebration of A Grave Talent, the Edgar-winning first novel about SFPD Inspector Kate Martinelli that started my writing career. In addition to actual, print reviews, my first book brought letters from people from all over who liked A Grave Talent enough to go to the trouble of writing me about it,…
Read MoreA Writer to Watch!
Part of the month-long celebration of A Grave Talent, the Edgar-winning first novel about SFPD Inspector Kate Martinelli that started my writing career. One of the surprises I found as a new author was that people not only read the book, but talked about it as if it mattered. Take reviews: who knew they were…
Read MoreWriting Kate
(Celebrating the 30th anniversary of A Grave Talent, here’s part of a 2017 post on Kate Martinelli.) Grave Talent began with two ideas: What would Rembrandt look like if he were a woman? And, Can I write a novel in which the protagonist does nothing? The question of women in what are generally assumed to be…
Read MoreMom’s Christmas Cookies
If Dad produced odd German spicy treats every year (as my recent post talked about), my mother could be depended on for the kinds of cookies you could give to the postman without imagining his puzzled look. Mostly sweet, best eaten fresh, and decorative. Some were super-sweet, like her “Matrimonials.” She produced decorated butter cookies, of…
Read MoreDad the Baker
It’s no accident that the cold, dark time of year finds us thinking of warmth and family—either enjoying it, or missing it. And nothing represents family quite so much as holiday foods. Which generally means cooking. Growing up, my mother was the cook, but certain things my father claimed as his. Preparing Sunday brunch gave…
Read MoreBees Abroad
I had a perfectly charming Zoom meet on Friday with members of Bees Abroad, an organization in the UK that trains & supports African women & those with disabilities to become Beekeepers for Life. But these lovely people not only teach beekeeping skills, they also help people figure out how to sell honey and beeswax…
Read MoreStarting Anew
[Note, please, that in one week, Back to the Garden will be on the shelves–in the USA, at any rate. You can find a long excerpt here. ] I turn 70 this year. The world is literally burning around us, I’ve had some energy-draining health issues, and there are books more than one series that…
Read MoreWhen Surf City was the Murder Capital
Santa Cruz, California, is a quiet town even now. In the 1970s, it was a community of retirees, Italian fishermen, and people associated with the brand-new University of California. It was (and is) a beach town that attracts year-round surfers and summer visitors to the beach and Boardwalk. In October, 1970, in the hills south of…
Read MoreWriting the Past: Free Love, Thumbing Rides, and Other Incomprehensible Habits
People think of Laurie King as a writer of historical mysteries, especially the 1920s, a time of short skirts, fast cars, and that exciting new tech, radio. Back to the Garden is set more recently than the 20s. It has two timelines: one now, the other flashing back to the 1970s. In 1972, a main…
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