Blog
Island of the Mad launches!
Today is MAD! Island of the Mad launches today, so shove your way through the doors of your local Indie, or get on the horn to The Great Brazilian River or your favorite online retailer, and snag a copy (I’ve put the links below.) We had a fabulous pre-launch launch in Scottsdale, with Charleston lessons… and…
Read MoreUK Deals on Russells
Hi UK readers—just to let you know (to tell your friends!) Locked Rooms, Letter of Mary, and The Moor are on on special in the UK for just £2, with the Kindle versions even less. Enjoy!
Read MoreMe and BCon
The gathering of the Tribes of Mystery takes place in Toronto this year, from October 12-15. BoucherCon is the granddaddy of mystery conferences, with nearly four full days of multiple events simultaneously. If you’re looking for one Laurie King, you’ll find her at these panels: Thursday 2:30-3:30, Anatomy of Innocence (Grand Centre) Friday 5-6, interviewing…
Read MoreWriting by design
The summer theme at the Santa Cruz public library this summer is Reading by Design. Come join us at the downtown branch on July 20, 6:30-8:00 PM, as I talk about the design of a mystery from idea to final publication: how does research work in, how much do I know about a story before I write…
Read MoreTakeback Tuesday: pour you a drink?
So, there’s new role coming up for Laurie: bartending for Planned Parenthood. In August, I’ll join Jonathan Franzen, Karen Joy Fowler, and Elizabeth McKenzie in serving drinks for a Planned Parenthood fundraiser at Bookshop Santa Cruz. Which should be interesting because I don’t know anything about cocktails—maybe they’ll put me in charge of the beer.…
Read MoreDiana Gabaldon & Match Up
Tonight I’m Scottsdale having an onstage conversation with Diana Gabaldon, about the story that pairs her up with Steve Berry–and her Jamie Fraser with his Cotton Malone. Time travel enters into it… The story is in Match Up, edited by Lee Child, and the event isn’t at the bookstore, so check the store’s page for details,…
Read MoreThe building of the Unbelievable
Every two years, Venice explodes in art. Even more art than its usual visual treat, that is, with the opening of Biennale, when every decaying palazzo is turned into a gallery, every house overlooking the Grand Canal has a blue man on a balcony or a huge hand holding up its wall. I hadn’t intended…
Read MoreTBT: Them radical librarians
I spent my childhood in libraries. Their stacks, their people, were my sanctuaries, the safe and nurturing places where my real community lived (rather than these changing cities where my family seemed to continually be moving). So it makes sense to me that libraries are now declaring themselves as sanctuary spaces—although with political overtones that…
Read MoreTakeback Tuesday: Postponed
Laurie’s internet service is down due to storm damage, so she will post today’s regularly scheduled Takeback Tuesday blog when she is reconnected with the outside world. Thank you for your patience.
Read MoreWhat’s this stuff falling from the sky?
It is raining in California. Raining, pouring, pelting, pissing down in a way it hasn’t for years. Hillsides slump, culverts fountain, trees collapse. Feet mildew and children climb the walls. The cell phone has taken to blaring out really quite redundant flood warnings, to suggest to the oblivious or catatonic that the creeks may be rising. The last time…
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