Book talk
Fools of all stripes
Fools have always been a big part of my life. [Polite pause for a series of rude and knowing remarks.] I did my BA thesis on fools, and I’ve worked fools into a couple of novels (To Play the Fool introduces inspector Kate Martinelli to a Holy Fool among the homeless population of San Francisco, and…
Read MoreBook fest!
There’s a new Fest in town: the Bay Area Book Festival (first annual?) blows into Berkeley this weekend, and I’ll be there on Saturday, to chat about, well, books. And writing and crime and stuff. So if you’re in the Bay Area, come and play! Kids stuff, adult things, Grateful Dead and John Scalzi (no,…
Read MoreAlma Mater
The University of California Santa Cruz (“The original authority on questioning authority”) is my alma mater, and has continued to nourish me long after she handed me my degree. Five years ago, I was tremendously honored to be named one of this relatively new university’s “45+5” alumni. And coming up on the 25th, I will be participating…
Read MoreTour, and toilets!
I hope you’ve managed to get your hands (and your eyes) on a copy of Dreaming Spies? If not, I’ll be all over in the next couple of weeks, and I’m happy to sign one for you. All my events are listed here. Oh, and I should mention that there are still places left at the…
Read MoreIn love with Station Eleven
I try not to take advantage of my middle-sized-fish-in-small-pond status and assert myself at events, but in June when I was one of the speakers at the American Library Association tea, and read up on the other speakers, there was one book I made a leap for, elbowing aside all the librarians who were there…
Read MoreLaurie’s List
(Two weeks is plenty of time for Christmas shopping, right? Right??) Want to know some things I’ve fallen in love with this year, that now I’m giving to a lot of people on my list? Pre-reader book: Journey, by Aaron Becker. This is a gift of time as well, and self, since there are no…
Read MoreA book’s heart
A book is a complex blend of the author’s intentions. Some of them are on the surface: shaping an exciting plot; exploring the lives of the characters; bringing to light a place the writer knows and loves. Other elements of a novel are less obvious. Themes of relationship and responsibility are woven in. Trauma and…
Read MoreMy Bookstore
I did an event at Bookshop Santa Cruz recently, to celebrate a collection of essays by authors on their favorite Indie bookstore. The folks who put together My Bookstore asked me to write on Bookshop, and I was happy to revisit the place in my heart that the store occupies. Important things take place in…
Read MoreA book of books
Now, I know your To Be Read pile is already teetering and/or your e-reader is choking on its contents, but this one is special. It’s a book of books. John Connolly and Declan Burke came up with the idea of “The world’s greatest mystery writers on the world’s greatest mystery novels,” and although I am…
Read MoreGhost Hero(ine)
Siisters in Crime was founded twenty-five years ago, to support and promote the under-reviewed work of women crime writers. To celebrate the anniversary, SinC has asked bloggers to post review of books by women authors. This is the first of my reviews. I’ll start the Blogging Challenge with the fabulous new Ghost Hero by S.…
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