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 MoreMost of us, deep down, trust the system. Intellectually, we may be aware that mistakes happen, that innocents get screwed, but when it comes right down to it? Yeah, most of us have faith that the truth will out. A while ago my friend Les Klinger asked me to join a project he and Laura…
Read MoreSo, 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 MoreThanks to everyone who came out to see me talk about Lockdown during the past week–although if you’re in the Bay Area, you can still come down and see me one more time, tomorrow night at Kepler’s. Send ’em a RSVP, here.
Read MoreToday I get to play at Powell’s, that extensive shrine to the printed word. This is the downtown store, at 2:00 this afternoon. Do join me–details are here.
Read MoreI’m having such fun with this book tour, I think I’ll set off up the coast today and drop by the Seattle Mystery Bookshop, then swing past the University bookstore, before ending up with a reading and talk at the great Third Place Books. Come and join us!
Read MoreI’ll be flitting up the length of the Bay Area today, dropping in at various Copperfields and Books Inc shops in Petaluma, Santa Rosa, and San Francisco for the odd ritual of scrawling my name on a lot of title pages, then at 6:00 turning up at Book Passage in the Ferry Building for an…
Read MoreCome and play tonight at my beloved neighborhood bookstore, That’s right, it’s time for Bookshop Santa Cruz, my home town kids, talking about Lockdown, my home-town book. About the event, here. ** Lockdown goes on sale today! Order a copy from: Bookshop Santa Cruz (signed), Poisoned Pen (signed), your local Indie, Barnes & Noble, or…
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The Lockdown tour begins tonight, at the Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale. And it’s making me realize that talking about Lockdown during this tour is going to be tricky. You can’t miss the suggestion that it’s about a school shooting—if the title doesn’t give it away, the cover art will—and yet, that’s not what it’s about.…
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Many years ago, when I was a new writer, I needed to have the final scene clear in my mind, if not actually on paper: a goal to work toward, even if the path itself wasn’t immediately visible. But about seven books in, I somehow forgot to choose my ending before I began to write.…
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