Tuesday, September 19, 2006

"LAndmarked for Murder" debuts at West Hollywood Book Fair!

Thanks to much work by Michael Mallory, a co-editor of this Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles anthology, the chapter had enough copies for this event on Sunday 9/17. The books arrived at his house direct from the printer via FedEx two days prior.

Whew! Anticipating a release in August, the Fair venue had been planned as a day to promote the new book, but in publishing you never know what'll come down the pike to rearrange all your plans. Thanks to Michael, the chapter made it by the skin of our collective teeth.

The Fair celebrated the 20th anniversary of West Hollywood as a city, and was held in the pleasant West Hollywood Park. The Sisters in Crime/LA booth was right in front as you entered the gate.

Attendees could visit panels on various aspects of writing and publishing, meet authors, browse through their books, and enjoy a spot of coffee or eats from the food booths. You could even enjoy a play there. Either the library or the Friends of the Library were holding their annual book sale. They had hundreds of discounted used books in bookcases. People were carting away bags of books. Now, everyone loves a bargain, but I hoped some of them contained a few new books as well...especially those from the SinC/LA booth.

"Marathon Madness" was my contribution to "LAndmarked for Murder." It involves a murder along the route of a Los Angeles marathon, and since I've run L.A. several times, I can vouch for the authenticity of the course I wrote about. A murder not connected with the race did occur one year near the start of a marathon. My murder, however, came entirely out of my imagination.

My hour to sign was from 11 a.m. - noon, and it was excruciatingly hot. I was wearing several marathon finisher's medals and my running shoes with the red velcro chip attacher I mention in my story. I displayed a picture of me finishing my first marathon. I finally put it away for fear the sun would fade the color. No one noticed my medals. No one noticed my shoes. I finally put on a hat to keep the sun off my face. Now no one noticed me either. Between sunglasses and hat, I was incognito.

Then I forgot the sweater I'd slung over the back of my chair in case of chilly weather. Hmmm. What weather channel was I watching?

And there's just something about SinC/LA events...I always seem to leave something. President Sue Ann Jaffarian can vouch for that.

At our table, Gay Toltl Kinman, who writes marvelous plays and mysteries for youth, was seated to my right, and Kate Thornton, whose stories have appeared in three of the anthologies produced by the chapter, including "LAndmarked for Murder," was to her right. Kate and I signed our share of books and enjoyed getting acquainted. Gay's always delightful to visit with.

Award winning author Rochelle Krich was signing at the table at right angles to ours. I had a chance to compliment her on her interview of Jan Burke, also an award winning writer, at one of our chapter meetings. In her usual, gracious way, she thanked me for letting her know.

I enjoy the people in this chapter. If you live in the L.A. area, check out our meetings at www.sistersincrimela.com.

For a copy autographed by me, email me at badace21@earthlink.net for price details. Write "Marathon" in the subject line. Include your snail mail address.

Later, I'll share about the book fair I attended the day before. Between the two days, I drove over 300 miles for these events.

Take care. Read books!

Dee Ann
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