Since Hornswoggled came out in September, it’s been a constant round of talks and signings for me. I’m more than gratified to be asked to do so many events, but I must say, I’m getting rather pooped. The last several events have all been very nice, though. I did a lovely charity event on November 11 with Betty Webb, author of the Lena Jones mystery series, whose latest book Desert Run just came out recently. Then on the 13th Don and I drove up to Fountain Hills, AZ, where I spoke to an extremely warm group of people who belong to a mystery book group.
On the 15th and 16th, I did several events in Mesa and Scottsdale, AZ, in connection with the Arizona Library Association annual conference. I only spent half a day at the conference on the 15th, which was good, since it was my wedding anniversary and I was glad to be able to at least go out and eat together that night. But on the 16th, I was busy from 8:00 am until 9:00 pm. I had to get up at 5:45 in order to pretty myself up and get to Mesa in time for the 8 o’clock panel, which nearly did me in. I used to have a normal schedule, but since I’ve left the workday routine, I tend to stay up until one o’clock in the morning and arise around nine. I can only hope that I was coherent that day.
I did, however, get to spend the time with Carolyn Hart, she of the 40 novels and many awards, including a Pulitzer nomination and a Mystery Writers’ of America Lifetime Achievement award (and fellow Oklahoman). She had flown in especially for the event, and was carless, so I jumped on the chance to volunteer to chauffeur her around all day. We had a wonderful time eating Mexican food and driving from gig to gig in Mesa and Scottsdale. She really knows the business, and she gave me all kinds of inside scoop. I gave her a copy of Hornswoggled on the evening of the 15th, and when I saw her the next morning, she had finished it! She told me she liked it very much, too. (Whew) Carolyn and I philosophized a lot about the significance and future of the mystery novel, which stood me in good stead last weekend, when I drove down to Tucson to do a Holiday event at Clues Unlimited Bookstore. Every year, the owner, Chris Acevedo, invites several Arizona mystery authors to participate in a panel. This is a very well attended event, and much to my delight, the topic of discussion was the significance and future of the mystery novel! I sounded deep and erudite and knowledgeable, thanks to the fact that I stole half my comments from Carolyn Hart.
I have three scheduled events left to do this year; library talks in Gilbert and Tempe, AZ, and a keynote speech at a writers’ event in Glendale, AZ (the date of which was changed from Nov. 25 to Dec. 16. Please see the Events page for dates and times) And then the Hornswoggled publicity circuit is over.
Finally, I just finished a “final” draft of the third book in my Alafair Tucker series, and am just writing up the recipes now, before I send it to my editor in a week or two. But that’s another story…
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