Tag: reading-is-hot

Murder! Mayhem!

Today I took a writing break and went to Houston’s Murder By the Book bookstore to support a good friend and meet a new (to me!) author.

Dean James, who used to manage the store, has been a true friend to my writing career, giving me encouragement to be a little braver about writing and submitting. Dean has written several mysteries under his own name, but his latest is under his pen name Jimmie Ruth Evans. As Evans, Dean’s first two Trailer Park Mysteries, Flamingo Fatale and Murder Over Easy, gave us feisty, independent Wanda Nell Culpepper of Tullahoma, Mississippi. Wanda Nell has a bad habit of getting involved in murders, and her new misadventure is Best Served Cold. I picked up a copy today at Dean’s signing. It’ll probably be the first book I read when I can take a mini writing vacation after March 1.

Also signing today was author Leann Sweeney. Leann’s Yellow Rose Mystery series, based around Texas heiress Abby Rose, is set in Houston. I have to admit that since I haven’t read them, I splurged today and bought all four: Pick Your Poison, A Wedding to Die For, Dead Giveaway, and the newest, Shoot from the Lip.

Reading mysteries is one of those not-guilty pleasures that I can simply enjoy without thinking, Damn! I wish I’d written that! since I don’t write mysteries. Of course, if I came up with a really good plot and an engaging sleuth as my favorite mystery writers do….


Houston-area writers Dean James and Leann Sweeney.

The last one, I swear

I couldn’t stop posting in LJ today without first thanking everyone who helped make the signing at Murder By the Book so wonderful last night, including:

Those who e-mailed me beforehand to wish me luck.

Those who attended and purchased books. I have to make special note of the lovely woman who was sent by her friend, whytraven; some wonderful people who work with Tom; Trish, who’s been busy for a while getting her play ready to debut in February (there’ll be MUCH more news on that as the date approaches); and the usual suspects including Amy, Nora, Jason, Lindsey, and Rhonda.

Everything beyond the first row was pretty much a blur, and afterward, I squinted at a woman who held out a book for me to sign. “Who shall I sign it to?” I asked. “Princess Patti!” she answered. OMG. This is the lovely Pat, who I met when I worked at Bookstop and who is one of the greatest friends, teachers, and advisors I ever had. As she pointed out, we haven’t seen each other for nearly ten years, but still… I vow that from now on, I will wear my glasses. I can lie about being 35, but my eyes haven’t seen 35 in–uh, a long time. Pat will probably never read my LJ, but just in case, THANK YOU for coming, and that’s it. I’m coming to visit you SOON.

Here’s another nice surprise from the night.


Alan, who I first met at Crossroads, the now-closed Houston bookstore, showed up to be sweet to me and pick on Tim. Which is how we all like it.


Afterward, Lynne treated a few of us to dinner at Baba Yega. Here you see my mom, Lynne, me, and Tom, standing behind The Brides (because I still call them that), Rhonda and Lindsey.

Since I’m spoiled by having my writing partners sit next to me at signings, it was a tremendous relief to sign with two bright, funny, talented women whose new novels are set in Houston.


Me with Colleen Thompson, author of several books including Heat Lightning, and L.A. Starks, author of 13 Days: The Pythagoras Conspiracy. Please click on their names to visit their web sites.

Thank you to everyone at Murder By the Book, especially David and McKenna, for putting together a great event. And finally, I have to once again give props to the fantastic Dean James. Dean used to manage Murder By the Book. Though he’s now teaching and writing full time, he still made the effort to connect me to the store. It was good of them to host me as a local author even though I don’t write suspense or mystery. Dean has always been one of the most encouraging, positive, helpful authors I’ve ever met, as well as a delightful person.

Dean, writing as Jimmie Ruth Evans, will be signing his third Trailer Park Mystery, Best Served Cold, at Murder By the Book on January 6. I can’t wait!

The self-interview

I loved reading Tim’s self-interview that he snagged from an interview with Jennifer Weiner. Longtime readers of my LJ may remember that I was introduced to this concept by Shawn Lea at Everything and Nothing. The ones I’ve done have been fun or made me think and explore things I wouldn’t routinely think about. And as well as I know Tim, as long as we’ve been friends, and as closely as we’ve worked together, I still find out new things about him all the time. I’m not a big fan of surprises, but sometimes even I have to admit that surprises can be good.

I figured I’d do just the “sidebar” portion of Tim’s/Jennifer’s interview for fun.

SIDEBAR QUESTIONS
Age: Haven’t we covered this fiction in the past?
Birthplace: Germany (though I’m not German and have no German ancestors)
Education: B.S. from the University of Alabama, and enough graduate work to make me a big loser for not having finished my Masters
Favorite song, piece of music: When I write, I love to listen to R.E.M., Fleetwood Mac, the Beatles, U2, and George Michael. I’m always wanting songs that have a yearning tone when I write, but are so comfortably familiar that they don’t distract me from my work.
Biggest literary inspiration, book: Robert Ferro, Second Son. This actually probably changes depending on my mood on any given day, because as soon as I answered it, I thought of ten others.
Book re-read most often: Like Tim, the books from the “Buddies” cycle by Ethan Mordden, and also the seven “Williamsburg novels” by Elswyth Thane.
If I could only retain one book on a desert island, it would be: A collection of poems from every age. I think if I had enough poetry, I would always be able to create stories in my head.
Book I’ve read lately I’d recommend most: What I Did Wrong by John Weir. I’m really not just imitating Tim with some of these answers. It was the books we loved in common that helped us become friends in the first place.
Most meaningful line from any book or poem: There’s a poem by Erica Jong. I don’t remember the title or the rest of the poem, but one line has always stayed with me: No one could ever love her enough.

In the middle of the night


In this photo, Famous Author Greg Herren is:

a. Reacting in horror to the draft of an anthology by Timothy J. Lambert and Becky Cochrane that is almost completed.
b. Trying to find all fifty movies in that damn game that Marika linked to.
c. Looking at the time.


We’re bored. What can we do?


That’s right! We can read. Reading is HOT! And we’re not posing here. We’re really, really reading.


NOW we’re really reading. That Famous Author Rob Byrnes is a good writer.


Or is he?


Kidding, FARB! We love your novels.


At least most of us do.


Help me, FARB, I’m being lured to the pink side!

Reading is HOT!

I’ve photoshopped before and I can do it again.

Yesterday, FARB made me laugh with this tongue-in-cheek blog entry about the gay media.

So we are launching the (fictitious?) “Reading is HOT!” campaign. WE WILL NOT BE IGNORED, GAY MEDIA!

At least I didn’t have to photoshop this celebrity enjoying the second-best activity ever on a rainy day.


Oh, no, typo! (Kidding, FARB.)


Gratuitous nature shot: It really did rain hard at The Compound today.

Joe.My.God.

One of the blogs I like to read, Joe.My.God., has long been linked from Tim’s Live Journal. Among the reasons I’ve recommended the book FROM BOYS TO MEN is because Joe contributed to it. I love it when he writes about days gone by with his friends, even when he makes me cry (often). I enjoy the little views he provides of Manhattan, including photos of Manhattan buildings.

Today I was catching up on his last few blog entries and came to one called “Morning View–Food For Thought.” Like many people who deal with never-enough-space problems in NYC apartments, Joe uses his oven for storage. In this entry’s photo, we find out he’s storing books there. I maximized the photo, expecting to see the usual suspects–David Sedaris, Augusten Burroughs–and this is what I found. You can’t imagine how it lifted my spirits and put a shit-eating grin on my face…


Nothing says lovin’ like SOMEONE LIKE YOU in the oven…

Photo used with permission of Joe.My.God.