Raves & Faves
2011 has been a busy year that has flown by! It's hard to imagine that it's already time for pumpkins and ghosties, all to celebrate All Hallow's Eve. We've been busy writing and doing book events; this year we've gone to Las Vegas to speak and sign with the wonderful Las Vegas Writers Group and we'll be heading to Sedona, Arizona in early November to speak and sign at the Red Well Coyote Bookstore. Can't wait for that one - Sedona is definitely a magical spot. And when you have a chance to sit on a panel with other authors it becomes a special memory. Thanks to Kris Neri for inviting us.
One note I'd like to share is about all of the new music I've enjoyed this year ~ artists like Ellie Goulding and Owl City have descriptive lyrics that are inpsiring, and always help me get through tough commutes on the road. I'm trying to get a lot more books read this fall as I have stopped reading since last summer due to my focus on writing. Just a quick thank you to all of the songwriters that have taught me that less can always be more. More to be posted and more updates to the website soon. ~ Loni, October 2011
Wow. That's all we can say about the book launch for Leaf Peeper Murders. We had barely returned from Orlando and it was time to do our book launch for our first paperback and boy, were we nervous! It meant so much to us to have so many friends and family come to the launch to celebrate the book release with us. Thanks to everyone that came to Vroman's--the most amazing bookstore--and thanks to everyone who has purchased the book. Pictures will be posted on the events page soon. ~ Loni & P.I. Aug 2010
Late July/early August found us getting overheated at the Romance Writers of America conference--it was actually nice to get back to the dry desert heat of So Cal! We attended many workshops and panels, had a chance to briefly chat with Heather Graham and Nora Roberts, heard amazing speeches by amazing best-selling authors, visited all parks at Walt Disney World Resort, and, of course, shopped. And we brought home tons of new books to read! It was great but exhausting. Pictures will be posted on the events page soon. Loni, Aug 2010
Sisters in Crime, OC Style
On a beautiful June day P.I. and I drove down to the Orange County chapter of SinC at the invitation of author and chapter Prez Jeri Westerson. SinC and Mystery Writers of America (MWA) were to have a combined event which included lunch and an hour or so of great chat from brilliant, best-selling authors Gregg Hurwitz and Christopher Rice. That meeting is exactly what every chapter meeting should be, though how often can we be graced with such amazing writers? Gregg and Chris (yes, Anne Rice's son) offered valuable advice and amazing insight from their writing and life experiences. I left there with my head feeling ten pounds heavier from information overload, for which I was grateful. Gregg not only writes best-selling novels but also works as consulting producer on ABC's "V" series, as well as working on graphic novels for Marvel. The location of the SinCOC chapter meetings is beautiful, and the members gracious and welcoming. If you have a chance to join or visit at one of their meetings do so without hesitation! ~ Loni, June 2010
Hotel (Ontario) California: The Eagles Rock Citizens Bank!
It's funny how things in life turn out. When I was young I would have given all of my LPs (remember those?) to attend rock concerts of the artists of my time. Problem was none of my friends in middle school (junior high for those old enough) was into music as much as myself and I was too young to go alone, especially since I was also too young to drive. And, I couldn't afford the tickets. I mean, come on, who at fourteen in 1971 had 15 bucks to see a concert anyway? So the list of bands/artists I would love to have seen grew into a list longer than the Pacific Coast Highway.
Flash forward to 2010 and forty years later: Citizens Bank Arena, Ontario, CA, May 22. The Eagles doing their "assisted living" tour in (gasp!) my hometown!! Now the fact in itself was a type of miracle because Ontario was a sleepy little town comprised of 75% historic homes and the giant teen factory Chaffee High School back then. Free tickets to the concert didn't hurt either. The most impresive thing of the Eagle's show was the fact that they all just seemed to be having a damned good time onstage! The impression one got watching them was that they all appreciated each other and how their individual talents enhanced one another. The vocals were flawless and the instrumentals were short enough to be fun rather than the old ponderous solos of guitars and drums of the 70s. They had some great video visuals going in the background, especially for the balled "Waiting int he Weeds" from their latest CD. Drenched in sepia it wrenched the heart in its bittersweet sadness as did the lyrics of the song. I think that song and the video for "Dirty Laundry" were the two highlights of the night eclipsing even the anthem "Hotel California."
Oh, and Joe Walsh's amazing facial expressions! Yeah, can you believe it? Joe Walsh. I never thought I'd see him. To tell you the truth, I never thought either of us would live this long! Is it me or does it seem as if Walsh has been part of every band of the 1970s/80s with perhaps the exception of Fleetwood Mac? One last thing that I found amusing was watching the audience not creating a most pit down front. It was odd watching people actually standing still applauding, knowing full well that Don Henley wasn't going to fling himself on to them. Wow, politeness. Far out man. Either that or AARP wouldn't allow it. ~ P.I., May 2010
Gracious and talented authors are my fave this month! April & May have been incredibly busy!! Went to the L.A. Times Festival of Books where the SinCLA booth is a center of activity bustling with incredible authors. This year we finally made it to the Mary & Carol Higgins Clark event and both ladies are so interesting - my mom and I have all of their books and it was great to hear how they write books together. The May SinC meeting was wonderful with a great panel of authors: Darrell James, Eric Stone, Jeri Westerson and A.H. Ream discussing agents. May 6th we went out to Palm Desert to spend An Evening with Debbie Macomber and wow is that woman a powerful speaker. She's so natural in front of a crowd and is so witty, intelligent and fun that everyone in the packed auditorium had a great time. Afterward we had a chance to meet her, get a book signed and get some writing encouragement from a woman with over 140 million books in print! I think the most amazing thing of all is the fact that these authors are all so friendly, sincerely appreciative of their fans, and genuinely good souls that it was a true pleasue to meet them. Check out photos from these events on the News & Events Page. We also had a few days of frenzy as we waited to see where the RWA Conference would be held after the devastating floods in Nashville. Friends that I have there are OK though so many people lost homes. The hotel we were booked at was flooded so the RWA did some fast magic and got the conference moved to Orlando so we're being forced to take a vacation at Disney World. Luckily we get along just fine with mice. :) Two additional articles of mine have appeared at SellingBooks.com (go to links page), Miraculous Deception (Book Two of Future Imperfect) is out in June (cover art coming soon), and we've just booked Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena for an August 21st book launch for Button Hollow Leaf Peeper Murders! So much going on and it's all good! Hopefully I'll see many of you soon as I always miss seeing my friends in person ~ take care and God Bless, Loni, May 12th (& P.I., too)
Attended the April 11the SinCLA meeting with special guest speaker Derek Pacifico. Everyone was impressed with his knowledge and passion for solving murders! Great slide show and insight into homicide investigation. So many author events this month but unfortunately I've only attended two out of five that I wanted to but I'm hopeful to go to at least one more in addition to the L.A. Times Festival of Books at UCLA on April 24-25. Check out the Crucifying Angel postcards at the SinC booth if you go. If you have never been you need to attend - it is the largest book event in So Cal. Hope to see some of there! ~ Loni, April 18
Had a great time at Left Coast Crime on March 14th. Only had time to attend two panels - Books and Music with Bill Moody, Parnell Hall, Don Bruns and Peggy Ehrhart and Liars with Rhys Bowen, Rita Lakin, Parnell Hall and Harley Jane Kozak. They were both interesting and a lot of fun. Harley Jane Kozak is a great liar! So many great panels not enough time! Hopefully we'll be attending the entire LCC next year in Santa Fe, New Mexico! ~ Loni, March 21
Hey Everyone! I'm taking a momentary break from writing my brains out but I just wanted to give a special shout out to my friend Steve Nedelton! His latest novel, The Raven Affair, should be available shortly but he's got a mini-slew of great books, including Fear Factor and Crossroads! You can check his stuff out at: http://SNEDELTON.com or http://www.wix.com/snedeltonnews/snedelton P.I., March 1, 2010!
P.I. is busy writing so I'll add a fave: The bad news is that I commute 600 miles a week. The good news is that my commute has provided ample time for listening to audio books. Of the hundreds I have enjoyed some stand out more than others and encourage me to follow the career of the author. Aside from wonderful storytelling I know another reason that I have sometimes become a fan of a book is due to the wonderful reader or cast that brought the book to life. I have never been disappointed by any audio book produced by Full Cast Audio. "Airborn" by Kenneth Oppel stands out as one of their finest, and the lovely fairy tale books by the amazing Shannon Hale captivated my heart. Listen to (or read) "The Goose Girl," "Enna Burning," and "The Princess Academy" to start. If you love touching stories beautifully told in a fairy tale setting, Shannon Hale will not disappoint. I am sad to say that I checked her website the other day a few days too late to realize that she had just toured bookstores throughout So Cal and I missed the opportunity to listen to her speak and meet her. Hopefully I'll see her the next time around so I can tell her in person how much I enjoy her books. For more information visit: http://www.squeetus.com/stage/main.html and http://www.fullcastaudio.com/ and http://www.kennethoppel.ca/home.htm ~ Loni March 1
Music always within my reach....
Right now it is Loreena McKennitt's "Nights from the Alhambra"
Rarely can an artist record a live album that it better than the original studio recording. Loggins & Messina did it with "On Stage" and Peter Frampton became a legend with "Frampton Comes Alive." Loreena and her incredible band do it with this double disc (with a beautiful DVD of the concert included). It's remarkable from a to z but my fave tracks are "Dante's Prayer," "Caravanserai," "The Bonny Swans," "The Old Ways," and of course her big hit "The Mummers' Dance." If you like Loreena you will love this box set. If you're not familiar with her music this set should be the one to introduce you to her music. ~ Loni
One note I'd like to share is about all of the new music I've enjoyed this year ~ artists like Ellie Goulding and Owl City have descriptive lyrics that are inpsiring, and always help me get through tough commutes on the road. I'm trying to get a lot more books read this fall as I have stopped reading since last summer due to my focus on writing. Just a quick thank you to all of the songwriters that have taught me that less can always be more. More to be posted and more updates to the website soon. ~ Loni, October 2011
Wow. That's all we can say about the book launch for Leaf Peeper Murders. We had barely returned from Orlando and it was time to do our book launch for our first paperback and boy, were we nervous! It meant so much to us to have so many friends and family come to the launch to celebrate the book release with us. Thanks to everyone that came to Vroman's--the most amazing bookstore--and thanks to everyone who has purchased the book. Pictures will be posted on the events page soon. ~ Loni & P.I. Aug 2010
Late July/early August found us getting overheated at the Romance Writers of America conference--it was actually nice to get back to the dry desert heat of So Cal! We attended many workshops and panels, had a chance to briefly chat with Heather Graham and Nora Roberts, heard amazing speeches by amazing best-selling authors, visited all parks at Walt Disney World Resort, and, of course, shopped. And we brought home tons of new books to read! It was great but exhausting. Pictures will be posted on the events page soon. Loni, Aug 2010
Sisters in Crime, OC Style
On a beautiful June day P.I. and I drove down to the Orange County chapter of SinC at the invitation of author and chapter Prez Jeri Westerson. SinC and Mystery Writers of America (MWA) were to have a combined event which included lunch and an hour or so of great chat from brilliant, best-selling authors Gregg Hurwitz and Christopher Rice. That meeting is exactly what every chapter meeting should be, though how often can we be graced with such amazing writers? Gregg and Chris (yes, Anne Rice's son) offered valuable advice and amazing insight from their writing and life experiences. I left there with my head feeling ten pounds heavier from information overload, for which I was grateful. Gregg not only writes best-selling novels but also works as consulting producer on ABC's "V" series, as well as working on graphic novels for Marvel. The location of the SinCOC chapter meetings is beautiful, and the members gracious and welcoming. If you have a chance to join or visit at one of their meetings do so without hesitation! ~ Loni, June 2010
Hotel (Ontario) California: The Eagles Rock Citizens Bank!
It's funny how things in life turn out. When I was young I would have given all of my LPs (remember those?) to attend rock concerts of the artists of my time. Problem was none of my friends in middle school (junior high for those old enough) was into music as much as myself and I was too young to go alone, especially since I was also too young to drive. And, I couldn't afford the tickets. I mean, come on, who at fourteen in 1971 had 15 bucks to see a concert anyway? So the list of bands/artists I would love to have seen grew into a list longer than the Pacific Coast Highway.
Flash forward to 2010 and forty years later: Citizens Bank Arena, Ontario, CA, May 22. The Eagles doing their "assisted living" tour in (gasp!) my hometown!! Now the fact in itself was a type of miracle because Ontario was a sleepy little town comprised of 75% historic homes and the giant teen factory Chaffee High School back then. Free tickets to the concert didn't hurt either. The most impresive thing of the Eagle's show was the fact that they all just seemed to be having a damned good time onstage! The impression one got watching them was that they all appreciated each other and how their individual talents enhanced one another. The vocals were flawless and the instrumentals were short enough to be fun rather than the old ponderous solos of guitars and drums of the 70s. They had some great video visuals going in the background, especially for the balled "Waiting int he Weeds" from their latest CD. Drenched in sepia it wrenched the heart in its bittersweet sadness as did the lyrics of the song. I think that song and the video for "Dirty Laundry" were the two highlights of the night eclipsing even the anthem "Hotel California."
Oh, and Joe Walsh's amazing facial expressions! Yeah, can you believe it? Joe Walsh. I never thought I'd see him. To tell you the truth, I never thought either of us would live this long! Is it me or does it seem as if Walsh has been part of every band of the 1970s/80s with perhaps the exception of Fleetwood Mac? One last thing that I found amusing was watching the audience not creating a most pit down front. It was odd watching people actually standing still applauding, knowing full well that Don Henley wasn't going to fling himself on to them. Wow, politeness. Far out man. Either that or AARP wouldn't allow it. ~ P.I., May 2010
Gracious and talented authors are my fave this month! April & May have been incredibly busy!! Went to the L.A. Times Festival of Books where the SinCLA booth is a center of activity bustling with incredible authors. This year we finally made it to the Mary & Carol Higgins Clark event and both ladies are so interesting - my mom and I have all of their books and it was great to hear how they write books together. The May SinC meeting was wonderful with a great panel of authors: Darrell James, Eric Stone, Jeri Westerson and A.H. Ream discussing agents. May 6th we went out to Palm Desert to spend An Evening with Debbie Macomber and wow is that woman a powerful speaker. She's so natural in front of a crowd and is so witty, intelligent and fun that everyone in the packed auditorium had a great time. Afterward we had a chance to meet her, get a book signed and get some writing encouragement from a woman with over 140 million books in print! I think the most amazing thing of all is the fact that these authors are all so friendly, sincerely appreciative of their fans, and genuinely good souls that it was a true pleasue to meet them. Check out photos from these events on the News & Events Page. We also had a few days of frenzy as we waited to see where the RWA Conference would be held after the devastating floods in Nashville. Friends that I have there are OK though so many people lost homes. The hotel we were booked at was flooded so the RWA did some fast magic and got the conference moved to Orlando so we're being forced to take a vacation at Disney World. Luckily we get along just fine with mice. :) Two additional articles of mine have appeared at SellingBooks.com (go to links page), Miraculous Deception (Book Two of Future Imperfect) is out in June (cover art coming soon), and we've just booked Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena for an August 21st book launch for Button Hollow Leaf Peeper Murders! So much going on and it's all good! Hopefully I'll see many of you soon as I always miss seeing my friends in person ~ take care and God Bless, Loni, May 12th (& P.I., too)
Attended the April 11the SinCLA meeting with special guest speaker Derek Pacifico. Everyone was impressed with his knowledge and passion for solving murders! Great slide show and insight into homicide investigation. So many author events this month but unfortunately I've only attended two out of five that I wanted to but I'm hopeful to go to at least one more in addition to the L.A. Times Festival of Books at UCLA on April 24-25. Check out the Crucifying Angel postcards at the SinC booth if you go. If you have never been you need to attend - it is the largest book event in So Cal. Hope to see some of there! ~ Loni, April 18
Had a great time at Left Coast Crime on March 14th. Only had time to attend two panels - Books and Music with Bill Moody, Parnell Hall, Don Bruns and Peggy Ehrhart and Liars with Rhys Bowen, Rita Lakin, Parnell Hall and Harley Jane Kozak. They were both interesting and a lot of fun. Harley Jane Kozak is a great liar! So many great panels not enough time! Hopefully we'll be attending the entire LCC next year in Santa Fe, New Mexico! ~ Loni, March 21
Hey Everyone! I'm taking a momentary break from writing my brains out but I just wanted to give a special shout out to my friend Steve Nedelton! His latest novel, The Raven Affair, should be available shortly but he's got a mini-slew of great books, including Fear Factor and Crossroads! You can check his stuff out at: http://SNEDELTON.com or http://www.wix.com/snedeltonnews/snedelton P.I., March 1, 2010!
P.I. is busy writing so I'll add a fave: The bad news is that I commute 600 miles a week. The good news is that my commute has provided ample time for listening to audio books. Of the hundreds I have enjoyed some stand out more than others and encourage me to follow the career of the author. Aside from wonderful storytelling I know another reason that I have sometimes become a fan of a book is due to the wonderful reader or cast that brought the book to life. I have never been disappointed by any audio book produced by Full Cast Audio. "Airborn" by Kenneth Oppel stands out as one of their finest, and the lovely fairy tale books by the amazing Shannon Hale captivated my heart. Listen to (or read) "The Goose Girl," "Enna Burning," and "The Princess Academy" to start. If you love touching stories beautifully told in a fairy tale setting, Shannon Hale will not disappoint. I am sad to say that I checked her website the other day a few days too late to realize that she had just toured bookstores throughout So Cal and I missed the opportunity to listen to her speak and meet her. Hopefully I'll see her the next time around so I can tell her in person how much I enjoy her books. For more information visit: http://www.squeetus.com/stage/main.html and http://www.fullcastaudio.com/ and http://www.kennethoppel.ca/home.htm ~ Loni March 1
Music always within my reach....
Right now it is Loreena McKennitt's "Nights from the Alhambra"
Rarely can an artist record a live album that it better than the original studio recording. Loggins & Messina did it with "On Stage" and Peter Frampton became a legend with "Frampton Comes Alive." Loreena and her incredible band do it with this double disc (with a beautiful DVD of the concert included). It's remarkable from a to z but my fave tracks are "Dante's Prayer," "Caravanserai," "The Bonny Swans," "The Old Ways," and of course her big hit "The Mummers' Dance." If you like Loreena you will love this box set. If you're not familiar with her music this set should be the one to introduce you to her music. ~ Loni
Loni with Joanne Fluke
Enjoyed a fun evening with many other fans at Vroman's in Pasadena last night listening to Joanne Fluke regale us with stories of life in the freezing temperatures of Minnesota. Her latest book in the Hannah Swensen series, "Apple Turnover Murder" was just released and she's making the rounds doing signings. So happy to have a chance to hear her speak! Can't wait to read her latest! ~ Loni Feb. 24th