U.S. Tour: New York

This evening I’ll be speaking and signing at Barnes & Noble in Tribeca. I’d love to see you there.

New York:
Wednesday, June 25
7:00 p.m.
Barnes And Noble
97 Warren St. (at Greenwich St.)
New York, NY
(212) 587-5389

U.S. Tour: New York

My tour of security checkpoints and jetways continues this morning at London Heathrow. Heading to JFK. I know the blog’s been thin gruel the last week — I’ll try to find more weird news to post in the next few days.

Back in a while.

U.S. Tour: Phoenix

My latest stop:

Wednesday, June 18
7:00 p.m.
The Poisoned Pen
4014 N. Goldwater Blvd. Suite 101
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
(480) 947-2974

I’ll be talking tonight with fellow author Jacqueline Winspear. Stop by!

U.S. Tour: Santa Barbara

I’m heading to Santa Barbara, where this evening I’ll be speaking and signing at Chaucer’s Books. Be there!

Tuesday, June 17
7:00 p.m.
Chaucer’s Books
3321 State St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
(805) 682-6787

U.S. Tour: Los Angeles

More running around today. I’d love to see you if you’re in the L.A. area.

Los Angeles: Monday, June 16
12:30 p.m., Mysteries to Die For
2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd.
Thousand Oaks, CA
(805) 374-0084

Los Angeles: Monday, June 16
7:00 p.m., Mystery Bookstore
1036-C Broxton Ave.
Los Angeles, CA
(310) 209-0415

U.S. book tour: Book Passage

This evening I’m speaking and signing at Book Passage in Marin County. It’s going to be a sunny evening — if you’re in the neighborhood, stop by and say hello.

June 14th
7:00 p.m., Book Passage
51 Tamal Vista Blvd.
Corte Madera, CA
(415) 927-0960

U.S. Tour: Houston to San Francisco

Yesterday I started the morning in Houston. There’s the sun coming up over the Gulf of Mexico. (I’m resisting the urge to write, “That big ole sun, y’all.”) I ended the day speaking at M is for Mystery in San Mateo.

The bookstore is run by Ed Kaufman, book lover and retired lawyer. At the event, I realized that years ago when I practiced law in Los Angeles, my office window looked straight out at Ed’s, which was across the street in another Century City skyscraper. Great to meet him now over books.

It was also great to see my former law professor Paul Goldstein in the audience. And — even better — to be asked a question by him and know that my grade didn’t depend on my answer. And it was most amazing to know that Prof. Goldstein will himself be signing copies of his new legal thriller, A Patent Lie, next week at M is for Mystery.

Today: KQED radio. More later.

Penguin blog: San Francisco

Over on Penguin USA’s blog, my latest post is about the setting for The Dirty Secrets Club, San Francisco.

San Francisco can’t be beat. I grew up three hundred miles to the south, in Santa Barbara. I lived in the Bay Area during college and law school. And from the time I was a kid, San Francisco was the most exotic, exciting place in California. It had Chinatown. Hippies. Fog. My introduction to both Szechwan food and drag queens came during a high school journalism conference in the city. San Francisco’s where I learned that glitter eyeshadow and Lynyrd Skynyrd-style hair and beards should never, ever mix. And they should definitely not be worn with gold platform shoes. It’s where I learned that no matter how hard you sprint, the cable car you’re trying to board will outrace you up Powell Street. I never get tired of San Francisco.

And the city can seem all out front, and in your face. It’s bright, it’s loud, it’s full of clashing noises. But it also has plenty of California history - old money, quietly guarded lives.

In this environment, where do secrets dwell?

That’s why I set The Dirty Secrets Club in San Francisco.

Entire post here.

U.S. Tour: Houston to San Francisco

Yesterday evening I launched The Dirty Secrets Club with a talk and signing at Murder by the Book in Houston. Terrific store, terrific crowd, terrific fun.

Now I’m in the Bay Area. Tonight I’m speaking at M is for Mystery in San Mateo. 7 p.m. If you’re around, stop by.

Penguin blog: Secrets

In my latest post on Penguin USA’s blog, I talk about secrets and about the new novel. Everybody has something to hide.

The Dirty Secrets Club is a virtual confessional where members reveal their wildest doings. It’s part ego-trip, part strip-club of the conscience, part game. And it’s exclusive: you have to apply to join, and you won’t be admitted unless you’re a power player with something shocking in your past. The club is for thrillseekers who want to play Russian roulette with their status and their freedom.

Full post at the link.

Bookgasm gets my books

Oklahoma City’s finest book bloggers, Bookgasm, take a look at my first and sixth novels.

Penguin blog: My writing life

My latest post on Penguin USA’s blog is about working as a writer. I wrote it after a friend* who’s read the new novel sent me the card in this photo, with the caption added: “Say, Mommy — what did you and Daddy do when you were members of the Dirty Secrets Club?”

An excerpt:

“Not all novels are autobiographical.

Especially not The Dirty Secrets Club. I’ve never sprinted across the roof of a skyscraper in stilettos, trying to escape the gaze of a news chopper. I’ve never chased a killer across the Golden Gate Bridge.

I have, however, been through a knock-you-down earthquake.

Here’s the truth: my novels are not autobiographical, but ­everything that happens in my life is fair game for becoming book material.

And things do end up in my books. But altered - for example, a longtail boat ride down the river in Bangkok, which in real life was fast and fun, became a lunatic chase scene in my novel Kill Chain. My crazy cousins from Oklahoma became, in Mission Canyon - okay, they became Evan Delaney’s crazy cousins from Oklahoma. And the Japanese samurai sword that features in The Dirty Secrets Club exists in real life. It belongs to my husband, who’s a martial artist. For years we slept with it under our bed. And, like Jo Beckett in the novel, I once defended my home with it.”

The full post is here.

* Yes, Sharon Kendrick, I’m talkin’ about you.

U.S. Tour: The Dirty Secrets Club

Tomorrow I fly to Houston to begin the U.S. book tour. Wednesday evening I launch the The Dirty Secrets Club at Murder by the Book.

I’m excited about the tour, and thrilled that my publisher, Dutton, is supporting me so wholeheartedly by sending me back and forth across the United States to talk to readers. This is a wonderful opportunity for me. I’m proud of the novel, and I offer a salute to my editor at Dutton, Ben Sevier. Along with my British editor, Sue Fletcher, Ben saw the novel’s potential and offered expert suggestions on how I could make it the best book it could possibly be.

And before I hit the road, I must mention once again how grateful I am for the generous support of Stephen King. The articles he wrote about my books on his website and in Entertainment Weekly brought my work to Dutton’s attention. Thanks to him, I have a terrific American publisher. Steve, dude, you rock.

I’ll be on the road for three weeks. Here’s the schedule. I’d love to see you along the way.

Houston: Wednesday, June 11
6:30 p.m., Murder by the Book
2342 Bissonnet St.
Houston, TX
(713) 524-8597

San Francisco: Thursday, June 12
7:00 p.m., M is for Mystery
86 E 3rd Ave
San Mateo, CA
(650) 401-8077

San Francisco: Saturday, June 14
7:00 p.m., Book Passage
51 Tamal Vista Blvd.
Corte Madera, CA
(415) 927-0960

Los Angeles: Monday, June 16
12:30 p.m., Mysteries to Die For
2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd.
Thousand Oaks, CA
(805) 374-0084

Los Angeles: Monday, June 16
7:00 p.m., Mystery Bookstore
1036-C Broxton Ave.
Los Angeles, CA
(310) 209-0415

Santa Barbara, CA: Tuesday, June 17
7:00 p.m., Chaucer’s Books
3321 State St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
(805) 682-6787

Phoenix, AZ: Wednesday, June 18
7:00 p.m., The Poisoned Pen
4014 N. Goldwater Blvd. Suite 101
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
(480) 947-2974

New York: Wednesday, June 25
7:00 p.m., Barnes And Noble
97 Warren St. (at Greenwich St.)
New York, NY
(212) 587-5389

Dayton: Thursday, June 26
7 p.m., Books and Co.
Dayton Town & Country Shopping Center
350 East Stroop Road
Dayton, Ohio 45429
(937) 429-2169

Pittsburgh, PA: Saturday, June 28
10:00 a.m., Mystery Lovers Bookshop
514 Allegheny River Blvd.
Oakmont, PA
888-800-6078

I spill the beans on the new book to Crime Time magazine

Everybody has something to hide.