Book Biz and Fun

When you can combine something to do with your book promotion and a fun trip, it's a great plus for a writer.

This past weekend, with daughter driving, we headed over to Cambria-- a beautiful village on the Central California coast. It had been a long, long time since I'd been there, and though they do not have any fast food chains, or even grocery chains, they have lots and lots of interesting shops and restaurants.

We'd come over for an author event, but it wasn't scheduled until Saturday so we had all day to explore--and explore we did. We toured the cliffs with their most interesting homes over the rocky shores. We spotted seals and otters playing in the surf.

As we drove around, daughter spotted a garage sale sign, and off we went. This time into a whole different environment, looked like the mountains, winding roads, lots of trees, huge homes, and deer. We even saw a fawn. The garage sale was in the huge driveway of an elegant home. The most organized and neat garage sale I'd ever seen. Daughter found many treasures and negotiated about more. (That evening, the homeowner called and she said if daughter returned, she could have something for a cheap price--and on Sunday another call, and the woman gave daughter a whole bag of stuffed animals. Daughter has lots of family to give to, plus she gives Christmas gifts to church kids who don't have much.)

Friday evening, we met an old friend of mine, Rebecca Buckley, I haven't seen for years, at a restaurant where we had a wonderful dinner, but even better a lot of chatter. She's a romance writer and attended the event I went to the next day also.

Before the event we poked around Cambria a bit more. The set-up for the author event was 11, but didn't start until 1. As with so many of these events, I met tons of wonderful people, and got to see author friends and met others.

Me, Lida Sideris, Sue McGinty

That evening we had a tour of Rebecca Buckley's home, the theater she owns, the restaurant in front, Harmony Cafe, and that's where we ate dinner--wonderful and topped in off with delicious gelato.

The next morning, we did even more sight seeing before heading home and back to reality.

Marilyn

I’m not weird - Mar Preston

I haven’t had to sell myself to strangers in a long time.  Sure, you have to sell yourself to readers but that’s a different ball game entirely.

I live in the mountains in central California and the cold here in winter is becoming unbearable. But then spring and summer come and I’m in love with my house and my friends and my life here. So this year, instead of making a vow I would sell my house and move before winter came again, I thought of an interim plan.

When the Central Coast chapter of Sisters in Crime invited me to speak about my latest novel, I looked around and thought what a wonderful place the coast would be to spend the winter. 

Sue McGinty, a fellow mystery writer who lives in Los Osos, asked me to house sit over the holidays. She writes good books about the central coast around Morro Bay. I breezed around San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach looking for a place. 

Craiglist turned up a great opportunity and the dance between me and a potential landlord has begun. What do I say about myself? I’m not weird? But dark scenarios of decapitation, GSWs, blood spatter and poisons fill my mind and make me feel all jolly. To anyone but fellow mystery writers, this is weird. 

They are a young couple with a room to rent in their home and I want to live there too. I write to them: “No Drama. No boyfriend. No girlfriend. No aging parents, no children. One arthritic, ancient dog. The rent will be paid. I’m neat.  I will respect your property because I am a homeowner too.”

And I wait. I write again. They called finally and invited me to meet them next weekend. This week we are promised blizzards, cold, rain, and snow. Sigh. I will get through it hoping it’s my last bout of real winter.

I want so much to make this happen. When I meet them I will be all smiles, certified check in hand, and not one single mention of decomposition.   

Wish me luck.

 http://www.amazon.com/Private-School-Detective-Mason-Mystery/dp/0984495258/