Why am I always the one in handcuffs?

“So what’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?” a friend of mine asked last Friday. 

It was a joke, you see:  I didn’t look a speck like me.  I was dressed up—hair done, makeup, heels, the whole enchilada—and actually looked like a girly-girl.  Quite a change from my usual t-shirt and overalls or jeans. 

“Not such a nice girl,” I said, eating a potato chip.  “I spent the morning in a jail cell.”

“Oh.”  My friends down at the Atomic Caf� have gotten use to me.  “Well, was it at least a nice cell?”

“Very.  Very clean, modern.  They know how to do things at the Concord P.D.  I got to wear handcuffs, too, but those were kinda old-fashioned.  Long chain, not the hinged kind.”

“Why were you wearing handcuffs?”  My friend tactfully ignored my awareness of handcuffing technology.

“Oh, I’m always the one who gets cuffed,” I said, then frowned.

Why am I always the one who gets cuffed?

The first time, I volunteered.  That was my first trip to a shooting range, with the New England Chapter of MWA, a couple of years ago.  We learned a little about police procedure then.  Those were a modern type of cuffs.  Very snug.  I was made quite aware of how my movement was restricted.  Didn’t care for it.

(My most recent trip to a firing range was with SinC New England.  We didn’t get much on procedure, but we did get to use shotguns on moving clay targets, which I absolutely adored.  I managed to hit most of them and my fellow Sisters granted me the name “Deadeye” for the rest of the day.) 

I got cuffed this time because I was wearing black.   The silver showed up better against black.  SinC/New England was shooting pictures for our 2007 calendar, showing New England Sisters in various mysterious settings.  (When I get a copy of our picture, I’ll post it along with a link so you can order the calendar, too.  It’s going to be a lot of fun.)

It’s quite an education I’ve been getting, this writing thing, and I guess if I am always the one getting cuffed, it’s not that I’m bad.  I’m just drawn that way.

 And in other news…

A week ago was NEBA, the New England Booksellers Association, down in Providence, RI.  I was there with other MWA/SinC members to help promote our two fine organizations.  Fellow Avon writer Lori Avocato (left) and I signed a heap of books, both at the MWA/SinC booth and at the HarperCollins booth—we’d get a stack on the table and they’d be snapped up in no time!  It was a good chance to meet local readers, booksellers, and librarians—some old friends and new. 

I posted a fun blog to the Femmes Fatales’ blog a couple weeks back, on what I can’t survive without when I’m on the road, going to cons, doing signings.  It’s all about the bag, baby.  Check it out, and let me know what you can’t live without on the road.  It’ll come in handy on the road to Bouchercon in Madison.  Which is in just four days—awwk!

Femmes Contest Winners!

The Femmes Fatales recently announced the winners of their first contest! Check out the Femmes and their blog--and congratulations to our contest winners!

*Grand prize winner: Chanda Keith*

Chanda wins our fantastic grand prize, a basket of autographed books and goodies:
No Nest for the Wicket (with a replica of one of the characters), from Donna Andrews
Ashes and Bones, from Dana Cameron
Definitely Dead, from Charlaine Harris
Three Dirty Women and the Shady Acres, from Julie Wray Herman
Wed and Buried (with a wedding troll) from Toni Kelner
Voices in the Wardrobe from Marlys Milhiser
Dem Bone's Revenge, from Kris Neri
When the Last Magnolia Weeps, from Mary Saums
Murder Unleashed, from Elaine Viets

*Next-to-grand prize winner: Rupal Patel*

Rupal wins our almost as grand basket, featuring:
No Nest for the Wicket, from Donna Andrews
Ashes and Bones, from Dana Cameron
Definitely Dead, from Charlaine Harris
Three Dirty Women and the Garden of Death, from Julie Wray Herman
Three Dirty Women and the Bitter Brew, from Julie Wray Herman
Mad as the Dickens (with a coal stocking), from Toni Kelner
Never Say Die, from Kris Neri
When the Last Magnolia Weeps, from Mary Saums

*Special bonus winners*
(who win either an ARC of /Sugarplums and Scandals/, featuring a story by Dana Cameron, or a trade paperback of /Powers of Detection/, featuring stories by Donna Andrews and Charlaine Harris.)
Kay Martinez
Linda Baksh
Anne Jones
Meriah Crawford
Mildred Westman

Thanks to everyone who entered!

What was that? You want to know the answers? Inquisitive lot, aren't you? But we'd expect no less from our readers...here you go:

1. What individual sports are involved in the overall endeavor in which Zoey Morgan, the protagonist of Kris Neri's novel NEVER SAY DIE, makes her living?
*Swimming, running, cycling (she's a triathlete)*

2. According to Donna Andrews, who is captain of the Dames of Caerphilly in NO NEST FOR THE WICKET?
*Mrs. Henrietta Pruitt *

3. What town and state do Charlie Greene, Marlys Millhiser, and THE MIRROR have in common?
*Boulder, CO *

4. Where was Charlaine Harris's character Harper Connelly standing when she was struck by lightning?
*In the bathroom of family's trailer *

5. What is the name of the supermodel dog who worked at the same upscale boutique as Helen in Elaine Viet's MURDER UNLEASHED?
*Lulu*

6. How does Tilda Harper, the protagonist of Toni L.P. Kelner's new book WITHOUT MERCY, make a living?
*Free lance entertainment reporter *

7. What is the name of the 18th-century English woman who Emma Fielding studies in several of Dana Cameron's books?
*Madam Margaret Chandler *

8. Where are Mary Saums's two new series characters, Thistle and Twigg, from?
*England and the South (Alabama, if you want to be precise) *

9. According to Julie Wray Herman, what is Korine McPhail's old flame's name?
*Leo Gilcrest*

Dana Cameron, Wedding Crasher

Recently I made an unexpected and unintended appearance at a wedding, or rather, a copy of Ashes and Bones did. My friend Suzi gave a copy of the book to her nephew, groom Zachary, and new niece, bride Ashley—and then got them to pose with it for this picture! It’s a great photo—and in addition to being a gorgeous couple, Zachary and Ashley are clearly good sports. Health, wealth, and happiness to them—and thanks, Suzi!

Shortly after I got that email, I got a call from my dentist, Dr. G. Not his office, the man himself, which was a first. I was confused: had I missed an appointment? Did he somehow find out I had been raiding the chocolate stash and was calling up to comment on my poor choice in between-meal snacks? Dr. G is pretty savvy, but I wasn’t yet willing to believe he’s also omniscient…

Apparently he’d just finished reading Ashes and Bones and was calling to say how much he’d enjoyed it—and was going to run out and get the first five books. The line was a little fuzzy and I found out he was on vacation. In Maine. How cool of him was that?

Fellow Femme Fatale, friend, and writer Donna Andrews and I had two great events here in Massachusetts. One was at the Borders in Peabody, and the other was at Kate’s Mystery Books, in Cambridge. Friends, family, and readers turned out to support the New England launch of No Nest for the Wicket and Ashes and Bones, (including fellow Femme Toni Kelner), and author Cynthia Riggs joined us at Kate’s (right). We signed a TON of books and managed to have a pretty good time, despite Donna suffering from a bad case of laryngitis. My suggestion that she do an interpretive dance to save her talking was duly considered but, alas, tabled for this tour.

Last weekend I made a quick, spur of the minute trip to NYC. One of the stops I will always make is the Black Orchid Bookshop. Bonnie (in the picture) and Joe are great folks, and their mystery bookstores is not to be missed. The folks at Partners & Crime, Murder Ink, and the new(ish) home of The Mysterious Bookshop were also fantastic, and had great news about how the book is selling.

Next stops: NEBA and Bouchercon!

(post script: I am in the process of rescheduling several of the events I had to postpone in Maryland and Virginia. I thank everyone for their kindness, understanding, and support.)