In the Handbasket: D.P. Lyle

You know how there are some people that you meet, and instantly like? I met D.P. Lyle at my first Thrillerfest back in 2007, if I recall correctly. I had stars in my eyes and was incredibly goofy throughout the whole conference. But Doug is one of those smart, confident people who makes a person--fan or fellow writer-- feel immediately comfortable.

When I learned that there were two new D.P. Lyle novels coming out this month, I wanted to hear all about them. Particularly since one of the novels is the first in the Royal Pains series, a tie-in to the USA Network television program.

D.P. Lyle is not just a writer. He's been a practicing cardiologist for three decades, and has combined his medical expertise to write not only thrillers, but a number of award-winning books on forensics for writers and the morbidly curious. (I qualify as both.) You can read about his workshops, appearances, t.v. consulting and all the other cool things he's done at his website. Be sure to follow his Writer's Forensics blog, too, where he takes on fascinating and newsworthy forensics topics and often answers some pretty wild questions submitted by writers and readers.

__________

Welcome, Doug!

Q:    Since this is your first visit to the blog, I'd love for you to tell us how a nice physician like you got involved in the shady business of crime writing.

A:    I grew up telling stories as does everyone in the South. You have to tell stories. It’s part of the culture. Whether sitting around a checkerboard, a country stove, a campfire, or the breakfast table, stories are part of everyone’s life down there. So I always enjoyed a good yarn. I also felt that I had stories I wanted to tell, and I said that when I retired that I would write. Or see if I could. But approximately 15 years ago I basically said: If not now, when? I took some classes at the University of California, Irvine, and joined a couple of writing groups and began to write. Crime fiction was a natural simply because I like crime stories.


Q:    Do you prefer writing one genre--fiction or non-fiction--over the other?

A:    I like both. They are similar, but different. In nonfiction you must gather all the facts, do all your research, organize your thoughts, and then put the manuscript together. With fiction I think it’s the exact opposite. You first have a story in mind which you mull over for days or weeks or months, and then you do a little research, but basically you start writing the story. The story is paramount. At least for me, I will then do research as I go along. If I run across some information that I need for the plot or for a particular scene, I’ll jump in and do some research on that topic, and then go on with the story. The Internet has made that so much easier than traipsing off to the library and digging through catalogs and bookshelves.

Of the two, however, I think I like fiction writing best. It allows your imagination to take off, and I find it very satisfying to create a new plot or scene. There’s nothing quite like that feeling when you know you’ve written a scene that just works.

Q:    When it comes to First, Do No Harm, the first novelization of a Royal Pains story, I know readers and writers alike will want to know how you came to be chosen for the gig. Was there a writing/audition process?

A: I have to blame my good friend Lee Goldberg for this. As you know, Lee writes the Diagnosis Murder and Monk novels. His brother Tod writes the Burn Notice novels and his partner Bill Rabkin writes the Psych novels. These are called tie-in novels because they are tied to a television series.

Penguin approached Lee about taking on the Royal Pains project, but he told them he was probably not the guy to do it but that I might be. He recommended me to them. So that’s basically how it began. After I spoke with my wonderful editor there, Sandy Harding, and my equally wonderful agent, Kimberly Cameron, I finally decided to sign a two book deal with them.


Q:    Royal Pains is such a fun television series. Were you a fan, first? You've done a terrific job with the characters' voices in First, Do No Harm--particularly Divya's. Does it help to have live actors as models for the characters that you're writing? 

A:    Thank you. I’m glad you liked the characters and the story. Yes, I watched the TV show before I was ever approached to write the novels. Though I have problems with some of the medical stuff that Hank does–couldn’t happen in the real world–I really enjoyed the characters and their interaction. I liked the humor and I liked the other characters that surround the four main ones. And I thought it was an interesting premise.

As for having live actors as models, it’s a double-edged sword. I have these characters that are already created and so therefore I don’t have to come up with new characters out of whole cloth. But, it also means that I can’t tinker with them or take them in directions that I would like. You are constrained by the creators and the TV series as to what you can and cannot do. But overall it was fun.


Q:    How real is the business of concierge medicine? Does it exist only in the enclaves of the wealthy, like The Hamptons?

A: Absolutely concierge medicine is alive and well. Here in Orange County, California, I have several friends who do that type of medicine and really enjoy it. Can’t see myself doing it, but it is a viable form of medical practice.


Q:     Since I was able to read First, Do No Harm and Hot Lights, Cold Steel, the new Dub Walker novel, in quick succession, I was struck by the difference in writing styles. How do you shift gears from one style to the other? 

A:      Royal Pains is a comedy/drama based on a TV series. By definition, the stories had to be light, funny, and follow the series. I found the writing flowed very easily and the stories were much easier to create than the more convoluted plot lines required for a thriller. Once you get the story rolling, it almost tells itself.

Stories like Hot Lights, Cold Steel are what I enjoy writing most. It’s dark, it’s complex, it has some really, really bad guys, and hopefully has suspense from beginning to end. There is humor but it’s not the lighthearted humor that is seen in Royal Pains.

So, yes, the two writing styles are very different, and are intentionally so. One of the reasons that I agreed to do the Royal Pains stories was to learn a new style of writing. Another arrow in the quiver. I think writing different types of books helps make you a better writer, and I think that the voice and the style must fit the story. I also believe that writing different styles helps each of your styles become stronger. There are things that bleed over from one type of story to the other.

Q:    Dub Walker is a character of many talents. Does he have any character traits that you'd like to steal for yourself? What have you learned about him since writing your first book in the series, Stress Fracture?

A:    Dub and I are a lot alike and yet different. We both believe in truth, justice, and the American way. Like me, Dub does not like to see the bad guys get away with it, particularly if they are arrogant, greedy, and amoral. He has the ability to focus on the problem and relentlessly pursue it. But I think most physicians are that way and, while not a physician himself, Dub almost completed medical school, so he has that knowledge, and many of those traits.

Not only has Dub grown during these first two books and will do so in the third, which I have just finished–titled Run To Ground–but also the other main characters, Claire McBride and T-Tommy Tortelli, have evolved through the stories. Not a lot, since they are series characters, but they at least are exposed to different challenges, and different situations in each story. I’ve really enjoyed writing these stories, and I love all three of these characters.


Q:     Without getting into spoilers, I was blown away by the--shall we say--mechanism behind the murders in Hot Lights, Cold Steel. It has a science-fiction feel to it. What links do you see between fiction/science fiction of the past and current medical science? 

A:     I’m definitely not the first person to say this, but current science fiction predicts future science fact. World literature is replete with examples, with, of course, the great Jules Verne being the classic example. He sent men to the moon and launched them from the East Coast of Florida. He sent a man around the world in a balloon. He found mysterious islands that were unknown before. All of these things happened after Mr. Verne showed us the way.

The science in Hot Lights, Cold Steel is indeed futuristic. Though many of the devices and procedures used in the story do exist today, in this story the envelope was pushed down the road a bit. Everything that happens in the story will happen someday. And that day is probably not too far in the future.


Q:     I noticed that your second Royal Pains novel is scheduled for this coming January. That's two books in one year. Plus, you have your Dub Walker novels and non-fiction work.  Tell me about your writing process. How in the world do you tackle such an aggressive schedule?

A:    The simple answer is that I have cats so I don’t sleep much. The truth is that when I practiced full-time as a cardiologist, I averaged working 80 or so hours a week. Either working or on call. One thing about cardiology is that if you’re on call you're up and running around to emergency rooms and intensive care units. It’s just the nature of the practice. So I was used to long hours. Now that I only practice part-time, and only do office work, I have a lot of free time. But that’s taken up with writing and I have found that I still spend 80 or so hours a week either with my medical practice or with writing.

It’s true that the second Royal Pains novel will be out in January. Fortunately it is completed and we are just beginning the editorial process. I have also completed the next Dub Walker novel, and my agent is looking at it now. I’ll run back through it again, and then send it off to the publisher. I also have a third question-and-answer book coming out in January. It is completed, and we are just now beginning the editorial process for that. In addition I am now creating another Samantha Cody novel in order to resurrect that series. It’s partially written and hopefully will be completed in another few months.

Q:    In addition to writing, I know you spend a lot of time teaching forensic and craft classes for writers. Where will you be in the coming months?

A:    I go to many writing conferences mainly to see wonderful people like you, and our other fellow writers. But of the many hats I wear, by far the one I enjoy the most is teacher. I love it. My older sister was a teacher for 30 years, and just recently retired. I have always loved school, either as a student or as a teacher, and right now I love teaching writers about forensic science, and about how to put a thriller together.

I have my two favorite conferences of the year coming up in July. The first is ThrillerFest in New York. I think that’s the best big conference each year. The two days prior to ThrillerFest we put on a craft school called CraftFest. I have been the director of the school since it started six years ago. We have an incredible cadre of teachers each year that come and offer their knowledge to writers. This year we have Ken Follett, Steve Berry, Michael Palmer, Gayle Lynds, Andy Gross, Hallie Ephron, and so many others.

Two weeks after that is my favorite small conference each year: Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference at the Book Passage Bookstore in Corte Madera, California. This is an excellent conference that is very craft oriented. It is put on each year by the wonderful people at Book Passage, and Sheldon Siegel and Jackie Winspear. Again a group of talented teachers come each year, and I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of the faculty for the past several years. Anyone who is interested in either of these can go to my website and look under the Events Link to find the details for these conferences.



Thanks so much, Doug. I knew this would be an amazing interview! I've linked to the Kindle versions of the Samantha Cody novels on Amazon.com. One of the brilliant things about the ebook revolution is the way writers can keep their books alive for readers, and even give beloved characters fresh, new life.


Dearest readers--I'm also proud to say that D.P. Lyle, M.J. Rose, and I, plus many of your other favorite mystery and thriller writers, have essays in the Edgar and Anthony Awards-nominated anthology, Thrillers:100 Must Reads, edited by David Morrell and Hank Wagner. Check it out here.

Octoberguest! Jennifer Talty

One of the things I've enjoyed most about my publishing life is meeting new people at signings and conferences. When I met Jennifer Talty at my very first Thrillerfest in 2007, I knew I couldn't resist getting to know her. Her enthusiasm was absolutely contagious!

This coming May, her first romantic suspense novel, Rekindled, will be published by The Wild Rose Press--though for those who can't wait, it will be available as an e-book in early February.

Welcome, Jennifer!

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to My First Conference…



I will never forget my first conference. I got in the car with a fellow Romantic Suspense writer with an incredible amount of nervous energy. We chatted the whole way there about our current manuscripts and other ideas. When we stopped to get some food, we were beyond giddy. We entered the rest area discussing, my current project, and how the conflict felt contrived and forced. We started brainstorming ideas, without thinking about our surroundings. A man, sitting in the booth next us kept giving us funny looks and finally said, “Why would you want any of those terrible things to happen to a friend of yours?” My friend simply said, “Because it makes for great conflict and a better story.” I don’t think that man knew the people we happened to be discussing weren’t real. As we continued with our conversation, I couldn’t help notice that man was still staring at us, and listening in. Finally, I said, “we’re writers and working on my book.” He replied, “I think I want to read your story.”

During that conference, I spent most of my time perfecting my pitch and focusing on the editors and agents that I would be meeting. About 5 years later, I realized that this had been a mistake. Not that my pitch didn’t need to be good, or that I shouldn’t worry about making a good impression, but that I missed out on many aspects of the conference that could, and would, help me in my career as a writer, because that is what I am, a writer.

It wasn’t until nearly two years ago when I went to NYC for a different conference that I understood what this experience could offer me, personally. I didn’t have a finished manuscript at the time to pitch, so part of me felt as though I was wasting my time and money. I was also dealing with a small publisher that had gone bankrupt and fighting for the rights to my books. Frankly, I was feeling alone, and a bit desperate.


I shared a cab with two wonderful women, whom at the time I thought, geez; I want to know these people. But I was so stuck in my own world; I didn’t really let myself go. Writers tend to be introverts, and I am no exception. I stood in this grand hotel, waiting to check in when the same women I shared I cab with, and two others kidnapped me for dinner. Truth be known, I didn’t want to go. I wanted to go to my room, alone, and do the only thing that at the time made me happy, write. But the words of a very wise multi-published, NYTimes bestselling author boomed into my head, writers generally misuse conferences. Writing is a lonely profession. Make an effort to meet people who have something you want. So, I went to dinner and had the best time of my life, not to mention I made friendship that will last a lifetime.

While I had nothing to pitch, I met with a lot of industry professionals and learned a great deal about the business, the craft of writing, as well as learning a few things out about myself. Heck, Vince Flynn thought I looked like Cheryl Crow. That alone was worth it. Of course, the following year when I went back to the same conference, Lee Child said, “Hey, it’s Cheryl. How are you?” I said, “You remember me?” He said, “Of course I do.” Then, I got to be the snake girl at a book signing with some of the best authors in the world! Not to mention, Laura’s minion.

I think my point is that yes, conferences are about meeting with agents and editors. Promoting your books and yourself. Yes, it is about our business, but it’s also about sharing experiences, strengths and hopes with our fellow writers. Being an author can be very lonely, but it doesn’t have to be.

Thanks so much, Jennifer!

[Remember--Everyone who comments is entered to win $100 Godiva Chocolatier and Harry & David giftbaskets, plus books from several Octoberguest! authors! Drawing held November 2nd.]

Monday's guest is thriller novelist Gerry Doyle.

CMLH Is In The House

A little more on the Big City tomorrow. The FedEx folks delivered my copyedited manuscript for CALLING MR. LONELY HEARTS yesterday morning. I had been wondering when it would arrive and had bugged my editor's assistant about it when I saw him in the bar at Thrillerfest. But it turns out he'd been promoted to no one's assistant just a day earlier, so he had no idea. (Go, Paul!)

The really great news is that there are far, far fewer marks on this ms. than there were on ISABELLA MOON. The bad news is that I'll be tempted to futz around with it more--and that a December release date means ARCs (Advance Reader Copies--the ones that go out to reviewers, media, etc.) need to happen very quickly. So if I seem distracted....

How funny are these "additions to standard proofreading marks?" Way more fun than the regular ones!



(via Nathan's Notebook)

Security

I don't know why I felt such surprise when my suitcase proved to be over-weight at the LGA check-in counter this morning. "Ten pounds over, that's fifty dollars," the counter person said. "Do you want to take some things out?" I mumbled something about too many books. "Books," she said. "It's often books."

There was no one in line behind me, so I was only moderately embarrassed to unzip my ginormous suitcase and paw through my worn clothing and numerous shoes and souvenirs for my kids to reach the books I'd packed in the middle. By the time I was done, I had six books stacked on the floor beside my stuffed-full computer bag and none-too-dainty purse. As an afterthought I pulled out the zippered tote bag I'd gotten at Thrillerfest, the conference I'd just left. I stuffed the books inside and lumbered off, wondering how I was going to get American to let me bring three carry-on bags onboard.

Books. Always books. The lovely B&N folks had already packed up a big box of them for me at the hotel for shipment, but I'd obviously forgotten to root those extra six out of my room in time. If I were a sensible traveler, I would've had room in my suitcase for six extra books.

But I am not sensible. I am not a light traveler. I feel a need to have familiar things around me even when I'm a thousand miles from home. I cannot think of a single thing I brought that I didn't need--okay, maybe there were a few pairs of earrings and a slip and one dress I didn't wear. But I wore each of the sixteen shoes, some more than once!

Writer Joe Finder blogged his last tour on myspace and wrote about traveling the whole week with only a single single carry-on bag (on the charming, handsome, brilliant Lee Child's advice--and if you know the Jack Reacher books, you know that Lee believes that even his characters should travel light!). Joe made it without much incident, but I never could do such a thing.

I don't trust hotel hair dryers to work. And I like to wear flip-flops on those suspicious hotel floors. And personal bath poufs are desirable. And I like to have cozy socks for cold feet and more for wearing during workouts. My things are like my security blanket for being far from home, some small recompense for the absence of my favorite pillow and the sounds of my dogs and children waking and clamoring for love and attention. My things feel like home.

Finally, today, I will be home.

Big City

(Photo by BawBaw)


After a four-hour delay on the ground in Columbus due to whatever wasn't moving at LaGuardia last night, I am in the Big City, ensconced in mid-town, a coccoon of steel and brick and concrete and people, people, people. I am always stunned to come to New York, so stuffed with humanity. I am always a little fearful here on an island, far away from open land and places to run to. But of course the people here are the city's blessing--writers far better than I have described how there are millions of stories here, at least one to a person. It's hard to look at each one, though, because they are all moving so quickly. I imagine stopping someone on the street to ask where he is from, what his story is. Madness, perhaps, but that's where imagination comes flooding in.

A part of me can't wait to go home to that expanse of green, to have room to explore what my imagination has brought back, or what was waiting for me there all the time.

Music of a Different Sort

On July 8, I'll take off for Thrillerfest, the annual gathering of thriller writers and fans held at the Grand Hyatt in NYC. It's always a blast to catch up with writer friends and fans (many come back from year to year). There are many events over the three-day conference and to keep it running smoothly takes the help of lots of generous volunteers. 126 in fact. I know this because I'm scheduling them! It's fun to try to match up folks to the things they're interested in--readers with writers, writers who are fans of other writers. It's all good, but frantic!

So I needed a little break tonight. We have kids, so we have an Xbox. And Xbox Karaoke Revolution arrived in the mail this week. Now, I've never Karaoke'd in my life. Not in a bar. Not anywhere. And I hear that the Xbox version is not real Karaoke. But it works for me!

I went last, of course. I made a character named Lindsay who wore a sweet pink twinset and some wicked cropped jeans and pink heels. And I perused the songs...too many choices, but lots of familiar tunes.

What did I pick? It was no contest.


Tainted Love, by Ed Cobb
(Soft Cell's 1981 version)

Sometimes I feel I've got to
Run away I've got to
Get away
From the pain that you drive into the heart of me
The love we share
Seems to go nowhere
And I've lost my light
For I toss and turn I can't sleep at night

(chorus)
Once I ran to you (I ran)
Now I'll run from you
This tainted love you've given
I give you all a boy could give you
Take my tears and that's not nearly all
Oh...tainted love
Tainted love

Now I know I've got to
Run away I've got to
Get away
You don't really want IT any more from me
To make things right
You need someone to hold you tight
And you'LL think love is to pray
But I'm sorry I don't pray that way

(chorus...)

Don't touch me please
I cannot stand the way you tease
I love you though you hurt me so
Now I'm going to pack my things and go
Tainted love, tainted love (x2)
Touch me baby, tainted love (x2)
Tainted love (x3)

My score? 100,000. Perfect score! Yes. Perfect! No one was more surprised than I was. My secret? Definitely the pink heels. It wouldn't even have been possible to do it better with beer. ;)

Meet Susan Arnout Smith!

I am possibly the only person on the planet who traveled to Anchorage, Alaska and didn't see a live moose. I may have seen Denali in the distance from my hotel window, but I really can't be sure. My week in Anchorage, back in September, was spent hurrying between the Sheraton(?) and the Convention Center during the Bouchercon mystery conference. *sigh* I'm a rotten tourist.

But I did meet wonderful writers and readers from all over the country. One of those writers was Anchorage native Susan Arnout Smith, who moderated a panel I was on. She was such a pro--I couldn't believe her first novel, The Timer Game, wasn't due out until January of this year. You can meet Susan yourself if you're attending Thrillerfest July 9-12 in NYC (I'll be there, too!) or at the Southern California Writers Association gathering on Saturday, July 19. You can visit Susan's website for details.

I love to have writers guest blog here at The Handbasket. (And not just because it gives me time to hang out with my kids!)

Welcome, Susan!

Already Gone, by SUSAN ARNOUT SMITH

Two things are happening this week in my family: my sister-in-law, Dossy, is using her pool for a commando toddler learn-to-swim program, where her grandson, Jack, will be tossed into the deep end of the pool by an instructor who routinely makes the mothers cry.

And my daughter, Martha, is home briefly this week from Stanford, on her way to Croatia and Romania where she’ll be teaching English for two months. She’s glossy, beautiful, only 19. It is an act of faith on our part to let her go. That’s not true, of course.

Faith has nothing to do with it.

She’s more than ready; our job is to buy the phone card and support her choice.

Still.

All over America, kids are graduating this week, poised on that edge.

They start small, these babies of ours. And in the beginning, we dream our dreams for them. It’s easy, before they come into our lives, to imagine theirs.

There’s usually a doctor in there, someplace, maybe a president. And then this baby arrives, insistent, demanding, better than any imagined dream, and we remember again how little we know and how much we already have.

They come into the world needing everything, and all we can give them is our love.
We guide. We direct. We stand on the sidelines and cheer.

We build peanut butter sandwiches and tents made of bedsheets.

And all the while, this miracle, this child of ours, is busy dreaming his own dream.
Busy reminding us that if—he is ours—he is also, most of all, his own.

A singular self. A child of the spirit. A voice in the vast cosmos of good that stretches back in time and links forward through all the times to come. And while we’re focused on car pools and permission slips, our child is growing up.

Until one extraordinary day, we look and see not just a child, but a young adult, poised on the edge of her own life. Confident, sure of herself.

Already gone.

Toddler Jack is there on that continuum, poised over the deep end.

Martha’s already jumped. Many times.

Only it’s not a swimming pool. It’s an ocean.

Swimming toward a far shore and a light only she can see.

And all Fred and I can do is stand here, arms linked, and wave.

Road Trip

It's shaping up to be a busy summer. Here's where you can catch up with me:


June 7-13
Tinker Mountain Writers Workshop, Hollins University, Roanoke, VA

June 10
Hollins Branch Public Library, Roanoke, VA
Reading, 7 pm (the book club meeting begins at 6:30, public reading at 7)


June 16
Private Book Club Appearance, Cincinnati, OH

June 19
Southern Illinois Writers Guild Meeting, John A. Logan Community College, Carterville,IL
Reading, 7 pm

July 9-13
Thrillerfest, Grand Hyatt, NYC


July 10
Quick Thrills from Out-of-Towners

Reading with Alexandra Sokoloff,
Shane Gericke, Michelle Gagnon, JT Ellison, Tim Maleeny, Mario Acevedo,
Laura Caldwell, introduction by Lee Child

Prizes, including an 8ft Plush Snake! Signing afterwards.
One hour reading--we promise!

Borders Manhattan Park Ave., Park @ 57th, 8 pm


When I return from New York, I'll be sticking close to home for the following few months, writing, writing, writing....

P.S. Quick Thrills postcard design done by Pinckney and me. Well, with a little help from Comic Life!

Meet Me In New York!

I find name-dropping incredibly embarrassing. I’ve never felt the undying need that some folks have to rub elbows with the rich and famous. Money and fame don’t make people nice or generous or good or bad. Seriously, everybody puts their shoes and/or stockings on the same way—sometimes those shoes just happen to cost over $600.

So it’s a little weird for me to find myself hanging out with people who are well-known in the book business. And what have I found? These folks are actually nice, actually generous to fans, actually supportive of emerging and beginning writers.

Last year’s Thrillerfest, a confab of writers, fans, and industry people sponsored by International Thriller Writers (ITW), in New York was a real eye-opener for me. I’ll get the name-dropping over with first. Minutes after registering at The Grand Hyatt I was introduced to Tess Gerritsen and Lisa Gardner. I also finally met Lisa Unger, who had kindly given me an advance quote for ISABELLA MOON. I chatted with the extraordinary writer/gentleman Lee Child in the bar…ditto for Joseph Finder. Steve Berry was awfully nice, as were Barry Eisler and Heather Graham. I was on a panel moderated by a goddess of dark fiction, Deborah LeBlanc, and sat beside Jonathan Santlofer. I even had the chance to provide Clive Cussler with my personal stash of tissues (okay, that was through an assistant!).

But the really cool thing was that I got to learn from many of these people—and many more. Thrillerfest is like a kind of glamorous boot camp for writers and fans. There’s plenty of face-time with the well-published. One gets to ask questions, learn how they do it (and what not to do), find out how to deal with agents, hear personal stories. I found myself so energized and motivated that I couldn’t wait to get home and start my next novel!

This year’s Thrillerfest is in NYC as well, July 9-12. NYC in July? you ask. Yes. There are only tourists in town, so you can get dinner reservations and cheap show tickets if you feel the need to wander. And it is NYC after all. Does one really need an excuse? Though there’s so much going on at the conference, one doesn’t want to leave for long and miss something. One of those events is Craftfest, the event that precedes Thrillerfest by a day. At Craftfest, the big-time guys and gals do workshops, talking about their specific areas of interest: Heather Graham on using atmosphere and dialogue, Joe Finder discussing the biggest mistakes all writers make—then there’s Agentfest, which is like speed-dating for writers and agents.

Here’s my moment of full disclosure: I got so much out of last year’s Thrillerfest that I find myself volunteering to direct volunteers, which means that if you sign up I will get you pitching in behind-the-scenes for an easy hour or two so you can have some real fun meeting lots of writers and readers, agents and fans. Also, this year I’ll even be the panel master for BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS: THE FIRST YEAR AS A PUBLISHED AUTHOR. I can’t wait!

So, name-dropping is over for now. Class dismissed. See you in New York!

Catching Up With CJ Lyons

CJ Lyons is one very busy thriller-writer chick. Her cross-genre novel (thriller, medical suspense, steamy romance) LIFELINES debuted back in early March, and she's been in constant motion ever since. Once upon a time she was a pediatric ER doc. Now, she spends her time writing, traveling, teaching other folks how to write and being one of the nicest people on the planet. When I first met her in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt in NYC at Thrillerfest (2007) she was literally dashing through the lobby on the way to her next speaking engagement!


Serendipity, Kismet, and All that Jazz…by CJ Lyons

Thanks, Laura for inviting me to come join the fun here on Handbasket! I just got home after visiting 13 cities in 8 weeks to launch my debut novel, LIFELINES, so if I seem a little random and wandering, it's not your imagination, lol!

My little tour seemed to have a life and a theme of it's own: "fortuitous" was the word I found myself using most often.

The fact that I'd been asked to speak at several major meetings this spring and teach workshops at others and that all this paid-for-by-others travel coincided with the release of LIFELINES was the first piece of fortune. (And no, publishers rarely pay for book tours for anyone these days, much less a debut author—it all comes out of our pocket unless you've been lucky enough to be an invited speaker)

Then, Berkley moved LIFELINES' release up a month to March and I was able to launch at Left Coast Crime in Denver with so many of my friends—and how convenient that Left Coast Crime wasn't on any coast this year, but in the middle of the mountains!

Add to that an unexpected invitation to the VA Festival of the Book (a most totally awesome week-long celebration of books and reading in Charlottesville, VA) and I was starting to get goose-bumps…what would happen next?

Nothing much, except little things like a schedule mix-up leading to my first ever signing being with the wonderful and delightful (I'll let you decide which is which) Rhys Bowen and Steve Hockensmith; being in the right place at the wrong time and thus giving several TV and other media interviews; helping the marvelous and most generous Heather Graham and her band of Slushpile Players perform for the kids at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, my own alma mater….not to mention the huge coincidence that RT Book Convention was in Pittsburgh this year where LIFELINES is set!!!

The list goes on and on and on….like my aunt needing surgery in Pittsburgh (she's not from Pittsburgh) the same week as RT, so I could commute from the conference to the ICU at Presby to see her (she's doing fine, thanks so much to all the kind thoughts everyone at RT sent!); or the fact that while I was rushing from hospital to hotel and back again, every time I needed transportation either a bus or taxi (unheard of in Pittsburgh) would miraculously appear…..

Wait, it gets better! My second book (revisions done while on the road promoting the first, yikes!) is also set in Pittsburgh and had a scene involving the River Rescue guys. So, on the final day of RT, I hop off a bus from the hospital, and am walking back to the hotel when who do I meet but Hank Phillippi Ryan (more on Hank in a sec) and she wants to go for a walk.

We head over the Clemente Bridge to the river walk only to find the River Rescue guys out with their boat—Hank brazenly talks our way on board and voila! These guys spent an hour with us, answering all my questions, taking me on the boat, and just being the nicest, most fun research ever!!!


Then Hank and I meet up again the next week at Malice Domestic. And how is she rewarded for her random act of kindness? She wins a freaking Agatha!!!! How's that for Karma? Yeah!!

Well, that only scratches the surface of the Wonderful Mystery Tour for LIFELINES, but I think you can see that official book tour or not, there's just nothing like throwing yourself out into the universe and seeing who or what catches you….trust me, it's all good!

Thanks for reading!
CJ

Big News. I Mean Really Big News!

I received some amazing news a couple of weeks ago and have been dying to share it. Now I can!

I've been invited to the 29th annual Kentucky Women's Writers Conference in Lexington. It happens in September and I'll be teaching a workshop, which I always enjoy. But the really exciting news is that I'll be doing a reading with Joyce Carol Oates!

Joyce has chosen me to appear with her at the conference's Hardwick/Jones reading, a reading that, according to the press release, "honors the roles of influence, mentoring and friendship in women writers’ lives." We'll be conversing onstage--or at least she will be conversing. I'll be the one looking stunned! Joyce has a brilliant mind and I could listen to her talk for hours.

The invitation is such a blessing, and an honor. I still can't believe it. If you'll be anywhere near the University of Kentucky on September 12th, I hope you'll come to see us. Really, if you haven't heard Joyce speak, you don't want to miss it!

In other news--Kelli Stanley tagged me. Since I just did one here last week, I thought I'd answer directly on her blog. I love hanging out there. She always has incredible stories to tell.

Also, did I mention that I'm the volunteer maven for Thrillerfest 2008? If you don't know about this remarkable gathering of thriller writers and their fans, you should! I'll have more details next blog.