The New York Minute

Forgive the decidedly un-noirish tones of excitement and exultation, but ...

I'm back from New York and Thrillerfest!

Three days until NOX DORMIENDA is released into the wild!

And I'm taking a blog tour to celebrate ... first stop the fabulous Jungle Red Writers, where the gorgeous and wonderful Hank Phillippi Ryan is my hostess.

Tomorrow I'll be hanging out with my favorite Working Stiffs, and on Friday visiting the BookBitch, where you can win a bunch of terrific thrillers ... I'm thrilled to have my own book included in their company. :)

More blogs to come soon ...

So for now, I'll leave you with a little about Thrillerfest ... and it was so great, so glamorous, so amazing, that I still feel like Leslie Ann Warren in the TV version of Cinderella I grew up with. :)

Everything from January 17, 2007 (my publishing news date) until now seems like a blur ... particularly the last few days in The City, which clicked by like the proverbial NY minute.

Thrillerfest ... the generosity and support ITW has given its Debut Authors is, well, incredible. I mean it. Telling Liz Berry and Kathleen Antrim how I felt about it made me get choked up.

Talking about James M. Cain with the father of the modern thriller, David Morrell. Thanking the wonderful James Rollins and Gayle Lynds and Vicki Hinze for their generous blurbs about NOX. Spending some time with the amazing, warm and wonderful Hank Phillippi Ryan. Sharing a drink with one of my favorite Brits, David Hewson. Getting a chance to thank Lee Child for his mentorship of the program, and M.J Rose for her marketing advice to us, and Joe Moore for being the best web editor around. Sharing a panel with Lynn Sholes and David Liss and Laura Joh Rowland and Doug Abrams and William Martin and Christine Kling.

And hooking up with old friends and Facebook friends and Alaska Bouchercon buddies ... I could fill this entire blog with nothing but names of the wonderful people who are a part of this industry. The very BEST thing about being a writer. :) Meeting Meredith Anthony, charming and hilarious, and the dashing Craig Reed ... taking an overpriced town car (and loving it) to Borders, to see friends and writers Laura Benedict, Michelle Gagnon, Laura Caldwell, Alex Sokoloff, Tim Maleeny, JT Ellison, Shane Gericke, and Mario Acevedo and hear Lee Child's wit in introducing them all.

Hanging out with the wonderful Brent Ghelfi and his gorgeous and wonderful wife Lisa; chatting with the terrific and talented Allison Brennan; sitting at my signing post with the amazing R.L. Stine (and now I know what the R.L. stands for!)

You see what I mean?

Amongst all the specialness was the Debut Author bonding ... both with this year's "class" and next year's. These guys are my colleagues, my team, a close-knit group of classmates. And already I can't wait for the reunions. :)

Here's a Publisher's Weekly link with a photo after the Debut Author Breakfast on Saturday morning. And a shout out to my buds!!

Speaking of media, that was a little dreamlike, too. I did a video interview with Wilda Williams, fiction editor of Library Journal, after the Debut Author breakfast. Hung out with Maria Schneider, the fabu editor of Writer's Digest, in the bar after the banquet (here's a link to a WD newsletter with a picture of me and Raffi Yassayan, fellow debut writer and all-around adorable man). Hooked up with the amazing Jeff Ayres, LJ reviewer and media guru.

So before I start floating off of the floor again, I'd better close ... thanks for reading, and I hope you can join me on one or more locations for the blog tour!