What a year it’s been! Here’s a roundup of some of the highlights of 2018.
The Sleeping Lady debuted in June and sold out at my local bookstore, Book Passage. I also did a reading in New York at the venerable Mysterious Bookshop and in Austin at Book People, where I was joined by authors E.C. Frey and Cathy Zane. And I appeared on a panel at Litquake in San Francisco.
Looking ahead to 2019: I’m working (albeit slowly) on a second mystery, with Rae as sleuth once again. And in March, I’ll be at Left Coast Writers in beautiful Vancouver.
A San Francisco institution bids farewell. Department store Gump’s, in business since 1861, will close its doors on December 23. The store was known for its exquisite merchandise, from hand-crafted ceramics to Asian art, to stunning strands of pearls (hand-strung by a highly skilled employee I’m told) to unique Christmas ornaments. I had the pleasure of being their catalog editor for several years, during which time I met some very talented copywriters and a delightful crew of merchandise buyers. Gump’s really epitomized old San Francisco, as iconic as the cable cars, which thankfully are still alive and well.
Encouraging news: Independent bookstores are doing well! After being squeezed by Amazon, they’ve made a roaring comeback. Read more here: https://www.bookweb.org/for-the-record and please support your local indie.
And speaking of Amazon, I’ve discovered that reviews on the mega-retailer’s site matter–a lot. So to those of you who are Amazon customers (no matter where you purchased my book) I would be ever so grateful if you would take a moment to write a review. And to those who have already done so, thank you!
Wishing you all a wonderful 2019.
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