Hilary Davidson's Blog, page 21

The Page 69 Test

When THE DAMAGE DONE was published last September, Marshal Zeringue contacted me to ask if I'd take part in something he called the Page 69 Test. The idea is for a writer to discuss what's on page 69 of their novel and talk about how it relates to the rest of the book (without giving away any major spoilers, hopefully). I told him I'd love to do it but that it would take me a while to get to it. Fortunately, he was fine with waiting for it (and waiting, and waiting). My Page 69 Test went up today. Marshal was also kind enough to write about THE DAMAGE DONE on another blog, Campaign for the American Reader. A huge thank you to Marshal for giving me another opportunity to talk about the book!

June Update: Award Nominations & Charity Auction

Last Thursday, I flew out to Victoria, B.C., for the Arthur Ellis Awards and the Bloody Words conference. It's been so long since I updated this blog that I haven't even mentioned that THE DAMAGE DONE was nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Crime Novel. I didn't win — that honor went to Avner Mandleman for THE DEBBA — but I had a great night and was thrilled to be a finalist. The photo is from the awards dinner, with Chevy Stevens (author of STILL MISSING) and Nick Ruddock (author of THE PARABOLIST), who were also finalists for Best First Novel. My TBR pile just got that much bigger!

Bloody Words drew a small but mighty crowd. I was on a couple of panels (one about first novels and the other about social media), and I got to spend time with some terrific writers I've met briefly in the past (including Robin Spano, Mary Jane Maffini, and Lou Allin) and meet many more, including the amazing Tess Gerritsen. I wish I'd been able to see more of Victoria, but I did learn enough to know that the city has a vibrant restaurant scene (Gluten-Free Guidebook post coming soon).

More award news: THE DAMAGE DONE is also up for an Anthony Award for Best First Novel! The list of finalists in each category is incredibly impressive (I love being in great company), but I'm especially excited to see Chris F. Holm nominated for Best Short Story, and Jen Forbus nominated for Best Website. The Anthony Awards are voted on at Bouchercon, so this news isn't completely belated. (Apparently I'm aiming for a World's Laziest Blogger Award, too.)

Sirens of Suspense is also up for an Anthony Award, and right now I'm involved with the Sirens' charity auction to benefit Detroit Dog Rescue. Have you ever wished that I would name a character in a book after you? Here's your chance: Authors  and are also auctioning character names, publicity maven Dana Kaye is offering a consultation, and there are prize packs of signed books (including THE DAMAGE DONE), and more. All proceeds go to Detroit Dog Rescue. Please spread the word! Bidding closes on Saturday, June 11th, at 8am PDT.

Coming Attractions

After traveling so much in the fall and the first couple of months of this year, staying at home for the past month felt strange… though it did make writing a lot easier. I'll be staying close to home this month and next, but I'll hit the road again in June. I'm still firming up plans, but here's a rough outline of what I have coming up soon:

April 29, 8:30am, NYC: Annual Conference of the American Society of Journalists and Authors — I'm honored to be on a panel with superagent Janet Reid and Juliet Grames of Soho Press. We're talking about "A Life of Crime… Writing." One caveat: we're talking from 8:30am until 10am, so bring coffee. (Registration required.)

May 14, 2pm, East Hampton, NY: Mayhem at BookHampton — One of my all-time favorite mystery writers, Linda Fairstein, is moderating a panel with Karen Bergreen, Carla Hoffman, and me. The schedule for the whole event rocks: it featured Reed Farrel Coleman, Wallace Stroby, Michael Atkinson, Ken Wishnia, and others. (Free event.)

May 17, 6:30pm, NYC: Mystery Writers of America panel at the Mid-Manhattan Library: "Cause of Death: Choose Your Weapon." Finally, a panel where I get to talk about killing people! I also get to hang out with a talented crew of writers: Donald Bain, Rosemary Harris, Jonathan Maberry, and Angela Zeman. (Free event.)

May 24-26, NYC: Book Expo America: I'll be signing copies of THE DAMAGE DONE at MWA's booth; more details closer to the date. (Registration required.)

June 3-5, Victoria, BC: Bloody Words — Can't wait for this! If you're not familiar with Bloody Words, it's Canada's biggest crime conference. I'll be on two panels: on June 4th at 10am, I'm on the "New Girls on the Block" panel with Leslie Bendaly, Roberta Rich, and Robin Spano (Robin's debut, DEAD POLITICIAN SOCIETY, is fantastic). On June 5th at 9:30am, I'll be talking about "Creating an Effective Web Presence" through your website, Facebook, and Twitter. Again, bring coffee. (Registration required.)

There's also a list of upcoming events on my website. I'm looking forward to meeting and reconnecting with a lot of people other the next couple of months, and at ThrillerFest and Bouchercon!

Hello, Florida! Hey There, March!

I'm not sure how it got to be March 1st, but I don't think the calendar is lying. Still, I can't be sure: things have been a little hectic for the past couple of months. Oh, who am I kidding? Since THE DAMAGE DONE came out, I've been running like an amphetamine-addled lab rat on a giant Ferris wheel. It's been crazy, but in the best possible way. Sadly, I'm behind on everything except book deadlines… which means my second novel, THE NEXT ONE TO FALL, is in production now. (Woohoo!)

Before the book came out, I was warned I'd have only an eight-to-ten week window for events, interviews, and other promotions, and then everything would grind to a screeching halt. It hasn't quite worked out that way, and for that I'm truly grateful. One of my favorite interviews ever — a conversation between Brad "EYES OF THE INNOCENT" Parks and me — went up on the Mulholland Books site in February. Patti Abbott was kind enough to ask me to talk about how THE DAMAGE DONE came about over on her blog. Kathy Ryan had me stop by Women of Mystery for a Q&A. There've also been new reviews on Noir Journal (thanks to the very talented Todd Ritter), Crimeculture (thanks to the wonderful Kate Horsley), the Saskatoon StarPhoenix (thanks to… hmm, I have no idea how that happened), and other places. Here's the updated list.

My travel schedule has slowed, but it hasn't stopped.  I hit the road for a library conference in Toronto, then went to Florida for an event at the West Palm Beach Public Library. (The latter was with my wonderful but camera-shy friend Susan Shapiro, author of OVEREXPOSED.) I've also caught conference fever: I'll be on a panel at the ASJA conference in NYC in April and at Mayhem in BookHampton in May. More is being planned. Stay tuned!

What I Loved About 2010

Like so many of my friends and colleagues, I can't wait for 2010 to vamoose. I've already written about the reasons why it was a tough time for me over at Criminal Minds, so I don't want to revisit that territory. Instead, as the year draws to a close, I'm thinking about the things I'm grateful for. There are actually quite a few:

Publishing my first novel: The fact that Forge published THE DAMAGE DONE was enough to make my year. The reception it got from readers, reviewers, media, and booksellers was beyond what I'd dreamed. I don't even know where to begin with the thank-yous for this, because so many people have been so kind. I'm grateful to you all.

Attending my first Bouchercon: It was everything I was promised and more. I got to meet so many amazing people (Lauren O'Brien, Ruth Jordan, Judy Bobalik, Eric Beetner, Matthew Funk, Cameron Ashley, Pop Culture Nerd, Russel D. McLean, Greg Bardsley, Chuck Wendig, Dan O'Shea, Jimmy Callaway, Jason Duke…), and got to hang out with wonderful people I'd been lucky enough to meet before (Vince & Rosemarie Keenan, Sophie Littlefield, Rebecca Cantrell, Reed Farrel Coleman, Carla Buckley…). I also got to be on a terrific panel moderated by Jen Forbus — with Brad Parks, R.J. Ellory, and Douglas Corleone — and to moderate a panel of talented writers (L.J. Sellers, Mike Black, Lou Allin, Doc Macomber, and Mike Lawson). I loved every minute and can't wait for the next Bouchercon. You've signed up for St. Louis, right?

Meeting my online friends: 2010 was the year I finally got to put faces to names… and Twitter avatars. Some of this was thanks to my book tour: I finally got to meet Jen Forbus when I went to Pittsburgh, Dave Zeltserman in Boston, "Evil Ray" Latiolais in Houston, Keith Rawson and Lesa Holstine in Scottsdale. Much of it was thanks to Bouchercon (see above). Also, Noircon (finally met the amazing Patti Abbott, the death-march averse Steve Weddle, the reluctantly photogenic Jed Ayres, and the peripatetic Peter Rozovsky; Noircon also let me spend time with Dennis Tafoya, Sarah Weinman, Cameron Ashley… that was great). Some were lured to New York by the Edgars (Jon Jordan, Jennifer Jordan) or by ThrillerFest (Josh Corin, Brad Parks). Whenever, wherever, I felt very lucky to meet so many great people, however criminal.

Receiving surprising acts of kindness: Dan O'Shea running the "Hilary's Scar" flash fiction challenge, and all of the writers who entered it. Holly West driving me from LA to Huntington Beach for a bookstore event. Jen Forbus and Lauren O'Brien surprising me with the gift of every writer's dreams: a bouquet of signing pens recommended by different authors. My new friend Liisa in Scottsdale who guided me to gluten-free restaurants there, and my old friend Tuhin who got a Houston friend to list every celiac-friendly restaurant in the Houston area for me. My friend Sue Shapiro hosting a party for me in New York. All of the friends who blogged about THE DAMAGE DONE (Chris F. Holm, Julie Summerell, McDroll, All-Purpose Monkey, B.V Lawson, to name just a few) and who spread word of the book. Steve Weddle running the Ava Gardner/Neil Young flash fiction challenge. Trish Snyder, who got Book City to carry the book, and David Hayes, who got Nicholas Hoare to. People who traveled long distances to make it to an event (Jen Forbus, Ilana Rubel, Ed Mattingly…). Media friends who covered the book, who interviewed me for an article or a blog, or who offered advice. Writers who were very generous with wisdom.

Going to party after party: I really mean "bookstore events," but the terms are now interchangeable in my mind. I had a fantastic launch party with Joelle Charbonneau and Josh Corin on September 28th, and a lot of fun at every bookstore event this fall. The biggest party was the one in Toronto, at Sleuth of Baker Street. It was a little bit like an episode of "This Is Your Life," in the best possible way. My reading events with other writers were always fun, though some were more dangerous than others (note that Jeri Westerson brings a sword to her events, including our joint reading in San Mateo, CA). Reading with Todd Ritter in West Chester, PA, was excellent, and arguably safer.

Winning the Spinetingler Award for "Insatiable": Still psyched about this, and about the fact the story is now in the amazing BEAT TO A PULP: ROUND ONE anthology that David Cranmer and Elaine Ash edited.

Reading with the Thuglit crew: Thuglit is where I got my start in publishing fiction. My first three short stories appeared on the site. I've written before about my debt to the Thugs, so it felt like a special honor to have a story, "Son of So Many Tears," in the third Thuglit anthology, BLOOD, GUTS, & WHISKEY. Reading with Kieran Shea, Justin Porter, Glenn Gray and others in New York was a joy — but the best moment was meeting Todd Robinson, Allison Glasgow, and Baby Thug in person for the first time. Also, Big Daddy Thug can really sing!

Joining the Criminal Minds blog: I always wanted to sail on a pirate ship. Now I'm on one with Kelli Stanley, Rebecca Cantrell, and an incredibly talented crew, all of whom rock.

Discovering great bookstores across North America: The Mystery Bookstore (LA), The Poisoned Pen (Scottsdale), Murder by the Book (Houston), Mystery Lovers Bookshop (Pittsburgh), M Is for Mystery (San Mateo, CA), Chester Country Books & Music (West Chester, PA), Book Revue (Huntington, NY). I can't say I discovered Sleuth of Baker Street (Toronto), McNally Jackson (NYC), Partners & Crime (NYC), or The Mysterious Bookshop (NYC) this year, but I was reminded of their greatness.

Reading great novels, anthologies, and short stories: I believe there is a list of my favorite 2010 reads going up on another site, and I don't want to repeat myself. Let me just say that, on the short-fiction front, there are some writers  — Chris F. Holm, Steve Weddle, Patti Abbott, Sandra Seamans, Stephen Blackmoore, Nigel Bird — and some publications — Needle, CrimeFactory, and Beat to a Pulp — that never disappoint. Reading their work was definitely one of the year's pleasures.

My greatest fear with writing a post like this is leaving out names, and I know I've left out a bunch with this one. Let me just say how grateful I am to everyone who helped get me through this year. Wishing you all the best for 2011!

The Mystery of Publicity

On Saturday night, Dan and I were heading out to dinner when he stopped to check his e-mail. "Hey, there's a Google alert about you and the L.A. Times."

Since Google alerts snag lots of flotsam, including my own Twitter updates, I didn't get excited. "Maybe somebody mentioned me in a blog post and they have a link to the paper on their site," I suggested. "Let's go."

"Look, it's your book cover. It's with books by Lee Child, John le Carré, Dennis Lehane, John Grisham… hold on, Tom Clancy? You're on a list with Tom Clancy!"

"Let me see that." I stared at his computer screen. The L.A. Times book section had its own gift guide. There were the covers of mystery and thriller titles, lined up in neat row after row. Michael Connelly. Linda Fairstein. Joseph Wambaugh. Stuart Neville. And me.

Staring at the list made me late for dinner. I couldn't wrap my mind around it. How did it happen? I still don't know. But aside from the fact that the article made my weekend, it made me think about the mysterious world of book publicity.

Months before THE DAMAGE DONE came out, I was trying to talk editors I've worked with into covering the book. The problem I came up against over and over was that the magazines I've written for — well, the ones that are still in business, at least — don't offer much in the way of book coverage. That forced me to think creatively about who might be interested in the novel, and approach them. (Since the book's main character, Lily Moore, is a travel writer, I was able to convince some travel media that is was worth covering, even though 90% of the book takes place in New York.) I know that some of the publicity is the result of efforts from two wonderful, hard-working people: Aisha Cloud, my Forge publicist, and Rita Silva, my Fenn publicist (H.B. Fenn is the Canadian distributor of the book).

Then there's a whole crew of mystery bloggers and writers and librarians and fans who've done so much to spread the word. Some examples: Jen Forbus, who has mentioned my work on her blog so many times I've lost count; she also made a three-hour drive to see me — and interview me — at my 10am event at the Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont, PA. Keith Rawson, who got me into the first issue of the reborn CrimeFactory (and its upcoming anthology), and who came to the Poisoned Pen to see me and interview me on his wedding anniversary (I need to thank his awesome wife, Alicia, for that, too). Steve Weddle, who put me in the first issue of Needle, hosted an amazing flash-fiction challenge, interviewed me by e-mail and by phone, and has demonstrated over and over that he's a force of nature. And the CrimeSpree family — Jon and Ruth Jordan, and Jennifer Jordan — have done so much to spread the word about the book, from featuring me in the magazine to inviting me to Murder & Mayhem in Muskego 2011.

There's a very long list of people I need to thank by name, but right now I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who's supported my book. The fact that you would buy the book, write about it, come to meet me in person… all of that means so much to me. I'm so grateful.

Under the Wire

Today, I handed in the new manuscript to my amazing Forge editor, Paul Stevens. The book is called THE NEXT ONE TO FALL, and it's hard to describe how excited I am about it right now. Forget the fact that, a couple of weeks before it was due, I tore out the opening 12 chapters and rewrote them. That's water under the bridge now. The book is set in Peru: Machu Picchu (and Aguas Calientes, the depressing town at the base of the mountain), Cusco (the ancient Inca capital), and Lima (known in its 16th-18th century glory days as the City of Kings, as it was the capital of the Spanish Viceroyalty in the New World). I won't tell you more about it now, except to say that the book will be available in October 2011. And—for readers of THE DAMAGE DONE—it features two characters from that book: Lily Moore and Jesse Robb.

PS Enjoy the llama. Closer to the pub date, I'll be posting an album of my Peru photos. I am not exaggerating when I say that it's the most beautiful country I've seen in all of my travels.

The Newest Criminal Mind

This feels very meta, to use my existing crime blog to share the news that I've joined another crime blog. In this case, the 7 Criminal Minds gang made me an offer I couldn't refuse. (Seriously — it involved cocktails.) So I'll be blogging over there every other Sunday. My first post went up today. If you haven't checked out 7 Criminal Minds before, it's a virtual panel, with a new question every seven days and a different writer answering each day. Altogether, there are actually 14 criminal minds regularly contributing to the blog — including my talented friends Rebecca Cantrell, Kelli Stanley, Joshua Corin, Meredith Cole, and Bill Cameron. Please drop by when you can.

This changes nothing at Dark Voyage. I'll still be lavishing the same erratic attention on this blog that I always do. I don't mean to neglect it, you know, it's just that I get caught up in other things. For instance, this Wednesday, December 1st, my second novel goes to my editor as Forge. It's called THE NEXT ONE TO FALL, and it was pretty much ready to go until three weeks ago. That was when I ripped out the first 12 chapters and started rewriting. How will it all turn out? I'll let you know on December 1st.

The Death March

I've been on the road since… um… forever? Last week I was in Texas (for Murder by the Book in Houston) and Arizona (for the Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale and the Velma Teague Branch Library in Glendale); more about both of those events soon. Last weekend I hit Philadelphia for NoirCon, where I got to meet some amazing (and amazingly talented) people for the first time: Patti Abbott, Jedidiah Ayres, Cullen Gallagher, Jonathan Woods, Libby Cudmore, and Steve Weddle. I also got to catch up with Reed Farrel Coleman, Dennis Tafoya, Cameron Ashley, Christa Faust, Scott Phillips, Sarah Weinman, Duane Swierczynski, Stacia Decker… let's just say that a lot of cool people were there. Whatever you do, don't read Weddle's account of the conference. Okay, read it, because it's brilliant, but don't believe his claim that that I led people on a 17-mile death march after the party at the Mummers Museum on Friday night. Would I do such a thing? In three-inch heels? It was maybe two miles, tops. Read these lovely accounts by Patti Abbott and Jed Ayres instead. I've been waiting to meet Patti for years; I'm a huge fan of her work. In person, she's disarmingly modest, charming, and gracious (that's us together in the photo, after I calmed down enough to stand still next to her). Meeting Jed was a wonderful surprise — I hadn't realized he'd be in Philadelphia. He's another charmer, and he and Cameron walked the death march without complaint. Take that, Weddle!

After NoirCon, I went out to West Chester, PA, for an event at Chester County Books & Music with Todd Ritter, author of DEATH NOTICE. He was terrific to hang out with, and I can't wait to read his novel (now that I have my own signed copy). This week has been light on the travel front — all I had to do was get out to Book Revue on Long Island on Wednesday evening. Later today, I head up to Toronto, where I have a book party for THE DAMAGE DONE at Sleuth of Baker Street on Wednesday, November 17th, at 6:30pm. (Please come if you're in town!)

Technically, Toronto marks the end of my scheduled book events for 2010. (Frightening fact: I have book events scheduled for a year from now. For someone who's used to traveling to another continent with about a week's notice, all of this advance planning is bizarre.) But I don't think it will be the last. I love visiting bookstores and libraries, meeting people and talking about my book. What's next? Stay tuned.

The Hilary Davidson Challenge

Want to win a signed copy of THE DAMAGE DONE? My friend Steve Weddle is betting that you do. That's why he's created The Hilary Davidson Challenge. All you have to do is write a flash fiction story of roughly 500 words, and make sure to include references to both Neil Young and Ava Gardner in it. (If you haven't read the novel, those requirements might seem a little odd, but they are relevant.)

Full details are on Mr. Weddle's blog.

Keep in mind that you'll be competing with some very talented writers. As a matter of fact, John Kenyon, Julie Summerell, and Ray Adam Latiolais have already thrown down their gauntlets with three excellent stories. The deadline is Wednesday, November 3rd. Looking forward to reading more entries!