LynDee Walker's Blog, page 5

BURIED LEADS sneak peek!

Guess what went live for preorder on amazon.com last night, y’all? (No worries, out-of-town folks who want a signed copy: Fountain Bookstore will have them, and I’ll post links as soon as they have them up for preorder.)

To celebrate, I’m sharing the first snippet of the new Nichelle Clarke Headlines in Heels Mystery, BURIED LEADS, which will be available October 15, 2013 everywhere books are sold!

Are y’all ready to see what Nichelle gets into next? I’m so excited about this book. I don’t want to wish summer away, but I hope October comes quick! Also, thank you, every single one of you, for reading, and for your kind words and sweet messages. It’s still amazing to me that folks can buy my novel(s), and hearing from y’all that you enjoyed Nichelle’s adventure, or it made you laugh, or gave you an escape for a few hours means the world to me. Okay, before I really get to gushing, y’all clicked over for an excerpt, right? Here’s the beginning of chapter one:

Dead people can have the worst timing.

After a ridiculously long day of deadlines, criminals, and cops who did not want to talk to me, I wanted a hot bath and my warm bed. Is that too much for a girl to ask? Apparently so, because there I was, traipsing around the woods looking for a half-eaten dead guy who got himself discovered at eleven o’clock. At night. The glamorous life of a journalist.

Comment below and I’ll choose a random commenter for some BURIED LEADS swag, which should be here any day now!

 

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My first Malice

Oh, y’all. I had no idea there were these things called fan conventions for books, and wow have I been missing out!

So how did this baby author (to borrow a fun phrase from Kelly Justice at Fountain Bookstore in Richmond) fare at Malice 25? I had a blast. An absolute blast.

Friday

After staying up waaaay too late gabbing with my friend Chris, who graciously booted her fourth-grader from his room so I’d have a place to sleep Thursday night, I zipped down the street to Dulles airport and found the fab Larissa Reinhart. I feel like I’ve known Ris forever, but we actually “met” last fall, online, since she’s in Georgia and I’m here. She writes the Cherry Tucker Mysteries for Henery Press, and I was SO excited to meet her in person Friday morning. I’m happy to report she’s as adorable and sweet in person as I thought.

We got to the hotel and after some finagling, we found a parking spot in the garage and got our room keys. We registered, got our goody bags (and found our friend Gretchen Archer‘s new book in them!!!) and grabbed lunch just in time to hear the head of the Washington Crime Lab speak at noon. Not only was Max really helpful, he was funny! A great program.

We paused in the hallway to ponder our next move (panel or coffee) and were stumbled upon by our amazing editor at Henery, who neither of us had ever met. She is just as nice in person as she is on email and the phone. She also looks waaaaaay too young to be so successful. I am desperate to know what kind of moisturizer she uses.

Me and Larissa with Dru Ann Love!

We also met the ever-amazing book blogger Dru Ann Love, and fellow Henery authors Diane Vallere, Susan M. Boyer, Gigi Pandian, Christina Freeburn, and Wendy Tyson. We bumped into Hank Phillippi Ryan in the hallway, and she stopped to talk to Ris and Susan, then hugged us all and complimented our writing! I got to see some of my idols, including Laura Lippman and Harlan Coben, from afar at the opening ceremonies. The publishing house took us to a lovely, yummy dinner, and then I headed down to the cocktail reception.

Me and Hank Phillippi Ryan!

Larissa Reinhart, Gigi Pandian, Susan M. Boyer, and Kendel Lynn at Friday’s Henery Press dinner.

The elevator doors opened and I almost walked right into Laura Lippman! I stammered. I said “I can’t talk to you, you’re Laura Lippman!” She smiled and said “sure you can! Come over here. What do you write?” We talked about reporting, Texas, life, and writing for almost an hour! She was lovely and gracious and gave me wonderful advice, and I love her more now than I did before.

She is SOOOOO nice!

Saturday

I slept in a little and Ris and I found a Starbucks a few blocks from the hotel for breakfast, then watched Gigi interview Aaron Elkins (AARON ELKINS!!! And he was charming and funny and so nice). Then we bumped into Dru Ann and crashed her group for lunch (best cheeseburger ever. I think they killed the cow in the kitchen). We ran downstairs to watch our pal Susan dazzle on the New Kids panel, because she was nominated for an Agatha for Best First Novel. Such fun!

Gigi did a great job interviewing the iconic Aaron Elkins Saturday.

No Donnie or Jordan, but here’s Susan M. Boyer, Mollie Cox Bryan, and Duffy Brown on the Agatha Best First Novel panel.

I met: Maggie Barbieri, Liz Lipperman, and Shelley Giusti, among others.

Wait, it gets better. At the cocktail reception before the banquet, I turned away from the bar to find myself staring straight at Harlan Coben! He smiled, put out a hand, and said “Hi, I’m Harlan.”

“I’m a little starstruck,” I said.

He whipped his head back and forth. “Why? Who’s here?”

He then proceeded to get a beer and talk to me and Ris until they opened the dining room doors! We had drinks with HARLAN COBEN. I may have pinched myself. A few times. He was funny and charming and taught us some colorful new words my hubby will love, and also gave great advice.

Me and my new friend (no, not really, but it’s fun to say) Harlan Coben on Sunday.

I have to say, it’s wonderful to meet your heroes and find out they’re great people, not just great talents.

We thanked him and excused ourselves to go into the dining room and find our nervous friend. Dinner was great. Dessert was awesome.

AND SUSAN WON THE AGATHA! Woohoo!

Susan M. Boyer and her Agatha Award! Go, Susan!

The Hen House after party migrated to the bar, where Harlan came over to congratulate Susan. She was starstruck, too.

Starstruck. See?

Sunday

This was our busy day, with a very early breakfast, followed by Ris’ panel, my panel, and our signing.

My table at the new author breakfast on Sunday. EARLY Sunday.

The new author breakfast was a lot of fun, and big thanks to all the fans who sat at my table! I hope you enjoy Nichelle!

Ris was great on her Arts of Death panel, and I tried to sound awake on mine, Cozy in the City, with Con Lehane, JJ Murphy (who writes Dorothy Parker SO well I thought he was a she) and Triss Stein.

Larissa (far right) on her Arts of Death panel.

I signed some books, and also a tote bag, programs, and an iPad. I talked to Harlan and Laura (who wrote the nicest note in my copy of Life Sentences) again, and then met a friend for lunch, listened to Laura’s interview, and packed up to head south. I was glad to see my family, but I have a weekend of amazing memories I’ll hold dear forever. Thanks so much to everyone who had a hand in it!

O-M-G. Worth every calorie.

Dolled up for the banquet. Pre-Harlan Coben. She was a little red after.

The post My first Malice appeared first on LynDee Walker.

Just one of the coolest things ever

I cannot believe it’s almost April, y’all. This year has sped by faster than any other I can remember, and has been full of so many amazing things that if I tried to list them all I’d have a scroll longer than I am, and you’d need food or sleep before you could finish reading.

There was one early this month, though, that I’ve been hunting for the right words to share, because even in the middle of so much awesomeness, it took my breath away.

I haven’t said much about it to anyone but my nearest and dearest, largely because I was terribly afraid that no matter how I did it, it would come across as me having a big head. Which, while physically true (no really, I’ve even looked online for “hats for people with huge heads” and they still don’t make ones that fit me), anyone who knows me well can tell you it’s pretty far from right as far as ego is concerned. Not that I tend to belittle myself: I just know I’m not God’s gift to much of anything except my family, and I’m very glad they think I’m that.

Then last week I got an invitation in the mail, related to this cool thing, and I thought again, “Wow, I should really write a blog post about this, because it’s super cool.”

So here goes:

When I was in college, I spent the majority of one spring semester doing a series of quasi-investigative stories for the campus newspaper about the salaries our professors were paid. Why? Well, because they were paid significantly—like, double-digit percentages—less than professors at comparable institutions in the same part of the country. Across the board. They were bothered enough by it that they’d formed a committee to try to figure out how to address the problem before the school lost any more good teachers. One of my favorite political science profs was on said committee, and he knew I was the assistant managing editor at the paper that semester, so he asked me if we’d be interested in covering their dialogue with the administration.

At the time, I didn’t really know what I was up against. Or what the profs were up against. I recall the administration pulling some pretty dirty tricks, not the least of which was that when the professors requested an open meeting where students could listen and any faculty member could attend and question the reasons the administration had offered for the discrepancy, the chancellor’s office agreed: and set the meeting for 5 p.m. on the Friday before spring break. Yeah.

I went, for the first time ever toting a tape recorder, because the very professor who’d told me a million times never to rely on electronics (they break) insisted I take his. “These guys will say something in there that they will not like seeing in print, and they’ll come back and say they didn’t say it. Get it on tape,” he told me.

And he was right. When I played the tape for the provost, he said “well, that’s not what I meant!”

I smiled and said “Sir, it’s not my job to quote what you mean. It’s my job to quote what you said.” There you have it: my one and only real-life Nichelle comeback.

And so it went. Late in the spring, I took the questions presented by the professors to the chancellor and his right and left arms—separately. We ran a two-page spread, with their (sometimes conflicting) answers side by side. Our faculty advisor drove those pages to the printer two hours past deadline. The chancellor showed up for our weekly critique session the next day and yelled at me such that the journalism department chair stepped in and asked him to dial it back, because we hadn’t printed anything that was untrue (thank you, Dr. Wells). He huffed out of the newspaper office. But at the end of the year, the professors got their raises.

The three who led the charge started a campaign for everyone to donate half of the first year’s increase to a scholarship fund for the journalism school. And they named the scholarship the LynDee [Walker] Integrity in Journalism Award. I thought that was weird back then, because I was still a student there. But I was flattered, and very happy my work had done something to help them.

So here’s the cool part: I had no clue the school still had or awarded that scholarship. I’ve always sort of thought of it as a really nice “thank you” from my professors, to be honest.

About two weeks ago, a lovely woman from the journalism school called me and asked me about it. She proceeded to tell me she was so glad she’d “found” me and ask if she could have the students who win the award send me thank yous.

“Of course!” I said. “You mean, y’all still give those out?”

“Oh, yes,” she said. “But all I had was a few letters from professors who aren’t here anymore, mentioning that they were impressed with the work you did.” She said she was glad to have the whole story.

I hung up the phone marveling that something I did all those years ago is helping kids pay for college. Even in the middle of so many amazing things, that’s pretty darned cool, don’t you think? My congratulations and best wishes to all of the winners, past and present. I like to think Nichelle shows a lot of integrity in her work. I’m glad my alma mater is recognizing and rewarding that in a field of study that’s changed so much since I was a student, and I am honored to have my name attached to the award. Now that I’m old, that’s pretty cool, too.

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BURIED LEADS: The Next Big Thing

Among the many talents of my friend Craig Lancaster (if you like beautifully written literary fiction, check out Craig’s bestselling 600 Hours of Edward) is that he has great timing! He tagged me in this author blog game Monday, and I sent BURIED LEADS off to my editor last night. I thought this would be a perfect time to give y’all a sneak peek at Nichelle’s second adventure.

 

What is the working title of your book?

It already has an actual title! BURIED LEADS: A Nichelle Clarke Headlines in Heels Mystery. I’m thrilled to no end about this after The Great Title Search of 2012, which finally led us to FRONT PAGE FATALITY.

What genre does your book fall under?

Humorous mystery.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Oh, boy. This is not my favorite question, because my characters look like themselves to me, not like actors. But I hate copping out, so here goes: Alexis Bledel or maybe Anne Hathaway as Nichelle. Jenna is a Keri Russell type. Grant Parker could (should) be played by Trevor Donovan, and Ned Beatty would make a decent Bob Jeffers. And then there’s Joey … well, in my version, Joey would be played by Christian Bale. If he could nail the accent.

What is a one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Politics and scandal add up to a story Nichelle Clarke can’t ignore, and unearthing the truth could get her Manolos one step closer to her dream job—as long as she lives to see deadline.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

A little more than three months.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I’ve seen a lot of “this is great for fans of” floating around the Internet for FRONT PAGE FATALITY, and since BURIED LEADS is the second Nichelle Clarke story, I’ll swipe one of my favorite comparisons from a review: “literary love child of Janet Evanovich and Kathy Reichs.”  That one made my day!

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I have to go with Nichelle on this one. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her or her friends, and I had such fun getting to tag along on another adventure with them.

What else about your book might pique a reader’s interest?

Readers who enjoyed FRONT PAGE FATALITY will be excited to know that Nichelle’s favorite sexy Mafia guy is back, and so is ATF Agent Kyle Miller. There are more laughs, too, and, of course, more bodies and more fabulous shoes!

When and how will it be published?

It will be on sale wherever you can buy books on October 15, 2013, from the wonderful folks at Henery Press!

 

Tag!

Check out what’s coming soon from these fabulous authors:

Maer Wilson

Wendy Tyson

 

The post BURIED LEADS: The Next Big Thing appeared first on LynDee Walker.

Contracts, contracts everywhere!

What a week! Two weeks, actually. I would be remiss if I didn’t start this post off with a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has loved FRONT PAGE FATALITY and shared Nichelle’s adventure with friends. I am amazed and humbled by the lovely things people have said.

I am also thrilled to announce that my wonderful publishing house has contracted TWO MORE Nichelle Clarke Headlines in Heels mysteries, and a Nichelle novella!

The second novel, tentatively titled BURIED LEADS, is scheduled to release in October 2013, and the novella will be in an anthology with works from Terri L. Austin and Larissa Reinhart, due out in December 2013.

I am over the moon to be working with Henery Press to publish more stories about my favorite tenacious reporter, and so excited about the response to FRONT PAGE FATALITY! Thank you, all, again for making this an experience I’ll never forget.

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Only in my dreams

Front Page Fatality, #1 in new humorous fiction on amazon!

Ever get a song stuck in your head? How about one line of a song? On a loop? I’ve been walking around with the title line for “Only in My Dreams” playing in my head all. Day. Long.

This has been the most amazing launch week any debut author could ever hope for, y’all, and I truly thank each of you from the bottom of my heart for every person you have told, tweet or Facebook post you have sent, and review you’ve written. I am bowled over by the lovely things people have said, and those amazon bestseller lists were something I never expected.

My launch party yesterday was the fantastic cherry on top of this sundae, with people packed into Fountain Bookstore all the way to the door! For those who couldn’t be there, here are a few photos (and they have some signed copies in the store, which you can order online at www.fountainbookstore.com):

This was taken from about halfway back in the crowd. I was thrilled to see so many folks—including several I didn’t know!

Signing a book in my new Nichelle heels!

 

A lovely table display by Fountain Bookstore, flowers courtesy of my WONDERFUL Hen House sisters. It was a special day!

Talking shoes with Nichelle’s littlest fan!

Thank you, Kelly and Fountain Bookstore for having me in! It was a lovely day!

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Mark your calendars, y’all!

We’re having a party! You can find all the details here:

Mark your calendars now for the launch party to celebrate FRONT PAGE FATALITY!

Date: February 2, 2013
Time: 2-4 p.m.
Place: Fountain Bookstore, 1312 E. Cary St., Richmond, VA

Come by and nibble, chat, shop, and get a hot-off-the-press copy of FRONT PAGE FATALITY signed by LynDee. Buy your copy onsite that day and your receipt will enter you to win a fabulous prize basket, too!

Special thanks to Kelly at Fountain Bookstore. If you’re nearby and you’ve never been there, go by and say “hi!” She’ll help you find your next favorite book. If you’re not nearby and you want your very own signed copy of FRONT PAGE FATALITY, please click here and scroll down a bit to order one.

Looking forward to seeing you at the launch!

 

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Happy New Year! Contest, anyone?

With just over an hour left in 2012, we’re about 28 days from FRONT PAGE FATALITY’s launch! Check out the prize extravaganza on the giveaway page to help me get the word out about the book and enter yourself for some great prizes!

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A cup overflowing

After three days of turkey, dressing, and pie, my family has decked our halls, adorned the trees outside with lights and ornaments, and held our requisite family Christmas movie marathon (The Santa Clause, Miracle on 34th Street, and A Christmas Carol).

It’s been a grand holiday weekend, but the warm-fuzzies got off to a gut-wrenching start. Early this week, I got a heart-stopping reminder of how thankful I am for my little monkeys.

Every mom knows that feeling when the children have just been a handful and all you want is to sit down in a quiet room for three and a half minutes. I am not above occasionally hiding in my own closet/bathroom/car to do this. But I couldn’t fathom what I would do with constant solitude. And after this week, I don’t want to.

My littlest monkey is two. She’s adorable, and precocious, and as curious as any three monkeys should be. She has also just figured out how to work a doorknob.

Wednesday, my hubby and older monkeys went with the grandparents to see a movie. I was busy in another room and had no idea that hubs had left the garage bay door open when he left. After maybe ten minutes, I went to the family room to collect littlest monkey and head out to do last-minute Thanksgiving grocery shopping.

She wasn’t there.

I turned, and the bottom fell out of my stomach. The door leading from the kitchen to the garage was open, and so was the exterior door I could see through it.

I sprinted through both, screaming for my baby at the top of my lungs. I scanned the yard as I ran down the driveway: no monkey. I ran all the way to the playground, screaming her name, trying to stay out of the panic zone that had me wanting to rip out my hair as I frantically thought about how tiny she is, and how many places she could have gone, and oh, God, the cars that speed way too fast down my suburban residential street. I ran faster, screamed louder, out-of-shape legs and burning lungs be damned. I got to the park and didn’t see her. I spun and ran the other way, screaming alternately for her and for help, because I didn’t have a phone with me. By the time I got back to my house, my legs had turned to jelly. I had to have a phone to call the police. Back up the driveway I ran.

I rounded the corner into the garage, skidding on a leaf and grabbing the back fender on my car to stay upright, focused only on getting to a phone and getting back outside to search for my toddler.

And then I heard my baby’s voice. I let go of the car and looked up to find her on the steps, playing with my handbag and smiling.

“Hi, mommy!” She grinned and held up her arms.

I swept her up and squeezed her so tightly she tried to wriggle away.

“Hey!” she said, pushing my shoulder. I cried and squeezed harder.

I found evidence later (namely, my credit cards scattered across the driveway) that she had, indeed, gone outside and had herself an adventure. A good friend told me there was a guardian angel watching over her the whole time.  Very possibly: I lost my mother a year and a half ago, and if anyone could find a way to take care of me from the hereafter, it would be my mom.

Here’s what I’ve noticed since Wednesday: I’m not as quick to want that quiet time, and I’m quicker to hug all three of them. My house is in pretty much constant chaos. It’s loud with the sounds of piano practice, Mickey and Dora songs, and an unending refrain of “mommy, watch this!” It’s never tidy unless we have company coming (and even then it depends on who the company is, because I am blessed to have friends who love me even when the sink is full and the carpet is obscured by Legos and Little People).

You know what? I wouldn’t trade one molecule or millisecond of it for all the quiet time in the world.

I’ve had big things happen in my life this year, for which I am very thankful. But the small miracles of health, safety, security, and love are the things I find myself particularly glad of this weekend. I haven’t sighed any of the eleven thousand times littlest monkey has undecorated the bottom two feet of the tree, and I’ve snuggled them all longer at bedtime. I’ve also installed baby-proof doorknob covers on every exterior door.

I am thankful this week for a life that is so very blessed I have too much to be thankful for to make a proper list. I could have done without the gray hairs, back pain, and tears that came with my dose of perspective, but I’m glad, in a weird way, to have it.

What are you thankful for this week?

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I’ve got ARCs!

Today was one of those days I’ve been dreaming about since I sent off my very first query letter in October of 2009. Three years, one month, and two days later, I have Advance Reader Copies of my debut novel. A whole stack of them. And I am over the moon. And sore from pinching myself, too, because it seems like I must be dreaming.

In the spirit of celebration, I’d like you to have a chance to win a signed ARC of your very own, if you’d like, so I’m hosting a giveaway on goodreads. Click here to go to goodreads and enter to win.

Look! My book looks like an actual book! Squee!

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