2017: my writing year in review

This year I had three pieces of writing-related news.

1. An audio book of Woman of Ill Fame was released in May from Tantor. Confession: I still haven’t listened to it! At some point I will do a giveaway for one of the downloads. Perhaps 2018 will slow down enough that I can listen to it myself. I’d love to hear the narrator blustering through some of Nora’s creative Irish swearing. And I liked very much the new cover they gave the book.

2. In February, the third book in my Y.A. trilogy The Arnaud Legacy was released by Kensington Books, titled Avenged. It’s written under my pen name Lynn Carthage. This was to protect teen readers from my other books (see unapologetic Gold Rush prostitute novel, above), but I decided it was okay to publicize from Erika to Lynn, just not the other direction. I love this spooky neo-Gothic series and heartily encourage it for grown-ups as well. The sequence is: Haunted, Betrayed, Avenged. I think it’s okay to jump into the series with either Haunted or Betrayed, but probably more challenging to start with Avenged.

3. The Murderer’s Maid: A Lizzie Borden Novel launched in October. The book has received some wonderful trade reviews and some good press.

NewYork Journal of Books, Kirkus, Foreword, Booklist, A&E, The Millions

And thanks to Diana Gabaldon and Kathleen Kent for the fantastic bookjacket blurbs.

I did a big round of events in the San Francisco Bay Area, my courage rising despite intimidation by natural disasters (sorry if that sounds overblown...I love that line from Pride and Prejudice). The Santa Rosa wildfires affected attendance at two events (at one in Sausalito, Peg Alford Purcell’s lovely Why There Are Words monthly reading series, air quality was so bad I couldn’t stand outside for more than a few minutes. Litquake’s Litcrawl in San Francisco was similarly affected by the smoke). I felt awful for people who had lost much more than attendance because of the fires. One dear friend even came to my event although she had evacuated to a hotel; she wanted some “normal” in her life (and thank goodness, her home survived, as did Peg Alford Purcell’s!)

Then, more significantly, the hurricane delayed unloading at port of the cargo ship that happened to have my books on board. Again, I realize this is a very negligible “loss,” but it did mean that books were not available for two weeks of front table display at Barnes & Noble as previously scheduled, and undoubtedly affected sales. My sister had preordered on Amazon, and since the book was so delayed, she was sent an email offering to cancel the order. I shudder to think of how many people may have done just that. Luckily, my publisher had rush-ordered a substantial number of early copies, so we had enough to sell at the launch events. We held or participated in events at a haunted museum in Oakland, an art gallery after hours in San Francisco, and of course multiple bookstores. I had a great time talking about the bewildering, complex case that is the Borden family murders. It’s always cool to see what questions people come up with.

The Murderer’s Maid was my first stab (oh please, no pun intended) at writing a “marquee novel”—one about someone who is already famous enough that there could be some built-in readership. I’m excited that a movie about Lizzie Borden is showing at Sundance in January 2018. I cannot wait to see it! Even just a trailer would probably keep me happy for a week.

***

In 2017, I presented at several conferences, the Gold Rush Writers Conference in downright adorable Mokelumne Hill, California, and Summerwords, a literary conference hosted by American River College in Sacramento.  I joined a new local group organized nationally by Jonathan Maberry called the Writers Coffeehouse and continued attending a small monthly meeting of local historical novelists. I did radio spots (I'll post clips in another blog post) for Beth Ruyak's Insight program on NPR's Capitol Public Radio in Sacramento, Rich Ehisen's podcast, Tim Weisberg's paranormal show Spooky South Coast, and guest host Joey Garcia on KFBK. Many writer friends had launches this year and have my congratulations and support, too many to name here. I feel invigorated by my community and by the privilege of being able to focus on what I love so sincerely: words.

 
Wishing you and yours the very best for 2018. Happy New Year, everyone!

….

Upcoming events in Northern California

The Murderer's Maid doesn't officially go on sale until Oct. 30, but you can get a beautiful hardcover at one of my events (rush ordered by Yellow Pear Press, so none shall go without!) The book is so beautiful: end papers with the Borden house floorplan, with a ghosting of Lizzie's face underneath (startling!), and in the endmatter there are multiple images from newspapers of the day. Remember, photography was not quite point-and-shoot in 1893, so the courtroom news was composed of drawings. We also have Lizzie's handwritten arrest warrant for you to pore over in the last pages.

I've done several events already, like Peg Alford Purcell's lovely reading series Why There Are Words. Peg and her husband rallied to produce the event, held monthly at an art gallery in Sausalito, despite the raging wildfires and the fact that....that night, they didn't know if their house was still standing. They had evacuated. I can only imagine what fortitude of spirit it took to go forward with the reading. (A friend of mine who attended was also an evacuee, who said she craved "something normal." When I first saw her at a restaurant beforehand, she nearly burst into tears because the "normal" was so very, very distant at that point. Hugs forever, friend!).

It was an amazing evening. Many times at readings with multiple authors, I enjoy some but not all of the offerings. That night, I loved everybody's piece. Either Peg's an amazing curator, the wine was very effective, or I was the B Team. It was a gem of a night.

And I can add the exulting postscript that the Purcells' home is fine, and my friend's home is too!

With Peg

That morning, I came down to breakfast to find that my husband and children had apparently had a great time at the hardware store. (I have to admit, the sight gave me a jump scare). So of course, I brought the hatchet to the event and we enjoyed hamming it up during intermission.

Bridget, me, Linda

I also participated in Litquake's amazing literary pubcrawl, aptly named Litcrawl. Another night with a roster of great readers, and then I got to indulge in a super burrito from my favorite taqueria in the world, Pancho Villa at 16th and Mission. San Francisco's still a great city, and I appreciated seeing so many people in the streets moving between the events when the air quality was so terrible from the fires.

With Lisa McGuinness of Yellow Pear Press and her husband Matt

Author Sarah Kuhn (who gave a great reading!), me, literary patroness Kat

With author Margie Yee Webb

So, now there are a few more events in October before I retire the hatchet. ;)

1. EBUG Local Authors Night, 6 p.m., Monday, Oct. 23 at 5701 Thornhill Dr. in Oakland's Montclair district. Put together by A Great Good Place for Books owner Kathleen Caldwell along with the famous Purple Lady Dale Marie Golden and Kim Merkin, the event features five readers, including the fabulous Cara Black. http://www.pingg.com/public_event/krx657hixr6k4m8jy

2. Oh boy, this one. We're doing a book event in the haunted (did you catch that? haunted! Your chance to truly experience a Halloweenish moment) Pardee Home Museum in downtown Oakland. I'll do a slideshow both about the Pardee Home and the Lizzie Borden B&B in Fall River, Massachusetts, whilst you sip wine and partake of refreshments, then we'll leave the (also haunted) coach house to venture into the main house. There's been documented paranormal activity in this house, and it appears in a lot of California ghost hunting guides. Laurel Book Store will be selling books at the event. 6-9 p.m., Friday, Oct. 27; advance tickets required at: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3101152

3. I'm excited to return to Book Passage at the Ferry Building in San Francisco, 2 p.m. on Oct. 28. Come see me read, then take the ferry somewhere, or jump on BART or the cable car for that matter! I may have to walk along the Embarcadero to see my favorite yelping sea lions at Pier 39 afterward. Free event.

4. Diesel Books in Oakland is now the East Bay Booksellers, and I'm thrilled to be launching the book here. This is the cupcake event!

I staged this at the cupcake boutique, enduring quizzical looks. I brought the (edible) hatchet
and the squeeze tube of red gel frosting. Delish!

You too can have a macabre dessert, possibly in bad taste (but should taste good! pun intended but possibly unsuccessful?) I didn't actually know the hatchet was edible until my child, er, started eating it. I was all, "Spit it out!" but she knew better. This event includes wine, other nibbles, camaraderie, and a reading and signing. 3 p.m., Oct. 28, Diesel Books, Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland, 5433 College Ave. Free.

5. That same night, I'll be part of SF in SF (Science Fiction in San Francisco) with Dana Fredsti and Loren Rhoads, moderated by Terry Bisson. I think this is the event I'll feel most comfortable reading the goriest scene (Bridget witnessing Mr. Borden's corpse in the very earliest moments after his death). A great way to end October (oh yeah, Halloween, too; I shan't forget. I've been pressed into duty fabricating a Dementor costume. I've watched a lot of Project Runway and there's a working sewing machine somewhere in my garage, so I feel completely competent to complete this task. I might even win immunity). This is another event that involves wine and the fun kind of networking and milling around that happens when they announce "doors open at 6 and the event starts at 6:30." This takes place at the American Bookbinders Museum (cannot wait to see that), 355 Clementina St. in San Francisco, Oct. 29. Borderlands bookstore will be selling copies of all the readers' books.

I hope to see you at one of these events. If you're a little further east, I'll be at Avid Reader in Sacramento on Nov. 18 at 3 p.m.

With all these bloody cupcakes and corpse talk, I want to let you know that an upcoming blog post will address how my novel is "bloodthirsty with a social conscience." There are redeeming features. There really are. It's not just a big hatchetfest (although there is that element, too...I just feel guilty about it). Stay tuned...and don't change pillowcases or take a nap when your daughter or stepdaughter isn't cordial with you.

. . . .

Litquake 2006

I think I ... uh... spent five hours at Litquake today. Is that possible? Am I that much of a lover of literature (and a complete slug) that I spent that many hours in an auditorium watching writers read their work? That's like the equivalent of watching two movies or even three...

I did get up and perambulate, visited the gyro place across the street and later the coffeeshop since I was getting dozy... but yup, I think I was there all day.

I had to be there at 12:30 to watch my friends Melodie Bowsher and Kemble Scott read (alas, missed Melodie since she read first and I was a little late), then I knew Tamim Ansary was reading at 3. Doesn't that just seem manageable somehow? But the portion Tamim read in was actually 3-4:30 and then we sat around talking a bit. Actually, I just did the math and it's more like four hours. OK, I feel a lot better.

What Tamim read was incredible and made me resolve to buy his book, Story of My Life: An Afghan Girl on the Other Side of the Sky. (Tamim is male: he co-authored this book with Farah Ahmedi).

I read at Litquake yesterday and think it went fine. Litquake only allows you to read for six minutes (with six writers in a given hour, and then intros and etc.) so how much damage can you do? I was honored to be asked.

I love this week-long literary festival and think it's an incredible feat to pull off each year. Congrats to Jack Boulware and Jane Ganahl for coming up with this, as well as other incredibly hard-working volunteers like Deborah Krantz and Tara Weaver.

Inaugural nothingness

I've been putting off beginning a blog, because you have to have that first entry that -- to my mind at least -- should be about something important. And I've got nothing much to offer today. Had a great time at Litquake last week. I can't wait for it to be next year so I can go again! Litquake is an enormous, week-long literary festival in San Francisco. The M.O. seems to be hour-long readings with six readers, so each person is only supposed to read for 10 minutes. Perfect for our short attention span society.
I was surprised at the size of the crowds -- reading is NOT dead! I read with several friends at Litcrawl, a Saturday night where, much like a pubcrawl, you move from venue to venue to hear readings scheduled in blocks to suit your walking (staggering?) pace. The whole thing is just so well engineered -- one of the best volunteer-organized events I've ever seen. My friend Tamim's wife Debby Krantz is on the volunteer board, and she deserves huge kudos for making this all so seamless and enjoyable.