Rosemary Harris Mysteries

Dead Head now only $1.99 on Amazon

2011-10-19T20:31:00.004-04:00

Hi there,
I've been busy on my group blog www.jungleredwriters.com and haven't been here much but I'm back in time to let people know that there's a new promotion for Dead Head (hardcover)on Amazon through Chestnut Hill books. Yup the book NPR (CT) called a "perfect summer read" is on sale just in time for autumn reading and perehaps holiday gift-giving. ;-)

I'm busy working on my fifth book but will be checking in everyonce in a while to see who's still here!

Great event at East Meadow Public Library last night and looking forward to another at AAUW luncheon in Mystic, CT this Saturday.

I don't usually solicit comments but curious to see if anyone is out there so tell me the name of my second book (hint..it's on the sidebar) and you can win a copy of The Big Dirt Nap.
Cheers,
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Praying for rain

2011-07-08T17:25:00.003-04:00

Only a gardener would pray for rain on a hot, muggy summer day when it was early enough so that things could have gone either way. (Hmmm...kayaking and watering or writing and watching my garden plants soak up the rain without any help from me...what to wish for..)

I've been busy all spring and although I generally put new plants and shrubs in the ground in the spring and fall, I had no choice this year, late June/early July was the first time I was free. (As you can see I haven't even blogged.)

Early on in my life as a master gardener, I killed more plants than I care to admit to, and most of them died because I didn't water them in enough. Long enough, often enough and for more than just the first season.

In the past few weeks I have planted spirea, ninebark, weigela wine and roses, liriope, astilbe, japanese painted ferns, christmas ferns, maidenhair ferns, heuchera purple palace, pieris, and euonymous emerald gaiety and green and gold. Watering them takes a huge chunk of time. So last night I checked the weather - praying for rain. It looked good. A healthy drenching would save me hours.

I'm sure there were rained-out picnics and concerts, but this gardener was happy.

Although mine are planted near a limemound spirea, pulmonaria and an enkianthus.
one of mine looked like this a few months back and I have hopes that the two I just planted will next spring.
Cheers,
Rosemary

Kindle Promotion

2011-03-17T16:49:00.004-04:00

Finally! Pushing Up Daisies on Amazon Kindle/Nook/iTunes etc. for only $2.99. Check out the first in the Dirty Business mystery series! http://www.amazon.com/Pushing-Up-Daisies-Business-ebook/dp/B003JH86ES/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

Kindle promotion for Pushing Up Daisies

2011-02-09T10:46:00.005-05:00

Haven't read Pushing Up Daisies yet? Shocking! But starting on March 15 you can download it from Amazon for only only $2.99. It's a special promotion to coincide with the paperback release of Dead Head which NPR (CT) called "a perfect summer read" and Romantic Times magazine gave "Four Stars!"

Download Pushing Up Daisies (or preorder Dead Head) and I'll send you a free Dead Head drawstring sportssak. Email me at rosemary@rosemaryharris.com for details.

Cheers,
Rosemary

Be Happy

2011-01-04T09:07:00.000-05:00

Jo's Almond Crescent Cookies

2010-12-28T22:17:00.003-05:00

My mother wasn’t much of a cook although I recently reconnected with an old roommate who rhapsodized about her spaghetti sauce and meatballs. Instead I remember her zeppole and struffoli made for the holidays and distributed to relatives throughout the borough of Brooklyn, New York.

Her zeppole were better than those sold at the feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy and her struffoli, sprinkled with chopped walnuts and soaked in honey were better than Mario Batali’s (although I use his recipe now since hers is long gone.)

Cookies, on the other hand, were tasteless discs peeled from a twist to open frozen log and heated. Or worse, giant tins of supposedly Danish cookies that looked different but managed to all taste the same, even the chocolates ones. What can I say, she wasn’t into cookies. And neither was I until I got my first job at a bookstore. The manager, a robust German woman named Jo would give each of the employees a box of cookies for the holidays. A modest gift, you say? No way. Jo’s cookies were minor works of art. Stacked in little pleated cups or nestled in colored tissue paper, each gift box contained 10 or 12 varieties and the employees would swap for their favorites like kids trading baseball cards.
Jo retired, I changed jobs, but one recipe survives from my days at that Waldenbooks in Brooklyn - her almond crescent cookies. I make them every year. They’re best when hand formed as Jo directed but one year I got a little lazy and tried using a cookie cutter. And thereby hangs another tale.
I started with Christmas cookie cutters – bells, trees, stars, just the basics. The following year, I added Thanksgiving cookie cutters – turkeys, pumpkins, leaves. Soon, every minor holiday required a new set of cutters –Easter? Of course. Fourth of July? Natch. Arbor Day, ‘fraid so. The one drawer in my kitchen that held the cookie cutters was replaced by a large wicker basket. Then an entire shelf in my linen closet.
My obsession reached a critical point just before the election of 2000. A friend was having an election night party. So boring to just bring a bottle of wine…my plan was to bring cookies in the shape of the swing states and to decorate some of them blue and some red based on the predictions of my favorite pundits. I already had a cutter in the shape of Alabama (my fondness for cookies was getting around..) so I felt sure they existed somewhere. I headed for ebay , famous for matching weird buyers and sellers and it didn’t disappoint. I sprung for all 5o states, just in case the election was closer than I thought..ha, who knew? They even threw in Guam as a little thank you.
Here’s the recipe that started it all…and Jo, wherever you are, danke schoen!
Jo’s Almond Crescent Cookies
1 c. butter
½ c. powdered sugar (more for dipping)
2/3 c. finely chopped almonds
1/4 tsp. salt
2 ¼ c. sifted flour
Yield four dozen.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add almonds, flour, salt, mixing thoroughly. Chill dough. Cut into pieces and handroll into 2”x1/4” lengths. Form into crescents on baking sheets. Bake until set, not brown, about 15 minutes. Cool on pan. While slightly warm dip cookies in powdered sugar. Cover on all sides. I do it on a cookie sheet filled with powdered sugar so that I can coat lots of them at the same time. Arrange as you would apple slices in a tarte tatin, in a swirl starting at the center of a decorative plate. Your friends will think you are a domestic goddess!

Happy Holidays

Michigan & Smiley - Drummer Boy

2010-12-18T22:39:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-12T22:41:00.004-05:00

It's been a long and eventful year starting at the American Library Association conference in Boston, to the RT Booklovers Convention in Columbus to Aunt Agatha's in Ann Arbor to the Utah Librarian's conference in St. George to India and Nepal with lots of stops in between.

I've had a wonderful time touring for Dead Head and meeting booksellers, librarians and, of course, readers.
The thing I always want to say - and don't always get a chance to - is how much writers appreciate people coming out to hear us speak. These days, there's so much competition for people's attention that it's humbling when readers take the time to visit a library and discuss mysteries and writing.If you've never been to a library event you might be surprised at how much fun it is!

Two of my biggest thrills this year - being invited to be the luncheon speaker at the Utah Library Conference and getting a terrific review from CT's NPR station. ("Dead Head may be the perfect summer read.")After that, trekking to Everest Base Camp was small potatoes!

Next month I'll be hitting the road again, this time for Slugfest (April 2011) the 4th title in my series, and the paperback release of Dead Head (March 2011)
In Slugfest, amateur sleuth and garden pro Paula Holliday agrees to manage an exhibit at a flower show. When plants start dying -and then people, the garden gloves come off and things turn into a real slugfest! (But my fellow volunteers from the Philadelphia Flower Show don't need to worry - it's all fiction! )

Where I'll be...

January 8 -MidWinter ALA, at PopTop Stage and MacMillan booth, San Diego, CA
February 4-6 Murder in the Magic City/Murder on the Menu,Birmingham, AL
March 16 - Virginia Festival of the Book, Charlottesville, VA
March 24-27 Left Coast Crime, Santa Fe, NM
April 2- Empire State Book Festival, Albany, NY
April - Malice Domestic, Bethesda, MD
September- The Big E, Springfield, MA
October - Bouchercon, St. Louis, MO

Check my website for more events and signings as my schedule is just being planned. And if there's a library or bookstore you think I should visit, email me at
rosemary@rosemaryharris.com and tell me about it!

Happy holidays,

Rosemary

The Flower - Funny Animation

2010-12-06T09:39:00.000-05:00

Celebrity Crushes

2010-10-01T04:00:00.000-04:00

ROSEMARY: Well, I started the week with a confession, I might as well end with one.

Tony Curtis was my first celebrity crush.

I must have been ten years old when a friend and I saw him on Fifth Avenue - and we chased him! The poor man ran into the Roosevelt hotel (I think that was the one near Saks) and we were too afraid to follow him in.

No idea what we thought we were doing, but it was shades of The World of Henry Orient, a charming movie about two friends who have a crush on a composer.

The hair was always a little weird. The accent could be off-putting ("Yonder lies the castle..") And he did seem to turn into Charles Durning as he aged. But what a hottie in his youth.

These days he probably would have gotten meatier roles than some of the pretty boy ones he had in the '50s, but we'll always have his "cookie full of arsenic" Sidney Falco.

My current crushes are Morgan Freeman, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy, and as has been well-documented on this blog...Russell Crowe.

Surprisingly, Ben Affleck is coming on strong. Not just a pretty face. (Go see The Town. Really good.)

So, who was your first celebrity crush?

Today Now - Who Needs to Work Out?

2010-09-11T09:36:00.001-04:00

Today Now!: How To Thrust Your Fat Into A More Appealing Shape

WSHU PUBLIC RADIO

2010-08-19T15:46:00.000-04:00

WSHU PUBLIC RADIO

The Writer's Challenge

2010-08-07T20:14:00.003-04:00

This is what's happening on JungleRed, my group blog. It's the brainchild of Jan Brogan, who has thrown down the gauntlet to all of you writers out there. Take a peek...

JAN: If you are a writer, the Internet is both your best friend and your mortal enemy. Need to find an expert or see what a Glock looks like?? The info is only minutes away by Google.

But sometimes, all that time you save goes down the drain in lost productivity. In terms of writing (not promotion) that would be Email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Here's the challenge:For six weeks, starting tomorrow, you must write one, full page every day -- even Saturday and Sunday -- BEFORE checking email or visiting anywhere online. That's the critical part. You can get online as soon as you finish your one page, but no sooner. If you have to check email at work in the morning, the challenge can start as soon as you come home. You are not allowed to go back to the Internet for ANY reason until you write that one page.

Why one page?
Because if you only wrote one page a day for an entire year, you'd have a novel.
Because when I gave myself a five-page-a-day quota, I found myself writing drivel, just to get the pages done.
Because with with a one page quota, you have time to go back and revise earlier pages.
Sometimes they bulk up, lengthwise, to create an extra page. (and yes, that counts as a new page.)
Because one page is eminently doable.
Because even on the weekends, you can get yourself to sit down at the computer if it's ONLY one page. And the consistency of a writing every day enhances productivity in terms of story structure.
Because one page often leads to another. In other words, one page is the minimum, not the maximum.

Why now?
Because for many of us, August is the least productive month of the year. (hey, and I'm even going to do this on vacation)
Challenging yourself in January when is snowing outside is no challenge.

Why six weeks?
Because after six weeks, we'll all have 42 pages. If you are starting a novel, that's about where you'd end on a hook, so you'll have enough material to send it to the agent/editor with a query.
If you are writing short stories -- that's at least two of them.
Because I host the blog every six weeks.

Why do you really want to do this?Aside from becoming a more disciplined writer and an all around superior person, we're also giving away prizes.

No cheating:

One page is defined as the FULL page, double spaced.
If, by any chance, you are writing a screenplay, you can still do the challenge, but that's TWO AND HALF pages a day for you.

How to enter?

Sign into the comments page on Jungle Red (www.jungleredwriters.com) any time through Sunday (okay Monday for you procrastinators).
Report in (via the comments page) every Sunday.
Tell us anything, your obstacles, your solutions, your progress, the best sentence you wrote, or any tricks you've learned along the way.

Prizes:If you post at least three times (on different weeks), we enter your name in raffle and the winner gets a signed copy of Hallie Ephron's Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel. I will also read and critique your work, if you want. (you can forgo that prize if the idea of critique stunts your productivity. It's your choice.)

There's also second and third prizes, as well as a prize for the most inspired, insightful or helpful comment.

In no particular order, those prizes will be signed copies of:
Teaser (Jan Brogan)
Dead Head (Rosemary Harris),
Air Time, (Hank Phillippi Ryan)
Asking for Murder (Roberta Isleib)

The challenge technically ends Saturday September 18th and you have all weekend until 5 p.m. Sunday on the 19th to post your comments. I'll be drawing and deciding winners one minute after 5 p.m.
I'll announce winners on Jungle Red September 20th.

So get started and good luck!!

The Women of Jungle Red - Jan Brogan, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Hallie Ephron, Roberta Isleib, Rhys Bowen and Rosemary Harris.

No Second Acts?

2010-08-04T17:27:00.004-04:00

Oh sure there are. Look at Bristol Palin (I may have missed one of hers..was this the second time those two lovestruck kids have been engaged or the third)..and look at this blog.
Anything to avoid real work, I'm going to take another stab at writing a blog. I know my publisher would like it. And I do too, most of the time. Then I start to obsess about comments. I want them...I don't want them. It's really about the visits..blah, blah. Whatever. I am on a wonderful group blog www.jungleredwriters.com
and you should definitely come check us out. But sometimes I just feel like going solo.
I'm starting again because I have the time and the inclination.

I'm a mystery writer. Traditional mysteries. I kind of hate the term cozy because it sounds so limiting but some people think I'm cozy so there you go.
I'm just getting into revisions on SlugFest, the fourth book in my Dirty Business Mystery series. My heroine is an amateur sleuth named Paula Holliday. She's a single city girl who moves to the suburbs which in and of itself can make her a suspicious character, but then she finds a mummified body and learns a lot about her neighbors a lot faster than some of them would like. It's suburban noir. Murder She Wrote meets Desperate Housewives. But enough about me.
Desperate to goose my blog numbers I suppose I should mention Lady Gaga or BP but I will go the more traditional route and offer a book giveaway. The first five people to comment who've either read one of my books or can tell me the last mystery they've enjoyed will win a copy of the first book in my series, Pushing Up Daisies. Daisies was nominated for both an Anthony Award and an Agatha for Best First Novel.
Whaddya got to lose?
Cheers,
Rosemary

Sure she can write, but can she act..?

2010-07-12T10:39:00.006-04:00

Yes, it's not enough that we write the books. We have to look and sound good on camera. I thought it was just the newbies like me who had to shamelessly flog our work in the hopes that someone will discover our book and feel that it's something they'd like to spend time with, but even an established, bestselling author like Mary Karr has to trod the boards.

Seems to me I read Karr's first book, although I may be confusing it with another similar memoir, but now that I've seen the book trailer for her latest, Lit, I will probably pick it up this summer (although I'm in the middle of two good books - Story of a Marriage and Hero, the bio of Lawrence of Arabia by Michael Korda...more on them later.)

Lots of friends raved about Lit when it was first released but I didn't think I needed to read another memoir about recovery and redemption after years of destructive behavior and/or horrendous abuse. I'm happy for you.

But dang if I didn't change my mind after seeing MK's book trailer. I wouldn't have even known about the trailer if there hadn't been an article in the NYTimes about - book trailers.

So was it Mary Karr's personal charm, the book trailer itself, or the power of the New York Times that got me to want the book. At the risk of sounding retro, I think it was the Times...

Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Will you be at ALA in DC?

2010-06-19T21:49:00.002-04:00

Sunday, June 27 is Mystery Day at the American Library Association's Annual Conference and I'll be at the convention center with a dozen of my friends - mystery writers hoping to meet you. The fun starts at 10am at the PopTop Stage on the exhibit floor.

10am - Red Herrings : How mystery writers use the literary equivalent of the magician's sleight of hand to keep readers guessing.
Moderator Jane Cleland (Silent Auction), Sheila Connolly (Red Delicious Death), GM Malliet (Death of the Lit Chick) and Daniel Stashower (Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters)

11am - Amateur Sleuths : Readers love them - but how is it these nice women keep getting involved in murder?
Moderator Rosemary Harris (Dead Head), Donna Andrews (Swan for the Money), Ellen Crosby (The Riesling Retribution), JB Stanley (Path of the Wicked)

2pm - Location, Location, Location - Not just for real estate agents. How a mystery's setting impacts the story.
Moderator Hank Phillippi Ryan (Drive Time), Meredith Cole (Dead in the Water), Thomas Kaufman (Drink the Tea), Brad Parks (Faces of the Gone)

4pm - Mysterious Blogs - Why you should care and which ones you should read (or at least skim..)
Rosemary Harris (Dead Head) and Hank Phillippi Ryan (Drive Time) www.jungleredwriters.com

Free books and giveaways!
Cheers and hope to see you in DC,
Rosemary Harris
author of Dead Head, The Big Dirt Nap and Pushing Up Daisies

www.rosemaryharris.com

Email rosemary@rosemaryharris.com
or check www.rosemaryharris.com
for details and up to date tour info, or if you'd like me to visit your bookstore, reading group or library!

Unarmed But Dangerous!

2010-06-10T22:40:00.006-04:00

Yes we were! Five days touring around the Triangle in North Carolina with Elaine Viets, Donna Andrews, Meredith Cole and the incomparable Molly Weston. Great events, great fun with stops at the Page Walker Hotel (sponsored by the Cary Library) The Halle Arts Center, Quail Ridge Books, Country Bookshop, Flyleaf Books, McIntyre's Fine Books, The Regulator and lots of Barnes & Nobles!
On top of that we were treated to a wonderful shrimp and grits dinner at Margaret Maron's where we were joined by Alex Sokoloff, Diane Chamberlain, Katy Munger and others. Yes, it was work, but it was also fun.
That's me and the wonderful Doreen Wheaton, who surprised me with a bread in the shape of a sunflower!

Check out the pix on my facebook page.

Cheers,
Rosemary

Dead Head...starring

2010-06-04T00:43:00.002-04:00

I can't tell you how many times people have asked me who I see playing Paula Holliday in the film or tv version of the Dirty Business mystery series. Unless they know something I don't, it's not a question I'm going to have to give serious thought to in the forseeable future. But I'm asked all the time (as I'm sure the rest of you are.) I recently had the most fun exchange about this at the New Haven Free Public Library.

Once again I had no quick answer for Paula's role. In the past I've said Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, Drew Barrymore, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lopez, Kate Hudson..the list goes on.

It's not that I don't know what she looks like - she's in her thirties, long dark hair and she's athletic. But that's about it. I haven't given her flashing green eyes or a pert turned up nose..or a hunchback. She's of Italian-Irish extraction so she could look like anyone. So far I've preferred to let the reader fill in some of the blanks.

That said, I have always felt Babe would be played by Ellen Barkin. I bumped into her once at Canyon Ranch. She's of a certain age, still hot and appears to take no crap from anyone. (Ellen, if you're out there this is a great role for you. I'll even write the younger boyfriend back into the next book.)

ANYWAY..at this book discussion, all the attendees had read Dead Head. One thought Babe should be played by Susan Sarandon. Another said the actress from Alice (no one could remember her name, older, but it wasn't Linda Lavin or Ellen Burstyn.) But my favorite suggestion was Pam Grier. Pam Grier...Foxy Brown! I loved it. Each of us thought we had the perfect Babe and they couldn't have been more different. Which is why it's fun to sometimes let the reader decide.
Any other suggestions?

Coffee & Crime at the Lakeside Diner

2010-04-22T10:53:00.004-04:00

It's that time again..free coffee and donuts at the Lakeside Diner on Sunday, April 25 at 2pm when I'll be talking about DEAD HEAD, the latest title in my mystery series.

Why am I talking at a diner?

Apart from having the best donuts on the planet, The lakeside was the inspiration for the diner in my series. It's a small, cozy place (that really is lakeside) and the owner is a wonderful woman who closes up early on Sundays and has let me use the place for book chats.

Stop by and check it out - 1050 Long Ridge Road (at Exit 34 off Merritt Pkwy)in Stamford, CT. Phone number is 203-322-2252.
Hope to see you there!
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ27LuD1cg4

On the road with Dead Head

2010-04-14T09:35:00.005-04:00

A lovely week actually. I started out in Norton MA where the SINCNE Speakers Bureau arranged for a terric library visit for Cindy Davis, Stacy Juba and me. We had dozens of people and a very animated conversation. I am totally jealous of Cindy's RV and want one for my next tour. She was like a rock star!

On Monday, drove to Rochester, MA where the intrepid Gail Roberts, librarian extraordinaire had been inviting me to visit for over a year - and I'm so glad I did. They have a very robust Friends of Library group and we all had a good time. (The brownies were yummy.) That night I got the final edit of the Dead Head animated trailer, which I shall attempt to embed. If not please check out this link..I think they did a great, fun job.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ27LuD1cg4&feature=channel

Next day I flew to Detroit. The flight was delayed, there was a shrieking child,my bag went missing..blah, blah..I didn't care because I saw one of my books in the airport bookstore and I was OVER THE MOON! First time - what a rush! The gals at Borders were so sweet, they were almost as excited as I was.

THEN, my buddy Julie Kramer (Anthony nominee for Stalking Susan and author of the soon to be released Silencing Sam, emailed that Dead Head had gotten a fab review in Crimespree Magazine. YES!!

And to top it off, I had my first launch party at Aunt Agatha's last night where Robin, Mimi, Cynthia, Roxie, Rob, Gwynne, Suzi and the gang gave me a sweet sendoff. It's so cool when people have actually read your book and talk about your characters they way you do! Plus the chocolate cake imprinted with the book cover was to die for. If I hadn't been yakking so much I might have remembered to take a picture of the cake myself instead of waiting for someone else to send me one. (I rarely remember to take pix, rats!)
And...it's still just Wednesday!!
Some days I really love my job.
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Deep Blue

2010-02-16T14:45:00.004-05:00

It's a good thing I'd done this trip twice before because if I didn't know any better I'd say we were in the middle of NOWHERE. Actually I'm guessing this was in the middle of the Drake Passage somewhere between Peter island and Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.

I've lost the email address of the very nice couple that we were paddling with - they probably have better pix of us since they were in a different kayak - but this is a pretty good idea of what it's like to be in a two man kayak in the middle of...did I mention...nowhere?

Our trip leader was a young guy named Bennett, from Arawak Expeditions, who looked after us, cooked, and pointed us in the right direction every morning otherwise we could have been on our way to Rio. I promised to make him a character in my next book but that character won't be as colorful as the real Bennett because no one would believe it. Very cool guy, and an excellent cook.

Regular readers of this blog/fb page might remember that I got a new PFD for my birthday last December. That's personal flotation device for the uninitiated. At the time I was a little less than gracious about it. (I think my exact words had something to do with insanity, or never having sex again..something like that.) In any event, this fetching little number came in handy since it was really cut for a woman and had nifty pockets for sunscreen, lip goo and the occasional shell.

So belated thanks, honey. You did good.
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

A Room of One's Own

2010-02-15T08:37:00.006-05:00

I have a pretty nice office. I was a marketing consultant before I started writing mysteries so I was used to business machines and army issue file cabinets cluttering up my home before most of my writing friends. Now that I am “officially” a writer – whatever that means - I appropriated more space in my house so that I could have a quiet, peaceful setting in which to write. An inspirational setting, if you will. (Plant tongue firmly in cheek here.) That inspirational setting is now filled with a telescope, a vintage linen collection, bird and garden prints, funky lamps from the forties and fifties and stacks of mysteries purchased at the various bookstores, libraries and conventions I’ve attended. Is it any wonder my fabulous office is sometimes a little distracting?

Most of the writers I know are on a hamster-like one book a year treadmill. We write, we promote, we write. Occasionally we fritter away our time on non-essentials like friends, family, social and community obligations. Finding the time and an inspirational place to write can be challenging.

Last week, I was kayaking and camping in the Virgin Islands. I wrote in a tent on Peter Island and a shack on Jost van Dyke.

In the past I’ve written in a mud hut in central Tanzania (where my husband and I were building a library) and a tented cabin in Yosemite Valley.

It may help that my preferred method of writing is longhand, with a pencil on a yellow legal pad. That’s what I’m doing now actually..my flight’s been cancelled and I’m still on an island…it’s just not Manhattan. All around me people are drinking pina coladas and painkillers, reading The Help and perhaps wondering who the crazy lady with the pencil sharpener is. No. They’re probably not. Maybe one day one of them will read one of my books – my money is on the Joanne Fluke fan not the person reading the 800 page biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt, but you never know. The idea of someone working on a beautiful beach like this is probably as foreign to them as…well, that chain-smoking guy in the too-small Speedo is to me.

But it is what we do. I’ve met hundreds of mystery writers in the past two years since my debut novel, Pushing Up Daisies, was released. Whether it’s the possibility of that first contract, the excitement of a new series or the potential of a breakout book, we are the hardest working group of people I’ve ever encountered. And I’ve worked in television, video and book publishing. It’s one of the things that we all have in common – other than loving Lee Child and Carolyn Hart and perhaps wanting to win an Edgar.

So whether you’re working on the umpteenth draft of your query letter or the twelfth revision of your third book, we’re all in the same boat.

Right now mine’s a fiberglass kayak parked at Ivan's Stress-Free Bar and Campground, one of my favorite places on the planet.

Cheers,
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Never give in.

2010-01-27T23:55:00.004-05:00

"Never Give In"

"This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." Winston Churchill

In the last few days tennis fans have been treated to an extraordinary display of "never give up, never give in." I won't bore the non-tennis fans with the details but in five important matches the player who dropped the first set came back to win. In some cases they were also down in the second set. For the women that would have meant game over and for the men it would have represented an almost insurmountable hole to climb out of.

Beyond the obvious athletics, it's the idea of never giving up that's struck me while watching the Aussie Open. We don't necessarily do it on a global stage like Li Na, Serena Williams or Roger Federer but every day we write our stories and books and sometimes we are rewarded..and other times we can get an unceremonious smackdown. It can be a rejection letter, a negative review, the non-invitation to the cool event. But we don't give up.

Okay we we're not fighting a war..and we're not even battling for a trophy and a huge check (well, maybe one day..)but we are all tested in this business.
So tell me, have you ever thought of giving up? And if you did, what did you do to get yourself out of it?

Teddy Pendergrass "WAKE UP EVERYBODY"

2010-01-14T08:45:00.001-05:00

RIP Teddy, one of the most beautiful voices in soul music.

Can we garden now..please?

2010-01-11T19:14:00.004-05:00

Well...not just yet. Yesterday it was nine degrees in Connecticut and even I don't want to start bringing in forsythia or pruning azaleas when it's that cold. What you can do is indulge in some garden fantasies through the magic of the garden catalogs that - if you are like me - have been maxing out your mailboxes.

Park Seed Company, Wayside Gardens, Jackson Perkins, White Flower Farm - I get them all. Yes it's true that those pictures are as realistic as the pictures in the Victoria's Secret catalog (except perhaps for that one girl...Alessandra something, who I saw in a hair salon and frighteningly enough she was even more beautiful than she is in the catalog.)Who cares, we can dream can't we?

And if you're anywhere in Fairfield County, CT, you can come in from the cold and attend my presentation, Mischief and Mayhem in the Garden - at the New Canaan Public Library, sponsored by the Garden Center of New Canaan. It's at 9:30 am, Wednesday, January 13....the coffee will be hot, and dang, it'll be warmer in the library than it will be outside. Presentation is free and open to the public.
Cheers,
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Are you ready for some football?

2010-01-03T22:36:00.008-05:00

I came to football late. When I was a kid I remember watching the Mets, and of course, the Yankees - if you live in New York, you can't help but watch the Yankees, even if sometimes you cheer against them. But my heart always belonged to the New York Knicks. I guess I started watching them in 1973 when they won it all. Um..they haven't repeated since. I hope it's nothing I've done.

Anyway..some time after the Knicks traded away Patrick Ewing (something I'm convinced they are still paying for with residual bad juju) I got interested in football. Guess what - it isn't just a bunch of heavy, small-brained guys knocking each other down. It can be pretty exciting. And look at some of these men. Holy cow...who knew? Yes, there are an awful lot of thugs in the NFL..they have to work on that. And the dogfighting thing..not good. Maybe I should start watching college games..oh, wait that's over.

Well, it will be no hardship to watch these three guys for the next couple of weeks.
Happily the PeeWee Herman tattoo will be covered (is that real?)
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

One down...364 to go

2010-01-01T20:55:00.004-05:00

So how did the first day go? On January 1st everything is stretched out before you like a field of white snow or a stack of pristine looseleaf paper. You may have already gone off your diet or relaxed your expectations a bit(working out every day? 10,000 words a day?)but it's still early. Don't be discouraged. And if you do fall off the wagon, just get back on. Don't fall into the mindset of "I've already eaten these two cookies so I might as well eat the whole bag." The great thing about looseleaf paper is that if you screw up a couple of pages you can always tear them out and start over.

"Okay, motivational speech over!
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

What Are you doing New Year's Eve? - Ella Fitzgerald

2009-12-29T23:27:00.007-05:00

Everyone is saying it...this year has flown. And it has. We are two days away from New Year's Eve, a night when I traditionally stay indoors with my husband and crack open a bottle of bubbly and let the amateurs and teenagers prowl the streets of New York looking for that elusive NYE excitement, occasionally puking their guts up in the process. This year I shall be one of them - not the puking part, I hope.

Instead of staying home by the fire and watching Dick Clark or old episodes of The Sopranos while my husband snores, we are going out. Yes friends, that's right, the Harrises are going out for New Year's Eve. Every ten years or so whether we want to or not. The Metropolitan Opera is staging a 6:30 performance of Carmen (one of my favorites ever since I heard Groucho Marx sing "I Want My Shirt" to the tune of Habanera.) After that, dinner and the magic, ball-dropping moment at a wonderful restaurant called Gabriel's. They don't have a television but I'm fairly sure someone will let us know when it's midnight.

So, what the heck does a grown woman wear on New Year's Eve? Do I go the Moonstruck, red dress, heavy makeup and rose in the hair route? It is, after all, Carmen. Even virginal, 14 yr old figure skaters dress like whores when they're skating to Carmen. Since I own four dresses that aren't black (and one of them has been in a box under my bed since the day after my wedding) it's a safe bet the dress will be black. Long, short, strapless, bustier..if you can't get crazy on New Year's Eve, when can you? And there's never any fear of being overdressed because you can always pretend you're off to another, more elegant party.
So, as the immortal Ella Fitzgerald might ask,

What are you doing New Year's Eve?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYkjz-6nic8

And more to the point, what are you wearing??
Cheers,
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

"Little Drummer Boy", David Bowie and Bing Crosby

2009-12-25T07:56:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas to all!
Rosemary

It's just what I wanted!!

2009-12-22T11:24:00.006-05:00

Some women fantasize about furs, jewels...offshore bank accounts. For the last few years I've been daydreaming about that perfect present. The one my husband magically knows that I want without the slightest hint from me. Whatever it is he has the color and size down pat. The style, the length. This mythical gift changes from year to year (one year it was a black Kitchen Aid mixer.)
The closer it gets to the holidays the more I realize that no matter how talented my husband is, he is not clairvoyant. Tell the man, my inner Tiny Tim says. Put him out of his misery. He will get you anything you want but don't expect him to come up with the idea himself. I blogged about this on Jungle Red www.jungleredwriters.com last week in the hopes that he would read it, but as Christmas approaches I'm getting nervous. Have I perfected the frozen smile? Have I recovered from the birthday present of two weeks ago - a yellow personal flotation device? (Granted, I am a kayaker, and I'm grateful that he doesn't want to see me drown, but I was hoping for something a little less functional, and dare I say it, a little sexier than a life jacket.)

Two days ago, DH and I meet for brunch on 57th Street - home of a great many shops none of which as far as I know sells personal flotation devices. Tiffany's, Niketown, Victoria's Secret, Tourneau, Coach...omigod..isn't Prada on 57th Street? Visions of sugar plums are dancing in my head. What can be in store for me?

Christmas is all around by Billy Mack (Bill Nighy)

2009-12-19T09:53:00.001-05:00

Tough broads? No, tuffboards.

2009-12-18T01:33:00.007-05:00

Some women love department stores. Not me. I live a few short blocks from Bloomingdale's and I don't think I've ventured inside twice in the last fifteen years (probably for make-up and probably before Sephora opened a store three blocks away. But that's another blog.) For some reason department stores give me a headache...too much stuff..too close together.

So how is it one of my favorite places in New York City is New York Cake & Baking Distributors? Located on West 22nd Street in the Flatiron District, NYC&B is crammed with every imaginable tin, tool and tart pan. The best chocolate, the most unusual cupcake decorations. This was where I learned about fondant. It's the reason I own hundreds of cookie cutters. Dragees. And when I send people home with leftovers they're packaged in white cardboard bakery boxes. (I draw the line at the red and white twine.)

With the closing of Bridge Kitchenware (their only competition as far as I know but a heckuva lot closer)I headed downtown looking for tuffboards. No, not tough broads, tuff boards.
According to the Tuffboard website...

TUFFBOARD®
The best cake board available today!

TuffBoard® offers disposable Cake Boards, Cake Circles, Cake Rounds, Cake Squares and Cake Rectangles.

These superior cake boards are made from high quality polypropylene, which is known for its strength, durability, reliability, consistency and integrity. Our craftsmanship combined with this excellent material base gives TUFFBOARD® Cake Rounds (Cake Circles), Cake Squares and Cake Rectangles the edge over all other cake board products.

The TUFFBOARD® advantage features:
100% Moisture & Grease Proof - DOES NOT steal precious moisture from baked creations!
100% Mistake Proof - Can be wiped clean and reused!
100% Durable - Supports the weight of a cake and does not lose its shape or integrity!
100% Trustworthy - Does not have the cardboard "dust" or waxy residue of other cake board products!
100% Disposable!
100% Recyclable - Green Peace approved!
100% Attractive - Available in a wide selection of shapes and sizes to enhance the look of baked goods!
Who wants a beautiful cake on a shabby piece of waxy cardboard? NO ONE!

I sure didn't!

Who knew? I just wanted some cake rounds so that when I bring someone a cake I don't have to leave a nice platter (unless I want to.) But, the Tuffboard people are right - who wants a beautiful cake on a shabby piece of cardboard? NO ONE! So now I own a dozen tuffboards of various sizes and the pressure is on for me to be worthy of them.
I'm starting with the divine Martha's cranberry tart and her applesauce spice cake. Anyone who'd like to volunteer recipes for the other dozen tuffboards...fire away. I'll be baking from now through January 6.

O Christmas tree..

2009-12-05T12:32:00.006-05:00

How early is too early to put up the Christmas tree? I moved all the furniture in my kitchen last night and thought I'd get my tree today. Then I realized that by little Christmas (January 6, for all you Epiphany celebrants out there) it would have been up for a month and it would be a total fire hazard no matter how many times I crawled underneath, risking life, limb and sap stains to water it.

Once again I was the Chief Elf for Mystery Writers of America - NY Chapter's holiday party. It was a fun event at the legendary National Arts Club in Gramercy Park enlivened by the presence of Honorary Santas Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark, the excruciatingly cool Lee Child, the alluring Alafair Burke..you get the picture.

Anyway, for two years I've had custody of a wrought iron holiday tree like the one in this holiday catalog picture.

Last year it was decorated with members' book covers and this year it was barnacled with white minilights. Instant tree which my elves and I were able to put up in minutes. A minilight bulb flashed. Could I use this instead of a real tree? Weighs just a few pounds. No pine needles. No sticky black sap in my hair. Six nuts and an allen wrench would knock it down instead of my having to haul it to the Christmas tree cemetery I've started behind my kitchen (I've convinced myself I'm creating a berm.)

I slept on it and then came to my senses.

Pictures of the real tree to come.
Happy holidays,
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Rock and roll Friday - JoBoxers - Just Got Lucky

2009-12-04T19:09:00.001-05:00

Have a great weekend!

Happy Halloween

2009-11-01T11:56:00.003-05:00

This is the last year I go high concept. If I had to tell one more person that I was Amelia Earhart and Bruce was her husband, GP Putnam I would have gone home and changed into my Cruella DeVille costume. True, I couldn't find goggles or a leather cap but the rest of the outfit and props were pretty good including a map and a black box. The truly scary thing was that Bruce really owned a suit that looked like one Putnam wore.
Next year, Elvira.
Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Friday Rock ROCKABILLY BOOGIE - ROBERT GORDON

2009-10-30T00:40:00.001-04:00

Robert Gordon - still rocking! How did he ever keep that hair up while he was shaking like that?
Enjoy the weekend!
Rosemary

Risotto for Dogs

2009-10-27T07:43:00.004-04:00

It's 7am and I'm making risotto for my dog. It's not that he's a picky eater..the poor thing has an upset stomach and he's been out for walks twice since 2am (I'll be going back to sleep as soon as the risotto is done and has cooled.)

I don't keep much food in my apartment in NY. When I'm in the city I'm usually going out to dinner. The cans of tuna and emergency soups are so old their Best By dates are illegible. Will Smith would have passed on these - in the movie I Am Legend, where he's one of the few survivors of a nuclear attack or a pandemic, I forget which. Viggo Mortensen might have said yes, but The Road hasn't been released yet so I don't know.

Anyway wedged behind an envelope of madras lentils which I didn't think would help my dog's digestion - was a box of arborio rice. Lovely. I'd skip the black truffles and cheese - didn't have them anyway - just make it straight. There's one moment when risotto is done and then in a flash, it's overdone. The stirring is key. I added nothing. Why complicate things for the pooch?

The last time I had had rice for breakfast I was snowed in in a little village in China and that was all we had to eat. I sampled. Not bad.

I offered the bowl to Max. He sniffed warily, thinking perhaps "what about the truffles?" Then the grains of rice started to fly out of the bowl. He liked it. Not much of a surprise since my dog will eat just about anything, but I was glad. We cooks like to be appreciated. Maybe polenta for lunch.
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

I said I'd do what??

2009-10-25T07:45:00.005-04:00

The things new writers agree to.

In a few hours I will be on a Poe panel at the Rye Arts Center with Lee Child, Chris Grabenstein and Frnakie Bailey. It's something I said yes to last December when all of 2009 stretched ahead of me and I thought I had plenty of time to brush up my Poe, so to speak (see "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" from Kiss Me Kate - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSmZfnax1yw for mobsters singing about Coriolanus...pretty clever.) Then real life intervened...book two, my tour, lots o' trips, some navel-gazing. How did it get to be October?

No worries. I was going to Bouchercon and there was to be a Poe panel with none other than Michael Connelly and Sue Grafton on it. I would simply suck up everything the masters had to say. Not to be - my own panel was scheduled opposite them.
I bought the Complete Works of Poe (enormous tome - imagine if the guy had lived longer and written more. And the type is so small. It's hit me in the nose more times than I care to remember.. Mad!? They say I'm mad!?) I bought the slim but supposedly wonderful Poe biography by Peter Ackroyd. (Yes, yes, where the hell was he for those few days before he died...) Buying them was a good start - finishing them would have been better.

It's 8am and I realize that most of what I know about Poe comes from Vincent Price and Saturday morning television when I was a kid. A local New York station used to run horror films every Saturday. But which were Poe's...I thought everything scary was written by Poe when I was 10.Maybe I should Google Thriller Theatre...
With any luck Lee Child will be brilliant (as usual) and I can just sit there and nod knowingly.
Wish me luck!
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com
Dead Head Minotaur, Spring 2010

CYNICAL GIRLS

2009-10-23T01:06:00.002-04:00

Kick off the weekend with some great old rock and roll from Marshall Crenshaw and some very cynical girls.
Cheers,
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Five days in Indy

2009-10-21T19:06:00.004-04:00

So many people have already blogged about Indy - I've only been home for a few days and it seems like it was weeks ago.

I confess I wasn't really looking forward to Bouchercon this year. I knew Jim Huang and his team would do a great job, but my last book came out seven months ago and I've pretty much been touring since then. I was tired. Staying home and enjoying New England's fall foliage with my husband and my dog seemed like a good idea, even though I'd registered for the event months ago.

Of course, it was wonderful. I met a ton of nice people - some new friends like Alan Gordon, Sharon Fiffer, Sheila Lowe, Michael Robinson - some old friends - Lee Child, Carolyn Hart, SJ Rozan, Jason Pinter, Anthony-winner Julie Hyzy, Robin Agnew, Catharine Maiorisi, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Jen Forbus, Gail Hueting, Julia Pomeroy, Neil Plakcy, Karen Olsen, Sheila Connolly and lots more.

Everyone says it's not about how many books you sell. Sounds corny, but it's true. There is a tremendous amount of camaraderie in this business, and a generosity of spirit that I can't believe elsewhere in the publishing business. One thing I have heard over and over again is that there are only three people in the business who aren't nice and everyone knows who they are! I've heard this a dozen times but dang if I can figure out which three people they mean.

Cheers,
Rosemary

Donuts = Inspiration

2009-10-12T08:14:00.005-04:00

My husband is a big fan of George Bernard Shaw and may know this quote – it sounded familiar to me but, I had to look it up. “
You’ll find no more inspiration in her than in a plate of muffins.” All due respect to Shaw, I've found inspiration in a plate of donuts.
And in the pink and turquoise paint of a local diner and in a child spinning around on a counter stool. And in the chalk menu hanging behind the counter. And at any restaurant or airport.
The Usual Suspects is one of my favorite films and I particularly love the scene in which you see how the Kevin Spacey character, Verbal aka Kayser Sosa has constructed this entirely fictitious - and complicated - story that he fed to the cops based on items in the cop’s office. The manufacturer’s name on the bottom of the coffee mug. Clippings on the man’s bulletin board. It was a brilliant device.
That’s the nature of inspiration. It can come from anywhere. An overheard snippet of conversation, the detail on a waitress’s earrings or nails, the way a woman fusses over her dog, or her child. Or her looks when she catches her reflection as she walks by a shop window.

My first book Pushing Up Daisies was inspired by the story of a mummified body found in Norwich. The second, The Big Dirt Nap grew out of an article I read about a young widow and her child living on a reservation in western Connecticut. I’m fond of saying that as long as people keep doing things motivated by greed, lust and revenge I’ll never run out of story ideas.
In The Big Dirt Nap there’s a lot of greed. The story is set in a failing CT hotel whose owners are rolling the dice that they can somehow compete with the big casinos if they can ally themselves with a group of erstwhile native Americans and get an influx of cash of foreign investors. The story has a lot of humor in it because that’s the kind of mystery I like to read. There are enough people writing about serial killers – I don’t need to add to that subgenre. Besides, I’d have to live with a serial killer inside my head for at least two years and I can’t think that’s healthy. My heroine is a small businesswoman – I can identify with that and I thought other women would be able to, as well. And the books are set in a fictional CT town, because I like it here – and as one of my characters says – “we have everything the big city, just a little less of it.” Including greed, lust and revenge. And inspiration.
Cheers,
Rosemary

dancing skeleton {funny and cool music}

2009-10-10T17:17:00.001-04:00

Getting into halloween mode....

The Lakeside Diner

2009-10-07T22:23:00.006-04:00

The Lakeside Diner is not a velvet rope joint or a trendy New York hot spot but you'd never know it from the lines of people waiting to get in on Saturday and Sunday mornings. It's simply the best diner in Fairfield County (maybe the best in all of Connecticut, but I'm not ready to wage that particular war.) It also has a lovely view. The food is pretty darn good, too - I'm partial to the red, white and blueberry waffle (powdered sugar and strawberries are the first two ingredients) - but they are famous for their donuts. The owner Jane Rahbeck Agostino has made the quality of life decision to close at 2pm on Saturdays and 4pm on weekdays so if you want your donut fix you'd better get there early and wait your turn.

I like it best on a weekday at around 10am when the working guys have left and the suburban moms are off juggling appointments and play dates. Then it's pretty quiet and I can get a lot of work done. Not the Starbucks, furiously-keying-in-something-on-your-laptop kind of work, the staring-into-space or watching-the-geese-or-ducks on-the-lake kind of work. .

And more than a few of my characters and incidents have grown out of something I saw or overheard at The Lakeside.

Jane must treat her employees very well because there isn't much turnover at The Lakeside - the same group of mostly Hispanic women has been there for ages, including my favorite who has a very adventurous sense of style and changes her hair more frequently than some suburbanites change those little banners they have on their porches (you know, the ones with the pumpkins and or the baby chicks....what are they for anyway?)

As you may have guessed, The Lakeside was also the inspiration for the funky but cool
Babe's Paradise Diner, which is a central location in my Dirty Business Mystery series. For that reason another Jane, Jane Murphy from the Westport Public Library suggested I give a talk there to her mystery reading group, The Usual Suspects. Now all I had to do was convince the other Jane to stay open. After a few days, the owner found two volunteers to stick around and keep the diner open for my talk..I hope my favorite waitress is one of them.

If you happen to be in Stamford, CT - Long Ridge Road at exit 34 on the Merritt, Saturday, October 10 at 2pm, stop by for coffee and donuts - and some mysterious chat - on me and the Westport Public Library.
Cheers,
Rosemary

www.rosemaryharris.com

Collingswood Book Festival

2009-10-02T09:07:00.003-04:00

This autumn, the thrill of reading will bloom once more when bibliophiles converge in the historic town of Collingswood, NJ. It's the big literary event with the small-town, friendly ambience. A week of activities will culminate on Saturday, October 3, 2009, 10 AM to 4 PM. Festival-goers will have an opportunity to stroll more than six blocks of the main street filled with nationally recognized authors/speakers for adults and children, as well as booksellers, storytellers, poetry readings, workshops, exhibitors, kid-friendly activities, and entertainment for all ages. All events are free. I'll be there and so will dozens of other writers. Come say hello!

The Collingswood Book Festival…It’s Where You Want to Read!

Marvellous Compost Bin

2009-09-30T14:19:00.001-04:00

Makes me want to go turn that compost..

Thumbthing

2009-09-14T07:14:00.005-04:00

Despite all of the recent Beatlemania stuff, this is not about a person with a lisp singing Something. And it's not a goofy version of Wild thing. It's this gizmo I saw online to help keep a book open while you're reading it. I can't decide if it's the stupidest thing I ever saw or the most ingenious. It's for sale at The Book Bower, a used bookstore in Middletown CT. that my pal John Valeri just wrote about in case you must have one. Let me know if it works!
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

How many black jackets does one woman need?

2009-09-02T12:51:00.007-04:00

Last week there was a flood in my closet. Came from upstairs. No one's fault. So i was told although since the owner of the upstairs apartment is on the co-op board and I am not, I suspect chicanery. (Great word, have to use that more often.)
Anyway, I was forced - as the tidewaters rose - to take every single item out of my closet. There are five industrial sized garment racks in my living room. Things are draped on doorknobs and cabinet pulls. "I never throw anything away. I've stayed the same size for the last 20 years." I found myself mumbling apologies to the maintenance guy in my building as he brought up one rack after another.

To his credit, my husband said little, except that he did notice I had "a lot of black jackets." He has a gift for understatement. I have 42. Even as I type this, I find that hard to believe. I count again. Forty-two including the dark gray ones and the ones that are black with a little white stripe or pattern.

Considering I spend most of my days in front of the computer in a tank top and long shorts, I wonder where I will wear those 42 jackets. I could wear one to the US Open tomorrow, if it isn't 85 degrees. Or to the Decatur Book Festival this weekend...where I'll be on Sunday. A quick check of Atlanta's weather tells me it should be 83 and partly cloudy. Probably not black jacket weather. Besides the last time I wore all black in the south I felt like the angel of death.
Let's see....how many can I pack for Bouchercon...?
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Out of Africa

2009-08-30T14:17:00.005-04:00

It's been a long and eventful summer capped off by a trip to Mvumi Makula to visit the Chalula Community Library which - with the help of many generous friends - my husband and I helped to build.
We spent the first few days in Dar es Salaam attending the Pan African Reading Confernce and meeting publishers. Think BEA only smaller. Then Holly and Lauren, our two volunteers arrived. Fresh-faced and energetic they'd flown from Seattle to Dar and would spend three weeks in the village helping out at the library. The next morning the four of us boarded the luxury Scandinavian Bus to Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania. I've never taken the non-luxury bus. This one has no bathroom and the windows don't open because somewhere there is supposed to be air-conditioning. Halfway into the 8 hour ride there is an official pee break. I leave the facilities to your imagination, but the snack shop carried Red Bull so I was happy. And I promised myself I'd buy a handwoven basket on the return trip. There's an unofficial rest stop where women sell fruits and vegetables while travellers rush off looking for the nearest large shrub.
We spent the next two days in Dodoma meeting new friends from the PEN Trust, handling library business, and buying water and provisions for our stay. Then we were ready for the one hour drive to Mvumi. This time we were joined by Ricky, another vol who was just finishing up a month in the village but welcomed the opportunity to go back for one last goodbye.

The Chalula Community library has been open for close to two years now. There have been ups and downs -including our librarian's serious bout with malaria - but for the most part things are going well. The collection is growing, albeit slowly, and early day that we were in the village, dozens of children came to read and be read to by the older children and the volunteers
Housing for us and the vols is a small mud brick building with three bedrooms and a common room for eating. The rooms are furnished with foam mattresses, mosquitos nets and whatever the volunteers bring. For my husband that was a flashlight and a stack of New Yorkers. For me it was a canister of Moist Wipes. Don't leave home without them.
The two suitcases of books and school supplies that we brought were soon catalogued and added to the small collection. I spent half a day using clear plastic packing tape to rebind the ones that we'd left the last time we were there.

Visit my website for more info and pix.

Kwaheri,
Rosemary

The Cast of Hair - The View

2009-08-09T07:41:00.001-04:00

Gotta get tix..

THE ABC’S OF CRIME BAKE

2009-08-07T12:27:00.004-04:00

photo by Laurie Roberts

G is for Grafton, Sue Grafton, who will be Guest of Honor at the New England Crime Bake on November 13, 14, 15, 2009 at The Boston/Dedham Hilton. Grafton is the author of the much loved series featuring private investigator, Kinsey Millhone, an irreverent, sharp-tongued loner, who cuts her hair with manicure scissors and carries a wrinkle-free black dress in her purse for special occasions.
Grafton’s 21st novel in the alphabet series will be U is for Undertow (December 2009)

R is for Registration which is now open at www.crimebake.org with fabulous choices for Master Classes on Friday night, including sessions on Developing Character, Revision, Television Techniques and Writing Short Stories. Saturday and Sunday are packed with fascinating panels.

A is for an abundance of Authors, Agents and Editors, panelists at Crime Bake, with whom you can schedule a private pitch session and have a manuscript critique.

F is for Free seminars about how to pitch and market your book and a Free Pizza Party. F is for Forensics taught by an old fashioned Private Investigator and a real Crime Lab Director. F is for Fans who come to Crime Bake to hear their favorite authors share the secrets behind their stories. F is for the Fun we all have each year which is why so many people return to Crime Bake year after year and to keep meeting new Friends!

T is for the countless Tips and Techniques about how to write and publish a mystery from authors who have been there and want to help you.

O is for Opportunity. Where else can you meet and mingle with so many savvy agents, talented authors and experts on crime writing? Whether at breakfast, the Cocktail Party or Banquet, you will be treated to the company of some of the most talented names in mystery writing.

N is for NOW. Register before rooms are sold out and classes are filled. With so many great events, you can’t afford to miss Crime Bake this year!

Visit www.crimebake.org

Don't shoot my garden, please

2009-08-04T06:43:00.006-04:00

Yesterday a reporter from The Hartford Courant visited me in Connecticut. The paper is doing a feature story on me (yippee) and wanted to send the writer, and a photographer. Can I say yippee again? Strangely enough I didn't obsess about what I'd wear, what my hair looked like or whether I'd gotten enough sleep the night before.

The photographer was going to shoot my garden. I have a lot of shade. Which means my garden peaks in the springtime. From April through the end of May, my garden is glorious - dogwoods, mountian laurels, phodys, azaleas, pieris, leucothoe, peonies, spirea. Gorgeous flowering shrubs that don't require a lot of sun. Which is good since I don't have any. The only tomato plant that's doing well is in a container and that's so I can move it around to catch the little puddles of sun that break through the leaf canopy.

In August, most people's gardens are a little bedraggled. They've gotten tired of shooing the deer away. (And the deer are starting to like the smell of Bobbex)They've gone on vacation so the weeds are popping up and they haven't done much deadheading. This year it's worse. I won't call them the dog days, because we haven't had many. Instead we've had rain - sometimes of biblical proportions. I think I heard 37 out of the last 60 days, that's almost biblical isn't it?
So, of course, that's when my local paper wants to send someone to take pix.

Alright, here's the punchline...thank goodness they did. The guy was great. He spent hours looking at leaf texture and patterns of colors (most non-gardeners just want to know where the roses are.)

He shot me clutching a pair of loppers, crouched down in a stand of bamboo with the light coming from behind. Mysterious, but in a garden. Just the way I like to think of my books. Can't wait to see it, and oh yes, read the article. Hartford Courant, August 28.

Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Jensen Trailer1

2009-07-31T23:32:00.001-04:00

Check out this great trailer on visionary landscape architect Jens Jensen. I visited the Garfield Park Conservatory for the first time last month and it was fantastic.

They're only words....

2009-07-29T11:46:00.001-04:00

Back from unintentional hiatus with a few..(I hope) laughs...

Once again, The Washington Post has published the winning submissions
to its yearly neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply
alternative meanings for common words.

The winners are:

1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.

3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.

6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly
answer the door in your nightgown.

7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle (n), olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are
run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by
proctologists.

13. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with
Yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), (back by popular demand): The belief that
,
when you die, your soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by
Jewish men.

The Washington Post's Style Invitational also asked readers to take
any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or
changing
one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are this year's winners:

1. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops
bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows
little sign of breaking down in the near future.

2. Foreploy (v): Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose
of getting laid.

3. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the
subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

4. Giraffiti (n): Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

5. Sarchasm (n): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the
person who doesn't get it.

6. Inoculatte (v): To take coffee intravenously when you are running
late.

7. Hipatitis (n): Terminal coolness.

8. Osteopornosis (n): A degenerate disease. (This one got extra
credit.)

9. Karmageddon (n): its like, when everybody is sending off all these
really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's
like, a serious bummer.

=C
210. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day
consuming only things that are good for you.

11. Glibido (v): All talk and no action.

12. Dopeler effect (n): The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter
when they come at you rapidly.

13. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after
you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

14. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into
your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

15. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in
the fruit you're eating.

And the pick of the literature:

16. Ignoranus (n): A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

Northwest Herald | Woman's potted potties upset Lakemoor residents

2009-07-05T17:48:00.001-04:00

Northwest Herald | Woman's potted potties upset Lakemoor residents

Shared via AddThis

Is this news?

2009-07-01T08:56:00.003-04:00

I can only assume it was a slow news day in Trenton, NJ yesterday when I was passing through Lambertville and had to buy this paper! Excuse me?

I was on my way to a wonderful event at the Vogelson Library in Voorhees NJ where 30 or so very kind folks came to hear me speak (and cough, unfortunately.) The librarian there did a great job or promoting the event and despite my wheezing, i think evberyone had a good time.

I particularly enjoyed meeting Debbi, Terri and Audrey, whose book group is reading Pushing Up Daisies this month. Great meeting you ladies! Thanks so much for coming and I will definitely see you at the Collingswood Book Festival on October 3.
Cheers,
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Do You Want to Know a Secret?

2009-06-30T23:24:00.004-04:00

Okay...it's not really a secret. I was planning to post something else today..an interview that will happen, I promise, sometime next month, but I can't let another day go by without a big shout out here to Hank. Her Agatha Award-winning debut novel, Prime Time is finally FINALLY available again - and everywhere - from Mira Books.

PRIME TIME introduces forty-something investigative reporter Charlotte (Charlie) McNally. Charlie's smart, savvy and successful—but she's worried her news director is about to replace her with a younger model. Now—she's on the hunt for the story that will save her job.

Is it hiding in her email? Charlie begins to suspect some of that annoying Spam clogging her computer is more than cyber junk. She discovers it actually carries big-money secret messages to the big-shot insiders who know how to decode it. Problem is, the last outsider who deciphered the system now resides in the local morgue.

It's either the biggest story of Charlie's career—or the one that may end her life.

Charlie's also facing another dilemma: what happens when a top-notch TV reporter is married to her job—but the camera doesn't love her anymore? It's an action-filled page-turner, with humor, romance and a scheme so timely and innovative you'll wonder why someone hasn't tried it. A twist of an ending will have readers going back to the beginning to check for all the clues they missed.

I was lucky enough to have read it when it was first available (that's the old cover but check out the slick new look on the right)and I'll join the chorus of raves.

New York Times bestselling author Mary Jane Clark's kudos: "Current, clever, and chock full of cliffhangers. Readers are in for a treat."

Award winning author Harley Jane Kozak says it's "a great read" written with "quick wit, crackling pace and been-there-done-that credentials."

Page Traynor of RT Book Reviews gave Prime Time the highest possible rating—four and a half stars, awarding it the coveted TOP PICK. She says: "This book has humor, snappy language, danger and a wonderful mystery that will keep you guessing. Prime Time has the perfect combination of mystery and romance."

Way to go, Hank!!

Back in the Saddle Again

2009-05-24T19:08:00.005-04:00

Good grief ...it's been ages. I have a whole week off before I embark on my last (big) trip of The Big Dirt Nap tour - one week in North Carolina. It wasn't supposed to be that long a trip but the ever-astounding Molly Weston just kept getting us wonderful gigs.

"Us" is Jane Cleland, Cathy Pickens and myself. We're billing it as the Mason-Dixon Tour but we've got more in common than that name suggests. We all write traditional mysteries with smart, funny, female protagonists, we're all published by St. Martin's Minotaur and we're all highly entertaining (if I say so myself.)

Here's where we'll be..
May 29, 3pm, Eva Perry Library, Cary, NC
May 29, 7pm, The Regulator, Durham, NC
May 30, 11am, McIntyre's, Pittsboro, NC
May 31, 3pm, Quail Ridge Books and Music, Raliegh, NC
June 1, 10:30am Women's Club of Raleigh
June 1, 7pm, Cary Public Library event at Page Walker Hotel
June 2, 12pm Jamestown Library, Jamestown, NC
June 2, 7pm, Barnes & Noble, Friendly Village, Greensboro, NC
June 3, 12pm, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Charlotte, NC

Stop by and say howdy...or hey..or how ya doin'!
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Check out my website for tour details ww.rosemaryharris.com

Malice Domestic

2009-05-04T06:25:00.002-04:00

Just back from four days at Malice Domestic where my pals Louise Penny, Chris Grabenstein and Dana Cameron picked up well-deserved Agathas! Way to go, guys. won't be home for long though as I leave for the Fabulous, Fun, Festival of Mystery in Oakmont, PA in less than an hour. Hope to see lots of freinds there. Come back tomorrow for pix.
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

I heard the owl...

2009-04-24T08:50:00.004-04:00

I should have delivered my manuscript earlier. It's not late, but now that the weather is getting better, I keep looking out the window to my garden below and I keep thinking..I need to fix that fence. The snow plow man tore up the hakone grass at the foot of the driveway. Somebody dumped garden debris at the edge of my property, can I put a camera on the telephone pole to catch him in the act next time?

Worst of all (best of all?) is that my owl is calling me. Happily, he's not calling my name which I understand has something to do with death, although I didn't read that book by Margaret Craven because I was pretty young when it came out and it had to do with death and priests and I was more interested in horses and dogs at the time. Maybe I'll check it out this summer when I finally have some free time.

Anyway, the owl is calling. It's a barred owl, so I've dubbed him Shakespeare (get it, Bard?) and every time I hear him, I have to grab the field glasses and go outside to see where he is. I just need to find him. Then I say hello and go back instead to continue working. The first time I saw him I thought there was a rag stuck in one of the trees. Or a fallen branch laying across another branch. Now, of course, I know what to look for, and whenever I see him, it's a good day.

So, I hope you all see the owl today!

Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Susan Boyle - Singer - Britains Got Talent 2009 (With Lyrics)

2009-04-15T13:12:00.001-04:00

I know you've probably already seen this, but I can't help myself...I love it. Not only is this inspirational but it's a nice antidote to the culture of mean, snarky..everyone must be gorgeous and young..... and heaven help you if you gain 3 lbs...

Judy Garland - April Showers

2009-04-13T10:40:00.001-04:00

Is it ever going to stop raining...?

Sound of Music - Central Station Antwerp (Belgium)

2009-04-10T01:04:00.002-04:00

I stopped by the Good News network this week and found this video. Enjoy, but don't blame me if you're singing Do-Re-Mi all weekend!
Cheers,
Rosemary

40+?

2009-04-08T10:11:00.002-04:00

(not that Demi Moore is the typical 40 year old woman...)

In case you missed it on '60 Minutes', this is what Andy Rooney thinks about women over 40:

60 Minutes Correspondent Andy Rooney (CBS)

As I grow in age, I value women over 40 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why:

A woman over 40 will never wake you in the middle of the night and ask, 'What are you thinking?' She doesn't care what you think. If a woman over 40 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do, and it's usually more interesting. Women over 40 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you if they think they can get away with it. Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it's like to be unappreciated. Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 40. Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 40 is far sexier than her younger counterpart. Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off you are a jerk if you are acting like one. You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her. Yes, we praise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed, hot woman over 40, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year old waitress. Ladies, I apologize.

For all those men who say, 'Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?', here's an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage. Why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage!

Andy Rooney is a really smart guy!

L'Aquila

2009-04-07T10:25:00.001-04:00

Ro: Six or seven years ago I took a long weekend to Rome with a dear friend of mine, Renata. (Yes, I did borrow her name for a character in Pushing Up Daisies.) I met Renata some years back when I was planning a trip to Venice and wanted to brush up my Italian, which never really gets beyond the Ciao, Bella! or non, grazie, lei aspetto mio marito (no thanks, I'm waiting for my husband) stage.

Renata stayed with her aunt and uncle, Benita and Renzo. Renzo is a writer of some reknown in Italy and Benita, well, try to imagine an Italian Simone Signoret. I was besotted. I stayed at The Hassler (this was before I was a writer and still had a few bucks) and I drank in the bar and walked up and down the Spanish Steps as if I were Audrey Hepburn looking for Gregory Peck.

It was wonderful trip., and a touch glamorous. Renata writes for an Italian fine arts magazine and one evening she and her editor, Nuccio had something special planned for us. We drove out of Rome to a small town I'd never heard of where we went to the theatre and, as Renata has recently reminded me, the local opera house was opened for us so that we could tour the landmark building. Afterwards we went to a restaurant wheere they treated like us visiting celebs..but I think they treated everyone that way, I was just more used to the typical surly New York waitstaff. After dinner at 11pm and much wine i slept most of the way back to Rome. I kept the postcard from L'Aquila on my fridge for years..until we renovated and I had to take everything off the refrigerator.

I am heartbroken to learn of the earthquake in L'Aquila. Here's a link to a Guardian article on this medieval university town. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/07/laquila-italy-earthquakee

Rosemary

At Home with the Paradise Donuts

2009-04-03T08:39:00.007-04:00

So it was about 6:30 last night when the phone rang. I froze. Earlier in the week a friend had told me about a local book group that had read Pushing Up Daisies in March and were going to be discussing it this week - might I come and chat with them? Of course, I thought it was wonderful and I said yes. As the week wore on, I heard nothing and thought....something's come up, it's not happening.. no biggie..I could use the rest anyway. And then the phone rang at 6:30 - the meeting starts in an hour, I'll meet you in your driveway.

I wasn't quite in my jammies, but close. And hair..what can I say..a little like Tina Turner in Thunderdome ("why you're just a little raggedy-man!)
Still, I am moi and thought, okay, why not?

Boy am I glad I did. Not only was the hostess wonderful (I wish I'd heard more about that year spent sailing to Bora Bora) and the onion tart sublime (thank you, Jessica) but it was a delightful evening. Denise had a contest to see who could guess which references in the book were actual Stamford landmarks (Kathy won) and for dessert, she served donuts from the Lakeside diner which was the model for Babe's Paradise Diner. I could hardly believe it when 10pm rolled around.

Ladies, thanks so much for making my first at-home a delight!

Cheers,
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

aint that good news

2009-04-01T21:57:00.004-04:00

Yes, that's Sam Cooke. I tried to find a clip of him singing Aint That Good News, but they're all ancient and start with a full minute of four people yakking. Anyway, I have good news! The Big Dirt Nap has been chosen as Barnes & Noble.com's featured Mystery Club book for the month of April. Check it out at http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/bn/board?board.id=MysteryGen and leave a comment. You'll also find info there about The Big Dirt Nap contest where you can win a free registration to either Bouchercon, Malice Domestic or New England Crimebake.
More good news!!

Cheers,
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

The Big Dirt Nap Express..

2009-04-01T06:16:00.002-04:00

..is taking a breather for a while. I'm back home for two weeks getting ready to deliver the manuscript for Deadhead, book three in the Dirty Business series. I hate this part..truly. This is the point where you go throught the manuscript one last time (or if you're me, 27 last times) because you really won't be able to make any substantive changes after it's delivered and accepted. I hate handing it over because I always think a bolt of lightning will strike as I'm leaving the publishers and I'll go AHA I should have made Colonel Mustard the killer! There's still one thing I think I should have added to my first book, but that ship has sailed.

On the last two books my editor didn't make any major changes (bless you) but there's always the chance that she'll say I don't like the beginning, the middle or the end.

In mid-April I hit the road again...New Haven, CT, Boston, MA, and Arlington, VA, where Pushing Up Daisies has been nominated for an Agatha Award.

But rigtht now I'm chained to the computer, wondering if I should change the entire ending.

Final Destination?

2009-03-26T18:52:00.004-04:00

A shocked driver is today facing a careless driving charge after his sat-nav left his BMW teetering on the edge of a cliff.
Robert Jones said he trusted the gadget and continued to follow its instructions, even when it took him up a steep, narrow footpath.
He only realised something was wrong when his car hit a fence and came to a stop just inches from a 100ft drop.
The 43-year-old, who works as a delivery driver, described the incident as a 'nightmare'.
He said 'It kept insisting the path was a road, even as it was getting narrower and steeper, so I just trusted it.
'I rely on my sat-nav, I couldn't do without it for my job.
'I guess I'm lucky the car didn't slip all the way over the edge. You don't expect to be taken nearly over a cliff.

I love my GPS. Really. I don't know how fledgling writers drove around to shake hands and kiss babies before the invention of the GPS. But every once in a while I do ignore her. I live through "turn around, turn around" if I decide to be a rebel and go my own way. If there's something I want to stop for...like a Waffle House..or Stuckey's. Or a cliff...

Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com
The Big Dirt Nap
..get dirty now

Please DO eat the daisies!

2009-03-23T20:37:00.005-04:00

One of the highlights of my Indiana/Ohio trip was this...a cookie floral arrangement made by Judy, an employee at the Greenwood Library in Indiana. After taking me out to a wonderful lunch the librarians and member of their Friends group took me back to their library where they'd created beautiful posters announcing my visit.
I was interviewed for an upcoming podcast - in addition to a telephone interview that they'd set up with a local reporter.

Then they presented me with this. I'm a pretty serious cookie fan and I have close to 500 cookie cutters to prove it, but I've never made anything this gorgeous, or this delicious. And the idea that a stranger made it for ME just about knocked my socks off. She must have spent hours on it...she was kind enough to say that she thought I'd appreciate something to snack on since I was spending so many nights in hotel rooms!

I love Indiana!!

Cheers,
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

What's up with blogger?

2009-03-23T00:21:00.004-04:00

For some bizarre reason all the stuff on the right hand side of my blog disappeared and I have been unable to post. Until I chose this very attractive (I'm joking) brown template. And that's too bad, because I've been doing a lot of fun stuff which I haven't been able to share.
Had a great time on the west coast, came home, went to Boston, fabulous time in Indiana and Ohio, came back, was on television in CT, went to Virginia - VA Festival of the Book, just got back, leave for Boston Tuesday. All along the way booksellers, librarians and readers have been wonderful, one of them even made me a cookie floral arrangement..pix tmw.
In the meantime, I'm going to try to fix this d$%! blog template.
Cheers,
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Danke Schoen

2009-03-05T00:33:00.001-05:00

Back from the west coast. Back from being stranded in San Francisco because of the snow on the east coast. Sifting through the 8 zillion emails I blissfully ignored for most of my trip I found one from a gardener in Switzerland who is also a mystery fan. In her email she said she was looking forward to my next book so I'm going to assume this is a positive review, but damned if I know anyone who can translate....but danke schoen, Daniela!

Speaking of Danke Schoen....anybody....anybody....Bueller?

1. März 2009
Dirty Business Mysteries
Mit „The Big Dirt Nap“ hat Rosemary Harris innert Jahresfrist nun schon den zweiten Gartenkrimi veröffentlicht.

Nachdem Paula Holliday, die im ersten Buch („Pushing up Daisies") ihre Stöckelschuhe gegen Gartenclogs eingetauscht und in Springfield eine Gärtnerei eröffnet hat, während der Restauration der Halycon Gärten, einer lokalen Sehenswürdigkeit, auf eine mumifizierte Leiche stösst, versucht sie im zweiten Band, ihr Einkommen aufzubessern, indem sie für die örtliche Zeitung einen Artikel verfasst.

Im Hotel Titan steht eine Titan arum, eine Pflanze mit dem grössten unverzweigten Blütenstand der Welt, welcher sieben Jahre bis zum Blühen braucht, kurz davor ihre übel riechende Blüte zu öffnen. Über dieses Ereignis soll Paula einen Beitrag schreiben und verbindet diese Gelegenheit damit, ihre Freundin Lucy zu treffen.

Im Hotel Titan überstürzen sich die Ereignisse. Ein Mann, der Paula kurz vorher in der Bar in ein Gespräch verwickelt hat, wird ermordet aufgefunden, Lucy taucht nicht auf und bleibt unerreichbar und die Stinkblume will auch nicht blühen. Die Polizei interessiert sich nicht für Lucys Verschwinden und schon steckt Paula wieder mitten in Ermittlungen.

Auf wiedersen,
Rosemary

2009-02-23T08:30:00.001-05:00

Go West!

2009-02-19T13:03:00.000-05:00

In a few hours I'll be heading for Arizona and California to promote The Big Dirt Nap, the second book in the Dirty Business mystery series (St Martin's Minotaur), as well as the paperback edition of Pushing Up Daisies.
Since I'm an easterner and don't know too many folks on the west coast, I hope some of my fellow sisters (and brothers) will come out to say hello, chat about writing, publishing and what it's like to be a newbie.
Here's where I'll be..
Feb 20, 2pm, Velma Teague Library Glendale AZ
Feb 21, 2pm, Poisoned Pen Scottsdale AZ
Feb 24, 7pm, Mystery Bookstore LA CA
Feb 25, 5pm Book 'Em, S. Pasadena, CA
Feb. 27, 7pm, Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA
Feb. 28, 7pm Book Passage, Corte Madera, CA (Come early for a wine and cheese party at 6:30 courtesy of the good people at Book Passage.)

I'll also be at Book Passage on March 1 with my husband, Bruce Harris (Random House, Workman Publishing), who's giving a talk on book marketing. Between the two of us we have 50 years of experience in book marketing and promotion, from traditional means to guerilla warfare. Come pick our brains.
Cheers,

Rosemary Harris
The Big Dirt Nap
St. Martins Minotaur
www.rosemaryharris.com

Bacon Today!

2009-02-17T12:28:00.000-05:00

A pal, thank you Harold, sent me an email today with new coordinates and an update on what he's been doing and buried at the bottom of his email was this gem of a link.
What can I say? I write a mystery series where a favorite secondary character owns a diner. The aroma of bacon frying is always in the air. I seem to recall rhapsodizing about it in book two.

I don't even eat bacon and I thought this was a hoot! http://bacontoday.com/
Rosemary
ww.rosemaryharris.com

Mom Jeans

2009-02-16T11:37:00.000-05:00

I had a 21 hour workday yesterday. Twenty hours were fine... so...I needed a laugh.
I'm convinced my pal Kathy coined this phrase 8 years ago, but we'll never know.

Watch more Saturday Night Live videos on AOL Video

SOUTHERN PRACTICE OF EATING DIRT SHOWS SIGNS OF WANING

2009-02-13T18:52:00.000-05:00

Granted this is an old article...but in my neverending quest to, uh,...dish all the dirt...I think it bears a second look...

It's after a rainfall, when the earth smells so rich and damp and flavorful, that Fannie Glass says she most misses having some dirt to eat.

''It just always tasted so good to me,'' says Mrs. Glass, who now eschews a practice that she acquired as a small girl from her mother. ''When it's good and dug from the right place, dirt has a fine sour taste.''

For generations, the eating of clay-rich dirt has been a curious but persistent custom in some rural areas of Mississippi and other Southern states, practiced over the years by poor whites and blacks.

But while it is not uncommon these days to find people here who eat dirt, scholars and others who have studied the practice say it is clearly on the wane. Like Mrs. Glass, many are giving up dirt because of the social stigma attached to it.

''In another generation I suspect it will disappear altogether,'' said Dr. Dennis A. Frate, a medical anthropologist from the University of Mississippi who has studied the phenomenon. ''As the influence of television and the media has drawn these isolated communities closer to the mainstream of American society, dirt eating has increasingly become a social taboo.'' Geophagy, the Culture of Earth-Eating

Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Economic Stimulus Plan

2009-02-12T22:05:00.000-05:00

I have no idea who this person is, but I think she's a genius....

QBGirl5A: Here is my economic stimulus plan: Give each tax paying American family 1 million dollars. There are about 340 million households, so that is a tremendous savings right there. We can pay off our houses, that saves the banks, buy cars, that saves the auto industry, feed our families, take vacations and send our kids to college, that creates a brighter future and stimulated the economy. No one I know would quit their job for a million bucks anymore, so the country will keep running. If we give the gov't more money what will that do? Does anyone know what happen to the first $700 billion?

Sounds like a plan and I haven't heard a better one...

Actually, I checked the IRS figures and there were 140,000,000 individual tax returns filed (last records.)That would be a great place to start.
http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/article/0,,id=102886,00.html
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Think Pink

2009-02-10T22:25:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite classic films from the 1950’s is Funny Face. Audrey Hepburn plays a mousy clerk (major suspension of disbelief required here) whose bookstore – and life – are turned upside down when an entourage from a fashion magazine shows up to take some pictures. Fred Astaire portrays the photographer who recognizes the true beauty in the photos.

The movie is nearly stolen by Kay Thompson (amazingly enough, also the author of the beloved children’s book, Eloise) as an imperious Diana Vreeland-like character who early on in the film exhorts her employees to “banish the beige, bury the black…and THINK PINK!”

I, too, must think pink, because that’s the color of my new book.

Last year when my debut novel came out, I had one request of my publisher – please don’t make it pink. I’m not sure what I had against the color. I’d had a pink suede jacket in the 80’s (Impossible to dry clean.) And my husband swears that he picked me out of a crowd because I was wearing pink, black and gray checked pants. (I remember them well…I’m afraid a stack of black rubber bracelets also went with that memorable outfit, but I NEVER wore a ponytail on one side of my head.)

There’s room in my life for bubble gum, pink champagne, cap erasers and raspberry yogurt. And Pepto-Bismal - the traveller’s best friend, Pink - the very cool singer, the Pink Ladies from the movie Grease and Pretty in Pink, that Molly Ringwald movie where she makes her own dress to go to the prom and the rich guy is mean to her... But none of the books on my shelves were pink. In fact, I couldn’t even think of any that were, except for an old Richard Scarry I had when I was a kid. Not the association I was hoping for with my first offering. Would people think it was a children’s book? Or one of those Smart Women/Stupid Something self-help books?

No worries, Pushing Up Daisies was bright yellow, with glorious (apologies to Picasso) daisies and clever vinelike type. Fast forward one year to book two. I had some input, but before I knew it I was being asked what shade of pink I preferred. Was that the house color of choice for sophomore efforts? The folks at the publishing house were pros. They did this hundreds of times a year…and knew what they were doing, right? Reluctantly, I embraced the pink.

I was told they did more mockups for my cover than they did for some bestsellers…to get just the right shade of pink...not too Pepto...not too roseate spoonbill. I think they did a pretty (in pink) good job.

So, what's your position on pink?
Cheers,
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

A Little Dirt Is Good for You

2009-02-02T20:57:00.000-05:00

I always knew it....from the NYTimes..

January 27, 2009
Personal Health
Babies Know:A Little Dirt Is Good for You
By JANE E. BRODY
Ask mothers why babies are constantly picking things up from the floor or ground and putting them in their mouths, and chances are they’ll say that it’s instinctive — that that’s how babies explore the world. But why the mouth, when sight, hearing, touch and even scent are far better at identifying things?

When my young sons were exploring the streets of Brooklyn, I couldn’t help but wonder how good crushed rock or dried dog droppings could taste when delicious mashed potatoes were routinely rejected.

Since all instinctive behaviors have an evolutionary advantage or they would not have been retained for millions of years, chances are that this one too has helped us survive as a species. And, indeed, accumulating evidence strongly suggests that eating dirt is good for you.

In studies of what is called the hygiene hypothesis, researchers are concluding that organisms like the millions of bacteria, viruses and especially worms that enter the body along with “dirt” spur the development of a healthy immune system. Several continuing studies suggest that worms may help to redirect an immune system that has gone awry and resulted in autoimmune disorders, allergies and asthma.

These studies, along with epidemiological observations, seem to explain why immune system disorders like multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma and allergies have risen significantly in the United States and other developed countries.

Training the Immune System

“What a child is doing when he puts things in his mouth is allowing his immune response to explore his environment,” Mary Ruebush, a microbiology and immunology instructor, wrote in her new book, “Why Dirt Is Good” (Kaplan). “Not only does this allow for ‘practice’ of immune responses, which will be necessary for protection, but it also plays a critical role in teaching the immature immune response what is best ignored.”

Read entire article..
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/health/27brod.html?em&emc=eta1

Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

I'm exhausted...and I didn't even play

2009-02-01T22:15:00.000-05:00

Between the Australian Open (and those 3:30 am EST starts) and the Superbowl, I'm exhausted. Thank god football is over and the next tennis slam isn't until May.

It's hard to believe that these events have been going on my whole life - because I've only gotten into them in the last ten years (football) and the last twenty (tennis.)

I actually set the alarm for 3:30 on Sunday morning to watch the Federer/Nadal final. It was grueling - yes, Nadal is wonderful (although I prefer the sleeveless top), but I had hoped that Federer would pull it off. I'm just not ready to stop having him as a symbol of excellence..and it would take another 2-3 years for me to feel that way about Rafa.

This is not unusual for me..or for tennis. I can remember a Jimmy Connors/Andre Agassi match when someone in the crowd yelled "Jimmy you're a legend and he's a punk!" Maybe it was true at the time, but punks frequently become legends, as Andre did, and barring any unforeseen circumstances Rafa will surely attain that status. But right now, I'm shedding a few tears along with Roger.

Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Wang Dang Doodle by Willie Dixon live at Montreal

2009-01-27T18:15:00.001-05:00

My pals at the Jungle Red blog have been yakking about songs and that has morphed into a weird lyrics thread. This may be my favorite WTF is he talking about song. I don't care what it means I want to pitch a wang dang doodle all night long. I want one of those hats, too!

Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Rocky Mountain Hi!

2009-01-26T19:17:00.000-05:00

MidWinter ALA
Today's good publishing news comes from Denver where the MidWinter ALA conference is wrapping up. (Well, for me anyway..I think there are still meetings going on but the exhibit floor has closed.)

I went wearing two hats - one as an author signing and giving away advanced reading copies of my new book, and the other as a volunteer at the Bouchercon booth, where I got to hang our with mystery maven Jim Huang, the endlessly cheerful Mike Befeler (master of Geezer Lit, author of Retirement is Murder and the devilishly handsome guy in the hat)the beautiful, talented and serene - because she gets to go hiking in the mountains every week - Bonnie Ramthun (author of The White Gates.)

We were there to chat up Bouchercon 2009 which takes place in Indianapolis this October with bestselling author Michael Connelley as its guest of honor. It wasn't a hard sell. And as centrally located as Indianapolis is I think there are going to be record crowds so make sure you register early (and get a hotel room....the Colts schedule hasn't been posted yet, but if they're in town it could be hard to get a room.)It may be anyway with 1,500-2,000 people expected this is going to be one fun event.

Yes, a lot of people learned they were losing their jobs today. The economy is still awful and people are still suffering. But today I feel good because I'm a writer and this past weekend I saw thousands of librarians hungry for books for their libraries. I had a librarian tell me with deserved pride that her library system had a circulation of over 17 million (I'm not sure what that means, but dang, it sounds like a lot!)I talked to librarians about signings and events, and I saw 300-400 of them sitting in on a panel discussion called Women of Mystery. Warmed the cockles, as they say.....

A Happy Publishing Story

2009-01-22T16:49:00.000-05:00

In the midst of all of the doom and gloom surrounding book publishing these days I've decided to be the complete Pollyanna and focus on good news, success stories from this battered business. There are plenty of others to tell you about the bad stuff..I'm going to play the Glad Game.

I'm going to start with a story I heard this morning from a very reliable source, a legend in book publishing, in fact. Admittedly it's not exactly hot off the presses - but that's not what I'm about. It would be too exhausting to try to be first with any news..I'm not that competitive, and besides, I'd have to stop checking the Australian Open scores..and my Facebook page..and getting up to get another diet Red Bull - you get the picture.

Today's story is decades old. A young and ambitious Doubleday employee wrote to Joseph Conrad (yes the story's that old.) He suggested that Mr. Conrad might not be getting all of the attention that he should be getting from his current publisher and rhapsodized about what he would do on his own for Mr. Conrad. Conrad was impressed.
The young man asked Conrad if he would move to a new company, if he started one. Conrad said yes. With $5,000 the guy started his own company and, of course, named it after himself, Alfred A. Knopf.

I'd say it worked out pretty well for him.

Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

A Better Poem for Today

2009-01-20T18:01:00.000-05:00

I, Too, Sing America

by Langston Hughes (1902-1967)

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen

When company comes,

But I laugh,

And eat well,

And grow strong.

Tomorrow,

I'll be at the table

When company comes.

Nobody'll dare

Say to me,

"Eat in the kitchen,"

Then.

Besides,

They'll see how beautiful I am

And be ashamed--

I, too, am America.

Thanks to Scott Robbins for turning me on to this poem. Scott is one of the founders of Project ALS, finding and funding treatments and a cure for ALS.
Please check out their website http://www.projectals.org/

Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

From the Typewriter to the Bookstore: A Publishing Story

2009-01-18T11:21:00.001-05:00

I love it...so where's my avatar, guys?

Goodbye Number Six

2009-01-18T11:01:00.000-05:00

Wait..he wasn't a number..that was the whole point.

Patrick McGoohan passed away a few days ago. Yes, he was 80, but I was still sorry to hear it. He definitely added class to any movie that he appeared in - he was particularly good at playing a rat, whether it was the cruel king in Braveheart or the racist judge in A Time To Kill, but of course, he will forever be remembered as Number Six..unwilling resident of the Village in the television series, The Prisoner.

I don't remember when I first saw the series, probably long after it left the air and was in some endless rerun cycle on NYC television, but I remember it as one of the smartest and most unusual programs I'd ever seen. Although I stiill wish someone would tell me what the heck the giant white ball was all about. I even bought the videos in the 80's - I'm sure they're somewhere buried in a closet with all of the other old tv series I snapped when from my days in the biz, The Foryte Saga, I, Claudius, Brideshead Revisited.....

I hope they hold up as well as my memories of them do.
Thanks, Patrick.

Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

the vegetable orchestra

2009-01-16T11:12:00.001-05:00

Okay, the next time I think my job is creative because I have to sit down and get my characters in and out of trouble, I'm going to watch this video again.
Cheers,
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Readers Without Borders...

2009-01-07T13:33:00.000-05:00

Executives Replaced at Borders as Sales Fall

By MOTOKO RICH
Published: January 5, 2009
The Borders Group, the troubled bookstore chain, announced a management shake-up on Monday, replacing its chief executive, George L. Jones, with Ron Marshall, most recently a principal of Wildridge Capital Management, a private equity firm

Read complete article
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/business/media/06borders.html?ref=media

I can't remember a time when I've read an article about Borders that didn't refer to them as "the troubled bookstore chain." Whether you are an indie bookstore fan, a B&N devotee, or a used bookstore junkie - fewer bookstores mean fewer literate people in this country.

To me that means a world where the media is All Brangelina all the time, people think The Venetian in Las Vegas is really Italy, more people vote for some has-been actor in a dance contest than in their local elections, and book deals will only be extended to celebs in rehab and outgoing first ladies who don't have anything interesting to say anyway. And ten titles that focus groups and a handful of decisionmakers choose will be the only ones available. It will be like one big airport bookstore. Scary.

Maybe we won't be walking around like the characters in Fahrenheit 451, reciting our favorite books because the firemen have burned them all. But for those of us who love reading it will be a terrible shame for this chain to close its doors. And to see the wonderful Borders megastore on Park Avenue and 57th Street replaced with another Niketown, or Disney store. (Nothing against those companies - I even worked for Disney, briefly.)

I buy books on Amazon, Costco and at my local indies and chains. This morning I ordered a book from an indie two states away because an author I like will be there tmw and I can get a signed copy.

I don't know the details about Borders' finances but I hope their new team can right the ship. In the meantime, maybe instead of plunking down $10 for a movie and $5 for the popcorn, some of us will take that $15 and go buy two paperbacks. Your brain and your arteries will thank you.

Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Do I really have to take the tree down?

2009-01-04T08:16:00.000-05:00

This year, I confess, I was not looking forward to putting up a tree. I had slightly over committed by agreeing to plan 4 outside parties in a three week period and I'm finishing up book three in my mystery series. I wasn't even having my own party this year. I didn't have time to unearth and carefully unwrap my mother's ornaments and the things I've collected over the years -the carved moose ornament from Maine, the starfish from Sanibel, the ornaments an old Danish boyfriend gave me twenty years ago.

In fact, I started to think why do I own all this junk? It takes up an entire closet where I'm sure the mice camp out 11 months of the year, and some of it - like the Danish ornaments from what's-his-name - I probably should have tossed years ago.

Not being able to go cold turkey, I went with just lights this year and as you can see the tree looked pretty nice (it's in my kitchen, something I decided to do three years ago and highly recommend since people hang out in the kitchen anyway.)

But, I missed all that other stuff. Maybe in the same way that it's good to go through old photos every once in a while, it's good to revisit years past through the holiday things that you've kept - Nutcrackers, holiday china, the vintage holiday linens I used to collect.

Anyway, this baby's coming down soon and will join the ghosts of Christmases past in a berm that I am building behind my kitchen (one year I found an ornament there that I had forgotten to take off the tree!)but I figured if I put a picture of it on the blog it''ll be beautiful a little longer.

Cheers,
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Here's Max putting away his hat until next year.

Get busy living....

2009-01-02T12:21:00.001-05:00

Some of my Jungle Red sisters (www.jungleredwriters.com) are blogging today about their hopes for 2009. I love this clip from The Shawshank Redemption, it's all about hope. I was inspired to post it here by the folks at Perfect Moment Project. Thanks, guys.
Rosemary

www.rosemaryharris.com

New Year's Resolutions: The Two Lists

2009-01-01T15:33:00.000-05:00

I was fortunate to spend time with an enigmatic man named Robert during a very special period of my life. Robert taught me many things during our days together, and this time of year reminds me of one particular interaction we had.

"Now that you are becoming more aware," Robert said, "you need to begin to set goals for yourself so you don't lose the momentum you have built."

"Like New Year's resolutions?" I asked.

"That's an interesting idea," he smirked. "Let's do that."

By then I was used to his cryptic responses, so I knew something was up because of the way his eyes sparkled as he let out an impish laugh.

"Tonight's assignment is to make two lists," Robert continued. "The first is a list of all the New Year's resolutions you WANT to keep, and the second is a list of all the New Year's resolutions you WILL keep. Write the WANT List first, and when you have exhausted all of your ideas, then write the second list on another sheet of paper."

That night I went home and spent several hours working on the two lists. The WANT List felt overwhelming at first, but after a while I got into writing all the things I had always wanted to do if the burdens of life hadn't gotten in the way. After nearly an hour, the list swelled to fill the entire page and contained nearly all of my ideas of an ideal life. The second list was much easier, and I was able to quickly commit ten practical resolutions that I felt would be both realistic and helpful.

The next day, I met Robert in front of the local food Co-op, where we seemed to have most of our enlightening conversations. "Tell me about your two lists," Robert said as the familiar smirk crept onto his face.

"The first list contains all the things I SHOULD do if I completely changed my life to be the person I always wanted to be. And the second list contains all the things I COULD do by accepting my current life, and taking realistic steps towards the life I want to lead."

"Let me see the second list," he said.

I handed him the second list, and without even looking at it, he ripped the paper into tiny pieces and threw it in the nearby garbage can. His disregard for the effort I had put into the list annoyed me at first, but after I calmed down I began to think about the first list in a different light. In my heart, I knew the second list was a cop out, and the first list was the only one that really mattered.

"And now, the first list." Robert bowed his head and held out both of his hands.

I purposefully handed him the first list and held his gaze for several seconds, waiting for him to begin reading the page. After an unusually long silence, he began to crumple the paper into a ball and once again tossed it into the can without looking at it.

"What did you do that for?!" I couldn't hide my anger any longer.

Robert began to speak in a quiet and assured voice. "What you SHOULD or COULD do with your life no longer matters. The only thing that matters, from this day forward, is what you MUST do."

He then drew a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and handed it to me.

I opened it carefully, and found a single word floating in the middle of the white page:

"LOVE"

A Message from DailyOM Co-Founder Scott Blum....and me.

Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Just Call it Fiction

2008-12-29T12:09:00.000-05:00

I make up stuff for a living (any authors reading this feel free to smirk or roll your eyes at what constitutes a living for a genre fiction writer..)So why is it every six months or so some writer feels the need to call his work of fiction a memoir?
You are probably going to be outed - just take your chances like the rest of us.
I always feel a little sorry for the people who've been duped by these guys. Maybe they'll lose some innocence - or won't be moved by the next, hopefully true memoir that comes down the pike. And then there's Oprah. You've gotta love her. Maybe it's just the season, but she reminds me a little of Charlie Brown..no matter how many times the football is jerked away, he gives it a good swing. Way to go, Oprah.

Berkley Cancels Holocaust Memoir as Author Confesses
On the quietest Saturday of the year, Berkley cancelled publication of Herman Rosenblat's ANGEL AT THE FENCE: The True Story of a Love That Survived, scheduled for release in February. In a short statement the publisher, which initially defended the book following a long piece in The New Republic, said the cancellation came "after receiving new information from Rosenblat's agent, Andrea Hurst." They also said that they "will demand that the author and the agent return all money that they have received for this work." (The NYT said later that it was sold "for less than $50,000.")

In a statement on Sunday, agent Andrea Hurst said "Herman revealed to me that part of his memoir was not true. He'd invented the crux of this amazing love story-about the girl at the fence who threw him an apple.... Like millions of others who read this story or saw Herman and Roma on Oprah, I never for a moment questioned the authenticity of the widely circulated story. I know that everyone who has worked so hard with Herman this past year is as stunned and disappointed as I am that this story of hope has such a sad ending."

Rosenblat added in a brief statement via Hurst that "I wanted to bring happiness to people, to remind them not to hate, but to love and tolerate all people. I brought good feelings to a lot of people and I brought hope to many. My motivation was to make good in this world." Hurst tells the AP, "I question why I never questioned it. I believed it; it was an incredible, hope-filled story."

The Times says today that Rosenblat "first concocted his story in the mid-1990s as an entry to a newspaper contest soliciting the 'best love stories.'" Long before he fooled his agent and Berkley, he fooled Oprah Winfrey and many others. "In 1996, he appeared on Ms. Winfrey's show with his wife and repeated the fabricated story. From there, it snowballed, with versions appearing in magazines, a volume of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and a children's book, Angel Girl, by Laurie Friedman, released in September by an imprint of Lerner Publishing. Mr. and Mrs. Rosenblat, who now live in North Miami Beach, appeared on CBS's Early Show in October."
AP
NYT

Atta boy, Clarence!

2008-12-23T23:35:00.000-05:00

In the early days of the video business, I bought and sold videos and the rights to programming - mostly non-fiction, documentaries, performance, nature. None of the companies I worked for ever had the rights to a major theatrical release. Adult videos did a lot to get the business off the ground - after all, people could watch in the privacy of their homes, what they used to have to go to Times Square for - and they didn't need to wear a raincoat.

The other thing that helped launch the video business was what we called PD lines. Public Domain. The licenses had lapsed, they were never registered, or renewed..whatever. There were hundreds of titles that fell into the PD category.
And I started a PD line for the company I worked for. I remember one very NY night after hours at the Thalia when I screened (for quality) segments of about 50 films.

Most of them were - to say the least - not classics. Some early John Waynes, Sherlock Holmes'. lots of westerns from Republic - but the granddaddy of them all was It's A Wonderful Life. I still have a copy somewhere, and it's still wonderful.
Buy the DVD because you may not see it on television this year.

From The Slate

I used to be able to watch It's a Wonderful Life almost every day throughout the Christmas season. What happened?

U.S. copyright law determines who may distribute, display, or reproduce a film, book, or drawing. Works not covered by copyrights—including ones with copyrights that have expired and those that never secured this protection—are said to be in the "public domain." These works, like the near-ancient Sherlock Holmes stories and some of Charlie Chaplin's silent films, can be reproduced, broadcast, and sold freely. It's a Wonderful Life entered the public domain by accident when Republic Pictures, the original copyright owner and producer of Wonderful Life, neglected to renew the 1946 copyright in 1974. Stations programmed it heavily during the holidays, paying no royalties to its producers, and more than 100 distributors sold the movie on tape. Republic regained control of the lucrative property in 1993 by flexing a new Supreme Court ruling that determined that the holder of a copyright to a story from which a movie was made had certain property rights over the movie itself. Since Republic still owned the copyrighted story behind It's a Wonderful Life and had also purchased exclusive rights to the movie's copyrighted music, it was able to essentially yank the movie out of the public domain, meaning that it could no longer be shown without the studio's permission. (For more on holiday reruns, read this Explainer from 1999.)

http://www.slate.com/id/2206440/

Happy Holidays,
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Bookstore Worker Held for Embezzlement

2008-12-22T12:18:00.000-05:00

Good grief...as if business wasn't bad enough...

Forty-three-year old Anna Susan Kosak was charged with embezzling $348,975 from Quail Ridge Books & Music over the past seven years.

The News Observer says she was the bookstore's bookkeeper until September. General manager Sarah Goddin said the missing money "went undetected because it disappeared over a long period of time." Co-owner Nancy Olsen says their sales are about $3.4 million a year. "We're shocked," Olsen said after the arrest. "We felt a professional closeness with her. We thought a lot of her." She adds, We thought we were watching our every dollar. I guess we weren't."

Olsen notes that the store remains solid. "We are in very good shape. I would call our sales flat, which is a good thing these days."

What is this snow?

2008-12-21T19:34:00.001-05:00

There's a charming scene in The King and I where the King of Siam's eldest son refuses to believe that Siam is not the largest country in the world and he refuses to believe in the existence of snow. It is kind of a miracle when you think about it (okay, at least by junior high school standards.) And I'm not going to explain it here just in case Mrs. Greenberger is reading this and I screw it up.

In any event I defy even the most jaded, most Scroogelike grownup to not be dazzled by the first big snowfall of the year. It's like mulch, but on a larger scale. Even piles of rubbish or garden debris morph into something beautiful when covered by snow. (Yes, yes, until it gets slushy and gray and plowed and driven over ten times, but let's enjoy the moment, okay?)

Who wants eggnog?

2008-12-20T01:47:00.000-05:00

No one I know drinks eggnog anymore and that's a shame. Between the calories and the cholesterol (and the copious amounts of rum and brandy in the really good stuff,) few people choose to partake, myself included. The recipe I used to make every year came from The Joy of Cooking Cookbook and it was awesome, but of course it made a vat of the stuff. Hard to find takers and a little scary to have that much nog in the house at a time when there's also likely to be cookies, cakes, etc.

And I miss it - the same way I miss tanning, bacon, picking up hitchhikers, staying up all night and all of the other things I used to do. Maybe one small shot glass..if I can find one.

The origins, etymology, and even the ingredients used to make the original eggnog drink are debated. Eggnog, or a very similar drink, may have originated in East Anglia, England, though it may also have been developed from posset (a medieval European beverage made with hot milk). An article by Nanna Rögnvaldsdóttir, an Icelandic food expert, states that the drink adopted the nog part of its name from the word noggin, a Middle English phrase used to describe a small, wooden, carved mug used to serve alcohol. Another name for this britisch drink was Egg Flip. Yet another story is that the term derived from the name egg-and-grog, a common Colonial term used to describe rum. Eventually the term was shortened to egg'n'grog, then eggnog.

The ingredients for the drink were too expensive and uncommon for the lower classes, but it was popular among the aristocracy. "You have to remember, the average Londoner rarely saw a glass of milk", says author and historian James Humes (To Humes It May Concern, July 1997). "There was no refrigeration, and the farms belonged to the big estates. Those who could get milk and eggs to make eggnog mixed it with brandy or Madeira or even sherry."

The drink crossed the Atlantic to the English colonies during the 18th century. Since brandy and wine were heavily taxed, rum from the Triangular Trade with the Caribbean was a cost-effective substitute. The inexpensive liquor coupled with plentiful farm and dairy products helped the drink become very popular in America. From Wikipedia.

Cheers,
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

A Lovely Day

2008-12-17T08:30:00.000-05:00

A Lovely Day by Bill Withers is the first song on my workout playlist. There are few songs that can send me out of the house smiling like that one does. No matter how many times I hear it, from those first few notes - I feel as if today is a fresh start. Whatever may have ticked me off yesterday is over and "the world's all right with me." Sometimes the song is played at Madison Square Garden during breaks in the Knicks games and the whole atmosphere in the building changes. Here are some interesting facts about this song from Soundfacts.

Skip Scarborough was a songwriter and producer who worked with Earth, Wind & Fire, Patti Labelle, LTD, and many other R&B stars before his death in 2003. He wrote the music for this, and was also the inspiration for the lyrics Withers came up. Says Withers, "Skip was a very nice, gentle man. The way Skip was, every day was just a lovely day. He was an optimist. If I had sat down with the same music and my collaborator had been somebody else with a different personality, it probably would have caused something else to cross my mind lyrically. It was a combination of the music and the person and the ambience in the room."

Withers: "We're all sponges in a sense. You put us around very nice people, and the nice things come out in us. You put us around some jerks, and we practice being jerks. We all adjust. Did you ever notice the difference in the way you speak to your grandmother or your best contemporary friend? If I had sat down with the same music and my collaborator had been somebody else with a different personality, it probably would have caused something else to cross my mind lyrically."

Near the end of the song, Withers holds a note for 18 seconds... "Lovely Daaaaaaaaay." This might be the longest held vocal note of any hit song.

Artists who have covered this include Clarence Carter, Hootie & the Blowfish and Take 6. Luther Vandross also recorded it with Busta Rhymes on Vandross' last album Dance With My Father. (Read his full interview in the Songfacts Interviews. His website is billwithersmusic.com.)

What's the song that sends you out of the house smiling?
Have a Lovely Day!

Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Made it Mom, King of the world!

2008-12-14T18:36:00.000-05:00

Okay, maybe not the king of the world - like James Cagney in the classic gangster film White Heat - but as close as I ever hope to be.

I got a tour of the Stamford (CT) Police Department a few days ago. I don't really know what I was expecting...Hill Street Blues? Law & Order? It's a suburban police station, happily it wasn't the madhouse frequently seen in movies and on television. I didn't see any woman as good looking as Mariska Hargitay (sp?) and no detectives with their heads permanently on an angle like Vincent D'Onofrio. (What is wrong with him? Good actor, but I'm beginning to think aliens really did invade his body in Men in Black.)

None of them, just a very cute Lt. who agreed to show me around. Since I write an amateur sleuth and not police procedurals I don't, strictly speaking, need to know all of the cop stuff that people who write those books need to know - and get excoriated for if they get wrong. No one will ever expect my protagonist to know exactly how many times you can fire a Glock before reloading. Or what the difference is between a hollow point bullet and whatever the other kind is. But even writing traditional mysteries it's good to know some details. How long would a prisoner stay in this jail before being transferred to a bigger one? What's the procedure for this or that offense? And just how small are those cells? Pretty damn small.

Next spring shooting range. My Sisters in Crime class got rained out last time, so I'm going try again. Not that my amateur sleuth is ever going to pack a gun..but you never know...

Cheers,
Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Goodbye Bettie Page

2008-12-12T08:55:00.000-05:00

From Popeater

LOS ANGELES (Dec. 12) -- Pin-up icon Bettie Page died in Los Angeles on Thursday after falling ill with pneumonia following a heart attack earlier this month. She was 85.
Page was a ubiquitous sight during the 1950s, propelled to stardom when she posed for Playboy as Miss January 1955. Soon her image was gracing playing cards, record albums and bedroom posters across the country.
She stopped modeling in 1957, retreated from the public spotlight and turned to religion. She enjoyed a renaissance of sorts in the 1980s, as a new generation of fans became obsessed with her legacy.
Her agent, Mark Roesler, said Page was admitted to a Los Angeles-area hospital four weeks ago. She never regained consciousness after suffering a heart attack earlier this month.
With her dark bangs, alluring blue-gray eyes and wide smile, Page cultivated an innocent girl-next-door persona. The one-time school teacher was nice, but clearly also naughty. Some of her photos featured spanking and bondage.
"Bettie Page embodied the sterotypical wholesomeness of the Fifties and the hidden sexuality straining beneath the surface," authors Karen Essex and James L. Swanson wrote in their 1996 book "Bettie Page: The Life of a Pin-Up Legend."

Back in the eighties - when I was a mere child - I worked for a publisher who had published a Bettie Page poster book. By the days standards, it was pretty tame - you could see more than Bettie showed on any beach in Brooklyn. But I think it was the naughtniness factor. There was just something in that smile that must have made guys think "this is going to be fun!"

Anyway, because I wear bangs I get the occasional Bettie Page remark. I don't usually mind, although it depends on how the line is delivered. (And whether or not I'm wearing any gear, etc.)

Goodbye Bettie, you've made generations of men a lot happier, even for just a few minutes at a time.

Rosemary
www.rosemaryharris.com

Books make great gifts..

2008-12-11T20:25:00.001-05:00

No one ever buys me books anymore!! Now that I'm a writer people must think I get all the books I want for free. No way.

Here are few that should be on your holiday shopping list....check back everyday until December 25 for more great gift ideas.

Teaser...Jan Brogan (watch the trailer, it'll knock your socks off.)This is the darkest of the bunch and I think PW said it was Jan's best yet.

For lighter, murderous doings (!)
Wolfsbane and Mistletoe edited by Charlaine Harris/Toni Kelner

Murder With All the Trimmings by Elaine Viets

Six Geese A-Slaying by Donna Andrews
Enjoy!
www.rosemaryharris.com