Sophie Littlefield Blog

The Devil Is My Running Mate

2012-01-28T07:16:00.000-08:00

Big, big breakthrough for me: I have found the theme song for my new project: "The Devil Is My Running Mate" by Jason Isbell. It's way too early to talk about the story yet but this song can take me to the middle of the mix that fast.

"Everybody look away.
Look away. Look away."

HORIZON release day!

2012-01-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

The AFTERTIME series wraps up today with the release of the third and final installment.

I wrote HORIZON in a breathless burst of adrenaline in 2011 following a series of discussions I had with Adam Wilson (my editor) and Barbara Poelle (my agent). I can’t begin to tell you how important they were to this series: it truly was a team effort, bubbling out of our conversations about how the damaged world evolved, and how the characters would react to each other and the challenges they faced.

I’ve never written anything like this series before, and while I certainly hope I get to write more imagined-world fiction in the future, I doubt I’ll ever dig deeper into my dreams and nightmares than I did in AFTERTIME, REBIRTH, and now HORIZON. I expanded my view of what it means to be heroic, as well as my understanding of the parameters of romantic love.

I've been touched by the response to this series from readers, and the support of some very generous reviewers. In particular, Paul Goat Allen and Jim Killen at Barnes & Noble were wonderful and encouraging, and Abigail at All Things Urban Fantasy made me feel like I'd managed to write from the heart.

Here's some advance praise for HORIZON:

“Of the 400+ books that have been reviewed on this site, only one series has received perfect 5/5 ratings for every book: the Aftertime series by Sophie Littlefield. I can’t really believe it myself, but each book really is that good, and HORIZON is the perfect conclusion.” – All Things Urban Fantasy

“It is the depth of raw emotion that makes this series, and this installment most of all, so compelling.” 5/5 rating - A Book Obsession

“ Love, life-changing choices, chilling and horrific situations revealed through seamless and evocative writing, HORIZON is a must-read for post-apocalyptic and zombie fans!” 4.5/5 rating - Romance Junkies

“Ends with loss and with hope…an amazing series that needs to be read in its entirety.”- Red Hot Books

“What an incredible ending to a great series!” -Badass Book Reviews

“Littlefield has the ability to make you experience every emotion in this dystopian world.” - Blood Rose Books

My Personal Farewell to Borders

2012-01-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

I walked by the shell of my local Borders today.

It was a bittersweet moment. I know most people have already processed their feelings about the chain, but I - well, frankly, I didn't think I had any to process. Borders didn't carry my first book in hardcover, and it was a while before they started carrying any of my books at all, so I had a sort of immature petulant response to them - if they didn't want me then I sure as hell didn't want them.

And their customer service, the few times I went in the last few years, really was indefensible. No one knew where anything was. No one *cared* where anything was. The lines were long and they were always, frustratingly, out of the one thing I really wanted.

But.

I remember taking my kids there, years ago, to the children's section, which had little carpeted benches and racks of delightful softcover books that were inexpensive enough I didn't mind buying a stack of them, knowing they'd be scribbled on and ruined. (I am *not* of the books-are-to-be-respected camp, despite my dad's best efforts. Books - like quilts - should be loved up and used up.)

I remember searching, furtively, through the how-to-write section when I was kinda sorta thinking of writing a full length novel. And later, I bought my Jeff Herman guide (remember those?) back when I didn't realize I'd have to query every single agent frog, hundreds of them, before finding my perfect one.

I worked in the cafe on my first manuscript, hoping no one would get close enough to look over my shoulder and see the embarrassing prose I was writing.

And once in a while I just browsed those lovely stacks of magazines, all the ones you couldn't get at the grocery store. Sometimes I bought Ellery Queen. Or Quilters Newsletter Magazine. Or the Atlantic. Or Ms. Or Allure Makeover edition. Or In Touch. I'm a magazine junkie, and on a bad day, it was an easy pick-me-up.

When I took this snapshot, the guy working on the construction, or demolition, or whatever they're doing in there, looked at me like I was nuts.

Not nuts. Just a little wistful.

Now Write! Mysteries

2012-01-18T16:46:00.000-08:00

I just received my contributor copies of a new how-to book for aspiring mystery authors titled Now Write! Mysteries.

I knew a few of my friends were also contributing essays, but my eyes popped when I opened the book and scanned the table of contents. It seems like every mystery author working today has an essay in here, from A to Z - Emily Arsenault to Elizabeth Zelvin, to be more specific. The essays cover topics ranging from research to revision and everything in between, and many include exercises.

Check it out here!

Oh, and I guess I should mention that my essay is on writing emotion. I re-read it - I think it's pretty good!

My Week at Hogwarts - er, Seton Hill

2012-01-15T08:41:00.000-08:00

Last week I went to Greensburg, PA with my pals Juliet and Rachael, at the invitation with another dear friend, Nicole Peeler - or "Dr. Peeler," as we got into the habit of calling her last week, since she is a professor in the MFA Popular Fiction program at Seton Hill University.

Seton Hill is housed in a series of beautiful old hilltop castle-like buildings. We *may* have done a little secret exploring. There may have been tunnels. And dungeons. And dusty treasures... Just saying.

Rachael, me and Julie holding forth

with Julie and Dr. Peeler outside the hallowed halls

The three of us gave a talk on revision techniques, followed by breakout sessions where we got into the nitty-gritty. We were all impressed by the students' determination to improve their craft. This is something of a hot button for me in this age of "just get it out there"-ism, the apparent belief that quality just doesn't matter like it used to - or editing, for that matter. No such attitudes were on display in this crowd. I'm sure some of those students will publish through alternative paths - on their own or with independent publishers - but the books they are writing will be the best they can create. I say "Bravo" to that.

We also had a lively discussion on Gender in Publishing. While preparing to moderate that one, I did a fair amount of research and discovered some startling things, which I summarized in my MurderSheWrites post last week. Here's just a few more: men in publishing make an average of $40,000 more than women (though they do have more experience, an average of 17 years to women's 11) . Dispiritingly enough, both Oprah's now-defunct book club and Terry Gross's occasional author interviews on NPR's fresh air skew madly to men. All of this despite the fact that the sisterhood of women readers trundles gamely along, still reading more than men in every category but history and biography, and in 2010 surpassing men in e-book reading, a day some predicted would never come.

I think all my friends are ready for me to stop beating this poor horse for a while, but before I do, I'll leave you with a final two quotes from industry professionals. I think they are even more interesting when considered together - in fact, I wish I could have these two over for dinner:

George Gibson, president of Bloomsbury USA:
"Women and men see the world differently and therefore I think it would be healthier to have more men in the business" (responding to figures showing that women outnumber men in publishing)

Tracy Bowling, writer, editor, blogger:
"Unexamined assumptions about what makes good writing can potentially block out forms of writing that emerge from the real experiences and contexts of being in a marginalized group."

A last note: several audience members, in the course of our discussion, admitted that in examining their own reading habits, they saw potential for bias, and pledged to be aware in their future reading choices.

70s Tidbits

2012-01-05T10:11:00.000-08:00

One of the many joys of working on my latest book (GARDEN OF STONES, out from Mira Fall 2012) is that much of it is set in the 40s and 1979. Had no idea how much I would enjoy the research...and, inevitably, the wince-inducing re-immersion in an era I actually lived through, an era of questionable practices and aesthetics...

Here's a couple nice ads for your enjoyment (thanks to RollerBlog)

So I'm always...halfheartedly...promising Julie that I'll pay attention to my carbon footprint blah blah blah. At her house you have to use this weird fake Windex stuff made out of distilled rainwater or something. Imagine her horror if she saw this (seriously? Lysol in the A/C vents??? Even I would hesitate at that!)

Oh, Jeez, if only I had a man in an acetate Santa-shorty-gown...

School Library Journal on UNFORSAKEN

2012-01-03T21:02:00.000-08:00

Nice new review of UNFORSAKEN at School Library Journal...

Gr 9 Up–This companion to Banished (Delacorte, 2010) is fast paced and disturbingly vivid. Hailey Tarbell, 16, is descended from the Banished, a group of Irish healers, and has inherited the power to heal, but it only works if a wounded person is still alive; otherwise, it turns the deceased into the living dead. Hailey is all too familiar with this chilling reality after escaping her hometown and those who wanted to exploit her power to create an army of zombies. Now she has a second chance at a normal life with her Aunt Prairie and adopted four-year-old brother, Chub. However, a new identity and a modicum of safety cannot make her forget who she left behind. When Hailey secretly talks to her boyfriend, Kaz, she inadvertently alerts the enemy to her location and ruins all illusions of safety. After Prairie and Chub go missing, Hailey and Kaz must find and rescue them from the men who will stop at nothing in their quest to build a zombie army. In this sequel, Hailey is still figuring out her powers but is more confident, aggressive, and willing to risk everything to save those she loves. While at times the inclusion of backstory seems to overwhelm the current narrative, it is helpful for remembering elements that could easily be forgotten. Littlefield wraps things up a little too neatly, but readers will still experience nail-biting moments of zombie attacks and heart-fluttering moments of romance that will keep them reading to the very end.–Elizabeth C. Johnson, Fort Vancouver Regional Library, WA

I Resolve - Oh, Hell Yes I Do

2012-01-02T20:01:00.000-08:00

I'm good at New Years Resolutions. Generally speaking, when I decide to do something, it gets done. I didn't end up starting 2012 with what's essentially a completely different life than the one I had five years ago by sitting still...

So I have to decide with care. This is only a partial list, but I want to be cautious about how much of my determination I unleash at a time...

1. Be a better writer. If not with every page I write, then certainly with every book. The craft MATTERS. I may not be able to drown out all the noise generated by the changing publishing model (and the idiots who seem to think they're entitled to tell everyone else what to do and how to do it) - but I CAN make sure that the vast majority of my time is spent on *writing* - not marketing and not promoting. These tasks are important, but they are always, always, always far secondary to the work.

2. Keep working on accepting what I cannot change. (Really, if the Serenity Prayer didn't have the whole, y'know, serenity focus, that alone could be my New Year's resolution, every time. I suck at serenity. But the rest of it's genius.)

3. Love well the friends who make my life a joy and inspire me to be better (and let the rest go, in peace).

4. Remember to delight in my great fortune. Because every day's so damn precious.

Along Publishers Row...

2011-12-22T10:34:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to mention for a while that I got a few column inches in the Author's Guild Bulletin a while back, in their "Along Publishers Row" feature. It wasn't a huge deal or anything - they were reprinting a few of my comments on doing research - but it was still a cool moment for me because, I mean, it's like the *AUTHOR'S* guild. You know, for real, professional authors.

I guess I still am battling a little of Impostor Syndrome. Where I feel like, at any moment, "They" will come along and say it was all a mistake, that it was some *other* Sophie Littlefield who they meant to give the book contract to, that I really ought to go back to doing what I was doing before, letting my dreams simmer on the back of the stove.

I think we all have different ideas about what constitutes "making it," whether it's a paycheck or a review venue or an online ranking or a bookstore shelf. To my surprise, it's an ongoing process. I never had a moment where I felt like I went from striver to professional. It's been a gradual thing and honestly, some days I feel like an amateur all over again.

I don't really mind, though, for a couple of reasons. First of all, a little uncertainty keeps my determination fine-honed. And second, I love these moments - and there are many, if you stop to enjoy them - when I am reminded that I really am doing what I set out to do.

End-of-Year Review Love

2011-12-20T09:25:00.000-08:00

Starting sometime in December, bloggers and reviewers release their lists of favorite reads of the year. I'm thrilled that a number of my books are popping up on lists here and there. Thanks to all readers who take time to share their thoughts with the community.

Paul Goat Allen, reviewing for Barnes&Noble, put AFTERTIME on his Top Zombie Reads of 2011 list. Actually, he named it #1. Blush. Happy blush.

Tina, of Tina's Book Reviews, put AFTERTIME on her top reads list, but I especially love the name of the award she gave it: The "I Had No Idea I Would Love This So" award :)

Jen, at Red Hot Books, chose REBIRTH on her favorite reads list. Thanks, Jen!

Janet at the Rocky River Public Library put A BAD DAY FOR SCANDAL on her top ten reads of 2011.

A BAD DAY FOR SORRY is on Amy's Best "New To Us" in 2011 list - thanks to the Wake Forest, NC library system.

New Story: "The Stain Carrier"

2011-12-20T09:09:00.000-08:00

I have a new short story up at Beat To A Pulp! This is a great site for noir fiction - in the able hands of editor David Cranmer - and I hope you'll check out all the archives because there is some amazing writing to be found there.

Read "The Stain Carrier" here. I'd love to hear what you think.

Publishing for Vision & Hearing - Win ME!

2011-11-30T20:54:00.000-08:00

Okay, well....you can't exactly win ME, but trust me, you wouldn't want that anyway. I'm a little high maintenance in person. But, I AM a pretty damn good critiquer, if I do say so myself. Some of the people I've read for before have gone on to get great agents, publishing contracts, and sweeeeeet indie pub sales. (Super proud of my pal Rebecca Lyndon for selling over 800 copies of her debut novella in the first few weeks.)

If you'd like a piece of that action, click right here. The best part is that you'll be supporting efforts to combat blindness and deafness. The Irene Goodman Agency has been working hard for this cause for many years. You can read more about it below.

And if I'm not your cup of tea, fear not! There are dozens of other authors, agents, and editors signed on to critique. Make your bid any time in December, and let's plan to kick some publishing ass together in the new year!

We auction the editorial services of editors, agents, and bestselling authors to give feedback to aspiring writers. Auction items can range from a lunch meeting to a proposal evaluation to an entire manuscript critique. All net proceeds go directly to the Foundation Fighting Blindness, the Deafness Research Foundation, and other research organizations or clinics that further our cause. Through this auction, the united talent and expertise of the publishing community will dramatically transform lives. Our goal is to put ourselves out of business by making the twin scourges of blindness and deafness a thing of the past.

Mike's CLAWBACK cover revealed!

2011-11-30T07:49:00.001-08:00

Aaaagh, how hard it's been to resist posting this cover until it was public. I LOVE my brother's book, as you are probably tired of hearing.

Too bad you have to wait until March for THIS:

"After a stint in the Middle East, black ops vet Silas Cade becomes an "accountant"-the go-to for financiers who need things done quickly, quietly, and by any means necessary. Silas is hired by a major player to pay a visit to a hedge fund manager to demand clawback: the mandatory return of compensation paid on a deal that goes bad. But before Cade can tell his client that he got his ten million back, the guy turns up dead.

And he's not the first. Someone's killing investment bankers whose funds have gone south. Silas's scrubbed identity, and his insider's perspective, makes him the ideal shadow man to track down whoever's murdering some of the most hated managers on Wall Street. With the aid of a beautiful financial blogger looking to break her first big story, Silas tracks a violent security crew who may be the key to the executions. But as paranoia and panic spread, he begins to wonder: is the threat coming from inside the game-or out?

With breakneck pacing, nonstop action, and cutting edge details of today's financial intelligence technology, Clawback hurtles to its final twist, a gripping contemporary tale of shady finance, venal corruption, and greed run rampant."

Check out Mike's web site, or follow him on twitter or Facebook.

Current Events Pie

2011-11-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

An annual tradition at the Littlefield house, current events pie is a chance for Auntie and the kids to share what's going on in the world...with pastry.

This year's was pretty tough. Can you figure it out?

Ah, yes...the Republican slate of would-be presidents, each with his or her emblem...there's a "newt" (lizard), a tea party for michelle, pizza for Herman, skinny jeans for Mitt, EPA for Rick, communist sickle for Huntsman to honor his ambassadorship to China.

Of course the best thing of all was having our boy home. Picking him up at the train was one of my happiest moments.

My Thanksgiving Post

2011-11-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for my family and friends, of course, and for blessings earned and unexpected both. In no particular order:

Hearing "Mom, I love it here" after sending my baby out of the nest and off to college.
Fantastic co-workers, some of whom blur the whole friend/colleague line so hard you'd never know a line was ever there. In particular the one who never met a cliff she didn't want to jump off, and never runs out of "Hell yeah"
The sunset on the Lost Coast, even if - perhaps especially if - I hadn't showered in 4 days.
The wig shop - and the example G2 sets every day, and the gargoyle angel watching over her.
Everyone fighting over Mike.
Youthful ebullience - Junior's, and occasionally, mine. :)
That night on the roof.
Discovering a new, obscure author who took my breath away. Reading a passage that makes my heart pound. Reading.
Don Giovanni, and a spectacular donut.
A new Pen, and the old ones. Knowing there's a tire iron and an alley - figuratively, of course - for anyone who crosses us.
Parking lots and dashboard lights.
Smitty's, knowing there's a place JB'll always take me in, fries for dinner, Laphroaig, secret decoder necklaces, the way you always think your hair looks worst when it looks the BEST, sharing Watermelon Burts Bees, 1000 other things we haven't discovered yet.

Did I mention the best job in the world? If I ever finish this beast of a book, this is how I want to celebrate:

I want to walk into my favorite bar with my trusty sidekick. Outside it'll be raining, but inside it'll be as cozy as only neon bar signs and career drinkers and old linoleum floors and Marcello can make it. There, at the bar, will be Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson. They'll buy us a drink - probably a shot of Old Crow with a bottle of Rolling Rock, and we'll spend the night telling tales. At about three in the morning, someone will suggest getting a little something to eat at the Merritt Diner. Probably a pile of bacon and a scrambled egg. And if Willie steals a kiss as the sun comes up and we stagger home, well, sometimes you just have to live a little.

Thank You, Big Guy, for blessing me every day and for keeping things interesting.

Winner: Heather E.!

2011-11-20T12:35:00.000-08:00

I just had Junior help me draw a winner for my writing book collection, and it's Heather E.! Heather, I don't have a way to reach you via email so I really hope you see this. I'll give it a week before drawing another winner - the books are all boxed and taped up and ready to go!

Thanks to everyone else for participating. I loved reading all the comments about your favorite how-to books and manuals.

I always feel like a blog post should have a photo to keep it interesting, so here, for no good reason, are a couple of photos of gifts I recently received. How great is it to be me - my friends keep me well supplied with zombie paraphernalia!

Zombie cookie cutter from Rebecca

Zombie mug from Gigi

Win My Writing Library!

2011-11-15T20:10:00.000-08:00

So once again I have moved and found that I don't have room in my office for all my books. This time, I'm going to give away the writing manuals and guides that have served me well. It's a good collection, because the last time I moved I gave away the ones that weren't very helpful - the baker's dozen that remain, pictured below, are my "keepers."

I'm definitely not saying I know everything there is to know about writing, and I'm sure I'll build up a whole new library in the future, but I've read these books and now it's time for them to find a new home.

To enter to win, just leave me a comment - tell me your own favorite writing book, or just say hi. Of course, as always, I appreciate a Facebook "like" or a Twitter follow.

I'll draw a winner this weekend.

P.S. You may notice my copy of King's ON WRITING isn't included. 'Cause I'll never part with that one.

Tinfoil Shoes

2011-11-10T16:18:00.000-08:00

Last week Maureen Dowd wrote about, of all things, the biannual Manolo Blahnik sample sale. I didn't know much about the guy, except he designs shoes that are wayyyy out of my price range, but then I read this:

"During [Blahnik's] lonely childhood in the Canary Islands, he captured lizards and made shoes for them out of tinfoil saved by his mother from her Camel cigarette cartons."

There is so much story in that single sentence. If I had the cash I'd go out and buy a pair right now, I love that so much.

Perhaps these.

AFTERTIME Nominated for Goodreads Choice Award

2011-11-04T10:49:00.000-07:00

i was thrilled to discover that AFTERTIME was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award in the Horror Category. I'd love it if you'd consider voting for AFTERTIME to help me advance to the next round! Or cast your vote for my dear friend Steve Hockensmith, who's up for DREADFULLY EVER AFTER....either way, the good guy wins.

Vote here...

WIN a critique by most awesome agent ever!

2011-10-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

...that would be MY agent, Barbara Poelle!

Actually, you can win lots more than a critique, which includes a review of the first thirty pages of your manuscript from Barbara. On the prize list are four hot new releases - including my latest!

UNFORSAKEN by Sophie Littlefield
DEADLY COOL by Gemma Halliday
THE NEAR WITCH by Victoria Schwab
GHOST COUNTRY by Patrick Lee

The contest is being hosted by Janet Reid and billed as the Most Terrifying Contest Ever. To enter, you'll be writing Halloween themed story using 100 words or fewer. Find all the details at Janet's site, here.

UNFORSAKEN release day!

2011-10-11T07:08:00.001-07:00

Isn't this a gorgeous book? Looking back over the last three years - it was three years ago, Thanksgiving week, that Delacorte signed me to write for them - it has been an amazing journey from my idea of a girl who had the power to heal, to the story that unfolded over the course of two books. BANISHED came out a year ago, and UNFORSAKEN finishes telling Hailey Tarbell's story.

I learned a lot while writing this series, and I worked with some amazing editors to bring the story to life. In some ways, I feel like I am just getting started writing for young people. I've been blessed with some great friends and mentors in the community and I can't wait to see where the future takes me. Next year, I'll have a new novel out with Delacorte - a whole new set of characters, in a seaside town cursed by the disappearance of children one year earlier.

ComicCon Update: Zombie Day!

2011-10-06T19:14:00.000-07:00

This is so cool! If you happen to be at ComicCon, definitely stop by the Harlequin booth on Friday, when you can get "zombified" by makeup artist Edward O’Rourke. I'm not really sure what that entails but I KNOW I am ridiculously jealous of everyone who gets to do it. To the right is an example of what Edward can do!

I can't say for sure but I wouldn't be surprised if you might be able to get one of those stickers like the one I put on my car, the one everyone has been emailing me about. I get it - you covet my sticker!

From Harlequin's news post:

This is our first time at the illustrious comic book and sci-fi convention and we couldn’t be more thrilled about it. There are definitely some self-described nerds on the Internet and Digital team and they’ll be presenting the finest of Harlequin and Carina Press’s series to delight the fans. Stop by booth #2021 and enter to win a Kobo eReader Touch Edition and a library of 50 free eBooks from Carina Press! We’ve got loads of things happening throughout the weekend, too. In homage to Sophie Littlefield’s Aftertime series, Friday is zombie day. Come by the booth and be “zombified” by makeup artist Edward O’Rourke. Come back on Saturday to meet author C.E. Murphy who will be signing in the booth from 11-12. And don’t miss Julie Kagawa who will be signing from 2-4 pm. Follow @HarlequinBooks and @CarinaPress for news. See you there!

Flash Me from NYC Comic Con - win REBIRTH

2011-10-04T23:02:00.000-07:00

So, New York Comic Con is next week. I wish I was going to be there! But the next best thing is that Harlequin put an excerpt of my final AFTERTIME book, HORIZON, in their giveaway booklet. I just got a copy in the mail from my pal Jayne Hoogenberk, and this thing is so slick! It's also got excerpts from Julie Kagawa's new one, IRON KNIGHT, and a little something from Stacey Gail from the upcoming CLOCKWORK CHRISTMAS anthology.

I happen to have a few copies of REBIRTH lying around to give away. So, the first three people to send me pictures of themselves at the Harlequin booth - preferably with the booklet in hand, or with Margo or Jayne or any of the other fantastic Harlequin people, will receive a signed copy. Just send to sophie@sophielittlefield.com :) Or tweet it - I'm swlittlefield on twitter!

Bouchercon Report!

2011-09-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

I'm back from Bouchercon for twenty-four hours, long enough to get groceries, cook, clean, do four loads of laundry, shuttle Junior around, and oh yeah, work on the book!

Did I have a marvelous time? Why, yes, of course I did. This was my fifth Bouchercon, if you can believe it. Four years ago, in Anchorage, I met Juliet Blackwell, and for the past few years she's been my conference roommate and travel buddy and all-around partner in crime. So grateful! And this year, my brother Mike - who's got a book coming out this spring - was in attendance as well. I could hardly ask for more.

By the time I arrived in St. Louis - a couple of hours from the central Missouri town where I grew up - I had a long list of people I hoped to visit with. I wish I could say there was time to spend with them all. But despite burning every candle in sight at both ends, I returned home having missed a few.

Signing at the Crimespree booth with Julie and Brad Parks

I bowled a spectacularly poor game with my team, the Minotaur Marauders - but we won the "Best Shirts" prize!

My brother Mike Cooper with Pam Callow

with Hillary Davidson - before her Anthony win!

with my agent Barbara Poelle. I am not actually twice her size though every photo of us together makes it seem so!

Room Party! - with darling Johnnie from MurderByTheBook in Houston

One of my two favorite roommates, Nicole Peeler, adorably snuggled in for the night

Other highlights:

spending some time with Maddee, web designer extraordinaire and dear friend

seeing Sarah and the whole St. Martins crew

attending my first Noir At The Bar

meeting Chris and Katerina Holm for the first time

seeing old friend and mentor and all-around great guy Craig Macdonald

shaking hands, for the second year in a row, with idol Daniel Woodrell

having coffee and a chat with Oline Cogdill

Having a 10:00 AM (yes that's AM, folks) shot and beer with a mystery writer friend who I shall not name, whose talent is matched only by his stories

On The Stands This Month - More Than Usual of Me

2011-09-06T21:28:00.000-07:00

In a lovely, strange confluence of events, I am in not one but two magazines this month: the October issues of both Writer's Digest and Psychology Today!

In the former I wrote an essay for an article called "What an Agent Can Really Do For You," in which I assiduously avoid the question and ramble on about how Barbara and I are basically industry Glamour-Don'ts.

In Psychology Today, my brother and I were in this article called "Talent Dynasties: When Siblings Share the Spotlight." In the car today Junior said dubiously, "I wouldn't exactly call you and Uncle Mike a 'dynasty'" and changed the subject, so it seems doubtful that fame will ensue. It was a lot of fun, but after taking ten billion photos of us, they picked the one where Mike looks scowly, as if he's thinking "ha, Franzen, I don't see your literary ass in here!" and I look tentative and bland, not at all like a writer of apocalypses and bondage gear. They did airbrush out my cellulite, however, so I am not complaining.

BANISHED giveaway winners!

2011-09-05T23:43:00.001-07:00

Hope everyone had a lovely holiday! Thanks to all who followed/tweeted/liked for me last week. I'm happy to be sending signed copies of BANISHEd to five of you! If you could, please email me sophie@sophielittlefield.com with your snail mail address and the name you'd like the book signed to, if any.

BANISHED is suitable for readers age 13 and older. If you like it, please be on the lookout for UNFORSAKEN, the companion novel, due out October 11.

Winners:
Melissa - @MelLHay on twitter
Eileen Hutson - @madjon51 on twitter
Trisha Ziegenhorn
Shelley Romano
Jeri Smith-Ready

Win BANISHED !

2011-09-02T12:40:00.000-07:00

The paperback version of my first young adult novel, BANISHED, will hit the stands in a couple of weeks, but I'm giving away five signed copies now to celebrate!

Lots of ways to qualify for the drawing - you can:

"like" my Facebook fan page...

follow me on Twitter...

RT or tweet this drawing on Twitter...

mention it on your blog (I'll put you in the drawing three times for that!)...

...or just post a comment here if you're already following/liking/whatever-ing me. (glad we're friends. :)

Winners posted early next week.

More Audiobooks!!

2011-09-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

I spoke too soon: I have, not three, but FIVE audiobooks out, which makes me feel indescribably happy.
Click here for the first two in the AFTERTIME series - you can hear a free sample at Audible:

AFTERTIME

REBIRTH

Thank you to Steve Feldberg of Audible.com, for taking on the project; Ellen Archer (at right) for providing the excellent narration; and Jayme Mattler at OutLoud audio for the meticulous read she gave the project. What a team!

All three Stellas - out on audiobook versions!

2011-08-31T17:45:00.001-07:00

So pleased to announce that all of the Stella Hardesty mysteries are now available as audiobooks! Click any of the following to find them at audible.com:

A BAD DAY FOR SORRY
A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY
A BAD DAY FOR SCANDAL

The folks at St. Martin's and Audible have found smart, sassy, irresistible women to read the books. A BAD DAY FOR SCANDAL bears the voice of the incomparable Barbara Rosenblat, with whom I've had the pleasure of corresponding. She is a kick, truly one of "our girls," if you know what I mean. I've not yet met Kym Dakin, but she too nails the spirit of Stella.

Barbara Rosenblat

If you're an audiobook fan, I hope you'll consider giving these a whirl. Audible lets you listen to a sample for free, which is a feature I appreciate - because it's so disappointing to buy an audiobook only to discover that the voice doesn't match the story or characters. Luckily for me, I have no worries on that score!

Farewell Summer

2011-08-29T09:09:00.001-07:00

I love summer...and I mourn its slipping away on the heels of September, even here in California where we are blessed with gorgeous days every month of the year. Summer is a certain breezy idleness; summer smells of sunscreen and sweat and barbecue grills and wet dogs, and other untold loveliness.

In my childhood I spent summer with books stuffed in my bike bag. Library books, mostly, everything I could find, a treasure chest of possibilities - best-loved re-reads and daring pilferings from the adult shelves, all jammed in the bag with my favorite languid-day snack, ritz-cracker sandwiches made with crunchy peanut butter. I would bike to Nickel pond (if you are reading this, Mike, I know you're smiling) or hike to "our" tree house, the one we inhabited like hermit crabs in a borrowed shell, a mile or so back in the woods behind our house.

(It seems odd now, looking back, but I never once gave a thought to the unknown persons who constructed the tree house. Obviously, they'd gotten old, too old to appreciate a good and magical thing, moved on to the adult world of jobs and obligations, and so they didn't matter to me at all. The house wasn't much, a series of planks nailed to a trunk, with a rough plywood platform in the high-above branching-out of the tree; but I adored it. I read Little Women there, all of it; Franny and Zooey. I dreamed of writing my own book.)

This year the end of summer is especially poignant because my baby is going to college. We took one final trip together, to visit family in Boston.

My brother made me a pie. Well, I guess he made everyone a pie, but I choose to believe it was mostly for me. Blueberry, like our gramma used to make.

I took a couple of the kids to Fenway Park - the team was out of town, but we got to walk around all we wanted...

What's summer without junk food? We ordered every disgusting thing on the menu at this pub next to the park:

One day we took the ferry out to one of the harbor islands and camped. The bugs stayed away, camp food was delicious (as always) and we got to watch one of the most magical sunsets of my life. The Boston skyline shimmered in the last rays of the sun, the slowly came to sparkling life as the lights came on one by one. The tide came in and covered the remains of the pier at waters' edge, and the evening concluded with a campfire, as every summer evening should...

Author Central - the Devil in the Details

2011-08-16T15:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I shared a link, via twitter, to a New York Times article I found kind of amusing. In “In St. Louis, I’m a Failure”, author Matt Richtel talks about amazon’s new-ish offering for authors, Author Central, via which – among other things – you can get regional sales data for all your books.

I pounced on Author Central as zealously as any author when it first appeared, and immediately suffered the shivering horrors that are the special domain of the paltry-selling author. I wobbled between shame and fear every time I checked my stats. But eventually, the novelty wore off, and it was more of a snooze to view than anything. I mean, really, why disappoint yourself over and over and over again when it’s out of your control anyway?

That’s still my basic feeling about the thing, though every time they upgrade it, there’s a minor flurry of commentary much like Richtel’s article. He’s funny, though, which is why I tweeted it.

But then, my editor Adam jumped in with a few comments of his own. They didn’t fit neatly into the 140-char format so I’ve assembled them here:

Me:

hey authors, did you see this? did it make you wince? tell the truth now

Adam:

Makes me wince a bit not not because I want to control info flow to authors but because of Bookscan becoming increasingly unreliable, and as an editor part of my job is to give authors CONTEXT, which Amazon# s don't necessarily. To rely totally on those numbers would also be engaging in the same fallacy authors may accuse publishers of: making it all about one set of numbers re the past, instead of plans for the future & putting your efforts behind what you believe is quality.

I just want to illustrate this with a little tale of my own. When AFTERTIME came out last year, I had high hopes, not just because I loved writing that book but because Adam had worked so hard on its behalf. Simply put, I wanted him to feel like his efforts were worthwhile.

But oh, those Amazon numbers. They went from unimpressive to downright flaccid to flatline in what seemed like no time at all. I was traveling at the time, and I remember sitting in a coffee shop with my long-suffering tour partner Juliet Blackwell, whining about how my career was over and I’d be lucky to get a job selling bagels, and she was telling me to shut up and let her work when the phone rang and it was my agent Barbara. Calling, I was quite certain, with the terrible news that Harlequin was canceling the series due to the book's shocking underperformance.

That was not the case.

I won’t blather on all the boring details, and let me make it clear that the book didn’t blow the socks off any charts, but it turns out that Amazon numbers did NOT tell the whole story. Since then I have learned a few more interesting things about who buys what on Amazon…information that has, frankly, convinced me it would be prudent to mostly ignore the statistics. They simply don’t matter enough to be worth my time.

Hey, by the way, you could do a lot worse than to follow Adam. He’s pretty damn smart. You could follow Barbara too, and Juliet, if you’re so inclined, and then you’ll have a 360-degree view into my career. For what it’s worth ☺

Hellooooooo Forty-Eight!

2011-07-29T18:04:00.000-07:00

I have a dear friend, a fellow author, who says that us female writers of a certain age ought to stay mum about how old we are. That we'll benefit from a little confusion on the subject, a little conjecture that we might be younger than we truly are.

To that I say uh-uh. I turned 48 this week and I don't care who knows it. So far it's been great, and I have a feeling that this might be a big year for me. Later this month I'm going on my first backpack trek, six days in the mountains overlooking the Pacific. I'm wrapping up a book that pretty much wrote itself and I'm going to start a new one next week that is going to blow everyone away, including me. Oh, and I was propositioned by a 23-year-old last week. So I say, I'm not sure what I stand to gain by shaving a year or two or ten off my age - 48 is just fine.

Besides, I have these two as role models: Camille Minichino and Rita Lakin get saucier (that's a euphemism, friends, but it's not my place to tell a lady's secrets!) (other than, if I were you, I'd stay out of Camille's way when she's behind the wheel because she has a deadly windshield) every year! Julie and I were lucky enough to do an event with them last week at Book Passage.

A few other highlights from my big week:

I made Steve Hockensmith cry!!

I went to a Pens barbecue (and I'm not telling whose undies are on the line!)

Me and Julie at Book Passage hawkin' them books we wrote

I went to the Ruby Room - oh yes I DID! And you better believe I plan to go back

Birthday Cookies - which my friend Roseann makes for me every year and which are more delicious than Heaven itself

I Got a Craving

2011-07-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

Y'all know I'm a chip gal, right? Mmmm, I've always got a bag of kettle chips open somewhere in the house. Crunchy, salty, yum.

But a woman cannot live on chips alone. Once in a while she has to venture out into the world and sample the cuisine out there, preferably in the company of good friends and a frosty IPA.

That's how I happened to stumble upon what I think are the perfect french fries.

It's a veritable fry tower, and you can find it at Astaria restaurant in San Mateo, where I recently found myself after - what else? - a book event at M is for Mystery. (Hi, Ed!)

So it's crispy fries that have been given a little extra time in the fryer, tossed with sauteed garlic and salt. And on top of that is a mountain of super-thin onion rings - so thin that batter-frying almost carmelizes them.

I'm not sure I'd go around kissing people after polishing off this awesome dish, but in practically every other respect it's perfect.

Jace, me, and Julie at Astaria not long ago

Cover Cookies

2011-07-20T16:28:00.000-07:00

I think this is some sort of etiquette faux-pas - discussing one's own gift-giving skills - but I was so delighted with these cookies I sent the Canada branch of the Harlequin team** to celebrate REBIRTH's launch. Look close, there's little tiny pictures of my cover on every single cookie! I have no idea how they do that, but I think they're adorbs, to borrow my friend Martha's word.

** Nothing's too good for those crazy-creative people. They're the best.

Happy birthday, REBIRTH

2011-07-19T23:49:00.000-07:00

You know what's a great way to celebrate a release day?

Reading with a friend, for one.

Dog isn't very enamored with the new book. Neither is Junior - she of the yellow manicure, above - but that may be because there are new issues of Teen Vogue and Wired competing for attention.

That's okay. I've taken it easy today, going out for tacos and enjoying a leisurely trip to the DMV (!) Plenty of time tomorrow to kick it all back into gear.

Thanks to everyone who wrote and called. You're the ones who make days like this special.

SHAME: dig deep and write about it

2011-07-14T01:17:00.001-07:00

At Thrillerfest, SuperAgent Barbara and I taught a workshop on Creating Emotional Depth. I made the point that the most powerful emotion is shame, a notion that took hold of me sometime last year and which I've been thinking about since. When an audience member asked me for clarification, I promised I would follow up here. (I am thinking of turning this into an article at some point so your comments are welcome.)

I've always been drawn to the theme of shame in my own writing. An earlier example is my short story, "Mortification;" a more recent example is the entire AFTERTIME series for Luna. I'm quite certain that I am not finished exploring shame in my fiction.

Shame is a human's self-limiting and self-correcting response to knowledge of wrongdoing or suspicion of inadequacy. There. I just tossed that out from the recesses; but let's see what the dictionary people say:

"A painful emotion caused by a strong sense of guilt, embarrassment, unworthiness."

Yeah....I guess.

Neither my definition nor theirs takes me to the place I want to go here. Shame is crushing and nauseous and evasive. Shame makes you want to injure yourself and hug yourself at the same time. Shame is felt in the gut and in the most delicate synapses; it both bludgeons and sneers.

Shame is this: you knew it was wrong and you did it anyway.

And this: you know your desires and your hungers are not what NICE PEOPLE want, and yet you can't stop wanting them.

And this: you were born unworthy and none of the million attempts you have made to fix yourself in a thousand little ways has worked - they have sloughed off like so many raindrops or dandelion puffs and you are immutably, permanently as damaged and despicable as ever, but worse because -

- you have done something that has left you EXPOSED. I actually think this is where shame transmutes into mortification - that is to say, through action. The two words can be synonyms, but to me mortification has a more corporeal sense, it implies a physical manifestation of shame, which can be completely internal. Taken to its extreme mortification can include self-harm (as in the ritualistic abuse of the body practiced by flagellants) but in my fiction i have characters injure themselves in small ways, such as pinching skin in hidden places or digging fingernails into flesh. In moments of shame, transferring one's attention to pain can be an - perhaps the only - effective relief.

The fear of exposure is central to shame. Sometimes we fear that strangers see inside us. Sometimes we fear that those we love will learn the truth about us. Sometimes we can't escape God himself, His scrutiny, His crushing and eternal judgment. All of these are perfect for fiction, because humans - characters - will go to great lengths to avoid exposure. Like beetles on our backs, we writhe and twist; we'll commit acts of treachery and betrayal and violence to protect ourselves.

It might not be going to far to say that shame is at the core of many crimes. In fact, now that I think about it, it's a theme best suited to all dark genres like mystery and horror, because it can motivate a protagonist to act outside his own interests. (And a villain to act villainously, but that goes without saying.)

Feel free to add your own thoughts/examples in the comments, but recent books come to mind...CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER...Attica Locke's BLACK WATER RISING...both of Bryan Gruley's books...Megan Abbott's work...

Playing Nice at Conferences

2011-07-12T19:33:00.000-07:00

I did a fair amount of schmoozing at Thrillerfest. Besides my workshop and panel, I volunteered at AgentFest (mad! absolutely a madhouse!) and hung out in the bar and went out to dinner and had lots of time to talk to other writers, many of whom are still aspiring. (Aspiring with everything they've got, which is why I love Thrillerfest - no dabblers here! Everyone's figurative sleeves were rolled up and they came to work, which was nice.)

And delightful. Really! Ninety-five percent delightful!

And...I had a few moments that made me think I should share some hard-acquired wisdom on What To Do when one finds oneself unexpectedly in the company of a mix of publishing people. Too often - perhaps out of nervousness - we all fall back on habits that don't really serve us all that well. We might drink too much, monopolize the conversation, ignore less-important people in an effort to gain the attention of the most important or famous person in the group (actually, I personally would NEVER do that one because I find it just so entirely rude), get nervous and don't speak at all, vent our frustration or complaints about the industry, and eat all the salty sesame bits out of the bar mix. (Okay, that last one was me. Yep. Guilty.)

There's something I would like to share with you. I have a little experience now, and I know a few people, some of them Kind of Big Deals. And I want to share with you what impresses them, because it impresses me too, and we, well, we talk about it. Now, you probably don't care what I think - after all, I can't get you any closer to your book deal. But you might care what that nice person I was with thinks, if you knew she was an agent or editor, which not all of you did.

(That is a DIRECT message to the awful woman who invited herself to sit at my table and then promptly insulted my friend, a very well known and revered literary agent. You know what you did. So do all my friends, 'cause I told them. Sorry, that's what happens when you don't play nice.)

What's impressive? It's simple, really: show a little kindness. Ask the person next to you what he's working on. Ask her how she's enjoying the conference. Offer to get someone a cup of coffee, as long as you're up. Let the person who's obviously having some mobility issues take your place in line. Share a kind word with the author who's alone at the signing table. Smile at the gal fixing her lipstick next to you in the bathroom. Introduce a stranger to your crowd, if you're lucky enough to have one - remember, there was a time when *you* were the newbie.

It's funny, little nag-y posts like this one always pop up before RWA every year, but I didn't see too many geared toward Thrillerfest-attenders. Maybe tuck this away for next year. And if you need a little more guidance, check out this great NYT article about how NOT to be the "death of the party."

ARC winners! - - and, I still heart NY

2011-07-05T19:34:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all - - thanks to everyone who voted on my AFTERTIME covers. I think HORIZON came out as the favorite, but I appreciate *all* the positive feedback and will be sure to pass it along to the amazing art team.

The winners of the advance review copies, chosen by random number site, are JOSH P, NoraA, and Vickie. Would you guys please email me at sophie@sophielittlefield.com with your snail addresses so I can put a signed copy of REBIRTH in the mail to you? It may be next week before I get them sent because I'm out of town at....

Thrillerfest! Landed early enough today to enjoy a long stroll around NYC. I just can't get enough of this city. Besides my curious yet heartfelt love of the JFKAirTrain...

one of the best ways i know to spend five bucks

I find this view of Queens (sorry, couldn't capture the Queensboro bridge thru the chain link...ahem) to be quite intoxicating...

not exactly in all the tourist brochures, surprisingly

and the view from my hotel is quite ritzy, considering it's me and all. (Seriously, there was this one time...oh, never mind. Suffice it to say I would have slept with a gun under my pillow. If I'd a had a gun. Or a pillow.)

And you'll be happy to know that I found a more-than-decent burger tonight so I got the red meat thing covered.

OK, tomorrow my super-agent Barbara and I are teaching "Creating Emotional Depth" at 11:00 during CraftFest. And my brother arrives too! Come find us in the bar? I just know you're gonna love us. :)

WIN REBIRTH!!!!! Plus new cover & new trailer!

2011-06-30T11:51:00.000-07:00

You guys!!! I'm jumping out of my skin I'm so damn excited about the new stuff Harlequin just revealed for my AFTERTIME series. And they just sent me some advance copies of REBIRTH, which I'd love to share with you. So how about this - if you'd like to win one, watch the trailer on YouTube and vote in the comments - which is your favorite cover? AFTERTIME, REBIRTH, or HORIZON? I love them all - that art department is chock full o' geniuses, in my opinion.

I'll check the comments in a couple of days and randomly choose three people to receive copies of REBIRTH. (I'll be in touch with you to find out your mailing address.)

P.S. it would be great if you could help me spread the word. My Twitter and FB buttons are at right - and since I'm going to be dismantling my personal page later this summer I'd love it if you'd switch to the fan page here.

Okay, without any further ado - MY NEW TRAILER!!!!!

SCANDAL tour report!

2011-06-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

So as you may know, I've been wandering all over the southwest (um, I guess Colorado isn't exactly southwest, and maybe the Texans would bridle at the term too, but you know what I mean) on a book tour for my new book, A BAD DAY FOR SCANDAL (third in the Stella Hardesty mystery series). My dear friend and travel companion Juliet Blackwell came along with me to promote her new book, HEXES AND HEMLINES.

Did we have our usual raucous time? You be the judge...

We started the week in Crested Butte, CO at the Crested Butte Writers Conference run by an amazing group of volunteers (thanks Theresa and Barbara!) Also on the faculty was Robin Owens, a fellow Luna author. (Luna is the publisher of my AFTERTIME series.) She and Juliet and I shared a condo, and there was lots of late night laughter and conversation. During the days, we hung out with lots of great aspiring writers as well as agents Stephen Barr from Writers House, Helen Breitwieser from Cornerstone, and Marisa Corvisiero, and editors Holly Blanck (St. Martins) and Mike Braff (Del Rey Spectra). And finally, we met Kaki Warner, who writes fiction set all over Texas and New Mexico and Colorado, and instantly fell for her. She's our kind of woman!

Agent Stephen Barr and editor Mike Braff
organizers Theresa Rizzo and Barbara Crawford
Our roomie, and my fellow Luna author, Robin Owens
Me and Stephen Barr and...a friend
The view from our condo
Julie working - we worked nearly every day! Sometimes even without cocktails!
the whole gang in a moment of leisure between events

I have rarely laughed so hard in my life. I'm not sure how you take all these random people and throw them together and get anything but chaos as a result, but they are all awesome and I hope that I get to stay in touch with all of them.

Last Monday we flew to Houston, where we spent a couple days with McKenna Jordan who is the incredibly gracious owner of MurderByTheBook, and her mom Brenda. We were very excited to find that we were the very first guests in the new guestroom! Jordan Hospitality features food, a full bar and great guests - and a kick-ass game of Cranium.

McKenna and me at MurderByTheBook bookstore
Matt and his partner John, who works at the bookstore; Matt's a high school history teacher in Houston
Brenda, McKenna's awesome mom (and skilled bartender!)
Juliet in a funky little shop with a floating crystal ball
Playing Cranium with John and McKenna, who kicked our butts

Next on the tour was BookPeople in Austin, where Juliet and I are very lucky to have a supporter in Scott Montgomery. Scott has been a wonderful hand-seller for our series, and he moderated a great discussion in the store before taking us out for what has got to be the best barbecue in the universe. I would eat there every day of my life if they let me. We also had a fun comrade-in-barbecue, Juliet's cousin Pat, who entertained us with stories of Blackwell family lore.

Me and Juliet at the register of the large and wonderful BookPeople store
the BEST barbecue in the world - from Ruby's - and we drank Shiner Boch too!
Me and Juliet checking out the menu, but honestly, was there any doubt our choice would be "a little of everything?"
The gang in front of Ruby's: Juliet's cousin Pat, Juliet, Scott Montgomery, and mystery fan Ed

After a quick stop in Tucson to give a workshop at Clues Unlimited bookstore on writing compelling Sex & Passion scenes (no pictures from that one!!!) we arrived at our last stop: the Poisoned Pen Bookstore's annual reader and writer conference. This took place in the beautiful Biltmore hotel, which I adore. The 100-plus degree weather barely slowed us down as we conducted workshops for aspiring writers and hob-nobbed with Phoenix's great mystery community, spearheaded as always by Barbara Peters and her awesome staff. I'm going to need to post the pictures from that later because I'm just about to fall asleep on the keyboard.

Finally, weary beyond belief, we headed home today. If you'd like a glimpse into the final (ignominious) hours of our trip, check here :)

The Secret Source

2011-06-05T08:37:00.000-07:00

The most oft-repeated question writers hear is "where do you get your ideas?"

Many of us shuffle and mumble, making up bits about "observing people in everyday settings" and reading the newspaper and exploring alternate endings to chance encounters. The shuffling and mumbling is a sure tell that we are lying, people. Truth is that most of us don't know where the ideas come from, they just....arrive.

Except when they don't. Sometimes, you're sitting there with your book, wondering what the hell happens next. This happened to my darling friend Rachael Herron the other day. I wasn't there, but apparently she confided in our mutual friend that she was worried because there was no conflict in her story. Dumbfounded, the friend pointed out that everything from the backstory to the setup was rife with unstable elements just begging to be tipped over and spilled gloriously upon the emotional landscape of the key characters. It was all there, waiting to be plundered...and Rachael just needed a bit of help from an extra pair of eyes to see it.

Moments like this are precious, even essential to keeping the writing flowing. Sadly, they don't come in a bottle and you can't order them from Amazon. However...we have discovered the next best thing:

Chicken and waffles.

For some reason, the occasional Plot Lunch at a certain old venerable diner, with gallons of coffee and acres of worn formica, is just the ticket. I've never emerged from such a lunch without a solution to my most pressing plot problems. And the best part is that we don't struggle for answers; rather, they seem to bubble up from the gossip and laughing and crying.

Funny, I just had a thought - who knows what a better writer Naipaul might have been if he'd had something like Plot Lunch? :)

Rachael and Juliet, cracking wise

BEA Report!

2011-05-31T07:15:00.000-07:00

As promised, I'm reporting back from Book Expo in New York, where I spent several glorious days last week. This was quite possibly my best trip to NYC yet, for all sorts of reasons. I'm always glad to touch down in NorCal but I'm very glad I got to go.

The view from my room, which reminds me of the illustrations in the Mike Mulligan Steam Shovel story, for some reason

DAY ONE
It all started last monday when I rolled into town in time to have lunch with the coolest guy in the world, Jonathan Hayes, who had just returned from touring from his new book, A HARD DEATH. I don't know how to describe Jonathan to you, except to say there is only one person in the world even remotely like him, and I am sorry for everyone who doesn't get a chance to meet him someday.

From Jonathan's I dashed uptown for a meeting with my Saint Martin's/Minotaur people, including my lovely editor Toni and publicist Sarah and the boss man. Now when I say "meeting," you know I mean a big table at this very posh bar where they offered us charcuterie before I could unfurl my napkin. I was pretty sure I knew what charcuterie was, and, in fact, how to pronounce it (with my special Missouri-French accent!) but to be on the safe side, I made Barbara, my intrepid agent, try it all first. Smashing! Our server was loath to let us come anywhere close to dry and we did ourselves proud, I think.

The result of the meeting: we all made a pinky promise, INCLUDING MY PUBLISHER HIMSELF, that we are going to a very secret location to drink champagne when Stella hits the NYT extended list. You know this made me froth at the mouth with determination.

Agent Barbara giving me marching orders in her office before our "meeting"

DAY TWO
So day two started as a confusing hair day. I was staying a couple of miles away from Javitz and I knew the walk/subway/bus combo would undo whatever I managed with my flatiron, so I just gave up. But when I got to the Harlequin booth, I didn't even care. There, big as life and lit up like heaven, was *my* cover on a poster. And then Adam appeared. If publishing was a box of cracker jack, Adam would be the prize. And not the crappy fake-mini-comic-book either, a *cool* prize.

me and awesome Harlequin gal Jayne Hoogenberk

I found my friend Rachael's upcoming book A LIFE IN STITCHES in the Chronicle booth - so exciting to hold it in my hands even before it's released!

DAY THREE
On Wednesday I did my first radio interview that did not make me want to peel the skin from my arms like a Beater. It was actually fun, for which I give credit to the lovely Kim Alexander of SiriusXM. It was also like eleven seconds long which might have helped.

Then I signed A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY at the MWA booth with my girl Margery, and when I ran out of books I bugged the lovely Clare O'Donohue until she let me be her assistant. Tons of friends running around including Todd and Ken and Steve and Toni and Charlaine and Persia and Andy and...at one point my buddy Ben LeRoy and I escaped to a quiet corner so I could do my introvert freak-out, the one he talks me down from every time I see him. I love that guy.

Pals Toni Kelner, Ken Isaacson, and Charlaine Harris in the MWA booth

How shall I describe my lunch with Barbara and Jamie Freveletti? Obviously there was red meat, martinis, and scheming. But the hours somehow flew by: one minute the place was mobbed, the next I looked up and our waiter - bless his heart - was standing attentively with a pained look on his face while they set up for dinner. It reminded me of the time Nicole Peeler, Juliet Blackwell, and I went to the House of Prime Rib and the poor waiter kept gasping until he swallowed so much air I thought a bubble would reach his heart and he would die right there, in the middle of one of Nicole's stories so I wouldn't have even been able to help him until I heard how it turned out. Yeah. This lunch was like that.

That night, I went to the Harlequin party. Forget my silly babbling for a moment and close your eyes and picture Cinderella at the ball, if Cinderella was a geeky awkward girl from Missouri and the Prince was Margaret Atwood (!!!!) and the pumpkin coach was really the Chrysler Building lit up like - well, like the city itself, only mere blocks away from the rooftop party. Suave foreign publishers fetched me wine, Jayne let me keep hugging her all night, I talked to Rachel Vincent and Julie Kagawa and I even managed to leave before I did anything mortifying. Well, I did that one mortifying thing, but, y'know, that's not a bad record, for me.

DAY FOUR
Thursday started unconscionably early. Like at 8 am I had to be not only dressed, but made up for a photo shoot. It's a long story but my brother and I are going to be in an article in a magazine in the fall, and they wanted to take our picture in central park. UGH! I hate having my picture taken, and I think Mike does too, and our photographer - who we both adored despite not *wanting* or *expecting* to like her - kept cracking us up with her directions. I got "smaller smile please" most often, and mike got "look positive." We were both told to "act more natural." Ha! She took eleven thousand photos so I'm hoping one might work.

Then mike skipped off downtown for some meeting and I headed for Newark, and from there it rapidly - or rather slowly - devolved into an eight hour wait at the gate, while storms plagued the country's midsection and passengers fought over the outlets and the bookstore closed *juuuuust* as I decided I hated the book I brought for the return trip. But you know what? It didn't even matter that I didn't get home until 3:30am. Juliet picked me up at SFO, which was great except now I owe her HUGE, because how do you pay back a favor like that, and as I slipped into my own bed an hour before I would have to get up again to make pancakes for Junior, I felt warm and happy all over.

For Your Shelf: RIGOR MORTIS

2011-05-16T08:42:00.000-07:00

Maybe I'm showing my incipient fossilization, but I believe that publishing has become *too* accessible. It's not really a brave new world, merely a world with far more points of entry and a shocking plague of poor editing.

Words matter, people. They deserve reverent treatment.

RIGOR MORTIS (disclaimer - I discovered this publication because they reviewed AFTERTIME), a horror zine, is one of the most beautifully written and illustrated things I have come across in a long time. It has an online presence here but I encourage you to consider purchasing a copy - as they point out, they're cheap at $3.50 an issue.

You know I'm a bit of a grammar priss, but I read the current issue without cringing a bit. That's really saying something. And the quality of the writing is amazing - smart and funny and accessible.

"For us monster kids," editors Deadvida and Dread write, "it might be easy to forget that the rest of the world doesn't think the way we do."

Well, that's a shame. You guys have a fan here.

My Big News: MIRA, Adam, & me

2011-05-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

I could hardly stand to keep this from you, darlin's, but I was waiting for all the t's to get crossed and the i's to be dotted. I'm thrilled, excited, overjoyed to announce that I'm going to be writing a standalone novel for Mira.

I could go on and on and on about all the ways this is awesome, but I'll stick to just a couple here: first of all, I get to work with Adam Wilson again. He's a dream of an editor - I don't even want to tell you all the ways because I'm afraid you'd steal him. Second, I get to try something I've been yearning to do for about two decades, which is to write in my own weird special mix of...well, let's just call it yet another Littlefield genre-defying mess. I believe the *technical* term is "upmarket," but I confess I don't really know what that means. Oh well, I'll let you know when I figure it out.

Big thanks to Poelle for making it happen, as always.

Meanwhile, from Publisher's Marketplace:

May 11, 2011
Fiction:
General/Other
Sophie Littlefield's THE MUSEUM OF EYES, in which a family's legacy of murder and abuse are but the first things a mother is determined to keep from her daughter, to Adam Wilson at Mira, in a two book deal, by Barbara Poelle of Irene Goodman Agency (World English).
Foreign: Heather Shapiro at Baror International

Kirkus: "everyone should grab a Littlefield"

2011-05-11T09:31:00.000-07:00

ha ha ha! I don't know if that quote is what i like best about this review from Kirkus, or if it's the part where they say everyone should have a mom like Stella. Cheers to that!

A BAD DAY FOR SCANDAL
Author: Littlefield, Sophie

A pair of female crime-stoppers mete out vigilante justice.
Stella Hardesty and her assistant Chrissy Shaw (A Bad Day for Pretty, 2010, etc.) are looking for the flash drive showing Stella pummeling a wife-beater that Priss Porter is using to blackmail her into disposing of a man’s corpse in the trunk of her Mercedes. As they rifle through Priss’ digs in Prosper, goons appear. Using guile, firepower and cleavage, the dynamic duo stop them cold and learn that they too were seeking a flash drive but at the instigation of a female judge. Before you can so much as sniff a sex scandal in the making, Priss, her brother Liman and the corpse go missing; Stella’s love, Sheriff Goat Jones, finds her scarf in the abandoned house; and the race is on to uncover who’s a victim, who’s a perp, and whether Stella’s career as a punisher of abusive males will send her to the slammer. Stella’s liberal belief that it’s OK to be gay is tested when her beautician daughter Noelle enters a series of lesbian affairs. Stella and Chrissy discover that Priss’ main source of income, the Elegant Company, provides escorts for lonely ladies like that judge. Also in the mix is Priss’ old, possibly current beau, Salty Mingus, whose wife takes exception to his romantic leanings. There’ll be standoffs with several of the Elegant escorts, men turning to mush at a glimpse of Chrissy’s endowments, and some snappy repartee and motherly advice from Stella before bodies emerge from a pond and the sheriff sighs with relief when he doesn’t have to arrest his gal pal.

If we all had mothers like Stella, this would be a better world. Fans of quirky mysteries straddling the line between tough and funny need to grab a Littlefield pronto.

Library Journal on SCANDAL: "more fun than cotton candy"

2011-05-10T09:07:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the nice review, LIBRARY JOURNAL!!

Littlefield, Sophie. A Bad Day for Scandal. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. May 2011. c.290p. ISBN 9780312648374. $24.99. M
Priss Porter has another thing coming if she thinks Stella Hardesty, locally renowned vigilante against wife beaters, is available to be a cleaner for someone’s murder. Confronted with the dead guy in Priss’s car trunk, Stella then realizes that Priss, a desperate bully, will blackmail her with compromising photos of Stella on her flash drive. Now on a mission to retrieve the flash drive, Stella comes up short when Priss, Priss’s brother, and the dead guy totally disappear. Stella and her colorful ensemble of family and friends unearth (among other things) a dysfunctional male escort service in Kansas City, which helps explain Priss’s desperation. VERDICT This caper is more fun than eating cotton candy on a Ferris wheel. Littlefield’s zesty dialog and astute observations make this irreverent third series entry (after A Bad Day for Sorry and A Bad Day for Pretty) fly by. The zaniness evokes Janet Evanovich or Harley Jane Kozak; the story itself, Ben Rehder, who writes so well about good old boys behaving badly. [Library marketing.]

Paperback PRETTY out today!!

2011-05-10T07:15:00.001-07:00

Hey darlin' people, if you've been waiting for the paperback version of A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY, today's the day! Read it now and you'll be all caught up for A BAD DAY FOR SCANDAL, which will be out next month.

Come See Us at the Summer Cons!

2011-05-07T09:19:00.000-07:00

This is an exciting summer for me. So much fun stuff going on, including appearances at several writers' conferences, where usual suspect Juliet Blackwell and I will be giving workshops, coaching aspiring authors, and giving our very first ever keynote address.

Juliet and I love nothing more than talking writing with like-minded people, as anyone who's ever had the good fortune (or in some cases misfortune) to encounter us on the road are aware. Seriously, we can not shut up on the subject, especially if there's a drink involved. That's why we're gobsmacked at the genius of one of our hostesses for installing us IN THE BAR to give a workshop.

Julie and me at some conference or other, talking about...something

Aw, just kidding. We actually think that, since we devote most of our lives to our craft, we have some wonderful things to share with our fellow wordsmiths, and we'd be honored if you attended any of these events. Complete details are available on my web site.

P.S. Juliet refused to go to Thrillerfest with me, so when I'm in New York I'm partnering up with my fabulous agent Barbara Poelle to give a workshop during Craftfest. I'm also helping out with Agentfest (geez, that's a lot of fest-ing) so I hope you'll come say hello if you're there.

June 17-19 finds us at the Crested Butte Writers Conference, where we'll be speaking on a number of craft topics including "Creating Emotional Depth" and "Where Does Your Story Start?" We're in good company with a great bunch of fellow authors, agents and editors.

A week later, June 24-26, you can catch up with us at the Poisoned Pen Conference at the The Arizona Biltmore. We *love* this hotel and the PP gang. Seriously, we can't get enough. We'll be brainstorming with aspiring authors at two "Perfect Pitch" sessions.

In July, I'll be at Thrillerfest in New York City, which I like to pretend is my home away from home. Barbara and I will be putting a fresh spin on "Creating Emotional Depth" on Wednesday at 11:00 am - it's bound to get raucous.

Barbara and me in Florida last summer

BOOKLIST review of A BAD DAY FOR SCANDAL

2011-05-03T23:20:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the kind words, Booklist!!

From the May 1st issue:

With things heating up between self-styled vigilante Stella Hardesty and sexy sheriff Goat Jones, Stella finds both her relationship and her livelihood at risk by the possibility of blackmail. Priss Porter, generally disliked for turning her back on Prosper, Missouri, returns to the small town and demands Stella’s help in disposing of a body. If Stella refuses, Priss threatens to tell all how Stella’s “covert benevolent aid society” for abused women actually operates. When Priss and her brother disappear, Stella becomes a person of interest, forcing her to do her own sleuthing, all the while worrying about how her spirit-of-the-law tactics conflict with letter-of-the-law Goat. This third in this series (after A Bad Day for Pretty, 2010) is livened up with Stella’s daughter Noelle’s concerns about her sexuality, the development of Chrissy Shaw as Stella’s assistant, and plans to celebrate Easter in grand style. But it’s fiftyish Stella, healthy and toned after her recent injuries, who continues to carry the day, as always, in this sassy mix of comedy and mystery.

Brazilian BANISHED cover!

2011-05-03T14:56:00.001-07:00

Oh I do just adore this....kinda hot, right?

SORRY....for a steal!

2011-04-25T22:23:00.000-07:00

I'm head down these days, working madly to finish up the third in my AFTERTIME series, but I just got a bit of news that's too fantastic not to share:

The folks at St. Martins have decided to do a little promotion to celebrate the third book in my Stella Hardesty series. So for a month before the release of A BAD DAY FOR SCANDAL, they are going to be selling the e-book version of the tale that started it all for the tiny price of $2.99!

Yup that's right...From May 11th until June 21st, people will be able to buy A BAD DAY FOR SORRY for under three bucks. I'm hoping this might bring a few more folks into the Stella fold. If you know anyone who's been kinda-sorta thinking of giving the series a try, now might be a good time...

Here's a picture of me at my very first ever signing. I was so excited that day. It was at the RWA convention in the summer of 2009 in Washington DC, and I showed up early to...well, to be nervous. Guess who also got there early? Cherry Adair, and she was terrific. She made me laugh, right after I cried because I was holding my book in my hands for the very first time. The next person I met was Sheila Roberts, who's been a friend ever since.

RomanticTimes Convention Report

2011-04-10T23:54:00.000-07:00

I'm going to let the pictures do the talking on this one, as one always should at an RT Con. There are a few pictures I didn't snap that I wish I had - like the awards ceremony and the Bollywood party, and getting fall-down speechless around several legendary editors, and the time me and Jennifer Haymore tried to talk our way past the velvet ropes at a downtown club...but I think these pretty much summarize the last five days!

Road Trip! A crack of dawn departure with Juliet Blackwell and Rachael Herron

Of course I have to start with the man candy, or it wouldn't be RT! Love this mask...

Most memorable costumes - sorry I'm not much of a photographer. These ladies both sewed their gowns

Now for the author hobnobbing. I didn't chase Koontz down, but I found lots of amazing folks. This is me with Bill Link at the booksigning - Bill's the creator of Columbo and Murder She Wrote and lots of other shows.

This is Mary McDonough, who played Erin on the Waltons. I was moderating a memoir panel with her, but at this moment she was giving me makeup tips!!

This is our friend Gary Phillips, a crime writer from L.A.

Lee Goldberg and Lori Armstrong

Rachael and I found Jade Lee by the elevators - what a gracious lady!

I always have to take this exact same shot with Boyd Morrison, who is represented by the agency with me.

OK, now for the nitty-gritty after-hours report. Rachael and Julie and I had the, uhhh....fun room...

Martha Flynn was practically a fourth roommate - which would have been a very tight fit.

Julie giggling with Martha

Rachael with our darling beloved Nicole Peeler, who none of us can get enough of!

And even when we weren't partying, we were celebrating. This is an early morning breakfast fete in honor of Rachael, who received some good news while we were down there. Please note the candles, rose petals, and tiny cymbals...because when you are at RT you have to go big!

Rachael shares the joy!

PW loves A BAD DAY FOR SCANDAL :)

2011-04-04T16:30:00.000-07:00

My new Stella book, A BAD DAY FOR SCANDAL, will be here in just a couple months! I kind of love this one - it cracks me up every time I think about it. I sure hope you like it too. Meanwhile, Publishers Weekly has this to say:

In Edgar-finalist Littlefield's lively third crime novel featuring feisty Stella Hardesty (after 2010's A Bad Day for Pretty), Priscilla "Priss" Porter asks Stella to get rid of a corpse. When Stella, who specializes in solving problems of the abusive husband variety in her small Missouri town, refuses to help, Priss threatens to go public with some very damning photos that could not only damage Stella's budding relationship with Sheriff Goat Jones but maybe even land her in jail. After Priss; her brother, Liman; and the photos vanish, Stella becomes the prime suspect. Stella and her assistant, Chrissy Shaw, decide to get the photos back themselves, but that's easier said than done when they run up against an oversexed female judge with ties to Priss and Priss's new business venture. Littlefield's eccentric cast of characters grows richer with each book, and Stella continues to dazzle with her wit, charm, and ease with firearms. (June)

BANISHED news!

2011-03-29T21:39:00.000-07:00

I've been so caught up in AFTERTIME lately that I've been a little remiss in reporting in on my young adult series, and I have some news to share.

First of all, I was very pleased to find out that BANISHED has gone into a second hardcover printing!

(For those of you who are waiting for the trade paperback edition, it'll be available in mid-September - a month before the sequel, UNFORSAKEN, comes out .)

Meanwhile, I'm working on a brand new young adult project for Delacorte, with a new editor, Krista Vitola. Actually, Krista's not entirely new to me - we worked together when my wonderful BANISHED editor, Stephanie Elliott, was out on leave last year. I'm very excited to be starting a new venture with Krista! Look for our first book together to come out in 2012.

Zom-Report and a bit of Aftertime News

2011-03-23T08:15:00.001-07:00

Yup we had a great time at M is for Mystery last night. Staffer Charlotte surprised us by making us personalized platters of brains - awesome! Then we yammered on at length and met some of Steve's starstruck fans. We also failed to make any impression at all on a dour man who sort of glowered at us from the back row and left in a huff - i think he didn't find us charming.
the BRAAAAIIIIINS, courtesy of Charlotte

brain-tasting with steve

afterwards, the ever-popular dim bar photo with pals juliet and daisy

My two bits of good news - first, which I've been blabbing everywhere so you're probably tired of hearing it - is that AFTERTIME was awarded the March Seal of Excellence by RTBookReviews, an honor I might have to sew onto my vampire ball outfit or something.

But here's a little item that's hot off the presses: the amazing folks at Harlequin are going to make a trailer for REBIRTH, the second in the AFTERTIME series. I'm so darn pleased about that - I can't wait to see what they come up with!

Me and ZombieBoy Down by the Schoolyard

2011-03-19T08:11:00.000-07:00

I've got a pretty special event lined up for this Tuesday: Steve Hockensmith and I have a little gig down at M is for Mystery in San Mateo. (7:00, here, if you're in the area.)

Let me tell you a little about my history with ZB, as I have come to call my dear friend (short for Mr. Zombie Boy). My first book came out in August of 2009. Because I am an impatient person, I find it nearly impossible to believe I've only been a published author for only a year and a half. Back then - it feels like eons - I was very unsure of myself as I stumbled about all the new-author things one does. Most intimidating to me was trying to line up signings; I didn't - and still don't - want to do them alone, so I was trying hard to find some coat-tails to ride on.

I had met Steve at the Sonoma Book Festival the prior year when he was on a panel with some mutual friends. He was bright, funny, self-effacing, and friendly. Turned out we had the same publisher, and when I bumblingly mentioned that we also had the same release month for our mysteries, Steve generously invited me to join his signing at the M.

I was so nervous. My friends the P's not only came but brought their parents, a source of great consternation due to the spicy language in the passage I planned to read. But Steve, with his aw-shucks friendly ways, made everything easy. A little later he emailed to say he had read my book and was relieved that it was good (I'm paraphrasing, but you know what I'm talking about, right? - when you meet someone and like them and desperately desperately want their book not to suck because of how awkward that would be); I had read his book and damn, he's brilliant.

Fast forward many wonderful evenings with friends and colleagues, new publishers, new series, ebbs and tides in lives both business and personal, and here we are, a couple of hardened zombie writers. Well, actually, neither of us is really all that hardened, tough, or world-weary at all, which is I think key to why we get along. But we are zombie writers - gleefully, unapologetically, enthusiastically so - and we're even assembling our own court, having named ourselves the ruling monarchs.

The point of all of this is that writing needs to be fun, and you have to respect and enjoy the people who make up your world, or what's the point? Without Steve and the rest of my cherished friends and co-workers (sounds weird but really, that's what we are, harkening back to days of punching clocks at the HoJo's) I'd just be a mumbling grim soul locked in a dark room.

So a toast to you, ZB - virtual for now and for real in a couple days.

Tour Report!

2011-03-15T09:33:00.000-07:00

Back from a couple of weeks on the road with two of my wonderful writing friends, talking books and meeting booksellers and readers all over the south and southwest. Happy to be back - need to counteract all the fried food and bourbon i managed to put away - but thought i'd share a few highlights:

First of all, I was very blessed to travel with two of my favorite people, JT Ellison for the first week of my tour and Juliet Blackwell for the latter.
me and JT "getting ready" for an event
Juliet with fellow authors Donis Casey and Betty Webb

We visited bookshops....
me and JT at Reading Rock in Georgia

Gave workshops....a standing-room-only presentation of Finish That Book with Juliet and our friend Graham Brown

And visited with fellow authors.hanging out with Craig Johnson, Cara Black, and Josh Bazell

I made some new friends...

This gentleman traveled from North Carolina all the way to the Tucson Festival of Books, with AFTERTIME in tow!

What can I say? I do love the wild ones :)

And as in every tour, some of my most cherished moments were the completely unexpected ones:

Triage at WalMart - suffering from book tour injuries

The WORST chinese food i ever had, with Juliet in Tucson - how we laughed!

The night we got ourselves accidentally locked into a football stadium... (don't ask)

and last but not least, a wonderful thing happened when JT and I showed up at Mysteries and More in Nashville. Mary and Greg, the proprietors, said they had a little surprise for me in back. It was none other than my dad and his wife Judy, who had driven hours and hours to surprise me. I was touched and, believe it or not, almost too dumbstruck to talk books!!

The Stealing Souls Tour!

2011-02-24T11:45:00.000-08:00

Hey you guys, did I mention that my week-long adventure with my friend J.T. Ellison has an actual name? Yup, the Stealing Souls Tour kicks off on Monday, and begins our week-long road trip from Nashville through Georgia and Mississippi and back to Tennessee (click here for locations and times).

If you aren't familiar with J.T.'s top-notch thrillers, this is a perfect time to get acquainted - her new book featuring Nashville homicide detective Taylor Jackson, SO CLOSE THE HAND OF DEATH, is a top pick from Romantic Times!

The following week I'll be headed to Phoenix and Tucson, where Juliet Blackwell and I will be addressing the Pen Writers, visiting with the Glendale Library and our friend Lesa Holstine, and attending the Tucson Festival of Books, where we're doing several workshops and panels and signing with some of our favorite booksellers and fellow writers. Check the schedule for specifics.

I do hope I'll be seeing some of you along the way!

More Great Reviews for AFTERTIME

2011-02-24T09:07:00.000-08:00

Loving the response to AFTERTIME! Here's some of the latest:

"An exciting new series that takes on and surpasses all the typical themes of post-apocalyptic literature." - Reading Rock Books

"Littlefield excels at keeping the momentum going and she knows how to inject a huge beating heart into any story." - Pop Culture Nerd

"Emotional, shocking, high-stakes, zombie-filled awesomeness." - Urban Fantasy Investigations

"I’m more than pleased with the way Littlefield avoided bringing unrealistic closure to the different plot lines...she went hard all the way." - Scooper Speaks

"A little bit of The Book of Eli and a little bit of Resident Evil and it all mixed so well together...the plot was ingenious." - Novel Society

"An engrossing and gritty romp through a tainted post-apocalyptic land...I highly recommend!" Another Readers Blog and Reviews

"Aftertime alternately creeped me the hell out and broke my heart repeatedly. It’s extremely well-written." - The Discriminating Fangirl

"Beautifully written and emotionally wrenching." - My Bookish Ways

"I absolutely could not tear my eyes from the page...a physical and emotional journey that is both touching and haunting." - My Need to Read

"A gripping and emotional tale of survival...I wanted MORE!" - Rambling Reads

Letting Love In - Sometimes It's a Cake

2011-02-23T11:11:00.000-08:00

You know me, right - when things get tense, or busy, or nerve-wracking, I go straight to the hermit place. I dig in and bar the door and obsess over my work and let the rest of the world (except for my kids, of course) go straight to hell.

This is wrong, wrong, wrong. Humans need each other, even us crazy introverted artistic types. I'm learning, slowly, to facilitate the process. But sometimes I need a little nudge.

Luckily I'm blessed with friends who won't let me stay buried. Lisa, for instance, is always offering me Diet Cokes (my beloved enabler!) Julie and Rachael are ready for "plot talk" (code for all sorts of unmentionables), Lynn *always* knows the right thing to say, Gigi shares her gifts selflessly (and recently played bar waitress for me on a particularly tough night), Martha is far more generous and sweet than she'd EVER want you to know, and Adrienne....well, more about her in a minute.

And that's just the Pens. I'm blessed with a circle of people that anyone would be proud to have.

So yesterday my newest book came out. AFTERTIME, I mighta mentioned it once or twice. But I've been a little caught up in a few things around here, trying to keep all the corks bobbing on the water, and maybe let it slip past.

Not so fast. First all the Pens started offering to take me book-spotting (a Pens release-day tradition, where we find the books in the wild and giggle and point at them and take their picture and then of course go drink) - and then Adrienne showed up this morning with this:

Yup. She *made* this thing, people. With the help of Li'l W, her assistant. It's cocoa-y goodness on the inside and chocolate fondant on the outside. It was delectable too (much of it has been reduced to crumbs at this point).

Adrienne says that a book launch merits a beautiful arty cake, so I've decided to believe her. Yum.

What's Dog Up To These Days, You Ask?

2011-02-20T14:32:00.000-08:00

Well, she's been eating my office trash can. You'd think she was chewing off pieces and spitting them out in the house or yard, but I swear she's ingesting them because I never find the bits anywhere. (This is the Dog with the titanium stomach, so anything is possible.)

Also, she got a new toy. Teddy Moose. She likes to nap with it.

Posting cute pet pictures might be a new low for me but that's all I got - too giddy for the launch of AFTERTIME in a couple of days to manage much else!

Thank you, Big Guy!

2011-02-13T06:40:00.000-08:00

It seems like a good moment to practice a little gratitude today.

Yesterday I got to see my darlings at the SFARWA meeting. I've been thinking lately that publishing is challenging enough that you shouldn't do it if it feels like work. These are my Pens pals, and not only do they make every aspect of the journey more fun, they are like a giant Band-Aid and box of tissues when I'm down.

This is a little present sent to me by a friend. I got home yesterday and there was a plain package, the kind that generally contains little electronic gizmos my son is constantly ordering off eBay. I opened it expecting to find an adapter or something and instead I got magic. Some day, I'll explain why it made me laugh *and* cry.

This is the remains of a manicure my daughter gave me a week ago. I fidget with my manicures so I've managed to peel off all but the very last bits, but maybe you can tell that each nail was like a little strawberry (the green tops were the first to go). I think she gave me the manicure because she knew that I would need to look down at my hands all week and find something delightful.

And this, finally, is the pair of shoes I bought to go touring with my pal J.T. in a couple of weeks, when we're on the road for our new books. Because an amazing pair of shoes always makes things a little better.

Publishers Weekly Starred Review of AFTERTIME

2011-02-07T05:00:00.000-08:00

I don't know if there's a more exciting moment for an author than seeing that gorgeous star next to their Publisher's Weekly review!

Here's what they had to say about AFTERTIME (which is now only a few weeks away) -

★ Aftertime
Sophie Littlefield. Luna, $14.95 trade paper (364p) ISBN 978-0-373-80336-1

Littlefield (A Bad Day for Pretty) turns what could be just another zombie apocalypse into a thoughtful and entertaining exploration of many themes, including genetic engineering, social collapse, and motherhood. Cass, a young mother and recovering alcoholic, awakens filthy and gashed in the California wilderness, with no memory of the past several weeks. She believes she’s eaten a plant that turns its victims into Beaters, or zombies; her recovery is inexplicable. An enigmatic, charismatic man named Smoke agrees to escort her for the last stretch of her journey home to find her daughter, and what begins as a four-mile hike through Beaterinfested terrain becomes an odyssey through fragments of civilization devastated by war, plague, and anarchy. Littlefield has a gift for pacing, her adroit and detailed world-building going down easy amid page-turning action and evocative, sensual, harrowing descriptions that bring every paragraph of this thriller to life. (Apr.)

AFTERTIME reviews: RTBookReviews Top Pick - and more!

2011-02-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

I was thrilled to discover that RTBookReviews gave AFTERTIME a top pick in the March issue! Here's what they had to say:

4 ½ star, Top Pick
The first installment in a fantastic new dystopian series is driven by a tough, smart heroine with a dark past and a single mission: to find her daughter. The fresh, original worldbuilding solidly supports the unfolding narrative and Littlefield’s compelling writing will keep readers turning pages late into the night to find out what happens next. Outstanding!
Cass Dollar wakes up to a pretty bleak state of affairs. She’s scarred, wounded and alone, the only person ever to have survived an attack by the flesh-eating, zombie-like Beaters — without turning into one — though she doesn’t remember what happened after they snatched her. California is a barren wasteland, thanks to biological weapons, and Cass doesn’t know where her daughter, Ruthie, is. Accompanied by enigmatic outlaw Smoke, Cass sets off on a dangerous quest to find Ruthie while staying a step ahead of a ruthless militia, government scientists and a mysterious quasi-religious order of women.

And lots of other reviewers have been weighing in on the book as well. Here's a sampling:

"A fascinating protagonist and some of the scariest zombies I have ever encountered - a double-barreled salute." - Jess d'Arbonne, The Denver Examiner

"A gripping and emotional tale of survival that will keep any reader on their toes...I wanted MORE!" - Enchanting Reviews

"A stirring read that sincerely whetted my appetite for the next in the series ...I wait with bated breath" - Fiendishly Bookish

"Littlefield may be the new Zombie writer on the block but Atfertime holds it own...I am anxiously waiting the sequel." - Blood Rose Books

"The ending had my heart pounding." - Dirty Sexy Books

More Review Love for BANISHED

2011-01-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

BANISHED is making the rounds of the young adult fiction reviewers, picking up some lovely accolades. Here's a couple of recent reviews:

From School Library Journal:

Gr 9 Up–Sixteen-year-old Hailey Tarbell lives with her negligent grandmother and foster brother, Chub, in a decrepit corner of Gypsum, MO. She tolerates Gram’s drug dealing and their outcast status, biding her time until she can start a new life with Chub. When a classmate almost dies in a gym class accident, Hailey discovers that she possesses a healing power. She uses this gift to revive her dog, Rascal, after a truck crushes him, but he doesn’t seem normal after being brought back to life. Then long-lost Aunt Prairie arrives in town, along with two mysterious men who trail Hailey everywhere she goes. Following a violent shoot-out and car chase, Prairie escapes with Hailey and Chub and takes them to Chicago, where they join forces with another Healer and her son. Prairie reveals that the Tarbells are part of an ancient Irish clan of “Banished” people. Healing is one of their gifts, though they are forbidden from resurrecting someone who has already died, which explains the trouble with Rascal. Hailey also learns that her aunt’s ex-boyfriend is a nefarious medical researcher who wants to use Hailey’s skill to raise a mercenary army of zombies. The action builds to a nail-biting climax at the research laboratory where Hailey tangles, quite gruesomely, with a room full of zombies. The mythology of the Banished is somewhat underdeveloped, but it may be better explained in the inevitable sequel. With plenty of action, family drama, and the promise of romance, this novel is seriously entertaining.–Amy Pickett, Ridley High School, Folsom, PA

From VOYA, the magazine for librarians serving young adults:

No sensible young girl wants to stay in Gypsum, Missouir, especially the down-at-the-heels neighborhood the rich kids call Trashtown. Sixteen-year-old Hailey Tarbell plans escape when she turns eighteen, leaving behind the poverty-stricken town and her vicious, drug-dealing grandmother. The only things she will take with her into her new life are her four-year-old foster brother, Chub, and her mongrel dog, Rascal. Hailey's life is altered completely when one of her classmates is hurt in gym and she is able to heal the girl's life-threatening injuries. As Hailey, bewildered by her sudden powers, frantically attempts to keep her life on track, a glamorous and enigmatic woman appears at the door declaring herself to be her aunt Prairie, sister of Hailey's long-dead mother. Prairie provides Hailey with details of her own life and career but is clearly holding back certain key details. Most importantly, why is Prairie hiding from her former employer and why does she evade questions about their shared project?

Prairie's appearance plunges Hailey, Chub and Rascal into a breakneck adventure, running from both Prairie's creepy boss and the sadistic residents of Trashtown who want Hailey for their own disturbing reasons. Award-winning author Littlefield offers teen readers an enthralling and sometimes gory mix of brutal gunmen, high-speed car chases, horrifying zombie armies, long-buried secrets, and a sturdy, resilient narrator with an awesome and occasionally terrifying power. A cliff-hanger climax promises spellbound readers a whole gripping series of Hailey's future exploits. - Jamie Hansen

Books on the Porch!!

2011-01-26T07:56:00.001-08:00

There's nothing like opening the door to discover a box of shiny new books sent by one's publisher. I'm not ashamed to say I shriek and jump around and kiss them. AFTERTIME won't be for sale for another month, but I will probably be sleeping with a copy under my pillow until then.

My editor says this is one of the nicest packages he's seen (hmmm, i just realized how that sounds - it just means the cover and the blurbs and back cover copy, the type design and layout and front- and backmatter, basically everything but the words I wrote) - - and I have to agree. With absolutely no good behavior on my part to account for it, my cover-magic streak continues, and I offer my humble thanks to the Harlequin art and design folks.

One interesting note - this is the first of my books that Dog has shown absolutely no interest in eating. Hmmm. Maybe because in Aftertime, when people get hungry enough, they, uh...well. Pets have to stay on their toes, is all I'm sayin'. Hear that, Dog? Hmmm?

Early Reviews for AFTERTIME

2011-01-04T08:21:00.000-08:00

Early reviews for my new series with Harlequin Luna are beginning to trickle in. So far, so good! Here's a sampling of what people have to say, with links to the full reviews:

"Startling and unputdownable from beginning to end...hands down the best zombie book I've read all year."
—All Things Urban Fantasy
Read the full review here.

"Psychologically fascinating...Acts of depravity, venality, cruelty, and cowardice are balanced by shining acts of selflessness, heroism, kindness, and love, all magnified by the fact that life is being lived at the knife-edge of survival. Aftertime is a gripping read; sympathetic characters operate in a detailed, realistically shattered echo of modern society, and the emotional journey is as harrowing and absorbing as the physical one." - The Paperback Dolls
Read the full review here.

"A really good book, keeping you guessing on what will happen at the end and a lot of suspense. I look forward to reading more from this author!" - Bookerella
Read the full review here.

School Library Journal Hearts BANISHED

2011-01-03T22:53:00.000-08:00

Just found out that School Library Journal reviewed BANISHED in the January issue. I'm so delighted - this is the first time I've been reviewed by this publication. Here's what they had to say:

Grade 9 Up –- Sixteen-year-old Hailey Tarbell lives with her negligent grandmother and foster brother, Chub, in a decrepit corner of Gypsum, MO. She tolerates Gram’s drug dealing and their outcast status, biding her time until she can start a new life with Chub. When a classmate almost dies in a gym class accident, Hailey discovers that she possesses a healing power. She uses this gift to revive her dog, Rascal, after a truck crushes him, but he doesn’t seem normal after being brought back to life. Then long-lost Aunt Prairie arrives in town, along with two mysterious men who trail Hailey everywhere she goes. Following a violent shoot-out and car chase, Prairie escapes with Hailey and Chub and takes them to Chicago, where they join forces with another Healer and her son. Prairie reveals that the Tarbells are part of an ancient Irish clan of “Banished” people. Healing is one of their gifts, though they are forbidden from resurrecting someone who has already died, which explains the trouble with Rascal. Hailey also learns that her aunt’s ex-boyfriend is a nefarious medical researcher who wants to use Hailey’s skill to raise a mercenary army of zombies. The action builds to a nail-biting climax at the research laboratory where Hailey tangles, quite gruesomely, with a room full of zombies. The mythology of the Banished is somewhat underdeveloped, but it may be better explained in the inevitable sequel. With plenty of action, family drama, and the promise of romance, this novel is seriously entertaining.–Amy Pickett, Ridley High School, Folsom, PA

My First Foreign Edition, Ever!

2011-01-01T23:02:00.000-08:00

Thank you, Hayakawa Books of Tokyo! A couple of days ago, a plain brown package arrived containing six of these.

There was no note, so I have no one to send a thank you note to. I do know that my translator was Shizue Saga. (I've read every bit of the book that I can actually read, which comprises exactly one paragraph, if you don't count my name and the title in fanciful font across the t-shirts - i doubt that you can make it out in the picture but it's there.

First thing I did was to send one off to my brother. (Did you know Mike speaks fluent Japanese? Well, now you do.) I'm hoping he'll read some random section of it for me. Because I think it would be really cool to know how it got translated. Which might be kind of silly, but this is a first for me, and I make it a point to celebrate *every* first.

Featured in FIRST Magazine!

2010-12-22T11:39:00.001-08:00

I'm so happy about this one - I've written before about my love of shelter/homemaking magazines; for many years they were weekly reads for me. To this day I pick them up frequently in the grocery store, and I find the features on family cooking and the home to be very soothing, even though - or perhaps especially because - my life currently has very little room for these pursuits.

I still remember when FIRST magazine appeared on the stands - glossy, friendly, eyecatching. This week, in a feature called "7 Paperbacks We're Reading Now," FIRST editorial assistant Cassandra Zink says "I laughed from the prologue to the final page of the book, but I also found myself holding my breath when trouble frequently rolled around. It was uplifting, being reminded how strong we women are, especially when it comes to defending those we love."

Can't ask for a better endorsement than that. Thanks, FIRST!

Announcing CLAWBACK!

2010-12-18T08:14:00.000-08:00

I am thrilled to share my brother Mike's good news! His book - which I got to read an early draft of, and can assure you is amazing - has sold and will be out for all to read in 2012. I am just overjoyed that we will be on this road together. Here's the report from PM:

Thriller
Best American Mystery and Shamus Award for Short Fiction writer Michael Wiecek's CLAWBACK, featuring a shadowy and charming corporate fixer who is forced to investigate a series of very-public killings of investors in and around Wall Street, to Josh Kendall at Viking, at auction, in a two-book deal, by Heide Lange at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.

...and you can read more about Mike here.

Raffle Winners

2010-12-05T08:54:00.000-08:00

Thanks everyone who followed or posted or showed up for my little book giveaway!!

My winners are Fairie, Julie Carruth, and JessicaScott09 - I'll try to get in touch with you guys now or you can email me at sophie@sophielittlefield.com - - and don't forget to tell me who you want me to make it out to, how you want it signed and where you want it sent and whether you want it gift wrapped or not. Oh, and which book you want!!

A BAD DAY FOR SORRY

A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY

BANISHED

Hope everyone had a great weekend! xo

Win my BOOKS!

2010-12-02T08:16:00.000-08:00

Hey all, I'm back after a couple of months of being buried under deadlines. I woke up this morning ready to rejoin the living and decided to give some books away. I'm really new at this so I don't know if I'm going about it right but - how about this - I'll give away 3 copies of BANISHED or BAD DAY FOR PRETTY or SORRY, your choice, drawing from anyone who follows me on Twitter or Likes my new FB fan page from now until I get home from the SistersInCrime holiday party on Saturday. Or I guess if you already follow those, you could leave a comment here. I'll try real real hard not to drink so much champagne that I can't draw a name out of a hat. :)

I'll sign it to you or, if you rather, I'll send it as a holiday gift for you, signed and gift wrapped for somebody!

Soooooo, here's the links:

Sophie on Twitter

Sophie on Facebook

....P.S. if there's a better way to give stuff away please tell me. I'm going to see if Adam will let me give away an AFTERTIME arc next - very excited about that!

Thanks, BOOKLIST!

2010-11-10T09:19:00.001-08:00

Just got word that BOOKLIST, the review journal of the American Library Association, will be running this review of BANISHED in December. So pleased!!

Banished.
Littlefield, Sophie (Author)
Oct 2010. 304 p. Delacorte, hardcover, $16.99. (9780385738521).
Hailey has been an outsider her whole life—at school, in town, and even in her home, where her drug dealing grandmother neglects and mistreats her. But never before has being different meant being in danger for her life. After Hailey starts registering strange feelings and compulsions, a mysterious aunt suddenly appears and explains the magnitude of the “gift” that sets her apart. Hailey is a healer and a descendent of an ancient Irish clan now living in the U.S., and her special abilities are attracting large numbers of nefarious pursuers. Some want to use her powers for ethically questionable gains. Some want to kill her. References to Irish folklore, zombies, and disastrous love affairs will appeal to paranormal fantasy fans. Littlefield, who has previously published for the adult market, reveals the details of Hailey’s gift both to Hailey and to readers in well-paced scenes that add up to an intense thriller of life-and-death proportions.
— Hollis Rudiger

BANISHED - in Brazil!

2010-11-02T23:35:00.001-07:00

Did I forget to tell y'all that a Brazilian outfit is going to publish BANISHED? I did?

Ooops. Sorry. It's been a little crazy around here! That's my first foreign YA sale. Believe it or not, three separate Brazilian teens have written to ask about it already, which makes me feel kind of glow-y and pleased.

Bouchercon Report - and ANTHONY award!

2010-10-18T21:20:00.001-07:00

I have exciting news - I received an Anthony award for Best First Novel yesterday at Bouchercon for A BAD DAY FOR SORRY!!

It was incredible - everything from standing in front of 4,000,000 people (well, it felt that way anyway) and blubbering into the microphone...

accepting the award from local friend Eddie Muller (who I was so nervous about meeting several years ago that I babbled "I uh wrote uh a book")...

standing next to (hold onto your hats) *Louise Penny* as well as my friends Bryan Gruley and Hank Phillipi Ryan, all of whom are crazy talented...

everyone coming up and hugging me after (probably the best part) to Cornelia actually *crying* (oh yes she did)...

getting to share the moment with my agent, editor, *AND* publicist - yup all three of my ladies were right there with me. Thanks, Barbara and Toni and Sarah. I hope I remembered to say it.

Of course, right after Barbara tried to run off with the award....

Yikes, would you look at the time? I was going to post my pix here but I think I'll just go throw them on Facebook. (Would love it if you'd stop by - I have a new fan page!

Here's one special shot, though: my Poker Club. We got together a few years ago, five terrific crime writers and one newly-hatched wannabe (that would be me) and we had a grand old time. Still do, except that two of us have moved away...so it was a really amazing experience to have everyone back in one place.

Mike's in the Year's Best!

2010-10-07T14:19:00.000-07:00

Here's a book that's a no-brainer to pick up. Penzler's got an undisputable eye for short fiction, and one could do a heck of a lot worse than Lee Child for a guest editor. But the very best thing about this collection - at least in this humble writer's opinion - is that my very own brother Mike Wiecek has a story in it!

Here's me and Mike at the Edgars earlier this year.

His story is called "The Shipbreaker," and it first appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine in the March/April '09 issue.

If you don't want to take my word for it, here's the reviews on the 2010 Year's Best:

"This collection is sure to please mystery fans as well as those who enjoy short stories"--Library Journal
"The 20 short stories in the 14th edition of this “best of” series offer a wider variety than some of its predecessors...While this volume contains relatively few household names, the quality certainly doesn’t suffer as a result."--Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
"Penzler’s foreword...in favor of an eclectic mix of tales that exhibit crime in all its varieties in every corner of the world—and then some."--Kirkus Reviews

Stella's Headed for FIRST Magazine

2010-10-06T10:26:00.000-07:00

Sarah Melnyk over at St. Martin's Press is a goddess among publicists. She's been doing an amazing job of finding readers for my Stella books, and today she bowled me over with this news: A BAD DAY FOR SORRY is going to be a December Editor's Pick in the December issue of FIRST magazine.

This is one of those sparkly dream-come-true moments for me, and not just because FIRST reaches over a million American women every month.

Back around the time my son was born (yes, that would be the boy who will be eighteen in a few weeks) I wrote for magazines. I've told this story before, but it bears repeating for any newcomers who've recently come to the campfire, especially writers. I bought myself a copy of Lisa Collier Cool's HOW TO WRITE IRRESISTIBLE QUERY LETTERS (still available - a classic that I recommend for anyone who wants to write for consumer magazines).

I had decided that I would send fifty queries before giving up. In one of those weird coincidences that litter my writing journey, I got all the way to fifty before I received a "yes" - and in another weird coincidence, it was for a parenting article for a now-defunct publication called EAST BAY KIDS. Living in Chicago at the time, I had never heard of the East Bay, the name for the suburbs east of San Francisco - but now I live there!

Anyway, I kept writing and kept querying. I wanted to make my way into the top women's magazines including Redbook and Women's Day and Family Circle...and FIRST, which at the time was a fairly new magazine, one which blended the sensible advice of its established sisters with a punchy new layout.

I never met that goal, but not for a lack of trying. Somewhere around here, I have the stacks of rejection letters from those years. I came close a few times (encouraging rejections from REDBOOK and COSMOPOLITAN), but eventually I was spending more and more time writing fiction and I put the magazine writing on the back burner, where it languishes to this day.

In 1995, if you told me that one day my name would grace the pages of FIRST, I would have been overjoyed. But to be featured there as the author of a novel? Now that's a dream come true.

What To Do With Six Bucks?

2010-10-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

I have to warn you I totally ripped this post off from my friend Daisy. The way it started was, I was bored and exhausted the other night so instead of working like i was supposed to, I was tweeting stream-of-consciousness - really not what one's editors mean by "developing a social media presence." And I put it out there that I am obsessed with this product which I read about in Junior's Seventeen magazine:

and I said "there are worse ways to spend six bucks" 'cause we all know that a decent set of acrylics is gonna set you back fifty bucks. So then Daisy, who never sleeps, says she knows worse ways to spend six bucks and bam-bam-bam she tweeted three of them, all pure genius.

So without further ado, since Friday may well be your payday, here are three terrible ways to spend six bucks on your way to the check-cashing store/happy hour establishment:

OXO shrimp tool - $5.99

Marie-Antoinette-as-cat limited edition print, $6.00

Dog football uniform, $11.99

Okay that last one was nearly twice the price, but I think it should be included for sheer horribleness. I mean, look at that poor dog's expression. It just wants to crawl under the table and die of shame.

Oooh, Pretty Booklist Ad!

2010-09-15T20:29:00.000-07:00

I just found out that Delacorte has included BANISHED in an ad they are running in Booklist, which is the magazine of the American Library Association. See my little cover, there on the upper right? Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to get a better image. But I'm pleased as all get out - it would be amazing for BANISHED to make its way into some school libraries...

I volunteered in the school library when my kids were little. This was long before I had a publishing contract, but I was writing, and I remember thinking how cool it would be to see a book of mine on the shelves some day...

oh and P.S. - aren't these covers gorgeous? I can't tell if it's bragging to say that my publisher kicks cover ass. If it is, I apologize, but wow have they got some talent over there. I especially love the FALLEN and TORMENT covers. They're just so....Evanescence. (I listened to a fair amount of Evanescence while I was writing BANISHED).

Have you seen the TORMENT book trailer? I don't care what your stance on trailers is, it's hard not to be captivated by that one.

Discount Noir!! ...'cause i heart WalMart

2010-09-14T20:35:00.000-07:00

You guys know Patti Abbott, right? Wait, a few of you aren't raising your hands. Let me introduce you - Patti's a friend of mine who writes great dark, gritty short fiction (you'll love her, Mysti) and an amazing blog that is so much more than a, y'know, blog in the sense that *this* thing is a blog....blah blah blah, just take a look and see what I mean. Patti is SMART.

Anyway she and Steve Weddle, who appears to be really cool so far though our friendship is still in the "virtual" stage, have put together this anthology with a great hook: it's all about WalMart. Yeah, every story is set in or includes a reference to WalMart. It's a fact that every single one of my books so far contains a reference to WalMart - that should prove the depth of my relationship with the place. It's a complicated relationship, probably a little unstable...the rest of my family HATES the place and won't shop there, on moral grounds, but to me, merely the memory of the smell (Milk Duds, calico sizing and old popcorn) is enough to make me feel, well, happy and optimistic. WalMart, in my scrappy childhood, was my mecca, my place of plenty.

Anyway, enough about me, this post is supposed to be about Patti, Steve, and the book, which will be released by Untreed Reads.

Untreed Reads is very happy to announce that thanks to our partnership with Stacia J.N. Decker of the Donald Maass Literary Agency, Untreed Reads will be the ebook publisher for a new short mystery anthology tentatively titled Discount Noir. The anthology consists of super short/flash murder and mayhem centered around a very Wal-Mart/Target-esque backdrop.

The anthology contains works by: Patricia Abbott, Sophie Littlefield, Kieran Shea, Chad Eagleton, Ed Gorman, Cormac Brown, Fleur Bradley, Alan Griffiths, Laura Benedict, Garnett Elliot, Eric Beetner, Jack Bates, Bill Crider, Loren Eaton, John DuMond, John McFetridge, Toni McGee Causey, Jeff Vande Zande, James Reasoner, Kyle Minor, Randy Rohn, Todd Mason, Byron Quertermous, Sandra Scoppettone, Stephen D. Rogers, Steve Weddle, Evan Lewis, Daniel B. O’Shea, Sandra Seamans, Albert Tucher, Donna Moore, John Weagly, Keith Rawson, Gerald So, Dave Zeltserman, Dorte Hummelshoj Jakobsen, Jay Stringer, Anne Frasier, Kathleen A. Ryan, Eric Peterson, Chris Grabenstein and J.T. Ellison. The anthology was edited by Patricia Abbott and Steve Weddle.

Look for this title to be released in late September/early October.

BANISHED - one month away!

2010-09-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

My first young adult novel, BANISHED, comes out one month from today. I love this book and I can't wait to have it in the hands of readers - but perhaps because it's very close to my heart, I'm also a little nervous.

Anyone who knows me knows that my world revolves around my kids. At 15 and 17, they are right smack in the target age range for my book - but they haven't read it. I understand why - I was the same way when my own dad published book after book as I was growing up. I needed him to be my Dad, not an author, not a pundit (he wrote books about legal history) - and I didn't want to "go looking" for him between the lines of the text. That may not be an adequate explanation - it's something I feel, rather than something I can enunciate. Anyway, it doesn't bother me a bit that my kids - while they are excited and happy for me - don't feel the need to open the cover.

As for any other readers out there - that's a different story. I want you to love the cover (I do). I want you to be intrigued by the first line ("Waking up hurt.") I want you to care about the characters and what happens to them. I hope you find a sentence or two that makes you go "oh!"

I'm going to be pretty busy this fall with a couple of deadlines and family stuff, and so I haven't been able to do as many appearances and signings as I would like to. All I can do is stand at the door, like the parent of a kindergardner that I once was, and watch my little bundle toddle out into the world - full of hopes and best wishes and maybe a prayer or two.

Lovely Review from Crimespree

2010-08-26T21:00:00.001-07:00

This one is special indeed, because the members of the Crimespree gang feel like old friends (that's Ruth and Jon Jordan in the picture)...

A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY
Sophie Littlefield
June, 2010
Minotaur Books

Stella Hardesty is back, and in a big way. Sophie Littlefield’s debut novel A BAD DAY FOR SORRY garnered much buzz and every possible award nomination. A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY FIRMLY establishes her as a new brand of writer. Stella is a new and unique female protagonist. Her small town setting and day job running a sewing store on main street may suggest cozy but her hard-boiled attitude towards any human who’d lay a hand on another makes this series one that keeps the reader turning pages.

The book starts with both a twister and a twist. Stella’s new found relationship with Sheriff “Goat” Brown is about to get even more complicated as a third individual adds even more baggage to a pair we’re already cheering on. But it’s the unearthing of a body as a result of the tornado that propels this story forward. A woman’s body has been found and the main suspect is someone Stella has dealt with in the past.

Can she prove that Neb Donovan did not commit this cold case of a murder?

It’s a joy when a new writer holds you’re attention from beginning to end. It’s a treat when she has something so new to say.

A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY; entertainment, the mystery way.

- Ruth Jordan

My Day Off

2010-08-20T23:56:00.001-07:00

I'm not very good at leisure.

This was true even before I started writing all the time. I've never been able to sit still for long, and I'm perplexed by the notion of relaxing in a lawn chair or on a beach or hammock or couch. I'm fidgety and distractible and I just need to get up and do stuff.

But lately I've been working a little too hard and coming a little bit uncomfortably close to burnout. It was time to step away from the keyboard, and luckily it was also time, today, for one of my very favorite traditions - the summer's-end Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk trip we've been taking for over a decade.

The first time we did this, Junior was too little to ride any but the baby rides and we had to watch T-wa like a hawk around the water because, at six, he was more enthusiastic than cautious. Today, T-wa - still more enthusiastic than cautious - drove us all down to Santa Cruz and Sal, officially taller than me at 5' 9.5", was plenty big enough for all the rides. Beloved Auntie K came along, so poor T-wa had to deal with three adults backseat driving.

One of us thinks it's warm enough to swim - one of us doesn't

Some things haven't changed at all. T-wa still has to get in the water first thing, even though it was cold enough that I was wearing mittens on the beach. (I've learned, after all these years, to pack tons of layers.) Everyone is allowed to eat all the junk food they want and the evening must end with fried cheese, more a curiosity than a delicacy, even though everyone is required to take at least a nibble (even Auntie K, who was feeling very nauseous after all those rides). Speaking of rides, I go on every single one and so does Junior. She and I have iron constitutions for this sort of thing. Everyone else gets queasy on the spinny ones, while we just wish they would go faster and last longer and do more upside-down scary stuff.

The sky was blue enough to break your heart, the tide pools and distant mountains gorgeous enough to more than make up for all the ticky-tacky, and the sand got in my lip gloss and shoes and hair. The kids said "thank you" and "I love you" a lot. Everyone but the driver fell asleep on the way home.

Auntie K and Junior in the bumper cars

I'll be a new person, a renewed writer, tomorrow when I get back to the task. It may take me a few paragraphs to transition back to the desolate torment in which I left my characters, and I'll take a break when the kids finally stumble out of bed to make chocolate chip pancakes.

I ought to do this more often.

Here's the thing. No one - not even people who love their jobs, cry with happiness because they get to do what they love, live and breathe words as though they were oxygen - no one can do it all the time without coming up for air. Sometimes, I come a little too close for comfort. Other than my kids, I forget to pay attention to life beyond the book. And that's a mistake.

Cleave too close and you stop surprising yourself. Forget to breathe and you'll forget to question, poke, upend, and U-turn as well. Get too enmeshed and you might as well turn in your membership card, 'cause you ain't gonna be writing anything worth reading.

I often take pot shots at people who make the opposite mistake - the ones who never make time for the chair. Now, humbly, I admit that the opposite problem is still a problem. And I pledge to try a little harder to do better. Because life is rich, and I almost missed it. Those garlic fries were worth every greasy bite. Hanging upside down a hundred feet up, screaming all the while, was splendid. And seeing my sister helping my kids grow up...well, yeah, a little teary here. Thanks, Big Guy...it was a good day.

Auntie K, Bob, T-wa and Junior considering what to nosh on first

A New Deal and an Upbeat Publishing Tale

2010-08-08T22:13:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled and delighted and just plain excited to tell you that I've signed on to do two more young adult books for Delacorte. These will follow BANISHED (October '10) and UNFORSAKEN (October '11), probably in fall '12 and '13. I don't know what they're going to be about yet, and that's actually kind of exciting. There's something sparkly and wonderful about a book that's still just a little thought-cloud, a sense of possibility that's both exhilarating and inspiring.

This deal means even more to me because BANISHED went through a lot of rewriting and revising before we all agreed it was ready. I will be honest with you: I had a lot to learn about writing for young adults when I turned in that first book. When BANISHED comes out in a couple of months, it will be a very different story from what it used to be, and far better: tighter, more focused, more suspenseful, and more compelling.

My wonderful editor, Stephanie Elliott, worked really hard with me through several revisions and I credit her with fixing what was frankly a problematic book. At any point, she could have (and was probably tempted to!) thrown her hands up in despair and pitched the whole project; instead she kept coming back and trying again.

I kind of shiver and feel faint when I think of what might have happened without her help. I shed more than a few tears over this book; I had days when I doubted my ability to make it work. But I didn't give up and neither did Stephanie and neither did Barbara, who was always ready to talk through the latest edits. I am really big on thinking of my books as team projects and it's never been more true than with BANISHED.

The fact that we went on to do a second book together and now look forward to two more is, i think, one of my proudest milestones on my writing journey. It's just one more example of what is, in the end, a simple formula for writing success:

work passionately + love your job + listen to smart people + don't give up = published book you can be proud of

Here's the deal report from Publisher's Marketplace:

Children's: Young Adult
Sophie Littlefield's next two untitled paranormal young adult novels, following her zombie novels BANISHED and UNFORSAKEN, to Stephanie Elliott at Delacorte, in a two-book deal, by Barbara Poelle at Irene Goodman Agency (NA).

RWA Was a Blast (No Thanks to the Mouse)

2010-08-08T21:46:00.000-07:00

I got back from Orlando last Tuesday night, but it's taken me a while to get myself sorted out. I think it was the heat. No, the humidity. "It's not the heat, it's the humidity" - a midwesterner's most beloved commentary on summer weather, which is lost on us Californians...

Anyway, I had a great time with my SFRWA friends and also the ones I only get to see at conferences. We got in halfway through the Literacy Signing and hit the ground running and didn't stop. Because I'm now writing for three houses, I had lots of events to attend, which is both pinch-me-please wonderful and a little intimidating. Luckily I had roommates (and friends in a second room that we sort of treated like our own, wandering back and forth all hours of the day and night) to lend me jewelry and critique my makeup and take compromising photos of me (tattoo sleeve and naughty net gloves, anyone?) and bum drink tickets off.

Our hotel made me grumpy. I know it's my issue that bunking in a gated plot of land where you can't escape terrible overpriced food and weirdly-costumed "cast members" and bizarre souvenirs (a mouse-ear colander? really?) makes my skin crawl, but the refusal to vaccuum our floor or bring us towels or give us directions was just plain rude. And the front desk person who made my friend sad? I poxed her, but good.

Enough of that! One of my favorite parts is always cheering for our chapter members who are nominated for Golden Hearts and Ritas. This year Carolyn Jewel was up for two Ritas, and both Grace Chow and Elisa Beatty were up for Golden Hearts. Elisa won!

Here I am with two of my roommates, Juliet Blackwell and Lisa Hughey. We were on our way to the Awards dinner on Saturday. This is the only picture I have with any Disney scenery in the background...probably because I was usually scowling whenever I had to confront MouseWorld. "Have a magical day," indeed. Aw, heck, I'll keep my bitter core to myself...
Me and my agent, Barbara Poelle. We always have more fun together than we're supposed to. I think it's in the AAR bylaws or something.
Here I am with Tawny Weber at the PASIC party. I was a cross-eyed mess by the time I got there after a long schmoozey evening - the only networking I did was to jump in front of a nice lady at the dessert table and take the brownie she had her eye on - but Tawny's the kind of person who can make you feel calm and happy even when you thought you were down to your last nerve.

Here's Susanna Einstein with my friends Rachael Herron and Adrienne Miller. Susanna is Rachael's agent, and she's really smart - I learn stuff every time I talk to her.

Here I am at the Literacy Signing with Carrie Lofty. One fun thing I didn't realize when I did my first signing is that you get to see the same people from time to time, which lends a nice element of stability to an otherwise chaotic and slightly nerve-wracking event. Carrie's funny and smart and fun, and so is my regular Saint Martin's Press signing buddy, Sheila Roberts. (Yeah, I know that "Littlefield" and "Roberts" aren't exactly in alphabetical order...but we like it that way.)

Here's my pal Alex Sokoloff and new friend Louisa Edwards at the St. Martin's signing.

My PensFatales friends - my local gals - my dear ones - aren't they all beautiful?!

Crimespree Nomination

2010-08-03T21:33:00.000-07:00

Came back from RWA (will post pix soon) in Orlando to discover some very nice news indeed - A BAD DAY FOR SORRY has been nominated for a Crimespree award!

Big thanks to all the folks over at Crimespree who've been so sweet to me since I was a beginning beginner, long before I ever had a publishing contract. They're good people and they knock themselves out to support authors, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Here's the full list. It's especially fun to be up with my friend Jamie Freveletti along with a nice showing from my publisher, St. Martin's/Minotaur.

Favorite Book of 2009:
• Bury Me Deep, by Megan Abbott (Simon & Schuster)
• Tower, by Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman (Busted Flush Press)
• Trust No One, by Gregg Hurwitz (St. Martin’s Press)
• The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death, by Charlie Huston (Ballantine Books)
• The Amateurs, Marcus Sakey (Dutton)

Favorite First Book 2009:
• The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley (Delacorte)
• Running from the Devil, by Jamie Freveletti (Morrow)
• Even, by Andrew Grant (Minotaur)
• A Bad Day for Sorry, by Sophie Littlefield (Minotaur)
• The Ghosts of Belfast, by Stuart Neville (Soho Crime)

Best Book in an Ongoing Series for 2009:
• The Silent Hour, by Michael Koryta (Minotaur)
• Shatter, by Michael Robotham (Doubleday)
• The Shanghai Moon, by S.J. Rozan (Minotaur)
• Walking Dead, by Greg Rucka (Bantam)
• Truth, by Peter Temple (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Fight Breast Cancer, Support Jen, Win Cool Stuff

2010-07-26T11:00:00.000-07:00

My friend Jennifer Haymore won't be going to RWA National this year. I'm going to miss her - and I'm going to write more on the subject on MurderSheWrites in a couple of weeks, along with my conference report - but for now I just wanted to let everyone know about a raffle that her publisher and agent are doing. I think they're all a total class act since all the proceeds are going to fight breast cancer, but you can win some pretty fantastic prizes too - like a full manuscript review by our agent Barbara Poelle - yes, the whole darn thing - as well as an editorial review, books, and a chance to appear in one of Jen's upcoming novels.

Here's the whole press release:

Forever Books to Raise Money for Breast Cancer in Honor of Author Jennifer Haymore

July 26- Forever Books will hold a raffle at the Romance Writers of America National Convention later this week to raise money for BreastCancer.Org in support of author Jennifer Haymore.

Haymore, author of the forthcoming A Season of Seduction, was diagnosed with Breast Cancer earlier this year. After undergoing a successful surgery, Haymore is responding well to chemotherapy and radiation treatments. She has been able to continue writing through her treatments but she’s had to make other adjustments, including missing this year’s Romance Writers of America National Convention.

Haymore’s publisher, Forever, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, is passionate about supporting their author through the disease. Because Haymore is unable to attend the RWA convention, Forever has decided to hold a raffle to raise money for Breast Cancer awareness. 100% of the proceeds will go to www.breastcancer.org , a non-profit organization selected by Haymore, which is dedicated to providing information and community to those touched by this disease.

“Between my family, friends and fans, I have an incredible support system," said Haymore. "However, I know not everyone affected by the disease is as lucky as I am to be surrounded by such love and support, which is why I chose to support BreastCancer.org. The organization has been an invaluable resource, connecting me to others who can relate to my experience.”

The raffle at RWA will consist of four prizes: an editor critique, an agent critique, a character name in one of Haymore’s upcoming books, and a collection of books signed by bestselling romance authors. Tickets will cost $3 for one ticket, or $5 for two, and will be sold throughout the conference. The prize drawing will be held on Saturday, July 30 during the Grand Central Publishing Book Signing (Disney Swan hotel, Southern hemisphere, Salon 1). The drawing will be held at approximately 4:15.

###

Jamie Brings It Home

2010-07-11T21:15:00.001-07:00

I'm just back from Thrillerfest in New York City. It was especially exciting because my pal Jamie Freveletti won Best First Novel for her book RUNNING FROM THE DEVIL. I'm incredibly excited for her, but I have to admit that my favorite part of the event was helping her figure out which shoes to wear to the awards dinner:

This may make me seem a little superficial, but hang in there with me for a minute: Jamie was one of three women to walk away with top awards, and I think that's something to celebrate. I'm happy to see the women of the thriller writing community winning big - especially in a year when some of the Lists with a capital 'L' were a little thin on ladies. (NOT all the Lists, so don't get your panties in a bunch.) So heck yeah it seemed like an occasion for sassy silver shoes. Oh, and a great dress. Here's Jamie with our agent Barbara Poelle and me:

Here are the rest of the winners:

Best Hard Cover Novel:
THE NEIGHBOR, Lisa Gardner

Best Paperback Original Novel:
THE COLDEST MILE, Tom Piccirilli

Best First Novel:
RUNNING FROM THE DEVIL, Jamie Freveletti

Best Short Story:
A STAB IN THE HEART, Twist Phelan

Meanwhile, Stella's been spotted in the wild, and people have been sending me pictures from all over the country. Thank you to Chantelle Osman for this sighting down in Phoenix:

Stella's in PEOPLE!!

2010-06-23T18:40:00.000-07:00

There are key moments in a writing career that make you go "Holy S@#T, I think it's really happening."

I've been really blessed by a number of these this year. And here's today's....look down at the bottom of the page near the middle...if you're having trouble seeing it, just go pick up the July 4 issue of People Magazine! :)

And We Have a WINNER!!

2010-06-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Josin L. McQuein! ARCLIGHT, a YA sci-fi, is the winner of the manuscript review by Barbara Poelle! I will be working out the details with Josin via email, but I would like to congratulate her for a riveting first chapter. ARCLIGHT impressed both me and my guest judge with its pacing, intriguing premise, and voice.

I have winners for my raffle prizes, too!! I drew these at random from all the contest entrants:

The winner of the signed copy of A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY is Grace Topping.

The winner of the Stella Hardesty OPI nail polish sampler is Karen Duxbury.

Grace and Karen, please email me at sophie@sophielittlefield.com with your snail mail address so i can mail your prize to you!

Thank you all again for participating in my contest. Let me know if you found it fun and/or useful, and I'll see if I can talk Barbara into doing another one next year! Best wishes to everyone with your writing and querying this summer.

-Sophie

Contest Closed...Semifinalists Announced!

2010-06-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

...and so concludes Week Three of our contest, with lots more amazing entries! The judges had a hard time narrowing the choice down to a couple of finalists, and in the end were surprised to find that they chose two entries in the genre - YA Sci-Fi. They are:

Ellen Goodlet, ORIGINS, YA Sci-Fi
Kat, INSTINCT, YA Sci-Fi

Now it's time for the semi-finalists from all three weeks to send their chapters and, if they like, a query letter and/or synopsis. Please send to sophie @ sophielittlefield.com. These will all be read by me, and I reserve the right to get second opinions from my panel of judges :) - - but I must say I'm very much looking forward to reading these.

I will announce our winner next week, on Wednesday June 23rd. I'll announce the raffle winners then too - the winners of the Stella's favorite OPI as well as a copy of A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY (which, incidentally, is getting some very nice reviews - check my web site!)

I'd like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who entered. I sent out over 200 queries before signing with Barbara, so I know exactly what it's like to sweat over a query letter and fine-tune a first page until it feels like it's written on the back of your eyeballs. I salute your bravery, your perseverance, and your fortitude, and I lift a virtual glass in your honor.

- Sophie

Contest Week Three

2010-06-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

Week two is over and we had some incredible entries, and I'll get to our semifinalists in just a second, but first I just have to share some crazy good news: A BAD DAY FOR SORRY was nominated for an Anthony Award and a Macavity Award!

Also, my new book, A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY, was released yesterday. Happy dance!

I want to say a giant kudos to all of you who entered. We're all book people here, and we understand the joys and frustrations in getting the words polished and ready to send. There were many wonderful entries again this week.

Here are this week's semifinalists:

Gayle Feyrer, FLOATS THE DARK SHADOW (Historical Mystery)

B. Light, THE COLLECTED (YA Paranormal)

And now we're on to Week Three. If you did not final, you are welcome to enter again this week with a different manuscript. Semifinalists will be chosen next Wednesday, June 16. Submit your title, genre, and first five lines to be considered for a manuscript critique by agent Barbara Poelle. Complete rules, and other prizes, listed here.

Thank you so much for sharing your work!

Contest Week Two

2010-06-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

Week One of the contest has come to an end, and here are the first two semifinalists:

Josin L. McQuein, ARCLIGHT (dark YA fantasy)

Pat Remick, MURDER MOST MUNICIPAL (Traditional/Cozy Mystery)

The semifinalists will be contacted individually on Wednesday, June 16 with instructions on how to send their pages to Sophie for final round judging.

There were so many wonderful entries! The judges would have loved to keep reading many of them. And Daisy, they said that if you have the synopsis/query/30 pages, they'd put you in the semifinals too - apparently you had them at "Larry didn't have tentacles"...

On to Week Two! If you did not final, you are welcome to enter again this week with a different manuscript. Otherwise, please continue to spread the word. The rules are exactly the same as week one. More semifinalists will be chosen next Wednesday, June 9. Just submit your title, genre, and first five lines to be considered for a manuscript critique by agent Barbara Poelle. Complete rules, and other prizes, listed here.

Thank you so much for sharing your work!

CONTEST!

2010-05-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

WIN a manuscript critique by agent Barbara Poelle of the Irene Goodman Agency!

WIN a signed copy of A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY!

WIN Stella’s favorite OPI Nail Polish in “Charged Up Cherry,” “Yes…I Can-Can!” and “I Don’t Do Dishes”!

Are you looking for a literary agent? Need a professional evaluation of your work in process?

Barbara Poelle of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency will read and critique one winner’s synopsis, query letter, and first thirty pages.

How it works: 

• Click “Leave a Comment” below and post the title, genre, and first five sentences of your fiction manuscript in your comment. Email entries will not be accepted; all entries must be made in the comments section of this blog. 

• Semifinalists will be selected for each of three weeks. The semifinalists for round one will be posted on the blog on June 2. Round Two will begin on June 2 and semifinalists will be posted on June 9, and Round Three will begin on June 9 and semifinalists will be posted on June 16. The semifinalists will be invited to send their first chapter and/or synopsis to Sophie. 

• One overall winner will be selected on or before June 23. That winner will be invited to send his/her synopsis, query letter, and first thirty pages to Barbara Poelle, who will read it for possible representation. 

• If you aren’t a writer but would like to win the signed book or the nail polish sampler, just sign up for my newsletter any time before June 8.

• Questions? Feel free to go to the contact page and send them in. I will respond as quickly as possible.

Example:
Title: A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY
Genre: Mystery
First 5 sentences:  “This’ll put hair on your chest,” Sheriff Goat Jones said, handing Stella a little spice jar. His legs were so long that his knees brushed against hers under the old pine table, causing a feathery quiver to flutter through her body.

“Hot….pepper flakes,” Stella Hardesty read, squinting at the label, as she accepted the uncapped jar. Her reading glasses were home on the bedside table. She wasn’t planning on needing them tonight.

 The fine print: You must be 18 years of age or older to enter this contest; no purchase necessary; void where prohibited. Judging is subjective, and judges’ names will not be revealed. By entering this contest, you agree to be added to my newsletter list, which is sent out to subscribers quarterly. Personal information and email addresses are kept private and never shared. The semifinalists and winner’s names will be posted on this blog. 

She May Have a Gun But Stella's Still a Gal

2010-05-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

Next week the paperback version of A BAD DAY FOR SORRY will be out, followed a couple of weeks later by the release of A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY. And to celebrate, I am having a really fun contest. (I'll post details next Wednesday.) The big prize is geared for aspiring authors and just might feature a manuscript review by a certain crazy-good agent...

but there are a couple of other prizes I threw in for fun. One's a signed copy of PRETTY. The other one is really girly. (Guys, hint - if you want to enter, I can guarantee you that a lot of ladies would love to receive this.) It's a collection of OPI nail polish in Stella's three favorite shades.

Yeah, I know Stella's not real, but she lives in my head and over the last few years I have gotten to know her pretty damn well and I can say with authority that she loves OPI. I mean, who wouldn't? It's got the weirdest/greatest shade names in the business, and it stays on better than any other brand.

(Stella's also a big fan of White Diamonds and I guess I could have offered that as a prize, but I gave a little bitty bottle of it to my first publicist and she reported that her boyfriend thought it was the Worst Smell Ever.)

Anyway, what shades does Stella love?

Well, of course her all-time favorite is "I Don't Do Dishes," a rich red.
Sometimes she wears "Charged Up Cherry," which is a hot coral pink.
And on the cover of A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY, I am pretty sure she is wearing "Yes...I Can-Can!"

Joy Needs Our Help!!

2010-05-20T23:28:00.000-07:00

I'm not really big on asking for help, but something has happened recently to change that.

I didn't know about the national bone marrow registry until my dear friend Joy found out that she needed a transplant to save her life. Now I am trying to spread the word so that she and others have a chance to receive the help they need.

My husband and I met Joy more than twenty years ago, when they were first-year MBA students. I have many memories of the three of us combating the grad school hardships - endless studying, East Coast winters, being broke - with bad wine and good conversation. We stayed in touch through the years, and we are proud of how "our" Joy combined an impressive career with a life full of love, fun, and adventure. About two years ago, Joy had breast cancer, which she got through quite well with a lumpectomy, chemo & radiation. Unfortunately, she has now developed leukemia as a complication from the chemo treatments. This is a very rare complication, occurring in <1% of patients. Her only hope is a bone marrow transplant (which they currently do through donor blood -- not bone marrow -- meaning it is much less onerous on the donor that it has been in the past. If matched, you're asked to give blood several days in a row. That's it!)

Since Joy doesn't have any brothers & sisters, she has to go through the national registry. There is no match in the database at present. The chances of any given person being a match for Joy are 1:10,000 -- so there is a lot of work to do to get the word out.

We are not asking for money - we are hoping that you will consider signing up to be a possible donor. The process takes only a few minutes (We know, we did it ourselves.)

The first step in the process is to log onto the ‘Be the Match’ site. After completing the qualifying questions (toward the end of the process), enter JJ1605 into the field labeled “Promo Code”. When you complete this process, a donor testing kit will be sent to you. Once it arrives, you will simply need to swab your cheek and send it to the donor matching center. If you are identified as a potential match, you will be further tested and, ultimately, asked to give blood (NOT bone marrow) for a few days in a row (it is much the same as giving blood to the Red Cross).

For more information, please contact Kate Farley at kfarley01@comcast.net or Mitch Toub at MToub3@verizon.net.

Best First Mystery....Reviewers Choice Award from RT

2010-05-15T23:49:00.000-07:00

I kind of forgot to post this here, which is kind of embarrassing considering how big a deal it was to me and how much hopping up and down and screaming I did. RTBookReviews chose A BAD DAY FOR SORRY as the Best First Mystery novel of 2009. You can see the list of mystery-genre winners here. I have a beautiful crystal award to show for it, and - being a quite terrible photographer, a couple of photos that don't do it justice.

In other news, my finished copy of PRETTY arrived! Yay! Here's Junior and my sister, clearly absolutely *enthralled*:

First Buzz On AFTERTIME series

2010-05-14T10:41:00.000-07:00

Well, this was pretty damn exciting. Charlie Jane Anders, amazing blogger/author/gal-about-town, noticed the AFTERTIME announcement in Publishers Marketplace and decided to interview me and my agent, Barbara Poelle, about it for I09.

You can read the interview here - and I love the illustration she chose! Don't you think this looks *exactly* like me? And that is for sure my minivan...

Zombie art by Julie Coulter on Flickr.

Booklist Review

2010-05-14T10:23:00.000-07:00

Thanks Booklist for this!

Issue: May 1, 2010

A Bad Day for Pretty.
Littlefield, Sophie (Author)
Jun 2010. 304 p. St. Martin's/Thomas Dunne, hardcover, $24.00. (9780312559755).

Still healing from the gunshot wounds she got on her last case, Stella Hardesty is trying to spur on her budding relationship with Sheriff Goat Jones when his long-estranged-but-still-not-ex-wife, brassy and manipulative Brandy Truax, appears. So Stella has a potential rival for Goat, adding to the concern that her vigilante method of gaining justice for women abused by the men in their lives is diametrically opposed to his. And when a tornado turns up a woman’s mummified body in her hometown of Prosper, Missouri, and Stella sticks her nose in the case because a friend is implicated in the murder, the sheriff is downright annoyed. As former client Chrissy Shaw brushes up her IT skills and becomes Stella’s associate, Stella finds her concerns intertwining and discovers that her far-flung reputation has its downside. Even not fully recovered from her injuries (in A Bad Day for Sorry, 2009), fiftyish Stella is a force to be reckoned with in this second outing in an entertaining series.

— Michele Leber