Local Author Showcase at the Country Bookshelf

Bitterroot Lake

Join me next Wednesday, June 9, for the June Local Author Showcase sponsored by the Country Bookshelf in Bozeman — and thanks to the miracle of Zoom, you don’t even need to come to Montana! Though after you hear about our books, you’ll want to. Trust me on that!

The conversation starts at 6 pm Mtn, Wed June 9. Registration is free through Eventbrite using this link. You can also use this link to buy a copy of my book or those of my two co-presenters. Find out more about them and the Country Bookshelf here.

I hope to see you then!

Bitterroot Lake — the celebration continues!

Bitterroot Lake

So happy to hear from so many of you about your trip to Bitterroot Lake. This venture into darker waters has been surprising in many ways, and I’m delighted to have shared it with you.

If you’re in the Flathead, the Bigfork Art & Cultural Center and Roma’s Kitchen Shop in Bigfork have signed copies. Bookworks in Whitefish sold out of the signed copies the first day — yay! — but has unsigned copies now. If you’ve got a copy and would like a signed bookplate and bookmarks, drop me a line. And if you’ve already read the book, I do hope you’ll post a review online, tell a friend, or otherwise spread the word.

Just one event next week to share with you and it will be terrific! On Thursday, May 13, at 7 pm Pacific/ 8 pm Mtn, Northwest authors Ellie Alexander, Emmeline Duncan, Angela Sanders, Alexis Morgan, and I will be joining forces for a conversation about cozy mysteries, why the Northwest is such a great setting, how we write, how we drink our coffee when we write, and much more! Join us via Zoom and this link.

Blogger and reviewer Marshal Zeringue conducts the most interesting interviews! This week, I’m featured on his blog, talking about the origins of the title, Bitterroot Lake, how the names of three major characters led to a critical story insight, and more.

And stay tuned, because next week I’ll be telling you about a completely different project! Hint: While we’ve been reading, and writing, other things, Erin and the Villagers have been busy!

Bitterroot Lake — the celebration continues!

Bitterroot Lake

Nothing quite like the high of celebrating a new book! Bitterroot Lake with its gorgeous cover is finding its way to readers everywhere. I do hope you’re one of them!

If you’re in the Flathead, the Bigfork Art & Cultural Center and Roma’s Kitchen Shop in Bigfork have signed copies. Bookworks in Whitefish sold out of the signed copies the first day — yay! — but has unsigned copies now. If you’ve got a copy and would like a signed bookplate, drop me a line.

Two events this week to share with you, both via Zoom. I’d love to see you.

Saturday May 1, 7 pm Pac / 8 pm Mtn
Third Place Books, Seattle
Chatting cozies and suspense with Emmeline Duncan, author of the debut cozy Fresh Brewed Murder, at one of my favorite bricks & mortars bookstores.

Thursday, May 6, 7 pm Mtn
N. Jefferson Co Library (Clancy, MT)
Chatting mysteries — call the library for the Zoom link.

There’s a theory that you should be able to look at page 69 of a book and know what it’s about — or whether you’ll like it. Now, I think that’s just a creative way of talking about a book — no single page, except maybe the first or last — can possibly encapsulate the other 300+. But it was sure fun to try it out on Bitterroot Lake! Here’s my take, on the blog The Page 69 Test.

If you write, you’ll want to pick up a copy of How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America, ed. by Lee Child and Laurie R. King, which came out this past week. It’s full of wisdom and advice for newbies and veterans. I contributed a short piece of getting unstuck, when life or your plot won’t behave.

I had reason to follow that advice this week, as I got back to work on the next Spice Shop mystery — oh, did I tell you I signed a contract for the 6th in the series? Christmas in the Market. Look for it in June 2022 — I don’t know the date yet. But thank goodness I DO know now what happens in Chapter 18!

Happy Reading!

Celebrating Bitterroot Lake — upcoming events and recent guest blog posts

Ganesh, reading (photo by Edith Maxwell)

Well. Bitterroot Lake is out in the world. Readers and friends have sent me pictures of their copies, paired with coffee, wine, or a curious kitten, or of the book on bookstore shelves. I adore those sightings in the wild—if you post one on Facebook, make sure to tag me so we can all join in the fun.

Just one event to mention this week. Tuesday, April 20, at 7 pm Mountain, I’ll be joining the mystery readers at the North Lake County Library in Polson, MT, by Zoom. Call or email the library for the link. The staff and readers there are great fun and I know we’ll have a lively conversation.

This past week, I was the guest at several blogs, talking about inspiration for the book, the writing process, and a few things I learned along the way.

At my friend Clea Simon’s blog, I talked about the influence of a book I read more than 35 years ago, “. . . And Ladies of the Club” by Helen Hooven Santmyer, a loving (and long!) illustration of the crucial connections women forged in small towns of the past.

I visited with my friends at Chicks on the Case, writing about “If A Tree Falls”—how real life influences story events and the writing process.

At the Jungle Red Writers, I revealed “Five Amazing Things Alicia Beckman Learned While Writing Bitterroot Lake.” With pictures!

My friend Dru Ann Love, winner of the Mystery Writers of America’s Raven Award for her excellent blog and reviews, featured my main character, Sarah McCaskill Carter, in her “Day in the Life” series.

It was lovely to get out and about for a drop-in signing at the Bigfork Art & Cultural Center Saturday afternoon and to visit with readers, new and old. BACC has signed books; Bookworks in Whitefish quickly sold out of the signed copies but will have new stock shortly, as will the Bookshelf in Kalispell.

Happy reading!

Celebrating Bitterroot Lake — it’s (almost) Book Launch Week!

Bitterroot Lake

Launch Day is almost here! BITTERROOT LAKE, my suspense debut written as Alicia Beckman, launches next week, Tuesday, April 13. Since we can’t get together in person for the usual book talk or interview, I want you to know where you can find me online this next week, and where you can read guest blogs I’ve written and interviews with me. Of course, you can find the full list of events and where to buy the book on my website.

Tuesday, April 13, 9:00 am
On the Air with the KGEZ Good Morning Show
KGEZ AM 600 FM 96.5
KGEZ.com listen live/on-demand
Research for fiction? You mean you don’t just make everything up?

Thursday, April 15, noon Mtn/2 pm E
Molly on Mysteries
Chatting with Mystery Maven Molly Weston
Go to Mycary.org (a network of the town of Cary NC, but Molly says, “ANYONE FROM ANYWHERE is welcome.” Create a profile, search programs for “Molly on Mysteries” and choose me!)

Saturday, April 17, 11 am Mtn
Book Carnival Bookstore, Orange CA
Chatting mystery and celebrating our new releases with cozy author Emmeline Duncan

Saturday, April 17 – 1:00-2:00 pm
Bigfork Art & Cultural Center
“Meet the Author”
A safe & socially-distance drop-in signing (no reading)

If you’re curious about the origins of this book, the pen name, or the process of writing it, I hope you’ll enjoy these Interviews and guest posts:

Writers Who Kill – interview Interviewer Elaine Davis asks great questions—and I love that she didn’t realize Alicia is me, even though she’s reviewed at least two of my cozies!

The Big Thrill – interview Interviewer Terri Nolan of the International Thriller Writers got me thinking with her quesions.

Poisoned Pen Bookstore blog Librarian and reviewer Lesa Holstine asked me to write about the backstory—the origins of Bitterroot Lake.

And for my good friends at the Wicked Cozy Authors, I talked about creating an entirely fictional town and working with graphic artist and painter Francesca Droll to create the map inside the book.

Finally, let me share this marvelous review from Kristopher Zgorski of BOLO Books. It’s enormously gratifying when a reviewer truly gets what an author is doing with a book, especially when it’s a little different from previous books, and maybe even sees a few things the author didn’t! Kristopher won the Mystery Writers of America’s Raven Award for his work a few years ago, and his kind words touch me deeply.

I hope you’ll pick up or order a copy of Bitterroot Lake, in hardcover, ebook, or audio, at your usual online or independent bookseller, and let me take you on a journey to the water’s edge.

Leslie

Celebrating Bitterroot Lake — upcoming book talks & events

Bitterroot Lake

Ah, for the good old days of actually holding book launches in bookstores and libraries and art galleries! I miss them, but mostly I miss YOU. I miss BOOK PEOPLE. With most events moved online right now, it can be easy to lose track BUT it can also be a lot easier to pop in and hear a favorite author speak about her new book, her old books, books she’s read, books she wishes she’d written or read. So as the April 13 launch of BITTERROOT LAKE (written as Alicia Beckman) approaches, watch for an occasional weekend email letting you know about events coming up the next week and how you can join me. Not every week, and only until early May; of course, you can find the full list of events on my website.

Sunday, March 28 at 2 E/noon Mtn: BookTuber (yes, it’s a word!) Tiffany Krieg will be interviewing me on her YouTube channel about cozy mysteries and more. The video will be archived so you can catch it later. Join via this link.

Tuesday, March 30 at 8 pm Mtn/7 pm Pacific: Join me and fellow NW cozy authors Emmeline Duncan, Ellie Alexander, and Angela Sanders for a book talk at Annie Bloom’s Books in Portland, OR. Register for the Livestream via this link. The first in Emmeline’s new series, FRESH BREWED MURDER, starring a terrific young woman who runs a coffee cart in Portland, launches that day; I’ve read it and it’s a lot of fun. Plus, we’re all a hoot, if I do say so myself, so you’ll have a great laugh and, I hope, discover some great new books and authors.

I hope to see you somewhere along the way.

The Mystery Hour — a live short story reading

Missing travel? Love a good mystery? Join me Monday evening, March 15, at 7 pm Mtn/ 9 pm Eastern for The Mystery Hour, sponsored by Authors Live Online. I’ll be reading “With My Eyes,” a 2019 Derringer Award winning short story originally published in Suspense Magazine. Inspired by a little woman my husband and I spotted at the Acropolis on our honeymoon trip more than 20 years ago, it features a lovesick man who sees what he wants to see.

My good friend Daryl Wood Gerber will be reading “No Final Act,” originally published in Mystery Most Theatrical, the 2020 Malice Domestic Anthology.

The event will be held on Zoom and live-streamed to Facebook Live. No technical skills needed — just get your free ticket from Authors Live Online and they’ll do the rest.

What could be more fun than a trip that doesn’t require shoes or hours crowded in an airplane? Pour a cup of tea or a glass of wine and join us!