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| POSTED : 3/10/2008 4:29:19 PM |
| I've been given my very own murder weapon |
This weekend, my sixth Helen Hawthorne myster, MURDER WITH RESERVATIONS, was awarded the Lefty at the Left Coast Crime conference in Denver. The Lefty is given for the funniest novel of 2007.
In keeping with the Colorado theme, the award was a miner's pick ax. There was no way I was going to try to get a pick ax on a plane, so I had it shipped. The shipping service wrapped it in bubble wrap for the trip.
I can't wait for my award to arrive. I'm sure I'll have the only engraved pick ax in South Florida.
Thanks to everyone who voted for MURDER WITH RESERVATIONS.
And congratulations to the other Lefty nominees, including Donna Andrews, Don Bruns, Jeff Cohen and Jess Lourey. You'll enjoy their books, too.
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| POSTED : 11/18/2007 9:29:22 AM |
| Will There Be a New Dead-End Job Book? |
You bet. You can expect more adventures from Helen Hawthorne in the future.
I fact, I just turned in the next Helen book, CLUBBED TO DEATH. It's set at a country club in South Florida. I worked at one which shall remain nameless. If I had a dollar for everytime I heard "Do you know who I am?" I'd be a very rich woman.
CLUBBED TO DEATH will be out in May, 2008.
Is Helen's awful ex-husband, Rob, gone for good?
Ah, that's a question any ex-wife can answer. Ex-husbands never conveniently go away. Helen and her friends will be drinking cheap box wine by the pool at the Coronado Tropical Apartments for at least two more books.
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| POSTED : 11/5/2007 2:38:49 PM |
| My new Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper book is out! |
It's called ACCESSORY TO MURDER.
Hope you'll enjoy the third adventure of Josie Marcus, retail spy and single mom. This time, Josie's best friend's husband is accused of murder and adultery. Alyce is determined to stand by her man, and she asks Josie for help.
Josie is loyal, and she tried to hide the fact that she can't stand Jake.
There's also the question of the designer who's dying to get out of town.
As usual, this Josie book is set in St. Louis, in Maplewood. You'll enjoy Josie's favorite restaurants, as well as the fabulous Turtle Playground and Laumeier Sculpture Park.
ACCESSORY TO MURDER is a paperback original from Obsidian, an imprint of Penguin. It's $6.99.
If you'd like a free bookplate for your copy, email me at eviets@aol.com
PS: Check out the LINKS section for a long list of bookstores that will carry ACCESSORY TO MURDER
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| POSTED : 8/22/2007 10:12:31 AM |
| Funniest Hotel Employee Contest Winner |
“It's hard for me to believe that my story occurred 34 years ago,” Rebecca John said, “but I guess you can't argue with Father Time.”
For the Great $500 Book Giveaway to celebrate my new mystery, set at a hotel, Rebecca took us back to New Year’s Eve, 1972. “Oh, what a time to be young and full of love for life on the edge,” she said.
Indeed. That was the year that Watergate started with the bugging of the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Bumpers said, “Honk if you love Jesus.” Richard Nixon declared the first presidential drug war – and lost it.
“If you can remember the late 60's up to the end of the 70's, you probably weren't having the same kind of fun as I and the rest of the members of the Traveling Bar Crew,” Rebecca said.
“We worked as a group of six. Three members made up the lounge band and the other three tended bar and worked as cocktail waitresses. We were working at a hotel outside of Lancaster, Pa. The manager booked the band in a few different hotels around the northeast. The band was really quite good and had a fairly large following.
“This particular New Year's Eve we were all working our tails off. The crowd was out to have as much fun and imbibe as much liquor as possible” before the bar closed at 2 a.m.
Rebecca and two crew members “worked the floor serving all those happy drunks with a smile and a smart remark. The tide slacked off slightly around 1 a.m., so while the band was on break we all decided to take five for a ‘smoke’ break. Remember, it's the seventies and we were all children of the flowers. We really didn't have time to retreat to the band room for privacy.
“Did I mention that at midnight we had started to celebrate with the customers since they always wanted to buy the band and crew drinks to show how much they liked us? On occasion alcohol has been known to cloud a person’s good sense.
“Anyway, back to the smoke break. Six of us plus a few joiners-in were looking for a place to burn one or two. In a side corridor was a utility closet that seemed to fit the bill, so in we squeezed. Up we lit. Silly we got. Cough we did – until nirvana was achieved and we had to go back to work.
“We proceeded to work out the night, made some swag and had an all-around good time until closing when we had to clean up. Then we moved the party to the band’s rooms and had our own celebration.
“Along about 3:30 a.m. the manager knocked rather forcefully on the door. We greeted him with cries of joy. He was in a snit. Did we think that maybe the utility closet wasn't precisely the most discreet choice?
“ ‘Oh, ho,’ the crew said. ‘We took precautions and laid a towel along the crack at the bottom so no noxious fumes escaped.’
“ ‘Oh, ho,’ the manager said. ‘Did you notice the HUGE louvered vent in the door?’
“We were in no shape to grasp the concept of bad bar crew so we were put on notice that at 2 p.m. New Year’s Day we were having a meeting to discuss the situation in depth.
“At 5 a.m. some of us decided to go to Philly to see the Liberty Bell. I can't believe we survived those days without maiming ourselves or anyone else. We didn't get back for the meeting until 2:35.
“Motel rooms offer limited seating arrangements. We were ranged around the room on various surfaces,” including a folding bed. “The boss lectured us on the inadvisability of tokin' in the closets. We were all suitably chastised – right up until the bed two of us were sitting on folded right up and trapped us inside like the filling in a sandwich. Heads sticking out one side and legs and feet out the other.
“Everyone in the room lost it – even the manager – and the meeting ended.
“I'm sitting here laughing from the memories. It's hard for me to realize I'm going to be 60 in a year from now.”
Thanks, Rebecca, for a funny story. Your $250 gift certificate for the Great $500 Book Giveaway will be on its way, so you’ll have even more to read.
Special thanks to our judges, TLC regular Tom Barclay, Kay Gordy and Jinny Gender.
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| POSTED : 8/14/2007 2:48:21 PM |
| And the winner is . . . The Funniest Hotel Guest Story |
This March, I announced the Great $500 Book Giveaway, in honor of my new Dead-End Job mystery, MURDER WITH RESERVATIONS. MWR is set at a hotel. I was swamped with funny stories from hotel guests and employees.
Here’s our first winner:
Funniest Experience as a Hotel Guest
Sue Jochens of Shawnee, Kansas, has a group of friends from around the country “who see each other about once a year – Moms’ extra long weekend. Party time!”
Three years ago, they met in July at a small southern inn. Charming photos showed “a little lake, an adorable wooden bridge, gorgeous night lighting, a pool, manicured lawn. It was small enough that a group of 50 could party all the time without disturbing anyone.
“Did I mention the inn was in a dry county?”
The partygoers stopped at a liquor store for supplies after they met at the airport. “Now, I’m not saying I bought much,” Sue said, but her credit card company called. “A rather substantial purchase had been made at an adult beverage package store. Did I authorize it? I was so proud.”
Party on, Mom.
The inn wasn’t anything like the photo. “There was no pool. That’s where we always gather, laugh and drink. There was a humongous lawn, but no lawn furniture. That pretty little lake was more of a swamp. The bridge was roped off with a foreboding ‘Off Limits Dangerous’ sign. A girls’ softball team had destroyed it after a game.
“No booze, no pool, and a broken bridge. We should have backed off then.”
But they didn’t.
“We settled in, and made a trip to a discount store to buy cheap lawn chairs, snacks, ice and other goodies, since there was no restaurant within spitting distance. Another bad sign.
“Back at the inn, we arranged our chairs on the lawn under the trees, made drinks and returned to the gossip circle so we could start catching up.
“Did I mention the tree was full of ticks and the lawn teaming with chiggers? We made another run for various sprays. Hint No. 1: Always cover your vodka glasses when spraying insecticides.
“The inn’s handyman (dubbed Tractorman for his preferred mode of transportation) took to us like the chiggers, and made himself available for hauling stuff all weekend. We never had to haul a full cooler or folding table across the lawn. We surmised that he had never seen such a group of laughing, poker playing, cussing, drinking, good-looking broads who, since they owned the place for the weekend, partied after dark on the lawn in their pajamas.
“That beautifully manicured lawn was so full of holes we were forced to position coolers, empty chairs and other sundries over them so we’d stop falling into them. The falls weren’t so bad, but the spilled liquor was getting serious.
“A unique feature was the bathroom. The tub was right up next to the toilet, and I’ve never seen a tub so narrow. I could not take a shower without taking the shower curtain with me. It clung to my body like Saranwrap, like a two-year-old having to pee. It even followed me out of the shower. If only my husband was so enamored of my hips.
“Finally dried, I flung the towel over the curtain rod and escaped. A few minutes later, I heard a loud noise in the bathroom. The weight of the towel had brought the curtain and rod crashing into the tub.
“So went the four days. It was one of the best long weekends ever.”
Thanks, Sue, for a funny story. As Judge Jinny Gender said, “These women could have a good time at the Bates Motel.”
Sue chose Mystery Lovers Bookshop as her favorite bookstore. She’ll get a $250 gift certificate from MLB, so she’ll have plenty to read on her next vacation.
And thanks to our judges, Tom Barclay, Kay Gordy and Jinny Gender.
Next week: The best hotel employee story.
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| POSTED : 3/15/2007 8:43:51 AM |
| A Contest for Booklovers |
I wanted to thank the booksellers and readers who've helped make my Dead-End Job books a success.
I have a contest to celebrate my new Dead-End Job mystery, "Murder with Reservations," published in hardcover May 1. I'm giving away $500 in bookstore gift certificates, to thank the booksellers and readers who've helped me. Here are the details.
The Great $500 Book Giveaway
In "Murder with Reservations," Helen Hawthorne works as a maid at a Florida tourist hotel. She has a book full of funny stories about that job. But we want to hear your stories.
You can win a $250 gift certificate from your favorite bookstore to celebrate the kickoff of Elaine Viets’ new Dead-End Job Mystery, Murder with Reservations.
That will buy a heap of your favorite books – true luxury for a book lover.
You can also designate your school, library or other favorite institution to win the gift certificate, if your entry is chosen.
The contest has two categories. You can enter either one:
(1) Your Funniest Experience as a Hotel Guest
(2) Your Funniest Experience as a Hotel Employee (Maids, valets, servers, front-desk staff and other hotel and motel employees or former employees are eligible for this category.)
The name of the hotel will NOT be used in either category.
The Great $500 Book Giveaway Rules
(1) E-mail your entry to Elaine Viets at eviets@aol.com. In the Subject line, mark it Funniest Experience as a Hotel Guest or Funniest Experience as a Hotel Employee.
a) Include your name, address, daytime and evening phone numbers and e-mail address.
b) Include the name, address and phone number of your designated bookstore.
c) The name of the hotel will NOT be used in either category.
d) Entries must be received by midnight, June 30, 2007. The winner will be announced July 15, 2007 on Elaine’s Website, www.elaineviets.com
(2) The winner in each category gets a $250 gift certificate to the local bookstore of his or her choice. For instance, if the winner likes Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont, Pa., I’ll send her an MLB gift certificate. If the winner lives in Delray Beach, Florida, and wants Murder on the Beach bookstore, he’ll receive an MOB gift certificate.
Any local bookstore is eligible, including independents and chain stores.
(3) No purchase is necessary. Decision of the judges is final. Void where prohibited by law.
Murder with Reservations: A Dead-End Job Mystery
By Elaine Viets $21.95
NAL Hardcover. ISBN: 978-0-451-22111-7
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| POSTED : 3/4/2007 2:58:56 PM |
| When's the new Helen Hawthorne book? |
I thought you'd never ask. MURDER WITH RESERVATIONS, the sixth Helen Hawthorne book, will be out May 1 -- just in time for those Mother's Day presents.
This time, Helen works as a hotel maid. I promise you will never look at a hotel room the same way.
NAL is putting together a tour for me. Watch this spot and the Events page to find out if I'll be signing at a city near you.
Hope to see you soon.
Elaine
PS: If you'd like an autographed bookplate for your new copy, just send me at email at eviets@aol.com.
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| POSTED : 1/30/2007 4:05:00 PM |
| When is your next Josie book? |
ACCESSORY TO MURDER, the third Josie book, will be out in November, 2007.
Thanks for asking. Some editions of HIGH HEELS ARE MURDER say the book will be coming out in 2008, but you won't have to wait two years for the next Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper.
You really know how to make a writer feel good when you say you can't wait that long.
I've just signed a contract for two more Josie books, so cross your fingers, but it looks like Josie, Jane and Amelia will be in Maplewood for awhile.
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| POSTED : 1/3/2007 1:59:59 PM |
| Do you answer emails from readers? |
You bet.
I love getting emails from readers. I enjoy answering questions about my books and characters. I'll be happy to tell you when the next Josie or Helen Hawthorne mystery will be out.
Just one favor: If you send me an email, please make certain that your spam filter is set to allow my response. I'm happy to correspond with you, but I'm not able to spend time figuring out various spam filter forms.
Thanks,
Elaine
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| POSTED : 12/21/2006 1:43:37 PM |
| Honored Twice Over |
MURDER UNLEASHED has been nominated for a Lefty, the award given at the Left Coast Crime conference for the funniest mystery of 2006.
The announcement was made "in reverse alphabetical order." Do you know what it's like for those of us at the bottom of the alphabet to be listed first?
Thank you. Thank you. The Lefty nomination made my day twice over.
-- Elaine Viets
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