Blog A Go-Go

In which I may be funny in Britain

I just discovered that I am nominated for a Crimefest award! Crimefest is a mystery convention in the UK, and they only give two awards, one of which is the Last Laugh Award for humorous crime novel. Silent in the Grave is up against books written by the likes of Ruth Edwards and Donald Westlake, so I am having a serious swoon here. (And if Crimefest did not conflict with my daughter's very important end-of-school ceremony, I would have my happy self on a plane to Bristol, no doubt about it.)

I have been thrilled at every nomination I've gotten. After fourteen years of rejection, I will take as much approbation as people care to toss my way. This one feels a little extra special though, because it's given by the British for being funny. I have always said that the British are the funniest people in the world. To me, wit is an essential component of humor, and the British have that in spades. So, being recognized for humor by the British is rather like having the French tell you they think you're chic and would love to borrow your dress. Very nice indeed!

In which I'm not a desperate housewife

Just to put the rumors to rest, on last Sunday's episode of Desperate Housewives, Lynette was NOT reading Silent in the Grave in bed. Oh, how I wish she had been! And it is a sad testimony to my character that anytime I see a character reading, I ALWAYS check to see if it's one of my books. (I also scrutinize the bookshelves in decorating magazine spreads. One of these days I WILL be in Domino. *hollow laugh*.) Before I was published, I used to look to see if other people read the same books as I did, and I always got a little thrill out of seeing something familiar and well-loved on someone else's shelf. It always made me feel like I understood the homeowner better, if that makes sense.

And, in VERY nice news, I can finally announce that Silent in the Grave won the Romantic Times' Reviewers' Choice Award for Best First Mystery for 2007! Big thanks to all the lovely folks at RT--I hope you had a fabulous weekend in Pittsburgh!

In which I am nominated

Nope, this isn't an old post--it's a new nomination. TWO nominations to be exact! Silent in the Grave was nominated by the Romance Writers of America for RITA awards: Best Novel with Romantic Elements AND Best First Novel!! I was already planning to attend the convention in San Francisco this summer, but this makes it about a thousand times more fun.

And I know everybody always says that it's an honor just to be nominated, but it's the truth. No, REALLY. I don't, strictly speaking, write romance novels, and yet this extremely prestigious organization has essentially put an arm around me and said, "We like you anyway." I am hugely complimented by that. Getting published, as most of y'all know, was a very long, hard road for me. You can only take so much rejection before your confidence gets eroded. Being nominated for any award is like putting a stone back in a wall that was falling down. And I know we're supposed to be blase and nonchalant and not really care, but I do care. I am THRILLED to be nominated. (As either of the poor Directors of RWA who called with the news can tell you. I'm REALLY sorry about the noise.)

And since I may not win, and even if I do most of you won't be there to be thanked, I'm thanking you now. Thank you for buying my books. Thank you for telling your friends. Thank you for hand-selling copies or suggesting them for your library patrons. Thank you for pressing them on your reading clubs. Thank you for posting blog entries that have been so generous with their praise. Thank you for the e-mails you send, telling me what my books mean to you. Thank you for getting annoyed that you can't have Silent on the Moor yet (March '09!) And thank you for contributing to this blog with your comments.

In which I am nominated!

That high-pitched girlish SQUEEEEEEEEEE you heard on Monday morning was ME when I got the phone call telling me I've been nominated for an Agatha Award! Silent in the Grave received a nomination for Best First Mystery from the good folks at Malice Domestic. If you're not familiar, Malice is held every year in DC to offer mystery readers a chance to meet some of their favorite authors and to honor writers who have done something they like. They hand out the fabulous Agatha Awards and a very good time is had by all, I am told. And this year I'm going--I even get to participate in a panel discussion with the other nominees. (Big congratulations to Beth Groundwater, Charles Finch, and Hank Phillippi Ryan!) So if you're in DC over the weekend of April 25-27 and have signed up for Malice Domestic come see me!