Caption the Crazy Contest

The best caption gets a free copy of No One Knows You're Here or The View from Here...

Ends March 5!

To Live and (Almost) Die in L.A.

I love my city. And I hate my city. It threatens to kill us with its violence and air and earthquakes. But then it loves us with its weather and great food and diversity and opportunity.

I wrote a blog post about life in Los Angeles - one day in the life of my younger brother Jason. Theakstons Festival (they put on the esteemed Harrogate Crime Festival in the U.K.) posted the piece moments ago.

Jason was only sixteen and all he wanted was a breakfast burrito.

On that fall morning in 1993, he stood with his friend Julian and other kids at a catering truck on Exposition, within the safety corridor of Dorsey High School. They were handsome black boys, probably talking about Snoop Dogg’s debut album or Lennox Lewis knocking out Frank Bruno in seven.

Go over and check out the rest!

Cover Art from the UK!

Titan Books' cover art for Land of Shadows!

The red and black! The whorls! The building and highway!

Don't you love it?!

Still life with a crime writer

Yesterday, my daughter went to a birthday party that lasted eight hours. What to do, where to go?

First stop: San Antonio Winery for lunch, a tour and tasting. Got my buzz on, left with two bottles of wine.

Onward!

As we drove to the 5, passed this:

And I made my husband U-turn and go back. Okay, not 'made' since he's just as game as me sometimes. We parked, got out of the car. A coroner cop(?) saw us and my husband explained me. Ha! The guy smiled (probably thinking nothing since this is LA) and wandered away. 

(Shoulda followed him and used my charms to get an impromptu tour. Dag-nabbit!)

So walked around - so peaceful on a Saturday afternoon.