tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16679356791980798312024-03-12T18:51:29.830-07:00Writing in My CarNot-so-Random Random Thoughts of a WriterRachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.comBlogger246125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-54506660706182658972020-09-11T19:45:00.002-07:002020-09-11T19:45:41.526-07:00Have You Pre-Ordered Yet?Hey, did you know?
And Now She's Gone will be out on September 22!
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMgZCJtY4N17AhFa2WRGY5Lt-qmE7ZfJibbXvXRJNXCkOqNxdeK6wNFDRFQM0w7-pRTvHahJJxngytBh3igc4wp7Noj1OyHDB4I9wxiTDmYFUU3UhT_fIOxW1AFABh6lCmgzhIpGL-UOKe/s2048/And+Now+She%2527s+Gone+Final+Cover.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMgZCJtY4N17AhFa2WRGY5Lt-qmE7ZfJibbXvXRJNXCkOqNxdeK6wNFDRFQM0w7-pRTvHahJJxngytBh3igc4wp7Noj1OyHDB4I9wxiTDmYFUU3UhT_fIOxW1AFABh6lCmgzhIpGL-UOKe/s400/And+Now+She%2527s+Gone+Final+Cover.jpg"/></a></div>Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-16973094945058556352020-09-11T17:00:00.010-07:002020-09-16T17:48:27.944-07:00<b>Rachel Howzell Hall’s 2020 #PitchWars Wishlist </b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSYY1NymZcmkKGg4YUxgQDyF3LwoRxbndWk-Rg3gZli3Ek66t2eVusQKeA8l5OfLyFYDNrmLYQ94NKfrTlm6UwWttsluxBUgORaOOFa4ZvjDWKwfu-D1QobPudvHxQ7BkNLDUxLLaSapY7/s1181/2020-Adult-Single-1181x529.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="1181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSYY1NymZcmkKGg4YUxgQDyF3LwoRxbndWk-Rg3gZli3Ek66t2eVusQKeA8l5OfLyFYDNrmLYQ94NKfrTlm6UwWttsluxBUgORaOOFa4ZvjDWKwfu-D1QobPudvHxQ7BkNLDUxLLaSapY7/s320/2020-Adult-Single-1181x529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Hi! I’m Rachel Howzell Hall, and this is my first time serving as a mentor in the Adult category for Pitch Wars! WoOt!
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoRwrXHPq_fp-Vobw54t725BNo-ST7WFUPb6LEdtUcfMl-Z4l_sF69xzp45XxWezCxXd1lyJFl4SuOFxcrlEsHUooW2urUHP6TH5S5sR_zlf9asLm13zrFG9w3-T8doP4vZ8AtEWKWwAmG/s2048/60F39C6D-0F63-4A56-9EDE-3C1F3FBC1706_1_201_a.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1539" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoRwrXHPq_fp-Vobw54t725BNo-ST7WFUPb6LEdtUcfMl-Z4l_sF69xzp45XxWezCxXd1lyJFl4SuOFxcrlEsHUooW2urUHP6TH5S5sR_zlf9asLm13zrFG9w3-T8doP4vZ8AtEWKWwAmG/s320/60F39C6D-0F63-4A56-9EDE-3C1F3FBC1706_1_201_a.jpeg" /></a></div>
For those of you who are new to Pitch Wars, it is a mentoring program where
published/agented authors, editors, or industry interns choose one writer each,
read their entire manuscript, and offer suggestions on how to make the
manuscript shine for an agent showcase. The mentor also helps edit their
mentee’s pitch for the contest and their query letter for submitting to agents. <div><br /></div><div>So, what do I want to read as a mentor? Crime fiction and mystery—love, love,
love this genre. No rapists, though. No porn. No pedophilia. I like dark, but I
don’t get down like that. Other than that, what else? Hmmm… </div><div><br /></div><div>Right now, it’s hot
and muggy in Los Angeles, and so I’ve been hydrating a lot. With nothing but
drinks on my mind, here is my wish list as beverages: <div><br /></div><div><b>WATER</b>. The essence of everything. Flexible and revitalizing. I want
writing with refreshing ideas. Sure, you can have a tropey detective who drinks
whisky and listens to jazz but have the whisky come from Costco and the jazz be
sung by Celia Cruz. Hells yeah, I like the unexpected, but I have to say,
‘Aaahh’ after putting down those pages. Think: Pete Fernandez, Lou Norton,
Juniper Song, Dayna Anderson, Mas Arai, Bug Montage, Grayson Sykes, Gethsemane
Brown, Roxane Weary, Isaiah Quintabe </div><div><br /></div><div><b>BEER</b>. Don’t like it. Never drank it (unless you count Zima, which… no one
should count Zima). But it’s the WHY people like beer. There’s a feel-good
dopamine released in our brains with beer. It’s also accessible—anybody can
afford it. So, I’m looking for writers who are EXCITED about writing and
revising and editing and writing some more. The thought of this entire process
makes you BOOZY.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>WINE</b>. I love Bordeauxs and Cabs. They help me to relax. Talking on the
phone? That keeps me from relaxing. I’m the one who bankrolled research and
development for Caller ID. Facts. So, if you don’t mind texts, Messenger, Gmail
Chat and revising over Google Docs, then get to submitting. We may actually
talk-talk once or twice, but that every week thing? Nah, I’m not about that. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>SANGRIA</b>. Takes planning and steeping. A… recipe. I’m all out that
planning life. Outlining is how I’ve been able to writing so much. Yes: I know
stories fluctuate as your write but outlines keep your safe—there’s a roadmap
even as you wander off the trail. Besides, you’re gonna need an outline
anyway—from submitting on proposal to writing your synopsis. And we don’t have a
lot of time, so seeing what you’re planning will help me to WINE and BEER so
that we can create a WATER. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>COFFEE</b>. Keeps you awake. You’ll need that shot of caffeinated adrenalin
because we’re gonna be revising. An overall read of the outline first, then
you’ll go off to write. You’ll send me sections that correspond to the writer’s
journey so that we sure the structure is sound. While I’m editing that section,
you’ll start on the next. Then, in the end, we’ll do another look-see. </div><div><br /></div><div>Who am I?
And why do I have the nerve to ask so much from you? </div><div><br /></div><div>I’m the author of the
bestseller and Anthony Award-, Lefty Award- and ITW-award nominated They All
Fall Down (Forge). I write the acclaimed Lou Norton series, including Land of
Shadows, Skies of Ash, Trail of Echoes, and City of Saviors. I am also the
co-author of The Good Sister with James Patterson, which was included in the New
York Times bestseller The Family Lawyer. I’m currently on the board of directors
for the Southern California chapter of Mystery Writers of America and I live in
Los Angeles. My next novel And Now She’s Gone will be published in September
2020. I’ve been on NPR twice and I work full-time as a fundraising writing for
Cedars-Sinai. My first novel A Quiet Storm (Scribner) was published in 2002. </div><div><br /></div><div>I’ve been around and seen a LOT of change in the publishing industry. I’ve also
self-published two novels—A View from Here and No One Knows You’re Here because
no traditional publisher wanted them. So! If you have any questions, please
tweet me @RachelHowzell. </div><div><br /></div><div>I may not be your jam, but another mentor could be. Here's the gateway to other mentors:</div><div><p><strong>Pitch Wars 2020 Adult Mentors' Wish Lists</strong></p>
<ol id="pwmbh">
<li><a href="https://www.miapmanansala.com/post/mia-kellye-s-2020-pitch-wars-wishlist" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Mia P. Manansala and Kellye Garrett (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://rochellekarina.com/2020-pitch-wars-wishlist/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Rochelle Karina (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.earlgreyhot.com/post/pitch-wars-wishlist" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Ren Hutchings (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.maryannmarlowe.com/?p=5222" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Mary Ann Marlowe</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.rachelsolomonbooks.com/blog/pitch-wars-2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Rachel Lynn Solomon</a></li>
<li><a href="https://annakaling.com/2020/09/12/my-pitchwars-wishlist-give-me-all-the-books/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Anna Kaling</a></li>
<li><a href="https://gwynnejackson.wordpress.com/2020/09/11/my-2020-pitch-wars-wishlist/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Gwynne Jackson (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.kristenlepionka.com/news/pitch-wars-2020-wish-list" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Kristen Lepionka and Ernie Chiara</a></li>
<li><a href="https://writinginmycar.blogspot.com/2020/09/rachel-howzell-halls-2020-pitchwars.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Rachel Howzell Hall</a></li>
<li><a href="https://lynliaobutler.com/2020/09/11/pitch-wars-2020-wishlist/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Lyn Liao Butler</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.michaelmammay.com/?p=1065" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Michael Mammay and AR Lucas</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.pariswynters.com/post/2020pitchwarswishlist" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Paris Wynters (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://authorkablack.com/2020/09/11/so-you-want-to-pitch-me-in-pitch-wars/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">K A Black (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.heathervanfleet.com/2020-pitch-wars-wishlist-for-heather-van-fleet-and-jessica-calla" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Heather Van Fleet and Jessica Calla (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.hudsonlin.com/2020/09/11/2020-pitch-wars-wishlist/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Hudson Lin (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://soniahartl.com/blog/sonia-annettes-2020-pitch-wars-wishlist/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Sonia Hartl and Annette Christie (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.tajmccoywrites.com/post/my-pitch-wars-wishlist" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Taj McCoy (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://imbarnes.com/2020/09/11/pitch-wars-2020-wishlist" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Ian Barnes (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://keenaroberts.com/2020/09/pitch-wars-2020-wishlist" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Keena Roberts (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.nedavenport.com/news-interviews/categories/pitchwars" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">N.E. Davenport (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.elizabeth-little.com/pitchwars" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Elizabeth Little</a></li>
<li><a href="https://janetwaldenwest.weebly.com/blog/team-subversives-2020-pitch-wars-wishlist" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Anne Raven and Janet Walden-West (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.denisewilliamswrites.com/2020pwwishlist.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Charish Reid and Denise Williams</a></li>
<li><a href="https://kalynjosephson.com/2020/09/03/pitchwars-wishlist" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Kalyn Josephson and Kat Enright (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://gladysqin.wordpress.com/?p=790" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Gladys Qin (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://tanenjones.com/blog/pitchwars2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Tanen Jones (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://clayharmonauthor.com/2020/09/11/pitch-wars-2020-wish-list/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Clay Harmon (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://futureworldsediting.co.uk/pitch-wars-2020-wishlist/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Jake Nicholls (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.laynefargo.com/pitchwars2020/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Layne Fargo and Halley Sutton</a></li>
<li><a href="https://lpenelope.com/2020/09/pitch-wars-2020-wishlist/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Denny S. Bryce and L. Penelope</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.rosellelim.com/news/2020/9/11/pitchwars-wishlist-for-roselle-lim-and-farah-heron" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Roselle Lim and Farah Heron (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TMB3FE3D26JAv44H7sDQWRH6itVZZfJbwK-_DB1LHb0/edit?usp=sharing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Morgan Rogers (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://samantharajaram.com/2020-pitch-wars-wishlist/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Samantha Rajaram</a></li>
<li><a href="https://robwhart.com/2020/09/07/pitch-wars-2020-mentor-wish-list/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Rob Hart</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.damyantiwrites.com/?p=11306" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Damyanti Biswas (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mariaheater.wixsite.com/mariaheater/post/pitch-wars-2020-wishlist" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Maria Heater</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.cinapelayo.com/pitch-wars-wish-list/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Cynthia Pelayo (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://giadecadenet.com/pitchwars-wishlist/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Gia de Cadenet</a></li>
<li><a href="https://nicole-glover.com/pwlist/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Nicole Glover (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://rosiedanan.com/pitch-wars-mentor-wishlist" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Rosie Danan and Ruby Barrett (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://colebn.com/pitch-wars-2020-wishlist/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Cole Nagamatsu and Sequoia Nagamatsu</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.samtschidabooks.com/sam-and-carlys-pitchwars-wishlist" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Carly Bloom and Sam Tschida</a></li>
<li><a href="http://kellyjford.com/2020-p-j-vernon-and-kelly-j-fords-pitch-wars-wishlist/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">P.J. Vernon and Kelly J. Ford (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.matthewquinnmartin.com/pitch-wars.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Matthew Quinn Martin (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://stephenedits.com/stephens-pitch-wars-2020-wish-list" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Stephen Morgan (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.alexsegura.com/pitchwars-wish-list-2020/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Alex Segura and M. J. Soni</a></li>
<li><a href="https://romapanganiban.wordpress.com/2020/09/11/pitch-wars-20-mswl/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Roma Panganiban (Accepts NA)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://tricialynnewrites.com/my-2020-pitch-wars-wishlist/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Tricia Lynne (Accepts NA)</a></li>
</ol>
<p><br /><a href="https://pitchwars.org/pitch-wars-2020-mentor-blog-hop/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_top">Click here to view all Pitch Wars 2020 Mentors' Wish Lists</a></p>
</div></div>Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-3706729484586563572015-05-19T07:53:00.000-07:002015-05-19T07:53:42.432-07:00Skies of Ash - Release DayIt's here!<br />
<br />
It's queer!<br />
<br />
It's not going away!<br />
<br />
<b>SKIES OF ASH</b> is alive in book stores near you!<br />
<br />
What's it about?<br />
<br />
Los Angeles homicide detective Elouise "Lou" Norton and her partner, Colin Taggert, arrive at the scene of a tragic house fire. Juliet Chatman perished in the blaze, along with her two children. Left behind is grieving husband and father Christopher Chatman, hospitalized after trying to rescue his family. Chatman is devastated that he couldn't save them. <br />
<br />
Unless, of course, he's the one who killed them.<br />
<br />
Neighbors and family friends insist the Chatmans were living the dream. But Lou quickly discovers the reality was very different. The flames of adultery, jealousy, scandal, fraud, and disease had all but consumed the Chatmans' marriage before it went up in smoke.<br />
<br />
Lou's own marriage hangs by a thread. Soured by the men in her life, Lou is convinced that Chatman started the fire. Her colleagues worry that her personal issues are obscuring her judgment. With very little evidence regarding the fire—and rising doubts about her husband's commitment to monogamy—Lou feels played by all sides. <br />
<br />
Was the fire sparked by a serial arsonist known as The Burning Man? Or by the Chatmans' son, who regularly burned his father's property? <br />
<br />
Searching for justice through the ashes of a picture-perfect family, Lou doesn't know if she will catch an arsonist or be burned in the process.<br />
<br />
<b>Here's an excerpt:<br />
</b><br />
I trudged toward the wreck, its death scent assaulting my nostrils. Colin met me halfway with the coffee cup extended.<br />
<br />
I took the drink and glanced at his crisp blue jeans. The creases were as sharp as thousand- year- old cheddar. “You just take the dry cleaner’s plastic off?” I asked.<br />
<br />
He held up a leg. “Can you tell?”<br />
<br />
“Not at all.”<br />
<br />
“Bodies are still in the house,” he said, “and the firefighters need to get some debris out of the way so we can see ’em. They’re thinkin’ we can go in, in about an hour.”<br />
<br />
I checked my watch— that would take us to eleven.<br />
<br />
“So the next- door neighbor,” Colin said, “an old lady named Virginia Oliver.” He pivoted and pointed at the house with the animal- shaped hedges. “She lives right there. She called it in around three- forty this mornin’. Mrs. Oliver says she started not to call cuz the smoke detectors in that house were always goin’ off. Seemed like the Chatmans—”<br />
<br />
“That the family name?” I asked.<br />
<br />
He nodded. “The son was always settin’ shit on fi re. So the old lady thought nothin’ of it ’til she heard the fi re. She said, and I quote, ‘Sounded like God was frying bacon.’ According to another neighbor, Eli Moss”— he pointed to the green bungalow with the baby grand piano—“a patrol unit got here before the fi re trucks. I’m guessin’ because of the ‘kill me’ part of Mrs. Chatman’s 911 call.”<br />
<br />
“You talk to the R/O?”<br />
<br />
Colin nodded. “His name is Bridges. He says when he got here, the fire was mostly in the center of the house, second story. He tried to get in, but that”— he pointed to the wrought- iron security door propped against the house’s side—“kept him out. The fire trucks got here a few minutes later. The neighbor says that once the trucks got here, it took them some time to find the hydrant, which is at the end of the block and too far for the one- hundred- foot hose.”<br />
<br />
I shook my head. “Ticktock.”<br />
<br />
“Almost an hour into the fire— that would be close to five o’clock— the man of the house, Christopher Chatman, pulled up in his car.” He pointed to the dark blue Jaguar sedan now covered in LA snow and abandoned near a sawhorse.<br />
<br />
I frowned. “It’s five in the morning and Christopher Chatman ain’t home?”<br />
<br />
Colin smirked. “Yep.”<br />
<br />
“Why the wonky hours? He a doctor or an astronaut or something?” “He’s a commodities broker. Don’t know what the hell that is, but there you go. Anyway, he pulls up, runs to the house, makes it a few feet away from the front porch, where he’s tackled by a few of the heroes. Seems he was tryin’ to save his wife and kids. Her name is Juliet and the kids are Chloe and Cody.”<br />
<br />
“Are all three dead?”<br />
<br />
“Yeah.”<br />
<br />
Lieutenant Rodriguez had warned me that there would be blood, but I still wanted to make him a liar.<br />
<br />
“And where the hell was Mr. Chatman?” I asked.<br />
<br />
Colin peered at me. “Pissed already?”<br />
<br />
“No time like the present. Where was he?”<br />
<br />
“At work.”<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-62163433282610303582015-05-12T13:10:00.002-07:002015-05-12T13:10:35.764-07:00Let's Meet and Talk Books!<b>The hills are alive...</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3mxMSBx8rvojr8oFdv0zVresjCg8VmKPKtGw5qz9XeTCSMTi4uA582QzSe2M-DQvBJd2tWeU9p-NDdO1ouKIgucsegbt5EVGgPFdqU6IQs9Byjajcr8d3QhSQ-5e5oDA7xJmL0ix-chye/s1600/SKIES-OF-ASH.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3mxMSBx8rvojr8oFdv0zVresjCg8VmKPKtGw5qz9XeTCSMTi4uA582QzSe2M-DQvBJd2tWeU9p-NDdO1ouKIgucsegbt5EVGgPFdqU6IQs9Byjajcr8d3QhSQ-5e5oDA7xJmL0ix-chye/s320/SKIES-OF-ASH.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<b>With the sound of fire...<br />
</b><br />
<b>Skies of Ash<br />
</b>A Detective Elouise Norton Novel<br />
Readings & Signing<br />
<br />
Please Join me!<br />
<br />
<b>Tuesday, May 19, 7:00 p.m.,</b> Launch Party at Book Carnival, 348 S. Tustin St., Orange, CA <br />
<br />
<b>Wednesday, May 20, 7:00 p.m.,</b> The Last Bookstore, 453 S. Spring St., Los Angeles<br />
<br />
<b>Thursday, May 21, 7:00 p.m.,</b> Eso Won Books, 4327 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles<br />
<br />
<b>Wednesday, May 27, 7:30 p.m.,</b> Mysterious Galaxy San Diego, 5943 Balboa Ave #100, San Diego with M.P. Cooley, author of FLAME OUT<br />
<br />
<b>Saturday, May 30, 2:00 p.m.,</b> Poisoned Pen, 4014 N Goldwater Blvd #101, Scottsdale, AZ <br />
<br />
<b>Sunday, May 31, 6:30 p.m.,</b> A Great Good Place for Books, 6120 La Salle Ave, Oakland<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Available in bookstores and on-line on May 19.</b><br />
<br />
<br />
Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-66343785582807790272015-05-11T07:22:00.001-07:002015-05-11T07:22:43.134-07:00Colored and InvisibleLast week, Sara Paretsky wrote a great <a href="http://www.booklistonline.com/media/mysterymonth2015/the-dollus-syndrome-diversity-in-crime-fiction.pdf">article </a>about the lack of diversity in mystery. I shared my <a href="http://thelifesentence.net/book/colored-and-invisible/">thoughts</a> on this issue (surprise, surprise) with The Life Sentence. In the essay, I say so many things, including:<br />
<br />
"If you’re a writer of color and you attend Bouchercon, Malice Domestic, or any of the writing conferences, you already know that there are more robots on Mars than there are colored folks in the banquet room."<br />
<br />
What are your thoughts?Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-24441085358816214862015-04-20T09:23:00.001-07:002015-04-20T09:23:12.967-07:00If You Were Eavesdropping..,Back in May at Perch, high above Los Angeles, you would've heard Attica Locke and I talking about books and writing books in Los Angeles and writing books in Los Angeles as moms. It was fun! Wanna read about it?<div><br></div><div><a href="http://lareviewofbooks.org/interview/conversation-attica-locke-los-angeles-new-novel-writing-crime-fiction-mom">http://lareviewofbooks.org/interview/conversation-attica-locke-los-angeles-new-novel-writing-crime-fiction-mom</a></div>Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-36514027561432991882015-03-26T07:50:00.000-07:002015-03-26T07:50:27.450-07:00A Date with Destinee - A Lou Norton Short<i>Originally posted on <a href="http://drusbookmusing.com/2014/06/22/lou-norton/">Dru's Book Musings June 2014</a><br />
</i><br />
The walls of Interview Room 1 closed in on us, the gray soundproofing foam torn and gouged by the nails and fists of angry men. I shifted in my seat, then winced—my bra strap and leather holster were both biting into the fleshy part of my shoulder. Glanced at my wristwatch—almost an hour had passed—then gazed at the mountain of an eighteen-year old hunched in the chair across from me. <br />
<br />
Brown splotches and splatters had dried on Kobe McAvoy’s gray sweatshirt and tan Dickies. Blood, now the color of chocolate pudding, had stained the toes of his used-to-be white Air Jordans. Aggravated assault, burglary, concealed weapon… So ambitious, this kid.<br />
<br />
Kobe folded his arms and chewed the inside of his cheek. Just… sat there as though he was waiting for the rinse cycle to start. Definitely not acting as though he was seated across from a homicide detective liking him for the murders of Destinee and Cayman Andrews, his girlfriend’s parents.<br />
<br />
I looked at my watch again: seven minutes until six. “It’s getting’ late, Kobe.”<br />
<br />
“Where Dee at?” he uttered, his voice a mix of molasses and hardening lava.<br />
<br />
“Down the hall.” <br />
<br />
The last time I’d seen Destinee Junior, she was collapsed on the carpet in the conference room. A mess of tears, wails and calls to Jesus. The sixteen-year old had refused to shed the filthy pink tank top and jeans she wore, stiffened now from her parents’ blood.<br />
<br />
My gaze landed on Kobe’s fingernails.<br />
<br />
Clean. <br />
<br />
<i>Hunh</i>.<br />
<br />
Destinee and Cayman Andrews had been discovered dead in their bedroom, stabbed sometime between six in the morning and noon. A knife with the six-inch, serrated blade had been found in the kitchen sink. I had stood over the thirty-year old woman, murdered in her bed, and had stopped counting her stab wounds after reaching ’21.’ <br />
<br />
And now, hours later, I sat with Kobe McAvoy, the boyfriend. Blood everywhere… except for his nails. With all that stabbing, no blood.<br />
<br />
“So what happened?” I asked him for the eighth time.<br />
<br />
He glared at the tabletop and said nothing.<br />
<br />
“Why did you kill them?”<br />
<br />
At eighteen, I didn’t need his parents’ permission to question him. And he hadn’t lawyered up… yet.<br />
<br />
Kobe sighed, then sank in his seat.<br />
<br />
The aromas of fried turkey, sweet potatoes and mac ‘n cheese wafted from the detective’s bureau to this room where Kobe and I sat. Thanksgiving Day. While the city feasted on cranberry sauce and watched the Cowboys lose to the Raiders, here I was, interviewing a felon who wouldn’t deny, wouldn’t confirm, wouldn’t do jack.<br />
<br />
But Kobe’s stomach growled.<br />
<br />
In response, my stomach growled louder. “Hungry?” <br />
<br />
He gave a one-shouldered shrug.<br />
<br />
“I am, too.” I offered the maybe-murderer a smile. “I’ll get us something to eat.”<br />
<br />
Five minutes later, I returned to Interview Room 1 holding two plates filled with food, plastic forks and cans of orange soda. I slipped a plate in front of him.<br />
<br />
Kobe’s eyes shone, and his shoulders drooped as the smells of a hot, holiday meal enveloped him. He stuck his fork into the mound of collard greens, and quickly shoveled the wilted veggies into his mouth.<br />
<br />
I also took a bite of greens, but kept one eye on the big boy seated across from me. “Good, huh?”<br />
<br />
“Ummhmmm.” He stuffed his mouth with more greens. “She don’t use pork, huh?”<br />
<br />
I shook my head. “Diabetes.”<br />
<br />
“Smoked turkey?”<br />
<br />
“Yup.”<br />
<br />
“Good, but it don’t taste the same.”<br />
<br />
“Try the macaroni,” I said. “She uses, like, 603 kinds of cheese.”<br />
<br />
He dug his fork into the cheesy noodles, then shoved a clump into his mouth. “That’s the bomb-diggity.”<br />
<br />
I smiled. “Told you.”<br />
<br />
He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Destinee hated her moms and pops.”<br />
<br />
I paused, then said, “Yeah?”<br />
<br />
“What she say to y’all?”<br />
<br />
With my fork I made crosshatches in the sweet potatoes. “She’s not talking much. She keeps saying, ‘They’re gone, they’re gone.’”<br />
<br />
He sucked his teeth, then used them to tear through the turkey leg. He grunted and shook his head.<br />
<br />
I squinted at him. “Is that headshake cuz it’s the best turkey leg you’ve ever had, or…?”<br />
<br />
He met my eyes. “She’s the one who did it.”<br />
<br />
I canted my head. “Can you prove that?”<br />
<br />
A small smile. “Detective Norton, I got all the proof in the world.” He pointed to his plate. “Can I finish this, though? Cuz what I got to tell you… We gon’ be here for a while.”<br />
<br />
<br />
Check out <a href="http://drusbookmusing.com/2014/06/22/lou-norton/">Dru's Book Musings</a> for other 'Day in the Life' of your favorite characters!<br />
Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-42449976778407405562015-03-25T08:32:00.000-07:002015-03-25T08:32:16.945-07:00An Alum-SlugSo, I don't know if you know this but...<br />
<br />
I'm a Slug. A Banana Slug. <br />
<br />
A <a href="http://www.ucsc.edu/index.html">UC Santa Cruz</a> Banana Slug.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-XNYbOVmuAxE5onzooik8v-sApU60pzTiwRilzECmEa245fEcAENu5SH8RVXCdWHCJ0zq4H0Wgb-PTfAIiZk_TcRRF2b-K8FukiEbzOQlyDl-U00zmmu0Ls-M3Afs8OR4rgZNqWWvcSBr/s1600/UC+Santa+Cruz+Banana+Slug.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-XNYbOVmuAxE5onzooik8v-sApU60pzTiwRilzECmEa245fEcAENu5SH8RVXCdWHCJ0zq4H0Wgb-PTfAIiZk_TcRRF2b-K8FukiEbzOQlyDl-U00zmmu0Ls-M3Afs8OR4rgZNqWWvcSBr/s200/UC+Santa+Cruz+Banana+Slug.jpeg" /></a></div><br />
My first year up there, in the woods, at the clothing-optional campus (back then), was... hard. Coming from South Los Angeles, where people dressed and shaved and smelled of Polo cologne or hair grease or anything except patchouli oil, it was quite an adjustment for me.<br />
<br />
But!<br />
<br />
I held on and stayed. And I'm so glad I did. Made wonderful, life-long friends. Read great books. Saw deer and cicadas and redwoods. <br />
<br />
And now, I'm in the UCSC Review Magazine!<br />
<br />
Never thought that would've ever happened. So honored and thrilled.<br />
<br />
Would you like to read the profile? It's on-line now. Yeah?<br />
<br />
Well, here you <a href="http://news.ucsc.edu/2015/03/rev-spring-15-alumni-profile-hall.html?ref=share">go</a>!<br />
<br />
And Happy 50 Year Anniversary, UC Santa Cruz!Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-87523342681896199262015-03-24T06:55:00.000-07:002015-03-24T06:55:58.790-07:00Giving It Away!!Huh?<br />
<br />
You thought I meant...?<br />
<br />
No, silly.<br />
<br />
<b>Land of Shadows</b>, that's what I'm talking about!<br />
<br />
My publisher just opened a Goodreads giveaway and they're giving away 20 copies of <b>Land of Shadows</b>!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/127833-land-of-shadows">Click</a> on over and enter now for a chance to win!Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-54135195666010686232015-03-05T07:28:00.001-08:002015-03-05T07:28:43.034-08:00And So It Begins...One of the scariest parts of writing for others is awaiting their reaction.<br />
<br />
Will they like it?<br />
<br />
Will they hate it?<br />
<br />
Will they finish it? (Which may be worst than hating it)<br />
<br />
SKIES OF ASH (coming to America on May 19 and the U.K. on May 29) just received a review from Kirkus Reviews. Not only did the critic read it, they loved it!<br />
<br />
Here's my favorite part:<br />
Hall outdoes her stellar debut in an exploration of vile secrets that pays homage to that earlier master of complex California homicide, Raymond Chandler.<br />
<br />
Stellar.. vile... complex California homicide... and RAYMOND CHANDLER. <br />
<br />
[insert big sigh of relief]<br />
<br />
Here's the entire <a href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/rachel-howzell-hall/skies-of-ash/">review</a>.<br />
<br />
You know you can't pre-order <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Skies-Ash-Detective-Elouise-Norton/dp/0765336367/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">SKIES OF ASH</a> right now, don't you? <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMBGuAjfvN4uO8g50hz79bTyRTvXT7yjhYxOys6vh9LEke0xD0-t7b9SsMs2YV0BzgBeccQgyltdvi_lgjGRd09uQCnFxIpMqgP7Vsh3QOQhYs9D-pe0sRgLia_Zz3c9tuzCbqsZmtTpg2/s1600/SKIES-OF-ASH+US+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMBGuAjfvN4uO8g50hz79bTyRTvXT7yjhYxOys6vh9LEke0xD0-t7b9SsMs2YV0BzgBeccQgyltdvi_lgjGRd09uQCnFxIpMqgP7Vsh3QOQhYs9D-pe0sRgLia_Zz3c9tuzCbqsZmtTpg2/s320/SKIES-OF-ASH+US+Cover.jpg" /></a></div>Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-12475712824463774182015-02-26T09:02:00.000-08:002015-02-26T09:02:58.800-08:006th Annual Authors GalaAre you in Northern California? Like, say... Bay Area? Walnut Creek? <br />
<br />
Do you believe in libraries? <br />
<br />
What about authors? You know, the folks who fill up those libraries with books and stuff? <br />
<br />
And when was the last time you dressed for dinner?<br />
<br />
Well, there are tickets left for the <a href="http://wclibrary.givezooks.com/events/2015-authors-gala">Walnut Creek Library Foundation Authors Under the Stars Gala</a> on Saturday, March 14th! <br />
<br />
<a href="http://wclibrary.givezooks.com/events/2015-authors-gala"><img alt="learn more" height="44" src="https://www.givezooks.com/images/buttons/learn_more/150x44.png" width="150" /></a><br />
<br />
I'll be there, too. Wearing festive attire!<br />
<br />
<br />
Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-2220366594822866942015-01-18T11:29:00.000-08:002015-01-18T11:29:14.066-08:00Skies of Ash: Lou Norton is Back, Baby!And WHY is she back, you ask?<br />
<br />
Cuz Los Angeles can't let a lady-cop rest.<br />
<br />
Cuz these were the last words of one of her victims:<br />
<br />
<i>Something something kill me.<br />
</i><br />
That's why she's back.<br />
<br />
And how about Forge's cover art? I LOVE IT! So dramatic!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmctKgEPUA6xnQNToVqRxFL9UPIM6FFaO0a3Or3wRr3kK5fx5rzlxO2QWLGgFnMISF4l8rb8TRtF7SfbHE90nevMBJ89KKXCjQHj9KwHL_yC86BSrafcL2wWg2TlHOueDgQqW18b0NAfYT/s1600/SKIES-OF-ASH.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmctKgEPUA6xnQNToVqRxFL9UPIM6FFaO0a3Or3wRr3kK5fx5rzlxO2QWLGgFnMISF4l8rb8TRtF7SfbHE90nevMBJ89KKXCjQHj9KwHL_yC86BSrafcL2wWg2TlHOueDgQqW18b0NAfYT/s320/SKIES-OF-ASH.JPG" /></a></div><br />
I'm so very lucky to have incredible covers for both versions.<br />
<br />
So:<br />
<br />
<br />
Here's the synopsis:<br />
<br />
Los Angeles homicide detective Elouise “Lou” Norton and her partner, Colin Taggert, arrive at the scene of a tragic house fire. Juliet Chatman perished in the blaze, along with her two children. Left behind is grieving husband and father Christopher Chatman, hospitalized after trying to rescue his family. Chatman is devastated that he couldn’t save them.<br />
<br />
Unless, of course, he’s the one who killed them.<br />
<br />
Neighbors and family friends insist the Chatmans were living the dream. But Lou quickly discovers the reality was very different. The flames of adultery, jealousy, scandal, fraud, and disease had all but consumed the Chatmans’ marriage before it went up in smoke.<br />
<br />
Lou’s own marriage hangs by a thread. Soured by the men in her life, Lou is convinced that Chatman started the fire. Her colleagues worry that her personal issues are obscuring her judgment. With very little evidence regarding the fire—and rising doubts about her husband’s commitment to monogamy—Lou feels played by all sides.<br />
<br />
Was the fire sparked by a serial arsonist known as The Burning Man? Or by the Chatmans' son, who regularly burned his father’s property?<br />
<br />
Searching for justice through the ashes of a picture-perfect family, Lou doesn’t know if she will catch an arsonist or be burned in the process.<br />
<br />
Well?<br />
<br />
Now, I don't wanna be all up in your wallet, but you know you can pre-order <b>SKIES OF ASH</b> right this very moment. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Skies-Ash-Detective-Elouise-Norton-ebook/dp/B00OXHDQNE/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">Here</a>. <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/skies-of-ash-rachel-howzell-hall/1120327518?ean=9780765336361">Here</a>. ESPECIALLY <a href="http://www.mystgalaxy.com/book/9780765336361">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-88201487232700747962015-01-15T07:24:00.002-08:002015-01-15T07:24:41.787-08:00Skies of Ash: Titan U.K. Cover RevealSo I thought the cover for the Titan U.K. edition of <b>LAND OF SHADOWS</b> was sick!<br />
<br />
Just last week, I got to see the Titan U.K. cover for <b>SKIES OF ASH</b> and oh. my. GOODNESS!<br />
<br />
Wanna see it?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijxv6zTCHgYXwIZJAOg08BJkxApKb4Kp-wSj-HfZS3cL24LbayHOLsWudQiA-TZeSDCYcQw7zuQbgEZDL9VG0KZZ8J_CgXCdepPt9LKp5X19fbh1PW2bnOsTe-AFQ0hO1xy1CwrX8UngmA/s1600/TITAN+cover+Skies+of+Ash_cvr+with+sticker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijxv6zTCHgYXwIZJAOg08BJkxApKb4Kp-wSj-HfZS3cL24LbayHOLsWudQiA-TZeSDCYcQw7zuQbgEZDL9VG0KZZ8J_CgXCdepPt9LKp5X19fbh1PW2bnOsTe-AFQ0hO1xy1CwrX8UngmA/s320/TITAN+cover+Skies+of+Ash_cvr+with+sticker.jpg" /></a></div><br />
What do you think?Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-61753955149590404022014-11-29T13:57:00.001-08:002014-11-29T13:57:05.121-08:00<div id="goodreadsGiveawayWidget117249"><!-- Show static html as a placeholder in case js is not enabled --><br />
<div class="goodreadsGiveawayWidget" style="max-width: 350px; margin: 10px auto; padding: 10px 15px; border: 2px solid #EBE8D5; border-radius: 10px;"> <style>
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget { color: #555; font-family: georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; text-align: left; font-size: 14px;
font-style: normal; background: white; }
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget img { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0 !important; }
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget a { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0; color: #660; text-decoration: none; }
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:visted { color: #660; text-decoration: none; }
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:hover { color: #660; text-decoration: underline !important; }
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget p { margin: 0 0 .5em !important; padding: 0; }
.goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink { display: block; width: 150px; margin: 10px auto 0 !important; padding: 0px 5px !important;
text-align: center; line-height: 1.8em; color: #222; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;
border: 1px solid #6A6454; border-radius: 5px; font-family:arial,verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;
background-image:url(https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_button4.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-color:#BBB596;
outline: 0; white-space: nowrap;
}
.goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink:hover { background-image:url(https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_button4_hover.gif);
color: black; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer;
}
</style><br />
<h2 style="margin: 0 0 10px !important; padding: 0 !important; font-style: italic; font-size: 20px; line-height: 20px; font-weight: normal; text-align: center; color: #555;"> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com" target="_new">Goodreads</a> Book Giveaway<br />
</h2><br />
<div style="float: left;"> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23168785"><img alt="Skies of Ash by Rachel Howzell Hall" src="https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/111x148-c93ac9cca649f584bf7c2539d88327a8.png" title="Skies of Ash by Rachel Howzell Hall" width="100" /></a><br />
</div><br />
<div style="margin: 0 0 0 110px !important; padding: 0 0 0 0 !important;"> <h3 style="margin: 0; padding: 0; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;"> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23168785">Skies of Ash</a><br />
</h3> <h4 style="margin: 0 0 10px; padding: 0; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/116117.Rachel_Howzell_Hall" style="text-decoration: none;">Rachel Howzell Hall</a><br />
</h4><br />
<div class="giveaway_details"> <p> Giveaway ends December 31, 2014.<br />
</p> <p> See the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/117249" style="text-decoration: none;">giveaway details</a><br />
at Goodreads.<br />
</p> </div> </div> <div style="clear: both;"></div><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/enter_choose_address/117249" class="goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink">Enter to win</a><br />
<br />
</div></div><script src="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/widget/117249" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></script>Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-4225558464224092462014-11-27T13:01:00.001-08:002014-11-27T13:02:39.498-08:00Fire in the ARC<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOawUr8OX6TbUClKn_ORRmabFt977Eul7HrvDjWdSnIqUtSmHxAAp5V2NNnohMVExwsj-E4FKaM1FqIwGwyufK0gwZ4jc85YPQIa68v8FrWZxIkPjGO2NRp2O8SIpr07852Y-j6B-0cV-v/s640/blogger-image--374099498.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOawUr8OX6TbUClKn_ORRmabFt977Eul7HrvDjWdSnIqUtSmHxAAp5V2NNnohMVExwsj-E4FKaM1FqIwGwyufK0gwZ4jc85YPQIa68v8FrWZxIkPjGO2NRp2O8SIpr07852Y-j6B-0cV-v/s640/blogger-image--374099498.jpg"></a></div>Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-48342080207703883982014-11-05T07:17:00.001-08:002014-11-05T07:17:07.436-08:00Murder at The Beach Bouchercon 2014 - Long Beach: California Love: Six Awesome Reasons Why Southern ...<a href="http://bcon2014.blogspot.com/2014/11/california-love-six-awesome-reasons-why.html?spref=bl">Murder at The Beach Bouchercon 2014 - Long Beach: California Love: Six Awesome Reasons Why Southern ...</a>: By Rachel Howzell Hall Yeah, yeah, traffic and smog and organic-vegan-gluten-free-blahblahblahs. You’re not coming to Southern C...Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-44470355111036215192014-08-12T08:48:00.000-07:002014-08-12T08:48:43.370-07:00Elements of Mystery Panel at Santa Monica Public LibraryHey! You busy on Saturday afternoon? Wanna come to Santa Monica?<br />
<br />
I'll be at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/smpublib/photos/gm.275500525985494/10152500502867626/?type=1&theater">Santa Monica Public Library </a>at 2:00, hanging out with Naomi Hirahara, Kim Fay, Samuel Gailey and Don Passman, and we'll be talking about mysteries and how to write 'em.<br />
<br />
We'll also sign books and there will be things to nibble. And it's Santa Monica!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhGfRrjghn6jBBKQl7AZMxI-7IFMpWBr6fI8xJjA6w_dfOrkAM7J-n_o-KkJf_rboSt2nJhXnM8KTN4qDnJ1awRlq1LAu__kXSjXiBwCecU4sOzyBTZEJVsyVCUV-gXAwVt8cDWfbdz1vk/s1600/ElementsOfMysteryFlyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhGfRrjghn6jBBKQl7AZMxI-7IFMpWBr6fI8xJjA6w_dfOrkAM7J-n_o-KkJf_rboSt2nJhXnM8KTN4qDnJ1awRlq1LAu__kXSjXiBwCecU4sOzyBTZEJVsyVCUV-gXAwVt8cDWfbdz1vk/s320/ElementsOfMysteryFlyer.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-75050388863945290202014-08-12T08:25:00.000-07:002014-08-12T08:25:25.720-07:00From the Bottom to the Top...I had the wonderful opportunity to write an <a href="http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2014/08/12/growing-up-in-the-jungle-i-wanted-to-head-for-the-hills/chronicles/who-we-were/">essay</a> for <a href="http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/">Zocalo Public Square</a>!<br />
<br />
By now, you know where I grew up.<br />
<br />
This piece talks more about that and how I wanted up that hill.<br />
<br />
Hope you go over and read it and share it with your friends!Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-40482083428539125622014-08-01T08:50:00.000-07:002014-08-01T08:50:13.489-07:00File NPR Interview Under 'Dream Come True'Okay, y'all. You've noticed that blog posts have been slim to none -- closer to none.<br />
<br />
Cuz I've been busy. Busy as a bee, as a beaver, as a bee and beaver whooping it up at the Hoover Dam. And I've been so very tired. Like, "dark bags under my eyes" kind of tired. Like, "too tired to play a videogame" kind of tired.<br />
<br />
Now, though, I've gotten some energy. Even started playing "Borderlands"! And starting third edits of Lou Norton #3, titled TRAIL OF ECHOES.<br />
<br />
This summer, I signed and read and met wonderful readers and writers -- from <a href="http://www.annesbookcarnival.com/">Book Carnival</a>, <a href="http://www.mystgalaxy.com/">Mysterious Galaxy</a>, <a href="http://www.esowonbookstore.com/">Eso Won Books</a>, <a href="http://www.ggpbooks.com/">A Great Good Place for Books</a>, <a href="http://lastbookstorela.com/">The Last Bookstore</a> to the American Library Association's annual conference in Las Vegas! I was honored to post pieces on <a href="http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/06/12/rachel-howzell-hall-five-things-i-learned-writing-land-of-shadows/">Chuck Wendig's Terrible Minds</a> and <a href="http://www.jungleredwriters.com/2014/06/you-know-it-when-you-hear-it.html">Jungle Red Writers</a> blogs.<br />
<br />
To top it all off, to just... make me feel like I'm in Oz and Narnia and Heaven, I had the chance to hang out with the so-talented Karen Grigsby Bates. Karen is a novelist -- <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Plain-Brown-Wrapper-Powell-Novel/dp/0739418823/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406907650&sr=1-5&keywords=karen+grigsby+bates">Plain Brown Wrapper</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Chosen-People-Alex-Powell-Novels/dp/0060559721/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1WN6P6PXXQ6KEB1TCVBC">Chosen People</a>. She is also a correspondent for NPR. Because God is saying 'Yes!' to me right now, I was recently featured on <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/07/29/334616521/crime-writer-creates-a-hero-for-her-beloved-much-maligned-south-la">NPR's "Crime in the City" series</a>. Karen and I spent two afternoons together, talking about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Land-Shadows-Rachel-Howzell-Hall-ebook/dp/B00HTJ052I/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=">LAND OF SHADOWS</a>, Elouise Norton and Los Angeles, yesterday and today. <br />
<br />
<i>Rachel Howzell Hall is easing her big, laurel green Mercedes sedan through the streets of Los Angeles. A slim woman with big eyes, Hall says this Benz is her dream car, the thing she'd planned to buy for herself once she'd become a successful writer, probably around age 50.<br />
<br />
But something happened to speed up her schedule.<br />
<br />
"When I was 33 years old," Hall says, "I was diagnosed with a rare type of breast cancer. And I was pregnant. And it was terrifying."</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/07/29/334616521/crime-writer-creates-a-hero-for-her-beloved-much-maligned-south-la">Please click over and hear the rest!<br />
</a><br />
Listening to it air on Tuesday... no words. Yes, I cried. Yes, I could hardly concentrate on anything else. Yes, I couldn't believe it.<br />
<br />
But it happened!<br />
<br />
All of it happened!<br />
<br />
And thank you all for making my dream come true!<br />
<br />
Oh -- and if you belong to a book club, and you're reading LAND OF SHADOWS, I Skype!Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-20437510245462266042014-07-03T08:10:00.002-07:002014-07-03T08:10:42.854-07:00I'm Still Here!Hey!<br />
<br />
It's been a while but I've been busy!<br />
<br />
This weekend, I'll catch you up on all things LAND OF SHADOWS because that's been my June!<br />
<br />
Talk to you soon!Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-25820668840525986032014-05-29T08:18:00.001-07:002014-05-29T08:18:51.417-07:00Lou and Monique and Good Girls and Bad BoysI recently wrote a post for popular crime-writing blog <a href="http://www.crimetime.co.uk/mag/index.php/showarticle/7255">Crimetime </a>about Lou Norton -- but also about how the story came to be about Monique Darson:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20.399999618530273px;"><i>In Land of Shadows, Detective Elouise 'Lou' Norton needs to figure out who killed Monique Darson, and whether it's the same monster that stole her sister more than twenty years ago... This story started to germinate in my mind soon after the murder of the granddaughter of the then Los Angeles police chief. </i></span><br />
<br />
Click over and read the whole piece!<br />
<br />Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-70151104567933765442014-05-28T14:58:00.001-07:002014-05-28T14:58:57.571-07:00LAND OF SHADOWS - CHAPTER 1<b>1</b><br />
Two hundred and six bones make up the adult human skeleton.<br />
<br />
And on a Wednesday night in June, I was perfecting my hammer fist, an efficient strike that could break at least four of those bones.<br />
<br />
Fifteen minutes into my Krav Maga class, the bell tower rang—a ring tone chosen for Lieutenant Zak Rodriguez. And even though I was hammer fisting; even though, a yard away, my friend Lena was flirting with Avarim as he taught her how to break from a choke hold; even though I was off duty and needed this workout and was observing the tradition known as “having a personal life”—duty called.<br />
<br />
For whom the bell tolled.<br />
<br />
Elouise Norton, LAPD Homicide Detective, Southwest Division.<br />
<br />
I excused myself from my trainer, Seth, and padded over to the mirrored wall. I scrutinized my abs, a part of my body that rarely saw the sun and was always hidden beneath silk shirts and six pounds of Kevlar. Not to brag, but my belly looked awesome in this light.<br />
<br />
I grabbed my iPhone and towel from the floor and glanced at the phone’s picture of a middle-aged Latino with smoke-colored eyes and a Clark Gable mustache.<br />
<br />
And the bell tolled again.<br />
<br />
I took a deep breath, then said, “Lou here.”<br />
<br />
“You’re not answering your radio,” Lieutenant Rodriguez shouted. Sirens blared in the background.<br />
<br />
“Because it’s in the car.”<br />
<br />
“And why aren’t you in the car?”<br />
<br />
“Because I’m on the Westside, getting in some exercise.”<br />
<br />
Lena, also getting in some “exercise,” was now sticking her ass into Avarim’s crotch and cooing, “Like this? Like this?” Newly divorced, Lena was tiny and dazzling. More than that, she could filet men like a hungry grizzly could filet salmon.<br />
<br />
I swiped the towel across my sweaty forehead. “What’s up, LT?”<br />
<br />
“A Jane Doe hanging in a closet.”<br />
<br />
Unimpressed, I lifted my left knee to my chest and held it for two seconds. “Oh, yeah?”<br />
<br />
In this city, Jane Does were always found hanging around. In closets, off bridges, in shower stalls …<br />
<br />
“Yeah. A security guard found her in one of those condos over on Santa Rosalia near the Jungle, the ones still under construction. You know ’em, right?”<br />
<br />
I had started to lift my right knee but froze. My grip tightened around the phone because yeah, I knew Santa Rosalia, and yeah, I knew the Jungle. From age three and on to my eighteenth birthday, I had lived in that part of black Los Angeles. Worse, my big sister, Victoria, had been snatched off those streets, never to be seen again. I hated the Jungle, and yet I had never left.<br />
<br />
“From what the first officer told me,” Lieutenant Rodriguez was saying, “she’s pretty ripe, more than five hours old, and … Hey, you there?”<br />
<br />
I stifled a sigh. “Yep. I’m … good.” But his words must have spooked me—Lena had abandoned sexy Avarim to come stand beside me. Big brown eyes wide with worry, she touched my wrist and whispered, “You okay?”<br />
<br />
I nodded, even though, no, I wasn’t okay, not entirely. “I don’t understand,” I said to my boss. “Why am I catching this? Last time I scanned the board, there were blank spaces by Guerrero’s and Dolby’s names.”<br />
<br />
“First,” he said, “you know the people in that area better than Guerrero and Dolby, so it won’t take thirty years for you to figure out your ass from your elbow. Second: Guerrero and Dolby are on everybody’s shit list for screwing up that Sizzler robbery, and this Jane Doe in a closet could be something, and I really don’t wanna read in the Times that two Southwest Division dicks forgot to fingerprint the scene. I swear those two are SOS.”<br />
<br />
He paused, then added, “I know you have two cases simmering right now, but you know and I know that our clearance rate is shit right now. I need the A-Team on this.”<br />
<br />
“One more question,” I said. “May I ask why you’re heading out to a suicide? Not that I don’t enjoy your company.”<br />
“Again: she’s on Napoleon Crase’s property. That worries me.”<br />
<br />
Yeah. That worried me, too.<br />
<br />
“I just want everything done right,” he said. “I already called Taggert and he’s en route to the scene. He’s an ass, but he’s now your ass, so be nice to him, all right?”<br />
<br />
“I’m always nice,” I said with a smirk.<br />
<br />
He chuckled. “Oh, yeah. You’re a black Marie Osmond. Meet you over there.”Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-41337065197728130812014-05-28T13:01:00.000-07:002014-05-28T13:01:14.281-07:00LAND OF SHADOWS Pre-Order Contest-A-Palooza!Did you know that LAND OF SHADOWS is available for pre-order RIGHT NOW?<br />
<br />
No?<br />
<br />
Yes, it is!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8zPqn6DsiGQJOEQvX-5CWTYk1W74bKSFlEdDqr6ZF53UCO3ugxqGFZB98SjeF9fi2tr_bsdz1ujjaPyFKh0v_lfMmDjL019rotIlwQXhws1GLQMpJnZ6ojiecMH59_696dHqxC3pq7i26/s1600/LOS+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8zPqn6DsiGQJOEQvX-5CWTYk1W74bKSFlEdDqr6ZF53UCO3ugxqGFZB98SjeF9fi2tr_bsdz1ujjaPyFKh0v_lfMmDjL019rotIlwQXhws1GLQMpJnZ6ojiecMH59_696dHqxC3pq7i26/s200/LOS+Cover.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Did you know that this new mystery has received great reviews from Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist and blogs and independent reviewers hither, thither and over there?<br />
<br />
Uh huh.<br />
<br />
Did you know that I've written other books?<br />
<br />
Oh, yes, I have.<br />
<br />
<i>A Quiet Storm<br />
<br />
The View from Here (digital only)<br />
<br />
No One Knows You're Here (digital only)<br />
</i><br />
Check 'em out <a href="http://www.rachelhowzell.com">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Do you wanna read them?<br />
<br />
Please say yes.<br />
<br />
Yes? Okay.<br />
<br />
Then, I'll tell you what to do: <br />
<br />
Enter the drawing to win the <b>RACHEL HOWZELL LIBRARY OF SUSPENSE</b>! <br />
<br />
Three readers will be randomly selected to win a signed copy of <i>A Quiet Storm</i>, <i>The View from Here</i> and <i>No One Knows You're Here</i>!<br />
<br />
All's you gotta do is:<br />
<br />
1. Pre-order LAND OF SHADOWS from any book vendor (any indie store, Amazon, B&N, etc.)by <b>Monday, June 9, 2014</b>.<br />
<br />
2. Send the receipt of your pre-order to HowzellGiveaways@gmail.com, either an email or a photographed picture of the register receipt. Proof, yeah? And in the subject heading of that email with the receipt, write LAND OF SHADOWS GIVEAWAY so that I can filter entries.<br />
<br />
3. And yes, e-books count. <br />
<br />
4. If you've already pre-ordered LAND OF SHADOWS, bless you and hooray! Just send in your pre-order receipt and you'll be entered into the drawing.<br />
<br />
And then?<br />
<br />
Then, the winner will be drawn by random number and announced after the contest ends.<br />
<br />
<b>Again, the contest starts today and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, June 9, 2014.</b><br />
<br />
Any questions, just ask in the comment section below.<br />
Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-40802126425827626712014-05-26T09:44:00.000-07:002014-05-26T09:44:49.016-07:00Minding the Gap...I'm back from the UK and it was FABULOUS!<br />
<br />
I've never been so busy in my life. I don't think I ever walked that much in my life, either.<br />
<br />
The people at <a href="http://titanbooks.com/land-of-shadows-a-detective-elouise-norton-novel-a-detective-elouise-norton-novel-7668/">Titan Books</a> are wonderful, in particular, Ms. Ella Bowman, publicist extraordinaire. She kept me on task, provided great conversation, bottled waters, dirty curry and friendship. I'll be posting pictures from my trip abroad in later posts but wanted to share two very cool British moments of the LAND OF SHADOWS release.<br />
<br />
First, <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/magazine/article4087481.ece">The Times UK piece on growing up in America written by Rhys Blakely and shot by Barry J. Holmes</a>. What an honor! <br />
<br />
And on May 21, I visited the BBC to talk about LAND OF SHADOWS on <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01zhb3k">BBC Radio Four "Women's Hour.</a>'. My interview with Jenni Murray is somewhere in the middle.<br />
<br />
All of this -- flying over, Crimefest, blogs, crime writers, great reviews, the Tube -- it was a dream come true!Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1667935679198079831.post-88132675700131295972014-05-05T16:16:00.000-07:002014-05-05T16:16:53.752-07:00LAND OF SHADOWS Book Tour!So what are you doing in the next two months?<br />
<br />
How about hanging out with cool people who love cool books in places where those cool books can be purchased?<br />
<br />
Books like, I don't know... <br />
<br />
<b>LAND OF SHADOWS?!</b><br />
<br />
So we're starting to throw dates on the calendar -- I'll be reading and answering questions about LOS and Lou Norton and writing and life and on and on.<br />
<br />
Will you join me?<br />
<br />
Please?<br />
<br />
First stop: <a href="http://www.crimefest.com/programme.html">CRIMEFEST</a> in Bristol, U.K. I'll be talking for 20 or so minutes on Friday afternoon (May 16) around 3:20 on writing the female detective. And on Saturday morning (May 17), I'll be on a panel about why we readers like stories on the Missing.<br />
<br />
And then, back to U.S. For specifics, pop over to <b><a href="http://www.rachelhowzell.com">www.rachelhowzell.com</a></b>!<br />
<br />
And let me know if you can make any dates -- I'd love to see you!Rachel Howzell Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00024968013102962506noreply@blogger.com0