This was a nice week, business-wise. If I had to compare it to a poker hand – remember, CASINO ROYALE was on the westbound flight, so I saw a lot of poker, and it was okay, but I prefer THE STING when it comes to poker, CASINO ROYALE for torsos – I’d say a straight flush. There was more good news today; WTDK is #14 on the Wall Street Journal’s bestseller list. Imagine me, living in a place where executives would never want to tamper*, on the WSJ list.
But – well, I’ll be mulling that “but” on my website when it’s updated April 1, or thereabouts. (By the way, why not more jokes about the fact that my debut on the New York Times bestseller list will be on April’s Fools Day? Bryon, in an e-mail, asked the perhaps inevitable question: “What, you couldn’t crack the top ten?” A relative made the same joke. Please do not shirk your duty to mock me, whenever possible.) I’ll tell you this much, the April letter will be a story about a man named George, a house with a Formstone façade and a roomful of people drinking beer and crying. A Bawlmer story, in short.
(Written on the train, en route to the Virginia Book Festival, where I will be on a panel with Lee Child, Tess Gerritsen and George Pelecanos. Tomorrow, I interview George and David Simon onstage, about The Wire. Which reminds me – maybe I should prepare some questions.)
*Yes, it’s another chance to win a free drink. Cite the allusion — BUT NO GOOGLING.
PS: I just cannot find it in myself to mock you, sorry.
I can’t mock you either. I don’t know you well enough…
I finished What the Dead Know last night and listened to your spoiler podcast this morning. How cool is that getting to listen to you explain it all to me? Thanks for the great interview and of course, for the great book! It is absolutely your best and can’t wait for the next!
I personally try not to mock people who could create a character who looks just like me and then kill them.
Also, you’re cool. I try and save my scorn for people who deserve it.
Ah, Auden on Yeats�two of my favorite poets.
Just finished WTDK yesterday�what a great novel. Having graduated H.S. in ’74, it brought back a lot of memories. I think you are spot on on how young women are prey, particularly since they are so anxious to prove their compentence in the world, to avoid humiliation.
Congratulations, Laura. You just get better and better.
The trifecta, I finished the book last night as well. I’m afraid not too much got done at work and there was no conversation after I got home until I was done! I picked up on one of the plot twists pretty early on, but there were a couple of others that had to smack me in the face before I saw them coming!
Sometimes family can get away with taking liberties that the rest of us wouldn’t even dream of!
What is it about “bad hair day” that you guys don’t get? Mock away!
(I’m going to an event where Barry Eisler will be present, so everyone will be having a relatively bad hair day.)
I guess I’m the only one who sees it as my duty in life to make sure people don’t get a big head when things go they’re way. I’m doing a public service here people.
The funny thing is I’m a very jovial optimistic fella.
Right there withya, Bryon.
My motto–well, one of my mottos–is, “You only mock the ones you love.”
True, I’ve been solitary most of my life….
<i>”…why not more jokes about … my debut on the NYTimes bestseller list … on April’s Fools Day?”</i>
Well, in my case, April 1 was my paternal grandmother’s birthday, not just AFD. Besides, I intend to purchase a copy of WTDK that day and ask that you sign it and wouldn’t want to give you any additional ammunition for an inscription. I wish I could be there – I grew up in Pittsburgh.
As far as ‘bad hair days’ go, I’ve always been more upset by ‘bad face days’ – the ones where I look like I’ve been celebrating a wee bit too much.
All this talk of mocking – now this is stuck in my head:
“You mock me! I will not be mocked!”
Reference:
http://snltranscripts.jt.org/88/88jmockme.phtml
(Sorry there�s no video – a transcript is the best I could find)
>>>As far as ‘bad hair days’ go, I’ve always been more upset by ‘bad face days’.<<<
For reasons I simply cannot fathom, I seem to have more of those than I used to.
<i>>>>…’bad face days’<<< “… I seem to have more of those than I used to.”</i>
Me too, Joe, me too…
Question one: “What’s it like to be married to me?”
Question two (to George): “What’s it like to write for the guy who’s married to me?”
I like Dave’s questions.
I’m coming in late to the party because I’ve been offline a couple of days trying to get some actual writing done…but I’m so thrilled about your NYTimes showing and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer person.
I, too, will leave the mocking to Bryon, who does it so much better than I could.
Laura, I just wanted to point out the warm kudos at MJ Rose’s and especially Sandra Scoppettone’s blogs.
At least you have hair.