Saturday, February 06, 2010

Get Ready for FRITTERFEST!


If you are reading this, then consider it your official invitation to FRITTERFEST, aka the publication party for my new book, BAJA FLORIDA. Here are the deets:

SUNDAY, FEB. 21
1-4 p.m.
Palmano's
333 S. Park Ave.
Winter Park

I'm buying 20 pounds of conch meat, which by my recipe should translate into about 800 conch fritters once it is mixed with 40 cups of flour, 40 eggs, lots of green peppers and onions, two dozen limes, a healthy splashing of hot sauce and more salt than is probably good for us. And it all gets fried in yummy healthful peanut oil (I'd use lard, the goodness of which is indisputable, but one must draw the line somewhere, mustn't one?)

You can dip the fritters in the Secret Sauce, which is secret only because I make it different every time and can never remember exactly what I put in it the last time. First come, first served. There will be beer, wine and other good stuff from the Palmano's menu. And who knows? There might be a bottle or two of good rum tucked away somewhere... ask and ye might be rewarded.

The primary obstacle: Finding the time to beat 20 pounds of conch meat into tender submission. It's a mighty task and not one to be undertaken with a fear of crushed knuckles. But that's for me to worry about, not you.

So drop by, say hello, buy BAJA FLORIDA if you so desire (my other books will be available, too) and stick some fritters in your face.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

BAJA FLORIDA: We have liftoff!

Talk about harmonic converge. Not only did the publication date of BAJA FLORIDA coincide with the birthday of Edgar Allan Poe, father of the crime novel, it also fell on the same day as my Crime Fiction class at Rollins College. Here we see my brilliant students toasting their most awesome professor. What you don't see are the three bottles of Spanish Cava we will soon polish off. Uh, officer, everyone told me they were of age...

Today also marks the day we learned that Robert Parker died. We toasted him, too. And read the first three pages from "Bad Business," which are vintage and sublimely sardonic and highly toastable. Jeez, I'll miss him.

The goal of this class, in addition to reading Poe and Chandler and Cain and MacDonald and Grafton and Connelly and Child and more, is to write the first 25 pages of a crime novel. You can't turn around these days without reading that "The Book" is dead. But here is visual proof that good people still exist who not only only want to read 'em but write 'em.

And, yeah, well, get college credit for it, too.


Saturday, January 16, 2010

BAJA FLORIDA Book Tour


I'm still adding dates to the BAJA FLORIDA book tour, including FRITTERFEST, which will be the big shebang (with conch fritters galore) at Palmano's in Winter Park. So stay tuned for updates. But in the meantime, here's where I'll be over the weeks ahead. So come join me and get a copy of the new book.

SATURDAY, JAN. 23
Orlando, FL
2 - 3:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, JAN. 26
San Diego, CA
7 p.m.

THURSDAY, JAN. 28
Los Angeles, CA
7 p.m.

SATURDAY, JAN. 30
Houston, TX
5 p.m.
I'll be joining forces with Florida author James W. Hall.

SUNDAY, JAN. 31
Scottsdale, AZ
2 p.m.

SATURDAY, FEB. 6
Maitland Public Library
Maitland, FL
1:30 p.m.

SATURDAY, FEB. 6
The Muse Book Shop
Deland, FL
4 p.m.
I'll be appearing with Florida author Tim Dorsey

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 10
Winter Park Historical Association
at the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce
Winter Park, FL
11:30 a.m.

THURSDAY, FEB. 18
Barnes & Noble
1055 Old Camp Road
The Villages, FL
7 p.m.

SUNDAY, FEB. 21
FRITTERFEST!
Palmano's
333 S. Park Ave.
Winter Park, FL
1-4 p.m.
(The official publication party for BAJA FLORIDA. Conch fritters while they last...)

THURSDAY, FEB. 25
The Bookmark
Atlantic Beach, FL
7 p.m.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY, FEB. 26-27
South Carolina Book Festival
Columbia, SC

SATURDAY, MARCH 6
Paint the Town Read
Selby Library
Sarasota, FL
11 a.m.-1 p.m.

SATURDAY, MARCH 6
Circle Books
Sarasota, FL
3 p.m.

MONDAY, MARCH 8
Friends of the Collier County Library
Nick Linn Lecture Series
Naples Grand Hotel
Noon
I'll be sharing the podium with James O. Born

FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 19-20
Literary Feast
Broward Library Foundation
Fort Lauderdale, FL

FRIDAY, APRIL 9
Downtown Marriott
Orlando, FL
6 p.m.
I'll be introducing authors Connie May Fowler and Gerald Posner in this great event to benefit the Adult Literacy League

SATURDAY, APRIL 17
University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL
I'll be appearing on a panel with Florida author James Grippando

THURSDAY, APRIL 22
Bahamian Book Bash
Palm Harbor Library
Palm Harbor, FL
6 p.m.
I'll be telling Caribbean tales at this fun evening of food and drink to benefit the library.