My Life and Times
Published by Lora April 24th, 2006 in UncategorizedHere it is in a nutshell: Born and raised in Missouri, moved to California 30 years ago, lived here ever since with spouse and children. Well, children have grown up and gone their own ways (though they still help me out with technical issues–thanks for the new web page, Jeremy!).
Writing is my game, though I make my skimpy living as a medical editor. I also like to garden, cook, read, and hang out with my girlfriends, some of whom are also mystery writers (see www.NMOMysteries.com). I am learning metalsmithing, which is really fun. I enjoy traveling, but it’s great to stay home as well.
If there’s anything else you want to know, you’ll have to ask . . .
Lora-
I was very happy to stumble on your page while searching for your books! I have been seriously clinging to the hope that there are more Liz Sullivan books floating out there in the universe I simply had not found yet! I adore Liz!
I am also pleased to see you are a former Missouri girl too!
You are a fabulous writer and I hope someday… when I summon up my nerve…I will be able to emulate your down to earth, believable, feel-like-the-character-could-be-your-best-friend writing style.
Keep working on more mysteries please!
Karla C
aka
Book_Lover
Hi,Karla. I am new to the world of answering email in public (and not really sure how it’s done!). I love hearing that people have enjoyed my books. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with being called a fabulous writer.
Here’s the word on Liz Sullivan, the viewpoint character in six mysteries set in Palo Alto (which are out of print, but available as e-books from http://www.belgravehouse.com). The final book in that series, Murder Follows Money, was the most fun to write. It was also the hardest, and they got harder from number one (Murder in the Marketplace). I surmise this is because each book teaches you something, generally something you did wrong, and you want to do a better job in the next one. I realized one thing making the Liz books hard to continue was her increasing emergence from her self-imposed cocoon. The happier she got, the less of an outsider she was, and her outsider pov was what drew me to writing about her. I felt we both needed a break.
I have in mind a book in Amy’s (Liz’s niece) point of view. In case anyone wonders, Amy was accepted into Stanford. She’s a sophmore, still undecided but on the verge of declaring for journalism (though she’s drawn to the biz school as well). Amy is a trouble nexus. That’s a good thing in a mystery novel. This book is in the back of my mind and nowhere else.
I wrote a book with Bridget as the main character (Another Fine Mess), in which Liz appears briefly. I wrote a book with a 1903-era housekeeper as the main character, and Sherlock Holmes as the celebrity guest star (Affair of the Incognito Tenant). It was very fun to write, and I’m currently working (very slowly) on a second book, titled The Contentious Jewel. No idea when it will be done, though I did take a research-packed but fun-filled trip to England with fellow mystery writer Valerie Wolzien (see http://www.NMOMysteries.com).
Please don’t worry about emulating my style. You do your own thing, Karla. For 95% of the writers in the world, including published ones, your own satisfaction ends up being the most rewarding thing about being a writer. (I include financial reward in that calculation.) Be the writer you want to be.
Okay, I’m pretty sure that online answers to messages are supposed to be brief and pithy. From now on, terse is it!
Lora