We've Got Your Number

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Happy back to school (notebooks!). Happy back to work (progress!). Happy end of summer (sweaters!). Happy everything.   And what’s your must-have item for all these great beginnings? 

Yup. Your cell phone.

The brilliant and wonderful Laura DiSilverio has been a treasured friend of mine for—gee, I don’t know how long. She’s a retired Air Force intelligence officer (is anyone ever retired from that?) and a devoted mom and wife and an astonishingly prolific and successful author (ooh, and see below for an amazingly generous giveaway of her newest CLOSE CALL!) 

 But. Up until very recently, she didn’t even…

Well, I’ll let her tell you.  And, because it’s back to school after all, here’s a quiz!

appy back to school. happy end of summer, happy back ot work, happy everything.

 Close Call

          by Laura DiSilverio

Most of us have them. Some of us think we couldn't live without them. Some of us wish we could chuck them down the nearest sewer grate. What am I talking about? Cell phones, of course.

In my new release, CLOSE CALL, my heroine, Sydney, picks up the wrong phone and stumbles on a plot to assassinate a Congressman. Since a cell phone plays such a central role in the book, I thought it might be fun to do a little cell phone trivia quiz on JRW today. For instance, did you know that the first commercially available cell phone came out in 1984 and cost almost $4,000 dollars? That's a long dang time ago and makes the latest iPhone look cheap!

Guzzle some caffeine now and put on your thinking caps. Free copies of CLOSE CALL to everyone (okay, max of five winners) who gets 100% (without cheating). I'm counting on your integrity while taking the quiz and reporting your scores! 

Answers on the comments page.

We'll start with some matching. 

Match the number in the first column with the fact it goes with in the second column.

1. 340,000                     A. Percent of mobile phone malware aimed at Android users

2. 18                             B. Number of iPhones sold every day in 2012

3. 250,000                  C. Number of times the avg person unlocks her Smartphone each day

4. 110                                    D. Number of cell phones dropped in UK toilets every year

5. 100,000                    E. Percent more bacteria on cell phones than toilet handles

6. 99                             F. Number of separate patents for technologies in your Smartphone

Now for some true/false.

7. More people in the world have cell phones than have toilets. True or false?

8. Scientists have invented a way of charging mobile phones using urine. True or false?

And we'll finish with a couple of multiple choice.

9. Who invented the mobile phone?

         a) Anderson Cooper

         b) Martin Cooper

         c) Cooper Cronk

         d) Alexander Graham Bell

10. In what country is mobile phone throwing an official sport?

         a) Finland

         b) Ghana

         c) New Zealand

         d) All of the above

Tell us how you did (if you want to) on the comments page. 

Otherwise, when did you get your first cell phone? (I confess that I didn't get a Smartphone until this year.)

 Are you one of those people who suffer from nomophobia, the fear of being out of mobile phone contact, or are you just as happy to leave your phone at home?  

What's your biggest pet peeve about cell phones?

CLOSE CALL comes out in two days. Preorder now! 

HANK: Oh, dear, don’t even ask me. I actually, seriously, get nervous if I can’t find my phone on the first pawing through my purse. I know this is bad.  I am trying to calculate how often I unlock my cell phone each day, And I can’t. 

But hey, Reds and readers, how about you?

About Laura:
A retired Air Force intelligence officer, Laura DiSilverio is the national bestselling author of 19 mystery, suspense, and YA novels (including the Lefty- and Colorado Book Award-finalist Swift Investigations series, the Readaholics Book Club series, and the Mall Cop series). Her standalone suspense novel, The Reckoning Stones,was a Library Journal Pick of the Month and won the Colorado Book Award for Mystery in 2016. Incubation, the first book of her young adult dystopian trilogy debuted in April to rave reviews. A Past President of Sisters in Crime, she pens articles for Writer’s Digest, and teaches writing in various fora. She plots murders and parents teens in Colorado, trying to keep the two tasks separate.

CLOSE CALL

Living through the media shaming of a political sex when she was in college, Sydney Ellison fears notoriety above all. So when she stumbles onto a plot to assassinate a senator, she resists telling the police. Before she can make herself do the right thing, the hit man tracks her down and kills her fiancé.  Now a murder suspect and a killer's target, Sydney needs help. She reluctantly enlists the aid of an investigator, the estranged sister who betrayed her fifteen years earlier. Sydney must overcome her distrust and put all she has worked for on the line to stop the hit man and his employer before more people die.

“DiSilverio’s excellent plotting in her stand-alone thriller will keep readers on the edge of their seats rooting for Sydney to triumph. A treat for Megan Abbott fans.” (Library Journal, starred review)

The Truth About Cats and Dogs: Adventures in Puppy-sitting

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Are you a cat person or a dog person? Or both? (Or neither—no judgment.)

Here is our cat, five-year-old Lola, with her homemade "whack-a-mole" toy. No, she's not spoiled at all!

I’ve always been a cat person, but I’ve fallen in love with my share of (other people’s) dogs. Much to Kiddo’s delight, we are able to babysit a friend’s puppy last weekend, a miniature poodle/King Charles spaniel named Addison—Addie, for short. Addie is nine weeks old and about fifteen pounds. 

She is adorable.

Since cats, even as kittens, are fairly self-reliant, I was unprepared for much stuff Addie came with. There was the crate, the travel crate, the food and water bowls, the kibble, the blanket, the toys, the baby safety gate…. This puppy travels with more luggage than Cher.

I was also not exactly cognizant of how many times Addie would need to go out. Every two hours, to be exact. And there were accidents. Yes, it was a lot like potty-training a toddler.

Addie also had separation anxiety. If one of us wasn’t in sight at all times, she began to cry. We set up her crate in Kiddo’s room, facing him so she could see him during the night.

Our cat, Lola, has met Addie before, and has basically ignored her. This time, though, when Addie didn’t leave, she got a bit more territorial, starting down at Addie from high places, ignoring the little wagging tail and pleading yaps for friendship.

At the end of the weekend, Kiddo absolutely wanted a dog—aaaaand Noel and I weren’t so sure. We’d done the baby thing once—and that was enough. Addie is adorable, but at this point, we’re delighted to be doggie godparents, called on for the odd weekend. And yet—yet—I find myself online, researching hypoallergenic dogs, such as poodles and Portuguese water dogs….

Reds, are you dog people or cat people? 

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Oh, we are both, have always been both, at least as adults. Neither Rick's mom or mine liked cats, so we didn't grow up with them. One of my first out-of-the-house gestures of independence was the acquisition of a kitten (who turned out to be THE CAT FROM HELL, by the way.) Kiddo is the perfect age for a dog, such fun, such great bonding, and such emotional support for those trying pre-teen years.

I have to admit that puppies are a lot of trouble, but they grow up so fast, and they are so worth the time and work. We have a houseful of cats and dogs now, with the two German shepherds (who are two and almost four) and three cats. It is the cats who are sometimes guilty of unspeakable behavior, not the dogs!

HALLIE EPHRON: Susan, that one doggie sounds like it's got as much paraphernalia as a baby. 

I like other people's pets, though I was mad about our two (then three, then briefly four... it's easy to find strays in NYC apartment building basements) cats. Eloise and Soot looked remarkably like my daughter Molly's current cats, Alistair and Bernice. Eloise was a muscular black and white male (we found out too late to change the name) who hated most everyone but us. As I unlocked our apartment door Eloise would meow from the other side, and when I got in an bent to pet her she'd jump up on my shoulder. We kept her in the bedroom during parties; if she got out she'd make a bee-line for the most cat-averse person in the room. We would have kept them but I'm allergic and ended up hospitalized. 

LUCY BURDETTE: Two paws firmly in each camp! (And as an aside, Addison/Addie is the name of the character I'm currently writing--a girl, not a dog.)

We had German shepherds growing up--they were not technically my dogs, but family dogs. (And unfortunately not very well trained.) My mom was animal crazy so we also had cats, mice, guinea pigs--any creature we wanted really, except for reptiles or birds. When I turned 13, I desperately wanted my own cat. January in Detroit is not kitten season at all. But my mother prevailed and found a yellow tiger in the Detroit pound. He'd already been turned back in once, so the three dollar receipt was stamped NO REFUND. That little yellow terror became Tigger, the first in a long line of cats leading to my current oldster, Yoda. We are also on our second Australian shepherd, Tonka. He is so mine--ask Hallie. He follows me everywhere and watches me very carefully. John sometimes forgets we have a dog, because he's always by my side. And there is the difference between cats and dogs in a nutshell--one you can always find, the other you have to hunt down and reach out. And I love them both!

RHYS BOWEN: Adore them both! Unfortunately we travel so much that having an animal isn't practical. I refuse to become one of those annoying women who brings a dog on the plane with them in the guise of therapy/comfort animal. One was in the seat behind me on Sunday and it let out the most overwhelming farts (unless that was the woman herself, but I don't think so). Growing up we always had dogs including a bull terrier and my favorite, a dachshund who understood every word we said. But when our kids were growing up we had Marmalade, a big ginger cat who was dog-like. He'd walk the kids to school, come running back when he heard my car, sit up and beg and want to join in every family activity, especially lying sprawled across the board of any board game we were trying to play. Such a people cat! I still miss him.

Cats and dogs automatically like me, including my daughter's cat Cupcake, who attacks most people and has fought off a pack of coyotes. If I sit down at her house the cat finds me and sprawls with a contented sigh onto my lap. And I do get to be dog-grandma to Sunny and Oscar, which is always lovely.  If I travel less in the future I fantasize about having a little dog--a Yorkie, maybe. But John likes only big dogs, so.....

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  Well, growing up we had both: Irish Setters named Penny, and Rusty, and Roderick St. John Erin Sean, as we got more original-ish. Cats? Mrs. Purdy, and Picnic, Rosemary, and F.Scott and Zelda, who were Rosemary's babies.  I've only had cats, since, like Rhys, my career just wouldn't allow dogs. As you know, we have an invisible dog, a very lovely Wheaten Terrier named Wheatie. Being invisible, she is very easy to care for.

I will never be able to top my two cats: the incredible Lola, who I got in 1978 at the humane society. She died in 1998. And as you can see here, adored Jonathan. Who is, as Lola well knew, deathly allergic to cats.

And here is my adorable Leon, who lived to be 14. Those two lived together for 14 years, and NEVER acknowledged the other's existence.

SO anyway. We couldn't possibly have a real dog. EXCEPT the other day I say a Llewellin setter puppy, and just about swiped it from the owner.

RHYS: Hank, we also had a dog called St John. An English setter, so beautiful but so dumb. The most untrainable dog ever. Alas, we had to find him a home on a farm as he kept escaping.  

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Lucy—the late, great Xander was a cat who never left my side, much like your dog. I so miss that—Lola is delightful, but more independent. OK, I can't resist more pictures! Here is Lola looking down on Addie:

And here is Addie, looking up at Lola:

Lovely readers, are you cat people or dog people? Or both? Or neither? Tell us in the comments!

"Oh, Kaye!" Chats About Bouchercon in New Orleans

I did a post awhile back about my Bouchercon pre-reading and research as we draw closer to hopping on a plane to attend this annual event.  

As I mentioned then, I'm one who likes to read about where I'm going to get a feel for the city. Hank suggested that I report back on things I found to be of particular interest.

Since Boucheron is in New Orleans this year, it's been some fascinating reading. 

That, of course, is not to say I don't enjoy the spontaneous adventures that come with traveling.  

What's more fun than stumbling into a delightful little bookstore?  The perfect cafe?

Or, as happened to us in Greece - a wedding.

We were having a late lunch at an outdoor taverna when a gloriously happy bride, groom and very large wedding party came out of a small church about a half block away from where we were sitting.

We were able to enjoy watching them having wedding pictures taken, posing in front of the church, in front on a fountain, sitting on an ancient wall, with church bells ringing and people laughing.  Pure sweet magic. 

It was fun for us to watch and try to figure out who was who - easy to figure out the mother of the bride, and the father of the bride - he was the one who thought no one saw him wipe away a few stray tears as he stood back watching his beautiful daughter as she smiled, laughed and hugged the many friends and family members. 

Serendipity.

That's a big part of travel, after all, isn't it?  Being open to whatever might happen.  As well as new ideas, new cultures?

  

I like to have at least a little smidge of knowledge about where I'm headed though.

The history, the culture, and in the case of New Orleans - the restaurants!

The French Quarter!

The Garden District!

Elegant homes, magnificent architecture and sumptuous hidden gardens.

This amateur photographer's dream come true.  I do intend to sign up for a walking photo tour, it's just trying to figure out when I can do it!

And the more I learn about New Orleans, the more interesting it becomes.

I've also learned that some of the things I thought I knew were just plain wrong.

Imagine that.

Proving, once again, that we might not want to believe everything we think.

I'm fascinated and intrigued by old cemeteries.  

There's an abundance of history and beauty in the cemeteries of New Orleans, and I was happy to learn there's an active group dedicated to the preservation of those cemeteries.  All 31 of them.

Save Our Cemeteries has been in existence since 1974.  It was through their webpage that I learned that not all of New Orleans' dead are placed in burial crypts above ground like I had always believed.  

This from their FAQ - "Are burials conducted in-ground today? Yes, many cemeteries offer single burial plots for burial in ground, with a simple marker, much like the rest of the United States. Modern pumping stations allow for this practice. However, the multiple burial above-ground system still remains the most popular, and traditional, mode of burial.

In addition to the Save Our Cemeteries group, there are other groups doing cemetery tours, as well. 

The one I've signed up to take, along with some friends, is a Cemetery/Voodoo tour.   (Note - Visiting the cemeteries is not one of those things you should consider doing alone)

Since the particular tour we've signed up for will include St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, I plan on paying Madame Laveau a little visit.

Marie Laveau was known as New Orleans' Voodoo Queen.  She still is, I guess, even though she died in 1881.  She has been, and continues to be, the inspiration of many books and novels. 

She's had songs written about her, and she's still a popular artistic figure.  

No one seems completely sure where the real Madame Laveau ends and the fictional Laveau begins, but it's all interesting and compelling.

So.

What else do I plan on doing in New Orleans?

Besides all things Bouchercon, I mean?

Well, I've signed up to take a cooking class.

It's a two and a half hour class where we'll be leaning how to make gumbo, jambalaya, bananas foster and pralines.  I'm excited.

And I'll be doing some shopping, I'm sure.

A lot of walking, and some exploring via streetcar. Taking the streetcar down St. Charles Avenue sounds heavenly. 

I'm interested in finding a shop by the name of  Maskarade, " . . . carries a large selection of masks from some of the best local and national artists whose fabulous creations are done in a variety of mediums. We also carry fine Italian masks handmade in the old traditional Venetian style by Master Maskmakers"  

I'll browse Royal Street, of course.

Also, one of the areas I hope to visit is Julia Street, also known as Gallery Row.  I enjoy seeking out the work of local artists and artisans, and this looks like an area of New Orleans I'll be able to do just that.

Esplanade Avenue is on my list to feed my interest in architecture and local history.  My camera is itching to get some shots of some of the charm of this historical treasure.  

There are some voodoo temples I'd like to visit.  In fact, one is included in our cemetery/voodoo tour.

As far as I know, there are no voodoo temples in Boone, NC, or the near vicinity, so I'm pretty excited about this.  I'm interested in learning a little more about this ancient religion which is believed in and taken quite seriously by many in Louisiana.

AND,

I'm pretty sure I'll be eating well.  Too well.

I'm going to be in New Orleans for quite a few days.  Going early and staying late, as are some Bouchercon Buddies.  It will be fun exploring New Orleans with these friends I usually only get to see once a year.

Who knows if I'll get to everything on my list or not.  We'll just have to see.  If I do, or if I don't, I have not a doubt in the world that it's going to be a pretty special trip.  And - I can always go back again, after all.

While the convention's going on I'll be involved with a good bit of volunteering.  

Which reminds me - if you're going and haven't signed up to help, I encourage you to do so.  It's a great way to meet some fun people, including the authors. And, since Bouchercon relies solely on volunteers, it's just a good thing to do.  

If you're interested, here's a couple email address for you - 

 moni46032@yahoo.com

and 

volunteer4bouchercon@gmail.com 

There are lots of different volunteer opportunities available.  Give it a thought.

I'm excited about the fact that I'm going to be on a panel Thursday at noon with my pals Lesa Holstine, Dru Ann Love, Kristopher Zigorski and Erica Neubauer, moderated by Penny Halle.  We're going to discuss books we recommend.  How fun is that going to be?  I'm pretty sure Bouchercon attendees enjoy talking about books, huh?  I hope to see some of you there!

AND, I'll be joining the contributors to this year's anthology, Blood on the Bayou, for a group signing on Saturday at 2:00. Hope to see you there too!  

I'm beyond pleased to be included and, truth be told, I thank Madame Laveau for her help in writing the story.  Which is one reason I intend to visit her in the cemetery so I can say "thanks."  

So, Dear Reds, raise your hands - who's going to New Orleans for Bouchercon?  And what fun things do you have planned?