Virtual Activities by Dru Ann Love

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The year is almost three-quarters done and activities that we would have attended in-person are now virtual.

I’ve never gone to a noir before because 1) they are in bars, dark bars 2) they are at night 3) they are never in my neighborhood 4) I prefer not to take trains at night and 5) it is mostly authors I don’t read. Virtual noirs changed that, and I’ve discovered so many authors I would not have blinked twice at if I saw their name. So, hooray for virtual noir. A shout-out to A shout-out to Ed Aymar and Alex Segura.

Then there is zoom. Oh, how I remember the original TV show (%Come on and Zoom, Zoom, zooma-Zoom%). But we are not talking about that. I’ve participated in a zoom talk with Sisters in Crime – Central Virginia chapter, attended a zoom memorial for a favorite author, attended several zoom book launches, and attended many a zoom talks with authors and friends. With one set of friends, we played this game, Spicy Farkel. I like zoom the best because you can interact with people.

Then there are the indie bookstores that are holding book launches as well. I’ve attended several of those and enjoy listening to the Q&As from the book seller. I don’t buy print books, but I will donate to their virtual tip jar – what a great concept.

Then there is Facebook. I’ve attended a few Facebook Live video author events and you are listening to the author and to interact with them, you leave a question in the chat area and the host will ask it for you. Some have book launches in their feed, whether it’s on their page or in a group page, where you have to “refresh” the page. I’m not a fan of constantly having to refresh, but it is a way to interact with the authors one-on-one during the book launch.

Now, here is the BSP – my fellow blogger, Kristopher Zgorski and I have a joint YouTube venture called BOLO*Musings where we talk about books. Another example of being with our friends and talking books. You can see our YouTube videos HERE.

Have you organized or participated in virtual activities? Do you have a preference?

Reading and Meal Deliveries by Dru Ann Love

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Reading is my savior. Because I don’t have to commute to work, I miss that routine of an hour of reading before and after work. I lost my reading mojo when this global crisis started, as I couldn’t concentrate on anything. Words were just words to me.

I’m glad I got my reading mojo back, however, I’m struggling with it. Normally I would read two to three books in a week and now it takes me at least one week to finish a book. I think it’s the routine I miss.

No matter what, I continue to read and enjoy the stories being told for my reading pleasure.

How is everyone else doing with their reading?

So in between that, I’ve been trying out a few grocery delivery companies:

  • Amazon Fresh: I get 98% of what I ordered delivered.
  • Instacart: I get at least 85% of what I ordered delivered, so the shopping cart cost always fluctuate.

And home meal deliveries.

  • HelloFresh: The program wouldn’t let me pick my own meal for the first time, so I had to settle on their choice and of the three, the only one I like was the flatbread and that is if I didn’t put the stuff they wanted me to put on it. Plus I had to do prep work. And the reason for cancellation, they did not deliver the box to my apartment door. They left it where the mailbox are and if I would not have said, hey where are they and went down there, someone could have walked away with the box.
  • Now, I’m experimenting with Freshly now. The food is prepared and all I have to do is put it in the oven (it’s meant for a microwave, which I don’t have). In week one, I liked two of my choices. This week I picked something different and we’ll see if I continue beyond that.
  • The other delivery companies all involved prep – yes, I’m lazy like that.

So, have any of you tried grocery deliveries or home meal deliveries?

Malice Domestic in pictures by Dru Ann Love

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This week I would be winging my way to Bethesda, Maryland for the annual Malice Domestic Convention. As we are still in the midst of a pandemic, this and other major reader/fan conventions have been canceled. Today’s post is a pictorial journey of the fun times had at previous Malice Domestic conventions. . .starting with 2010.

2010 in Crystal City, Virginia – This was my first time there and I was nervous as heck. I always thank Heather Webber from nudging me to attend.

2011 in Bethesda, Maryland

2012 in Bethesda, Maryland

2013 in Bethesda, Maryland

2014 in Bethesda, Maryland

2015 in Bethesda, Maryland

2016 in Bethesda, Maryland

2017 in Bethesda, Maryland – The year I won the MWA Raven Award

2018 in Bethesda, Maryland

2019 in Bethesda, Maryland – BOLO Books and dru’s book musings first ad in the Malice Domestic program book

2020 in Bethesda, Maryland

Who’s ready for the conventions in 2021? Albuquerque, Bethesda, and New Orleans, anyone?

I know I am.

2020 and J.D. Robb by Dru Ann Love

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2020 is here and we are already in the second month and with this post heading into the third month also known as my birthday month.

When 2020 starts, it means reader/fan conventions will soon be upon us. For the first time in several years, I’m not going to Left Coast Crime. I had planned to take an action, but the alignment that I needed wasn’t in the cards, so I’ll be missing LCC.

The next reader/fan convention I will be attending is Malice. This is by far my favorite event and 2020 is my eleventh year attending. It’s great to see friends you don’t see for a year and meet new ones that you meet via social media.

But before that, my first event of the year was attending a book signing with the one and only Nora Roberts aka J.D. Robb. The book signing was for Golden In Death, the 50th book in the In Death Series. The main reason for my attendance was for her to sign my book, and to see my photo in the inside jacket of the book cover. So how did that happen?

Her publisher put out a call for her J.D. Robb readers to submit a selfie with one of her book covers. When I first came on Facebook, I took a selfie of me wearing shades sitting in front a bookcase holding her book. I did not suspect I would win, because I never win a contest, but lo and behold, I got an email saying my photo made it in and I could not wait to see it.

So, my friends and I trekked to Boonsboro, MD and Turn The Page Bookstore and bought our book before it hit the shelves. It pays to own the bookstore and other properties in the area. I opened the book, scanned and gave out a yelp, because I found my photo. While waiting our turn to get our book signed, we dined at Vesta, yes, another location owned by Nora. But the best part was as I got closer to Nora, it was decided that she would stand, do I got my picture taken with a standing Nora.

The photos below tell the story of a wonderful adventure.

Turn The Page Bookstore

The signage

The tribe. Photo courtesy of Eleanor Cawood-Jones

Inn BoonsBoro

Vesta Pizzeria and Family Restaurant

Golden In Death

Inside jacket cover of Golden in Death featuring collage of selfies with a photo of a J.D. Robb book

Nora Roberts and ME!

A photo within a photo. Courtesy of  Eleanor Cawood Jones

My photo within the collage. Courtesy of Michael G. Mueller

What adventures do you have waiting for you?

Talking about polls by Dru Ann Love

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It’s that time again when I have to come up with a post. I struggle to find something readerly to talk about that hasn’t been done. I talked about the reader conventions I attended. I talked about the book signings I’ve gone too. I talked about subject matters that interested me.

So I ask, what do you want this avid reader/blogger on a writer’s blog to talk about?

Recently, I introduced weekly reading poll on my dru’s book musings Facebook page. Below are some of the results.

Do you like to have a snack or a drink while reading?

  • Yes (68%)
  • Sometimes (24%)
  • No (8%)

What should the central focus of a story be?

  • Character (49%)
  • Character/Setting/Plot (44%)
  • Plot (27%)

If you were a writer, what genre would you write?

  • mystery (44%)
  • cozy (25%)
  • suspense, thriller (13%)
  • paranormal (9%)
  • romance (9%)
  • historical (6%)
  • romantic suspense (4%)

Have you ever cried or shed a tear or two while reading a book?

  • Yes (98%)
  • No (2%)

Romance in your mysteries?

  • Yes (83%)
  • No (17%)

Type of book you bring when traveling?

  • E-book (74%)
  • Print (49%)
  • Audio (9%)

Do you review the books that you read?

  • Yes (46%)
  • Sometimes (46%)
  • No (8%)

Are there any questions you would like to know from my readers?

Are you surprised at these results?

Our Very Own Dru Ann Wins the Raven Award

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by Linda Rodriguez
On April 27th at the 71st
annual Edgar Awards Banquet in New York City, The Stiletto Gang’s own
Dru Ann Love will receive the prestigious Raven Award. The
Raven Award
is
a special award
given
for outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of
creative writing.
This award was first given in 1953. People and organizations, such as
Dorothy Kilgallen, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Alfred Hitchcock,
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Isaac
Bashevis Singer, Eudora Welty, Angela Lansbury, Bouchercon Mystery
Convention, Bill Clinton, Otto Penzsler, Center for the Book in the
Library of Congress, and Sisters in Crime, have won this award. And
now Dru Ann wins it for her dedication to the field and the
contributions her wonderful book blog, Dru’s Book Musings, has made
to the field of the mystery.

Dru
reviews a huge number of books every year, and her reviews are all
based on careful reading and high standards. She also hosts a series
called “A Day in the Life,” where authors write a post from the
viewpoint of a major character to give the reader a taste of that
author’s voice and characterization skills. Her book blog is a major
player in the strong field of book blogs that have replaced the
vanished book review sections of newspapers and magazines.

Those
of us who know her know that Dru Ann is a true aficionado of crime
fiction. She loves the field, the individual books, and the authors.
A fixture at the major conventions and a great supporter of the
entire field of crime writing, she’s kind and funny and smart as a
whip and a real professional. She’s also much loved by the crime
writing community, so this will be a very popular choice for the
Raven Award.

All
of her blogmates here at The Stiletto Gang have been very excited
by this news, and we all send her a huge CONGRATULATIONS! We couldn’t
be happier to see her reaping well-deserved recognition for the
important work she does. And on April 27th,
we’ll all be raising a glass of champagne to our dear Dru Ann as she
receives her award. 

Well done, Dru!

How I read what I read by Dru Ann

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

There’s no rhyme or reason as to the book I pick up to read unless it’s a new debut series. Since I don’t have the added deadline of writing a review, I can take my time in reading and become involved in a book. My goal is to review at least 4 books per month with at least one a traditional mystery since most of the books I read are cozies.

How do I pick which debut series book to read?

It will come down to several factors and the top will be if I know the author and this can be attributed to if I have chatted with them via social media, if I met them at a reader/fan convention, or if I have met them at a book signing. Those connection put the author one up on others as I’m curious as to their writing style and their voice.

Next will be the cover. Yes, I’m very visual and the cover is always the first thing I see when I discover a new-to me book. I love covers that allude to what’s inside and there are several publishers that have some of the best covers out there. One thing I do dislike are covers with too much information on the front. The point is to get me to turn to the back of the book.

Next up is the blurb/synopsis/back of the book. Give it to me straight. Give me that teaser that tells me what are between the pages, yet will spurn me to open up the book and read the first few pages. If at an online retailer, it will be that synopsis that will have me clicking to read a few pages.

Next is my visit to the author’s website and please, please, let it be up-to-date. If I don’t see your new book on your website, that will discourage me to go further. I should also see a little bit more about what the book is about, more than what I find on the back cover.

And because this is how I reach out to authors to do a guest post on my blog, (dru’s book musings), please have your contact information on your blog, particularly your email address. I really do not like filling out those forms.

How do I pick which book to read on a regular basis? Sometimes it depends on my mood.

I have my auto-buy authors that I automatically will put on hold any book that I’m reading to read their book when it comes out. My friends know who this author is. There are other authors and I just realized that half are cozy authors and the other half run the spectrum between suspense, thriller and traditional mystery authors.

If I want to read a thriller, I have my tried and true authors that I’ll read. I’m not one for experimenting with new thriller authors. Although, if I meet them at a reader/fan conference or a book signing, I might read their book.

I’m much more flexible when it comes to suspense books, and again I do have my tried and true authors that I will read. And yes, if I met them at a reader/fan conference, I will give them a chance.

Then there are the mysteries – either traditional or cozies. I read what I like and I’m more willing to try a new-to-me author in this genre, but again, there are some books I will not read due to the subject matter contained within the pages.

Sometimes on that rare occasion, I will pick a book by the “eeny, meeny, miny, moe” method.

I wish I could read all the books that I want to read, but it’s not possible. So I do the best I can to enjoy those books that I do read.

How many books do I read? On average I read 15-20 books per month. That is actually less than I did previously. And according to Pew Research, in 2015 fewer Americans are reading print books (72% vs. 76% in 2014). However, I’m ahead of the game as Americans read, on average, 12 books in the past year.

Anyway, that’s how I pick books to read.

Do you have a similar or different way of choosing which book you are reading?

The Road to My Anthony Nomination–Special Post by Dru Ann Love

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  • Extremely excited and thrilled
    that my peers nominated dru’s book musing

  • Extremely
    nervous because what if I win
  • I’ll
    have to stand in front of an audience and talk
  • Boosted
    by friends
  • Nervous
    again
  • I’m
    up against Hank!
  • I’m
    up against Kate!
  • It
    was suggested that I write an acceptance speech
  • Wrote
    it and it is 2 minutes long
  • As
    the week becomes days, I’m excited yet nervous
  • I’m
    up against Hank!
  • I’m
    up against Kate!
  • I
    already know I have at least one vote – mine
  • I’m
    simply honored that I was nominated
  • My
    blog was nominated for an Anthony Award for Best Critical or Non-Fiction Work
 Thank you!

Dru Ann

Drusbookmusing.com