I spent most of Friday roaming around SF, taking pictures and basically just soaking up the locale for my third MONK novel, tentatively entitled MR. MONK AND THE BLUE FLU. This is my second research trip to SF. Although I grew up in the Bay Area, I don’t know the city as well as I would like…at least not if I’m going to be writing about it.
In the evening, I made my way over the traffic-clogged Bay Bridge to Berkeley where I was the guest at Mystery Reader International’s "At Home" author chat…held, appropriately, at MRI leader Janet Rudolph’s hillside home. Among the attendees were author David Corbett and Left Coast Crime/Bouchercon Monterey organizers extraordinare Bill & Toby Gottfried. I told my usual lies and exaggerations and a good time was had by all (especially me).
Now I’m sitting in San Mateo, where I will be interviewed today by the founder of a MONK fanclub/website and signing THE MAN WITH THE IRON-ON BADGE at 2pm at M IS FOR MYSTERY. Then it’s a long, six-hour drive back to L.A…listening to music on my iPod and a book-on-tape (I finished listening to the lastest Spenser, SCHOOL DAYS, and wasn’t wowed. It’s one of the weakest entries in the series…but at least Susan wasn’t in it, which was a plus).
I thought SCHOOL DAYS was a pretty solid entry in the series. What did you think was weak?
I agree with Keith. School Days was one of my favorites of the recent Spenser books.
Maybe it didn’t translate well to audio, though.
SCHOOL DAYS was absolutely fantastic. It was “back to basics” Spenser.
Lee,
Enjoyed meeting you face-to-face in San Mateo on Saturday. Enjoyed your story about a book cover that allegedly featured a rocket ship. Now that I have read The Man with the Iron-on Badge (in one sitting on Saturday night!), I wondered what you thought about its cover.
KeithR