We have been asked by the DorothyL moderators to post our memories of DorothyL in preparation for a presentation they'll be doing at Left Coast Crime. Someone posted about how DorothyL had changed her life, and I responded with a message about how it had changed mine. I had so many positive responses that I decided to copy it here.
Now that I think about it, DorothyL changed my life, too.
If I hadn't joined DorothyL 10 years ago, I'd never have heard of Jerrilyn Farmer. Putting IMMACULATE RECEPTION on my Top Ten list for 1999 garnered me an invitation to the launch party for KILLER WEDDING.
I lived in Boston at the time, and decided the KILLER WEDDING party would be a perfect excuse to visit my brother in Los Angeles. I remember taking a taxi from their home in West Hollywood to Vroman's in Pasadena ($40 cab ride, but the driver was an LA native who gave me a great commentary on the way), and meeting a bunch of DLers, including C.J. Songer who was, for some reason, very excited to meet me!
That visit to LA made me decide to move across country, and I set up residence in Long Beach in September of 2000.
And, if I hadn't moved to California, I'd never have met my Prince Charming, whom I married in 2004, in a lovely ceremony on the Queen Mary. So, thank you, DorothyL and Jerrilyn Farmer for helping me find the love of my life.
26 January 2007
16 January 2007
Just finished reading...
Forever in Blue: the fourth summer of the sisterhood by AnnBrashares
This is supposed to be the last installment in the Travelling Pants series, although the ending does seem to leave open the option for a sequel or a spin-off.
In this book, the four friends are all in college in various parts of the country. They've been unable to actually all get together for some time, and have been relying on emails, telephone calls and the Pants to keep them connected.
After this first year of college, they all face more "grown-up" challenges: a pregnancy scare, a malicious roommate, and how to know when you're really in love. One thing that they all learn: although the closeness and generosity of their friendship has made them a bit naive about relationships in "the real world", they are all confident and capable young women, even without the Pants.
This is supposed to be the last installment in the Travelling Pants series, although the ending does seem to leave open the option for a sequel or a spin-off.
In this book, the four friends are all in college in various parts of the country. They've been unable to actually all get together for some time, and have been relying on emails, telephone calls and the Pants to keep them connected.
After this first year of college, they all face more "grown-up" challenges: a pregnancy scare, a malicious roommate, and how to know when you're really in love. One thing that they all learn: although the closeness and generosity of their friendship has made them a bit naive about relationships in "the real world", they are all confident and capable young women, even without the Pants.
08 January 2007
Just finished reading....
I've had a cold for the past few days, and spent yesterday lying on the couch reading.
I finished The Body in the Ivy , Katherine Hall Page's latest Faith Fairchild mystery.
It's an homage to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None , the story about 10 people stranded on an island with a murderer. In Page's book, Faith is hired to cater a mini-reunion of college friends on an island owned by a reclusive writer known as Barbara Baily Bishop. Bishop's twin sister died after their college graduation. Certain it was a murder, she's lured the "old gang" to the island under various pretexts to determine the killer's identity. Lots of Christie references here, but it's still definitely a Katherine Hall Page book.
I also read most of Knitting Under the Influence by Claire LaZebnik. The story of three friends who knit together on a regular basis, it's total chick-lit. That doesn't mean it's not well-written, or a fun read, especially when one's head is fuzzy from cold medicine.
I finished The Body in the Ivy , Katherine Hall Page's latest Faith Fairchild mystery.
It's an homage to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None , the story about 10 people stranded on an island with a murderer. In Page's book, Faith is hired to cater a mini-reunion of college friends on an island owned by a reclusive writer known as Barbara Baily Bishop. Bishop's twin sister died after their college graduation. Certain it was a murder, she's lured the "old gang" to the island under various pretexts to determine the killer's identity. Lots of Christie references here, but it's still definitely a Katherine Hall Page book.
I also read most of Knitting Under the Influence by Claire LaZebnik. The story of three friends who knit together on a regular basis, it's total chick-lit. That doesn't mean it's not well-written, or a fun read, especially when one's head is fuzzy from cold medicine.
02 January 2007
Happy New Year!
We had a very quiet NY Eve. I went to bed around 11 cuz we had to be up fairly early to leave for the Rose Bowl game. I did wake up at midnight, though, when the neighbours' kids set off firecrackers.
We left the house about 10 a.m. on NY Day. The trick is to get to the parking lot after all the parade people have left, and before it's packed with football people. We were really frustrated, though, because we had to go around in circles to get to the Parsons lot where we usually park, and then found out it was for pass-holders only. We ended up parking in Old Town, and had lunch at Il Fornaio. We had to really rush, though, because of all the time it took us to find a parking spot. The food was great, though, and we'll have to go back sometime when we're not so rushed.
Of course it was wonderful that USC won the game. I must say that the Michigan fans are a lot more civilized than either the Texas or UCLA fans.
After the game, we stood in the shuttle bus line for about 1/2 hours, and then finallyl just decided to walk back to our car. We stopped at Beckham's Grill for dinner. Fabulous meal, and great service!
Some thoughts that came up while we were driving in circles looking for a parking spot:
1. Why don't the Tournament of Roses organizers put out a press release about access to parking? Every time we go, they change the way to get into the Parsons lot, and we end up driving around and around to find the way to get in.
2. The vendors at the Rose Bowl (and the Coliseum, and other sports venues) sell sodas, water, beer, and sometimes wine. Why don't they have bottled iced tea, or juices?
3. Speaking of vendors at sports venues, I'd love to be able to get a chocolate chip cookie at a game. It shouldn't be too hard to have packaged cookies... or even set up a stall where they bake 'em.
We left the house about 10 a.m. on NY Day. The trick is to get to the parking lot after all the parade people have left, and before it's packed with football people. We were really frustrated, though, because we had to go around in circles to get to the Parsons lot where we usually park, and then found out it was for pass-holders only. We ended up parking in Old Town, and had lunch at Il Fornaio. We had to really rush, though, because of all the time it took us to find a parking spot. The food was great, though, and we'll have to go back sometime when we're not so rushed.
Of course it was wonderful that USC won the game. I must say that the Michigan fans are a lot more civilized than either the Texas or UCLA fans.
After the game, we stood in the shuttle bus line for about 1/2 hours, and then finallyl just decided to walk back to our car. We stopped at Beckham's Grill for dinner. Fabulous meal, and great service!
Some thoughts that came up while we were driving in circles looking for a parking spot:
1. Why don't the Tournament of Roses organizers put out a press release about access to parking? Every time we go, they change the way to get into the Parsons lot, and we end up driving around and around to find the way to get in.
2. The vendors at the Rose Bowl (and the Coliseum, and other sports venues) sell sodas, water, beer, and sometimes wine. Why don't they have bottled iced tea, or juices?
3. Speaking of vendors at sports venues, I'd love to be able to get a chocolate chip cookie at a game. It shouldn't be too hard to have packaged cookies... or even set up a stall where they bake 'em.
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