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Happy Friday!

Yes, I’ve been out of the loop the past couple of weeks … book deadline, college trip with my daughter, novella I’m writing with Laura, my daughter’s 18th birthday, and just yesterday I received 11 pages of notes from my editor on COMPULSION (Max Revere #2). The good news is that she loves the book and the story — and the other good news is that I have lots of revisions! Yes, I love revisions. I can take a good story and make it the best it can be because of editorial input. Most of the notes are about specifics (specific comments about a scene detail, awkward phrasing, need to be clearer or cut repetition, etc.) The big notes are in the first two pages and I spent yesterday making my own notes on her notes so that I know exactly how I’m going to fix the problems.

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Tagged with: Allison Brennan, Compulsion, Dead Heat, Lucy Kincaid, Max Revere, Notorious, writer's life, writing
Posted in Allison Brennan, Writing Life

Weekend Wrap

It’s Friday, but my weekend is starting … as soon as I take my three youngest kids to the dentist for their annual check-up. Then, my oldest daughter comes home from Phoenix for Easter weekend! I just saw her when I was in Arizona, but it’s always great to have her home.

Yesterday, I took my husband to the Giants/Dodgers game. As many of you know, I love the Giants … and Dan loves the Dodgers. The Dodgers won, but that’s okay since the tickets were his birthday present. The Giants won the first two games in the series … 🙂

On Monday, I’m taking my daughter Kelly to visit three colleges on the East Coast — it’ll be a whirlwind three days, but that’s okay! She has a major decision to make buy April 30th … which also happens to be her 18th birthday.

I’m also finishing a novella this weekend, my half of the second book Laura Griffin and I are co-writing in the Moreno & Hart Mystery Series. HIT AND RUN will be out late July! But until then … Laura has FAR GONE out now, and my NOTORIOUS is still available. Also, book #8 in the Lucy Kincaid series — DEAD HEAT — is out on June 3.

Next week I have an exclusive excerpt from DEAD HEAT, plus a guest blogger on Wednesday. I’m hoping to post about my travel through the East next Friday … if I’ve recuperated enough! I’ll be posting pictures on my Facebook page, so check in there.

It’s a busy few weeks. I wish you all a blessed and safe Easter weekend.

Tagged with: baseball, Easter, family, Laura Griffin, Lucy Kincaid
Posted in Allison Brennan, Writing Life

Left Coast Crime – Calamari Crime!

Left Coast Crime is fast becoming one of my favorite conferences, for three primary reasons:

1. Location. It’s on the “left” half of the country and much easier for me to travel to. Two years ago it was in Sacramento! This year … Monterey, a three hour drive. Much easier (and cheaper) than spending a day flying cross-country.

2. Intimacy. LCC is neither large nor small, it’s just right. I have the opportunity to catch up with old friends and meet new ones.

3. Readers. LCC is one of the few conferences that still is largely filled with reader — meaning readers who aren’t also writers.

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Tagged with: Allison Brennan, books, Calamari Crime, Catherine Coulter, conference, Deborah Coonts, Harley Jane Kozak, left coast crime, Monterey, readers, writers, writers conferences
Posted in Allison Brennan, Books, Books, Books!, Writing Life

Speaking to Kids

I love speaking to kids. They’re usually attentive, interested, and full of questions. So when the opportunity arose to speak during Writer’s Week at my old alma mater, Menlo School, I jumped.

Menlo School is a college prep high school (with a middle school for grades 6-8) and honestly, one of the best schools I’ve seen. What I learned there in four years was certainly college prep–I read books that most people read in college, I was pushed to perform at an advanced level. All classes were, essentially, AP classes. They didn’t have any separate AP or honors classes, and everyone was expected to take AP tests in the subjects they were good at. I took American History and English Lit and passed with 4s.

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Tagged with: Allison Brennan, high school, Menlo School, reading, speaking, teachers, writing
Posted in Allison Brennan, Writing Life

Road Trip!

I’m going on a road trip with my college-bound daughter and my mom 🙂 Fortunately, my husband is able to hold down the fort with the younger Brennan clan. I suspect they’ll be eating pizza and playing video games.

Kelly as Juliet in I HATE SHAKESPEARE

Kelly has applied to a dozen colleges, six on the west coast and six on the east coast. This weekend is Southern Oregon University’s preview weekend for seniors — and it’s one of her top choices. They have a fabulous Theater program, plus very strong art and English programs, which encompasses her interests pretty well. We’re also going to make a stop in Eugene to glance at Oregon University, though we don’t have an official tour there.

I spent two years at UC Santa Cruz and didn’t graduate. I dropped out to take a job in the Capitol and may have told myself at the time that I would go back to college someday, but I think deep down I always knew that was a lie. Ironically, I was a good student. I went to a college prep high school (Menlo School) and had good grades and college should have been a no brainer for me. My mistake? I didn’t live on campus my first year and never felt connected to college or anyone there. Had I lived in the dorms, I suspect I would have stayed. But, that’s one of those things that you just don’t know, and we can’t go back and have a redo to see if we’re right.

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Posted in Allison Brennan, Writing Life

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