Today we all celebrate the most fun ethnic holiday.  What I love most about St. Patrick’s Day is the all-embracing subtext.  Consider, the list of Irish saints is past counting, but the most celebrated is St. Patrick, who was an Irishman only by adoption. 

And I love the universal feeling of good will”

May your blessings outnumber
the shamrocks that grow,
and may trouble avoid you
wherever you go.

And may you be in heaven an hour before the devil knows you’re dead.

In this blog I like to point you to worthy additions to your personal library.  One of the folks who wrote a blurb for Russian Roulette also writes the most fun mystery series I know of.  Robert Randisi writes what might loosely be called an historical series featuring Frank, Dean, Sammy and the rest of the Rat Pack.  Las Vegas in the 1960s was a dangerous place and Randisi has a great feel for the era and location.  The book titles play on the titles of Rat Pack member songs, like the latest book, Hey There (you with the gun in your hand.)

The real protagonist of these novels is Eddie Gianelli who works at the Sands Hotel.  In this book, Sammy Davis Jr. is being blackmailed and Frank Sinatra asks Eddie to handle the money drop.  This simple errand leads to a dead body and soon Eddie finds himself trying to solve a murder despite the interference of JFK’s Secret Service agents.  Randisi is having so much fun writing these books that we can’t help but have a good time too.  This book belongs in your library.

This week wasn’t much for book signing, but I taught a writing class at Anne Arundel Community College and spent a lot of time preparing for the release of Russian Roulette in June.  I have new bookmarks, and have ordered both a mailing list of mystery readers and the post cards I’ll be sending. Coasters and a print ad are in the design phase.  I’ve received blurbs for the book from some great friends.  And I’ve mailed out about 50 pre-release review copies

 Very soon I’ll be inviting you all to a couple of giant release parties, showing you the new book trailer and telling you how you can get your own free copy of the new novel.  If you want the details, read my main blog. 

Friday evenings are often good for book signings, and I’ll try one this week.  I’ll settle in at the big Borders in Waldorf, MD at 6 pm.  If you’re in the area, find us at 3304-A Crain Highway.

I’ve received a lot of comments on my books lately, so I try to share a different one here each week. Today I’d like to mention Diane Leslie.

Diane has become a pal since we met last fall at a holiday craft event.  She has read her way, one at a time, through the Hannibal Jones series and has sent me a flattering note after each book.  Most recently she sent a simple e-mail that said, “I finished The Troubleshooter today - another excellent book.  Riveting up the end.  Once again, I wish I knew Hannibal Jones - a good guy to know.”  Then she asked me to send her a copy of The Payback Assignment so she could start my other series.  I was happy to mail her an autographed copy. 

Diane was also kind enough to post a review of Blood and Bone on Amazon.com.  With so many kind comments to choose from I picked that one to be my featured review this week and posted it front-and-center on my web site.  Thank you, Diane, for being such a loyal fan.

March is Women’s History Month and one has to wonder why half the race gets its history sorted out separately.  To be fair, the history of just men seems equally odd to me.

 But for inspiration, there is no better source than some of the ladies who have seen challenging times.  Often, when I stand in front of an audience to speak I take a deep breath and recall the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, a woman who understood the secret of overcoming your fears:

 ”You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, “I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” . . . You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

 BTW, if you missed me the last couple of days, come join me today at the Borders Express in the Mall at Columbia.  I’ll sign books there from 2 pm to 5 pm.  The store is at 10300 Little Patuxent Pkwy, Columbia, MD.

Tonight I present a talk to the Northern Virginia Writers and it’s not too late to join us for dinner at 6 pm at the Lightfoot Restaurant, 11 North King St., Leesburg, VA.

I’ll spend tomorrow at Carroll Community College at the annual Random House Book Fair.  I’ll be joined by a slew of local and national authors who will give talks and signings all day, or at least from 9 am to 4 pm.  Students supply live music, and there will be lots of kid’s activities including free books.  The silent auction is a chance to find some real treasures and all the proceeds go benefit Carroll Community College’s student scholarships.  The college is at 1601 Washington Rd, Westminster MD.  If you’re in the area you should stop by.

Friday night I present a talk to the Northern Virginia Writers.  On the first Friday of each month they hold a dinner event for local authors.  This month I get to be their featured speaker.  I have prepared a talk called “Hooks and Books” that explores how writers can get readers hooked on their stories and then how to get readers to buy our books.  Dinner starts at 6 pm at the Lightfoot Restaurant, 11 North King St., Leesburg VA.

It was a cold, wet, ugly weekend but I still had a great time at the South Carolina Book Festival.  For two days the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center was alive with local, regional, and national book dealers, antiquarians, publishers, authors and book lovers.  Aside from meeting a number of great people I signed a good number of my novels for new fans. 

The biggest reason I had so much fun was that I was hanging with my fellow authors from Echelon Press the whole time.  I could try to tell you just why that was so cool, but it will be easier to show you.  Luckily, publisher Karen Syed captured a slice of the silliness in her blog, “The Life of a Publisher.”

You can get an alternative view of the fun from fellow author Regan Black, who did a lot to keep the Echelon ship afloat over the weekend – greeting readers, stocking books and keeping a smile for all comers. 

In other news, I was recently invited to be a guest blogger on “Acme Authors Link” which is a great spot to be, since several of my favorite writers hang out there.  This is definitely a writer’s site, with new tips on writing craft, networking and marketing posted every day.  Sunday was my first official fill in posting, and I’m kinda proud of it.