Five on Friday - Kelli Stanley

Wowee! It's been quite a week, hasn't it? Hope you're enjoying your Friday and have something super fun to read this weekend.

We have to send out congrats to Steve Hamilton. THE LOCK ARTIST, one of my very favorite books, has been optioned for film by Shane Salerno. Salerno may sound familiar because he's responsible for getting Don Winslow's SAVAGES to film. But you know me, I'm sure whatever they come up with won't be good enough. BUT...at least it will draw attention to THE LOCK ARTIST.

The Anthony nominations and the Macavity nominations have been announced. Congrats to this year's nominees for both both awards.

I've been around the web lately. I did an interview for Dana Kaye's 365 Days of Publicity blog on Monday. And while it's not a crime novel - it's not a novel at all - I did this interview for Shelf Awareness with Rupinder Gill. I loved her memoir called ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING INDIAN. Rupinder is a blast and I've been recommending her book to everyone lately. I also did this interview with Amanda Padoan and Peter Zuckerman about their book BURIED IN THE SKY. It's absolutely amazing. And while it's terrifying because it is real, it would make for a great crime novel setting! I will be adding to that interview here on the blog next week, so stay tuned for that.

O.k. that's enough about me. This week Kelli Stanley celebrated her birthday, so today's Five on Friday is a perfect time to celebrate her. The award-winning author of the Miranda Corbie series as well as what Kelli terms "Roman Noir," Kelli is not only one of the most talented but she's also one of the nicest people you'll find in this publishing industry. So let's take a gander at what Kelli chose for this week's Five on Friday:

1. My favorite place to read is: Anywhere … I’ve read while washing dishes and riding a horse. My favorite place to read is probably bed, though it depends on what I’m reading: if it’s research for a novel, I’d rather read at my desk or in the library, because research exhilarates me and keeps me from sleeping.

2. The last movie I saw was: Dark Shadows. I adored Barnabas Collins when I was a little girl. I enjoyed the movie, but thought the ending should have been much tighter … family is one of the main themes, and Tim Burton and the hit-and-miss, rather lackadaisical script, did not provide a satisfyingly cathartic conclusion or honest exploration of family (as, for example, Edward Scissor Hands did). And the soap opera excuse be damned … you can leave the viewer wanting more and give her a conclusion at the same time. Mystery writers do it all the time! On the other hand, I really loved The Avengers. Joss Whedon put back intelligent fun into the comic book movie.

3. The most famous person I ever met was: I’ve met a fair number of famous people. Robin Williams, Anton LaVey and Paul Kantner were all regular customers at our comic book store in San Francisco (and Nicholas Cage and Carey Elwes did a drive-by). I’ve met Jason Robards, Anne Hathaway, Robert Downey, Jr., Dame Judi Dench, and a number of other actors I admire, but probably my most interesting experience was as an undergraduate at the University of Dallas. I met Greer Garson at a performance of Sweeney Todd, shared a very interesting discussion with her one on one, and, with a group of friends, drove her and her husband back home.

4. My favorite kind of cookie is: Oatmeal, with walnuts and chocolate chips. But my one true love of cookiedom is less common: we used to call them “killer cookies”, and they’re made with cocoa, peanut butter, oats, nuts, coconut and they’re refrigerated, not baked.


5. The #1 item on my bucket list right now is: Getting healthy. It may sound simple, but without good, stable health, you can’t enjoy anything else (like driving across the U.S. on a coast-to-coast road trip, another item on the “list”). Of course, I’d like to get on the New York Times Bestseller List, too, but that’s beyond my control! 

Reading on a horse. Now that's quite a fete. I wish we had a picture of THAT! Kelli, sending you many wishes for a wonderful, successful and healthy year.

Thanks for stopping by for this week's Five on Friday! Have a super great weekend and happy reading everyone!