There are 399 Web Log Items in 50 pages and you are on page number 21 |
| Aimless comments, I'm afraid |
Hi again guestbookers and ARFs'an' F 'an F (Ann Rule's Fans, Friends, and Fanatics)
That should include everyone unless you want to add "Fruitcakes" and "Freed Felons?"
It is very hot in Seattle--well hot, FOR Seattle. Must be over 80.I've been out planting and watering for about three hours and the sweat was just running off of me. Maybe I've lost 3 or 4 pounds? Probably not.
Carolyn in Phoenix! This is an old friend, folks, who once dated my brother who died at 21, and I'm always so glad to hear from her. I've been signing and speaking in Phoenix about 3 times, but since I'm not really touring any more, I don't know when I'll be there again. With the advent of the Internet, us road-weary authors don't have to travel from city to city as much as we used to. I love to meet my readers on my tour stops, but I HATE the in-between travel, the lack of sleep and the worries of being so far from home for weeks and weeks. Whenever I am in a new city researching or attending a trial, though, I will always do my best to set up some signings, as I plan to do in the Atlanta area this fall, and maybe in Augusta, too.
Someone wondered what is in my refrigerator? Probably much like your own. I took a survey and jotted down the items there. This is not counting the freezer part or the small freezer under my house, where I keep bargains I get at the Grocery Outlet. The Grocery Outlet is kind of like "day-old," and "surplus." You never know what you will find there. My grandchildren AND my children along with them tease me about my "day-old baked goods." They say, "Grandma? Are these the same doughnuts you bought in 1987? " I swear they aren't! Remember Debbie Reynolds in that movie with Albert Brooks? He teased her about keeping ice cream too long, and she explained the ice that had formed on the top was "protective crystals." My son Mike teases me about that.
Any of us who have gone through a really poor period where groceries weren't easy to come by will understand the fascination with day-old and surplus bargain stuff! Right?
I have lots and lots of condiments in my refrigerator--salad dressings, catsup, mustard, jam and jelly, horse radish, Chinese marinades, Barbecue sauce, chocolate and strawberry syrup for ice cream and everything else you can pack into the door, and usually forget you have until it's outdated.. Frozen Orange Juice which isn't frozen any longer and probably will taste awful when I take the lid off. Hardly ever have milk of any kind--but lots of cheeses: cream cheese with chives, sharp cheddar, Mozzarella, string cheese, Brie cheese (wish I'd never found out how good this is!), non-fat cheese (Ickkk!), cheese logs rolled in nuts since Christmas, Kraft spreadable cheese in those little glass jars that become drinking glasses, but they don't have the neat ones anymore with designs on them. Lettuce, broccoli (some green, some turned yellow which goes in the mulch pile) tomatoes, peppers (sweet only ), celery, cucumbers, bags of salad mix, zuchinnis (I didn't grow myself). Some bowls or plastic containers of pale gray stuff with fuzz on the top? Don't know what it once was. Bologna to coax the dogs in at night, and occasionally bacon for BLT's. Eggs, often outdated. A container of baking soda. Bread and hamburger buns because I don't eat enough to use up a loaf and leave it on the counter, and then IT grows green fuzz. Right now, I have some tough chuck steaks, which I hope have turned tender. I bought this neat thing on an "In the Kitchen With Bob" segment on QVC. When you lean on it, there are about 35 razor-sharp blades that puncture the meat. Then I've been marinading the chuck steak in sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, vinegar and water. I tried it earlier in the week and it really turned out great. Nothing exotic in my frig, I'm afraid. No orchids, artichokes, caviar, truffles or such. Oh, there is a tiny little jar called "Antipasto," and it's tomatoes, shrimp, peppers and capers, about 3 oz and it cost $7.95! I bought it from a friend's store. It's good on Triscuits.
On the freezer side, I have some Ben and Jerry Cherrie's Garcia, some plain vanilla, several bags of frozen peas or corn, tater tots, hot dogs, and some mystery envelopes that I put leftover lentil soup or maybe turkey stroganoff or Heaven knows what in? They will end up mixed into puppy nuggets for Lucy and Willow, I suspect. I have to learn to write names and dates on my plastic freezer bags!
So that's it for the glamourous life of a crime writer. That's probably enough excitement for tonight. Next time, I'll describe my closet--a project if there ever was one! Sigh.
I wonder what Keith Carradine keeps in his refrigerator?
I'll be sending back signed mousepads by Monday, and I've already signed and sent others.
Have a recommendation for a good movie. Definitely a chick flick. I was surprised to see that the producer who hired me to write a screen play 25 years ago and didn't seem so sensitive then is the producer of this movie about a series of vignettes of lonely women. It's called: You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her. I rented it from Net Flix. Also have TransAmerica, but I haven't seen it yet.
The case of Velma Whitehead just arrested in the murder of her husband, Ron, a year ago. This happened about four miles from my house, and it was very strange that someone pulled him out of his car at a not-busy intersection during the early commute hours and shot him. I might very well write this case in one of my True Crime Files books. There's a lot of unfolding to do yet, though. It's just hit the news last night.
All my best!
Ann |
| Posted by Ann on Saturday, June 24, 2006 at 18:26 |
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| This, That, and the Other |
Hi Everyone!
Welcome to all the new names! It's really nice to have you join us! I invite everyone who writes to me, hoping they'll continue on to all the sections of my website pages, but especially to join the gang at the Guestbook.
I'm here, and I've been reading the guestbook a couple of times a day, but I've been awfully busy. I had the proposal to write for my memoirs--and it turned out to be so much harder than I thought it was! Writing about someone else is relatively easy, but when you sit down to tell your own secrets, triumphs, failures, embarrassments, scary times, broken romances, tragedies and all, I found it hit me hard. It's easier to remember one incident at a time and that's how we all usually recall the past. I experienced a landslide of memories all at once. It was something like the time a few years ago when I went back to Pennsylvania for the umpteenth reunion of my high school class. I hadn't seen my classmates for more than forty years, and we only had about six hours to talk. Each of us had been through so much, and so many dreams hadn't come true. It made me sad. But, all in all, I'm still enthusiastic about the memoir. My agents asked me to speed it up a bit and just come up with the sensational stuff for the proposal! Gee, gals, if I only had slept with a whole bunch of celebrities,(Instead of making jokes about my vacation), it would make a much more interesting book. Shelly Winters just had to talk into a tape recorder, I'll bet, for her first memoir: Burt Lancaster, Vittorio Gassman, and all those other lovers she had. No such luck for me. :*( Still, I've had me some adventures in my day--police stuff, inadvertently having dinner with a killer or two, riding along with the paramedics, the firefighters, the cops, and hanging out in homicide. Not to mention spending every summer in my grandpa's jail. I think I can make this work. Micki's the one who has a book to write, too. I'll keep nagging her.
Diane D. Don't you live near Clatsop County? Will you send me your resume privately to AnnieR37@aol.com I do have some friends there that might help with a job.
Every time I see "Rooney's" name and RayAnn, I kind of jump. They used to call me "Rooney" when I was a child--for "Little Annie Rooney." And my name is Ann Rae, just the opposite of RayAnn.
IBM Selectrics! How excited I was when I could first afford a "B" model--used--and its corrective tape. It seemed as though I could write like the wind! Who ever even imagined computers?!! Remember carbon paper, and having to insert each new sheet? How did we manage?
It seems as though right now we have so many people on here feeling depressed, and I wish we could reach out and hug them. But we're all here for you, and would help more if we could. Unless you've been there, I don't think anyone can visualize what depression feels like. I have been lucky and haven't experienced long-term clinical depression or post-partum depression, but I've sure had down times in my life, all of them situational. When you have the added burden of chemical imbalance, I'm sure it's tough to see that there is sunshine around the corner, or around the next few corners. I think I've probably suffered more with anxiety than with depression--usually after a broken heart. And who all hasn't ever been a fool for love? I've been first in the fool line for that!
Before Sharon Roche's book came out, I was approached by her attorney to ghost-write it. I don't ghost write, and so I had to say "No." I don't know who helped her, but they did a good job. I would never criticize Sharon. I do feel that SOME parents have turned the loss of their children into a cottage industry after they became dazzled by their own instant celebrity, but I don't count Sharon among them. And I even hate to say that the others may have lost sight of why they first became media darlings because I haven't been where they are. Losing a child has to be the worst tragedy one can experience, and I pray I never am where they have been.
I bought a great special plant--don't know if I've mentioned it before. It's a black sweet potato vine with a delicate pale lavender flower. And I have some bulbs that are so spectacular that I can't even remember buying them--one with tall tropical spears about 4 feet tall, with brilliant flowers of red or yellow down near the base. I have managed to plant almost everything that I bought now, and it's about time. Did anyone get the Bernita seeds to germinate? I feel like such a failure with them. I do have six or seven tiny zuchinnis on the way. Maybe this will be my successful year with them?
On Unger, the man in Michigan convicted of throwing his wife off the dock at the lake, I'm inclined to think he is guilty. There is motive, means and opportunity, there. His dramatics seemed contrived to me, and I wonder why on earth Flo would have stayed on the dock in the full dark when she was so afraid of the dark? And why wouldn't he check on her before the next morning? None of it came together for me in any way that made sense to me. She was a lovely young woman, wasn't she? Her mother seemed to me to be a husband's worst nightmare, but maybe she only got so dramatic and vindictive after she lost her daughter? She seemed an actress, too,at the funeral, the trial and in other interviews. Maybe the two families are just naturally dramatic? Unger wasn't very attractive and I wondered why Flo had married him in the first place since he didn't exhibit much charisma? Just my quick thoughts after seeing Dateline last night.
I've had my troubles lately. One of the people I've written about is sueing me, and I really hate to be sued. I am so careful with my research and try to read all the public records I can and talk to the witnesses, families, friends, and the person--if they will agree to talk with me. And to present both sides: defense and prosecution. This one would not talk to me or write to me, and is now saying I never asked. Can't tell you more until this is over, I'm afraid.
I have written about good cops and state troopers before who were killed in the line of duty, and I've been to too many funerals for young lawmen. It breaks my heart. I think it was Sally who wrote about being the first to reach a mortally wounded state trooper? I don't know the circumstances of that case so I cant say if I could write about it.
Have to sign off for tonight. But first. . . I love Fannie Flagg's books. I still watch her on re-runs of Match Game, and she is witty and pretty, but she can't spell worth a darn! I always think she must need a really good copy editor for her books. I wait anxiously for each one to come out, though. There is no connection between intelligence and spelling, by the way.
Another author in that genre that I really, really love is Michael Lee West. See Below: You won't go wrong on any of these books!
Crazy Ladies : A Novel
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2. Mad Girls In Love [BARGAIN PRICE]
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Excerpt from Back Matter: "... Perennial Books by Michael Lee West: CRAZY LADIES ISBN 0-06-097774-4 A lively, multigenerational tale of six ..."
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4. American Pie : A Novel
by Michael Lee West (Paperback - October 1, 1997)
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Excerpt from Page 16: "... Is MICHAEL LEE WEST "Okay, here's an oldie." I licked salt from a pretzel. ..."
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5. She Flew the Coop : A Novel Concerning Life, Death, Sex and Recipes in Limoges, Louisiana
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Excerpt from Page 14: "... 14 MICHAEL LEE WEST hurt Mama-all the other husbands sitting with their wives, fanning ..."
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Time to go, really, now,gang! I'm starving, and the wonderful hot day is fading into a cool evening and all my doors are open. Was supposed to have an interesting gentleman on my deck tonight--but I got stood up! Hate when that happens.
Love,
Ann
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| Posted by Ann on Friday, June 23, 2006 at 20:36 |
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| I'm Backkkkkkkk. . . . |
Hi Everyone!
It's Father's Day and my good wishes go out to all the kind, responsible, loving fathers! I've tried to hint to my kids that, since I've been both mother and father to them for all these years, I should get a Father's Day present, too! So far, no takers. I know there lots of ARFs who play both roles, too--so I say Happy Father's Day to you! I've been writing my proposal to convince my editors to let me write my memoirs, and just that is almost 40 pages! I have to admit that going back through the years has me living through the bad and scary times again. That is a surprise to me--didn't think it would get to me any longer--but it did. But at least I know we all came out the other end! And there are lots of funny times, too.
I have my special mousepad "Fancy Anne" made for me, and it is so nice! Heart-Shaped. I'm glad those of you who have received yours like them! And think of all the free publicility I'm going to get when you take them to work. Bless You.
Have a question. I'm putting the ARF's in the acknowledgment section of NO REGRETS--not your individual names (which would take pages and pages), but ARF's, and I can't remember. Does it stand for Ann Rule Fans or Ann Rule Friends? I always feel dumb saying "fans" because it sounds as though I'm stuck-up and full of myself. Does anyone say "stuck-up" anymore? Ever think about how some of our expressions give away our ages?And names too. I grew up with Marilyns, Barbaras, Janets, Joannes, Glorias and Patsys. My mom's name was Sophie, and I thought it was the ugliest name I'd ever heard. Now, girl babies are being named Sophie and Emma--just like my mother and one of her sisters. Names are cyclical.
It saddens me to read about how many of you are facing health worries. Wish I could give you all a hug and some reassurance. Thank God medical advances have grown by leaps and bounds. Ovarian cysts and fibroid tumors in the uterus are very common, and rarely malignant. I've had both, and they were easily fixed. Please keep up with your mammograms and colonoscopies. And don't stay away from doctors because you're scared and don't want to find out what's wrong. Right now, I'm wrestling bigtime with arthritis in about 14 joints, probably my pay-back from sitting in front of a computer for too many years. Put Tiger Balm on and it made my skin blister. Didn't use to. I think almost any woman over 50 has some arthritic pain at the base of our thumbs! When you think of all the diaper changes, clothespins (before we were rich enough to have washers and dryers), can-openings, lifting pots and pans, digging with trowels, tying kids' shoe laces, scrubbing floors, painting, and dozens of other tasks we've done in our lives, it's no wonder. I am sooooo lucky that it doesnt' hurt to type!! Hurts like crazy first thing in the morning, and slowly gets better during the day. I think that is typical? I'm allergic to Advil, Ibuprophen, Aspirin, Motrin etc--so must depend on Tyelenol, which doesn't have much "kick" in it.
In my head, I am still 16, and it always surprises me when something hurts.
Of course, it may be that I over-exerted myself on my recent vacation where several of you described my motorcycle riding, sports car racing, wild runs on the beach, and canoodling with several youngish movie heroes. :*) For awile there, I almost believed it myself! Did get to do a lot of the things that I love, though. Driving down the backroads in the springtime and stopping for hours in second-hand and antique stores along the way. Eating out at restaurants, smelling salt water and feeling the wind blow. Even though a lot of my vacation took place in a steady rain, I didn't mind. I'm glad to be home now until I leave for Georgia in early September. My own beach is sensational in June, July and August. The low tides come in the daytime, and it's possible to walk hundreds and hundreds of feet out on sandy beach that we usually don't see much of in the wintertime.
We have starfish, crabs, sea shells and geoduck clams (These are huge clams that have a long neck as thick as . . .as. . .(gee, I'm trying to think of simile that doesn't sound phallic). Well, pretty thick. They can dig down so fast that I, personally, have never caught one. I can't eat fish, clams, or crabs that I've caught and therefore know personally, anyway.
My beach is very rocky and slippery close to shore, but further out, it is smooth "sugar sand.". My dogs love to race and play on it! Lucy was supposed to be a Newfoundland, she looks like a lab, but she HATES the water. Willow, the Bernese Mountain Dog, loves to swim. Willow's mom, aunt, and sister, moved to our neighborhood so often we have lots of Berners out there playing, laughing and swimming. Fluffbutt, my 19-year-old cat, used to go on all our beach walks with us, but he's kind of lame now and prefers to watch from the deck. He is the dearest cat, best one I ever had, and I so hate to see him grow old. Lucy's 14, and she has white whiskers on her face, and her surgery for the paralyzed larnyx didn't work that well. She sits next to my desk and goes cough-cough-cough-gag for hours. But she doesn't seem to be in real distress. I'm afraid I'm the one in distress from listening.
Lauren, you are so right that adopting a pet should be a very responsible choice. They are dear souls who trust us to take care of them, and to abandon them when they become inconvenient is cruel. I cannot go to the Humane Society because I can't take them all home. I have often wished that pets were rare and much to be envied, that people had to save up to buy them. If they were status symbols, maybe they would be treated more kindly. Old Bob Barker, whom I watch most mornings, may be a little vain--but bless him for the concern he has for pets!
My flowers are doing pretty well. They got plenty of rain while I was gone, and they are longing for sun. I'm afraid that none of my "Bernita seeds" came up. Did any of you have more luck with them. I kept them for about 10 months before I planted them, or maybe it was because they rotted in the rain? I was really disappointed! Two years ago, a reader sent me some seeds for an unusual plant. I think it might have"Knightsbridge" in the name? It has long stems with bell like leaves, and inside those bells are pink and purple flowers, very small, that just peek out. Anyone recognize that? I've gathered a bunch of seeds--about the size of an orange seed, but dark brown--and I'm going to plant some more. The one plant that I have tried in vain to bring to maturity is white Nicotiania--the kind that still as that heavenly fragrance at night. I can buy the white plants anywhere, but they have no fragrance at all. Last year, the seeds sprouted--but they all died before they ever budded. I still have bedding plants to get in the dirt, and I'm going to finish today after I write for six or seven hours. One plant that is great and new for me is a dark sweet potato vine with pale lavender flowers! I bought it at Fred Meyer, our local version of Wal-Mart.
What are some of your favorite--and unusual--plants?
I worry about some of our regulars who don't check in very often, or who have vanished. Does Elizabeth, Queen of Everything, post anymore? We have so many new gals on here--and a few men--that I think it's going to take a chart to list all the names, screen-names, locations, and vital statistics! When I look at the count of posters at the bottom of the Guestbook page, I am astounded. We're close to half a million! I'm so happy that Rick Bladorn, Chris Iorio, Debby P. and other REAL people from my books drop in. It's my goal--probably impossible--to find someone from every book, maybe two or three--check in. I keep in touch with lots of people from my earlier books, and they have remained good friends.
I know there are things I meant to say, but I'll be back soon. I really need to get to writing the proposal. I'm listening to Oldies--but--Goodies on the radio, and suddenly, I AM 16, 25, 35, and even beyond--old again!
Love,
Ann
www.annrules.com
P.S. Remember to send your mousepads to me if you want them signed to you--or someone else. My address is P.O. Box 98846, Seattle, WA 98198. If you can enclose a self-addressed, stamped return mailer AND a note on who to sign it too, that will help me a lot! I'll enclose a signed picture (only 4x6), one of my business cards, and draw lots for three winners to receive a copy of my big old book, Omnibus (which holds the first three of my Ann Rule's True Crime Files)
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| Posted by Ann on Sunday, June 18, 2006 at 14:16 |
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| Singing in the Rain |
On the Road Again. . .
Everywhere we go, it rains, so I'm writing this from a secluded--but luxurious, of course--cabin somewhere within the U.S. borders as the little pitter-pats on the roof keep time with the clink of glasses and the roar of the fire. (It's a shame there's no fireplace, though. . .sigh). We keep throwing bottles of Perrier on it to keep it down as the management discourages arson whenever possible.
Gee, where to start? So much of my vacation is taken up with avoiding creeping ARFs (somewhat like creeping poison ivy, I'm afraid.) When one vacations with one male superstar after another, it's enough to keep a gal on her toes. I don't think most of them know about the others, because I try not to crush their hopes. As you all know, Keith Carradine ( Remember "I'm Easy?") No. No. No. I am personally not easy--it's his song from Nashville, and Sam Elliot are my personal favorites. I never did care for really handsome men. George C. is adorable, but he's always looking at himself in my reading glasses and that is distracting. I've always preferred men with scars, scuffs, those furrows on their faces--things that show they have LIVED for heaven's sake. You could leave Brad Pitt on my doorstep in a basket and I wouldn't open it--the door, not the basket. He's too bland, and now he's lost any mystique he ever had because he follows you-know-who around like an obedient puppy dog. Never did like Tom Cruise, and he only comes up to my elbows, anyway. There were some Texas Rangers and an FBI agent in Texas that I fancied--but I was much too busy sitting on those hard trial benches and taking notes like crazy. (Actually, when you take crazy notes, it's very difficult to unscramble them so you can write the &&%%###$ book!) There was a time once when I wrapped myself in cellophane and FEDEXed me to Burt Reynolds. Sadly, Burt has had 11 face lifts since then and he just doesn't seem like himself anymore. Have you noticed that? Besides, he screamed hysterically when he found me in his shower, so he's a big sissy, anyway. Moreover. Whatever.
Where am I? I know that's the big question. Hint. I have ditched the red convertible and am now driving a 1962 Plymouth with leopard skin seat covers. It will go 30 MPH IF it has a tail-wind. You should be able to spot me, and whoever I'm with. I don't like wine--never did--so you will not find me in any of those Oregon places with all the flowers out front and the cute carved signs. I've been known to take a sip of vodka from time to time, but that's something you can find in the back room of a seedy Chinese restaurant. I knocked the heel off my left red shoe, too. The Goodwill only had Converse All-Stars in my size. You might say that I'm not quite as impeccably dressed as I was when I first pulled out of Seattle. The better to hide from you all, my dears.
At this point, many of you will be shaking your heads, insisting this isn't me. But it is. I began my writing career writing for the humor magazines and high school AND college. I used to write humor for the Sunday magazines in Seattle. But I didn't make the kind of money that Erma Bombeck, Garrison Keillor, and Dave Barry make. So I had to turn to crime. No. No. No. Again, I, personally, didn't turn to crime--but I started to write about it. And I found my niche. But this is still really me. No one else knows the two code words to post on my weblog. And I am getting lonesome for the Guestbook and all of you. Not lonesome enough to come home, mind you, but kind of melanchollily (new word) nostalgic.
The best way to eat on the road is to stop in at the local Safeway or Albertson's wherever you are, and just fill your cart with fried chicken, bakery products, chips, dip, dill pickles and olives, baked beans, five layer salad, and Cherries Garcia ice cream. Be sure and get paper plates, plastic silverware, and a roll of paper towels. This is gourmet dining at its best. Not exactly aphrodisiacal, but tasty.
And tabloids. Get tabloids, too--in case your traveling companion falls asleep early. And you can wipe your greasy chicken fingers on the articles about Paris and Britney.
We have a teensy TV in here, and I see that Dr. Phil has found a truly rotten mother-in-law to feature tonight. So we've gotta go.
I promise to be solemn and serious when I get home and will write nice blogs after this. Probably.
I have a sunburn--somehow got it in the midst of the monsoons.
Remember not to confuse Anne and Ann. The "fancy" Anne is the mousepad lady who, thank goodness, doesn't have to have surgery after all. I'm the writer Ann who has felt pretty good ever since I got over pneumonia in March.
I have to go now because Matt McC (whoops, forget that) is calling me over to the TV. He loves Dr. Phil. . . He is a little young for me, but he's a wonderful conversationlist. No. No. No. NOT Dr. Phil! I meant Matt and his silver trailer.
Love,
Ann
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| Posted by Ann on Monday, June 12, 2006 at 20:22 |
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| Home for a Day to Wash Clothes |
Hi guys!
Surprise! I landed home for overnight tonight--Friday--and see from the guestbook that I have been having a wonderful vacation. Bless your hearts. You know I would share details with you, but remember that about 4,000 people hit this guestbook every day, and it's not really like writing to your girlfriends, not when it comes to intimate details. I could end up in the back pages of THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER or PEOPLE right next to the lesser celebs like Faye Dunaway, Janice Dickenson, and Kirstie Alley. Not young enough or dumb enough to be on the Britney, Paris, Nicole sections, not nuts enough to be close to Angelina and Brad or Tom and Katie. Actually not famous enough to be in much of anything but THE SUN or WEEKLY WORLD NEWS and MODERN MATURITY! I am having fun, though.We're leaving again tomorrow or Sunday to explore the backroads. It does feel good not to be tied to my computer every day of the week, but I still have to check in and finish the last small details of this book, and then be here full-time again when the copy-edited manuscript comes back. This version is the one all marked up by a copy-editor. They are the anal-retentive folks who are sticklers for grammar, spelling, dates, places, references, and on and on and on. They just drive me nuts with their picky-picky-picky stuff. I hope none of them read this guestbook! Some of them are very nice, and it is important to have someone catch mistakes that could be embarrassing.
I also have to write a short description of what will be in my memoirs/autobiography, and then I have to buckle down to writing TOO LATE TO SAY GOODBYE. Had a message from my editor that NO REGRETS comes out on Halloween, a little earlier than they planned, so that's good.
When you finish reading IF YOU REALLY LOVED ME, and if you have any questions, be sure and post them and I'll answer. Of course David wanted Cinnamon to die. It was just lucky that he gave her such a huge overdose of his meds that she threw up.Many of the capsules were still intact. It there had been fewer pills, she would have kept them down and been poisoned. He expected to find her dead in the doghouse when he came home. He knew exactly where she was--and so did Patti--when he left. But they both lied to the police and said she was missing. As it was, she came so close to death. I do think there was Linda's ghost in that house. Be sure and look closely at the picture I took of the house, and see the blonde woman looking out the window. I tried and tried to take another picture at the same time of day that would catch that "shadow" but I never could. The house was owned by an Asian family, and that space the woman was standing in was only 3 inches wide--between the venetian blinds and the glass of the window. I've never been able to figure out exactly who I took that picture of. David and Patti sure were terrified to stay there after Linda was killed..
I am so happy to hear that Anne doesn't have to have the surgery! Miracles do happen.We have such good news and bad news on here, but at least we can share. I think when you get this many people interacting, there will always be highs and lows. I can hardly wait to see Anne's mousepads.
Waiting for medical reports and to see if operations will succeed is one of the hardest things in the world. I had a huge ovarian cyst when I was 30, and my doc told me I was four months pregnant. I knew I wasn't and I was so scared. That cyst just drained itself over the next two weeks. They're quite common. For those of you who are waiting and worrying, I think you know we're all behind you! Some of us pray, some send good thoughts. We probably have about every religion there is among us, and every political persuasion. I usually vote for the candidate, but it's true that I lean toward being a Democrat. Someone told me a long time ago that I ever made any money, I would become a Republican--but I never did. Still, my grandfather and uncles always ran for sheriff in Michigan as Republicans. That was the best party to be in their county.Ann Coulter is known for her lack of sensitivity and blatant statements. I guess that's her schtick (Hey, Jewish gals, tell me how to spell that?) I think her cracks about the 9/11 widows does go beyond the pale. Whenever I hear someone being so uncaring, I think, "Bite your tongue because what goes around comes around."
Watched a couple of DVD's. We loved "Prime," but "The Forgotten" is pretty grim and dark, isn't it? I got home to find "Shop Girl." Whoopee!
Thank you to Michele! I happened to call her office yesterday, and she didn't say one word about my books, trying not to intrude on my privacy. I saw her post today, and told her co-worker to tell her that I am always tickled when somebody recognizes me and turns out to be a reader! I guess that comes from being a wall-flower for so long, and then a late-bloomer as an author. I am so grateful that my books are published! And that I get letters from my readers! I met the author Dennis McDougall in 1990 outside the David Brown trial. He is a very nice person--just beginning then--and I can't imagine that he would be pleased to know his agents tell people he can't be bothered with readers! Where would we be without readers? If it weren't for readers, there's no point in writing books and we would soon fade away.
I know I probably have more to tell you, but I'm kind of tired tonight. With all the motorcycle riding. fly-fishing in Alaska in hip waders, fancy nightclubs, dates with a man in a kilt, etc. etc. :*) People on this guestbook certainly have vivid imaginations. Maybe I'll put some of my adventures in my memoirs and then you can see how good you were at guessing. By all means, let me know if you spot me next week as I perambulate peripatetically around the Northwest.
Talk to you soon!
Ann
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| Posted by Ann on Friday, June 09, 2006 at 20:19 |
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| End of the Weekend |
Sunday night. I have begun a kind of at-home/on-the-road,vacation with lots of naps, time to go shopping for more plants and groceries, and traveling some back roads with my pal. Shopping came first because the cupboards and freezer were bare, except for the absolute essentials: pet food and toilet tissue. If you run out of either, you are in deep trouble. Was going to plant flowers today, but, of course, it rained once again! We're hoping to hit the road by Tuesday or Wednesday, and just see where it will take us.
As most of you know, Mary Kay Letourneau and Villi live about two miles down the beach from me. I'm not sure why they are doing a flurry of interviews, but they may be running out of money. They have received some very big payments in the past from telling their story, but at some point it has to slow down to a trickle because their rent is high, and they tend to spend on luxury items. I sometimes see MK in the specialty food store that is quite a bit more expensive than a regular super-market.
My thoughts on Mary Kay have always been that she never saw herself as a predator or a pedophile. I think in her own mind, she feels like a 14-year-old girl, and behaves that way. Gregg Olsen's book about this case--IF LOVING YOU IS WRONG--does a pretty good job of telling about the case up to the point that she went to prison. Her family was rich and her dad was successful in politics, but he was living a double life, cheating on her mother. Her baby brother drowned while in her care. I think her emotional development froze at some point. I am in no way excusing her for what she did, however. She was headstrong and self-destructive as she snuck an 11-year-old boy into her own home for sex while her four children were there. They were having sex on the marina parking lot across from where I used to live. She was absolutely obsessed with Villi--so much so that she met him again after the judge gave her a break and gave her only probation. She had even made plans for them to leave the country together. She also got pregnant again on these secret visits, and the second time, she got sentenced to prison. We all know a normal mother would not do that. She was a horrible housekeeper and her friends were teenagers--not women her own age, for the most part. In essence, she was an immature young teenager, even though she was in her thirties.
Her husband sent word to me when she was first arrested that he wanted me to help him write a book about this strange saga, and I refused--saying that I thought his children had suffered enough and didn't need more publicity. And of course they got huge publicity in the years following.
Villi wasn't faithful to her while she was in prison. He and his mother sued the school district and he testified against MK. They won a big chunk of money and spent it foolishly on luxuries like a party for a sister--thousands of dollars worth.His mother took care of the two baby girls MK had with Villi, and she STILL does, although MK and Villi are getting more visitation now. MK bought a Cadillac for him to drive, and Villi was arrested for driving it drunk. He also was in trouble in high school. I don't believe that he works, or that she works. Their home is rented. They are really two kids playing house. Personally, I don't believe he will stay with her when the money is gone. He has noisy parties for people his own age. Sometimes, I wonder what she is thinking. She may still be visualizing a fairy tale romance, and ignoring all the danger signs. It would probably be better if she doesn't get pregnant again! That would make seven children for a woman who doesn't seem to grasp that your children come before your sex-life and your fantasy lover.
MK is a pretty little thing, and still looks a lot younger than she is, but she's heading for fifty in the not-too-far distant future and Villi, not that smart, not that responsible, not really willing to work, is barely 21. How long will he view her as his ideal woman? If he still does at this point. He is not nearly as mature as the average 21-year-old, and his alleged artistic talent doesn't seem to be exceptional any longer. I don't think MK is a pedophile. I think she is barely more than an emotional child in a middle-aged woman's body. I don't wish her ill; I do wish that she hadn't dragged so many children into such a messy situation. And I fear for her as she ages.
I am going to try to make a copy of the Book Cover Mousepad and add it to this blog, but I don't know if it will work. Anyway. Anne from Oregon has managed to put the covers of 26 or 27 of my books onto a thick mousepad. I would say it's about 6" by 6". She made me one several years ago,and I love it. I thought some of you might enjoy one, too. She can take 24 more orders. They cost $10 apiece and that includes postage. If you would like one--or more--send your mailing address to me at AnnieR37@aol.com, and I will forward the information on to her. I don't want her to put her email or address up on the public guestbook. My email address is pretty well known, already.
It makes me sad to realize how many of us are dealing with pain in our lives--emotional and/or physical. But I also see that we're pretty good at dealing with it. And, who knows, there may be information on here that will help someone else find a solution. As far as I know, there aren't any M.D.'s posting so be sure and discuss advice with your own docs.
I see a lot of you read Patsy Cornwell's books. I met her long before she was famous, but I am disappointed in her, I must admit, because she has treated people who helped her in the beginning very shabbily.Three people that I know personally and admire tremendously were damaged and left behind after each had gone the extra mile for Patsy. Her ethics are somewhat questionable, in my opinion, and I do believe that each book she writes is a step down from what she once wrote. But she certainly sells a lot of books and is fantastically wealthy. She has gone a long, long way from her days as a data entry clerk for the Medical Examiner in, I believe, Virginia. So time will tell. What goes around, comes around.
Will try to keep posting on my log every so often, and checking to see what you're doing wherever we are in this little vacation--unless we're beyond a phone hook-up or Internet hook-up.
Please have a great week ahead, and take care of each other. And, as always, welcome, welcome, to new posters. We're glad to have you with us and hope you drop in every so often. And for everybody, please remember there are many more sections of my website pages!
All my best,
Ann
www.annrules.com
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| Posted by Ann on Sunday, June 04, 2006 at 21:04 |
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| Finally, a real blog entry |
Dear Old and New Friends (first) and Readers!
Another day of rain in Seattle. Sigh. I think it's June, but the foghorns along the shores of Puget Sound were wailing and the ships tooted back today --just the way it sounds in November. If it didn't stay light so late, I wouldn't know which month I was in!
Sent off many documents for the new book today, and then I rewarded myself with pure bliss--started cleaning out my clothes closet. It's been nagging at me for months. I actually bought a skirt from QVC, and when it came it looked familiar. Turned out I bought the same skirt a few months ago, and it got lost in my closet. I think I'm going to find amazing things in there that I've completely forgotten about. And I've already found fascinating other stuff: some courtroom artist sketches from a sensational murder trial in 1928! (No, don't start to giggle--I was NOT covering trials in 1928, or even alive) but a neighbor had found them at a garage sale. I've been meaning to go down to the library at the University of Washington--where they have every newspaper in the state going back a hundred years in some case. I'm going to look up that case and write it for the next True Crime Files. From the sketches of the accused, the beautiful wife, and the lawyers, it looks really interesting. I also found an autobiography written by a serial killer, and the complete trial transcript of the so-called "Happy Face Killer" in Oregon. I bet most girls don't have things like that in their closet! And, of course, clothes that are too big, too small, too boring, too shabby, and too out of style. But I think there are some in there I'll be glad to see again.
I am so relieved that Jacquie posted. She might well be the Jacquie who wrote to me and worried me so much,but I know she is a lovely woman I met on one of my book tours in 2002. She sent me a picture today of the two of us. I am proud of her for fighting to regain her life and proud of all of you who leapt to her assistance. I have always felt that most people in the world want to help others, but we don't really know who is suffering in silence. In big cities, it's difficult to know your neighbors or what's going on in the minds of people we see at work or ride with on the bus or fly with on planes. People need people,but we get so busy and so isolated--compared to earlier days and to those who live in small towns and tend to know their neighbors better.
Chronic pain is obviously a problem for a lot of us--and I include myself. I have osteoarthritis that can hurt 24-7, probably the result of sitting hunched over a computer for 30 years, and not getting out and jogging more. I used to wonder why so many people in their fifties and sixties--and beyond--moved so slowly, and now I know it's because they HURT! When they took away Vioxx and Celebrex for arthritis, I think a lot of us didn't know what we had 'til it was gone, but I'll be they will come up with something else. I have found that acupuncture helps, and I vow to get massages. (I have had just one in my whole life). And I think I'm going to get my hot tub fixed after three years of paying fly-by-night guys a lot of money, and they had no idea what they were doing.They took my money and disappeared. Now, I have a great guy who can fix anything. Pain is hard to deal with, and it makes you tired and discouraged. I remember when I was in labor for my first child in a Catholic hospital in Niagara Falls, N.Y. I had read a whole bunch of books on natural childbirth and was determined to do it without anesthesia (Which I did DO!) but, along about the transition state, I was thinking, "This isn't really what I had in mind. I think I'll go home now, and maybe have a baby in about 10 years." Of course, as we know, once committed, there ain't no going home! There were copies of a book in every labor room: "Pain is Not a Loss." I'm sure the philosophy behind it was good, but I was definitely not in a mood to buy that theory at the time!
On the question of asking someone such a personal question as "Why don't you have children?" I'm with the answer that Dear Abby (or maybe it was her twin, Ann Landers) always gave. Just look the boor in the eye and say, "Why on earth would you want to know that?" Some people wisely choose not to have children but make wonderful aunts, grown-up friends, examples, and become special to their friends' children. Some people cannot have children, and it is a source of emotional pain for them. It's absolutely nobody's business unless those without children want to share. I try always to be cautious in talking with new friends about asking them lots of things. You never know what losses they may have suffered, or what they are dealing with. I don't even ask about what jobs people have. It's better to listen and get some clues on where people are coming from! I loved the post here about coming right back at someone with the question about her "big hairy mole." Sometimes, you just have to confront klutzes with blunt remarks in the faint hope that they will "get it."
I am just exploring the cruise options, but I can't get a bid or any idea how much it might cost unless I know a ball-park figure on how many might go. And it is about 18 months away.I think it would be fun and I'd love to meet everyone in person.
I'll try to get more photos in the photo gallery soon. I have just been too busy to scan them and get them to Rainey, my webmaster.
That was Rick Bladorn who popped in the other night. I'm going to talk he and Kerry into joining us more often. And I'd like to get Debbie MacIntyre, who was so betrayed by Tom Capano, to post, but she may just want to forget it all. Also, Anne Marie's sister, Kathleen, who is a lovely woman. All of the siblings Anne Marie left behind were so loyal to her and each other. It makes angry to think that the extended Capano family (And Never Let Her Go) are donating a million or more to the Archmere Academy where they will get a building named after them! They should name a building after Anne Marie, instead! I try to stay in touch with most of the victims' families from books I've written. And with the cops and the prosecutors, too.
I think Peterson, the author in the south who had two wives died in falls down stairs, is guilty! Was his first name Michael? I almost wrote a book on that one, but the timing was wrong. That happens with so many cases that would make interesting books that I want to cover--but I can't get to the trials because I'm at other trials.
Speaking of trials, did I tell you that Mickie (Mouse) sent me a gel-filled seat cushion with a handle so that I can survive the hard courtroom benches at the Corbin trials in Georgia? I think she saved my life! And Bev sent me a wonderful angel who gets her energy from the sun and her wings light up at night to guide me between my writing cottage and my house-house. (Unfortunately, Bev, there hasn't been enough sun since I got her to light up even her eyelashed--but our hot spell is bound to come in July, or maybe August).
I have not seen a movie called, I believe, "Ted Bundy." It is a sensationalized, ugly, badly researched--semi-fictional load of ---- from what I hear. I'm not sticking up for Ted at all; I am condemning movie makers who would go for such shock value with no redeeming reasons at all. I don't think anything I--or anyone else--could have done to stop Ted from killing. He was addicted to it, and he hid his real self so carefully behind a perfect mask. Remember, we had to pass strict psychological screening to get to be volunteers or employees of the Crisis Clinic, and Ted (and me, too) passed with flying colors! By the time I had any inkling of who Ted really was, he was locked up.
Have to feed all the cats and dogs, and me, too, so I'm signing off for tonight. Again, I am so thankful for the community we seem to have created here and we welcome all newcomers to join us in good times and bad!
Love,
Ann
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| Posted by Ann on Thursday, June 01, 2006 at 20:00 |
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| Explanation. Please Read! |
Hi Gang,
Well, I guess I have to go over here to the complicated process of posting on my weblog--and not just add something to the guestbook --so you doubters will understand and believe that that WAS me posting and accidentally hitting "Afghanistan" on one, and deliberately hitting "Samoa" on the other.
First of all: anyone can put any location on your posts on the guestbook. You just go down the list and click on whatever is there. Of course, I usually say U.S. but I was checking to see if it was possible for the "lurkers" to put whatever location they wanted. And it is. What is more difficult is to hide their IP address. As I have said many times, my webmaster and I can't find out who you are from your postings, but we can usually find the IP address.
You have seen some silly posts from "The Professor--Alaistair Mchugh," the one who used all the big words--mispelled and incorrectly--to give me "advice" on what was wrong with my books? Remember him? And then there were the characters from one of my favorite UK sitcom shows, "Keeping Up Appearances." They aren't real people at all, but anyone who watches that Saturday night show on Public Television would recognize Hyacinth, Richard, Daisy, Onslow, Rose, Violet and Daddy. Someone, joking, posted on the guestbook using their names. I believe these people are writer friends of mine who have been vacationing in Hawaii, Ireland, and England. They often play jokes on me. I posted on the guestbook just to let them know that I had caught on to them. Unfortunately, a lot of you took this seriously and have become very concerned that someone is imitating me. But it WAS me. I can see now that I can't do quick posts on the guestbook because it upsets very literal minded people who didn't see that I was responding to a joke. That's too bad because it will limit me to the blogs, and I don't have time right now to do many of those. And it makes me kind of mad at my "author friends" who have been playing games on my guestbook while they're enjoying a European vacation. In the future, I'll just write to THEIR website pages to let them know they haven't fooled me. I don't think they meant do do any real harm, but they did upset a lot of my readers. I appreciate, however, that you sprang to my defense!
Writers often play jokes on each other. And, remember, I started out writing humor--so I'm not always serious. I hope, though, that most of you will recognize me. If I stick to this weblog, you know that it's me because I have to use all kinds of code words to get on here!
Please just have a fun holiday and stop worrying about imposters! Simmer down now,as they used to say on Saturday Night Live--or was it Mad TV? Nothing nefarious is going on, just a joke from a couple of horror and fantasy writers I know that fell flat.
Hope that explains it all? I have to get back to work, though. It's just miserable in Seattle for Memorial Day Weekend--cold, rainy, windy. I'm wearing a fleece shirt as I write this. I've got some of my Michigan relatives coming over later and I wish so much I could visit with them out on my new TREX deck instead of in the house with the heat turned on!
Love,
Ann
In Seattle, Washington, where I've been all along!
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| Posted by Ann on Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 12:40 |
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