Date
of Birth/Sign: February
9th/Aquarius. Born in the Year of
the Rat, whatever that means!
My Motto since 1978: What Goes
Around Comes Around!
Best Thing That Has Happened in the
Recent Past: Getting back to my
writing. I finished a first draft
of a novel in autumn 2022 and a second
novel in 2023, both of which I am
working on to get ready for publication.
Hurray!
Worst Thing
That Happened in the Recent Past:
Dental and jaw issues.
Ouchie wah wah...
Most Admired Person: There are
so many people I admire so much .
. . but at the moment, I am SO happy
to have the affection and encouragement
of my Fairy Godmother, Lee Lynch.
She helped get me through some difficult
times that were fraught with ill health
and worry.
College: Lewis & Clark College
in Oregon: English & Political
Science double major.
Master's Degree: Hamline University,
St. Paul: English/Liberal Studies
with a focus on sociology and families
in literature.
Famous Relatives: 4th Cousins
were Orville and Wilbur Wright - but
hey! I hate to fly! The word
in the family is that we have
Blackfoot heritage, but I did a DNA
test, and funny thing----not one
single drop of American blood.
I'm European - mostly from Ireland,
Scotland, England, and a smattering
of Italian, Greek, Norwegian, Portugese,
and Nigerian. Because I'm related
to Sir Jerome Weston, Knight of the
Realm, it turns out I'm an 11th cousin
to Queen Elizabeth II - who knew!?
First Full-Time Professional Role:
Working at a county Welfare agency
in St Paul, Minnesota, for a few years,
then at the county attorney's office
for 15 years. I spent two decades
at "The Hellhole." I learned
a lot and have enough stories to last
for a lifetime of novels, but thank
God it's over!
First Book Written: Ricochet
In Time (started in 1992, completed
in 1995, and published in 2001).
First Book Published: Gun Shy
(completed 1998, published online
in 1999 and in issued in book form
in early 2000. 20th Anniversary
Edition came out in 2019!)
Number of Books Published So
Far: Seventeen: eleven novels
(soon to be 12, I hope!), two short
story collections, and edited four
anthologies.
Number of Books Mostly Completed
Now But Not Ready for Publication:
Four.
Number of Books at Least Half Done:
Two more.
Number of Books Rattling Around in
Lori's Head but Unwritten: Too
many to count----somewhere in the
two dozen category.
Favorite Song: Still
a 1970's oldie, "Dancing In The
Moonlight" by King Harvest.
Favorite Bands of Late: Dua Lipa
and anyone she is singing with!
Benson Boone, P!nk, Ben Folds.
CDs I can't seem to stop listening
to lately: I'm gorging on Ben
Folds, Steely Dan, and Chantal Kreviazuk.
I also found out that Gerry Beckley,
one of the duo that makes up the band
America, has a whole bunch of CDs
that are fantastic. So I've got them
in the office CD player on Repeat.
Favorite Vocalists: Kelly Clarkson,
Halsey, Taylor Swift, Linda Eder,
Cheryl Wheeler, Dar Williams, Christopher
Cross, Whitney Houston, Carly Simon,
Donna Summer, James Taylor, and Ben
Folds.
Favorite Movies: Leaving Normal,
Flawless, Stranger Than Fiction, Truly
Madly Deeply, Fearless, and
Parenthood.
Favorite Book Series: Still Charlaine
Harris's Lily Bard Series. Close Second:
Anything Jane Fletcher writes.
Third: Thomas Perry's Jane Whitefield
Series.
Favorite City: Used to be Duluth,
MN, but I think it's now changed to
anywhere on the Oregon Coast, particularly
Newport because that's where my Fairy
Godmother lives!
Worst food on the planet: Seafood
- I'm allergic!
Best foods on the planet: Chicken,
Cheezits, and Chocolate - but ever
since gallbladder surgery and then
kidney stones, I can't eat the latter
two very often. :-( And I need
to eat the first one a lot more often
instead of carbs!)
Favorite TV Shows: Matlock,
SVU, 48 Hours, Dateline, A Million
Little Things, FBI, 9-11, pretty
much any British crime show, and every
few years I can't help but go back
and re-watch Jericho!
Favorite sport to Play: Basketball.
Favorite sport to Watch: In the
category of Guilty Pleasures, I very
much enjoy boxing. So glad women finally
are in it - *GO* Claressa Shields!
Best thing about being a Published
Author: Getting to meet lots of
wonderful people and sharing my vision
of how the world works in the plots
that come to me. I went to the mystery
convention, Bouchercon, in San Diego
in 2023, and it was fabulous. I met
so many of my all-time favorite writers.
Worst thing about being a Published
Author: Mean reviews. I don't
mind reviews that point out areas
where I need to continue to make improvement.
I just hate the ones where the reviewer
slams me personally and says nonsensical
stuff making it clear they never read
the book. Bah!
Happiest
Moments in Life: Time
spent with the Minnesota Minions,
with my best friends Claudia Kuzie,
Jessie Chandler, Renae Standen, and
Lee & Lainie Lynch; with all my
writing pals and friends (including
the Polliwogs); and with my dad, sisters,
nieces, nephews, and extended family.
I'm blessed to have a large family
and an even bigger chosen family.
All of them brighten my days!
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