My Crazy Life

Sorry to have been out of touch for so long! I’d be understating things if I were to say that I’ve been a little overwhelmed lately.

The trip to New York was fantastic although it was strange to walk around “acting normal” while a large group of camera men, producers and one very talented make-up artist trailed after me. It’s kind of nice to be back home (although I do miss the make-up artist).

Of course I won’t be home for long. I’m flying to Philadelphia tomorrow where I will be interviewed by WCAU-TV News Channel 10 on Wednesday the first at 9:00 am,
WPVI-TV CHANNEL 6 “Visions” (that will air either Wednesday or Thursday—not sure which).

Then on Thursday I will be interviewed on CN8 COMCAST: “Your Morning” which will air somewhere between 9 and 11 am

On Thursday night I will be signing at the Philadelphia Barnes & Noble at Rittenhouse Square (they will be discounting their lattes in honor of the occasion). If you live in the area please stop by and see me!

Then it’s off to BEA—I will be signing at Harlequin Enterprises Limited’s booth #4167/4267 on Saturday the 4th between 2:00 to 3:00 pm.

The Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote a lovely article about me in yesterday’s Sunday’s paper but there was one tidbit that was rather misleading—there’s a box bellow my photo says that I will be signing at the Santa Cruz Borders on Wednesday the 15th of June. But on the photo itself it says I’ll be signing there on Wednesday and there’s no mention the fact that the Wednesday they are referring to is 17 days in the future. I would go to Borders on Wednesday the 1st to greet all those who misunderstood the information but as I noted earlier I will be in Philadelphia. Hopefully it won’t prove to be too much of a problem.

I must admit—I’m a little sleep deprived and more than a little dazed by all the hoopla. I promise to give you all lots of details about everything but this is the last day I’ll get to spend with my son before my next trip so I need to focus my attention on him for right now. I probably won’t have a chance to blog while I’m back East but check back here after the 6th. I’m sure to have some great stories!

Wish me luck with everything!

Kyra Davis
www.kyradavis.com
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!
Moms Of Mystery--An e-newsletter!

My Reality Will Be On TV

Okay so here’s the dirt. Red Dress Ink is throwing me a party—it’s kind of a meet and greet/launch party. I’d invite all you New York blog readers but it’s private and I have no say in regards to the guest list (or pretty much anything else). If you’re an author you’re probably wondering why they are throwing me a party since as general rule that’s not something publishers do for their authors. I do not have the answer to this question. That's my official line and I’m sticking to it.

This will be my first trip back to New York in years. Yes, I lived there for a short period of time ten years ago but…well…that was ten years ago. So that means that I will be meeting Margaret Marbury for the first time. Margaret is not only my editor but also the executive editor of both Red Dress Ink and Mira. There will also be some other Harlequin big wigs present.

Of course it’s important that I make the right impression and I have a feeling that my very casual west coast wardrobe isn’t going to cut it. So what’s a California girl on a budget to do?

Well she turns to the Style Network’s show The Look For Less of course! A celebrity stylist will help me put together a runway look at outlet prices and I will hopefully wow all the Red Dress Ink and Harlequin people with my fashion savvy and they will love me forever.

See how that works? I’ll let you guys know when it airs. In the meantime I will be interviewed by Peter Solomon on Philadelphia’s WIP-AM this Sunday morning at 7:00 am EST. That would be 4:00 am here in California—I will be drinking a lot of coffee that morning but if I don’t sound like I’m at my perky best you’ll understand why.

Kyra Davis
www.kyradavis.com
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!
Moms Of Mystery--An e-newsletter!

Blonds, Television And A Future Shopping Spree

I should never plan my blogs in advance. Every time I do something comes up that feels more important than what I planned to write.

You see this morning I thought this blog would be all about my recent book signings which really have been fabulous. So far I had the biggest attendance at The Capitola Book Café--about 100 people came, which obviously put a big smile on my face! My reading at M is For Mystery was also well attended as was my event at Marcus Books. As I noted in an earlier blog I was concerned about what kind of reception I’d get at Marcus but I needn’t have worried. Everyone at the store was wonderful. It’s a small bookstore and approximately 15 people came to see me which is considered to be a very good showing. The audience was made up of Eastern European Jews, Japanese, Chinese, Caucasians and African Americans. Furthermore there was a fairly equal representation of each group. This wouldn’t have surprised me at most San Francisco bookstores but seeing that Marcus Books is a black bookstore I kind of thought that the majority of the attendees would be…well…black. I was also surprised to note that almost half the people in the audience were men, which is fairly impressive when you consider my novel’s cover (for those of you who haven’t seen it check out my homepage and you’ll understand).

Anyway, it was a wonderfully animated and enthusiastic crowd and I ended up answering questions long after the event was scheduled to end. My friend called me the day after the reading to tease me a bit about the whole thing: “Here you are blogging about your concerns over your image within the African American community and then you have your event and three black guys sit right up front, all of them clearly captivated by you, and then when it’s all over what do you do? You take off with the blond guy in the back who was by far the whitest person there.”

For the record: the guys in front were “captivated” because they were aspiring authors and I knew “the blond guy in the back” from before. Plus we went out to Powell’s Place, a local Soul Food restaurant for dinner so, you know, cut me some slack.

Now here’s the exciting news (and there’s a lot of it):
1) I was reviewed by Savoy magazine and it was a rave!
2) I will be signing at the Barnes & Noble in Philadelphia on June 2nd and in relation to that I will:
a) be featured on four different Philadelphia radio stations
b) be a guest on three different Philadelphia television stations

This is an amazing amount of coverage for a new non-local author. Hell, let’s face it--it would be an amazing amount of coverage for an established local author. I owe it all to my publicist Susan Schwartzman. She may very well be one of the best publicists on the planet. Granted, I don’t know a lot of publicists but my agent and the people at Red Dress Ink seem to agree with me on this point. If you are a novelist looking to promote your book I strongly recommend that you obtain her services.

There’s something else in the works but I’m not sure if I’m supposed to talk about it yet. Just check back here in a few days and as soon as I have the green light I’ll give you the juicy details. For now I’ll just say that it has to do with a party, New York, television and lots of shopping.

Anyway, things are very good right now and yes, I am still pinching myself.

Kyra Davis
www.kyradavis.com
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!
Moms Of Mystery--An e-newsletter!

A Quicky

This is going to be one of those very quick check ins. The readings in San Francisco were wonderful. I have another at Alexander Book Co. on Wednesday at 12:30. It’s kind of a financial-district-lunch-time thing but if you happen to work in the area or have Wednesday afternoon off please stop by to say hi.

I want to write in detail about the event at Marcus Books because it was noteworthy in more ways than one but right now I’m barely awake enough to write this three paragraph post. However I promise to fill you in on the juicy details on Wednesday evening.

Here’s something to think about in the meantime: I’m about to start writing the third book in the Sophie series and I’m thinking of taking my girl on location. The only problem is that a few of Sophie’s friends and family will have to stay behind so if there’s a character (or two) in Sex, Murder And A Double Latte that you’re particularly attached to let me know via blog-comment or email and I’ll see if I can get him or her a plane ticket to Sophie’s next adventure.

Kyra Davis
www.kyradavis.com
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!
Moms Of Mystery--An e-newsletter!

Black Like Me

Well my first two readings were wonderful. I’ll start with M is For Mystery. I’ll admit that I’ve never been to the store before but I guarantee you I will be back to visit in the not too distant future. It’s a charming place and their selection of books is surprisingly eclectic. But mostly it was the staff that impressed me. They are a warm, welcoming and intelligent group of people and I truly enjoyed talking to them before and after the event. The event itself went spectacularly well. For one thing in the audience was Trisha, blog reader and fellow sucias who I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time. For those of you who don’t know what a sucias is (or for those of you who speak Spanish and think that I’m being disrespectful) the sucias are the women who post on Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez’s message board. I also had a couple of friends show up along with a small but nice group of readers who I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time. I was thrilled to see that there was a pretty even mix of both men and women at the event. I love the cover of my book but the bright pink packaging is bound to alienate a large faction of the male market so I am particularly flattered by the praise I get from men who enjoyed my novel.

Then there was the Capitola Book Café. Capitola is right next to Santa Cruz which is my home town. I drew in a huge crowd. Friends, family, teachers who knew me when I was “just this tall,” they were all there to cheer me on. Many of them had already purchased the book before the event but at least 30 of them bought it there. Speaking with me that night was fellow mystery author Denise Osborne who seems like a lovely woman.

So hopefully this weekend will be equally successful. I will be reading at San Francisco Mystery Books at 2:00 on Saturday and at Marcus Books also in San Francisco on Fillmore Street at 6:30 Saturday evening. In addition to that I will be signing at Borders Express at the Capitola Mall between 1 and 3 on Sunday. I am nervous about the readings in San Francisco for two reasons:

1) These are two of possibly four events that I will be holding in San Francisco and while I will probably have a few friends attend each of the readings I doubt I’ll have a lot of people at any one of them.
2) Marcus Books is a Black bookstore and the reception my book has been met with within the Black community has been mixed.

Allow me to explain. Like my protagonist my father was Black and my mother is White of Eastern European descent. I don’t speak in “black slang” I don’t braid my hair, and I only listen to moderate amounts of hip-hop. This doesn’t make me less Black any more than a Sunday school teacher who doesn’t wear a crucifix around her neck is less Christian. But there are those in both the White and African-American community who disagree with me on that point. As far as they’re concerned my father betrayed his race when he procreated with my mother (and vice versa). There are many people within my own race who look at me and see an outsider. It’s disconcerting to put it mildly. People tell me that it seems like Sophie identifies more with her Jewish heritage than her Black heritage. I find this to be a false and disturbing observation. Sophie’s mother is ethnically Jewish but Sophie doesn’t use Yiddish expressions. She doesn’t light the candles on Friday night, in the book we don’t meet any of her Jewish friends (although she does meet a guy at Starbucks that turns out to be Jewish, but it’s a minor point) and at no point during the story does she visit a synagogue. There are easily as many references to her skin tone as there are to her inherited religion and yet people say that she seems more Jewish than Black. Why is that?

The answer is simple: as a society we have come to accept that while there are some Jews who fit the “Jewish stereotype” there are many who do not but for some strange reason we are unable to accept that there may be the same diversity within the African American community. It doesn’t matter how many examples we see to the contrary many people still can’t wrap their minds around it. Worse yet, many people within the community refuse to accept it.

In her book Dirty Girl’s Social Club Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez helped break down the stereotypes that exist regarding the Latino community. She wrote about Black Latinas and blonde ones; rich and poor, Jewish and Catholic, straight and Gay and so on and so forth. I hope that some day the stereotypes that are attributed to African Americans are broken down in a similar fashion and if my book helps bring that day a little closer than I will be one happy Black Jewish woman.

Kyra Davis
www.kyradavis.com
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!
Moms Of Mystery--An e-newsletter!

Ancient Jewish Secret

If you have the Sunday San Jose Mercury News hanging around you should turn to the second page of the Style section. Yep, that’s a big ol’ picture of me! Although for the record I’m 32 not 33. I’m not sensitive about my age but there’s no need to rush things.

Okay, moving on. In my last blog I mentioned that my friend Rachel Abrams co-authored a nonfiction book with Mantak Chia and that the title of that book is The Multi-Orgasmic Woman : Discover Your Full Desire, Pleasure, and Vitality. I also pointed out that Rachel is a deeply religious Jew. Joan Levine is a friend of the family and also an observant Jew. Joan is the sole proprietor of Camouflage, a high-end lingerie and sex toy store in Santa Cruz, California. So I’m sure many of you are wondering how they reconcile their career choices with their religious beliefs.

There are certainly a lot of religions that would forbid its followers to be part of a project that necessitated the open discussion of a woman’s G-spot. But if you’ve ever studied Jewish law you’d know that when it comes to these kinds of issues there is a little bit of wiggle room. For one thing it is written in the ancient Jewish texts that a woman has the right to request a divorce if her husband is unable to sexually satisfy her. Yes, you read that correctly; in Judaism a woman’s right to an orgasm is practically sacred!

And that is why we are the chosen people.

It’s true that an Orthodox woman would never write a book teaching other women how to get off and there are a couple of reasons for that. One is that there are modesty issues that the Orthodox firmly adhere to. Another reason is that as far as the ancient Jewish teachings are concerned a woman should not worry about how to increase her sexual pleasure. That’s her husband’s problem. It’s his responsibility to make sure that when the lights go out and the clothes come off she’s having a good time.

So now you have a better understanding of how Dr. Ruth came to be.

Okay, I’m done proselytizing. I highly recommend you buy The Multi-Orgasmic Woman along with Rachel’s first book, The Multi-Orgasmic Couple and if you’re in Santa Cruz stop by Camouflage. After all, everyone should have orgasms, not just the Jewish people.

And if you’re going to be in or around San Mateo on Wednesday the 11th at 7:00 please stop by M is For Mystery. I will be reading from Sex, Murder And A Double Latte and signing books. It will be my first reading and I’m really quite nervous about it. If the 11th doesn’t work for you try to stop by the Capitola Book Café on the 12th at 7:30 where I will be doing a reading along with fellow novelist Denise Osborne who will be reading from Evil Intentions: A Feng Shui Mystery. And if you can’t make either of those because you live far away—say, Philadelphia, then tune into Don Lancer’s morning radio show on KYW-AM on Tuesday the 10th to hear him interview me. If you can’t listen wish me luck—I may need it.

One final note: On Amazon someone is trying to sell one of my books used for $32 dollars because it’s signed. What really cracks me up is that the seller makes a point of explaining that this autographed copy is a “first edition, first printing.” The book has been out for a total of two weeks, how many printings does this person think there’s been? Don’t waste your money on it. If you call M is For Mystery at 650-401-8077 (or toll free at 888-405-8077 if you're calling long distance) after the 11th they will send you a signed copy and they won’t charge you extra for it. The same goes for the Book Café; their number is 831-462-4415. I honestly don’t know what the seller on Amazon is thinking—who does he think I am, Grisham?

Kyra Davis
www.kyradavis.com
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!
Moms Of Mystery--An e-newsletter!

Somebody Pinch Me Already!

When I woke up this morning I knew exactly what I was going to blog about tonight but as usual things came up. Unexpected and wondrous things.

You see Sex, Murder And A Double Latte is now #8 on Barnes & Noble’s hardcover mysteries bestsellers list.

NUMBER 8 PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And it gets better.

Let me start by telling you about Book Sense. Book Sense is kind of like a commercial lobbyist for all the independent bookstores in the country. By this I mean that they do marketing and promoting on the behalf of independents. They also help independents develop websites and so on and so forth. You would be hard pressed to find an independent bookseller that isn’t aware of and intimately acquainted with the organization.

Book Sense has named Sex, Murder And A Double Latte as one of their notable books!

This is a huge deal!!!! Sex, Murder And A Double Latte can be found in most Borders, Barnes & Nobles, Walmarts and Waldens but only in a handful of independents (with the exception of the independent mystery book stores that mostly have my novel in stock.)

After this that might change.

The effect this may have on orders and sales is potentially significant and I’m obviously thrilled about that but more than that I’m honored. Book Sense is a well respected organization. They don’t necessarily shun chick lit (as so many in the literary world do) but they don’t always sing its praises either. I’m thrilled that they feel my book is worthy of their notice, let alone their commendation.

And I’m honored by the support that all of you have provided me with. The reviews and media recommendations wouldn’t mean anything if you weren’t out there buying my book and telling your friends about it. I know I keep saying this but THANK YOU!

I have to go now. I just got back from a Shabbat dinner that was held at my friends Rachel and Doug Abrams’ house. Rachel coauthored (with Mantak Chia) her second nonfiction book and it has just been released. It’s titled: The Multi-Orgasmic Woman : Discover Your Full Desire, Pleasure, and Vitality and I obviously want to read it. Both she and her husband are wonderful, kind hearted people and they are both very devout Jews. I only bring that up because I don’t think that ‘devout Jew’ are words that pop into people’s heads when they hear the title of her book. But more on her and all that later---I have some very important reading to do.

Kyra Davis
www.kyradavis.com
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!
Moms Of Mystery--An e-newsletter!

And There's More

As usual I have a lot to announce.

We’ll start with Mom’s of Mystery. My friend and fellow author Alina Adams and I put out an e-newsletter. It started out as a collection of articles for mothers who enjoy reading and writing mysteries but it has become much more than that. In this latest edition we have included articles that address everything from writing mysteries to our personal experiences with various racial issues. So if you’re a mom, a dad or a single woman considering getting your tubes tied you might very well find that there’s something in it that interests you.

Secondly (and I’m announcing this one rather late—shame on me) I interviewed and was interviewed by Lynn Messina author of Mim Warner’s Lost Her Cool and Fashionistas on Beatrice.com. The exchange is called Author2Author and the way it works is that I ask Lynn a question one day—she answers and then the next day she asks me a question and (that’s right, you guessed it) I answer. The first post was on Monday but all the posts are easy to access.

So to sum up the events/revelations of the last few days:

1) Sex, Murder And A Double Latte made the Barnes & Nobles hardcover mysteries bestseller list on its first week out of the gate. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU ALL FOR MAKING THAT HAPPEN!!!
2) Kristin Harmel chose Sex, Murder And A Double Latte as one of two books of the month for WB’s morning show The Daily Buzz
3) Mom’s of Mystery is out and ready to be read and enjoyed
4) Beatrice is featuring my interview with Lynn Messina and more of that interview will be posted each day this week.
5) Last but not least For The Love Of A Dogis in its second week. 8 chapters are already posted and they’re only 1-2 pages each which means you can get away with reading the whole thing while your boss is in his meeting.

I’m sure there will be more to report tomorrow but for now I think that’s more than enough. I swear, there are so many new developments lately that I’m beginning to feel a little dizzy. I guess that's why they call it a whirlwind.


Kyra Davis
www.kyradavis.com
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!

Did You Hear The Buzz?

It’s getting late---if I was smart I’d go to sleep. But I must share this with all of you: the cat is officially out of the bag. The Daily Buzz has two book pick’s for the month of May. A Connecticut Fashionista in King Arthur's Court by Marianne Mancusi and Sex, Murder and a Double Latte!!!

Things just gets better and better—which is so strange since it wasn’t too long ago that I couldn’t help but feel that things were continually getting worse.

Okay, one last quick question for all of you: For those of you who have read Sex, Murder And A Double Latte, who do you think should play Sophie in the movie? That’s not to say that there will ever be a movie—it’s very likely that there won’t be. But it is being considered by some agents and the question has come up. If you have thoughts on the matter post a comment or email me privately.

Okay, I’m going to sleep now. Actually that’s a lie. I’ll get in bed and I’ll spend a half hour writing in my journal and making notes on the outline for my next book. Then I’ll read for another hour and tomorrow I’ll wonder why it is that I’m addicted to coffee.

Kyra Davis
www.kyradavis.com
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!

The Perfect Wake Up Call

Normally it’s my son who wakes me up in the morning but this morning it was the phone which is unfortunately placed just far enough away from my bed that answering it necessitates the abandonment of the horizontal position. The caller ID told me that it was my publicist. When I answered instead of saying hello she said, “Why haven’t you responded to my email!”

I looked at my bedside clock that read 6:50 am and pointed out that the time was explanation enough. This is the problem with working with New Yorkers while living in California.

After briefly acknowledging the obscenely early hour she told me that I must turn on my computer immediately. So I dragged myself into the next room and pressed the buttons that powered up my laptop and internet connection. While I was waiting she said, “Oh, the hell with it. I’ll just tell you.”

So now I’m thinking that what ever “it” is it had better be damn good because if she was going to just tell me about it I could have stayed in bed.

It was damn good. Last week Sex, Murder And A Double Latte was #22 on the Barnes & Noble hardcover mystery bestseller list!!!

Last week was Sex, Murder And A Double Latte’s first week on the shelves.

This is celebration time people!!!

And I know that a huge portion of this early achievement can be attributed to those of you who have been following my blog. For a long time I assumed that 5, maybe 10 people were reading this thing. Then Barnes & Noble started selling my book early on their website and I posted that development here.

Before I continue let me explain something: Barnes & Noble.com updates their sales rankings daily which is one of the reasons that their numbers are considered to be a somewhat better representation of a book’s sales than the hourly changing numbers at Amazon.

I posted my blog announcing the early release of my book at 7:14 pm. At that time my B&N ranking was at 60,000. I was okay with that number since my book had just been released and there are about a 1,000,000 books available on B&N’s site.

By 12:30 am—less than 6 hours after posting the above mentioned blog, my ranking changed---to 842.

It went from 60,000 to 842.

That’s huge people! Of course it went back up again (to about 14,000) but I don’t have a doubt in my mind that it was your support that got me on that bestseller list. Thank you for buying my book. Thank you for continually recommending it to your friends and thank you for being here to share this incredible adventure with me!

You all rock!


Kyra Davis
www.kyradavis.com
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!

Hit And Run Blog

I have no time so I'll make this breif: Have you heard of The Daily Buzz? It's a nationally syndicated show that can be seen on more than 100 WB stations. Watch it/tape it tomorrow. Not allowed to say more.

Kyra Davis
www.kyradavis.com
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!

The Kid is Quick

I have been so incredibly busy and distracted lately. This morning my son asked for cereal for breakfast. I went to the counter and poured some Mini-Wheats in a bowl but before I had a chance to get the milk my publicist called. After going over some business with her I went to the computer to read my email and check the eharlequin message board to see if there were any new comments regarding my online read For The Love Of A Dog. Twenty minutes later my son tugged on my arm and informed me that he was really hungry. He wasn’t joking this time. I had totally blanked on the cereal.

Anyway a few hours after that he asked how it was possible that the earth could be moving without us noticing it. I said that if you were sitting in a parked car and the car next to you started to move you’d notice because it would pass you. However if the car you were in moved at the same time and at the same speed as the other car the movement wouldn’t be as noticeable although you would still be able to tell that neither vehicle was sitting still because you’d be passing trees and buildings. But if everything was moving at the same speed, including the trees and the like, you wouldn’t be able to tell that you were moving at all. That’s why we can’t see the earth move.

He looked at me, smiled and said, “That’s a pretty intelligent theory for a woman who can’t remember to get me my breakfast cereal.”

You know you’re in trouble when a five-year-old can put you in your place.


Kyra Davis
www.kyradavis.com
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!