There are 325 Web Log Items in 41 pages and your are on page number 1 |
| Please Watch for This Young Woman |
Hi Everyone,
This young woman worked for a club I belong to in Portland, Oregon. She disappeared from Portland, but she could be anywhere now, and I hope you will keep your eyes peeled for any sightings of her.
I sincerely hope she hasn't been killed by someone she knew, or a stranger, and that she is out there somewhere--either suffering from amnesia, or in hiding from some one or some thing she is afraid of. If you recognize her, please contact me or the University Club in Portland.
Whoops. I haven't figured out how to get the photos in here. I'll try again.
UC Club News | May 1, 2008
Heather Dawn Mallory
Update about Missing Person
HEATHER DAWN MALLORY
To Our Members,
After all the work of the Mallory family, the continuing efforts of the Portland Police, and all the help of Heather's friends, we still have no answers as to the whereabouts of Heather Mallory after over 6 weeks. Because of this frustrating and difficult situation, and because of the generosity of many of our Members, the University Club will be holding a press conference announcing an additional $5000.00 reward for information leading to a resolution of Heather's disappearance.
The press conference will be held this Friday at 10:30 here at the Club. The Portland Police as well as Heather's parents, family and friends will gather in the Gold Room for our announcement.
It is our hope that by bringing this back to the eye of the public someone will step forward with information that will lead to the most positive outcome possible in determining where Heather is and what has happened. I know Heather is in our thoughts and prayers as well as her family during this most difficult time. Thank you all for your interest and your support.
Sincerely,
Robert J. Parsons
UC General Manager
UNIVERSITY CLUB OF PORTLAND
1225 SW Sixth Ave
Portland, OR 97204
www.uclubpdx.com
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I've been trying to write all day--a soggy, rainy day that looks nothing like May 3rd should! I have three dogs and five cats gathered around me, sitting on my desk, wanting to go out and then come in. It's a fulltime job just feeding all of them and being sure they're safely in at night! All my cats have now accepted Yogi Bear, the rescue Bernese Mountain Dog who has come to be Willow's little brother. He sleeps next to my bed all night, and follows me everywhere--but he is so afraid of men. Someone male has been mean to him.
My kitchen counters look fantastic, but, alas, the granite guys started to replace the fake rock that fell off the parapets on my deck, and discovered that the man I hired to put the TREX deck on built it on a substructure that was full of dry rot. So now, I have to pay for that part again. My deck has lots of holes 8"-10" deep in it, but it's too rainy to sit out there anyway.
Keep your fingers crossed, but it looks as though I may get to host my own movies that will be showing on the Lifetime Movie Network. I'd enjoy that.
My love to you all,
Ann |
| Posted by Ann on Saturday, May 03, 2008 at 18:16 |
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| For New and Old Writers, etc |
Hello Everyone,
This is a great conference for beginning--and accomplished--writers in the Northwest. So many people write to me for advice on writing and it's difficult for me--if not impossible--to mentor and give advice one by one. But please consider attending this conference. OR a similar conference in your state. I got most of my first writing contracts this way. I met both magazine and book editors at this conference way back in the day. For information on writers' conferences around America, subscribe to THE WRITER and WRITERS' DIGEST.
Pacific Northwest Writers Conference
PNWA News
PNWA Summer Conference
July 17 – 20, 2008
Seattle Airport Hilton & Conference Center
Turn your dreams into reality.
At the conference, you have the opportunity to:
Learn how to write a bestselling novel or screenplay.
Find out about the business side of writing.
Meet agents and editors.
Take steps toward publishing and watching your dreams come true.
First 150 to register will receive TWO agent appointments and one editor appointment.
For conference pricing deadlines, details on over 30 agents and editors attending the conference, as well as workshops, panels, keynote and featured speakers, please visit www.pnwa.org
IF YOU ARE SERIOUS ABOUT WRITING, AND LIVE IN WASHINGTON OR OREGON, PLEASE SIGN UP! OREGON ALSO HAS THE WILLAMETTE WRITERS' CONFERENCE IN PORTLAND IN THE SUMMER.
I like the thread in the guestbook on beloved toys. I still have a black and white cow bank that I got for my fifth Christmas. Her belly has a hole in it--from my trying to break in and get some coins. I got a "Didy Lou" baby doll that Christmas, too. I could feed her a bottle and then she'd wet her diapers. What fun! And my Aunt Freda (one of my two young and single aunts at the time) bought me my first doll house. How I loved it. I still have five doll houses in my house and writing cabin. And I have towns with little houses, trees, commercial buildings, lighthouses, flowers, fences, cars and animals spread all over the flat surfaces. I love miniature things. No to mention all the scale model cars I have. When I'm old and done writing, I plan to play with all of it, and make new drapes for the houses. Still too cold here to plant the perennial bulbs I got at Costco, but the sun is shining. And I have three men in my kitchen putting in the new granite tile. It's going to be so impressive. Now, I just have to have somebody over for supper. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll be doing a satellite remote conference with a group of true crime experts/writers at Forensic Pathologist Cyril Wecht's annual conference at Duquesne University in Pittsburg. I couldn't make the trip, but they were gracious enough to let me be on the panel, speaking from Seattle. Cyril Wecht and Dawna Kauffman have written a new book that's fascinating, and I'm going to write a three-page intro to it. I'll post the title on my homepage as soon as it's published.
Through with sex, Colorado Rosie? Surely not. Isn't there a Mr. Colorado Rosie? Who might be getting grumpy by now???? I have to stop this and start writing on my book today .
My best to all of you!
Ann
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| Posted by Ann on Thursday, April 03, 2008 at 13:44 |
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| Almost April |
Dear Arfs and All!
I know that I am so late with a blog. I seem to always be apologizing for that. Even though the days are longer in the evening, I still can’t get everything done that I intend to do. Each day creeps up on me.
Yesterday, Donna Anders and I had a nice time at the Northwest Women’s Show, and signed books for three hours. I was hoping to see some of the Washington State contingent there, but I think the blizzard—yes, heavy snow at the end of March—kept them snug in their homes. Today isn’t much better, but it’s more rain than snow.
My daffodils, tulips, grape hyacinths, and the perennials that hung in there from last year are all blooming bravely in the cold rain. I know that all it will take is just a few days of sunshine and temps above 50 to make it REALLY seem like spring. It’s all relative; I remember when I lived near Buffalo, N.Y., I was thrilled to go outside and realize it was a balmy 40 degrees. And Jan, in Alaska, and Rene and the gals in the Midwest will pooh-pooh a little wet snow in Seattle.
The movie about the Green River Case that is going to show Sunday is not made from my book—I want to back away from that as far as possible. This movie was made from ex-Sheriff Dave Reichert’s book, and is mostly about how heroic he was. His book and many of his political speeches have made it sound that he did it all single-handedly. He did not, and the real hard workers in the Green River Case had their stories diminished in his book and are virtually invisible in the TV movie. He gave an interview to a Seattle paper today where he apologizes for the inference that he did it all by himself, and says he has called other detectives to say he’s sorry about how the movie turned out. There are still some hard feelings, as there should be; the guys and women, too, who worked so hard—even during the 7 or 8 years when Reichert wasn’t even working in Homicide—deserved better. Although Reichert is generally believed to be the cop who took a swab from Gary Ridgway’s mouth way back in 1987 and kept it frozen, he didn’t. It was Matt Haney, now Chief of Police on Bainbridge Island, who thought Ridgway was the best suspect. Despite Haney’s insistence, the DNA matching test wasn’t authorized for many years. All I know personally is that I gave talks to raise money for Reichert during his years running for sheriff, and he told me that he would be there to cooperate with me when the GR case was finally solved—that I was the only one who could write the book. He called me on the evening Gary Ridgway was arrested, and then never returned another call I made to him. That kind of shocked me. He denied to everyone that he was writing a book or that he had a movie contract—even though I had learned from good sources that he had contracted to do both. I’m probably grumpy about that because that was the end of my hopes for a Green River movie. Now, his movie is evidently an embarrassment to him. Police work is dependent on cooperation among and between detectives and anyone who claims all the credit isn’t so popular with the rest of the department.
If you live in Dave Reichert’s congressional district, I believe you would be far better served by voting for his opponent: Darcy Burner.
I’m working on a complete revamping of this website, and think that I will be able to answer email questions better by sending those who write to certain sections of www.annrules.com Hope so. As you know, I fall behind on answering emails and I feel guilty and that people may think I don’t care about their problems. I do, but book-writing takes so much time and concentration.
If any of you have written to me and haven’t gotten an answer yet, that’s why.
Often you ask me if I’m going to write a book about a high profile case, and almost always, I have no intention of doing that. They have already been way over-covered in the media. Although my ethics won’t allow me to tell you at the time, I often hear from the suspected killers in these cases—and they want me to write about them, to come and interview them. I just can’t do it. I try to do an overview of the entire case and tell all sides, but I admit I tend to be more sympathetic with The State and the victims. Some day, I’ll be able to name names—but I can’t now.
I’ll never write about the BTK. After Green River, Running Red, I knew I couldn’t do any more serial killer books for a long time. The Green River case wasn’t very well known back in the early eighties when I first started following it, and only became infamous a few decades later. The BTK was similar. And the BTK’s crimes were filled with cruelty and torture. As I’ve said so many times, I spend at least a year thinking about each case I choose, and some of them can plunge me into despair about man’s inhumanity to man. Serial Killer cases do that, so I’m taking a vacation from them.
Every single day brings emails from women who are living or have lived with domestic violence. They want me to write a book about them, but there are too many tragic and shocking cases. A while back in the guestbook, there was a suggestion from a reader that I write a book warning young women about how not to choose the wrong men. In my mind, every book I do write is a warning. I just believe that you should show and not tell. Reading about real women who suffered from domestic violence is the best warning I know of, but I can’t write hundreds of these stories. I’m just trying my best to help women get free of punishing men, or, better yet, walk away from them before they become entangled! And I really appreciate the women who have managed to both survive and thrive who post on this site’s guestbook.
I think they give hope to the women who are still trapped. Some of them have real writing talent, and I urge them to write their story themselves.
Right now, I’m waiting on cases spread all across America: Pawleys Island, S.C. and Fort Collins, Colorado, and several in the Northwest—cases that will demand at least a 500 page hardcover book to cover all the details. The way things usually go, all of them will be going to trial at the same time—and I’ll have to choose which trial to attend. I wish there wouldn’t be any new cases, and that no more people will be lost to murder and I could go back to writing humor. But experience tells me otherwise.
Not to be outdone by Heather, the galloping remodeler in Mt. Vernon, I’m finally getting new kitchen counters! Granite slabs would be way too heavy to get down on my tram—which has an 800 pound limit—but I’m happy with granite tile. It looks like black with sparkly mica splashes, but it’s really dark green. Then I decided to go for a backsplash and window wall that’s made up of small glass tiles in shades ranging from all kinds of green to mauve. I think it’s going to look really nice—and I have been in this house for almost 20 years with the same scratched up Formica.
And I have finally come to know that I can’t keep all the magazines from 2004 to 2008. I can’t give up my New Yorkers yet, but I’m doing pretty well at bundling up the rest of them and taking them to the recycle place. I’m always trying to give magazines away, too. I think it comes from back in the day when I only got fifty cents a month to buy them. That paid for two magazines then, and I chose them so carefully. The Bookmobile was my salvation when I was stuck at home with four little kids and no money.
Here’s someone whom I would dearly love to find again. Probably impossible. Her name is Flossie, and she would be about 69 or 70 now. She lived in a tiny travel trailer near Niagara Falls, N.Y., close by Lake Ontario—on an Indian Reservation trailer court with three little kids and her husband. She had very little money, but she was a great cook and taught me how to make chocolate cake with mayonnaise. She was a little plump and had strawberry blonde hair. I always admired her. Wish I knew how she was, now.
The other person was named Violet Grandin and she lived in a small town in upper Michigan. She was very kind to a young couple, their baby, and their dog (Us) when our trailer broke down . She did my laundry and let us wait in her warm home until our traveling disaster, headed for Seattle, was fixed.
Any of you have people you knew in the past who really made an impression on you with their kindness? It would be nice to hear some of your memories of special people who helped you out when you were down!
Well, the sun, which barely came out today, seems to be heading toward setting. I missed Tabloid Day yesterday, so I have to dash up to Safeway or Fred Meyer and see what the gossip is from Hollywood this week. It’s almost my only vice.
My best to all of you, and prayers for all those who are hurting, worried, or grieving.
Ann
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| Posted by Ann on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 17:10 |
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| Startling Update! |
Hi Everyone,
Today started out so springlike and warm, but then a brisk wind blew the sun away, and brought hard rain. My crocuses, purple, white, and yellow sprang up seemingly overnight yesterday, and I can see the daffodil buds about to open, tulips (mostly from HeatherMV) are bursting forth, and the Daphne (a Northwest bush with heartbreakingly lovely fragrance) is blooming. I was going to run up to Fred Meyer and buy a bunch of health food, but the rain changed my enthusiasm. A nap sounded nicer!
Here is the latest I have on the Pat Taylor/ Everything She Ever Wanted saga. I have talked to Susan, her one surviving child who was wise enough to move thousands of miles away from her, several times in the past 24 hours. "Papa'--the Colonel--Radcliffe is not dead. He is 97 and he sold his house in McDonough and bought a nice condo where he lives with Pat. Debbie and Ronnie, Pat's two younger children, both died in their forties in the last 18 months. Their official causes of death were colon cancer for Debbie, and cirrhosis of the liver for Ronnie. Her Aunt Aggie, the colonel's new wife after Boppo, her sister, died, passed away under Pat's care. I'm a little suspicious of the cause of Ronnie's and Debbie's death, but Pat was in prison when Boppo died of lung cancer.
As you might remember from my book, Susan suffered agonizing foot and hand pain, and intestinal symptoms after her mother cooked for her, but Susan couldn't bring herself to be tested for arsenic poisoning even though she had classic symptoms. It would have been too awful to realize her own mother did that to her. Of course, Susan does not talk with her mother or see her, but she is in touch with other family members. When she looks back over the years at what was once a loving, extended family, she realizes her mother tore it to bits with her schemes and crimes. It's very hard for Susan, as it would be for anyone.
Pat has bailed out of jail in Fayetteville, but other charges are pending. As you may recall from the time that Pat and Debbie took care of the Crists, they were very adept at forging prescriptions. It's possible that all these pills were for Pat's own addiction, but that would mean she took a tremendous number of them every day. It was interesting to me to see Pat back in a wheelchair--that's always been the way she wants to appear in Court. . .a weak, pitiful, fragile invalid. But then she always seems to have a remarkable recovery.
I've always said--half-joking--that I expected to write a few more chapters on Pat Taylor some day, and now I will. For now, my publisher is rushing thousands of copies of Everything She Ever Wanted to Georgia because I suspect a lot of people will want to read about what came before this week's arrest. I guess the detectives read my book to catch up on her background. This would make Pat's third felony conviction, and probably would mean "The Big Bitch" for her. No, I'm not describing what she looks like--but convict slang for life in prison. Three strikes and you're out. Actually, Pat does quite well in prison, teaching handicrafts to other prisoners and sending nice cards to people who are ill or celebrating holidays.
This is one of three of my books that are being considered for TV movies, and I think it would be fascinating to watch it being filmed. I have always wanted Rosanna Arquette to play the role of Pat. She looks just like her in the early years. (Rosanna is currently Beatle Paul's main girlfriend and Courtney Cox Arquette's sister-in-law. )
Dee from the Northwest was the first ARF to alert me to this story on FOX and then I got about 15 more emails from readers all over America. Haven't heard from Tom and Liz Allanson yet, but the last I heard from them, they were leaving on a long cruise.
I'm working away on Mortal Danger. Tuesday, I'll have lunch with Sue "The Deputy's Wife.' She's not only a great gal but she's taught me so much about computers that I never knew!
Well, I've got to go out in the wind and rain and head to the writing cottage next door where all the girl cats are waiting for their supper. They've divided up. The boy cats live over here with me and the dogs and the girls live next door. I'll be glad when summer comes because then they'r all out on the decks, and getting their catnip fix. "K.C." my new kitten-cat, is a lot of fun. He still skitters out of site when company comes--until he checks them out. He's afraid of men, but is learning to accept my son, Mike. He has the most unusual coloring. He's black, but you can see faint tiger stripes underneath the dark. Buns is still kind of mean to him, but Toonces has grudgingly accepted him. Buns, by the way, really looks odd. He almost died from his pancreatitis two months ago, and the vets had to shave his flanks to do the ultra-sound and other tests. Well, all that hair that was shaved is coming in gray! So he's a black cat with gray flanks, gray sideburns, and a dab of gray where the top of his tail would be--if he had a tail. He doesn't seem to mind at all.
Hope you all have a great weekend! And just think--we're only about 9 days away from Daylight Savings Time! Jan, does that help a lot in Alaska or are you still rising and going to bed in the dark?
As usual, HeatherMV is full of stories about her 'hood and it's peculiar inhabitants. I swear it looks like a nice gentle neighborhood, brightened by Heather and Matt's gardens, but there are those around who don't have both oars in the water, and Heather is so kind to so many of them.
I think of so many of you who are dealing with illness in people they dearly love, and sending prayers. Micki,
I'm so sorry about Mike's losing his dad.
Love,
Ann
www.annrules.com |
| Posted by Ann on Friday, February 29, 2008 at 18:28 |
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| Random Thoughts |
Hi Everyone!
We had sunshine almost all day today, and it makes such a difference in how I feel. Guess that's true for everyone? My tulips and daffodils are poking up their little fresh green sprouts, and when I cleaned my office this week, I found a bag of about 3 dozen more. I'm going to put them in some of my planters and cross my fingers. They're sprouting, too. The renewal of life in the spring is always such an inspiration. After a long sere, brown, cold winter, I'm always thrilled to see the number of plants that DID make it through. I saved seeds from every flower I had last summer. I think I told you that I'd planted seeds from Jenn Corbin's garden in Georgia (Jenn from Too Late to Say Goodbye) and I had hundreds of the most beautiful marigolds everywhere in my yard--from the old rowboat that sits on my bulkhead above Puget Sound, to the planters on my balcony. And my handyman built a kind of half-greenhouse out of a thick old window. Everything I planted in there made it happily through the freezes--snap dragons, Shirley poppies, straw flowers, cosmos, more marigolds, and some surprise flowers like Heavenly Blue Morning Glories. If I didn't write, I think I'd spend every day in my garden. I'm not organized like Heather "in the hood" is, but I'm enthusiastic!
No, most of you understand that I never even considered writing about the truly over-publicized cases--like O.J., Laci and Scott Peterson, Drew and Stacy Peterson. When the media "falls in love" with a case, I walk fast the other way. Sadly, the media jumped on the Bart Corbin cases before I could possibly do a post-verdict book, even though I'd been working on it for years before they learned of it. For a writer, that's really disheartening. I HAVE to wait until trial or until a guilty plea because I don't want to mess up the prosecutor's and defense attorney's cases by printing information that might affect a jury during a trial.
Laci P.'s mom inquired about my "ghost-writing" a book for her, and I had to decline that, too. She did find someone to do that for her, and her book was interesting. But Scott and O.J. don't deserve anyone's interest. They are brutal killers. At least Scott P. is serving hard time for killing his trusting wife and unborn baby.
Rosie, I empathize with you about losing Heidi. Our pets are such a big part of our life that it's not like losing a member of the family--it IS losing a member of the family, usually the most loyal, loving one we have. It helps me to have my pets' ashes close to my desk when I'm working, and I fully expect to see them all--healthy and happy--waiting to greet me when I cross over. But if you never love something, you miss the joy they bring you--and you bring them. As JFK said, when you have children (I'll add pets to that,) you have automatic hostages to fate. When Oprah visited Dr. Phil ( in his somewhat self- aggrandizing celebration of his 1000th show this week), they spoke of people who grieve so much for someone they've loved who has died, that they forget all the wonderful years they had with them. The day someone died is only one day--compared to all the wonderful years when they were living. It's something to think about. Heidi will be waiting for you, and Crash will be waiting for Michelle. Still, it hurts so much and we are reminded so many times a day in the beginning that they aren't where we can see those we've lost right now.
I've been a really, really good girl in my changing food choices! Forgive me if I give myself a pat on the back. No more ice cream, cream cheese or Brie cheese, no butter, no fatty beef, or doughnuts etc etc--but seven different veggies at least every day, nuts, all kinds of fruit, oatmeal, and some spaghetti sauce I invented that is made from stewed tomatoes, ground turkey, garlic powder, pepper, and oregano. I put it on bean sprouts instead of pasta. If you cook the sauce long enough, you won't even know it's not nearly as caloric as prepared sauces! My downfall is still cheese and chips, but I've switched to Mozzarella for less fat and half celery and half no salt chips. I've lost about 15 pounds, but more important, I feel so much better!
I also discovered I have sleep apnea--and never realized it. We all stop breathing about 4-5 times a night, but some of us have consistently "fractured sleep" where we wake up when we're not getting enough oxygen. Now I sleep with a C-PAP machine and I get good sleep for 8-9 hours instead of intermittent sleep for 5-6 hours. If you don't have a sleeping partner who can alert you that you snore, ask a good pal to check you out. Yes, with the machine hooked up, I look like an ant-eater, but the dogs don't mind at all.
For those of you who think they've read all my books, I hope you may have missed a few. There are 28 so far, and they're listed on this website under "Ann's Books." And they're all still in print, even if they may not be easy to find in bookstores. Just ask the clerks there if you can order them! Or you can go to http://www.amazon.com/ or http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
and you can order them there. Most of my books are no longer available in hardcover but you can get them in paperback.
Someone asked about my detective magazine ar ticles. They were published in True Detective, Inside Detective, Master Detective, Official Detective, and Front Page Detective. The companies went out of business about 10 years ago, and, for some reason, they never saved back issues. I did save the magazines with my 1000+ cases in them. Thank Goodness! My Ann Rule's True Crime Files series always has several of these older cases, re-written and updated. And I still have lots more to put in future editions of this series. But finding the old magazines themselves would be very difficult. eBay usually has some of the fact-detective issues which collectors buy, but they can be fairly expensive. What I try to do with my personal Crime Files is give you some very recent cases along with the cases from the past that made the biggest impression on me during my many years of trial-going, homicide unit interviews, and other research. A lot of people read them, but there was a certain style required, and a certain length--so I believe those I have rewritten for this century are a lot more comprehensive. Hope so. Mortal Danger, which I'm working on now, will be about the 13th or 14th collection of true cases, and I hope to write at least that many more!
I get many, many emails and letters from people who are just starting out and trying for a career in true crime writing. They ask me for advice, all the steps, education, experience, etc. I've taken along the way. They even ask me how to get people to talk to them. And I can't answer that--it all depends on their own personalities, and, ESPECIALLY, on their true sensitivity and concern for victims and their families. Being a crime writer, as I've often said, is very much like being a detective. You have to figure out ways to gather information. The best place to start is to go to a trial--the whole trial--and take notes. It's essential to have perfect English usage skills, too--so take some night classes in Freshman English Composi tion and in writing. Read the kind of books you want to write. Get in there and dig for information. Lots of you probably aren't suited to this career, but there are bound to be some "naturals" out there who won't be discouraged with some rejection slips, who will learn to meet principals of a case at a homicide trial, who will write down the names of the detectives who testify and the prosecutors who speak for the State, and follow up with writing them notes asking for an interview AFTER trial. I always watch other reporters when I'm at a trial far from my home state, and learn how they get copies of official documents. You just have to keep your eyes and ears open!
I've probably neglected to answer some of the questions raised in the guestbook, but at least I'm back blogging!
When I complained about all my communication problems in the last few weeks and wondered if Mercury was retrograde, I guess my intuition was correct. The stars were blocking all of us from making good connections!
Fingers crossed, it looks as though I'm going to have a few more movies. I'll keep you posted when I know more.
And, as I write this, I am toasty warm in my office! All it took was a blower on the gas stove to spread the heat around--and it only took 3-1/2 months to get it installed! Whoopee.
Love to all,
Ann
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The year's hottest artists on the red carpet at the Grammy Awards. AOL Music takes you there. |
| Posted by Ann on Wednesday, February 13, 2008 at 17:36 |
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| 1/6/08 |
Hi Everyone.
Ann’s Blog
I foolishly wrote a long blog a few days ago—directly onto my site—and my computer ate it. So I’m writing this on Word and hope it will save itself! I was working on the laptop I got from Walmart, the one that pops an ad everything I breathe. This is my weekend for being annoyed with stores that promise a lot, and deliver very little. I was so excited to get my new little gas stove down in my frigid office in the cabin. It didn’t work very well when it was 48 outside, but I thought I could just turn up the flames when I got seriously back to work. Nope. I just got down on all fours, tried to turn the knob for gas adjustment, and it already WAS on the highest setting.
And I am freezing. The doggone thing heats about a foot-and-a-half on each side of it, but I’m four feet away and I’m as cold as I was before I got it. All in all, it cost me $4,000 with buying the stove and getting the hook-up extended, and here I am with ice-cycles dripping off me! I thought the blower came with it, but they now inform me that’s another $200. The salesman assured me that it would make my 18X12 room toasty warm, but he either didn’t know anything about gas stoves or he was fibbing. I hardly ever complain, but this time I think I’m going to ask for a replacement that works. ‘Cause it’s really hard to write, think, and type when your fingers are blue.
What a night. Just noticed a poor, deceased, big fat mouse on the floor, too. I’m not really afraid of mice—but I am scared of rats. Maybe I’ll wait and have Mike get rid of the late mouse. Tomorrow at 5 a.m, I began a six-hour radio satellite book tour for Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder. If you’re in any of these places, you could tune in. Some of the interviews are only for 10 minutes, but some are 20 or 30 minutes.
Here’s the schedule for the shows: Cleveland: WMJI-FM, Lanigan and Malone. If Cleveland is eastern time, it’s 8:10 to 8:20. If it’s central, it’s an hour earlier.
Cheyenne and Denver: KGAB-AM Dave Chaffin and Amy. If it’s Central, it’s 7:30 am to 7:50 a.m.
Fox Radio News Network the Mancow Show. Different times all over and I think it’s taped. 5:50 to 6 Pacific Time
Prairie, MO KYMO-FM Reid Howell Show 8:15 to 8:25 a.m.
Springfield-Hartford, MA: 5 minutes only at 9:45 a.m. WAQY-FM
Bax and O’Brien Show
Cable National Radio Network CRN Jack Roberts show 6:50 to 7:00 a.m.
Toledo WABJ-AM Tami Frye Show-Taped for later listening.
Seattle, WA KWRM-FM Kate Daniels Show 7:l5-7:45 a.m
Grand Rapids, MI WGVU-AM and FM Shelly Irwin Show 11-11:10 A.M.
Detroit, MI WRIF-FM Drew and Mike Show, 11:30 a.m to 11:50 a.m.
New York, N.Y. WWRL-AM Rennie Bishop Show, Noon to 12: to 12:20 p.m.)
Colorado Springs: KCMN-AM Tron in the Morning show. 10 a.m. to 10:20 AM
Portland, OR KEX-AM, KEX Morning Update 9:30-9:35 a.m.
Huntington W.VA: WRVC-AM Jean Dean’s Viewpoint, 12:35 to 1 p.m.
Seattle: KPTK-AM Public Affairs with Lee Callahan Taped for later
Hope some of you may be able to listen in!
For those of you who take issue with my assumptions (or what you believed were my assumptions) on the Mary Winkler case in Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder, please understand that I was neither actively supporting her or actively blaming her. This was a case where I needed to do what I always do—only more so. I lay out the facts for you—the evidence, the motivation, the police interviews, the CSI search, the trial testimony and I make very, very, subtle references to how I feel. It’s up to the reader to find the little lies that don’t fit with the evidence, to assess the situation, and to come to a conclusion. Even in Tennessee, the polls taken on the Winkler case almost always came out 50/50 whether Mary killed her minister husband deliberately. Some residents felt very sorry for her, and some wanted her to go to prison forever—or worse. I didn’t feel it was my place to say which group was right. If you think I sided too closely with Mary, please, please read the book again, and very carefully. Look at the autopsy evidence, and the bank negotiations. See if stories changed at all. This particular case requires extremely close examination. If anyone truly thinks that I can be easily fooled after over 30 years of studying investigations, going to more than a 100 trials, reading tremendous stacks of police files, you are wrong. But I let you think for yourselves. Whatever your decision, this was a tragic case, one that marked the Winklers’ three children forever. I’m sure of one thing—they never should have married each other. If only we could see the future or recognize the danger signs in someone we think we love, life would be easier—and safer—for everyone!
My hands are too cold too type anymore—so I’m turning the $$%@@**&& stove off and going home to take a hot bath!
Happy New Year to all of You. I appreciate you, and will post whenever I can as I start going to the trial for the new book: Mortal Danger.
Ann
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| Posted by Ann on Sunday, January 06, 2008 at 20:06 |
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| After Christmas and Buns |
Hi Everyone!
We made it through Christmas, Hannukah, Festivus for the Restofus, and many other celebrations! And boy am I tired! Anyone else notice that it's not quite as easy to cook for 9 hours straight as it was when we were 25? I just counted up the years that I've been "Mom," who orchestrates the whole thing, cooks, buys and wraps presents, and cleans up and it was scary. Next year, I think I'll be the kindly old lady who arrives in a shawl, those lace-up black shoes with the Cuban heels, and my knitting, and a covered dish of some sort--the one that everyone curtsies to! I think my chartreuse sweatshirt with the matching sneakers, the pony-tail and the bright red lipstick may have somehow created the wrong image of a granny at Christmas! We had about 18 people--mostly family--here for Christmas Eve (When most Scandinavians open presents) and a roast beef dinner. It was a really good Christmas--no fights, and I always figure I'm ahead of the game when that happens. Ahhh families during the holidays! Andy was a great Master of Ceremonies, Mike, who, along with Marie,is going to be a parent for the first time next summer, was grinning and jolly. Leslie added 9 more pages to our family's picture album (which everyone loves), and only Laura wasn't here. She's a therapist in California and had to work, and we missed her alot. My foster son, Bruce, and his wonderful wife, Machel, have four children now. They're lucky to have a great foster son to add to their brood, Josh. Logan is 2 and he was the most enthusiastic and polite present recipient. He jumped up and down and spun around, and ALWAYS said "Thank You!" It was really a wonderful night, but yours truly needed a 3-hour nap on Christmas Day. Writing books is a lot easier than this!
I am so grateful to be able to say that Buns-the-Cat is sitting right beside me, giving himself a bath. He says to tell you that he feels so much better, and he's forgiven me for throwing all those pills down his throat. He finally started eating on Christmas Eve, and even went into the pantry and tipped over the kitty crunchy-munchie bin to get what he wanted. He was miserable for about five days, but I've got my fingers crossed optimistically now. He was so brave--he never quit purring when we petted him. He really doesn't care for the little "Kitten-Cat" that Andy brought me a few weeks ago, and KC doesn't understand personal space at all. But he does understand a loud growl and a smack in the face. He is learning that he's at the bottom of the totem pole. Toonces, who is afraid of everyone but me and a rare few other people, is upset by the new kitten and stays safely in the half-basement where he chooses to reside when his nose is out of joint. Siren and Beanie, the girl cats who like the writing cottage best, haven't noticed KC yet. It's really cold out now, and it snowed and is going to snow again, but they'll all meet up when Spring arrives. Lucy, my old dog of unknown heritage, and the kitten get along fine, but Willow, the great big Bernese Mountain Dog, is terrified of the little spitfire. Willow has no idea how big she is and that she doesn't need to be afraid of anyone or anything.
One thing comes all too clear when we have a guestbook with so many posters: life is full of many peaks and valleys, and some of us are happy and serene while others are worried or in pain. Having so many friends on the guestbook really does help, and I absolutely believe in the power of prayer for someone else who is sick, lonely, scared, or worried. We are all lucky to have so many friends all over the world!
I wanted to ask you. Should we go back to the old format, and deal with the unwanted posts from porno sites and advertisers--so we can have almost instant feedback? I'm willing to try it if you are. Some people on here are disappointed that we've lost some spontaneity with the filter on. I'll take it off, and my webmaster will try to catch the bad stuff ASAP. I would also ask that any unkind comments be filtered through all of our own minds before they're posted? Back in the day, I was on a few forums where there were posters who seemed to thrive on flaming, and that drove me away. It's an odd thing that certain folks (none of you, of course--or me, either!~) have only a thin veneer of civility and the Internet allows them to bring up their anger and remain anonymous. Kind of like road rage, only a little more subtle! With only a handful of exceptions, we have had genuinely nice, well-adjusted, friends on here and that warms my heart. Just remember that ANYONE can read what you post, so be careful of giving away deep personal secrets, your address, phone number, email address, etc. Anything that is personal that you don't want to share with all of America, the UK,Ireland, Australia, NZ, Italy, South Africa, Singapore, France, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Holland, should go to my personal email at AnnieR37@aoldotcom.
Found out today that Too Late to Say Goodbye is on the N.Y. Times Bestseller list for the 5th week. If I can hold on with that book, and have good sales on Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder (out today officially), I may just get to see them both on the list at once. Then there won't be any new books until I get myself in gear and finish #13 of the True Crime Files. I'm working on it.
I wish you all a wonderful 2008, good health, a calm and happy mind, love, not wealth, necessarily, but enough to get by without worrying, wonderful children, exceptional pets, and accomplished goals!
Your pal in Seattle,
Ann
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If you have questions about contents of Ann's books or case information Write to Ann Rule. If you have questions or comments about any TECHNICAL area of this website please send them to Our Web Author .
This page was last updated on 10/17/2007
Copyright © 2007 by Rule Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved. | |
| Posted by Ann on Wednesday, December 26, 2007 at 20:06 |
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| WEATHER |
Hi Everyone,
I'm sorry, but I somehow lost a long post. Just wanted to let you know that my hill is holding, despite the rain, and the wave water action in front of my house hasn't caused any trouble. Lots of rain, still, but, fingers crossed, me, two dogs, five cats, four raccoons and a few possums are still high and dry, and we have electricity, too!
All my best,
Ann
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| Posted by Ann on Tuesday, December 04, 2007 at 22:36 |
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