Happy Birthday to us!!!!

Patty here...

It’s our birthday tomorrow!!!!



I can hardly believe it’s been a year since I began blogging with my wacky and wonderful fellow NakedAuthors. It is truly a privilege to be associated with Paul Levine, Cornelia Read, James O. Born, Jacqueline Winspear, and James Grippando. Many heartfelt thanks to all of our fellow writers who have stopped by in the past year to say hello and to our faithful readers who support us with your insights and kind words. We love that all of you are part of our community. Just for fun here is my introductory post from a year ago explaining our name and our mission:

Why NakedAuthors? I’m glad you asked. When Paul Levine first agreed to join me in the blogosphere, I asked him if he had a suggestion for a name. He shot back with “NakedAuthors.com with a team photo, of course.” I laughed because Paul is a very funny guy. You’ll see when you read his books. Then I became reflective. Not only did the name pop, it followed sterling literary precedent set by The Naked and the Dead, Naked Lunch, and that great literary masterpiece Naked Came the Manatee. The name stuck with us. We hope you’ll stick with us, too, as each day one of us posts words that are funny or profound or downright exasperating. We’re going to talk about the naked truth of literature and life, and we invite you to join the conversation.

And since we're starting another year together, I offer you a reintroduction of sorts...

Paul Levine (the wisecracking lawyer) has worked as a newspaper reporter, a trial lawyer, a TV writer and a novelist. Obviously, he cannot hold a job. He is the author of a series of thrillers featuring Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord, squabbling Miami lawyers who, even though they aren’t married, argue every day starting with “Good Morning.” SOLOMON VS. LORD was nominated for the Macavity Award and the Thurber Prize for American humor. THE DEEP BLUE ALIBI is currently nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe mystery award and a Thriller Award. TRIAL & ERROR will be published in June 2007. Levine describes his own work as “funnier than Dostoevsky.”



Jacqueline Winspear’s (the Brit) first novel MAISIE DOBBS, was published in 2003, and subsequently became a New York Times Notable Book 2003, a Booksense Top Ten Pick, was listed as a Top Ten mystery by Publishers Weekly and received seven award nominations, including an Edgar nomination for Best Novel. MAISIE DOBBS won Agatha, Macavity and Alex Awards. BIRDS OF A FEATHER won the Agatha Award for Best Novel. Jacqueline’s third novel, PARDONABLE LIES won the Sue Feder Award for Historical Fiction and her fourth novel MESSENGER OF TRUTH has been nominated for the Agatha Award for Best Novel. Each of the books featuring Maisie Dobbs, an ex-WWI nurse turned investigator has been a national bestseller. One of the books features a nun, another a debutante, but there are no characters from Florida.



James Grippando (the guy with good hair) has never won any awards. He did win a sled in a holiday raffle when he was nine, but that was only because he lost his original losing ticket and a nun felt sorry for him and gave him another one. With thirteen novels in as many years, his closest thing to an award is a spot in the New York Times crossword puzzle: "A James Grippando novel" was the clue for #38 across. His wife says he is no longer "clueless." James' next novel, LYING WITH STRANGERS, will be released by HarperCollins in May and has already pre-sold over 230,000 copies as a main selection of Book of the Month Club, Literary Guild, and Doubleday Book Club. WHEN DARKNESS FALLS (HarperCollins, Jan. 2007) is the newest release in the acclaimed series featuring Miami lawyer Jack Swyteck, to be followed by JAZZMAN in 2008. James is also the author of LEAPHOLES for young adults. His novels are enjoyed worldwide in 23 languages.



Cornelia Read’s (the Deb) debut novel A FIELD OF DARKNESS features tough-talking, shotgun toting ex-debutante Madeline Dare, whose “money is so old there’s none left.” FIELD has been nominated for an Edgar Award, an RT Bookclub Reviewer’s Choice Award, an Audie Award, and a Gumshoe Award for best first novel. Lee Child called the book “wry, knowing, hip, intelligent, exciting.” Read just calls it WASP Noir. She has never won a sled. Nuns do feel sorry for her, though.



James O. Born (the cop) is the first recipient of the Florida Book Award for best novel in popular fiction. Born has used his career in law enforcement to write four novels based on his experience. Critics have praised his darkly humorous novels for the diversity of characters as well as the detail and thrills of police work. G.P. Putnam's Sons have published all four novels. If Irish and Canadian are considered separate tongues, his novels are enjoyed worldwide in three languages.



Patricia Smiley (the B-school grad) earned a BA in Sociology from the University of Washington in Seattle. She also holds an MBA with honors from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. Her debut novel FALSE PROFITS about a Porsche-driving Los Angeles management consultant was praised by Elizabeth George, “Patricia Smiley and her heroine Tucker Sinclair are two of the brightest starts to light up detective fiction in a long time.” Both FALSE PROFITS and Smiley’s follow-up novel COVER YOUR ASSETS were Los Angeles Times Bestsellers. SHORT CHANGE, the third in the series, is set for release July 3, 2007. Smiley has won many awards, sadly none for her writing. She continues to resist admonitions from everyone, including well-meaning nuns, that she shouldn’t have quit her day job as CEO of the Acme Sled Company.



To Sandra Ruttan, M.G. Tarquini, Tania, Rae, J.T. Ellison, EvilE, Tribe, Louise Ure, Janine, Mark Farley, Nichelle Tramble, Andi, Martha O'Connor, Stephen Blackmore, edgy mama, Angie, H, Paige, Karen Olson, Brett Battles, Daisy, J.D. Rhoades, Susan McBride, Marianne, Kathleen, TerriMo, AZ Cooke, Anonymous, Comment Deleted, Miss Snark, Lee Child, Laura Lippman, Mark Terry, Bob Morris, Paul Guyot, Dustin, Julia Buckley, Paula Benson, Joshilyn, Naomi Hirahara, DJ, Deidra Ann(e), Steve Allan, Jan, Otis, Sharon J, George, Ellen, Robin Burcell, Elaine Flinn, Karen Murphy, David Thayer, Heidi Vornbrock Roosa, Coolshoes, Barbara, James Lincoln Warren, martig, Tom T.O., Groupie, Jeff, Mims, Barb, April, Lori Armstrong, Jeff Shelby, The Deborahs, Gillian, David Terrenoire, Patrick Shawn Bagley, Kathy Fennone, Tom, John Ritter, Jess, Alice, PJ Parrish, Linda L. Richards, Deni Dietz, Counsel, Quiet Writer, Bob, Circuit Mouse, Yvette, Liz Lytle, Sue Hammond, Lesa, fotofinish, Autumn, Rita Larkin, Katherine Howell, Cara, Jake, Billie Bloebaum, Karen Murphy, Bob "Zillabob" Eggleton, stepmomma, Leann, Nancy Martin, Evie Sears, Regina Harvey, Shaz, Robert Barnes, Pam, Jon, Carol, Susan Crosby, Chuck Z, mjoy, and everybody else I didn't mention because my fingers froze on the keys. Thank you for joining our conversation!!!

I love Carol's recent comment explaining why she reads NakedAuthors so much I wanted to repeat it as a birthday present to us.

Paul's wit and politics
Cornelia's unique voice
Jacqueline's poetry
Patty's humor and heart
Jim's inspirational put-your-hands-on-the-computer-and-start-writing-or-you're-under-
arrest posts (not to mention he looks hot in that uniform)
P.S. Starting each morning looking at a photo of Grippando's hair is better than a jolt of coffee.

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