Just discovered that Black Out (French version "Memoire Trouble") has been shortlisted for the French award, Le Prix Polar International. Previous winners include Elmore Leonard, Ian Rankin and Peter James.
Unger, Lisa's blog
Today Show
DIE FOR YOU was featured on the Today show this morning!
See http://today.msnbc.msn.co... for more details.
Family Affair
Today, I was featured in the New York Times "Frequent Flier" column. Naturally, it's exciting for a lot of reasons. But the thing about it that thrills me the most is that without Jeff and Ocean it wouldn't have happened. The three of us do most things together, go most places together. And while this is not always easy (sometimes messy, crazy-making, and chaotic), it's always funny, interesting, and most of all loving.
Prague
My brilliant and wonderful publicist Sarah Brievogel asked me a series of questions about the trip to Prague that inspired DIE FOR YOU. She used this for the press kit when review copies went out. A few weeks ago, Oline Cogdill wrote a little bit about my trip to Prague after I had a chance to chat with her about it before a panel we were on together back in April. But I thought you might enjoy seeing this interview, which offers a broader picture of the experience. Enjoy!
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What's In A Name?
In DIE FOR YOU, I did something I've never done before. A few months before I started writing it, a librarian in Pittsburgh contacted me, asking if I would be willing to auction off a character name in my next novel. The proceeds would benefit The Friends of the Library, one of my favorite organizations. It seemed like a strange thing to do. But I knew my good friend Tess Gerritsen had done this before. And when librarians ask me to do something, I find I can't say no. So I agreed.
On The Road
It's with the usual mingling of excitement and dread that I prepare to head out on the road for DIE FOR YOU this coming weekend. I'm excited because the release of a new book is always wonderful, because I love hanging out with readers, booksellers, seeing the friends and family that turn that out for events. I dread it too because putting an author on the road is like throwing a cat into water. We can survive it, but it's not pretty -- lots of hissing and back-arching. Most of us would rather be in a hobbit hole somewhere making up stories.
USA Today Summer Books Calendar
DIE FOR YOU is featured in the USA Today Summer Books Calendar. See USA Today Online
TV Nerd
One of my favorite authors -- and people -- Alafair Burke gave me the opportunity to totally geek out and talk about the crime television shows I love now and loved as a kid. Suffice it to say, after rambling on in print about everything from "Moonlighting" to "Hawaii Five-O," from "The Wire" to "Battlestar Gallactica," I have realized that I watch way too much television -- and have for most of my life.
Barbara Parker
On the desk in my office is a photograph of Ocean and me, when O was just eleven months old. It is truly one of my favorite photographs. The woman who snapped it, acclaimed and bestselling author Barbara Parker, did so in a very casual moment at the Miami Book Fair in 2006. We were talking about her new love of photography -- and admiring her new camera. And Kris Montee, half of the bestselling duo that comprises PJ Parrish, raved about some pictures she'd seen. Barbara said, "Let me get a picture of you!" so I grabbed Ocean and she took a picture.
Florida Book Award
Black Out wins a Silver Medal in the 2008 Florida Book Awards.
