News & Events
2024
Saturday, March 9th On Zoom
London Arts-Based Research Centre (LABRC)
Presenting a workshop:
Getting into Character: Breathing Life into Fictional Sleuths, Sidekicks and Villains.
Poirot, Bosch, Millhone and Plum – what makes these characters so memorable? This workshop with Lida Sideris will provide the groundwork for developing engaging heroes, heroines, suspects and a supporting cast that readers can love, hate and even relate to. Learn why character conflict, interaction, reaction and relationships are essential to creating an intriguing mystery.
Registration details. 6pm – 7:30 pm (UK), 10am – 11:30 am (PT)
This workshop will be held on Zoom. Everyone is welcome!
2023
Saturday, December 16th: Book signing at The Book Loft, Solvang, California – 11:00 am – 3 pm (PT)
Saturday, December 16th: My Road to Publication – 11:15 am – 12:30 (ET), 8:15 am – 9:30 am (PT) Hybrid event – Mally Becker, Jacqueline Boulden, Chris Keefer, Robert Knightly, Eleanor Kuhns, Amy Patricia Meade, and Lida Sideris.
An inside look at the many paths to publication. Program (free and open to the public) begins at 11:15 am Eastern. Hybrid: Library & Zoom
Bethlehem Library, 451 Delaware Ave, Delmar, NY 12054 Register here to receive the Zoom link.
Coming December 5th: #6 in my Southern California Mystery series: MURDEROUS MEANS. Hooray! Tagline: When resting in peace isn’t an option. Just when Corrie thinks she’s finally been handed an open and shut case, things get a little…hairy. Or is it scary?
Tuesday, October 10th, 5pm (Pacific Time), Virtual – Sleuths & Sidekicks LIVE book club! Join us as we visit with New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Elle Cosimano to talk about our favorite dynamic duo, Finlay & Vero, from the Finlay Donovan series. Learn more and register here.
Saturday, September 9th, 10:45 – Noon (In-person), Nipomo Library, Coastal Dunes Branch – California Writers Club – Marketing Madness and More.
GAMBLING WITH MURDER is a Killer Nashville, Silver Falchion Award finalist! Yay!
Friday, June 23rd, 9 – 11:30 am (In-person), Santa Barbara Writers Conference seminar, Santa Barbara, California. How To Be Your Own Best Publicist! Register here.
Tuesday, June 20th, 5 pm PT (Virtual), Sleuths & Sidekicks inaugural LIVE book club! Join us for a lively conversation with multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian, who’ll clue us into some of her favorite parts of reading and writing, and also dish about her latest novel, The Raven Thief. Learn more here and register for the free event here. As a special thank you, we’re doing a drawing with great prizes for registrants.
Monday, June 19th, 4 – 5 pm (In-person), Santa Barbara Writers Conference, Murder, Mystery & Thriller Writers panel. Register here.
Wednesday, May 10th, 3:30 – 5 pm (Virtual), Getting into Character: Breathing Life into Fictional Sleuths, Sidekicks and Villains, Monroe County Library, New York
Sunday, April 23rd, 1 – 4 pm at the LA Times Festival of Books! From 1-2, I’ll be at booth #363 (Mystery Writers of America, SoCal) and from 2-4, I’ll be at booth #360 (Sisters in Crime, Los Angeles).
Sunday, April 16th, 1 pm at Coalesce Bookstore in Morro Bay, CA with talented authors, Mara Purl, Tony Piazza and Anne Allen! We’ll be performing scenes from our latest novels! Can’t wait!
Sunday, March 26, 2-4 pm at Monarch Books in Arroyo Grande, CA, with a slew of other authors. I’ll be signing and talking about my books.
Hooray! GAMBLING WITH MURDER was selected as one of 2022’s favorite mysteries by Kings River Life magazine!
Gambling With Murder: A Southern California Mystery by Lida Sideris
Level Best Books; March 29, 2022
“I love this series by attorney/private investigator Corrie Locke. The entertainment business lawyer delves not only in the shenanigans of the movie business, she also has to confront a gambling scam in an expensive retirement community. The characters are hilarious and this series is a must-read for fans of Stephanie Plum.”
Saturday, February 11th, 10 am – noon, the Arroyo Grande, California, Starbucks will be hosting author Rolynn Anderson and me!
2022
Wednesday, October 5th, 4 pm at the Camarillo Library – The Writing Journey with authors Matt Coyle, Dorothy Howell, Judith Ayn and Anne Louise Bannon.
Chapter One of Slightly Murderous Intent, #4 in my Southern California Mysteries, is ready to be heard! Read to you by multi-talented actor, Casey Ballard – she does a splendid job! If the intro sounds familiar, it may be someone you know. https://mysteryratsmaze.
Gambling, Seniors…and Murder. Another fabulous article that appeared in the Santa Maria Sun on June 23, 2022. A close-up look at my books and me. So excited!
So grateful for this lovely piece which appeared in the Santa Barbara News Press on June 20, 2022! Hooray!
Such a lovely surprise to discover a reading of THE COOKIE EATING FIRE DOG by a real fire chief!
In case you didn’t have a chance to watch me live with the fabulous Sarah E. Burr and J.C. Kenney, here’s the YouTube LiveStream! It was such fun!
Thursday, May 12th at 5 pm (PT) and 8 pm (ET): I will have the great pleasure of appearing on The Bookish Hour, live on YouTube, with authors J.C. Kenney and Sarah E. Burr. If you haven’t yet read my latest release, Gambling with Murder, here’s your chance to win a copy – there will be a giveaway!
Thursday, March 31st at 6 pm (PT): Chaucer’s Books Virtual Event: Get A Clue – A Behind the Scenes Look at Writing – Starring authors Heather Weidner, Nancy Cole Silverman, James L’Etoile (and me). To attend this event on Zoom, please click here:https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84273962764To watch (live and recorded) on YouTube, click here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRVxV4ZOqkmnBj8TvT25NFQ
NEWS If you’d like to listen to my latest short story, “Undercover”, appearing in MASTHEAD: BEST NEW ENGLAND CRIME STORIES, you can hear me read it here. Author Edith Maxwell reads her short story first and I read around the halfway point. “Undercover” is about newlyweds who get more than they bargained for when they buy an old trunk at an auction. Enjoy!
2021 EVENTS:
– Thursday, December 2nd 4 pm PT Sleuths & Sidekicks at Tewksbury Library, Tewksbury, MA, Watch it on Youtube!
– Saturday, April 17th, 8:00 am PT, Rise and shine for the Sleuths & Sidekicks panel, Sisters in Crime, New York Chapter, Click here to register.
– Saturday, March 20th, 1:45 pm PT – Sisters in Crime New York (Upper Hudson), Writers’ & Readers’ Confab. More info here.
– Wednesday, February 17th, 6 pm PT – I will read my short story, Undercover, at AuthorsLiveOnline. Click the link to register and join in for two cozy mystery bedtime stories!
-Thursday, January 14th, 5 pm PT – Chaucer’s Books, Santa Barbara, CA – Zoom link here. Did you miss this fabulous program? You can watch it right here!
–Saturday, January 23rd, Noon PT – Santa Monica Public Library, Santa Monica, CA – To register, please email: karen.reitz@smgov.net Here’s the link to join in!
–Saturday, January 30th, Noon PT – Starr Library, Rhinebeck, New York
INTERVIEW: Writers Who Kill, February 2021
2020 Happenings:
– Guess who’s on Youtube?
– I’ll be on the Sleuths & Sidekicks Virtual Tour with talented authors: Tina deBellegarde, Jen Collins Moore, and Carol Pouliot, starting on November 17th: –Tuesday, November 17th, 4 pm PT at Mystery Loves Company Bookstore, Oxford, Maryland
–Wednesday, November 18th, 4 pm PT at the Mendham Borough Library, Mendham, New Jersey –Thursday, November 19th, 7 pm PT – Sisters in Crime, Los Angeles: Virtual Book Reading via Zoom, Chapter One, SLIGHTLY MURDEROUS INTENT. Register here!
–Wednesday, December 2nd, 4:30 PT, Eastern Chicago Public Library, Chicago, IL
–Saturday, December 5th, 2 pm PT at Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, California
–Sunday, December 6th, 4 pm PT Book Carnival, Orange, California. Zoom link here
–Saturday, December 12th, 10 am PT, Mystery Lovers’ Bookshop, Belmont, PA. Zoom link here
Past Events – 2019: August 10th, 2 pm – Book Carnival, Orange, CA, with author, Tony Piazza – MURDER: DOUBLE OR NOTHING September 24th, 7 pm – Chaucer’s Books, Santa Barbara, CA – MURDER: DOUBLE OR NOTHING, signing & reading! October 6th, 9:30 – 4pm, Orange County Children’s Book Festival, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, CA – THE COOKIE EATING FIRE DOG October 11th, 11 am – Pretend City Kids’ Museum, THE COOKIE EATING FIRE DOG reading with illustrator, Joan Young – Irvine, CA November 23rd, Solvang Book Loft – Pre-holiday celebration, 11 am. March 2020 – Left Coast Crime, San Diego, CA – Cancelled ——–
PANEL DISCUSSIONS/BOOK SIGNINGS
2019 February 3rd, 2-4 pm – Chaucer’s Books, Santa Barbara – Book signing. April 6th, 9-5 pm, – Writers in Action: Perfecting Your Craft Conference, Sisters in Crime Central Coast – Creating a Business Plan panel with Rolynn Anderson, Tony Piazza (moderator), Mara Purl and me at the PG&E Center, Pismo Beach, CA. June 20th, 1-3:30, Santa Barbara Writers’ Conference – Workshop: Writing Thru the Fear June 25th 10:30 – Pre-school reading of The Cookie Eating Fire Dog, Solvang Library. July 6th, 1 pm – Celebration of Authors, Cambria Historical Society.
2018:
April 10th – OMG!! It’s finally here!! Book #2 in the Corrie Locke Mystery series – 
MURDER GONE MISSING!! Hooray!!
April 14th, 2pm – Culver City Public Library – Panel: I think I’d Like to Write a Book Someday, with Sheila Lowe, Connie DiMarco and Catherine Pelanero.
April 21st – CALM Celebrity Authors’ Luncheon, Santa Barbara, CA.
April 22nd – Los Angeles Times Book Festival, noon, Booth 367, Sisters in Crime Los Angeles at noon. And 1 pm, Booth 376, Mystery Writers of America – SoCal Chapter.
April 28th – Malice Domestic, Bethesda, Maryland, Murderous Wit Panel with authors Sparkle Abbey, Ginger Bolton, and Becky Clark, moderated by Paula Gail Benson.
May 8th, 6 pm – Chaucer’s Bookstore, Santa Barbara book signing.
May 12th – Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore Birthday Bash, San Diego, CA.
May 16th – The Book Loft book signing in Solvang, CA.
May 19th – Writers in Action – Central Coast Sisters in Crime Writers’ Conference, Shell Beach, CA.
June 3rd – Goleta Valley Library – Using Your Own Life in Your Fiction: Ever wonder how real life inspires fiction? Book Panel with authors Nancy Cole Silverman, Sheila Lowe, and Tony Piazza.
June 9th – Book Carnival, Orange, CA with author Greg Harris at 2 pm.
June 10th – Noir at the Bar: Mandrake, 2692 S. La Cienega, Los Angeles, CA.
June 18th- New Book Panel, Santa Barbara Writers’ conference, 4-5 pm.
June 20th: Santa Barbara Writers’ Conference: Writing Through the Fear.
June 30th – Cambria Author Fair, 1-4:30 pm, Cambria Veterans Memorial Hall.
July 14th – Camarillo Library: Author Panel, Real Life vs Fiction
September 8th – Camarillo Public Library Author Fair, 11 – 3 pm.
November 10th – Murder at the Improv: Palos Verdes Library
BLOG TOURS:
Dru’s Book Musings – A Day in the Life of Corrie Locke
Mysteristas – Book Signing Prep (Especially for Newbies)
Writers Who Kill – Interview with the wonderful Grace Topping
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My short story, “The Nut Job”, appears in
published by Level Best Books. Now available on Amazon.
Now appearing in the Santa Barbara LIBRARY BOOK anthology – my essay, “Simply Irresistible”
Panel Discussions/Book signings:
2017:
The San Francisco Writers’ Conference: February 16th-19th, Mark Hopkins Hotel
Panels: Spinning Goals into Gold (panelist), Parsing the Fine Print (moderator), How To Be Your Own Editor (moderator), Once Upon a Crime (panelist with Penny Warner, Janet Finsilver, and Ann Parker).
Ojai Valley Library, Saturday March 4th, 1 pm: Creating, Producing and Promoting Your Book author panel with co-panelists DJ Adamson, Susan Tuttle, and Barbara Hodges.
Mysterical-E online literary magazine – Interview with Barbara Hodges
El Segundo Library Author Fair – Sunday, June 11th, 11:30 – 12:30: The History of the Mystery author panel with co-panelists Brett Battles, Gar Anthony Haywood, Richard Lange, Janet Lynn and Will Zeilinger, moderated by Eric Beetner.
Santa Barbara Writers’ Conference – Friday, June 23rd, 4 pm: Navigating the Amazon- Building Your Author Platform, with co-panelists Lisa Angle, Gail Kearns, Jason Matthews, and moderated by Marla Miller.
Burbank Public Library Author Fair: Saturday, October 21st,
at the Buena Vista Branch.
Camarillo Public Library: Sunday, November 12th, 11-3 pm, at the second annual Author Fair.
2016
Left Coast Crime – Phoenix, AZ: From Fan to Published Author, Breakfast With New Authors, Speed Dating/Meet the Authors
Goleta Valley Library: March 6th from 2 pm – 3:30 pm – “It’s a Mystery to Me” with Kate McGuinness, Nancy Cole Silverman and Diane Vallere
Los Angeles Festival of Books: Saturday, April 9th, 1-2 pm, Sisters in Crime booth 367
Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore Birthday Bash: May 7th, 10-11 am
Bank of Books, Ventura: Book signing – Saturday, May 14th, 11-1 pm
Zaca Mesa Winery, Los Olivos CA – May 29th 1-3, book signing With ten authors from the Sisters in Crime Central Coast Chapter
Santa Barbara Writers’ Conference – June 6th, 4-5 pm, First Book panel
Nipomo Library: The Good, The Bad and The Funny – Mystery authors’ panel on Saturday, June 11th, 3-4:30 pm with authors, DJ Adamson, Sue McGinty, and Baxter Clare Trautman
Casa Dumetz Winery, Los Alamos: Discussion of the Power of Persistence, July 15th 6-7 pm
Camarillo Library: It’s a Mystery to Me author panel, Saturday July 23rd, 3-4:30 pm with authors Gregory Harris, Sheila Lowe and Sybil Johnson
Santa Monica Library on Main Street: Murder Is Where You Find It author panel, Saturday, August 13th, 2-3 pm with authors: Alice Zogg, Janet Elizabeth Lynn, and Will Zellinger
Central Coast Writers’ Conference, Thursday, September 29th and Friday, September 30th – Turning Your Novel into a Movie with author Anne Perry
Manhattan Beach Library: Monday, October 17th at 7 pm – Mystery Novels set in the South Bay of Los Angeles, with authors Sarah Chen, Jennifer Chow, and Sybil Johnson.
Author Booksigning at the Ripped Bodice Bookstore in Culver City – Sunday, October 23rd, 3 pm.
Author Fair at the Camarillo Library, Sunday November 13th, 11 am – 2 pm.
Podcasts:
– CrimeFictionFM with the indefatigable Stephen Campbell
– Skype interview with the incomparable Mr. Media, Bob Andelman
– Authors Talk About It With Dr. Janelle and Dr. Rob
– KillerLegal.net. Interview by renowned Boston criminal defense attorney, Joseph J. Balliro, Jr.
– On Geekitude with the supergeek, Joe Hogan!
Interviews/Articles:
– With Alicia Dean
– On Writers Who Kill
– Dru’s Musings – Interview with Main Character, Corrie Locke
– With Mysteristas
– Santa Barbara Sentinel, page 11
Reviews:
– Kirkus
– The Santa Barbara Lawyer magazine, page 7