Next Meeting: Thursday, 2 JANUARFY 2020 at 6:30 PM
at Panera Bread, 13205 Jamboree Road (at Irvine Blvd), Tustin
After a brutal breakup with her high school boyfriend, a devastated Lolly is determined to fight the injustices of the world and decides to “put things to right” as a way to overcome her heartache and gain a semblance of control over the emotional chaos of her life. And so the summer after her freshman year in college, she applies for summer internship positions, including with the FBI, CIA, and ATF. They all reject her. Except one: The Office of Anti-Villainy and Undisclosable Matters, a.k.a. OAVUM.
Lolly’s one and only assignment entrusted to her by OAVUM is Hamm Metepakker. He is OAVUM’s top-tier superhero, but has been out of commission because of an injury. It is Lolly’s duty to keep Hamm on track to fast recovery so he can get back to battling supervillains. But it’s kind of hard for Lolly to stay focused on her job because Hamm’s not only a superhero, he’s super hot and pretty cool, and is a celebrity and living the good life. They soon start flirting and experiencing warm fuzzies for each other and get hot and heavy and—
But wait. Lolly isn’t supposed to do any of that because fraternizing with an OAVUM employee is grounds for termination. Also, getting involved with Hamm will distract him from his job of fighting the supervillains who are intent on world domination. On top of which, Hamm is rumored to be dating world-famous pop star, Daria Buttermilk, who is not the kind of person that will allow a “nobody” like Lolly to upstage her. But Lolly can’t help herself and follows her heart and pursues a course of action that sets off a domino effect of ginormously dire consequences.
Available for Kindle on Amazon
Trade paperback available at Amazon
Casey Pope writes novels in the mainstream/upmarket category, i.e., literary/commercial hybrid. His previous works include A Love Life Like Karmic Disaster, The Boy Who Couldn’t Fly, and World War Girl Soldier.
7 Nov meeting notes; 14 Nov reading list
7 NOVEMBER MEETING NOTES
Seven people attended: Casey, Lance (read the first chapter of Zrada), Leighanne, Leslie P., Marianna, Rosie (read 1.5 chapters of The Lion and the Eagle), and Sherry C. (read 1.5 chapters from Time’s Up for Father Time).
News and Notes
The days dwindle down to a precious few… the last PFL meetings of 2019 will be on 14 Nov, 21 Nov, and 5 Dec.
The PFL Holiday Party will happen on 12 December at Marianna’s joint. More details to come soon.
The next LIT UP! is happening at 7:00 p.m. on 19 November at Bardot Bars & Coffee, 662 El Camino Real, Tustin. You can download posters here (1-up and 2-up). As always, be sure to check the LIT UP Facebook page for more details on the authors.
14 NOVEMBER READING LIST
Maddie (10/17)
Leighanne (11/7)
Shari (10/24)
Leslie P. (11/7)
Burt (10/17)
Joanne (10/24)
Dana S. (10/10)
Lisa W. (10/24)
Casey (11/7)
Glenda (10/24)
Marianna (11/7)
PJ (10/24)
Dennis P. (10/24)
Lance (11/7)
Rosie (11/7)
Sherry C. (11/7)
24 Oct meeting notes; 7 Nov reading list
24 OCTOBER MEETING NOTES
Eleven people attended: Dennis P. (read a partial chapter from Winesburg Revisited), Glenda, Joanne, Lance, Leighanne, Leslie P., Lisa W., PJ (read a short story, “Paradise is Not on the Menu”), Rosie, Shari, and Sherry C. (read a chapter from Time’s Up for Father Time).
News and Notes
There will be no 31 October meeting. There will be too many ghosties and ghoulies and long-legged beasties about to make it to Panera.
PJ recommended ChapterBuzz, a Scribd alternative that allows authors to post a chapter at a time of a work-in-progress and share it with readers.
Leighanne and Rosie reminded us that NaNoWriMo is at our throats once again. They’re both Municipal Liaisons for the Orange County South region. To find out how NaNo works in general or to see OC South events, check the NaNo website.
The 22 October LIT UP! was a success, with another near-capacity crowd hearing readings from DP Lyle, Jolene D’Zmura, and Lorenzo Porricelli.
The next LIT UP! is happening at 7:00 p.m. on 19 November at Bardot Bars & Coffee, 662 El Camino Real, Tustin. You can download posters here (1-up and 2-up). As always, be sure to check the LIT UP Facebook page for more details on the authors.
7 NOVEMBER READING LIST
Maddie (10/17)
Leighanne (10/24)
Shari (10/24)
Leslie P. (10/24)
Burt (10/17)
Joanne (10/24)
Lance (10/24)
Dana S. (10/10)
Lisa W. (10/24)
Casey (10/17)
Glenda (10/24)
Marianna (10/17)
Rosie (10/24)
PJ (10/24)
Dennis P. (10/24)
Sherry C. (10/24)
Lily (9/19)
Chasing Clay, Lance Charnes, crime/caper
It’s pure white, deep blue… and dirty all over.
Nam Ton ware – centuries-old ceramics from Southeast Asia’s Golden Triangle – captivated the DeWitt Agency’s tech-tycoon client. Now Immigration and Customs Enforcement is on his case for buying smuggled antiquities. To get immunity, he’s hired the agency to run an off-books investigation into Nam Ton’s source.
Disgraced ex-L.A. gallerist and ex-con Matt Friedrich is in charge. If he finishes within sixty days, he’ll earn an early end to his probation. If he doesn’t, he may go back to prison for bending the federal criminal code into a pretzel.
Soon enough, Matt’s in San Francisco, getting tight with Savannah, the client’s beautiful art advisor, to scam his way into the smuggling operation. As the burglary, blackmail, tax evasion and customs fraud piles up and Matt finds himself sandwiched in a federal turf war, he realizes he’s in way over his head with no good way out. And that’s before he ends up in a real live jungle.
Matt’s dealing with a type of art he knows nothing about from an area he’s seen only in war movies. Now the fate of some trafficked pottery may decide whether Matt gets his freedom… or spends a long stretch in a concrete cell.
Available for Kindle on Amazon
Trade paperback available at Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Lance Charnes has been an Air Force intelligence officer, information technology manager, computer-game artist, set designer and Jeopardy! contestant, and is now an emergency management specialist. He’s had training in architectural rendering, terrorist incident response and maritime archaeology, but not all at the same time. His Facebook author page features spies, archaeology and art crime.
Chasing Clay is the third book in the DeWitt Agency Files series, following The Collection and Stealing Ghosts.
17 Oct meeting notes; 24 Oct reading list
17 OCTOBER MEETING NOTES
Twelve people attended: Burt, Casey, Dennis P. (read a chapter from Winesburg Revisited), Glenda, Joanne, Lance, Leighanne, Leslie P., Maddie, Marianna, Rosie (read two chapters from The Lion and the Eagle), and Sherry C. (read a chapter from Time’s Up for Father Time).
News and Notes
There will be no 31 October meeting. There will be too many ghosties and ghoulies and long-legged beasties about to make it to Panera.
The next LIT UP! is happening at 7:00 p.m. on 22 October at Bardot Bars & Coffee, 662 El Camino Real, Tustin. You can download posters here (1-up and 2-up). The lineup:
- Crime writer DP Lyle.
- YA paranormal author Jolene D’Zmura.
- Multi-genre author/screenwriter Lorenzo Porricelli.
As always, be sure to check the LIT UP Facebook page for more details on the authors.
The last two LIT UP! events for 2019 will be on 19 November and 10 December.
24 OCTOBER READING LIST
Maddie (10/17)
Leighanne (10/17)
Shari (10/10)
Lily (9/19)
PJ (9/12)
Leslie P. (10/17)
Burt (10/17)
Joanne (10/17)
Lance (10/17)
Dana S. (10/10)
Lisa W. (10/3)
Casey (10/17)
Glenda (10/17)
Marianna (10/17)
Dennis P. (10/17)
Sherry C. (10/17)
Rosie (10/17)
10 Oct meeting notes; 17 Oct reading list
10 OCTOBER MEETING NOTES
Ten people attended: Casey, Dana S., Dennis P., Glenda, Lance, Leighanne, Leslie P., Rosie (read two chapters from The Lion and the Eagle), Shari, and Sherry C. (read two chapters from Time’s Up for Father Time).
News and Notes
There will be no 31 October meeting. There will be too many ghosties and ghoulies and long-legged beasties about to make it to Panera.
Dennis P. finished his latest Red Car Noir novel, Frenesí, due for release in Q3 2020.
Dana’s novel Cast in Firelight, due for release in 2020, is now listed in Goodreads, in case you want to add it to your “Want to Read” shelf.
The next LIT UP! is happening at 7:00 p.m. on 22 October at Bardot Bars & Coffee, 662 El Camino Real, Tustin. You can download posters here (1-up and 2-up). As always, be sure to check the LIT UP Facebook page for details on past authors and programs.
17 OCTOBER READING LIST
Maddie (9/12)
Leighanne (10/10)
Shari (10/10)
Lily (9/19)
PJ (9/12)
Leslie P. (10/10)
Burt (9/26)
Joanne (9/26)
Lance (10/10)
Dana S. (10/10)
Lisa W. (10/3)
Casey (10/10)
Dennis P. (10/10)
Glenda (10/10)
Sherry C. (10/10)
Rosie (10/10)
Marianna (8/29)
3 Oct meeting notes; 10 Oct reading list
3 OCTOBER MEETING NOTES
Eight people attended: Casey (read the back-cover text for The Ginormous Love Life of the Superhero’s Intern), Dennis P. (read a chapter from Winesburg Revisited), Lance, Leighanne, Lisa W. (read a chapter from Roundabout), Rosie, Shari, and Sherry C.
News and Notes
The next LIT UP! is happening at 7:00 p.m. on 22 October at Bardot Bars & Coffee, 662 El Camino Real, Tustin. You can download posters here (1-up and 2-up). As always, be sure to check the LIT UP Facebook page for details on past authors and programs.
10 OCTOBER READING LIST
Maddie (9/12)
Leighanne (10/3)
Shari (10/3)
Lily (9/19)
PJ (9/12)
Leslie P. (9/19)
Burt (9/26)
Joanne (9/26)
Lance (10/3)
Dana S. (9/26)
Sherry C. (10/3)
Rosie (10/3)
Lisa W. (10/3)
Casey (10/3)
Dennis P. (10/3)
Glenda (8/22)
Marianna (8/29)
