Tra-La, It’s May

The calendar has turned over to May and it looks as though the weather has finally turned as well  Day before yesterday I needed to wear a jacket to walk outside.  Yesterday and today no jackets were required while getting my steps.  It’s about time!

But May means that March with Left Coast Crime is very much in the rearview mirror. However, I’ve just now received a link to the Lifetime Achievement Award Interview with Barbara Peters. I’m going to include the link here, but I’ve not been entirely successful at posting links before, so here’s a word of advice. If you’re unable to open the link, please send me a note at jajance@me.com, and I’ll send it to you via email. That should work. Now, as promised, here’s the YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXbaYqF6ULE&list=PLtt_4dM6Nlu84BUjvqlHCT6mRc64wJJdG&index=1&ab_channel=LeftCoastCrime

Last Saturday, I did a live event in Port Townsend.  Yes, it was a long trip, but it was a PEO luncheon.  PEO is an organization that supports scholarships for women.  In 1962 receiving a scholarship to the University of Arizona was the only thing that made it possible for me to go on to college.  As a consequence, I’ve done PEO events wherever possible—to the point that I’ve actually been made an honorary member of a PEO chapter in Arizona. 

But what doing that live event last weekend did for me was remind me of how much I enjoy doing live events. There’s nothing more rewarding that speaking to a roomful of living, breathing people—an audience that responds to what I have to say with both laughter and tears.  And that reminds me, I have another live event coming up.

On Saturday, May 27th, at 1:00 PM. I’ll be doing a multi-author event at the Roxy Theater in Bremerton.  On the menu will be Brenda Novak, Susan Wiggs, and yours truly.  The event is free.  Tickets are recommended, but showing up without one will be fine.  The idea of doing a group-grope event is to cross-pollinate our separate fan bases.  Books will be supplied by Ballast Books in Bremerton—they also brought books on the road to the Port Townsend which I really appreciated.  

So come to Bremerton that last Saturday in May.  Yes, it’s Memorial Day weekend, but most of the traffic problems should happen on Friday and Monday rather than Saturday.  And the Kitsap Peninsula is beautiful in the spring.  It may have been winter in Port Townsend last Saturday, but by May 27th and with any kind of luck, summer will have arrived in the Pacific Northwest.

One last thing. Over the past three years my ability to do live events has been severely limited.  That means my ability to sign and personalize books has also been curtailed.  So if you happen to have books you’d like to have signed, put them in a shopping bag and bring them along.

My corporate policy has always been: LEAVE NO BOOK UNSIGNED.

The pandemic may have changed a lot of things, but my policy remains fully in force.

Hope to see you there. I’m pretty sure it’ll be fun.

PS. If you don’t recognize the title of the blog, please consult the lyrics to The Lusty Month of May by Learn and Lowe.

24 thoughts on “Tra-La, It’s May

  1. Sounds like it will be a wonderful time.
    We have had a glorious stretch of weather here in New Hampshire. We have had temperatures in the upper 60s to low 80s . Looks like summer is trying to make a early appearance.
    Hope the upcoming even goes well.

  2. Oh does that bring up memories. I grew up in Bremerton and went to the Roxy theater to see movies a lot! Well, once a week anyway.
    Big fan, I’ve read all of your books. Thank you for sticking to your dream of being a writer.

  3. I remember that song well. It’s from “Camelot” which was a musical and then a movie. It was a big deal when I was married in 1962.

    I’m just finishing “Trial by Fury” where Ron Peters has his accident. I’ve thought of you when Girl Scout cookies are mentioned. I was a Cookie Mother when my daughters were in Scouts. Mints are my favorite.

  4. As a multi generational PEO from Iowa, I am thrilled to know you received a scholar!
    Wonderful!
    Your honorarium as a PEO , makes us honored Sisters!
    Thank you for sharing so much with so many.
    Lisa and ( Byron )

    • Lisa, I’m from Iowa. What’s your hometown? Mine is Stratford in Hamilton County. I received a scholarship for the first semester’s tuition at Luther College in Decorah. I didn’t know about PEO and dropped out.

      I returned to college in an adult program twenty years later. Pell Grant. BA in history.

  5. How do we get tickets to the Roxy? I couldn’t find your appearance at the Roxy website.

    • Go to Brenda Novak’s website: https://brendanovak.com. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you’ll see the Little Library Book Tour. If you click on that, it should take you to an RSVP button for the Roxy event.

  6. Live your live events–still remember the first one Sandy and I attended. It was at Ballard High School with your book Minor in Possession. Both our boys had gotten minor in possessions and you told us that if that was the worst thing that happened to them we should consider ourselves lucky.

    Wish I could make it to Bremerton. Will wait and see you again at Third Place Books.

  7. I usually don’t have any difficulty accessing your links! Thank you for this one. It was a hoot. Living on the other side of the US makes it difficult for us to attend in person.

  8. Thank you for being an honorary P.E.O. and thank you for supporting our scholarship programs. Yeah that you received a P.E. O. Scholarship to attend school.
    I became a P.E.O. in Bisbee. I was blessed to serve on the Arizona State Chapter of P.E.O. and as President of the state chapter in 92-93. Currently a young lady from Bisbee, Arizona is serving as Vice-President of the International Chapter. Alix Smith will become President if the International Chapter in 2025 at the convention in Phoenix.

  9. The link worked fine. Great, fun interview tho seemed like an ad after every sentence.

    Regarding AAA trip tiks. At least as late as 2019 they still did them. When I took a 6 week, 21 state many thousand mile riad trip, I had them do one. With that, their tour books and maps, cell phone with weather app on the dash, I hit the road – alone. Had a ball, but always get the books and maps. Easier to avoid nasty weather with a map than with Google.

    Ready for the next book, though I think it may be time to reread all! Thanks for the books, thanks for the humor, thanks for the stories via the interviews!

  10. Thanks, Judy, for the link – awesome interview!
    Be safe, have fun, and enjoy the audiences – they surely do enjoy you!

  11. I have been humming Lerner and Lowe’s “Tra la, it’s May, the Lusty Month of May…….!” ( From Camelot) since the beginning of this wonderful month!
    My husband and I got to London on May 2nd- We had been told to expect rain, rain, rain by British friends- However, what we experienced was actually occasional drizzle, and soothing mist- Only two episodes of precipitation qualified as “Showers” and were very brief- The temperature was mild, mostly in the sixties-
    Here now, back in New York City since late yesterday, we seem to be in the middle of summer- It’s muggy and very warm- – We New Yorkers, who wake up to weather reports during June, July, and August, declaring the city to be “Hazy, Hot and
    Humid,” do not necessarily rejoice when such conditions arrive early- However, at least we Americans do have Air Conditioning- In the the UK and EU AC is not something you can expect, let alone take for granted-
    I know I sound ignorant, but what is PEO?
    I see you, Judy, as having three Personas: (1) The Writer-Creator who works mostly alone, with Bill and your Characters for company, (2) the Gregarious Entertainer who loves and thrives with an Audience, and (3) That Rare Celebrity who is also Wise and Empathic, and can have truly Caring and Down-to-Earth Relationships with Members of her Audience-

  12. PEO is a Philanthropic Educational Organization made up of chapters throughout the country. They provide scholarships for women returning to school. They also operate a college in Missouri that’s for women only and was founded 159 years ago. When I do events for them, I try to do so without an honorarium.

    • Bless your heart for not accepting an honorarium! You are a good person!

  13. I have been a fan for years & most recently saw & spoke with you at the Voyager in Tucson. I am a 50 year member of P.E.O. & am thrilled to learn you were awarded one of our scholarships. I was able to establish a scholarship in Montana in honor of a friend’s daughter who was a teacher but died of breast cancer in her 30s. Bless you for your support.

  14. As a NW girl – and a PEO – recently moved back to Edmonds WA from Naples FL, I was excited to read this weeks blog. Thank you for honoring this organization that promotes women in a tangible way. I don’t get away to book events right now as I’m my husbands full-time caretaker. But one of these days I will take great pleasure in hearing you in person. I’m an Ali Reynolds and a JP Beaumont fan for the most part – but anything you write is ok by me!!!?

  15. thanks gr8 interview . Chuck in tacoma.. Just spent another $80 making sure My AI was safe. hopefully this works. sending out.

  16. Your link worked just fine, and what a treat to finally watch another conversation between you and Barbara. I was excited to hear you mention Collateral Damage, as I’m in the middle of reading that one right now. I hope you include links to lots of interviews. Your stories and background anecdotes are very entertaining, and it’s like you’ve become a friend to thousands, and not just another writer.

  17. The link worked great for me. Thanks for including it here. I’ve never been able to attend a signing or talk that you have done so I enjoyed it immensely.
    The Joanna Brady books were the first of your series I read. We used to travel to Sierra Vista every Fall and would also take drives to Bisbee and a lot of back roads.
    I got excited when I found we were at the intersection of High Lonesome Rd and Double Adobe Rd. I made my husband pull over so I could get a photo of the signs. Thanks for all your wonderful stories.

  18. Having followed the link and enjoyed that interview, I then let youtube take me to other interviews and, ultimately, to one of the recorded books. I did a Jance binge listen! And then went off and finished re-reading The A List.

    I was especially fascinated by an interview that took place back in the 1990s.

  19. JA, what an honor it was to have you in Port Townsend last weekend. Thank you for being such an inspiration! Kathy

  20. Hello. How does one get a ticket for the may 27 event? You stated that a ticket wasn’t necessary but I thought I’d ask and get a ticket anyway.
    Take care in this heat when you do those steps each day

    Can we bring books for you to sign?

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