A small, vocal group of animal activists in Los Angeles is mounting a campaign to halt construction on the new elephant exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo, and to send the Zoo’s Asian bull elephant, Billy, to a sanctuary.

Continue reading Zoo Is Not a Dirty Word

The copyeditor in me wants to do this to every McCain-Palin yard sign or bumpersticker I see… which, thankfully in my blessedly blue state isn’t too many. As a law-abiding citizen, I’ve refrained from vandalizing actual yard signs or bumperstickers, but I’m not above doing it in PhotoShop.  If you’re not familiar with copyediting symbols, you take out the L, close up the space, and the resulting four-letter word is exactly what I get when I hear McCain or his running mate bumble their way through explanations of our country’s current economic crisis. I’d write more, but I have to go take another aspirin.

What? I have a blog? Sorry, I forgot.

Please pardon me for not being like those other authors. You know them, the ones who have it all together, effortlessly (or so it seems) cranking out at least one new book each year, while faithfully keeping his or her readers updated through their website, blog, and Myspace/Facebook/Whatever.  I haven’t logged into MySpace in so long I’ve forgotten my password.  And while connecting with readers (aka shameless self-promotion) was ostensibly the reason I joined Facebook, lately it’s those addictive word games (challenge me to Scramble, I dare you!!) that have me logging on at 2 a.m.

What does this have to do with Regis Philbin?  Continue reading Regis Reads My Story on Air!

Public libraries are facing tough times of late, but I was shocked and saddened to learn recently that my local library is scheduled to close next year due to city budget cuts. It seems Covina voters last year opted not to renew the city utility tax, which funds libraries, parks, and recreational facilities, among other services. Without the utility tax, the library will be forced to shut down, along with a host of other community services and even a fire station. Continue reading What’s a Library Worth?

(Photo by Jamie Pham) 

This capuchin monkey has excellent taste in books!

Want to win your own copy of Monkey Star? Just write a monkey-themed haiku and enter it into my online contest.

P.S. Monkey Star is even funnier if you read it rightside up!

I wrote one of the essays in the new anthology, Perfectly Plum, about Janet Evanovich’s hugely popular character, Stephanie Plum. It was the first time I’ve participated in an anthology, and what a blast–all the excitement of a book release, with only 1/19th of the work!

The book is divided into three sections: Life, Loves, and Other Disasters.  Naturally, I’m in the “disasters” section. 

  Continue reading A “Perfectly Plum” Giveaway

Guys (or girls) in gorilla suits can be funny, especially when they appear in unexpected places. But the tuxedo-clad ape on last night’s Last Comic Standing was just sad. Read more on my Huffington Post blog, “The Gorilla’s Gotta Go.”