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by Elizabeth Sims
latest nonfiction |
You've Got a Book in You
A Stress-Free Guide to Writing the Book of Your Dreams
by Elizabeth Sims
Published by Writers Digest Books, April 15, 2013
"You won't find an easier-to-follow or more inspirational writing guide." —L.J. Sellers, author of the bestselling Jackson mysteries
Writing a book is fun and easy--yes, FUN AND EASY--but it may not always feel that way. How do you find the time to write? How do you keep momentum? How do you deal with the horror of showing anyone a single sentence of your work-in-progress? The answers remain fun and easy, and author Elizabeth Sims will take your hand, dispel your worries, and show you how it's done in this stress-free guide to accomplishing your dream of writing your book.
In You've Got a Book in You, Elizabeth is that encouraging voice guiding you through the entire process, from finding the right time and place to gathering all of your creative tools to diving right in and getting it done--page by page, step by step. It's easier than you think, and it all starts right here, right now.
VIDEO: Elizabeth Introduces You've Got a Book in You
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The Rita Farmer Mysteries |
The Actress
Rita Farmer Mystery #1
Published 2008 by St. Martin's Minotaur
"Intricate and surprising, this is a gripping read and a promising start to a new mystery series." —Booklist
Aspiring actress and single mom Rita Farmer has gone from struggling to find work to downright desperate. If she doesn’t land a paying job soon—horror movie, soap commercial, anything—she’s afraid her ex-husband will use her dire financial straits to take away Petey, her cherished four-year-old son.
While she's charming the crowd at storytime at the L.A. library, a celebrity defense attorney approaches her with an unusual job offer: So long as she’s discreet, Rita can rake in $1,000 a day preparing his client for her appearance in court. Easy money? Hardly. His client, Eileen Tenaway, is not only a wealthy heiress and a queen of the tabloids but she’s been charged with the murder of her own child. The attorney needs Rita to coach Eileen secretly to help her seem more sympathetic, more human. He needs the jury to believe not only her words, but the subtle cues of body language, facial expressions, even vocal style. Rita knows she can do it, but what she doesn’t know is how determined she’ll become to find out what really happened to Eileen’s child that night. Her life, and Petey's, will depend on it.
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The Extra
Rita Farmer Mystery #2
Published June 2009 by St. Martin's Minotaur
"Entertaining second Rita Farmer misadventure."
—Publisher's Weekly
Studying to be a lawyer, Rita takes dreggy acting jobs to pay the bills.
Dressed in police uniform as an extra on a
movie shoot, she wanders into
a rough part of town only to be pulled into a vicious assault. Rita
chases off the men but the boy they attacked isn’t out of danger
yet. Rita’s heart goes out to him and his grandmother Amaryllis
B. Cubitt, the director of an urban mission that Rita had turned
to for help years ago. But the mission has changed from its unassuming
past, and is now flush with private donations and gruff
guards posted at the doors. Rita can’t help but wonder if now
Amaryllis is too proud to ask for the help she needs.
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On Location
Rita Farmer Mystery #3
Published August 3, 2010 by St. Martin's Minotaur
"Sims’ plotting and dialogue are brisk and sharp, and the characters of Rita and George—both interestingly introspective—raise this well above the genre norm. Crime fiction as smart as it is compelling."
—Booklist
Rita Farmer knows exactly how hard it is to break into the movie business. Acting was the big dream that brought her out to L.A. in the first place. And while she never made the red carpet, that big dream did turn into a modest profession that kept her and her son afloat. So from time to time she'll lend her talents as a favor.
Kenner and Lance de Sauvenard, heirs to a timber fortune, don't really need a favor to make their art film, but since Lance is dating Rita's sister, Gina, there's no way for Rita to worm her way out of a read-through. Gina is all for the project--or at least her new boyfriend--and she goes with Lance to scout locations on his family's land holdings in the Northwest. When they don't return as planned and flood waters start to rise, Rita can't help dashing into the wilds to bring her sister home, and when foul play becomes more and more likely, her sometime lover, George Rowe, is right on her heels.
Smart, spirited, and way too devoted to her sister for her own safety, Rita Farmer shines.
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Holy Hell
Lillian Byrd Crime Novel #1
Published 2002 by Alyson Books
"Read it. You'll love it. You'll want more." —Liberty Press
Lillian Byrd is a small-time reporter with a flair for making big-time mistakes—like getting fired for fending off the boss's son with an X-Acto knife and breaking up with her girlfriend for no good reason—so her investigation into the disappearances of women around the Detroit area might not be the best idea. But when one of the missing women turns up dead and Lillian recognizes the curiously mutilated corpse, she's in too deep to get out. Of course, it doesn't help that she's still fighting off the boss's son and ducking the intensely aggressive attentions of the roughest dyke in town. Now, after simultaneously blowing the case for the police and revealing herself to the killers, she is completely on her own. Can she catch the murderers before they catch up with her?
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Damn Straight
Lillian Byrd Crime Novel #2
Published 2003 by Alyson Books
Lambda Literary Award Winner
"A sassy, smart, ultimately thoughtful thriller." —Booklist
After her narrow brush with death in Holy Hell, you'd think Lillian Byrd would have learned to keep her head down, but when a friend in crisis calls from California, Lillian jumps on a plane and wings her way from Detroit to Palm Springs—and
danger. It's the long weekend of the Dinah Shore golf tournament, the wildest women's sporting event in the world, when thousands of lesbians descend on the desert community of Rancho Mirage and take over. At a pre-championship party, Lillian leaps into a slippery romance with a top LPGA star. But her superstar athlete has a secret: Someone is quietly terrorizing her. Lillian, eager to help, goes undercover as a high-profile reporter, an unhinged nun, and a professional caddie while uncovering layer after disturbing layer of the golfer’s past. Finally, with violence erupting at every turn, Lillian uncovers her lover's ultimate horrifying secret—and
it is not at all what she had guessed.
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Lucky Stiff
Lillian Byrd Crime Novel #3
Published 2004 by Alyson Books
"A flawless narrative... A nifty little puzzle solved by a most intriguing female detective." —Library Journal
Once again Lillian Byrd is down on her luck, strumming her mandolin for
spare quarters alongside Blind Lonnie, Detroit's resident blues guitarist.
But a chance encounter with her childhood friend Duane is about to
completely turn her life on its heels. One summer night when Lillian was 12,
flames ripped through the Polka Dot, a bar owned and run by her parents.
Three bodies were found in the ashes: those of her mother, her father, and
the barmaid, Trix Hawley. Or so Lillian has always thought. But when Lillian
and Duane put their stories together, the past erupts into a wild enigma. As
the two friends travel—accompanied by the tenacious crime writer Minerva LeBlanc—to the underbelly of Las Vegas to find the truth about their parents,
Lillian must face the demons of the past in ways she never dreamed possible.
With Lucky Stiff, the author of the best-selling Lillian Byrd Crime Novels
has crafted yet another white-knuckle thriller.
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Easy Street
Lillian Byrd Crime Novel #4
Published 2005 by Alyson Books
"Lillian is a true original." —Kirkus Reviews
Her old Caprice is convulsing through the last of its death throes, her pet rabbit and constant companion Todd ails, and as usual Lillian Byrd is flat broke.
For a few extra bucks she agrees to help an old friend renovate her house, but as you know, nothing ever goes smoothly in the life of Lillian Byrd.
By the end of the first day on the job there's a partially demolished wall, a mysterious stash of cash, and a dead body. And Lillian's attentions have been diverted by the appearance of a drop-dead gorgeous neighbor.
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Left Field
Lillian Byrd Crime Novel #5
Published 2014 by Spruce Park Press
"By far the best detective of the bunch." —Just Out
Lillian Byrd has been searching her soul after the gut-wrenching experience of killing someone in self-defense. Scrabbling to make ends meet, she takes a job as a quasi detective, solving life’s little mysteries for a pair of eccentric women in one of Detroit’s last prestigious neighborhoods. When she spots a corpse on the next-door lawn, she jumps back into honest work as an investigative journalist.
Her friend Mercedes reveals that the dead woman, Abby Rawson, played on a women’s softball team she manages and pressures Lillian into taking her spot. Softball turns to hardball when Lillian not only plunges into a love affair with the team’s sought-after pitcher but also goes undercover as an exterminator, a squatter, and a charity worker to investigate Abby’s death and the corrupt medical organization she worked for. No one on the team is above suspicion, and as they get closer to snagging the coveted championship title—and Lillian gets closer to discovering the dark truth behind Abby’s murder—she fights to keep her new love in her life and literally save her own.
Filled with Lillian Byrd’s trademark snark, nail-biting twists and turns, and a thrilling climax, Left Field scores a grand slam that’ll leave readers cheering in the stands.
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nonfiction |
You've Got a Book in You
A Stress-Free Guide to Writing the Book of Your Dreams
by Elizabeth Sims
Published by Writers Digest Books, April 15, 2013
"You won't find an easier-to-follow or more inspirational writing guide." —L.J. Sellers, author of the bestselling Jackson mysteries
Writing a book is fun and easy--yes, FUN AND EASY--but it may not always feel that way. How do you find the time to write? How do you keep momentum? How do you deal with the horror of showing anyone a single sentence of your work-in-progress? The answers remain fun and easy, and author Elizabeth Sims will take your hand, dispel your worries, and show you how it's done in this stress-free guide to accomplishing your dream of writing your book.
In You've Got a Book in You, Elizabeth is that encouraging voice guiding you through the entire process, from finding the right time and place to gathering all of your creative tools to diving right in and getting it done--page by page, step by step. It's easier than you think, and it all starts right here, right now.
VIDEO: Elizabeth Introduces You've Got a Book in You
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The Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra
SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS OF MUSIC ON THE STRAIT
1932-2007
by Elizabeth Sims and Ned Thomas
Published 2007
"A very entertaining look at the anatomy of a symphony orchestra, as told by the people who made it happen!" —soprano Nancy Beier
In celebration of the 75th year of the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra of Washington State, U.S.A.
percussionist Elizabeth Sims compiled engaging personal accounts for this extraordinary historical record.
Photos of the book signing can be found on the more page in the gallery.
This book, and its companion CD, can be purchased from the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra. Phone 360-457-5579.
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