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November 12-14, 2010
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2010 Crime Bake - Flashwords Contest Submission
RULES Use at least ten of the listed "Title Words" from novels by Charlaine Harris in a flash fiction story of no more than 150 words, excluding title and author’s name. Plurals and forms that include the original word are allowed. ("Foolish" is okay; "Counseling" is not.) Submit only original, unpublished work. Do not use copyrighted characters. Include a crime or suggestion of a crime. Keep it clean. Write in English.
http://www.crimebake.org/2010%20Crime%20Bake/Flashwords_Booklet_2010.pdf
TITLE WORDS
Bedroom, Bone, Club, Corpse, Counselor, Dark, Dead, Family, Fool, Grave, Heels, Ice, Landlord, Living, Pick, Scene, Secret, Surprise, Trollop, Worse
“A trollop is she.” the counselor said of his young and lovely bride.
A bone, he had to pick with her about a secret she did hide.
At a club in her slinky dress and heels she’d party to the bone.
She was living it up while he, a family man sat home alone.
What’s worse? She embarrassed him. For that, he’d take her life.
He had a big surprise in store for his disobedient wife.
Inside the dark bedroom he waited; he staged the scene of his crime.
“She’ll be dead in minutes.” he mused. “The secret will be mine.”
For the corpse of a monster with veins of ice no shallow grave would do.
“The landlord will unearth you.” he thought. “I’ll have a talking-to.”
So through the window she crashed before she fell into the pool.
The counselor’s pick was a loser but he was nobody’s fool.
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Thriller Fest V - New York - July 2010
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ITW Thrillerfest V Photos - July 10, 2010
(Ken Follet; William Martin; Lisa Gardner; Joseph Finder) |
Hank Phillippi Ryan
Dedham Public Library - Pre-Crime Bake 2010
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Sandra & Lee Child
Lee's 61 Hours Tour - 2010 |
New Jersey - 6/10/10
Brookline, MA - 6/03/10 |
Sandra & William Martin
City of Dreams Tour - 2010
Barnes & Noble - Bellingham, MA 5/15/10 |
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In honor of her brother, Sandra has donated all her audio rights to The Perkins Talking Library. Student volunteers record Sandra's works, and all proceeds from audio sales directly benefit The Perkins School for the Blind! See 'Contact & Ordering' Tab to order.
http://www.perkins.org
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Books & Bands Event
February 2010 - Paradise Theater/Boston |
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~ Click above image to watch video clip ~
Sandra joined best-selling authors, Andre Dubus III; William Martin; Hank Phillippi Ryan; Michael Palmer; Mark Vonnegut; Joseph Finder; Gary Braver; Lisa Gardner and Tess Gerritsen (Lee Child was snowed in in NY) at the February 16, 2010 'Books & Bands' event.
The authors gathered to celebrate the release of Michael Palmer's new best-seller; 'The Last Surgeon'. Michael generously coordinated the launch party with fund-raising for The Home Base Program (a cause formed by MGH & Red Sox Foundation).
Boston Herald Article
~ Click above to read article ~
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February 2010 Books & Bands Event – Paradise Club, Boston, MA
(For the benefit of Veterans suffering from PTSD)
Sandra Lee’s Speech
“I’m honored to be here tonight in the company of such tremendous talent. I’m also thankful for the opportunity to support the Home Base Program.
Instead of speaking about my writing, I’d like to share a recent experience with you.
A while back, I purchased two VIP tickets for tonight’s event, one for each of my parents.
I didn’t take a closer look at the tickets until just yesterday, when I discovered I somehow had only 1 VIP ticket, and one for general admission. I realized my dilemma in deciding who would get which ticket.
I was tempted to stuff both tickets into one envelope and later, claim ignorance. But, that’s not my nature; I’ve never taken the easy way out of anything. Instead, I tried to determine which of my parents was more deserving of the VIP ticket.
I first thought about my dad. My dad served in our armed forces during the Vietnam War, and in his service he suffered some very serious injuries. Those injuries resulted in my dad’s post-discharge, decade and a half tenancy at the VA hospital over here in JP, and a decade and a half of physical and emotional misery. In remembering the sacrifices my dad made for our country, I decided he deserved the VIP ticket.
I then thought about my mom, who made many sacrifices of her own. While my dad was absent from the family home, my mom rose to the occasion, and assumed the roles of both parents. She exhausted herself in working multiple jobs, and in bettering herself through education. In turn, she protected and raised my father’s two children in the best possible environment. And, we were not easy children to raise; my brother and I recreated Vietnam in our own living room every night. So, in remembering my mom’s sacrifices, the polls were now even in the race for the VIP ticket.
I ultimately decided both parents were equally deserving of that ticket. I carefully measured it, and I cut it right down the middle. I then stuffed both halves into an envelope.
Well, neither of my parents are here tonight, and not because they both tried to gain access to the venue with half tickets.
My dad’s service-related injuries led to other complications, which later denied his departure from the VA hospital, and ultimately took his life, at the age of thirty-six.
My mom is away, on long-awaited and much deserved vacation.
So, while my dilemma was hypothetical in nature, what I learned from my exercise is very real. That reality is; all we can do here at home to support our veterans is equally as important as the sacrifices they make for us every day. As far as I’m concerned, everyone here tonight is a VIP.
Thanks you all very much for coming out; I wish you all an enjoyable evening. And, thank you Michael and Tracy for giving me this great opportunity.”
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Mass Lawyer’s Weekly, March 9, 2009
Former legal secretary pens tell-all ‘novel’
Published: March 9, 2009
Sandra Lee's Diary
Sandra Lee's 20-plus years working at large Boston law firms ended abruptly in 2005 when she collapsed as a result of chronic fatigue syndrome. Afterward, she started a journal as a way of processing her time as a legal secretary and paralegal.
"It was basically a tool for venting and understanding things," she says.
That diary turned into an 88-page novel called "Time Served," which was published in January by Publish America. Although the book is fictional, Lee says she either experienced or witnessed everything she wrote about. Mostly, she says, the book is an expose of law-firm culture.
"It's not healthy in so many ways," she says of that culture. "It's very tightly controlled .... It felt a little like indentured servitude."
Although Lee, 43, will not name the five firms at which she worked, she says they are among the top 10 largest general practice firms in the city.
She describes an environment in all the firms as one in which legal support staffers are overworked, underappreciated and generally mistreated. Lee lays the blame squarely on what she describes as poorly trained managers.
"It's not intended to be a law-firm basher," she says of her book. "It's basically to heighten the awareness about the mismanagement of law firms."
The other purpose of "Time Served," she adds, is to "inspire workers nationwide who feel they are in unhealthy working environments to get out before it is too late, before it takes a toll on your health."
In tandem with her new book, Lee also has a new action figure. The idea was hatched after Lee called Herobuilders.com in Oxford, Conn., to order a Sarah Palin doll modeled after the Republican vice presidential nominee. She ended up talking about her new book with the owner of Herobuilders.com, who liked the idea of a secretary action figure, along the lines of "Joe the Plumber," and fashioned one using Lee's photo. She also recorded lines for the doll including the following zingers: "Get your own coffee; I'm not a waitress!" and "My hours are 9 to 5."
"I just think it's something fun for secretaries or administrative assistants to have; a stress-reliever." Lee says.
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The Quincy Sun - Wednesday, September 1, 2010
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The Boston Herald - Wednesday, February 17, 2010 |
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Tracked Down: Ke$ha, Ayla Brown, Heidi Watney & more...
Ayla Brown rocking out with the Thaddeus Hogarth and James Montgomery bands at the Books & Bands event at The Paradise to raise some dough for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress . . . Local authors Gary Braver, Lee Child, Andre Dubus III, Joseph Finder, Lisa Gardner, Tess Gerritsen, Sandra Lee, William Martin, Hank Phillippi Ryan and Mark Vonnegut helping their colleague Michael Palmer launch his new bestseller “The Last Surgeon” at the same event, with proceeds from the sale of the book going to the Red Sox [team stats] Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program . . . Former middleweight champ “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler making a mad dash from Logan International Airport to The Kowloon in Saugus for a bag of takeout during a layover in Boston before boarding a trans-Atlantic flight . . . NESN vixen Heidi Watney ripping it up at The Greatest Bar to DJ Joe Bermudez . . . WBZ reporter Sera Congi checking out Vermont homey and Emerson grad Morgan Page at an electronic music fest at Felt . . .
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/track/inside_track/view.bg?articleid=1233356 |
The Boston Globe - Tuesday, February 16, 2010 |
Words and deeds
Ayla Brown is probably busier than ever, and one of her gigs is tonight’s Books & Bands Support Our Veterans at the Paradise. The evening also stars Michael Palmer, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Sandra Lee, Lee Child, Mark Vonnegut, and other authors who will mingle and sign copies of their books. The James Montgomery Blues Band and Thaddeus Hogarth (pictured) play throughout the evening. This benefit is for the Home Base Program, which helps veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars suffering from deployment-related stress and/or traumatic brain injury. 7 p.m. $30 (includes dessert buffet), $100 (6 p.m. VIP reception includes meet-and-greet with authors and hors d’oeuvres). The Paradise Rock Club, 967 Commonwealth Ave., Boston. 877-598-8689. www.livenation.com 
© Copyright 2010 Globe Newspaper Company.
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Book Launches & Signings ...
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~ Serenity by the Sea Celebration ~
Provincetown, MA
(Recovering Hearts Books; Provincetown Bookshop; Now Voyager Books & Gallery)
October 18-21, 2010 |
~ Launch Party for 'Time Served' ~
April, 2009
The Water Club - (Marina Bay)
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Author's book signing at Quincy Medical Center on Aug. 28
The Patriot Ledger
Local author Sandra Lee will conduct a book signing from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28, at Piatti Gifts in the Quincy Medical Center. Lee worked as a legal secretary and paralegal before collapsing in 2005 from chronic fatigue syndrome. Her writing is considered inspirational and has covered the topics of panic disorder and alcoholism. The author will sign her books, ''Time Served'' and ''Dear Alcohol.'' Books will be available for purchase or attendees can bring their own copies. Her third book, ''Separate Peace'' is in the editing process. For more information, call 617-376-5509.
Copyright 2009 The Patriot Ledger. All Rights Reserved.
Record Number: http://www.southofboston.com/820514/100 August 18, 2009
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Television Appearances...
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