"The plot of an Alafair Burke thriller doesn't just rip from the headlines. She's one step ahead of them. 212 scares you and keeps you turning the pages into the wee hours."
— Harlan Coben

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Separated at birth

Friday, August 29, 2008

















Hope Tina makes a cameo on SNL

posted by Alafair Burke at 9:45 AM 7 comments


Happy Labor Day Weekend!


If I can ever pull myself away from the internet GOP VP buzz, I'll be saying goodbye to summer and white shoes in East Hampton. Copies of Angel's Tip will be distributed on selected Jitney rides this weekend so I hope to see lots of copies being read at the beach. Downside to my weekend: Duffer is going to New Jersey with BFF Sebastian, shown here sharing the Duffer's bed this morning (and before you tell me he needs a new bed, that IS the new bed). Enjoy what I hope is a long weekend for you as well.

posted by Alafair Burke at 7:39 AM 1 comments


Video, Radio, and Print...Oh My!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Lots of new stuff on the Net this week about Angel's Tip: A terrific interview with AM Northwest (a Portland morning show that eschews all the format's usual cliches); a radio interview with Eric Spencer as part of his "Women to Watch" show; and a Q&A with Powell's Bookstore (novel ground covered here, including which fictional character I'd like to date and the time a Wichita drag queen borrowed my name).

posted by Alafair Burke at 5:09 AM 2 comments


Are you in St. Louis?

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

If so, please tune in at 9:20 pm CST to KMOX 1120. I will be interviewed live tonight on the Carney Show.

posted by Alafair Burke at 4:28 PM 0 comments


A chat with Diana Page Jordan

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Each year since my first book, an energetic powerpack of a woman named Diana Page Jordan has interviewed me in Portland, Oregon for AP Radio. Diana now has a blog and her entry for Monday covers the territory we shared in our sit-down chat yesterday.

posted by Alafair Burke at 10:15 AM 0 comments


Back "Home" at Powell's

Monday, August 25, 2008

The Portland crowd turned out a warm welcome home to me at Powell's tonight. Powell's was one of my first off-campus discoveries when I moved to Portland for college when I was 17 y
ears old. Having been raised by a writer and a school librarian, I saw an entire city block of books as the equivalent of Disneyland. I would spend rainy Sundays there, where, thanks to used paperbacks, even my limited funds were sufficient to feed my habit. Being there for my own signing is incredibly special. (And speaking of special, a special thanks to my friend and the official event photographer, Jessica, whom I have known since she was a baby. You did a great job!)

posted by Alafair Burke at 10:09 PM 2 comments


Hard to beat a good cartoon....

Between airplane time, book promotion, and my peops in Portland, I haven't had much time to surf the web these last few days. But I'm in hour two this morning (sad, I know), and came across this. An animated TV show from the maker of Arrested Development with Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Henry Winkler? I'm already smiling.


On my plate today in Portland: interviews with AP Radio and the Oregonian, followed by the reading at Powell's tonight at 7:30. Tucked in between: the gym and a visit to the Apple Store to fix my POS iPhone (I'm convinced Jobs somehow sabotaged my old one to force me to buy the new model).

posted by Alafair Burke at 8:55 AM 1 comments


Wall Street Journal Interview

Saturday, August 23, 2008

First it was the interview on youtube.  Now Bob Hughes of the Wall Street Journal has been kind enough to sit down with me to discuss Angel's Tip...and of course it's on the web!  View the video here.

posted by Alafair Burke at 7:07 PM 2 comments


Wheels down in Houston


First out of town event tonight at Houston's Murder by the Book.  Always a highlight of the tour. Big, friendly crowd.  Smart questions.  A dog called Jack Reacher.   Compliments on the new haircut  -- oh, and we talked about Angel's Tip.  Next stop: Powell's in Portland.

posted by Alafair Burke at 7:00 PM 1 comments


A menagerie of Alafairs

Friday, August 22, 2008

I have been receiving lots of thoughtful emails this week about the launch of Angel's Tip. One of the questions I'm most frequently asked is about the origin of my first name. I was named for my father's maternal grandmother. I think the name may be Welsh or Scottish, but I know for certain that it was more common in the US, particularly in the south, in the 1800s and early 1900s, but has since died out. These days the name seems to belong only to me, some cousins, the fictional character Alafair Robicheaux, and these very cute Alafairs I found while procrastinating on the internet: her, her, her (on the right), her (love the toy), and, perhaps my favorite, her. I suppose if it rained 40 days and 40 nights, we could all stay afloat on this.

posted by Alafair Burke at 6:27 AM 5 comments


Ruh roh Shaggy....I'm on You Tube

Thursday, August 21, 2008



At least I'm discussing Angel's Tip and not doing this.

posted by Alafair Burke at 3:51 AM 2 comments


Barnes & Noble Center Stage

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Do you all know about Center Stage at the Barnes & Noble website? It is an online author salon in which readers can "chat" with authors on the Web by posting questions on a message board. Center Stage's current guest is Faye Kellerman, who was generous enough to blurb Angel's Tip. And you can probably see where this is going: From September 1-5, my father and I will share joint participation in the project. I hope to chat with many of you then.

posted by Alafair Burke at 4:02 AM 2 comments


From an eyewitness...

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Bestselling (and very tall) author Jason Pinter blogs today at about my joint event last night with Lee Child. Read his thoughts here.

posted by Alafair Burke at 6:33 AM 0 comments


Publishers Weekly Q&A

PW kicks off the publication of Angel's Tip with a Q&A with me.

posted by Alafair Burke at 4:57 AM 0 comments


Day 1



Last night we kicked off the Angel's Tip book tour with a joint event in Tribeca with #1 NYT bestselling author Lee Child. Lee was a terrific interrogator... I mean, interviewer, touching on everything from the differences between the Samantha Kincaid and Ellie Hatcher series, the dichotomy between fantasy and danger in Angel's Tip, and my obsession with the Duffer. Thank you, everyone, who was there to share a special night with me, including a certain someone who reads this blog everyday but won't post comments -- you know who you are.

posted by Alafair Burke at 4:50 AM 1 comments


I'm a Perfect 10

Monday, August 18, 2008

Okay, not really. But the official launch of the Angel's Tip book tour is among The Daily News' Perfect 10: This Week's News and To-Do's, a list of ten perfect things to do this week. Granted, the photograph went to Linday Lo -- I mean, Hannah Montana -- but to be included on the same list with "Superman" (the good one), Chubby Checker, and Cirque du Soleil is still pretty awesome.

Just a reminder, this is a joint event with #1 NY Times bestselling author Lee Child, who has kindly agreed to interview moi for the official launch. Details: Tonight, August 18, 7:00-8:30 pm at Barnes & Noble, Tribeca, 97 Warren St. Here's a map. Hope to see you there!

posted by Alafair Burke at 5:32 AM 3 comments


Two new reviews for Angel's Tip

Sunday, August 17, 2008

The Calgary Herald likes the book and says Burke (that's me!) "is a writer to watch, developing varied characters and putting them through some interesting paces without stretching the boundaries of believability." The Oregonian says, "Ellie's character remains appealing. Burke's procedural plays well off her experiences with the legal system..."

No pans yet. Phew.

posted by Alafair Burke at 10:08 AM 0 comments


Summer Streets in Manhattan

Saturday, August 16, 2008


79 degrees, dry, and sunny in Manhattan today, perfect for Summer Streets, the Bloomberg plan that closes Park Avenue all the way from Centre Street up to 72nd, and transforms it into an enormous pedestrian and bicycle path.  As I was running up Park toward the Met Life Building, the scene reminded me of I am Legend, except without the burnt out cars, that poor dog, and the flesh-eating zombies.

It's only for three Saturdays this month, but I for one want this to continue every weekend, all summer, every summer -- as long as I'm not planning to drive.  New Yorkers, get outside...now!


posted by Alafair Burke at 10:14 AM 2 comments


I Don't Want to Go Viral

Thursday, August 14, 2008

I just found out that Barnes & Noble will be filming my joint event with Lee Child this Monday. I really hope this isn't karma setting me up for blogging yesterday about this guy becoming a viral sensation. I'm now terrified that I'll spaz out and wind up with a million hits on you tube (and not in a good way). If you're in the New York area, I hope you can make it. Some supportive faces might boost my comfort level, and, if not, you can be there to watch the train wreck. Barnes & Noble, Tribeca, 97 Warren St., August 18 from 7-8:30.

posted by Alafair Burke at 8:58 AM 0 comments


Prof. Burke would never do this

This Tuesday, I will teach my first law school class since December 2007.  As the new semester approaches, I've been looking forward to being with students again but also a little nervous.  Keeping classes organized, coherent, interesting, and occasionally entertaining for seven hours a week may not be as stressful as... I don't know, open heart surgery, but it also ain't cake.  But I can at least take comfort that even at my most stressed, I would never, ever do this.  I bet this guy's students love him. I grew up in Kansas and the only guy I ever saw who looked like that talked to an apple.

posted by Alafair Burke at 5:04 AM 0 comments


Reacher is "Seagalesque"?

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Time Out was kind enough to plug the launch of the Angel's Tip tour, a joint event with Lee Child at the Tribeca B&N on August 18. As thankful as I am for the shout out, I did a double-take on the description: "Burke’s new thriller, Angel’s Tip, is a novel of New York nightclubs and murder: A group of women go on a 'girls night out,' and one winds up dead. Tonight, Burke is interviewed by fellow crime scribe Child, whose latest novel, Nothing to Lose, features his recurring, Seagalesque, two-fisted hero Jack Reacher."

Seagalesque? It wasn't a word with which I was familiar. I realized on second glance that they meant this and not this. Still, not really what I imagine when I picture Reacher. Time Out, Baby, I love you, but please don't spoil the fantasy.

posted by Alafair Burke at 7:53 PM 0 comments


The Family Tree

Monday, August 11, 2008

Today, Oline Cogdill at Off the Page blogs about the Burke-Dubus family bloodline. Extending the family tree still further, the literary bug has also bitten my cousins, DeLaune Michel (Andre Dubus III's first cousin and my second cousin) and her mother, Elizabeth Nell Dubus (my father's first cousin and my first cousin once removed). Does your head hurt yet?

posted by Alafair Burke at 8:38 AM 0 comments


Sneak Peek at Angel's Tip

Sunday, August 10, 2008

The book will be in stores on August 19, but you can start reading Angel's Tip online today at the HarperCollins website.



posted by Alafair Burke at 6:13 PM 2 comments


Story of the day

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Did you hear about the whackadoo who cloned her dog? Well, there may be more to the story. My favorite line: "the pair fled to Canada ... disguised as deaf-mute mime artistes." (Hat tip to Jonathan Hayes for the link.)

posted by Alafair Burke at 5:30 AM 1 comments


A New Low(brow)? Tru-Dat

Friday, August 8, 2008

As many of you know, I sometimes serve as a trial and legal commentator for various TV programs. Well this week I received a few emails from folks telling me they'd seen me on Tru TV (formerly Court TV). I haven't filmed anything for months so I wasn't sure what it could be. Replays of my thoughtful soundbites on Michael Jackson, Scott Peterson, or BTK? No, turns out that Disorder in the Court, which I participated in last winter, has finally aired. At the time, I was asked to watch clips of legal dust ups and then offer my comments. When it's all cut together, it's pretty low brow (but entertaining) stuff. I may descend further down the cultural heirarchy if they ever use my contributions to World's Dumbest Criminals; I see from their website that current featured commentators include Todd Bridges, Tonya Harding, and Amy Fisher. Yikes!

posted by Alafair Burke at 6:15 AM 2 comments


And you thought I made that stuff up...

Thursday, August 7, 2008

If you've read the Samantha Kincaid novels, then you know that she works in the Multnomah County madhouse, I mean, courthouse. When I was there last month, one of my best friends Josh Lamborn (the same Lamborn mentioned here, and also the namesake for secondary character Deputy Lamborn in Judgment Calls) was settling an aggravated murder trial with some interesting plea terms. I didn't blog about it then because I wasn't sure if those facts were public. Now, however, they're on CNN.

Now do you understand why I have so many crazy courthouse stories?

posted by Alafair Burke at 6:25 AM 3 comments


Another new review for Angel's Tip

Sarah Weinman at the Baltimore Sun (and also author of the splendid Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind blog), says this about Angel's Tip: "The story [Burke] spins here is a doozy... The narrative unfolds methodically with one tantalizing clue after another keeping a mix of misdirection and forward motion....Angel's Tip is the mark of a writer growing comfortable in her own voice and within the thriller genre's wide constraints."

It's a doozy! (Random glimpse into my brain: For the last 15 minutes, my inner voice has been filled with favorite lines from Groundhog Day, triggered first by Ned Ryerson's "Watch out for that first step. It's a doozy!")

posted by Alafair Burke at 5:36 AM 0 comments


Wall Street Journal Author Interviews

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

I was interviewed by Bob Hughes of the Wall Street Journal today (a lovely man, by the way). Turns out the WSJ has a terrific series of online video interviews with authors. Current clips online feature Stephanie Meyer, James Patterson, and my cousin Andre Dubus III. Not sure when I'll join them, but I'll post a link when it's up.

posted by Alafair Burke at 2:26 PM 2 comments


Happy Birthday, Pamala!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Many of you know my sister, Pamala, who runs my father's website and makes the fabulous Robicheaux Gear. Pamala is celebrating her __th birthday today, and I hope it's one of her happiest. Because I know she'll love me for it, I'm including some pictures of my beautiful sister -- with a fish, my Barry Manilow concert glowstick (really), and my cutey of a nephew, respectively.


Happy Birthday, chica. You rock.

posted by Alafair Burke at 4:56 AM 4 comments


Mary-Kate Olsen and Immunity

Monday, August 4, 2008

The New York Post reports that, through counsel, Mary-Kate Olsen is refusing to speak to federal investigators about the death of the talented Heath Ledger unless she receives immunity. Why, you might wonder, would she do this unless she has something to hide?

I decided to blog about this because my fiction sometimes plays into the perception that only guilty people refuse to cooperate with law enforcement. Ellie Hatcher, Samantha Kincaid, and their colleagues usually assume that a person who "takes the Fifth" must be guilty -- they may not know of what, but of something. That's how assumptions go in the world of cops and prosecutors.

Nevertheless, I found myself sympathizing with Mary-Kate today, and not this time for her questionable wardrobe choices. The inferences likely to be drawn by the press and the public (she was his dealer! she had her own drugs on the premises!) will be worse than some of the less interesting reasons she may have for protecting her rights. First, she may have done something illegal but which would not usually be the basis for a federal criminal prosecution, such as sharing a prescription drug. Second, she may simply fear that the interview will bring up material that might be embarrassing but not necessarily illegal. In either case, she might be tempted to lie. And lying to the federal government, even when not under oath, constitutes a separate felony under 18 USC 1001.

So it's not surprising that Mary-Kate's lawyers are trying to avoid the interview. But it's also not surprising that a public who cares about this stuff (whole nother subject, right?) will put her through the reputational ringer for it. And I'll confess that, as a law prof who writes fiction about characters who usually assume the worst, I'm wondering if I've been responsible enough in my writing. Granted, I've had both Ellie and Samantha make mistakes by assuming the worst too quickly, but I don't stop and lecture the reader: "See what happens when we don't permit people to exercise their constitutional rights without adverse inferences?" But, wow, who would want to read a book that hits you over the head like that? I hope I've done enough to strike the right balance, not so much for the Mary-Kates of the world, but for regular people who find themselves judged - both in and out of court - by people who read novels.

posted by Alafair Burke at 8:38 AM 0 comments


Goodbye, Paris

I returned yesterday from my four day jaunt to Paris. This was my second trip to the city, and this time I felt much more at home. I navigated the train system to and from the airport and around the city with no problems. I managed to ask for most things in French. I even gave an American student directions and ran into a Parisian I had met on my last trip!

Highlights were trips to the Musee D'Orsay and the Centre Pompidou. I also went to Notre Dame, La Sainte-Chapelle, Les Invalides, and some of the other usual sights. Thanks to advice from debut author, new friend, and fellow foodie Jonathan Hayes, I had a much better culinary experience than on my first visit. If I ever win the lottery, I will ask Laduree to express ship pastries to me every morning.

I did write during the trip. There was a time when I thought I was influenced by my surrounding while I wrote. Not so anymore, but nevertheless I wonder... will any of you be able to spot the scene written in the Luxembourg gardens? Probably not, but I will always know and remember.

posted by Alafair Burke at 8:23 AM 0 comments

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