Dear readers of the L.A. Daily Mirror:
Monday, July 29, 2024, will be devoted to Elizabeth Short’s 100th birthday. To mark the occasion, every hour beginning at 1:08 a.m. and continuing to 3:08 p.m., I will be posting 500-word excerpts from selected chapters of my work in progress Heaven Is HERE!
The posts will remain published, but the excerpts will be removed within 24 hours.
I have received several notes from people warning me to be careful of not giving away too much. Rest assured that the excerpts, which total 7,500 words, are a small sample of what’s in the entire book, which is currently at 152,000 words.
The mystery movie posts and Mary Mallory’s weekly post will be published Tuesday.
Thanks for reading!
Larry Harnisch and Boxie.
ladailymirror.com 
Amazing, can’t wait for you book to be published in its entirety x amazing work, Miya Phoenix Monroe xxx
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Thank YOU!
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Thank you for allowing us a glimpse at your work in progress. Your approach to the material – as a tour guide through time and space – is striking, and it will be refreshing to have a Dahlia book that doesn’t start out with the smudge pots burning to keep the frost off the oranges. I will certainly beat a path to my bookseller’s door as soon as your book appears!
I’ve always found Elizabeth Short to be a sphinxlike character, a bit like Greta Garbo. No one seems to have known her very well, not even those who cohabited with her, such as Gordon Fickling, Marjorie Graham, and the French family. Almost as if she was The Woman Who Wasn’t There. I’ve sat next to people on one-hour flights and learned more about their lives than the Frenches were able to winkle out of Elizabeth Short during the month she couch-surfed with them.
One question: in Chapter 18, is it “Anne Toth” or “Ann Toth”?
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Thanks!
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I loved everything about these excerpts, from the shifting P.O.V (which was never jarring) to the real, immersive feel of actually being in Los Angeles at times. Actually, when you’re writing about L.A., you do it so well, and convey history in a way that I’m sure your “demon dog” buddy (*nudge* *wink*) who is the supposed de facto literary depicter, par excellence, of the City of Angels would be jealous as hell.
One thing though: your page layouts and the typography looks like this thing is all ready to go. Is this what the actual book will look like?
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Thanks! I formatted the pages as a sample. I like that look and may keep it.
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I missed it but I’m super excited to read this when it comes out! Keep up the great work.
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Thanks! It’s been a while!
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