Weekly Geeks - Author Profile

So, I stumbled upon the Weekly Geeks blog a few months back. I keep thinking about doing the weekly assignment, and forgetting. Well, this week, I decided I was definitely going to do it.

The assignment, write about a favorite author. My only problem was coming up with an author to profile.

I finally decided on Sue Ann Jaffarian. I've actually only been reading her books for the last year, but I've known her longer thanks to seeing her at the LA Times Festival of Books and other such events.

Sue Ann Jaffarian's day job of as a paralegal. That's even more amazing when you realize she now writes three series.

Odelia Grey - Odelia is a plus sized, middle aged paralegal living in Orange County. About the only difference between Odelia and Sue Ann is that Sue Ann now works in LA County. These books are full of humor and some pretty twisty plots. And I love Odelia. The newest, Corpse on the Cob is out this month, but I suggest you start with the first, Too Big to Miss.

Ghost of Granny Apple - I do my best to avoid supernatural mysteries, but Sue Ann did such a good job of selling this series, I had to give it a try. Ghost a la Mode introduces us to Granny Apples and her great-great-great granddaughter Emma Whitecastle who has just discovered she can see ghosts. Together, they solve Granny's murder during the pioneer days in California. The second book won't be out until this time next year, and I can't wait.

Fang in Cheek - As if those two series weren't enough, Sue Ann is launching a new series this fall featuring vampires. I don't know much more than that at the moment, but I am already planning to read Murder in Vein as soon as I can get my hands on it.

Now remember, she is a full time paralegal on top of writing three books a year. My hat is already off to her.

Now let's bring in the factor that made me go with her for this post. She has decided that writing and a full time job aren't enough. Last year, she ran the Camp Pendleton Mud Run. It sounded like so much fun, I decided that if a plus size, middle age paralegal can complete it, this overweight, almost middle age accountant can do it, too. I've signed up for that in June and am planning on doing a shorter one in April, too. Heck, she was even the reason I did the Disneyland 5K back in September. Not only was that how I found out about it, but she bribed me with a free book.

But Sue Ann can't rest on her accomplishments. She has announced on her blog that she is training for the LA Marathon in March of 2011. Don't worry, I have no plans to join her on this quest. I have no desire to ever run a marathon (although I am beginning to waver on the half marathon). But my hat is definitely off to her.

Sue Ann is also available for motivational speaking. I've never heard her at that, but I'm guessing she'd be pretty good at it. She's also done some stand up comedy, which doesn't surprise me after hearing her talk about her books.

I've already given you a link to her web site, but if you want to read even more, you can read her blog and follow her on Twitter or Facebook. I highly recommend either one of those since she is very active on both, so you can see her progress through each book. It's hard not to get excited about a book after cheering her on in the writing process.