News & Events

Good Week for Andy!

5/26/2020

Last week was great for Substitute Soloist! First, the book earned a sweet review from Elizabeth Solara at Silver Reviews
https://silversolara.blogspot.com/2020/05/substitute-soloist-by-d-r-ransdell.html

More importantly, (but also ironically), the title won Silver for the regional IPPY Award! (Independent Publisher Book Award)
(Scroll down to the West/Mountain category.)
http://www.ippyawards.com/147/2020-regional
During any other year, I would have been invited to the IPPY Ceremony in NYC! Any other year I would be invited to attend the ceremony! I guess that just means I'll have to win another one........

Radio Show in Four Corners

3/20/2020

I got to do a fun radio interview for Traci Halesvass up at Four Corners, New Mexico. She read SECRETS of a MARIACHI VIOLINIST and SUBSTITUTE SOLOIST and asked great questions about both!

The show aired on March 18th.
https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-9yxmm-d55dec

Book talk at Mostly Books

11/20/2019

On Saturday, November 30th, 1-2 pm, I get to do a book talk at Mostly Books. I'm going to talk about Mostly Mariachi!

Seriously, I'm going to explain basic aspects of mariachi music and explain how I've used mariachi elements to write my Andy Veracruz murder mysteries. I'll also going to talk about my memoir about learning to play mariachi.

There may be singing!

Mostly Books
6208 E Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ 85712
(SW corner of Wilmot and Speedway)

Bouchercon 2019 in Dallas

9/23/2019

In a month I'll be speaking at Bouchercon, the biggest U.S. mystery conference. My panel will be on November 1, the same day I do speed dating. Please stop by if you're at the conference or in the vicinity!

Friday, 2:30 - 3:30: Escaping the Village: Modern Traditional Mysteries

Moderator: Con Lehane

Panelists: Cheryl Hollon, Julie Hyzy, D.R. Ransdell, Nancy Cole Silverman, Wendall Thomas

Description: One of the elements that make cozies popular is the sense of community they illustrate for their readers. But cozies have also moved beyond the small villages of St. Mary Mead and Three Pines, but still manage to provide that sense of community for their readers. Join some top cozy writers as they discuss the challenges and benefits of not writing a series set in a small town, without crossing over into another genre.

substitute Soloist book launch

5/3/2019

If I do say so myself, the book launch for Substitute Soloist was a complete success! We started with a little Q & A. My mom asked Linus hard questions about conducting such as "Have you worked with any difficult soloists?" and "What do you do if a soloist has to cancel at the last minute?"

Listen to an excerpt from the interview here.

Linus was the warm-up act to the mariachi! Tony Reis, Jaime Valenzuela, and Rudy Valenzuela helped me entertain the crowd.

Listen to some of our mariachi songs here.

Please enjoy the book launch vicariously if you couldn't make it in person--and re-live it if you were there!

See pictures here.

The next book launch will be.......?????? That writing stuff is slow work, but somebody's got to do it!

Come hear some mariachi...and a conductor too!

3/25/2019

Book Party for Substitute Soloist!
Thursday, April 4th
5-7 p.m.
1648 E. 9th St,
(south of UA football stadium)
It’s a big pink house, so it’s easy to find!
5-5:00 Meet and greet, book signing
5:30-6:00 Interview with Maestro Linus Lerner
(inspiration for a main character)
6:00-7:00 Mariachi!

book launch for substitute soloist!!! 4/4

3/22/2019

Secrets of a Mariachi violinist, 2nd ed.

2/19/2019

Finally! I've just uploaded the second version of SECRETS OF A MARIACHI VIOLINIST. Why do a second edition? Here's the low-down. I started out with 100k words, and good friends said, well, this manuscript is nice, but it seems a little long....So I cut A LOT! But I left out too many details. So now, here's an edition that contains ten extra chapters. Here are the additions:

Mostly Mexico
2. What’s the Best Part of School? Music Class.
5. What Is a Guitar? An Invitation.
6. What Is a Home? An Orchestra.

Boot Camp
12. What Makes an Expert Mariachi Player?
Versatility.
18. What Is Halloween? An Opportunity.
25. What’s Almost the Same as a Mariachi? A
Bouzouki Band.

Reinvention
47. What Is a Symphony? A Real Snooze.
51. What Is Mariachi Preparation For? A Concert Tour
through China.
55. What’s the Best Kind of Performer? A Role Model.
56. What Shocks Mariachi Players? A Request for
their Instruments.

Get your copy today!

Calling all Mystery Readers!!

1/16/2019

Because I'm often busy writing..... it's hard for me to read as a reader. I soon get distracted thinking, “Wow, they did a good job on X, and I must do the same!” OR "They did a terrible job of X.... I can't read any further!"

Some of my fellow authors are in a similar position. We thought it would be fun to start a mystery reading group so that we can remember what it’s like to read as readers and understand better how readers do read.

So, this spring, at Mostly Books (6208 E. Speedway), on the third Thursday of the month, from 7-8pm, we're going to discuss:

February 21st: MC Beaton's The Blood of an Englishman
March 21st: Ellen Byron's Plantation Shudders

If you're in Tucson, please join, even if--oh, no! You haven't finished reading the book......

advent calendar 2018

12/24/2018

No chocolate—but I was part of an advent calendar this year—lots of new book ideas!