First Cut Contest: The Winners

We have 'em! Three triumphant winners in The First Cut Contest. It's historical!

Contest entrants read The First Cut by Pasadena author Dianne Emley, and correctly answered five questions about the novel. Their prize, which is on its way to them, is a copy of the second book in Emley's Nan Vining Thrillogy, courtesy of Dianne Emley. The book's title is Cut to the Quick and it's in stores now. The third book, The Deepest Cut, goes on sale February 24th. Dianne will be signing copies of The Deepest Cut at Vroman's on Colorado Blvd. at 7PM February 25th, so come pick up a signed copy! I'll be there taking pictures. (Or check out her tour schedule, she might be coming to your town.)

And now the winners (drum roll)! In order of receipt of entry, they are:
Katie of Katiefornia in Berkeley, California!
Keith of Gem City Images in Monrovia, California!
and Barbara who doesn't blog (oh, the sanity!) in Pasadena, California!

Here are the questions with the correct answers:
1. What word is written on the refrigerator magnet Nan receives from T.B. Mann?
"pearl"
2. What's the name of the nightclub owned by John Lesley?
Reign
3. What song is played at Frankie Lynde's funeral?
The Beach Boys' "California Girls"
4. What does Frankie's voice say to Nan on the CD that Emily records?
"Wear the pearls. He gave them to you. Wear the pearls."
And the bonus question, which no one had to answer but all three winners did:
5. How many times has Nan's mother been married?
four

Thank you to all the participants!

The only loser was Frankie Lynde, whose body was found above the stone wall beneath the west end of the Colorado Street Bridge. Good thing Frankie's fictional.

For my first such venture there was no better choice than The First Cut. What could be more perfect for Pasadena Daily Photo than a novel starring a Pasadena Police detective, set in Pasadena, by a Pasadena author? I'm extremely grateful to Dianne Emley for her participation. She's been gracious, generous and fun all along.

They would soon put Frankie's casket into the ground. Her case files would go into storage, eventually buried beneath files and more files until the case of Frances Ann Lynde was forgotten. Vining and Frankie had made the same journey. They were sisters, bound by their calling, by violence and their own spilled blood. Vining had made it back.

First Cut Contest: Mad Man

The last time she was alone in a room with a man and had pulled her weapon, she'd shot that man to death. That was five years ago, but it seemed like yesterday...Most cops retire without ever firing their gun in the line of duty. She thought that would be her story. She already had the blood of one man on her hands. This was different, she told herself...Watch the hands. The hands could get you killed.

In Dianne Emley's crime thriller, The First Cut, trouble starts for Pasadena Police Detective Nan Vining when she encounters T.B. Mann (her daughter's nickname for "the bad man") in one of Pasadena's early 20th century two-story colonial mansions. The address where the fictional incident takes place doesn't exist, but I thought I'd use this home as the example because it's used to being photographed. It's not the home of a Bad Man but of a Mad Man. I have it on good authority that AMC's Mad Men uses this as the exterior for the home of their hero, Don Draper (played by Jon Hamm).

As you may recall, we've been running a contest on this here blog. You can click on the label "Emley" below and see all the related posts. Midnight tonight is the deadline for getting your entry to me via email (the link is on the upper left side of the blog). Three winners will be randomly selected from all the correct entries, and those winners will each receive a free copy of Cut to the Quick, the second book in Dianne Emley's Nan Vining thrillogy! (Which goes on sale today, by the way.)

I've received only one request for a photo of location in The First Cut, but the offer's still open. If you want me to post a shot of a Pasadena location mentioned in The First Cut, send your request in an email or in the comments, and please mention the page number.

Meanwhile, the sun has returned. So, to fulfill the first request, I'm off to pool-crash.

First Cut Contest: Page ?

With a screech of tires, a sports car, low to the ground and fire engine red, rounded a curve in the driveway and sped into view. The convertible top was down and the driver, wearing huge Jackie O sunglasses, the tails of the long scarf tied over her head flapping in the wind, looked as if she had no intention of stopping at the now-open gate.

Vining froze...

So goes a passage from Dianne Emley's crime thriller The First Cut. I'm not going to tell you on what page it appears because Diane's having a contest with her mailing list. It just so happens that a driveway like this one figures in the book and in one of Dianne's contest questions. So in case anyone from that mailing list is looking for cheap clues here, well, all I can say is, pal...um...hey, thanks for stopping by!

Here are the rules of the Pasadena Daily Photo First Cut Contest.
Here are the questions.

The first entry arrived last night with all correct answers! You may remember three winners will be drawn from the correct entries, so send 'em on in. I haven't decided who'll draw the winners if we have more than three correct entries. Maybe Boz. He's impartial. But I'm open to your suggestions.

There's one week to go. I'm still taking requests for photos of Pasadena locations in the book. Send your request in an email or in the comments (include the page number, please).

I'm privileged to be featuring Dianne Emley. She's been most gracious and helpful. She's so lovely you'd never know such a dark, spine-tingling story could come out of her! But tingling and dark it is.

Pasadena is full of artists of all types: painters, photographers, writers, musicians, actors, dancers, singers and variations of all those. I hope to feature many more here on PDP.

First Cut Contest: How's It Going?

At the top of the steps, a supporting post of the arcade bore four plaques commemorating officers killed in the line of duty since the city's incorporation in 1886...Vining reflected that she had nearly become the fifth name...

Okay, you know we're doing a contest, right? Read The First Cut by best-selling Pasadena author Dianne Emley, answer questions about it and win a copy of the sequel, Cut to the Quick. (The rules are here. The questions are here.)

In the story, Pasadena Police Detective Nan Vining is wrestling with her own demons while trying to track down the real-life demon who murdered LAPD officer Frankie Lynde and dumped her body under the Colorado Street Bridge.

Until Mademoiselle Gramophone pointed it out to me, I hadn't realized you could get The First Cut at the library. But of course! And Pasadena's library has several branches. So if you like a heart-pounding read, check it out. Literally. Of course you can also get The First Cut at any book store. The contest deadline isn't until January 27th so there's plenty of time.

You're allowed to ask questions, either via email or in the comments. And hey! Is there a Pasadena location in the book that you want to see? Send in your requests (include the page number where it's mentioned) and I'll do my best to get you a picture of the site in the book.

How's it going? Check in!

Update: Rereading the post this morning I note a couple of things: First, the real-life officers who died in the line of duty gave their lives making Pasadena safe for the rest of us. Second, since 1886 many officers have died, but only four died in the line of duty. That's an amazing record of safety.

This Contest Can Be Won

Pasadena's police headquarters is a dramatic building, with high arches and fancy scroll work that would fit right in on the Walt Disney Studios lot. But there's no funny business here. Whether you like the Pasadena cops or not, they're serious about what they do. Mess with the law in Pasadena and they don't just send a squad car, they send helicopters.

Call it overkill, but it seems to be working. I was able to find a few statistics on the web that show a dramatic drop in crime in Pasadena from 2005 to 2006. I'd like to know how we've been doing since then but wasn't able to find statistics for 2007. Could be it takes a while to compile them. PIO? Anyone?*

Pasadena's finest are featured along with their headquarters in The First Cut, a novel by Pasadena novelist and crime writer Dianne Emley. I introduced the soft-looking but tough-as-nails author here on PDP November 1st. Emley's Nan Vining Trilogy is finished. The First Cut comes out in paperback December 30th, to be followed in rapid succession by Cut to the Quick and The Deepest Cut.

So heads up, book lovers, especially those who love a scary, gritty, down and dirty read. Get ready to get your copy of The First Cut, because we're going to have a contest here on Pasadena Daily Photo. Watch for the official announcement here on December 30th.

*Vanda contributed three crime maps including this one from Realtor.com, with a 2008 copyright on it. (Click her links in the comments.)

There's now an ongoing art exhibit in the lobby of the building.

A .pdf about the building's design and architects here.