Extreme Close-Up 2nd edition

Since Extreme Close-Up is my favorite of my published Veronica Slate mystery novels, I was pleased when Choice Books purchased and promoted that novel again in 2000. They are no longer in business, but they sold a lot of my books.

Extreme Close-Up is about a movie being made at the Don Cesar Resort Hotel in St. Peterburg Beach and my sleuth Veronica Slate helps her detective boyfriend solve an actor's murder.

The book is based on my job in 1979 working for Robert Altman in pre-production of his film Health at the same hotel. 

There were no murders in Health, but the film came out in 1980 and the film died.

If you would like to read part of Extreme Close-Up at no charge, click below.

FreeExtremeCloseupPortion

Earned $1,400 for portraying a woman

It true. In 2000, I earned $1,400 by portraying a woman in a 2000-2002 version of the quiz show, To Tell the Truth, hosted by John O'Hurley and starring Paula Poundstone.

Three sets of people all claim to be two women who are special. The panelists' job is to find out which pair of the three pairs are the real people and who is lying.

We played Lynne and Louise, two women who authored a book about being "Co-Mamas" Two women who had been married to the same man.

As amazing as it was, we got two votes, meaning that not only did the panelists think we were the women in question, but they also thought were both real women. When we revealed that I was not a woman at all, the audience and the panel members were amazed. 

(The host and the real women knew.)

Guitar and bass guitar

 

When I joined mom and Dale in the Pocono Mountains in 1967, I played folk guitar. That made me popular in the girl's dorm where the servers at Pocono Manor Inn lived in the summer. 

I played folk guitar from 1965 to 1974 and bass guitar from 1997-2000 in two church "praise" bands. 

Magic Lary 1976, 2000-2005

 My Magic Lary publicity photograph in 1976.

I worked as a prestidigitator in Clearwater bars and on local PBS television. 

Years later, 2000-2002, I worked for Mark Wilson and Nani Darnell, stars of the Magic Land of Allakazam from the Sixties. I was a professional member of The Magic Castle in Hollywood for a few years.

I did magic for people lining up for free tickets for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2002.

And from 2003-2005, I worked for the Houdini Magic Shops in Las Vegas, doing magic at a half dozen different casinos (The Tropicana, Stardust, MGM Grand, New York-New York and Caesar's Palace.)

Mark and Nani Darnell Wilson

I discovered magic as a hobby from watching “The Magic Land of Allakazam” on TV starring Mark Wilson in the Sixties.

I performed close-up magic on television and in local bars in the late Seventies.

In 2000, I had the pleasure of working as office manager for Magic Incorporated, Mark Wilson’s business in Valencia, California. 

Mark and Nani were the most wonderful people and their job led to a two-year gig as a magician and salesman at the Houdini Magic Shops in Las Vegas in 2003-2005.

Lary as a woman on TV

 Lary Crews made a memorable appearance on the 2000–2002 version of “To Tell the Truth." Lary took on the role of an female impostor named ‘Lynne #3’. The panelists had to discern which of the three contestants was the genuine individual. Lary’s portrayal added intrigue to the show.

Teaching online earns me cash and a bride

I went on Prodigy, an early Internet company, in 1992, I started a subject heading called “Ask Lary Crews” and posted a portion of my resume to offer my advice about writing. To my amazement, I got an average of 4,000 questions over an 18 month period. 

When Prodigy raised their prices, I tried America Online in June 1993 and instantly fell in love with the superior graphics, the lack of ads, and the easy to navigate system. Again, I opened my Ask Lary Crews folder and started doing my volunteer work.

A month later, America Online hired me to teach two online writing classes called, “Writing the Novel," which I did from 1993-2000.

The 8-week course Writing the Novel covered what you need to know to draft a good publishable novel. The class met virtually but in real time, two hours each week. As a teacher, I taught live courses and I read their work and commented and, in general, held their hands.

I provided a 20-chapter textbook exclusively to students, as well as access to live question and answer conferences, scores of files including proposals, timelines, character biographies, and recommended books and agents. In addition, a private message board was offered.

For those who wish to pursue their literary potential even further an 8 week follow-up course “Advanced Writing the Novel” was available. 

When I stopped teaching in the winter of 2000, America Online told me that I had taught 4,125 students in twenty-six different states over my seven years of Writing the Novel.

Of course, the best thing about teaching on America Online was when an LA English teacher, named Lori, took my course. She became my teaching assistant. I still lived in Sarasota, Florida.

After emailing each other every day for a year we met and, six months later, got married. 

(Our 25th Anniversary is December 13, 2023)