J.A.Jance

The author J.A. Jance, a regular on The New York Times Best Seller List, is beloved by fans for taut plotlines and relatable characters.

The journey from concept to novel is almost a science for the long-established author.

“I usually start with somebody dead and I spend the rest of the book trying to figure out who killed that person and how come,” she said. “That’s the process.”

Jance’s latest novel, “Left for Dead,” dropped Feb. 7. Fans can meet the author at the Sammamish Library on Feb. 16.

The thriller’s protagonist is a character familiar to Jance readers — Ali Reynolds, a former TV journalist. The action in “Left for Dead” starts after Reynolds’ friend, a deputy sheriff, is shot in the Arizona desert. The case appears as violence from drug cartels in neighboring Mexico, but readers soon discover the plot is more complicated.

Jance centered the Reynolds novels around Sedona, Ariz., but the action in “Left for Dead” revolves around Tucson, Ariz. — a challenge for the main character. (The author splits the year between Seattle and Tucson.)

Experiences from Jance’s life and research expeditions in the Southwest and around the globe form the basis for characters and scenarios.

“When I go around in the world, I’m collecting stuff and it sticks in my head,” she said. “It’s sort of like what oysters do with grains of sand. They turn them into pearls eventually.”

The process for crafting a novel is organic. Jance usually writes with a laptop perched on her lap.

“I met outlining for the first time in Mrs. Watkins’ sixth-grade geography class,” she said. “I hated outlining then. Nothing that has happened to me in the intervening years has changed my mind about outlining.”

Readers often find Jance’s books difficult to put down — praise the author hears most often at book-signing events. Other anecdotes carry a deeper sentiment.

“One of the things I really like to hear is how people have used my books to get through some kind of difficult health crisis in their family, either for themselves or someone else,” Jance said. “The ancient, sacred charge of the storyteller is to beguile the time — and time in the hospital in the waiting room is time desperately in need of beguiling.”

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Films play at 7 p.m. at the historic Issaquah Train Depot, 50 Rainier Blvd. N. The program is free, due to support from the city Arts Commission and the King County cultural agency 4Culture.

“My Favorite Brunette” launches the series Feb. 11. The 1947 film stars Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour.

The classic “His Girl Friday” is scheduled for March 10. “Easter Parade” is due to conclude the series April 14.

Since the film program launched in October 2009, it has featured series of Bing Crosby films, train-themed films, films set in Washington and noir classics.

Kelley Yarnell will represent Issaquah in the Washington Miss Plus America pageant. Contributed

“I’ve definitely had to overcome some adversity in my life,” said Kelley Yarnell, 20, an Issaquah native and resident who will represent the city in the upcoming Washington Plus America pageant, Feb. 17-20 in Everett.

Yarnell is one of 26 pageant contestants in four divisions. She will compete in the category for unmarried women age 20 and up. But probably more important than the age categories is that all of the contestants must be a clothes size 14 and up.

The pageant’s motto is “Real Women, Real Bodies, Making a Real Difference.” And while Yarnell said she would love to win the pageant and continue on to the national competition, the pageant isn’t the most important thing on her mind.

“I really want to make a difference,” she said, adding the idea behind the pageant for her is to be an example to women, especially younger girls, who might not be a dress size 2.

“It’s just to open things up and level the playing field,” said Latasha Raines, the executive director of the Washington pageant program.

In 2010, Raines won a national Plus America title. Like Yarnell, she represented Issaquah in the contest.

“I got to travel around the country and it was a great experience,” Raines said of her time as a national titleholder.

But she also added she was just as excited, if not more excited, to return to Washington and launch the state’s first Plus America pageant. Since prior to this year there was no statewide Plus America pageant in Washington, Raines represented the state in the national program as an at-large entry. But like Yarnell, Raines said for her the contest is all about setting an example and raising the esteem of contestants and other women.

“I’ve always been a curvy girl,” Yarnell said, adding that larger girls undoubtedly took some teasing when she was in high school.

Yarnell attended Issaquah High School for a time, but graduated from Family Academy in 2009. She noted that girls teasing girls is often a more difficult problem than boys teasing boys.

“For girls, it’s all about emotion,” Yarnell said.

But even as she was teased for what society said wasn’t the perfect body style, Yarnell said she discovered a passion for stage and theater. She appeared in several productions at Village Theatre.

“I just love being onstage,” Yarnell said, admitting that is another reason she decided to give the Plus America program, as well as a few other pageants, a try.

While the upcoming pageant is an official qualifying pageant for the national program, for now there are no regional pageants feeding into the state pageant, Raines said, adding she hopes regional contestants will come in the future. Yarnell said she got her Miss Issaquah title by applying for it and going through what she described as a very thorough interview and screening process.

Community service and fundraising are two important aspects of the Plus America program, Raines said. Each contestant had to raise at least $100 for the American Heart Association, Puget Sound. They also will support what Raines called a new organization, Cherish a Jewel, a group aimed at providing mentors and support for female teens and single moms. Raines picked neither charity at random.

At 49, her father Aaron Haskins, a well-known Washington Cougars basketball player and one-time NBA prospect, died in his sleep in 2009 of sudden cardiac problems. Raines noted her father was in shape and not overweight. A mere 17 months later, her brother died, also in his sleep and also of cardiac problems. As for Cherish a Jewel, Raines said she was a young, single mom herself.

In addition to supporting the Washington pageant’s two official charities, each contestant had to chose two philosophical platforms. Yarnell decided on the topics of a healthy lifestyle and growing awareness of eating disorders. In talking a bit about healthy lifestyles, Raines insisted the women in the pageant are not obese and not unhealthy. In the category for married women especially, Raines noted the contestants include several professionals, including a lawyer and a college professor.

“These women are amazing and have left their mark on corporate America,” Raines said.

Now employed as a nanny, Yarnell hopes to eventually combine her two passions, namely the stage and working with children. She hopes to double major in theater and social work and eventually earn a master’s degree in teaching drama and theater.

“Again, I really want to go out there and make a difference,” Yarnell said.

Tom Corrigan: 392-6434, ext. 241, or tcorrigan@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

The bright, red Discovery van will be at the Issaquah Library, 10 W. Sunset Way.

The event is from 2:30-4:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public. No prior registration is required. Visitors can bring artwork or photos on a flash drive or saved in an accessible email account.

Go to www.kcls.org/issaquah and click on “Programs, Classes & Events.”

The cookbook author, known for the Italian recipes she prepared on the Food Network show “Everyday Italian,” is scheduled to appear at Costco, 1801 10th Ave. N.W., at noon April 26 to sign “Weeknights with Giada” — a collection of quick and simple recipes.

De Laurentiis last appeared at the flagship Costco in April 2010.

Besides the Food Network gig, the Rome-born de Laurentiis oversees a line of cookware, pasta and sauces.

Inside the eatery, the hostess said her menu is straight from Laos. It includes some dishes with which you are probably familiar, such as beef or chicken pho, but also some possibly more adventurous choices, such as Hainan chicken or Gau Lau beef soup.

The two visitors in question here played it safe with a vegetable soup and chicken pho, but were impressed with the flavor of each, enough that trying some of the other offerings at some point in the future is definitely not out of the question.

The beef or chicken pho comes in two sizes and the medium seemed more than large enough, filled with plenty of shredded chicken and lots of thin noodles. Really, the noodles and chicken were generous enough to eat with a fork.

A lot of green onions floated on top and the pho arrived with a plate of sprouts, basil and a couple of jalapeno peppers to toss into the soup. The friendly hostess warned to use the basil while the broth was warm, otherwise the taste wouldn’t be as good. The spice decidedly added more flavor to the soup and noodles.

Something really has to be said about the broth or soup. It was beyond a doubt the highlight of the meal, very flavorful and exotic enough to remind you weren’t eating at a fast food place.

The broth also was reportedly a highlight of the vegetable soup, which seemed generously filled with baby celery, onion and broccoli. The tofu in the soup was firm and well cooked.

The Saffron Deli isn’t very big, with tables arranged in an “L” shape around a central counter and cooking space. Incidentally, the openness of that kitchen provides a very nice aromatic preview of the food about to come your way. The table settings will get your attention, with woven place mats set out for each diner.

The décor probably won’t win any awards, but the restaurant is clean and bright. On one wall hang several colorful purses, for sale and handmade in Laos. Cloth and metal letter holders, also handmade overseas, decorate another wall.

With modest price tags on what seems to be some tasty fare, the Saffron Deli is a good choice for a taste of the exotic along Northwest Gilman Boulevard.

Tom Corrigan: 392-6434, ext. 241, or tcorrigan@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

From left, Tami Curtis, and Ken and Martha Neville from the Rovin’ Fiddlers play at the Railroad Depot in June 2009. Contributed

Fiddle music is filling the air in Issaquah and beyond. Two locally based bands aim to bring joy to the public through fiddle music.

Rovin’ Fiddlers was formed in the summer of 2008 and consists of six to eight regular members, ages ranging from 40s to 60s. Besides performing at senior centers, retirement homes and the farmers market in Issaquah, they also rove around the greater Seattle area.

“Our group was originally called the Firehouse Fiddlers … but we changed it because we move around the local area to perform,” said Ken Neville, the group’s coordinator, who has lived in Issaquah since 1972.

Other regular band members include Ken’s wife, Martha, Tami Curtis and David Edfeldt, all of Issaquah.

Neville went on to clarify that “Fiddlers” is a bit of a misnomer as many musicians in the group play other instruments, including guitar, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, hammered dulcimer, autoharp, Irish whistle, bodrahn (Irish drum) and concertina.

The 68-year-old retiree said he loves the richness and diversity brought about by the genre.

“Playing fiddle music is more enjoyable than orchestra music, as it is freestyle and innovative,” he said. “It is interesting when everybody improvises and we have different versions of the same tune played by different players.”

One of their favorite tunes is “Squirrel Heads and Gravy.”

Neville said members of the group have a range of skill levels, from those who are just beginning or resuming after decades of not touching their instrument, to those who are quite advanced. Some have a classical violin background, but did not play for many years.

The group meets every Tuesday evening to practice, and schedules additional sessions when preparing for a performance.

Neville likes playing at the Issaquah Valley Senior Center.

“When we play a nice waltz, you will find that the seniors will get up and dance,” he said. “That’s really fun and we just keep playing until they finally get tired.”

However, there are times when Neville said he feels that more attention could be given to the group.

“There are some venues for instance, the farmers market and wedding receptions, where we find ourselves as background music,” he said. “It is more enjoyable when the audience is gathered in a group, listens to us and we hear the applause when we finish the tunes.”

Also, Neville said he is very thankful that his family members are understanding and supportive of his group.

“Sometimes, it is not the most pleasant thing to listen to somebody practicing the same thing over and over,” the grandfather of two said with a chuckle.

Looking forward, he said that the group’s members have to work with each other closely to overcome problems that performers usually face.

“The biggest challenge is synchronizing our music and various instruments that we play and deciding on the tempo that we all can feel comfortable with,” he said.

Celtic band seeks fiddler

The Celtic band Fire Inside, consisting of local professionals, is currently recruiting for a fiddler to boost the team of seven. Several members previously played with the Rovin’ Fiddlers.

Members of the band get together every Wednesday evening to play fiddle music and perform at least once a month in a public setting.

“We are expanding the repertoire this year where we introduce more tunes to perform for a two-hour show,” said Carol Whitaker, the band’s flute and penny whistle player.

A year ago, the 51-year-old project manager formed Fire Inside by asking some of her musician friends if they were interested in starting a Celtic band.

We all “wanted the challenge and we decided to give it a go,” said Whitaker, who lives in Fall City. There are currently seven members in the band; two of them — Curtis and Edfeldt — also play in the Rovin’ Fiddlers.

Other band members are Daniel Horn, of Redmond; Sue Lawrence, of Snoqualmie; and Michael Hurtenbach and Greg Stearns, of North Bend.

For performance opportunities, Whitaker said their clients hear about the band by word of mouth or hear them perform elsewhere and ask them to perform at their location.

“Each of the band members actively connects with the community to find out whether they enjoy our kind of music and (would like us to) take the opportunity to perform,” Whitaker said.

Whitaker is a classically trained flute player but self-taught on whistles.

“I love the Celtic genre and the style of music,” she said. “It is quite difficult to play it well. I am learning a lot.”

Her group is energized by reactions from the audience.

“When we perform in family style events, I (get) hysterical watching the kids react — and they are curious about the instruments that we play,” Whitaker said.

Teo Jion Chun is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Felix Ungar (Chris Ensweiler, front) receives a massage from mismatched roommate Oscar Madison (Charles Leggett) in Village Theatre’s ‘The Odd Couple.’ By John Pai/Village Theatre

Neil Simon is a regular at Village Theatre.

The playwright — gilded in Tony Awards aplenty and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama — often offers rich material to Village Theatre producers. In the past decade, the downtown Issaquah theater presented “Barefoot in the Park” and “Lost in Yonkers” to audiences. The latest Simon offering on stage is “The Odd Couple” — perhaps the most recognizable piece in the playwright’s oeuvre.

“The Odd Couple” — re-imagined on stage and screen more often than Felix Ungar scrapes up crumbs — is a solid choice as the selection for the play in a Village Theatre season defined by musicals.

The play is a charming anachronism, 47 years after “The Odd Couple” debuted on Broadway. The boozing and smoking recall a looser era before political correctness. Still, the dialogue and the mismatched-roommate premise remain universal almost a half-century after Simon introduced audiences to uptight Felix and untidy Oscar Madison.

The opening performance — delayed due to ice and snow — did not reflect the frenzy outside, as audience members slogged on slushy streets or left darkened homes to trek to the theater.

Felix (Chris Ensweiler) and Oscar (Charles Leggett) remain as identifiable to audience members, too. Kudos to Ensweiler and Leggett for adding vibrancy to the characters and maintaining some touches audiences remember from Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in the 1968 film and, later, from Tony Randall and Jack Klugman in the ’70s sitcom.

Ensweiler cuts a trim figure as Felix, a fastidious and fragile newsman in the midst of a divorce. Leggett is a lovable louse as Oscar, a divorced sportswriter living a bachelor lifestyle in a filthy apartment.

The actors joust, but manage to convey the underlying affection between longtime friends stuck in a less-than-ideal situation.

The despondent Felix lands at Oscar’s apartment the night after wife Frances can no longer tolerate Felix’s constant scrubbing and fretting. Oscar, meanwhile, is behind on alimony to ex-wife Blanche, because money seeps into bar tabs and poker losses.

In short order, Felix transforms the apartment from cigar burns and dust bunnies to Lysol fumes and furniture polish. Friday night poker games, once a stag ritual, transform into something more akin to a tea party after Felix sets up camp in Oscar’s apartment.

The poker crew, a rumpled bunch cut from the same cloth as Oscar, is another highlight. Eric Polani Jensen, a fixture on the Village Theatre stage, continues to create memorable impressions, regardless of a role’s prominence. In “The Odd Couple” he is Murray, a New York City police officer and occasional source of much-needed perspective. John X. Deveney, Roger Welch and Matt Wolfe also shine.

The most humorous bit in “The Odd Couple” stems from the stunted interaction among Felix, Oscar and the Pigeon sisters, upstairs neighbors. Betsy Schwartz and Caitlin Frances, as Cecily and Gwendolyn, stand out as the daft and saucy Pigeon sisters, a pair of expatriates from the United Kingdom.

“The Odd Couple” unfolds in a faded “Mad Men”-era apartment. The creative team deserves recognition for using small — some almost unnoticeable — details meant to recall the mid-1960s, including old-school potato chip bags and vintage-esque labels on cleaning products. The swinging ’60s soundtrack used during scene changes is another treat.

“The Odd Couple” remains fresh and relatable decades after Simon turned Felix and Oscar into archetypes for roommates everywhere.

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Just in time for St. Valentine’s Day, the coming monthly exhibit is “Love Songs!” with works from 17 artists reflecting the lyrics and moods of various classics love ballads, said Sally Penley, a calligrapher and painter who makes her home in Olympia.

Penley also is a member of artEAST and the curator for “Love Songs!” She noted that, importantly in her mind, “Love Songs!” is a juried show, which generally means works were reviewed before being accepted into the show.

For the coming exhibit, Penley and others created a “playlist” from which artists could draw their inspiration.

The selections include classics and standards, such as “Georgia on My Mind” and “That Old Black Magic.” Some more relatively contemporary numbers include “We’ve Only Just Begun,” by The Carpenters, and “If,” by Bread.

“I think it’s going to be a very fun show,” Penley said.

“It’s fun, it’s a little light-hearted,” said Karen Abel, executive director of artEAST and the UP Front Gallery. “It’s an exciting way to start our year of exhibitions.”

Penley said the show will include paintings, sculpture and weldings.

“It’s a good cross section of art,” she said. “It’s a lot of variety.”

The show will include three works from Penley, including some of her calligraphy. While she also paints, Penley said she considers calligraphy her primary creative outlet. All in all, she has three pieces in the “Love Songs!” show.

The fact that Penley is the curator of a show in Issaquah’s homegrown gallery while living in Olympia demonstrates the growing reach of that homegrown gallery, she said.

Penley first heard of artEAST after speaking to a calligraphy group in Edmonds. She became friends with a member of that organization who in turn introduced her to artEAST. Abel agreed the organization’s influence and reputation seems to be growing. She said artEAST really raised its profile by opening its new UP Front Gallery on Front Street roughly a year ago.

Abel added “Love Songs!” is the second artEAST show to prominently feature Olympia artists. The first was a recycled art show held last fall. She said the show became memorable to her partly because of the distance some contributors traveled to be involved.

“Love Songs!” was originally scheduled to kick off Jan. 20. The recent weather pushed that back to Jan. 27. The exhibition will run through March 3. Abel said the next show planned for is “Pulse: Rhythms in Clay.” She added it will be artEAST’s first ceramics show. The exhibition will coincide with the meeting of a national ceramics art group in Seattle.

Tom Corrigan: 392-6434, ext. 241, or tcorrigan@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Paula Becker and Alan Stein, staff historians for HistoryLink.org, collected memories from the fair in the book “The Future Remembered: The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and Its Legacy” — a comprehensive account of Century 21.

The authors planned to lead a discussion about the book and present a slideshow of fair images Jan. 17 at the Issaquah Library, but the snowstorm caused organizers to cancel the event. Expect additional details about the rescheduled date in the weeks ahead.