Ex-showgirl finds success with books

In the case of Vicki Pettersson, you turn to writing.

Two of Pettersson’s novels, “The Scent of Shadows” and “The Taste of Night,” were published earlier this year and a third in the “Sign of the Zodiac” series is on the way.

The novels are set in Las Vegas and feature Joanna Archer, a former heiress to a casino fortune and a photographer, as she joins in the battle of Light and Dark.

Pettersson, a native Las Vegan, says she always wanted to be a writer and had attempted to sell historical fiction while working as a showgirl.

Becoming a writer was “a pipe dream. I knew what a long shot it was. I wasn’t necessarily counting on it,” she says.

But once she retired from the stage, she decided to write something different, something for herself that was fun and exciting.

She ended up writing a dark urban fantasy novel, even though she never had heard of the genre and never had read it.

“It’s genre bending,” Pettersson says. “That’s what’s so attractive about it, you can do a lot of things.”

Her work combines “gritty noir, mystery and a romantic subplot. Everything I love.”

Pettersson, who has a 16-month-old daughter, says writing is the ideal job for her. She can stay at home and work at the same time. “I’m having a blast now,” she says.

In November, her short story “The Harvest” will be published in an anthology called “Holidays Are Hell,” and her next “Sign of the Zodiac” novel, which she is finishing up this month, will be published about this time next year. And she is contracted for three more books in the series after that.

Pettersson’s books are among several Las Vegas-related books that are in stores or will be soon.

• Richard Wiley, UNLV professor of English, pens the prequel to his PEN/Faulkner Award-winning novel “Soldiers in Hiding” with “Commodore Perry’s Minstrel Show” (University of Texas Press). It’s 1854 and Commodore Matthew Perry has opened Japan to trade with the United States. He’s brought along a black-face minstrel show that sets off conflict with the Japanese. The novel is an entry in the University of Texas Press’ James Michener Fiction Series. (In stores)

• It’s said that you can’t go wrong with stories about dogs or children, so John O’Hurley takes a shot at the former with his memoir, “It’s Okay to Miss the Bed on the First Jump: And Other Life Lessons I Learned From Dogs” (Hudson Street Press). O’Hurley, the star of “Spamalot” who’s perhaps best known as J. Peterman on “Seinfeld,” tells of his lifelong devotion to dogs. (In stores)

• Hal Rothman, the late professor of history at UNLV, dug into the history of wildfires in our national parks with “Blazing Heritage” (Oxford University Press), his final published book. (In stores)

• The World Poker Tournament and the Bellagio take center stage in “The Picasso Flop” (Mysterious Press), a mystery by Vince Van Patten, host of the “World Poker Tour” TV show, and crime and western novelist Robert J. Randisi. Jimmy Spain, just out of prison, comes to Las Vegas to play in the tournament and mentor Kat, a friend’s daughter who also happens to be a talented poker player. Kat comes under suspicion of murder when an internet gambler is killed. (In stores)

• “Deputy Dorkface: How Stinkville Got Cleaned Up” (Stephens Press, a subsidiary of Stephens Media, publisher of the Las Vegas Review-Journal), is the first children’s book by KLAS-TV, Channel 8 weatherman Kevin Janison. Taylor and Colin stumble into the town of Dorkville and have to help clean up the town. Illustrated by Henderson resident Eldon Doty. (Aug. 31)

• The title says it all: “Las Vegas Little Red Book: A Girl’s Guide to the Perfect Vegas Getaway” (Justin, Charles & Co.) by Molly Sullivan, David deMontmollin and Hiram Todd Norman. It gives the lowdown on dining, gambling and shopping, among other things, just for women. (In stores)

• Former North Las Vegas mayor William L. Taylor tells the story of how he was “Rescued By Mao” (Silverleaf Press). A POW in a Japanese camp in China, Taylor escaped, met up with Mao Tse Dong and his army and was rescued. (In stores)

• Carole Nelson Douglas brings her mystery series, starring the feline private eye Midnight Louie, to Las Vegas in “Cat in a Red Hot Rage” (Forge). When a woman is strangled at a Red Hat Sisterhood convention in Las Vegas, Midnight Louie and his “daughter” Midnight Louise investigate. (In stores)

• Photographer Randa Bishop presents “Las Vegas: A Photographic Portrait” (Twin Lights Publishers), featuring images of local hotels and the outlying landscape. (In stores)

• Las Vegan Ben Malisow takes the adventurous, and humorous, approach to readers’ spare time with “1001 Things to Do If You Dare” (Adams Media). An example: “Eat something you find utterly disgusting.” (In stores)

• “My Mother’s Keeper: Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death” (Dorrance Publishing Co.) by Marjorie Holman Kitchell, is a collection of letters in tribute to Kitchell’s mother, who is slowly dying.The author is a senior pastor at the Boulder City Christian Center Church. (In stores)

• Henderson-based attorney Robert A. Massi’s bluntly titled book, “People Get Screwed All the Time” (HarperCollins), tells readers how to avoid the many mishaps they can encounter in our legal system. (In stores)