Peter Quinn

After spending a decade writing his first novel, author Peter Quinn hoped to speed up the process on its follow-up. And he did. Eight years later, the 1995 American Book Award winner completed "The Hour of the Cat," a critically hailed thriller set in pre-World War II New York City. There's a good reason for the lengthy process: He actually wrote the book. In longhand. On yellow legal pads. Page after page of penmanship, honed through years of Catholic education.

After spending a decade writing his first novel, author Peter Quinn hoped to speed up the process on its follow-up. And he did. Eight years later, the 1995 American Book Award winner completed "The Hour of the Cat," a critically hailed thriller set in pre-World War II New York City. There's a good reason for the lengthy process: He actually wrote the book. In longhand. On yellow legal pads. Page after page of penmanship, honed through years of Catholic education.

As investigators from Nevada arrived in Orange County on Saturday to interview 14-year-old murder suspect Peter Quinn Elvik, the widow of the man he is suspected of killing lashed out. "This is so meaningless," said June Gibson, whose 63-year-old husband was found shot to death early Thursday morning. "There was no reason for it. Bill was very mild-mannered and wouldn't have been starting any trouble." Elvik remained in Orange County Juvenile Hall on Saturday, awaiting extradition to Nevada.

As investigators from Nevada arrived in Orange County on Saturday to interview 14-year-old murder suspect Peter Quinn Elvik, the widow of the man he is suspected of killing lashed out. "This is so meaningless," said June Gibson, whose 63-year-old husband was found shot to death early Thursday morning. "There was no reason for it. Bill was very mild-mannered and wouldn't have been starting any trouble." Elvik remained in Orange County Juvenile Hall on Saturday, awaiting extradition to Nevada.

When most of us try to conjure up images of Civil War-era New York, we think of ornate drawing rooms populated by ladies in voluminous gowns and urbane, frock-coated men puffing on cigars. "Banished Children of Eve," Peter Quinn's exceptional debut novel, presents the far more earthy New York of yesteryear. According to him, it was a grotesquely primitive and savage place or, as the book itself puts it, "a vast nether world of poverty, resentment and ethnic hatred."

Ned Baumer, partner in Scripps Wateridge Associates, has been reelected president of Sorrento mesa Business Council i San Diego. Other officers are: Peter B. Quinn, first vice president; Ronald R. Alfonzo, secretary, and marv Steadman, treasurer.

More than 60 electric cars and other alternative-energy vehicles will hit the road in Long Beach today for a three-day competitive rally aimed at upgrading their image. "People tend to think of electric cars as glorified golf carts," says Peter Quinn Hackes, director of the 1992 International Electric Grand Prix. "But these cars have stamina. Some of them go over 100 miles an hour." Why should we care?

An attorney for basketball player Allan Leavell said Friday that his client will probably plead no contest to punching a referee during a minor-league game. Leavell, the first professional athlete ever to be arrested for striking a referee, did not show up in Ventura Municipal Court for his arraignment on a battery charge Friday. However, defense attorney Louis Samonsky Jr. asked the court for a continuance, which Judge Herbert Curtis III granted.

An Orange County Juvenile Court judge on Tuesday postponed the extradition proceedings for a 14-year-old Tustin boy charged with a Nevada murder-robbery, authorities said. Peter Quinn Elvik will return to court next Tuesday to begin proceedings that may return him to Carson City, Nev., where authorities have charged him in the shotgun slaying of a 63-year-old retiree, police said.

When most of us try to conjure up images of Civil War-era New York, we think of ornate drawing rooms populated by ladies in voluminous gowns and urbane, frock-coated men puffing on cigars. "Banished Children of Eve," Peter Quinn's exceptional debut novel, presents the far more earthy New York of yesteryear. According to him, it was a grotesquely primitive and savage place or, as the book itself puts it, "a vast nether world of poverty, resentment and ethnic hatred."

A 15-year-old Tustin boy accused of shooting a Carson City man to death agreed Tuesday to return to Nevada, where he automatically faces trial as an adult. Peter Quinn Elvik decided against challenging extradition to Nevada during a juvenile court hearing here because he had no legal grounds to dispute the move, said his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Dean Allen. "Generally, if you were in the state and the state wants you, they'll get you," he said. Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty.

British au pair Louise Woodward failed to respond to a lawsuit filed by the parents of the baby she was convicted of killing, and a federal court automatically ruled against her Thursday, meaning a judge can determine how much she must pay in damages. The default order is rare in federal cases. Woodward can challenge the order any time before U.S. District Judge William G. Young decides on damages, but her lawyer in England said she can't afford to fight the wrongful death suit.