I I live in the mountains in central California and the cold here in winter is becoming unbearable. But then spring and summer come and I’m in love with my house and my friends and my life here. I have to move somewhere else. So this year, instead of making a vow I...
I am leaving the board of directors of Sisters in Crime Los Angeles chapter, ending my two-year term with the Holiday party at the South Pasadena Women’s Club. I want to say thank you to my fellow board members, the Sisters and Misters for the chance to learn from...
Like a lot of people today, the day after the San Bernardino mass shooting, I find myself depressed. I can’t work on my novel. I ate a whole package of Graham crackers, and I’ve been checking the online news every half hour or so. Last night was the regular weekly...
Cherry Mattias, DVM and I have started a Bakersfield chapter of Sisters in Crime. We were thrilled last meeting to discover we’ve already we’ve grown out of our original meeting place at Marie Callenders. Sisters in Crime Bakersfield is one chapter of the 3600 member...
In my current, and as yet untitled sixth mystery fiction, I changed the killer in the middle of the book. No one knew but me, until my editor commented that the killer was unconvincing. He just seemed to float in the air until he pounced on the victim. It made me...
Chances are if you’re reading this, you’ve written a lot of words, some pages, some chapters, which are causing you a lot of pain. It feels like you’ve done a lot of thinking, a lot of typing, but it isn’t a book. You know that. And you’re about to give up. In the...
I don’t spend money on jewelry, fast cars, or lavish restaurant meals. I spend it on mystery conferences and bookselling jaunts. The Writers Police Academy in Wisconsin was expensive, the biggest part of the cost of getting from California to Appleton, Wisconsin.But,...
I thought I didn’t like cozies, especially those written by Charlaine Harris. To refresh your memory, cozies feature an amateur sleuth (who has some law enforcement connection.) Many sleuths are female: many own cats and like to cook or do some other domestic craft....
Chances are if you’re reading this, you’ve got written a lot of words, some pages, some chapters, which are causing you a lot of pain. It feels like you’ve done a lot of thinking, a lot of typing, but it isn’t a book. You know that. And you’re about to give up....
I wish I felt more enthusiasm for the launch of my new Dave Mason mystery. For me, once I’m finished a book, that is, the revised revised final final version, I’m really done with it. And by then I’m onto to the next book and all its problems and challenges. I want to...
