Writers Police Academy 2015.

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,...

Wrong again: Read Charlaine Harris

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....

Saint Lucia Stories

I am saying good-bye to Saint Lucia tonight, a small island in the Eastern Caribbean, where my brother and I are spending a holiday together. It’s dark now. With darkness comes some insect, or gecko or night creature, which annoys the spit out of me by making a...

Pushing Past Writers Roadblocks

Damn, it’s hard to reconnect with your story having taken three days off to be a tourist in downtown Los Angeles. It’s hard to reconnect with your story—or whatever you’re working on—after taking any time off. You lose your momentum. So many excuses are available. I...

Mystery Conference Update – Bouchercon 2014

What is Bouchercon? http://www.bouchercon2014.com/programming.php For both authors and readers, it’s the meeting place to rub shoulders with the famous, near famous, and soon to be famous—all mystery writers. It’s the grand lalapalooza mystery conference held every...