Posts

How Does She Know?

Image
How do cats know when their humans are planning to leave them and go on a trip?  Three years ago, on the Sunday (yes, a weekend) prior to Malice Domestic, my beloved fur baby Kensi Kitty had some sort of episode. She gakked and immediately collapsed. I thought it was a stroke and rushed her to the emergency vet clinic. I thought I was going to have to cancel my trip to Bethesda, regardless of the fact that I was nominated for an Agatha. Turned out to be good news (???) and bad news. The good news was that she'd fainted because of a vagal incident caused by throwing up. Not life-threatening, I was assured.  The bad news was that they discovered, during her exam, that she had mild hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.  In hindsight, this was good news, too, because we caught it. She's been on lisinopril ever since and has been doing well. It does mean I have to stuff a tiny pill down her throat twice a day, but she's remarkably cooperative. For me. When I go on the road,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Counting Down to Malice Domestic

Image
I can't believe how fast time is flying. Malice Domestic is little more than two weeks away! How did that happen? I've been so excited for well over a year about being Guest of Honor, and now it's just around the corner!  Yesterday, the cover of the Malice Anthology: Murder Most Senior was revealed, and I adore it.  I'll be taking part in the anthology signing on Friday night, 9:30 p.m. For the rest of my schedule, you can check my Events page on my website.  I confess, I feel like Cinderella in the days before the ball. Just a hard-working writer, plugging along and suddenly having the spotlight cast on me! I have my dress for the banquet. I've been picking up pieces to add to my wardrobe. I have an appointment to get my hair touched up before we leave. What I need to get serious about is putting those new outfits together and beginning to pack. I usually throw everything together the day before I leave, but perhaps not this year.  I have great intentions of post...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Struggle is Real...and FUN

Image
I'm currently riding a triple-decker high that is incredibly rare in the world of hard-working writers. Most of the time, the path to publishing is a struggle. We begin by struggling to write a book. Yes, it's fun, communing with those imaginary characters filling our heads. But the part about creating a complete story that entertains not just ourselves, but hopefully readers, is a struggle. We take workshops and webinars. We read craft books by the dozen. We study and try to implement what we've learned. Eventually, if we're lucky and persistent, we're able to type THE END.  Then we struggle to revise and refine our words before struggling to find an agent and/or publisher for the book. Then we struggle to find readers. All the while, we're back struggling to write the NEXT book.  And so on. And so on.  I've been incredibly lucky to have repeatedly made it through all those struggles to reach this high point in my career. As I've already stated, I'm...
Post a Comment
Read more

Here We Go Again

Image
I am over-the-moon thrilled to announce that The Devil Comes Calling has been nominated for an Agatha for Best Contemporary Novel. If you're thinking this ever gets old, it doesn't. For the 7th time, receiving the news brought me to tears. Yes, this is my 8th nomination. The first time, I screamed. The poor woman on the phone was probably deaf for at least 24 hours. But after that, I've cried in grateful joy every time.  It's stuff like this that gets me through the current world situation and over a foot of snow outside my door. Thanks to Gabriel Valjean for the second graphic.
Post a Comment
Read more

Looking Ahead...

Image
Happy New Year! We somehow survived 2025. Now it's time to make a plan for 2026. For me, that means writing. Of course. But it also means getting out to talk to readers and celebrate the new books. Let's start with the BIG event of the year. I'm giddy with excitement about being the 2026 Guest of Honor at Malice Domestic in April. I still have to go to their website and make sure my picture is still there...that I didn't hallucinate the announcement. Part of me can't wait. The other part wants to ease up to the big weekend, savoring every moment, because this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime honor, and I know the actual event will fly by in a flurry of activity. Besides Malice, I have work to do.  In January, I have a couple of in-person book signings for The Devil Comes Calling and No Stone Left Unturned. The first is a joint launch party with my friend, Debut Author Sharon Wenger, at Mystery Lovers Bookshop on Sunday, the 11th.  The second is an informal hang-out-wit...
Post a Comment
Read more

Looking Back on 2025

Image
It's New Year's Eve and as I have almost every year, I'm taking some time to reflect on my Looking Ahead post from this past January.  The biggest question mark a year ago was the status of books 3 and 4 in the Honeywell series. As you likely know, both have recently been released with tomorrow being the "official" release date of No Stone Left Unturned in print. After the shaky start, I'm especially happy to have these two out in the world.  I had a relatively full schedule of appearances all year, despite not having anything new out.   Malice Domestic was especially fun because it was announced that I will be their 2026 Guest of Honor! More on that in tomorrow's Looking Ahead post.  I succeeded in turning in the standalone, however, my agent sent it back with lots of notes. I'm still working on it.  I also succeeded in completing Honeywell #5. At least the first draft. I submitted it by my deadline and now have it back, also with notes, these from...
Post a Comment
Read more

Draft #4

Image
I’ve frequently been asked, usually by writers still trying to find their way, how many drafts I write of a book. I never have a good answer. Or when I give one, I inevitably make myself a liar while working on the next book.   But right now, I’m starting on Draft #4 of my current Work in Progress, which, by the way, is due to my publisher on December 1. However, my Draft #4 is likely very different from your Draft #4.   Let me break it down.   The first draft is a free-for-all. I may or may not have an outline. If I do, it’s sparse and not carved in stone, so I’m slinging words on the page to see if they work or not. It often sucks. But even Draft #1 isn’t a rough first draft by the time I reach the end. Each day, I re-read the previous day’s work and make tweaks before I start fresh. Once a month, I send pages to my critique group for feedback. I may or may not incorporate that feedback while I’m still powering through the word-slinging phase, but there are alwa...
Post a Comment
Read more