AfterImage

As I write this I am listening to the Lynn Cullen Show on 1360 talk radio. I used to listen to Lynn on a regular basis, but lately, I don’t listen to radio or watch TV in the morning because I’m usually working and I choose to write in silence. However, today is special. My fellow Sister in Crime and Pittsburgh mystery writer, Kathleen George, is going to be a guest on the show promoting her new book, AFTERIMAGE.

I won’t go into how my “boombox” blew up as I was setting it up in my office this morning so I could tune in. Instead, I have the volume cranked on the shelf system stereo out in the living room.

Tuesday night, Mystery Lovers Bookshop hosted Kathleen’s publication party. The list of attendees read like a veritable Who’s Who of Pittsburgh Crime Writers. And it was a great party. Good food, good conversation, and good books. Can it get any better? I don’t think so.



To be perfectly honest, I needed that party. I confess. I’ve been a little down where my writing is concerned. There’s been no news from my agent on either of my manuscripts. I acknowledge that old cliché about no news being good news. But in publishing, it’s more like no new is NO NEWS. No, I’m not even entertaining the thought of throwing in the towel. I’ve just been feeling a little beat up and…well…rejected. It’s hard to keep up the spirits when the only communications I’ve been receiving from publishers and editors have read along the lines of “thanks, but no thanks.”

So spending an evening mingling with friends who have books published…especially when I know the ups and downs these friends have gone through…is good for the struggling writer’s soul. Plus Heather Terrell gave me a rousing pep talk that helped set my mind in a much better place.

Thanks, Heather.

So here are some photographs of Who’s Who in the Mystery World of Pittsburgh. First, there’s Mary Alice Gorman, owner and granddame of Mystery Lovers Bookshop sharing a laugh with Rebecca Drake and Lila Shaara.


Then there’s Nancy Martin chatting up Tory Butterworth.


And, dear Heather doing her Christmas shopping.


Now, go out and buy AfterImage. If you’ve ever spent any time in Pittsburgh, you will recognize all the locations. If you have NEVER been to Pittsburgh, you’ll feel like you have been after reading it. If you don’t want to venture out into the crowded stores to buy it, click here and you can have it delivered right to your door.