I’m sure in the real world, authors know well in advance of their scheduled publication date. However, everything about the release of Fish Tales has come as a surprise, albeit a happy one. Less than two weeks ago, we got our cover. Last week it showed up on sale as an ebook. And this morning, I awoke to news that, mysteriously overnight, the trade paperback version is now available. I’m not sure if the lack of forewarning is because it’s a small press or because there are 22 of us included in this anthology, and keeping everyone in the loop was too labor intensive. Whatever the reason, I’m not complaining. Instead, I’m explaining why my website isn’t updated. My webmaster wasn’t expecting to get a major update from me. So it’s in the works, but… Also, the good folks at Mystery Lovers Bookshop are scrambling to get it on their website. I’ll have a link here as soon as it’s available, because as you probably all know, I’m a strong supporter of independent booksellers. In the meantime, ...

The print version isn't available yet, but for those of you with e-readers, Fish Tales can now be downloaded for Mobi , Kindle , or Nook ! Yes, I'm just a little excited.

It’s been a very long winter here in southwestern Pennsylvania. I’m not a fan of winter, even in a mild year, so this one has been especially tough. But finally, spring has arrived. I’ve traded in walks on the treadmill for walks in the great outdoors most days. And, on Saturday, I finally got my hands on some horses. I’ve been in withdrawal. All winter, I’ve been watching reruns of old westerns (I can recite dialogue from most episodes of Alias Smith and Jones) just to see the horses. Okay, maybe I enjoy the cute cowboys, too. Just a little. But I digress. Saturday, I headed to Mountaineer for the first time since last fall. I arrived before my trainer friend, Jessi, so I found a place to sit next to the rail on the far turn to take some photos. At 8:30, there was a schooling race. It may have been for practice, but no one told the horses that. Afterwards, I headed backside and spent some private time in Jessi’s barn with her horses. Several of them weren’t interested in letting me sa...

Yesterday, I received word that we have a cover for the Fish Tales anthology, which includes my short story "A Murder Runs Through It." Even better, we have a release date of late April 2011. Yep. NEXT MONTH! It's really happening!

My new HP laptop arrived yesterday! Just in time to provide fodder for today's Working Stiffs' post. Come on over and check out my diary of day one with my new toy.

Welcome to Daylight Saving Time. Yes, it’s another sign of spring, but without a doubt, it’s my least favorite. Okay, we could quibble about mud and flooded basements, but that’s a topic for another day. Right now, I have DST jetlag. It comes without the benefits of having traveled. Lots of people detest the time change. Last night I was talking to my cousin on the phone and he says he doesn’t care whether we’re in DST or EST. Just pick one and stick with it. He’s not alone. Personally, I don’t mind the time change. I do like the additional hour of light in the evening. What I despise is dragging myself out of bed in the pitch black of morning. I mean, it was just starting to get light earlier and WHAM! We have to set our clocks ahead. Now we’re back to it being dark until almost 8AM! What kind of sick joke is that? In the “good ol’ days” Daylight Saving Time didn’t kick in until early April. Seems to me, at one time, it was even LATE April. Now THAT was fine. The days were already lon...

After six inches of snow yesterday, the sun came out this morning and temperatures climbed to 60 degrees. I took a little walk around my yard and found these sprouts worshipping the sunshine.

Last week’s episode of CSI freaked me out. It was about a hoarder. The house was jam packed with everything single idem that had ever come into it. Floor to ceiling. And, being CSI, there was a decomposing body and several skeletons. Let me just say, I am not a hoarder. But I do have a few areas of clutter. Some days I have to clear a space on the kitchen table in order to eat. Stuff just seems to get dumped there, waiting to be sorted and tossed or placed in a file. Newspapers tend to collect on the old wooden chest that serves as my coffee table. After watching Thursday’s episode, I immediately cleared both those spots. It took maybe ten minutes. This weekend, I tackled a much more serious clutter hotspot: my office. Kensi keeps me somewhat in control here. She loves to climb on piles of papers and send them avalanching to the floor. But I had a couple of bins where papers kept getting stashed until I had time to look at them. And there were a couple of piles of manuscripts… Okay, my...

On rare occasions, Skye gets the upper hand where Kensi's concerned. This is one of those times.

There have been some speed bumps and snafus on the way to the 2011 Pennwriters Conference, including a major change. Learn all about it at Working Stiffs today.