The 7th Zoe Chambers mystery is due to my editor February 6. Less than two weeks to pull this mess of a story together into something publishable. So of course, there are distractions going on in my life. Some potentially good and exciting. And then there's my husband's car.  It went into convulsions when he started it to come home from work yesterday. He phoned me at 3:00 saying he was waiting for a tow truck and could I pick him up at his mother's house (walking distance from the garage and 25 minutes from here). Answer: YES. But, he told me, wait until he called back, which he would do once they were on the road. By 5:15, I'd heard nothing and wondered if I'd misunderstood. I phoned him back--and let's just say he didn't sound happy. Still waiting for the tow. 7:15. Still nothing. Apparently, AAA (whom we LOVE, by the way) had taken down his phone number wrong. No call-back, no tow. Then they went to the wrong town. Obviously, they couldn't locate h...

There are a lot of "moments" in the creation of a new book. From the flicker of an idea to the index cards, sticky notes, and legal pads full of scribbles to the setting up the document and typing "Chapter One" to the rush of months later typing "The End." There are editorial note and revisions. There's the moment you first see the artwork that becomes the cover. There are galleys to be proofed. But somehow, that moment when the latest title goes up online with the "Pre-order" button live, it all becomes real. We shift from creative mode to marketing mode because now there's something to sell. It's more than a vision. It's a novel soon to be in our readers' hands. That's where I am right now. Uneasy Prey, the sixth (SIXTH!!!) Zoe Chambers Mystery is now available for pre-order from Amazon and from Barnes & Noble. And so it begins.

Happy New Year! We made it! There were times in 2017 when I wasn't so sure. But here we are with a fresh year ahead of us. I'm excited about 2018! I have two (yes, TWO) new Zoe Chambers Mysteries coming out this year. Uneasy Prey will be available later this week for pre-orders and the official cover reveal will be Thursday on Dru's Book Musings Blog! The release is scheduled for March 27. The 7th Zoe Chambers Mystery (working title: Cry Wolf ) should be coming out sometime in September if all goes according to plan. This will be the first time since 2014 that I've released two books in the same year. Back then I had no clue what I was doing or what I was in for. Not sure I do now either! I always start out the year thinking I'm not going to travel as much as I did last year. This year is no different. I do know I'll be making my annual treks to Bethesda, Maryland, for Malice Domestic and to Aztec, New Mexico. I have a road trip planned in early A...