Most years, May is one of my favorite months. Spring is officially (mostly) conquering winter. The trees and grass are green. Flowers are in bloom. Birds are singing. The view from my kitchen window All that is true this year as well, but the first few weeks of May nearly did me in.  First, my husband and I had his-and-hers eye infections. Then, he brought home a wicked, bone-rattling cough. I thought for sure I was going to catch it.  The Pennwriters Conference was coming up. I tried to imagine keeping my roommate awake all night with that cough. Or trying to get through two workshops while trying to catch my breath.  Just when it looked like I might dodge that bullet, something even worse struck. Kensi Kitty, within a matter of hours, went from perfectly healthy to lethargic and refused to eat or drink. She was obviously in distress.  Sad Kensi at the vet's office I took her to the vet almost immediately. Her blood tests and X-rays looked BAD. The vet didn't expect...

I'm home after a fairytale-worthy four days at Malice Domestic in Bethesda, Maryland. No, I did not win the Agatha, but I've truly embraced my eight nominations for the honor they are. And speaking of honors, I absolutely LOVED being the Guest of Honor this year. I will treasure these memories for the rest of my life. The adventure began on Thursday, road tripping with my longtime pal Martha Reed.  There was momentary panic when I posted that picture on Social Media. "Where's Liz???" Dru Ann Love demanded. Liz moved a while back, and for this trip, since Martha is now closer to me and was also Malice-bound, I chose to ride with her. But Liz and I still roomed together. No, the Dynamic Mystery Duo has not broken up. Malice placed me in a lovely suite with a great view.  Thursday evening, I joined the board and the other honorees for a meet-and-greet, but didn't get any photos.  Friday was a busy day, although it didn't begin until later in the day with my A...

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,...

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...

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...

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.

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...

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...

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...

It’s been 18 months since my last book release. Prior to that, the longest I’d gone between books had been 12 months. In my world, it feels like decades! I mean, it never gets old. This is my seventeenth published novel, and it’s still a rush!   And yet, I admit, I’ve felt a bit subdued leading up to this one. And confused.   What am I supposed to do? How does one promote a new book?   As if I’ve never done it before.   I think I finally figured out why I feel this way, and it goes beyond the length of time since I did it before.   This book release, like the previous two Detective Honeywell novels, is digital only. For now. While a large portion of my readership gets their books on digital platforms, it doesn’t feel 100% real until I hold the print copy in my grubby little hands.   Don’t get me wrong. I’m thrilled for all of you who are huddled over your phones and iPads and Kindles reading my book today. I love you all beyond words.   H...

When I was a kid, our farm gardens were massive. We had acres of potatoes. My grandmother's "kitchen garden" had to be at least a thousand square feet. Corn, cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, kohlrabi, onions, peppers, and so much more. Rhubarb, horseradish, and dill grew along its borders. We had an apple orchard as well as pear and peach trees.  Now, we have a ten-acre chunk of that 150-acre farm, and our little garden has grown progressively smaller over the decades. This year we have onions, cucumbers, a few sad tomato plants, peppers, and one plant each of yellow squash and zucchini. Those last two are threatening to take over the world alongside the cucumbers. We've given bushels of the things away. People see my husband coming and run. They can't escape. He drives by when folks aren't home and leaves squash on their doorstep.  I've been cooking and eating squash and cukes for lunch and supper every single day. Yes, I'm sick of them. And...

Fifteen years ago today, the Universal Cat Distribution System deposited this tiny, wormy, flea-infested little one on our front porch. I tried to find a home for her, but Kensi had already decided THIS was home, and I was her human. I've learned to never question her again.   Kensi 2010 Happy Gotcha Day, Kensi. Kensi 2025

I'm breathing a little easier this week. I completed and turned in my proofreads of No Stone Left Unturned early this week and have been pounding away on the first draft of the fifth Honeywell mystery. As of today, I've topped 75,000 words. I expect this one to be around 90K or a little under, so I'm on target to meet my goal of completion by the end of August. Yay me! I do have one item on my to-do list that will take up part of my time this coming week. As I mentioned last time, I'm teaching a two-hour workshop for Steel Quill Workshops. It's titled Creating 3-Dimensional Characters and is geared toward all genres and all skill levels. If you're interested, click here to register. The workshop takes place on Sunday, August 24 from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 at 5858 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA. 

I'm still here. I even managed to get out for a few in-person events last month. First, I had the honor of being Linda Castillo's conversation partner for her Pittsburgh stop on her book tour. RAGE , her new Kate Burkholder novel, is fabulous. I loved it and was reminded that I need to go back and pick up a few of her earlier books that I somehow missed. Photo courtesy of Mystery Lovers Bookshop Then, I spent a little time at our local Senior Citizen's Center to chat about books with the hometown crowd.  Photo courtesy of Burgettstown Senior Center Finally, I was honored once more to be the conversation partner with Shari Lapena. Her newest thriller, She Didn't See It Coming , was riveting! And the crowd was amazing.  Photo courtesy of Mystery Lovers Bookshop Now, for the month of August, I'm mostly holing up in Book Jail. I'm juggling two books right now: drafting Honeywell #5 (which needs a working title) and proofreading No Stone Left Unturned .  I do have on...

After what has felt like forever, I have book covers for the upcoming third and fourth Detective Honeywell Mysteries.  I may be totally am biased, but I think they're gorgeous! You can read the back cover copy descriptions on my website .

Back in March, I was happily munching a salad when something didn't feel right. The hard piece of something that I spit out was one of my crowns. No big deal, I thought. Call the dentist, go in, and get it glued back in place. Then I looked closer and realized the crown had taken a large portion of what was left of the tooth with it. Okay, so it WAS a big deal. There wasn't enough of the tooth left to repair, so I had to see an oral surgeon to have the root extracted. (Don't cringe. I'm not going into great deal.) Unfortunately, while I got in right away for the assessment, I couldn't have the procedure done until this past Monday. Yes, that's a long time. It wasn't that bad. The doctor was FAST. I was in and out in no time. I refused the narcotic pain meds, opting to use over-the-counter products instead. Note: I highly recommend the Tylenol/Advil combo I've been told to use on several occasions. However... While I wasn't in any real pain, I was a t...

Have you ever put off a task because you expected it to be grueling? That's basically how I approach developmental edits. I have pages and pages of notes from my editor, and I need to find a way to rip apart my book and put it back together to patch the holes she found.  Guess what? It's never as bad as I think it's going to be. The hardest part is dragging my writer's brain out of the book I'm drafting to sink it into the book that needs to be edited.  And that's where I am. I received my editorial letter early in the month. It's only a page and a half, which is virtually unheard of for me, and a good part of that is raving about the characters and twists. At the time it hit my inbox, we were recovering from a vicious windstorm and had no power. Then there was preparation for the Pennwriters Conference.  And my editor told me "no rush." Never ever tell me "no rush" because that' permission to procrastinate.  I ran out of excuses this...

 The new laptop arrived. I remember the old days when I would spend hours...days...a week...getting the new computer set up. Every program had to be installed. Every password had to be remembered, looked up, or changed (because who can remember ALL their passwords???) And that was after the original start up and hours of updates. Thanks to fiber optic internet, updates took maybe twenty minutes. Then I had to sign in to one account, using a PIN. Voila! My email and photos and virtually everything else effortlessly showed up on the new machine. Even my screensaver was transferred.  I did have to install my preferred browser since Edge isn't it. Plus Dropbox. Plus Zoom. I'm sure there will be more, but for now, it's pretty well ready to roll.  Meanwhile, the old laptop is still limping along, so I haven't sent it to the electronics graveyard just yet.

Last weekend's Pennwriters Conference went off without a hitch. Mostly. Having been a conference coordinator once a long, long time ago, I know there are lots of hitches and glitches behind the scenes. The trick is how you handle them. This year's coordinators handled them beautifully. I'd guess 99.9% of the attendees were unaware and were too busy having fun to notice. Smiling faces abounded. I had a glitch of my own to contend with. After teaching two workshops on Friday, I had one more to go on Saturday afternoon, and it was the one that totally depended on a PowerPoint slide show.  Friday night in my hotel room, I reached into my computer bag to pull out my laptop and was startled to feel how hot it was. Not scorching hot, but warmer than usual. Let me add that my beloved laptop is five years old, which seems to be their life expectancy. The battery no longer holds a charge, so I need to keep in plugged in when using it.  Anyway, I decided to err on the side of caution ...

The Pennwriters Conference begins this Friday, and I’m teaching three workshops, so right now, my focus is on making lists, packing, and preparing my classes and handouts. I may not be writing, but I’m thinking about writing a lot .   I do have more news to share. While I’ve had my doubts in recent months, it appears there will be two more Detective Honeywell Mysteries coming out this year! I have release dates and titles! But still no cover art.   The third in the series will be The Devil Comes Calling and will be released in eBook format on November 7, 2025. The fourth will be out in eBook on December 19 and is titled No Stone Left Unturned . Preorder links are starting to pop up sans the still-missing covers, but I’m not promoting them until there’s something interesting to look at. Call me superstitious. It simply never feels real until I have that cover art.   I also got my developmental edits for No Stone Left Unturned , and they don’t look too daunting. I’...