Last Saturday, I'd spent a wonderful day out with my writing buddies of our local Sisters in Crime chapter. We met for lunch and conversation at Chelsea Grille in Oakmont before walking across the street to Mystery Lovers Bookshop for our business meeting. The weather was lovely. We had a great turnout. I was re-elected as vice president. When I came home, I noticed the light blinking on our answering machine. I expected a hangup or a telemarketing computer-generated voice, which is about all we receive on our landline any more. Instead there was a real, live person stating she was from Malice Domestic and could I please call her back. Malice Domestic? Last year, I'd received a similar call congratulating me for having my novel, Circle of Influence nominated for an Agatha for Best First. But that was last year. I knew it couldn't possibly be anything like that this time. They probably needed to confirm something with my registration. Still, my hands shook so bad,...

I have spent much of the last month sitting in front of my computer, writing like a crazed woman. That’s my excuse for not having blogged recently, and I’m sticking to it. However, this past week, I typed two lovely little words (The End), so I’ve resurfaced, albeit briefly, to catch up. My first bit of news: Circle of Influence has been nominated for the David Award for Best Novel. This announcement came completely without warning. I awoke one morning to congratulatory posts on Facebook. Let me just say, don’t assume I know about good stuff happening to me. More often than not, I learn about this stuff from Facebook or Twitter friends who bring it to my attention. I did set up a Google Alert for myself once, but it doesn’t seem to work. The only one I ever received was about a particularly scathing review. I can do without being alerted to bad news. Anyway, I am now registered to attend the Deadly Ink Mystery Convention in New Jersey in August for the awards banquet. ...

After spending the weekend holed up at our camp (for Hubby, it’s The Fishing Camp…for me it’s The Writing Camp), making good progress on the 4 th Zoe Chambers Mystery, it’s now officially the Monday Before Malice . Malice Domestic officially begins on Friday, however my traveling companion (Martha Reed AKA Thelma—or Louise—I can never keep us straight) and I are leaving on Wednesday so she can attend another event in Maryland that evening. This leaves me with very little time to get everything done that needs to be done. Today’s agenda: Spend the day with Mom, pick up my dry cleaning (my two good jackets for the convention), and pack. Doesn’t sound like a lot, but the problem is WHAT to pack. Those two jackets, yes. Three pairs of GOOD jeans (my uniform of choice), my fancy dress and red shoes for the Agatha Awards banquet—and then I’m stuck. I can’t decide which tops to wear over the jeans and under the jackets. And which shoes should I pack. I have my two pairs of tri...

One of the things I hope to improve upon in this new year is decluttering. With the demands of deadlines, not to mention the great excuse “I don’t have time to clean. I have to write,” my house has become a series of what I affectionately call “hog holes.” Comfy, but messy. A little TOO lived in. So I’m tackling one hog hole at a time. No, I will not be showing you the before photos. They might result in a film crew from some hoarding reality show appearing on my front porch. However, here is my first tidied corner of my house. Books and DVDs all neat and orderly. Small cabinet’s top cleared of “stuff.” On to the next corner…which sad to say now contains some of the junk I cleared from THIS corner. Sigh. In other homefront news, Skye has developed a new quirk. She no longer wants her food in the kitchen. She now prefers to eat it in the bathtub! If I set the bowl down elsewhere, she snubs it, goes to the bathroom door and looks at me until I follow her. Then ...

The thermometer has reacquainted itself with the sixty degree mark…even if just for a couple of days…so I’ve been able to shed the funk I’ve been along with my winter coat. But it’s not only the weather that’s lifted my spirits. Yesterday, I downloaded the proofs for the upcoming Guppies Anthology, Fish Tales , including my short story “A Murder Runs Through It.” All contributors were asked to check their pieces for typos and such. I’m a lousy editor where my own work is concerned, so the fact that nothing glaring jumped out at me doesn’t mean much. Well, it means that after the thing is published and readers start pointing mistakes out to me, I’ll have no one to blame but myself. The other thing that perked me up yesterday was the release of the list of Agatha Award nominees . I’m thrilled to see so many friends’ names. I was jumping up and down as if I were on the list. Hey, if I’m not there, at least I can live vicariously through my mystery writing pals. Congratulations all around!

Apologies are in order. I try to post something here two or three times a week, but life has been a tad hectic. Nothing horrendous, mind you. Not even anything grand and wonderful. Just hectic. Last week, fellow blogger Clarissa Draper tagged me with The Versatile Blogger Award. I’ve been attempting, since MONDAY, to fulfill the requirements of that award. Well, you can see how well I’ve done. So I’m delaying Photo Friday until Saturday in order to accept my award and pass it on. First, let me thank Clarissa for the honor. Since this blog is as much about the “etc” part of the title as it is about writing, I guess a versatility award fits pretty well. Now, I must share 7 things about myself. Preferably without putting you all to sleep. 1. I sob uncontrollably when an animal dies in a movie. Forget the whole disclaimer about “no animals were harmed during the filming,” I still implode in a puddle. I can watch movies about war and serial killers and I’m fine. Just don’t expect to see me...

I’ve been writing just about every day. And yet, I haven’t produced a single new page in well over a month. Writing involves more than…well…WRITING. There’s rewriting, also known as revising. And there’s what I’ve starting calling UNwriting. I’ve been doing a LOT of UNwriting lately. You may recall the short story I created early in the year. It was supposed to be no more than 4,000 words, but finished out at 9,000. After much toiling and cutting and slashing, I succeeded in unwriting over 5,000 words to make the word count. Next, I took on the task of entering one of my completed (but so far unsold) manuscripts in the Daphne Du Maurier contest held by the Kiss of Death chapter of Romance Writers of America. They require a 675-word synopsis and the first 5,000 words of the novel, preferably ending on a “hook.” I had a one paragraph synopsis and I had a 1,600 word synopsis. The first was too condensed. The second? Well, I was already warmed up, so I unwrote 925 words to bring the long...

I didn’t make the list this year (sigh), but I’m thrilled by some of the names who did. Here are the nominees for the 2008 Derringer Awards: The nominees for Best Story 0 to 1000 words are: --Keri Clark, "Saved" (Mysterical-E, Fall 2007) --BV Lawson, "Dreaming of a Spite Christmas" (Mouth Full of Bullets, Winter 2007) --Jillian Berg, "A Woman Scorned" (Mouth Full of Bullets, Autumn 2007) --Keri Clark, "Your New Fan" (Mouth Full of Bullets, Winter 2007) --Patricia Abbott, "My Hero" (D Z Allen's Muzzle Flash, 2007) The nominees for Best Story 1001 to 4000 words are: --Beverle Graves Myers, "Brimstone P.I." (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, May 2007) --Hugh Lessig, "We All Come From Splattertown" (Thuglit, Issue 17, July 2007) --Rick Noetzel, "Joyride" (Shred of Evidence, Dec., 2007) --Jack Hardway, "Handful of Stars" (Mouth Full of Bullets, Issue 5, Autumn 2007) --John Weagly, "In the Sha...

I’m feeling overwhelmed. The Pennwriters Conference is this weekend. As in tomorrow. I’m on the planning committee, which means, for me, it begins later today. As in after lunch! I love the Pennwriters Conferences. That’s where I met my agent last year. This year it’s being held a little closer to home. And since I have to run back and forth to give Her Royal Highness Princess Samantha her medicine, that’s a good thing. It’s been suggested by well-meaning friends that I bring her with me, get a room (I think this hotel allows pets), and leave her there. In a word—NO. I have visions of a maid accidentally letting her out of the room and of me frantically searching the entire hotel calling for her. “Here kitty, kitty.” No. Sammie stays home. I’ll spend the megabucks on gasoline to drive back and forth a few times. She won’t be stressed by being in a strange location. And I’ll know exactly where to find her. Travel and cats aside, the conference offers enough reasons for me to be anxious...