Before I get started, let me say the last couple of months have been horrible. And not just because I'm terrified for the future of our nation. I'm not going there. Not now. This is more personal than that. For the last couple of months, I've been watching my mother's health decline. As I'm writing this, she's in a coma. All of her meds have been discontinued. We're in limbo, waiting for the inevitable. Therefore, my view of the world right now is colored with sorrow. [Taking a deep breath and plunging ahead] However, the entire year was NOT bad. In fact, looking back, I had some of the best moments of my career and my life in 2016. Henery Press released my fourth Zoe Chambers mystery, With a Vengeance ! That's Trevor and Natalie of Mystery Lovers Bookshop hamming it up with an advanced copy of it. AND Bridges Burned was an Agatha Award nominee for Best Contemporary Novel!!! That photo was taken at the celebratory lunch my critique group th...

In five weeks, I’ll be leaving on a jet plane for New Orleans and Bouchercon2016 .  I’ve never been to NOLA, so that alone is a big draw for me. However, Bouchercon is a mystery lover’s family reunion…if you had hundreds and hundreds of family members. For example, click here for a list of some of my “family.” This will be my fifth Bouchercon, although I’ve missed years in between. My first was in Baltimore in 2008. Then I drove to Cleveland for it in 2012. Followed by Long Beach and Raleigh in 2014 and 2015. In the weeks leading up to “Blood on the Bayou,” I’ll be blogging here every Wednesday to share memories from those previous years. Oh, and there’s a Bouchercon anthology: Blood on the Bayou containing some incredible short stories including several by good friends of mine. More on that in the coming weeks as well. In the meantime, go here to find links to pre-order it! 

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. ...

Martha and I said goodbye to the Mercersburg Inn after a fabulous breakfast and made the final two-hour drive to Bethesda, arriving early afternoon. Once we were checked in, our first stop was Uncle Julio's , an incredible Mexican restaurant we'd visited last year and dreamed about ever since. We were not disappointed. YUM. Back at the Hyatt, the crowds were gathering and the mystery world's biggest family reunion started kicking off, if not officially (that happen's today). Four of us Agatha Nominees for Best First Novel met in person for the first time at the bar (of course). Left to right: Me, Tracy Weber, Terrie Moran, Sherry Harris. Missing from the photo is Susan O'Brien, who arrives today. Thanks to the fabulous Dru Ann Love for taking the photo--and for telling each of us that we were going to win. #HedgingHerBets. Today the real adventures begin. My New Kids on the Block panel is at 1:00. Opening Ceremonies are at 5:00 followed by a mixer with t...

First, let me say I’ll be very glad when these year-in-review things go away! 2014 was a rough year for the nation and reliving all the horrific news stories is more than I can handle with my current low stock in tissues. Goal #1: Go to the store and buy Kleenex. Seriously, though, it’s time for my annual post about creating goals. If you don’t know the difference between goals and resolutions by now, go back into my archives and pull up a post from January 1 of any year. Last year, my big goal concerned finding balance. I was more or less successful. I met all my deadlines (okay, I was one day late for ONE of them, but I had permission), so I must have done okay staying focused on writing. I did, however, go off the track where exercise is concerned. And family matters completely derailed me for a while. Hey, life happens. You do your best, and you move on. So for 2015, I’m shooting for a do-over on the finding balance goal. I need to continue to maintain momentum...

The clock is ticking. I'm leaving for the Pennwriters Conference Wednesday afternoon. That leaves me just under 48 hours to get everything done that needs to be done. My workshop notes and handouts are printed and paper-clipped and stashed in my computer bag. Most of my clothes are packed...except for the items that might wrinkle. I have my copies of Fish Tales boxed and ready to go (the bookseller couldn't get them, so it's BYOB...Bring Your Own Books). One important item that remains on my to-do list is "purchase wine." I'm in charge of picking up the wine for the speakers' goody bags, plus I've offered to donate a bottle of my favorite chocolate wine for one of the auction baskets. PLUS I expect a few friends to stop by my hotel room at some point for a wine and chocolate party, so I need a bottle of two for that. This very important task (VIT) was on today's to-do list. I drove to the liquor store only to discover it's close...

It’s difficult to comprehend that I’ve spent three years on this manuscript. I’ve never taken that long to write a single novel before. Of course, there were a couple of interruptions in the process, including Mom’s multiple hip surgeries and extensive recovery, and coordinating the 2009 Pennwriters Conference. But on Friday, the status of my manuscript changed from WIP (work in progress) to “ Under Submission .” I’ve sent the fruits of my labor out into the world. And now the waiting begins. On Saturday, with no revisions and no edits on my to-do list, I cleaned house. Egads, it needed it! Camping, writing, and conferencing had taken up all my time for the last three or four weeks. Hubby and I could leave notes to each other in the dust. Sunday, I took a day off. Crashed on the couch with the newspaper. Went on a “hot date” with Hubby to Cabela’s followed by a belated anniversary dinner out. I’m not used to being lazy. It was kind of fun. But a little of that stuff goes a long way. N...

I got nothin’. If you checked out Working Stiffs on Wednesday, you’ve seen all my photography for the week. All that was worth posting, at least. So instead of Photo Friday, I’m beginning the countdown to the conference. The Pennwriters Conference is next week. Technically, it’s Friday through Sunday, but I’m leaving Wednesday so I can attend Tim Esaias’ daylong intensive fiction workshop on Thursday. And I’m not at all sucking up to the teacher by offering him a ride to Lancaster. Last year, as you may (or may not) recall, I was conference coordinator. This year, my sole duty, beyond that of conference Yoda (I sit in my cave in my swamp and offer guidance), is that of photographer. But I think I’m almost as stressed as I was a year ago. This year, I am pitching. The last time I pitched was in 2006. I signed with my agent back then. I un-signed with her this January. So I’m back in pitching practice. No, I’m not ready. Not even close. I have to confess…there was a moment or two yester...

My appointment book is blank for the next three days. How did THAT happen? Oh, I have plenty to do. But nowhere to go. YAY! I have high hopes of accomplishing things around here. Remind me of that when Tuesday rolls around and all I’ve achieved is catching up on sleep and updating my status on Facebook. As I write this, hubby has a major canning project going on in the kitchen. It involves meat, so this vegetarian is staying out of his way. But this afternoon I’ll have to clean up his mess. In the meantime, I can clean and de-clutter the rest of the house. Actually, it will only LOOK like I’m cleaning and de-cluttering (and doing laundry). That is only a cover. What I REALLY will be doing is planning a new short story. Months ago I signed up to submit to a new anthology being compiled by the Guppies (Great Un Published) of Sisters in Crime. I knew I’d be frazzled with the upcoming 2009 Pennwriters Conference (registration opens January 2nd!!!), but I also knew it was a wonderful oppo...

I have a Sisters in Crime meeting tonight and a dentist appointment tomorrow afternoon, so I have very limited time to get stuff done before leaving on Wednesday. Over on Working Stiffs , Wilfred is blogging today about his busy week ahead. I think a lot of us who are headed to Baltimore are feeling the strain. Here’s a sampling of my to-do list: Make sure all the bills are paid so I don’t come home to find a debt collector on my front porch. Work on the 2009 Pennwriters Conference . I have a couple of editors I want to send email invitations to and I need to write a report on the planning committee meeting we held yesterday to turn into the board and the absentee committee members. I need to design and print flyers promoting said Pennwriters Conference to take with me and place in strategic spots at Bouchercon. Also need to print membership brochures and business cards to promote the organization as well as the conference. (Pulling double duty as conference coordinator AND area rep? W...

Sixteen days until I leave for Baltimore, Maryland and Bouchercon . Not that I’m counting or anything. I spent one night away from home this weekend as my friend Lisa Curry and I drove to Rustic (with a capital “R”) Brookville, PA for a Pennwriters Board of Directors Meeting. We make this trip once a year. This will likely be Lisa’s last since she is stepping down from her role as treasurer soon. The motel in Brookville is even more Rustic than the town. But Pennwriters foots the bill, so I don’t complain. Much. I suspect the room I’ve reserved at the Lord Baltimore Radisson will be a little less Rustic and a little more luxurious. Actually, I’m counting on it. This time, my traveling buddy will be Joyce Tremel . We’re both starving artist types so we’re sharing expenses. I’m beginning to get excited about the event. I’ve signed up for the Sisters in Crime luncheon as well as a Ghost Tour of Fells Point. There is a huge temptation to try to do EVERYTHING. To get as much bang for my bu...

Saturday was an early morning with the annual membership meeting taking place during breakfast. My poor toes were a mess by then, so I decided to revert to my yoga instructor footwear: bare feet. Even when I was called to the podium to talk about next year’s conference, I did it sans shoes. It was funny for a while. But eventually I returned to my room and changed from dress slacks to dressy blue jeans and my trusty sneakers. I made a point of attending more workshops on Saturday than I had on Friday. Loree Lough presented two that offered a ton of useful information. Writing the Dreaded Synopsis could also be called Organizing Your Thoughts BEFORE You Write Your Novel. But that would take up too much space in the program. Later, she spoke about Perfect Plotting. Her advice to those who write by the seat of the pants? STOP THAT. She gave me some wonderful tools to help clear up my currently muddled outline. I also attended Victoria Thompson’s workshop on Dialogue. While I think dialogu...

I’m back from the Pennwriters Conference and jazzed to get back to work on my writing. The inspiration one receives at such an event is worth the price of admission not even taking into account the actual workshops and lectures. For the next few days, I’m going to relate some of my experiences and epiphanies during the course of the weekend. I WAS going to begin with a list of what’s in and what’s out in the publishing industry, but Jane Friedman of Writer’s Digest already covered that and more in her blog. Click here to read about her experiences at the conference. Scroll down. She has several days worth of insight. Day One (Thursday) involved travel, a Pennwriters board of directors meeting, and setting up the freebies table. Since I was this year’s freebies coordinator (AGAIN), I had a carload of boxes containing magazines, brochures, submissions guidelines, other promotional materials. Thankfully, there was room for my luggage. With Aerosmith and Oasis rocking on the CD player, I...

Whose stupid idea was it to take off on a vacation the week before the Pennwriters Conference? Oh. I guess it was mine. Note to self: don’t do that again! I’ve been frantically trying to play catch up from our days away while also frantically preparing for the conference. Plus I had a private yoga class to teach yesterday morning and a Pennwriters meeting last night, Mom and I have an appointment to get our hair cut this morning and I have another yoga class tonight. And mustn’t forget Citizens’ Police Academy on Monday (click here to read about my experiences with the bomb squad). If you want something done, it has been said, ask a busy person. Well, for the record, if anyone asks this busy person to add one more thing to her plate this week, they may need to call in that bomb squad robot to defuse the situation. Alas, I keep telling myself that what doesn’t get done just doesn’t get done. The world won’t end. Tomorrow: on the road again.

Six days until we leave for Williamburg. I am soooo looking forward to this vacation. For me getting away usually comes in one of two forms: camping which includes the uncomfortable bed in our tag-along trailer and cooking and washing dishes. OR a hotel at some sort of writing or yoga event. Nice, but a working vacation is still work. So the idea of staying in a hotel, eating out, and just having fun has a lot of appeal at the moment. I know myself too well, though. I know that by this weekend I’ll be dealing with homesickness. I’ve written about that phenomenon here before: I get homesick BEFORE I leave home. Not so much WHILE I’m gone. But I dread leaving my kitty. When we had Sammie, I knew all about her separation anxiety and I suffered from it, too. Now I have Skye who came to me from a shelter after being abandoned and who has bonded to me as if with Superglue. I suspect she’s going to be traumatized by my absence. Never mind that I have arranged for my friend, Sara, to come and ...

I’ve been sitting here trying to decide what to write about today. There’s been a little of this going on and a little of that. Enough to keep me hopping, but no one thing really jumps out as a blog topic. So I thought I’d give you a sampling of everything. I met with my critique group yesterday and they gave the thumbs-up to my re-write of Chapter One. So except for a few minor fixes, I can focus on tinkering with Chapter Two now. My goal, by the way, is to have the first three chapters done before we leave for Williamsburg. Mom is doing well. We go back to the surgeon for another post-op check on Tuesday and he will likely once again give her the go-ahead to use her cane. I confess to being a little gun shy about this. Last time he OK’d her using the cane, one week later, she dislocated again. Of course, things are different this time. Or at least I keep telling myself that. My recovery from gum graft surgery went much easier this time around. I was feeling better after a week instea...

I vaguely remember thinking last autumn how wonderful the solitude of winter would be. Life would slow down. I’d be snowed in with nothing to do but write. Well, that fantasy has long since evaporated. I spent the snowiest days shoveling the driveway so I could get out to visit Mom at the Health Center. Hubby’s car remains patched with duct tape after his encounter with a patch of ice and a fence post. My car lost an eye this winter. No, not an “eye.” An “i.” My Saturn Ion is now a Saturn On. But there are lots of reasons why I’m looking forward to spring. Here are a few: I’m sick of wearing the same old sweaters and sweatshirts day in and day out. I am sooo ready for a wardrobe change. Even if I don’t buy anything new, I haven’t seen my summer duds in months so they will SEEM new. I’m sick of black and white and gray and brown. That’s all I see out my window. I’m ready for some color. My daffodils have poked their noses above the leaf mulch. The lilac bush’s buds are swelling. But so ...

The week is ending on a better note than it started. I confess, I spent several mornings this week muttering bad words under my breath. But I’ve survived, it’s Friday, and just about all the headaches of the last week have resolved. Yesterday was another day of running from one place to another and dealing with mini-crises in between. Spent the morning ironing out some issues with our upcoming Firearms 101 for Writers Workshop. Having hubby be one of the presenters offers unique problems. And benefits, too. But problems at least get a more immediate reaction. And solution. So all is well. Our Bridgeville Pennwriters group met for lunch with our former fearless leader in attendance. Lorraine Henderson created the group years ago. In recently times, she’s been dealing with some serious health issues. It was good to see her and especially to see her looking so healthy. I had to leave a little early so I could make Mom’s appointment to get her taxes done. Since she was unable to go, I was...

At some point last year, I had a list of writing conferences I planned on attending in 2008. A long list. I was saving my pennies to cover expenses and making pretty good headway in that department. Then there was the episode last month with no Internet that required a large outpouring of cash for a new satellite dish. My conference fund suddenly vanished in to the hands of my new Internet provider. So I’m paring down the list. A lot. The Romantic Times Convention is coming to Pittsburgh in April. I’ve heard such wild tales about that one that I really wanted to see it for myself. And the fact that it’s going to be right here, thirty miles from my front door, made this the ideal year to go. Well, probably not. It’s rather on the pricey side. I’m not writing it off completely, buy right now, it doesn’t look promising. I attended Malice Domestic a couple years ago and LOVED it. I have promised myself that as soon as I have a book contract, I will go back. Here it is: 2008. No book cont...

Well, the kids are back from summer camp. Figuratively speaking, of course. The “kids” to which I refer are the copies of my manuscript that I sent out to my first readers. Frankly, I got darned little done while they were away. But isn’t that always the case? Anyway, I’m back to work on my “final” draft. Or at least, the final one before sending it off to my agent. I hope to see it again when an editor requests changes before publishing it. Just as I still hope to get a chance to make some changes to the manuscript of HORSE OF A DIFFERENT KILLER at some point. But for now, I’m firmly ensconced in Revision Hell. As I go through the notes which my wonderful first readers have made on the pages of the manuscript, I see there is considerable work to be done on the beginning. And the ending. And the middle. So much for my pipedream of adding a line or two here and there. Nope. It goes much deeper than that. If there is good news, it’s that the plot has been deemed sound. It’s the relations...