My fabulous publisher, Henery Press is having a giveaway now through November 14. Grand Prize is 32 awesome e-books and a Kindle Fire on which to read them. First Prize is 32 awesome e-books. And there will be FOUR second-place winners of 8 awesome e-books! One of the 32 books is my Lost Legacy (Zoe Chambers #2) so that you haven't read it yet, you'll have a chance to meet Pete's dad Harry before Uneasy Prey comes out in the spring. Click HERE to enter! And good luck!

It's official! I have signed with my publisher, Henery Press, for four more Zoe Chambers Mysteries! That's books 7, 8, 9, and 10 and takes the series into 2020. I'm thrilled and hope you are too!

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...

My publisher, the fabulous Henery Press, is offering another copy of With a Vengeance for a Goodreads Giveaway! Click here to enter. By the way, I've been told, the pre-ordered print copies are starting to ship! Yay!

What a fabulous weekend. I wish I'd taken more photos, but I was too busy having fun! Therefore, I've had to steal photos from others. Let's say I borrowed them. It sounds better. Saturday was a blur of nerves and anticipation. I still hadn't slept well and was feeling the effects. Thankfully, I did lay down for a couple of hours after my book signing and dozed a little. It was enough so that I was ready for the banquet. I love this picture with my Henery Press chicks, Rachel and Erin. Besides, Rachel's sweater and lanyard discretely camouflaged my real waistline, making me look like pretty fab in my new dress! Honestly, I'm not THAT thin! The fabulous Alice Loweecey sat at my table at the banquet and posed for a buddy shot with me. Alas I did not win. The Agatha for Best First Novel went to my dear friend Terrie Moran. I'm really thrilled for her! That's the perk of becoming pals with the competition. You're happy no matter who wins. B...

It’s been a roller coaster couple of weeks. As I was pounding toward the deadline for my third Zoe Chambers mystery, my mom, who has been having some health issues, had to be admitted to the hospital. Familiar (to me) terms like atrial tachycardia and atrial fibrillation floated around along with a new one: orthostatic hypotension. Basically this means her heartbeat was fast and irregular…and her blood pressure plummeted when she stood up. In the midst of runs to the hospital and conferences with doctors, I completed and turned in the manuscript—ON TIME. But then there was this little matter of the Writer’s Police Academy , something I’d been looking forward to for a year and had paid for months ago. I seriously contemplated staying home. But my darling hubby earned a boatload of brownie points by cancelling his own “guys’ weekend” and staying home to make sure Mom had a ride home when they discharged her and to keep an eye on her once she was home. My brother stepped up big...

Henery Press has rolled out the cover for my next Zoe Chambers mystery, Lost Legacy ! Release date is September 16th!

I've been blog touring this week to celebrate the official release of Circle of Influence, which is much less stressful than actual travel. I can meet and greet readers while sitting here in my PJs and slippers! I have two stops today. Mysteristas interviewed me with a lot of good questions that made me stop and think. I hope my answers entertain you. At Pens Fatales , I'm telling tales on my mom. We love each other dearly, but she is totally bamboozled by this thing I do for a living. I did a few blogs earlier in the week, too, and if you missed them, here are the links. Monday, I was interviewed by Canyon Mason on Thoughts in Progress . Tuesday, Zoe Chambers, the "star" of Circle of Influence, took over the writing duties and shared a typical day in her life at Dru's Book Musings . I also was given the floor at my wonderful publisher, Henery Press' blog . Next week, I'm taking a blog break so I can finish my revisions on Lost Legacy, th...

Today is one of those Oh-My-God-This-Is-Really-REAL kind of days. Henery Press has added me to their website and Circle of Influence has a page, too! I absolutely LOVE the cover! So today is all about showing it off and getting the buzz started! Release date: March 25, 2014! 

Somehow I seem to have blinked and missed October. At least I managed to grab some photos one foggy morning to prove autumn happened, because yesterday we had snow on the barn roof, and this morning the thermometer showed temps in the 20s. If winter isn’t here yet, it’s certainly pounding on the door. It’s been yet another crazy busy month. My revisions on Circle of Influence are due Tuesday. I’ve “finished” them at least three times in as many days. Yet each morning I fire up the computer, open that file, and find something to tinker with. I can see it now—I’ll be giving a reading from the published novel and still find something I want to change. In addition to turning in my revised manuscript on Tuesday, I’m supposed to get my first look at my cover art that day. Now that I’ve completed (yeah, right) the edits and Deadline Panic has evaporated, I’m eager and excited to see my debut cover. As in NERVOUS WRECK. Henery Press produces such great covers, I can’t wait to s...

Last week was huge. It started on Monday when Diana Nyad completed her life’s dream and successfully swam from Cuba to Key West . After her feet touched sand in Florida , she managed to say something that I plan to print and frame: "I have three messages. One is, we should never, ever give up. Two is, you never are too old to chase your dreams. And three is, it looks like a solitary sport but it's a team." All three totally apply to us struggling writers. I took it to heart. Then on Wednesday, my own dream started to come true. Henery Press offered me a three-book contract for my Zoe Chambers/Pete Adams mystery series. The contract was signed on Friday and all became official. I’m the newest hen in the Henery Hen House! My debut novel, Circle of Influence , will be released in March 2014. I have bruises on my arm from pinching myself. Seriously. More than once I stop in the middle of the day to wonder if I imagined it all. Thankfully the news i...