As I posted last week, I'm sharing memories of Bouchercons past each Wednesday leading up to this years convention in New Orleans. The first Bcon I attended was in Baltimore in 2008. I traveled and roomed with my friend Joyce Tremel. At the time, both of us were aspiring authors, working on projects we hoped to see in print. (Happily, we're now both published!) In looking back, one happy (at the time) memory now brings tears. Joyce and I met (for the first time face-to-face) our fellow Working Stiffs blogger, Wilfred Bereswill, who has since passed away. He was a sweet, funny man. I'm glad we had the opportunity to spend some time with him. We also got to hang out with friends we usually only see online, like Michelle Gagnon and Lee Lofland... as well as friends from back home like Paula Matter and Rebecca Drake. Joyce and I took a walk to the beautiful Inner Harbor... and attended some great panels. We had some great meals with great friends, a...

I'm at Working Stiffs today with a post about a kitty crime. Actually, it's about my recent adventures in pet sitting, but I had my crime fiction writer hat on at the time.

I've recently been dealing with the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue as anyone who follows me on Facebook no doubt has heard. The good thing about it is it provided me fodder for today's post at Working Stiffs . Come on over and join the rant.

Today, over at Working Stiffs, I'm offering one of my favorite rants regarding parking lots. I also share one of my all time favorite movie moments. TOWANDA!

Okay, yes. I'm painfully aware that lately, the only time I post here is to announce that I'm blogging at Working Stiffs . But I'm doing it again. I've posted pictures over there from the Pennwriters and Sisters in Crime Christmas parties. Just so you know, though, I'll be back here in a more regular fashion SOON. My excuse for not blogging is a good one. I'm driving to finish the rewrite of HORSE OF A DIFFERENT KILLER so I can send it off to the agent I've been working with by early January. My plan is to finish this draft (#546) by Friday so I can take the holiday weekend off. Then print it out and give it another quick pass between Christmas and New Years. THEN send it off to my beta readers so they can catch the stuff I've missed. And THEN (drumroll, please) send it to the agent by the middle of the month. At which point, I will collapse for a day or two before picking myself up and starting in on all the stuff I've been neglecting. Like m...

I'm still up to my eyeballs in my revisions, but I'm coming up for air today to get a haircut. And to blog at Working Stiffs . So in the spirit of multitasking, I'm blogging about getting a haircut. Bangs, or no bangs, that is the question.

We survived the retreat without a major weather event, but that's not to say we got through it without a good story or two. I'm blogging about it over at Working Stiffs today where I ask the question: How many women crime writers does it take to break into a house?

I'm taking a day off from my regular rotation at Working Stiffs. In my place is an interview with my friend, Kathleen George. Check it out . Then run out and buy her new book. She's one of my favorite authors as well as one of my favorite people.

I'm at Working Stiffs today after wrapping up our critique boot camp. Bruised, but not bloodied.

I'm at Working Stiffs today inviting everyone to join me in a round of the What If game. Don't know what that is? Come on over and find out.

Yes, I've been AWOL around here quite a bit lately. And it will probably continue for a few more weeks. I'm doing revisions. But not just revisions. Revisions on steroids. It's called critique boot camp and I'm blogging about it over at Working Stiffs today.

I'm at Working Stiffs today, putting last week into some kind of writerly perspective and figuring out how to make use of my "experiences."

I'm at Working Stiffs today trying to find reasons (make excuses) for my shoddy daily word count.

I'm at Working Stiffs today with more on the conference and a bunch of photos.

Today at Working Stiffs , I'm sharing my experience and photos from Monday's Festival of Mystery in Oakmont, PA. What a blast!

It feels like ages since I've blogged at Working Stiffs , but I'm back. Today, I tell about finally getting my hands on a real copy of Fish Tales and my first time signing it. Oh, and my friend Lisa Scottoline was in town, too!

My new HP laptop arrived yesterday! Just in time to provide fodder for today's Working Stiffs' post. Come on over and check out my diary of day one with my new toy.

There have been some speed bumps and snafus on the way to the 2011 Pennwriters Conference, including a major change. Learn all about it at Working Stiffs today.

I'm over at Working Stiffs today blogging about my role as Conference Yoda for the 2011 Pennwriters Conference. Actually, I'm touting the wonderful work done by this year's conference coordinators while I simply sit in my cave in my swamp and offer advice. Come over and see what's in store for this year's conference goers.

Over at Working Stiffs, I'm subbing for Will today. Since there was a little football game going on during the time I would normally write my blog post, I simply made it a diary of the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, the ending didn't turn out the way I'd hoped, but if you can stand to see a grown woman cry, come on over and check it out.