After 34 years of marriage, Hubby and I discovered we both love baseball. I grew up watching the Pittsburgh Pirates on television and listening to the games, announced by the legendary Bob Prince, on radio. I had an uncle who was a rabid fan. My dad just loved the game. I celebrated the team led by Willie Stargell. I marveled at Kent Tekulve's arm. I mourned the loss of a true hero, Roberto Clemente. We claimed the song We Are Family as our own. But that was well before I met my husband, who has his own tales of attending games at the long-gone Forbes Field as a small child. Last night, we went on a date night to our little minor league franchise's ball field to watch the Washington Wild Things. Meet The Wild Thing: It was a hoot! There were foot races between a doughnut, an iced latte, and a cup of coffee. Another foot race involved the team mascot and a small boy. The boy won. A couple of kids competed in a hula-hoop contest. We all sang Take Me Out to the Ballgam...

It's DONE. I have sent Zoe Chambers Mystery #6, titled UNEASY PREY, to my editors. Another deadline met. This one was a challenge. Lots of obstacles fell in my path over the last year. But I made it with much thanks to my friends, especially Ramona Long, who invited me to her writer's retreat in eastern Pennsylvania. I affectionately dubbed it Book Jail. I traveled with my frequent road trip buddy, Martha Reed. Kensi was very unhappy with Aunt Martha for coming to take me away. What a face! And this is it! Officially it's "Clare House" but to us, it was our home for a week of writing. It was also Book Jail for those of us (ME) on deadline. The grounds were lovely, with lots of statues of St. Francis of Assisi. We had a trio of deer who visited us daily. While we holed up in our own private spaces all day to write, we each took turns cooking dinner, which we shared as a group. Most evenings, we dined outside. Here is Martha Reed and Edith M...

I finally admitted I'd outgrown my kindergarten-level Samsung Galaxy Core Prime smartphone and upgraded to a Galaxy 7S a little over a week ago. I could sing love songs to this new phone. And I am extremely grateful to my favorite Verizon guy who took the task of transferring all my "stuff" from the old phone to the new. Technology-wise, the smaller the learning curve for me, the better. One of the things I did before putting my old phone on the shelf was transfer the photos I'd taken on it over the last two years to my computer. I've deleted more than I kept because--let's face it--3 megapixels. The camera sucked. But here is a sampling of life as captured by my cell phone camera over the last two years. Beginning with lunch with my friend, Terri Watson, in Nashville, TN. Such a fun afternoon! Great memories. An in-the-wild book sighting of Bridges Burned: Kensi daring me to keep working on edits: Caught on Mystery Lovers Bookshop's ...

Remembering my dad on this Memorial Day and every day as I offer up gratitude to all of those who fought (and continue to fight) for our freedom.

The 30th Pennwriters Conference was as close to perfect as one could get. Having coordinated one back in 2009, I know of what I speak. I'm sure there were behind-the-scenes glitches, but the conference committee, especially coordinators Heather Desuta and Carol Silvis handled them so that to the rest of us, everything flowed seamlessly. I was the Saturday luncheon keynote, and as such, was given an awesome room.  My house isn't much bigger than this! And my house doesn't come with maid service! I taught my first workshop, Setting as a Character, Friday morning. I was a slacker where photography was concerned, however I did manage to capture a few pictures. This was the Friday luncheon which combined the Published Penns business lunch with the Networking Lunch we usually have. Nancy Martin moderated the Littsburgh Panel. Before the banquet, Martha Reed brought wine and cheese to my room for an impromptu happy hour with a few friends...