September 28

Following a difficult night, this was a productive Monday.

September 27

This is the first of what will be a series of posts about a journey I started a few days ago. I debated about whether chronicling this is a good idea, whether it would be helpful to anyone, whether I would be able to do it well.

The Week that Was

Some relatively random thoughts/observations this week… In case you missed it, the Bouchercon programming schedule has been posted. Click here to view/print/download it. There are nine panels at a time this year, so chances are good everyone will be able to find...

THE LEWIS MAN by Peter May

Today I’m turning the virtual mic over to Lauren, because I thought she’d do a better job of telling you about THE LEWIS MAN than I ever could. I was right! You can find Lauren on Twitter here. I had never been to the Outer Hebrides islands of Scotland...

Ice Bucket Challenge: Noble or Folly?

I have no problem admitting that when I first heard about the ice bucket challenge, I was skeptical. I figured it wouldn’t take off. I thought people would make videos rather than donate. I was wholly and completely wrong. But my point here is not to preach at you nor...

Do NY Times Reviews Matter?

When I was a kid living in Seattle, my dad subscribed to theNew York Times Review of Books. It arrived a week late in the mail, and I remember reading it when I was as young as six or seven. My biggest takeaway was big words. I learned a lot of 3+ syllable words that...

Recasting Literary Fiction

Before I begin, I should tell you that Andrew Lewis Conn, the author of O, AFRICA!, is my client. That fact hasn’t influenced what I’m about to say—this is an honest opinion—but I wanted to be all see-through about it. I hate the term “literary fiction” for a number...

Q&A with James Lee Burke

This is the fourth year I’ve had the incredible honor and privilege of doing a short interview with James Lee Burke. (Here are previous years’: 2011, 2012, and 2013.) I can honestly say that my excitement about this has waned not one iota, and my...

Interview with a Character: Rachel Knight

Today marks the release of Marcia Clark’s fourth novel featuring LA Special Trials prosecutor Rachel Knight. THE COMPETITION is one of my favorite books so far this year; you can read my review over at Pop Culture Nerd. Being a Special Trials prosecutor in Los...

Flash Fiction: Kill Malmon

I don’t write fiction…except for a really good cause. Click here to read the explanation of this Flash Fiction Challenge. My entry is below. Special thanks to Matthew Clemens and my husband, who were good enough to read it and give me the courage to post...