Happy Friday! It’s been a restful, if wet and dreary, week back home. A little cursory research tells me that we’ve had nine or ten inches of rain in the last six or seven days. When I left for New York last Tuesday, I could still see through the trees to the sky. But now …Read More

    I’m not sure when I first read Peyton Place, but it was early on, surely in my late teens. Written in 1956, it was still a rich, salacious find even in the late 70s. I’m a big soap opera fan from way back, so discovering a murder/sex soap opera in print–one that was competently written at …Read More

  I tried to pack light for my 5 day, 4 night trip to Manhattan. I really did. And I still had trouble lifting my carry-on into the overhead bin. In fact, I have a vague memory of a flight attendant rushing to help me get the last corner up and in. (Thank you, Delta. …Read More

I’m so glad to be back with you, my dears. This past week was full of fun and travel and maybe even a little glamor, but I’m home now from New York, grateful and a bit weary. If you’re an introvert like me, you know what a mixed blessing travel can be. There are those moments …Read More

  “If you do not expect the unexpected you will not find it, for it is not to be reached by search or trail.” —Heraclitus This Sargent painting lives at the Cincinnati Art Museum. It’s a stunning painting–despite its obvious artifice, the two girls are so of a piece with their surroundings that they look …Read More

    Books and critters edition Today I’m hanging out at the Southern Kentucky Bookfest, in Bowling Green Kentucky. I’ve already take R.L. Stine’s photo! Come by and check out allllllllll the books! Blood of babies can make the brain younger, aka EVERY SCARY FAIRY TALE IS TRUE! So the 18,000 year-old Hobbit-like creatures turns out …Read More

    About a year and a half ago, I attended a wildly fun day-long conference in Milwaukee called Murder and Mayhem in Milwaukee. During my panel–and I can’t for the life of me remember what the subject was because we laughed a lot–I sat beside the delightful mystery writer, Lori Rader-Day. Lori is young, …Read More

  The novel I just finished writing is a little different from the others. Change can be a good thing, yes? I’ve had six novels published, and every one of them has been a ghost story. No, scratch that. Every single one has been a mystery with ghosts in it. To me, every novel is …Read More

Happy Wednesday, my dears! One week from now, I’ll be at the 2017 Edgars Symposium in NYC. I’m thrilled to be on a panel moderated by the remarkable Jeffery Deaver with a lot of other cool folks. Then the banquet is next Thursday, where I’ll be waiting nervously to hear about the Best Short Story …Read More

  Oh, no! I missed blogging on Monday–the first time this year. But things happen, yes? And I promised it was for a good cause: editing, editing, editing. I’m SO excited about this new manuscript, and I can’t wait to tell you more about it…soon! I took hundreds of pics at the St. Louis Comic con …Read More