I wake up to find the dishwasher is already unloaded. All my clothes clean at once. Honey in my tea. My mechanical pencil runs out of lead, but there’s another one in the chamber. When someone else changes the toilet paper roll. My keys are already in my purse when I’m about …Read More

    Mary Tyler Moore was certainly old enough to be my mother, but when I was a preteen, I looked at her as the big sister I always wanted. How could I not identify with her character in The Dick Van Dyke Show, Laura Petrie, who shared my first name? I only saw the …Read More

One of my writing role models is Margaret Atwood. Did I say “writing role model?” That seems such a trivial phrase compared to the actual influence she’s had on my life and writing. From poems to essays to short stories to novels and children’s books. She’s done it all. And that’s where she’s had her …Read More

I had a bit of a writing hangover this morning after my big weekend, so I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to make words today. But after some journaling, breakfast, and a bit of yoga, I revived. Lots of business things to catch up on during the daylight hours, but after …Read More

    I tried to slip out of town with as little notice as possible on Friday to get a chunk of writing done on my WIP. Last year in January I booked an AirBnB in St. Louis near Lafayette Park. It’s a sweet part of town. But, frankly, it felt a bit weird, being …Read More

  Remember to breathe.     “Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles, but takes away today’s peace.” — Anonymous (Though Miss Nina is happy to claim that she is actually Anonymous. She can’t think of anyone who might be better at it.)   January  21st Words Journal:  110 words Long fiction: 9011 words Short …Read More

  A quick post because I’m at a top-secret writing retreat for the weekend. (Okay, I’m in St. Louis. It’s not such a big secret.) This was an exciting week for me, with my first Edgar nomination. Also, I unveiled a new website design. I’m so delighted with the new look. Let me know what …Read More

  News, y’all–I have big news! It seems that my peers, fellow members of Mystery Writers of America, have selected my short story, A Paler Shade of Death, as one of five finalists for the 2017 Edgar Awards in the Short Story category. What’s an Edgar Award? you might ask. (I didn’t know either until I became …Read More

  Have you read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein? No, I mean have you read it recently? It’s one of those books that you might have read if you had a very cool 11th grade English teacher. (We read The World According to Garp by John Irving. That was definitely eye-opening.) I don’t think I actually read …Read More

  According to my handy schedule, I planned to put up a post about what books I’m reading right now. Frankenstein is in the hopper, as it were. But it can wait a day or two. I had one of those days today. Yesterday went well, and I got lots of fiction writing done. No exercise to …Read More