I don’t know why I felt such surprise when my suitcase proved to be over-weight at the LGA check-in counter this morning. “Ten pounds over, that’s fifty dollars,” the counter person said. “Do you want to take some things out?” I mumbled something about too many books. “Books,” she said. “It’s often books.” There was …Read More

(Photo by BawBaw) After a four-hour delay on the ground in Columbus due to whatever wasn’t moving at LaGuardia last night, I am in the Big City, ensconced in mid-town, a coccoon of steel and brick and concrete and people, people, people. I am always stunned to come to New York, so stuffed with humanity. …Read More

Lucky for us, fiction comes in many flavors. Some fans of crime and suspense fiction don’t mind the full-gore treatment—But I, and several other writers I know, can attest to the fact that other readers are vocal about wanting the violence in their crime fiction to be restrained and tidy, more like Agatha Christie than …Read More

“If you’re not ready to die for it, put the word ‘freedom’ out of your vocabulary.” Malcolm X

Seems I’ve been tagged by my new friend, JJ Cooper. And because he’s a new friend, I’m inclined to indulge him…. He wants to know my favorite line. Hm. Books? Film? Pick-up? Since we both write novels, I’ll go with books. My very favorite is a no-brainer: “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley …Read More

JJ Cooper, a writer friend in Australia, asked me some clever interview questions yesterday. I thought I’d be completely self-indulgent since it’s my birthday and all and link right to them!

I never cease to be bemused by the ways of the publishing world. ISABELLA MOON has three release dates in the UK: an import edition paperback was available back on October 1, around the same time of the US hardcover release; the UK hardcover came out in February with William Heinemann; and the trade paperback …Read More

(Image by Billie Cromwell/PGC Game Commission) When I was in high school, I was friends with a girl who worked for the furrier in the mall. Thursday afternoons and Saturdays the owner would buzz her through the front doors and she would become a part of another, more grown-up world for a few hours. The …Read More

On July 8, I’ll take off for Thrillerfest, the annual gathering of thriller writers and fans held at the Grand Hyatt in NYC. It’s always a blast to catch up with writer friends and fans (many come back from year to year). There are many events over the three-day conference and to keep it running …Read More

Sometimes a girl needs a little Chopin for inspiration. This is my favorite nocturne, played by a girl named Hannah.