Birdie Horne is the combined pen name of former enemies Eden Robins and Mary Winn Garguilo. Over the years, they have been love rivals, co-godmothers, and neighbors across an alley in Chicago. Separately, they have published over twenty books, and together they have a resume full of the kinds of jobs that genuinely worry their parents. One of them was nominated for—and lost—Chicago Crossing Guard … Continue reading Guest Chick: Birdie Horne
I had a fever dream the last day of July. I usually have late summer dreams about tennis where I set my sights on young Americans, usually in sync with the U.S. Open. This time, it was the newly minted Memphis Classic and a 16-year-old Russian girl. She was as cute as they come and she kept playing like she just couldn’t lose. And even … Continue reading Dreams of tennis, teen, and Memphis
I’ve caught bits and pieces of stuff on TV for America’s 250th anniversary. It prompted me to remember Tennessee’s “Homecoming ’86” celebration. The yearlong statewide event in 1986 anticipated the state’s bicentennial by 10 years. The guys at our newspaper office decided to grow beards for the occasion. It took my husband, who was still just my boyfriend at the time, quite a while to … Continue reading Celebrating the 4th and more
Newsroom controversies can arise in unexpected places. For instance, the Oxford comma, sometimes referred to as the Harvard comma, is a coma placed after the penultimate term in a list (just before the conjunction) when writing out three or more terms. For example, a list of three countries might be punctuated with the Oxford comma as “France, Spain, and Italy.” The Oxford comma, or Harvard … Continue reading The case of the Oxford comma
Scrolling around on my phone, I suddenly realized I have a birthday coming up very soon. Since I’m at an age that I don’t celebrate birthdays anymore, it’s not a big deal. The only reason it is a SEMI big deal is that it reminds me that my mom’s birthday is coming up kind of soon. She’s someone that I do still celebrate birthdays for. … Continue reading Just remembered that it’s not my birthday
I usually glance at the next day’s weather forecast on my phone, so I have a general idea of what’s supposed to be coming our way. For about a week recently, I was constantly checking the weather. As most of you know, I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We get more snow than most people, and I’m accustomed to that since we moved … Continue reading Snowpocalypse comes to town
I’m going to introduce a subject I know could be contentious. But I think we’re beyond that. If you come here often, I know you are already friends with the Chicks on the Case. And I also strongly suspect that you are a big Agatha Christie fan and have favorite Christie books and stories that are among your personal faves. I’ve recently discovered that there … Continue reading Speaking of Agatha Christie
We had a significant snow dump right after Christmas. winter has been pretty steady for us so far here in the U.P. We’ll continue to have some snow through May, and it’s not at all unlikely that we’ll still have some chunks of ice floating in Lake Superior in June. I’m not complaining. The city keeps our streets ploughed. Our heating works well where we … Continue reading How’s it snowing?
A-I is controversial. So, let’s play with it a bit here. It just serves as a bit of Christmas fun for us today. We’re not writing a book for an agent or editor.Let’s have A-I start the dysfunctional Christmas story and then switch to author writing. The first couple of hundred words spring forth from A-I. Here’s a ~175-word blog-style piece blending a femme-fatale vibe … Continue reading AI-AI — Wh0ah
For some of us we just celebrated or at least thought about the Day of the Dead, which some folks celebrate at Halloween time. I’m Catholic, and for us. Halloween is also known as the evening before All Saints Day, Nov. 1. When a really h0ly person is recognized by the Church, they are canonized, which means they are named a saint. We can celebrate … Continue reading Friends above and along the way
The Booker Prize longlist for 2025 has been announced. It’s a selection of 13 top-drawer works of fiction, chosen from over 150 titles written in English and published in the UK and/or Ireland. I’ve become very interested in books nominated for the Booker List over the past two years, especially this year. The 13 nominated books are: Love Forms by Clair Adam, The South by … Continue reading Eyes on the Booker Prize and other books
We’re tickled to have fab author Cindy Goyette as our guest Chick today. Cindy admits that she still gets a bit nervous at book readings and podcasts. (As a side note, she also gets nervous around chickens). But, I’m sure that doesn’t extend to Chicks! Take it away, Cindy! But Did You Die? Fun fact. I’m afraid of chickens. No, a wayward chicken didn’t nearly … Continue reading Guest Post: Cindy Goyette
Chicks on the Case 