Reading is a brave thing to do. We must sally forth into the unknown imaginative world. We must suspend our disbelief. We must agree to follow the rules of the text. We often end up living in a space of almost understanding. I want to take a moment to honor the almost. We tend to race past this; it’s not always comfortable to entertain uncertainty. … Continue reading Almost and In-Between
Most of the readers I know don’t just “enjoy” reading—we love it. Must read. Can’t imagine a day without it. With this in common, it’s very interesting to consider how differently we all do the same thing. Some favor routine: a favorite time and location, perhaps with a desirable beverage. And many people are fond of reading in bed, snuggled under a cozy blanket with … Continue reading Variations on Reading
The Study of Secrets–book 5 in the Lila Maclean Academic Mystery series–is now available wherever books are sold!
True things that I couldn’t have even imagined saying just a few months ago. My new goal is never to touch my own face. There are a bunch of bandanas in the dryer. I don’t think the dog wants to go for another walk. Wishing for a bottle of hand sanitizer for my birthday. What’s your favorite mask design? I’ll get a haircut next year, … Continue reading New True Things
Social distancing mode may continue for awhile–and while it’s admittedly difficult, it may be the perfect time to develop some new hobbies. For those of us working from home (especially with added homeschooling duties) who may find ourselves with far less time than we had before, these are decidedly not the kinds of wonderful projects that others may have time to engage in, like planting … Continue reading Tiny Hobbies for Social Distancing
As I write this, we’re hours away from the Oscars. The excitement around my house is palpable–by which I mean I’m breathlessly counting down the minutes until showtime and no one else gives a hoot. They had their Super Bowl last week, so they’re good. Anyway, by the time you read this, we’ll know who walked away with statues. Hope the films and nominees you were cheering … Continue reading Fave Movies About Writers
Today, we welcome the five finalists for this year’s Lefty Award for Best Humorous Mystery (three of whom just happen to be Chicks on the Case). Congrats to all! The winner won’t be announced until the Left Coast Crime banquet on March 14th, but in the meantime we thought it would be “humorous” to find out from the nominees which of their characters from their … Continue reading Who Are the Lefty Award Nominees’ Most Humorous Characters?
The Study of Secrets (Lila Maclean Academic Mysteries #5) finds Lila on sabbatical in a charming Victorian mansion, where she is drawn into a new mystery. In keeping with the title, I’m going to share a few secrets… First, although the covers in the series look alike at first glance, do you notice that each one has a slightly different collection of items on the right? … Continue reading Cover Reveal: The Study of Secrets
Hi, I was just here an hour ago. This receipt shows that I was charged for three of these things, but I only bought two. No, I didn’t notice until I got home. But then I came right back. Since I was charged for three instead of two. Um, I’m not sure how to prove that. Here are the two I bought, still in the … Continue reading Adventures in Shopping: A Monologue
Whee! It’s that time of year again, when no one seems to agree on when holiday decorations should begin to appear around town. Stores have started putting out displays earlier and earlier, and inquiring minds want to know: does the sight of holiday decorations going up right after Halloween make you want to scream? Or does it make you want to run for your favorite reindeer … Continue reading Almost The Holidays! (Or Maybe They Already Started!)
There are plenty of delightfully scary haunted library stories. But it’s one thing to read about a haunted library and quite another to be in one. So many of the libraries I visited in my youth seemed to have some sort of … presence. Now I’m not saying there was definitely something there. But I’m not saying there wasn’t. They were all in old buildings, … Continue reading Haunted Libraries
Let’s take a moment to acknowledge that writing can be very challenging. There are days when it seems extremely difficult to create something from nothing…or even downright impossible to wrangle words effectively. In such cases, the words of others who have engaged in the business of writing may be helpful, whether as commiseration or inspiration. “I think the hardest thing about writing is writing.” — Nora Ephron … Continue reading In Good Company
