Here in Hilo, a group of my fellow mystery authors have formed a group called MAHI (Mystery Authors of Hawai‘i Island), which meets once a month to chat about our works-in-progress, publishing woes, good and bad restaurants we’ve tried, and a host of other fun topics. Last week, I had lunch out with two of my fellow MAHI members, Jane Lasswell Hoff (author of Bones … Continue reading Lock Pick Chick
For those of you wondering what the heck has been going on with Sally Solari, her father Mario, her ex-boyfriend/best pal Eric, and all the others in my culinary mystery series (the last of which—Murder from Scratch—came out over two years ago), I have some exciting news: Sally is back! Yes, I’ve just signed a two-book deal with Severn House Publishers to continue the Sally … Continue reading Sally’s Back!
I’m guessing that, as you read the title of this post, every single one of you did a mental double-take. “No,” your brain surely rebelled (perhaps even with a shudder). “That word order is not right. It should be ‘big brown’ cow, not the other way around.” But why? Why is one wrong, the other right? And why is the “wrong” one so exceedingly disturbing … Continue reading How Now, Brown Big Cow?
Many of you already know that I once had the privilege of hosting a dinner party for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. My law professor father had known the future justice since the 1960s, and when she agreed some years back to come speak at the UCLA Law School where Dad taught, I’d impetuously offered to cook dinner for her at my parents’ home. … Continue reading Cooking for Ruth—Soon To Be a Book!
By now, most of us bibliophiles are well aware of Marie Kondo’s admonition that we ought to declutter our homes by purging them of excessive “stuff,” books included. Her notion is that you should pick up each item in your home, hold it to your breast, and if it doesn’t “spark joy,” then you should toss it. But as my wife Robin (who would be … Continue reading Books Spark My Joy
My wife Robin leaves today for a two-week road trip, during which time she’ll visit friends in eastern California, Utah, and Colorado, and spend a couple days eating and gambling her way through Las Vegas (don’t worry; she only plays 25-cent video poker). It’s always a bit odd when she’s gone. When you’re used to having someone around the house, it’s strange having it to … Continue reading When the Cat’s Away…
Yesterday marked the summer solstice, the longest day of the year (at least for those of us in the northern hemisphere), as well as the official first day of summer. Summer? What’s that? we may be asking ourselves, after having last year’s pretty much taken away from us by the pandemic. But now that so many in the country have been vaccinated, we’re finally venturing … Continue reading It’s Summer—This Time for Real!
As some of you are no doubt aware, my wife and I split our time between two homes, spending half the year in Santa Cruz, California, and the other half in Hilo, Hawai‘i. I’ve lived in Santa Cruz since the mid-1970s, and my love for the locale inspired me to create my Sally Solari mysteries, which are set in the once-sleepy fishing and retirement community, … Continue reading Writing from Afar
Sue Grafton loved to explain that she kept her private investigator heroine, Kinsey Millhone, locked in the 1980s so that Kinsey wouldn’t have the luxury of such technology as cell phones and laptops to assist in her investigations. And I have to say, I sometimes wish I’d done the same with my sleuth. In fact, at the time I was writing the first in my … Continue reading The Trouble With Tech
No, we, alas, won’t be hosting meals for twelve people crammed around the dining room table this year, but I imagine most of us will be preparing a Thanksgiving meal for our “bubble” of two or four. And although the get-togethers will be small, they’ll still be joyous and delicious. And come Thursday night, “stuffed” is how the majority of folks in the country will … Continue reading Stuffed
My law professor father used to like to say, “There are only two times I’m miserable—when I’m writing and when I’m not writing.” And I have to agree. Because when you’re in the middle of a book, you’re nervous about getting it right and angsting that you should be working on it whenever you’re not. But when you’re not in the middle of a book, … Continue reading Starting From Scratch
I’m one of the lucky ones. Several of my friends lost their homes to the CZU Lightning Complex fire north of Santa Cruz (so called because it was started by a dry lightning storm) which began in the early hours of Sunday, August 16—and is still burning. The city of Santa Cruz, was thankfully spared. But on Wednesday, August 19, Robin and I awoke to … Continue reading A Values Clarification
Chicks on the Case 