•
Just got back from a demonstration at San Francisco’s City Hall, which is kitty-corner to one of the Federal Buildings. We had chants. We had choppers overhead. We had local news anchors shooting B roll, and I assume, chatting with people on the street. But mostly, we had each other, and the knowledge that…
•
I hope you all recognize the James Carville quote from 1992–I’m not calling anyone stupid! Bouchercon 2024 was about the books in so many ways: Despite the issues, it was grand to see everyone! The organizers worked very hard in some very challenging circumstances and I’m grateful for their efforts. To follow up on…
•
Have you been sad because your favorite conference is being held in a state that has outlawed healthcare for trans people, restricted voting rights, or attempted to outlaw perfectly safe and sane reproductive healthcare medications and procedures? Do you feel like you can’t go without supporting the fascists intent on dismantling American democracy? Yeah,…
•
My husband snores gently on the hotel bed behind me. The hotel hallways are mostly empty, the staff still cheerful after four days of writers and readers running them ragged. In a small room off the main hall, organizers are already prepping for next year. And I am having all the feels. * Grateful…
•
A book with my one-page contribution is now a 2022 Macavity, Anthony, and Agatha award winner for crime non-fiction! How to Write a Mystery, edited by Lee Child and Laurie R. King, is not an EGOT but definitely an MAA. Kudos to the writers and editors of this MWA handbook. I think this makes…
•
Folks are streaming out of New York and back to their home towns this bright Sunday morning. The maids work hard cleaning the rooms up and down the hall as I type, sequestered away from the world for one more day, waiting to see if these are allergy symptoms or a Covid infection coming…
•
After family, there are two things I absolutely love most in the world: travel, and San Francisco (and cask-strength single-malt whiskey). With this latest trip to New York City for the Thrillerfest conference, my love of travel is on life support. Or, maybe it’s dead and I just can’t admit it. I feel a…
•
I just finished reading nearly 100 short stories for an upcoming publication, the third crime-fiction anthology (charity fundraiser) for me as an editor. Writers agonize over editorial rejection, but editors do, too. Here are some things to keep in mind that may help you as a writer or an editor in your next round…
•
Rock and a Hard Place Press sponsored a webinar with S A Cosby recently, and it was full of great information! If you get a chance to sit in on a panel, class, or webinar with Mr. Cosby, do it. Why? Because Cosby: Is more well read in and out of the genre than…