Blog

Where the stories come from…

and how they get written (and more). Julie Kelleher and I chatted about "writing stuff." You can listen here: https://soundcloud.com/julie-kelleher-411339831/clea-simon-16-aug-2018-podcast-no-4    

read more

FIVE QUESTIONS with Romalyn Tilgheman

Last January, I was thrilled to be invited to the Pulpwood Queens Girlfriends Weekend. Only a freak thunderstorm made getting to Nacogdoches, TX, a little difficult. First my flight to Houston was diverted to Corpus Christie, TX, and then I missed my ride. Somehow,...

read more

“Write your own damn book” – Bill Corbett

In truth, I think Bill was a little frustrated with me. He was a poet, after all. A lion of the avant garde and a champion of art for art's sake. I was the new wife of his old friend and colleague, a fledgling writer upset with the negative feedback I'd gotten from...

read more

FIVE QUESTIONS with thriller author Gabriel Valjan

I first met crime fiction author Gabriel Valjan at the great New England Mobile Book Fair, where he started to talk to me about books and cats. Needless to say, we got on like a house on fire, and I was not surprised to learn that his international thrillers are fun,...

read more

Deadly Ink, here I come!

Do you know about Deadly Ink? This "biggest little" mystery/crime fiction con takes place every year in Iselin, NJ, not far outside NYC. This year, after several years of trying, I am finally making it – and tomorrow I'll be on two (!!) panels, one for each side of my...

read more

Happy International Cat Day!

Do you purr at your cat? I talk to Thisbe, of course, much as I spoke to Musetta and Cyrus before her. I'd never thought of purring at my little tortie, though, until a journalist for Inverse contacted me for this article. Now, of course, I want to try it. Only Thisbe...

read more

FIVE QUESTIONS with muso Brett Milano

Author Brett Milano and I go back years – from when he was making his living (and his name)  as a music critic for such publications as the Boston Globe and Boston Herald and we'd meet up in long-gone clubs like the Rat or TT's. He's since gone on to other projects,...

read more

Listen now: “Under the Radar with Callie Crossley”

Tune in on Sunday at 6 p.m. to WGBH-FM 89.7 or listen online anytime, as WGBH host Callie Crossley talks to me, Hank Phillippi Ryan, and Peter Swenson for her summer thrillers club. Callie's great – she read our books and had really smart questions. Did she stump us?...

read more

“a delightful read….” RTE on FEAR ON FOUR PAWS

Writing for Reviewing the Evidence, a crime fiction journal, onetime Pinkerton investigator and former journalist Ruth Castleberry takes on my Fear on Four Paws, noting, "the exchanges between various animal characters and Pru are skillfully done and sound genuine....

read more

Meet Pru Marlowe, animal psychic…

Raven-award winning book blogger Dru Ann interviewed Pru Marlowe, protagonist of my pet noir series (including the new Fear on Four Paws) on her blog here. Plus, she's giving a book away! Click through to find out how to win.

read more