Blog
My (virtual) trip to Maine
Thanks to fellow author Kate Flora, I got to visit the Maine Crime Writers blog yesterday. Kate and I basically continued a conversation we began at the New England Crime Bake this fall. Only this time the blog is sponsoring a giveaway. I'm reprinting our conversation...
Oops, not yet!
Yes, Amazon and the other online sites say that the paperback of A CAT ON THE CASE is out today – and out of stock. In reality, it's been bumped back to Feb. 8 (thank you, pandemic supply chain issues)! You can pre-order it though – and, yes, those pre-orders really...
For your consideration…
It's Agatha, Edgar, and Lefty award time! As folks fill out their various ballots, I'd like to offer for your consideration: HOLD ME DOWN, Polis Books (mystery) A CAT ON THE CASE, Polis Books (cozy mystery) "The Basement," Punk Noir Magazine (short story) "No Cities...
Highlights of 2021…
This was a tough year! Yes, we had some laughs and some good times: 2021 saw the publication of two of my books: the Witch Cats of Cambridge cozy A CAT ON THE CASE in January (psst... the kindle is still on sale for $1.99) and, in October, the darker psychological...
Not a “Best of 2021” list
So, I wanted to write a Ten Best list. This isn't it (for one thing, I've included 13 titles — plus a ringer). Instead, these are books that stayed with me and a few that I've been dipping into when I want a break (looking at you "Around the World in 80 Books"). I'm...
Stephen Mitchell’s “The First Christmas”
As many of you know, I still review for the Boston Globe. I don't share all my reviews, but this was a particularly timely book – a Zen take on the Nativity (with a gorgeous illustration). Read it online here. BOOK REVIEW Away in a manger in ‘The First Christmas’ A...
Happy Jólabókaflóðið!
Iceland's Jólabókaflóðið – which translates to "book flood" – is a great holiday born of necessity. Although this northern nation has a great literary history, its island location has at times left it isolated. In the lean years following World War II that meant...
Five compelling questions
That's the name of Shawn Reilly Simmons' podcast, and now I know it's true. Shawn — an author and one of the brains behind the annual Malice Domestic traditional mystery festival — is super easy to talk to, and that means we authors tend to spill the beans about Hold...
Gina Arnold: The Monkees, music, and me
I read Gina Arnold long before I met her. When I was coming up as a music writer, in the '80s, she was already an established critic, with bylines in Spin and the Village Voice. Somewhere in there — in between gigs with Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and a host...
“Rough and redemptive” raves Fredericksburg Star
Overjoyed about this rave review of HOLD ME DOWN in the Sunday Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star: SEX, DRUGS, MUSIC —AND MURDER For a few rockers—the Rolling Stones are the archetype—the road goes on forever. For many, it detours into ordinary life: work, family,...