In case you don’t recognize that quote — one of my favorites — it’s from the 1953 flick Niagara about two couples visiting the famous falls — for very different reasons. In one scene Polly (Jean Peters) goes into  hysterics when she spots the murderous George Loomis (Joseph Cotten) skulking around their vacation cabin. Polly’s husband, with [...]

Apologies for a cross post, but today actually <em>is</em> the first day of the rest of my life. Actually, it’s the THIRD day. But who’s counting?
Because on Monday of this week I began writing full-time.
Yep, I did it. I quit the day job. Said good-bye to the corner office, the parking spot by the back door, the [...]

I should be home from my travels right about now, but I think it’s safe to assume I will be in no fit state for blogging, so I’m going to time-stamp this offering.
I thought I’d post on mysteries set in Ireland. Some you may be familiar with, but some I’m willing to bet you’re not.
First [...]

And five things we never knew about you.
I’m still in Ireland at the time of this posting, so I thought I’d do a quickie, just-for-fun blog. You can play along or not, it’s up to you, but we’re all friends here, and getting to know you all is part of the fun.
So…five things you never knew about [...]

Well, I’m off.
Of course, there are those who would say I’ve been off for years, but what do they know?Anyway, by the time this blog posts I shall be in the land of shamrocks and leprechauns and frosted Lucky Charms. Oh. Wait. Frosted Lucky Charms are as American as Danny Boy, now that I think [...]

Those of you who’ve tuned in daily to the blog over the past year know by now that writing is a tough business with more than its share of ups and downs. Of course it’s enormously satisfying as well — which is a good thing. I think I speak for all the Cozy Chicks when [...]

No, this isn’t that long-promised post about romantic elements in suspense and mystery fiction, although if there’s still interest in that, the chicks and I will be glad to share our take.
First, apologies for missing last week. I’m going through some major stuff right now — the usual conflicting deadlines, planning for a trip to Ireland [...]

My latest obsession is a 1970s British crime series called THE PROFESSIONALS. Fifty-seven digitally re-mastered episodes–that I haven’t stopped watching since I bought them from Amazon.uk a month ago. First I watched them on my laptop. Then I bought a cheap region-free DVD player and now I’m watching them in my office. When I should [...]

I started watching Stranger Than Fiction last night. If you haven’t seen the film, Emma Thompson stars as a famous novelist suffering from writer’s block as she struggles to complete her past-deadline novel. At least, that’s a small part of what the flick is about — and, by the way, it’s a very amusing and [...]