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 [...]

Those of you who tune in daily are aware that the series I wrote originally for Pocket–the Poetic Death series (about the adventures of an American high school teacher and literary scholar in the English Lake District) –was dropped last year. I promptly began writing a new series for Berkeley, this one about a freelance [...]

Last week we were thrilled when a number of you began chiming in on the blogs. We love getting to know you. As JB said off-line, it’s energizing!
It’s interesting to see the things we share in common, and yet be reminded of how unique each and every chick is.
One thing that was especially helpful [...]

Well, right about now I’ll be in post-conference recovery, so I thought I’d do a little quickie getting-to-know-you for any chicks and … what do we call our male readers? The word that jumps to mind is not approved for all ages … within hearing range
So here are my questions for you:
1) What’s on your CD player [...]

Not a lot to say this morning.
I’m packing for the Malice Domestic mystery convention — catching a flight bright and early tomorrow morning (6:45 a.m. last time I checked).
Like Heather, Malice is one of my favorite conventions. It’s smaller, which is a good thing, I think. And it’s geared to the cozy or traditional mystery, [...]