Did you know that this Sunday (July 24th) is International Private Investigator Day? I’ve got something special in mind for next Friday (fingers crossed) for a belated celebration. In the meantime, I thought I’d share what passes for excitement in my writer’s world: new office supplies! I’ve previously confessed my love for Post-its (Peeking at Process; Resolve to be Resolute). Well, my infatuation with office supplies doesn’t stop there. Last week, I was chatting online with a group of writers about tools and strategies for longevity. We’re all trying to figure out how we can make it to next month—much Read more…

“I’m a taxpayer. I paid for it, so I’m using the whole road.” Who hasn’t made (or cringed as the driver made) similar remarks after drifting across the highway’s center line or onto the shoulder, or going the wrong way down a one-way street. A couple of weeks ago, a woman in a coffee shop parking lot heading straight for me veered at the last moment, leaned out the driver’s window and yelled, “Watch where you’re going!” Apparently she’d had too much caffeine and didn’t notice the painted arrows going both ways. I remember traveling with our band director and a few other Read more…

This week, I’m making a shameful confession of a different kind. (Last week’s was word count-related.) We’re going back to the third Sydney Brennan book, The Perils of Panacea, for a Magpie Moments post today, and back into the recesses of time and memory to find the real world source material that acted as inspiration. A little context with as little spoiling as possible: in the following excerpt from the book, Sydney is driving a car with … let’s just say, someone with whom she’d rather not be driving. I started the engine and shifted the gear on the steering column, Read more…

[Quick reminder: Magpie Moments refer to bits I snatched from real life and incorporated, magpie-like, into my fiction.] The post title doesn’t refer to twelve-year-olds at a pizza party or college students on Spring Break, but rather to beloved pets, and a scene from my most recent novel, The Perils of Panacea. In it, Sydney asks a couple about the origin of their pet pig’s name. “Why Banana Whiskers?” I asked. Danny smiled. “BW was the runt of his litter, and so sickly when he came to us that Sam wouldn’t let me name him. She didn’t want me to get too Read more…