I think back to why I became a writer to begin with. It all started with a germ of an idea…multiplied by a hundred. Two hundred! Notebooks full of ideas: good ideas, rotten [...]

I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable leaving my comfort zones in the last couple of years (especially concerning public speaking, signings, appearances, etc.) And then I just got satisfied with where I was. [...]

Someone wrote a wonderful post on gift wish lists and what our characters might want for Christmas. I hunted through blogs on my Google reader, but couldn’t find the link. (Getting even foggier [...]

Somewhere in the Southeast I am being unusually low tech. And probably feeling a little anxious. I’m on the Christmas tour—seeing friends and family before heading back home for the big day. My [...]

I’d promised my daughter I’d take her to the mall, one of her favorite places. I wonder sometimes if the stork brought me the wrong baby; she and I are so different. I [...]

I’m always looking for something for my 7th grade son to read. He gobbles books up instead of savoring them. And—he’s a picky reader. He’ll read 30 pages and, if he isn’t grabbed, [...]

Wednesday afternoon, my daughter finished her math homework, started her spelling, then completely lost her focus. I decided she could take a one hour play break (she’s only eight) before picking it back [...]

I think that mystery writers must have a very carefully suppressed criminal mind. Apparently I look like a really innocuous person. Plus, maybe, a little foggy. I’ve ordinarily got my mind on other [...]

I’ve always taken gender stereotypes with a grain of salt. I was tempted, even, to claim that gender roles were determined primarily by socialization and environment. Keeping this in mind (and also having [...]

The biggest moment in my writing career came with the realization that I wanted to be published by a traditional publisher. Once you realize that you really want to take that step…what do [...]

Every day the online community of writers amazes me. I get so much encouragement and inspiration from the blogs that I read and from the wonderful commenters on Mystery Writing is Murder. Among [...]

I’m getting the most interesting reader perspectives from my new book club. At first, I had no intention of joining this club. As a rule, I don’t join clubs. I’m not really sure [...]

I’ve been reading a lot lately about problems that happen when we try to be perfect or apply Type-A standards across the board in our life. I’m definitely Type-A. Sometimes perfectionism goes along [...]

I’d had a wild day but was on-time, no…early!…for a play that my daughter’s friend was in. I parked the car, opened the door, and—“Oh shoot! We were going to pick her up [...]

My son told me on Monday that he might “ask out” his friend Mimi. Once I picked up my jaw from the floor (and tried to banish the mental image of me chauffeuring [...]

I was busily writing at home last week when my husband called me up and asked if I wanted to meet him for lunch. I hopped in the car and drove the 25 [...]

My husband spent five years working at Microsoft (the North Carolina division) before switching to his current corporation. It’s easy to get burned out at Microsoft. I’d drive out there once a week [...]

Saturday evening, my daughter’s Brownie scout troop drove to Huntersville (about 45 minutes away) to tour a historic home dating back to 1797. Latta Plantation was having a Christmas celebration, so we were [...]

I’ve had a couple of questions about revisions, so I thought I’d share my revision process for a problem that was really getting on my nerves. (Boring post here! Most of us don’t [...]

There’s an interesting phenomenon that happens at the pool or the playground. One child calls, “Mom!” and about ten women swing around. Not a good thing to have in our books, though. It’s [...]

After I write this (right now it’s Wednesday morning), I’m going to knock out revisions on two separate books, then get back to writing my second book of the Memphis Barbeque series. This [...]

I was Christmas shopping for my family last month when I saw an interesting looking top—for me. Since it was on sale, I went ahead and grabbed it. Nothing like shopping for yourself [...]

My daughter and I went to see the Nutcracker ballet on Sunday afternoon. The ballet was amazing. The Tchaikovsky music was beautiful and the dancers were so graceful. It was easy to get [...]

My daughter’s best friend is Natalie. Natalie’s parents moved here from South America nine years ago. I always enjoy going to their house. I think it’s because I’m so aware how different we [...]

It was a great Thanksgiving. Our family enjoyed a trip to South Carolina to visit my parents. My sister stayed in the Charlotte area to have dinner with her husband’s family there. I’ll [...]

The fantasy: I knock out a ton of writing at the beginning of the day. The reality: I’m frequently distracted by email when I first wake up. It seems vital to me that [...]

I’m still in the point of my life where I’m reading a lot of Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. Sometimes I even feel like I’m continuing the storytelling tradition by retelling the [...]

Isn’t it funny what sticks in your head sometimes? You’d think that holiday memories would be comprised of some really Martha Stewart moments of hearth and home. A beautiful centerpiece, an exquisite meal. [...]

It’s a rough world out there right now, job-wise. It’s even rough for characters in manuscripts. I’ve found that if one of my characters isn’t doing their job in telling the story, then [...]

Lately I’ve read some interesting articles online on a variety of writing-related topics. There have been some excellent posts by commenters on this blog, too—but I’m thinking many of my readers read your [...]