In my latest book, Beneath These Streets, coming out later this year on Kindle, I had the chance to draw on a really cool part of history: San Francisco's buried ships. There are ships lying deep under the streets of San Francisco. I'm not talking about fishing boats or small crafts, but actual seagoing 19th… Continue reading Digging up the Past
Category: Articles
In Memory of My First Novel
Just this week I went back to look at my first novel, which I hadn't touched for a few years. This isn't the first book in my series, Strangers on This Road, but a sentimental story called Since I Met You about a girl and a movie star. I like parts of it a lot.… Continue reading In Memory of My First Novel
The Unread Book
On Wednesday I handed my newest book to two readers. They're my favorite readers, such extremely generous friends, who have enjoyed and promoted my previous seven books. I wouldn't say I was exactly worried that they won't like my eighth, or will tell me it's total crap. Well, maybe I am a little bit! It's… Continue reading The Unread Book
Looking Back, Looking Forward
It's a good moment to look behind and ahead, at the turning of the year. Accomplishments, failures, lessons learned, goals achieved — and new goals and hopes for the months to come. I've never really made New Year's resolutions, but from the time of the solstice to the changing of the calendar, it does seem like… Continue reading Looking Back, Looking Forward
Writing From Life
A good portion of my suspense fiction is pure fantasy. I don't mean fantasy as a genre, but fantasy versus realism. Not only am I not remotely involved with any kind of criminal investigations, I don't even know anyone who is. I have no experts pointing out my bogus assumptions about law enforcement or the… Continue reading Writing From Life
An Unforgettable Summer
Though each of the books in my series has meaning for me, the next installment, "The Night Ferry," available for Kindle December 1, is especially dear to my heart. I wrote most of it in about three weeks, it just poured out. And then I got stuck in the complicated plot maneuverings at the end,… Continue reading An Unforgettable Summer
“Thankful” Just Isn’t a Strong Enough Word
A lot of bloggers will be posting about Thanksgiving in the next week, giving thanks, counting blessings and good stuff like that. I don't mean to be unoriginal, but I can't help but jump on the gratitude bandwagon and say how intensely grateful and humble I feel this year to have achieved my longtime dream… Continue reading “Thankful” Just Isn’t a Strong Enough Word
Adventures of an Ex-Soap Starlet in L.A.
Molly Faraday, first introduced as Lainey Parker's roommate in Book 2, Danger in Academia, takes the stage in my fifth suspense novel, Death on the Menu. While she's more than comfortable under the limelight, with years of experience in theatre and a short but successful run as troubled teenager Bethany Graystone on the soap "Hearts… Continue reading Adventures of an Ex-Soap Starlet in L.A.
My Top 10 Favorite Mystery Writers
I love a good mystery. And I definitely have my favorites. These 10 writers have confounded and entertained me and inspired me to write suspense novels. It was difficult to rank them, but here goes... 10. Enid Blyton Enid Blyton, a British children's writer, earns her spot on my list for her series of books… Continue reading My Top 10 Favorite Mystery Writers
The Joys of Editing (Or Maybe Not)
After the wonderful wild rush of happiness that comes with finishing the first draft of a book, I'm always eager to begin the first read-through. After all, didn't I just spend months researching and creating and pushing myself through writer's block and worrying that it wouldn't all come together?
First Draft DONE!!!
I just finished the first draft of my latest book, the eighth in the series and my first completed writing project in nearly two years. I'm done. And it feels AMAZING! Next comes printing the thing out and reading it, which isn't nearly as much fun as writing, though I'm occasionally pleased with something I… Continue reading First Draft DONE!!!
One Week to Go!!!
I'm thrilled to announce that Book 3, Enemy at the Wedding, will be released for Amazon Kindle on September 1. The next installment in the Strangers on This Road series finds Lainey attending a wedding with her boyfriend, Aiden Kinnear, on her first visit to England, meanwhile stumbling into another mysterious crime. This book was… Continue reading One Week to Go!!!
Why I Self-publish
I was against self-publishing for quite some time. It just wasn't for me, no way, nohow, mainly because of the following two stumbling blocks: I felt bombarded with stories (from NPR, agency sites, advice from other authors) about how the publishing industry looks down on self-publishing. It wasn't the right way to do it. Self-publishing… Continue reading Why I Self-publish
Finding Inspiration
I'm not going to use the word "stuck," because it isn't completely accurate. Finding the right word or phrase is always important, and stuck sounds so negative. Like I'm stuck in something sticky and unpleasant, which definitely isn't the case. Instead, I'll say I've been positively challenged as I determine what my characters are going… Continue reading Finding Inspiration
Cool Stuff I’ve Researched
I recently found myself in a conversation about codes and Bletchley Park, and not only did I know what Bletchley Park was and why it was important in WWII, I was able to impart my very amateur knowledge about the critical role of Polish cryptographers in breaking the German codes. This exchange reminded me that… Continue reading Cool Stuff I’ve Researched
Selling Myself on Self-Promotion
Now that I'm really doing it, actually selling my books through Amazon as a self-published author, suddenly I'm faced with something I have a really hard time doing: effective self-promotion. I never mind when other people promote their books, businesses, bands, creations, blogs, whatever amazing things they're doing. I don't think "FOR SHAME!" and shake… Continue reading Selling Myself on Self-Promotion
The Fun of It All
As I'm rereading my series for the first time in more than a year, I'm reminded of how amazingly FUN it was to write these books. The researching online - on Wikipedia and Google Earth, and, of course, Interpol's website; the pulling together of plots; the characters who would randomly pop up out of nowhere,… Continue reading The Fun of It All
Making Progress
As August 1 approaches, the next landmark date for my baby publishing project, I'm taking stock of where I am in this whole process. I've written seven completed books to date in the series, recently published the first book on Amazon Kindle, and just this week created a website and Facebook fan page and joined… Continue reading Making Progress
