Some writers need complete silence to create. Others need white noise — soft music or ocean waves. Others need a lot of commotion or music that sets the scene — romantic music for love scenes, rock music for action scenes. I can write with almost any noise level. What I can’t do is write (well) with interruptions. This is why for years I wrote at Starbucks. The bustle of the shop didn’t bother me. I’d put my earbuds in, crank up my playlist, and write. I wrote my first nine books almost exclusively at Starbucks and one of two local… Read More

There are some television shows that are as good — and in some ways better — the second time around. For example, I just finished watching all three Seasons of PERSON OF INTEREST with my 13 year old son. I’d already seen them, but was happy to watch them again. The second time around so many little things came clear, reminding me that the creators and writers of that series are damn brilliant. Whether they had it all planned or not, I have no idea. Any details that I might pull out for later in the series, I don’t realize… Read More

I promised an excerpt to RUN, Laura Griffin’s part of our new book HIT AND RUN that launches today. (Yeah! Cheers! Applause!) I think one of the reasons I love writing this series with Laura is because our writing meshes together. We don’t write exactly alike, we compliment each other. There are a few authors I’m confident that if I recommend them to my readers, I’ll score a victory — meaning, my reader will love the books. Laura is one of those authors. I can hardly wait to start the last book in this series. But … I have to… Read More

Laura and I are thrilled that HIT AND RUN, book two in the Moreno & Hart Mystery Series, will be on-sale Monday. It’s available for pre-order at Amazon, Kobo, and the iBookstore. Unfortunately, Barnes & Noble Nook doesn’t let most indie authors set-up a pre-order link. I’ve asked. Many times. Believe me … if I see the Nook rep at RWA, I’ll be asking them. They weren’t at Thrillerfest (Amazon and iBooks were both there!) This is the HIT AND RUN weekend … so I hope you enjoy!

It’s been over a week since I blogged — lots of things have been going on. Traveling. Writing. Moving my younger daughter into my oldest daughter’s bedroom. I finally have a breather to write this blog. There are plenty of recaps of Thrillerfest on the Internet, I don’t need to rehash it. Suffice it to say it’s my favorite conference for a lot of reasons. Though expensive (it’s in NYC), they have a plethora of panels and workshops for readers and authors of all levels. They have cocktail parties each night, an amazing banquet, and it’s an opportunity for me… Read More

I’m off to Thrillerfest on the Red Eye. Yes, I’m crazy. Yes, I swore I’d never take the Red Eye again. But there were several factors that went into the decision. 1) I refused to spend $70 more for a room because I didn’t reserve Monday night at the conference rate. 2) My daughter who lives in Arizona is leaving Tuesday morning, and I’d like to spend one more day with her. (Of course, we’ll be clearing out her room — she’s taking more stuff to her new townhouse and my making room for my 11 year old to move… Read More

The first time I flew to New York for a conference, I took the red eye. From California to New York, leaving at midnight and landing around six a.m. I thought I was being so smart … saving a night in the hotel, the flight was cheaper, I could sleep on the plane … Not. I was completely dead the next day, I couldn’t check into my room until after twelve noon (meaning no shower, no nap, no downtime at all …) and I never really felt like myself for the rest of the conference. I swore I would never… Read More

Yes, I failed after only one week of promising a writer’s blog on Wednesdays. Why? Because Writer’s Write, and that’s what I was doing last night — writing fiction, not blogs. I had a draft blog for the day about reviews, but I have a lot more to say about that so am saving it for next week 🙂 But this brings up a good point for all of us: writer’s write FIRST. We need to remember that either writing is our career (and we get paid to write and meet deadlines and entertain our readers) or writing is our… Read More

I have two conferences coming up — Thrillerfest in NYC and RWA in San Antonio. I have a lot to say about these conferences, and you’ll hear most of it over the next couple of weeks, but today I want to talk about CLOTHES. I’m a writer. When I get up in the morning, I walk on the treadmill, take my shower, and dress in clean pajamas or maybe — if I might be going out later — sweats and a T-shirt. I spoke to a writers group in Elk Grove last week and lamented that I had to find… Read More

I love baseball. Growing up only a few miles from Candlestick Park meant growing up a Giants fan. Though we didn’t go to more than a couple games a year, I loved being at the park. More, though, I loved listening to baseball on the radio. My grandma religiously listened to the Giants every day, and if they played when I was over there (which was often), I listened with her while we played card games. Those afternoons are some of my favorite memories growing up. Recently, I realized that I’ve incorporated a lot of baseball teams into my books,… Read More