I have so many things to blog about … but no time to blog! Daughter finished up Winter Ball softball, now in soccer … son finished up football, now in basketball … I lost my extra drivers to college … and then of course WRITING! BOUCHERCON 2014 I attended by first Bouchercon! I had a panel and an impromptu panel (lead by Charlaine Harris and Sara Paretsky!) and I got to meet Sue Grafton (briefly — but it was worth it!) Isn’t she beautiful and gracious? And totally, completely “real” and unpretentious. I could write much more about the conference,… Read More

I’ve been quiet for the last few weeks because: 1) I took my #2 daughter to college. College prep, then driving and getting her settled, then coming home and catching up … took time. Lots of time. 2) Writing! Yes, writing is keeping me very busy. Last year I didn’t have as many tight deadlines; this year they seem to have crept up on me. But I finished the edits on MORTAL SIN, have been writing the next Lucy book (and having great fun!) and am expecting the page proofs for COMPULSION, the next Max book, this week. 3) Sports… Read More

Call me a bad mom, but I am THRILLED that today my kids are back in school. Now … I can get back to a routine. I’m not organized, and I’m not a big planner, and everyone knows I don’t plot … but I need to have a regular routine to write the three (or more) books a year I write.

On Friday, I took the day off to play with my daughter, Mary. We all need a play date every now and then. This one centered around my editor’s invitation to go to a Giants game with her and her 11 year old son, who’s only days older than Mary, while they were on vacation out here in the Far West. In fact, considering that I write nearly every day, taking a full day off is rare, and getting a day with just one of the kids is even rarer. I think Mary had a lot of fun … she… 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

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

So I was reading GalleyCat last week and noticed this tidbit: A Canadian parent filed a complaint to the Toronto library last year, asking to ban Dr. Seuss’ classic children’s book Hop on Pop because it “encourages children to use violence against their fathers.” The complaint was revealed this week when the Toronto Library released its Materials Review Committee report for 2013. The person suggested that the library remove the book from the library’s collection and “issue an apology to fathers in the GTA and pay for damages resulting from the book.” The committee rejected the complaint and retained the book in the children’s… Read More

Yes, I’ve been out of the loop the past couple of weeks … book deadline, college trip with my daughter, novella I’m writing with Laura, my daughter’s 18th birthday, and just yesterday I received 11 pages of notes from my editor on COMPULSION (Max Revere #2). The good news is that she loves the book and the story — and the other good news is that I have lots of revisions! Yes, I love revisions. I can take a good story and make it the best it can be because of editorial input. Most of the notes are about specifics… Read More

It’s Friday, but my weekend is starting … as soon as I take my three youngest kids to the dentist for their annual check-up. Then, my oldest daughter comes home from Phoenix for Easter weekend! I just saw her when I was in Arizona, but it’s always great to have her home. Yesterday, I took my husband to the Giants/Dodgers game. As many of you know, I love the Giants … and Dan loves the Dodgers. The Dodgers won, but that’s okay since the tickets were his birthday present. The Giants won the first two games in the series …… Read More