While one half of our nation rejoices this week and the other half wonders what went wrong, here comes Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukah, when we’re all thrown together at friends’ parties and family reunions. Finding common ground where we can stand together may be difficult as we tiptoe around each other’s feelings after the election. […]
Today, I bring a double treat to the Gang, with S. Lee (Sandy) Manning and J.B. (Jim) Manning, award-winning writers who bill themselves as “A Killing Couple” for a couple of good reasons. One, they’re married. And two, the award-winning books they write include a few murder victims along the way. Jim’s books are chock-full of […]
Ever heard of a derecho? I hadn’t, until recently. It’s related to a tornado, and can be just as deadly. Instead of twisting up everything in its path and tossing it around, a derecho’s furious winds wreak devastation in a straight line, like a giant hundred-mile-an-hour freight train. Last May, one barreled through two hundred […]
Hard to believe that the public school year opened here yesterday, especially when we’re still inside the blast furnace that is August. I remember sweating through those first days. It was pretty brutal. My own high school reunion happened just this past weekend, which made me wonder what the children returning to class will be […]
Confession time here. It has taken me years to admit this, but here goes: I am a foodaholic. I love food, and I think about it almost every hour of the day. My addiction began in the early days of writing the Samantha Newman Mystery Series. I didn’t recognize the issue until several readers complained that […]
I was not a big fan of history in my teens and twenties. No history class ever made the factoids we had to memorize feel real or relevant to the world I lived in. The History Buff Then I married a big fan of history, and through his eyes, his love for that old stuff […]
First, a happy piece of news! The Body Next Door has just won GOLD in the 2024 American Legacy Book Awards. I am honored and happy for the recognition, the fifth one for this, my second book in the Samantha Newman Mystery Series. I’m also amazed and amused. Here’s why: Flashback to 2014: I’d helped […]
Exactly when is Spring supposed to begin? I looked it up, and here’s what I found: The vernal equinox in 2024 arrived on March 19, but that date varies year to year. It hovers somewhere between the 19th and 21st of the month, and is marked at the moment the sun is directly facing Earth’s […]
In my first stint as a magazine editor, I looked up from my desk one afternoon to see a young deliveryman at my office door, carrying a flower arrangement. He looked lost. “Can I help you?” I offered. “Are you Gay?” he asked. “Yes,” I said. He grinned broadly and proudly declared, “So am I!” […]
Even after the extra day for leap year, February is the shortest month. But that doesn’t stop these 29 days from being chock-full of things to celebrate. Especially this week. Due to a quirk in the 2024 calendar, there’s a danger of overdosing on special occasions. I live in what’s often described as the most diverse […]