Well, it is May and for the Marks’ house that means spring cleaning time. It’s always fun for me to tidy things up, because it’s almost a break from the writing game for a few hours. Plus for the budding detective it’s a way to learn a bit more about the occupants of a house, […]

Due to the sad fact that Tony Hillerman said that his health is too poor for travel, I’ve been asked to do the keynote speech for the Hardboiled Heroes and Cozy Cats conference in Dallas in June. I’ve met Mr. Hillerman before, at the Malice when he won our shared category of best non-fiction.
This […]

Well, this is the week that makes me feel old. I have bookended family birthdays. Two Taurus (or is it Tauri?) in the family is interesting. We have lots of strong-willed people in my family. I think you have to be to survive in our family. I think a mild-mannered person would be bulldozed in […]

Sorry, but I’m not feeling well today. I have bronchitis, which means no voice and a fever. It’s not the best combination for a schoolteacher, but that’s the way it is. I have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon, and I’m sure, a long regimine of antibiotics. In any case, I’m a bit lightheaded to be […]

Well, it’s spring, and I haven’t done my cleaning this year. Mainly because the house is awash in books. Not my usual stacks of books to be read — like Sharon’s new book and Heather’s new book either. I agreed, in what must have been a moment of weakness, to be a judge for the […]

Well, it’s no longer March Madness, but I guess it’s now April idiocy. Unfortunately, I have one more spring ritual that I’d rather forget. I always lose my NCAA pool. Just like the way the flowers come up every year, I pull out my brackets, bluff my way through the early rounds and finish […]

I am a man who likes his routine. I’m proud of it, and I have grown used to it. I make make changes in my life, but on a daily basis things run pretty much to plan. I get up, make coffee, feed the dog, empty out the dishwasher, open a diet Coke, take my […]

I’m on my 2nd agent now (hi, Janet!) The first agent fell into the “I want a blockbuster” category. He sold my first 2 anthologies, but then I sold Who Was That Lady? and Atomic Renaissance on my own as well as Intent to Sell.
I was able to get an agent based on my […]

Well, being the math teacher I am, today is pi day. Of course, being a math geek, that means to me that it’s March 14th (or 3.14 to the uninitiated.)
Since I’m up to my ears in school stuff because of today, my post is going to be very very short.
To answer Casey’s post, it […]

Sigh, it’s about time for that yearly ritual of messing up my sleep patterns. That’s right, daylight savings time starts this weekend. For the next 2 weeks, I’ll be wanting to stay up later and get up later, even though my job frowns on that. My poor brain does not understand all the requirements of […]