Today starts 16 glorious days off! I’m off from today until January 4th, when I’ll return to the classroom. I’m exhausted at the moment. Too much to do and too many things to think about. Most of the time over break, excluding the holidays of course, will be dedicated to working on the biography. I [...]

Phew. Nothing like a blast of arctic air and a dusting of snow to make it feel more like the holidays. Or it could be the stack of unwrapped presents on the kitchen table. But in any event, it is starting to feel like the holidays here in the Marks’ home. We’ll finish the Christmas [...]

In some ways I’m like a kid again. Every December 1st, I start counting down those days until Christmas. Not because I want to get a zho zho (I’m not sure I even know what those are!), but because I want the time off.
This year is actually better than most. I am off from [...]

I was much too sick last week to post a blog. I had a combination of a sinus infection and stomach virus that kept me down and out for a week, missing 2 days of school. Fortunately, this was a short week and so I only had to teach 2 days out of 11, giving [...]

Wow, I’m getting ready to upgrade my computer system to Windows 7 this weekend, and I’m amazed at how much we rely on our computers these days. Of course, first and foremost, all of my writing is on this machine. Ten books, and 3 proposals at the moment. All stored in one place (well, and [...]

I tend to be a tidy person in my relationships. I keep my work life away from my writing life away from my personal life. I keep my friends segregated on Facebook, so they don’t overlap. For the most part that works well.
I find that any time I get publicity things get messy. Like [...]

It’s hard to believe it but MurderMustAdvertise will turn 10 in a matter of weeks. It just seems like yesterday that I took the reins from Kate Derie, but in fact it’s been 8 years that I’ve been approving (and deleting) messages for the group. There have been a few feuds, lots of wonderful ideas, [...]

I had a blast last week when I went to Indy. I had posted last week about how I wished it could go on forever, and no more so than Saturday. I had gone home to get more copies of my biography of Anthony Boucher (and decided to spend a wonderful night in my own [...]

I’m having a great time at the world mystery conference. It’s the 40th one and is in Indianapolis this weekend. I love the fact that it’s so close to me. I drove home last night to pick up a second shipment of my biography of Anthony Boucher (which is great, considering that means the first [...]

Today is the start of our school fall break. I have 10 days to recharge my batteries and get ready for the rush to Christmas after break.
I’m very excited for break as it coincides with Bouchercon this year, which is right in my own backyard. For those who don’t know, it’s the world Mystery [...]