Festive Reading

"A new challenge is near." (fortune cookie saying) Here's how I celebrated during my much-needed break from writing over these last few weeks. I read. For fun! Sometimes I like measuring my vacations by the number of books I've read. It gives me an indication of how much lovely time I spent between the pages of a book. Also, it fuels that inner competitive streak in me. (In elementary school, I once won a reading contest hands-down--and got handsomely rewarded with a gift card to a local … [Read more...]

Virtual Bouchercon

There is such a thing as conference fatigue. I had a fabulous time this past weekend with 900 or so other friends checking out Bouchercon 2020. Though I didn't get to travel to the state capital and frolic in Sacramento, I still got to attend the event virtually. The highlights of the event were: Pre-taped videos: High-quality video interviews with amazing people like Walter Mosley, Anne Perry, Catriona McPherson, and the past presidents of Sisters in CrimeLive presentations: Unique … [Read more...]

California Crime Writers Conference 2019

I had such a great time at this biennial crime writers' conference! I'm still recovering from the immense load of information given to me, as well as from connecting my introvert self with multiple authors and editors. Here are a few of the observations that stuck out to me from the event: Use funny to deal with serious topics (like murder); and if you have something too mean for your main character to say, offload it to a sidekick. ;) It's common for agents to *not* meet their clients … [Read more...]