I’m in that void in between books. Having finished my Author’s Edition of Body Wave (Bad Hair Day Mystery #4) and scheduled it for launch on June 16, I can start thinking about my next project. And so far that’s all I’ve done—think about it. This would be Bad Hair Day #14. It’s a direct … Read more
Have you sold a book and now you’re panicking about what to do? Does the thought of book promotion strike terror into your writer’s heart? Here are some guidelines to keep you straight on the road to self-promotion. Or if you are a seasoned author, use it as a quick checklist of things to do. … Read more
We discover something new each time we visit a Disney theme park. On this occasion, we were strolling by Test Track at Epcot when I noticed a new kiosk selling a variety of grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato basil soup, and salads. My mouth watered, but it was too early for lunch. Test Track is on … Read more
Do you remember Tupperware Home Parties? On our way into Orlando, we visited Tupperware Brands Global Headquarters at 14901 South Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, FL 32837. We’d passed the campus innumerable times, and I’d always been curious to stop by. We entered through the impressive front entrance into one of several white buildings, gave our … Read more
We took the Metro into D.C. on my one spare day after Malice concluded. Here we visited the National Museum of Natural History. They had an ocean exhibit that I didn’t remember from a prior trip there, so we started in this section and read about the key role the oceans play on our planet. … Read more
In Manhattan last Wednesday, we strolled up Fifth Avenue, across Rockefeller Center, and down Broadway to Times Square. From here we passed by Bryant Park and the New York Public Library and back to Grand Central Station. The Hyatt Grand Central was a great location on 42nd Street. Across the street was the … Read more
Hanging by a Hair (Bad Hair Day Mystery #11) is now available in a mass market paperback edition from Worldwide Mystery Library. Florida salon owner Marla Vail is happily settling into domestic life with her husband, Dalton, and her teenage stepdaughter. Too bad her dream house comes with a neighbor from hell. Alan Krabber, president … Read more
Do you belong to a book club? Maybe you’ve always wanted to start one. But what do you discuss? Aside from determining the parameters for your group, you’ll need to figure out how analytical you care to get. Here are some questions to jumpstart your discussion. Adapt them for your own use. When you put … Read more
ONE MAN’S SHORT, SKETCHY CAREER AS A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR IN TRAINING by Tom Turner I thought Contop Investigations was kind of an odd name for a private investigation firm when I went there for an interview thirty years ago. Turned out the head of the West Palm Beach P.I. firm had a romanticized idea of … Read more
Starting a new novel can either be an exhilarating prospect or a daunting one. No matter how many books you’ve written, this reaction still holds true. If you’re a pantser regarding plot, you might begin with a concept, a character, or a setting. You wing it from there with a general idea of where you … Read more