Forgot to say (or perhaps I’m too ashamed to confess it), but Lord H and I bought a birdsong CD at the end of last week’s holiday, so we could wow our friends with our amazing ability to distinguish a woodpecker from a sparrow. However, there are 99 tracks on it, plus a booklet (which unfortunately doesn’t include pictures of said birds, which might have been more useful), and we’re so far only up to track 12. Well, there’s only so much constant tweeting you can take really. But I do think I…

Corona, Linda and I met tonight and had a small, but spirited, discussion:…

I haven't written a word on my novel in nearly four weeks. Oh, I've thought about said novel. I've written down twists and places that need reformatting. But I have yet to tackle the dreaded scene that haunts me.

I got hung up on POV based on some comments from a critique group. Now, all I can see is POV. I can no longer see the story.

Then, I started a new job. I work weird hours, but the character generation potential is awesome. I broke a tooth, and I mourn the loss of Cape…

I recently turned 53 and because I'm around so many females at work and home, I thought I'd do something manly to recognize by advancing years.

So I joined a local gun club, took my .44-Magnum revolver, and went shooting.

(Important note: When you ask ammunition clerks at the local Wal-Mart for hollow point .44-Magnum rounds, expect startled looks.)

So that birthday weekend I shot guns. I smoked cigars. I drank beer and…

Posted by Lorraine Bartlett

One of my newest friends on MySpace is the Roaming Gnome of Travelocity fame. Since I don't watch a lot of TV, I follow his exploits in USA Today. Yesterday, for instance, he was buried in the sand with a crab nearby. (I sometimes think that little guy gets more life experience than me!)

He's not my only gnome pal. I share my yard with three of them. They all came from the…

Apparently, myself.

Galleycat (http://www.galleycat.com) reports on the results of A Women and Books 2007 study which describes the typical book buyer:

• Age 45
• Married
• BA degree
• Lives a large city (population of 500,000 or more)
• Annual household income of $88,625 or more

Gee, you'd think I'd have a chance to be the most famous mystery writer who ever graduated from my high school. No shot. Never. You see I'm an alum of Palo Alto High as is... Erle Stanley Gardner, the progenitor of…

Groan. Back to work today. Honestly, it’s not that the job is horrible – it isn’t – but the weight of despair that lies on one’s back on the dreaded Return to Work Day gets worse with age. I used to be okay about this in my 20s, even though the jobs I had then were utter and insurmountable crap, but now even the thought of it has me pinned to my bed, dragging my feet round the flat and weeping in Lord H’s arms before the dreaded 8.30am occurs. Lordy, but what an eventful morning indeed.…

I'm thinking about starting to read a new mystery series, but with so many out there, I can't decide.

Click here to vote for which P.I. I should read about in my blog poll.

Posted by Sheila Connolly

"O would some power the giftie gie us to see ourselves as others see us. " Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), To a Louse

I had my picture taken professionally last week. This is the first time I've had a picture of me alone taken by someone other than a well-meaning friend or relative since my senior year in college (yes, they had invented cameras by then). Well, there was one family portrait (what? Only one? My sister's son had a baby last…

War on a Word

By Liam Sweeny

“We are fighting a War on Terror” the President said, soon after the tragic events of Sept. 11^th. What the world wanted, what Americans needed, were answers, assurance, and the security of knowing

that our government was doing everything it could do to…

I was at two book signings recently at my favorite book store. The signings and talks were interesting and informative. However, at one book signing, during the author's talk, several people had their cell phones go off, rather loudly too, and this kept interrupting the author's train of thought, as he continued to stop while the people answered their phones. Usually, I believe, at most signings people are asked to turn their cell phones off, or most know to do this. This…