I'm posting early because I'll be out of town, but I wanted you to meet this entertaining author. I think we're all intrigued by Jack -- and she's got a new spin on the Jack story.

Here's a bio about this unique blend of Victoriana and Old South:

L.M. Thomas writes as Miss Mae, Pure Southern Genteel author. She lives in Georgia with her wonderfully patient husband (who helps give her the proper perspective on how to make her heroes 'manly'), and two mixed-breed adopted ogs.…

Happy Valentine's Day! I must say that while I do have a romantic and thoughtful husband it is our four year old who brings out the real joy in holidays like this one. He insisted on printing his name on his 30+ valentines for his preschool friends which took over an hour. He goes crazy for decorated baked goods, cards, little tokens of affection with hearts on them. It gets my husband and I geared up too.

This makes me think of my attitude towards writing. I have a friend who told me…

This has nothing to do with crime or mysteries but I'm copying this Stodghill Says So blog here anyhow:

I do presentations to reading groups at libraries and colleges, and in the course of preparing for them, do a bit of research on the types of books available in certain genres. It's surprising to find that whatever one might think of in the line of mystery, it's probably been done.

Vampire detectives? We've got 'em. Sleuths who've been gelded for one reason or another? Yup. Females masquerading as males, ex-soldiers suffering from delusions, police detectives with amnesia, and of…

I am preparing for two important events in my life.

First, I am the ‘panel’ for an afternoon discussion on blogging at SleuthFest; second, is the release of my book, Chasin’ the Wind, on March 19, and I have begun to set up readings and signings. Both are exciting and new experiences, to me.

I am going to SleuthFest 2008, a Mystery Writers of America – Florida Chapter annual event held at the Deerfield Beach Hilton, in Deerfield Beach, Florida, Feb. 29 –…

I'm trying to go paperless. I rarely print anything out anymore. When I want to keep something someone else has written, I make a Word

file, copy and paste information into it, then try to decide what to name it so

I can find it again, and usually end up making a new "file folder" in

My Documents. I tend to save whole

emails, as well, especially from family.

Sometimes new people get a file folder so I can…

I just got back from my first book event of the year, Murder in Magic City in Birmingham and Murder on the Menu in Wetumpka, AL. After two years of hitting the convention and conference circuit rather heavily my husband and I did an analysis and decided to back off this year. We enjoyed the conferences, meeting the other authors, meeting and making friends among the fans but the reality is we don't sell that many books at the conferences and it's hard to tell if all that…

Someone sent me a link yesterday to a blog written by an editor (http://edittorrent.blogspot.com) that reinforces what six years in this busines has taught me: editors (and agents as well) don't read much before deciding if your work will be rejected.

I don't blame them. They're deluged with material, since the computer has made writing a book possible for almost anyone. They know what they're looking for and over time have honed their…

Sometimes in the process of finding myself on line I find some of the best web sites for those interested in the literary world. For example, just because I was at the same fiction seminar with Leslie Pietrzyk I was name-checked on her blog, "Work-in-Progress." -…

Let me see. My manuscript is in production, I've got an article in www.mysteryreaders.org on writing medieval, I've got an upcoming talk at the local Friends of the Library, I'm writing yet another blog on relics for www.Parishworld.net being a relic myself :), I just opened a myspace page for my protagonist,…

I spoke too soon.

Having made several snide remarks about customer reviews on amazon (well, I've had some unfair ones and those somehow stay with you), I now take it all back.

I just (Feb. 10) got a delightful review of ISLAND OF EXILES from a total stranger who is not a regular reviewer and who could not have had anything in mind except to offer a thank-you for an enjoyable read. And that makes this one of the best reviews I ever got, including those from professional…

Yesterday I wrote about letting characters grow inside your head until they are people. The next step is finding the words to convey that character's "personhood" to a reader.

It certainly isn't enough to tell what he looks like; in fact, some excellent authors refuse to write much physical description at all. Who hasn't been taken out of a story by too much detail about eye color or dewy skin? It's wise, at least in modern writing, to toss in details as casual references rather than…

Saturday at the American University fiction seminar I again came face to face with the fact that people actually go to college to learn how to write. Listening to a few Masters of Fine Arts I wondered if I would have been able to succeed in that environment or if instead some wise professors would have convinced me I have no talent. I think I've done pretty well living an "OJT" life, since Public…

I love writing romantic suspense, romantic mysteries, romantic fantasies, and paranormal romance.

I’ve even written straight mysteries. Sort of. Even my mysteries still end up with a bit of romance in them.

So, what kind of writer am I? Am I a romance writer who wanders into the mystery, suspense, and fantasy genres? Or am I a mystery writer with a romantic streak?

But all my novels have some element of mystery. If the reader knew what would happen from the very start,…

Most of my days are ordinary. Occasionally, there's a depressing one, but that feeling tends to pass with work.

So I like to mark days when hopeful things happen, and today two happened in one morning:

1. I typed "The End" for my new novel, feeling pretty good about it -- even though plenty of small changes loom for another month.

2. I signed two contracts, one for translation rights for two novels, and one for audio recording rights for five.

It would be nice if…