Who knew that rural Iowa is such a hot bed of criminal activity? Known Dead, the second book in the series by Donald Harstad, is faster tempoed then the first. Harstad's novels are police procedurals that take the reader along with the first person narrator, Deputy Carl Houseman, into every step of the investigation. Harstad's writing is thorough but amusing, and his characters feel like real people complete with foibles and…

Well, it's here! The frothiest and sassiest website of the year, and certainly the one with the hottest actor links, is now here and open for business: http://www.pinkchampagneandapplejuice.com



Come on in and have a look round! All are welcome, and the site is very good indeed (huge thanks to Sue & Frank at …

Posted by Leann Sweeney

Funny thing for a writer to say, but this happens often. In fact, aside from my first book, which came bursting out like that baby alien in the Sigourney Weaver flick, words fail me all the time. But after having written eight novels--some of those manuscripts packed away in a box where they should be--I have come to understand this is part of the writing process, at least for me. Not to say I like this little phenomenon. Not to say this is as comfortable as…

I don’t want to be a rock star but I think authors could learn something from them. Wouldn’t it be cool if there were more joint author tours? I’m not talking about a couple friends pairing up for a few dates in the usual haunts: I’m talking about taking authors with books out toward the end of one month and just at the beginning of the next month and putting them on the road together – a couple ‘bigger names’ and a couple ‘rising stars’ doing the twenty city gig.

Before any…

Still slogging away on the Health Centre website today – it’s getting rather more complicated, but I think I’ve managed to work out a new template for it – with the help of our long-suffering IT department. And it works too. Just need a shortcut name now and I can do exciting secretarial things with the leaflet links. Hurrah. Are you keeping up at the back?



The morning was galvanised into further excitement by our first meeting with the Guildford School of Acting who are going to be…

The Brimstone Murders

Coming in February, 2008…

JAPAN TIMES PHOTO

No, it's not true. I've been had. My webmaster, Sue Trowbridge of Interbridge, informed me that the Japan Times story is a hoax. Well, a month too late. I'll leave my old post up so that you all can see what a doofus I am. I didn't know that the Japan Times did April Fool's jokes!…

Interesting how mystery fiction fans are so often critical of true crime books. Some say they're sickened by the gore. Others are put off by the twisted criminals in the stories. More than a few just think the true crime genre is, well, tacky.

I read true crime all the time, and I don't buy these excuses. Those who protest the most could well be carrying titles by Lee Child (gore, anyone?), Minette Walters (talk about twisted) or Janet Evanovich (for lovers of literary classics,…

Oh, how I have been looking forward to Spring. Yes, we really didn't have to suffer through winter until mid-January (which was heaven, by the way), but then we had 10 solid weeks of totally crappy weather.

We had some marvelously hot days in April, but they're always an aberration. In May and June it can be downright COLD in my corner of Western New York.

And now there's pollen.

Mind you, until this year, I never suffered from any kind of allergies. Nothing ever tickled…