posted by Doranna

Whenever I travel, I take work with me. Whether it's to the doctor's office (I'm typing this in a parking lot even now) or an agility weekend or even running errands--you never know when you might get stuck in traffic!

But generally, when I go on weekend trips, I hunt hardcopy work--polishing or edits or various…

Posted by Lorraine (L.L.) Bartlett

After struggling for months, I finally came to the end of my Work In Progress. Oy. What a relief.

Okay, this isn't my first book. You'd think that after eight or nine completed manuscripts it would get easier, not harder. Well, you would be WRONG! How often have I heard an author say (and usually in writing, not verbally) that after each completed manuscript, they find they've forgotten how to write a book.

Well, it's true. I…

Posted by Sheila Connolly

If all goes well, this will be posted while I am somewhere else. In fact, I'm should be in a place I've never been before: Tucson, Arizona. This is rather funny, since I've now completed two books set in Tucson. But that was Berkley's idea, not mine. Still, I want to get it right. I want to collect the details: the way the air smells, the way the mountains look in the early light, the sights and sounds of the desert. I have never seen a desert. I…

posted by Leann Sweeney

I am back after my adventure in the Pacific Northwest where I met my new granddaughter, Maddison Grace. I didn't write, I didn't do much of anything except hold that precious baby for three weeks--well I did cook and do dishes, which my son and daughter-in-law desperately needed someone to do! But what a wonderful…

posted by Jeanne Munn Bracken

So there we were. Sunday evening, heading down the dark highway in central New Hampshire. We were pretty quiet, thinking about my sister's husband, who is dying in a Vermont hospital. It looks like one of those awful, sudden things, except that nobody knows how much longer, etc. Anyway, we were sad.

A storm was heading our way, forecast to start soon, and we were hoping to beat it home, but Ray is not a racecar driver, so all was…

posted by Doranna

Okay, weird little stutter start to this one--because those of you who want an update on Connery Beagle can find one in his words on his LiveJournal...

Ahem.

My author copies of Dun Lady's Jess arrived the other day. Holy…

Posted by Lorraine (L.L.) Bartlett

I like to start the holiday season early by listening to my Ch ristmas CDs in late October. Naturally, this drives my hubby up the wall. I start out slow with piano instrumentals and slowly move into the more elaborate instrumentals, and finally into vocals by the likes of Celine Dion, Amy Grant, and even Ray…

Posted by Sheila Connolly

My sister's son produced an heir just over a year ago: Carter Matthew Payne. Since my daughter is a long way from even contemplating offspring, this darling young man (whom I have not yet met) is my sole connection to the…

Posted by Guest Blogger Kate Flora

One of the challenging things about growing up and going out on my own was deciding which family traditions I would keep, and what new traditions I would choose for myself. By the time I had children, there was annual Fourth of July picnic at the family farm, a visit to the Union Fair, a family visit over Labor Day. Family Thanksgiving. We had a year punctuated by pleasant annual events.

Now that I’m nearing that point in life where I’m…

posted by Jeanne Munn Bracken

Sandy was never a satisfactory dog. No dog is perfect, of course, as we well knew from earlier canines we'd taken in.

Our first, Sheba, was hit by a car, and Whiskers, who we loved dearly despite her chewing everything, we had for 15 years.

I thought I wanted a dog, and the kids were sure they had to have one. Ray didn't want one at all. Several years passed before some people showed him the picture of a dog they had to give…

posted by Doranna Durgin

It's taken a long time for this one to sink in, but I'm finally getting there.

When I was younger, I often took people by surprise. I was assertive; by unconscious default I approached situations as though expecting not to be heard, and so I made myself crystal clear from the outset. But others were often taken aback; they felt I was in fact adversarial.

So I worked on that. Over time, I softened my approach. Oh, not…

Posted by Lorraine (L.L.) Bartlett

I wasn't expecting to get the majority of the turkey from last week's Thanksgiving feast. Hoping, but not expecting.

Friday we had a guest and decided not to subject her to leftovers, so out came Leann's marvelously easy top round Swiss steak in the Crockpot recipe. (And it smells sooooo good cooking,…

Posted by Sheila Connolly

Now that we've all slogged through the turkey and the mashed potatoes and the gravy, and the last of the pumpkin pie and whipped cream, it's time to turn back to mysteries. In this case, men.

I'm sure we've all suffered (or enjoyed) the phenomenon of pigging out at a big meal and then dozing off in front of whichever football game is on (I understand that the tryptophan in turkey is especially good for producing that…

by Guest Blogger Felicia Donovan

I’ve created a monster. Four monsters, in fact. It seems the four femme fatales of THE BLACK WIDOW AGENCY have developed a mind of their own and things are getting a bit out of control.

First it started with the idea that the Black Widows should have their own website. Mind you, I already had my own author website (www.feliciadonovan.com) and that was plenty to manage given what little spare…

posted by Guest Blogger Kate Flora

There can be no writing about food on Thanksgiving night. No recipes, no cute ideas about yummy things to make the holiday brighter or suggestions for clever décor that sets off a stunning table for an afternoon and for which storage space must be found the other 364 days of the year. Now that the last platter is washed and put away, the wine glasses are back in their boxes and I’ve made refrigerator space for the tattered remnants of a twenty…

posted by Jeanne Munn Bracken

The holidays are upon us. Instead of blogging, I should be in the kitchen making stuffing for the turkey. I don't use a recipe for that--my stepfather taught me years ago how to saute the onions and celery with a bit of thyme and a lot of sage.

I'm not really a foodie. My family watches the Food Channel, then turn to me in unison and ask what's for dinner. Sheesh!

But you can have 30 Minute Rachel, the South'ren Sweetie Paula, the…

posted by Doranna Durgin

It's been a month now--to the day--since the Giant Schnauzer broke loose from her handler, charged across that considerable open ground, and grabbed up Connery. And a month since Belle and her rehabbing spine returned to careful trialing with that obedience and rally weekend. And a month since my wrist was sprained-no-broken. So it seems about time to aim the looking glass that way. I promised I'd let you know, and I am!

Belle, I…

Posted by Sheila Connolly

I just submitted the draft of One Bad Apple, the first book in my orchard series, to my editor. With Thanksgiving looming, this seems the right time to talk about apples (oh, no, not another food post!).

This series came about in a rather convoluted way. My agent had seen and rejected the…

Posted by guest blogger Clea Simon

Last weekend, I ran into a very nice man I know slightly and he shocked the stuffing out of me. How? He showed me a picture of his 13-month-old son, Declan.

Why was I shocked? I’d actually…

posted by guest blogger, Kate Flora

Long before the turkey goes in the oven or the youngest son gets hauled to the kitchen to make his “signature” cranberry relish, before the squash-haters have finished whining and those who’ve had too much pie are moaning in the corner, our e-mail queues are already bursting with advice about how to simplify the holiday shopping and cooking.

Today, I’m going to be guilty of joining that crowd, but lucky you—this is a blog, so you can…