Were I a more prepared man, I'd have pictures, but, alas...

It was a blast. I probably signed my name to fifty books and probably missed out on many more. The store, Partners and Crime, has a big heart but a small floor and, if I counted correctly, there were thirteen authors from the anthology in person last night. Abraham Rodriguez flew in…

Another CrimeSpace fellow is in the hot seat this week.

Dave Zeltserman chats about his new with Word Nerd here.

In addition to long asides that take the reader out of the story, there is another practice all too common in modern cozy writing that drives me crazy. Because of "themed" mysteries, we all have to learn about a craft, a job, or a hobby as we follow clues to whodunnit. That's not terrible, but authors should be careful not to let their theme overshadow the plot. There's a tendency to get so detailed that the text reads like an instruction manual rather than a story, and in the end I get the…

I swear, y'all. I leave town for a week and Lindsay Lohan gets popped again?! Seriously, what kind of entourage does she keep that allows her to engage in high speed SUV chases with a .12 BAC and coke in her pocket? BTW, if you haven't seen the clip of CNN's Jack Cafferty attempt to boycott the LiLo story, it's proof that the man might occasionally climb off his rocker but hasn't consumed the cable news koolaid yet.…

I meet every Tuesday with my critique partners, Judy Moresi and Donna Ross.

Today I brought along the first 10 pages of my newest book. I asked Donna, "How often have you read this starting chapter?"

She laughed. "What? Maybe, oh, five times?"

Yes, and that doesn't count all the times I've rewritten this without her knowledge.

Not long ago, someone asked, "How often do you rewrite a book?"

The answer: As often as necessary. Here's the deal: Those first ten…

What a great time I had meeting new and old friends - and how thrilled (stop laughing) I was to have some of my favorite people and writers - P.J. Parrish (Kris & Kelly) , Joe Finder and Nick Stone take home that terrific looking award.

If you missed the convention this year - don't miss it next year! It's truly unique and before I forget - many kudos to all the volunteers who worked for months to put on such a great event.

There's tons more I could say - but hey - what…

Greetings--

I've been writing since I was 12; most of that writing has been done on computer. Now that I'm 32, I've come to believe that modern tools are not as good as the old tools.

On my desk right now sits a 1940s-vintage Royal typewriter. In the roller is a sheet of paper, the 17th such sheet, with a lot of words on it. Those words are part of my new novel, "Speak for the Dead." This is book #8. As with every book, this is THE ONE that will be the break-out. Period. But…

I've gone crazy about podcasts. Writers Robert Gregory Browne and Brett Battles have done one on writing (http://www.battlesandbrowne.com/), but there's a lot of other resources for authors and readers.

Just started to listen to http://bookexpocast.com from this past Book Expo. Listened to an interview with M.J. Rose about her upcoming book and just started the one on ethics and book…

In my never-ending quest to "girlify," I'm trying to turn our summer cottage into my own private B&B. (Meanwhile, hubby is saying he wants a moose or deer head--ANYTHING--just to make the place more MANLY. HA! There will be NO taxidermy in any abode where I'm living!)

So there we were, with one very expensive piece of molding for the Victorian hallway we're recreating in our cottage hide-away. A very SHORT hallway. The paint was over $40 (and wall prep was $12). The embossed…

Posted by Sheila Connolly

Some time ago, in some magazine, I read an article that fascinated me, about people who find certain words, or combinations of words, extremely funny–far beyond a normal giggle. I'm one of them. Put the right words together and I'm reduced to helpless laughter, to the point of tears. I never know when it's going to happen, and I certainly don't know why.

So, being a proficient Googler, I tried to look up the article. The first problem was deciding what…

"In Benn’s high-spirited second WWII…

No, I'm not 98 -- since several people commented on my profile age, I decided to put in my real one (49 next month).

The artwork on my profile was done a few years ago as a logo for me. I liked it so much I commissioned artist Erica Well to create covers for my books in the same style. She did a wonderful job~ I'll get them loaded on to this computer and post them on the site soon. She also did the cover for my non-fiction book!

Our rescue dogs are Garth - a basset/beagle mix,…