Last month I promised to tell you a stupid thing I did. Time to make good on that. I've had a handful of embarrassing moments in my life, most notably the time I feel asleep on a plane, had a nightmare, then woke up mid-flight screaming and scaring the holy hell...
Book news
Preparing for a Launch
It’s less than two months from the launch of The Father She Went to Find and things are stirring. It’s the same with every book launch, so why does it always feel so surprising? This will be my ninth published book, and with every launch I’m never quite sure what to...
The Unbound Writer
You smell that? That’s the scent of a new year, fresh out of the dryer. Crisp and clean, almost like new. So what are you going to do with 2024? Fold it, put it away, and forget about it? Or put it on immediately and get it covered in dirt and sweat before it’s...
Waiting on a Volcano
I only went to one writer’s conference this year. Ideally I attend two or three, but, you know, that gets expensive! I made the hard decision to forgo Thrillerfest and Bouchercon (my usuals), and instead attend something truly special: Iceland Noir (“A literary...
The Father She Went to Find
Who the hell is Penny Bly? Early in the pandemic, this was the question I couldn't get out of my head. Penny Bly was going to be the driving force behind my next thriller, but I knew very little about her. As most of you know, I don't outline; my books simply start...
Crossing Over
By "crossing over," I'm not talking about shuffling off this mortal coil. This crossing over refers to my upcoming thriller, The New Neighbor (and if you haven't yet pre-ordered, what are you waiting for? You can buy it here. OK, no more of that).The...
ME ME ME ME ME
Authors HATE self-promotion. They despise posting book photos with links to pre-order, loathe telling you about good reviews, and cringe announcing the deal the publisher is running. Most authors are happy with their laptops, sitting in their little writing room,...
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Welcome to 2022! I hope that any holidays you may have celebrated were joyous and virus-free and you're looking at this new year with hope and optimism. I'm trying my best, despite the swirling and roiling omicron shitstorm engulfing us.Still, I'm excited for 2022 for...
How a Book is Born
This month my seventh novel will officially launch. Maybe "will be born" is a better phrase, considering how many of my titles have either had boy or girl in them. In this case, my publisher will be giving birth to a dead husband, and I'm not sure what kind of...
I Remember
I write a lot about memory in my books. Good memories, bad memories, and especially false memories. My dad was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's at the age of 62 and he passed at 69, so the horror of slipping into a milky haze of one's own existence has never...