My end-of-year newsletter is usually a reflection of gratitude for the year. Then along came 2020 and spit globs of infectious goo in all of our faces, making this year's annual rite a bit challenging. Still, there were things in 2020 that didn't suck. In no...


backyard creatures
On Writing Violence
I've killed. Countless times. I've shot, stabbed, tortured, burned, bludgeoned, and amputated. Hell, I've even crucified people. In my six published novels, many of my characters meet a bad end. In fact, one of the main reasons I don't write a series is I always want...
Holy Hell, I’m 50
A couple weeks ago I turned 50 (on Bastille Day, for all you Francophiles out there). When I turned forty I had a big party and was planning to do the same for fifty but, you know, pandemic. I'm excited to be fifty. Excited to see what the decade brings, assuming we...
This Heat is Gettin’ To Me
It's hot and I don't know what to write. I'm just sitting here with a blank screen, blurry eyes and fuzzy brain, and I suspect this shit is just gonna spill out without a lot of filter. It's hot and I'm tired, and it feels like I never fully wake up on certain days,...
Notes from Other Authors
Hello, folks. How are you? You getting through these very strange days with ease or with struggle? Likely both, I imagine. Have you been connecting more, reaching out to those you haven't talked to in awhile, just to ask them the simple question you okay? Me too. Over...
Screen Time Makes Me a Better Writer
I pay attention when another author's book captivates my attention. I'll analyze the detail, pace, prose, and voice, and try to figure out what exactly it was that grabbed me. (Sometimes the opposite is true: I'll read a terrible book and obsess over how it became...
The Day I Met the Dead Girl.
My publisher bought my book The Dead Girl in 2A in 2018, though when I sold it that wasn’t its title. My working title was The Orphan List, but my editor wanted a different name (this is very common) and she came up with the finalized version. The “girl” in the title...
All About the Mood.
Storytelling is 20% idea and 80% mood. When I set out to write a story, I never have a fully formed vision of what the plot will be, but I know how I want the story to feel. Of course, moods shift scene to scene throughout a novel, but there should be one pervasive...
Introducing: The Dead Girl in 2A
I know I've been teasing it for awhile now, but behold the official unveiling of my upcoming thriller, The Dead Girl in 2A. We're four months out from the launch of my sixth novel, so I've refreshed my newsletter and website to showcase the new book. You'll be hearing...