The Faces of Protest

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. I regret to interrupt my regularly scheduled post—which was going to be food-related, alas!—because my life keeps getting interrupted. Just like my nation’s standard operating procedure. These days, my writing schedule seems divided between fiction and emails to senators, congressmen, and activist friends. And I’ve been on … Read more

Nonviolence is Everywhere

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. Last weekend I stood with forty women and a few good men in a training maneuver called a “Hassle Line.” We’d just enough time to share our names before we began playing our roles. My partner in the opposing line, a social work student named Faye, played … Read more

Bullet Journal For a Writer

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. Every December and January, calendars are on my agenda. I’m drawn to paper calendars of every type, whether they are freebies from the Baltimore City Department of Public Works or Japanese ones from art museums. However, book-sized planners that fit into my handbag are the Holy Grail. … Read more

Sparks of Hope

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. Speaking to supporters for his presidential in Iowa in 2008, Barack Obama said: “Hope is not blind optimism. It’s not ignoring the enormity of the task ahead, or the roadblocks that stand in our path. It’s not sitting on the sidelines or shoring from the fight. Hope … Read more

No Matter What Happens, I Tried

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. As I work on this post, election returns are coming in from all over the United States. It might not surprise readers of this blog that I’m a supporter of Hillary Clinton. My home state, Maryland, has voted Democratic for many years, so I traveled to a … Read more

Feasting for Malice

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. I’m a regular participant at the friendly Malice Domestic convention held annually in Bethesda to celebrate traditional mysteries. Last year, at the convention auction, I decided to give more than a signed book. Having found that readers of diverse books are usually enthusiastic foodies, I offered to … Read more

Why Fall is a Writer’s Best Season

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. Sometimes it seems our population has two types of people: those who hate to see summer end, and those who can’t wait. Last week, school started in Maryland, and I began experiencing the most time for my work than I’ve had in the last 18 years. Chalk … Read more

Amongst the Royals

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. The best-known images of India are probably Bollywood glamour, sidewalk squalor, and British colonial life. We see this in photographs and film. Those lucky enough to visit the Subcontinent will undoubtedly encounter elements of these icons. Yet most South Asians regard roughly twenty-six hundred years of royal … Read more

Stamped by Faith

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. While looking through our motley collection of stamps to find a small one  to add to an envelope, I stumbled across a surprise: a modest, black and white stamp honoring “Religious Freedom in America.” I’ve seen stamps honoring different religious holidays, but never one for religious freedom. … Read more