The Mistress Hits the Road

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. Today is the day I’ve been awaiting for a long time—well, for at least several years! The Mistress of Bhatia House has emerged from seclusion and is now book-touring her way across the USA. My novels usually carry titles that mention a person’s role—say, a widow, a prince, a daughter, … Read more

A Journey with Anne Perry

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. I’ve been thinking about the mystery author Anne Perry, who recently died in Los Angeles at age eighty-four from declining health. Anne wrote roughly 102 books and many short stories and essays over her forty-five-year career. The Times of London named her as one of their 100 Masters of … Read more

A Secret Garden

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. It seems amazing that two weeks ago, I was marveling at springtime in the desert. I’m back home in the Mid-Atlantic or “Delmarva,” a nickname that includes the states of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Washington DC doesn’t appear in the moniker, but it’s the ultimate springtime destination. Springtime … Read more

When Writers Grow Like Cacti

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. I’ve just unpacked from a five-day trip to the Oro Valley near Tucson, Arizona. At a resort in the foothills, about 475 intrepid souls gathered for the Left Coast Crime convention to celebrate the art of the mystery … and also the art of the burrito, the quesadilla, … Read more

The Seed of a New Story

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. We are emerging from a strange winter in North America. Recent snowfalls have shocked California and Arizona, while there was no virtually no snowfall in Maryland. The temperatures here in Baltimore were so mild that the ground could be dug in early January for the planting of trees. … Read more