The Last Line

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. It’s often said that the start and end of a book are easy, but the middle is terrible. I’ve been lost in the creation of a novel for about fifteen months—and quite intensively during September and October. I wouldn’t say any part of this book has been easy. … Read more

A Breath of Fresh Air

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. What is it about wind at the shore? It’s the most soothing caress. When you add in the eternal sound of crashing waves, and an endless blue expanse of sea and sky… to me, that’s a perfect moment. I drove a few hours with my family to Lewes, … Read more

Hot Enough To Fry a Pancake

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. A little more than a week ago, I was lying in a darkened bedroom at 4 PM on a Friday afternoon—wracked with fatigue, weakness and thirst. The day had started splendidly. I’d driven about 40 miles to the Washington suburbs to visit with my new author friend Shauna … Read more

A Tiny Guessing Game

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. Can you guess the name of this building? Recent travels, lots of book Zooming, and the vines in my garden are conspiring to make me a trifle overwhelmed. But there is beauty in the chaos, and the world is opening up… truly it is. My eye was caught … Read more

The Great Cicada Summer

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. All over Maryland, there’s one sweet word I hear every day: cicada. The cicadas are here. Or, should I say, Magicicada? Or to be very precise—I can’t say it, but I can spell Magicicada septendecim, Magicicada Cassini and Magicicada septenecula, the three species making up Brood X which … Read more

A Daughter’s Passing

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. On that morning, who says I’m not there? I’m in the stars, in the stars In the blades of the grass In the wind, in the wind In the blue of the sky. —Rabindranath Tagore My father read this comforting poem to me over Zoom last week, and … Read more

The Virus is Racism

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. It started with country-blaming. China flu, Wuhan Flu, Kung Flu. Donald Trump could only think of blaming outsiders, to deflect attention from his own disinterest in controlling a pandemic. Yes, coronavirus was first identified in China. Yet we’ve learned the virus was already in the U.S. and Europe at that … Read more