This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. Throughout December, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, and pecans are always in my shopping cart. I first wrote about this peculiar passion three years ago, yet I couldn’t resist returning to the topic this year. And the nuts made me contemplate whether traditions can shift a bit and still feel comforting. This … Read more
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. A Thanksgiving movie is as much of a tradition for me as the cooking. When I used to return from Baltimore to St. Paul, Minnesota, in November, my sisters and mom and I always endeavored to find a special film to watch at an art house theater like … Read more
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. When I spotted a short review in Parade Magazine for ALL THAT IS SECRET by Patricia Raybon, I knew I wanted to read it. The mystery is set in 1920s rough-and-tumble Denver, Colorado, and the ranches nearby. The novel’s narrator is Annalee Spain, a young theologian in 1920s Chicago who … Read more
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
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
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. Take a good look at this picture of the shelves in Sherman’s Books, an indy bookstore in Bar Harbor, Maine. The hand-written sign above the book display reads: WOMEN IN PERIOD COSTUME FACING AWAY It’s picture that’s been shared, and reshared, among Facebook friends this week. We laugh … Read more
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
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
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. Tonight I am feeling BOLD! Just a few hours ago, I ripped off my mask and greeted an audience on a packed patio at The Ivy Bookshop in Baltimore for a book-signing. Soho Press’s edition of The Bombay Prince, my first book in two years, has launched into … Read more
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