Marine Driven

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. It was just 4:30 in the morning when my husband Tony and I arrived in Mumbai on a middle-of-the-night flight from Kochi. I was tired, but not too tired to notice that Mumbai’s domestic terminal had really spiffed up its décor, restrooms and shops. It was easy to … Read more

Held Up in Fort Cochin

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. It feels like only yesterday that I was driving out of Kumarakom Village, in the Kottayam district near Lake Vembanad. That’s how much of lasting impact the gorgeous, green state of Kerala in South India has, even on my fifth visit. From Kumarakom, it was 53 kilometers north … Read more

Retreat to Kerala

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. I’ve just returned from two weeks in India, utterly tired but happy to have gone. It’s interesting that while I have lingering jet lag for a week on this end, I felt only a little tired during first two days of my time there. Perhaps because Kerala is … Read more

New York City for Tourists, Again!

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. Why would anyone travel to the United States’ most visited location during the December holidays? I’m the ‘off the beaten track’ type, so this question crossed my mind several times last weekend. I’d traveled with four good friends who’d once all lived close to each other. Now, one … Read more

A Writing Room in Paradise

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. What makes a perfect writing room? Or better yet—an ideal writer’s house? Because I love rooms almost as much as books, this is a question I’ve pondered for years.  In my childhood in Minnesota, and during college in Baltimore, I could think of nowhere better to write than … Read more

From Solitude to Left Coast, Malice, and Edgars

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. One hundred years ago, only a science fiction writer could have dreamed that being a writer would involve much more than a pen, typewriter, and some paper. Bookstores would take care of selling one’s work, and there would be the occasional exciting invitation to lecture at a private … Read more

Staying Above Water

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. It takes just two tanks of gas to get the 1,100 miles between here and Southern Louisiana—and no tolls to pay, either. I know this because last week, I drove there with my husband to see his mother and brother and the rest of the family. Sharing the … Read more