This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. Continuing our journeys to Paris, I’m interviewing author Gigi Pandian about her new book, The Lost Gargoyle of Paris. Gigi has been a friend of mine since the time she was writing her first mystery featuring archaeologist Jaya Jones. She grew up as the daughter of anthropologists from New … Read more
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. A crowded party is almost always considered successful. When the guests pile in and you can’t even reach the buffet, it means you are at a happening place. This is why there are maxims like, don’t spread a party too thinly through a house and garden. Get everyone … Read more
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. M.F.K. Fisher, the great American food writer, once stated:”A writing cook and a cooking writer must be bold at the desk as well as the stove.” In the 1930s and ’40s, when Mary Frances began her concurrent explorations of cooking and writing, most writers did not cook, probably … Read more
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. When the snow fell last weekend, I welcomed it, not just for its beauty, but the way it stops time. I grew up in Minnesota, where children are hardwired to appreciate the beauty of snow and also to expect it as a normal rhythm of the winter, rather … Read more
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. Did anybody ever tell you that it’s easier to raise three children than two? I am fine with the two that I have, but I’m beginning to believe the saying could be true. Especially when I think about books. If each book a writer births is like a … Read more
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. Once again, this is not a typical blogpost. I’m still on deadline—a new one! I did not realize before I became published is there’s not just one deadline per book. There’s the deadline to turn in your unedited manuscript. It’s followed by a deadline to turn in a … Read more
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. My comments this week will be my briefest yet. I am on deadline with Book 2 in my Perveen Mistry series. A writer is always working on a book, but there are many times in the early days of a novel that it must be handed back and … Read more
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. A ragged, handwritten sign has been taped to my study wall for about a year. I love this job! A quarter-century ago, I was working full-time in university public relations and desperately longed to be a fiction writer. It seemed like an impossible dream, to stay home all … Read more
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. A week ago Sunday, I sat in a crowded conference room in Bethesda and listened to a few comparison of novels to toothpaste. When you go looking for toothpaste at the drugstore, what would you think if your favorite one was missing—because Proctor & Gamble hadn’t felt inspired … Read more
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