Like most people around the world, I am staying home as much as possible during this global pandemic. Oh, I’ve ventured out to the grocery store, pharmacy, and a couple of larger brick and mortars, wearing my face mask and hand sanitizer. Who knew a trip to Target would be such a wonderful adventure! But [...]
My writing schedule ain’t what it used to be. For the past few years, I have been quite disciplined to write Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to about noon or 1 p.m. I am working on a manuscript for “Bleeder,” book #3 in my Lisa Powers series, complete with recently revised “Save the Cat” [...]
People often ask me how I get so many things done as a writer, fiber and clay artist, volunteer, etc. I usually respond, “Schedule, schedule, schedule!” With more people either working from home (WFH), having children who may be doing school online, or those having the extra time to get those “to-do” lists accomplished, here [...]
We all go through pain and sorrow in our lives. Often it’s as we get older, but that’s certainly not always the case. How we get through it – and perhaps more importantly, how we rise up afterwards – is what often defines us. My dear husband, Geoffrey Hancock, my business partner and father of [...]
For those who are regular attendees of writing conferences, you know they are a wealth of information and a great way to make new contacts. If you’ve never attended one, I highly encourage you to find one even on a local level in your home town. Photo at right was at AZMysteryCon 2016, Photo by Elena Thornton, [...]
No, that's not a misquote from the X-Files "The truth is out there." Sometimes it feels like I’m writing in a bubble, out in the ether, all by my lonesome. “They” say it’s important to write a regular blog. “They” say a consistent blog is important for driving people to your website, promoting your brand, blah blah blah. [...]
Just realized I didn't get this posted last month! Here is part two of a multi-part series on the City of Chandler's Citizen Police Academy, a free 13-week course to learn more about the Chandler Police Department : Robbery/homicide The rate of homicides in Chandler has decreased in the past 10 years, when there were [...]
For mystery and especially fiction crime writers, the “police procedural” portion of our novels must be spot on, or they will be dismissed as amateurish or not researched properly. I’m referring to how we write about law enforcement in our books: what police do when a crime has been committed; how forensics and crime scene [...]
It’s one thing to have personal clothing preferences in specific styles and colors, but it’s another when it becomes part of your business brand. Most people who know me are aware of my obsession for all things purple: purple clothes, purple toenail polish, even purple streaks in my hair. But when I’m doing speaking engagements [...]
It was another amazing, heart-pounding and yes, very educational Writers' Police Academy in Green Bay, Wisconsin. This was my second WPA, and it was every bit as good as the first. From shooting a pistol and a rifle; to taking part in a “Shoot/Don’t Shoot” scenario; learning about death scene investigations from a medical examiner; [...]
