#authorlife
Behind the scenes of the writing life, including protips and personal best practices
How to Add a Book to Goodreads Lists
Goodreads is a great resource for readers. One part review platform, one part social sharing, all parts clunky and hard to navigate. Yet it is worth taking the time to navigate the platform because you'll discover great new reads and reader friends. Putting books on...
She was Emilia Cruz. So was she.
The top question I get from readers? “Is Detective Emilia Cruz based on a real person?” Yes, sort of. Emilia is a composite of three different people. All contribute in unique ways to the character, including Emilia’s analytic skills, innate suspicion of others’...
My Author Year in Review: 2024 Edition
Phew! 2024 was quite a year. Here's a swift recap: 2024 in review: New releases 1 Backlist glow-up: AWAKENING MACBETH, 2nd edition 2 Audiobooks: MADE IN ACAPULCO and THE LISTMAKER OF ACAPULCO 1 Box Set: THE COMPLETE GALLIANO CLUB SERIES 4 Large Print Editions: ROAD TO...
Gifts from my mother
My mother passed in October at age 95. Although she’d been declining for some time and dementia had robbed us of who she really was, the loss still hit like a hammer blow. Many of my writer friends know that I wrote the Galliano Club series during the pandemic, using...
Custom knitting kits inspired by the Galliano Club historical fiction series
A mystery author, a knitting pattern designer, a fiber arts store owner and a custom yarn maker all walk into a bar . . . The result is knitting, crochet and weaving kits inspired by the Galliano Club historical fiction thriller series! Choose your craft and custom...
Find Me at Killer Nashville and Bouchercon
Summer is the season for author “cons.” My hands down favorite is Killer Nashville, right in my (almost) back yard. Killer Nashville This annual author conference is a 4-day whirl of writing tradecraft seminars and networking opportunities. If you are going 22-25...
Tornado Hits City that Inspired Historical Fiction Series
On 16 July, a tornado barreled through my hometown of Rome in upstate New York. With a population of around 32,000, Rome is near the geographical center of New York state. Summers there are known for humidity, marching bands, and Revolutionary War landmarks. Not...
Not my CIA
I rarely discuss hot potato topics, but this week it became painfully clear that the CIA I joined in 1985 is not the CIA of today. the nonpartisan rule I entered on duty the day after Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration. At that time, it was made crystal clear to me...
Havana Syndrome Spy Thriller
You saw it here first. I'm finally writing a spy thriller. Well, part of one. Spy-sourced thriller I've been invited to contribute a chapter to a spy thriller that tackles Havana Syndrome. Different chapters will be written by former CIA officers, many of whom like me...
“Come back in 15 Minutes”
“Come back in 15 minutes." When we lived in Mexico, I hated this phrase. The words weren't meant to be taken literally. Nothing would change in 15 minutes and everyone knew it. No, it was a semi-polite brush-off. It really means “Go away. Get out of my face.” The most...
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