As I’ve mentioned before, I love to cook. I also love to read about cooking, and with Thanksgiving coming up food is definitely on my mind. So here are thirteen books that are fun to read—some of them include recipes, but not all. Most, however, include a lot of enthusiasm about food. 1. Ruth Reichl, […]
I recently read a romantic suspense novel from an author I really like—I think I’ve actually read everything she’s ever written. The plot in this one is up to her standard—intricate, complex, and growing out of a confluence of motives that are tough to anticipate. And the hero and heroine have zero chemistry. I thought […]
Readers sometimes think they know writers based on what they write. Erotic romance writers are always running into readers who are certain they must be practicing the same exotic routines they describe in their books, while suspense writers sometimes have to explain that, no, they haven’t really used an AK-47 lately. This kind of knowledge […]
All this week and next, I’ll be touring around the web, celebrating the December 7 release of Brand New Me, my fifth Konigsburg novel. And since it’s Christmas time, I’m also giving away three copies of Brand New Me to people who comment on my blog tour. Just stop by and say howdy, and you’ll […]
When you write a series, you have one major problem that has to be dealt with—filling in the blanks for people who may not have read the earlier books. Authors who have long-running series are usually pretty straight-forward about this. Ed McBain always used to begin his 87th Precinct books with a quick run-down of […]
My fourth Konigsburg book, Long Time Gone, releases next Tuesday (contests and prizes will be forthcoming). It’s Erik Toleffson’s story, but it’s also Morgan Barrett’s story. Morgan is manager of a winery outside Konigsburg. As I’ve explained elsewhere, Texas is a big wine-producing state, and the Hill Country is one of the major wine regions. […]
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog post for Nikki Duncan about how I can’t listen to music while I write, and about how I really wish I could. To make up for the fact that I can’t, I try to put some songs into my books, usually sung by artists I like […]
Once when we were caught in the constant traffic jam that is Austin, Texas, my family began tossing around possibilities for family mottoes. You know, like the Windsors’ “God and my right,” although that one’s kind of snotty. Finally, my younger son suggested “Peace, Love, and Sarcasm.” That struck all of us as a great […]
My big news for the week is that Samhain will publish Wedding Bell Blues, the sequel to Venus in Blue Jeans, sometime this summer (tentatively in July). In a lot of ways Wedding Bell Blues picks up where Venus leaves off. Cal and Docia are getting married, Reba is running the show, Wonder is sitting […]
