In the spring of 2021, it was time for one of THOSE conversations. No, not with my kids; with my long-suffering editor. I’ve never been a writer who was satisfied with writing one set of characters, even if they are Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes. Plus that, the Russell series generally involves foreign travel research,…
Read MoreI live in the hills, so when I go out, it’s rarely for just one stop. The other day my list of tasks included x-rays, fruit stand, and bookshop. Obviously, Bookshop Santa Cruz came first, and it would only take a minute because I was picking up a pre-paid order. But when I stopped at…
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A while ago on the Facebook group The Beekeeper’s Apprentices, a discussion rose up about the ethics of buying second-hand books. Not old, out-of-print books, merely used books by active writers who are trying to make a living off their writing. The discussion in some ways runs parallel to another question I am sometimes asked:…
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As I’ve said any number of times, my first drafts are awful, more like expanded outlines than an actual novel. Mostly, they’re a way to confirm the machinery of the plot before I buckle down to craft a sensible narrative out of contradictory notes, half-baked characterizations, and half-seen sub-plots. (No modesty here: they really are…
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My publisher asked me recently to give them a couple photos of my writing space, along with a short piece of writing, to use for their Instagram (@randomhouse) series called #WritersRoutine. But Insta posts aren’t meant for detail, so, for the insatiably curious (and for those who don’t have Instagram) here’s the photo of where…
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Many skills mastered by others fill me with awe. Juggling, applying flawless nail polish, turning a quadruple back flip, walking the Appalachian Trail—my life will never include those skills. But by God I can fold a fitted sheet. Not only can I, I then package each set in a neat package, and store them in…
Read MoreI’ve been putting together a book discussion guide for the Castle Shade book club kit (like the ones we did for Riviera Gold and Island of the Mad) and wanted to include a question about the idea of noblesse oblige. So I did…but I have to wonder what kind of conversations that one will prompt.…
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(Two weeks to Castle Shade! And here’s background of one of the people mentioned.) Elizabeth (Erzébet) Báthory was the daughter of a prominent noble Hungarian family, born in 1560. As a child she suffered from seizures, possibly epilepsy. She was educated, as only the highest levels of women would be, including several languages including Latin…
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In the summer of 1914, two branches of a powerful and affectionate family came together in the Black Sea resort of Costanța. It was a summer day in the middle of July, and this would be both a family holiday and a meeting of the heads of two neighboring states. One family travelled down from…
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