What do I do? I began this week of Black Lives Matter thoughts by saying that the music industry’s #TheShowMustBePaused mission had prompted my (as their statement had requested) honest, reflective and productive inner conversation—with myself, on my own responsibilities when it came to the Black lives in my country. Race in this country is…
Read MoreDefund the police? White people now know what this country’s Black citizens have known for a very long time: if you’re Black, you don’t phone the police if you need help. The scenes that are playing out on our tv screens night after night reflect a tragic irony: if you ask a cop why they…
Read MoreTonight (Wednesday) I’ll be having a Facebook Live conversation with my good friend Les Klinger (in LA), for Murder by the Book (in Houston)—here. And I’ve dropped in on TWO blog sites for guest posts: I’m playing with my friends on Jungle Reds (Maine, Texas, CA, Key West–you name it), a bunch of women talking…
Read More#SayTheirNames Black lives lost are swept up in the busy-ness of life: a sad shake of the head, a purse of the lips (“He should have known better than to pull out his phone/ run at night/ hit a cop/ drive there/ live…”) before the name fades. But the entire planet now knows the name…
Read More“The actions we need to collectively take to support the Black community.” I live in the publishing community. My publisher is the biggest gorilla on the street, and I am actively involved in Mystery Writers of America, both of whom have come out with public statement on the #BLM movement (here and here.) And…
Read MoreBlack Lives: a marker of progress for white lives? I haven’t said much about the state of our world since the May 25 death of George Floyd (other than the introductory remarks in my last newsletter, here.) In part, I felt that #BlackoutTuesday and its basis, #TheShowMustBePaused, were meant to focus the world’s attention on…
Read MoreHAPPY PUB DAY! May Riviera Gold bring you some simple pleasures in a complicated world. Today I’m over with the Murder is Everywhere crowd, talking about using beautiful little Monaco as a place for murders. And The Dark and Stormy Book Club has me chatting about all sorts of mysterious things. (the Apple link is…
Read MoreWell, this has been a week. Ten days ago, I wrote a post here about pouring bronze (a key element in Riviera Gold) but when I went to do a follow-up, marking a week before the publication date, well… I wrote about it on my newsletter this week (here, if you didn’t see it) so…
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One of the joys of writing crime stories is the wild variety of research projects that come along. In Riviera Gold, that includes bronze casting. And what do you know—there’s a foundry right here in Santa Cruz. Sean Monaghan and Courtney Scruggs of Bronze Works made me welcome, let me poke around, and invited me…
Read MoreI’ve had a lot of my own books hit my hands. With 28 novels and dozens of books containing my shorter contribution, I’ve received a lot of hardbacks with my name on the cover. But in case you’re wondering, no: it never gets old. I still open the box or envelope and pull the weight…
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