Three weeks from today, BoucherCon starts. BoucherCon is the annual conference of crime writers, readers, and professionals, a four day combination family reunion, frat party, business meeting, and master class in writing. It’s a hell of a lot of fun, a year’s worth of mental stimulation, and a chance to see those friends you see,…
Read MoreMovies used to have disclaimers to say that no animals were actually injured in the making of the film–they don’t bother saying that now because it’s simply assumed. Cigarettes are on their way out in films, with complaints lodged even when NOT having the character puffing away would be odd. But what about crying children?…
Read MoreFor sheer happiness, there’s nothing like being out on the water. One of my brightest memories is of a catamaran trip taken years ago in Maui where, when we turned for home, the crew put on a song popular at the time: Alanis Morrisette singing “What if God Was One of Us?” It’s a song…
Read MoreA salon.com article by Emma Silvers (26, whose age enters into the point of the article) talks about her dislike of ebooks,a despite being of the gadget generation. And she brings up an interesting point: Out of every argument I’ve heard in favor of e-readers — no dead trees, portable research, “it’s the future,” etc.…
Read MoreI’m in love with Michael Dirda, damn him. Michael is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of a number of dauntingly erudite yet gorgeously readable books about books. He writes equally stunning essays for the New York Times, the Barnes & Noble Review, and, well, pretty much any venue where the printed word is discussed. I’ve met…
Read MoreOnce upon a time, the mother of a couple of young children decided she wanted to write a book, or three. But because she was, well, the mother of a couple of young children, she spent a fair amount of her time doing parental things like sitting and watching her son at soccer practice, and…
Read MoreI set off from home with the best of intentions, daily blogs from the road in the UK. However… A while back, I promised that I was going to start writing about “writers’ tools,” and the process I am going through at present is one of those: down time. Being a writer involves holding a…
Read MoreWant to win Lunch with Laurie? (or tea, or brunch..?) The Carmel Bach Festival is holding a fund-raiser and auctioning off, among other things, a time with this author. Here’s their link, the auction finishes August 1st, and the time and place (local to me) is to be worked out.
Read MoreCambridge is a town well experienced in repelling would-be boarders. I have never managed to drive directly to any goal in this town, even when I’ve had a GPS, or SatNav as they’re known here. This time I had only some scribbled notes from the map on my new iPad, and although on my second…
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