In the 1730s, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a sort of miniature comic opera about a young woman devoutly addicted to coffee, and her despairing father who would do anything to break her of her habit. Because coffee is certainly not a habit suited to a lady. I met this cantata in the seventies, when I…
Read MoreMy husband was a tea man. He drank proper tea, from a pot, and although he was a truly and creatively dreadful cook, Noel made a better pot of tea than I did. Coffee, though: that was all me. I have a long history with coffee. When I was putting myself through university, I worked in…
Read MoreWe loves us some Lyndsay Faye here on Mutterings. Her Timothy Wilde trilogy has been one of my favorite worlds to explore in recent years, while the author herself has become one of my favorite people. Lyndsay now has a new world, publishing next April: a deliciously wicked tale that starts as a riff on Jane Eyre…
Read MoreI start my day with two (large) cups of camellia sinensis, which has a fraction of the caffeine that coffee does, and allows me to ease into the day rather than hit the ground running. Yes, this is black tea (as opposed to herbal tea, which M. Poirot calls his tisane, or Mma Ramotswe’s bush…
Read MoreHere in California, we watch the skies as if the collective pressure of our gazes could press moisture from the thin clouds. Four years of drought are taking their toll: This live oak came down a few days ago, just crashed to the ground without a breath of wind. Five trees have come down on…
Read MoreEvery so often we add Fun Stuff to the web site. Such as a one-page Russell & Holmes colo(u)ring book (click to link) with scenes from the Memoirs: Or panels for the ongoing Russellscape: Well, here’s a new project to madden you: The Dreaming Spies origami balloon. To go along with the book discussion guide…
Read MoreI had to laugh the other day when my editor sent me a piece from Galley Cat with the most looked-up words on Kindle. Why would she send me that? Can’t think. Anyway, running my eye down the list I saw a number of words that I couldn’t remember using, and others I’ve probably used, but…
Read MoreAs you probably know, every year the Crime World [Fictional Division] gathers to discuss pretty much everything to do with crime & mystery books: from character development to social media, e-books to Hollywood. The conference is named after the editor/reviewer/writer Anthony Boucher and this was Bouchercon’s 46th year. We met in Raleigh, and the fun began.…
Read MoreBoucherCon is fabulous at any time, but when they call your name out for an Anthony, it becomes positively intoxicating. Or maybe stunning: Of course, I can’t help feeling I cheated. After all, Les and I just had to talk a bunch of first-rate writers into playing in the Sherlock Holmes sandbox and writing a…
Read MoreCongratulations, winners! We drew ten names last week for the new paperback of Dreaming Spies– and they’re headed for the post office today! Congratulations to: Russa, Jane, Norma, Marilyn, Nancy, Laurie, Libby, Seth, Verity, and Diane! And if your name isn’t here, but you’d like a signed or inscribed copy of the paperback anyway, I’ll be heading down to Bookshop Santa Cruz this week…
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