Jun 17, 2016 | Random Musings
I love reading. When I read, I am transported to another world, as described and defined by the author. And yet, there is one thing I’d love for books to have: sound effects. One of the things I love about movies, ever since reading about the amazing work done...
Jun 13, 2016 | Fun Historical Facts, Random Musings
A couple of days ago, I mentioned one of the greatest fences of all times, Marl Madelbaum. Today I’ll introduce you to a counterpart of hers, “Deadshot” Mary Shanley, an early 20th century undercover supercop. Hadley Meares of Atlas Obscura...
Jun 11, 2016 | Fun Historical Facts, Random Musings
Organized crime in New York is often portrayed as a boy’s game, but one of the first and most influential crime bosses in the history of the city was a Prussian immigrant known as “Mother” or “Marm” Mandelbaum. Eric Grundhauser recently shared her fascinating story on...
Apr 11, 2016 | Random Musings
Having a newborn around means sleep is largely a thing of the past. Even before that, though, I spent many a night writing away. Which is something hardly unusual, when it comes to writers. So many people have told me that they do their best (or only) writing at...
Mar 18, 2016 | Random Musings
The Internet has been buzzing lately with news relating to the placement of our Table of Contents. Specifically, Amazon is now requesting that we place it at the beginning, not the end of our ebooks. Has the company lost its marbles, as some claim? Sadly, no. Scammers...
Jan 18, 2016 | Entertainment, Other, Random Musings
Dedicated to my crime author friend, Sue Coletta, whose excellent blog is chock-full with tips for crime authors, today’s post will introduce you to the Honorable Gustav Scholer; the now forgotten first Head Coroner of NYC. It is based on research conducted by...
Jan 16, 2016 | Other, Random Musings
Since you all enjoyed my post on Mary Natalie so much the other day, I thought I’d share some proper photos of her. After the previous one, I hope she keeps this in mind when it’s time to ship me off to that home… If these look lovely, let me caution...
Jan 12, 2016 | Entertainment, Other, Random Musings
Dedicated to my blonde author friend, Lucy, this post was inspired by a friend commented that I was rather phlegmatic in my approach to the new baby. I wasn’t sure what she meant, as, in fact, I feel ecstatic about it. So, I looked it up. The word comes from...
Dec 25, 2015 | Other, Random Musings
Merry Christmas, everyone! Or, if you prefer, Seasons’ Greetings (not to be confused with Season’s Greetings). Merry Christmas! Join the #UnplagChallenge and guess 10 Christmas storiesPowered By the Tweet This PluginTweet This Instead of a card, I thought...
Dec 10, 2015 | Events and Giveaways, Other, Random Musings
After 9 long months, we are finally able to unwrap that third controller. Please join me in welcoming to the world Player 3, aka Marie Nathalie. Born a little over 3 kilos about an hour ago, she’s the spitting image of me. Scary stuff…
