Pepper Martin Solves Mysteries. . . for the Dead

Since I’ve interviewed author Casey Daniels/Kylie Logan here at Southern Exposure, I thought you might enjoy a visit with one of Casey’s close allies, Pepper Martin, of the Pepper Martin Mysteries. Supernatural Born Killers has just arrived at your favorite bookstore, so make sure to grab a copy fast.  Pepper’s a busy lady–as you’ll see–so let’s…

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Reader Mail with a Little This and That

Seems to me it’s time to answer a few of the questions I’ve received in my email in recent weeks. Everyone gets personal responses, of course–and yes, that’s really me answering them–but some of the answers might interest the rest of you, too. 1–I just read One Mountain Away, and I loved the book, but…

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Sunday Poetry: On the First Day of School

Welcome to Sunday Poetry. If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration of my Sunday poetry blogs here. My granddaughter started kindergarten this week, with all the terrors and joys that entails.  This poem, Years From now When You Are Weary, by Julia Kasdorf is in her honor.  Do you remember…

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The Family We Inherit

My son-in-law’s mother died this week.  We knew it was inevitable, and she died surrounded by the people who loved her.  She was too young, and she had too many contributions left to make, but I take comfort in the wealth of family who were there for her at the end.  Her life will be…

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Book Reviews, the Subject We Cannot Discuss

Book reviews.  Seems like a simple subject, right?  You read a book, you tell friends you liked it or didn’t, and in this day of social media, you do it online so lots of people can read your opinion. If you’re the author of the book in question you read the review and you. .…

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Sunday Poetry:The Creaking and Pinging and Popping

Welcome to Sunday Poetry. If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration of my Sunday poetry blogs here. Today’s poem, Porch Swing in September by Ted Kooser is a reminder of the changes in the air as fall approaches, as well as so much more, brought to us as only Mr.…

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The Conversation Concludes: Diane and Emilie

Diane Chamberlain and I have been chatting back and forth for the past two weeks, covering subjects like how to present “unsympathetic” characters sympathetically, character growth and change, whether characters become real to us, and more. If you missed the previous posts, you can scroll down here for my portions, and visit Diane’s blog, as…

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The Conversation Continues: Emilie And Diane

Today the fun is definitely at Diane Chamberlain’s blog as Diane and I continue our conversation about “difficult” characters, choices we make as writers, and other writing topics.  Friday the conversation returns to my blog for (most likely) the final salvo.  So scoot over to Diane’s blog today for the newest scoop. And don’t forget!…

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Sunday Poetry: How Heaven Pulls Earth Into Its Arms

Welcome to Sunday Poetry. If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration of my Sunday poetry blogs here. I first heard today’s poem, Monet Refuses the Operation by Lisel Mueller, decades ago and fell in love with it then.  What a pleasure to rediscover it this week while looking for poetry about…

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A Conversation with Diane and Emilie

Diane Chamberlain, one of my best friends as well as one of my favorite authors, is joining me for a chat on our blogs. To celebrate my new book, One Mountain Away, we decided to have a conversation about characters—specifically characters who might not be all that sympathetic, at least not at first blush. We started our chat…

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