I have good news to share . . . I posted on my personal blog tonight that my debut novel, The Prey, hit the USA Today list at #88. I am thrilled and humbled. Thank you to everyone who bought The Prey and especially to everyone who recommended it to a friend.

On several writing loops, the subject of trends has come up. Most of the conversations have taken a panicky tone, so they caught my attention. For example: * Romance suspense is dead * The chick lit market is tight * Paranormal is hot, hot, hot, but no more vampires * All anyone wants is erotic romance I’m not an expert when it comes to publishing, but I know a little bit about economics. I’m not panicking. And neither should most people. Chick lit (which encompasses a wide range of female-focused stories that are defined more by tone and voice than… Read More

Wow. It’s here. Forget Christmas, the day I’ve REALLY been looking forward to this month has arrived. P-Day. (Publication Day.) Karin and I are off to do our first signing, and I’m so relieved to be signing with a friend. Today was my blog day over at the 2BRead blog, so check it out if you’re interested. It’s about not being stressed 🙂 And if this is your first time visiting MSW, rest assured that today is unique, we normally don’t engage in a bunch of blatant self-promotion other than our book covers to the right. And if you’re a… Read More

I was tagged . . . again . . . which is good and bad. Good, because it gives me something to blog about when I can’t think of something. Bad, because I feel guilty if I don’t do it. But I still love you, Edie! Here goes . . . Seven things to do before I die: Vacation in Ireland for a summer Take an Alaskan cruise Build my dream house Watch my grandchildren graduate from college (figure that gives me a long enough life since my youngest child is still only 18 months old!) Go to Disney World… Read More

FINALLY! My blog is up and running . . . not this wonderful forum, but my personal space 🙂 . . . I won’t be a daily blogger at home, but plan to post one writing or reading related article every week, hopefully on Mondays, but as you know, the best laid plans of mice and mothers . . . Anyway, I posted my reading secrets over there. Stop by and visit me sometime!

On behalf of my fellow suspense authors, I want to thank everyone who entered our first contest and once again congratulate Amanda Lawrence for her win! (Yeah! Cheers! Applause!) We’ll be announcing our next contest in January, so stay tuned. In case you didn’t follow the contest, the rules were simple. Email us your answer to this question: Who’s the scariest villain and why? I loved Amanda’s answer: The one in the current murder mystery I am reading. . . . Because at the time, ‘they’ are the one making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up… Read More

Tess Gerritsen is one of my all-time favorite writers. I “discovered” her with THE SURGEON, then read her single-title backlist. GRAVITY has to be one of the best books written in the last twenty years. Anyway, she blogged the other day about a subject I’ve been thinking alot about lately . . . whether men read suspense novels written by women. I’ll pontificate on this subject down the road, because I’m still mulling things over in my mind (which can be a crowded place at times!) One thing she said really hit home: How many of us women readers are… Read More

When I first started seriously writing, I gave up most television. I still watched CSI, but that was my “one exception.” If I didn’t give up tv, I’d never have written a book. Or seven. But I love television. So as a treat to myself when I complete a major task, I purchase a complete season of a show I’d missed because of writing. After The Hunt, I bought the first season of Deadwood. It’s rough and crude, much like the real Deadwood, South Dakota during the gold rush. But I was hooked. Why? Because of the characters. The writers… Read More

My books came yesterday! Read about it over at the 2BRead blog . . .

Here’s some blogs you might have missed . . . Today, at Romancing the Blog, I wrote about Chemistry. Head on over and tell me who your favorite fictional couple is and why . . . Colleen Thompson, who writes romantic suspense for Leisure, has a great column about why she writes RS. It’s something we’ve discussed here at MSW. I particularly love this: . . . a world where, without exception, the mystery is solved, the mortal threat vanquished, the evil punished, and flawed yet worthy human beings find the love that they deserve. For some holiday whimsy, check… Read More