This summer I binge watched HAWAII FIVE-O (all 7 seasons) and loved it — great ensemble cast, over-the-top action, great dialogue. It was an all-around fun cop show. Then I binge watched BLUE BLOODS (all 7 seasons) and also loved it. Different than HAWAII FIVE-O, but also with a strong ensemble cast and also a cop show. (Yes, I love my cop shows — always have, always will.) But when I finished BLUE BLOODS, I realized I had nearly a month (or longer!) to wait until all my favorite shows returned. The 8th season of both of these shows; ARROW;… Read More

I have long been a fan of Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars anyone?) and my dream job (other than what I do now) would be to collaborate with him on a project. (Or, Rob Thomas and Joss Whedon.) Other than the fact that I’m not funny (really — I’m not. I don’t write humor. But I can do the suspense and story really well and have someone else write the humor.) I loved the ComicCon iZombie panel that featured not only the actors, but Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright, his co–creator for the show. These are people who think like I… Read More

ARROW is by far one of my top five shows these days. Season 2 is probably still the best, but Season 5 is fast becoming a close second … and depending on how things work out, might surpass Season 2. Season 3 was somewhat of a dud … Season 4 had some amazing ups and disappointing downs. (I loved Damien Darhk as a villain … but too much magic and woo-woo got old real quick.) ARROW is by far one of the best choreographed television shows ever made. Great for a writer to choreograph their own fight scenes … and cast… Read More

The buzz on social media is whether the 8-season run of CASTLE can continue into Season 9 without Kate Beckett. Hands down, NO ONE I know plans to watch it. They’re done. I want to be done as well, but truth is I’m a television addict and will likely watch it and bitch and complain the whole time. (Sort of like SUPERNATURAL season 6 and X-Files seasons 8 and 9.)   What I want I don’t think I can have, and that’s a clear ending to the series with a fabulous series finale ala JUSTIFIED and what’s planned for PERSON… Read More

I mark the sign of my favorite shows as those I not only look forward to every week, but those I dread the season finale not only because I’ll miss the show, but because I know something is going to happen and it’s going to be devastating to the characters and — more importantly! — to me. Using that criteria, the two shows that I now mark as my favorites are ARROW and WALKING DEAD. If you want to catch up on ARROW, Lavinia Kent and I publish an article every Friday evening over at the HEA blog. This week’s… Read More

Historical romance author Lavinia Kent and I write an article every Friday for the USA Today HEA Blog about ARROW, one of our all-time favorite television shows. We re-cap that week’s episode but focus on the story and how well it’s told. ARROW is one of the best television shows out there for writers to watch, plus it’s just an all-around fun show! Both Lavinia and I enjoyed Season 3, which ended last May, but not as much as the first two seasons. The finale in particularly left us feeling … disappointed. But GREAT news! Season 4 is off to… Read More

Those of you who know me know I’m a TV addict. I always have been. Yet, when I was working full time in the State Capitol and started seriously writing, I gave up television for THREE YEARS. It was difficult, but I love writing and books more than television, so it was worth it. Once writing became my full-time job, I added television back into my schedule. With kids, it’s even more fun … though because of my deadlines I often have numerous shows recorded and have to play catch up. Here are the premieres I’ve put on my calendar… Read More

Historical romance author Lavinia Kent and I wrote a series of weekly articles on the television series ARROW for USA Today’s “Happily Ever After” blog. (You can read them through the USA Today archive.) We started in the middle of season three, and plan to continue for season four. (As a side note, I’ll most likely also be writing about iZombie, my new favorite show!) The weak season 3 finale notwithstanding, I really love ARROW and it’s one of my favorite shows. This was really driven home to me this summer as I watched seasons 1 and 2 again with… Read More

There are some television shows that are as good — and in some ways better — the second time around. For example, I just finished watching all three Seasons of PERSON OF INTEREST with my 13 year old son. I’d already seen them, but was happy to watch them again. The second time around so many little things came clear, reminding me that the creators and writers of that series are damn brilliant. Whether they had it all planned or not, I have no idea. Any details that I might pull out for later in the series, I don’t realize… Read More

I’m back home after my mini-tour. I blogged about that last week, and all-in-all, I think it was time well spent. Except for the writing part. Usually I can write when I travel, but that’s when I fly to a conference and am at the same hotel for five days straight. I set aside writing time on a schedule so I know I’ll always put in my hours — the time changes depending on what I need to do at the conference, but I usually work either four hours in the morning or four hours in the afternoon. This helps… Read More