Welcome to my blog!

Here you’ll find progress on current books, behind-the-scenes insight and story inspiration, as well peeks at my life on rural, (usually) rainy East Hawaii Island.

The Blog Menu Dropdown highlights three categories, Hawaii Life (pretty self-explanatory), Stories I Love (also pretty self-explanatory, but includes books, movies, and TV), and Magpie Moments (bits I snatched from real life and incorporated, magpie-like, into my fiction).

Interested in something else? You can also Search for something specific—the little icon is at the end of the header—or just dive in and start scrolling.

 

 

Giveaway Winner and Where Things Stand, Including the Slightest Smidge of Sydney Brennan Tease

Congratulations to T.F. from California, the winner of the Sydney Brennan Investigations mug from last blog post’s Giveaway! If you entered and didn’t win, better luck next time. And there will be a next time. I’ll be giving away more Syd and Dead Hollow goodies over the coming months, some just to my Reader Group (that’s a plug to sign up for my monthly newsletter), but others will be for everyone so watch this space. I’ll also be gathering those designs into a little Swag Shop, so if you can’t wait to win something or know you [Eeyore voice] never win Read more…


To Celebrate International PI Day, how about some Free Sydney Brennan Swag?

Hey Mystery and Thriller Fans! Did you know International PI Day was this week? Pipe down math geeks–not Pi Day, which would be March 14th. Instead, Tuesday was International Private Investigator (P.I.) Day. I usually do a blog post, but this year I thought we’d do something fun to celebrate. But first, let me get a quick bit of housekeeping out of the way. If you thought you saw a post a few days ago, say on Facebook or Twitter or in your Inbox… yeah, about that. I’m traveling this week and have had some tech issues trying to embed Read more…


Lava Bombs: Too Crazy to be True? Not on Hawaii Island

I am such a big fat liar. This shouldn’t surprise you—after all, I am a writer. But it does occasionally surprise me. What did I say in my previous blog post? No more lava updates. Well, that’s not exactly what I said. It was more like, no more regular lava updates. And even though talking about lava in the very next post might seem like a regular update, it’s not. It’s an irregular coincidence. Pinky-swear. Whatever. It may damage my reputation for veracity, but I cannot remain silent. I have to share. Because, as some of my distant friends have Read more…


When a Lava Eruption Becomes the Same Old, Same Old

Thank you to every one who keeps asking about our safety (and that of our dogs), but this will probably be my last regular lava update. I’ll pop in from time to time if something changes, and I’ll still post the occasional picture on Facebook, but honestly we’re at the “same old, same old” stage now. My husband spends many of his working hours and a fair number of his non-paid ones dealing with the impacts of the current eruption, and he dislikes the term “new normal.” It sticks, though, probably because it’s simple and we don’t have a better Read more…


Magpie Moments: Every Story is Better with a Dog

I know, I did a blog post last week. But it occurred to me today that 1) the world has felt rather dark lately (surprisingly, a lava-glowing horizon doesn’t help), and 2) it’s been forever since I posted a Magpie Moment. (Reminder: Magpie Moments are bits of real life I’ve incorporated into my characters’ fictional adventures; you can find more in the Resources section below.) The obvious solution: a quick, canine Magpie Moment. A large German shepherd mix tied to a doghouse wagged his tail and woofed as JJ approached… The dog followed them to the house and shoved a Read more…