Stories I Love: Shetland

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The United States and I are both Cancers. That’s not an existential or political statement; we were both born in early July. If they weren’t so dog-traumatizing, I’d pretend the incessant fireworks were celebrating my arrival. (The little 4.6 earthquake we had last week was probably not in my honor either, even if it was on my birthday.) I’m sharing this not to guilt you into belated well wishes, but because a birthday gift prompted this post. Thanks to the wonderful hubby, we are currently re-watching Seasons 1 and 2 of Shetland, an ITV adaptation of the Ann Cleeves books. Read more…


Seriously, June Already? (For Five More Minutes)

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So last night, standing at my computer, I had one of those moments. You know the ones, where you suddenly have no clue what you’re supposed to be doing. Not in an existential, meaning of life sense. In a where did I put my keys? sense. I often have those moments passing from one room to the next, but I couldn’t blame an evil, brain-robbing threshold this time. Maybe I could blame the moth I’d just chased around the room, at length and unsuccessfully. (Though it disappeared behind the couch, one of my ears remained attuned for thump-thump-thumps to resume Read more…


Evidence that The Outside World Still Exists

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Anyone else out there struggling with days of the week? I’ll be honest—since I work from home at a vocation that doesn’t much respect the idea of a “weekend,” it’s a crapshoot for me most mornings until I open the calendar on my computer. That red circle highlighting the date seems to mock me (this is TODAY, puny human incapable of accurately measuring the passage of time). It turns out, Today is Friday. (She says, racing to write a blog post!) Shortly after giving my calendar the finger this morning (let’s see you do that, fancy zeroes and ones), I Read more…


Thank You! And Last Chance for a Buck Box Set

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Didn’t I just post something last week? Why, yes, I did. But I have something to share that can’t wait. Thank you. Thank you, Reader Peeps (and BookBub and other awesome advertisers) for helping make the first Sydney Brennan Box Set an Amazon Bestseller in PI Mysteries this week. 😱 I know! I didn’t expect it, either. But I am very grateful. And if you need to add any of the first three Sydney Brennan books to your ereader (Back to Lazarus, Secrets in Stockbridge, and The Perils of Panacea), you can still grab the Box Set for a buck today. It goes Read more…


How is Your Covid Roller Coaster? Trying to Level out the Track

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A few days ago, my husband came in from checking the rain gauge to report, “It’s raining lizards. What’s the next sign of the apocalypse?” To clarify, our moldy, plastic rain gauge is on its last legs. The sun has done its best to break down the structure on a molecular level, including the screen that keeps the floaty disc from flying out the top when you empty the water. That morning, an anole had crawled/fallen into the long, clear tube and had to be poured out. Fortunately it hadn’t rained the night before, since I doubt treading water was Read more…