If you’re thinking of getting any of my books for the holidays, it couldn’t be easier. I’ve got you covered, even for autographed books!
I’ve been recommending this essay for years to every writer I know. And it’s free to read online…
I compiled a list of fun facts about this brilliant mathematician after reading two biographies. The oddest little things stayed with me, and here they are…
Before Christmas arrives, I feel like I ought to share with you a couple of SleuthSayers holiday posts I did that never really got much play here on my blog. In fact, I never mentioned an article I did on the enduring mystery at the heart of the immortal classic, A Christmas Carol. Namely, what ails Tiny Tim?
As a follow-up to Denise’s book birthday announcement yesterday, I thought I’d share two articles I have written in the past on the subject of Edgar Allan Poe and his editor, Sarah Josepha Hale, the so-called Mother of Thanksgiving. It’s an interesting story because Hale in the 19th century Hale was the editor of the largest magazine in nation. And it was a women’s magazine, exclusively.
Poe is not known for writing for women, specifically, or even men, but scaring the shinola out of all genders equally…
I used to think I could march my way through all my daily to-dos in an orderly fashion. But I soon realized that if didn’t write them down, I’d forget the one or two things I thought were important, and that would slowly drive me crazy. (This is aside from the fact that I never really complete everything on my to-do list. As soon as I cross off three things, another four or five take their place.)
I used to think I could keep track of these tasks digitally. I spent a lot of time and money on software applications. Probably the best I’ve found is called Things, and I still use it, though not as much as I used to.
Then I tried the Bullet Journal thing. That worked for a while, until I got tired of rewriting all the tasks at the end of the month. My wife loves the system, and still uses it religiously. Me, I grew to dislike carrying a large hardcover notebook everywhere I went. At $25 a pop, the price wasn’t doing me any favors, either.
So I regressed—back to the world I lived in the 1990s, when I first went freelance. This is what I use to organize myself these days…
I wrote two Sherlock-themed posts in the past year, devoted to the new Netflix series, Enola Holmes, based on the life of Sherlock’s youngest sibling, a teenager named Enola. Actress Millie Bobby Brown stars as the titular character, based on a series of books by the Edgar Award-winning writer, Nancy Springer.
Here’s why I think they’re wonderful movies…
Gee—it is 2023 already?
I really dropped the ball. On. A. Lot. Of. Stuff.
Not gonna lie: 2022 was a shit show. I’ll explain why in the next couple of posts. We dealt with everything from a destructive water leak in the house to a death in the family and personal health crises.
When stuff like that happens, the last thing you’re going to prioritize is keeping up with your blog and updating your website.
Which brings me to today. As most of you know, I contribute a post every three weeks to SleuthSayers, a blog cooperatively written by a group of mystery writers who mostly write short stories. I’ve been good about posting there, but bad about posting the results here.
I’m proud of those posts. Because that longstanding blog has a built-in audience, I tend to spend a lot more time crafting those pieces, and they constitute actual personal essays on my part. It’s a form of writing that comes naturally to me, and I like having a complete record of them in one spot—here—my Internet home.
Today, for example, I’ve got a post running based on a history-based road trip we took this spring. We went to Annapolis for a wedding, then took a circuitous drive back home that took us to Philly, Baltimore, DC, Mount Vernon, and Williamsburg.
Today’s post is entitled The President Who Played Detective, and other adventures. That’s a reference to none other than George Washington. It was cool to stand in the man’s study, but even cooler to see how the estate remembers the 150 or so enslaved and free black Americans who are buried on the property.
I hope you’ll take the time to check it out.
In the next few weeks, I’ll be trying to revamp the site, clean up the links, and catch up with my past SleuthSayers writing in a logical fashion. I’ll also be sharing what’s been going on with my work, and Denise’s. She alone has had a flurry of books pubbed that also need some huzzahs, with a new one pubbing this fall for young readers.
Please stick around. I’m sorry for the long delay. Life was hard, then it got harder. And there was still so much work to do.
But right now, I’m enjoying the summer. The garden is the best we’ve had in a long time. Flowers and veggies growing abundantly that we have never been able to keep pest-free and healthy until this year.
If you like my work, kindly consider bookmarking SleuthSayers.org in addition to my site. Heck, go check the work of my wife, Denise Kiernan.
You can read about my most recent books elsewhere on the site. The two latest that I’m most excited about are the cozy mystery, Murder on Book Row, and the cross-gender Santa Claus fantasy, Sorceress Kringle.
That’s it for now. Gotta scoot. The garden’s not going to water itself.
***
Garden image above by little ol’ me.
As most of you know, I contribute a post every three weeks to SleuthSayers, the mystery blog. I’ve been good about posting there, but bad about posting the results here.
So here’s a little catch-up to let you know what I’ve been writing there since late summer.
I talked about the time Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald stayed in my hometown…
I chased down the myths behind the writing of Poe’s Annabel Lee…
I talked about the time I paid a visit to three tragic gravestones in a NJ cemetery…
That’s all, folks! I’ll be up at SleuthSayers again this Friday, but these should catch you up until then.
If you like my work, kindly consider bookmarking SleuthSayers.org.
If you’re looking for reading material during these crazy times, I hope you’ll consider one of my books or my wife’s. If ever there was a time for escapism, it’s now!
Check out Denise’s latest book here: We Gather Together.
The e-book versions of both of my two most recent books, Murder on Book Row and the fantasy novel, Sorceress Kringle, are available at almost every online retailer. You can order print copies at the usual suspects online, or autographed copies from Malaprop’s, the bookstore in my nabe. They’re up and running, and shipping books all over the USA.
For a host of reasons, I just haven’t been on the stick as well I have in the past. It’s easy to say that it’s Pandemic Brain Fog, but I just don’t know. I do know that I feel as if everyone has checked out this summer—even the people who are supposedly charged with important tasks related to my life and career. A a result, I find myself feeling two inches from INSANE every day.
To keep it together, I’m mostly focusing on trying to hit the deadlines and commitments I’ve made. One of those is the every-three-weeks blog post up at SleuthSayers, the mystery blog. I’ve been good about posting there, but bad about posting the results here.
So here’s a little catch-up to let you know what I’ve been writing there since early spring.
For Mother’s Day, I broke the code of omertà and shared memories of my late Mom.
I cast a gimlet eye at the traditional publishing world’s take on pandemic book sales.
I shared a story about my personal Proustian moment during the pandemic.
I read and recommended a number of middle grade book series to get kids hooked on Sherlock Holmes.
That’s all, folks! I’ll be up at SleuthSayers again this Friday, but these should catch you up until then.
If you like my work, kindly consider bookmarking SleuthSayers.org.
If you’re looking for reading material during these crazy times, I hope you’ll consider one of my books or my wife’s. If ever there was a time for escapism, it’s now!
Check out Denise’s latest book here: We Gather Together.
The e-book versions of both of my two most recent books, Murder on Book Row and the fantasy novel, Sorceress Kringle, are available at almost every online retailer. You can order print copies at the usual suspects online, or autographed copies from Malaprop’s, the bookstore in my nabe. They’re up and running, and shipping books all over the USA.
My wife — the New York Times Bestselling author Denise Kiernan — introduces her new book on the Sleuthsayers blog today.
The post is in the form of a Q&A. I fire off the questions, and her answers give us all a glimpse of her new book, WE GATHER TOGETHER, which is a look at how the American holiday of Thanksgiving came to be.
The link to the blog post is here.
If you like my work, kindly consider bookmarking Sleuthsayers. The next post will be in three weeks, in December, when I’ll be talking about a surprising Christmas literary mystery that endures to this day.
If you’re looking for reading material during your pandemic down-time, I hope you’ll consider one of my books or my wife’s. If ever there was a time for escapism, it’s now!
Check out Denise’s book here: We Gather Together.
The e-book versions of both of my two most recent books, Murder on Book Row and the fantasy novel, Sorceress Kringle, are available at almost every online retailer. (The Kringle e-book will be on sale for the duration of November, right up until Christmas!) You can order print copies at the usual suspects online, or autographed copies from Malaprop’s, the bookstore in my nabe.
Credit: Bookshelf image at top by 🇸🇮 Janko Ferlič on Unsplash
I’ve got a new post up at Sleuthsayers today, writing about a local spooky story, with a smidge of Edgar Allan Poe thrown in for good measure.
The link to the blog post is here.
If you like my work, kindly consider bookmarking Sleuthsayers. The next post will be in three weeks, in the November. My wife Denise will be talking about her new book, We Gather Together.
If you’re looking for reading material during your pandemic down-time, I hope you’ll consider one of my books or my wife’s. If ever there was a time for escapism, it’s now!
The e-book versions of both of my two most recent books, Murder on Book Row and the fantasy novel, Sorceress Kringle, are available at almost every online retailer. (The Kringle e-book will be on sale for the duration of November, right up until Christmas!) You can order print copies at the usual suspects online, or autographed copies from Malaprop’s, the bookstore in my nabe.
Credit: Bookshelf image at top by 🇸🇮 Janko Ferlič on Unsplash
I’m back at Sleuthsayers, the mystery blog, today, writing about one of my favorite historical figures.
He was a man named Gouverneur Morris, who was a rake and scoundrel at the time of the American Revolution. His sexual exploits are legendary, as was the fact that he wore a wooden leg. (He lost his left leg in a carriage accident while in his twenties.)
He stands out in history for the work he did on the writing of the U.S. Constitution. Among other things, he gave America a phrase that we invoke to this very day whenever we speak of the document.
No, I won’t spoil it for you. You’ll have to read the story for yourself.
The link to the blog post is here.
If you like my work, kindly consider bookmarking Sleuthsayers. The next post will be in three weeks, in the depths of October. I’m planning something appropriately spooky and morbid.
If you’re looking for reading material during this hellish time, I hope you’ll consider one of my books or my wife’s. If ever there was a time for escapism, it’s now!
The e-book versions of both of my two most recent books, Murder on Book Row and the fantasy novel, Sorceress Kringle, are available at almost every online retailer. You can order print copies at the usual suspects online, or autographed copies from Malaprop’s, the bookstore in my nabe.
Independence Hall photo credit: Phillip Goldsberry on Unsplash
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