Best Books About the U.S. Constitution

A while back I wrote a post for SleuthSayers about the new book recommendation site, Shepherd.com, and why I thought writers should write some posts for them. They don’t pay, but they’re sending people to Amazon and Bookshop to buy your book. I’ve seen the data, and was impressed by the site’s creator, Ben Fox.

You can check out the SleuthSayers post here, if you’re a writer and you want to know my rationale. It’s called The Best Website about Best Books.

I’m proud to say that I have another list up on their site, as of yesterday. It’s five books I recommend if you’re interested in learning about the creation of the U.S. Constitution. You can check out my list here.

The only book that isn’t shown in the image at the top of this post is the one I wrote with my wife and-author, Denise Kiernan. That title is Signing Their Rights Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the U.S. Constitution.

If you want to go deeper, and explore articles on the U.S. Constitution contributed by other authors, you should check out Shepherd’s bookshelf on U.S. Constitution titles.

That makes three lists that I’ve contributed to Shepherd. The other two are:

Best Books for Discovering Italian Mystery Novels

Best Books for Helping Your Kid Fall in Love with Math

My wife has contributed three lists thus far:

Best Books on or by Maverick Women

Best Books on Writing (from a NY Times Bestseller)

Best Books on the Manhattan Project and the Making of the Atomic Bomb

I have a few other lists in the works, including one the should be up fairly soon. I’ll let you know when appears on the site.

---

Image of the National Archives (above) by little old me.

Best Christmas Books

Some people leave their Christmas trees up all year. Some people bake Christmas dishes all year round. And some people—like me—read Christmas books throughout the year. I even have a bookshelf in our house where I keep all the Christmas books, so I can easily find them and display them attractively during the actual Christmas season.

To cut to the chase: I wrote a post for SleuthSayers some time ago called From the Christmas Shelf that focuses on only five of the books. I chose five at the time to make that article brief and approachable.

If you don’t want to click over, here are the books I mention. (Most of these are affiliate links, which means if you buy any of these books I’ll get a small commission at no cost to yourself.) Before you read this, understand that these are my picks for best books. Ones that I have personally enjoyed over the years. They may not necessarily be your cup of tea.

History Books

The Battle for Christmas: A Social and Cultural History of Our Most Cherished Holiday, by Stephen Nissenbaum. The title is bad, but the book is actually a historical look at how Christmas came to be such a massive holiday in the U.S. Nissenbaum, a historian, credits the creation of the Santa Claus myth for altering the holiday from its Baachanialin roots to something child- and family-centered

Christmas: A Biography, by Judith Flanders. Another book by a fine historian, but this one looks at the story of Christmas from a worldwide perspective.

Literary Fiction for Adults

A Christmas Memory, One Christmas, & The Thanksgiving Visitor, by Truman Capote. The lead story in this collection is a classic, about a boy and his older cousin enjoying the holiday together, making fruitcake. It’s amazing how great a writer he was at the beginning of his career. The stories are short enough that you can read them aloud in front of the fire.

Seth’s Christmas Ghost Stories, illustrated by Seth. This is a series of 22 short stories that celebrate the tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas. (A tradition, I might add, that inspired Dickens to write A Christmas Carol.) The stories are all by famous writers, and I encourage you to pick the one you like best. If you read on an e-reader, you can get all the stories for $18! (I have the short story by Edith Wharton shown at top right.)

For Kids

The Snow Queen, illustrated by Vladyslav Yerko. This edition of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale by the Ukrainian artist Yerko is stunning. The book is out of print, but you can still find various editions online. There is a 32-page edition, but the one I love is a 96-page stunner in a slipcase cover. (The slipcase cover is shown top row, right; the book is shown separately in the image above—the one with the two kids.) I can’t provide a link for these books because as soon as one of these pops up online, it gets snapped up. Check rare book sites such as Biblio , Alibris, and Bookfinder. MAKE SURE YOU ARE BUYING THE ENGLISH EDITION—unless you speak Ukrainian, that is.

Okay—those are just the books I mentioned in that SleuthSayers post way back in 2021. Here are more books I keep on the Christmas shelf, in case you’re a bigger geek than I am.

Fiction for Adults

My fiction list skews heavily toward mysteries because—duh!— I’m a mystery reader and writer.

Mr. Timothy, by Louis Bayard. This is a strange, dense novel that imagines Tiny Tim’s adult years, after the reformed Scrooge’s largesse saved his life.

This is the 25th book in the Ellery Queen mystery series.

The Finishing Stroke, by Ellery Queen. This mystery novel has the great sleuth solving a murder at Christmas in the 1920s.

The Mistletoe Murder, and Other Stories, by P.D. James. I love P.D. James novels, and never knew that she wrote an abundance of short fiction. Luckily, they saved four for this edition, and they are more “cozy” in nature than any of her more realistic-yet-cleverly-plotted novels.

This is the first of the nine paperback editions of the Holiday Anthology series (edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch) currently available.

The Holiday Anthology Series, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Every year, the writer Rusch runs a subscription-based “advent calendar” of short stories, in which she emails a daily short story by a variety of writers from the day after Thanksgiving till the end of the year. Romance, mystery, ghost stories—you name it. I subscribed one year, and loved having a new story show up on my phone every day during the holidays. Later, she pubs them in paper editions. You can easily choose the genre you like.

A Lot Like Christmas, by Connie Willis. Willis, a giant in the field of SFF, is also a huge Christmas geek and a comic genius. This massive book collects most of her science fiction/fantasy Christmas stories, which often read like screwball comedies, but also reveal her encyclopedic knowledge of Christmas music, the Bethlehem story, the history of the Rockettes, the It’s a Wonderful Life vs Miracle on 34th Street debate, and so much more. Be warned that this might be the only book you read in a single Christmas season, because mot of the stories are sizable novellas. I can’t think of a better way to spend the season.

The Last Christmas Letter, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. I read this one every year because it’s a short story. A group of sisters receive their father’s annual Christmas letter in the mail, which is strange, because their elderly dad has been in a hospice, lingering near death. Each time one of the women reaches for the letter, a new page appears. A magical, ultimately uplifting story by a master of the craft.

Nonfiction

The Man Who Invented Christmas, by Les Standiford. This was a surprise. A remarkable piece of narrative nonfiction that tells how Dickens came to write A Christmas Carol, thinking he’d make a mint on the Christmas market. He self published the book and nearly lost his shirt because it was so lavishly produced, with gilt edging and illustrations. Yet it ended up becoming his most famous book. I haven’t seen the movie version of Standiford’s book. Why would I, when this book is so good?

This is Christmas, Song by Song, by Annie Zaleski. This a gorgeous book, perfect for gift-giving, by a respected music writer. Zaleski tells the behind-the-scenes stories of 100 Christmas songs. In her hands, you really get to see the rich variety of tunes we've heard all our lives, from deeply religious to hilarious, fun-loving, romantic, and secular. The production value of the hardcover book itself is wonderful, so you’ll really make the music-lover on your list a happy camper.

Classic Books for Kids

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss. I’d seen the TV version a million times but it wasn’t until I married that I read this book, which my wife has treasured since her own childhood. This is one of those books that is fun to read aloud to the family because nearly everyone knows—or can guess—the endings of all the rhymes, not unlike the next book on my list.

The Night Before Christmas, illustrated by Charles Santore. There have been tons of editions of this classic poem, but this specific hardcover with Santore’s illustrations became a New York Times bestseller and has been spun off into different types of books—board books, coloring books, a book-and-CD combo, etc. You can’t go wrong gifting any of these to a child on your list. Be sure to choose carefully so you pick the version appropriate for the child. (Board books are intended for really little kids, for example.) The CD version is read by the Dude himself, actor Jeff Bridges.

The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg. I don’t love the movie, but I love the original book. This edition comes with a little ornament to hang on your tree. It’s fun to also hide a little “reindeer bell” in your pocket and ring it at the appropriate moment in the story. You’re sure to create magic when reading aloud to young family members. (Rest assured that you can find numerous “Polar Express Reindeer Bells” online.)

Digital Reads

These last two are not found on my shelf but on my phone. Technically they don’t really qualify for this post, but I’ll mention them because I think they are quite special.

A Child's Christmas in Wales, by Dylan Thomas. This audio version of the prose poem was recorded in 1952 by the Welsh poet himself. (He died a year later, at age 39.) As you listen, you really understand that the story consists of multiple voices, and Thomas is playing each of them. A treasure, and marvelous listening for the entire family. Also available via Apple iTunes and Audible.

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. Public domain works are often churned out in crappy editions by no-name publishers trying to make a quick buck. Top Five Books is a Chicago publisher that curates a list of truly special ebooks. Their Complete Sherlock Holmes ebook, for example, is arguably the best on the market, and comes with all the original illustrations—none omitted. This ebook edition of Scrooge’s story contains all the illustrations that appeared in the first 1843 edition, plus ones that appeared in a U.S. edition published in 1869. This would be a lovely book to read to family members on an iPad or full-color Kindle.

That wraps my current list of Christmas books. I’m sure I’ll be adding more. I’m a junkie for the subject, obsessed with good stories and great illustrations. Christmas may well be the only time of year where families have the time to read to each other in a relaxed setting. If you’re going to do it, do it in style.

Today on SleuthSayers...and Life

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.

Quick Announcement re: Social Media

Basically, social media blows. After 12 years of experimenting with various sites, for the sake of my sanity I’ve deleted the last two major accounts I was using—Twitter and Instagram. (They were preceded in death by my Tumblr, Pinterest, Google+ accounts and whatever else I was using). And yes, I have lots to say about this decision. I know that this choice will make it more difficult to stay in touch with folks, but the website isn’t going anywhere, nor are occasional updates on this blog.

I talked about his decision more extensively in a blog post at SleuthSayers, entitled: Five Things That Convinced Me to Dump Social Media.

For the record: My Twitter and IG accounts are dead and gone as of June 1, 2022.. If you are interacting with me on those platforms, you are probably following a fake account or some other person with my name.

The only account I have retained, for professional reasons, is Linkedin. Oh—and I do have a YouTube account. Not really sure if either of them really count as social media, But there you have it.

How do I feel about all this? Pretty freaking good, actually. (See image above. Not me, but you get the idea.) I am planning a longer post in the future to delve into my reasons and rationale. But I thought it was important to mention this now.

Image by @jasonhogan via Unsplash.

We Gather Together Tea! A Gratitude Blend

My wife’s most recent book, We Gather Together, now has a tasty tea blend to go with the remarkable story.

Her latest nonfiction book is about the history of Thanksgiving, and the surprising story of Sarah Hale, a woman magazine editor who lobbied several presidents before Lincoln finally acceded to her request to make Turkey Day a national holiday. The book delves into the more profound story of gratitude, and gives Americans a recipe, so to speak, for a modern, more inclusive Thanksgiving, sans the mythical, problematic Pilgrim-Wampanoag encounter of 1621. There’s a chapter in Denise’s book that quotes Hale’s hilariously long description of an early 19th-century Thanksgiving meal, and it’s not to be believed. An insane amount of food.

This fall Denise teamed up with Asheville Tea Company in our hometown to create a special blend that links to the book. The earliest celebrations of Thanksgiving in New England were distinctly regional affairs. This tea has a South Appalachian ingredient, yaupon, that has a fascinating history in its own right. It’s the only indigenous plant in the US that produces an appreciable amount of caffeine. It was used by indigenous peoples as a beverage, but never caught on with European newcomers. One theory I’ve heard was that the East India Tea Company wanted to quash the possibility of a local brew catching on in North America, and supplanting its own expensive imported tea. So they orchestrated bestowing upon yaupon the catchy Latin name, ilex vomitoria, a moniker guaranteed to shoo away curious drinkers. Asheville Tea has been trying to revive the plant’s usefulness by using it in their brews.

I tried the tea when it first came out and I found it to be delicious. Full-flavored and fall-flavored, if you know what I mean. And no, it’s not at all like pumpkin spice. It’s way better than that. You can order small bags from the creator’s website. They’re the loose tea variety, and each small bag makes about 10 cups of tea.

I hope you’ll try it. It’s fun and totally worth it. And needless to say, it makes a great gift when paired with the book. Retail orders can be placed here. Wholesale orders are placed here, through Asheville Tea’s website as well.

Denise’s book has racked up some cool media hits this season. We Gather Together was featured on Katie Couric’s blog about the best books for Thanksgiving and Christmas. And it was featured as a great Thanksgiving gift book on this recent segment on Good Day LA this past week.

My wife’s book starts at about the 3:28 mark.

Photo credit: Tea and lavender image at top by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

Getting My Books for the 2021 Holidays

If you’re interested in getting some of my books for the holidays, you ought to act quickly. We’re getting closer to the last-order date at my local bookstore. I’ve resisted pushing people to order early because I really hate rushing the season, but I’ve spent the last couple of weeks in the company of booksellers, and I understand better what they’re up against.

If you prefer ebooks, you’re all set. The complete list of my book is here, on a single page. All my books are readily available at the usual online stores in e-book format. Just click the cover of the book you want, and choose your preferred store. The only exception is my children’s book on Fibonacci. That book is still only pubbed in print only.

A complete list of my wife’s books are here. The new Thanksgiving book is right at the top of the page.

Physical copies of our books—especially the new ones—are available via Amazon, B&N, and your local bookstore. If a store doesn’t have them, they can order them.

If you want books autographed by either of us, the best way to do that is to contact the indie bookstore in my town,  Malaprop’s, and order personalized, autographed copies of whatever tickles your fancy. Signed books make great gifts.

Here’s the skinny on signed books:

Call Malaprop’s directly at 1-800-441-9829 or 828-254-6734. Just tell them…

1. Which book you want to order and the author’s name.

2. Within certain limits, due to the ongoing supply-chain situation, we are striving still to do personalizations in books. The bookseller will know which books can be inscribed. So, let them know how you want the book personalized. To you? To the mother-in-law you’re always trying to suck up to? Your frenemy? Do you want it to say “Merry Christmas,” “Happy Holidays,” “Happy Thanksgiving,” “For a mystery buff,” or nothing at all?

3. Give them your payment information and shipping address.

4. Make sure you get your order in by December 6th for delivery by Christmas.

That’s it! Malaprop’s will have me or Denise sign, and they will ship your book out to you or to the person of your choice, autographed and ready to go.

But what about gift wrapping?

Yes indeed, they gift wrap–for FREE. I told you they were wonderful. So, you can have that autographed book gift-wrapped AND have a gift card slapped on it. That package of holiday reading cheer will be shipped wherever you want and will arrive ready to be slid under a tree, slipped into a (larger than usual) stocking, placed next to the menorah, or shipped to a loved one you hope to see in the very near future..

Can I order online?

Technically, yes, but calling is much more efficient, less ambiguous, and, in the long run, will take less of your time.

Which books of yours can I order?

All of them, really. My complete list is here, on a single page. (The Fibonacci book is here.)

Denise’s list is here.

Allow me to single out for your reading pleasure my two newest novels! They are:

Sorceress Kringle: The Woman Who Became Santa Claus

A gender-bending fantasy novel about Santa—the way you never imagined her.

Murder on Book Row

Meet the Book Lady. She sells books, eats well, and has a very large brain. Criminals fear her.

Happy shopping, and thanks for supporting a local independent author and bookstore!

---

Yes, I am trying to post here more often. Thank you for noticing. If you want to sign up for my newsletter and claim your collection of free ebooks, go here. Thanks!

Catching Up on SleuthSayers (Again)

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 offered some ideas about what types of promotional materials every author should be carrying in their wallets.

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.

***

Bookstore image above by @Paulinel via Unsplash.

Review: The Nomi Notebook

Early on in my career, I got by using reporter’s notebooks for most of my notekeeping needs. I also spent long, miserable years jotting notes on 8.5–by-11-inch sheets of copy paper, which is even worse. By the end of a project, I’d have a pile of mangled scraps in no organized order.

My notebook obsession started when my wife got me hooked on Bullet Journals. Since I use fountain pens slightly more frequently than she does, I enjoyed experimenting and testing new notebooks to see how well they work with my growing collection of pens and inks. The classic Leuchtturm BuJo is nice, but there’s creative value in switching up what you use on a regular basis. You never know how a new paper or pen will impact your process and what you create.

My latest crush is the Nomi Notebook, currently on offer as a Kickstarter. (Back the project here through October 8, 2021.) I certainly don’t need more notebooks, but this one has a couple of nice touches that impressed me.

SIZE: My go-to size for notebooks is A5, which is roughly about 5.5-by-8 inches. There are tons of other sizes out there, but A5 (about the size of a trade paperback novel) is the one that will sit comfortably on my (smallish) desk without eating up all the room. A5 also fits nicely in my backpack when traveling. The Nomi measures 5.5-by-8.5-inches, so it’s a little narrower and slightly taller than two of my usual favorites, the Leuchtturm BuJo or The Seven Seas Writer. If you didn’t handle A5 notebooks every day, I doubt you’d notice the difference. Nomi’s sizing means you’re getting an easily carried book with 192 pages of good-size paper.

CONSTRUCTION: The signatures are Smyth-sewn, which is the mark of high-quality, archival stitching. The exterior spine is wrapped with soft black book cloth. This treatment permits the Nomi to open flat, which pleases the lefty in me. I know I’m not going to butt my hammy mitts against the curl of the interior spine every other page. And I won’t lose any writing space to the gutter.

Look! It lays flat!

PAPER: This is the key, right? My fave A5 notebooks (Life, The Seven Seas, Maruman Mnemosyne) tend to use smooth, beautiful Japanese paper that that are theoretically optimal for fountain pens and other liquid inks. The Seven Seas and my Hobonichi planner both use Tomoe River paper, which is certainly smooth, but your work takes time to dry. (Both books come with blotters, if that’s any indication.) The pocket notebooks I carry on the go (Field Notes, Write Notepads) sport papers that aren’t as lovely as that Japanese paper, but still hold their own with juicy inks. Nomi features 118 gsm (grams per square meter) white paper, which to my touch feels a lot like the Write notepads I use. (It’s thicker than the ones in official Bullet Journals and the Seven Seas notebook.)

The big difference? Nomi paper is recycled. I’ve been a stationery geek for decades, and while I use recycled paper for my home office copier, I learned early not to bother seeking out recycled for my writing papers. What’s out there isn’t lovely. Apparently you can either chew up a forest to feed your appetite for beautiful paper, or you can save the planet with sucky recycled paper. Nomi has sourced paper with a nice tooth to it.

To start, I used disposable pens and markers, pencil, and high- and low-end fountain pens on it. The big-ass Sharpie ghosted somewhat though to the next page—but of course it would. Impressed with the low-end instrument performance, I tried slightly juicier fountain pen inks, and more expensive nibs. The paper held up wonderfully. A nice writing experience, whether you’re using a cheap disposable or your premium fountain pen. Only one nib—a very flexible nib, I might add—produced some feathering and ghosting.

Testing inappropriate/low-end pens and inks.

Sharpie ghosting on reverse—of course.

Testing fine-tip Rollerballs.

Testing disposable liquid ink pens.

Testing a Pelikan Oblique Medium with very flexible nib.

Some feathering with the Pelikan nib.

Some bleedthrough with the Pelikan.

Flawless performance on the stub.

COVER: I really dig Nomi’s recycled cover. Notebook covers always present a problem. The Leuchtturm BuJo feels like I’m forever toting a hardcover book around with me. I immediately notice the extra weight when I slide it into my eBag with my laptop. “Paperback” notebooks are lighter, but they really take a beating.

Maruman sidesteps this issue using durable plastic covers for its Mnemosyne. The Seven Seas marries fabric to card stock. Either way, the covers of these three standbys are nowhere near as lovely as the paper they enclose, which is why so many of us stationery geeks feel compelled to sheath our preferred notebooks in leather covers. It’s a brutal Catch-22. Leather’s nice, but boy does it add weight!

The Nomi uses 120-pound double-thick cover stock that feels satisfying, thick, and perfectly capable of protecting the book for the long haul.

ART: You weren’t expecting this, now, were you? Unlike any notebook I’ve ever seen, Nomi sports artwork on its endpapers. Noir is the theme of this inaugural Kickstarter edition, in keeping with the startup’s San Francisco location. The two images are by New Yorker cartoonist Shuchita Mishra. Black and white, moody…the images evoke classic old movies. The building at the bottom, incidentally, is 891 Post Street, where mystery writer Dashiell Hammett actually lived, and which he choses as the home of his fictional detective, Sam Spade. (The building, which still stands today, is marked with a plaque that shares the story.)

BOTTOM LINE: This was supposed to be year I stopped buying more notebooks, ink, and pens, and focused on enjoying the stash of tools I’ve already acquired. But the Nomi sucked me in, and I briefly thought about jumping for a ten-pack, since you reap a nice discount in volume, and get one book signed by the artist. But I exerted some willpower and backed the Kickstarter for just one book as a reward. I chalk my enthusiasm up to the complete package: Artwork, substantial gray cover, nice paper, and a nod to mystery fiction to boot. If these matter to you, jump on the bandwagon. Again, the Kickstarter runs until October 8, 2021.

Note: I was provided with a complimentary prototype in exchange for an honest review. I tested a blank-page book, but a dot grid version is also available.

Photo at top by @kellysikkema via Unsplash.

Catching Up on SleuthSayers

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.

I invited author Terry Roberts to tell us a little about the hard-boiled detective at the center of his new book, My Mistress’ Eyes Are Raven Black.

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.

***

Bookstore image above by @Paulinel via Unsplash.

The First Two Pages...of My New Short Story

The multiple award-winning writer Art Taylor runs a blog called “The First Two Pages,” in which various writers take turns discussing the craft decisions they made writing their short stories. I was honored to be invited by Art to talk about my latest story in Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine.

The link is here.

Yes, this is the same historical mystery—centered on a flower shop in 1893 New York City—that I recently talked about at the mystery blog, Sleuthsayers.

But in this essay I’m drilling down into structure, word choices, and other decisions I had to make while using real-life people as fictional characters. If you’re into that kind of discussion, I hope you will stop by.

One of the beautiful things about short stories is that they’re often a quick, wonderful way to learn about a new writer. If you’re into mysteries, it’s definitely worth bookmarking Art’s blog.

You will absolutely discover countless new mystery writers that you ought to know about.

Art Taylor, for example, is married to the writer Tara Laskowski, author of the suspense novel One Night Gone and the upcoming The Mother Next Door.

See what I mean? That’s two writers right there!

***

Flower shop image by Alisa Anton via Unsplash.