Did you think we were going to talk about bathtub ring? Nope, not even close. Today I’ve got a few housekeeping notes about the blog. Next Monday I’ll be leaving for London/Paris for two weeks, and between organizing for the trip and decompressing after the trip, I won’t be tending to the blog. You WILL…

It’s a veritable merry-go-round of links today–don’t get dizzy! *Thanks to writer pal Susanna Kearsley, I discovered the Live Cam Rome/Pantheon. A quick search turned up another in the Piazza Navona. Need a little armchair travel? There’s nothing better than pulling up a live cam and pretending it’s your hotel window. Make sure you’re eating…

We have a Loving post today, and I am smitten with my Eyebobs. It’s a truth universally acknowledged that once you hit 40, you will have to make friends with reading glasses. I turned 47 last week, and I have an entire collection of these suckers. But I keep gravitating to my Eyebobs. I chose…

Fair warning: I’m going to gush a bit. If you are a fan of ballet–or even just a good story–grab “Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil Le Clercq”. A superb documentary detailing the career of Tanaquil Le Clercq, the muse of George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, “Faun” provides interviews with some of her partners and friends…

Today’s archived post comes to us from 2007! This is what happens when a writer of murder mysteries gets bored… Last week I attended a middle school choir concert, and as usual, I amused myself by composing a list of methods of murder. (Don’t judge–you weren’t there.) Long-time blog readers may remember a similar list…

And it’s one of those times that I want to laugh hollowly at the idea that I have anything to say upon the subject. I’m curled fetal under my desk, whimpering. This is my eleventh full-length novel for publication, and some things are just routine–like the mid-book existential crisis. The first draft of this book…

So I have a capsule wardrobe plan for the London/Paris trip next month. Will I stick to it? Heaven only knows, but I want to. I LOVE the idea of packing a smallish bag with plenty of room for souvenirs. (Sorry, I misspelled “books” there.) Much will depend, with apologies to William Carlos Williams, upon…

The family name of de Braose isn’t exactly a household word these days, but in the times of the early kings of England, the de Braoses were movers and shakers. As a player in the Norman Conquest, William I de Braose was given lands in Sussex according to the Domesday Book. They became Marcher Lords,…

The days I do book recs are always fun for me, and I thought I’d give this one a twist by adding a theme: PAPAL THINGS. I have long been fascinated by papal history; the intricate plots of Vatican politics are far beyond even the abilities of the most diabolical thriller writer to conjure. So…