Here's a little something for the day. The Return of the Pumpkin King By Laura Ellen Scott Kate Parmenter found a nearly perfect little pumpkin in the street. It was pinker than orange and only as big as a child’s head. There were a few scratches on one side, but they were dry and shallow. Kate looked up and down the street and saw no matching displays from which this gourd might have gone AWOL, and here she was with an empty tote bag. She was on her way home from returning t

Fall for the Book is over for 2017, but it sure doesn't feel like it. Last Monday I was inducted to the "Well Library," inside the Mason Club at GMU. The Club is an on-campus restaurant and bar for faculty, current and retired, and the organizers of Fall for the Book are re-building their library of faculty publications there. The original Well Library was installed at the now defunct Mason Inn. Inductions are being held at open houses where a few faculty members are invited

Every year I over-react to the negative bitching about NaNoWriMo, and I'm not always very artful about it, so I thought I'd get out ahead of it this time, if only to make it clear what I think. The people who complain about the marathon challenge that consumes the Novembers of so many hopeful fiction writers (including my students) are EVIL and they have turds where they should have hearts. Keep in mind, I've never done NaNoWriMo successfully. Hell, I've never even stuck it o

. . . and woke up this morning with heartburn, after celebrating a successful book launch and a nearly complete home remodel by eating a sicilian style pepperoni+sausage pizza and drinking a $9 bottle of pink moscato champagne. That is an unwise combo, but I had been running all day on a yogurt cup and a kind bar. I didn't even get a piece of my own cake: Isn't that awesome? We always get the book cover cakes at Wegman's, but this time we added marzipan hatchets and fingers o

So this was me over the long weekend--b2b events at the blistering hot but delightful Eat Local, Read Local book festival in Loudoun, a Noir at the Bar reading in DC the same night (dirty stories dominated the evening), and finally hiding out at the cabin in WV while the renovations roll on at our house in NoVa. The contractor says the whole shebang will be done by Thursday. We're having a bath, game room, and kitchen totally face-lifted. Here's where we were and are kitchen

Tomorrow I have two events during which I'll be promoting my Pandamoon Publishing novels, THE JULIET, THE MEAN BONE IN HER BODY, and CRYBABY LANE. The first event is the Eat Local, Read Local Festival & Book Sale, sponsored by the Loudoun County Public Library. There will be a wide variety of local authors at tables under tents, and the vibe will be crafty and yummy. I love book festivals in general, but I've learned that the ones that combine book selling with food are espe

Just click and comment on the video linked to the image below. Takes you to the Loudoun County FB page, where they will be selecting book bundle winners every day leading up to the festival. In today's giveaway bundle, it's THE JULIET, THE MEAN BONE IN HER BODY, AND CRYBABY LANE! #bookgiveaway #TheMeanBoneinHerBody #CrybabyLane #thejuliet #eatlocalreadlocoal #loudouncountylibrary