“Trump’s butler, reputedly one of the people closest to the business mogul (yes, a modern presidential candidate actually has a butler), posted Facebook rants urging the lynching of President Obama.” – from “Make America hate again” by Sasha Abramsky, New Statesman,...
Sometimes I read too many Golden Age mystery novels and start writing them myself. And whoops, I did it again! In Scotland. Setting: Hamish MacHaggis’s estate in Glencambell, in the Highlands. Occasion: a house party. Guests are Lord and Lady Scrymshawe, a...
When people ask about my “writing process,” I long to give them the kind of answers I've heard from other writers. Things like, “I rise before dawn, eat a slice of whole-wheat bread with organic fig jam, and write for two hours. Then I take up my duties as a state...
“Animals are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time.” – Henry Beston I grew up in a pet-less household, and despite reading Black Beauty, Dr. Doolittle, and Beatrix Potter, I regarded animals as...
If people are ever jailed because of their search-engine inquiries, mystery writers are in trouble.
The last time I read a lot of 1930s Golden Age English mysteries, I ended up writing one in my sleep. I'm awake now, so there’s no excuse for this one. Still, let’s press on. Our story begins outside a village church, after Sunday service, as Hector Spector (the...