I’m an animal person—dogs, cats, bird, lizard, fish. Fred the lizard lived in our house—in a terrarium—but didn’t belong to us. Same with Gilmore the fish. The bird went to live with my grandmother when it lost its feathers due to nerves. The cats used to stare at it. Endlessly. Which brings me to cats, … Read more

I’ve always been a grazer. I snack on whatever is in the cupboard, especially when stressed, and for the past year my bad habits have thrived. Whether it’s sweet or salty, crunchy or smooth, whatever can be pulverized by teeth or melted on the tongue is fair game even if it’s been lying around at … Read more

Last week I blogged about writing in an obscure sub-genre. Because it’s difficult to label—and therefore difficult to get people to try it—I’ve decided to let you meet Gabriel de la Vega, the hero of my book, Return of the Fox. This is a prologue I almost used, then deleted. So it’s no longer part … Read more

I write early California rancho-period historicals. Are they westerns? Kind of. Are they Victorians? Kind of. Are they steamy? Definitely. Do they have their own category? They don’t, so they’re kind of on their own. Do you remember Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones in that old Zorro movie? It had action, sizzle, humor, and a … Read more

I can’t believe I haven’t written about this. The year was 2007 and we were on our way to Daytona Beach, cruising in our Grand Banks 36 trawler, a great little two-person power boat for long hauls. We’d started the trip earlier that month in Stuart, Florida, and planned to be out about seven months … Read more