Just a quickie today… Malice was great, and I’ve already signed up for next year! But I’m back to the computer again already, of course…

I’m charging ahead on Wolf in Chic Clothing (the title of which, alas, must change), and have already had a few great conversations with my editor at Ballantine, Allison Dickens. (I suspect we’re going to get along famously.) And yesterday, I finished the rewrite of Dead and Berried… all I have to do is type in my recipes, and it’s good to go! Since it’s due Monday, I’d better hurry. Speaking of the Gray Whale Inn, my editor at Midnight Ink, Barbara Moore, just gave me an idea of what the next cover will look like… same cover artist, and I cannot wait to see it! (I love the cover of Murder on the Rocks so much, I’m planning on framing it and hanging it in my living room.) I can’t tell you too much about the new one yet, but I promise I’ll post it as soon as I have it.

And I just found out that Murder is the July read for the fabulous new Regional Mysteries group on Yahoo. I was blown away! I’ll be leading off a discussion in July…

Anyway, I have to run. We’re off to go camping, which means rain (in the form of major thunderstorms) is in the forecast. If you’re ever having a drought, ask me to plan a big camping trip in your area. And if it doesn’t rain, I’m sure someone will throw up all over me at 4:00 in the morning. Or cut his hand open with an axe (I won’t mention any names).

I’ll be back soon. Provided I survive this weekend.

I’ll keep it short but sweet today… I’m off to Malice tomorrow, and have about 40 thousand things to do between now and then. (If I’m lucky, I’ll knock off about 10 of them.)

Earlier this week, my fabulous agent Jessica Faust called with some news. I’m thrilled to announce that Ballantine (Random House) offered me a three-book contract for a new paranormal chick lit mystery series starring reluctant werewolf Sophie Garou. (To read more about Sophie, check out the Bookends ‘Our Books’ page and scroll down to MacInerney.)

The series (the first book is currently titled A Wolf in Chic Clothing) is set right here in Austin, so I’ll get to include lots of my favorite haunts… and I’m having tons of fun already! Maybe Sophie will have to take a Maine vacation… and stay at the Gray Whale Inn!

More soon… off to switch the laundry… but hope to see you at Malice!

Well, I gave up chocolate for Lent this year. And for me, Lent ended sometime last week. I’m not sure what triggered it — it might have been a deadline, a squabble between the munchkins, or just me taking a look at my signing schedule — but there was one Hershey bar in the pantry, and that was that. Since then, there’s been half a bag of Cadbury mini eggs, a few Dove chocolates… you get the picture. Ah, Easter Wednesday.

Speaking of Easter, I’ve got 36 eggs waiting to be dyed in the fridge; can you say egg salad for a month?

But life hasn’t been all bonbons and Cadbury mini eggs around here. I’ve been busy, busy, busy… except for the days when I just open the windows, make myself a cup of tea, and flop down on the bed with a book. And there have been a few of those, lately — my brain, which is always coming up with new ideas, sometimes needs a break. So I’ve been reading books and hitting the Town Lake trail, drifting along with the coots and the ducks. One of the writers in my class saw me the other day — I didn’t even notice her, I was so busy woolgathering! (Or eyeing the dewberries, which are green, large, and should be ripe any day now!)

This is a beautiful time of year in Austin: green, verdant, buzzing with life. The Western Soapberry trees are covered in sweet-smelling flowers that perfume the entire Town Lake trail… a springlike, yet tropical smell. Like gardenias, but sharper. And now, at home, the honeysuckle scent is drifting through my bedroom windows, which are open, but won’t be much longer. Summer’s on it’s way… and Maine beckons!