I’ve been AWOL for a while, I know.

But here’s why.

1) The rewrite of Barbara’s book (now named Beads of Doubt) is due Oct. 1.
2) Just finished rewrite of Dead and Berried
3) It’s summer vacation and kids are home
4) I’m almost two-thirds of the way through Sophie Garou’s first adventure
5) It’s summer vacation and kids are home
6) I’ve been busy testing recipes for Dead and Berried
7) It’s summer vacation and kids are home

So as you can see, I’ve been very busy. And did I mention it’s summer vacation and the kids are home? Oh, and I had a fabulous weekend at ConMisterio a few weeks ago – there are some great pics on Pari Noskin Taichert’s Murderati blog. I spent a lot of time hanging out with my good friend Jan Grape… also Pari, of course. I also got to meet Leann Sweeney and Dean James (both delightful, and spent a lot of time noodling around with with Katharine Kimbriel.

Also met some really interesting folks who live out in Harker Heights – Barbara and Dave Haley, who have kindly invited me to attend one of their wine tastings (they make their own wine, which is amazing to me). Libby Fischer Hellman was a delight to chat with – can’t wait to read what she’s working on next – and the panels were just wonderful. Got to sit next to Luci Zahray, “The Poison Lady”, during a panel on food and mysteries – her little bottle of poison garden herbs looked exactly like oregano, and I don’t think I’ll ever look at the green stuff they shake into olive oil in Italian restaurants the same way again. Now I’m thinking of poisons to use (fictionally, of course)… what fun!

Did I mention David and McKenna of Murder by the Book in Houston? If you’re ever in Houston, you have to drop by. I wish we had one in Austin! And I finally caught up with fellow Midnight Ink author Keith Raffel, whose new book, Dot Dead, just came out (with four kids and a day job I have no idea how he does it) – and really got to meet the lovely and gracious Margaret Maron, whose descriptions bowl me over.

Whew. What a weekend. I wish we had conferences every week – I love them. Fun sharing your obsession with similarly inclined folks…