How weird is this? I'm in the middle of reading Michael Connelly's latest Detective Harry Bosch book, "The Burning Room," (from his detective series set in L.A.), when I come across (on page 233) a character by the name of Bernard Contreras. Not exactly a common name, right?

Here's the weird part. The name of one of my two lead characters (P.I. Polly Berger's secretary) in each of my three "Holy..." books (a detective series set in Hollywood), is Bernardo Contreras. Hmmm. . .

Returned last week from a trip to visit relatives in Upstate New York (Schenectady and Rochester), and have finally gotten back to working on my books. I credit my diligence to the 95+ degree weather we've been having, thank you global warming. I can't help but wonder how much longer the climate change deniers will be able to hang on while tornadoes, droughts, animal extinctions (the greatest since the age of the dinosaurs), and dramatic temperature swings plague our poor abused planet. But back to writing. I'm thinking of changing the title of my fourth P.I. Polly Berger book from "Holy Cannoli, Who Killed Spinnoli" to: "Holy Shmoly, Who Killed Spinoli?" Can't decide.

It’s been so long since I posted on this blog (4 years!! How time flies), that I now have nine books out instead of four. They include a third ‘Polly’ book in the Holy series: Holy Kow! Who’s Dead Now? (with a fourth in the works); a book of short stories, Growing Up With Pigs, two political thrillers—The Shadow Cabinet, and The Singapore Assassin; and the first in a new mystery series starring Sam (Samantha) Clark, Curator of Horticulture at North Carolina’s Jefferson County Zoo, Adieu at the Zoo. A little something for everyone! :-)

In addition to writing, I’ve been traveling to and from various parts of Asia (Singapore, Thailand, and China) since my daughter and family moved to Shanghai (hence, the political thrillers). The travel was exciting and I learned a lot, some of which does and will make an appearance in my thrillers.

Currently, I’m hard at work on three books, which I hope to finish by the end of 2015, but that might be a bit optimistic. Working titles are: The Shanghai Contract, Zoo Brewha-ha-ha, and Holy Cannoli, Who Killed Spinoli? In addition, I've promised a friend (who twisted my arm) to write a quarterly column on beer. I'm not a beer drinker, but my husband's an aficionado so I plan to lean on his expertise. I'll link to those columns here. 

My latest good news comes from the Winston-Salem Second Spring Arts Festival. In 2014, my poem, I Look in the Mirror, won gold, and this year, my short story, A Summer Romance, won silver. Thank you Winston-Salem! I’ll post the poem on my website as soon as my webmistress returns from vacation. Meanwhile, I’ll try to come up with some interesting posts for the blog, now that I’ve caught everyone up on my life. So, keep watching, and don’t be like me and wait four years before you come back. :-)