Snow Days are Great for Reading and Writing

We got another round of the white stuff yesterday. I'm hoping it's winter's final hurrah. The sleet, freezing rain, and snow are getting tedious. But, late starts, early releases, and snow days are great for reading and writing.

I finished Ellery Adams' Murder at the Mystery Suite. Her cozy, set in the mountains of Virginia, takes place at a resort for book lovers. I'm ready to schedule a vacation in her idyllic village. Her characters and world are fun and full of whimsy. But don't get too comfortable. Someone is willing to kill for a first edition.

Last night, I started Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasion by George J. Thompson and Jerry B. Jenkins. It's full of lots of good advice for anyone who has to deal with people.

On the writing front, I'm collecting all of the second round of edits for Virginia is for Mysteries II. We are almost ready to send this to the publisher. I'm excited about our latest collection of stories.

And tomorrow, our SinC-CV group is hosting a boot camp about how to use social media.

I hope your weekend is filled with lots of opportunities for reading and writing. And maybe spring is really around the corner...

March 2 - Dr. Seuss Day

"One Fish. Two Fish. Red Fish. Blue Fish." It's Dr. Seuss Day. Happy Reading!

What Snow Days are Good for...

We got socked with another snow storm. I'm a beach girl. I consider it cold if it drops below sixty-five degrees. These storms that dump six to ten inches of snow are too much. Schools and work are closed, so it's a great day to read, write, and edit.

I'm working on the second round of edits for Virginia is for Mysteries. I also sent out some submissions. Now, the JRTs and I are going to enjoy the white stuff from inside next to the fireplace. I'm reading Ellery Adams' Murder in the Mystery Suite. What are you reading?

What I'm Reading...

The snow is on its way. We're supposed to get 6-12 inches by tomorrow. (Anything below 60 degrees is cold to me.) So, it's a perfect afternoon for my Uggs, books, and hot chocolate.

I finished John Grisham's Gray Mountain. I love John Grisham and his books about Virginia.

This one is about a lawyer who loses her fancy NY job during the Great Recession. When dismissed, she's offered a chance to do pro bono work for a charity with the hope of returning to her job in a year or so. Samantha finds that landing a volunteer job isn't that easy either, and she eventually ends up with a legal aide clinic in Appalachia. The work is hard, and she meets the quirky people of Brady, Virginia.

She works as an unpaid intern at the all-female firm. She's introduced to coal life and all its hazards. She also meets her boss' sexy and dangerous nephews.

The story and setting are great. The crimes are atrocious, and the people are suffering.

My only fault is with some of the characters. They're a little flat, and there were a couple of the main ones that I really didn't care about. Usually, I'm cheering for his main characters, and I want them to win.

Despite a couple of the characters,  Gray Mountain is a good story, and it's worth adding to your winter reading list.

Maggie King's MURDER AT THE BOOK GROUP

Maggie King's Murder at the Book Group isn't your sweet, cozy. Her debut novel, set in and around Richmond, Virginia is made up of a quirky group of book lovers. When one of the organizers dies at a meeting at her home, members of the group start looking at each other and pointing fingers. And that's when the gloves come off and the secrets come out. What appears to be a middle-aged tea-and-book-loving group turns into political rifts and sexcapades. No one's tawdry secrets are safe.

Her protagonist, romance writer, Hazel Rose, works with her cousin Lucy and a former police detective to put all of the pieces together and uncover the murderer.

I love the tagline on the cover, "Someone's about to turn the last page."

Check out Maggie's new novel. I look forward to seeing where her characters go in the next novel.

l-r: Maggie King, Fiona Quinn, Rosemary Shomaker, Jayne Omereod, and Heather Weidner at the MURDER AT THE BOOK GROUP launch party.

More Book Events. . .

I had the pleasure of being a part of the Virginia is for Mysteries panel at the Poe Birthday Bash and the Poe Museum on January 17. It's located in the Old Stone House in Richmond, Virginia. We enjoyed talking with mystery and Poe fans. And the Embalmers were on stage after us. We enjoyed signing books to their retro 60s surf sounds.

I also had fun signing Virginia is for Mysteries at Barnes and Noble Short Pump with the Lethal Ladies of Sisters in Crime Central Virginia. Maggie King signed her debut novel, Murder at the Book Group. Mary Miley signed The Impersonator and Silent Murders from her 1920s series set in Hollywood. And Ellery Adams signed books from her Book Retreat Mysteries and her Books by the Bay series.

Maggie King - MURDER AT THE BOOK GROUP

I had the pleasure recently of attending Maggie King's book launch for MURDER AT THE BOOK GROUP. I'm about half through with her novel, and I look forward to finding out what happens in that interesting group of women. Stop by and see Maggie's blog.

L to R: Maggie King, Fiona Quinn, Rosemary Shomaker, Jayne Ormerod, and Heather Weidner - VIRGINIA IS FOR MYSTERIES authors

What I've Been Reading

I'm on vacation, so it's okay to stay up past my bedtime reading. Here's what I've finished recently...

Check out Brad Meltzer's The Tenth Justice. This is one of his earlier thrillers. In this one, a young, ambitious Supreme Court clerk gets himself mixed up in an extortion plot. He learns quickly that you can't trust anyone in Washington, DC.

I also finished Bill Crider's Too Late to Die. This was the first in his Sheriff Dan Rhodes series. I've read quite of few later ones, but I'd never read the beginning of the story. I love his small-town Texas characters.

I enjoyed Nancy J. Cohen's Permed to Die. This was a fun, fast read. Her amateur sleuth is a hair stylist. This is also the first in this series.

Right now, I'm reading Maggie King's debut novel, Murder at the Book Group.

Happy reading!