I ran across a book called Cinescopes: What Your Favorite Movies Reveal About You. It looked interesting, so I checked out the website. The authors claim that if you give them your top ten favorite movies, they can pinpoint your personality.
A quick browse of the website reveals the concept is a clever updating of the […]

It was like a real-life “Get Out of Jail Free” card.
One whole day wiped clean of all commitments.
It was a snow day! Or, more accurately, an ice day.
When I checked the news at six in the morning last week and realized all normal activities (work, school, karate, etc.) were cancelled, I’d felt […]

P-day is one week away. One week until the backboard, the bibliography, and the process paper are turned in. One week until the school project is finished and the whole family breathes a sigh of relief.
Until the next due date.
You see, we’ve got several long-term projects in the works. There’s something for everyone—history, […]

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. Yes guys, tomorrow—run out and buy your card and flowers now.
I’d rather skip the fancy dinner out (too crowded) and the blood-red roses (too trite). Romantic, for me, is Chinese take-out and a good DVD. Roses—any color besides red— are optional. But there’s nothing optional about chocolate!
So to gear […]

I have a love/hate relationship with e-mail.
I love receiving e-mails from readers who enjoyed my books. Nothing makes my day like an e-mail from a happy reader.
I love e-mail, too, because I can fire off a note to a friend who lives on the other side of the country (or the world, for […]

I’ve rejoined the workforce—the workforce that gets paid twice a month instead of twice a year, that is. I consider writing my full-time job because whether or not I’m sitting at the computer churning out pages (or trying to churn out pages) I’m constantly thinking about bits of dialogue, how characters would interact, and possible […]

The Directors Guild came to an agreement with the AMPTP last week and some news sources reported the agreement as an indicator that the writer’s strike may soon be resolved.
Yes! Please let it happen.
As you’d probably guess, I’m completely with the writers on this one. I want them to get a fair deal. If […]

I think I’ve overdosed on mysteries.
I used to prowl the aisles at the bookstore and library, snatching up any new mystery (I’d already run through the backlist of my favorite authors), then I’d devour them as quickly as I could. Market research. That’s what I told myself I was doing. I needed to see […]

I love quirky signs. I smile every time I drive by one sign above a restaurant in a little town not far from where I live.
It reads:
Peking Chinese Food
Fried Chicken
&
Liquor
See…isn’t that eccentric combination just weird enough to me make you smile?
I saw another of my favorite signs in Georgia where a vet […]

The word of the year for 2007 was “w00t.”
Haven’t heard of it?
Me either.
In case you’re as clueless as I was, it’s an expression of joy or excitement. Other words on Merriam Webster’s Word of the Year list for 2007 include “facebook,” “quixotic,” and the ever-popular “sardoodledrum.”
A combination of letters and numerals, […]