Genres
There’s Nothing Better Than A Good Bad Guy
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“The more successful the villain, the more successful the picture.” —Alfred Hitchcock Let’s start with the simple assertion that all great fiction is crime fiction. From classic Greek tragedies to Shakespeare’s plays to film noir, To Kill A Mockingbird, Lord of The Rings or Stars Wars or Game of Thrones—something has been stolen, someone has…
Cozy Mysteries to Add to Your Christmas Stocking
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I don’t know about you, but a fresh set of fleece pajamas and a brand-new novel on Christmas Eve is one of my favorite holiday traditions. Throw in a roaring fireplace, a mug of cocoa loaded with whip cream and a candy cane stir, and trust me, I’m up long after Santa flies overhead. I…
From Academic to Crime Writer
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“You can’t be serious.” Twice in my life, academic colleagues and friends have had that reaction when I’ve told them what I was planning to do. The first time was in the early 1990s, when I decided to teach a course on LGBT politics at the University of California, San Diego, one of the first…
A List of Jewish Crime Thrillers
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My novel The Great Gimmelmans is about a family of Jewish bank robbers who lose all their money in the Stock Market Crash of 1987 and start robbing banks, kids and all, out of the only thing that hasn’t been repossessed: their gas-guzzling RV. The Gimmelmans begin as a secular, reform Jewish family, but by…
Thrillers Where Natural Disaster Looms Large
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It’s a perennial question at readings and signings: Where do you get the ideas for your books? I usually mumble something that amounts to (phrased politely), “I pull them out of thin air.” But when it comes to Best Be Prepared (Severn House), my most recent in a series featuring amateur sleuth Nora Best, I…
An Argument for the Unintentional Villain
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A good villain is essential to a good mystery. He or she is the author of the crime, the driver of the plot, and the key to solving the ensuing investigation. Often, the more cunning and deceitful the villain, the more satisfying their unmasking and capture. This is one reason for the public fascination with…
Healing Through Horror
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Oh, the Horror! It doesn’t often come up but when it does, people are often surprised when I tell them I never set out to be a horror writer. Sure, I’m a die-hard, lifelong fan of the genre, and it was reading Stephen King’s The Shining at thirteen that opened my mind and imagination to…
Difficult Women In Historical Fiction: A Reading List
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I try to be good but fail every day. My natural state is lazy, self-indulgent, resentful, and dangerously avoidant. The damage I’ve done in life has mainly come from not-getting-around-to something I ought to do. If you’re still waiting for my thank you card or RSVP or post-retirement letter of recommendation or final portfolio grade,…
The Regency Mystery Arrives to the Ball
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I’d wager a box of my favorite tea that you’ve heard of Bridgerton by now. Maybe even that it’s that occasionally spicy period drama based upon author Julia Quinn’s romance series of the same name. And, most likely, that it’s set during the Regency period and features lots of ballroom dances, courtly manners, a few…