I have lived in Western North Carolina for more than 21 years. At first, I never saw any black bears. Then they were everywhere I looked, including my back yard. If you’re local, you have accepted that this land we call home is not really ours. It belongs instead to every bit of Nature that traipses through it. Wild turkeys, deer, opossums, foxes…but mostly bears. I’m talking about them this week in a sizable article at SleuthSayers, the group mystery blog that I write for. I’ve wanted to write something about them for a while now. The fact that the weather is starting to cool, and the bears are packing on weight for their presumed hibernation is…

Since Halloween is creeping up the calendar, I thought it would be a good idea to list my spookiest work in one spot so people can find them easily. (I can’t believe I’ve never done this!) But just what is Halloween fare? Is it all horror? Demons? Ghosts? Domestic suspense that turns creepy? Turns out, I’ve written quite a bit that fits all those vibes.

Understand: I’m a multi-genre writer who mostly writes crime fiction. But when I sit down to write, I don’t really know what’s going to come out on the other end. More often than not, I end up mashing

Twenty-five years ago this morning, I was standing on the roof of my apartment building in Hoboken, watching as the second of the twin towers fell across the river in Manhattan. Though I’ve recalled the day many times over the years, and even written a short story about those events, I have come to accept how much I don’t recall, how much, in fact, I did not bother to record. That’s fine for civilians, but when you’re a reporter and writer, you’re supposed to…

I tend not to show my anger. It’s a blessing and a curse. When I do blow my top, it’s usually at something in the publishing industry, ensuring that the only people who ever witness it are my poor wife or fellow writers. This has earned me the nickname Angry Joe in some circles. Angry Joe reared his ugly head earlier this week when something in the local community set me off, and I felt compelled to write an email that I’ll never send. As I explain in my SleuthSayers article this week, this is in a grand tradition that includes such writers as Abraham Lincoln and Ben Franklin…

Dean Wesley Smith is an incredibly prolific writer. He writes with his cats. I write with my pooch. Dean is adept at writing into the dark at speed. In other words, he does not outline his work before writing and sets for himself some remarkable word—count challenges. In a book of his I recently read, Writing With the Waltese Falcon, he shows us how he wrote three books—one in ten days, one in seven, and one in five while traveling on vacation. That’s incredible. In a column I share on SleuthSayers, the mystery blog, this week, I do a quick overview of the book and then share the story of my one and only experiment writing at speed. I’ve shared that story on this blog a few years ago.

I’ve been on the road with my wife Denise Kiernan as she visits bookstores and promotes her new book, Obstinate Daughters, about the women behind the American Revolution. The experience of being on the road together to sell copies of a RevWar book brought back a ton of memories—going as far back as childhood. “I have been here before, and before, and before,” is all I keep thinking. Why? In 1976…

We are two weeks into the launch of my wife’s new book, OBSTINATE DAUGHTERS: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution (Penguin Random House, 2026). It has been a wild ride to watch the book come together over eight years, and now it is out in the world. That means every day there is a new review or some media tidbit that comes our way. This post is my attempt to create a collection point for everything I find. This post will grow over time, so check back if you’re curious…

There’s a book about writing that I re-read every year. It does not teach whole lot of craft. But it does speak to the heart. It will probably speak to you, if you care about writing. It’s a classic book written by Brenda Ueland called If You Want to Write (affiliate link). I cannot remember how or when I first learned about it, but my wife and I bought a paperback copy ages ago, read and enjoyed it, and have re-read it over the years and even handed out copies to fellow writers as well. It’s an inspirational book first…

We are less than a week out from the launch of my wife’s new book, OBSTINATE DAUGHTERS: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution (Penguin Random House, June 23, 2026.) Her publisher put together a cute, 17-second video—with music!—to promote the book. Watch it right here! In other news:

• Who is in the book?

• How can I get my hands on a copy?

• Check out another cute t-shirt!

I attended a college graduation recently and got strangely emotional before the ceremony began. I started analyzing why, and I finally landed on the fact that I love learning, and haven’t stopped doing so, really, since I was a kid. I took out a notebook, started jotting down some thoughts, and before long I had the makings of an article on the topic that dips into nostalgia, yes, but also touches on a prophecy made by one of my professors way back in…