One of the most charming and fascinating books for kids during the 1980s was Masquerade, by Kit Williams. At first glance, it was just another children’s picture book. On a deeper level, however, it was a map to a jewel-encrusted treasure buried somewhere in England. All you had to do was study the gorgeous illustrations for clues that would lead you to the spot where the author—a consummate illustrator, sculptor, clockmaker, and wizard—had hidden a golden amulet in the shape of the book’s protagonist, Jack Hare.

Spiedies are a regional food phenom centered primarily in the city of Binghamton, New York. Back in 1998, I pitched and sold a story on spiedies to a slick national food magazine. They paid me and my expenses quickly, but never ran the story. It was officially, mercilessly dead. Until now…

Some time ago, one of my fellow bloggers over at SleuthSayers confessed his love for the 1998 Coen Bros. classic film, The Big Lebowski. I read my fellow author’s post, and jumped in a few weeks later with my own reminiscence of my days in Italy, watching that movie over and over again with Italian subtitles. The movie was called Il Grande Lebowski, and now I have lines of dialogue—in both English and Italian—stuck in my brain forever.

Long Live Il Drugantibus!

It’s Friday, so I’m over at SleuthSayers with a post about what to bring on a day hike. I know—it’s a little out there for me. I’m no Bear Grylls, but trust me, the post is appropriate this summer for two reasons…

I wrote this essay back in 2003 or so, when I had just gotten engaged and was living abroad in Italy for a month. (Later changed to a year.) This essay has never seen the light of day until now…

Two of the overhyped movies of the summer have been Indiana Jones and Dial of Destiny, and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. Oppie’s huge, Indy’s a dud, at least that’s what the scuttlebutt says. Me, I loved seeing both of them, and it’s great seeing Harrison Ford back in action.

But let’s talk about watches…

I wrote two Sherlock-themed posts in the past year, devoted to the new Netflix series, Enola Holmes, based on the life of Sherlock’s youngest sibling, a teenager named Enola. Actress Millie Bobby Brown stars as the titular character, based on a series of books by the Edgar Award-winning writer, Nancy Springer.

Here’s why I think they’re wonderful movies…

Writers are always asking each other which software they use.

Do they write in Word? Pages? Scrivener?

Some writers swear by Word, for example. I hate the thing, and only use it to transmit a final document to editors or clients.

I wrote a few blog posts recently in which I delved into my current favorite apps for writers. I’m going to just quickly offer those links so you can find them easily…