Category: Bonus Tracks

The Parting Glass

Today is a sad day for me. Danae‘s public viewing is this afternoon in Portland, Ore., and her funeral is tomorrow. I mentioned that this beautiful young woman is the second murder victim I’ve known; as surreal as it is for me, I can only imagine what it is like for the family members.

So today, instead of a book review, I raise a parting glass to Danae K. Williams, and to Stephanie Rodriguez, my colleague who was murdered 18 years ago.

State of the Author: Let’s Face It, I’m Tired

Hi, everyone. A quick update on yours truly:

  1. I’m having a lot of stress from my day job. I put in a 12-hour day on Monday, and spent the past two days in a virtual conference that started at 7 AM my local time. I manage a global program for two divisions of our firm, and it’s a lot to take care of.
  2. As many of you know, I’m also president of my local chapter of Sisters in Crime. The pandemic came along when our chapter was only six months old, so that’s a challenge in and of itself. However, I am worn out with the challenges that come from apparent member expectations that they need simply sit back and let someone else take care of everything. My board have all been great, but we are all stretched thin for a variety of reasons. I’ve had to send out an e-mail saying it’s time for some frank talk about the future of the chapter.
  3. I’m in FB jail (again) for hurting the feelings of an angry, white dude whose credible threats of violence against women were deemed acceptable under terms of service, but my two-word response was enough to net me 30 days in the hole. I’ll just be over here channeling Steve Marriott.
  4. I don’t love MeWe. I doubt I’ll stay over there … but at least I’ve claimed my profile.
  5. My second Pfizer jab is tomorrow. I will be glad to have it in the rearview mirror and, after the two weeks necessary to obtain theoretical full immunity, I want nothing so much as to see some also-vaccinated friends, even if all we do is sit in the backyard and yell to one another.
  6. Two of the six cats who need to be “fixed” in our feral colony have had their surgeries. One of them has had kittens, and I have no idea where she’s stashed them — or how many there are. So, the beat goes on in that regard.