The Sights, Sounds, and Smells of Downtown Chicago

Posted on July 11, 2018 by admin

Monday I did something wonderful. I took my first walk through downtown Chicago since late April when I broke my foot. I'm still in an Aircast, but I'm getting around well enough to walk alone. It felt fantastic. First I walked from my physical therapist's office to the main Chase bank branch on Monroe and Dearborn. I'd been hoping to sit in the lobby area overlooking the plaza and fountain and rest, but it was under construction. As is everywhere near downtown Chicago these days it se...

This Year’s Retreat

Posted on July 4, 2018 by admin

This year's creative retreat is in Green Bay, Wisconsin. One of many beautiful sunsets: Our second day a neighbor warned about a storm coming. So did the sky and lake. I've been working on The Charming Man (Q.C. Davis Series No. 2). Hoping this bug did not die from reading it. But maybe that's good. Like The Worried Man (Q.C. Davis Series No. 1), it's suspense/mystery. We're using many different spaces. Here's a mini-office m...

Immigration, Family History, and The Stories We Tell

Posted on June 27, 2018June 28, 2018 by admin

With all the news and debate about immigration I’ve been thinking a lot lately about family history. My mom’s parents came to the United States from Poland in the early 1900s. My grandfather emigrated first. My grandmother planned to follow soon after, but due to changes in U.S. immigration law it was nearly a decade before she could. Two of her children traveled with her. She and my grandfather had four more children, including my mother, after settling in the U.S. For a long time,...

Lawyers, Stress, and Horror

Posted on June 20, 2018June 20, 2018 by admin

What do horror, being a lawyer, and stress have in common? All played a part in my life when I worked full time as a lawyer. Also, all factor into the three short stories in the new paperback edition of The Tower Formerly Known as Sears and Two Other Tales of Urban Horror. I finally released this paperback edition while home recovering from my broken foot--one good thing about the many weeks in the cast. The Man In The Mirror I'm particularly fond of this story, as it's the first one...

A Wheelchair, A Book Fair, And A Lot Of Nice People

Posted on June 13, 2018 by admin

This year I felt the most trepidation I ever have about bringing my books to the Printers Row Lit Fest (a/k/a the Printers Row Book Fair). And I had the best time I've ever had. The trepidation came because I'm still not able to put weight on my foot, which has 2 broken bones. I'm wearing a clunky Aircast, which is better than a regular cast, but still keeps me a bit off balance on crutches. With how crowded the book fair usually is, I felt nervous about getting through the crowds without ...

Please Join Me At Printers Row Lit Fest in Chicago June 9

Posted on June 5, 2018 by admin

If you'll be in the Chicago area on Saturday June 9, please stop and say hello at the Printers Row Lit Fest. I'll be under the Chicago Writers Association Tent Saturday, June 9 from 10 AM to 12:30 PM. The CWA tent will be between Harrison and Polk on Dearborn Street (so around 700 S. Dearborn). The Lit Fest (formerly called the Printers Row Book Fair) is open June 9 and 10. It spans Dearborn Street from Congress Parkway to Polk, and there are usually tents along Polk and events in the Haro...

Our Mothers, Ourselves, Our Fiction

Posted on May 30, 2018 by admin

After reading The Worried Man, a friend who’s also read my other books pointed out that my main characters’ mothers aren’t exactly warm and fuzzy. It’s true. Like a lot of women, my mom and I clashed over many things. What comes through in my fiction are larger than life echoes of those conflicts. Unfair as it is, the things I admire most about my mom — and there are a lot of them — usually find their way into other characters. Conflict Conflict Conflict Storytelling requires conflict...

Books And Shows – What Do You Suggest?

Posted on May 23, 2018May 23, 2018 by admin

During the 4 1/2 weeks so far that I've been at home due to my broken foot, I've read tons of books and watched a few new shows. Here are the highlights: Novels: The first two Shaye Archer novels by Jana DeLeon. I love these books! Shaye is a young female private eye who just started her business and who has a very difficult past. Already planning to read the rest. I'm spacing them out so as not to finish too fast. John Sandford's Twisted Prey. This book i...

Accidental Discoveries About City Of Chicago Landmarks

Posted on May 16, 2018May 16, 2018 by admin

In my work in progress, main character Quille searches for a missing woman while trapped in the iconic Chicago apartment complex River City, which might or might not be a Chicago landmark. (The novel is The Charming Man, Book 2 of my Q.C. Davis series.) Built in 1986, River City has always reminded me of the cylindrical many-windowed building that the cartoon family the Jetsons lived in. If you’re too young to remember, The Jetsons featured a space-age family that got around in flying ...

Pride, Prejudice, and Patience a/k/a Really, I Still Have This Cast?

Posted on May 9, 2018 by admin

Launching my latest novel, Book 1 in a new mystery series, while dealing with a broken foot has forced me to confront some things about myself. For instance, I discovered I'm a pretty impatient person. I can also be my own worst enemy when it comes to living in my head. What ifs and worst case scenarios are great for fiction writing. And for foreseeing possible problems when you're representing a client in a lawsuit. Not so good for mental health. So here's what I've learned. Or at ...