Where do you get your ideas?

People often ask where I get my ideas. Now I have a perfect story to tell them!

Last week, I sent an advance reading copy (bound galley) of "Probable Claws" off to a woman who runs a website on cozy mysteries. This week, I followed up to make sure she had gotten it. She responded that she had, but because it was sent via media mail it had been opened and inspected by the US Postal Service. Wonderful woman that she is, she asked why.

She was told that everything that is sent via media mail is X-rayed, for starters. And, I quote:

"I asked the lady at the post office and she said if there's anything in "media mail" that doesn't belong (like drug-impregnanted paper,which, she says, is a problem), the feds return it to the sender."

Which blows my mind. First of all, that drug-impregnated paper is common enough to be a problem. And also that they send it back.

You know this is going to show up in a book at some point.

and... here's my latest review for the San Francisco Chronicle. Nina Killham's "Believe Me."