First (literary) loves

I write cozies filled with cats and other animals, so perhaps it’s no surprise that I return again and again to my favorite childhood books for inspiration. These are five books that continue to enchant and inspire me:

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, of course ... what else? Read more here.

Thank you, Literary Feline!

"There is nothing light or cozy about 'The Ninth Life,'" writes long-time book blogger The Literary Feline. "Care is in real danger, mixing with drug dealers, thieves and some other very seedy people. Blackie is very much a cat"

This thoughtful, intelligent review goes on to discuss the plusses – and one drawback – of this new project, concluding, "The ending was particularly intense with a promise of more to come. 'The Ninth Life' is a unique mystery and I am definitely curious to see where the Clea Simon goes with the characters next." You can read the full review here.

"If you have ever wondered what your pets are thinking, you need to read this series..."

"Simon spins a great mystery full of humor to temper the murder. The twists and turns keep readers guessing until the final pages." So says Writeknit. Read more here.

Pets and pet peeves, too

"I always told stories. Took a while before I realized people would pay to read them ..."
Today I chatted with the folks at "Straight from the Author's Mouth."

The glamorous life of a writer

Not! Or, as I explain at "The Writer's Life" today, it takes a lot of continuous slogging to make the magic happen:

When people find out my 20th mystery came out this spring they often ask: how do I do it? The answer is simple: If you do the work, the magic happens.

A shorter answer is that I consider writing my job. I make myself work on my books five days a week. When I’m in the process of drafting a new manuscript, as I am now, that means sitting down at my desk and not getting up until I produce a certain pre-determined number of words. These days, that’s usually 1,200 words, though when my deadline is tight, it can go up. And as I near the end of a manuscript, it usually climbs on its own until I have to be dragged away to eat dinner or sleep.

Read more here.