I thought about starting an Introverts Club but was afraid nobody would come to the meetings!

Reality is going to put us fiction writers out of business.

Tracy Clark is coming to town! Next Tuesday! Interviewed by the incomparable Oline Cogdill!

Congrats to my friend @loriraderday.bsky.social (and one of my favorite writers) on the publication of her latest blockbuster, WRECK YOUR HEART! Can't wait to read this one!!!

Submitted my first short story of the year. Fly, lil' birdie, fly!

South Florida peeps! I hope you’ll join us on Saturday, January 31 at 7 pm at Books & Books in Coral Gables. Rebecca Lugones, JD Allen, @Heather Graham, and I will be discussing our stories in THE MOST DANGEROUS GAMES (and plenty of other things). Should be a lot of fun! FREE! Click thru to RSVP!

Some people are from hearty stock. I think I'm from hearty soup stock.

GOING APE that my story, "Auntie Grizelda," is included in this groovy anthology!!! FAR OUT! Thanks Shelley Kubitz and Larry Allan!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Just got my two-year (paper) calendar/planner. Just in time—now I’ll know where I have to go tomorrow!

Lemon and tennis ball.

Every year, I try to incorporate a new (healthy) food into my diet. Items added the past few years have included dates, buckwheat groats, brussels sprouts, pasta made from chickpeas, and flaxseed. Having a tough time coming up with one for 2026. Suggestions?

"Alexa, clean the kitchen."

No AI has been used to write my social media posts. The dad jokes are all mine!

Boy, do I love palm trees!

For really big mistakes.

HOLLYWOOD KILLS gets a nice mention in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine! Thanks, Steve Steinbock!

I’ve got six bottles/jars on the mustard shelf in the fridge: Dijon (3), horseradish, stoneground, and hot Chinese, along with two in the pantry: dill pickle and honey mustard. Can’t have too much mustard. What's your favorite type of mustard?

VERY HAPPY to be working with Jay Hartman at White City Press/Misti Media on these re-issues! HUGE THANKS to my fab agent Michelle Richter for sealing the deal!

I’ve started calling avocados “avocadhopes” because I so rarely pick a good one.

I’ve been crowing throughout the season about how good my fantasy football team was, but my team got bumped out in the first round of the playoffs. Disappointing? Yes. But I’m confident that we can make the playoffs next year. We’d better—eight out of the ten teams in the league make the playoffs!

Congrats to my pal @catrionamcp.bsky.social on the recent release of her 8th(!) book in the Last Ditch mystery series, SCOT'S EGGS! These books are HILARIOUS and if you aren't reading them, you are missing out, big time! Trust me, I would never steer you astray!

Sunday iguana pic.

If I am not the world’s worst singer/dancer/artist, then I am certainly in the top (bottom?) ten.

LOVE this cover! Can't wait to read the book!

Rank the following breakfast foods, in order of preference: French toast, pancakes, waffles.

Contributor copy! Thanks to fantastic editor @deborahlacy.bsky.social and Level Best Books!

My fantasy football team is 11-3 and heading into the playoffs as the top seed.

While we were at the pool (on vacay), a dad was with his three-year-old son. The dad said to a buddy, “...so cold we had to get the hell out of there.” An innocuous comment between two adults. But a few seconds later, the boy started chanting, loudly, “What the hell? What the hell?” Priceless.

Congrats to Christina Kovac on the recent release of WATCH US FALL! Can't wait to dig in!!!

#wilsondiseaseawarenessday wilsondisease.org

Bought a Fruity Pebbles bagel from F-ing Bagels, and the experience was probably exactly like you would imagine.

I am irrationally excited about our new bathroom faucets. Finally, some water pressure!

Very happy to see the anthology I co-edited with Adam Meyer, HOLLYWOOD KILLS, on Oline Cogdill’s Best Anthologies of the Year list (South Florida Sun Sentinel). The novels mentioned are pretty awesome, too! Congrats, all!

I got a little too aggressive browning the marshmallows on the sweet potato casserole yesterday. It took several minutes for the flames to die down. “2025: The Year Alan Carbonized Thanksgiving.”

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! My favorite holiday! Stuffing, turkey, stuffing, gravy, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and stuffing!

I’m “I don’t mind talking on the phone” years old.

I’d better stay out of trouble because I don’t think I’d do very well in prison.

I missed posting this when it first came out. @olinecog.bsky.social's nice review of DOUBLE CROSSING VAN DINE (from @jeffreymarks.bsky.social at Crippen & Landru Publishers), following an excellent review of @rachelhowzell.bsky.social's FOG AND FURY!

Blimp!

Current status.

Emojis are not my 💪🕴️.

I think my muse has applied for the witness protection program, and I don’t blame him one bit.

My muse has started parking in the neighbor’s driveway so nobody will think he’s involved with my current manuscript.

Finishing the first draft of my WIP is like pulling teeth. But not a person’s teeth. The teeth of a rabid saber-toothed tiger, one that hasn’t slept or ate in days, one who wants nothing more than to rip out your lungs while you’re still using them. Aside from that, though, it’s going great!

Congrats to @mkinberg.bsky.social and all the contributors on this very cool anthology! And for a great cause!

Watching twelve hours of NFL football in a day? Excessive or glorious?

This issue of Black Cat Weekly features stories from their recent short story contest, including my story, “Captain Fluffy Sails Again!” (an honorable mention). This issue also showcases the winning story, “Kat’s Ninth Life,” by Pam Barnsley! From @wildsidepress!

Wednesday green bug picture.

"What Ned Said" by Gary Phillips getting some love from Robert Lopresti!