Maggie Pill Mysteries

Ocqueoc Topinabee Mackinac Northern Michigan folks love to hear the tourists try to pronounce those, and people know how long you've been in the area by your ability to do it correctly. (FYI Mackinac is ALWAYS maa-ke-naw, no matter how it's spelled, Topinabee has its accent on the first syllable, and it's AH-kee-ahk Falls pictured above.) When you're the traveler, you have to guess how the locals pronounce their stuff: Lead, SD; Toronto, Ontario; Micanopy, FL; Lima, OH; Puyallup, WA; and many more. Sometimes even the locals don't agree. Presque Isle County is pronounced in the French way by some: presk eel, in an Americanized version by others: presk aile, and a confused few mash it up and say preskel aile. What pronunciations do locals in your neck of the woods know the secret to that visitors don't?

  A fan wrote to say she read SLEUTHING AT SWEET SPRINGS in one day. She was ready for the next one and wanted to know when to expect it. You're ready; I'm willing, but here's the thing. It takes a LOT longer to write a book than it does to read it.  First, I need a plot idea. Now, a series is nice because the characters are already there, but they have to do something interesting in each book. I won't write the same plot over and over, and I want it to be a true mystery, with clues for the reader and a logical conclusion. I like the subplots (in the case of the Sleuth Sisters, the grammar thing is big) to be interesting, too. Second, I need time to write it down . The story forms in my head, but the writing-down part always creates problems I didn't imagine. Again, the Sleuth Sisters is tricky because of three points of view. Does Retta know what Faye and Barb did last night? If not, how does she find out? Third, I edit, re-edit, and edit again . I h...

I've never understood what people get out of meanness. *I get that we disagree on politics, but what does calling other people awful things accomplish? Am I supposed to read your hateful comments on the President and say, "Oh, silly me. Here I've been admiring this man and the things he's accomplished for years but now I see that I was soooo wrong." *I know people dislike some books. I do, too, but I recognize that    A) it takes a lot of effort to write and publish a book and  B) just because I don't enjoy it doesn't mean you won't and C) it isn't necessary for me to express my dislike in a way that is hurtful. *I understand that your experiences are different from mine, but why would that make you the final judge of how things should be? People of intelligence recognize that views differ, and while it's difficult to step outside what you've lived through, it's the only way we can get along on this crowded little planet. *...

Yesterday I was discussing (with my sister, of course) the differences between the way men and women think. Science tells of linear brains versus circular brains. Men (and of course not ALL men) tend to think in a straight line, which gets them to a decision fairly quickly, even if it's not the best one. Women (and of course not ALL women) tend to think in circles, which makes the decision process more difficult. My example in the conversation with my sister was eating out. My husband always asks where I'd like to eat when we're out for the day. I always offer two or three choices that I think are good ones. He finds that annoying: "Just tell me where you want to eat," he'll say. However, I know that secretly he's already decided where HE wants to eat. He's being polite by asking me to decide. I'm being polite by trying to share the decision. Finding a place to eat shouldn't be so hard. Anyone else have this going on in their lives?