Maggie Pill Mysteries

The second book in the Sleuth Sisters series delves deeper into the characters of Barb, Faye, and Retta. It seemed likely to me that Retta would have a dog. She lives in the country, she's alone, and she just seemed like a "dog person." Faye is the type who is compelled to help anyone in need, so when she finds a dog hurt on the road, she naturally takes it in. So we have 3 sleuths and 2 dogs. All I had to do was write in a murder for them to solve. The fun part of writing this series is the response from readers, who want to tell me which sister they are. "I'm Barb," someone will say. "I'm always correcting people." Or, "I'm Retta. I'm the baby, and I always get my way." People often ask who I am, but that's complicated. Characters in a story become who we writers need them to be, so while one might figure an ex-English teacher would write herself as Barb, correcting grammatical errors on public signs in secret, I agree, ...

My plan was to do a series of sister posts leading up to National Sisters' Day, which is tomorrow. What happened involves two crews of men, each blaming the other for the fact that my internet line was sucked away from my house, across my lawn, and under the road, ending up somewhere in a field. I was 8 days w/o real internet, just the pitiful dribble my phone allows. Still, they're all being really nice to me: no charge for the re-install, and my bill has been reduced for the week I wandered alone in the world. The upshot is that my last week of sisterly essays couldn't  be posted. I'm sure life will go on without them. As to the mice, I've never had such a problem with them in the summer. Usually we get a few in the fall, when the weather turns cold and they look for a warm spot to spend the winter. This year it's been constant. If I'm quiet in the morning as I sip my coffee, they come out and skitter around the kitchen. If we catch one, two more appea...

One of the criticisms I hear of Audible is how expensive audio books are, and I sympathize. Many of my fans save credits or scrimp to buy my newest book, and it's discouraging for authors, who know a new listener probably isn't going to risk $20 plus to try her book. Lately they seem to be getting it, and I have had two hopeful signs. One is that they put my old MACBETH'S NIECE release (written as Peg Herring) into a special romance category that gives readers a price break. The other is that they're having a sale this week (Feb. 18 to 25) on "First of a Series" books, and they included THE SLEUTH SISTERS for less than $6.95 (whatever that means!) That means if you haven't heard Judy, Laura, and Anne perform as Retta, Barb, and Faye, you get a bargain chance. https://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/The-Sleuth-Sisters-Audiobook/B00MW75YF0  And since Book #6 is in the works, you'll have some enjoyable listening ahead!