Congratulations!

 I love when mystery award season rolls around.

I love seeing names of authors who write books I read and love.

I especially love seeing names of authors I am lucky enough to know and call "friend."

When two friends are both nominated for the same very big award I just cross my fingers and hope for a tie.  

Here's to Louise Penny and Hank Phillippi Ryan 

Congratulations to ALL the Anthony nominees!  Well done, and much deserved!  

Voting will take place at Bouchercon in Calgary. Winners will be announced on October 24, 2026.

𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹 

Crooks by Lou Berney 

King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby 

The Black Wolf by Louise Penny 

Death of an Ex by Delia Pitts 

All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan 

𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹 

Whiskey Business by Adrian Andover 

Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove 

The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs 

Voices of the Elysian Fields by Michael Rigg 

History Lessons by Zoe B. Wallbrook 

Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang 

𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹 

Tricks of Fortune by Lina Chern 

Edge by Tracy Clark 

Crimson Thaw by Bruce Robert Coffin 

River of Lies by James L'Etoile 

This Violent Heart by Heather Levy 

𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻'𝘀/𝗬𝗔 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹 

Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History by Chris Chan 

Miles in Time by Lee Matthew Goldberg 

The Scammer by Tiffany D. Jackson 

Death in the Cards by Mia P. Manansala 

Risky Pursuit by Nancy G. West 

𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹/𝗡𝗼𝗻-𝗙𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 

Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover's Travel Guide to New England by Dawn M. Barclay 

L.A. Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood by Anne Soon Choi 

Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser 

The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story by Pagan Kennedy 

Bone Valley: A True Story of Injustice and Redemption in the Heart of Florida by Gilbert King 

𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆/𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 

Whatever Kills the Pain by C.W. Blackwell 

Blood On the Bayou: Case Closed edited by Don Bruns 

Crime Ink: Iconic: An Anthology of Crime Fiction Inspired by Queer Icons edited by John Copenhaver & Salem West 

On Fire and Under Water: A Climate Change Crime Fiction Anthology edited by Curtis Ippolito Hollywood Kills edited by Adam Meyer & Alan Orloff 

𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 

"Six-Armed Robbery" by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier 

"AITA for Using My Husband's Hobby to Teach Him a Lesson" by Mindy Carlson 

"Hollywood Prometheus" by Christa Faust 

"Brotherly Love" by Cheryl A. Head 

"Finding Jimmy Baldwin" by Cheryl A. Head 

"The Skies Are Red" by Richie Narvaez

Favorite Books through June 2025

Sister of my heart,  Lesa Holstine, posted her favorite books of the year (so far) at her blog.

https://lesasbookcritiques.com/favorite-books-january-through-june-2025/#comment-105564

It reminded me that I had not yet posted my own, so here 'tis.  A little late, but here, nonetheless.

Some of the books on this list may not be available yet as I read them as Advance Reading Copies through NetGalley. com, but they're available for pre-ordering and are worth waiting for.

Happy Reading!

 We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter

Writers and Liars by Carol Goodman

Apostle’s Cove by William Kent Krueger

My Beloved by Jan Karon

All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Hunter’s Heart Ridge by Sarah Stewart Taylor

Mrs. Endlicott’s Splendid Adventure by Rhys Bowen

These Heathens by Mia McKenzie

Through An Open Window by Pamela Terry

The Last Carolina Summer by Karen White

Painting by Kay Ritter

New . . .

 

New pashmina, new hat -

Life is good.

My new hat is the replacement for the one I lost somewhere between Paris and Meat Camp.

I am not as in love with it yet, but . . . here's hoping.

The gorgeous pashmina is a gift from my pal Hank Phillippi Ryan.  Have you read her book THE HOUSE GUEST?? 

Better grab it, it is fabulous!  AND her new book, ONE WRONG WORD is hitting the shelves February 6.

Sunday in Meat Camp

 It's turned a bit cooler and breezier in these mountains.

It's been a week of terrible sadness for Israel and the entire world.

Another week of clown shows of politics from a bunch of Republican congressional members who care more about their own selfish self-interests than the good of this country.

And in a show of true selfish self-interest from me -

I Have a Terrible Cold

I have a terrible cold,
And everyone knows how terrible colds
Alter the whole system of the universe,
Set us against life,
And make even metaphysics sneeze.
I have wasted the whole day blowing my nose.
My head is aching vaguely.
Sad condition for a minor poet!
Today I am really and truly a minor poet.
What I was in old days was a wish; it's gone.

Goodbye for ever, queen of fairies!
Your wings were made of sun, and I am walking here.
I shan't get well unless I go and lie down on my bed.
I never was well except lying down on the Universe.

Excusez un peu… What a terrible cold!… it's
physical!
I need truth and aspirin.

(14.03.1931)

written under the pen name of, Alvaro de Campo

© by owner. provided at no charge for educational purposes

On the more positive side of things, I leave in just over a week for South Carolina.

Am I excited?  You betcha (considering the fact that I should be over this nasty head cold by then).

Before leaving, I have a busy week.

I have an appointment to have my hair cut and streaked.  

An appointment for a manicure/pedicure.

And an appointment with my closet and suitcase to decide what to take with me.  Since I'll be driving, the sky's the limit!  I can take as much as I want to.  Dresses and Shoes, oh my!

I also have an appointment with my kitchen.  

Donald and Annabelle will not be traveling with me, so I'll be cooking up a pot of spaghetti sauce for Don to enjoy while I'm gone, as well as making sure there's other things here he'll fix for himself.  And a few special treats.

In other good news, I loved waking up to see pictures of Travis and Taylor out on a Saturday night date last night. ❤

They are adorable.  

Now, me and my cold are going to curl up with a fresh cup of coffee and a good book.  

The book?

An ARC from NetGalley.

The next book by my pal Hank Phillippi Ryan, One Wrong Word.

Life is good.

Even with a cold.

Favorite Books of 2023 - So Far

 

Seeing Lesa's list of her Favorite Books of 2023 - So Far reminded me to post my own.  

As usual, we share a fave or two.

Here's mine:

The House Guest by Hank Phillippi Ryan, published 2/7

All That is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay, published 3/7

Homecoming by Kate Morton, published 4/4

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane, published 4/25

The Bird Hotel by Joyce Maynard, published 5/2

Silence of the Seamaid by Ann Medlock, published 5/4

The Truth Against the World by David Corbett, published 6/1

All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby, published 6/6

The Last Bookshop by Evie Woods, published 6/22

         -   Coming Soon and Not to be Missed   -

Sleepless City by Reed Farrel Coleman - 7/11

Those We Thought We Knew by David Joy - 8/1

What the girl's been up to . . .

 If you read my last post you'll know Annabelle and I are home alone.

I, in jest, muttered about "what's a girl to do while DH is out of town."

Those who know me know I've never had any difficulty entertaining myself.

Perhaps that comes from growing up as an only child.  Or being a bit of an introvert.  Or simply being content with my own company.  

I know some people need a good bit of socializing to keep them happy.  I know some people who think staying home alone is boring beyond words.  And some people just need to be out and about and doing stuff.

My lifestyle of happily being at home, sometimes, for several days at a time, seems weird to some.  Oh, well.  To each his own.

When the urge or need hits, believe me, i will get up, go out, and do stuff.

In the meantime, Annabelle and I are fine fine fine.  She has, by the way, started speaking to me again.  We're pals.  She is sticking pretty close.  ❤

We chat with Donald a couple times a day and things are going well with the move.

I did order a bag of scrap fabric from amazon, and pulled out all the other items needed to make my own version of the scarf I mentioned in my last post.

While waiting for the fabric to arrive I've done a little bit of cooking (thank you, Greg Herren for that Sloppy Joe recipe!  The BEST!). 

I've read a couple of VERY good books, and watched a couple of movies.

Books have let me down this year.  Some that sounded good didn't hold my interest.   Some I was looking forward to disappointed.

But.

Thanks to NetGalley.com I did read two that I loved.  Started and could not put down (I love being retired).

Want to hear what they were?

Neither have been released yet but you can pre-order them.

Check 'em out!!!

Next up is . . .

Movies I've (re)watched are Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, Practical Magic, and Midnight in Paris.

And, that, my friends, is what's happening in Meat Camp, North Carolina.

Life is good.

Louise Penny in Hickory, NC

It feels just right to be writing this today, March 8, International Women's Day.

Many years back I happened to read about a new book by a new author.

The book was "Still Life."

The author was Louise Penny.

With so many people at DorothyL whose opinions I valued, and who I knew enjoyed many of the same books and authors I did, raving about this particular book I decided to give it a try.

I was blown away.

I don't have words for how deeply this book touched me.

And I fell in love with Louise Penny's voice.  Her sly, quick wit.  Her powers of observance and grasp of human circumstances and conditions.  Her empathy for our frailties and imperfections.


And so the process of tapping my toe while waiting for the second book to appear began.

And the third . . . 

And that impatience and enthusiasm is as high today as it was back then.



In 2008 I attended my first Bouchercon in Baltimore.


And walking through the book room there was Louise Penny.  Sitting at a table signing books.


And so it began.


Suffice to say I adore this woman.


She's been gracious enough to contribute several times to my Meanderings and Muses, and has graced my life in many ways.


She's everything you might imagine by reading her books.


She is, to me, a rock star.

Bouchercon 2008 - Baltimore

Bouchercon 2009 - Indianapolis

Malice Domestic

I've only been able to catch up with her over the years at mystery conventions.

Although she's included North Carolina on her book tours a few times, something always seemed to get in the way of my attending.

When I found out she was going to be in Hickory as part of the Lenoir-Rhyne Visiting Writers Series I was ecstatic.  And called for tickets immediately,

Donald went with me and it was a perfect evening.  

The signing took place at the Hickory, NC Public Library.  I'm not going to try to make a guess at how many people were in attendance, but I can say it was easily over a hundred.  

When Louise came into the room she was smiling that big wonderful Louise Penny smile.  She greeted and hugged and shook hands and there's no one immune to the graciousness of this lovely, lovely woman.

I was tickled pink when she spotted me and wrapped me in a hug.  Then asked "where's your handsome husband?"  I assured her, he was on his way.  He wanted a hug too.

And he did get his hug.

But did I get a picture?

NO!!!!

I am so angry with myself.

So on our way out and on our way to the Lenoir Rhyne College P. E. Monroe Auditorium I got a shot of him reading over someone's shoulder.

The auditorium holds, I think, 2,000 people.  

It was full.

Dr. Rand Brandes, Director of the Visiting Writer Series, stepped on stage and was his usual delightful self.  Took a poll by asking people to stand if they had come over 1,000 miles to see tonight's speaker.  An unbelievable number of people stood.  Then he asked how many had come from over 500 miles and, again, a huge number of people stood.  

There were two ladies there who had come from New Mexico.  And they planned on being at Louise's next signing in Denver.


She walked onto the stage to applause, wowed everyone, took questions, and left about an hour and a half later to a very, very long standing ovation.

She is a kind and generous woman.  

Funny.

Approachable.

Humble.

Compassionate.

Surprisingly forthcoming.

Gracious.

Beautiful.

I adore her.

And now we had a drive back up the mountain to Boone, about an hour and a half from Lenoir-Rhyne to Meat Camp.


So it only made sense to stop for coffee and donuts for the ride.

Date night with my guy.

A book event with Louise Penny (including hugs).

Krispy Kreme.

It doesn't get any better than that.


And this is for all of you - from me.

Honoring women we admire. It has become, finally, more of a thing than it once was, and that makes me happy. Besides those women who made history, as they all deserved, with their great accomplishments, we're now honoring women for what might be seen as smaller achievements in the big picture of the world as a whole, and in history going as far back as far as the beginning of time. Their successes may not be well known outside a family, or outside a particular community and may seem small outside those parameters, but in fact, they're still huge. The women I admire are many, and I admire each of them for vastly different reasons. Mostly though, they're women who do what they do because they have beliefs they're willing to fight for, to speak out in defense of. To live. They're creative in their own special ways, not in order to become well known, but because they have talents they enjoy utilizing, be it motherhood or anthropologist - or a combination of the two. Here's to each of you.