Am I In Your Book?

One of the questions mystery writers are frequently asked by friends and relatives is, “Am I in your book?” Our answer is usually something like “No, but if you make me mad, I might kill you off!” A more truthful answer would be “You are–or at least a part of you is.”

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Oscar Joy

There were a lot of nice moments at the Oscars last night, but one of my favorites was when producer Karen Toliver talked about her animated movie, Hair Love, and how important it is for children to see themselves represented, especially in cartoons, which is for many, the first time they get a sense of what kids should look like.

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Off limits words?

Recently one of my fellow MissDemeanors mentioned that her family doesn’t like the word chortle. I’ll admit that this made me chortle. After all, it’s a word about laughter. Or is it? Perhaps there’s been a bad moment of exultant singing / chanting that simply should not be repeated.

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