Even though it's the 22nd of June and not midnight of 31 December, my newest resolution is to try and post a new message every Sunday night. This may turn into every other Sunday night . . . you know how resolutions go . . . but my web goddess has made everything so easy, I think this will be fun to do.
In the past, I've invited you to sign up for a very infrequent newsletter, but now that I'll be posting here weekly, I will suspend it for the time being. If you've signed up in the past, you will soon be getting a final letter from me. That doesn't mean I don't want to hear from you. If you have questions or comments or just want to say "hey!", you can still email me directly (click on the button at the top of this page) and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
Happily, there's a link on this site to Hachette, my publisher. They send out periodic newsletters that include notices of when I have a new book due. If you click on their link, you'll see that they have several free options available, including the option NOT to receive anything from them other than what you've requested. I hope you'll take advantage of it.
I am now fairly into the 'o9 book, tentatively titled Sand Sharks. Because it will take place at the NCDC Judges Conference, I had to go down to Wrightsville Beach last weekend to observe the district court judges in their natural habitat. This was my view from the window of the conference hotel:
I am not going to make the usual comment about how hard a writer's life is when having to research because I love going to these conferences and gathering stories that I can then rewrite for Deborah Knott's courtroom.
Two days before the judges conference, I attended an attorney's conference a little further down the NC coast to speak and read to one of the break-out groups. Those of you who have been with the DK books from the beginning may remember when she spoke of Elaine Marshall, who was running against Richard Petty for Secretary of State. Happily, Ms. Marshall won the race and is now in her 3rd term, the first woman elected to the Council of State in North Carolina.
She came to my reading this past Monday and is pictured here on the far right.
Also in the picture are Claudia and Jack O'Hale. I've often said that if I were ever arrested for murder, I'd immediately call for Jack, who is one of the top defense attorneys in the state. I hope you'll click around the site and enjoy the new look. See you next week (I hope!)
Margaret
