I’m featured in the August issue of The Lone Star Literary Life Magazine! This month’s theme is PREPARE, and the issue is packed with Texas books, authors, and literary inspiration. Read it here: lonestar-lit.com/August-2026/ What are you preparing for this month? School? Holidays? Tell me!

Just about your last chance to enter the drawing for all this cool beach stuff when you sign up for author newsletters and follow them on your socials. aconitecafe.com/acozymystery...

Happy International Owl Awareness Day. I'm aware of owls and their habitat most days as they hoot outside my window. May they always find a home. And us too. (credit: Bill Boyd)

Happy National Sisters Day! If you have a sister, I hope she's worth celebrating. I don't have any, but my books are full them.

Happy International Tiger Day!

Enter to win a bag full of beach supplies with just your email address. The Cozy Mystery Tribe will randomly draw a winner for this $200 prize pack after July 31, when entries close. aconitecafe.com/acozymystery...

The MOST helpful side character? Everybody in Gregg House has their speciality. For anything money related, you'd turn to Dianne Cortez, CPA, CFA. But I'll go with Darryl Swann the intern, because he can (and does) anything.

I hope you've suitably celebrated National Wine And Cheese Day AND National Hot Fudge Sundae Day. If not, get busy.

When religions collide: Today is my saint's feast day, Mary Magdalene. Also Tisha B'Av, the Jewish day of mourning for the destruction of the Temple and all the subsequent Jewish disasters. (May we not add to them in our lifetime.)

Happy World Snake Day? You do you. My local library once announced that they would have snakes at their teenage Anti-Prom. A retraction corrected it to "snacks," but when a generous donor provided gummy snakes, the next correction promised "snake snacks." And decorative snakes, as shown.

The Cozy Mystery Tribe Festival runs July 16-20. More than 40 authors will be posting, reading, discussing, playing games and giving away prizes. My time is Fri Jy 17. 11:00 CDT & I'd love to interact with people who fly by me in the feed. See you then! www.facebook.com/groups/cozym...

National Kittens Day! Adopt two to celebrate. (Never adopt a single kitten.)

Happy World Chocolate Day! May you have all you can eat today and more for tomorrow.

Hot off the presses, a novella you can read over the holiday weekend. The Rude Bird, first in my New Orleans Noir series, set in the 1940s. Noir mystery? Sapphic romance? Social justice treatise? You decide. It's at all the usual online suspects books2read.com/RudeBird (25% off at Smashwords in Jy)

This week we've had International Lynx Day and National Cougar Day. (Or mountain lion, puma, catamount, etc.) This cuddle puddle is the 5 Wild from Wildcat Sanctuary in Minnesota.

Come see me and many other Texas authors at the Greater Austin Book Fest, Saturday May 16, 10-5 at Austin's downtown Central Library #books #Texas #Austin

Choose 20 Epic Books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. #BookSky #Books #BookChallenge #20DayBookChallenge 20/20

Choose 20 Epic Books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. #BookSky #Books #BookChallenge #20DayBookChallenge 19/20

Choose 20 Epic Books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. #BookSky #Books #BookChallenge #20DayBookChallenge 18/20

Choose 20 Epic Books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. #BookSky #Books #BookChallenge #20DayBookChallenge 17/20

Choose 20 Epic Books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. #BookSky #Books #BookChallenge #20DayBookChallenge 16/20

Choose 20 Epic Books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. #BookSky #Books #BookChallenge #20DayBookChallenge 15/20

Choose 20 Epic Books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. #BookSky #Books #BookChallenge #20DayBookChallenge 14/20

Choose 20 Epic Books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. #BookSky #Books #BookChallenge #20DayBookChallenge 13/20

Choose 20 Epic Books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. But coincidentally, Book 8 is out today. #BookSky #Books #BookChallenge #20DayBookChallenge 12/20

Choose 20 Epic Books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. #BookSky #Books #BookChallenge #20DayBookChallenge 11/20

Choose 20 Epic Books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. #BookSky #Books #BookChallenge #20DayBookChallenge 10/20

Choose 20 Epic Books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. #BookSky #Books #BookChallenge #20DayBookChallenge 8/20

Choose 20 Epic Books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. #BookSky #Books #BookChallenge #20DayBookChallenge 8/20

Choose 20 Epic Books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. #BookSky #Books #BookChallenge #20DayBookChallenge 7/20