First, Happy Holidays to everyone! I took a break from writing to decorate the outside of the house (the inside will have to wait). I was the only person on the block without lights and I felt ashamed of myself for being such a Scrooge. I know you can’t notice this because I take lousy pictures, but on my front door hangs a genuine, official New Jersey Devils Christmas wreath. My across the street neighbor has his NY Rangers wreath, so obviously we talk hockey every time we see each other. I, of course, know much more about hockey than he does. I’m older and after all, I am a DEVILS fan and boy, do we know hockey.

In my investigating I’ve noticed an abundance of Christmas Cozies out there. Though I’m not a nut for the season, I do love a good mystery. And what better time of the year for a murder than these festive days of Peace on Earth, love, and good cheer?

If you go to Amazon and type in Christmas Murder Mysteries, a list pops up that will make your mouth water like you’re eyeing a bowl filled with chocolate. Some of the titles appear to be novellas, a few are very long short stories, and there are more full length novels than I had imagined possible. The shorter titles are 99 cents, so you won’t break the bank.  I’ll get a few of them tonight on my Kindle app and fall asleep dreaming of victims strangled by their own garland, poisoned by mistletoe-laced eggnog, and impaled with their Christmas trees. Don’t you just love it?

I’ve always wanted to write a Christmas mystery. Colleen Caruso could definitely use some of that old yuletide homicide cheer, but the order of the series just doesn’t seem to flow in the direction of a December setting. I’d love to try one in the next year or two though. After all, the possibilities for murder over the holidays are endless (as anyone with family can attest to).

As it stands now, Colleen and the crew are all being edited in the first draft of Food for Thought. As for Recurring, there are so many twists and turns that my writing pals will need eyes in the back of their heads to catch any discrepancies. Wow, it’s a tough one. I never realized when I began the book how much hard work would go into it.

So enjoy the countdown to Christmas everybody. And a merry welcome to the newcomers to this site!