One happy-hour evening, I was having a conversation with a few other history geek friends, and the talk turned not to who was dating who at the moment, but which wife of Henry VIII was our favorite. (I was shocked to find out not everyone has a favorite wife of Henry VIII!!!) Anne Boleyn is my very favorite, though Queen Catherine Parr, number six on the roster, runs a close second in my affections. In college, I wrote a paper about the writings of royal ladies in the Renaissance, and was amazed to learn she was the first English queen to be a published author under her own name. She had an astonishing life. I was happy to bring her into MURDER AT WHITEHALL (even though by this time she had been dead for several years!), and use Kate Haywood’s memories of her own childhood at Queen Catherine’s court. (And Kate is her namesake, as well!) Catherine Parr was raised by a strong, intelligent widowed mother, Maud Parr, lady-in-waiting to wife number one Catherine of Aragon (who was possible Catherine Parr’s godmother). Maud had spirit, but not much money, and most of it went to securing a marriage for her…

In DIVORCED, DESPERATE AND DELICIOUS it was a singing fish and a toilet plunger—I used both. In DIVORCED, DESPERATE AND DATING I went with a tampon. In DIVORCED, DESPERATE AND DECEIVED, I used the top of a toilet tank. I’m not picky, I’ve used frying pans, Buddha statues, and petrified dinosaur poop—I was particularly proud of that one. In one book, I was desperate and used an egg beater. In DIVORCED, DESPERATE AND DARING, my sixth book in my Divorced and Desperate series, I used a fallen arm of an angel statue. It brought a whole new meaning to the saying: touched by an angel. What am I talking about? Weapons. Have you not been there? You hear a noise somewhere in the house. It’s late. Pitch dark. Either your hubby is too busy sawing logs to care—you even elbow him a couple of times and all he does is grunt—or perhaps he was simply away on business that night. Or maybe you don’t have a hubby. Anyway, you’re alone, or you might as well be alone. You might have stayed up late reading some murder mystery, or perhaps you got caught up in a forensic file show and saw…

Dear Reader, If you’re like me, you look forward to the Christmas season all year. And, if you’re like me, you usually end up falling behind when it arrives. I always seem to forget that during December, when there’s so much shopping and celebrating to be done, the rest of life doesn’t stop. I still need to go to work, do laundry, and (in theory) clean the house. And those Christmas books in my TBR pile often wait impatiently. Well, this is the week where the rubber meets the road. Soon, things will be as “done” as they’re ever going to get. The presents you want to buy, the cards or letters you want to send — all the busy things that conspire to make us forget what Christmas is all about. So take a deep breath with me … and take a moment to relish the season. Seriously. Pause for a few hours. Put your feet up. Have that cup of eggnog or hot cocoa. And read that book you’ve been promising yourself. Because, if you’re like me, you’ll miss Christmas once it’s gone. Don’t let it get away without relishing a few quiet moments. That elusive sense of…