Yo, Chicago: Your History is Calling…

I’m both embarrassed and proud.       Embarrassed because I’ve lived in Chicago almost 35 years but never really knew much about Jane Addams and Hull House until yesterday.   Proud because such an amazing woman and the institutions she created are part of my “home town” history.   I had the opportunity to … Read more

Anatomy of Crime Fiction: Building Suspense

  Last year I started a series of one-day workshops devoted to the craft of crime fiction. They’re broken up into various segments, but I wanted to summarize one of the most popular: Building Suspense . Btw, this isn’t limited to crime fiction as you’ll see. But it is a rather long post, so curl … Read more

Going All Fangirl!

  The holidays are upon us, so before everyone scatters (mentally more than physically), I wanted to share some recent fangirl moments that I’m still stoked about. Consider this a 2012 Fangirl round-up. Homeland I continue to be a Homeland junkie, and despite a few blips in Season Two, I still think it’s one of … Read more

Delicatessen? Schmelicatessen!

A friend sent this to me. It’s long– but a fun history of the Jewish Deli. And if you’re a real fan of them, it’ll start smelling like one about half way through.   Thank God we still have Manny’s in Chicago. Pass the pickles, please.             [iframe src=”http://player.vimeo.com/video/53381762″ width=”480″ … Read more