On Blogging, and Blogs I Love

I love to blog. I love the examination of thoughts and words. I do it for myself in many ways, knowing that the days I’m struggling with writing, that if I at least put a blog in place, I’ll feel like I’ve accomplished something. My longstanding rule—When you can’t write, write about writing. It helps.

I started blogging many, many years ago, and have been relatively consistent with it. I used to blog every Friday at Murderati, then bi-monthly, then when it shut down, I kept it up on my website, albeit to a smaller audience. 

And then the socials happened, and blogging supposedly went the way of the dodo, or so we were meant to believe. Some of us kept at it—and many, many bloggers saw their audiences grow and bloom. Mine hasn’t really changed upwards or downwards, though I have seen that the more I blog, the more people who read them. 

But, oddly, the blog commenting seems to have migrated to Facebook, where I am very active on my business page. It’s no real skin off my nose, though it means I need to pay attention to make sure everyone is getting what they need. And then we started scheduling, so there’d be regular programming, which becomes it’s own issue. We’ve settled into a Sunday blog, and a Thursday blog. I vacillate on whether to do more, or less. 

Truth be told, I miss my daily snippet blogs, and might bring them back, if there’s interest…

Why do I bring all this up? My bestie, Laura Benedict, has starting blogging daily. It wasn’t something she necessarily set out to do, but when she realized the rhythm was pleasing, and helping with the work, she kept it up. 

This makes me happy on so many levels. Laura’s a true essayist. I’ve spent years saying how I wished she blogged more, because her words are just so calming and comforting. I always feel good when I finish reading, even if its a difficult topic.

Laura’s blog—Notes From The Handbasket—is everything you want from a writer’s blog. Funny, charming, engaging, vulnerable—she has a wonderful, unique voice and a wry sense of humor that takes the ordinary around her and makes it extraordinary. I highly recommend you give it a read. 

For me, there’s something very special about hearing about a writer’s day. The little accomplishments that, when taken en total, become a book, a series, a career. The blogs I gravitate to are ones of nurturing and education, that examine the world in a pleasing manner, and offer bits of enlightenment to the reader. Laura’s qualifies, on all accounts.

Here are some other blogs I love:

1. Dani Shapiro
2. Kristine Rusch
3. Modern Mrs. Darcy
4. I Heart Words
5. Quo Vadis
6. The Well-Appointed Desk
7. Tools and Toys
8. Cal Newport

What are your favorite blogs?

THE DEVIL'S TRIANGLE is here!

Hello, book people! I come to you today to help you celebrate the Ides of March with a fun new book—THE DEVIL’S TRIANGLE, book #4 in the Brit in the FBI series I cowrite with the divine Catherine Coulter.

I swear, if we’d known the book was going to drop today, we would have put a quick tie-in to Caesar, because we have nods to practically every other historic event over the course of time, but what are you going to do? I will admit, I took to calling it Nick and Mike’s Excellent Adventure as we were writing it. There’s a LOT of history packed in.

All that to say, I am so excited to share this book with you. Catherine and I have cooked up something extra special this time. 

Remember Kitsune, everyone’s favorite thief extraordinaire from THE FINAL CUT? She’s back, and in big trouble. Hired to steal the staff of Moses from the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul, her clients have turned on her, and she’s forced to ask for help from the new Covert Eyes team. Of course, things go awry, and Nicholas Drummond and Mike Caine are drawn into a much larger conspiracy. Can the villains truly control the weather? Can Covert Eyes stop the Kohath twins from destroying Washington, D.C. with a mega-storm? Is the Ark of the Covenant about to be rediscovered? And will the secrets of the Bermuda Triangle be revealed?

I did a lot of in-person, overseas research for this book. Venice, in particular. I can’t tell you how fun it was sitting in the Piazza San Marco, sipping prosecco, eating potato chips, and deciding from which balcony Nicholas would nearly fall, and where the shots were coming from. Total blast.   

There’s another special place in this book—Castel Rigone, a personal favorite of mine. You see, Catherine had a dream about this book, and when she told me about it, it became the entire basis for this book. I knew I would have to find the perfect place to execute said dream. Suffice it to say, there’s a motorcycle chase… underground.

I hope you love the personal touches that made it into the story. Our fourth James Bond-esque romp was an absolute blast to write. With a Booklist Starred Review and a Romantic Times Top Pick!, I think you’ll say it’s a blast to read, too. Let me know what you think!

Get the Hardcover

AMAZON
BARNES & NOBLE
BOOKS-A-MILLION
INDIEBOUND
INDIGO

Download the eBook

KINDLE
NOOK
iBOOKS
KOBO
GOOGLE PLAY

Listen to the Audiobook

AUDIBLE

About the book:
 

He who controls the weather, will control the world. He who controls time, will never be around.
—Thomas Frey

FBI Special Agents Nicholas Drummond and Michaela Caine are the government’s Covert Eyes—leading a top-notch handpicked team of agents to tackle crimes and criminals both international and deadly. But their first case threatens their fledgling team when the Fox calls from Venice asking for help.

Kitsune has stolen an incredible artifact from the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul, and now the client wants her dead. She has a warning for Nick and Mike: she’s overheard talk that a devastating Gobi Desert sandstorm that’s killed thousands in Beijing isn’t a natural phenomenon, rather is produced by man. The Covert Eyes team heads to Venice, Italy, to find out the truth.

From New York to Venice and from Rome to the Bermuda Triangle, Nicholas and Mike and their team are in a race against time, and nature herself, to stop an obsessed family from devastating Washington, D.C.

Sunday Smatterings (The Kerr Edition)

Hi, guys! It's me, The Kerr. Did you have a good week? Mine was pretty good since I found good Tex-Mex in Nashville!!! Finding good Tex-Mex this far north is like spotting a unicorn in the wild 🦄, so needless to say, this native Texan is super pumped she can get homemade flour tortillas and delicious beef fajitas (cooked medium-rare, because hello, flavor) anytime she wants. I cannot stress enough what a miracle find this is!

ANYWAY. I could talk about food all day. Let's get on with the program, shall we?
 

What I'm Eating

Oh, look, more conversations about food!

As you know, St. Patrick's Day is coming up on Friday. If you want to celebrate, but don't feel like making the same Corned Beef & Cabbage like you do every year, you should try this apple cider-braised cabbage.

Confession: I didn't make this recipe the way it's written here. I didn't have any cider, but I did have cider vinegar and some fuji apples (and some celery) that needed to be used up, so I added those in there. And I used red cabbage. And I cut it into one-inch pieces, not wedges. And I sautéed everything in bacon fat first, because bacon. If you want some protein in here, I think kielbasa or polish sausage would be phenomenal.

So... basically what I'm telling you is that I didn't follow this recipe at all. But I used it as inspiration! That should count for something, right? 😂
 

What I'm Playing

Think fast: can you match these three-letter words to their definitions? I did it in 2:35. I know you can beat me. 

What I'm Reading

I needed a laugh this week, something a bit more lighthearted than THE GODFATHER (don't get me wrong, I love it—just ready for fewer backroom deals and gunfights, ya know?). My friend Lisa and I text each other our books for the week, and I saw Nora's book of essays, I FEEL BAD ABOUT MY NECK (and other thoughts on being a woman), in her stack and I shamelessly copycatted her. I'm not sorry about it, either, just like I'm also not sorry for snort-laughing alone in my house. Nobody makes me giggle quite like the dry wit of Nora Ephron.
 

What I'm Watching

You guys. THE AMERICANS came back this week! 🎉👏🇺🇸

I don't know why this show gets so little buzz and critical acclaim. It is wonderfully cast and written, and definitely deserves a few EMMYs by now (especially Matthew Rhys as Phillip—he's just so transformative in the role). Also, who couldn't love Keri Russell? And Margo Martindale, who is up there with Kathy Bates as a wonderful supporting actor in any role.

Here's the premise: it's set in the 1980s and focuses on the Cold War. The show follows Phillip and Elizabeth, two KGB spies living in suburban Washington, DC, trying to gather intel and assets without raising the suspicions of their next-door-neighbor, Stan, who is (of course) an FBI agent. Phillip and Elizabeth have two children, the older of which begins to become suspicious of her parents' erratic hours and behavior, thinking perhaps they aren't the travel agents they claim to be. The show masterfully examines what it means to be a patriot (especially how much of your individual self you can—and should—sacrifice for the greater good), marriage, spirituality, and gender roles, to name a few.

The show is equal parts suspenseful and fascinating. Folks nostalgic for the 80s are going to love the details like music and set design. Seriously, thriller fans, you're going to love it.

***One last thing: THE DEVIL'S TRIANGLE is coming out Tuesday! To celebrate, JT is going to host a Facebook Live on her page Tuesday night at 8 pm EDT. If you comment during the live cast, you could win one of three signed copies of THE DEVIL'S TRIANGLE. So mark your calendars, and head over to JT's Facebook page Tuesday night!!!
 

That's all I have for you this week, you guys. Have a great week, go get a copy of THE DEVIL'S TRIANGLE and devour it (and tell me what you think), and I'll talk to you again soon!

Warmly,
The Kerr

A WORD ON WORDS with Emma Straub

photo credit: Nashville Public Television

These two don't look like they had fun taping this episode at all.

My intrepid co-host, Mary Laura Philpott, hung out with author (and soon-to-be-bookstore-owner) Emma Straub and asked her about mid-life crises, Jane Austen-inspired rock songs, and why writing about teenagers is a lot more fun than being one.

Enjoy this one, y'all!

On Momentum

A note from The Kerr: J.T. will still be writing for The Tao on Thursdays. So these are (not surprisingly) her words, not mine!
 

There comes a time in every book when the story begins to coalesce and gain speed. This time has (thankfully) come for my new standalone, which I’m trying to finish by the end of April so I can turn, unencumbered, to Catherine and the next Nicholas Drummond book (which, thankfully, is already knocking at my brain with a few ideas) the second week of May.

It’s the coolest feeling, this momentum. I can pinpoint the moment it started, too.

The week before last, I was doing a set of three deep-work days in a row, and something simply clicked on the last day, at around four in the afternoon. I caught a wave, and rode it all the way to the shore. I was still writing when hubby arrived home, and simply held up a finger and accepted a quick buss on the cheek. He knows me well enough not to interrupt a moment of true flow, and that’s where I was.

The book had come alive under my fingertips.

Interestingly, it was something off script that caused this wave, too. A character who wasn’t in the proposal or outline, who appeared a few weeks ago as a throwaway line, a convenience person, and has suddenly become a lynchpin.

It happens that way sometimes. It’s really the fun of writing, when the character who is the least important suddenly raises their hand and says, “HEY! Pay attention to me. I’m here for a reason, you silly writer.”

I’m a baseball fan, and I respect a streak. The thing with these kinds of flows is to not let them die. I made sure to touch the book every day whilst I was in Florida, and now I’m back and my fingers are itching to rediscover the story and see where it takes me. I’m over the halfway mark, which means I’ve got two of my “turns” in place, with two more to planned. This book seems to be twisting itself like a braid, though, so there may be more than I first thought.

And so… back to it. I will report in on how it goes.