Hope everyone had a great holiday. I spent mine in Scranton, Pa. Maybe it’s true that you always return to the scene of the crime…The drive into town hasn’t changed a bit from my college days, although parts of the downtown are much improved. I was visiting my friend Anne’s family for the holiday. Her sister JoEllen has read DANU’S CHILDREN, and fortunately for me she really liked it. That’s made me brave enough to contact a couple of bookstores in the town to see if they want to stock the book. Maybe it won’t provoke lawsuits, after all…
Hey, considering what Stephen King did to his home town in SALEM’S LOT, I should have nothing to worry about. My fictional “Carbonville” is smaller and has quite a few differences. JoEllen loved that fact that I used the church sliding downhill from mine subsidence, because she could see I based it on something that happened in Scranton in the early 1900s.
Now I have the weekend to myself, and I’m trying to decide among various options, including holiday shopping, putting up my porch lights or finally finishing the latest chapter of ONE BLOOD that I really ought to read at my critique group this week. All fairly demanding…maybe I’ll just watch the “What Not to Wear” marathon on TLC instead!
About Eileen Watkins
Eileen F. Watkins specializes in mystery and suspense fiction. In 2017 she launched the Cat Groomer Mysteries, from Kensington Publishing, with THE PERSIAN ALWAYS MEOWS TWICE. This was followed by THE BENGAL IDENTITY and FERAL ATTRACTION in 2018, and GONE, KITTY, GONE in 2019; CLAW & DISORDER comes out in early 2021. Eileen previously published eight novels with Amber Quill Press, chiefly paranormal suspense (as E. F. Watkins), including the Quinn Matthews Haunting Mysteries. The first of those, DARK MUSIC, received the David G. Sasher Award at the 2014 Deadly Ink Mystery Conference. The second, HEX, DEATH & ROCK ‘N’ ROLL, was a Mystery finalist for the 2014 Next Generation EBook Awards.Eileen is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the Cat Writers Association. She serves as publicist for Sisters in Crime Central Jersey and also for New Jersey’s annual Deadly Ink Mystery Conference. Eileen comes from a journalistic background, having written on art, architecture, interior design and home improvement for daily newspapers and major magazines. Besides these topics, her interests include the paranormal and spirituality, as well as animal training and rescue. She is seldom without at least one cat in the house and regularly frequents the nearest riding stable. Visit her web site at www.efwatkins.com.
