When real life intrudes on fiction.

This week I had planned to do a final polish on my latest book, City of Darkness and Light. And then life intervenes...one horrible tragedy after another, terrorism, explosions, senseless deaths.
When things like this happen I find myself wondering about the books I write. My stories all involve small tragedies--at least one murder, lives torn apart, families devastated. And these are written for entertainment, clever clues, witty detectives, scary moments, suspense.

 We detach ourselves from the basic fact that killing another human being is the worst thing that a human can do. So I'm wondering if what I am doing is morally wrong, whether I am in any way glorifying killing and death.

I don't think this is true. I think I always write with true sympathy for those who have lost a loved one. I don't take death lightly. Some of my books, especially Evans Gate, have examined how the loss of a loved one tears a family apart. And in those of my books that are comedies, I never take the actual murder lightly.

And I know that people find our books comforting at such times because we try to make sense of the senseless. We find the murderer. We bring him or her to justice. We bring the closure that doesn't often happen in real life.  I'll get back to those final re-writes now.

Hug your loved ones today and let them know how much they mean to you.

Thoughts on the Boston marathon tragedy.

I was going to write a light, flippant piece today when I turned on the TV and saw the horrific news from Boston. My first thought was that four of my Jungle Red friends live in Boston--one of them a TV reporter who might well hae been at the scene. I was relieved to hear my friends were safe but there was still no way I could think of anything but this senseless tragedy.

So I reverted to kindergarten and to that old adage--everything I needed I learned in Kindergarten. And I'm thinking how much better the world would be if we all followed the kindergarten rules:

1.Treat everybody the way you want to be treated.  Not everybody will look like you or think like you. Accept their differences and be kind to them anyway.

2. Sharing is a good idea. We live in a wonderful, bountiful world. If nobody was too greedy, if everyone shared, there would be enough for everybody.

3.Be a helper, like all those brave souls who rushed toward the bomb blasts, not away from them.

4. Hug those you love and tell them every day how much they mean to you.

My heart goes out to the people of Boston, to marathoners everywhere and especially to those who lost a loved one today, or were injured. Bombing is the most senseless, cowardly act in all the world. There is nothing NOTHING brave or noble about killing innocent people. If you disagree with my country get into a tank and fight my army, man to man. Or better still, educate yourself and find out all that is good and great about America and try to emulate it.