Text at upper left: Mid-Monthly Musings; image from the film FAME when the students dance in the street outside the school, stopping traffic; text at lower right: What does it mean to be famous?

What does it mean to be famous?

This post is taken from Mid-Monthly Musings for November 2025. Full newsletter is archived here. To receive Mid-Monthly Musings directly in your inbox, subscribe here. I’ve been asked about that word, “famous,” more than usual recently. It’s part of my podcast premise: I chat with famous people about the geek-outs, hobbies, or interests they’re not necessarily famous for. Which is …

Cover of IN THE DARK WE FORGET

Decade

In June of 2012, I signed my first-ever book contract. I didn’t sign another until March 2021. In between, I learned my own hard limits as a newbie author as well as the boundaries of the publishing industry and some of its uniquely antiquated systems. I scaled the steep learning curve of self-publishing in the mid-2010s, picked up a few …

Reflections. Refractions.

Today is my final day as National President of Sisters in Crime. Don’t worry—this post isn’t going to be just a list of what I achieved. All the juiciest tidbits are behind-the-scenes stories which I can’t share anyway. *evil-girl-smirk.GIF* What I will say is the national board accomplished A LOT while I was president. We all had our unique circumstances …

Happy girl in pink t-shirt that reads, "Happy Birthday to ME," wearing a rainbow hat with pink gauze

Fifty x Five

Two years ago, I started planning a trip for myself to celebrate turning 50 years old in 2021. Alas, with the way things are now, that trip is not to be—at least not this year. Instead, I decided I would celebrate all August long. (FTR, I’m a Virgo, in case you hadn’t guessed at the “two years ago, I started …