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Countdown to Malice: Wednesday
 My travel buddy, Martha Reed, has family in Mercersburg, PA, which is on the way to Bethesda. She asked if it would be possible for us to leave a day earlier than our original plan so she could see them and attend a function at the school here. She promised to put me up in my own hotel room so I could unwind a bit before the big weekend. Hubby was fine with the plan, so we hit the road this afternoon.

What Martha didn't tell me was the "hotel" was actually the Mercersburg Inn, a Georgian mansion, bed and breakfast. Very historical and lovely.

And we're the only two guests in the house. And we're on separate floors!

It's gorgeous! I hope it's not haunted.

I'm thinking it would be a great location for a writers retreat for our Sisters in Crime back home!

Tomorrow: breakfast and then on to Bethesda and Malice Domestic!

Countdown to Malice Domestic – Monday
 After spending the weekend holed up at our camp (for Hubby, it’s The Fishing Camp…for me it’s The Writing Camp), making good progress on the 4th Zoe Chambers Mystery, it’s now officially the Monday Before Malice.
Malice Domestic officially begins on Friday, however my traveling companion (Martha Reed AKA Thelma—or Louise—I can never keep us straight) and I are leaving on Wednesday so she can attend another event in Maryland that evening. This leaves me with very little time to get everything done that needs to be done.
Today’s agenda: Spend the day with Mom, pick up my dry cleaning (my two good jackets for the convention), and pack.
Doesn’t sound like a lot, but the problem is WHAT to pack. Those two jackets, yes. Three pairs of GOOD jeans (my uniform of choice), my fancy dress and red shoes for the Agatha Awards banquet—and then I’m stuck. I can’t decide which tops to wear over the jeans and under the jackets. And which shoes should I pack. I have my two pairs of tried-and-true comf…

Obsessive and Obnoxious
 Yes, I’ve fallen into both of those categories. If there’s any hope, it’s that acknowledging the problem is the first step to recovery. Right?
Today is the official launch of Bridges Burned.
Granted the online dealers have been shipping print copies for weeks now, and my big launch party was this past Saturday, so you would think the “official” release would be somewhat anticlimactic. Or at least I always think it’s going to be.
Besides the big publicity push for the new book, my brilliant publisher, Henery Press, does the remarkably smart thing and puts the previous book on sale during launch week. So Lost Legacy is available in all e-book versions for only 99 cents.
The deal hit BookBub.
And then Lost Legacy started climbing the sales ratings.

Most of the time, I pay little attention to these numbers. I check on occasion to make sure I’m hanging out in my usual range—adequate, but not newsworthy. But the BookBub thing stirred me to start watching.

I did a happy dance …

Launch Party for Bridges Burned
 I was convinced that maybe three people would show up. I’d had that same fear for my first two launch parties (both of which were smashing successes), but this time I was more convinced than ever. The day before Easter? Everyone had family stuff to do. One friend had a broken leg. Another had hurt her back. Even the owner of the bookstore texted me that she was sick.
No one was going to be there.
And I had a horrible head cold.
Hubby and I arrived way early, expecting traffic that never materialized. No problem. I’d rather arrive early and wait than be late.
Right on time people started rolling in. My local Sisters in Crime. Fellow authors. Old friends. New readers. Before long, we had to set up more chairs.
In spite of my cold, in spite of the holiday weekend, my launch party for Bridges Burned at Mystery Lovers Bookshop was another huge success!

Thanks to my friend (and official photographer of Mystery Lovers), Steve Bucci, for recording the day.
Note the hand sanitizer and b…