THE DRAKE HOTEL: I knew I wanted Dutch to take Julia to Chicago, but i vacillated between having having him take her to a hotel or a private estate. But when I did some research on the Drake, my decision was made. Here are photos, some of which helped me see what Julia and Neesy saw at the Drake. Click to view
	DISNEY WORLD: Some of Two Lethal Lies takes place under Disneyworld. Do these tunnels actually exist? See for yourself.
	HANOVER HOUSE Finding a complete 19th century gothic mansion in the middle of Manhattan is no easy task. But when I needed visuals to help shore up my image of Hanover House, I came across the Sloan Mansion. Here's an article from 2008, when the mansion went on sale. These are the first photographs ever seen of the interior. Click to Read For more on Henry Sloan and the scandal that rocked his world click here.
	ON THE AIR: I've had this up for a while, now, but in case you haven't listened, here's me making a fool of myself on CarTalk. I needed some help with disabling a 1958 convertible and alll I could find on the net pertained to contemporary cars. The CarTalk guys helped me out, but alas, the scene was cut. But you can STILL READ IT! Right here, right now.
	GOING HOLLYWOOD I often hear from readers asking who I would cast in the movie version of my books. I found this amazing, fun site called Storycasting.com, which lets you do just that. When you go to my page, you’ll not only find out who I would cast, but you can create your own casts as well. I had a great time—hope you do, too! Storycasting.com
	ME AND MY BIG MOUTH I’m a big foodie; I like reading about food and recipes, I enjoy cooking, and, let’s face it—I love to eat. So it shouldn’t be surprising to find food in most of my books. In One Deadly Sin I had fun bringing that southern specialty, Ambrosia Salad, to the All-Star picnic my rattled heroine is compelled to attend at her lawman boyfriend’s home. In my novella, Necessary Betrayals, which is set on my home turf—Long Island, New York—I threw in the ubiquitous black-and-white cookies and the ginormous linzer tarts that I miss living in Nashville. Two Lethal Lies gave me ample opportunity to include food: Mitch works in a restaurant, albeit a down home one; and he’s a single Dad, which means he’s the cook. I got to mention some traditional New York specialties like egg creams and knishes; I had Mitch prepare huevos rancheros for an impromptu dinner party attended by Neesy, Julia, and Julia’s friend, Sara Jean. But what got the most mentions was hot chocolate. I used hot chocolate as way of telling the reader something about Mitch and his background: that the difference between the real thing and the open-package-pour-in-water kind was important to him. If nothing else, I hoped this would hint at a deeper appreciation for the finer things that might seem odd for a single Dad who’s a short order cook. Part of the hot chocolate motif comes from some mysterious place in my writer’s brain—it just felt right. But another part comes from my memories of the most amazing hot chocolate I ever had—in Spain. So if, like Mitch and Julia, you enjoy the real thing, here are three ways to do it. Enjoy!

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