I am writing from Miami Beach where I am in town for Sleuthfest, the Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America's mystery convention. As readers of this newsletter know, I never travel light, but I always try to carry just one bag. My pet peeve is that I never can find my luggage as it comes through on the luggage carousel as it's always been the ubiquitous black bag that everyone seems to carry. Sure I have tied things on it to make it "different," but still it was hard to spot.

Given the cool weather of April, I think I have an exciting scientific discovery to share. If it's unseasonably warm in January, it will be unseasonably cold in April. I think there are a set number of hot and cold days in the year and they just get distributed in different ways each year. Seriously. It's the same theory I have about gaining and losing weight. I think there are a set number of pounds in this world and when someone gains or loses, someone else does the opposite. Full disclosure here: I never got an A in science and I always got A's in English, but I do think this is definitely a real possibility. Maybe I should write a book about this.

Mother’s Day is May 13th. In honor of this special day, FaithfulReader.com has compiled a list of books that celebrates the joys and pays tribute to the struggles of motherhood, with everything from faith-nurturing devotionals, unique prayer suggestions and reflections on strong women from history and Scripture, to fun and inspirational fiction.

Greetings from the Outer Banks where the weather has been great! I have gotten a ton of reading done poolside this week, which has been heavenly. The house we are renting is on a golf course, and I have been spying the balls for the golfers who are not hitting it straight. I tell people that for $1 I will point them to where their ball has landed. This offer is getting some good laughs. For a complete travelogue of our trip thus far, you can read my blog here. It includes updates on my reading, as well as assorted other tales from the trip, including the $1 DVD rentals that have the boys and me jazzed.