Jennifer Oberth, Mystery Author

We had a surprise birthday party for my great aunt - who turns 90 in June! She was just floored! (Not literally, thank goodness.)

Seriously, I woke up in the middle of the morning because my bed was shaking rather violently. My first thought was an earthquake. But that's ridiculous. My second thought was it was a train. The couch shakes on weekend nights when the heavy freight trains go by. But this was Friday. My third thought was ghosts - I tend to watch a lot of those ghost shows on Discovery and Sci-Fi. The reality ones, not horror movies. The reality ones are far scarier. My fourth thought was, my bed is still shaking. Maybe it was an earthquake? I got up and looked out the kitchen window. There was no train, the lights weren't even flashing. I went back to bed but didn't fall asleep. Low and behold, my sister walks in in the morning and asked if we knew there'd been an earthquake. I drove to the airport to pick up my Aunt and her boyfriend. They flew in to attend the surprise birthday party for my great aunt. So my Aunt's boyfriend took to shouting out the window that they did not want

My Dad came to town to surprise me for my Birthday! How sweet is that!

The Sisters In Crime went to the Morgue today. The Deputy Coroner that conducted the tour was friendly and informative, as well as a little unsure as to what we were all doing there. We explained that as writers, we are driven by a need to experience some of the incidents we write about for that added layer of authenticity. A writer does not wish to sell a book a reader will throw against the wall in frustration of unrealistic police procedure - even in cozies. Before she started, the Deputy Coroner asked if any of us were squeamish, so she could gauge what to say and what to sugarcoat. Most of us raised our hands, mine went up fast and high. We walked through the facility, saw the cooler with the body bags, a couple of labs with expensive equipment they were lucky enough to obtain, the autopsy room with an identified though unclaimed skeleton and back to the offices. I had a great time - any day you can walk out of the Morgue is a good day. She kept apologizing for the smell and I wo