My car was vandalized. 
You may have seen it all unfold on my Twitter feed. 
(I tweet far more than I blog, so it's always worth checking the bar on the right to see what I'm up to.) 
But yeah, someone smashed the back window of my car. Which was a rather horrible thing to have happen. But fortunately the cops, the insurance company and the car repair people were all excellent. 
An officer came by the house today to talk to me and interview my neighbors. Small Dog was very excited about this, and thought he should be her new best friend. Maybe she thinks his weapons will come in handy in her ongoing battle against the neighborhood squirrels. 
It's funny…. I invent fake cops and imaginary crimes in my head all the time. Police officers play a huge part in the Love Inspired Suspense world -- and especially in my upcoming book, DEADLINE. 
But it still doesn't shake the unsettled feeling of realizing you're a victim of crime and having to call the cops and file a report. 
I'm thankful, at the end of the day. Really thankful for good cops, kind people, and the peaceful life I live.

My Russian weapons' expert suggested I try my hand at archery… 

(Well, he's actually just a computer programmer and the husband of a friend, but he IS Russian and is an expert in all sorts of interesting weaponry. Not to mention having a beautiful accent which any evil Bond villain would envy.)


I saw him at a Christmas party this Winter, and mentioned that I'd put everything I knew about illegal assault weapons into Killer Assignment. 

He said, "Pfft. What you want is to write an archer." Then he leaned towards me. His voice dropped. "You see that tree way over there? I could shoot the star off the top from here. And no one would even hear me!"

So, there you have it. I was hooked. I went and took an archery class. And I changed my killer to a stealthy, silent archer. Can't say I'm able to murder any tree decorations yet, but I did manage to kill a few balloons. :)