Silence in the house. Drum roll. Excessively loud cymbal crash. TA DA! Here it is . . . the new and improved look of Writer Off the Leash. Sleek. Svelt. And why in the world did it take me so long to do this?

Oh yeah. Because I'm a writer, not a freaking web designer. Sheesh.

But now that the whole freshen-up-the-tired-blog debacle is over, it's time to move on to other topics. There's lots happening out there in publishing land . . .

The Fifty Shades Phenomena

No, I haven't read the book, and no, I don't intend to. Reading about sexual exploits is not my thing. Sex outside of marriage is just wrong, even if you're only reading about it. Even more wrong  is the Fifty Shades of Grey Teddy Bear, which comes complete with its own little set of handcuffs. One word: eew.

Harper Lee Rides Again

I adored To Kill A Mockingbird and always was a little bit sad to think there would be no more to read about Scout. Not anymore. Harper Lee announced plans to publish a sequel. Go Set a Watchman is already available for preorder at Amazon.

The Most Romantic City in the U.S.

Want to know which city scored highest for sales of romance novels and romantic comedy movies? Knoxville, TN. I know, right? Go figure.

Overdue . . . by 65 Years

I don't check out books from the library. I've self-imposed a ban on myself. Why? Because I never EVER return them on time. I'm the one who's single-handedly kept the Minneapolis Public Library system up and running for the past forty years. But there's a fella in the UK who's got me beat. An 82 year old man recently returned a book he'd checked out 65 years ago and ended up paying nearly a $2500 fine.