Here's the story behind the story. Stories, actually. In October 2008, Bouchercon, the world mystery convention, will be held in my hometown of Baltimore and I'm the guest of honor. I thought it would be nice if a collection of my short stories could be published about the same time and my wonderful publisher agreed. But in early January, I was asked if I had any unpublished material for the collection, which would make it more enticing to libraries. Because I seldom write short stories on spec—in fact, I rather like the challenge of being asked to write for themed collections, whose topics have ranged from cocaine to poker to golf—I didn't have anything unpublished. But I also couldn't imagine writing a short story in less than a month. Instead, I asked if I could try a novella that's been simmering in my head for years; in fact, one of the short stories in the collection centers on the same character. 

The result, one month later, is "Scratch a Woman." At 18,000 words, it's not a very long novella, but it's definitely more than a short story. Now I'm back in the thick of an unnamed novel, trying to get my bearings back before I start touring in a month for Another Thing to Fall. 

And for all that…I actually don't work that hard compared to most people I know. But let's keep that our secret, okay?