1981 = WKRP + 64K RAM + Frogger + Bread Bowls
One of my favorite endeavors in the course of writing is research. I relish digging into maps, photos, magazines, and recordings to capture the place and time of a story (San Francisco in January of 1981). And so for Lethal Fetish, I pursued some strange and compelling topics—with excerpts from the book—including: 1980s culture Video games: “images of jumping frogs, frenzied gorillas, and a yellow ball wandering through a maze.” Computer technology: “Carol regaled me with t
Now and Then
As I conduct research for my next mystery book, I’ve been delving into the events that shaped America in 1981. Exploring how life looked at that time helps to contextualize the current state of the world. Today, we’re convinced that international politics are an unprecedented disaster and domestic conflicts are tearing apart the nation. While things look pretty grim in 2015, let’s consider what was happening 35 years ago. In January, 53 American hostages were finally relea