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Last weekend Mystery Writers of America, Northwest branch, gave me the Willo Award for lifetime achievement. This was only the fourth time the award was bestowed and I’m very grateful to the board of Mystery Writers for selecting me. It was really a great honor.

The award is named after the late Willo Davis Roberts, who was a major force in young adult literature and a two-time winner of the Edgar for best mystery. Willo was always an inspiration to other writers and as free and candid with her advice as anybody I’ve ever met. I vividly remember attending Mystery Writers monthly dinners back when I had only two books published, trying to get a spot near her so I could glean pearls of wisdom during the meal. And the pearls came with frequency, unguarded, honest, helpful and insightful. Writing is a business and nobody knew that better than Willo. Unfortunately, I rarely sat next to her because everybody else in the room was thinking the same thing. Get next to Willo. Learn something that will change my career.

Writing is a tough gig even when you’re wildly successful, as Willo was, and it was always amazing to me that she could be so generous with her time and thoughts. If I could be half the inspiration to other writers she was, I would be happy.

Here at last is number seven in the Thomas Black series, back in print for Amazon Kindle here.

And for Barnes and Noble Nook here.

This is part two of what I’m calling the Birchfield trilogy and is one of my very favorites.

Ann Rule said about this book. “The Portland Laugher” sings all the way through. Chilled my veins and made me laugh out loud and fooled me when I got too smug.”