Them Darned Dames

By Deborah Sharp

Is there anything better than a pajama party with fun girlfriends?

That's exactly what my Dangerous Dames tour of North Carolina has felt like this past week. My pals and fellow mystery authors, Julie Compton and Joanna Campbell Slan have been fabulous traveling partners. North Carolina resident Molly Weston, our escort, den mother, and psychological counselor, has gone above and beyond the call of duty. Not only has she put us up (and put up with us), she's told funny stories, stuffed us full of wonderful, fattening food, and brought in wonderful readers from all over North Carolina's Triangle to share in the fun. What else could you ask of a pajama party planner?

The PJ party comes to mind as Julie and I sit here on the last morning at Molly's house.(Joanna left yesterday, and we miss her!) We're both in our pajamas, clicking away on our little netbooks, sipping our hot beverages of choice (tea for me; coffee for Julie). Writers spend half their life in their PJs. The other half, they spend gussied up, going out to book signings and events to talk about the book they just spent a year writing.

The picture above features the gussied up Dames, Molly at the left, Joanna, me and Julie. I'll spare you the photo of us in our PJs, robes and fuzzy socks, sans make-up, hair products or glamor. That's the image, though, that I'll remember: gathered around Molly's kitchen table, the Dangerous Dames in their natural state. Just a quartet of gal pals throwing a PJ party.

* Note to my fellow Midnight Ink authors: Sorry this post is so late. All the food the Dames ate this past week must have addled my mind enough to make me miss my deadline. Back home, I realized I'd missed my scheduled slot for today. If you make me run laps as punishment, maybe I'll drop a couple of the pounds I packed on eating my way across North Carolina.