Julia Spencer-Fleming - Feb. 6, 2009

I really need to work on being more positive. I was so delighted to have Julia Spencer-Fleming as a guest on Mystery Matters, because I have loved her Claire Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery series for years. Before her live interview, though, I wasted an unwarrantable amount of time worrying about how the weather in Maine would cooperate with the phone hook-up.

These interviews are conducted by phone. I call VoiceAmerica, the internet radio station in Arizona. My guest calls the same toll-free number, and the station engineer, a most helpful young man named Ruben, works his magic and connects us. We chat for a few minutes, until Ruben warns us that we'll be starting in 30 seconds.

My worry must have brought about the major windstorm that ravaged Maine that Friday. About a minute before our second scheduled break, the phone line went dead in the middle of one of Julia's answers. AARGH ! ! ! I said a tentative "hello?" and nobody answered. In a few seconds Ruben came on and told me he'd switched us to the commercial a bit early. The next minute felt a lot longer than 60 seconds. Julia called back on a cell phone and said that a big branch had fallen over the phone line.

All turned out well, and I decided that, since I happen to believe that thought is creative and that we become magnets for whatever we think about, from now on I absolutely refuse to worry about the show, the guests, the phone lines, or anything else.