When Sean Doolittle wrote his first two suspense novels, he set them in Los Angeles. He figured, that’s where suspense novels are usually set.
“I thought you had to write about someplace glitzier than Nebraska.”
When Doolittle, who grew up outside of Lincoln, decided to set 2005’s “Rain Dogs” in Nebraska’s Sand Hills, he was surprised by how many people — reviewers and industry types — noticed. They thought Nebraska was an exotic locale.
That’s the beauty of setting your novel in Nebraska, many writers said. It’s largely uncovered ground. There are plenty …

Chloe Neill had read all of Victoria Alexander’s books. “Love them. Love them.” She’d get excited whenever Alexander had a new book coming out.
So it kind of blew Neill’s mind to find out that the best-selling romance author lives in Omaha. “It didn’t occur to me that she was just another human being,” she said.
It’s a funny thing for Neill to say — because she’s also a popular novelist living in Omaha. Neill writes two paranormal romance series, the Chicagoland Vampires and the Dark Elite series for young adults.
There are …

My editor Laura King and I hosted an Oscar livechat Sunday night. Here’s the transcript. (Spoiler alert: Colin Firth wins, and Laura and I talk a lot about dresses.)

When you’ve been at the Nebraska Furniture Mart for four hours, you start to feel like maybe you’ll never leave.
Like you’ll keep discovering another row of couches you hadn’t noticed before. Or you’ll endlessly circle, looking for a couch you swear you saw on the way in.
(I’m pretty sure they accomplish this with fake walls and mirrors. And extra-dimensional portals. All those crazy lamps and giant Asian busts are there to distract you.)
Still, if you’re going to get stuck in an M.C. Escher painting, you could do a lot worse …

Tonight’s episode was alcohol-themed — and it was actually really good. Which sends a dangerous message to kids, I think. Look how much funnier your favorite actors are when they’re pretending to be drunk!

Watson, schmatson. I’m not afraid of being replaced by a computer who’s good at “Jeopardy.”

First of all, I’m not good at “Jeopardy.”

To replace me, a computer would have to spend a lot of time reading about wizards and thinking about which is the funniest middle initial. (It’s “P.” Trust me, I’ve thought about this.)

And second, when the computers eventually take over, it won’t be because they’re finally smarter than the smartest of us. It won’t be because they can beat us at Buffalo Wild Wings trivia.

When they crush us at the giant game of “Jeopardy” that is life on Earth, it will be because we’ve become so very, very stupid.

Okay, well … This episode. Not so great, right? Too much wackiness, none of it engaging. Odd performances. Have I become so addicted to Kurt and Blaine that I can’t even enjoy Glee without them?

I can’t remember the first time I met my husband.
I know that it was at McMillan Junior High. That he was 11 and I was 12.
He was probably wearing turquoise high tops and Leggoons — do you remember Leggoons? I was in my thrift-shop menswear phase, and my bangs were too short because I’d decided to try to cut the curl out of them myself.
Kai and I didn’t start dating until our 20s, but our relationship, and our memories, go way, way back.
And I hate to say this — because …

I’d like to teach the world to sing …
If you’re in your 30s or older, those eight words can bring tears to your eyes. (And make you want to hug somebody. And give you a powerful craving for corn syrup and carbonated water.)
If you’re younger…
There’s a chance those eight words remind you of a pretty lame Coke commercial.
Watching the big show Sunday night — “Glee,” of course — I was struck by two commercials that resurrected powerful jingles from the ’50s and ’70s:
The first was that Coke commercial — a …

In my column Wednesday, I write about how much I miss commercial jingles. If I had to choose nine favorites, these are them. What about you? Which jingles do you still sing in the car