Whatcha watchin'?

In the Christoff household, we love the late winter season, because even as the wind howls outside, we're cozy indoors, on the couch, with each other, our dogs, our favorite books, our must-watch movies, and new-to-view TV shows. And if you ask our opinion, this year, TV is better than ever. Here's what we can't wait to watch:

1) The X-Files Revival
Often imitated, but never duplicated, The X-Files starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson didn't just launch the careers of its stars. It launched the fledgling FOX network and a plethora of amazing writers, directors, and producers who would go on to mastermind more TV phenomena like Lost and Supernatural. But after a rocky conclusion to the original series and a rough start this time around, The X-Files are back in a big way, if only for a six-episode event, reminding us just how tenuous the truth can be and setting new records for FOX. David Duchovny is still the "spooky" Special Agent Mulder and Gillian Anderson has only grown in beauty, grace, and ability as Special Agent Scully. With inside jokes for X-Philes and cameos by beloved character actors, this isn't a show we watch On Demand or online. This is good, old-fashioned appointment television, and you'll know where the Christoffs will be every Monday night throughout the series.

2) Pretty Little Liars: Five Years Forward
Based on the Young Adult novels by Sara Shepard, this series about four girls who are cyberbullied after their clique's queen bee ends up dead, led moms and daughters to watch TV together like the entertainment industry hadn't seen in decades--and to break land speed records tweeting about every aspect of the story. When the show's writers wrapped up the main mystery and the characters' high school days last fall, however, many thought it signaled the end of the series. In an innovative move, though, the Liars are back, fresh out of college, and facing new threats together. All at once, the show has gone from YA to NA, just as its audience has, and the fit couldn't be better for the actresses, too, who are now well into their twenties. This is the power of strong writing, and in my house, we're loving every minute spent watching it.

3) Detectorists
This British import from BBC Four features Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones as a pair of small-town misfits, armed with metal detectors and on the look-out for fame and fortune. Like the rest of us, however, they're truly searching for their heart's happiness, whether they know it or not. Always funny and often bittersweet, this show is for anyone who's hit a certain point in life, looked around, and realized this isn't the ride you signed up for. Will characters Andy and Lance find their true bliss? Mr. C and I certainly hope so, because that might mean there's hope for all of us.

So, that's what the Christoffs are watching this winter season. What's on your TV and why do you love it so?

Private Eye Spy

James Bond.

Napoleon Solo.

Kelly Robinson.

From childhood on, I think I've seen every film and television episode featuring those fictional super-spy guys at least a dozen times. And as a grown-up, I still love to catch them when I can. But you know what? Even in childhood, I wondered why should guy spies get all the fun?

That question, and my grown-up answer, is how I came to write The Kill Shot (Random House Alibi), Book #2 in the Jamie Sinclair series, which hits the virtual shelves this week!



The Kill Shot stars Jamie Sinclair, a private-investigator-turned-security-specialist who was raised by her tough-as-nails father. Of course, after an upbringing like hers, Jamie's no shrinking violet. Still, she has a soft spot in her heart for stray dogs and a particular military police officer named Adam Barrett.

So when Jamie travels to London to safeguard a State Department courier at the insistence of her demanding father, she can handle an ambush or two...until a would-be assassin opens fire on her on the cobblestone streets of Covent Garden. Worse yet, someone takes down the assailant with a single kill shot and Jamie could swear the face of the shooter belongs to Barrett himself. Except Barrett is supposed to be 3,000 miles away.

So who's lying?

And who's spying?

Jamie must find out when that single kill shot plunges her into an international game of cat-and-mouse.

You can pick-up your very own copy of The Kill Shot here or anywhere e-books are sold. And I hope you will. Because with Jamie on the case, those guy spies really don't get all the fun!