So Taxing

 JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Happy Valentines Day to all who celebrate, but I’m not here to talk about that. If you want to read our thoughts on the holiday (and see examples of the delightful cartoons Hallie’s dear Jerry gave her every year) just follow the links. No, I’m here to talk about something that outlasts infatuation, obsession, love and even death - yes, I’m here to talk about taxes. (And if you’re thinking, surely, not death, than you haven’t ever handled an estate.)

 

Why taxes on the day devoted to romantic love? Because February 15th isn’t just the day for snatching up half-priced Russell Stover chocolate boxes. It’s also the date by which you should have your tax information in to your accountant if you want a guarantee they’ll be able to file your 1040 by April 15th. (By the way, many years Maine and Massachusetts file on April 17th or 18th, because we observe Patriots Day on the third Monday of the month. And what’s more patriotic that waiting til the last minute to file your taxes? Thanks, Paul Revere!)

 

I’ve become a little obsessive about this, because for YEARS I didn’t get my act together soon enough and had to file an extension. Embarrassingly, there were a few times when I didn’t make it in time for the extension! I know, it makes me groan and shake my head as well. Happily, I’ve been living into my goals to become more organized, and this is the third year I’ve gotten all my materials to my long-suffering accountant before February 15th!

 

 

How about you, Reds? Are you ahead of the curve when it comes to taxes, or are you begging your accountant to somehow fit you in on April 14th?

 

HALLIE EPHRON: Heavens no! But this is a timely reminder to get on the stick. It takes me about a half a day to pull everything together. And the magnificent fellow who files my taxes has been doing it for quite a few years. So it’s not a big deal… but it hangs over me. I’m much happier when it’s done.

 

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I applaud your industry, Julia! My accountant pretty much automatically files an extension for me, and I do my taxes in August, as my corporate return is due September 15th. Maybe one day I will emulate you!

 

JENN McKINLAY: I am either way ahead of the curve or way behind. This year looks to be behind…ah well. I did see a hilarious meme of someone turning in their tax forms to the IRS completely blacked out as in redacted. LOL. This year, I would like an accounting from the government telling me exactly where my money is going…ahem.

 

RHYS BOWEN:  one thing I am meticulous about is taxes. I have a spread sheet going all year so it’s only a question of the sum of each column plus the various investments, properties etc. I have spoken with various tax attorneys about ways to pay less or whether incorporating works but nobody has come up with brilliant ways to prevent me from buying a new stealth bomber every year! I also feel if the federal programs are being curtailed I’d like to know where my money is going !

 

 

 

LUCY BURDETTE: I wish I was more like you, Rhys. Right now I just have a big folder with everything crammed into it. John has been nagging me to get my part done, but we’ve had so much company (and more to come) that it’s hard to tackle. It’s never as bad as I think it will be…

 

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Yeah, I am relentlessly careful and on time about this, and every year I end up stomping around the house saying “what is this FOR?? What is this FOR??” and “WHY IS THIS SO MUCH!!” and “I bet fill-in-the-blank person doesn't pay this much. AHHHHHHH SO UNFAIR!”  I am happy to pitch in to pay for infrastructure and schools and school lunch and breakfast and medicine and education and a whole bunch of other stuff, sure, I am eager to help, but I cannot help but think about where this particular money is going.  We ought to be able to earmark it. Yeah, mine all goes to LIBRARIES and school lunches, okay? Check.

 

Okay, back to the question. Yes, I’ll have my stuff in on time to our lovely person who will add it all up.

 

 JULIA: How about you, Dear Readers? Are you Johnny-on-the-spot with your spreadsheets, or do you start thinking about your 1040 at noon on April 15? And Canadian readers: when are your taxes due to the CRA?

On The Move!

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: It's moving day! No, not for me, thank God, but for my daughter and her family. My part is to be at their current house at 7:15 am (keep in mind it's an hour and twenty minute drive...) and watch my grandson "Paulie" while his mothers travel to Lewiston, Maine to sign the documents. Then, when they return, I'm taking their dogs - yes, again, but only for overnight this time. With their cat safely, if unhappily, locked in a room in the new place, this will clear the way for the local moving company to shift them 33 miles west.

 

 My last move, in 1994, was also with a baby - six weeks instead of four months. Also? I had a seventeen-month old (that's the person who qualifies for a mortgage now. Sure didn't imagine that back then!)

 

Ross and I also hired a moving company, and, like Victoria and her wife, tried to pack up as much as possible to make the process quicker (we were only going 16 miles west!) However, Ross was a lawyer working something like 14 hours a day, and what little management/organizational ability I had was utterly scrambled by motherhood. It didn't help that we didn't actually start the process until a week before the moving truck arrived, unlike my daughter-in-law, who bought dozens of boxes and began packing as soon as their offer was accepted.

 

 I recall the process only in glimpses, similar to the way people in a car only remember flashes of the terrible accident. There was the moment we were both up at 3am, trying to clean the kitchen while passing the fussy baby back and forth. At one point, I was nursing my son in the cab of the mover's truck, sobbing. For some reason, I have a clear memory of having no box in which to put the under-sink cleaning products, and deciding, "&#$% it, it'll just transfer with possession." Then nothing until Ross and I were standing in the main 40X20 foot room, saying to one another, "How are we ever going to fill all this space?" (Spoiler: we did.)

 

I've been in the same house since then, and friends and my children ask me if I consider getting someplace smaller, on one floor, say, and with MUCH less yard to maintain.  And that would be nice! But honestly? I'm not sure I've recovered from the last move yet.

 

Dear readers, what are your moving stories?

 

 

Hallie's going to Paris... c'mon along?!?!

 HALLIE EPHRON: I'm thrilled to report that I'll be teaching a 5-day master class on writing a mystery/suspense novel in (drum roll...) PARIS (31 May - 5 June 2026).

When the invitation to teach a master class at the 2026 WICE Paris Writers Workshop arrived, I pinched myself. 

I present at a lot of writing confeence, but it's not often that I get to teach a really intensive, down in the nitty-gritties, week-long master class on writing with a group SMALL enough (max 12). With plenty of time for me to get to know the writers in the room and for them to get to know each other. 

And Paris? Zoot alors!!

Then I scurried about making sure it was real... because, well, you know, sadly you've got to double and triple check everything that arrives via the Internet these days.

Turns out the Paris Writers Workshop, founded in 1989, is the oldest writers workshop in Europe. It's run by WICE ( Where Internationals Connect in English) which was started by a group of American expats back in 1978.

Earlier this week I caught up with Lorie Lichtlen, this year's workshop co-director. Thirty years ago, she came to Paris as a journalist and she's still there. More recently Lorie made her living writing for big businesses like Euro Disney. 


 
Lorie has been coming to the Paris Writers Workshop since 2014, and fondly recalls the year she got to learn from Carol Shields (that same year that Shields won the Pulitzer). 

She credits WICE for nurturing the creative nonfiction writer in her, and for introducing her to a community of writers. 

She was delighted to talk about this year's faculty - six of us - and their first time offering a master class on writing mystery and suspense.

To say I'm looking forward to this would be an understatement! Because I *love love love* Paris. And my happy place is teaching. 

The workshop will be held at the Paris College of Art, near the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Élysées.

I'm hoping that some of the aspiring writers among our Red readers will be up for joining me in Paris. (No you do not need to speak French.)

And today's question: Do you have memories of Paris, or is it on your travel wish list?

 
REGISTER WICE Paris Writers Workshop - 31 May - 5 June 2026
https://wice-paris.org/paris-writers-workshop
Early bird registration until 2 March
PROGRAM 
https://www.wice-paris.org/pww2026_program 

PHOTO of the Arc de Triomphe By Kainet - Flickr: Arc de Triomphe HDR, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30352419