Is Your Neighbor a Nuisance?

While all of the pundits spend today discussing the impact of the midterm elections and officially declaring the start of the 2012 presidential race , I thought that I would offer a slightly lighter topic for your reading pleasure today.

In my first novel, Compulsion , my readers are introduced to Emily Stone . She is a woman who takes it upon herself to follow and gather evidence against the perpetrators who are destroying her community. She takes all of her surveillance photos and other compelling proof to local law enforcement, and the rapists, pedophiles, and murderers have their day in court. Emily discovers, though, the threats may live even closer to her than she thinks when a neighbor's suspicious behavior captures her on-target instincts.

I thought of Emily's neighbor when coming across an article on CNN today entitled " How to Deal with Nuisance Neighbors." If a nuisance is all the person next to you proves to be, then certainly you are more fortunate than Emily Stone , but such neighbors are still frustrating.

The article shares advice concerning how to handle dog owners who let their pets bark all night or dig up your flowers (I promise my dogs are well-behaved and wonderful additions to the community), who have unkempt yards and clutter on the front porch, who borrow items from you and never return them, and other common neighborly problems . I imagine that at least one of the personalities described will sound familiar to you.

What are your recommendations for maintaining neighborly bliss with those around you? If you have had more serious problems in your community—perhaps even someone engaging in criminal activity—did you choose to get involved?