Four million books entered the marketplace worldwide last year, and at least some of them entered their path to publication via a query letter, addressed to either a literary agent or a publisher. A strong query letter can push your manuscript farther up in the slush pile. Considering that agents receive thousands of queries each […]
Query, Query, Quite Contrary by Dianna Sinovic Read More »
In 2018, I wrote my first mystery novel, MURDER IN THE ONE PERCENT. In the months after the book launched, I took it on a whirlwind tour of ten U.S. cities, where I met with people at bookstores, libraries, museums, and private homes. One of those cities was Chicago, where I had lived for several
Why Mysteries? by Saralyn Richard Read More »
Years ago, I attended a presentation on young adult fiction at a writer’s conference in which the speaker exhorted us to “get parents out of the way” and relegate them to the periphery of our stories. In my opinion, her advice was both on the mark and totally off. Yes, in YA fiction, our teen
Echoes from Childhood by Lynn Slaughter Read More »
Not long ago, a friend asked whether I had a favorite time of day and location to write. My response was that, to me, writing is much more about inspiration and mood than time or place. I have written at my desk, at the dining room table, on an airplane, and in hotel rooms, among
Writing From Inspiration and Mood by Bob Rothman Read More »
This month marks the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Level Best Books is publishing Hot Shots: Celebrating Thirty Years of the Short Mystery Fiction Society to mark the occasion. I had the honor of editing the anthology, and I’m grateful to Debra H. Goldstein for inviting me to
The Short Mystery Fiction Society Celebrates its 30th Anniversary by Josh Pachter Read More »
I love reading historical mysteries—Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody, Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins, Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs, Susan Elia MacNeal’s Maggie Hope, Rhys Bowen’s Georgiana Rannoch, Sujata Massey’s Perveen Mistry, and anything by Mariah Fredericks or Karen Odden. Inspired by my love of historicals, I’ve written two historical mystery series, The Fiona Figg Mysteries set in
What I’ve Learned Writing Historical Fiction by Kelly Oliver Read More »
It took me a long time to become brave enough to write about motherhood. The first mystery I tried to sell featured a main character who was a young single woman, a lot like me a couple decades ago. Writing a mother seemed too personal and too close to home. I never thought I’d write
ONE MOM LIFE…TWO SERIES! by Kathleen Marple Kalb Read More »
February 10th was the official release date of Embroidered Lies and Alibis, the 15th book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series. Mindboggling, considering that once upon a time, I’d never even considered writing mysteries. That all changed the day my agent suggested I write a humorous cozy mystery featuring a crafting sleuth. She knew
Birthing a Series by Lois Winston Read More »
One of the key components of cozy mysteries is the use of the “amateur sleuth.” Amateur sleuths are usually female, who are not paid to solve crimes. They’re not trained members of law enforcement, nor are they highly skilled. Amateur sleuths are average people just like you and me. Critics of the genre often disparage
The Beauty of the Amateur in Solving Crimes by Valerie (V.M.) Burns Read More »
I’m probably not the only author to dream of having a platform like Reese Witherspoon or Zibby Owens. They’ve helped hundreds of authors with their recommendations. Oprah Winfrey was amazing at helping some authors sell thousands of books too, but I was never good at public speaking and wouldn’t want to be on television. My
My Dream of Being Like Reese or Zibby by GP Gottlieb Read More »