The below blog was a combination of an assignment given to me by my Hi-Lo writing coach (a Hi-Lo series is for struggling readers in K-12 grade levels meaning high-interest, low readability). I was tasked to write anything tongue-in-cheek with a tad of sarcasm while also keeping it real. I decided to combine this assignment …

Variety in Writing Read More »

I’ve hit double-digits! October 4th will see the release of Stitch, Bake Die!, #10 in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series, currently available for pre-order from all the usual suspects. Given that when I started writing {{cough! cough!}} years ago, I expected a career in the romance genre and did briefly have one, this is …

Guest Blogger: Lois Winston – The Non-conforming Tropist Read More »

WRITING RACE by Laurel S. Peterson First of all, thanks, Debra, for having me on It’s Not Always a Mystery. I’m delighted to be here and to share some thoughts today on writing race. My mystery novel series, Shadow Notes and The Fallen (Woodhall Press), features a white amateur detective protagonist, Clara, who falls in …

WRITING RACE Read More »

When to End a Series by Kassandra Lamb For the second time in my writing career, I’m facing the decision of when to end a series. It’s a bittersweet experience. An author’s characters feel very much like real people to us. It’s always tough to decide just when and where to end things. The why, …

Guest Blogger: Kassandra Lamb – When to End a Series Read More »

Sometimes I wonder why I feel such a passion for the written word and yet, I don’t love poetry. I read poems and I often appreciate the beauty of the word choices, rhythm, and beat, but I don’t go out of my way to pick up poetry books like I do novels and short story …

Poetry – Words of Beauty that I Simply Don’t Get Read More »

Looking for a crime? Grave-robbing by Charlotte Hunter For me, grave-robbing used to conjure thoughts of 18th-century resurrection men prowling moonlit cemeteries for fresh corpses to sell to medical schools. Then I began research for my current work-in-progress and, to my surprise, discovered grave robbery remains a thriving crime throughout the United States. Some of …

Guest Blogger: Charlotte Hunter – Looking for a Crime? Grave-Robbing Read More »

Giving the Villain a First-Person POV by Linda Lovely If the villain in a novel is intelligent, resourceful, and relentless, the heroine needs the same attributes—in spades—to outwit her opponent. An evil versus good see-saw offers an excellent suspense-building tool. This is especially true if authors give readers a peek at what evil deeds the …

Guest Blogger Linda Lovely – Giving a Villain a First-Person POV Read More »

Starting a Novel: One Writer’s Approach by Lynn Slaughter As both a writer and a voracious reader, I’m always fascinated learning about the writing process of different authors. There’s definitely no one size-fits all approach. So, my philosophy is to do whatever works! Here’s what tends to work for me. First off comes a glimmer …

Guest Blogger: Lynn Slaughter – Starting a Novel: One Writer’s Approach Read More »

Moonlight & Misadventure - a new crime anthology edited by Judy Penz Sheluk featuring stories by authors including K.M. Rockwood, Joseph S. Walker, and John M. Floyd - is a testimonial of quality to Judy paying it forward.

Years ago I wrote for the fun of writing. I worked third shift and left chapters hanging around the plant. Anonymously. It brought an expected lesson. People started leaving notes regarding the characters, did they work, have spouses, or red hair? There were also comments on conflicting information in different chapters. I wanted people to …

Guest Blogger: DonnaRae Menard – The Character Bio Read More »