Life Gets in the Way by Angie Gallion When I read Debra’s post about best-laid plans sometimes going awry, I could relate. No matter how hard we try, life sometimes gets in the way. My writing journey has been filled with life getting in the way. I was a big dreamer growing up and I […]

I Had the Best Intentions, But … by Debra H. Goldstein My goal is for a new It’s Not Always a Mystery blog to appear every other Monday. One blog per month is written by me, while the second is by a guest blogger who I believe you will find interesting. My guest bloggers have […]

One Writer, Many Roads by Sue Ann Jaffarian When I first met Debra Goldstein, it was in February 2019 at Murder In The Magic City in Birmingham, Alabama. I was one of the guests of honor for the event, and I was just a few weeks into my latest adventure, that of being a nomadic […]

The Fish, the Plane Crash, and the Coyote By: Lynn Chandler Willis In my former life, I owned and published a bi-weekly newspaper. Circulation 15,000, thank you. Not bad for a totally ad-supported paper that covered one incorporated rural town and a couple unincorporated surrounding communities. The paper lasted thirteen years and probably could have […]

Bittersweet Life Cycle Moments – a Reason Not to Write by Debra H. Goldstein Sometimes, life gets in the way of writing. This is one of those weeks that my thoughts are more concerned with life cycle events than they are with “writing.” By the end of this week, my sister and I will both […]

The People You’ll Meet by Grace Topping When I think about my journey to publication, Dr. Seuss’s words often come to mind, “Oh the places you’ll go!” A terrific line, but to me, a more important thought was “the people you’ll meet.” As a budding mystery writer, I traveled to Orlando to attend Sleuthfest, Boston […]

Returning to Childhood by Debra H. Goldstein Last Friday was Passover’s first 2019 Seder. At one time, our extended family’s Seders averaged 20-30 attendees, but in the past few years the death of the older generation, the different cities our children have settled in, and the activities of our children and grandchildren significantly decreased that […]

With a Little Help From My Friends by Barb Goffman Ah, the perennial question: Where do you get your ideas? Mine spring from all kinds of places. Newspaper articles. Overheard conversations. Advertisements. Sometimes they seemingly spring from nowhere, a random product of the weirdness that is my brain. But even those out-of-nowhere stories likely had […]

There Simply isn’t Enough Time in the Day by Debra H. Goldstein Have you ever wondered why so many Type A people only sleep a few hours each night? I’m positive there is a scientific explanation, but I’ve got my own (and I’m sticking with it). There simply isn’t enough time in the day. I’ve […]