Women Writers

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 […]

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rituals are about creating space in time, in our surroundings, and in our own minds. They give us a sense of predictability while still leaving room for creativity and flexibility. Something I already understood during my teaching career, where routine was the backbone of every successful day. When I began my second act as a

Keep breathing. That’s what I told myself despite the immense pain radiating through my chest and shoulders. I hadn’t expected to come out of surgery and feel like I was being crushed alive. The nurse thought I was exaggerating. After consulting with my doctor over the phone, and ignoring my plea—“I have a high pain

There’s a saying that truth is stranger than fiction. But in my experience, truth also hides better. It disguises itself behind corporate statements, medical jargon, and policy papers. And when you’ve worked in medicine—as I have—you quickly learn that the most dangerous facts are often the ones marketed as “progress.” That’s why I write thrillers.