The One Thing That Defies Organization by Terry Shames With the lead-up to publication of my debut novel, A KILLING AT COTTON HILL, came months of unaccustomed work preparing for marketing and promotion. I had heard how much time and effort it took, but I was unprepared for the fact that everything else pretty much […]
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DOG HAIRÂ and MYSTERIES by Sheila Webster Boneham A few days ago I popped into a local department store to look for a sweater. I found what I wanted, and headed for the check out. When I handed my credit card to the cashier, a rather prim older woman, I noticed the pained look on her
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What Makes A Good Writer’s Group by Linda Rodriguez  author of Every Last Secret – winner of the (St. Martin’s) Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Competition Over the years, I have been a part of many writer’s workshops, groups, and organizations. I have been a founder of several. When I was a young wife and
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Location, Location, Location by Norma Huss You know what they say about buying or selling a home. The three most important attributes of a home are location, location, and, of course, location. How about a mystery? Maybe location isn’t all three of the top choices, but it does play an important role. When I wrote
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GUEST BLOGGER: AGATHA AWARD WINNING AUTHOR LESLIE BUDEWITZ Thank an Author Day    I’d like to declare a new holiday: Thank an Author Day. Now I realize that coming from a writer, this sounds completely self-serving–because who doesn’t like to hear thanks? To hear praise, to hear that your work entertained someone, or helped them
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Malice Domestic XXIV has ended – amazingly!  As a dedicated cozy mystery reader (and writer), I have long realized that many of my favorite authors are Agatha winners and that the Agathas are awarded each year during the Malice Domestic Conference. Research, a writer’s second best tool, revealed that Malice is one of the largest
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For the love or hate of blogging…. As a writer, I understand the need to blog, tweet, post onFacebook and be LinkedIn; but often, I resent the invasion of social media into my time and privacy. I tend to be shy and uncomfortable with outing my thoughts and emotions. It was so much easier to
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Two kinds of people listen to the voices in their heads — schizophrenics and mystery writers. I’m the kind who doesn’t talk back. Usually. I say usually because every so often it becomes necessary for me to argue with one of those voices, otherwise known as my characters. They can be very demanding. For instance,
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When I was a child, I was given a copy of The Bobbsey Twins of Lakeport by Laura Lee Hope. It’s book jacket claimed “Ghosts! Everyone agrees that the old Marden House is as haunted as a chimney on Halloween, but when there’s a mystery to be solved, the Bobbsey Twins, Bert and Nan, Freddie
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I love independent bookstores. I don’t think of them as being a salon of knowledge or a place to meet people and exchange ideas, I think of an indie as being a second home. Just walking into an independent bookstore and observing its physical layout excites me. My senses become heightened. I observe the number
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