I’m so delighted to welcome Skye Alexander to my blog today whose second novel in her Lizzie Crane cozy mystery series, What the Walls Know, was just published by Level Best Books. In her guest essay, Skye thoughtfully discusses the centrality of characters in our work and our lives as writers. Following her essay, you…
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It should have been a great week… and in many ways, it was. My local Sisters in Crime chapter had a wonderful book signing event at Barnes and Noble, my family and friends made me feel very loved and appreciated on my birthday, and my husband and I put our Christmas tree up and got…
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I recently spent a week visiting my younger son and his family. They live in a teeny-tiny house in Denver that makes my husband’s and my first 900 square foot house seem positively palatial. But what their home lacks in size is more than made up for by its richness in warmth and affection. I’m…
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One of the joys of being an active member of Sisters in Crime is getting to know so many talented authors like Amy Pendino. Her newly released novel, WILD HORSES, continues the riveting stories of two strong women from different eras. Below are Amy’s responses to my interview questions, followed by her bio which includes…
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Author Linda Lovely figured out the perfect setting for conflict, murder, and mayhem—homeowners associations! She’s just released the second novel in her HOA series, NEIGHBORS TO DIE FOR. Adept at writing in multiple genres, Lovely talks below about her latest release and her writing career. First off, congratulations on the release of your second novel…
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I’m delighted to welcome author Marlene Anne Bumgarner to my blog. I loved her memoir which took me back to coming of age in the 1970s. Below are Marlene’s responses to my interview questions, followed by her bio and contact/buy links: For our readers unfamiliar with your memoir, Back to the Land in Silicon Valley,…
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To this day, I’m a huge fan of the classic TV sitcom Seinfeld. One of my favorite episodes is when Jerry discovers that although he reserved a rental car, when he arrives to pick it up, it’s not there. “It’s not enough to take a reservation,” Jerry says. “You have to keep the reservation.” I…
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“Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” L. Doctorow I’ve always enjoyed Doctorow’s simile, but up until recently, I never thought it applied to me. When it comes to plotting my novels, I’ve been…
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“It’s not the idea of death that bothers me; it’s the hours.” – Woody Allen I’m not a big fan of Woody Allen, but the guy has a point. It’s hard to think about the permanence of our own mortality or worse, the death of our loved ones. While it’s true that no one gets…
Read MoreYesterday, I traveled to Cincinnati to visit Connie, my dear friend of many decades. The drive was long, but I never mind making it. Connie and I met when we were teaching fellows in the dance department at the University of Michigan. She was so incredibly gorgeous that I was sure we’d never become…
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