I’m thrilled to feature bestselling mystery author Victoria Thompson as my special guest today. Vicki is not only a terrific writer but a master teacher whose workshops on mystery writing have inspired me and countless other Seton Hill MFA students. Below are her responses to my questions, followed by her bio and a description of…
The year my younger son was born, my sister Marty came for a visit. She reported to our mom: “Lynn nurses the baby, and Alan does everything else.” I hate to admit it, but that’s a great summary of my husband’s and my relationship—only now nursing the baby has been replaced by birthing manuscripts in…
I’m so delighted to have Mary Popham as my featured guest author today. Mary is a remarkable writer whose novels sweep you into a whole other world, early twentieth century rural Kentucky. We are both members of North End Writers, a critique group, and I always look forward to Mary’s submissions. She is a treasure!…
On the long drive to see my New York City grandkids for the first time in more than a year, I felt both excited and nervous. I’d been summoned two days early to cover for the much loved nanny who needed to attend a family funeral. I knew my six-year-old grandson was old enough to…
I’m so delighted to feature best-selling author Lee Tobin McClain as my guest today. Lee was one of my mentors in grad school. She is not only a multi-published successful author but a superb teacher and an inspiring role model for her students– including me! Below are her responses to my interview questions followed by…
Years ago during my dance days, I auditioned for a company in another state. In the post-audition interview, the artistic director said nice things about my dancing and concluded by telling me: “You’re such a finished dancer.” I thanked her for her kind words, but I knew this last statement was dead wrong. There is…
I’m so delighted to host Ellen Birkett Morris. I first met Ellen when a dear writer friend invited me to her writer’s group. “These women are serious writers,” she told me, “and they’re really good.” That turned out to be an understatement! Ellen was the group’s unofficial leader, and it didn’t take me long to…
I’ve been doing lots of reading about writing young adult fiction in connection with a talk I’m giving next week to my local Sisters in Crime chapter. Not surprisingly, one of the biggest pieces of advice is to avoid writing stereotypical, flat characters—the nerdy geek, the shallow blonde cheerleader, the macho jock, etc. For one…
I first met V.M. (Valerie) Burns in a workshop at Seton Hill when we were working on our MFAs in Writing Popular Fiction. Valerie workshopped a story about a feisty amateur sleuth busily solving mysteries in her retirement community. I absolutely loved it and sensed that she was on her way to a successful writing…
Are there writers on the planet who haven’t been asked: “Where do you get your ideas?” If so, I’ve yet to meet them! The easiest and perhaps least helpful answer is: “Anywhere and everywhere.” As Lisa Cron points out in Story Genius, her craft book for writers, the wisp of an idea could come from…