Archive | Cozy Mystery

How to Dress a Ghost Guest Blog by Fran Stewart Did you ever notice that some writers go into great detail dressing their characters in Armani and Blahnik, Hermes and Chanel? Those meticulously turned-out characters would be quite in place on a Paris runway. But what do you do when you’re writing a 14th-century Scottish […]

Judging a book by its cover By Leslie Budewitz “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” As a metaphor, it’s spot-on: Don’t judge the interior by the exterior; don’t assume you know a person’s nature—their heart, mind, and values—by their appearance. When it comes to actual books, though, we do it all the time. And […]

Real vs. Fictional Settings: My version of Hogwarts By Eva Gates Generally speaking, a novel can be set in one of two places: a real place or a fictional place. (Or some combination of both). There are a lot of good reasons to create a fictional setting for a book: No one can point out […]

An Interview with Chef Art From Fry Another Day The Biscuit Bowl Mysteries By J.J. Cook This is Jason Smith from WQBT News in Atlanta. Today I’m interviewing the man behind the Biscuit Bowl Food Truck which is in the lead in this lap of the Sweet Magnolia Food Truck Race. Q. Good morning, Chef […]

Author Kate Carlisle Asks, Sunken Treasure: Finders Keepers? Off the coast near Lighthouse Cove, California, a clipper ship went down in 1839. The Glorious Maiden transported precious cargo and wealthy passengers along the Western American coast. Rumors suggest that a Spanish princess went down with that ship and, with her, a fortune in gold and […]

My Ten Favorite Things about Writing LICENSE TO DILL By Mary Ellen Hughes Starting a new series is always exciting, but it’s also plenty of hard, intensive work. There’s so many decisions to make, such as where to set it, who your characters will be, their relationships, and so on, which is what I went […]

    At The Drop Of A Hat by Jenn McKinlay I am a hat girl and always have been.  No, sadly, not the fancy hats to which the British are partial.  I think Americans are too obsessed with their hair to ever truly embrace the hat.  Pity.  Still, I love a good hat, and I […]

A Traveler’s Guide to Cape Willington, Maine by B.B. Haywood author of Town in a Sweet Pickle Welcome to the fictional town of Cape Willington, Maine, founded in 1737 by sea captain Elijah Blake Willington. Elijah and his crew were headed for Portland Harbor when they got caught in a storm and had to travel […]

 It’s a Family Thing By Miranda James Each of the “Cat in the Stacks” novels has centered on the family in some way. The core of the books is Charlie and his family, beginning with Diesel the Maine Coon cat in the first book, and then including his son Sean, daughter Laura, and others in […]

ARE YOUR CHARACTERS REAL? By Daryl Wood Gerber aka Avery Aames (Author of The Cookbook Nook Mysteries & The Cheese Shop Mysteries) I could protest for hours about how my characters are not based on real people, yet readers will still walk away convinced that my protagonists are thinly veiled versions of myself. As if. […]

Guest Post by Sheila Connolly I’m amazed to find that I’ve been writing for 14 years now, although I didn’t have a published book to hold until 2008. I had no idea what I was doing when I started writing—I just jumped in. But I always knew I wanted to write about Ireland. The second […]

Guest Post by Lucy Arlington People often ask me if I use real people as my characters. Some ask with a bit of a grin and sly wink, as if to say, “You could use me, if you wish.” The answer is always no, and often receives a disappointed sigh from the person who asked. […]