Guest Chick: J.C. Kenney

Ellen here, so happy to welcome back the always entertaining J.C. Kenney and help him celebrate his newest release! Life is Too Short… Happy Wednesday, friends! I hope the flowers are blooming and the birds are singing in your neck of the woods. Here in Indianapolis (home of this year’s NCAA Men’s basketball tournament for you sports fans), Spring is in full swing. The trees … Continue reading Guest Chick: J.C. Kenney

Time for a Chick Pic

We’re starting a new feature here that we’d love to have you participate in! Cozy readers—and especially Chicks on the Case readers—are some of the most creative folks on the planet so we’re asking you to play Chick Pic with us! Give us a couple of sentences … who is this character? What’s their back story? Victim, murderer, nosy neighbor, innocent suspect? The more ridiculous … Continue reading Time for a Chick Pic

Guest Chick: Laura Jensen Walker

Hi all, Ellen here! I’m thrilled to host Laura Jensen Walker today, writing about a topic dear to my heart – the importance of humor in our books and lives, and the frustration we feel when it doesn’t get the respect it deserves. Make ‘em Laugh I never planned to write “funny.” I’m a former reporter who always wanted to write books, preferably novels. Writing … Continue reading Guest Chick: Laura Jensen Walker

Chick Chat: What’s in a title?

When authors are submitting a proposal for a series or for more books in a series, we typically are asked to suggest titles for those books, as well. Sometimes they fly; sometimes they get shot down by the publisher. We think the Chicks have had some pretty cool titles, including The Semester of Our Discontent and Til Death Do Us Party. Ellen’s latest release, Long Island Iced Tina, is a contender for best ever! (Look here for a list of all the Chicks’ books to date.)

But today we reminisce about those titles that didn’t make the cut — or the cover.

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Guest Chick: Kaye George

The Chicks are thrilled to welcome back our pal, the always delightful Kaye George. And we’ve stumbled onto an accidental theme this week – where do writers get their ideas? Leslie shared what she goes through on Monday. Today, Kaye gives us her take on it… The Dreaded Question Where do you get your ideas? Why do people always ask this? I got asked just … Continue reading Guest Chick: Kaye George

Guest Chick: Marla Bradeen

The Chicks are thrilled to have fab author Marla Bradeen with us today. She talks about the importance of representation in mysteries, beyond the usual suspects, and shares some exciting information about new a grant opportunity through Sisters in Crime for LGBTQIA+ mystery authors! And be sure to check out her wonderful Cozy Cat Caper mystery series (written as Paige Sleuth). Take it away, Marla! … Continue reading Guest Chick: Marla Bradeen

LONG ISLAND ICED TINA Launches Today!

Thrilled to share that today is the book birthday for LONG ISLAND ICED TEA, the second book in the Catering Hall Mysteries series by our very own Maria DiRico who is also Ellen Byron. In the second installment of Maria DiRico’s new Catering Hall Mystery series, Mia Carina is back in the borough of Queens, in charge of the family catering hall Belle View Banquet … Continue reading LONG ISLAND ICED TINA Launches Today!

Guest Chick—Elizabeth Pantley

Becky here … I’m so excited to introduce you to Elizabeth Pantley today as she talks about the inspiration and research she magically fell into for her new book Falling Into Magic. When Mountain Climbing becomes Book Inspiration Hayden, my protagonist, is a hiker, and fairly new to the sport, just like me. I used my own experiences trekking through the great Pacific Northwest over … Continue reading Guest Chick—Elizabeth Pantley

The Moment We First Felt Like a Legit Author

Sometimes it’s hard for us authors to believe we are really, truly…well, authors. What an honor and thrill that the words we tap onto our keyboards magically–or not so magically–become books that other people may read. We Chicks still pinch ourselves sometimes, but here are the moments we realized, Hey, this is real!

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Guest Chick: Esme Addison

The Chicks are thrilled to welcome Esme Addison, who writes the delightfully magical Enchanted Bay Mysteries. Today, she shares the charming tale of what inspired her series… I have loved cozy mysteries ever since I discovered Ellen Crosby’s A Wine Country Mystery, after I’d just returned from a trip to Napa Valley, California and wanted to read a book about wine making. I didn’t even … Continue reading Guest Chick: Esme Addison

Guest Chicks: Mally Becker, Liz Milliron, Kerry Peresta, C.L. Tolbert

The Chicks are delighted to bring you four wonderful guest authors today: please welcome Mally Becker, Liz Milliron, Kerry Peresta, and C.L. Tolbert from Level Best Books! Hello Chicks! It is fabulous to be here. We’re having a lot of fun hanging out together and it is so exciting we get to share our books with you. When we got together, we started thinking about … Continue reading Guest Chicks: Mally Becker, Liz Milliron, Kerry Peresta, C.L. Tolbert