Author: Ellen Byron

Mysteries

For the love of plants, keep me away from plants.

My fellow chicks and I write about murder. We would absolutely NEVER consider killing someone in real life. (I think?) But when it comes to plants, if their death was considered a punishable crime, I’d be charged with involuntary manslaughter. I was recently a keynote speaker for a local nonprofit that supports pediatric orthopedics. It was a wonderful event, and the hosts gifted me with … Continue reading For the love of plants, keep me away from plants.

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Mysteries

A wonderful start to the New Year…

It takes some effort to drag oneself out of bed on the first workday of the new year. But an e-blast from Left Coast Crime made it much easier for a few of our Chicks. Congratulations to Ellen and Jen for Lefty nominations in the category of Best Humorous Mystery and Leslie for a Best Mystery Novel nomination! And congratulations to all the nominees… For … Continue reading A wonderful start to the New Year…

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Group Post

Happy Ho-Ho-Holidays!

Season’s greetings, beloved readers! We wish you and yours the happiest of happy holiday seasons and a bright New Year.  We’re bringing you our annual Chicks as Babies or Children holiday post – with some new additions! We’ll be back on January 5th for another year of fun posts! Leslie Karst Ellen Byron Lisa Q. Mathews Vickie Fee Cynthia Kuhn Jennifer J. Chow Patricia Sargeant/Olivia … Continue reading Happy Ho-Ho-Holidays!

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Ellen Byron

Happy First Day of Advent Calendars to All Who Observe

My love of Advent calendars is well-documented on social media, as evidenced by this photo of last year’s partial haul and yes, you read that right… My love/passion/obsession for this holiday tradition started when I was a kid. Every year, my mother bought a sparkly paper calendar that came from Germany. It looked like this one… As I got older, I generally sought out one … Continue reading Happy First Day of Advent Calendars to All Who Observe

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Ellen Byron

Happy Book Birthday, Ellen Byron!

Crescent City Christmas Chaos, the fourth book in Ellen’s award-winning Vintage Cookbook Mystery series, launches today. We’re thrilled for her! About the book… It’s Christmas. It’s cozy. It’s culinary. It’s chaos! It’s the fourth book in this fabulous mystery series with a vintage flair from USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award–winning author Ellen Byron. Have yourself a merry little . . . murder? Ricki James-Diaz … Continue reading Happy Book Birthday, Ellen Byron!

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Ellen Byron

Recipes From the Grave – Literally.

Hi all, Ellen here! Crescent City Christmas Chaos, my fourth Vintage Cookbook Mystery, launches in a week – 11/4, to be exact – and there’s an important plot point built around protagonist Ricki James-Diaz spotting a recipe engraved on a gravestone. Well, you can imagine how thrilled I was to discover someone had compiled a cookbook devoted entirely to recipes culled from gravestone recipes, To … Continue reading Recipes From the Grave – Literally.

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Chick Chat, Group Post

Chick Chat: Characters can surprise you!

We Chicks have created – and continue to create – a vast array of characters. We think we know them pretty well. But sometimes a character is more fun to write than we thought they’d be. Today we share the characters we didn’t expect to enjoy writing as much as we do. Lisa Q. Mathews I think I knew as soon as Gladys Rumway appeared … Continue reading Chick Chat: Characters can surprise you!

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Ellen Byron

Happy Birthday, Dame Agatha – and California!

Happy National Cozy Mystery Day to all who observe – which is a lot of us. September 15th was chosen to honor the genre because it’s the birthday of the legendary mystery author, Agatha Christie. But there was another birthday last week that I want to celebrate. California, my adopted state, turned 175. If you’re thinking, wait, one of these things is not like the … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Dame Agatha – and California!

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Ellen Byron

The Perks of “Research”

Ah, the upside of writing series set in beautiful location. I thought that today, I’d share a little backstory on what inspired my Golden Motel Mysteries and how it led to two glorious vacations, I mean research trips, to Cali’s Gold Rush Country. If you drive 4-5 hours west from this spectacular view, you’re at the Pacific Ocean. I love this state! In the late … Continue reading The Perks of “Research”

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Ellen Byron

Malice Memories – and a Misconception

It’s been a week since I returned from this year’s Malice Domestic convention and I’m still on a high from it. Malice felt exceptional this year. It’s like it got its con battery recharged and reached 100% positive energy. There were a ton of first-time attendees representing a wide range of ages. There were even more guys than usual, which added just the right touch … Continue reading Malice Memories – and a Misconception

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