(Before I begin my post, congratulations to Merri Matalon, who won a copy of Laura Jensen Walker’s new book, Hope, Faith, and a Corpse!) Due to the pandemic, I put off seeing my mother for over a year. She just turned 94 and I didn’t want to risk bringing so much as a cold home to her. Then she was rushed to the hospital in … Continue reading Finding my “Calm.”
No parades. No balls. No bars. No hordes of visitors reveling in iconic Mardi Gras celebrations. You’d think that would plunge a city into a deep depression. Well, not if that city is New Orleans. Don’t get me wrong, there was depression. How could there not be? But then some of New Orleans’ many creative types came up with a way to celebrate in a … Continue reading Mardi Gras becomes Yardi Gras
My mother spent Christmas in the hospital due to a sudden, extremely painful condition. She’s home now and slowly getting better. But I figured, what better time to share a post from our wonderful, last pre-Covid visit? When my mother told me that the daughter of her old friend Adia would be speaking at the Orsogna Mutual Aid Society’s Women’s Day luncheon, and that Adia … Continue reading Mama mia, what a mama!
When I was twelve years old, my mother announced that we would no longer have a Christmas tree. The family was suffering from financial troubles and Mom and Dad were in the dumps. My reaction – “Give up the family Christmas tree?! Oh, hell to the no.” I told my parents if they bought one, I’d take over decorating and un-decorating it. They agreed to … Continue reading When Crafts and Christmas Collide
Welcome to Chicks Book Club! Please feel free to ask any questions you have about the book, the series, the characters, the writing process, the research, or anything you’re curious about. Continue reading “Chicks Book Club: Murder in the Bayou Boneyard”
Ever since I began writing the Cajun Country Mysteries, a highlight of publication has been my annual panel appearance at the Louisiana Book Festival, which takes place in Baton Rouge either the last Saturday in October or first in November. I always combine the trip with a visit to New Orleans, especially now that our daughter has followed my path and is attending college there. … Continue reading A New Orleans Halloween
The Chicks are thrilled to announce a new website feature: an Events page. We have lots of virtual appearances coming up and decided to share them all in one location. Check out the page to find out what panels we’ll be on at Virtual Bouchercon 2020, what bookstores we’ll be “e-ppearing” at, and more. We’ll include in-person events too, as soon as they begin again. … Continue reading News Flash: A New Chicks on the Case Feature
Yes, it’s another post about virtual appearances. But this one has pictures! And links! Because… if you’re promoting a book these days, it’s gonna be an online experience. Which can actually offer some great opportunities from the comfort of your own home, in pajamas from the waist down. (Then again, I’ve been wearing men’s pajama bottoms as pants for ten years, so I was ahead … Continue reading Virtually Yours, Ellen…
Despite the fact that I’m on the internet so much it probably looks like I live there, I’ve never been completely comfortable trumpeting my own work. But I have to. All authors do. Publishing economics dictate we handle the majority of our own promotion these days. So, to publicize a new release in a way I could live with, I decided I needed to call … Continue reading Shameless Shilling, Byron Style
When you write mysteries, you tend to gravitate toward the macabre, which is how I ended up on the Creole Mourning Tour offered by St. Joseph Plantation in Louisiana. Continue reading What I “Borrowed” From a Creole Mourning Tour
Yesterday, I did a cover reveal of my second Catering Hall Mystery (written as Maria DiRico). On September 8th, my sixth Cajun Country Mystery will be released. And it got me thinking about how each book’s title came to be. The journey to Catering Hall Mystery #2 was easy peasy. It just came to me. Long Island Iced Tina – a title so tongue-and-cheek-cozy it … Continue reading A Tale of Two Titles
For the last few years, I’ve worked from home. Many’s the project I could have tackled during those halcyon days of Before Times, but I avoided tasks like cleaning out junk drawers (yes, plural) like they could give me, well, coronavirus. But put me under pandemic house arrest and suddenly I’m a whirlwind of productive activity. I’ve documented my triumph over mismatched plastic containers on … Continue reading Pandemic Projects
Chicks on the Case 