Jen here. Super excited to welcome Lori to the blog! I love the premise of Wreck Your Heart, and I appreciate Lori sharing about line dancing. I’ve done a little bit myself and enjoyed it! For one of my launch events for Wreck Your Heart, a mystery novel set in Chicago’s country music scene, the bookstore host hired a dance instructor to come teach us … Continue reading Guest Chick: Lori Rader-Day
It’s Jen’s book birthday today! The third book in her Magical Fortune Cookie series has baked up this mystery: Is Felicity to blame when a hotel guest drowns after eating her enchanted cookies? Felicity Jin returns in the third installment of the Magical Fortune Cookie series.A group of high school alumnae reunite years later and reserve rooms at Pixie Inn for an extended retreat. As … Continue reading Release Day: TELL-TALE TREATS
Today the Chicks are excited to host some of the 2026 nominees for the Lefty Awards, to be awarded at Left Coast Crime: San Francisco Schemin’. We’ve asked each nominee to share about how they come up with titles in general and/or for their nominated book. Congrats, Lefty nominees! Lefty Nominees for Best Humorous Mystery Novel Ellen Byron, Solid Gold Murder Sometimes a title magically appears, … Continue reading Lefty Award Nominees~San Francisco Schemin’
It’s 2026? It’s 2026! I felt like the end of the year kinda bled into the new one. But maybe that’s because I didn’t ring in the new year. Confession: I couldn’t even muster the energy to watch the ball drop. I also didn’t make a resolution or write a one-word goal. But I actually do enjoy the idea of new beginnings. And, clearly, I’m … Continue reading New Year, New Book, New Vision
The other day, my family and I went to the seaside, where I spotted objects floating in the water. “See those buoys!” I said, pronouncing the word like boys, whereupon the rest of my family looked at me oddly. They corrected me, stretching “buoy” into two syllables, more like boo-ee. (To be fair, after some online digging, it seems like the latter is the American … Continue reading Readers Who Mispronounce
We’re happy to welcome Melissa to the blog! The Abbey and its cozy community is such a great setting! Community Matters in Dropped Like a Bad Habit A favorite cozy mystery trope of mine is a close-knit setting where everyone knows each other. I feel like I’m right in the mix when watching a sleuth work their way through familiar territory to solve whatever crime … Continue reading Guest Chick: Melissa Westemeier
Happy Halloween! 🎃I’m a chicken Chick when it comes to spooky things. But I like surviving exploits and mildly scary happenings. Take, for example, my recent Fairbanks, Alaska trip. (Spoiler: I did not see the aurora, which would have featured amazingly spooky spectacular lights.) Scary Airplane Experiences ✈️ If I didn’t know before that I would be an #AmazingRaceFail, I know now. On the way … Continue reading Semi-Scary Alaskan Shenanigans
We’re excited to welcome new guest, Skye, to our blog! She sets her Archaeologist Aideen Connor Mysteries in the American Southwest. Just check out the gorgeous photos below! Back Country Adventures It’s late afternoon and we’re driving down a dirt road from the Kane Gulch Ranger Station heading for Grand Gulch, a vast serpentine canyon in southeast Utah. It’s late spring, and the cactuses are … Continue reading Guest Chick: Skye Griffith & #Giveaway
Jen here, and I’m thrilled to welcome Amanda Chapman (a.k.a. Amy Pershing) to the blog. As you know, I’m an avid Christie fan, so I’m delighted Amanda is our guest and that she’s written a mystery with a huge nod to Dame Agatha. Plus, our very own Ellen Byron blurbed the book! Take it away, Amanda/Amy! Getting to Know the Queen of Crime In Her … Continue reading Guest Chick: Amanda Chapman
Let’s give C.B. a very warm welcome to the blog! I love how she shares about her unique journey in finding her author voice. And the dog pics are too adorable!! Finding Your Voice: An unexpected journey Early in my writing career, a mentor shared wisdom that puzzled me at the time: “To find your voice, you must write what moves you.” I thought I … Continue reading Guest Chick: C.B. Wilson & #Giveaway
I’ve been asked many times in a panel whether I’m a plotter or pantser. I generally land in the middle. (Although since my publisher prefers having a synopsis, I’ve veered more toward plotting.) For traveling, though, I’m a serious plotter. I’ve tried before to be more “spontaneous,” and it just ends up with people sitting around staring at each other and doing nothing. To maximize … Continue reading Travel Style: Plotter or Pantser?
Happy to have Molly back on the blog! I’m always excited to hear about origin stories, and Molly has a great one! Clouds in My Bathroom Sink – An Origin Story and a giveaway Origin stories are great. Though the origin of the phrase is a bit nebulous, first appearing in print sometime between 1910 and 1915, origin stories themselves are as old as human … Continue reading Guest Chick: Molly MacRae & #Giveaway
Chicks on the Case 