Hey! Jen here with a personal update… It’s been said that you’ve gotta kill your darlings when writing. Now, I get to do it in real life. While I’m not killing a darling, I do generally like keeping my organs around. Sadly, I’ve had this growing fibroid (aka Fran), who’s been lurking and taking over others’ space. Fran has recently been bullying my bladder and … Continue reading Guess I Don’t Really Need This Organ…
The other day, I went down memory lane, thinking about a song from my childhood. It’s one that I hummed as a kid whenever I felt discouraged, like when I transferred elementary schools. Recesses felt so long and awkward back then… For the life of me, I couldn’t remember the exact title. I mean, I hadn’t heard it in decades. Besides, it was an old … Continue reading What’s That Song Again?
As a kid, our field trip to the Capitol was to…Sacramento. I always envied those kids on the East Coast who got to visit DC. And even though I’ve been to Malice Domestic a few times, the closest I got to the National Mall was watching it stream by a window. This past President’s Day weekend, though, we traveled to Washington, D.C. to cheer on … Continue reading Whirlwind DC Weekend
Today the Chicks are pleased to host the 2025 nominees for the Lefty Awards, mostly in the Best Humorous Mystery category (to be awarded at Left Coast Crime: Mountain High Jinks in Denver), with a special guest nominated for Best Mystery Novel. Hurrah that we have three nominees who are part of Chicks on the Case! We’ve asked each nominee to share a little bit … Continue reading Lefty Award Nominees-Rocky Mountain High Jinks
Once Upon A Teacher Once upon a time there was a sixth grader named Jennifer who adored her teacher, Mrs. Okada. In class, Jennifer would learn all sorts of things, but her favorite subject was English. She got introduced to and crafted sonnets, haikus, and tankas. Fun bonus: Mrs. Okada, throughout the year, would invite small groups of students into her home, where they got … Continue reading Once Upon A Teacher
Star-Crossed Egg Tarts came out this past Tuesday! This is book two in the Magical Fortune Cookie series. My main character, Felicity Jin, is off to cater a wedding, bringing the dessert. It’s too bad that a dead body gets found under the cake table. But I’m not here today to talk about what’s under a cake table, but rather what’s on top of it. … Continue reading Let’s Talk about Cake
Despite a tumultuous start to the new year for Jen, she’s ready to celebrate the release of Book 2 in her Magical Fortune Cookie series. Please be true, Kirkus Reviews, that “good things lie ahead in this series.” Star-Crossed Egg Tarts (Book 2 in the Magical Fortune Cookie series) Felicity Jin returns in the second book in the heart-warming and deliciously mysterious Magical Fortune Cookie … Continue reading Happy Book Birthday: Star-Crossed Egg Tarts
Last weekend, I got to experience an emotional high when I visited St. Louis for Cozy Con 2024. The Novel Neighbor and St. Louis County Library hosted a fabulous event. Held at the Clark Family Branch, we authors even got to sneak in through a secret door to go onstage. And there was beautiful attendance, with exactly my kind of people. I recognized a few … Continue reading Top of the World
Yep, I was fortunate enough to visit Stockholm at the end of August. What I love about going to a new place is exploring the local culture and geography. When you go to a different city or country, it opens up doors for observation and inspiration. And isn’t that what authors do—observe and get inspired to write? Wonders First off, there were so many things … Continue reading When in Sweden…
One item on my writer’s bucket list is a police ride along. (That, and the citizens academy. I could never fit it around my kids’ schedules.) I finally found the opportunity to do the ride along through a local silent auction. You better believe I was watching my bid and making sure I won. Here’s a recap of my day with the cops: Police station … Continue reading A Writer’s Bucket List
Welcome to “Chicks Celebration,” our fun new Chicks on the Case feature! Join us as we Chicks share what we’re currently celebrating (book release, new idea, recent read)… 1. Which Chick is celebrating? Jen 2. The reason for the celebration? The launch of the anthology, Writing the Cozy Mystery: Authors’ Perspectives on Their Craft. It released on August 5th. 3. What have you been doing to celebrate? A bunch of … Continue reading Chicks Celebration: Launch of Writing the Cozy Mystery anthology
There’s this recurring dream I have where I’m taking a timed test. Did I mention that it’s a stress dream for me? For someone who’s a total nerd (confession: I was part of my high school’s Academic Decathlon team), you’d think I would enjoy exams. But I always felt the heavy weight of expectations. This was why I had to push myself to contribute to … Continue reading Pushing Myself
