Newsflash! There’s an extra-special bond between writers and their pets. But maybe you knew that already. Just click on practically any author’s Facebook page, and there’s a good-to-excellent chance you’ll see plenty of pics featuring their loyal keyboard companions. Continue reading Farley and Me: A Writer and her Anti-Muse
Okay, so maybe my first couple of days at writer’s boot camp–cleverly disguised as an idyllic online summer camp, with cabins and marshmallows and a lake–didn’t start off with a bang. But it wasn’t exactly a whimper, either. Continue reading Off With a Bang: Camp NaNoWriMo 2017
This past week brought two semi-miracles for me: I handed in final edits on my latest manuscript and submitted my first short story (well, second, actually, but we won’t count that one). And then I found myself faced with an unusual dilemma: What to Write Next? Continue reading Crossroads
Okay, mystery fans, raise your hands if you’ve seen that meme of a hot beverage mug that says, “Please do not annoy the writer. She may put you in a book and kill you.” Yep, that’s just about all of you. And you thought the quote was clever and adorable, right? Of course you did. Maybe you bought the very same mug for a favorite writer … Continue reading Big Little Writer Lies–and Truths
Of all us Chicks, I seem to be the one who’s always under the wire, holding on for dear life by one claw. Sure, I do plenty of chirping, but it takes a while sometimes for me to work up to the flying part. And of course that includes the business of writing a manuscript, typing “The End,” and sending it winging its way to … Continue reading Hoping for Feathers
By now we’re two weeks into the New Year. The balloons have deflated and the party hats and horns and champagne glasses are packed up or recycled. Every other writer I know is officially back to work, committed to ambitious daily word counts. But me? I have to wait until January 28th, the dawn of the Chinese New Year. Here’s why. Long before the popular call to abolish 2016, it … Continue reading Writer vs. Muse: A Twisted Tail
If you’re reading this post on actual Black Friday, you’re probably already done with that holiday shopping. Maybe in more ways than one. Here’s what the Chicks are up to today…
Continue reading “Black Friday? Bah Humbug!”
New England Crime Bake, the small but mighty writers conference held each year around the second week in November, is now in the books for 2016, and I’m feeling a little sad. Author Dale T. Phillips posted that the Bake is “like Brigadoon—this magical kingdom that appears for a short time, changes lives, then melts into the mists of time.” He’s so right. I’ve attended … Continue reading Secrets of Crime Bake
Sick of negative election vibes? Dragging yourself to the polls like Charlie Brown to the pitcher’s mound? Cheer up, the Chicks have some fun write-in propositions for you!
Continue reading “Vote YES on Proposition GR8!”
Lisa is still (yes, still) in book jail, but she’s going to be sprung very soon (and she means it this time!). Hope you’ll enjoy this encore presentation on one of her favorite subjects: Nancy Drew. Nancy, of course, always finishes her assignments ahead of time. But someone else might be just a teensy bit slower… I’m no expert on Nancy Drew—but in the early 90s, it was (literally) … Continue reading Bess Marvin Lives! (Again.)
Whenever anyone called me “young lady” as a kid, I knew I was in trouble. Mostly for not acting like a lady—whatever that meant. From what I understood, ladies smiled a lot and never interrupted. They wore pearls and perfume and little black dresses. They kept their legs crossed at the ankles and ate a lot of salad. It also helped if they were dead ringers … Continue reading How NOT to Get Away with Murder: 8 Perfect Ladies You Don’t Want to Mess With
Dear Mom and Dad, How are you? I am okay but I want to go home. Can you please come get me soon? Every time I ask you keep telling me that writing camp will be good for me. But you are wrong. I would rather be doing something more fun like reading or cleaning my room. This will be a short letter, because it’s … Continue reading This Summer, at Writing Camp: A Letter Home from NaNoWriMo
Chicks on the Case 