People ask me about the recipes in my Crossword Puzzle mystery series all the time, and it always makes me laugh. I think I’ve told this story here before, so if you’ve heard it, just hum to yourself for this next bit. When I was noodling over the series, thinking about who these people were, I decided that Georgeanne (the mother of Quinn, my sleuth) … Continue reading My Unintentional Culinary Cozy

I probably don’t have to tell you that a lot goes into a book cover. There’s psychology, design aspects, color theory, font decisions, genre considerations, and much more. When it all works, you probably can’t say why. You just know it pleases you and makes you want to take a second look at the book. But when it doesn’t work, it’s usually obvious why it … Continue reading Judge ‘Em By Their Covers

I grew up in Colorado Springs, at the base of Pikes Peak and when I was a kid—and gas was cheap enough to guzzle—my dad would gather us up on a weekend afternoon and say, “Let’s go color in some new roads.” We knew that meant we were going for a drive on some back roads we’d never explored before. And maybe, just maybe, there’d … Continue reading Coloring In New Roads

My first grown-up job was as a liability claims adjuster for a big insurance company. I didn’t know the job existed until I got it, but it was the perfect Venn diagram of my skills and interests. Because we adjusters went to court a lot, one of the things drilled into us was that in a trial, our notes will be enlarged to wall size … Continue reading Inadvertently Funny Notes

I read an article by Heather Murphy in the New York Times recently about a lost manuscript of John Steinbeck’s. I’m never surprised to find out that famous authors have written other works, but this one piqued my interest because I think of Steinbeck as a very literary writer who explores deep themes in his work. Yet this newly discovered manuscript was a “lighthearted detective … Continue reading Steinbeck’s Fictional Swamp Monster

Sheesh, how many times you gotta check facts?? I got an email recently from Rebecca, my production editor. She was alerting me that I might have a mistake in the manuscript for FATAL SOLUTIONS, the third Crossword Mystery that comes out in November. She was getting it ready to go to typesetting, but something caught her eye. In one scene Quinn Carr, my main character, … Continue reading Re-Re-Re-Research

In August 2006 my daughter Jessica and I took a road trip from Colorado to Oregon where I was going to deposit her at Pacific University, a small private school in the cute little town of Forest Grove. My credit card and I would be there for a few days, making sure she had what she needed, then I’d turn around and drive home. I … Continue reading My Periwinkle Fleece

My husband and I have very similar tastes in almost everything. We play this game I made up called “Which is Becky’s Favorite?” We’ll be standing in the middle of an art gallery, or kitschy store, or display of lamps at Home Depot and I’ll ask him, “Which is my fave?” More often than not he’ll get it exactly right, because whatever it is will … Continue reading Calling All Murderinos

Remember that old show? It was a novel, then a movie, then a TV series in the 70s about law school students, but I’m talking more literally. As I write a manuscript, I print out the day’s writing and place it in a 3-ring binder. I also email the draft to both my accounts when I stop for lunch and when I’m done for the … Continue reading The Paper Chase

When my dad died in the spring of 2019, I was tasked with dealing with the contents of his four-drawer filing cabinet—the drawers jam-packed with his short stories and speeches dating back to 1947 when he was still in high school. They were also packed with menus he’d stolen from various restaurants over the years. I know what you’re thinking. “But, Becky, restaurants want you … Continue reading Becky’s Passion Project