I can pinpoint exactly when my interest in crime solving began: May 1969. That was the year I turned nine. It was also the year when a 10-year-old girl named Mary Mount disappeared. Continue reading The Girls of Summer, 1969: Peace, Love and Murder
I made a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad mistake this summer. I took on a part-time, online writing job. And it involves…CLOCKS. Lots and lots of clocks. I should have known better, but I did it anyway, in a misguided effort to earn some extra coffee money. Continue reading Beat the Clock
As you read this, I am (hopefully) chugging along on the Acela Express from Boston to New York City, where my daughter is getting married on Friday. Please forgive me that I am re-sharing a post from a while back because, well…I’m a wee bit stressed and running behind schedule. But really, the cautionary tale of poor old Charlie, who rides the train forever through the streets of Boston, bears repeating… Continue reading Writer on the Stress Express
We might not have cleaned up in the casino–but the Chicks were well represented at Left Coast Crime this weekend in the Biggest Little City in the World: Reeeeeeno!!! And guess what? Our very own Kellye Garrett won the Lefty for Best Debut Mystery Novel with Hollywood Homicide–and Ellen Byron brought home the trophy for A Cajun Christmas Killing in the Best Humorous category! Continue reading Newsflash: Chicks Hit it Big in Reno!
So what happens when a mystery author (me) attends an Agatha Christie-style dinner in an actual mansion? Does she solve the crime and command everyone to gather in the drawing room for the astonishing reveal? Let’s just say I may never get a shot at that guest star role on Murder, She Wrote… Continue reading Whoddunit? No Clue.
T.S. Eliot was wrong. April isn’t the cruelest month. It’s November, and for good reason: Everyone is so crazy busy. For me, it brings the Crime Bake writers conference, last call for NH real estate before the snows, multiple sets of house guests, two Thanksgivings, and…my annual attempt to jam out 50,000 words on a brand new manuscript for NaNoWriMo (aka National Novel Writing Month). Continue reading National Novel Writing Month: We Switched to Sprint
This past week hasn’t been the greatest. I somehow came down with a miserable cold, just when I had Very Important Things to Do. I’ll admit, I am not ordinarily the most patient of patients, and I usually try to power through my regularly-scheduled programming, but this time all efforts were futile. Continue reading You’ve Got Kleenex
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
Chicks on the Case 