Last week we faced our fears. This week we decided to stay with the Halloween spirit and shout-out the flicks that have us locking our bedroom doors at night, sleeping with the lights on, and checking under the bed before we go to sleep.
Continue reading “Scream Queens: Our favorite scary movies”
We’ve already shared a few things that make our hearts thump with joy. But with Halloween right around the corner, we thought it’d be the perfect time to reveal what else gets our hearts pounding—with fear. Read on to learn the Chicks’ personal versions of the Bogeyman—if you dare!
Continue reading “Fear Factor: The Chicks Face Their Fears”
Seems like we just finished celebrating National Coffee Day, and we don’t know about you, but we haven’t even taken down our decorations for National Custodial Worker Day. And now it’s Leif Erikson Day, Curious Events Day AND Moldy Cheese Day—all on the same day! This abundance of special occasions have us in a celebratory mood, so we’ve taken the liberty of adding a few more events we’d like to recognize.
Continue reading “It’s National Made-Up Holiday Day!”
I have a confession to make. I’m a little jealous of my Plantation Shudders protagonist, Maggie Crozat. For one thing, she’s a few inches taller than me, and doesn’t need to lose twenty pounds to get off cholesterol medication like I do. She can eat boatloads of her mother’s incredible Cajun cooking and never gain an ounce, the lucky so-and-so. Plus, she’s thirty-two, and I’m, … Continue reading True Confession: I’m Jealous of My Protagonist
Ask someone: “What’s your name?” and you’ll usually get a straightforward answer—crazy spellings aside. But a lot of times, especially with pen names, there’s a whole backstory behind those “Hello my name is…” stickers. This week, we talk about pseudonyms, mistaken identities, parental foresight (or lack thereof), and more.
Continue reading “What’s in a name? More than you might think.”
I’ve always secretly shared in that special thrill when a new author officially starts her countdown-to-publication clock. She may not know me, or think anyone’s noticed other than a few Facebook “Likes,” but I’m rooting for her and her first book baby all the way. Yep, I watch those ticking clocks on blogs and websites and Twitter more closely than Jack Bauer and Chloe O’Brian. … Continue reading Notes From the Panic Room: Debut. Author. Battles. Clock.
Dialogue? Description? Character? Food? What are the Chicks’ favorite elements to write in their mysteries? Read on to find out—they may be ones you’d least expect!
Continue reading “Curses, Kisses and Other Stuff We Love to Write”
So, a funny thing happens when you start a blog. Well, several funny things happen, but one of them is spam comments. After we’d been doing this a few weeks, I noticed that WordPress had been sequestering them in their own special spam folder, so I decided to take a look to make sure none of our readers’ comments had been put there by mistake. Continue reading “Spam-o-Rama: Our non-readers speak!”
Some mysteries feature pets, others feature pets who solve the mystery, and a few are actually critter-free. Read ahead to see which categories the Chicks’ mysteries fall into. See who’s committed to including creatures and who’s on the fence—or the hydrant—about it.
Continue reading “The Chicks Get “Pet-ty””
We’re all mature adults (ahem!), but meeting certain authors makes us as shrieky—or stunned—as a teen in the presence of Taylor Swift. Here are our tales of encounters with mystery legends. We’d love to hear yours!
While trying to meet a recent deadline, I hit a bit of a roadblock in my rewrite. I needed to come up with a story fix, and fast. So I did what any self-respecting writer would do. I procrastinated. I’ve found that etymology is a great way to stall. Exploring the origin of words gives you the illusion of working, hence less guilt. Since I … Continue reading Who Put the “Dead” in “Deadline?”
It’s September, that special time of year when parents pack their children off to school and college freshmen get to enjoy their first taste of freedom. In honor of Back to School, the Chicks are talking about their alma maters—and in the spirit of group projects everywhere, we hope you’ll share yours as well! (Extra credit if you have a funny story about your mascot.)
Continue reading “College Chicks: Let’s hear it for our alma maters!”
Chicks on the Case 