It’s been a busy summer for the Chicks. We’ve been to writing conferences, family reunions, book jail, and camping! All of this traveling has made us reminisce about our all-time fave vacations. Travel with us down memory lane.
Continue reading “Trip-py: The Chicks Share Our Favorite Vacations”
Happy anniversary – to us! To celebrate the first anniversary of Chicks on the Case, we’re sharing our first-ever group post. Check out our fave mystery authors and books, and share some of your own in the Comments section. Ellen Byron My all-time favorite mystery is Agatha Christie’s last published novel, Sleeping Murder. It features some familiar Christie tropes, but I don’t care. Every time I read it – … Continue reading The Chicks Pick Our Favorite Mysteries
To be honest, I didn’t really do the Romance Writers of America convention. But I couldn’t resist an opportunity to pay homage to the iconic porn movie title, Debbie Does Dallas. Anyhoo, this year I had the great good fortune of having my debut mystery, Plantation Shudders, nominated for a Daphne Award in the category of Best Mainstream Mystery. The Daphne’s are sponsored by Kiss … Continue reading Ellen Does RWA
The internet makes it all too easy to act in haste, whether it’s a careless “Reply all” or a click of a button that wasn’t quite ready to be clicked. (Perhaps it’s even a premature blog post… if you’ve ever gotten an email alert from us, then clicked to find there was nothing there, odds are, that’s exactly what happened!) We’re sharing our most embarrassing online moments—and we want to hear yours, too!
Continue reading “Our Most Embarrassing Online Moments”
It’s been hard to watch the news lately, so when I was thinking about what I wanted to write about this week, I decided I wanted to tell a story with a happy ending.
Last year, my dad passed away. (Don’t worry, despite the way it starts, this is a happy story!) He was 89 years old, and he lived on a ranch in Oklahoma. Part of his daily routine entailed taking care of a whole slew of dogs and cats, as well as eight horses.
We Chicks always write books. But when we don’t, we choose all kinds of other ways to channel those artful passions. Are they the most interesting creative outlets in the world? Well, you be the judge–but they work for us!
Continue reading “Creatively Speaking: Playtime for Writers”
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
We’re in full celebration mode. Our very own Chick Kellye announced this week that her Pay Day series will be published by Midnight Ink starting next year! To honor the occasion, the Chicks are offering her advice from their own experiences publishing their first novels! But first, a word from Kellye…
Continue reading “Kellye has a book deal! The Chicks offer advice.”
Summer’s officially here, and students everywhere are out getting their feet wet in the job pool, earning valuable job experience—or at least a few good stories they can tell their grandkids one day. This week at Chicks on the Case, we’re reminiscing about our early employment, from first jobs to summer internships.
Continue reading “Before we were writers: our first summer jobs”
Yesterday was Father’s Day, which got me to thinking about my stepdad, Jim. We got stuck with each other when I was in eighth grade, and I often tell people how grateful I am that he didn’t smother me with a pillow. (I mean, come on, you were all eighth graders once; you know what I’m talking about here.) Not only did he not smother … Continue reading An Author’s Father Comes Around—Eventually
I was getting ready for work this morning when I got a telephone call. In a hurry, I didn’t check Caller ID. Here’s the conversation: Me: Hello? Woman on the other end: Ellen?(Tinkly laugh) Hi, wow, you’re harder to reach than the last cookie in the cookie jar. Me: (Confused) Who is this? Woman: Oh, it’s Jenny and I’m calling from the – Me: CLICK! … Continue reading A Telemarketer Gave Me a Character
