Kathy here, and I’m delighted to welcome the first Guest Chick of 2023, Lynn Chandler Willis. Not only was Lynn one of the very first authors I had the good fortune to connect with, Lynn is also president of the Southeast Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, a Shamus Award finalist, a PWA’s Best First PI Novel winner, and the author of three series including … Continue reading Guest Chick: Lynn Chandler Willis
In the mystery course I recently taught, we found the ending of Agatha Christie’s A Murder is Announced to be both disconcerting and glorious. There are many wonderful aspects to her writing, but we were most engaged by how she gracefully “undoes” the characters we felt we knew because she had built them so convincingly. On the flip side, we were slightly less excited about … Continue reading Endings and Undoings
… then my phone is every set of the World Book Encyclopedia hidden in Grandma’s basement, stored on thrift store shelves, and sitting in dusty library back rooms. Several months ago I got a bee in my bonnet about the photos piling up on my phone—I mean, have you SEEN my dog??—so I uploaded them all to my laptop. The idea was that I’d sort … Continue reading If a picture is worth a thousand words …
Happy holidays, dearest friends! We hope your days are merry and bright–and filled with good books, good friends, and good cheer. The Chicks are on holiday until January 6, 2023. (Yes, we had to edit that a couple of times to get the year right.) We’re looking forward to hanging out with you in the New Year and beyond. xoxo Continue reading Ho ho hooo boy! The Chicks are on holiday.
I stumbled upon a Tweet thread on Twitter this week that caused me to have a flashback. A newish author shared that she was invited to talk about her book at a book club meeting. Turns out she had a very similar experience to one I had. Spoiler: No one was the least bit interested in talking about the book. To be clear, they had … Continue reading Whine club?
Confession: Sometimes I have Christmas tree envy. I see these beautifully decorated trees in holiday movies or in my neighbors’ homes, and I wonder why our tree isn’t like that—in which I mean artfully styled. For example, who wouldn’t want this cozy tree decked in knitted creations? We recently added a gnome to our ornament collection. A warm welcome to our Gnome Sweet Gnome. We … Continue reading A Journey Through Ornaments
Becky here, to welcome Olivia Blacke and her pugalicious pal, Baileycakes to Chicks! She’s talking about focusing today, so get your fill of Baileycakes before you start reading. Total Silence or Total Chaos – How Do You Focus? Everyone has their own way of doing things that works best for them. Whether they are crunching numbers or writing their next novel, some people need complete … Continue reading Guest Chick: Olivia Blacke
I’m always surprised when writers say they need music playing when they write. Not me. Music is what I dance or sing to, which is probably a result of my years as a performer. (This is also why I don’t read my drafts out loud like a lot of authors do. I start acting them out and lose all focus on the writing. Once a … Continue reading Ellen’s Extraordinary, Ridiculously Age-Inappropriate Playlist
The Chicks are absolutely thrilled to have fab and funny author pal Catriona McPherson back for another visit to the coop! Scot in a Trap, the fifth book in Catriona’s darkly humorous Last Ditch Mystery series, is out this week. Grab a copy for the holidays and an extra copy to put under the tree for your favorite reader friend. Today, Catriona talks about rules … Continue reading Guest Chick: Catriona McPherson
What’s better than the perfect gift? A PAIR of perfect gifts! We asked each of the Chicks to pair one of their books with a potential gift idea. Please check out the results below, just in time for the holidays… Lisa Q. Mathews There’s no snow, except for the fake kind, but what could be more holiday-festive (and dangerous) than Fashion Week in glittering Milano, FL? … Continue reading Chicks Holiday Shopping Guide
I’m writing PLOTTED, book #2 of my new Sugar Mill Marketplace series. Right now, the Marketplace consists of a used bookstore, bakery, chocolate shop, photography studio, and a cheese shop. My cheesemonger, Skyler (think Meg Ryan back in the day), is teaching a charcuterie board class after the Marketplace closes one Friday night, so I had to do some research about how to design cheese … Continue reading A Writer’s Charcuterie
Chicks on the Case 