Readers, myself included, love dialogue that seems genuine. We want it to ring true, to reflect character, to be appropriate for place, time and conversational partners. In other words, we want it to feel legit. Which brings me to slang. Evidently, it’s not cool to say legit any more. (It’s probably not cool to say cool, either, but I’ll leave that there.) The new legit … Continue reading Slang? Dang!
Ellen here, so happy to welcome back the always entertaining J.C. Kenney and help him celebrate his newest release! Life is Too Short… Happy Wednesday, friends! I hope the flowers are blooming and the birds are singing in your neck of the woods. Here in Indianapolis (home of this year’s NCAA Men’s basketball tournament for you sports fans), Spring is in full swing. The trees … Continue reading Guest Chick: J.C. Kenney
As you’re reading this, I’m likely sitting at home propped up on pillows with an ice pack, or limping across the room hanging onto a walker. With my patient husband’s attention, and the aid of painkillers, I should be doing okay. I had hip replacement surgery on Thursday. Since I posted this before I checked into the hospital, I can only speculate about how I’m … Continue reading Bad to the bone
I have a love-hate relationship with giveaways. I’m a sucker for raffles and the possibility of winning prizes. I’ve entered my share of contests at in-person local events. Never won a single thing. True story: At one event, there was nobody clamoring after this particular salt and pepper shaker. I placed *two* raffle tickets into the box. At the last minute, someone entered their single … Continue reading Do Giveaways Really Work?
We Chicks are just warming up for National Library Week–and what better way to celebrate than to welcome back awesome author Olivia Matthews (a/k/a Patricia Sargeant) as our guest–and introduce you to her brand new Peach Coast Library Mystery series? Take it away, Patricia! Continue reading Guest Chick: Olivia Matthews
(Before I begin my post, congratulations to Merri Matalon, who won a copy of Laura Jensen Walker’s new book, Hope, Faith, and a Corpse!) Due to the pandemic, I put off seeing my mother for over a year. She just turned 94 and I didn’t want to risk bringing so much as a cold home to her. Then she was rushed to the hospital in … Continue reading Finding my “Calm.”
We’re starting a new feature here that we’d love to have you participate in! Cozy readers—and especially Chicks on the Case readers—are some of the most creative folks on the planet so we’re asking you to play Chick Pic with us! Give us a couple of sentences … who is this character? What’s their back story? Victim, murderer, nosy neighbor, innocent suspect? The more ridiculous … Continue reading Time for a Chick Pic
Hi all, Ellen here! I’m thrilled to host Laura Jensen Walker today, writing about a topic dear to my heart – the importance of humor in our books and lives, and the frustration we feel when it doesn’t get the respect it deserves. Make ‘em Laugh I never planned to write “funny.” I’m a former reporter who always wanted to write books, preferably novels. Writing … Continue reading Guest Chick: Laura Jensen Walker
Since we just passed a full year of pandemic quarantine life, I was planning to write something thoughtful and retrospective about that. It’s such a milestone. It’s important to think about, and I have been thinking about it for weeks. But when I sat down to write the post, I changed direction because–honestly, where I’m at right now is exhausted and in a mood. And I know … Continue reading I Have Some Questions
When authors are submitting a proposal for a series or for more books in a series, we typically are asked to suggest titles for those books, as well. Sometimes they fly; sometimes they get shot down by the publisher. We think the Chicks have had some pretty cool titles, including The Semester of Our Discontent and Til Death Do Us Party. Ellen’s latest release, Long Island Iced Tina, is a contender for best ever! (Look here for a list of all the Chicks’ books to date.)
But today we reminisce about those titles that didn’t make the cut — or the cover.
Continue reading “Chick Chat: What’s in a title?”
The Chicks are thrilled to welcome back our pal, the always delightful Kaye George. And we’ve stumbled onto an accidental theme this week – where do writers get their ideas? Leslie shared what she goes through on Monday. Today, Kaye gives us her take on it… The Dreaded Question Where do you get your ideas? Why do people always ask this? I got asked just … Continue reading Guest Chick: Kaye George
This is probably the most common question asked of me by folks hearing for the first time that I write mystery novels. And my go-to answer is generally, “Why, everywhere!” But the other day, when a neighbor—who’s just now reading through my Sally Solari series—asked me this question, after providing the same stock answer as usual (with the addition of, “Hey, you might end up … Continue reading Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
Chicks on the Case 