Chicks on the Case here, and it’s a Black Friday Special! Two posts for the price of one – as in free!! SUCH a deal! We’re thrilled to welcome Mariah Fredericks for her first Chicks visit. Mariah writes the Jane Prescott Mysteries, a wonderful historical cozy series set in Gilded Age New York. Read on to see how personal adversity inspired professional success… Sometimes I … Continue reading Guest Chick: Mariah Fredericks
For most people, the holidays call to mind shining lights, steaming mugs of cocoa, gingerbread humanoids, and feasts that call for elastic waistbands. For me, they conjure up the memory of my friend sailing out of our second-story window. Let me explain. A few days after Thanksgiving, my mom left 12-ish-year-old me and my best friend alone for a couple of hours. She instructed us … Continue reading The Power of Imagination
Hi, Vickie, here. Today the Chicks are thrilled to welcome author Sarah Fox. The cleverly titled, AN ALE OF TWO CITIES, newest in her Literary Pub Mysteries, was released this week! Take it away, Sarah! In the writing world, we often talk about whether we’re plotters or pansters. Some writers like to meticulously outline a book before they write it while others (the pansters) prefer … Continue reading Guest Chick Sarah Fox: Killer Switcheroo
The Halloween candy isn’t even stale yet and I’m already thinking about Thanksgiving. Because: I have much for which to be grateful. I love watching Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and Miracle on 34th Street. And (who are we kidding), the annual feast! My list of Thanksgiving dinner must-haves: Turkey. I’ll admit here, somewhat red-faced, that I’ve never cooked a whole turkey by myself. My … Continue reading Another Thanksgiving, with all the fixins
We Chicks were whining, er, chatting about how busy we always are, especially during the holidays. After some more whining, er, discussion, we realized we weren’t alone in the shortcuts we surreptitiously took to make the food/decorating/shopping/hosting magic happen every year. Because we’re all friends here on the internet, we decided to come clean, and hope YOU share some of your Holiday Cheats with us so we don’t have to whine, er, nonchalantly request, even more ways to be lazy, er, efficient. Continue reading “Holiday Cheats”
The Chicks on the Case are delighted to welcome back Sybil Johnson, author of the Aurora Anderson mysteries. The fifth book in the series, Ghosts of Paintings Past, was published yesterday–just in time for the holidays! Unexpected Influences I’ve read tons of books and seen a lot of TV shows and movies over the years. Every once in a while I think about how fictional … Continue reading Guest Chick: Sybil Johnson
Ellen here, thrilled to welcome Laurie Chandlar to her first Chicks visit! LA writes the wonderful Art Deco Mystery series, set in my hometown of New York, New York. But I didn’t even know some of the fascinating facts she shares today about some of the city’s most iconic Art Deco sites… The Inspiring Art Deco of the Art Deco Mysteries Art Deco is one … Continue reading Guest Chick: L.A. Chandlar
Ellen here, happy to welcome Lois Winston , author of the awesome Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, to her Chicks debut! A pain-in-the-you-know-what mother-in-law. A chatty parrot. One inspired by real life, one total fiction. Read on to find out which is which… A Curmudgeon of a Mother-in-Law and a Shakespeare-Quoting Parrot What do a nasty mother-in-law and a Shakespeare-quoting parrot have in common? They’re both … Continue reading Guest Chick: Lois Winston
We hear the roar of engines. Not jets. Propeller planes. Jer and I run to our bedroom window just in time to see an inspiring sight… WWII trainer planes flying in formation over the San Fernando Valley. Jer and I clap and cheer like kids. This scenario has been enacted every Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Veteran’s Day, as well as a few other … Continue reading Heroes of the sky… and land and sea.
Nala was out of Milk Bones the other day, but the store only had large ones instead of the medium size I normally buy. It couldn’t possibly matter, I thought, and grabbed a box. At the next scheduled treat time, probably seven seconds later, I gave one to her, but had to convince her to take it. Same flavor, just bigger size. Much bigger size. … Continue reading Biting Off More Than You Can Chew
Ellen here! I recently happened upon V.M. Burns Mystery Bookshop Mysteries, and was hooked. V.M. does something that I’m awed by. She writes a mystery within the mystery. Her protagonist Samantha Washington aspires to be a mystery novelist. As she’s solving mysteries in the present, she’s writing her own mysteries, set in 1938 England. I was so intrigued by this feat that I asked V.M. … Continue reading Guest Chick: V.M. Burns
It’s a well-accepted tenet of fiction writing that you should get through your first draft quickly, not stopping to edit yourself, before you go back and start on the revisions. Otherwise, the reasoning goes, you’ll become mired in the details and lose track of the overall story. Well, I guess I must be a rebel, because that’s just not the way I fly. After coming … Continue reading Carving Out Your Words
Chicks on the Case 