James Joyce famously declared of Ulysses, his masterpiece love-letter to Dublin, that if that city “one day suddenly disappeared from the Earth it could be reconstructed out of my book.” But what’s fascinating is that, although Ulysses was written between 1914 and 1921, the last time Joyce actually set foot in Dublin was two years before he started writing, in 1912, after which he never … Continue reading Writing From Afar
The One Where the Writer Tries to Write a Book in a Month. Seen this episode already? Or maybe the storyline sounds vaguely familiar… Welcome to the joys and potholes of National Novel Writing Month! Continue reading Look, Ma–No Hands!
Ah, to go back in time and dress up for Halloween…because, well, not all of us Chicks have big party plans. Yet, anyway. While we wait for our invites, here’s what we (or our characters) might choose as costumes…
Forget the candy and costumes and cauldrons. I’m with Linus of Peanuts fame: Halloween is all about the pumpkins. Will I wait through the night in a worthy gourd patch for the mysterious Great Pumpkin to make his annual appearance? Nah, I’ve got other plans… Continue reading The Great Pumpkin Lives!
Lisa here, delighted to play hostess today for amazing mystery author, anthology editor, and indie publishing expert Judy Penz Sheluk. Welcome back to Chicks, Judy–and hold onto your feathers, Everyone, because Judy’s here to tell us about her new step-by-step guides (1 recently published, 1 coming soon) that are sure to provide both inspiration and information to countless aspiring (and veteran) authors, no matter which publishing path they choose. Continue reading Guest Chick: Judy Penz Sheluk
We all put off things we don’t want to do immediately (um, right?). But some of us Chicks (and writers in general) have developed particularly ingenious methods of avoidance. In fact, we come up with amazing new ones every day. Read on for inspiration…
Continue reading “Chick Chat: New Adventures in Procrastination”
We haven’t heard from Lisa since Barbenheimer—and it’s her day to post here at Chicks on the Case. But someone calling herself Mystery Kristee offered to step in for her. As you can imagine, we were in quite a bind, so what could we do? Take it away, uh…Kristee… Continue reading Mystery Author Kristee: Writer of Worlds
Today the Chicks are delighted to welcome author Karen C. Whalen, author of The Dinner Club Mysteries and The Tow Truck Mysteries, to the blog. She’s sharing both a giveaway for joining her newsletter and her thoughts about why she writes. Take it away, Karen! Continue reading Guest Chick: Karen C. Whalen
Recently Lisa returned to Portland, Maine for a quick weekend trip–and had the chance to revisit the super-cool Press Hotel. She couldn’t stay there, because it’s super expensive now and she was plum out of hotel points. But she felt nostalgic for this typewriter post–and thought she might share it again, for all you QWERTY fans…. Continue reading A Girl and Her Typewriter – Redux
April brings Spring-ier weather (usually), holidays, the Malice Domestic conference for mystery lovers, and…the Agatha Awards! This year the Chicks will be well-represented in Bethesda—can’t wait to see many of you there. Here Lisa takes us behind the scenes as she tries to reason with unsinkable Frankie impersonator Joey Romano from her nominated short story, “Fly Me to the Morgue”… Continue reading Livin’ the Author Dream, Baby: Uncle Joey’s Big Night
Lisa here, just back from Left Coast Crime in Tucson. It was great to see so many of you, as well as several fellow Chicks. Today we’re thrilled to introduce Patricia Raybon, author of the Annalee Spain Mysteries, as our guest. Take it away, Patricia! Continue reading Guest Chick: Patricia Raybon
This year some of us Chicks will spend St. Patrick’s Day together—at Left Coast Crime in Tucson. We have a few Irish-themed treats up our sleeves, together with our friends from the Cozy Mystery Crew—but in the meantime, here’s a helpful guide to prepping for the day that’s ever-green (even in the desert). You don’t have to drink, and you don’t need to be remotely Irish to have fun! Continue reading 288 Hours to Paddy’s Day!
Chicks on the Case 