The Study of Secrets (Lila Maclean Academic Mysteries #5) finds Lila on sabbatical in a charming Victorian mansion, where she is drawn into a new mystery. In keeping with the title, I’m going to share a few secrets… First, although the covers in the series look alike at first glance, do you notice that each one has a slightly different collection of items on the right? … Continue reading Cover Reveal: The Study of Secrets
*Not all mystery writers. Not only mystery writers. Not all the time. Not without good reason. Discuss mysteries. We never tire of this subject. Read new books, then proceed to tell the author and everyone else how much we love them. See #1. Talk at length about ways to murder people–and by people, we mean characters, though this has caused startled glances more than once, … Continue reading Things Mystery Writers Do*
Please welcome Mary Angela, author of the Professor Prather academic mysteries! The third book in the series, A VERY MERRY MURDER, is out this month. Sugar Cookie Countdown Sugar cookies grace the covers of every supermarket magazine during the holidays. Stars, bells, trees—shapes we mastered in kindergarten. No wonder we fool ourselves into thinking they’re simple. But let’s admit it: sugar cookies, like all good … Continue reading Guest Chick: Mary Angela
Unveiled for the first time anywhere, here’s the cover of the next Lila Maclean Academic Mystery: The Spirit in Question!* As you can probably guess from the orange and black, it’s set during Halloween. If you’ve read the first two books, you already know that there are holiday celebrations depicted within–(also) Halloween for The Semester of Our Discontent and Valentine’s Day for The Art of … Continue reading Cover Reveal: The Spirit in Question
Last week, edits for the third book in the Lila Maclean series were due (and by “edits,” I mean big revisions) AND final grades were due (and by “final” grades, I mean multiple stacks of projects to be commented on plus final calculations for four classes). I stumbled across the finish line somehow (it’s a miracle, frankly) but I couldn’t form sentences for awhile, and … Continue reading Regarding the Spark
It is lovely and appreciated when readers ask questions. However, I don’t always feel as though I’ve answered satisfactorily–sometimes not giving enough information and other times sharing too much. For example, I once participated in a group interview in front of a crowd who had just held a lively and joyful conversation with another author about how much they loved cats in their cozy mysteries. … Continue reading Take Two
Over the years, I’ve heard many authors describe their books as having come into being by some variation of this: “A character appeared and I followed.” Once upon a time, I found such explanations slightly frustrating: I had always longed to write a novel, and I even had the basic idea for a mystery in mind, but no characters were manifesting themselves and beckoning to … Continue reading When The Characters Are In Charge
Chicks on the Case 