Ever since I began writing the Cajun Country Mysteries, a highlight of publication has been my annual panel appearance at the Louisiana Book Festival, which takes place in Baton Rouge either the last Saturday in October or first in November. I always combine the trip with a visit to New Orleans, especially now that our daughter has followed my path and is attending college there. … Continue reading A New Orleans Halloween
Yes, it’s another post about virtual appearances. But this one has pictures! And links! Because… if you’re promoting a book these days, it’s gonna be an online experience. Which can actually offer some great opportunities from the comfort of your own home, in pajamas from the waist down. (Then again, I’ve been wearing men’s pajama bottoms as pants for ten years, so I was ahead … Continue reading Virtually Yours, Ellen…
It’s the book birthday for the sixth book in my Agatha and Lefty Award-winning Cajun Country Mystery series. I’m so excited because it revolves around Halloween! Could there be a more perfect holiday for a series set in the state that bills itself as the most haunted in the country? To celebrate, I’m doing a half-dozen virtual events with some great authors. Tonight, I’m “at” … Continue reading MURDER IN THE BAYOU BONEYARD launches today!
We Chicks just love our creative spaces. Really. Can you match the Chick with her writing coop? (It’s easy, actually, since our photos are right next to them…)
Today, we welcome the five finalists for this year’s Lefty Award for Best Humorous Mystery (three of whom just happen to be Chicks on the Case). Congrats to all! The winner won’t be announced until the Left Coast Crime banquet on March 14th, but in the meantime we thought it would be “humorous” to find out from the nominees which of their characters from their … Continue reading Who Are the Lefty Award Nominees’ Most Humorous Characters?
Which author’s real name is Kate? Whose is Mary, Marilyn, or Mariella? Pen names are a literary tradition. (Hello, Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell.*). The reasons for them are manifold. A publisher may request an author assume a new identity for business or financial reasons. An author might use a pseudonym to write in a totally different genre. (I’m talking to you, J.K. Rowling and … Continue reading The (Pen) Name Game
Season’s greetings, beloved readers! We wish you and yours the happiest of happy holiday seasons and a bright New Year. We’ll see you in January – the 6th, to be exact – but thought we’d celebrate the end of a year with some photos from each Chick’s early beginnings. Leslie Karst Ellen Byron Lisa Q. Mathews Vickie Fee Cynthia Kuhn Kathleen Valenti Becky Clark Readers, … Continue reading Happy Ho-Ho-Holidays!
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”
There’s probably not a person on the planet who hasn’t imagined being transported to another time period on the planet. We Chicks certainly have, and today we’re sharing what period in history we’d return to if we could hop into a time tunnel… Continue reading “Time Travelin’ Chicks”
Writing can be a difficult process, and there are times when we all need some sort of inspiration to urge us on. So today the Chicks share with you the lucky charms, talismans, or knick-knacks that we keep on our desks to inspire and prompt us when our muse has temporarily flown the coop.
It’s mid-summer, and The Chicks are relaxing in their favorite outdoor spots with piles of books and pitchers of lemonade. (Okay, we’re actually writing, but you get the idea.) What creepy-crawly critters do we least want to join us? Pass the pesticide, and we’ll tell you… Continue reading “Bug-a-boos: Pests We Do Not Love”
We Chicks live to solve mysteries, but there are some mysteries in this world that are unsolvable because they simply don’t make sense to us. Oh, for example, like… Continue reading “That doesn’t make SENSE!”
Chicks on the Case 