There’s no denying humor is subjective. One person finds fart jokes hilarious (that would be Ellen) while someone else (well, everyone else) finds them puerile. So, how do we who purport to be “mystery writers with a killer sense of humor” determine what’s funny and what’s not – for ourselves and for our readers?
Continue reading “Chick Chat: Funny or not funny? Hmm…”
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been on a constant quest towards…something. In school, it was to get good grades. After graduation from college, I formed a rock band and the quest became one for a recording contract (alas, that never happened). Then, once I decided to go to law school, it was to do well enough on the LSAT to get into … Continue reading Like a Shark
A few of us Chicks on the Case bloggers are excited to attend Malice Domestic 2022 this week! If you’re going, please come find us! Where will we be? Glad you asked: 🫖Friday 10:00-11:45 am Malice Go Round: It’s Like Speed Dating, But With AuthorsBecky Clark, Jennifer Chow 2:00-2:50 pm Blurring Genres: Blending a Cozy with Romance? With Fantasy?Moderator: Elizabeth CrowensPaula Gail Benson, Kaye George, Leslie Karst, … Continue reading Join Us at Malice Domestic
When readers reached the epilogue in Cajun Kiss of Death, my 7th Cajun Country Mystery, they realized it was the last book in the series. Many emailed me to share their sadness about the series’ demise. I thanked them and shared that I was sad too. While sometimes authors make the choice to end a series, often the choice is out of their hands. This … Continue reading How to Help a Book Series Thrive
During a gathering at my house not too long ago, my sister Laura mentioned how as a kid she often wondered what a “donzerly” light looked like, having always heard the first line of our national anthem as “Oh say can you see, by the donzerly light…” “I always imagined it to be some sort of amazingly beautiful kind of illumination,” she told us, “and … Continue reading The Donzerly Light
Writing (and finishing) a manuscript is a big deal. And so is finding a publisher to get it out into the world for others to read. But once you’ve secured that contract, the next big question is, What will my cover look like? Because as we all know, people do in fact judge books by their covers. It’s the first thing that makes someone pick … Continue reading Sally’s Cover Reveal!
Here in Hilo, a group of my fellow mystery authors have formed a group called MAHI (Mystery Authors of Hawai‘i Island), which meets once a month to chat about our works-in-progress, publishing woes, good and bad restaurants we’ve tried, and a host of other fun topics. Last week, I had lunch out with two of my fellow MAHI members, Jane Lasswell Hoff (author of Bones … Continue reading Lock Pick Chick
Season’s greetings, beloved readers! We hope you enjoy the yearly sharing of our holiday baby Chicks cards. We’ll back on January 3rd. Until then, we wish you and yours the happiest of happy seasons and a bright New Year! Ellen Byron Lisa Q. Mathews Vickie Fee Cynthia Kuhn Kathleen Valenti Becky Clark Jennifer J. Chow Readers, any plans for the holidays? Let us know … Continue reading Happy Ho-Ho-Holidays!
For those of you wondering what the heck has been going on with Sally Solari, her father Mario, her ex-boyfriend/best pal Eric, and all the others in my culinary mystery series (the last of which—Murder from Scratch—came out over two years ago), I have some exciting news: Sally is back! Yes, I’ve just signed a two-book deal with Severn House Publishers to continue the Sally … Continue reading Sally’s Back!
I’m guessing that, as you read the title of this post, every single one of you did a mental double-take. “No,” your brain surely rebelled (perhaps even with a shudder). “That word order is not right. It should be ‘big brown’ cow, not the other way around.” But why? Why is one wrong, the other right? And why is the “wrong” one so exceedingly disturbing … Continue reading How Now, Brown Big Cow?
Chicks on the Case readers are some of the most creative folks on the planet. Come play Chick Pic with us! Who is this character? What’s their back story? Victim, murderer, nosy neighbor, innocent suspect? The more ridiculous, the better! Each comment can build on the next–or, start a new one. Writing is all about rewriting, after all. Continue reading Time for a Chick Pic!
Many of you already know that I once had the privilege of hosting a dinner party for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. My law professor father had known the future justice since the 1960s, and when she agreed some years back to come speak at the UCLA Law School where Dad taught, I’d impetuously offered to cook dinner for her at my parents’ home. … Continue reading Cooking for Ruth—Soon To Be a Book!
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