Was there a character or author who inspired you to write? Although I knew I wanted to be a writer while I was still reading Nancy Drews, there was one character and author [...]

Starting a blog can feel overwhelming. The internet is brimming with writing blogs—how can you find readers when everyone has a blog? Or, if you already have a blog, you might wonder how [...]

Below are writing links that I’ve posted to Twitter in the past week. I’m running the list a day early because tomorrow I’m visiting Anne Allen’s blog. :) Enter this month’s WKB giveaway [...]

Being a writer isn’t easy. Publishing is a business that demands a thick skin—but writers are frequently artistic, thoughtful, and sensitive. How do we stay encouraged during the tough querying process? Hope you’ll [...]

I’d like to welcome Jeannie Campbell, the character therapist, to Mystery Writing is Murder today. Jeannie’s take on character motivation and the psychology of characters on her blog, The Character Therapist, is a [...]

Please join me at Confessions of a Mystery Novelist for my guest post with Margot Kinberg: 8 Ways to Keep Your Series From Going Stale. I’ve got a guest post this morning at [...]

It’s here! Finger Lickin’ Dead releases today in a bookstore near you. Hope you’ll consider it if you enjoy mysteries, or know someone who does. Download it on Kindle: http://amzn.to/kh7MAp Mass market paperback: [...]

I got an interesting question from a writing friend last week. She’d published a novel five years ago and wondered if that was too long ago to consider writing a sequel for the [...]

Below are writing links that I’ve posted to Twitter in the last week. The Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine, designed by software engineer and writer Mike Fleming, makes all these links searchable—try it [...]

“Where do you get your ideas?” is one of those questions that gets old fast. It’s also one of the questions you’ll hear most as a writer. I don’t think I’ve ever gone [...]

Writing friend Camille LaGuire, wrote an interesting post on her Daring Novelist blog the other day. Camille noted that she’d recently needed to un-revise (a term I think she’s coined!) a large portion [...]

First of all, thanks to Diane at The Book Resort for a delicious review of Finger Lickin’ Dead. If you’re interested in finding out a little more about my book, please pop by! [...]

Sometimes I’ve got a real eye for contrarian advice—it just appeals to me. If you’re advising an action completely opposite from what everyone else is touting as the best practice, I’m probably paying [...]

I feel a little sorry for non-writers sharing a home with writers. It’s got to be challenging, sometimes. And most likely no one warned you it was going to be. Writers should come [...]

My family and I saw a great performance of Cats on Saturday. I’d seen the musical a couple of times before, but it’s been forever since I last saw it. One of the [...]

Below are writing links that I’ve posted to Twitter in the last week. The Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine, designed by software engineer and writer Mike Fleming, makes all these links searchable—try it [...]

My writing friend, Jan Morrison, had a great post on Thursday about the book The Kaizen Way by Robert Maurer. Jan explains that Maurer’s approach to life involves asking ourselves small questions to [...]

I just finished reading a very disturbing book all the way from cover to cover—so you know it must be book club time for me. :) Ordinarily, I wouldn’t pick a story to [...]

Lately, looking at my to-do list, I’ve felt pretty snowed. I’ve got Finger Lickin’ Dead releasing June 7th, a book due July 1, and a complete outline for another book due August 1. [...]

In the book I’ve just finished writing, my protagonist is a successful, self-assured, retired museum curator. She’s moved to a small Southern town to be near her daughter and get a break from [...]

In my blog reading last week, I came across an interesting post on the Seeing Creative blog. Sometimes I think stereotypes are nice for writers.  I know that sounds odd to say, but [...]

I came across an interesting post the other day by Michael Margolis called The Resume Is Dead, The Bio Is King. In the story’s lead-in, the writer states: If you’re a designer, entrepreneur, [...]

Below are writing links that I’ve posted to Twitter in the last week. The Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine, designed by software engineer and writer Mike Fleming, makes all these links searchable—try it [...]

Overall, I’m feeling pretty smug that I’m adapting to the changing publishing environment. I have a Kindle. I’m not at all opposed to putting backlist items out as ebooks (I’ve even got a [...]

I was speaking to a group of writers a couple of weeks ago when a question came up about what my opinion of a good review on Amazon was. I winced, because I [...]

When I first took my now-14 year old son to kindergarten, I didn’t completely understand the elementary school carpool line. Actually, I didn’t understand it at all. And there seemed to be a [...]

As a fantasy author, creating the worlds my characters inhabit is half the fun. But it can also be a lot of work, because there’s so much you need to know to create [...]

In the post, WTF is Up With Cursing in YA, agent Jennifer Laughran answers writers’ questions on offensive language and its location in a manuscript. She also points out that you’ll want to [...]

Being a writer is not about how many people have read your work. It is not about getting an agent who will take you on as a client (or, for that matter, who [...]

Below are writing links that I’ve posted to Twitter in the last week. The Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine, designed by software engineer and writer Mike Fleming, makes all these links searchable—try it [...]