Longtime readers of this blog will know that for a couple of years I’ve been really reluctant to admitting to be a writer.  Especially in casual conversation with a new acquaintance. That’s because, [...]

I had a conversation with my agent a couple of days ago that reminded me of something that happened at the pool this past summer. Y’all know by now that I spent most [...]

Studies have proven that most people are noticeably stronger in one hemisphere of the brain or the other, mostly due to their tendency to exercise one side more often. Neither side of the [...]

Elizabeth invited me to share with you today something about writing. Since this was an important part of my process, I decided to focus on test readers. Why would you need test readers? [...]

My 8th grade son is working on a social studies project that’s due tomorrow. He’s carefully portioned out the work over the space of a week. He’s researched, cited sources, found images, organized [...]

Recently, I heard a couple of different people talk about simplicity in writing. The first time, I heard two authors at an event I was attending, talk about another author’s books. The books [...]

Thanks so much, Elizabeth, for having me on your blog today. When you agreed to host a stop on the tour, you asked for a guest post, offering several suggestions for topics; and [...]

Here are writing links that I’ve posted to Twitter for the past week.  I’m doing a special Saturday version of Twitterific since I’ll be hosting a guest tomorrow—Marvin Wilson. If you’re looking for [...]

I spend a lot of time doing different promotional things to make sure I’m doing my part in marketing my book. I purchase bookmarks and business cards. I make appearances and sign books. [...]

Masterpiece Mystery is my favorite show on TV right now, and I’ve really enjoyed their recent airing of “Inspector Lewis.” It’s a spin-off of the old Inspector Morse series, based on the mysteries [...]

Do book blurbs influence your book buying habits? Apparently publishers think so because you’ll find blurbs on front and back covers of many books—and they’re hoping if you see that one of your [...]

There are, from what I’ve seen and heard before, two types of writer’s block. There’s the “I don’t want to sit down and work on that book right now!” type of block. This [...]

I’m grateful to Elizabeth for allowing me to be a guest here on Mystery Writing is Murder. And I’m grateful to readers! I love my work, and I’d be nowhere without you. Leave [...]

Here are writing links that I’ve posted to Twitter for the past week. If you’re looking for a particular topic, just plug in your keyword into the search box at the top left-hand [...]

My 4th grade daughter is reading the Chronicles of Narnia.  She started out with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and really enjoyed it.  Then she decided to read Prince Caspian. One [...]

I was volunteering Wednesday night for a church program my daughter is involved in. I was supposed to help a couple other ladies cook dinner for about sixty kids and ten adults. This [...]

Every year I’m amazed and inspired by the productivity and creativity surrounding National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo.) If you’re not familiar with it, the goal of NaNoWriMo is to write a novel in [...]

Every novel needs to have at least one major bad guy (or gal), an antagonist with flaws and desires that lead to chaos, crime and even murder. This bad guy must provide a [...]

When my son gets hooked on a new series, it’s very exciting for me—I don’t have to research YA books for a little while! I’m so relieved to have something he’s thrilled to [...]

In each of my manuscripts, I have probably five rough spots to write through on a first draft. These scenes usually have difficult transitions or lots of characters to keep straight (like a [...]

Here are writing links that I’ve posted to Twitter for the past week. If you’re looking for a particular topic, just plug in your keyword into the search box at the top left-hand [...]

Most writers are spending more time than ever online.  And we’re putting a lot of ourselves out there—on social media, through blogging—or even by sharing our work online. Although that’s the best way [...]

I’ve thought a lot lately about how creative people have it rough sometimes. We do get so much back from being creative—if we didn’t get a lot of joy from it, we wouldn’t [...]

I was looking at my calendar yesterday and adding a guest blogger for Mystery Writing is Murder to it when I realized I have seven guest bloggers coming up in the next five [...]

I was shopping at the Costco warehouse—on a Saturday.  I must have lost my mind because there were gobs of people in there. I quickly grabbed the things I’d come for, then navigated [...]

I’m a huge list maker. This has a lot to do with my need to outsource my horrible memory. It also helps me sleep better at night, knowing that I’ve thought of all [...]

My daughter and I were at the Halloween store last weekend, trying to find her a costume.  For some reason, it’s never easy finding one for her—she has this perfect mental image of [...]

Here are writing links that I’ve posted to Twitter for the past week. If you’re looking for a particular topic, just plug in your keyword into the search box at the top left-hand [...]

Last week, I posted some resources for finding agents. It’s really tough to find representation.  I think, honestly, there are lots of reasons for this. One is that agents need to believe they [...]

During my August book tour, I visited lots of different bookstores and talked to many different managers. Several of them mentioned, with some concern, the e-book revolution.  One manager went so far as [...]