“Where do you get your story ideas?” “Are any of your characters based on yourself or people you know?” The above are the two most frequently asked questions I hear from readers. The [...]

Yes, I have finished the synopsis I was asked to write and am now working on my three sample chapters for the possible new series. Well, “finished” is maybe too strong of a [...]

When I was a younger mom, I ruined several loads of laundry by forgetting to check my pockets before tossing my stuff in the washing machine. Now I’ve gotten used to the drill [...]

Yesterday I couldn’t seem to get anything done. My focus was completely shot. And…naturally…I’m under a deadline. A couple of them, actually. I’d start working on my synopsis and the phone would ring. [...]

Mystery writer and blogger Jean Henry Mead ran an interview Saturday with thriller writer Chris Grabenstein. The entire interview was interesting (this is a guy who used to write for the Muppet Show…and [...]

Did you read the recent story about Keith Richards? It wasn’t anything scandalous this time. No inappropriate behavior. It was the fact that he’d always had a secret longing to be a librarian [...]

Update: Well, shoot! May have been some miscommunication between Janice and me…and I’ve been scatty enough lately to suspect it could be on my side! When the post goes live, I’ll connect us [...]

Here are writing links that I’ve posted to Twitter for the past 7 days. If you’re looking for a particular topic, just plug in your keyword into the search box at the top [...]

Today I’d like to welcome fellow Midnight Ink author Joanna Campbell Slan to the blog. Joanna is an Agatha Award nominee and her Photo, Snap, Shot, the third book in the Kiki Lowenstein [...]

I was at my son’s middle school last week, picking him up early for an appointment. I sat in the office with a clear view of the hall. Whenever I’m able to see [...]

Since I’m working up a new book, I’ve got to have a brand-new, completely different protagonist. When I’m working on a protagonist, one of two things usually happens…the protagonist is just immediately known [...]

I’m not an outliner. And I’ve been fortunate that I haven’t had to write a synopsis for a couple of years. But suddenly I’ve been requested to write a full synopsis and 3 [...]

I’ll say straight out that non-writers are frequently not sure what to make of the writing life. Why would someone put so much time, research, and energy into something that pays so little? [...]

Pictures from the 2010 Malice Domestic conference held last weekend in Washington, DC. I had a fantastic time, met many online friends in person, spoke with some wonderful mystery readers, attended and sat [...]

Once again, I’m posting writing links that I previously posted to Twitter. The idea of doing this isn’t to overwhelm anyone. But I thought that if I kept track of these writing links [...]

When I was at the Malice Domestic conference last weekend, I had a chance to talk with an author who currently has a successful series with a major publisher. When I was introduced [...]

Conferences are very good for making you think about your long-term plans. There are writers there that have been published for the past 20 to 30 years…and there are writers who are just [...]

I felt a little out of touch with my North Carolina life while I was in DC at Malice Domestic. My cell phone decided that it wouldn’t charge with either of my two [...]

Writers’ roles in book promotion have changed a lot in the last twenty years. Instead of being expected merely to write and edit, they’re looked at as partners in the publicity process. If [...]

I’d actually planned on putting some great photos on this particular blog post—but then realized as I’m here at the Malice Domestic conference in Washington, DC, that apparently I didn’t pack the cord [...]

I’m not the most relaxed traveler in the world. I checked over my lists at least twenty times to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything, rolled my clothes up into my carry-on and [...]

I think these recap posts get better stats than all my others! :) I’m doing this a little early this week because I’m flying to the Malice Domestic conference today and won’t likely [...]

A week ago I was on a social media panel, talking about the benefits of networking and giving some tips. Afterward, one of the attending agents asked a fellow panelist and me if [...]

During the recession of the early 90s (which looks like nothing compared to the one we’re in now) I was fresh out of college and working for very little money at a magazine. [...]

So we’re replacing the downstairs carpeting. And we have a few really massive pieces of furniture. The carpet company said it would move one of the biggest ones, but the rest were up [...]

I like having a writing plan. This doesn’t mean that life goes according to plan. Kids get sick. New carpet gets installed. Cars need to go to the mechanic. Life happens. I grab [...]

Friday morning at o’ dark-thirty, I’m going to the Malice Domestic conference in Washington, DC. Cool things about this: I get to meet (in person) some of the great folks I’ve gotten to [...]

As promised, I’m running a post with the past week’s interesting writing/reading related links that I found in my Google Reader and tweeted on Twitter. Well,it’s almost a week’s worth. :) The page [...]

First of all, I want to thank Writer’s Digest for the honor of choosing Mystery Writing is Murder as one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers (Genres/Niches). Their list has just been [...]

Usually my son gives me a play-by-play of what he’s working on at school. But the past couple of weeks, his Language Arts class has been concentrating entirely on writing to prep for [...]