Today is Awards Day on Mystery Writing is Murder. Look around you—see all the celebrities in evening clothes, the multimillion dollar bling the stars are wearing, the hilarious Master of Ceremonies, the orchestra? [...]

I noticed something the other day and wondered if other writers felt the same way.  My favorite music is heavy on storytelling–by singer/songwriters like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Jim Croce, Joni Mitchell, Gordon [...]

I’ll admit I’m a real fan of imperfect protagonists. If I’m reading a book and I can’t identify with the main character because they are just too sweet, then I’ll put the book [...]

I love reading novels where characters’ faults or virtues play a role in determining their fate. Take me, for example. I did something stupid on Wednesday that could have taken my day on [...]

Please join me today at Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen for a little Southern comfort food—a little dish I like to call “Breakfast for Supper.” Yes, it’s a breakfast casserole and highly adaptable. Please pop [...]

Today my interview on Lesa’s Book Critiques posts. Honestly, I’ve been more excited by Lesa’s review than anything I’ve gotten from Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus, or Mystery Scene. That’s because of Lesa’s occupation and [...]

Hi everybody.  Today Pretty is as Pretty Dies  is being featured on Lesa’s Book Critique blog.  I was really excited by Lesa’s review.  She’s a library manager and professional reviewer and reads a [...]

I thought I’d share with y’all a little about my Memphis, TN research trip. I needed to make the trip to put the finishing setting touches on my Memphis barbecue mystery (book one’s [...]

Happy Sunday morning, everyone! Today I’m being interviewed at the Author Exchange blog: a great place to find out more about your favorite authors. And now, it’s also a great place to post [...]

I was asked (or….maybe I should say my dog was asked to be interviewed for the fun site, Coffee with a Canine.  It’s a fun place to promote a book because your appearance [...]

I love mysteries. I always have. I started out with those Encyclopedia Brown books in first grade. I thought it was so clever the way Encyclopedia solved one case by realizing the reflection [...]

We were on I-40 on Sunday, driving back to Charlotte from my research trip to Memphis when my husband drove up on a completely-stopped line of cars on the interstate. Obviously, there’d been [...]

I’m researching Memphis for my Memphis barbeque series and just returned from a 5 day visit. One of my Memphis discoveries? Red beans and rice (not the Creole version, but the Memphis one.) [...]

Getting your book onto library shelves means you’re reaching a wider audience of readers. For my thoughts and tips on library marketing, please pop over and visit me today at Alan Orloff’s blog, [...]

Having a book released is almost like having a baby. Pop over and visit me at Routines for Writers today to find out more. Some of you have asked me how the release [...]

How do simple things change our (and our characters’) perspectives on the world? Please visit me at InkSpot today to find out. [...]

My Myrtle Clover series is set in a small, Southern town. My Memphis Barbeque series is set in a larger city. There’s a certain gossipy element that small-town settings provide. People in small [...]

And today I’m making a guest appearance at Marybeth Geer-Smith’s blog, Desperately Searching for My Inner Mary Poppins. It’s a Gnome-Approved interview. :) Hope y’all will pop over and visit me there. Book [...]

It’s Thursday, so that means I’m cooking up trouble at the Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen. On the menu today is Frogmore Stew. No, I’m not kidding—it’s a Deep South specialty. If you want to [...]

As a homemaker/household engineer/WHATever, sometimes it can be challenging to channel a sinister mood. Communion with the dark side is important if you’re creating murder. But it can be especially hard to channel [...]

Unfortunately for him, my son came into my room a few minutes ago, flopped on my bed and said he was bored. He quickly revised that statement when he saw the gleam in [...]

The best ways to get your book on a bookstore’s shelves are personal visits to the store, phone calls, and emails. In 2005, there were 172,000 books published in the United States (I [...]

I like to stay organized, but occasionally I get off-course. That’s what happened this past week. I have a September 1 deadline coming up. Everything looks good, but I decided to write in [...]

Hi, Friends. Welcome back. Yesterday we looked at the lighter side of agent pitching in person. Today is all business. We continue with Shirley Kennett, the 2009 ThrillerFest Chair of the International Thriller [...]

I’ll take a cue from Alan’s very informative post of yesterday…Hello. I’m Galen Kindley, and yes, it takes grit to stick my picture up there. Ugh. Rather than bore you with my non-history, [...]

I love writers’ conferences. So much to learn, so much positive energy, so many good books to discover. But the best thing about writer’s conferences? Hands down, it’s the collection of writers (and [...]

Sometimes we have to shake things up a little bit in our lives. I’m doing a lot of that this week. A lot. And, as a person who doesn’t accept change well, it’s [...]

When this post publishes, my husband and I will be on our way to pick up our daughter at Brownie camp. She was only gone for two nights, but since she’s 7, we [...]

To me, the best time to clean out the car is at the gas station. So on Saturday, I busily pulled handfuls of camp newsletters, empty sandwich baggies, empty sunscreen bottles, a cardboard [...]

I read really quickly. But usually I don’t automatically gravitate toward books on the shelf that are thick when I’m browsing at the bookstore. Thick books usually equal lots of characters, complicated plot [...]