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Veronica's #WritersDiary: Upstairs/Downstairs; Positioning the Class Divide in a Storyline

Aug 24
6 min

Veronica's #WritersDiary: Upstairs/Downstairs; Positioning the Class Divide in a Storyline

“I think accepting change is quite as important as defending the past.” — Cora, Lady Grantham, Downton Abbey, Season 3 In today's post I want to chat about the cross-genre topic of incorporating and positioning the class divide in a story. I'll be focusing the discussion on what happens when servants are included in the storyline with the high society crowd. Their interactions did happen IRL, despite the separate entrances and staircases. Let's think about it, if a person was

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Veronica's #WritersDiary: A #Writer's Dilemma; Mixing Tales of Mystery with the Holidays

Veronica Cline Barton

Jun 22
6 min

Veronica's #WritersDiary: A #Writer's Dilemma; Mixing Tales of Mystery with the Holidays

“Ah, but you must have a Christmas uncomplicated by murder.” ― Agatha Christie Less than two weeks to go 'til Christmas in July! Who's ready to get their summer #HoHoHo on? Let's not forget the scary tale countdown to Halloween--pumpkins will be flying soon, offering loads of marketing tricks & treats! I've focused on Halloween and Christmas because these are probably the two most popular holidays depicted in mystery stories. As a writer, the dilemma becomes how to tell a tal

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Veronica's #WritersDiary: Coastal Kismet!

Veronica Cline Barton

Jun 15
4 min

Veronica's #WritersDiary: Coastal Kismet!

“Watching a coast as it slips by the ship is like thinking about an enigma. There it is before you, smiling, frowning, inviting, grand, mean, insipid, or savage, and always mute with an air of whispering, "Come and find out".” ― Joseph Conrad Wow, what a week-and-a-half it has been! The OH and I had a great time visiting the kids and grandkiddies in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. It's a lovely resort town with loads of fun activities and great food. There are over 2000 lakes in Idaho,

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Veronica's #WritersDiary: May Mystery Topic: What Keeps a Cozy Series from Going D.O.A.?

Veronica Cline Barton

May 11
6 min

Veronica's #WritersDiary: May Mystery Topic: What Keeps a Cozy Series from Going D.O.A.?

"For me, finishing a book in a series is kind of like the day after Christmas. I can't help but start the count down and dreams of a new tale, pondering where my beloved characters will decide to take me on the next, cozy excursion." ---Veronica Cline Barton, author, My American Almost Royal Cousin Series It was interesting looking for an author quote to headline the mystery topic post this week---I couldn't find one, LOL! It seems the famous authors had no words to opine on

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Veronica's #WritersDiary: April's Mystery Topic; #CozyMystery Tropes & Themes!

Veronica Cline Barton

Apr 20
5 min

Veronica's #WritersDiary: April's Mystery Topic; #CozyMystery Tropes & Themes!

“Use that fluff of yours you call a brain.” ― Agatha Christie Whodunnit fun today--this month's mystery topic is Tropes and Themes for all things cozy mystery! Get those spy glasses ready as we hunt for the delightfully, deadly elements that comprise this beloved genre... First up, what is a cozy mystery you might ask? These are tales typically built around an amateur sleuth (usually female) main character who somehow gets in the way of law enforcement professionals, loveable

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Veronica's #WritersDiary: Today's #Mystery Topic: #Motives for Mur-dah Most Foul!

Veronica Cline Barton

Mar 9
4 min

Veronica's #WritersDiary: Today's #Mystery Topic: #Motives for Mur-dah Most Foul!

“Motives for murder are sometimes very trivial, Madame.” “What are the most usual motives, Monsieur Poirot?” “Most frequent—money. That is to say, gain in its various ramifications. Then there is revenge—and love, and fear, and pure hate, and beneficence—” “Monsieur Poirot!” “Oh, yes, Madame." Dame Agatha Christie For the March mystery topic post, I'm discussing motives for mur-dah most foul. What compels a person to become so incensed to commit the most heinous of crimes? Fo

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Veronica's #WritersDiary: Today's #Mystery Topic; The Case of the Poison Pen!

Veronica Cline Barton

Jan 12
4 min

Veronica's #WritersDiary: Today's #Mystery Topic; The Case of the Poison Pen!

Poison Pen Letter [ˈpoizn pen ˈledər] NOUN a letter, typically anonymous, that is libelous, abusive, or malicious. Each month in 2022, I want to blog about topics and tropes that are associated with the #mystery genre. First on the agenda, the poison pen letter! These written assaults are often used in storylines, particularly in cozy mystery tales. I currently happen to be writing one where poison penned post cards are causing more than a bit of angst with the villagers of M

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Veronica's #WritersDiary: #NaNoWriMo; When Your #Writing Mojo Goes MIA...

Veronica Cline Barton

Nov 10, 2021
3 min

Veronica's #WritersDiary: #NaNoWriMo; When Your #Writing Mojo Goes MIA...

"Either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing..." Benjamin Franklin Like many writers this month, I've set my NaNoWriMo goals, slowly but surely achieving my word count objectives. I have to be honest--my challenge is based utilizing the months of planning that has resulted in an outline for book 7; Blood on the Vines: Harvest at Castlewood Manor. I haven't started from scratch, but none-the-less am doing my best to take advantage of the writing momentu

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Veronica's #WritersDiary; #Theatre Under the Stars!

Veronica Cline Barton

Sep 8, 2021
4 min

Veronica's #WritersDiary; #Theatre Under the Stars!

This past week we were so excited to attend the Solvang Festival Theatre once again! We've been attending the performances under the stars since 1999, and truly missed taking our theatrical sojourn last year. For those of you not familiar with this Danish village gem off the 101 FWY, Solvang (Danish for 'sunny field') was established in 1911 by a group of Danes who wanted to leave the midwestern winters behind. Today, it's an eclectic little town filled with shops, eateries a

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Veronica's #WritersDiary: Amateur Sleuthing in a Modern, #CozyMystery World

Veronica Cline Barton

Aug 25, 2021
5 min

Veronica's #WritersDiary: Amateur Sleuthing in a Modern, #CozyMystery World

This week I was supposed to be enjoying the comradery and literary banter with mystery #authors and #readers alike at the Bouchercon Mystery Conference in fabulous New Orleans. Alas, Covid-19 Delta had other plans, the conference was canceled out of an abundance of caution...the good times, unfortunately, were not destined to roll...#Sigh I was honored to have been picked to be on a panel at the conference to opine on the topic of Amateur Sleuths: Armchair Quarterbacks. I was

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Veronica's #WritersDiary, #Spring Forward

Veronica Cline Barton

Mar 10, 2021
4 min

Veronica's #WritersDiary, #Spring Forward

Spring is in the air, with its colorful beauty and fragrant splendor highly anticipated. The flowers and succulents are beginning to bloom here in SoCal. We're still waiting and hoping for our winter rains--they haven't really materialized as thought thanks to the La Nina in effect. Let's hope they come, otherwise it's going to be another fiery summer. I thought today I'd share some of my favorite garden pictures from Hampton Court Palace to get into the spring vibe. These pi

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Veronica's #WritersDiary, Fecundity is My #MarchWish

Veronica Cline Barton

Mar 3, 2021
5 min

Veronica's #WritersDiary, Fecundity is My #MarchWish

"If not us, who? If not now, when?." ~ John F. Kennedy #HappyMarch! What better way to celebrate a new month than with a fav quote and new word to inspire you?! I think the Carpe Diem inspired questions of the former President are perfect for the je ne sais quoi of my post today. As for words, fecundity, is my choice for fav March lexeme (TYSM Brenda B., had to look this one up): The condition of being prolific; The use of imagination or original ideas to create something. I

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Veronica's #WritersDiary #January Reflections

Veronica Cline Barton

Jan 13, 2021
4 min

Veronica's #WritersDiary #January Reflections

January has always been a fun month for us to travel--the #holidays are over, a #NewYear started, and it's a perfect time for me to enjoy a few weeks of cold weather. I thought I'd share some of our January pics from prior year travels since we're all kinda stuck in #lockdown mode these days. The feature picture⏫ is the Silfra Fissure in Iceland where I spent my 60th bday. We snorkeled in the 34 degree, ancient, iceberg waters that narrowly separate the North American and Eur

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Veronica's #WritersDiary, Bring On the #NewYear, Welcome 2021!

Veronica Cline Barton

Dec 30, 2020
5 min

Veronica's #WritersDiary, Bring On the #NewYear, Welcome 2021!

Happy Almost-New Year friends--welcome 2021! Counting down the final hours of 2020--this is one year I think the world will collectively give a 'BIG' kiss good-bye (Raspberries most likely)! It's time to move on in this new world order and I am determined to do it with gusto and a smile. My biggest lesson learned from this apocalyptical year is to not take anything for granted. We all witnessed life changes and diminished freedoms--our lives changed in a cosmic instant. I've

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Veronica's #WritersDiary, 1-2-3 #Ribbons & #Bows!!

Veronica Cline Barton

Dec 2, 2020
3 min

Veronica's #WritersDiary, 1-2-3 #Ribbons & #Bows!!

#HoHoHo December! No, I'm not in Jackson (that Moet 🍾igloo tent was a-ma-zing) but I have Elle King's tune, Ex's & Oh's on my mind (modified to #Ribbons and #Bows for this post🎀😁) It's that most wonderful time of the year once again--bring on the #holidays! The weather has been pretty delightful these past few days (except for the Santa Ana winds that blew everything everywhere). The house is lit, the stockings hung, and the cats are napping under the #Christmas tree (thei

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