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

"Savannah is a lovely, gentle, sad old city. You can walk through the shadowy, cobbled streets of the town on a tranquil Sunday morning and feel the atmosphere heavy with the burden of lost greatness and relaxed by quiet decay..." Mills Lane This week I'm honored to have as my guest, #author Cathleen Maza. She's a multi-genre writer who certainly knows her way around a scary tale! Her #NewRelease, Savannah at Midnight, is an atmospheric collection of stories that whisks you a

Well hello, September! The pumpkin spice lattes have been unleashed and I'm so ready for autumn to arrive. It's an especially festive time for me, because on Monday, September 6th, Bibiana Krall and I will be releasing our scary tale collection, Tangled Webs! When we started this second book of The Haunted Series at the beginning of the year, we had no idea what we would be facing in 2021 (Um, as of this writing, nothing much has changed on that front, LOL). 🙄😛😬 Despite th

'Winston, if you were my husband, I'd poison your tea.' 'Nancy, if I were your husband, I 'd drink it.' Lady Nancy Astor and Sir Winston Churchill How deliciously droll, I adore this quote! As a cozy mystery writer, I'm always on the hunt for unique ways to commit 'mur-dahs most foul'. Poisons are used quite often in cozy tales, hence my interest in what's the best one to use?; how does it work?; what are the symptom's? I guess on the surface it sounds a bit ghoulish but a wr

"Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go..." E.L. Doctorow Words so true! I thought for this post I'd try to give a boost to my #writer friends and share a few #writing resources I (and others) have recently found useful to explore and utilize. I've seen quite a bit of frustration and gloom in tweets this past week on Twitter, ranging from the #Goodreads sudden deletion of #bookreviews (luckily it looks like most reviews have been restored) to pe

"One benefit of summer was that each day we had more light to read by..." Jeanette Walls Continuing with my quest for great #SummerReads, this month I'm excited to feature #Writer A.C. 'Drew' Merkel! He is the author of the Lady Dreamscapes, time traveling/sci-fi series. These imaginative tales feature a MC by the name of 'Murder'...and what an exciting, literary journey she will take you on! Without further adieu, let's chat with Drew: Q1. I really enjoyed the first book in

This week our escape from the family room #roadtrip takes us to the Sierra Mountains in northern California. We're headin' to the hills of Mammoth Mountain and the shores and mountain forests of Lake Tahoe. The good news is that there is still snow in 'them thar hills' making this #snowboot gal extremely happy! The feature pic ⏫ is of the Twin Lakes area in the Mammoth Mountain area. Unfortunately most of the lake view road was closed so this was the main water view to be had

What better way to close out #IndieApril than a chat with one of my favorite #Holiday mystery writers, the fabulous Amy Reade! I've read many of Amy's tales and am a huge fan of her Juniper Junction Holiday Mystery Series. Without further adieu, Ladies & Gents, #Author Amy Reade: Q1: Amy, I thoroughly enjoy reading your Juniper Junction Holiday Mystery Series--what inspired you to write it? Pssst..love the #Holiday theme! Thank you! I have grown to love these characters and t

#Spring has finally sprung! This past week has been filled with sweet moments of #hope that we may be emerging from the darkness of #lockdown and into the #light...Sunny weather has arrived, my latest #book is almost ready to release, and #knock wood--we may be getting ready to hit the friendly skies, ships, roads soon! This week I thought I'd share a few pics of a springtime visit to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville N.C. that we took a few years back. The scenic views of the

Just four more days until the most #romantic, #chocolate overload day of the year! Since we're still pretty much in #lockdown limbo, I thought it would be fun to get a head start on the celebrating! #WhyNot In today's post, I thought I'd share some of my cherished memories from trips gone by that bring out the #amour in this #femme. 💖👑 #Paris In an unexpected, #writing twist for me--there is a trip to The City of Lights for a few of the characters in Twins in the City. I wo

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." Robert Frost And so it goes...I wanted to pause for those of us in the United States and remember for a just a moment, despite our differences, what a wonderful country it is we live in. We're going through situations none of us have experienced, at least not in my lifetime, and it has tainted the view of our nation by many. I'm not going to get political nor preach--we've all had enough. My wish t

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

Merry Christmas! The most wonderful time of the year is here and it's time to announce my Top 3 #Books for 2020! This year has been a banner year for great #reads in all genres. I've been privileged to read at least one book per week this year and the #WritingCommunity did not disappoint! In this year like no other, I'm pleased to announce these #authors and their works as my Top 3 Books for 2020 (HUGE APPLAUSE!): U.K. author, Colin Powell--The Last Days of Purgatory; U.K. au

#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

Happy almost Thanksgiving🦃! It's the day before the big eat-a-thon here in the U.S., a time to loosen those belts and enjoy the bounty of the kick-off of the holiday season with family and friends...OR NOT. Welcome to #Thanksgiving2020! Since lockdown/quarantine life began in March, I haven't worn a belt thanks to my constant wardrobe of fringed T-Party yoga pants as my go-to attire ( this girl from the 70s will never give up her fringe!). This year the big dinner will be a

Oh baby, it's a #bookcover reveal ⏫(turn up the sound)! It's that most wonderful time of year (to #promote and #sell those books) and what better way to celebrate for a #writer than a new title to reveal!? (plus I get to use an interrobang, how cool is that?!😁) I decided it was time to show the world my latest creation and give myself a #writing, um, incentive (ie if you #reveal it you must #write it🤪). Let's give Twins in the City: Playtime at Castlewood Manor a big #HearH

I thought I'd throw out a #challenge to the #WritingCommunity this week since we're about to head into #NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and the busiest (at least it used to be) #book buying season of the year with the upcoming #holidays. For this challenge, I'm going to assume you have a product to sell (and quality is in the eyes of the beholders, er, reader/spenders). I've taken many sales classes and tutorials during my previous career selling software. After thir

It's that time of year once again--I'm back in the #writing zone with book 6 in the series: Twins in the City: Playtime at Castlewood Manor! We're hitting the shores of Bermuda and then heading to London, where Gemma and Kyle are on the hunt for a city abode. The feature pic this week is from Kensington Palace Gardens (surrounded by beautiful doorways--love the colors and architectural details!), one of the most exclusive streets in London, right behind Kensington Palace, and