Barbara Fradkin's Blog, page 24

The Purge

 One of my writer fantasies was the world honoring my life and publishing accomplishments with the Mario Acevedo museum, a must-visit shrine for every wannabe scribe looking for encouragement and inspiration. Here are Mario's desk, laptop, printer. Here are his journals. His coffee cups where he kept his pens and paperclips. His pocket knife. His stacks of reference materials. My wish would

My Reading Buckets

 by Sybil JohnsonWhenever I finish reading the first book in a series, I mentally place the series into a bucket. I never actually write this down anywhere. I just keep track of it in my mind. These buckets are:Loved it so much I’m going to (a) immediately read the next book if it’s available, (b) talk about the series to anyone who will listen, (c) pre-order the next book.  Liked the

Treasure Hidden in the Weeds

 by Catherine Dilts Gardens need to be weeded. So does fiction.My garden is in a wild state of growth. There are only sixweeks left until fall, and plants are hustling to produce seeds.The weeds are in high gear, as anxious to propagatethemselves as the tomatoes, peppers, and greens.After a rain is an excellent time to pull weeds. The soil issofter. I’m less likely to damage

Writing is Rewriting

 Donis here. First of all, let me join the chorus of delight and welcome our newest Type M author, Catherine Dilts! Oh, how glad we are to have you!On a less joyful note, I’m still slogging along in the jungles of the first draft of a new novel. When I’m trying to get a first draft to look like something and having a tough time of it (which is always), I often wonder why I put myself through

Dear Reader

First of all, I'd like to extend a warm welcome to Catherine Dilts, whom Charlotte so eloquently introduced in yesterday's post. We're all very excited to include Catherine, who will bring a fresh voice and perspective as she shares her own writing journey. I feel as if I have been posting on the blog for eons, and sometimes I wonder whether I have anything new to say.That said, I don't believe I

Catherine Dilts

 by Charlotte HingerWe have wonderful news for the followers of Type M For Murder. Beginning next week, Catherine Dilts, author of the Rose Creek Mystery series will post every other Tuesday. Catherine has lived in Colorado for decades, but spent her formative years in Oklahoma. She must have left a little bit of her heart there, because her new Rose Creek Mystery series is set in the

Writing the Cozy Mystery

 by Sybil JohnsonAwhile back I answered a call on social media for cozy authors to write an essay about some aspect of writing the cozy mystery. The essays were to be compiled into a book. My essay, “Crafts and the Cozy Mystery”, was selected for the book, which came out this past Monday: Writing The Cozy Mystery: Authors’ Perspectives on Their Craft. It’s edited by Phyllis M. Betz,

Something New for Me--Historical Fiction

 By Thomas KiesI’m nearly finished reading a fascinating book called Skies of Thunder by Caroline Alexander. Non-fiction, it’s set in World War II and describes the Burma/India/China theater of war, primarily the transport of supplies and men over the jungles and the Himalayan Mountains.  The terrain is treacherous, the weather is unpredictable and often fatal, the jungles are deadly,

The Nostalgia of Texas Gothic and Horror

Last Monday, I had the pleasure of moderating the Q&A and book signing of I Was A Teenage Slasher with one of my favorite authors, Stephen Graham Jones. It's been years since I've attended such a book event in a Barnes & Noble and it felt pretty damn good. Considering it was a week-work afternoon during rush hour, we had a great SRO crowd. Slasher is a very American story, tapping on

Characters

 by Donis CaseyI greatly enjoyed Sybil's entry yesterday about categories. I've been working on a new book, possibly a new series, which started out to be a straight mystery. But as the story develops, I seem to be crossing genres. It's turning out to be much more of a fish-out-of-water story. My protagonist wants to figure out who killed her mother, but she has to go to a foreign country