Kate Collins's Blog, page 330

They Grow Up So Fast

By Heather

I happened across son # 2's kindergarten report card the other day (and yes, I save that kind of stuff). It was your basic K report card, with lots of stars next to things like "I participate in classroom activities" and "I share and take turns." His teacher even wrote that he was "such a nice young man" and a "real sweetheart." However, two of the "subjects" that had a check mark ("needs to improve") next to them were "I can skip" and "I know my address."

Fast forward to later that...

Ellery's Mystery Cozy Contest - Answer

The answer is Farm Fresh Murder by Paige Shelton! Here's the entire paragraph:
[I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like the tackle I inflicted on the poor tomato man.:] I had just the right momentum to smack into him with my full body, propelling him backward and all of those lovely tomatoes even farther backward and airborne, splatting on tables, poles, tent walls, and people. (page 86).
Congrats to Caryn St. Clair. She won the $10 gift certificate.
Tune in next month for another mystery line.

Died And Gone To Heaven Apple Pie

I tweaked an old recipe and made this pie in honor of the first day of Fall. Wow! The best one I've ever eaten!
What's your favorite fall treat?
INGREDIENTS:1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crustpie or 1 package Pillsbury pie crusts1 egg (for bottom shell)1/2 cup unsalted butter3 tablespoons all-purpose flour1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar1/4 cup water1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract1 teaspoon apple pie spice4 Granny Smith & 4 Red Delicious apples - peeled, cored and sliced...

Are You a Seasonal Reader?

I am. Of course, cozy mysteries are perfect anytime. But let's stray a bit from that wonderful genre and embrace the rest.
Spring and summer Can't wait for a good beach/vacation read, throw in a little romance, chick lit, etc. and I'm in heaven. Janet Evanovich usually has a new Stephanie Plum mid-summer. What a treat!
FallTime for lots of good mysteries and thrillers. I've just discovered Christopher Fowler and love his Bryant and May mysteries.
Halloween Okay, this isn't officially a season, b...

Introducing Molly Malone

Great News!! My agent said I could officially spread the word now: I have sold a second mystery series---The Molly Malone Mysteries. Molly Malone book #1 will be pubbed either August or September of 2012 by Midnight Ink. To say I'm excited is an understatement, and I do NOT know how I can wait until 2012!

Molly Malone is set in contemporary Washington, DC, which is my old hometown. It's got good guys, bad guys, and political types (all fictional) mixed in with mystery and some intrigue...

Let's Do Lunch!

by Kate

I was going to write about how I seem to get stuck on certain foods, in a food rut, if you will, for long periods of time. For instance, my current favorite lunch is raw broccoli spears dipped in hummus, with fresh cherry tomatoes and a thick slice of goat cheese, and fresh fruit for dessert. It suits my summer mood. But as I wrote the title, I couldn't help but think of how people are always saying, "Let's do lunch," but never follow through. I don't understand that.

Maybe it's becaus...

David is Gone

by Leann

This week the mystery world was stunned by the sudden death of David Thompson, the publicity manager for Murder by the Book in Houston. He was only 38 years old. Much of this has been written about by bigger names, and far more eloquently than I could ever achieve, but every day I see his face and hear his voice. For me, he was the heart and soul of Murder by the Book, the place where I first ventured 20 plus years ago to buy what I love best--a stack of mysteries.

I started out as a c...

Trying to find good e-books?

By Lorna (Lorraine)

With the proliferation of people self-publishing on Kindle, Smashwords, etc. there's a bit of a problem.  How does one find a good book?

By good, I mean one that's well written and not rife with typos.  You know, the kinds of mistakes that previously unpublished authors make. 

I'm pleased to be a member of the Backlist Ebooks group on Facebook.

What is it?  It's a group of traditionally published authors who've banded together to promote their no-longer out-of-print books.

Al...

Miss Potter: Awesome

By Guest Blogger Susan Wittig Albert

For the past nine years, I've been writing mysteries featuring Beatrix Potter. You know--the Victorian lady who wrote The Tale of Peter Rabbit. She's the protagonist in an eight-book series called "The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter." Book Seven in the series-- The Tale of Oat Cake Crag --is out this month, and I'm working on the eighth book right now.

A few years back, a reviewer for Booklist wrote that the Cottage Tales were the ultimate cozies; "as full of...

Ellery's Mystery Cozy Contest!

The second Tuesday of every month, my alter ego Ellery Adams will post a single line from a contemporary cozy mystery.
Guess the line correctly and you could win a $10 gift certificate to Mystery Lovers Bookshop! Just send an email with your guess to elleryadams@comcast.net and I will draw a random name and post the winner next Thursday, along with the cover of the mystery cozy.
Good luck and here's the first line:"I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like the tackle I inflicted on the poor...