Kassandra Lamb's Blog, page 6

An Off-Week Goodie: Our Characters’ Furry Sidekicks

by Kassandra Lamb ~ Last Friday, I sat down with cozy writer, Victoria LK Williams to chat with her about Marcia’s dog, Buddy, for her series Those Furry Sidekicks.

It was a lot of fun!!

Here’s a sample of what we talked about:

Vicki: Who is your protagonist’s sidekick?

Kass: Marcia Banks trains service dogs for military veterans, and her sidekick in her Black Labrador named Buddy. He is her mentor dog and four-legged best friend. He was the first dog she trained. And the first boo...

Unmasking the Villains: The Delightfully Wicked World of Mystery Novels! (plus a New Release)

by Kirsten Weiss ~ This past month, I attended a workshop on writing villains. In mystery novels, we don’t really see the bad guys/gals until the unmasking of the villains at the end. So the dynamic is a bit different than in a thriller or even teen drama (which left me out of much of the workshop). But the villains are there in mysteries, causing trouble behind the scenes. A good villain makes a small town mystery as cozy as a wool blanket on a rainy day.

The Suspicious Suspects: They’re Eve...

Getting Old Together, One Day at a Time (Plus a New Release)

by Kassandra Lamb ~ Yesterday was my 47th wedding anniversary. Coming up fast on the big 5-0. In my youth, I would wonder, somewhat awestruck, how couples made it that far. Fifty years!! Wowza! But now I know how they do it, by slowly getting old together, one day at a time.

Feel free to laugh at the leisure-suit-style tuxedo. They were all the rage at the time.

I’m also a week away from my 71st birthday. And I’m going a bit “Wowza” over that as well!

So I’m not quite sure if this post i...

The Joys and Challenges of Writing Romantic Suspense ~ an Encore (Plus 3 New Releases!)

by Kassandra Lamb and Kirsten Weiss ~ Since we are both about to release new books with romantic components, this seemed like a good time for an encore presentation of our post on writing romantic suspense.

Both of us have ventured a bit into the realm of romantic suspense. Since we already had romances as subplots in many of our mysteries, we thought it shouldn’t be that hard to make the romance a bit more central and call it romantic suspense.

It’s turned out to be a little more complic...

Body Language of an Attack (Plus a New Release)

by Kirsten Weiss ~ Like Kass and Shannon at the Writers’ Police Academy, I recently had my own up-close research experience, during which I learned the body language of an attack.

In June, my sister talked me into an “extreme close quarters” combat class. We both take martial arts, and we’ve both been practicing at the shooting range. So though I was hesitant—mostly because it would involve twenty-four hours of training over the course of a summer weekend—I agreed.

I rationalized it as boo...

After All These Years: Imposter Syndrome as a Businesswoman (Plus a New Release)

by Kassandra Lamb ~ I think any woman over fifty will be able to relate to this story! I’m well over 50, and I’ve been a self-employed businesswoman twice in my life—for a total of 32 years. And yet, a few weeks ago, I realized that I still sometimes suffer from Imposter Syndrome as a businesswoman.

I called my Mary Kay representative to order some facial cleanser and asked her to mail it to me, since I was about to leave on a trip. She expressed concern that the package might sit on my porch...

A Fun Off-Week Goodie: Are Squirrels Cute?

Do you think squirrels are cute? Well, this post from last year, by a fellow author, Lois Winston, may convince you otherwise…

SQUIRRELS–CUTE OR DEVIOUSLY CUNNING?

by Lois Winston ~ Beatrix Potter made us think that squirrels were cute. Most homeowners and gardeners would disagree. A recent conversation with some writer friends reminded me of an experience that proved how deviously cunning those little critters are. 

Years ago, our next-door neighbor was hosting a large celebratory f...

9 New Things We Learned at WPA (Writers’ Police Academy) This Time

by Kassandra Lamb and Shannon Esposito ~ Both Vinnie Hansen and Kassandra have been to the Writers’ Police Academy before. (We reported on our experiences there in 2016 HERE and HERE.) And this year, Shannon went as well. The Writer’s Police Academy’s faculty are law enforcement officers and others who actually work in related fields, such as coroners and CSI technicians. Quite a bit of what was presented was validating, confirming that we are getting many police procedures right. But there were...

Happy Independence Day!!

Hope you have a fun and safe holiday!! Check out our readers’ group on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/misteriopressmysteries

The post Happy Independence Day!! appeared first on Misterio Press.

How to Start a Collection of Paranormal Objects (Plus a New Release)

by Maddie Kosloski of the San Benedetto Paranormal Museum ~ Hello, fellow enthusiasts of the mysterious and the otherworldly! I’m Maddie Kosloski, curator of the San Benedetto Paranormal Museum. And I’d like to thank misterio press for giving me the opportunity to guest post on their blog. Today, I’m diving into a topic near and dear to my heart: how to start your own collection of paranormal objects.

The scroll mentioned in the story, from Kirsten’s collection.

Whether you’re a seasoned p...