Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 111

My Bookshelves

by Barbara Ross, working away on Maine Clambake #10

I’ve always been a collector of books, but when we moved to our current house in Portland, Maine, I gave myself a stern talking to. As a function of age and economics, it’s unlikely my husband and I will ever live in a home bigger than the one we are in now. (Which is already smaller than the largest one we have lived in, though we shared that one with our children.) Therefore, I declared, in this new house there would be finite space for books. Tough decisions would have to be made. Once the purge was done, if a new book came into the house, another would have to leave.

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But what to keep? I’m not a big re-reader, so that wasn’t a factor. (Though I’m thinking I have reached an age where I should start. There are a lot of books I remember loving more than I remember the actual story.) I’m not sure how it evolved, but for the most part what I’ve done has been to keep the work of treasured authors and singularly treasured books. Together this collection now tells the story of my evolution as a writer, as a reader, and as a human.

I’ve gotten pretty good at reading most of the books I consume on my Kindle, which has the added benefit of allowing me to read in bed without turning the light on and disturbing my husband. Because I love bookstores and books, I’ve switched most of my print buying to hardcovers from favored authors.

There are a lot of mystery series on my shelves, of course. For the most part, they sit behind me at eye level, so it’s very handy when I’m doing a Zoom visit with a library and someone asks me about my favorite authors. I simply turn and read off the spines.

[image error]Ruth Rendell, Tana French, Julia Spencer-Fleming



[image error]Elizabeth George, Minette Walters, Kate Atkinson



[image error]P.D. James, Sharyn McCrumb, Louise Penny

Then there are the books I think of as encompassing big-hearted humor, a style very important to me as a reader, and something I wish I was better at as a writer.

[image error]Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series, Alexander McCall’s Smith’s Scotland Street series and Professor Dr. Von Igelfeld series



[image error]Fannie Flagg, Sue Townsend, and a glimpse of some other favorites, Julia Glass, Jack Finney, Alice Munro

When you have a lot of friends who are writers, you go to a lot of book signings and afterwards you have signed books. I find it hard to part with them after I’ve finished reading. It’s even harder for books where I am included in the dedication or in the acknowledgments.

[image error]Julianne Holmes, Liz Mugavero, Sherry Harris



[image error]Barbara Shapiro, Leslie Wheeler, Jessica Ellicott, Kaitlyn Dunnett, Cornelia Kidd (Lea Wait) Dick Cass, Edith Maxwell (among many)

I have three shelves devoted to research for my Maine Clambake novels and writing topics.

[image error]My desk is a glass table without drawers so all my desk stuff is on the shelves in easy reach behind me. The notebooks on the left contain the (ever decreasing number of ) paper notes associated with each of my books.



[image error]Another shelf (not shown) is almost entirely devoted to those kinds of cookbooks published by churches from around Maine

And then there’s the flotsam and jetsam of life. Here’s an example. I have some smaller bookshelves that also contain this kind of stuff.

[image error]Photo albums brought home from my parents’ house after my mom died, more notebooks, books from my old work life

As you can see in the top photo, there are also shelves devoted to my own books. Traditionally published authors get a box of books for each edition that’s published. This used to be pretty great, but now that I’m not doing any in-person events, all four of these bookcases are double-shelved. As of Shucked Apart in February 2021 I’ll be completely out of room.

So that’s it. A treasure trove for some future archeologist trying to understand the formation of the early twenty-first century mid-list writer.

Readers: What about you? What is your book saving, purging, shelving strategy? Let us know!

A Wicked Welcome to Nancy Coco **plus a giveaway**

by Julie, gaining inspiration by changing location for a few days

I’m delighted to welcome Nancy Coco to the blog today! Nancy has as many names as I do, and today we’re celebrating the release of her latest Candy-Coated Mystery, Have Yourself a Fudgy Little Christmas. Welcome back Nancy!

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Someone in a recent book talk didn’t know that Mackinac Island is a real place. Mackinac Island is also the setting for my USA Today Bestselling Candy-coated mystery series. It is indeed a real place nestled in the straits where Lake Michigan meets Lake Huron.  The natives called it the big turtle and it was an important post in the war of 1812. There are two forts on the island that was held by Americans until the British overran them, then returned to the USA after the war ended. It is a lovely island that takes you back in time to the Victorian era where everyone gets around by foot, bike, or horse and carriage. The wealthy would come to spend the summer and get out of the big cities of Chicago and Detroit. Their homes, called cottages, are gorgeous Victorian painted ladies and Main Street is filled with shops and the smell of fudge, popcorn and ice cream.

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Mackinac Island is considered the fudge capital of the world and even if you can’t visit you can order fudge online from any of their shops.

My protagonist, Allie McMurphy, owns a small hotel and fudge shop on Main street. Motor vehicles have been banned from the island, which gives it a lazy pre-automobile feel. There are two ways to reach the island, by ferry and by airplane. Most people ferry in and spend the day, but it’s a real treat if you get to stay on the island overnight. Everything goes soft and quiet and people light bon fires and roast marshmallows and drink hot cocoa. The sounds of the lake lapping against the shore fill the air as the horses all return to the stables to rest.

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I try to get there as often as possible to research such places as the Butterfly House where I set a murder amid the beautiful exotic butterflies, and the police and fire station on Market street where my main detective and EMT’s hang out. I discovered a new coffee shop on market that is featured in Have Yourself a Fudgy Little Christmas. Winters on Mackinac are cold, snowy and small town. The shops all close in October for the season and the summer houses are winter proofed. About 300 people remain on the island year round. Children take snow mobiles to school and only the grocery store and a few bars on Main street remain open.

The ferry’s run on a modified schedule until the straits freeze over than everyone moves by plane until the ice freezes thick enough to hold the weight of a snowmobile and rider. Then brave souls will snowmobile across the ice bridge to the upper or lower peninsula.

There was an old movie filmed there called “Somewhere in Time” with Christopher Reeves that highlights the romance of the place.

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My mother grew up nearby and so it’s a family vacation place for us. I thought it was the perfect place to set a mystery series. There are so many tourists coming and going and small town rivals and festivals, a state park and lovely scenery to add color and flavor to the series.  

In Have Yourself a Fudgy Little Christmas, Allie sets her mind to wintering on the island and enjoying the Christmas festivities when a mysterious note takes her to a dead woman and family secrets that rock the island.

Do you vacation in the winter? Where is your favorite spot? Sun or snow? Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Have Yourself a Fudgy Little Christmas.

About Nancy:



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Nancy J Parra AKA Nancy Coco AKA Nell Hampton is the author of over 30 published novels which include five mystery series: The Oregon Honey-comb Mystery Series (Kensington), The Candy-Coated Mysteries (Kensington), The Kensington Palace Mystery Series (Crooked Lane), The Wine Country Tours Mystery Series (Crooked Lane) The Gluten-free Baker’s Treat Mysteries (Berkley Prime Crime), and The Perfect Proposal Mysteries (Berkley Prime Crime).  Her writing has been called witty and her protagonists plucky by reviewers around the world.  Nancy is a member of Sisters in Crime and loves to hear from readers.  Here’s a link to her website.

About the Book:

All Allie wants for Christmas is for renovations to be finished on the Historic McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop so she can move back home for the holidays. But for now she’s staying in her friend Frances’s apartment, busily baking batches of holiday fudge. After someone leaves a mysterious note on the door to meet up, the curious fudge maker goes to the rendezvous with her bichonpoo, Mal—only to discover a woman facedown in a snowdrift. With her dying breath, the woman gasps, “Frances.” The police suspect she named her killer, but Allie knows that’s impossible. She needs to wrap up this case before the trail runs cold—and give her friend the gift of freedom this Christmas season . . .

Food Murderous Food–Welcome Back Catriona McPherson

I don’t remember exactly when I first met Catriona McPherson — maybe at Left Coast Crime in Monterey in 2014. But I’ve never forgotten how she came to the debut authors panel when very famous authors (including Sue Grafton!) were speaking at the same time. That tells you a lot about who Catriona is, but she’s also smart, witty, and oh, how I wish she could read this post aloud to us so we could all enjoy her charming Scottish accent. I will also never forget that she bought a copy of Tagged for Death at Malice Domestic and had me sign it — back when I was terrified that no one would buy my books or ask me to sign them. So Catriona has been a shining example to me of how to be generous in the writing community.

Catriona is here to celebrate the release of The Turning Tide the fourteenth book in her fabulous Dandy Gilver mystery series!

Catriona: I love writing about food almost as much as I love buying it, cooking it, eating it, and cleaning the kitchen up afterwards. I really mean that last bit: much as I enjoy parties there’s something so satisfying about being in your jammies at getting on for midnight, washing a million dishes, accompanied by the night’s playlist looping for the fourth time, and guzzling any leftovers not worth putting in Tupperware.

This time, in The Turning Tide, Dandy Gilver and Alec Osborne almost get to stay in a comfy pub with a generous landlord but, at the last minute, they’re diverted to a cold and cheerless private house, with a housekeeper who doesn’t take her catering duties seriously at all. They’re either hungry or suffering from indigestion the whole book through.

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It got me thinking about  other books where food as a whole or one meal in particular play a crucial part. Here’s my top five:

Food as clue: Dorothy L Sayers, Strong Poison

This novel, in which Peter Wimsey meets Harriet Vane when she’s on remand awaiting trial for murder, is a great example of an impossible crime. A meal whose every course is shared by at least two people and sometimes four kills just one of them. It’s lovingly described at two points in the book and, even though you know it carried a man off, it still sounds delicious:

“Well, there was the sherry. Then came a cup of cold bouillon … very strong, good soup, set to a clear jelly … a piece of turbot with sauce … a poulet en casserole – that is a chicken cut up and stewed with vegetables … The final course was a sweet omelette which was made at the table in a chafing dish by [the murder victim] himself.”

New bottle of sherry. The cook and maid hoovered up the fish leftovers and polished off the chicken too (like me doing the dishes after a party). So how did one of the four die and other three survive? It’s still a great plot and the start of a classic love story too.

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Food as character: Alafair Burke The Wife and The Better Sister

It’s not one memorable meal that puts food at the heart of Alafair Burke’s Hamptons world; it’s more that the various parties and their menus place the characters so perfectly. I’m always left on the cusp of being glad I’ll never move in those circles and sort of pining for it, because it sounds yummy.

Just two short examples:

“… a bona fide dinner party. I was turning twenty-nine. I had done drinking from red Solo cups. …  When I didn’t have a pot large enough to hold the braised short ribs I wanted, I bought one. When Matt asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I snipped a page from the Williams Sonoma catalog …” The Wife

Poor Chloe, right? Is there a single chance that all that optimism is going to survive the night?

“… a bar back and kitchen helper had no-showed … I was scrambling to make sure I didn’t let [Susanna] down, but keeping up proved less impossible than I’d feared. I’d turn around and the platter of shrimp cocktail that was running low would suddenly be replenished. … I walked into the kitchen to find a man reaching into the refrigerator for a plate of deviled eggs topped with caviar.” The Better Sister

He grins, says he’s busted, says she – the caterer – is the best thing about this smug party, eats one deviled egg whole and puts the rest on the dimpled tray without being asked. It’s a classic meet-cute. A man who knows what a deviled egg tray and an asshole is? Oh, if this were a rom-com they’d be set for life. No spoilers, but you know …

 

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Food as family – Lisa Scottoline, the Rosato and DiNunzio series

Throughout the series, Ma and Pop DiNunzio are in their tiny kitchen with the napkin dispenser on the table, the pot of “gravy” on the stove, and the coffee perking. They feed Mary, her friends, her boyfriend, all the Tonys – Tony from down the block, Tony Two-feet (?) and Pigeon Tony. One time, Ma DiNunzio busts into an important meeting at Mary’s law office with a platter of sflogiatelle. “Ma, please don’t hug the clients!” is something Mary probably never thought she’d have to say.

Also, when Mary moves in with her very own Tony – Anthony Rotunno – and comes home one night early on to find “a big wooden bowl of romaine and arugula mixed with fresh shrimps, seared scallops and red peppers” you know A. she’s really left home and B. she’s going to be okay.

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Food as tone – Margery Allingham, The Beckoning Lady

Allingham’s books are said to range “from the grave to the frankly satirical” (Observer review) but, to my mind, they missed out “totally bonkers”. The Beckoning Lady is one of the bonkers ones, a madcap, headlong rush of a novel set in the lead-up to a house party (at a house called The Beckoning Lady). There’s a lot of Champagne laid in and the children are put in charge of it because they won’t drink it; although they might open the wires just to hear the pop. (This is nothing to do with food, but Minnie and Tonker, the hosts, also use toddlers to polish the dining table. Literally – they uncover their towelling underpants and scoot them back and forth across it.) One item on the party menu is peacock pie, which the diners only find out about when they’re each given a tail feather tip to wear as a buttonhole. It’s said to stop the pie causing indigestion.

Maybe Allingham’s books are as acquired a taste as peacock pie, but I’m a huge fan and if David Lynch isn’t making films fast enough for you, you should give them a go.

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Food as heartbreak: Shawn A. Cosby, Blacktop Wasteland

This is a short scene in the book, but it explains a lot about Beauregard “Bug” Montage’s life. It certainly leads directly to the event that changes it. For all that clever plotting though, it’s the pathos of what happens at the Tastee Freez drive-through that put tears in my eyes.

Bug loves his daddy, Anthony. Loves him.  But already at 11 years old, little Bug knows his daddy too. He’s excited to go and get milkshakes, but worried. Anthony never remembers that chocolate is Bug’s favourite.

“After we get the shakes, maybe I should go get some neck bones. Take you home and make some soup for you and your Mama,” Anthony said.

Bug knew what that meant. … They pulled into the Tastee Freez and his daddy put the car in neutral. …

“Two shakes and a couple of greasy cheeseburgers. You want anything else?”

“No. Can I get a chocolate shake instead of strawberry?’

“Sure. You changing up on me,” Anthony said with a laugh.

Aw man. That little boy, tiptoeing around his father’s failings? It’s so neatly done, in a novel full to the brim of brilliant, tiny little points just like that. If you’ve missed it so far grab it now, so you can nod sagely when the awards come round next year.

 

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Readers: And let me know what I’ve missed, eh? Because the best thing about putting together a top five is the head-smacking phase of being reminded about all the other great food scenes in crime fiction. Hit me!

[image error]Bio: Catriona McPherson was born in Scotland and lived there until immigrating to the US in 2010. She writes the multi-award-winning Dandy Gilver series, set in the old country in the 1930s, as well as a strand of multi-award-winning psychological thrillers. Very different awards. After eight years in the new country, she kicked off the humorous Last Ditch Motel series, which takes a wry look at California life. These are not multi-award-winning, but the first two won the same award in consecutive years, which still isn’t too shabby.

Catriona is a proud lifetime member and former national president of Sisters in Crime. 

 

 

Wicked Wednesday: Good-bye Daylight Savings Time

by Barb, trying to find her way around in the dark

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Our Wicked Wednesday theme for November is Light and Darkness. It seems particularly appropriate this Wednesday since most of North America “fell back” this weekend. Daylight savings time seems to be a love it or hate it thing for most Americans. But whether or not you’re a fan of daylight savings time, everyone seems to hate the actual time shift.

Here in New England we’re on the eastern edge of the Eastern Time Zone, which means it gets dark really early when we go off EDT. During the entire month of December in Boston the sun sets between 4:11 and 4:20 EST, less than half an hour later than Anchorage, Alaska, despite Boston being much farther south.

So there’s a movement and even pending legislation in our various state capitols (except for Connecticut, which has to stay in the same time as New York City due to the number of commuters) of going to permanent daylight savings time. But federal law only allows states to opt in or out of daylight savings time, like Arizona and Hawaii do, not to go to permanent daylight savings.

Another solution that gets floated is moving northern New England or even the bulk of New England to the Atlantic Time Zone, where we would stay on standard time year round. We’d join Puerto Rico and three Canadian provinces. We’re on the same time zone as them March through November anyway.

Joining a new time zone seems like a very big deal, but I do hate those dark, dark afternoons.

Wickeds, what do you think? Daylight savings, love it? Hate it? What’s your solution?

Edith/Maddie: As I have one son living in Puerto Rico and the other in Massachusetts, I say go for Atlantic time! The time shift puts me into something like jet lag, and I don’t like it. I’m not someone whose body knows how to sleep in, so when people say you get an extra hour of sleep, I never know what they’re talking about.

Jessie: If we were to change to the Atlantic time zone I would not be in the same one as two of my sons so I’d rather stay where we are! One of them goes running at the same time as me a couple times each week and one of my favorite things is to chat with him on the phone while we do so!

Generally, I adjust to time shifts quite easily. My husband and I went to China few years ago on a 9 day trip. It was a thirteen hour difference and neither of us really felt the impact of the shift until the day we were to leave. I just continue to go to bed at my regular time. If I wake up naturally an hour early I get up and enjoy an extra bit of time with a book before walking the dog. Within a couple of days my body adjusts to sleeping in until the regular hour and it is resolved until the clocks change again.

Julie: This is my time. I don’t mind the dark, once we’re through December it lightens up again. I’m not a morning person, so I drag during DST. All of that said, the switch is hard on us all. I’d be up for Atlantic time, though I think that would cement my night owl ways.

Liz: The early dark thing depresses me – I don’t love this time of year. It’s better since I stopped actually having to go to the office about five years ago – before that, it was leave in the dark and come home in the dark. Now with more control over my day it’s not as bad, but I would be up for the Atlantic time too.

Sherry: I used to love falling back, but I’m not so sure anymore. Monday night I fell asleep at nine which is crazy early for me. Then I was wide awake at 11 and read until after one, then tossed and turned the rest of the night. I hate springing forward and don’t like the thought of having to change time zone when I get the chance to travel to New England again. I used to go back and forth a lot. So I’m a just say no to the Atlantic Time Zone!

Barb: Jessie, I envy your lack of jet lag. I’ve been to Australia three times. I was fine going over and wrecked for three weeks coming back. I hate the early darkness. One of the things we love about going to Key West in January is that it’s so much farther west in the eastern timezone than Portland, Maine we get an extra hour of daylight right away.

The challenge of Atlantic time is who’s going with us? Maine, for sure. But as I wrote, Connecticut needs to be in the same time zone as New York due to all the commuters. Lots of people commute from New Hampshire and Rhode Island to Massachusetts. Vermont is farther west. But I’m all for five New England states going to Atlantic time and not doing daylight savings time. We’d be on the same time as the rest of the east coast March through November anyway.

Readers: Tell us what you think. Daylight savings time yay or nay?

Remembering Ramona DeFelice Long

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The Wickeds lost a friend on October 23rd. Ramona DeFelice Long was a F.O.W. (Friend of the Wickeds), a guest poster, and a commenter on the blog. She was a writer, editor, and writing teacher par excellence, and her talents for friendship and community-building were even greater. Ramona was a smart, funny, opinionated, generous woman who will be much missed throughout the writing community. Each of the Wickeds had a unique relationship with Ramona. Here are some of our memories, along with those of Wicked Accomplice alumna Kim Gray.

[image error]At Clare House about four year ago: KB Inglee, Edith, Ramona, and Kim

Edith: Ramona was a bright light in my life for the last decade since we met at the Seascape weekend workshop (where I also met Kim Kurth-Gray and Liz). Ramona made me laugh and made me think. She was a fierce proponent of women, and a political commenter who did not treat bullies and fools lightly. Her insightful editing vastly improved each of my Quaker Midwife Mysteries. Several times I was lucky enough to spend some days with her and a few other writers at a convent retreat house near Philadelphia, where we worked all day and told stories all evening. The seven AM sprint club she started a number of years ago begins my writing day in the best of ways, and the group continues, although in sadness. Ramona’s passing leaves a huge hole in my life and in the lives of so many.

[image error]Ramona at Seascape with S.W. Hubbard and Kim Gray.

Sherry: I too met Ramona at Seascape (a wonderful writers conference put on by Hallie Ephron, Roberta Isleib aka Lucy Burdette, and Susan Hubbard) in 2009 along with meeting Barb, Edith, Kim, and Liz. Ramona had such a great smile and sharp wit. I never realized how many times I think about her — it’s usually small things like when I heard the weather or Delaware or I was getting out one of my vintage tablecloths because Ramona collected them too. I thought of her again when I heard the news of Sean Connery passing because many people have said he’s the greatest Bond ever. But I love Daniel Craig as Bond. Ramona called him the Blonde Bond. She will be in my heart forever.

Jessie: Ramona was someone I had heard of long before I met her a few years ago at Crime Bake and so it felt as though I was encountering a friend from the first moment we were in the same physical space. She was vivacious, witty, direct and the sort of woman I always deeply admire. I wish I could have known her better.

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Kim: When I close my eyes I see Ramona sitting in her chair in the sunroom at Clare House, an old farm house we’d rent a few times a year. She’s deep in thought over the novel she’s working on, or watching the deer move slowly from the woods past the windows. People say “If those walls could talk,” but if they could, they’d not gotten a word in between the two of us. That was the main thing we had in common, she and I could talk for hours about anything and everything. We solved world problems, put together a stellar cast for the next adaptation of Rebecca, and fiercely defended our opinions {hers negative, mine positive} about Gone with the Wind. We traveled together, ate more crab cake lunches than I can count, and went on more retreats than I’d have thought possible. Ramona introduced me to the writing life.

She was an excellent teacher and knew how to encourage and get the best work out of writers with her insightful edits. A few months ago she sent me a card. It read ‘You Are Braver than You Think’, something she had often told me. If I am brave it is because I had her as an example.

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Julie: Kim, what a wonderful remembrance. Edith and Sherry, I envy you your Seascape memories. I wish I’d gone for so many reasons. I knew Ramona by crossing paths at conferences, and being her Facebook friend. One of my favorite memories was seeing her at the New Orleans Bouchercon, where she introduced me to her sister Annette. The sisters were a Malice last year (I think it was last year) as well. Ramona was very private, which I respect. When she stepped away from teaching a Guppies class, Kim connected us and I took over teaching it. Huge shoes to fill, but I try. Ramona was a talented writer, amazing teacher, fierce feminist and wonderful woman. May her memory be a blessing to us all, and a call to arms to do better writing and be better people.

[image error]A Seascape reunions of sorts at Crime Bake. Ramona is on the right.

Barb: I met Ramona at Seascape, too. We connected over our mutual love of short stories and Ruth Rendell. For years she used my book Clammed Up in her mystery classes as an example for how to set a ticking clock. I was so flattered by that. At the last Malice Domestic (that was actually held) Ramona, her sister Annette, Kim, all the Wickeds and others gathered in Jessie’s room after the banquet. Ramona and I ended up sitting on Jessie’s bed together. We talked for a long time. About what we were working on and what we were reading, as all writers do. But then we veered into more personal stuff. We talked about our granddaughters, our childhoods and our homes. I am so, so grateful that I will have that conversation always.

Liz: I love all these stories. I’d actually forgotten, Barb, that I first met Ramona at Seascape as well. Over the years we didn’t see each other a lot in person, but I spent some time with her at various Crime Bakes and Malices, and she was every bit as inspiring, fun and cool as she is online. In 2016 at Bouchercon, she and Kim and I snuck away for a coffee one morning and it was the highlight of the conference. (The picture below is from that coffee date.) She was such a special, warm person. That was the last time I saw her in person, but since then her posts on social media have been something I looked forward to pretty much daily. She had a way of making you feel connected and part of her inner circle, and her posts were always thought-provoking and sassy and so, well, Ramona. The loss of her is still shocking to me.

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Readers: Do you have memories of Ramona? If you do, we would love you to share them here.

In addition to her great friendship and support, Ramona left us her beautiful book, The Murderess of Bayou Rosa.

In the summer of 1920, the town of Bayou Rosa, Louisiana is in its twilight, but hope arrives with the construction of a new railroad depot. The brighter future is imperiled when a free-spirited local woman shoots her lover in the back, but won’t say why. Now, the town is faced with a legal and moral dilemma. With rows of new graves in the cemetery from a devastating world war and influenza epidemic, can a jury of twelve men vote to hang a woman they’ve seen grow up since birth?

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If you would like to purchase this fabulous book, you can do so here.

Reluctant Heroes and a #giveaway

by Becky Clark

Hi. Barb here filling in for Edith who’s out with hand surgery. Speedy recovery, Edith!

Today my, er Edith’s guest is Becky Clark. Take it away Becky!

Of all the tropes I like most about cozy mysteries, I think my favorite is the amateur status of the sleuth.

Moving houses as much as I did as a kid, I’ve always identified with the “fish out of water” comedies. There are a million of ‘em—and I’ve probably seen ‘em all—but these spring to mind:

Private BenjaminMy Cousin VinnyBigBack to the FutureEnchantedGroundhog DayBeverly Hills CopSchool of Rock

All of these main characters suddenly find themselves thrust into a completely different life from the one they were happily leading. But by the end, they’ve conquered, if not embraced, the unfamiliar and have made a new home for themselves in their strange new world, or learned something important to take back to their old life.

Just like amateur sleuths in cozy mysteries, at least the ones I write.

Because I have an affinity for these fish-out-of-water sad sacks, most of the sleuths in my cozies are reluctant heroes. They don’t want to investigate this crime. They don’t want to stick their nose in other people’s beeswax. They want to pretend it never happened.

At least at first.

But then they realize that justice won’t be served if they don’t get involved. The wrong person will languish in jail. The bad guy will skip off into the sunset unpunished and unrepentant. The previously unsullied family name will live forever besmirched.

They won’t be able to get back to their “normal” life until they’ve solved this mystery.

The sleuth in my Mystery Writer’s Mysteries is a mystery author who keeps having real-life mysteries drop in her lap when all she wants is to craft fictional mysteries. She has her moments of wanting to curl up under the covers with a gooey grilled cheese sandwich, but knows she has to figure out whodunit.

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In Puzzling Ink, the first in my brand-spankin-new Crossword Puzzle Mysteries, Quinn Carr has enough personal problems without finding a dead man face-down in his biscuits and gravy in the diner where she works. She’s happy to let the police investigate, at least up until her boss is arrested, throwing further chaos into her life.

I remember very clearly my genesis from reading mysteries to writing them. I was engrossed in a novel with a really kick-ass heroine and I thought, “Oh my. What would I do in that situation?”

Spoiler alert … it was nothing kick-ass.

It was more along the lines of eating grilled cheese under the covers.

But I found the question equally engrossing. How does someone with no police training solve a crime?

And the answer? The same way one writes about them … step by step, decision by decision, clue by clue.

Readers, what do you think about reluctant heroes? What is your favorite cozy trope? Do you think you could solve a crime? Comment and get a chance to win an ebook of Puzzling Ink! Follow the blog tour for more chances to win … and join us for the 24-Hour Launch Party for Puzzling Ink on Nov 3rd! Tons of prizes and fun! All the details at BeckyClarkBooks.com.

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[image error]Becky Clark

Award-winning author Becky Clark is the seventh of eight kids, which explains both her insatiable need for attention and her atrocious table manners. She likes to read funny books so it felt natural to write them too. She surrounds herself with quirky people and pets who end up as characters in her books. Readers say her books are “fast and thoroughly entertaining” with “witty humor and tight writing” and “humor laced with engaging characters” so you should “grab a cocktail and enjoy the ride.” Subscribe to her mailing list to apply to be part of her Review Crew and read her books before they’re published. She writes the Mystery Writers Mysteries, and the Crossword Puzzle Mysteries, among other things.

Becky’s website …. https://beckyclarkbooks.com/

Join Becky’s private group on Facebook … https://www.facebook.com/groups/beckysbookbuddies

Follow Becky at BookBub … https://www.bookbub.com/profile/becky-clark

Follow Becky on Amazon … https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004NQO14I

and at Goodreads … https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4730815.Becky_Clark

Guest-Carolyn Wilkins and a Giveaway!

Jessie: In New Hampshire where there are more leaves on the ground than on the trees.

I’m filling in for Edith today while she recovers from hand surgery. It is my pleasure to welcome Carloyn Wilkins to the blog . Over to you, Carolyn!

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INTRODUCING FESTIVE MAYHEM – By Carolyn Marie Wilkins

Writers are loners. We are perfectly content to sit alone with our computers while the rest of the world spins along without us. I am no exception in this respect. When I’m in the middle of a writing project, I become downright allergic to socializing! But when Kellye Garrett, Gigi Pandian and Walter Mosley announced they were forming a support group for crime writers of color, I joined immediately.  

Over 200 authors have joined the group since its formation in 2018.  Today, I’m excited to tell you about Festive Mayhem, a new short story collection featuring work by ten of our members.  These holiday-themed stories range in style from the classic cozies to suspense, police procedurals and thrillers. Here’s a thumbnail sketch of what you’ll find inside:

“The New Year’s Hex” by Carolyn Marie Wilkins. Carrie McFarland finds her New Year’s plans derailed when a psychic vision pulls the 1920s African American amateur sleuth into someone’s evil scheme.“Pipe Dreams” by S.G. Wong. In this hard-boiled Crescent City short story, infatuation and passion drive Minnie Chen straight into danger as she tries to best the City’s most glamorous private detective in a reimagined 1930s-era Chinese Los Angeles.“A Christmas Tip” by Elizabeth Wilkerson. A surprise Christmas bonus becomes too tempting for Philadelphia nursing assistant Brianna Byers to resist—even if accepting requires some skillful skirting of the law.“The Stranger in the House” by Stella Oni. This London House Mystery prequel stars Elizabeth Ojo, a Nigerian housekeeper at a posh guest house, who finds her Christmas intersecting with that of a mysterious resident in trouble.“What Lies Inside” by Kia Dennis. A tormented university professor falls deeper and deeper into a destructive obsession in this harrowing tale of love and longing.“A Pub, Bed & Breakfast & A Dead Body” by Forest Issac Jones. A dark past becomes the deadly present when North Carolina police detective Ike Coates and his intrepid young partner are tasked with determining the cause of a suspicious death.“A Deadly First” by Delia C. Pitts. Thanksgiving takes a fatal turn when New York private eye SJ Rook finds himself thrust into his first murder case in this darkly atmospheric tale of noir.“The Holiday Murder Mélange” by Myra Jolivet. This Sarah Doucette Jean-Louis short story follows the Creole P.I. around the San Francisco Bay Area on her quest to figure out who killed a man outside of her office.“Those Holiday Blues” by Jennifer J. Chow. Jasmine, aka “Jazz,” can’t escape the tragic past when an old boyfriend asks to meet on the anniversary of his mother’s death.“Holiday Holdup” by Paige Sleuth. In this Cozy Cat Caper Mystery Short, Imogene Little gets tangled up in a Christmas Eve bank robbery orchestrated by none other than Santa Claus himself.

When I read a story, I want to be taken into a different world.  I enjoy the experience of meeting people from places I have never been, and exploring through their eyes, new cultural perspectives and new ways of seeing things.  

Readers, what books, stories or articles written by authors of color have opened your eyes recently?  Leave a comment below to enter the drawing to receive a free e-copy of Festive Mayhem. 

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Carolyn Marie Wilkins is an author, a musician and a psychic medium.  She is the author of three mystery novels:  Death at a Séance, Melody for Murder and Mojo for Murder. She has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony and represented her country as a Jazz Ambassador for the U.S. State Department.  In addition, Carolyn maintains an active private practice as a psychic medium and Reiki healer.  

To find out more about Carolyn, visit her website: www.carolynwilkins.com

Write Where You Know

by Judy Penz Sheluk

Hi–Barb here, pitch hitting for Edith after her recent hand surgery. We wish her all the best.

My, er, Edith’s guest today is author Judy Penz Sheluk, who has an interesting take on some time-honored writing advice.

Take it away, Judy!

[image error]Writers are often given the advice to “write what you know,” which is all well and good, except that I write mysteries. And despite an over-active imagination, I’ve yet to murder someone, investigate a cold case, or solve a crime. So in my case, “write what you know” isn’t particularly good advice. But “write where you know,” that’s something altogether different.

When I first starting writing my Glass Dolphin cozy mystery series, many folks told me not to set my book in Canada. “Americans won’t read it,” they warned, expressions grim. “Louise Penny is the exception, not the rule.”

But I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada, and I’ve lived within two hours of that city, mostly in small towns, for all of my adult life. Add to the mix that I’ve never been much of a traveler (I don’t count a week in the Bahamas or the occasional writers’ conference as being a “traveler”) and I couldn’t imagine setting my book in some fictional U.S. town. After all, just like the people in them, every small town I’ve lived in has had its own distinct personality.

And so, being the optimistic dreamer that I’ve always been, I set the Glass Dolphin mysteries in Lount’s Landing, a fictionalized version of Holland Landing, where I’d lived for twenty years. Instead of the Holland River, the Landing (yes, Holland Landing folks refer to it as “the Landing”), I’ve got the Dutch River. Instead of neighboring Newmarket, I’ve got Marketville (though I did borrow its Main Street of indie shops and restaurants for Lount’s Landing).

[image error]Why Lount’s Landing, you might ask, and the answer is simple. When I first moved to the town in 1990, one of my first stops was the Holland Landing Public Library. Outside, there was a historical plaque commemorating Samuel Lount, who’d been hanged for treason in 1838. Fascinated, I researched Lount’s story. His history, and his hanging, is an integral part of The Hanged Man’s Noose, book 1 in the series.

In book 2, A Hole in One, Glass Dolphin antiques shop owners Arabella Carpenter and Emily Garland decide to sponsor a hole in one contest at a charity golf tournament in hopes of promoting the store. Unfortunately, finding a dead body in the woods has a way of mucking things up, but the golf course, and the third hole where the body is discovered, is based on Silver Lakes Golf Course in…you guessed it…Holland Landing (did I mention I have an overactive imagination?).

Where There’s A Will, book 3, wraps up the series with Emily getting married and house hunting, and Arabella and her ex-husband, Levon, hired to appraise the contents of an estate. Now, I’ve never been in real estate, but I’ve bought and sold enough houses to know the lingo and it was great fun to include some of that in the book:

Location, location, location! This rustic four-bedroom, two-bathroom Victorian charmer on desirable Walnut Street includes a generous garden for your green thumb and a high-ceilinged lower level with loads of potential. Put your own stamp on this one. Motivated vendor.

Emily had seen enough houses to know that “rustic charmer” translated to “needed serious renovations,” whereas the “generous garden for your green thumb” meant an overgrown, weed-infested plot of land, and the “lower level with loads of potential” was realtor speak for an unfinished basement.

And so that’s my take on “write where you know.” I’m going to miss writing about Lount’s Landing, though I expect Arabella, Levon, and Emily will continue to make guest appearances in my Marketville Mystery series. As for whether the decision to set the series in Canada was a mistake, I’ll let you be the judge. Here are the latest sales stats from Amazon for US and Canada:

US: 95%

Canada/Australia/UK: 5%

Readers: Do you enjoy books set in locations outside of the US?

About the book: Emily Garland is getting married and looking for the perfect forever home. When the old, and some say haunted, Hadley house comes up for sale, she’s convinced it’s “the one.” The house is also perfect for reality TV star Miles Pemberton and his new series, House Haunters. Emily will fight for her dream home, but Pemberton’s pockets are deeper than Emily’s, and he’ll stretch the rules to get what he wants.

While Pemberton racks up enemies all around Lount’s Landing, Arabella Carpenter, Emily’s partner at the Glass Dolphin antiques shop, has been hired to appraise the contents of the estate, along with her ex-husband, Levon. Could the feuding beneficiaries decide there’s a conflict of interest? Could Pemberton?

Things get even more complicated when Arabella and Levon discover another will hidden inside the house, and with it, a decades-old secret. Can the property stay on the market? And if so, who will make the winning offer: Emily or Miles Pemberton?

Find the Glass Dolphin Mysteries on Amazon : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08KFLQ6KH

[image error]Photo courtesy of Ontarioplaques.com

About the author: A former journalist and magazine editor, Judy Penz Sheluk is the author of two mystery series: the Glass Dolphin Mysteries and the Marketville Mysteries. Her short crime fiction appears in several collections, including The Best Laid Plans and Heartbreaks & Half-truths, which she also edited.

Judy is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Crime Writers of Canada, where she serves as Chair on the Board of Directors. Find her at http://www.judypenzsheluk.com.

Wicked Wednesday-Book Launch Rituals

Jessie: In New Hampshire, thinking about book launches.

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All the Wickeds have launched enough books at this point to have developed some routines and rituals around the launch of new books and also new series. So, friends, how do you go about giving your work a proper send off into the wider world?

Edith/Maddie: First of all, congratulations to Barb and Jessie on yesterday’s book releases! When I have a new book out, I formerly would have an in-person launch party at Jabberwocky Books, my fabulous local independent bookstore. But that’s out now. I launched two books in September with all kinds of new rituals. I “appeared” at a bookstore in Pittsburgh with Ellen Byron (who lives in Los Angeles), which wouldn’t have been possible before. And I was the guest on Linda McHenry’s Writer’s Voice podcast talking about both books. Rituals that remained the same were guest blog posts, Facebook parties, book giveaways, and getting emotional seeing a box of my own books show up, even though these were releases #22 and #23 for me.

Julie: Edith, you’ve always been good about celebrating each book. Honestly, I don’t have a book launch ritual beyond a Wicked post. At least a public one. Personally, I do something to celebrate, like getting a cupcake, or having dinner with my family. I will never get tired of the thrill of holding my new novel in my hands. It’s still such a thrill.

Sherry: I’m so happy to have two more books to read — congratulations, Barb and Jessie! I don’t have a must do ritual either. I usually try to set up a few blog posts. I’ve been very lucky to have people who reach out and ask me to do events. I have to give a big shout out to Larissa Ackerman, Communication Specialist, at Kensington and the rest of the Kensington team for working hard to make the launch of From Beer to Eternity a success. Launching a new series during a pandemic is a scary proposition, but the Kensington team went above and beyond.

Liz: When Witch Hunt came out this summer, I’d actually planned to have a huge party with my friend the crystal shop owner, tarot readers and other cool things. Of course, COVID happened so that was out. Instead, I celebrated with a couple video conversations, a blog tour, and social giveaways, which is pretty much my usual MO. Like Sherry, Kensington was so awesome helping me launch this new series as well! Thanks Larissa and team!

Barb: For the last three years my Maine Clambake Mystery has been released at the end of December when everyone is busy with their own lives. Therefore, I haven’t done any kind of gathering, which suits me fine. I have done my own blog tour and sometimes an additional one arranged by Kensington. For me the biggest rituals of book launch week are sending out my newsletter, packaging up the books for the winners of blog giveaways, and keeping the new book’s page up-to-date on my website by adding quotes from reviews and links to blog posts. Also checking sales numbers obsessively. (LOL)

Jessie: Thanks, Edith! It still seems like a dream every time! I seem to have really varied the book launches. Sometimes I go all out and throw a party of some kind with themed food and decor. Other times I have had launches of a more low-key variety at a ocal bookstore. Lately, I have been celebrating book releases by doing Facebook Live events. I am really grateful that I have developed some experience with that before the pandemic made it sort of necessary! But no matter what else happens, I always celebrate launch day with a glass of champagne!

Readers, how do you celebrate the conclusion of projects or letting go of something important to you?

Happy Release Day Jessie & Barb and a Giveaway!

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Barb: I was thrilled when I discovered Jessie and I would have the same pub day for our next releases. Jessie brings us the fourth book in her Beryl and Edwina Mysteries series, Murder Comes to Call. I’m releasing the second book in my Jane Darrowfield series, Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door. I’m a huge fan of Beryl and Edwina, so I’m excited to have this new book.

Jessie: I was delighted to have the same pub date too! I don’t think we have had books released so closely together since our very first were each in August of 2010! I am eager to get to chat with you about what you have in store with your latest!

Barb: That is so funny. I remember that first release week. Pat Remick was President of Sisters in Crime New England and she ran from one launch to the other. I remember her raving about your giveaway matchboxes.

One thing we noticed about our current books, our characters have taken on sleuthing as a business, though in very different times and places. Beryl and Edwina run a private inquiry agency in post World War I (they don’t know it’s I) England. Jane works as a hired “professional busybody” in contemporary Cambridge, MA. Jessie, how do Beryl and Edwina go about attracting clients?

Jessie: Since they are private investigators they really sort of fell into the first case they solved. As the series has gone on that has changed. By book 2 they are hired by the local vicar and in this new release, they are actually approached by a government official to lend a discreet hand. How does Jane go about building her business?

Barb: Wow! That makes me even more eager to read Murder Comes to Call. Jane gets most of her business from referrals from satisfied clients. Her business is hard to understand so people who’ve experienced it are the best people to send new clients along. She also has a discreet sign at the end of her garden walk that reads, “Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody. Office hours M-W-F 8:00 A.M. to Noon. No job too small.”

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What are some of Beryl and Edwina’s proven sleuthing techniques?

Jessie: One of the things that serves them best is their sort of two-pronged approach to the task. Beryl is all for breezily striding ahead and poking her nose in where it doesn’t belong. She generally gets away with it, in part because she is a celebrity and folks are awed by her presence. Edwina, on the other hand, is someone who understands village politics, alliances and gossip. She able to put clues together through a lifetime of keen observation and local knowledge. I think of your Jane as somewhere in between these ladies in terms of her personality and approach. How does she get to the bottom of her own cases?

Barb: Of course Jane has technology available that Beryl and Edwina can only dream of and she does spend time gleaning information from the internet. But Jane’s best approach is her ability to take the bull by the horns and have difficult conversations with people. She finds that very often her clients’ inability to speak up and speak frankly spirals into misunderstandings and hard feelings that can be easily sorted when they are discussed.

Tell me about the case Beryl and Edwina pursuing in the new book.

Jessie: This one was particularly fun! I love it when my research turns up historical tidbits that really resonate with me and this book was no exception. I was dead chuffed when I discovered that the 1921 UK census was taken at just the time I wanted to set the story. So, I had the opportunity to explore concerns about private information, posterity, the roles and rights of women at the time and prejudice against the Irish. Beryl and Edwina are hired to investigate the theft of a batch of census forms their fellow villagers filled out. They end up pursuing an investigation of murder whilst they are at it!

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What is Jane up to in her latest adventure? I am always curious about what she could be investigating when I see your intriguing and delightful covers!

Barb: Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door begins when Jane’s new neighbor approaches her with a plea: “I want you to figure out if I’m crazy.” Jane is hesitant because she’s not in a position to assess anyone’s mental health. But after the woman promises to seek professional help if Jane finds no other cause for her symptoms, Jane takes the case. She’s beginning to make progress when her client disappears. Jane has to work against the clock with her friend Detective Tony Alvarez to find the missing woman.

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What aspects of Beryl and Edwina’s characters make them successful sleuths?

Jessie: What a great question, Barb! And one I thought about whilst developing the series idea. Beryl is up for most anything and is always eager to try her hand at something new. But more than that, she has been lonelier than she realized. Her life of adventure has been rather devoid of intimate friendships and she finds that she is surprisingly eager to make the best go of a joint venture with a companion. Her gumption seems like her best weapon but I think really it is is her motivation to make a success of it that she can rely upon the most.

As to Edwina, it is her powers of observation and her reputation as a woman of good breeding and better sense that assist her when following up leads or questioning suspects. She knows when to press, when to back off and when to let Beryl take over. But in the end, I would say her strength is just the same as Beryl’s. She is delighted by the notion of growing her business, and thus her life. She is a surplus woman and as such is already experiencing a journey that was not one she would have been raised to expect. She is shocked to discover how much being an independent businesswomen pleases and challenges her and she is completely dedicated to making a triumph of it.

What about Jane? She has already been a success in her career before retirement. Does she bring the same skills and characteristics to her investigation business? Is she developing new ones?

Barb: Jane is my updated, American Jane Marple. When the series opens with Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody, my Jane has just retired. I always say if Miss Marple learned everything about life by observing the villagers of St. Mary Mead, Jane Darrowfield gained her knowledge of human beings as she climbed the executive ranks at a major telecommunications corporation. But you’re right that running a department of a company is not the same as working as the sole proprietor of a business. Through the series, Jane has had to learn to reach out for help and involve others when she gets in a tough spot.

Readers: What do you think? Would you be a successful sleuth? What aspects of your personality and background would contribute to your success? Leave a comment to be entered in the random selection to win a copy of each of these newly relesed books!