Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 151

Wickeds Go to Malice

Edith here, excited about Malice Domestic 31!

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All the Wickeds are off in North Bethesda at the most important annual conference for the traditional mystery, which defines all our books, whether cozy or historical. So here’s where we’ll be. If you’re at the conference, we hope you stop by and say hello!

Friday:

10-11:45 Julie – Malice-Go-Round

4-4:50 Edith – Making History: The Agatha Best Historical Novel Nominees

4-4:30 Sherry – Signing Deadly Southern Charm anthology

5-5:30 Edith – Opening Ceremonies.

9-10 pm Edith – Signing Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible anthology

Saturday:

10-11:50 ALL – Signing at Kensington event

11-11:50 Julie – Panel – Who Ya Callin’ Old: Senior Sleuth

2-2:30 Edith, Julie – Author signing

2-2:45 Liz – Panel – Paws on the Case: Pet Related Mysteries

3-3:30 Liz – Author signing

3-3:50

Sherry – Panel – Juggling Murder: Multiple Series AuthorsJessie – Panel – England Through the YearsBarb – Panel – Detecting as a Second Act

4-4:30 Sherry, Jessie, Barb – Author Signing

7-9:30 ALL – Agatha Awards Banquet

Sunday:

When it Takes a Village: Lea Wait

Edith, posting from Silver Spring, Maryland the day before Malice starts! Please join me in welcoming back a woman with amazing strength of character and will – and talent, too – the lovely Lea Wait.

Thanks for the invitation to be here!

It’s the Merry Month of May, and I‘m celebrating the
publication of THREAD ON ARRIVAL, the eighth book in my Mainely Needlepoint
series, centered around a small diverse cast of characters who do custom
needlepoint (and identify and restore antique needlepoint) in the working
waterfront community of Haven Harbor, Maine.

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As do most small communities Haven Harbor takes care
of its own. One of those is Ike Hamilton, a lifelong resident of the town. Ike
was born with an intellectual disability. His parents cared for him when they
were alive, but they’re gone now, the house they lived in was condemned, and
Ike lives in the garage his father had equipped as a workshop, with water and
heat. He survives on disability payments and by redeeming bottles and cans.
Many people in Haven Harbor save their empties for Ike, who makes regular
rounds to collect them. Some people share their meals with him. The postmaster
drives him to the redemption center every Saturday. And the local police keep
an eye on Ike on cold winter days.

In return, Ike keeps an eye on everyone in town. He
knows more than most people imagine about what is happening in Haven Harbor,
although he sometimes misinterprets what he sees. Exchanging gossip for bottles
and food is his currency. Ike’s a kind man, very conscious of what is right and
what is wrong, so when he meets Leo, a teenaged runaway, he offers to share his
home with the boy.

And because he does that, Leo is the logical suspect
when Ike is found, murdered.

Will Haven Harbor embrace the young newcomer? What
secrets did Ike know that might have led someone to kill him? Mainely
Needlepoint protagonist Angie Curtis decides to find out, especially after her
fellow needlepointer, Dave Percy, takes a special interest in Leo. But, then,
Dave has secrets, too.

Readers: Who have you known who keeps track of goings on in your town or community?

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BIO:  Maine author Lea Wait has had 27 books published, including the Mainely Needlepoint series, the Shadows Antique Print Mystery series, and the Mainely Murder series. She also writes historical novels for both adults and children. For more information about Lea and her books, friend her on Facebook and check her website, www.leawait.com, which includes links to prequels of many of her books, including THREAD ON ARRIVAL. 

Wicked Wednesday: One Success

Edith here, welcoming one and all to the month of May!

Our theme for the month is Success. To start off this set of  Wicked Wednesdays pick one of your characters – protagonist or other – and tell us about one important success they had, large or small, whether personal or in their mystery-solving activities. Don’t forget to mention which book this happened in.

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Photo from Morguefile.com

[image error]Sherry: Sarah’s biggest success is starting her life over as a single woman and starting a business from scratch. That may sound like two things but they are so intertwined that they really can’t be separated. The first book, Tagged for Death, is what sets Sarah on her path to starting her garage sale business and navigating single life.

Liz: A huge success for Maddie James, my protagonist in Cate Conte’s Cat Cafe Mysteries, is coming home to Daybreak Island and helping her grandfather save his family home. It’s something she never thought she’d have to do, but when the situation arises she faces it with strength and determination. And this sets her on the course of moving home and starting her cat cafe business.

[image error][image error]Julie: In my own life, I believe strongly in folks defining success for themselves. For that reason, all of my characters grow, and have their own versions of success. Sully Sullivan, for example, has success in A Christmas Peril because she makes amends with her ex-husband. Lilly Jayne has success when she hosts a party in Pruning the Dead, the first one since her husband died. Neither of these successes are huge in the scope of life, but they are leaps for the characters.

[image error]Edith: For my late nineteenth-century midwife Rose Carroll, her successes come from facing down society and even her own church in following her vocation – helping women birth their babies – and avocation – solving crimes in her town. Actually, this holds true for my other protagonists, too. They work really hard to make a go of their businesses while still trying to restore justice to their communities. And both Robbie Jordan and Mac Almeida are pretty good at it!

[image error]Jessie: My protagonists in the Beryl and Edwina series are really different kinds of people. For reserved Edwina finding new ways to make a place for herself in a world where the rules have changed has been an enormous challenge. She succeeds at this by stepping into a new chapter of her life as a private enquiry agent. Beryl, who is a renowned adventuress, has an altogether different way of measuring success. She has benefited greatly over the years from her fame as a rule-breaking, record-setter but her rattling round lifestyle has cost her a great deal too. The act of settling down in a small village and developing ties to the community provides her with some much desired growth and a sense of belonging that she comes to consider her greatest adventure yet.

[image error]Barb: For Julia Snowden in the Maine Clambake Mysteries, coming home and finding a place in the small town where she grew up but never felt at home is a major success. For Jane Darrowfield in Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody, finding a vocation she can excel at after her retirement is a success.

Readers: What’s one important large or small success you’ve had?

 

Deadly Southern Charm Anthology

I was so excited to be asked to write a short story for the Central Virginia Chapter of  Sisters in Crime. In my story “Country Song Gone Wrong” Sarah Winston goes to Virginia to help run a yard sale she really, really doesn’t want to do. It is one of eighteen stories by a group of wonderful authors.  I’m giving away a copy to someone who leaves a comment.

[image error]How did Deadly Southern Charm come be?

We are all members of Sisters in Crime – Central Virginia, and this is our third anthology. For the first two anthologies in the Virginia is for Mysteries series, we partnered with another Sisters in Crime chapter, Mysteries by the Sea.

Deadly Southern Charm is a mystery anthology. The stories had to have a female sleuth and be set in a locale in the southern United States. Our editors for this project are Mary Burton and Mary Miley.

The authors are Frances Aylor, Mollie Cox Bryan, Lynn Cahoon, J.A. Chalkley, Stacie Giles, Barb Goffman, Libby Hall, Bradley Harper, Sherry Harris, Maggie King, Kristin Kisska, Samantha McGraw, K.L. Murphy, Genilee Swope Parente, Deb Rolfe, Rod Sterling, S.E. Warwick, and Heather Weidner.

  Tell us about your story and where it is set.

 Mollie: My story is “Mourning Glory” and it’s set in a fictional town. Victoria Town is based on several small Virginia towns, especially Staunton, which has lovely Victorian homes and celebrates with “Victorian Days” each year.

 Heather: My story is “Art Attack,” and it’s set in the Shockoe Bottom area of Richmond, Virginia. I write where I know. All of my stories and novels are set in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Frances: My story is “The Girl in the Airport.” It’s set in the Atlanta airport, which I have traveled through many times.

Kristin: My story, “Unbridled” is set in an equestrian riding center in South Carolina’s Lowcountry.

Genilee: “Who Killed Billy Joe,” is set in New Iberia, Louisiana, whose residents are baffled that such a popular figure would be bludgeoned, shot and stabbed.

J.A.: My story is “Keepsakes,” and it is set in Dinwiddie, Virginia. It centers around a forty year old murder that occurred on the banks of Lake Chesdin.

How did you choose the setting for your story?

Mollie: I’ve been watching a lot of “Victoria” on PBS. Lol. And I thought about the rich history of Virginia and how some towns really take advantage of it in delightful ways. Hence Victoria Town, which is a pristinely saved Victorian Town that capitalizes on its history.

 Heather: I’ve lived in Virginia all my life, and I think it’s the perfect setting for mysteries. I live near the capital Richmond, and I’m a car ride away from the cities, beach, or mountains. I love to share the history, recreational areas, museums, and wonderful restaurants in the Commonwealth, and there’s always an interesting place for a murder or a caper.

Frances: I wanted the story to be a prequel to my thriller Money Grab. In the thriller, Robbie is a wife, mother and career woman. In the story, Robbie is a college student who heads to Europe for the summer to escape an unfaithful boyfriend. In the airport she meets an older woman dealing with an unfaithful husband.

Kristin: The equestrian center was critical to my story, but I set it in South Carolina’s coastal area purely because I’m enchanted by the region with the live old oak trees dripping with Spanish moss, the palmetto trees, the Southern hospitality, and yes, even the no-see-ums.

Genilee: I lived in Lafayette, Louisiana and worked for the mayor there for three years. I love the culture of that area. New Iberia is close to Lafayette, but a smaller town, which I wanted for purposes of this plot.

J.A.: I’m a native Virginian, and I grew up in a rural farming community. Southern charm is a real thing, but often if you dig beyond the sweet smiles and lemonade, there are dark secrets lurking. Things whispered about at Sunday socials, but never spoken of beyond family and close friends.

What was the first story/book that you had published and how long did the writing/editing/publishing part take?

 Mollie: My first novel was “Scrapbook of Secrets.” It took about four months to write and another month of rewrites. A few months later, I had my first books deal with Kensington.

 Heather: My first, published short story, “Washed up,” appeared in the Sisters in Crime anthology, Virginia is for Mysteries. It gave me my first writing credit, and I learned so much from the other authors. I love being part of anthologies and working with so many talented authors. It took me about three months to write, edit, and my story.

Frances: My first published book was Money Grab. It took about five years to write, edit and publish the book.

Kristin: Though my first work of fiction was a suspense novel, my first published work was my story, “The Sevens” in the Bouchercon anthology, MURDER UNDER THE OAKS.  From starting to draft to finally holding the trade paperback book in my hands, the process took about ten months.  Publishing is slow!

Genilee: Twist of Fate is the first book of The Fate Series. It took my mother four months to write the first draft. It then took me six months to edit/rewrite, then find a publisher and get it on the shelf.

J.A.: My first published story was, Bikes, Books and Berries. It was part of the Virginia is for Mysteries Vol II mystery anthology. It took about six months to write and rewrite before submission.

  Sisters in Crime – Central Virginia has a detailed marketing campaign for this anthology. Tell us about what you’re involved in and what you’ve learned so far.

 Heather: For Deadly Southern Charm, the anthology team/chapter leaders brainstormed the tasks that it would take to put together an anthology. I am the social media chair, and I’m responsible for the chapter website, social media sites, social media campaigns, and announcements. I love working with anthology projects because I learn so much from the other authors. This year, we had a marketing boot camp and a social media workshop. This is our chapter’s third anthology, and I think the team learns what works and doesn’t work over time. We have a marketing and events calendar to track our in-person events, Facebook parties, and blog tours. With so many authors and our editors, we have quite the social media reach when we post, share, and comment.

Frances: As president of Sisters in Crime – Central Virginia, I have been thrilled with the enthusiastic response of our authors to the marketing of the anthology. We have chairmen handling publicity, events, getting our book “on the shelf,” getting reviews, and handling social media. These ladies have done an amazing job of taking ownership of these committees and getting the membership involved. After an initial brainstorming session, we opened our updating meeting to the membership as a Marketing Bootcamp and Social Media 101, so other members could see what was involved in marketing. We also sent out detailed minutes to the membership so they would have a list of the various resources we’ve used. I’ve learned a lot about social media and blogging.

Kristin: DEADLY SOUTHERN CHARM is my second Sisters In Crime-Central Virginia anthology. I’ve learned so much about the editing process, the pre-launch work, planning a launch party, and promoting it at local book festivals and conferences.  But by far, my favorite activity is discussing my work with book clubs!

Genilee: We are all working together on various projects headed up by a few brave souls in charge of certain aspects of marketing such as social media, events and publicity. Anything you learn during a process like this benefits you in marketing your own work.

J.A.: This is my second Sisters In Crime-Central Virginia anthology. It has been a wonderful learning experience. From the submission process to the launch of the book. I’ve learned a great deal about the business end of writing, especially marketing.

What is your favorite thing about this anthology?

 Mollie: So far, it’s the cover. I’ve not read it year. But I’m so eager! What a rich subject area, right?

 Heather: I love the cover. I also am impressed with all the talent and the variety of stories. There is something for everyone here, and you’ll definitely get a flavor of the south.

 Frances: My favorite thing is how much we all worked together to make this happen. Our two editors spearheaded the entire project and selected participating stories. Each author has been so generous with her time and talents to make this anthology a success.

Kristin: Honestly, they had me at *Southern*. Some of my favorite novels have been set in the South, and I jumped at the chance to whip up a mystery deserving of the title, DEADLY SOUTHERN CHARM!

Genilee: Connecting with other talented mystery writers has been a privilege and delight.

J.A.: I have to agree with Heather. The cover is beautiful. I think it sets the perfect tone for the book. I’ve enjoyed working with my fellow Sisters In Crime. Everyone has brought great creative energy to the project.

AUTHORS

Frances Aylor, CFA combines her investing experience and love of travel in her financial thrillers. MONEY GRAB is the first in the series.  www.francesaylor.com

Mollie Cox Bryan is the author of cookbooks, articles, essays, poetry, and fiction.  An Agatha Award nominee, she lives in Central Virginia.  www.molliecoxbryan.com

Lynn Cahoon is the NYT and USA Today author of the best-selling Tourist Trap, Cat Latimer and Farm-to-Fork mystery series. www.lynncahoon.com

 A. Chalkley is a native Virginian. She is a writer, retired public safety communications officer, and a member of Sisters in Crime.

Stacie Giles, after a career as a political scientist, linguist, and CIA analyst, is now writing historical cozies with a twist.  Her first short story is in honor of her grandfather who was a policeman in Memphis in the 1920s.

 Barb Goffman has won the Agatha, Macavity, and Silver Falchion awards for her short stories, and is a twenty-three-time finalist for US crime-writing awards.www.Barbgoffman.com

Libby Hall is a communication analyst with a consulting firm in Richmond, Virginia.  She is also a blogger, freelance writer, wife, and mother of two.

 Bradley Harper is a retired Army pathologist.  Library Journal named his debut novel, A KNIFE IN THE FOG, Debut of the Month for October 2018, and is a finalist for the 2019 Edgar Award for Best First Novel by an American author. www.bharperauthor.com

Sherry Harris is the Agatha Award-nominated author of the Sarah Winston Garage Sale mystery series and is the president of Sisters in Crime. www.sherryharrisauthor.com

Maggie King penned the Hazel Rose Book Group mysteries. Her short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries and 50 Shades of Cabernet anthologies. www.maggieking.com

Kristin Kisska is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime, and programs chair of the Sisters in Crime – Central Virginia chapter. www.kristinkisska.com

Samantha McGraw has a love of mysteries and afternoon tea. She lives in Richmond with her husband and blogs at Tea Cottage Mysteries.www.samanthamcgraw.com

 K.L. Murphy is a freelance writer and the author of the Detective Cancini Mysteries.  She lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband, four children, and two dogs.www.Kellielarsenmurphy.com

Genilee Swope Parente has written the romantic mystery The Fate Series with her mother F. Sharon Swope. The two also have several collections of short stories. www.swopeparente.com

Deb Rolfe primarily writes mystery novels. This is her first published short story. She and her husband enjoy life in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

 Ronald Sterling is the author of six books and draws upon his colorful and varied life experience as a U.S. Airman, saloonkeeper, private detective, realtor, and New Jersey mayor.

S.E. Warwick, in the last century earned a bachelor’s degree in American Studies. Ever since, she has been trying to decipher the American enigma.

Heather Weidner is the author of the Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries.  She has short stories in the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 SHADES OF CABERNET and TO FETCH A THIEF.  She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and Jack Russell terriers.  www.heatherweidner.com

EDITORS

 Mary Burton is a New York Times, USA Today and Kindle best-selling author.  She is currently working on her latest suspense. www.maryburton.com

Mary Miley is a historian and writer with 14 nonfiction books and 5 mystery novels to her credit. www.marymileytheobald.com

  SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LethalLadiesWrite/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LethalLadiesCVA?lang=en

Website: https://www.sistersincrimecentralvirginia.com/anthologies

Readers: Do you like books set in the South? Or just say hi for a chance to win Deadly Southern Charm.

Best Historical Novel Nominees

Edith here, delighted to welcome four awesome colleagues.

This year’s nominees for the Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel agreed to join me on the blog and answer a couple of questions. I am honored to have Turning the Tide included in this brilliant group! The other authors are Rhys Bowen for Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding, L.A. Chandlar for The Gold Pawn, Sujata Massey for Widows of Malabar Hill, and Victoria Thompson for Murder on Union Square. They are all fabulous, well-researched books and I hope you read every single one of them.

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So let’s get started. Ladies (in reverse alphabetical order), what bit of research for this book surprised you the most or was the most fun?

Victoria: Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. In this case, I had great research thrust upon me, and the result is the plot of Murder on Union Square!  In a previous book, I had mentioned that when my protagonists, Frank Malloy and Sarah Brandt, finally were able to marry (after only 17 books!), they could adopt Sarah’s ward, Catherine. One of my fans, who is an attorney, sent me a long fan letter explaining why this would not be possible. You see, I had introduced Catherine’s previously-unknown parents in an earlier book, and by the end of that book they were both dead. I thought this cleared the way for adoption, since Catherine was now an orphan. My attorney-fan explained, however, that the law considers a woman’s husband to be the father of her children, no matter any evidence to the contrary. Because Catherine’s mother was married to another man at the time Catherine was conceived, the law considered him the father of her child, and since that man was still alive, Frank and Sarah could not adopt Catherine. In fact, this man had every right to obtain custody of the child. For about thirty seconds, I was in a panic, until I realized that resolving this situation could be the plot of my next book, and so it became.  When Catherine’s legal father turns up dead, Frank is charged with his murder because who had a better motive? So this was both a surprise and a lot of fun to resolve. I love my fans!

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Edith: When the timing of Quaker Midwife Mystery #3 logically fell in the fall, I realized 1888 was a presidential election year. I virtually (and maybe actually…) rubbed my hands at the chance to address women’s suffrage. The places research will take you! We’ve all seen suffragists in the next century wearing light blue. In Rose Carroll’s day the sashes they wore were sunflower yellow, the color of hope. Women (even though they couldn’t vote for any office other than School Committee in Massachusetts) baked huge Election Cakes (like a big flat fruitcake) and offered pieces outside the polls to entice voters to their party. Women got the right to vote in Wyoming Territory in 1869. In 1890, Wyoming became the 44th state and the first state to have full voting rights for women. And so on. I brought Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Amesbury in the book to rally the women in the protest on Election Day. I don’t know that she actually ever came here – but she easily might have.

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Sujata: My favorite part of researching The Widows of Malabar Hill was blending real places in early 20th century Bombay with my fictional narrative. I always start this work at home in Baltimore with photocopies of old maps that have the British street names. I’d arbitrarily placed the fictitious law firm where Perveen works at No. 3 Bruce Street, located a small street once full of law firms, that the city government renamed after independence. When I met up with the Parsi woman lawyer who had kindly offered to take me around to old sites relating to Parsis and the legal professional, she said, “You know, I used to work at a very old family law firm in Homi Modi Street. It’s a very historic building dating from the 19th century. When she led me around the corner and I saw the faint paint lettering that said “Bruce Street,” I got a special tingling in my body. Then she led me straight to No. 3, I nearly passed out. Life continued to imitate art when we had tea on the second floor of the building with the firm’s managing director—a very charming and capable woman lawyer!

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L.A.: I have taken tours, read all the books I can get my hands on about Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, and I’ve watched and listened to a ton of radio broadcasts and archives about his city hall. But the most interesting and surprising is how many eye witness accounts and stories I get from friends and readers! He was mayor of New York for three terms from 1934-1945. But people from all over the country have fun stories about him including my dad who lived in Michigan as a young child, and he still remembered La Guardia’s screechy voice over the radio when he’d read the funny papers while the newspapers were on strike. Another friend’s mother received an award right from La Guardia when she was about twelve for winning an essay contest on fire prevention. She still had the certificate and medal! I gather those little gems and slip them into my books because that’s the kind of gold that makes an era or a person come alive versus what you might read in history books. Especially the funny stories, La Guardia was a hoot. Sometimes the humor of the Thirties can be overlooked and he was hilarious.

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Also, the most FUN I’ve had with research is going to speakeasies around New York City (suffering for the cause;-). My favorite was a monthly party in an old speakeasy in midtown where you had to dress up in the Twenties and Thirties style to get in. It was like going back in time! Everywhere I looked there were suspenders and fedoras, flappers, one gal was wearing a white gown like Ginger Rogers. Everyone was sipping cocktails from white coffee-mugs – Prohibition style – and learning little dance steps to the live band. It was magic. I’m actually hoping to have my next book launch for The Pearl Dagger in August at a speakeasy.

Rhys: This book didn’t actually require much research for me. It takes place mainly at an English stately home, a situation with which I’m quite familiar. My husband comes from an upper class British family and we stay with his sister at her fifteenth century manor house every summer. I have met older family members who told tales about the butler and various scandals. I also used to live in a large, drafty country house so I could easily put myself in Georgie’s place.

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What was most fun was making Georgie go through what was required in those days when marrying a Catholic. The pressure to convert, having to agree that children will be raised Catholic and those terrifying priests. It was probably quite realistic that a Polish priest could be bribed by a princess with the offer of a good meal!

Next question: Four of us write in more than one era. How did you pick the other era (or eras) and was it daunting to research a whole new time period? L.A., if you were to write about another time than the 1930s, which would you pick?

Rhys: I have written in several eras. My Molly Murphy books take place in early 1900s New York City. My big stand alone novels take place in WWII and most recently with The Victory Garden, in WWI. Everything in the first half of the Twentieth Century, which is fascinating territory for me. However, I have just completed my next stand-alone novel that will feature Queen Victoria. That was a step outside my comfort zone and  did require a lot of research, (including spending a summer in Nice–such hardships we authors undergo).

L.A.: I would love to research some of the artistic areas of NYC and Paris in the late 1880s and early 1900s. All forms of art are really important to me, and you’ll see art as a backdrop to the Art Deco Mystery books. I’m also tinkering with a stand-alone mystery thriller that is both modern day and the early 1980s. Not so much for the love of researching that era –because I was there, I lived it—but because I have a lot to say through old memories and an idea for a good mystery that popped into my head one day.

Sujata: I started out writing fiction set in my current time and location—1990s Japan. I was a journalist in my twenties who thought I could only write accurately about a place and time I was experiencing. When I got older, it was not so important to me to be in hot spots chronicling youth culture. I was choosing to read a lot more historical fiction, a genre I had fallen in love with as a little girl reading books like A Little Princess and Little House in the Big Woods.  I wanted to continue being a writer of fiction for adults—but I wanted both to escape back in time, and to share things about the past that aren’t widely known (the journalist inside me would not go away!) I decided to write books set in India during the waning years of British rule, when Indians began secretly gathering together to figure out ways to take their country back for themselves. I especially wanted to write about this turbulent, divided country from a woman’s viewpoint.

I fixed on the 1920s because this was a period when there really were two women lawyers at work in India, and they had the challenge of trying to help voiceless people like women and children who really had the laws stacked against them. At the same time, there were delightful cultural elements I could share—the old riding clubs, hotels, furniture, cigarettes and cocktails. India at this time had an interesting mix of local tradition and international pizzaz.

Edith: Ooh. My other series are currently contemporary, so the dauntingness comes only from researching a new topic in the late nineteenth century, which I really enjoy. As for writing in yet another historical period, a new series idea popped into my brain recently. I found a photograph of Ruth, my maternal grandmother (the little smiling teetotalling grandma when I knew her), in her early twenties sitting outside on a rock with a rifle across her lap. I learned from a cousin that Ruth lived in Portland, Oregon before marrying and moving to Oakland, California. I also know that Dorothy, my father’s mother – the taller, more reserved one who enjoyed cocktails and her cigarette in a holder – also passed through Portland at the same time. Don’t be surprised if you see a new set of stories one of these years featuring the DR Agency for Ladies in the post-war, post-flu epidemic, and newly enfranchised West of about 1919. One PI who can shoot and another who can drive and fix automobiles (which Dorothy could), both devoted to helping abused or troubled women! As with the late 1880s, there were SO many changes going on in the culture at that time. Layer on the western US, where I grew up, and I think it’s going to be fun.

Victoria: I’ve told my story many times, so most people know that the staff at my publisher, Berkley, came up with the original concept for the Gaslight Mysteries:  a mystery series set in turn-of-the-century New York City with a midwife for the heroine.  I chose to start the series in 1896 because Theodore Roosevelt was the police commissioner then and many interesting things were happening in the city. When I decided to write a second series, my then-editor, Ginjer Buchanan, suggested I research the early 1900s, which turned out to be just as interesting.  I chose to start the Counterfeit Lady series in 1917 because that was the year the suffragists demonstrated outside the White House every single day for women’s right to vote.  My heroine, a con artist, gets herself arrested with them one day when she is trying to escape from a con gone wrong, so that seemed like an excellent time period.  Although it is only 20 years after my other series, many things have changed. America has just entered World War I and I had to research all of that.  I love the research, so it wasn’t hard to learn about this era. What is really hard, however, is keeping straight what did and did not exist during each of the two time periods.  Sometimes I forget which era I’m writing and have to stop and think, “Did they have this?” But that’s only because I’m old and I forget things.

Please check out everyone’s web sites via the link on their names (I am, of course, at edithmaxwell.com). For those of you going to Malice Domestic later this week, we’ll see you there! We hope you’ve loved all our books even though you can vote for only one.

Readers, what’s your favorite historical era to read books set in and why? In your opinion, how far in the past should a book be set to qualify as historical fiction?

A Wicked Welcome to Lynn Cahoon!

Welcome back to the blog Lynn!

Making Memories With Setting

by Lynn Cahoon

Farm to Fork mysteries are set in Idaho. I’ve made up River Vista, but truly, it’s a mixture of my little hometown as well as other little towns around where I grew up. So the places are real, the distance, the names, the people, they have all been changed to protect the innocent.

Well, not all of them. In One Potato, Two Potato, Dead, the college the culinary professor works for is my Alma Mater, Boise State University. Now, I’m not sure BSU has ever even had a culinary program, but I do know that the greenbelt runs between the campus and the Boise River. The dormitories are near the river and the stadium. The feel of the small campus quad that I remember – that’s what I hope comes through the story. Those things are the facts I want to portray in the story, not the fact there is a intramural football league.

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It’s those touches of home that I want to bring to the cozy reader. Boise isn’t much of a small town anymore, not like when I grew up just south of Idaho’s capital. I actually met Governor Evans when we went to the Capital to take pictures for Boys/Girls State. But that small-town feel is still there. The ability to fish in town or visit the zoo five minutes away.

Angie Turner, the owner/head chef, of The County Seat, lives in her Nona’s farm house that she inherited. I can see that old farmhouse with a large garden between the fenced yard and the large barn. Mabel, the lone black and white hen, thinks she owns the place and Precious, her accidental pet goat, just loves to be with Angie. I built Angie’s kitchen to match the dream kitchen in my head that I’ve always wanted.

I’m going home in a couple of months and I’ll be snapping a lot of pictures. Pictures of places that mean things to me. That have emotions attached. Like Boise State. And the Basque community center. And my little town that isn’t called River Vista in real life.  

Did you live in a small town? Do you dream of life in a small town? Or are you a big city type?

Bio:



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Lynn Cahoon is the award-winning author of several NYT and USA Today best-selling cozy mystery series. The Tourist Trap series is set in central coastal California with six holiday novellas releasing in 2018-2019. She also pens the Cat Latimer series available in mass market paperback. Her newest series, the Farm to Fork mystery series, released in 2018. She lives in a small town like the ones she loves to write about with her husband and two fur babies. Sign up for her newsletter at www.lynncahoon.com

One Potato, Two Potato, Dead

Angie Turner’s restaurant, The County Seat, is conveniently located near a first-class farmers market—so her menu is full of fresh ingredients. But a visiting culinary professor has just had a taste of something very unhealthy . . .

Angie first meets Daniel Monet at a local mission, where she and her chef-in-training, Hope, are serving barbeque chicken poutine to the homeless. Monet is one of Hope’s teachers—but Angie’s boyfriend knows him from his youthful days in England. But soon, the bon vivant is no longer vivant. When Monet is found dead, with Hope’s prints on the wine glass next to him, it will be Angie who has to sauce out the real killer . . .

A Wicked Welcome to Essie Lang! Book Giveaway!

I’m thrilled to welcome Essie Lang to the blog today!

by Essie Lang

We’ve all heard over and over again, write what you know. But for many years I was one of those writers who wrote what I didn’t know and put in a lot of hours of research trying to find out all that information. I quickly became grateful for the internet. It took me via Google streets to the neighborhood in my plot, filled me in on the professional duties of my characters, and linked me to many sources who I could follow up with to ask questions. The thesaurus made a re-appearance as a part of my toolbox! Of course, nothing beats a road trip or plane ride to the location you’ve chosen. But, as I’d found out years ago when I learned that a writer I totally respected had not made the trip the Venice, the setting of his series, but had still managed to turnout quality, believable books – research in any form, is key.

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Of course, he hadn’t travelled back in time either, for his historical mysteries, nor was the internet available in those days. But he was widely read and researched every possible detail.

As for my writing path, these days I’ve created the Castle Bookshop Mysteries. It’s set in Alexandria Bay, NY, where the Thousand Islands bask in the St. Lawrence River, and a mere 1.5 hour drive from home. I’ve enjoyed many pre-book days and years as a tourist in those island realms.

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And, best of all, I have over 15 years of experience owning and running a mystery bookstore that I hadn’t put to major use in my previous series. Although that’s not happening these days, I’ve enjoyed re-living some of the experiences from by bookselling years as my new protagonist, Shelby Cox, learns the book biz and meets the variety of customers.

I can’t begin to count the number of customers I’d had who said, “I’d love to own a bookstore and read all day.” Huh. Doesn’t happen, believe me and if that’s what Shelby also had in mind, she soon finds out that just isn’t so. I’ve tried to give infuse that reality, hoping the bookshop allure will encourage readers through the pages of the Castle Bookshop Mysteries. The first one, Trouble on the Books, was released last month, the second one has made its way to my editor, and I’ve just started writing the third in the series.

Of course, Shelby has a murder to content with, which I never did in all those years. Imagine that! The suspects are many, even though this is a tourist destination we’re talking about and should not include murder. And, Shelby feels the pull to search out the truth, and in the process, get her friends off the hook.

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Another difference between Shelby and me is, unfortunate in some ways, that Shelby finds romance with a Coast Guard Investigative Service officer who is trying hard to keep her out of the investigation.

You know that’s not going to happen!

I hope you’ll visit the imaginary Blye Castle, on Blye Island and get to know Shelby, her eccentric aunt, and the rest of the colorful staff and residents who make my writing time such a pleasure.

I’d like to know if you’ve visited any of the Thousand Islands. There are regular boat tours as well as tours of the real castles in the area. If you have, tell me about it or if you haven’t, please leave a comment anyway. I’ll be drawing tomorrow evening, for a winner of a signed copy of Trouble on the Books. US only please.

Trouble on the Books by Essie Lang,
from Crooked Lane Books

Shelby Cox never intended to become a bookseller when she returns to her hometown of Alexandria Bay, nestled in Upstate New York’s breathtaking Thousand Islands region, to help her aunt and run the seasonal bookshop at Blye Castle, on Blye Island. So, she has no idea what to expect. Certainly not a murder. But when the body of the Castle volunteer coordinator is found in the Grotto, Shelby must clear her own name and then help out her aunt’s dear friend, also a suspect. Nor does she expect to butt heads with unnerving and handsome Special Agent Zack Griffin of the Coast Guard Investigative Service. But can she find the murderer before she becomes the next victim?

BUY LINKS:

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/y5gpk4ay

Barnes & Noble:  http://tinyurl.com/y6oecx8h

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BIO: Adding a second pen name, Linda Wiken writes the Castle Bookstore Mysteries as Essie Lang, for Crooked Lane Books. As Linda she wrote the Dinner Club Mysteries; as Erika Chase, the Ashton Corners Book Club Mysteries.  Nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel and an Arthur Ellis Award from Crime Writers of Canada for Best Short Story, she’s a former mystery bookstore owner and avid chorister. www.lindawiken.com

Wicked Wednesday: What role (if any) does humor play in your books?

Wickeds, do you write funny? Do you have a character in your books who is funny?

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Sherry: I don’t think I write funny but I have moments of humor in my books. Those moments of humor are never about the murder or the victim because I take those events seriously. And I don’t think any one character is particularly funny. In I Know What You Bid Last Summer I do have a subplot that provides more humor than in most of my books. Sarah has promised her good friend Angelo DiNapoli that she’ll go “undercover” and try to taste his competitor’s lasagna for a lasagna bake off he’s entering. As the competitors catch on Sarah’s attempts to outwit them become more desperate.

Liz: I don’t try to be funny because I feel like readers can tell when you’re making the conscious effort – it feels forced. I love when humor is just a natural part of books, like in Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series. I let my characters be funny when it comes naturally to them – while I don’t think Stan is particularly funny on her own, the people surrounding her like Char and Jessie definitely lend themselves to humorous moments.

Jessie: I never mean to write anything funny but sometimes that is just the way the characters see the world. I try to tell the story the best way I can and let the tone come out as it will. My Jessie Crockett books lean towards the humorous and my Jessica Estevao books really do not. My Beryl and Edwina books, written as Jessica Ellicott, are somewhere in between the others. One of the fun things for me as a writer is getting to the end of a scene or even an entire book and then sitting back and realizing which way it all tilted. I never know until the first book in a series is done how it will play out.

Barb: I think of the Maine Clambake Mysteries as having a “gentle humor.” The books are written in first person and most of the humor comes from Julia’s particular take on events. I also enjoy showing Maine humor of the “Bert and I” variety through various folks around town. The first Jane Darrowfield book has more of what I think of as “funny situations,”– more slapstick and descriptions of visual humor. But in the end, I would also describe the humor as gentle, not can’t-catch-my-breathe-funny.

Julie: I can remember reading my first Stephanie Plum book, and having to stop reading so I could catch my breath. David Sedaris books have that same effect on me. I would love to be able to make people laugh like that. I don’t write funny, but I hope there is some humor in my books. And sometimes I make asides for folks who know the world I’m talking about. In With A Kiss I Die, for example, there are jokes that theater folks will understand.

Readers, do you like humor in your books? What are the funniest mysteries you’ve read?

A Special Stop on the CT Authors Trail

By Liz, loving the warm weather here in New England!

I have the honor this year of being invited to speak on the Connecticut Authors Trail. The trail is a consortium of libraries in eastern Connecticut that showcases local authors. My spot is on August 13 at the Jonathan Trumbull Library in Lebanon, near where I used to live.

This is special for a couple reasons. First, being on the authors trail is kind of surreal. I participated a few years ago also, and the kick-off author was none other than the amazing Wally Lamb, who lives near my old town. I remember going to see him on the first night of the trail in Franklin, another little tiny town nearby, and telling him that I was also part of the event. It was the first time I got to speak to him one-on-one, and he was so supportive and encouraging. I remember that year feeling a bit awestruck, and of course worrying that I had to be really, really good to follow someone like Wally Lamb.

Of course, there’s no comparison – I mean, he’s Wally Lamb – and if you’ve never seen him speak, you should. Not only is he a lovely speaker, he’s one of those authors who reads his own work extremely well, which is so not a talent of mine. But I digress. The point I’m trying to make is that to be recognized like this, twice, is pretty amazing, and I’m so grateful.

The second reason it’s special is because Lebanon is one of the towns on which I modeled Frog Ledge, the town in my Pawsitively Organic Mysteries. It’s the town with the real town green where Stan’s house is. Just like in real life, the library sits at the tip of the green. And it’s the place where Shaggy and I walked so many times over the years.

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And out of all those years, I’ve never actually spoken at this library. My first time on the authors trail, I participated at the library in my little town next door in South Windham. So this will be a first, and bittersweet at that – when I got the invitation, my first instinct was to ask if Shaggy could come, then I remembered.

Of course, she’ll be there in spirit.

It’s a perfect tribute to her, I think, and to so much of the time we spent together, and I’m so looking forward to it.

If you’re in Connecticut, make sure you check out the trail and support some local authors. I promise, it’s a lot of fun.

Readers, any author events you’re looking forward to this year? Leave a comment below.

On Persevering

Edith writing from north of Boston, where the daffodils and forsythia are in full cheery bloom and the words are flowing! To celebrate persevering to reach goals, I’ll give away an advance copy of Strangled Eggs and Ham to one commenter here today.

I moved to the Boston area the year I turned thirty. After taking up karate again (after a five year break for grad school) and earning my black belt, I started running for exercise. I also started watching the Boston Marathon on television every year on Patriots Day.

The following year, a petite woman named Joan Benoit won Boston with a record-setting time of 2:22, and the year after that, she won gold in the Olympics first women’s marathon event in Los Angeles.

[image error]Joan Benoit winning Boston for the first time in 1979. Photo from Steemit.

Joanie is five years younger than me, and in those days I was nearly as petite as her. While I didn’t aspire to running fast and long, I used to channel her as I slapped on a ball cap and set out on a six-mile run around the Mystic Lakes. I’d picture her even stride, her focused look, and it really helped me get through the distance.

Fast forward fifteen years and two children. I was running again and going longer and longer distances with a running buddy. After we finished a half-marathon in the fall, we decided to aim high and run Boston the next spring. Talk about persevering! Training to run 26 miles is way different than 13. We’d go out for ten or twelve-mile long runs on the weekends. In February I ran the Tri-State 20, a twenty-mile race one way from Kittery, Maine to Salisbury, Massachusetts – and finished. My friend and I got charity numbers (because neither of us was remotely fast enough to qualify) and each raised more than a hundred dollars a mile, me for the Leukemia Foundation, him for another charity.

Marathon day rolled around. Full of nerves, we set out. It was tough, but we crossed the finish line together, in under six hours!

[image error]Me crossing the finish line.

See? I even got a certificate! I didn’t win a thing except a huge sense of accomplishment, some needed confidence, and a set of really sore quads.

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Every year I still watch Boston on TV as my annual sporting event. This year, last Monday, I was delighted to hear that Joan Benoit Samuelson was running again, with a goal of finishing within forty minutes of her time in 1979. I don’t run at all anymore, but I was rooting for her. I tracked her on the app the Boston Athletic Association provides.

And she did it! What a treat to see this lean, still petite sixty-one year old finish with a big honking smile. She ran it with her daughter, which made it even more special.

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Joanie persevered to reach her goal, so she’s still my role model. We all know how much perseverance and persistence it takes for us to reach our writing goals. My Boston finish twenty-one years ago is one of the things that gives me a boost when I’m feeling challenged. If I could do that, I can do anything.

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Readers: What have you persisted at? What goals are you proudest of reaching? I will send an ARC of my eighteenth mystery to one lucky commenter!