Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 72

Wicked Wednesday – does your pet have nine lives?

Happy Wednesday! Last week was National Pet Week (but really, what week isn’t for any of us with pets??) and we’re continuing our nine lives theme. So Wickeds, is there a situation in your life with your pet or a scene you’ve written in one of your books that really brings home the idea of having nine lives?

Edith/Maddie: Any rescue cat has to have used up one or two lives by the time they get to a loving home. My late Birdy, the model for the cat in the Country Store Mysteries, was found in a nest of newborn kittens by a construction worker who nearly ran over them. He rushed the kitties to the nearest shelter, and only Birdy survived. He was bottle fed and fostered by a caring woman named Fran, and I was the lucky beneficiary. Robbie Jordan doesn’t know where her Birdy had been before he found her, but he’s sure to have used up a life or two already.

Julie: Edith, what a great way to look at our rescues. In my books, Luna is rescued as a kitten by Delia and Lilly. Luna is based on my sister’s cat Luna, who was rescued by my niece while trick or treating fourteen years ago. In the series, Max lived a full life with his previous owner, but was abandoned and rescued by Lilly. Both cats have used up a couple of lives, but will have wonderful long lives in Windward. In my personal life, I have two rescues. I suspect Fred and Ginger used up several lives before they came to me, but we’re all settled now.

Barb: When we moved from Newton, MA to Somerville, MA our new house was gut-renovated. As is so often the case, there was a punch list when we moved in. Our daughter, home from college, returned from her summer job to discover our cocker spaniel, MacKenzie, was missing. Sure enough, a workman had left an obscure door ajar–and MacKenzie had found it. There followed A Night. It was pouring rain and driving wind. I said it was like The Tempest. We were all out searching the neighborhood, calling his name. The police suggested calling Public Works to see if they’d picked up his body. The next day at work I got a call. The MSPCA had tracked MacKenzie’s chip and found me. He had run into a lovely man walking his dog just minutes after the big escape and spent the night warm, dry, fed, and playing with his new friend, while we roamed the streets until all hours. MacKenzie didn’t lose a life that night, but the rest of us did.

Liz: Omg, Barb. I can’t even imagine. Totally agree that our rescues have used up a few lives on their way to us. One of my original kitty rescues really stands out for me as an example. Ferris the cat showed up at the rescued league where I was volunteering. He’d been found living on the streets, eating out of trash cans and hiding in people’s garages to survive. He had a big scar on his back suggesting that something bad had happened to him along the way. When he was picked up by someone, he was, unfortunately, brought to a kill shelter and they had him on the euthanasia list. Luckily, someone told someone affiliated with our rescued, and he was saved–again. Then he got to our shelter and I decided to adopt him, but the shelter had to shut down due to a virus breakout among the cats so he had to stay there an extra month. By the time I brought him home, he was super grateful…actually, that’s a lie. He spent the first few weeks biting me, LOL. And even though he remained fresh for his entire life, that was just part of his appeal. He will always have a special place in my heart even though he’s been gone for 10 years now.

Jessie: Wow, Barb! That is just harrowing! I love reading everyone’s pet stories! In my first Beryl and Edwina novel, Crumpet, Edwina’s little terrier narrowly escapes being run over by a motorcar. I still cannot believe I did that to her! As for my own pets, for many years I had an African Grey parrot named Miss Kim. On the way to the vet, my husband decided to transport her on his shoulder and she flew off and spent a couple of happy hours swooping through the trees before returning to his shoulder as if nothing at all had happened!

Readers, what about you? Any rescue stories (preferably with happy endings) to share? Leave us a comment below!

Reunions with Guest Annette Dashofy

Edith/Maddie here, writing from a springy early May north of Boston, where the lilac bloomed for Mother’s Day on schedule – and I had both my sons and their sweethearts here with me!

I’m excited to welcome back my dear friend, Annette Dashofy. We got to see each other in, gasp, person at the Malice Domestic convention a couple of weeks ago, which was delightful.

Also exciting is her next Zoe Chambers mystery – out today! Happy book birthday, Annette.

Here’s the blurb for Fatal Reunion.

As Monongahela County’s new coroner Zoe Chambers-Adams gears up for a third day searching for a missing woman, she receives the news she’s been dreading: a body has been found. What she discovers at the scene leaves no doubt—the missing woman was violently murdered. Worse, the manner of death mirrors the Monongahela Strangler case that terrorized the county when Zoe was in high school. Those murders stopped, but the case was never satisfactorily solved. And with people arriving in town for Zoe’s twentieth high school reunion, the memories of those scary days return with a vengeance.

But Zoe’s new husband, Vance Township Police Chief Pete Adams, sees the murder differently. His investigation reveals two feuding families and a forbidden relationship between their children. The homicide appears to be a crime of passion, until Pete’s relentless digging unearths a link between his prime suspect and Zoe’s serial-killer. Suddenly, with the predator threatening to strike someone near and dear to both Zoe and Pete, they must race to uncover the truth and catch a madman before another innocent victim is brutally murdered.

Class Reunions

I managed to survive forty years without attending one of my high school reunions. I simply had no desire to return to that world. I wasn’t exactly popular back then. I was the nerd. The geeky kid. The bookworm. Yes, I had that last title thrown at me numerous times by classmates who meant it as an insult. I took it as a badge of honor. I was skinny and had a mouthful of silver braces. Those who didn’t call me a bookworm called me Tin Grin. I was less fond of that moniker.

Five years ago, I caved and agreed to attend my 40th reunion. Yes, I’m giving away my age.

For the most part, I hung out with one of my best friends from back then, a woman who I have kept in touch with over the years. I had a hard time recognizing many others.

Here’s a hint for the reunion committee’s suggestion box: Use large font and class photos on the name badges. At our age, we can’t see that tiny print. And getting up close to squint at a tag pinned to someone’s chest is…well…awkward.

I took two things away from that evening. First, I’m not going to another class reunion. And second, what a great setting for a murder mystery!

In Fatal Reunion, Zoe Chambers-Adams has an upcoming 20th reunion and is determined she’s not attending. Her reasons are polar opposite from mine. I was the unpopular nerd. Zoe was maybe too popular and cringes at memories of who she was and what all she’d done. Rose, Zoe’s wild-child friend from back in the day, returns to town for the reunion and pressures Zoe to go, if not to the reunion, then at least to the pre-party picnic.

“There’s the pre-reunion picnic tomorrow evening. You could at least go to that.” Rose leaned forward, eagerly gaining momentum. “Everyone will be more casual and relaxed at the picnic. They might be more open to letting information slip.”

Zoe gazed out the window to the rolling pastures stretching behind the house. Whether an informal picnic or a dressy affair, spending time with the people she’d gone to high school with lacked appeal. They knew her from back then. The person she’d been. The one she wasn’t proud of and would prefer to forget. Wild child Zoe Chambers, looking for love in all the wrong places. Saying yes when she should’ve said no. But she hadn’t been alone.

She faced Rose, all too aware of Allison’s presence to be too blatant with her question. “Why are you so hellbent on going? The same people who remember who I was will remember who you were too.”

Rose hiked an eyebrow. “Let ’em. They can remember who I was while they see who I’ve become.”

There was some of Rose’s thinking in my decision to show up at that 40th reunion. The “high point” of the evening, though, came when a woman looked me up and down and said, “Annette! You look so nice! I didn’t recognize you!”

Yeah…

In Fatal Reunion, being a mystery novel, there’s a murder. And, of course, there’s a potential tie-in with the reunion. A present-day homicide shares much in common with a series of brutal murders from twenty years ago, when Zoe and Rose were seniors. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not.

Wickeds and readers: have you attended any of your high school reunions? Do you love them or hate them? (My forty-fifth is coming up, but “conveniently” I have a prior commitment. Really.)

Annette Dashofy is the USA Today best-selling author of twelve novels including the Zoe Chambers mystery series about a paramedic turned county coroner in rural Pennsylvania’s tight-knit Vance Township. The eleventh book in the series, Fatal Reunion, comes out this May from Level Best Books. Annette and her husband live on ten acres of what was her grandfather’s dairy farm in Washington County, PA, with their very spoiled cat, Kensi.

Social Media for Readers and Authors

by Barb on a chilly May day in Maine

A couple of weeks ago Edith and I were on a panel at Malice Domestic with Amanda Flower, S.C. Perkins, and Cheryl Hollon, moderated by Dru Ann Love. The topic was “Writing a Series: Keeping it Fresh.”

From left: Dru Ann Love, Amanda Flower, Cheryl Hollon, Edith Maxwell/Maddie Day, Barbara Ross, S.C. Perkins/Celeste Connally

Most of the questions and discussion were about the character and story decisions authors make when writing long-running series, and the craft required to execute them. However, one question about marketing brought about some interesting responses.

Dru Ann asked (paraphrasing): How do you market differently now than you did with earlier books?

The most basic answer to the question is–at this point in our series, all of us have fans. In the beginning, we didn’t.

But there was also a wide-ranging discussion about how authors communicate with fans, and how they find new readers. Honestly, authors have no better answers to this than readers do, or publishers, or anyone else. So I thought I would throw it out to you, dear readers.

Two basic types of communication

There are two basic types of marketing communication between authors and readers.

Book discoverability–finding new readersFan interaction–letting fans know what is new with the author and series, including, in the best of circumstances, (and very, very occasionally in the worst), having meaningful interactions and building relationships.Newsletters

One thing beginning authors rarely have, unless they are public figures in some other field, is an email list. This is a list of fans who have proactively signed up to receive news from the author. These fans are precious and important.

Authors take different approaches to their newsletters. Some send them regularly, others only when they have news. Some newsletters are chatty and personal. Others are “just the facts.” Some offer contests and giveaways. Others do not.

I kind of split it down the middle. I only write when I have news, but I do include a personal note with every mailing. There’s a giveaway when I have something to give, like Advance Reader Copies and the like, and not when I don’t.

You can sign up for my newsletter here.

You can sign up for the Wickeds’ newsletter here.

Facebook

One common way that writers interact with readers is via a Facebook fan page. A fan page differs from a personal profile in that it’s a public place where people you don’t know can find out what you’re up to. My Facebook fan page is here.

This form of communication is exactly what it says it is. It’s for interaction with and between fans. It’s not a good forum for discoverability.

There are also Facebook groups. Unlike fan pages, you must ask to be admitted to the group. I don’t have one, but the Wickeds collectively do. It’s here. One Wicked Author leads a discussion there every day except Sunday.

I also have a personal profile on Facebook, and since many fans and fellow authors become friends, if you can find it, I’ll probably accept your friend request. Unless you are legitimately a widowed foreign general. In that case, I will assume you are fake and send you off into oblivion. I think being a general’s wife must be much more dangerous than being a general, since they are all widowers.

Instagram

Instagram is another way authors keep in touch with fans. I find it’s less about interaction with followers and more about transmitting information via graphics, but that may just be me.

My Instagram page is here.

The Wickeds’ Instagram page is here.

Twitter

Some authors use Twitter heavily and well. It’s not so much a place for either discoverability or communication with fans, though it may serve as either. It is a place to find lively discussions about the business of fiction writing, publishing, and so on.

My Twitter account is here.

The Wickeds’ Twitter account is here.

Pinterest

Pinterest is like a personal digital scrapbook. Readers use it to display book covers, or photos of people who look like the characters or locations in a book. People with similar reading interests do find each via Pinterest.

I use it mostly to collect images associated with each book and to communicate them to my publisher and cover artist. If you want to see how that goes and what the resulting cover looks like you can check it out. You can follow the whole account or a particular board to see what gets added.

My Pinterest profile is here.

TikTok

Along with the social media plan from my publisher for Muddled Through came information about TikTok, and most particularly, the corner of TikTok known as BookTok. I had pretty much decided to sit this one out. I don’t want to see videos of me, and I’m sure you don’t either. And while it may help new readers to find me, I’m not sure the people hanging out there are my target audience.

I hate to be that Old Fogey who refuses to try new things. Especially now that I’m deeply in the Old Fogey age group. But really, enough is a lot.

Goodreads

Goodreads is a place (owned by Amazon) where readers hang out. They review and comment on books, make recommendations and enter giveaways. I always tell new writers to claim their author profile on Goodreads. The readers are going to be there whether you are or not. And, we’re very lucky that the cozy, traditional, and historical mystery subgenres seem to attract far fewer trolls than some others. Both Goodreads and my publisher would like me to be more active on Goodreads–posting reviews, engaging readers with questions, etc. I’m not going to do those things. I think Goodreads is much more a place for readers to engage with each other. But I am there and will answer questions when asked.

My Goodreads page is here. My publisher, Kensington is doing a giveaway right now of 100 ebook copies of Muddled Through.

BookBub

Unlike everything we’ve talked about so far, BookBub is about discoverability. It informs interested readers about deep discounts on ebooks, mostly via a regular daily email about sales in your selected genres. You can also sign up to follow authors to be particularly informed about discounts on their works. And you can follow other members to be informed when there are discounts on books they recommend.

This an an expensive service for publishers, especially in crime fiction where BookBub has its biggest lists of readers. There is also a service called Chirp for discounts on digital audiobooks.

My BookBub profile is here.

You can follow me on Chirp here.

NetGalley

NetGalley is a service that provides readers who frequently write reviews for publications, blogs, retailers, and social media with access to ebooks prior to release. You must request the book and the publisher must approve you. You need to demonstrate that you are posting reviews in order to remain in good standing.

You can see Muddled Through on NetGalley here.

Websites

I often tell new authors your website is your house. It is where you keep your stuff. People will rarely come there unless you invite them or they are specifically looking for you. (Unless you’re a big celebrity in which case busloads full of tourists will drive past your house–to stretch a metaphor to the breaking point.)

When people come to your house, you want to show off your stuff to its best advantage, you want them to be able to find their way around, and you want the plumbing to work.

The main different between new authors and people who’ve been publishing longer is we have a lot more stuff.

I don’t know about you, but when I take the trouble to seek out an author’s website and it seems like a deserted western mining town with tumble weeds blowing down the streets, if the latest books aren’t listed and there’s a tour from 2014 under the Appearances tab, it annoys the heck out of me.

Keep your website up-to-date, authors.

You can visit my website here.

Blogs

I have been incredibly privileged to be part of this blog for nine years. The Wickeds have had unusual longevity and a stable group of authors. We work hard AND we are lucky. This is a multi-author blog for writers and readers who have a common interest in related subgenres and in crime fiction in general. It is mostly for fans, though there is no question fans of one of us often become fans of all of us.

Another type of blog is one like Dru Ann Love’s Dru’s Book Musings. This blog includes reviews as well as features like cover reveals, Day in the Life character studies, author interviews and so on. It’s a great place to discover new authors in crime fiction, especially, but not exclusively, cozy and traditional authors.

With a Little Help

How do you get all this done and still write books?

One thing new authors don’t usually have, because it rarely makes financial sense (unless their advance is HUGE, in which case more power to them), is any help with all of this. The Wickeds are very lucky to share a virtual assistant named Jen. (To be clear, Jen is a real person, not a virtual person. We work with her virtually.)

For me, Jen does my Facebook fan page posts, my Instagram posts and my Wicked group posts. (However, I’m still there. If I’ve liked or replied to a comment or question you’ve left, that’s really me.) She also does special projects, for example the massive mailing of Busman’s Harbor maps last year, which would not have been possible without her.

I do my own newsletter, manage my own website, Pinterest boards, do my tweets and retweets, and mail books and bookmarks to giveaway winners. But other Wicked Authors divide the work completely differently, depending on their likes, time, and skills.

Jen also produces the Wickeds newsletter with a different Wicked acting as managing editor every month.

At this point, I would hate to contemplate a writerly life without her.

So Readers

I said I would throw it to you. How do you get news from authors? How do you discover new authors and books? Which of the many avenues listed above do you use? Do I have to do TikTok? Let us know in the comments. And writers, tell us where you focus your efforts. We really appreciate it.

Welcome to the Wickeds, Christine Keyes!

By Liz, who has been waiting for this day for a really long time!

You guys. I’m so excited. After almost 15 years of knowing what an amazing writer (and person!) Christine Keyes is, now you all get to meet her! Here’s a little background – Sherry, Edith and I met Christine at the Seascape Writers Retreat, hosted by Roberta Isleib, Hallie Ephron, and Susan Hubbard back in 2008. She literally crashed the party all the way from Australia and it was definitely fate. I spent the night on the floor of the room she and Sherry had, and we’ve never looked back. She’s an amazing chick and you’re gonna love her. She’s here with a post called Tell me a story. Take it away, Christine!

I hate nothing more than people who say they’re “gonna” do things and don’t. I even call these people “Gonnas”. One day in 2008, I heard myself say for the third time that I was gonna to write a novel. That made me a “Gonna” and that was not acceptable. So I sat down and wrote a book. It’s the way I roll. It didn’t take that long once I set my mind to it. And I knew enough about publishing to figure out I should get feedback on the novel before I submitted it.

The following year, in 2009, I thought I might as well get that feedback at a mystery writers’ course. I never do things by halves so I travelled all the way from Australia to SeaScape in Connecticut. Sure, we have courses in Australia, but where’s the fun in that? Looking back now, it probably was a little crazy. Even the taxi driver agreed. He was quite sure he was dropping me off at a cult, full of serial killers and I would never be seen again. He even went inside to do a little recon, before he allowed me to stay, making me promise to call him at the first sign of danger.

The rest, as they say, is history. I shared a room with Sherry Harris and Liz Mugavero. Edith Maxwell was in our group. I did not join a cult, I got (mostly positive) feedback on my novel and best of all made lifelong friends (with people who only write about serial killers).  I’m being serious now. It’s inspirational to see how dedicated they are to their craft and how many novels they’ve published in the 13 years since we met. I guess they have theoretically killed quite a few people though.

I did finish that first novel and I tried to get it published, but since then life has taken over and my writing has taken a backseat. To be honest, I’ve made myself feel pretty guilty for not wanting to do it. But a recent gap year (OK, midlife crisis!) helped me discover what I truly loved doing. I spent four months traveling across the USA and Europe with no plans and no schedule. I saw amazing places and met fascinating people. I laughed. A lot. And then I wrote about it. Truly, writing the festivaloftina.com was like waking up from a coma. It has changed the course of my life, because I’ve finally worked out what I want to be when I grow up. And guess what? I’ve actually been doing it all along. Meeting people and hearing their stories. And then telling them, on television, in books, online and in person. 

Everyone has a story to tell but not everyone can write. I know now that I can.

Readers, what about you? Anything you’ve been “gonna” do that you want to commit to? Tell us in the comments.

Teacher Appreciation

Teaching is the one profession that creates all other professions. – Unknown

It’s teacher appreciation week and I want to give some shoutouts to the teachers who helped me along.

I can’t talk about teachers without mentioning my parents. My dad was a junior high math teacher, and my mom was a high school business teacher. Both ended up teaching at schools I attended and let me tell you being “the teacher’s kid” is not a lot of fun. But I survived and people still tell me stories about how my parents helped them.

My first-grade teacher, Miss Lange, had a physical disability. It was unusual back then to have a teacher with a disability, but she managed it, and us, beautifully. At the time I probably wasn’t cognizant of the fact she was teaching me to be accepting of people who were different than myself or that I was learning about resilience. It wasn’t like she said any of that out loud. It was her first year of teaching first grade and she went on to teach for forty more years.

Mrs. Kibbie, my third-grade teacher was a life saver. I’d gone from the top reading group in first grade to the bottom reading group in second. (My second-grade teacher was a disaster and I have stories that would chill you, but that is all for another day.) Mrs. Kibby knew I was struggling with reading and started sending home extra reading homework. Some of my classmates saw the book I was taking home and made fun of me. But because of Mrs. Kibby and my parents, by the end of the year I was back in the top reading group and my love of reading was restored. I can’t imagine how different my life might have been without her.

Mr. Castro was my seventh-grade Spanish teacher and my homeroom teacher. He was young, handsome, and managed to teach us Spanish. (Yes, I can still sing Jingle Bells in Spanish. Who knows? Someday that might come in handy.) On the last day of school, Mr. Castro told us he’d been drafted and was heading to Vietnam. It was the first time the war had become more than headlines. All the girls cried, and the boys had shocked looks on their faces. Mr. Castro survived and went on to teach many more years.

Mr. Kuhl (I probably spelled his name wrong) was my junior high speech teacher. He was a fun and interesting teacher, but something he said always stuck with me. He told me I picked unusual topics for a girl. This was after speeches about the Mafia and the Loch Ness Monster. I don’t think he meant it unkindly, but it was an early lesson in how women were viewed. But he also picked me to emcee a big school program and I got a part in one of the school plays. I was The Girl in The Storm. Those things taught me confidence.

Mr. Stedwell

Mr. Stedwell was my high school journalism teacher, and the man in charge of the newspaper and yearbook staff. God bless him. He was young – just out of college. I worked on the yearbook for two years, first as the index editor and then as editor-in-chief. It taught me how to work with different groups of people, how to be organized, and how great finishing a project felt. There were tears to be dried and encouragement to be given, he managed it all with patience, and laughter. That man put up with a lot of shenanigans!

Me as Editor-in-Chief

Jim Thomas taught one of my college literature and creative writing courses. The man smoked nonfiltered Camel cigarettes in class even when they opened a new no-smoking building. I did an independent study with him on American writers and learned to see beyond the words on the page. I still remember reading Hemingway’s short story “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” and delving into the light, shadows, and dark in the story with him.

And finally, Dr. Ruth Towne, my college history professor, and the sponsor of my sorority. She pulled me aside once and told me I wasn’t living up to my potential. She was absolutely right. I was more interested in going to fraternity parties than classes. I’d like to say that comment straightened me out right away, but it didn’t. However, it always stuck with me and for the rest of my life when I’ve accomplished something, I think of her.

I was lucky to have many great teachers — more than I could name here.

Readers: Did you have a teacher that made an impact on your life?

Wicked Wednesday – the nine lives of our protagonists

Happy May, readers! This month’s Wicked Wednesday theme is nine lives – and a particularly fitting discussion as we continue our celebration of Death in a Blackout (congrats, Jessie!).

So Wickeds – The idiom nine lives refers to the ability to get out of dangerous or difficult situations without harm. What traits do your protagonists have that contribute to their ability to sustain one or all of their 9 lives? 

Edith/Maddie: Great question, and so many congratulations to Jessica! I can’t wait to dive into the new book.

Let’s see. Robbie Jordan is physically fit. She regularly goes for long grueling bike rides, and she also lifts heavy boxes and pots in the restaurant, so she can run or fight her way out of a jam fast if she needs to. Mac Almeida likes things orderly. She notices when something – or someone – is not where it is supposed to be. This helps Mac either evade danger for herself or go to the rescue of someone else.

Julie: Congratulations, Jessie! I’m so excited about this new series.

Lilly Jayne, from the Garden Squad series, takes her lifetime of experience and uses it to trust her gut, follow her heart, and look for ways to right what’s gone wrong. I will say that in this series, she’s used up a couple of lives, but all for good reasons.

Sherry: Jessie, I’m so happy for you and I can’t wait to read Death in a Blackout. I loved reading about your process yesterday. Chloe Jackson uses her skills as a former children’s librarian to help her solve mysteries. But she isn’t afraid to go out there and do some investigating too. Sarah Winston learned a lot about people from the constant moving from one military base to another. Her empathy and ability to read people has the police asking her for help.

Barb: Julia Snowden, of the Maine Clambake Mysteries, is smart, young, and fit from hard physical work at the Snowden Family Clambake. She has a handy insider/outsider view of her community which gives her a particular perspective on things that happen there. I’ve always thought of Jane Darrowfield, of the Jane Darrowfield Mysteries, as a twenty-first century Miss Marple. Jane Marple learned about human nature watching the citizens of St. Mary Mead. Jane Darrowfield learned in the bowels of corporate America. Plus, as a former co-worker once said to me, “Never underestimate the value of common sense. It’s in very short supply.”

Jessie: Thanks, everyone for your kind thoughts! This is a fun question, Liz! My sleuth Beryl Helliwell is an expert at squeaking past danger even though she loves to put herself in front of it. I think her boldness is the key for her. I doubt she would imagine things wouldn’t turn out as she wished! For my new protagonist, Billie Harkness, I think her fierce desire to make a real contribution helps her to move through and past troubles of all sorts. Having a more cautious partner probably helps her too!

Liz: Can’t wait to read the new book! In Violet’s case, she’s a strategist–and that definitely works out in her favor. Maddie is more impulsive, but she’s super smart and knows how to get what she wants. It’s definitely a skill she’s used in her favor.

Readers, what skill do you think has helped you navigate the world best? Leave a comment below!

Death in a Blackout- Official Launch Day Giveaway!

Jessie: In New Hampshire, where the magnolias have left me utterly smitten!

Today is the official North American launch day for the first novel in my new WPC Harkness series, Death in a Blackout. I couldn’t be more pleased to see this novel out in the world in all its various forms! I am particularly delighted that the audiobook debuts today. The narrator has a charming and fresh voice and I am delighted that she agreed to participate in the project!

Some of my novels seem to simply appear. My Beryl and Edwina books feel to me as if almost as soon as I think of a basic premise the entirety of the story arrives tumblety-whack like a whirlwind. A title suggests itself, secondary characters and circumstances seem to flesh themselves out and the sounds of all their voices begin to race through my mind almost unbidden.

Then there are the other stories, the ones like my very first, Live Free or Die, or my first historical Whispers Beyond the Veil, that creep up on me slowly, a kernel of an idea humming and growing and quietly gathering other ideas to itself until it tugs at my sleeve and asks to be prioritized. Death in a Blackout was just such a novel. I have been thinking about WPCs for years before I created Constable Doris Gibbs for my Beryl and Edwina books. My protagonist, WPC Billie Harkness grew out of spending odd moments here and there considering the lives of female police officers between their inception during WWI and the modern day.

I met a charming woman at the New England Crime Bake named Avis Crane long before I thought much about WPCs who was kind enough to lend me her name for use when the time seemed right. Avis Crane was simply perfect for the role of my young protagonist’s superior officer. It had been so long since I had first asked for permission to use it that I felt compelled to confirm the real Avis was still willing to share! Fortunately for me, she was gracious enough to do so after so much time had passed!

Even the idea of setting the novel in Kingston-Upon-Hull was a long and winding road. I knew I was interested in coastal cities and towns in the UK and had gone on a bit of a research binge quite some time ago. I was particularly interested in port cities with significant immigrant populations as well as shipyards. When Hull came up in the course of that research I discovered that after London it was the city that suffered the most significant bombing devastation in the UK during WWII.

Finally, all of those small, stray bits coalesced and grew into a cohesive story. As I look back I am so grateful that this story came to find me and allowed me to be the one to gather it up and send it along. I hope you will enjoy the new characters, a bit of history, and of course, the mystery! I have three copies to give away to randomly selected commenters.

Readers, do projects and ideas ever whisper at you for years before you take action on them? Writers, do you have books that come to you all at once and others that simmer for ages?

Guest Cheryl Hollon: Are you ready for in-person conferences?

By Liz, so happy to welcome my friend Cheryl Hollon back to the blog! Cheryl and I go waaaaaay back…one of my fondest memories of her is our impromptu pitch practice session at Sleuthfest 2008. And today she’s talking about the return of in-person conferences. Thanks for being here, Cheryl, and for making me feel like I was at Malice since I missed it!

It’s only been a week, but it feels like last night and last year! I went to my first post-COVID convention, Malice Domestic, from April 22-24, 2022, in Bethesda, MD. It was filled with happy squeals from mystery writers and readers who hadn’t seen each other in two years.

The first person I saw was the fabulous Dru Ann Love, the Fan Guest of Honor and CEO of Dru’s Book Musings, and Kristopher Zgorski, founder of the BOLO Books Blog. She volunteered to staff the registration desk on Thursday night and handed me my badge and bookbag. It was lovely to hug her first.

On Saturday morning, I was lucky to be on a panel moderated by Fan Guest of Honor Dru Ann Love. The subject was How to Keep a Series Fresh. The panelists were Amanda Flowers, me, Edith Maxwell, Barbara Ross, and S.C. Perkins. We had an absolute blast! Dru Ann’s questions were well-researched and kept us on our toes. We didn’t have a preview of the questions beforehand! We truly enjoyed being with our attendees and laughed like children.

After that, you can imagine my delight when I went to the Book Signing session and sat beside one of my mystery writer heroes. Maureen Jennings, the author of Murdoch Mysteries, an 1895 Toronto detective series, had a signing line to envy. I was a complete fangirl. Also in the picture is Risa Rispoli taking around her e-book cover to get signatures so she can frame them. What a clever idea!

It was sheer joy to see Edith Maxwell receive her long-awaited Agatha teapot for CHARITY’S BURDEN, the 4th book in her Quaker Midwife Series. 

My fellow Floridian and President of the Florida Mystery Writers of America, Alan Orloff, was awarded an Agatha in Children/Young Adult category for I PLAY ONE ON TV. 

What a fantastic return to a treasured conference. Even better was seeing all our online writer friends and reader fans in 3D instead of 2D. See you next year.

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There’s a 3-book #giveaway and some lovely SWAG (Stuff We All Get)! Post a comment telling me what you look forward to and what might concern you as we inch into a new normal in the comments.

My Paint & Shine Mysteries are set in the Daniel Boone National Forest. My parents were born, raised, and now rest in the Adams Family Cemetary in Wolfe County, Kentucky. The characters spend a lot of time preparing traditional southern meals and creating moonshine cocktails. Please consider buying local. Our independent bookstores need your help during this challenging time. 

Katherine Fast, Graphology, and a #giveaway

by Barb, typing on a cold and rainy day in Portland, Maine

Please welcome author Katherine Fast to the blog. Katherine has been an important influence in several phases of my life. We worked together at Information Mapping, where Kat was an instructor and course developer. We drifted apart after I left, as people did in the days before social media made staying in touch easy. Then I ran into her in Harvard Square. Exchanging info on what each of us was doing, we discovered we were both writing. Kat auditioned for and joined the writers’ group I was in, and so we went on for 15-some years, learning a great deal about each other as we critiqued the other’s writing. Then, together with group members Mark Ammons and Leslie Wheeler, we became the third set of co-editors at Level Best Books for six years. Level Best is the hands of a new group now, as is the Best New England Crime series we edited. I owe so much to those relationships and experiences, which have made my life immeasurably better.

Katherine is a debut author in novel-length fiction after many years of publishing short stories and non-fiction. She is also a certified graphologist and writes about handwriting analysis. She is giving away a copy of her debut novel, The Drinking Gourd to one lucky commenter below.

About the Book

After serving ten years in prison for dealing cocaine, a crime she swears she didn’t commit, Casey Cavendish returns to the small college town of Oberlin, Ohio determined to clear her name, finish her interrupted college degree, and build a new life. Her arrival coincides with an upsurge in drugs on campus. When her erstwhile best friend Jules, who married Casey’s old love while she was in prison, is found dead from an overdose of cocaine and alcohol in the cellar of the Drinking Gourd, an historic inn on the outskirts of town, Casey graduates from pariah to the prime suspect for murder. She must discover who betrayed her before she’s railroaded a second time, this time for life.

Much of the action takes place in the Drinking Gourd, an inn named after a song that helped guide fugitive slaves on their journey north to freedom during Abolition. The Gourd, once a safe house on the Underground Railroad, now serves as a restaurant and local watering hole, and is far from safe.

Take it away, Katherine

In my debut novel The Drinking Gourd, the protagonist Casey Cavendish, uses handwriting analysis to understand the personality traits of other characters and to help her write (well…forge) a suicide note.

Handwriting fascinates me. Always has. It reveals worlds about the person at the time of writing. I studied handwriting analysis and am a Professional Level graphologist, certified by the American Association of Handwriting Analysts. I’ve applied graphology professionally in hiring, head hunting, counseling, analysis of threat letters, and now in fiction. I’ve also taught courses in handwriting using my introductory text Graphology the Fast Way.

Formally, graphology is defined as a method of personality assessment based upon empirical examination of handwriting strokes. The marks on the page represent a unique personality imprint, a symbolic portrait of the writer’s intellectual, emotional and physical state at the time of writing. It cannot determine sex, age, religion, ethnicity or right or left-handedness, although there are some tell-tale signs that provide clues.

For a quick example, my script is small, rather heavy, and connected which, if you were a graphologist, would suggest that I tend to focus and become an expert in things that interest me. The angles that sometimes appear reflect a direct, critical, sometimes pain in the neck attitude, and there are definite hints of authority resistance…but enough navel gazing.

My interest began when I was seven. Our family broke up and my father was institutionalized in a state mental hospital in Maryland and my mother, brother and I went to Ohio to live with my grandmother. I loved my father dearly—a gifted and charming man afflicted with manic depression, now called bi-polar disorder. However, when he was manic he combined mania with alcohol and a temper, a volatile and dangerous combination. I was the only member of the family who wrote to him. My grandmother would hold his return letters out to me at arm’s length as if they were dead rats. His name was never mentioned in her household.

Even as a child, I could tell by the writing how he was faring because the extreme shifts in his moods were reflected in his writing. Tiny, light, downward slanting writing showed his spiral into depression and catatonia. Large, flamboyant script, heavy pressure that carved into the paper and writing that crowded the page were indications of ascent into mania. Of course, the telltale unicorns decorating the margins gave me another clue. I inherited the bi-polar gene and over the years, the fluctuations in my writing also attested to mood shifts which are now thankfully largely controlled by meds.

Handwriting is really brain writing and is as unique as a fingerprint, which is why it can be used to identify forgeries by forensic document examiners and also why you can always recognize your own writing no matter your mood. The brain instructs the hand what to do. Although age and infirmity can also change a person’s script, it’s the personality of the individual that shows in the way he or she writes.

I used it when I taught technical writing seminars to understand the students in class. They’d fill out a preliminary form before the class began. From the writing, I knew who would excel, who would be a pain in the butt, and who wouldn’t get the subject in this lifetime. As a contract instructor you’re only as good as your last seminar, so course evaluations were important. I’d tell the class not to sign the forms, that they were anonymous, but of course, I always knew who wrote what.

There’s a distinction between graphology—the study of writing to understand personality traits—and forensic document examination, the use of measurement techniques to identify the writer of a particular document. Graphology is not accepted as scientific evidence in a court of law. However, police, FBI, physicians, counselors and shrinks often call on graphologists for profiles in their cases.

Comment to be entered in the giveaway

Readers: I welcome your questions. How might an understanding of handwriting be useful to you in your profession? In your writing? Ask a question, make a comment or simply say “hi” and I’ll send a copy of The Drinking Gourd to one lucky commenter below.

About Katherine

Katherine Fast is an award-winning author of over 25 short and flash fiction stories. She was a former contributing editor and compositor for six anthologies of New England crime stories. The Drinking Gourd is her debut novel.

In her prior corporate career, she worked with M.I.T. spin-off consulting companies, with an international training firm, and as a professional handwriting analyst.

She and her husband live in Massachusetts.

Countdown to moving day!

By Liz, surrounded by boxes…

Since I talked yesterday on the blog about my rental realtor con, I figured I’d better follow up with the good news portion of the story.

Even though I scrapped the idea of moving to Portland (sorry, Barb!) I did not scrap the idea of moving altogether. And I’m excited to share my news that I’m moving back to the Boston area in June. You all are the first to hear! 

I’m really, really thrilled about this move. Not only am I going to be living my dream of living on the beach (seriously – I have a water view), but I’ll be right outside the city and best of all, near my original writing community. I didn’t realize the full extent of how I’d been missing this until the pandemic put so much in perspective for me. 

I know what you’re thinking – Connecticut isn’t that far away, right? I mean, technically it’s still part of New England! Well, yes. Technically. But it’s complicated. 

I wrote a whole essay about this recently. Here’s an excerpt:

Sixteen years ago I moved to Connecticut. Yes, it’s still New England, and yes, there are mystery writers here. But I’m not in close proximity to most of them. Connecticut is that weird state that’s not really sure where it belongs (and I say this with fondness). For instance, in SinC, I’m part of the New England chapter but in Mystery Writers of America, I’m part of the New York chapter. In both cases, regular meetings and other in-person events were not often convenient. And while I needed to move here for many reasons, I think I’ve finally fulfilled my destiny here. I’ve learned lessons, I’ve met dear friends, I’ve experienced new things. I couldn’t help but feel it was done. There was nothing left to do. 

After a summer of feeling adrift, restless, that familiar unbelonging creeping up on me once again, I realized it was time. Time to admit that I’ve outgrown this place I’ve called home for a long time. That I wanted to be closer to home, closer to the circle I know is waiting for me, to the expanded circle that I’m excited to experience. Time to head north again.

So, it’s official – I’m outta here! And I hope I’ll be seeing a lot of you Mass. and Maine contingencies in the very near future. 

Oh, and I did NOT hire a realtor to help…lesson learned!