Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 85

Celebrating Creativity

by Julie, enjoying temperate weather in Somerville

November is a busy month. It starts with my sister’s birthday, winds into Thanksgiving, and launches the busy holiday season. But this November is a bit different. The holidays are on hold. November is NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, and I’m spending my time celebrating creativity. Mine.

Sure, I love the holiday season. Though I do miss the mysteries on Hallmark Mysteries and Movies. (There, I said it. I need some crime between November and January.) But I digress. This year, preparing for the holidays is on hold while I do my best to write 50,000 words on a new book by the end of November. I don’t think I’m going to make it, but I’m writing every day, trying.

Unlike previous NaNoWriMos, this project isn’t in one of my series. It’s a mystery, yes. I’ve realized that I’m a mystery writing who dabbles in suspense and action once in a while. But at heart, I like creating puzzles for readers. Not only is this book a new idea, I’m writing differently than normal. I did an outline before I started, but the characters didn’t like the plan, so I’m going with the flow. These characters have minds of their own–they’re dragging me all over the place. So far, five of them have demanded their own scenes.

I have a couple of subplots that have shown up that are interesting. And I suspect that things are going to weave together in the end, because they usually do. But I have no idea how. I’m both scared to death and thrilled.

Writing is hard work. Physically it can take a toll. Mentally it takes over the rest of your life. But here’s the thing. Writing is magic. Characters show up, and stick around while you channel their story. Plots somehow work out. Maybe in the third or fourth draft, but still. There’s magic.

This book could end up being an exercise that no one will ever read. But I’ve realized that’s not what’s important this month. I’m enjoying flexing my creativity, and not worrying about the outcome until the next draft. This book is a celebration of my creativity, and I’m having a blast.

Readers, do you ever break out of your comfort zone with thrilling results?

Wicked Wednesday: Celebrating Small Things

Edith/Maddie, with another post about celebrations. (And no, by small things I don’t mean children.)

Last week we talked about birthdays. What about celebrating small events and achievements? How do you treat yourself when you break through a plot block, finally sort your sock drawer, or get those bulbs planted before the ground freezes? Do you buy a new favorite pen or that scarf you’ve been wanting? Do you take the afternoon off to read the latest thriller or cozy with tea or a glass of hard cider? Wickeds, tell our readers about some small recent victory and how you celebrated.

Sherry: I’ve been doing Nanowrimo — the challenge to write 50,000 words this month. My reward for making my word count is to read for a bit.

Jessie: I love this question, Edith. To celebrate small wins, like a good day of writing or crossing something off my list that has been languishing, I like to listen to a podcast, take a few minutes to knit or by fixing a special beverage like an espresso tonic or a London Fog.

Barb: I was in a writers group for twenty years. We were great about celebrating small things–because the big wins are so few and far between for beginners. We’re all published authors now, but the road was a long one.

The certificate my writer’s group made for me when I finished the first draft of my first mystery novel. It was fourteen long years before The Death of an Ambitious Woman was published. That time gap used to embarrass me, until I got to know more writers and learned it isn’t all that unusual. Family, work, and one go around in 1998 when I got an agent and the book failed to sell were some of the reasons, but the biggest one was I was learning my craft. This is why we needed to celebrate the small milestones.

Julie: You know what? I’m TERRIBLE about celebrating small things and milestones. I wait until I’m done, and even then I’m terrible. As I’ve done so often, I’m going to learn from the Wickeds!

Liz: I’ve been trying to get better at it too, Julie. I’ve been doing small things if I make my goals, like watching an episode of a show or reading or even getting myself a special treat, like a coffee.

Edith: I’m not that good at it either, ladies! My favorite reward is curling up on the couch with a good book and a glass of wine.

Readers: How do you celebrate the small wins and joys?

Backwards Research – Guest Jennifer Chow

Liz here, happy to welcome Jennifer Chow to the blog today talking about a vacation that inspired her latest book! Take it away, Jennifer!

Usually when I write a book, I think about the theme and then go out and research it. For Mimi Lee Cracks the Code, the third book in the Sassy Cat Mysteries, I did it all backwards.

We took a family vacation in the fall of 2019 to Catalina Island. After a rocky boat ride and constant rain, it seemed like a positive sign when the sun shone and a rainbow arced across the sky. 

How could I not be subconsciously inspired by the place? There, of course, was the gorgeous horseshoe-shaped bay. We rented a lovely old home there (with lots of quirks!), which inspired the vacation rental home theme running throughout Mimi Lee Cracks the Code. Look at this amazing view from the living room:

When we visited the island’s museum, I learned a lot about the history of Catalina, including celebrity sightings, famous filming locations, and the practice grounds of the Chicago Cubs. Some facts even got incorporated into my storyline.

We also roamed the pathways around the cute Avalon area and ate at local eateries. I added some of the quaint atmosphere to my book. 

Back then, I didn’t realize this fantastic trip would turn into research, but I’m glad it did!

Readers, what inspiring trip have you been on? 

One year later…

by Barb, in Portland, Maine, where we’ve finally had our first frost

I turned in the manuscript for “Scared Off,” my novella in the anthology, Halloween Party Murder, on November 1, last year. The tale starts with a wild party. Julia Snowden’s thirteen-year-old niece, Page, is attending a sleepover at a new friend’s house. When one of the three girls there sends a misguided text, word spreads and before they know it every teenager in town, and a few from out-of-town, show up. The uninvited guests arrive with cases of beer and raid the family liquor cabinet. Before long they are are puking in the bathroom, making out in the bedrooms, and having fights on the lawn. And, the elderly third-floor tenant who had been left in charge of the girls is nowhere to be found.

We don’t include Acknowledgements in these novella collections, but each author is encouraged to write a letter to readers at the end of the story. Here’s some of what I wrote.

“It doesn’t happen often, but I got to write this tale of mayhem and murder in the season in which it is set. The lead-up to Halloween in 2020 was a decidedly scary time as parents debated whether trick-or-treating was safe. If their wild party had broken out this year, Page, Vanessa, and Talia would have been in even bigger trouble.

“I hope that, as you read this story in a future I can barely imagine, you are preparing for hordes of children dressed in costumes to come to your door and then donning your own costume to go out to a party. If not, I wish for you a glass of warm cider, a plate of Vee’s delicious pumpkin cookies, and a good book.”

Last October, Bill and I rented a house on a lake in Virginia for the month because it was fifteen minutes away from my son, Rob, my daughter-in-law, Sunny, and my granddaughter, Viola’s home. When we made the plan I had visions of supporting a family dealing, as everyone was, with balancing work and remote school. But it turned out, with months to prepare, instead of days as it had been the previous semester, remote second grade was a pretty well-oiled machine and Viola was more than equal to it.

What we were able to provide for a little family, who had been as isolated as all the rest of us, was another set of people to see, another place to go, and new activities to explore. Viola was still young enough to think her grandparents were terrific and it turned into a very special time, the “during the pandemic” memory I treasure the most.

Viola and I with the dollhouse I hauled all the way down from Maine because I knew she loved playing with it and who knew how long that would last? She is a great spinner of fictional scenarios. One of her rules for the imaginary village the dollhouse occupied was “no covid.”

As Halloween approached, I was feeling stressed. Everywhere parents were debating what was safe. Viola’s school and neighborhood had already announced they’d be skipping Halloween. Which, to most, just seemed like one more loss in a lost year.

The stress I felt was because Viola loves, loves Halloween. From the time she was two she had been spinning out ideas not just for her costume, but for entire tableaux, assigning costumes to everyone in the family. As the only member of her generation on our side for four-and-a-half long years, she was able to persuade every grown-up to participate.

The Halloween that started it all. Viola as Ariel, the Little Mermaid, Auntie Kate as Sebastian, Uncle Luke as Prince Eric. (He wasn’t even a member of the family yet, so I think this shows him as an extra good sport. He must have thought it was some form of hazing.) Sunny as Flounder, Rob as King TritonAt the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston. Viola as Princess Aurora, Kate as the Green Fairy, Luke as Samson the Horse, Rob as King Stefan, Sunny as Queen Leah, me as the Red Fairy, Bill as the Blue Fairy. (I still have the hats.)Blue Fairy and Samson the Horse check in on the Patriots-Bills game. They’re dedicated, but they’re not crazy.Bill as Batman, Sunny as Hippolyta (Wonder Woman’s mother, of course), Kate as Superwoman, Rob as Superman, Viola as Wonder Woman.The Scooby Gang; Viola’s “other” grandmother, Joy, as Scooby, Viola as Daphne, Sunny as Velma, Rob as Shaggy (dedicated beard work there) and “other” grandfather, Tom, as Fred. (I told you she got everyone in on the act.)

Viola had had 2020’s theme planned for months–Harry Potter, of course, her current, most fervent passion. The house we rented was on a little cul-de-sac with lots of kids. It appeared they were doing some kind of a pod. Finally, as the day approached, I screwed up my courage and did something I am very, very bad at–I approached a stranger for help. I asked the mom next door what the story was for Halloween. She explained that because there were no streetlights, the street only ever attracted kids from the neighborhood. The plan was to put tables of treats at the ends of the driveways and have the kids go around to them. She told me the time and how much candy we would need.

So that’s what we did.

Rob as Harry, me as Professor McGonagall, Viola as Hermione, Sunny as a Hufflepuff student, possibly Hannah AbbottBill as Ron

And it was fine. Viola was a little intimidated by all the kids and houses she didn’t know. But like me, she screwed up her courage, and she went to just the right number of tables to get just the right amount of candy. Everyone was lovely and encouraging.

I cried when I said good-bye to her that night, something I’d vowed not to do, and she did, too. I assured her we’d see her at Christmas, but that, alas, was not to be.

This year WAS better…

Viola got to trick-or-treat with a friend in her own neighborhood. I think the pandemic actually prolonged these family tableaux, put off by one year her going around with kids her own age and losing interest in corralling all of us.

But old habits hang on.

Bill is still Ron, his wig lost to time. Viola is still Hermione, but she’s taken polyjuice and turned partially into a cat, and Sunny has on my old McGonagall gear.Meanwhile, in another state, another crew gets started…

Etta wanted to be a ghost for months, but at the last minute switched it up.

Etta as the pink monster, Luke as the green monster, Sylvie as the furry monster, Kate as the polka dot monster

Readers: As the year turns, do you find yourself, as I do, comparing last year’s landmarks to this one’s? What strikes you as different or the same?

Welcome Guest Wendall Thomas #giveaway

I met Wendall when she was moderating a panel I was on titled Rolling in the Aisles. Wendall is a fantastic moderator and kept us all laughing. I’m so excited to introduce you to her and her funny Cyd Redondo mystery series. The third book, Fogged Off, released on Tuesday. Look for the giveaway at the end of the post!

Reptiles and Tigers and Mice, Oh My!

Everyone loves pandas. Everyone loves dolphins. But what about the Visayan warty pig, the numbat, or the gastric brooding frog?

Not all of the fifty most endangered animals on the planet are cute –well, numbats are pretty cute—but they’re all vital to their individual ecosystems and to the planet overall and they’re disappearing, if I may misquote Annie Lamott, “frog by frog.”

When I decided to set the first Cyd Redondo mystery in Tanzania and began researching crime there, it opened up my mind up to the sinister world of endangered animal smuggling and the broader issue of wildlife extinction. Despite watching David Attenborough on PBS, I was still woefully ignorant on this issue and a bit embarrassed about taking on such a serious topic in what was, essentially, a beach book.

To my surprise, Sgt. Ian Knox of Scotland Yard’s Wildlife Crime Prevention Unit put my mind at rest. He was a big fan of the “spoonful of sugar” approach, saying a book like mine might make someone who hadn’t thought about these issues think twice about buying python boots or tortoise shell barrettes, or inspire them to join the World Wildlife Fund.

So he and his team took me through their horrifying evidence room, told me a million stories, put me in touch with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the theme for my series was born. I’d never imagined myself writing animals as characters, but remembering the beloved books of my youth like Black Beauty, The Yearling, or The Jungle Book gave me the courage to try.

After spending time with the wildlife agents, I was determined to focus on animals that didn’t normally get attention, animals that might make Cyd, or us, uncomfortable. Like my character, I am utterly freaked out by most reptiles, so I figured I would start there for maximum conflict and a real learning curve for her, and created Barry the Madagascan chameleon as her first sidekick. As soon as I imagined him taking out her false eyelashes with his tongue, I was off.

The choice for Drowned Under was easy, as Tasmania has one of the most famous “functionally extinct” species ever—the thylacine or Tasmanian tiger. Even as babies, they’re fierce creatures with very sharp teeth and a strange, keening bark, so I knew Howard would make things more complicated and funnier for Cyd, while still offering insight into the world of wildlife crime.

Researching my newest book, Fogged Off, I happened upon an irresistible rodent—the highly endangered hazel dormouse. The species had its “fifteen minutes of fame” in Alice in Wonderland, but my eco-enthusiast character, Grey Hazelnut, insists these creatures are underappreciated. “When he’s motivated in mating season, that little guy can jump ten meters. . . They sing to the females at night with this trilling kind of sound. And their pheromones are so strong that humans can smell them.”

They also sleep curled up with their tails held over their faces and make a distinctive, snuffling snore which is unbearably cute— unless it’s coming out of your purse. Bruce, the dormouse, allowed me to highlight how loss of habitat contributes to wildlife extinction, and how important it is to use Tupperware when you travel.

Readers, do you have a favorite animal character from your childhood, or from books you’ve read since? Wendall will give away one copy of Fogged Off to someone who leaves a comment. (US only)

BIO: Wendall Thomas teaches in the Graduate Film School at UCLA, lectures internationally on screenwriting, and has worked as an entertainment reporter, development executive, script consultant, and film and television writer. Her Cyd Redondo series has been nominated for an Anthony, a Macavity, and two Lefty awards. 

FOGGED OFF:
When travel agent Cyd Redondo’s client and Jack the Ripper expert Shep Helnikov is found dead in London, she navigates the cutthroat worlds of research librarians, unemployed actors, embassy underlings, rodent smugglers, and more to find his killer and bring his body back home.

WEBSITE ADDRESS: www.wendallthomas.com

BUY LINK ON AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Fogged-Off-Wendall-Thomas/dp/1954717539/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Welcome Back Louise Innes

I’m so happy to welcome back our friend from across the pond Louise Innes. We met when I got to read an advanced copy of the first book in her Daisy Thorne mystery series Death at a Country Manor. She’s back today to talk about the third book, Death at Holly Lodge, which released on September 29th! Be sure not to miss the multi-book and author giveaway at the end of the post!

A Cozy Christmas By Louise Innes

www.authorlouiseinnes.com

Hello, and thanks for having me on your wonderful blog. For those who don’t know me, I’m an English cozy mystery author. My mysteries are set in a quaint English village in Surrey called Edgemead. It doesn’t really exist, but the village I live in is very similar and its where I got my inspiration from. Here are a few images to get a feel for the setting in the book.

My fact-finding sleuth, Daisy, owns the village hair salon, Ooh La La. She’s smart, intuitive, and chatty, and is the driving force behind finding out whodunnit. At her side is the gruff but handsome Detective McGuinness. He’s not altogether happy about her involvement, but since Daisy completed her criminal profiling course, he’s running out of excuses not to have her around.

Death at Holly Lodge is the third book in the series, but each book has a self-contained mystery and can be read as a standalone. This book begins with Daisy visiting a friend at an old hunting lodge that is under renovation. To their surprise, the builders find a body stuffed up the chimney wearing a Santa suit.

Who killed Santa?

The police are called and the body is taken away. The lodge is sealed off, and so the hunt begins to find out who the man in the Santa costume was, and most importantly, who murdered him. 

Daisy puts her profiling course to good use and comes up with a potential description of the killer. McGuinness is sceptical, but Daisy sets out to prove him wrong. What follows is a gripping process of elimination as Daisy and her gang untangle the clues and sift through suspects until they find the real murderer. Of course, it’s not who you expect!

A Very English Christmas

Christmas in England is filled with quaint traditions. I’m sure many are familiar, but others might seem a little odd. We don’t have Thanksgiving in this country, so Christmas is the first time we’re sitting down to a turkey dinner in a year! That’s a long time.

But it all starts the night before, on Christmas eve…The stockings go up, the Christmas lights twinkle on the tree, it’s cold outside and if we’re lucky we get a smattering of snow. Here in Surrey, it doesn’t snow that much, so we wait with bated breath to see if we’re going to wake up to a white Christmas.

Christmas morning wouldn’t be the same without mince pies. This is a big English tradition and if family members arrive and there are not enough mince pies to go around, it can be chaos. To be enjoyed with a cup of tea, of course.

Gifts are handed out, and this is my best part. The smiles, the love, the gratitude – it makes it all worthwhile. Spending time with loved ones is the best tradition of all.

Christmas lunch is a feast, and the rest of the day is spent digesting, along with chatting to relatives and perhaps, if we have the energy, going for a walk to help the turkey go down. That evening, the Queen says her Christmas speech. Most families tune in to this. More often than not, we fall asleep in front of the television, replete after a wonderful day of celebrations.

Then on Boxing Day, we do it all again. Well, most of it. Leftovers are eaten, more family members come over, or we go a visiting, more mince pies are consumed with countless cups of tea and perhaps a glass or two of sherry.

Curl up with a Christmas Cozy

Boxing Day is my favourite time to curl up on the sofa with a Christmas cozy. I have several wonderful ones stored on my Kindle for this year. If you’re looking for something Christmassy to read, why not enter our Twelve Days of Christmas Cozies competition?

The grand prize is a paperback book bundle of 12 awesome Christmas-themed cozy mysteries by twelve amazing authors. The competition runs from Dec 1 to Dec 12, and you can enter here: https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/3d307ab25/?/

Alternatively, you can follow me on Facebook and I’ll let you know when the entries open. Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/cozyauthorlouise.

Readers: What’s unusual about how you celebrate Christmas? Are there any quaint or strange traditions that you celebrate in your family? I’d love to hear them, so feel free to post in the comments below.

Here’s a bit about Death at Holly Lodge:

T’was the weeks before Christmas,
and Daisy nabs a new case,
when a missing man is found
stuffed above a fireplace . . .
 
Ooh La La hair salon owner Daisy Thorne adores the Christmas cheer in her picturesque hometown of Edgemead, England. Excitement is extra high this year, as international pop star, Mimi Levanté , the village’s newest resident, begins renovating historic Holly Lodge. But the charming country home’s makeover is cut short by a shocking discovery—the body of a man, dressed as Santa Claus, jammed inside the house’s chimney!
 
The secreted Santa is identified as Thom Pierce, a local father who vanished on Christmas Eve two years ago. As the case moves from missing to murder, Daisy and dashing DCI Paul McGuinness begin combing through the clues of Christmases past. But the killer will go to great lengths to keep old crimes under wraps. Now, DCI McGuinness must protect Daisy as she tries to untangle the mystery before a merry murderer embarks on another slay ride.

Wicked Wednesday: Celebrating Birthdays

Edith/Maddie here, bringing you a month of group posts about celebrating. Because really, who doesn’t like a good celebration? Humans tend to celebrate all kinds of milestones and holidays. Birthdays, graduations, family events like Thanksgiving, meeting a personal fitness goal. For authors, we get to add book-related cool stuff like a book release, seeing a book in print for the first time, meeting a deadline, and blogging together. Maybe even making a bestseller list.

Yesterday was my birthday, and as a good Scorpio, I’m not ashamed to tell you that. One of the best gifts I got was seeing our fabulous dynamic young mayor, Kassandra Gove, re-elected for two more years! Yes, I did my share of sign holding and campaigning.

Two months after she was elected for the first time, COVID hit and Mayor Gove rose to the challenge brilliantly. She totally deserved a second term, and I’m delighted she got it. (Whoever made this poster totally got her – it looks just like the mayor!)

Mayor Gove in tan jacket, black pants, and sensible footwear yesterday afternoon, with only a few of her many sign holders.

Otherwise, Hugh got me chocolates and flowers and gourmet takeout dinner (with cake), and my sons each called, which is all I need to make me happy.

Wickeds, how do you like to celebrate your birthday? Do you have an annual ritual connected to your birthday? How did you celebrate as a child?

Barb: Happy belated birthday, Edith! My birthday is January 6th. My mother threw some great parties for me when I was a kid, but my family is not much for adult birthday celebrations and even if we were, by January 6th, everyone has seen each other ENOUGH. For the last few years, my friend author Lucy Burdette has organized a lovely lunch out with friends for our mutual birthdays. (We were born a week apart–same year.) That is just the right speed for me. Of course, last year I got an insurrection for my birthday, but I hope that won’t become a tradition.

Jessie: Happy birthday, Edith! I love to celebrate most anything but am particularly delighted by birthdays. I love to plan fun things for friends and especially for my children. I don’t have a particular tradition about it but rather prefer to tailor the activities to the feted person including baking their favorite cake. Each of them has wanted something different so we have had the pleasure of strawberry, banana with chocolate frosting, ice cream cake, flourless chocolate torte and a towering coconut and fresh berry extravaganza. Such fun!

Sherry: Happy birthday, Edith! Like Barb we had lots of fun birthdays as kids, but now I’m content with a dinner in or out with my family.

Liz: Happy birthday Edith! I’m a pretty simple birthday girl too. I like a nice dinner and some cake and I’m good. Although my favorite birthday of all time was my surprise 40th, which included many of the local Wickeds – I will always remember that night. So fun!

Readers: How do you like to celebrate your birthday? How did you celebrate as a child?

A Chat with BLOODROOT Editor Susan Oleksiw

From Edith on an exciting mayoral election day here in Amesbury, MA on a decent-weather fall day.

I am thrilled to have as my guest today Susan Oleksiw, one of the editors of this year’s anthology Bloodroot: Best New England Crime Stories. Susan, with fellow editors Ang Pompano and Leslie Wheeler, formed Crime Spell Books, a new press, to release the annual collection, which had been dropped by its previous publisher. I’m glad they did and that Susan agreed to be interviewed for this post.

Take a look at this gorgeous cover!

Edith: Susan, you have come full circle in publishing the Best New England Crime Stories annual anthology. You were part of the team who founded Level Best Books about twenty years ago, with Undertow: Crime Stories by New England Writers being the first issue back in 2003 (which I still have in my bookcase). Give us a walnut-shell history of the anthology.

Susan: Edith, thank you for inviting me to the Wickeds and giving me a chance to talk about one of my favorite topics–putting together an anthology. Yes, I have come full circle, and it’s a wonderful feeling. I’ve learned a lot from working on anthologies, beginning with Level Best Books. Managing this kind of publication is a lot of work, and we, the Level Best Books co-founders, were delighted to be able to pass the anthology on to another group of writers. [Edith notes: Wicked Author Barb Ross was a co-editor in the second group, as was current co-editor Leslie Wheeler.]

They in turn passed it on to a third group. As the requirements expanded over the years, the anthology broadened its focus from New England writers to stories set in New England. The last editors decided to move on to full-length mysteries and set aside the annual anthology. Several of us were concerned about what this meant for the Al Blanchard award as well as New England writers. Crime Spell Books was the answer.

Edith: How do you, Leslie, and Ang divvy up the jobs of running a small publishing house? As one of the lucky ones whose story made the cut, to me it seemed you are primarily wearing the editorial hat.

Susan: The three of us are equally involved in selecting the stories. All three of us read and rate them, and then discuss them at length. Once we have our final list, Leslie and I work out the story order and then edit the complete ms. I set the book for Amazon, and Leslie and I read and proof the text. Ang does a lot of the work of maintaining contact with the writers.

Edith: Tell us about how you all selected the stories for Bloodroot – I’m sure it’s not easy. Were there stories you loved but just didn’t have room to include? Did anybody try to justify not quite meeting the submission guidelines?

Susan: The submission guidelines are pretty clear–a story by a writer who lives in New England. The story can be set anywhere and be about anything to do with crime. We didn’t have any submissions from writers not from New England, though some writers who had appeared in earlier anthologies raised objections about the requirements and we explained our purpose and goals.

For the selection process, we’ve developed what we feel is a fair system. Each of us reads all the stories and rates them 1, 2, or 3. The stories rated 1 by all three of us were a sure bet for the anthology. We then discussed the other stories that received two 1s, sometimes changing our minds and rating a story higher or lower.

Edith: How did the group pick the title? I see that the plant has a lovely flower and doesn’t seem to be poisonous, which frankly disappointed me – but only because I am always looking for new botanical toxins (she says with an evil grin…).

Susan: The plant bloodroot is common in the Berkshires, where Leslie has a vacation home. She knew about the plant and thought it would make a good title and cover, and she was right. If you’re looking for toxic plants, stay tuned. More to come, as they say.

Edith: My very first author signing was at the now shuttered Kate’s Mystery Books in Cambridge, MA, after my story “Obake for Lance” was included in Riptide: Crime Stories by New England Writers (2004). Traditionally, the anthology has been released at the New England Crime Bake conference, and the contributing authors who attend line up in chairs to sign their story as fans proceed down the line to get their copy signed – so fun for authors and fans alike! What are the plans for this year’s release?

Susan: I too look back at the Crime Bake signing as one of the highlights of the conference. We hope to continue that tradition at Crime Bake 2021, and plan to be there with books for sale and a scheduled time for signing. This is one of the few times when short fiction writers have the thrill of a book signing. If your readers are planning to attend Crime Bake this year, I hope they’ll buy a copy and get in line for the signing, which will be late in the morning on Saturday.

Edith: Where can eager readers who can’t be at Crime Bake buy the collection?

Susan: Bloodroot: Best New England Crime Stories 2021 is available now on Amazon. We haven’t yet released an e-book version but we will.

Edith: Is there already a plan for next year’s anthology? A name? When will submissions open?

Susan: We do plan to continue, but we haven’t yet chosen a name. We’re drawing up a list of poisonous plants to grace the cover, and perhaps give writers, like you, ideas for future crimes. Submissions will open on January 1, 2022.

Edith: Thank you for joining us! I’m delighted to have my story “Dark Corners,” in Bloodroot, which features Dot Henderson and Amelia Earhart solving a crime in 1926 Boston.

Readers: The stories in Bloodroot are in a wide range of subgenres of crime fiction. Do you like such a range or do you prefer stories in anthologies to fit into one subgenre such as traditional mystery or horror or PI? How often do you pick up an anthology to read?

Susan Oleksiw wears many hats in the mystery world. She is co-founder and co-editor of Crime Spell Books, which publishes Best New England Crime Stories. The first volume is Bloodroot, available in November 2021. She also writes three series. The Anita Ray series, set in South India, follows an Indian-American photographer. The Mellingham series set in a New England town features Chief of Police Joe Silva. In Below the Tree Line, Felicity O’Brien, farmer and healer, struggles to keep her land. Susan’s short fiction has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and numerous anthologies. She published A Reader’s Guide to the Classic British Mystery (1988) and co-edited The Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing (1999). Susan received a PhD in Sanskrit from the University of Pennsylvania, and has lived and traveled widely in India. She lives and writes north of Boston. www.susanoleksiw.com

Christmas, Garbage Trucks, and Giveaway from Guest Ellen Byron

Edith here, blinking and trying to figure out how it got to be November already.

But I’m not blinking at Ellen Byron, writing as Maria DiRico, producing another fabulous and hilarious Catering Hall mystery! One lucky commenter will win a copy of It’s Beginning to Look at Lot Like Murder. Here’s the blurb.

Astoria, Queens, is decorated within an inch of its life for the Christmas season, and Mia Carina is juggling her job at the Belle View catering hall with a case of murder . . .

 Mia’s busy with a full schedule of events at the family business—among them an over-the-top Nativity-themed first birthday party and a Sweet Sixteen for a teen drama queen. But her personal life is even more challenging. Her estranged mother has returned—and her lifelong friend Jamie has discovered a shocking secret about his past. He’s so angry that he starts hanging out with Lorenzo, who claims to be his long-lost brother—even after it becomes clear that Lorenzo’s story is as fake as a plastic Christmas tree.

Then a body turns up among the elves in a Santa’s-workshop lawn display, and amateur sleuth Mia has a buffet of suspects to choose from. Amid the holiday celebrations, she intends to find out who’s the guilty party . . .

 Italian recipes included!

CHRISTMAS AND GARBAGE TRUCKS

I’m guessing that right now you’re scratching your heads and going, “Christmas and what now?” Allow me to explain.

My uncle, Henry DiVirgilio, was a New York City “sanitation engineer.” Translation: a garbageman. He worked in the Bronx, although he and his family lived in an Astoria, Queens two-family home remarkably similar to the one portrayed on the cover of my new Catering Hall Mystery, It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder.

My nonna lived downstairs, Uncle Henry, Zia Rose and their four children lived upstairs. (My family also lived in Queens, but we moved to a suburb called Scarsdale when I was ten.) Our families had a reliable system of alternating where we celebrated Christmas every year, but one fact was immutable: if it snowed, any celebration, no matter who was hosting, was in peril. Why? Because they strapped snowplows onto the New York City dump trucks and Uncle Henry was called into duty for snow removal.

There’s nothing more beautiful than a white Christmas —unless it’s sabotaging your holiday. The gifts that couldn’t be opened. The bowls of homemade pasta and meatballs and sausage that wouldn’t be eaten. (Although if it was a year we were hosting, we had a sad but filling repast devoid of the Queens family.)

Ellen holds the red lanternEllen in the red shirt, next to her Nonna, with Uncle Henry at front left in the light shirt. Next to him is Patty, Ellen’s youngest cousin (not actually a clone, but acorns falling and all that).

I have vivid memories of conflicted feelings when flakes began falling on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. “Yes, it’s going to be a white Christmas!” “No, if it snows too much, Christmas is cancelled!” (Postponed but still, when you’re a kid, it makes a difference.) We’d hold a collective breath waiting to hear if Uncle Henry had been drafted into the army of garbage truck-snowplows. Luckily, my uncle only got called to serve a few times.

I live in Los Angeles now, so I don’t have to worry about snowstorms up-ending our holidays. But I miss those family Christmases. I even miss the suspense of not knowing if the celebration might take place. But most of all, I miss Uncle Henry, who passed away ten years ago. New York lost a treasure when he died – a man with a great sense of humor who adopted strays he found on his route (one of whom is immortalized in my series as terrier mutt Hero) and who helped keep the city streets safe and clean – even if it meant Christmas sometimes came on December 26th or even later for the Seidemans (my birth name) and the DiVirgilios.

Readers, share a holiday memory in the comments to be entered to win a copy of It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder.

BIO: Ellen’s Cajun Country Mysteries have won the Agatha award for Best Contemporary Novel and multiple Lefty awards for Best Humorous Mystery. She writes the Catering Hall Mystery series, under the name Maria DiRico, and will debut the Vintage Cookbook Mysteries (as Ellen) in June 2022. Ellen is an award-winning playwright, and non-award-winning TV writer of comedies like WINGS, JUST SHOOT ME, and FAIRLY ODD PARENTS. She has written over two hundred articles for national magazines but considers her most impressive credit working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart. She blogs with Chicks on the Case, is a lifetime member of the Writers Guild of America and will be the 2023 Left Coast Crime Toastmaster. Please visit her at https://www.ellenbyron.com/

Guest-Tamara Berry

Jessie: Glad to be seeing the sun for the first time in days!

I had the pleasure of being on a panel with Tamara Berry a couple of years ago at The Poisoned Pen, in Scottsdale, AZ. She was funny and articulate and a total delight. I am so pleased to welcome her here to the Wickeds blog today!

But I Was Hypnotized! The Ultimate Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free Card

One of my favorite parts about writing cozy mysteries is pulling a story from real life…and then twisting the narrative to fit my own nefarious plans. As the title of my newest Eleanor Wilde Mystery Hypnosis Is for Hacks suggests, I dug deep into the world of hypnosis to help plot, pull off, and obscure a murder. Not only did I learn how to hypnotize someone—“you’re getting verrrrrry sleepy”—but I looked up the ways and means of using hypnosis as a means for getting away with murder.

As it turns out…you can’t. Not legally. Not in the modern age. 

Everything we know about the science of hypnosis suggests that you can’t make anyone do something against their will, no matter how good of a hypnotist you are. You can lower inhibitions (much like drinking alcohol) and you can help people reach a state of mindfulness (similar to meditation), but you can’t actually force someone to get up and dance like a chicken, quit smoking…or murder an enemy in cold blood.

Yet, that’s exactly what happened in a famous case from 1895. According to newspaper reports, a Kansas man named Thomas McDonald shot and killed his neighbor, Thomas Patton, while under hypnosis. He was arrested and underwent a trial, but was later acquitted because he wasn’t in control of himself at the time. Instead, he claimed to be under hypnosis thanks to a third party, Anderson Gray, who orchestrated the whole thing from afar. 

Naturally, there’s a lot more to this story than a dangling pocket watch and a man with shotgun. As it turns out, Gray was in a land contract dispute that Patton could bear witness to, so he needed Patton out of the way to win. What better way to do that than murder? Only instead of hiring a hitman or doing the deed himself, Gray convinced McDonald that Patton was sleeping with his beloved wife. This incentive, when added to a deep hypnotic state, was all McDonald needed to go and commit the murder for him. Fortunately, Gray was eventually convicted of planning the whole thing, so he couldn’t go around hypnotizing the enemies of his enemies as a means of getting his way for long. 

These days, a defense of murder-by-hypnosis is much less likely to fly, so I don’t recommend following in McDonald’s footsteps. Of course, that didn’t stop me from using hypnosis in my own mystery tale. In Hypnosis is for Hacks, no one commits any actual crimes while deep under, but they do experience all that’s weird and wonderful about this tale. 

Readers, aave you ever undergone hypnosis (whether for personal growth or entertainment)?

About the Book

Eleanor Wilde has traded a career as a sham medium for a (relatively) respectable life in a small English town, providing the locals with herbal remedies and elixirs. But on a trip to the seaside town of Brighton, her past comes calling–and so does a killer…

Though Eleanor is delighted that her brother, Liam, is visiting her in England, she must reluctantly agree that her quiet village lacks something when it comes to sightseeing–namely: sights. True, there’s nearby Castle Hartford, belonging to the family of Ellie’s boyfriend, Nicholas. But even Nicholas’s mother is eager to ditch sleepy, sweltering Sussex for a vacation in Brighton, taking Ellie and a relieved Liam with her. Yet hopes of a breezy seaside holiday quickly turn stormy, in every sense…

The ominous change in weather is accompanied by the reappearance of Ellie’s former partner-in-crime, Armand Lamont. Back when Ellie earned a living as a phony medium, Armand’s hypnosis skills helped the pair persuade many gullible marks to hand over their savings. Ellie assumes that Armand has resurfaced with blackmail in mind, but before she can figure out his angle, she and Liam witness a man being pushed from a boat by two shadowy figures who then vanish into midair.

Phantoms? Demons? Though Ellie doesn’t believe in either, the recovered body is real enough, as is a string of thefts plaguing their luxury hotel. Ellie has a theory, and it requires inviting Nicholas to join them under a fake identity. Their evolving relationship is as complex as this case, and Ellie’s authentic supernatural abilities too are developing in surprising ways. But as for whether the outcome will be good or bad, not even her witchy powers can say…

About the Author

Tamara Berry is the author of the Eleanor Wilde cozy mystery series and, as Lucy Gilmore, the Forever Home contemporary romance series. Also a freelance writer and editor, she has a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a serious penchant for Nancy Drew novels. She lives in Eastern Washington with her family and their menagerie. 

Find her online at http://www.tamaraberry.com.