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Michele Pariza Wacek

Goodreads Author


Born
The United States
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Twitter

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Influences
Stephen King, Gillian Flynn, Nora Roberts, Louise Penny, Anne Perry, E ...more

Member Since
September 2015

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A USA Today Bestselling, award-winning author, Michele taught herself to read at 3 years old because she wanted to write stories so badly. It took some time (and some detours) but she does spend much of her time writing stories now. Mystery stories, to be exact. They're clean and twisty, and range from psychological thrillers to cozies, with a dash of romance and supernatural thrown into the mix. If that wasn't enough, she posts lots of fun things on her blog, including short stories, recipes and more, at MPWNovels.com.

Michele grew up in Wisconsin, (hence why all her books take place there), and currently lives there with her husband and Harvey, her rescue beagle, after spending nearly 30 years living in the mountains of Prescott, Arizona.

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Popular Answered Questions

Michele Pariza Wacek It depends on what sort of aspiring writer you are. If you're an aspiring writer who loves to talk about writing (or even join writer's groups and han…moreIt depends on what sort of aspiring writer you are. If you're an aspiring writer who loves to talk about writing (or even join writer's groups and hang out with other writers and talk about writing and their "big project") but you don't actually sit down and do any writing, my advice is to have an honest come to Jesus conversation with yourself. In fact, I would take it one step further and ask yourself this: If you couldn't answer the question "why aren't I writing" by saying "because I don't have time" what would be your answer?

Alas, "I don't have time" is not an acceptable answer. (Did you realize Mary Higgens Clark was a single mom with 5 kids and a full time job when she wrote her first book? She got up at 4 am to write every morning. And she's not the only successful writer to somehow carve out time to write with insanely busy schedules.) I have a friend who wrote the book "Get it Done" where she talks about working on your project for 15 minutes a day. (I've tried it and it actually does work.) If you're serious about writing, you'll find the time, even if it's only 15 minutes a day.

Now, if you're an aspiring writer who has completed some books and is looking to get published, my advice would be to not only continue writing and perfecting your craft, but also learn about marketing and platform building and start focusing on that. Even if a traditional publisher ends up taking you on, if you don't have a platform or know how to market yourself, you still aren't going to sell many books. (less)
Michele Pariza Wacek Over the years, I've changed my view of writer's block. I now view it as more friend than foe. I feel like if I have a bad case of writer's block, tha…moreOver the years, I've changed my view of writer's block. I now view it as more friend than foe. I feel like if I have a bad case of writer's block, that's actually a sign of something bigger going on -- maybe the idea isn't quite ready to be birthed or I need more information or maybe I've been ignoring my self care (i.e. working too much) and I really need to go take my dog for a walk or take a day off.

Now writer's procrastination is a different animal -- to me, writer's procrastination is when I know what I want to be writing and I instead find myself messing around on Facebook or reading ESPN. That's when I know I need to close everything down, open up Word and start typing. Typically when I do that, after a few minutes I start to get into the writing. (less)
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More books by Michele Pariza Wacek…

Cozy Fall Mysteries to Curl Up With

There’s a particular kind of afternoon that fall does better than any other season. The light goes gold and slanted. The air smells like woodsmoke and wet leaves. You put the kettle on, pull a blanket over your knees, and settle in with a book where the biggest danger is a plot twist you didn’t see coming.

Unless you live in Redemption, Wisconsin. In which case the biggest danger is considerably wo

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Published on August 03, 2026 12:24
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Michele’s Recent Updates

Michele Pariza Wacek wrote a new blog post

Cozy Fall Mysteries to Curl Up With

There’s a particular kind of afternoon that fall does better than any other season. The light goes gold and slanted. The air smells like woodsmoke and Read more of this blog post »
Michele Wacek has read
The Mysterious Case of the Missing House by Michele Pariza Wacek
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Book 4 of a spin-off from the Charlie Kingsley Mystery series! The Redemption Detective Agency is a funny, twisty, romcom cozy mystery series set in the 1990s featuring silver sleuths solving cold cases, cats, dogs and an opposites attract love trian ...more
Arson, Old Lace and Murder by Michele Pariza Wacek
"I absolutely love Michele Pariza Wacek’s writing. She pulls you in from the start & keeps you guessing right up to the final, surprising twist!"
Arson, Old Lace and Murder by Michele Pariza Wacek
"I am an ARC reader for Book Sirens and this is my honest opinion. I love these Charlie Kingsley mysteries. Michele Pariza Wacek has built a wonderful but dark, physiological mystery series around the town of Redemption, Wisconsin that is full of so m" Read more of this review »
Arson, Old Lace and Murder by Michele Pariza Wacek
"Dollycas’s Thoughts

We return to Redemption, Wisconsin, where a bar has burned down on the other side of town, where the direct descendants of the adults who mysteriously disappeared in 1888 live. Many believe the 1888ers are cursed, including Charlie" Read more of this review »
" A Mysterious Case of the Missing Motive
Romcom cozy mystery
Heat level: 0
99 cents

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CL7YVSJN
...more "
" A Grave Error
Cozy Mystery/VERY slow burn romance
Heat level: 0

Charlie Kingsley is NOT a doctor. She is very clear about this to all her customers who p
...more "
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" Hi there, can you move my book to my author GR account?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Thank you!
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The Mysterious Case of the Missing House by Michele Pariza Wacek
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Quotes by Michele Pariza Wacek  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“The blonde kept darting glances at Tommy. Cute and perky. I hated her.”
Michele Pariza Wacek, The Stolen Twin

“My clients swore my teas had healing powers, even though I made no such promises.”
Michele Pariza Wacek, Murder Doesn't Take a Vacation: A Vacation Cozy Mystery Anthology

“Stefan glanced at me. “You cold?” I tore my eyes away from Chrissy. “Probably a goose walked over my grave.”
Michele Pariza Wacek, It Began With a Lie

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“The blonde kept darting glances at Tommy. Cute and perky. I hated her.”
Michele Pariza Wacek, The Stolen Twin

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Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more
7265978 Best Closed-Door Club | The Readers & Authors Lounge — 194 members — last activity Aug 05, 2026 02:47PM
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Richard Dominguez thank you for the friend


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