Here it is, the night before the release of A Study in Chocolate. This makes eight novels – and there’s still an element of anticipation and excitement in the fact that tomorrow, a story I wrote goes into the hands of mystery fans. As always, I feel like I’ve had a chance to grow personally […]
Hola!!! I’m Botas, the corgi from the Chocoverse. Today I wanted to talk about second chances. I believe everyone should have one – especially dogs. Due to circumstances beyond my owners’ control, I wound up surrendered to a shelter – twice. And each time was the start of a new life. Not that I’ve forgotten […]
There are far too many great fictional detectives to list all of them. I had to settle for a top ten list. These are just my personal faves from the detectives who shaped the genre, defining some of the subgenres and explorations of what mysteries could be. I’m giving you the first appearance of the […]
If you’re marketing your writing, you know that growing your audience is the most difficult part. One powerful tool: leveraging other people’s audiences. If someone a potential reader knows and trusts has you on as guest, that reader will be more likely to trust that your work has quality too. One fun way to do […]
I am a fan of spicy foods, but for me it has to be about a balance of flavor, rather than simply blowing out your tastebuds with the heat. Here are some of my favorite snacks and sauces. Siracha Peas – These are puffed peas seasoned with siracha. I like mixing them with peanuts, to […]
How to Plan a Book Blog Tour Book blog tours are a fun way to get the word out about your upcoming book and you as an author. It can be fun, that is, if you plan ahead and stay on schedule. The more planning you put behind a book blog tour, the more you […]
I know Amber does all the writing but behind the scene there are little choices that I help out with. Among them are buying all the little things that help her write effectively. There are links to items to purchase and we get a little something back if you use them. But these are my […]
Discovery writing can be fun, and there is a certain enticement to the idea of telling yourself the story for the first time at the same time as you write it for your audience. But if you are having trouble finishing projects, or you want to boost your productivity to finish projects faster you really […]
Sometimes I have an idea for a piece of writing (the topic for a blog post, for instance, or the main character relationships for a short story) but then I get stuck on developing the meat of the idea. It’s like – I know the idea is there in my brain. I had an idea […]
The more I think about it, the more I realize that some of my favorite movies involve writers and writing. (Which, as an author, is only natural.) I thought I’d share some of my favorites. This is not an exhaustive list. It’s just the ones I could watch over and over. You may have already seen many of these films, […]
