Check out this video clip of me reading from A Study in Chocolate. This is a scene near the beginning of the book, where Felicity has accepted an invitation to a tea party at Wobble House, a (very fictional) historic home in Galveston. She has been invited by the party host, an art collector, to […]
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 […]
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, […]
Here it is, the night before the launch of A Shot in the 80% Dark. It’s the fourth book in the Bean to Bar Mysteries series, so it feels like everything should be routine by now. But each one of these books has come together in a different way and presented its own challenges. This […]
Let’s talk books! Specifically writing craft books. As writers, wanting to improve our art is natural, and learning from the insights – and the mistakes – of others is one of the quickest ways to do that. It’s no surprise that my own writing manual is my favorite. Obviously, it reflects the way my mind […]
Here it is, release day for Out of Temper. I usually do these posts the night before, but I had a class to teach last night and we are visiting family, so by the time I would have been able to get to it, I was just too tired. Out of Temper really was a […]
Here it is, very late the night before 70% Dark Intentions comes out. I’ve just finished editing some video for the launch party tomorrow, and I’m finally getting to my book-launch eve blog post. What did I learn this time around? For one thing, how warm and supportive people can be, when you are approaching […]
