Rejections are part of the publishing process. You have to develop a thick skin to keep going if you want to have a successful career as a writer. Authors have many avenues to pursue along the road to publication these days, but it wasn’t always that way. As I’ve been cleaning out my files, I … Read more
Being safe at home isn’t a hardship for a writer. We are used to long hours with our story characters as company. Many of us, during normal times, wish for more time to write our novels. However, now that we have this opportunity, it’s difficult for us to concentrate on a story in a fictional … Read more
For Easter Hair Hunt, I learned quite a bit about beekeeping. One of the characters in this story is a beekeeper at a historic estate. Hairstylist Marla Vail attends an Easter egg hunt there when she discovers a body in a bunny suit out on the manicured lawn. Bees are not my favorite creature but … Read more
Visiting the National Postal Museum in Washington D.C. is an enlightening experience. From the history of mail delivery via land, sea, and air to postal police to rare stamps, the exhibits need more than one day to absorb. If you’re into vehicles, there’s a mail train car, a stagecoach, vintage airplanes, and postal trucks among … Read more
Easter Hair Hunt, #16 in the Bad Hair Day Mysteries, is now available in print and ebook formats! LAUNCH PARTY tonight on Facebook from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm EDT. Join us for Fun & Prizes! Ebook: ISBN 978-0-9997932-6-8, Orange Grove Press, $4.99 Print: ISBN 978-0-9997932-7-5, Orange Grove Press, $14.99 Genre: Cozy Mystery | … Read more
This past weekend, we attended a cooking class at Publix Aprons Cooking School. The guest speaker was from Noble Vines Winery, describing the wines that accompanied our meal. These are from the Delicato Family Wines in California. We started out with a welcome aperitif. I liked the Noble Vines 242 Sauvignon Blanc. It wasn’t too … Read more
SleuthFest is on the horizon, and I’m already gathering materials for what I’ll need to bring. Writers’ conferences require advance preparation, especially if you’ll be speaking on a panel or giving a writing workshop. You’ve already determined your goals in participating, some of which may be referenced here: https://nancyjcohen.com/benefits-of-writers-conferences/ Aside from determining your objectives—i.e. attending … Read more
Writers learn about all sorts of esoteric topics as research for our books. Most of the time, readers can enjoy learning about new things along with us, as long as we avoid what our editors call “info dumps.” But what we don’t put into our story can make an interesting topic for a blog post. … Read more
We visited Epcot International Festival of the Arts at Disney World in Orlando. The tram let us off directly in front at the entrance instead of making us detour like last time due to construction. There was plenty of that going on inside the park. I liked how the baggage inspection is now in a … Read more
The last day of the events I participated in at the Amelia Island Book Festival included an all-day Author Expo where we displayed and sold our books. The event was set up in a middle school gymnasium. We’d been assigned booth numbers prior to our attendance, and people were standing by at the curb to … Read more