On Friday at the Amelia Island Book Festival, I headed out of town in early morning and pouring rain to present my “Developing a Mystery Series” workshop. This event was held on a college campus about thirty minutes inland in the town of Yulee. A brief introduction by the day’s organizers at 8:00 am led … Read more
We arrived on Thursday for the start of the Amelia Island Book Festival. There was an author reception sponsored by The Book Loft in the downtown historical district. We parked in a free public lot by the historic post office building and strolled along Centre Street to browse in the shops. Here you’ll find boutiques, … Read more
Blog Tours can gain exposure for your new release on sites with a different readership than your own. If anything, readers might be prompted to go look up your book if the post piques their interest. Name recognition and exposure is the goal more so than selling books. You want to expose your work to … Read more
You may have noticed that I’ve been subtly rolling out cover changes for my earlier mystery titles. It’s important for author branding that series covers have the same overall look in terms of fonts, text placement, color palette, series logo and image style. My cover artist, the talented Patty G. Henderson, has been working diligently … Read more
COVER REVEAL! Easter Hair Hunt, #16 in the Bad Hair Day Mysteries, is now available for pre-order. Cover Design by Patty G. Henderson from Boulevard Photografica Hare today, dead tomorrow… Can a stylish sleuth pull a rabbit out of her hat to solve an Easter murder in this to-dye-for cozy mystery? When … Read more
Goodreads is where readers go to share their reviews and to discover new books. As an author, you want readers to add your book to their TBR (to-be-read) shelf. Shelvings can lead to Sales that can lead to Reads and hopefully Reviews. Your goal is to raise awareness of your book and entice readers to … Read more
You can learn a lot about your story characters from the knickknacks in their house. Consider this topic when enhancing characterization in fiction writing. As we are attempting to declutter our shelves, I’m wondering why I collected so many souvenir drinking glasses, paperweights, candles and rocks. Yes, rocks. There’s also my wonky pen collection, a … Read more
For writers, it’s important to set concrete career goals. These should be as specific as possible and ideally attainable. It helps to divide these objectives into creative and business aspects. As a professional author, you need to pay attention to both. So let’s see where I stand at the beginning of this new year. CREATIVE … Read more
When you watch a Hallmark Christmas movie, the setting is often a big cosmopolitan city or small-town USA. I love living in the suburbs, because the city amenities are a short drive away while you live in an area with greenery and where people get to know you. Our small city has its own library … Read more
Mysteries and food belong together. Why is food an essential element to the mystery novel? They belong together like peanut butter and jelly or macaroni and cheese. The joy of food balances the sadness of murder. At the funeral feast, people gather to celebrate life and to share a meal as a community. Dr. Christine … Read more