Coffee Time Romance is a reader site that offers book reviews, author interviews, blogs, and more. Skip the crowds, skip lines, and win prizes during their Annual Black Friday/Cyber Monday Blog Event on Nov. 28 & Dec. 1st. Check out my post on “Truth or Fiction” – When writing a novel, authors may base fictional … Read more
Do you have any silver heirlooms that are tarnished and sitting in a drawer? Maybe you’ve yet to decide which ones to keep, sell, or donate. Understanding how silver pieces can be restored to their beautiful luster may help you make a decision. When I’m plotting a new mystery, I like to learn something new. … Read more
In writing a novel, authors research much more material than goes into the story. If we add too much, our editors call it an info dump. But too little, and things might not make sense. In Star Tangled Murder, hairstylist Marla Vail and her detective husband, Dalton, attend a battle reenactment at a living history … Read more
Researching a book can lead authors down a proverbial rabbit hole when they stumble upon an issue of interest. Such was the case for me when I decided to look into copper thefts. While writing Styled for Murder, my latest book, I got stuck in the middle. I needed a spark of inspiration to spur … Read more
Hi, today I have a guest post “The Story Behind the Story – Facials Can Be Fatal” at Suite T, and I urge you to take a look. I discuss part of the plotting process for Facials Can Be Fatal and the research that helped me write the book. So go on over to https://southernwritersmagazine.blogspot.com/2020/07/facials-can-be-fatal-story-behind-story.html … 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
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
The Downton Abbey Exhibition is currently at City Place in West Palm Beach. We went last weekend to view the scenes and costumes from one of our favorite period piece shows. The exhibit is housed in a former Macy’s location. The restrooms are upstairs, and it’s sad to see how empty the cavernous halls were … Read more
While doing research for my books, I love to learn about esoteric topics. For Trimmed to Death, #15 in my Bad Hair Day Mystery series, I focused the story on food. Hairstylist and amateur sleuth Marla Vail enters a bake-off contest that’s a recipe for disaster when a contestant ends up dead. In considering the … Read more