Remember the old black and white TV series, Dragnet, and the phrase, “Just the facts, Ma’am.” This unflappable team of Jack Webb and Harry Morgan spent a whole thirty minutes ferreting out the bad guys and getting to the facts of the case. But, fiction writers can have fun fiddlin’ with the facts. In writing […]
Mar 26, 2024
March Moonstruck or Madness?
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This month, I’ll be highlighting my March mystery, Moonstruck and Murderous. March, that year, was different. For one thing, there were two full moons–a month of a blue moon–and everyone knows that anything can happen during a month like that. Just ask Pat, one of Ned McNeil’s closest friends. It all started when Ned paid […]
Mar 19, 2024
Critiques
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Several years ago, when my critique group, the Cozy Critters, was meeting at my house, those gentle pointers helped me a great deal in writing the Darcy and Flora and Ned mysteries. They were a fun group and I’ll never fail to be amazed at how we all found each other and the great rapport […]
Mar 15, 2024
What is the Ides of March?
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To the ancient Romans, the Ides of March was a time for settling debts. For Julius Caesar, it was a time of betrayal and death; but, for us, it simply marks the middle of March and a week before the official start of spring. This ides dawns with gloomy skies and damp ground. A storm […]
Mar 9, 2024
Character Conversation
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I talk to the characters in my books. They have personalities and minds of their own. Sometimes, it’s a struggle to decide which would fit best in the story I’m writing–my thoughts or my character’s. Usually, my character is right. Me: Ned, I don’t believe you would go off hunting for an Indian message tree […]
Feb 29, 2024
A Body Under the Bridge
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Hey, Cozy Mystery fans! Here’s a continuing excerpt from my current work in progress. Heroine is Miss Tootsie. Time is 1920s. Place: small town. Chapter Five The sun shone warm against Miss Tootsie’s face as she trudged down the hill toward the bakery on Monday morning. Cocoa wasn’t with her. The little dog had […]
