May
17
My sophomore year in high school, we were given a “Show and Tell” assignment as part of our section on public speaking. In the assignment, each student was required to choose something they did well and demonstrate it to the class. Our teacher was Ms Hopkins — a young, idealistic English major who left teaching …
May
16
For this week’s author interview, I’m delighted to welcome Joanne Sydney Lessner, whose fabulous mystery series featuring Isobel Spice just hit the virtual shelves with The Temporary Detective, the first novel in the series. If you like cozies with a little contemporary edge, The Temporary Detective is a great find that I highly recommend. Here, …
May
15
I’m delighted to feature a new favorite of mine for this excerpt-ional Tuesday: Joanne Lessner’s The Temporary Detective. If you’re a fan of great dialogue, laugh-out-loud humor, and mystery with a side of romance, you’ll love Isobel Spice, the out-of-work-actress-turned-detective in Joanne Lessner’s new cozy-with-an-edge series. Here, Lessner brings us the first chapter of The …
May
14
For this week’s Mystery Pick Monday, I thought I’d mix it up. Instead of looking at the mysteries out there right now – which, admittedly, are plentiful — I’ve decided to take a look back at some of the books that have been most influential for me in terms of writing style, readability, and… Well, …
May
11
Many people don’t know that, in addition to writing and editing, I also work as a web designer-for-hire for authors and small businesses. My usual fee is $500 for a full-service, customized website, but I’m running a sale for this month only, during which time I’ll be offering full-service website design and I’ll throw in …
May
10
We’ve all heard the sage advice from writing gurus like Stephen King and Chuck Wendig and Natalie Goldberg: Just keep writing. No matter what. Just as a shark who stops swimming will die, writers are doomed if they let those pens (or fast-flying typing fingers) go still. I agree wholeheartedly with this advice. However, contrary …
May
09
I’m delighted to welcome Stacy Juba to BloodWrites today for our weekly author interview. Stacy is an award-winning journalist, as well as author of Amazon bestselling romantic suspense novels Twenty-Five Years Ago Today and Sink or Swim. She has also written the FREE mystery short story Laundry Day, the children’s picture books The Flag Keeper …
May
08
This week, I’m very excited to welcome the multi-talented Stacy Juba to BloodWrites, kicking things off today with the novel that first got her on my radar: Twenty-Five Years Ago Today. Here’s the blurb for this fabulous romantic suspense/mystery: For twenty-five years, Diana Ferguson’s killer has gotten away with murder. When rookie obit writer and …
May
07
Jen’s Standard Mystery Pick Monday 411: I choose Mystery Pick Monday books based on reviews from others and an initial read from yours truly of the prologue (if there is one) and first chapter or so. If the plot catches me, the writing is solid, and there are no typos or editorial misfires, I’ll typically …
May
06
Title: Cutthroat Author: Steve Brewer Publisher: Bleak House Books, Sept. 2007 Rating: Cutthroat was another of those great $.99 finds I’m always raving about from Kindle Nation Daily. In it, Solomon Gage is a hired gun/bodyguard/all-purposes cleaner for the Sheffields, a mega-rich family whose patriarch earned his fortune in some very questionable ways. Now, Dominick …
