cozy mysteries
In the beginning…
On Friday one of my favorite cozy writers, Nancy J. Cohen and I presented a program to a group of visual artists in Boca Raton, Women in the Visual Arts http://www.floridabooknews.com/2017/01/women-in-visual-arts.html. In discussing our work as cozy mystery writers, we showed some of our book covers. Although Nancy and I had both experienced publishers who gave us…
Read MoreA Library Book: Stories from Childhood
This past summer I wrote a series of blogs about growing up on a farm. The series was entitled “Tales from the Hayloft.” Many of you commented on the ways in which your childhood influenced your writing or your reading choices as an adult. One of my internet writing buddies did more than that. She…
Read MoreTales from the Hayloft: A Smile and A Laugh
Growing up on a farm was lots of fun, and I was never bored although I had few other children as companions. As I indicated last week, being alone sharpened my imagination, and I credit being an only child with my becoming a writer. I was reminiscing about my childhood and thinking of stories…
Read MoreTales from the Hayloft: The Lonely World of an Only Child
I’m pretty certain there are more drawbacks to being an only child than there are advantages. People misunderstand growing up alone. They often assume the only child to be spoiled, the center of attention, the recipient of numerous gifts from parents and other relatives, all of this resulting in an individual who is self-centered and…
Read MoreTractors and Eve’s Sense of Moral Purpose
The virtual book blog tour for Mud Bog Murder is over as is the tour for Happy Homicides 4: Fall into Crime. I had fun with both the tours, and I especially loved getting to know the other authors from Happy Homicides 4. In one of the interviews from my tour, I was asked…
Read MoreTales from the Hayloft: The Bumblebee Skirt
Many of you know my passion for yard sales, consignment shops and stores that sell used clothing and household items. And some of you also know that I come by this passion via my father’s mother, my grandmother whom I have labeled the queen of recycling, reusing, redoing and reinventing. She took my aunt’s clothing…
Read MoreStories from the Hayloft: The Red Mitten
When I was a kid, I loved following my dad around on the farm as he went about his chores. He milked the cows both morning and evening and both times, I accompanied him to the dairy barn where I fed hay to the young calves housed in one of the pens. One evening during…
Read MoreStories from the Hayloft Continued
Happy Fourth of July. I don’t know how all of you are celebrating, but we’re going to have a quiet holiday hanging out in our backyard. As you can tell from the picture above, it’s really serene with the sun coming through the trees. I can’t think of a better place in which to celebrate…
Read MoreMen Write Cozies, too
Author James R. Callan I’m excited to have Jim Callan as my guest blogger. After a successful career in mathematics and computer science, receiving grants from the National Science Foundation and NASA, and being listed in Who’s Who in Computer Science and Two Thousand Notable Americans, James R. Callan turned to his first love—writing. He…
Read MoreSmall town issues in a cozy mystery: Author Judy Penz Sheluk
Where do writers find their inspiration? Judy Penz Sheluk looked at her town and found the heart of a cozy mystery. Judy Penz Sheluk’s debut mystery, The Hanged Man’s Noose (Barking Rain Press) was published July 2015. Her short crime fiction is included in The Whole She-Bang, World Enough and Crime, and most recently, Flash…
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