INKSPOT Crime Fiction Blog | A Place for Mystery, Mayhem, Writing and Life

Seven Sinister Sisters on Genres

2018-04-12T04:32:00.000-04:00

Edith Maxwell/Maddie Day here. The Seven Sinister Sisters are on a blog tour and we're giving away books! We are seven authors with new books coming out this winter and spring, and we've been guest blogging all over cyberspace since January. You can see where we've been and where we're still scheduled on our Facebook page.

I asked everyone to answer the following question: If you could write in another genre, what would it be? Here are our answers in no particular order.

Edith Maxwell: I would love to try my hand at science fiction. I used to read a lot of it, especially the fabulous late Ursula LeGuin. But right now I have my hands full writing two cozy mystery series and one historical, so sci fi is going to have to take a back seat.

Sue Star: I already do. I write science fiction and fantasy as Rebecca S.W. Bates, magical realism as Cameron Kennedy, and horror as Minta Monroe. Growing up, I always dreamed of becoming an astronaut. I chose a different path, learning that it’s more fun to make up adventures. Building other worlds, whether realistic or fantastic ones, appeals to me, as I have faith that justice will be served and humanity will find a way to survive. Although I started my writing career with science fiction, now I spend equal time writing both.

Becky Clark: Erotica. I hear that's where the money is. But since I'm a puritanical straitlaced prude, I think it might not keep me in the lap of luxury to which I've become accustomed. So I'll change my answer to "middle-grade romps." I may be a prude, but I punch above my weight with playground fart jokes. I'd still write mysteries, though, because I believe every single story is actually a mystery, whether they call it that or not. No matter what, there's always some story question that needs to be resolved.

Our next stop on the tour is April 18 on the Chicks on the Case blog. Here's where you can find each of us in the meantime:
http://www.patriciahale.org
http://www.edithmaxwell.com
http://www.lesliekarstauthor.com/
http://www.cperkinswrites.com
http://www.shawn-mcguire.com
http://www.rebeccawriter.blogspot.com
http://www.BeckyClarkBooks.com

To celebrate our new releases, the Seven Sinister Sisters are having a giveaway!

Seven lucky winners will receive an ebook from one of us.

One GRAND PRIZE winner will receive a signed copy from each of us!

Enter to win by leaving a comment. Our tour runs from January 6^th to April 30^th and we’re answering a different question at each blog. Leave a comment at each blog for more entries! We’ll draw the winner from all the combined comments at the end of our tour.

Readers: What genres do you like to read? Which won't you go near?

Twice Honored

2018-02-08T04:06:00.000-05:00

Edith here, still riding on a joy cloud!

Why am I riding on a joy cloud? I learned last week that Called to Justice, my second Quaker Midwife Mystery, has been nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel! Delivering the Truth was nominated last year, so I've twice been honored in this category.

I am nominated with four other stellar authors:

Rhys Bowen for In Farleigh Field
Jessica Ellicott for Murder in an English Village
Susan Elia MacNeal for The Paris Spy
Renee Patrick for Dangerous to Know

I know all these authors, and they are all gracious, talented, and friendly. I've read Rhys and Jessica's books - and loved both of them.

In Farleigh Field is a standalone mystery and tells the story of an upper-class English woman doing her bit during World War II by working with the top-secret codebreakers. Plus a mystery, of course.

Murder in an English Village, Jessica's debut in a new series, is a delightful 1920s tale of two old friends meeting up again - and then solving a murder in the village. (Jessica Ellicott is a new pen name for my good friend and Wicked Cozy Authors blogmate Jessie Crockett.)

The Paris Spy is a suspense-filled Maggie Hope spy novel, set during World War II. This time she's on a double mission in occupied Paris, and it's very dangerous, indeed.

The only one I haven't yet read is Dangerous to Know. This series is about movie fashion designer Edith Head and amateur sleuth Lillian Frost solving crimes in the late 1930s in Los Angeles. How can't I enjoy a book with a character named Edith?

What isn't dangerous to know is what talented authors I am nominated with. I hope you'll pick up a copy of each of these fabulous historical stories.

The Agathas are awarded by attendees at Malice Domestic, the annual conference for the traditional mystery, held in Bethesda, Maryland every year at the end of April. From the Malice web site: The Agatha Awards honor the “traditional mystery,” books typified by the works of Agatha Christie and others. For our purposes, the genre is loosely defined as mysteries that contain no explicit sex, excessive gore or gratuitous violence, and are not classified as “hard-boiled.”

Of course I hope Called to Justice wins in this category, but if not I can heartily applaud the book that does

Readers: Which of these awesome authors have you read? Will you be at Malice this year?

The Fun of Plotting

2018-02-05T03:30:00.000-05:00

by Linda O. Johnston

It's plotting time!

I'm currently finishing the editorial process for the fourth of my Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries for Midnight Ink. Pick and Chews will be a May release.

I also have a deadline coming up in a few months for number five in the series. No name yet. I started plotting it a while ago and had to set it aside because of other writing commitments... but I'm back!

As always, it's fun to reunite with established characters and create new ones that'll be important to this new book. That includes the dogs, of course.

How to plot? Well, I've established a general procedure over many years of writing that I call my plot skeleton. It's somewhat based on screenplay plotting. Yes, I'm a plotter, not a pantser. In other words, I start by creating a plot that I turn into a loose synopsis and work from there. I don't write by the seat of my pants as pantsers do--at least not much. Sometimes my characters aren't completely willing to follow my established plot, and I tend to listen to them.

Every writer's procedure is different, of course, even though some might have similarities. I've been at this for a while and so my subconscious, on whom I rely, tends to follow it even if I don't give it orders to do so.

So, subconscious of mine, plot on!

Tumbles, Broken Bones, and Book Launches

2018-01-22T01:00:00.000-05:00

Today's blog article will be short and sweet. I recently took a tumble which resulted in me falling on my shoulder and breaking my collarbone and multiple places. In the long run, I will be just fine. In the short run, typing with one hand is a little problematic. But I wanted to share the great news about the launch of my 5th Downward Dog Mystery, Pre-Meditated Murder. Reviews so far are fabulous, and I hope you give the book a try.

If you happen to live in the Seattle area, I would love it if you came to see me in person. Please join me in celebrating my book's birth at the Edmonds Bookshop on Saturday, February 3, from 1 to 2 p.m. I'll be giving real-life hugs, signing books, and generally having an awesome time.

The rest of the book launch for Pre-Meditated Murder is going on as scheduled, and the reviews from my first blog tour are pretty fabulous. I've copied the below from the tour host’s page at Great Escapes Blog Tours. Check out the page at this link and enter the Rafflecopter drawing for a free copy of the book.

These characters are realistic, fun, smart, determined and very centered most of the time. I love the role Bella plays in each mystery. ~Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book

Starting and ending with romantic surprises, this yoga-centric novel takes the reader to unexplored locations on a roller coaster emotional run. ~Laura’s Interests

PRE-MEDITATED MURDER is a compelling read. Expectations of love are challenged and explored in this multilayered mystery. ~Cozy Up With Kathy

Okay, I just totally fell in love with this book!… There is quite a bit of drama, a captivating investigation, and a heart-wrenching finale that kept me hooked until I ran out of pages to read. ~Books a Plenty Book Reviews

I love this series. I never expected that Michael had a secret wife. I’m not sure I liked that twist, but I couldn’t stop reading. I just had to find out how it would all end. I was completely engrossed in this one. ~Socrates’ Book Reviews…

I loved Rene, Kate best friend, she is brave, funny and I would love to read more about her! ~Varietats

That's all for now. Much love to all of you, and I hope to see some of you on February 3rd.

Tracy

PS--Want your very own copy of Pre-Meditated Murder? It's available now in e-book and paper back copies everywhere!

Check this link for some local ideas. http://tracyweberauthor.com/buy_premeditated.html

How Hard Is It to Turn a Tide?

2018-01-11T04:28:00.000-05:00

Edith here, gearing up for the release of Turning the Tide, Quaker Midwife Mystery #3.

Actually, I don't think it's possible to turn an oceanic tide. It's not a little boat. It's not even a giant ocean liner or tanker. Our earth's ocean tides are mighty gravitation-powered forces. They come around more or less twice a day, with two high tides and two lows. The moon influences them. The weather influences them. We dinky humans have no effect, unless on a grand climate-change scale.

Don't trust me on this, though. I write novels, not science articles. But I'm pretty sure it's true. So why would I name a book if turning a tide isn't even possible?

The story opens at a meeting of the Amesbury Woman Suffrage Association a few days before election day in November 1888. We now know this was more than thirty years before women got the vote by the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the US constitution in 1920. But that didn't mean women weren't already protesting and lobbying for the right to express their opinions at the ballot box.

Gradually, inexorably, women were turning the tide of opinion toward allowing half the adult population to vote. In the same way as with the movement to legally enfranchise African-American men, Quakers were in the forefront of the women's rights movement. Midwife Rose Carroll joins forces with other Amesbury suffragists in this book, and her mother - a well-known activist for the cause - comes to town to stand in solidarity across from the polls on election day, as does Elizabeth Cady Stanton herself.

I'm so excited that this book will reach the reading public in three short months! In the meantime, I have five advance reader copies itching to reach the hands of avid fans. I'll give one away to a commenter here today.

Readers: Do you vote? If not, why not? What do you think of when you exercise your right, not even a century old, to mark that ballot or pull that lever, whether in a local election or to name the next leader of the country?

Agatha- and Macavity-nominated author Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, the Local Foods Mysteries, and award-winning short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she writes the popular Country Store Mysteries and the new Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries.

She is president of Sisters in Crime New England and lives north of Boston with her beau, two elderly cats, and an impressive array of garden statuary. She blogs at WickedCozyAuthors.com, KillerCharacters.com, and midnightwriters.blogspot.com. Read about all her personalities and her work at edithmaxwell.com

Happy New Year!

2018-01-01T03:30:00.000-05:00

by Linda O. Johnston

Yikes! This post just sneaked up on me. The first Monday of the month is also the first day of this new year.

This will be short since I'm still celebrating. Plus, I'm still dealing with deadlines--nothing unusual about that.

But I'm looking forward to an exciting and fun new year of writing and reading and family time (including my dogs, of course) and more. I also look forward to more interaction with the Midnight Ink team and other MI writers. Good bunch of people, and I hope the new year is great for all of them!

Do you have plans for today? This week? This month? This year? January is a good time to work on all kinds of plans. I've got lots in mind, and I suspect you do, too.

So... Happy New Year! I hope you have a wonderful 2018. And beyond, of course. Plan well, accomplish much, read and write a lot, and above all else, have fun.

Linda O. Johnston is currently writing the Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries for Midnight Ink. Her most recent one was Bad to the Bone, and the next in the series, Pick and Chews, will be a May 2018 release.

My Christmas Gift to you: Chapter 1 of Pre-Meditated Murder

2017-12-25T01:00:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas, everyone! Without further ado, I present to you the first chapter of Pre-Meditated Murder. It officially releases on January 8, but it is available for pre--order now! Let me know what you think!

CHAPTER 1:

I slipped through the restroom door, leaned my back against the counter, and tried—unsuccessfully—to slow the pounding in my chest.

Dad’s voice echoed inside my head. Take it easy now, Kate-Girl. Remember what Rene told you. You have to act like everything’s normal. You don’t want to ruin tonight for Michael.

Almost three years after his death, Dad was still right. Tonight wasn’t about me. At least not just about me. It was Michael’s night, too. Or it would be, provided I didn’t die of heart failure.

Public restroom or not, I could think of worse places to die. The floor’s shiny black marble was spotless. A trio of lavender-scented candles cast dancing light beams across the matching countertop. The purple blooms of a phalaenopsis orchid cascaded from a dark green plant in the corner. The place even sounded inviting, thanks to soothing classical music floating through hidden speakers.

Normally, I would have been enchanted by the room’s painstaking ornamentation. Not today. Today, I was too busy trying not to hyperventilate to revel.

My adrenaline-laced anticipation surprised me, especially since I’d spent almost a year avoiding the very conversation Michael and I were about to have. Then again, maybe I was worked up because I’d been avoiding it for so long. Until recently, I’d had no idea how important our future was to me.

Maybe a relaxing breath practice would help me calm down. I closed my eyes and inhaled, mentally coaching myself as I would one of my yoga students. Inhale and slowly count to four. One, two, three, four. Exhale, one, two …

A few cycles later, my heartbeat slowed. The chattering of my monkey mind subsided. My hands were still trembling too hard to touch up my makeup, so I picked stray dog hairs off the black cocktail dress I’d borrowed for the evening and ran a comb through my shoulder-length hair. I smiled to make sure lipstick hadn’t coated my teeth, pinched my cheeks to give them some color, and headed back to join Michael at our table.

Every part of SkyCity, the Seattle Space Needle’s upscale restaurant, had been designed to seduce multiple senses. The heels of my three-inch stilettos sank into the lobby’s lush oriental carpet. Notes from a baby grand piano caressed my eardrums. Swirls of color burst from a Chihuly painting, exploding the piano’s overture on canvas. A kaleidoscope of scents arranged and rearranged themselves in my nostrils, creating a fluid collage: garlicky pasta Alfredo, musky perfume, the sweet floral bouquet of deep red roses.

For most Seattleites, dinner at SkyCity was reserved for special occasions. For practically broke small business owners like Michael and me, the experience might be once in a lifetime. But man, was it worth it. SkyCity served more than delicious food. It provided unparalleled atmosphere and a rotating, panoramic view of the entire city.

Any other evening, I would have been glued to my seat for every one of the forty-seven minutes it took for the restaurant to complete a full rotation. Any other evening, I would have been transfixed by the view: toy-like rooftops, tiny ferries, the stark lines of the Olympic Mountains. Any other evening, I would have been drunk on the surroundings before I took my first sip of champagne.

This evening, however, I’d barely noticed any of it. I hadn’t even tasted the pasta I’d picked at for dinner. I was too preoccupied. Waiting. Waiting for Michael to stop pretending that we were here to celebrate my thirty-fourth birthday. Waiting for him to pull out the jewelry bag that Rene had spotted him carrying two days ago. Waiting for him to ask me to marry him.

Michael stood and pulled out my chair, grinning. “You were gone for an awfully long time. I was about to send in a search party.”

“Sorry about that.”

I glanced at him over my wine glass as he nodded discreetly to our waiter. On a bad day, Michael was pretty darned handsome, and today was far from a bad day. His sexy, blue-green eyes sparkled. The tailored suit he wore accented his broad shoulders and six-foot-tall frame. Curly brown hair brushed delightfully above his ear lobes, as if daring me to nibble them. Unmentionable body parts tingled. If Michael didn’t hurry up and give me that ring soon, I might consummate our engagement before the proposal.

I grinned. Now wouldn’t that give new meaning to SkyCity’s 360-degree view.

“Care to let me in on the joke?” Michael asked.

“Sorry. Nothing. I was just thinking about how happy I am.”

As if on cue, a line of wait staff approached our table. One carried a huge ice cream concoction enveloped in a thick dry-ice fog. Another brandished a bottle of my favorite bubbly and two crystal champagne flutes. The rest surrounded our table in a black-and-white semicircle. Conversations around us grew muted as people stopped eating to watch the theatrics. I felt my face redden. Leave it to Michael to embarrass me with a grand gesture.

Michael grinned like a madman; a cork popped through the air; the entire restaurant burst into song.
“Happy birthday to you …”

Huh?

Ten seconds later, I blew out the candle and watched as the wait staff disappeared. The other diners resumed their conversations.

I surreptitiously picked through the ice cream, hoping to find buried treasure. Nothing but frozen dairy products and chunks of rich dark chocolate. No diamond lurked in the bottom of my champagne glass, either. My unmentionables stopped tingling, replaced by an awkward unease. Could Rene have been wrong?

Michael leaned across the table and clinked his glass against mine. “Happy birthday, Kate. I hope you’ve enjoyed it.”

The smile I flashed back felt so stiff, it could have been molded from plastic. “Tonight has been wonderful, Michael, truly. The flowers, the dinner, the champagne …” My voice trembled. “Everything.”

Michael frowned, confused. “What is it? Don’t like the dessert? The reviews said it wasn’t too rich, so I asked for extra dark chocolate.”

“It’s delicious, Michael.” I lifted the spoon to my mouth, but pasta with garlic sauce threatened to leap for my throat. I laid the spoon back on the table.

“It was that damned birthday song, wasn’t it?” Michael grumbled. “I should have known better. I know how you hate it when people make a fuss over you. I just thought … well, I thought it would be fun.”

“It was fun,” I assured him. “And the dessert is awesome. It looks like an erupting volcano.” Tears burned the back of my eyes. If I didn’t get out of this restaurant soon, I might erupt right alongside it. I looked pointedly at my watch and waved to get the waiter’s attention. “It’s almost eight. We should leave soon to pick up Bella.”

“Already?” Michael didn’t hide his disappointment.

“The twins have been fussy lately. I promised Rene we wouldn’t be out late.”

I lied. My German shepherd, Bella, suffered from significant separation anxiety, so I never left her alone for more than an hour or two. Michael already knew that Rene was dog-sitting tonight. What he didn’t know was that Bella’s visit was supposed to be a sleepover. Rene had insisted, claiming that my engagement night would be significantly more romantic without a furry, hundred-pound bed hog.

Make that supposed engagement night.

Michael didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t argue. “Before we go, I have something for you.” He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small, foil-wrapped box stamped Trinity Jewelers.

In that moment, the entire world seemed to freeze. I would have sworn that the Space Needle stopped spinning. I was so excited—so relieved—that I didn’t grasp the significance of the box’s flat, three-inch-square shape.

Michael slid it across the table. “Go on, open it.”

My hands trembled again, but I managed to unwrap the paper, ease the top off the box, and gaze down at—

A necklace?

A simple gold heart suspended on a delicate chain. A locket.

Michael reached across the table and opened it. Two tiny pictures were nestled inside. On the left, a grinning Michael. On the right, Bella. “I know you don’t wear much jewelry,” he said, “but I wanted to give you something special. This way Bella and I will always be close to your heart.”

The necklace was gorgeous. Breathtaking, really. Michael had obviously put a lot of thought into the gift. Normally, I would have been stunned—in a good way.

But tonight wasn’t supposed to be normal.

The tears threatening my eyes spilled down my cheeks. “It’s exquisite.”

Michael dropped the necklace back into the box and took my hand. “Kate, honey, what’s wrong? You’ve been acting weird all night. I’m starting to get worried.”

“Nothing. It’s just that …” I swallowed. “I thought you were giving me a ring.”

At first Michael looked confused. “A ring? In a necklace box?” Then his face turned ashen. “Oh.”

Disappointment flashed to embarrassment, which I covered up by pretending to be angry. “Oh? That’s all you have to say? Oh?”

Michael opened his mouth, then closed it again without speaking.

The silence between us echoed like a shot to the gut, but it felt significantly more painful. The waiter eased next to Michael, slid the bill onto the table, and scurried away.

“I’m sorry, Kate,” Michael said. “Really, I am. I didn’t mean to disappoint you. But what made you think I was proposing tonight?”

I stared at the tablecloth, wishing I could disappear underneath it. “Rene went shopping for the twins at Westlake Center on Thursday.”

Michael groaned and rubbed the crease between his eyebrows.

I pointed at the box. “She saw you walk out of Trinity’s carrying this. We both assumed—” My voice cracked.

The restaurant’s energy—or at least my experience of it—shifted. The room grew quiet. Sympathetic eyes burned the back of my neck. The dry-ice fog surrounding my uneaten dessert threatened to suffocate me. I gripped the seat of my chair with both hands, willing myself not to bolt.

“Kate, I will propose to you someday, I promise. But not tonight. I can’t.”

“Can’t?”

Michael refused to look at me.

Deep inside my gut, I knew that I shouldn’t keep pressing. If I kept pressing, Michael’s explanation might change our relationship forever.

I pressed anyway.

“Michael, what aren’t you telling me?”

His jaw trembled. “You know I love you, right?”

I did.

I loved Michael, too. More than I’d ever loved anyone, except maybe Bella. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to say the words back. “Out with it, already.”

Michael stared at the floor for what felt like an eternity. When he looked up again, his eyes were wet.
“I’m sorry, Kate. I’m already married.”

Tracy

All four books in the Downward Dog Mystery Series are available at booksellers everywhere!

An Almost Rose Carroll Story

2017-12-14T04:16:00.000-05:00

Edith here, feeling just a little stressed about the holidays and various authorly tasks also on my to-do list. So I thought I would de-stress by asking you to celebrate with me. 'Cause who doesn't love a party?

My newest story, "An Ominous Silence," came out last month in Snowbound: Best New England Crime Stories 2017 from Level Best Books! Cue the cries of "Bravo!" and pop the champagne. It is my sixteenth published story (see the whole list here on my beautifully rehabbed new web site), and I have one more story accepted for publication next spring.

So I thought I'd tell you the origin story behind the, well, story. Get comfy, kids, and put up your feet.

Five of my short crime stories feature Quaker midwife Rose Carroll from my Quaker Midwife Mysteries. One was even nominated for an Agatha Award last year. I had written a sixth for this year's Bouchercon anthology, the theme of which was travel, since the big mystery conference was held in Toronto, Canada. In the new story, Rose and her apprentice are on a train to Montreal in a snowy New England 1890s winter when the train is snowed in on a desolate stretch of tracks. A man is murdered, and his wife goes into labor. Rose comes to the rescue on both counts.

I was about to click Send when I checked the guidelines one more time. Ack! Because the committee wanted truly anonymous judging, authors couldn't use characters from any published book or series. That pretty much trashed Rose Carroll as the protagonist. I was cutting the deadline close, but I still had a few days left before they closed submissions.

So what does the creative mind do? Change the names to protect the innocent, of course. Or the series protag, as the case may be. Rose Carroll became midwife Catherine Colby--not a Quaker--and her apprentice Annie morphed into Genevieve Rousseau. I changed the date to a few years after the published Quaker Midwife mysteries take place and fixed the midwife's speech so she doesn't talk like a Quaker. I printed out the story, checked it one more time, and hit Submit.

Did they accept it? Alas, no. I'm a pretty seasoned author by now, however, and the word "No" no
longer devastates. We find a new venue and try again. Lucky for me, I heard about the rejection before the deadline for this year's Level Best anthology. I hit Submit again. And this time got a hit.

I hope you'll check out the anthology, which is full of dozens of amazing authors and delightful stories. And don't forget, Turning the Tide, Quaker Midwife Mystery #3, will be out April 8 and is available for preorder wherever books are sold!

Readers: What kinds of rejection have you bounced back from, and how? Which sow's ear have you found a silver lining in, or which storm cloud have you turned into silk (to mix a couple of clichéd metaphors just for the heck of it)?

Promotion Pluses

2017-12-04T03:30:00.000-05:00

by Linda O. Johnston

Holiday time seems to be a good time for book promotional events this year, or at least it is for me. There are lots of kinds of events, too. Over time, I have participated in quite a few different kinds and have considered the pros and cons of each of them.

Why get out there and promote? There are a variety of good reasons.

For example, it's fun to be on a panel and share information about my stories, how I came up with ideas for them, how I wrote them. It's also fun to be on my own in front of a group and let 'em know what's on my mind and how I do things. It's fun, as an author, to get to know readers and other authors. It's hopefully fun for readers to meet other authors they've read and other readers who enjoy them--and to get an intro to those they haven't read--yet.

Last weekend I was on a panel with other mystery authors and had a good time--as I'd anticipated. This in fact was my second time sitting on a mystery panel there. The program was held at a women's club, and a moderator had sent us the questions she would ask so it easy to prepare. The audience was interested and interesting, and seemed to enjoy the panel as much as I did.

As I said, I do enjoy panels. I tend to go to several writers conferences each year where I generally participate in programs, again mostly on panels. That way the audience can choose to hear a group of authors they may have read--or want to learn more about. And the panelists can get to learn more about each other, too.

Next weekend I'll be at a book event at a local library. Although there are speakers, this time I won't be among them. But I'll get to meet potential and actual readers and discuss my books with them.

And over time, I've given talks myself at libraries and bookstores and more. I've even given a few extension classes at colleges, hoping to help other authors start or polish their work.

Long ago, when I started writing, I assumed writers just wrote and got published and had fun that way. Sure, that's fun, but I learned from experience that writing isn't just writing. We need to get out there and make sure prospective readers find us. And so, though I used to be shy and uncomfortable with public speaking, which isn't surprising for a writer, I've learned through experience to face the world and an audience and talk to the crowd.

It's all part of writing... and it's fun.

Linda O. Johnston is currently writing the Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries for Midnight Ink. Her most recent one was Bad to the Bone, and the next in the series, Pick and Chews, will be a May 2018 release.

Dedications, Gratitude, and Appreciation, Oh My!

2017-11-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

The Monday after Thanksgiving seems appropriate to share my intense gratitude for all of the people who have helped me on the path to publication for my newest book, Pre-Meditated Murder. Even though it's not out until January, the individuals mentioned below helped me over a year ago, meaning that this thanks is well overdue. To all of the people who help me every day of this life, I probably don't say it enough, but I appreciate you!!

Dedication:

To my precocious German shepherd pup, Ana. Thank you for filling my days with laughter and my nights with warmth.

Acknowledgements:

The longer I write, the more I realize that writing is a team sport.

Thanks, as always, to editor Sandy Sullivan at Midnight Ink and freelance editor Marta Tanrikulu. Your insights and feedback both amaze and humble me. Thanks also to my agent, Margaret Bail, and editor Terri Bischoff at Midnight Ink. I am grateful that you were willing to take a chance on this newbie author five years ago. Without you, my series would still be gathering dust at the bottom of my closet.

Special thanks to Jane Gorman, Brandy Reinke, and Renee Turner, who helped me understand the complex process of immigration and the particular challenges faced by immigrants coming to the United States from Mexico. Any errors are solely my own.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the town of Cannon Beach, Oregon, which is one of my favorite places in the world. I took some liberties with the Sand Castle Festival, including moving it to autumn instead of early summer, but the loveliness of the town is unchanged. I hope to retire there someday.

My husband, Marc, gets extra kudos for designing and maintaining my author website, as well as for listening to all of my grumbles and supporting me through all of my challenges. Ana Pup, the new canine love of my life, gets my eternal gratitude for keeping life interesting.

Finally, thank you to all of my readers, who keep me glued to the keyboard even when I feel like giving up. I write for you.

Tracy

All four books in the Downward Dog Mystery Series are available at booksellers everywhere!

The New England Crime Bake

2017-11-09T03:55:00.000-05:00

Edith here north of Boston, packing and checking items off her To-Bring list.

What am I packing for, you ask? Why, the New England Crime Bake, of course.

Now in its 15th year, the "Bake" is co-sponsored by Sisters in Crime New England and Mystery Writers of America New England. As I am the current president of the SINC chapter, I am expected to be there. But I wouldn't miss it for anything. I started going in 2006, and have missed only one year since.

Unlike some of the big fan conferences -- think Bouchercon or Malice Domestic -- this one is a writers' conference. It offers master classes on the first day. Agent and editor pitch opportunities. Manuscript critiques. Forensics workshops. The audience is almost exclusively made up of published and aspiring crime fiction writers.

So we all come to learn, to network. But we have lots and lots of fun, too. There's usually a panel where the panelists make up mysteries on the spot. Friday night there's a pizza party. Our SINC chapter presents a game, which this year is Pin the Wound on the Corpse. All attendees get a bingo card at the beginning, and have to go around finding authors fitting the description to sign each square: Writes Three Series might be one. Former SINC National president might be another. MWA member from Vermont another. It's a great ice breaker.

Sheriff Edith with cowgirls Shari Randall and Kim Gray.

The banquet always has a theme related to the guest of honor and attendees are encourage to dress up in appropriate costumes. When Craig Johnson of Longmire fame was guest of honor, for example, we all turned out in cowboy (or cowgirl) gear. The year Charlaine Harris was our honored guest, Saturday night was the Vampire Ball. You get the idea! This year the guest is Lisa Gardner, and the banquet theme is the Red Carpet, so the dress will be of the more conventional fancy awards-ceremony sort. As with every year, there will be dancing!

And then there's always the bar. For me by now, attending Crime Bake is like going back to summer camp and connecting with people you've missed all year. Next year and the year after I will be co-chair of the conference, sharing the duties with someone from the MWA chapter, so I expect my responsibilities might cut into my fun a bit. But that's okay - it's my turn to give back.

Readers: Are you going to Crime Bake or have you? Which annual conference do you attend where it's like going back to summer camp?

Creating Characters

2017-11-06T03:30:00.000-05:00

by Linda O. Johnston

I love creating characters for my novels.

Or do I create them? Maybe they create me.

There is, after all, an element of me in all of them, or at least in my protagonists. For example, Carrie Kennersly, from my Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries, is a veterinary technician who buys a bakery from a friend and turns half into a barkery where she sells healthy dog treats that she created.

There appears to be very little of Carrie in me. I'm not much of a cook, for one thing. I've been fortunate enough to get most of the recipes in my books from friends.

But once upon a time I wanted to be a veterinarian, and Carrie as a vet tech has to do a lot of the things that her vet bosses do. I realized that I wouldn't be able to deal with being around sick animals, even to help them. And I especially couldn't handle cutting them open, even to save their lives. So, I became a lawyer--and a writer. But I'm delighted that Carrie can deal with the bad as well as the good to take the best care of ill animals.

And believe it or not, there actually is a lot of Carrie in me--or me in Carrie. We both love animals, especially dogs. We both solve murders. Of course I happen to create those murders in my stories for her to solve, but in a way we join forces to put together a mystery and incorporate it into a book that will hopefully be fun to read.

Plus, Carrie owns a dog, Biscuit. Biscuit is always in her life. And I am owned by a couple of dogs, Mystie and Cari. They probably control my life more than Biscuit controls Carrie's, but that's fine with me.

Yes, there are other characters in the books who are important to the story. There is possibly a touch of me in all of them--maybe even the murderers. I'll have to consider that more and possibly write about that here sometime in the future.

www.LindaOJohnston.com

Will the Real Yoga Teacher Please Stand Up?

2017-10-23T01:00:00.000-04:00

As a novelist, I’ve been blessed to meet many generous writers who have mentored me on the bumpy path to publication. Pretty much every seasoned writer I’ve met so far has given me one sage piece of advice: never read reviews.

I have to admit, I read them anyway.

Maybe it’s curiosity; maybe it’s excitement; maybe it’s simply my need to look for that ever-elusive stamp of approval, but I can’t seem to stop myself. I dig and I search and I devour every new review I can find. Most of the time, they make me smile. Occasionally, I learn something from a reader’s comments that will make me a better writer. Sometimes, however, a review leaves me shaking my head.

Some time ago, I came across one such review. I don’t remember now if the reader liked my book, or even which book she was reviewing. Something tells me it wasn’t her favorite. But one criticism stuck in my memory. She said that my protagonist wasn’t a realistic yoga teacher. If Kate were a real yoga teacher, the reader asserted, she’d be much thinner, more flexible, and less likely to lose her temper.

My protagonist is 5’3” tall and at the beginning of the series weighed 130 pounds, which is normal by most standards. Like many women, Kate has body image issues and hates her “chunky” thighs. All in all, she’s not a heck of a lot different than me, and she can do significantly more challenging yoga poses than I can. I’ve made my living teaching yoga for over seventeen years.

Yoga teachers (like yoga practitioners) come in all shapes and sizes. Some are lithe and can do amazing things with their bodies. Some are overweight. Some suffer from chronic illnesses and perpetually tight hamstrings. Some even start their yoga teaching career after retirement. The best yoga teachers know how to teach the students in front of them, in spite of their own personal limitations—or lack thereof. In fact, many great yoga teachers have imperfect bodies. If you can’t do a pose, learning how to observe your students and describe that pose becomes even more important.

Why do I care about this enough to write a blog article about it? The comment in the review highlights the very misperception of yoga that I’m trying to destroy: that yoga is only for the fit, the flexible, and the young. I have certified over three hundred teachers in the past fifteen years, and I have met privately to discuss Whole Life Yoga’s teacher training with at least three times that many. And yes, I've had teacher training students that smoke and most have known to have a drink on occasion.

My heart always breaks a little when an otherwise wonderful candidate decides not to pursue teaching yoga because they can’t do all of the poses, they don’t have a size-four body, or they think they are too old. The world loses a lot of great yoga teachers that way.

Is the protagonist in my book likely to grace the cover of Yoga Journal? Probably not. But perhaps it’s time we let go of the yoga stereotypes. If yoga teachers are more diverse, our students will be as well.

What do you think?

Amazon Page

Tracy Weber’s author page
Kate's author buddy, Tracy Weber, on Facebook

Catch up on all four of the Downward Dog Mysteries. Available at booksellers everywhere!

Real Life Research

2017-10-12T04:00:00.000-04:00

Edith Maxwell here, reporting on some inadvertent research I did last week. And giving away a large-print version of CALLED TO JUSTICE!

So I write mysteries featuring a long-ago midwife. Turning the Tide releases next April. Native to Massachusetts, Rose Carroll catches babies, hears secrets, and solves crimes back in the late 1880s. I had a part-time gig as a childbirth educator and labor coach a couple of decades ago. Until last week, the last birth I'd attended in any role was over twenty years ago.

Thirty-two years ago my best friend gave birth to my goddaughter, and I was in the room helping as best I could when she was born at home with the help of independent midwives. Last weekend that goddaughter gave birth to her own first baby, and once again I was there in a supporting role. I was so honored and thrilled to have that circle come round again.

She chose to give birth in a free-standing birth center which is affiliated with the hospital across the street.

Birthing figures from the birth center's living room

Over and over again through out my goddaughter's forty-hour unmedicated labor - mostly at home until the very end - I thought of Rose Carroll. Even though working nurse-midwife (and mystery fan) Risa Rispoli vets all my midwifery scenes before I turn them in, I still wondered if I had been writing details correctly.

Here are a few things I'll be incorporating in my next Quaker Midwife mystery:

A woman in labor with her first child looks at her husband and says, "No more babies!"
During the first phase, the mom-to-be goes inward with each contraction, very quietly, very stoically.
Before active labor kicks in, her contractions slow overnight to every eight to ten minutes, and she snoozes in between.
After active labor start, with pains coming every three minutes and lasting two, the woman despairs, weeping and swearing, but persevering.
She throws off any hand or touch that she doesn't want.
She pushes on her hands and knees for almost two hours.
The midwife checks the heartbeat during pushing, and has to get the listening device in just the right position to hear the baby's heart.
The woman swears and grunts as she pushes, her whole body taking part.
The midwife uses oil and eases the head out slowly so the mom doesn't tear.
Once the head is out, the baby looks around and smacks its lips together, already alert.
The cord is a tough membrane and beautiful, silvery and translucent.
Instantly after birth the mom feels better and speaks softly to her child at the breast.

I'm sure there are more, but this experience - a miracle and an honor for me - really brought birthing alive again.

Readers: Any vivid birth memories you'd like to share? Your own or that of others? One commenter will win a copy of Called to Justice (make sure I know your email address so I can find the winner).

Why Write Mysteries?

2017-10-02T03:30:00.000-04:00

by Linda O. Johnston

The answer to that question, if posed to most mystery writers, will probably yield a lot of answers.

Because I love to read mysteries, is one of the primary ones, I suspect.

Some others?

Because I love to stump others who read my work.

Because I enjoy creating smart, creative protagonists--and bad guys, too.

Because I enjoy belonging to organizations of mystery writers.

Because I have fun writing mysteries--and editing and even re-reading my own work.

Because I like my publisher.

Because it's a challenge, and I enjoy challenges.

Because I enjoy writing blog posts about mysteries.

Because... well, those of us who are active on this blog write mysteries for Midnight Ink, of course. Some of you might identify with what I've already said. Others might have a lot more ideas of your own about what spurred you to start writing mysteries.

But one that probably all will identify with? Because it's who I am and what I love.

Yoga Teachers, Doulas, Labradoodle Puppies--and Murder?

2017-09-25T01:00:00.000-04:00

by Tracy Weber

Note from Tracy: Hi all! Today I decided to let Kate Davidson (the protagonist of my most recent mystery, A Fatal Twist) take center stage today. I hope you enjoy the interview!

Tracy: I'm delighted to be here today speaking with Kate Davidson, the yoga teacher/sleuth of my Downward Dog Mystery series and the protagonist of my most recent book, A Fatal Twist. Kate, why don't you tell our readers about yourself?

Kate: Protagonist? Sheesh, Tracy. After the amount of time we’ve spent together over the past four mysteries, I’d like to think of us as friends!

For those of you who don’t know me, I'm a yoga teacher and the owner of Serenity Yoga in Seattle, Washington. I've lived in Seattle my entire life and am a Pacific Northwest girl through and through. I'm also my 100-pound German shepherd’s devoted slave. Chasing after murderers is simply an unwanted sideline.

Tracy: Let's talk about Bella. What's it like owning a hundred-pound special needs German shepherd?

Kate: You think I own Bella? That’s funny! If anything, Bella owns me! I'd be lying if I didn't admit that living with Bella is challenging, especially since she doesn't like bearded men or other dogs. But Bella is the love of my life. She has changed my life, in every way for the better. I'd be lost without her.

Tracy: Tell the readers about your new career as a doula.

Kate: It’s not a career, at least I don’t think so. How could I take care of Bella and run Serenity Yoga with such an unpredictable schedule? But when Rene asked me to be the doula for the birth of her twins, I had to say yes. Rene is my touchstone. Being there when her babies are born will be such an honor.

So I signed up for doula training and recently attended a birth as part of it. Miracle—the baby—was so gorgeous! The only downer that night was the fight I witnessed between one of the doctors and Miracle’s delivery nurse. Then, a few days later when …

Well, I don’t want to give too much away.

Tracy: Speaking of twins, I hear you have two new family members.

Kate: Shh! Don’t say that! I don’t want Michael to get any ideas. We are fostering—not adopting, I swear!—two baby labradoodle puppies, Mutt and Jeff. Their real names should be Terror and Destruction. I like the cute little fur-demons, but their stay at our house is only temporary. Michael talked me into fostering them until they’re old enough to go to a rescue. Or until they destroy our last earthly possession, which might come first. Michael and I joke that if we ever find out who abandoned Mutt and Jeff, we’ll punish them by making them take the two monsters back.

Tracy: What about you and Michael? Any kids your future?

Kate: It’s funny you ask that. I didn’t think so, at least not for a few years. But after going undercover with Tiffany at Reproductive Associates (the fertility clinic owned by Dr. Dick, the murder victim), I’m beginning to re-think that decision. Maybe Michael and I shouldn’t wait too much longer. I’m thirty-four after all. As Tiffany would say, my ovaries have already started shriveling.

Tracy: How is it that you keep getting involved in murder investigations?

Kate: Honestly, I have no idea. I was raised by a cop, but Dad never shared much about his work with me. In fact, he tried to shield me from it. Yet this is the fourth murder investigation I’ve been involved with in a little over a year. My mother, Dharma, says righting wrongs is my lifework—my destiny. Maybe she’s right.

Tracy: Thanks for chatting with us today, Kate. I'd tell you to stay out of trouble, but we both know that will never happen. So I guess I'll just tell you to have fun!

Kate: You too, Tracy. I'd like to put in a plug for you before I leave. I know how much you love connecting with readers. So if you're reading this post, you can keep in touch with Tracy by friending her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tracywe or sending her an email at Tracy@WholeLifeYoga.com. She'd love to hear from you!

Amazon Page

Tracy Weber’s author page
Kate's author buddy, Tracy Weber, on Facebook

Catch up on all four of the Downward Dog Mysteries. Available at booksellers everywhere!

Learning American History Through Fiction

2017-09-14T04:00:00.000-04:00

Edith here, loving the still-fabulous tomatoes, juicy peaches, and sweet corn of a New England September.

I'm often studying history. I live in an antique house in a town full of history, and I use much of what I've learned about both in my Quaker Midwife Mysteries. So I got to thinking about my fellow historical mystery writers. Given the period I write in, I naturally gravitate to authors also writing about the second half of the nineteenth century, maybe squeezing into the first part of the twentieth.

Like who, you ask? Let's start with Nancy Herriman's Old San Francisco Mysteries. I love this series. A British-born nurse tends the poor and neglected in post Civil War San Francisco. Nancy's writing is vivid and chock-full of correct historical detail. No Pity for the Dead has Celia Davies bumping up against a ruthless real estate developer. Some things just never change! But along the way you feel what it was like to live in a rapidly developing San Francisco (one of my favorite cities, by the way).

My fellow Macavity nominee (for the Ann Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Novel) Ann Parker writes the Silver Rush Mysteries. I love these books, set in the real boomtown of Leadville in 1880 Colorado. I didn't know anything about the Silver Rush, and Ann brings it all alive. The dust, the issues of a woman and an African-American owning a respectable bar, the complications of a woman wanting a divorce from her disappeared husband, and so much more.

Anna Loan-Wilsey's Hattie Davish series come along next, set in various places around the country in the 1890s. Her protagonist is an independent "typewriter" - which means she's a typist. Sometimes she works for the wealthy man who employs her, and sometimes she's on loan to a friend of his in places as far flung as Missouri, Rhode Island, Arkansas, and Illinois. Anna drops in atmosphere in each place so you feel like you are there. In her latest, A March to Remember, she's researching something for Sir Arthur in our nation's capital but instead gets swept up in the worker's rights as well as the women's rights movement. The movements were real, as were some of the characters.

Alyssa Maxwell (no relation) pops up next in the chronology, with her wonderful Gilded Age mysteries set in Newport, Rhode Island in 1895 and thereabouts. While I used to live in Newport Beach, California, I didn't know much about the eastern version except for the row of big mansions (which I still haven't seen in person yet). Emma Cross is a less-than-well-off relation to the Vanderbilts, and a reporter. I love where she takes me in and around Newport, and what I've learned of the lifestyles of regular people as well as the rich and famous.

Jessica Estevao's (aka Jessie Crockett) Change of Fortune series starts at the very end of
the 1890s and is set in scenic Old Orchard Beach, Maine, where I happen to know that Jessie owns a summer home. Her latest book, out in two weeks, is Whispers of Warning. Her series protagonist Ruby Proulx, was raised by a con artist but escaped the itinerant life to live with her aunt, Honoria, who runs a hotel for spiritualists. Ruby herself is psychic in that she appears to hears voices from beyond. I love how Jessie captures the end-of-the-century feeling of Old Orchard with all the senses alive.

One of my inspirations for writing the Quaker Midwife Mysteries has been Victoria Thompson. Her Gaslight Mysteries begin in 1899 in New York City featuring an upper class midwife. I knew basically nothing about the city at that time, and now I can traverse it in its modern reincarnation and recognize names and landmarks.

Vicki also has a new historical mystery series debuting this fall with City of Lies. I read her short story featuring the characters and was lucky enough to snag an advance copy of City of Lies. Elizabeth Miles, the protagonist, and her father are scam artists but of the Robin Hood sort. You're going to love it! The series starts in 1917 and is mostly set also in New York.

And my little run through a portion of American history wouldn't be complete without mentioning Rhys Bowen and her Molly Murphy series, which begins in 1901 and also takes place in New York City. I have followed Irish Molly all the way from her beginnings to the latest book, Time of Fog and Fire, which takes place only five years later in book time but fifteen years later in author time. As with Vicki's Gaslight books, Rhys takes you all over the city and through all layers of society, too.

Okay, readers, who did I forget? (Apologies ahead of time!) Favorites among this list? Extra points if you've read at least one book by each author. What have you learned from reading historical fiction? And I'll send a large-print copy of Called to Justice to one commenter here today - but be sure you include your email address.

Publishing, Promoting and Enjoying

2017-09-04T03:30:00.000-04:00

by Linda O. Johnston

Dogs.

I wrote about them here last month, and other times, as being part of my research, part of my life, my writing theme. And Midnight Ink really helped me celebrate National Dog Day last week, on August 26. They held a contest on their Facebook site where the prize was the first three books in my Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries. Those who entered all had to comment about their favorite dog.

Did I ever have fun reading the entries! Of course, I always enjoy reading about dogs, as well as writing about them. And seeing how others have incorporated dogs into their lives, into their families... always a pleasure!

Plus, it's always enjoyable to see how something so important to what I write can also be used to help publicize my stories. I was able to share the contest info on social media, including several Facebook groups I belong to that spotlight cozy mysteries. And since there was a contest, possibly some people who weren't previously aware of my stories focused on them and, hopefully, decided to check them out even if they weren't the winner.

I always get a kick out of letting the world know about my books! And I always get a kick out of writing them, too. Plus, I have lots and lots of fun researching and writing about dogs.

So, hey, world. There've been three Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries so far: BITE THE BISCUIT, TO CATCH A TREAT and BAD TO THE BONE. Get the theme here?

And the next one, PICK AND CHEWS, will be released in May 2018. I look forward to letting the world know even more about that one!

I Think She was Murdered

2017-08-28T01:00:00.000-04:00

Note from Tracy:

I've spent the last eight days soaking up the sun and vacationing at the site of my next Downward Dog Mystery, Pre-Meditated Murder. The visit inspired me to tempt you with an excerpt. Enjoy!

Pre-Meditated Murder releases January 8, 2018.

We followed the shoreline back toward Cannon Beach. I swung Bella’s leash in my right hand while she herded waves on my left. By the time we reached the rock wall at Arcadia State Park, the tide had gone out enough that we could walk around it without getting wet. Now that it was almost noon, small groups of matchstick-sized people wandered the beach. Some of them were walking toward us.

I reached for Bella’s collar, but stopped. A few hundred feet ahead, a colony of seagulls—dozens of them—dotted the shore. Bella’s eyes begged me.

Please? Just one more run?

Why not? One of us should be having fun. “Okay girl. Go get ‘em!”

Bella galloped after those birds like a cheetah after a gazelle. It was ridiculous, really. All of us—human, canine, and seabird included—knew that Bella would never catch them. But that didn’t diminish anyone’s fun. When Bella was about fifteen feet away, the birds took off in unison, flew a hundred feet down the beach, and landed, still in formation. Bella skidded to a stop, let out a single, loud bark, and tore after them again.

May as well give up, hunter dog.

I reached out my arms and yelled, “Bella, come!”

As trained, Bella turned a one-eighty and ran back to me at full steam.

Three hundred feet … two hundred … one hundred … “Bella, slow down!” I yelled. I repeated the command three more times in a rapid-fire panic. “Slow down! Slow down! Slow down!”

Bella didn’t hear, didn’t understand, or—more likely—chose not to listen. She launched through the air, collided with my chest like a hundred-pound bowling ball, and knocked me flat on my sitting bones for the second time in thirty minutes. A quick German shepherd chin nibble later, she ran a quick circle around me and chose a new destination: a Jenga-like stack of driftwood piled up against the cliff.

I spit out a million tiny particles of sand. “Bella, come!” I commanded.

No response.

I stood, brushed the wet sand off my bottom, and trudged toward my dog. “Bella, knock it off and get over here! Leave it!”

Bella pretended to be deaf.

What on earth was she so interested in? Half-eaten hotdogs? Urine from a particularly studly Golden Retriever? A seagull corpse?

Bella stopped sniffing and commenced digging.

I groaned. It had to be a dead creature of some kind. Bella couldn’t digest real food unless it was incubated in expensive prescription enzymes. I imagined scooping up undigested seagull parts and groaned louder.

“Bella, I said come!”

Not even an ear twitch. This level of disobedience was unusual, even for her.

I broke into a jog. When Bella wanted something this badly, it was a sure bet that I didn’t want her to have it. I skidded to a stop next to my recalcitrant canine and clipped the leash to her collar. “That’s enough girl. Leave it.”

She ignored me.

I tightened the leash and made my voice especially stern. “I mean it.”

Bella refused to move.

Whatever she’d found, it was infinitely more interesting than a five-foot-three-inch yoga teacher.

Bella channeled her inner Ricky, grabbed onto something and pulled, exposing a woman’s tennis shoe.

“Seriously, Bella?” I grumped. “This much drama over a shoe?”

Then I looked closer and gagged.

The shoe was attached to a foot. A foot that was attached to a caramel-skinned ankle. A caramel-skinned ankle wearing a starfish ankle bracelet.

Oh God, no.

Bella had unearthed a body—a woman. She was buried, facedown, in an obviously man-made mountain of driftwood, seaweed, and sand.

I wish I could say I was horrified. I wish I could say I screamed like a scared little schoolgirl. I wish I could say I vomited like I did the night I found my friend George’s body.

But I didn’t. I simply stood there, thinking the same words over and over: not again.

I clawed through the rocks, unearthed the broken body’s left wrist, and forced myself to feel for a pulse. Her fourth finger was bare, except for a band of lighter skin where her wedding ring used to be. I suppressed the urge to run off to warn Michael, pulled out my cell phone, and dialed 911.

“Hi. My name’s Kate Davidson. I found a woman’s body. I think she was murdered.”

All four books in the Downward Dog Mystery Series are available at booksellers everywhere!

Tracy Weber is a certified yoga teacher and the founder of Whole Life Yoga, an award-winning yoga studio in Seattle, where she currently lives with her husband, Marc, and precocious German shepherd puppy, Ana. She loves sharing her passion for yoga and animals in any form possible. When she’s not writing, she spends her time teaching yoga, trying to corral Ana Tasha, and sipping Blackthorn cider at her favorite ale house. Tracy loves connecting with fans. Find her on her author web page or on Facebook.

5--no, 6--Things I Love About Launch Day the Third Time Around

2017-08-17T03:00:00.000-04:00

By Lisa Alber

Path Into Darkness is out in the world now. My third novel, and I can't help but compare the book launch day experience for this novel against the same day for my debut novel, Kilmoon. There's nothing like a debut novel. I remember wiser novelists cautioning me to remember to enjoy the experience; it only comes around once.

So true! But, just to play Devil's Advocate with myself, in some ways, thank goodness the experience only comes around once! Here are the five ways that I enjoyed the book launch for Path Into Darkness.

1. It wasn't heady, loud, OMG everything is going to change BECAUSE I'LL BE PUBLISHED AUTHOR. So much stress and drama to go along with the thrill. Every year, the new batch of debut authors reveal themselves, and I so understand how big and new everything is, and I think, I was like that too; that was fun; but I'm glad I'm here now.

By contrast, what was launch day like this time around? Pleasant and relaxed because I had no expectations. I woke up and got my writing in for the day as usual before doing the online thing.

2. Not having a book launch party the week of book launch. The past two book releases I had the party at my local bookstore the week of. Ugh. I'm a stressed-out event planner anyhow, and I'm not exactly an extrovert who loves being the center of attention. I planned big parties in the local Irish pub and made a big production of them, especially for Kilmoon. I mean, you gotta for the first book, granted, but, man--too much stress!

So what am I doing this time around? My launch party is next week, a couple of weeks after book launch day. Best yet, it will be a joint event with two other author friends with books out now too. I'm so much more relaxed -- and I'm even looking forward to it! (That's mostly a joke, but not 100%.)

3. The little things that surprise me. Since I don't have huge expectations anymore, I found great pleasure in the little things that posted online. For example, I was the book of the day for Foreword Reviews. I enjoyed sharing that. Other mentions and reviews and hurrahs came through too. I appreciated every one of them.

4. I don't feel desperate. I have a way more relaxed attitude about the whole thing when it comes to readers. I remember for Kilmoon, I was so nervous. It was like my very existence hinged on whether people would like my book, and how many (sales!) of them there were. It's true that promotion is an important part of our jobs, but I now understand how little control I actually have. That's a relief. Honestly.

So what is it I'm really saying? I've returned to the love of process. I love writing. Just that. I'm writing the first draft of my next book now, and I'm having so much fun with it. Just gotta keep writing!

5. Holding the book in my hands. This is one of the few things that hasn't changed. I brought a copy to a few parties over the last month for show-and-tell, like I was showing off my newborn infant. I still take pride in my work. It's an awesome feat, to complete a novel all the way to the point of publication. I'm honored to be a member of the tribe, and I appreciate it so much.

On a related note, one of the things that was cool this time around was holding a book in which the flap copy says things like, "By the author of Whispers in the Mist, heralded by Library Journal as “a first-rate crime novel,” comes this haunting tale of family secrets, madness, and healing in small-town Ireland." It feels weighty in a nice way, like, yes, I have a track record now, and it's pretty darned good. I'm surprised by how good this feels.

And 6. This just came to me. There are people out there who have been looking forward to the next in my series. I didn't notice this so much for the second book, because it's a second--that's it own thing--but now? It's so--I don't know--heartwarming? It's like, Wow, I've written stories that people are telling me they're excited to read. That they CAN'T WAIT to read. I don't know what the word for this is, actually. Mind-boggling comes pretty close. :-)

Cover Reveal: Turning the Tide

2017-08-10T04:30:00.000-04:00

Edith Maxwell here, thoroughly enjoying the plentiful fresh produce of a New England August.

I'm so excited I can finally reveal the cover for the third Quaker Midwife Mystery, Turning the Tide! To celebrate, I'm going to give away a large-print edition of Called to Justice to one commenter here today.

Here's the blurb for Turning the Tide:

Excitement runs high during Presidential election week in 1888. The Woman Suffrage Association plans a demonstration, and movement leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton comes to town to rally the troops. When Quaker midwife Rose Carroll finds the body of the group's local organizer the next morning, she can't help but wonder who could have committed the murder.

Rose quickly discovers several people who have motives. The victim had planned to leave her controlling husband, and a recent promotion had cost a male colleague his job. She had also recently spurned a fellow suffragist's affections. After Rose's own life is threatened, identifying the killer takes on a personal sense of urgency.

I wrote about some of my research for the book here last month, and finally I can share the cover. Are you ready? Drumroll please...

The women turn out in force to demonstrate across from the polls on election morning - see them behind Rose? The book will be out next April, and is available for preorder (which, you know, really helps authors - just saying...).

Readers: Do you have any family connections with woman suffrage activists? What other novels do you like that deal with the topic, whether in the nineteenth century or the twentieth?

Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, the Local Foods Mysteries, and award-winning, Agatha-nominated short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she creates the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries.

Maxwell is President of Sisters in Crime New England. She lives north of Boston with her beau and three cats, and blogs here, with the other Wicked Cozy Authors, and with the Midnight Ink Writers. You can find her on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, and at her web site, edithmaxwell.com.

When Research Is Your Life

2017-08-07T03:30:00.000-04:00

by Linda O. Johnston

Research is my life, and my life is research!

How? Well, all the books I write these days feature dogs, and I'm always spending time with my dogs, learning to train them, letting them train me, listening to their demands, feeding them, trying different kinds of treats, and more. I've got two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, a 9-year-old and a 9-month-old. Their stages of training are quite different--and the younger one knows more than the older one! At least regarding things people would like them to know.

I also love meeting, talking with, petting and playing with other peoples' dogs, including those owned by friends and neighbors, and others also being trained in our puppy's training class.

Do I feel like my Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries protagonist, Carrie Kennersly? Not really. She's even more involved with dogs than I am. First, she started out as a veterinary technician, which is where she created the scrumptious and healthy dog treats she now sells at her Barkery and Biscuits bakery--next door to her human bakery Icing on the Cake. One thing you can guess about her theme is that she likes to bake and does it a lot. Me? I'm not much of a cook of any kind. But I do like sampling treats and letting my dogs indulge as well.

Right now, I'm in between my Barkery books. The last one, BAD TO THE BONE, was released in May 2017, and the next, to be titled PICK AND CHEWS, will come out in May 2018.

But I feel like I'm always plotting and petting dogs and learning more that can be incorporated in future books. So... Hey, pups. Come. Sit. Stay. Down. Give me hugs. And inspire me to write some more!

Pre-Meditated Murder: An Excerpt

2017-07-24T01:00:00.000-04:00

By Tracy Weber

Hi all! I'm heads down this month promoting my second audiobook and writing my sixth mystery, so for this week's blog, I decided to share an excerpt from my upcoming Downward Dog Mystery. Pre-Meditated Murder releases January 8, 2018. The excerpt has not gone through Midnight Ink's editing process yet, so please forgive any errors.

I put Alice back into the carrier and followed Rene to the sidewalk. I would have kept chiding her all the way to the car, but when we were a few steps away from the street, Bella froze, halting my forward motion and practically dislocating my shoulder. “Bella, knock it—” I stopped mid-sentence.

Something was wrong.

Bella stared straight ahead, teeth exposed, ears pricked forward. The guard hairs along her spine stood on end like the quills of an angry porcupine. Low growls rumbled from deep in her chest.

“What is it, sweetie?” I kneeled next to her and followed her gaze. It was locked on a man who was standing—or rather skulking—in a dark, narrow alley across the street. He wore a camouflage baseball cap.

“It’s him,” I whispered.

Rene glanced left to right. “It’s who?”

The stranger looked up and we made eye contact. For the first time, I got a good look at his face. Dark hair. Tan, weathered skin. Light blue, almost icy, eyes. He turned and bolted down the alley.

As to what happened next, I can only plead temporary insanity.

“Rene, stay here.” I ordered. I thrust Bella’s leash into her hand and broke into a run, determined to catch the suspicious stranger.

“Where are you going?” Rene yelled to my back.

I ignored her and shoved past an elderly woman. “Excuse me.” I dodged to the right and twirled past a young mother pushing a stroller. “Sorry!” I leapt over a low bench and landed—hard—on the edge of my right foot. Pain jolted from my ankle to my knee. I recovered my balance and kept running, but the camo-capped man ran faster. He was getting away!

I didn’t think. More importantly, I didn’t look. I acted on pure instinct. I darted off the curb and into the busy street. The driver of a black pickup truck slammed on his brakes.

The next three seconds passed with petrifying clarity. The horrified expression on the driver’s face; the ear-piercing screech of locked tires against pavement; the chemical smell of burning rubber; the sour taste of adrenaline. I gaped down at my knees, or more accurately at the truck’s bumper, which had stopped an inch from my legs. The driver leaned out his window and yelled, “Jesus, lady! Watch where you’re going!”

“My fault!” I yelled. I started running again.

Across the street, down the alley, and out to the sidewalk on the other side. I skidded to a stop, lungs heaving, and whipped my head back and forth.

The suspicious stranger had vanished.

All four books in the Downward Dog Mystery Series are available at booksellers everywhere!

PATH INTO DARKNESS: Third Book Makes a Series + GIVEAWAY!

2017-07-20T14:15:00.002-04:00

By Lisa Alber

Three is a magic number in the land of novel publication. With three books, a series becomes a full-fledged series, and even if you never write another book in that series, you can call it a "trilogy." My third novel in the County Clare series comes out in less than three weeks (woohoo!). I'm proud of it, to be honest. I took a few risks in the storytelling and pushed my own boundaries with the subject matter and with the topic of mental illness.

To celebrate PATH INTO DARKNESS' launch, there's a Goodreads giveaway going on until July 26th. Please enter for the chance to win a signed advanced readers copy of this novel!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Path Into Darkness

by Lisa Alber

Giveaway ends July 26, 2017.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Here's more information about the book:

By the author of Whispers in the Mist, heralded by Library Journal as “a first-rate crime novel,” comes this haunting tale of family secrets, madness, and healing in small-town Ireland

Lisfenora is known across the British Isles for its yearly matchmaking festival. But a local man’s murder and the grim discovery in his home have cast a somber mood over the town. Detective Sergeant Danny Ahern tries to make sense of the chaotic scene while struggling to set aside moral conflicts and grief for his comatose wife. Within days, he’s plunged into even darker terrain when the investigation leads him on a collision course with the Tate family: troubled Nathan, who conceals secrets within ghastly secrets, and beautiful Zoe, the daughter Nathan abandoned years ago.

In this “dark, compelling mystery” (Booklist), one man is propelled toward a tragic downfall while the other struggles to walk the narrow path between life and death.

Praise:
"An atmospheric story of Ireland, filled with myth and darkness. . . Fans of Erin Hart's dark Irish crime novels should welcome this series."—Library Journal (starred review)

"A dark, compelling mystery with numerous plot twists and well-drawn characters interwoven with an involving portrait of life in a small insular Irish village."—Booklist

“A haunting tale rife with gruesome murders and secrets, Path into Darkness shines.”

—Foreword Reviews

“Lyrical, tense, and haunting . . . the story propels the reader to a conclusion that is heartbreaking, human, and hopeful.”—Deborah Crombie, New York Times bestselling author of Garden of Lamentations

“Each strand in this terrific novel is absorbing enough to carry books on its own, yet Alber effortlessly weaves them into a breathtaking ensemble.”—Catriona McPherson, Agatha Award–winning author of Quiet Neighbors

Looking up Words from the Past

2017-07-13T04:30:00.000-04:00

Edith here, writing from north of Boston where it's finally really summer!

Last Saturday I finished writing the first draft of my fourth Quaker Midwife Mystery. No title and no cover, either, so far - it will be out in April, 2019. I'm delighted to be done, of course. Revisions and polishing lie ahead, but the basic story is complete. (See here for the first three!)

One thing I do a lot as I'm writing this series, which is set in the late 1880s, is look up words. I might type a word like "employee" and then think, "Wait, that sounds kind of modern. Did people say that then?"

Other than a good dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary, my favorite source is the Online Etymology Dictionary. This invaluable source from Douglas Harper is right there at my fingertips as I'm writing.

I type the word, click OK, and bingo, get results.

So, for your reading pleasure, I present some of the words I've been checking, and the year of their first occurrence. I categorize them into CAN use and CAN'T use. And yes, I keep a running list of every word I've looked up from book one forward.

CAN use:

last straw 1836
employee. "person employed," 1850, mainly in U.S.
chummy. 1874
damnation. As an imprecation (spoken curse) from 1600.
grown-up, 1813
daddy 1500
elastic. Figurative use by 1859. The noun meaning "piece of elastic material," originally a cord or string woven with rubber, is from 1847, American English.
cop. "policeman," 1859, abbreviation of earlier copper
hot water. 1530s in figurative sense of "trouble.
funny bone "elbow end of the humerus" (where the ulnar nerve passes relatively unprotected) is from 1826, so called for the tingling sensation when struck
lo and behold, attested by 1779
trainee, 1841
weekend 1878
stall, v. "to become stuck or be set fast," mid-15c
ad, abbreviation of advertisement, attested by 1841
intuit, v, Meaning "to perceive directly without reasoning, know by immediate perception" is from 1840
index finger 1768
splendid 1640s
vet for veterinarian 1862
neighborhood 1620s
creepy, in modern sense 1858
Thanks, 15 c.
Brochure - 1748
Pamphlet - late 1500s

CAN’T use:

second-guess 1941
run-in "quarrel, confrontation," 1905
deadline: “time limit," 1920, American English newspaper jargon
scan, v. sense of "look over quickly, skim" is first attested 1926
undercover. Sense of "operating secretly" attested from 1920
hormone, 1905
logo 1937
trade-off, 1957
fitness, as in physically fit, 1937
stylized, 1894
spill the beans, 1919
pictogram 1910
activist "one who advocates a doctrine of direct action," 1915; activism 1920

Readers: which of these surprised you? Got a favorite word whose history you want me to check?