Joy Ann Ribar on The Party in Your Brain

Joy Ann Ribar is the author of the Deep Lakes Cozy Mystery series. You can find out more about her on her website at www.joyribar.com, or by clicking here, read her last post here, and buy her books here. This week is World Creativity and Innovation Week, declared by the United Nations. Its aim is to empower creativity from all people in all functions of life to improve our world. That may sound lofty and maybe even cliché to some, but according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, every occupational field in the world is seeking creative…

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Joy Ann Ribar on Communal Writing

Joy Ann Ribar is the author of the Deep Lakes Cozy Mystery series. You can find out more about her on her website www.joyribar.com, or by clicking here, read her last post here, and find her books here. In 2020, my commuter husband John started working remotely, which turned into a permanent situation, since his job as a software engineer could be accomplished via home and a lot of Zoom meetings. Sound familiar? We loved the savings in time and money because my hubby cut his commute from over an hour to just a dozen steps upward to the office:…

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Joy Ann Ribar Asks Are You What You Read?

Joy Ann Ribar is the author of the Deep Lakes cozy mystery series. You can find out more about her at her website JoyRibar.com, or by clicking here. You can read her last post here, and see her books here. Authors spend a lot of time talking about writing techniques, plotting, creating characters, and whether or not we’re plotters or pantsters. One thing I don’t often talk about is what kind of reader I am. Joy Ann Ribar I do spend a lot of my reading time doing reading favors for fellow authors.  It’s not that I don’t want to…

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Joy Ann Ribar Asks Do You Collaborate with Your Main Character?

Joy Ann Ribar is the author of the Deep Lakes cozy mystery series, set in Wisconsin. You can read more about her here, see her books here, and read her last post here. Knock Knock!  Who’s there?  It’s me, Frankie Champagne from Deep Lakes, Wisconsin. I’m here to get some air time because my co-conspirator/creator, Joy Ann Ribar, shelved me in September and hasn’t given me any attention since.   Let me qualify that statement.  Joy’s been pounding the pavement with my latest mystery adventure Deep Green Envy since its release in September, so I guess you might say I’ve garnered…

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Joy Ann Ribar Asks What are the Fruits of Your Labor?

Joy Ann Ribar is the author of the Deep Lakes series of cozy mysteries. You can find out more about her here, see her books here, and read her last post here. My mysteries all feature people who depend upon their hands to bring forth a new creation. The women at Bubble & Bake knead and shape dough to make baked goods that bring a smile of satisfaction to the baker and the taster.  Deep Bitter Roots honors the granite quarry workers of the past who hand chiseled and polished stone to create stunning monuments but sacrificed greatly to do…

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Read more about the article Joy Ann Ribar asks:  How do you Hygge?
Photo of Winter Sunset: By L. John Ribar

Joy Ann Ribar asks: How do you Hygge?

Joy Ann Ribar is the author of the Deep Lakes Cozy Mystery series, inspired by Wisconsin’s four seasons and friendly quirks. Her most recent post is here. You can find her books here, or more about her here. Janus: Free Images by Drawing Tree Is it too late to say Happy New Year? I think not since it’s still January, the first month in our Gregorian Calendar.  Did you know the first month of the year is named after the Roman god Janus?  Janus was the god of beginnings and endings who had two faces, so he could look back…

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Joy Ann Ribar Asks What Different Hats Have You Worn?

Joy Ann Ribar is the author of the Deep Lakes Cozy Mystery Series. You can find her biography on this site here. Photo by Joy Ann Ribar Do you have a closet full of hooks with hats on them?  Every hat serves a different purpose, just as most of us serve more than one purpose.  We are multi-talented, a descriptor I prefer to the expression, “jack of all trades.”  After all, work experiences and other pursuits are the fertilizer that make our life garden grow. Although I cannot say that all of my experiences have been a pleasure, they all…

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INSPIRATION: A Prize Fighter and Iron Ninja of the Great Depression, My Superstar Mother

By Joy Ann Ribar I am a member of a privileged class of individuals who can count on what I call the WOW factor.  I have a Wiser Older Woman (WOW) who raised and influenced me to be a fierce individual thinker.   EXTRAORDINARY ROLE MODEL My mother, Delilas Wheaton Christensen,  was born a few months before the stock market crash of 1929, which meant her core self was formed and framed during the Great Depression.  After her older sister died at the age of nine, she inherited the position of the oldest daughter in a brood of children. In the…

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