Author: Joy Ribar

Joy Ann Ribar is the author of the Deep Lakes cozy mystery series, the latest of which is Deep Wedded Blues. You can find out more about her on her website, www.joyribar.com, or by clicking here, read her last post here, and buy her books here. We’re surrounded. Security and traffic cameras monitor our moves. Cell phones invade our privacy through GPS tracking and memorizing where we shop, what we search, and with whom we interact. Tapping into modern tech tools like DNA testing, advanced facial recognition, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence - Well, I could write a mystery in two chapters,…

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 buy her books here. I’ve recently lost people: elderly family members, people in my community. For me, loss creates space for reflection and self-examination. I find myself scrutinizing past mistakes, then chastising or forgiving myself for them. Viewing my past through the filter of time brings images of my writing life into focus. Wow - the mistakes I made when I was a green newspaper reporter.…

            I write cozy mysteries, and by the time this post is published, I will have taken part in a lively panel discussion about the cozy mystery genre presented by the Wisconsin chapter of Sisters in Crime. I wonder what's going to come out of it...             I’m surprised that I still meet readers and bookstore owners who are new to the term “cozy.” Pardon my redundancy if you are already in the know, and feel free to skip the rest of this paragraph. Cozies typically follow specific rules regarding content in which no graphic violence, language, or sex appears…

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…

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:…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…