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Carlene O'Neil is the author of the Cypress Cove Mystery series of cozies. This is her debut post for the Blackbird Writers. You can find out more about her on her website www.carleneoneil.com, or by clicking here and buy her books here. “My sister’s having babies. She married the guy she lost her virginity to. I’m glad she’s having babies. Now I can breathe a little.” I listen to these few sentences, pure gold to an author. I move closer to hear better. So does half the coffee shop, but the speaker’s done. I’m disappointed, wanting more. Then, before I…

            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…

Sherrill Joseph is the author of the Botanic Hill Detective Mysteries for middle-grade students (ages 9-12). You can find out more about her on her website www.sherrilljoseph.com, or by clicking here, see her last post here, and buy her books here. What I Learned as a Student “Miss ‘C,’ you tell the best stories from your travel slides!” said starry-eyed eight-year-old me to my pretty second grade teacher. Every Friday afternoon, the dazzling Miss ‘C’ would regale my classmates and me with tales of ancient Egypt as we gazed at her on-screen in the shadow of the Great Pyramid of…

Tim Chapman is the author of the Sean McKinney mystery series, as well as a short story writer. You can find out more about him on his website www.timchapmanauthor.com, or by clicking here, read his last post here, and buy his books here. I’ve been thinking a lot about dialog lately. The project I’m working on is very dialog heavy, and as I write, I’m saying the lines in my head with, what I imagine are, the accents and inflections the characters would use. Sometimes while writing, I’ll go back a few pages and read the dialog aloud. Of course,…

Laurie Buchanan is the author of the Sean McPherson series of thrillers. You can find out more about her on her website, www.lauriebuchanan.com, or by clicking here, read her last post here, and buy her books here. Before I retired from HolEssence—my private practice where I was a holistic health practitioner—I used a wide variety of healing modalities. One of the most effective therapies is therapeutic writing. When integrated as adjunctive therapy in an overall treatment plan, it can promote psychological healing. Most of us write alone. It’s a solitary experience. But in the back of our minds, we have…

Sharon Michalove is the author of romantic suspense and traditional mysteries. You can find out more about her by visiting her website coffeeandeclairs.com or by clicking here, read her last post here, and buy her books here. As a child, I created a world, peopled it with imaginary friends, talked to them, and lived in a space that was filled with books. But as I got older, that imaginative beginning began to fade with realities of high school and preparing for college. I still read as much as ever, but I didn’t insert myself into the world of books the…

Colleen Winter is the author of The Gatherer series of speculative thrillers. This is her debut post. You can find out more about her on her website www.colleenwinter.ca, or by clicking here, and buy her books here. Hello! I am a new author in the Blackbird Writers and am excited to join this talented and supportive group. I write speculative thrillers, set in the very new future, and I’m looking forward to adding my books to Blackbird’s impressive list.  I recently concluded ten years of leading several writing organizations within my community of Barrie, Ontario, Canada, and even though it’s…

Anne Louise Bannon is the author of the Old Los Angeles series and the Operation Quickline series. You can find out more about her on her website annelouisebannon.com, or by clicking here, see her last post here, and buy her books here. My husband, Michael, is both amused and appalled by my body count. I know he's amused because when he's asked what his wife does for a living, he replies, "Oh, she kills people." And I can see why he's appalled. Most guys, when they come home from work, aren't usually regaled with which character bit the dust that…

John DeDakis is the author of the Lark Cahdwick series of thrillers. You can find out more about him on his website www.johndedakis.com, or by clicking here, read his last post here, and buy his books here. I’m frequently asked if there’s any one story I covered during my forty-five year career as a journalist that made its way into any of my novels. The short answer is . . . it’s complicated. The stories I’m most proud of were the pieces I did on “media bias” when I was a White House correspondent during the last three years of…