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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…

Laurie Buchanan writes 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 see her books here. When asked about the details of my preferred writing environment—the setting and the ambiance—I share that I’m a bare-bones writer who enjoys solitude. As a dyed-in-the-wool minimalist, I appreciate nothing more on my desk than a laptop and lit tea light—my “contract” to show up, stay put, and write. To avoid distraction, I turn off my cell phone and limit my writing screen to two ingredients:…

Anne Louise Bannon is the author of the Old Los Angeles series, the Operation Quickline series, and the Freddie and Kathy 1920s series. You can find out more about her at her website, or by clicking here, see her last post here, and find her books here. Given that most writers work a day job as well as write their novels, it might seem a little odd that writers need a day off from writing here and there. I know I do. But part of that may be that I mostly write and do research full-time. Also, I work on…

Saralyn Richard is the author of A Palette for Love and Murder, and A Murder of Principal. Her most recent book is thriller Bad Blood Sisters. You can find out more about her on her website saralynrichard.com, or by clicking here, read her last post here, and see her books here. I always wanted to be a writer, but my parents didn’t think writing was a real job, so they encouraged (read, pushed) me into a career in education. I didn’t mind, exactly. I majored in English, so I could stay as close to reading and writing as possible, while…

Avanti Centrae is the author of the VanOps thriller series. You can read a sample from the series at her website, VanOps.net. You can also find out more about her here, see her books here, and read her last post here. Do you ever feel stuck at work? Can’t find the answer to a thorny problem? Where do you turn? What do you do? In this post, with Earth Day 2022 still visible in the rear-view mirror, I want to celebrate nature as muse and problem solver. What? Wait? “You don’t sit inside on a keyboard all day, every day,…

With so many social media platforms to choose, from which stage do you give your soliloquy?

Margaret Mizushima is the author of the Timber Creek K-9 series of police procedurals. You can visit her website here, find out more about her here, read her last post here, and see her books here. I’ve attended writing conferences and workshops since before the turn of the century. Until about ten years ago, writing teachers would advise us to never bore our readers with descriptions of food and drink. “Don’t show your characters eating,” they said. “No one wants to read about that.” Enter the age of cozy mysteries! An intrepid group of mystery writers gave birth to a…

Tim Chapman is the author of A Trace of Gold. You can find out more about him here, see his books here, and read his latest post here. Over the last thirty years, I’ve worked for the Chicago Police Department, the Chicago Tribune, and Chicago City Colleges. I’ve drunk Prosecco in her overpriced restaurants and G&Ts in her jazz clubs. Chicago is the standard by which I compare other cities when I travel. When I write my little stories, Chicago appears as one of the characters. A while back, I was asked to write a short essay about using place as character and…

Sharon Lynn's short stories have appeared in multiple anthologies. Her Cotswold Crime series will debut in December 2022 with Death Takes a Bath. You can find out more about her on her website, or by clicking here, see her stories here, and read her last post here. Kill Your Darlings is a phrase used in both writing and filmmaking. It refers to those scenes that you labored over, that you lovingly crafted, that you tell your editor are deal breakers.  When making a movie, it is often the scene that the director spent the most money on, used the most…