Conference Tiffs and the Polite Lie

This month’s MWA meeting was about conferences. I personally think that if you can afford conferences, you should go, because nothing else works quite so well to get your name out there and allow you to meet people you might want to work with in the future. That said, I have a few thoughts on the topic of things that […]

Timelines and Series Bibles

When I got a two-book contract after having written only a single book in my romantic suspense series, I found myself presented with several problems. First: a deadline. After all, I’d taken forever to write the first book, and I couldn’t do that with the second. And second, I had to remember everything from the first book so that I

Pathways to Publication

We all know that in a mystery the most obvious suspect, the first “person of interest,” isn’t always the culprit. The same is true of pretty much every aspect of publishing. There’s a lot—and I mean a lot—of debate, acrimony, and bad information out there about what you can or should expect, or what you’ll be doing as an author

The Mystery of the Unsigned Pledge, Part II

(Didn’t catch Part I? Read it first!) From the city of Rome, New York, came a strongly worded letter from a citizens’ group that said it wasn’t Upham who wrote the Pledge, but a clergyman named Francis Bellamy (sometimes called Frank) who used to preach in that part of the country! Margarette threw up her hands. Here was the Bellamy

The Mystery of the Unsigned Pledge

I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands – one Nation indivisible – with liberty and justice for all. That’s the original version – by whom? It was a mystery for half a century until a young woman in Portsmouth, Virginia, solved it. At this moment in time when our country’s basic principles are

Murdoch Mysteries

Tired of gritty, violent cop shows? Had enough of today’s most heinous crimes retold in thinly disguised fiction?  Need a show with wit and style? Want to escape back to a more genteel time?  If you haven’t discovered this polished gem, it’s not too late to get in on the action. At first glance, Murdoch Mysteries might appear British, but,

The Votes Are In

Every year a new board of directors for the chapter is voted in by Active members. The election ran from late November 19 to December 15, 2017, and the votes are in. The chapter president for 2018 is Jeff Markowitz (pictured), author of the award-winning black comedy Death and White Diamonds. In his ballot statement, Markowitz said, “Fifteen years ago, knowing

Mug Shot: Lucie Whitehouse

Lucie Whitehouse was born in Warwickshire, England, read Classics at Oxford University, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. She writes full time and has contributed features to the Times, the Sunday Times, the Independent, Elle, and Red. She is author of The House at Midnight, The Bed I Made, and Before We Met. •     •     • In your

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