Category Archives: Uncategorized

Picking Peaches

There’s nothing like the taste of a ripe peach, plucked right from the tree. I ate one on Saturday. It was warm from the sun. The juice ran down my chin. I was in a peach orchard south of Brentwood, … Continue reading

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Win, Place, Show – It’s Triple Crown Season

Way back when my mother got those Reader’s Digest Condensed Books, I discovered a gem of a mystery called Nerve, the second novel by British writer Dick Francis. The book was originally published in 1964, so that tells you how … Continue reading

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Rumors of War

I am rewatching the DVDs of one of my all-time favorite TV series, Upstairs, Downstairs, that rich and satisfying drama of the lives of the upper-class and servant residents of 165 Eaton Place in London’s Belgravia district. Season Three of … Continue reading

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Back From the Left Coast

I just returned from Left Coast Crime, my favorite regional mystery conference. This year it was in Colorado. I flew in early to visit my mother in the Denver area, then headed south to Colorado Springs, where the conference was … Continue reading

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Guest Blog from Nancy Tesler: Sales, Tales and Other Deadly Things – Cover Art Revisited

Nancy Tesler has some interesting things to say about redoing her cover art. So I’ve asked her to elaborate. I like authors. Not just because they are colleagues and write books that I enjoy reading, but because by-and-large, they are … Continue reading

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Getting Historical

I’ve been getting historical in my mysteries. Plot and characters are at the forefront of any novel, of course. But setting, particularly when it takes place in the past, is also critical, and it’s important to get those details right. … Continue reading

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Ed Ifkovic and Edna Ferber: We Could Make Believe

In my last post, I wrote about American novelist Edna Ferber and how much I’ve always enjoyed her work. I have several of her novels on my shelves here at home, but not her Pulitzer Prize winner, So Big. I … Continue reading

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Edna Ferber: An Appreciation

Edna Ferber has always been one of my favorite authors. If you haven’t read her books, you should. Ferber won the Pulitzer Prize for her 1924 novel So Big. Her body of work includes two autobiographies, thirteen novels, eight plays, … Continue reading

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Guest Post: Wendy Hornsby’s Next Big Thing

Wendy Hornsby is the Edgar-winning author of the short story Nine Sons, two novels featuring protagonist Kate Teague, and eight books in the series featuring Maggie MacGowen, most recently The Hanging. Here’s what Wendy has to say about her Next … Continue reading

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Guest Post: Sheila Simonson’s Next Big Thing

Sheila Simonson has written Regencies as well as mysteries. She is the author of three books in the Meg McLean series set in fictional LaTouche County: Buffalo Bill’s Defunct, An Old Chaos, and the upcoming Beyond Confusion.   1. What … Continue reading

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