Five friends go into the woods. Only four return. I’ve always had a soft spot for “locked door” mysteries or mysteries with a limited cast of suspects. (A locked door mystery is one that takes place in a limited location, like a house or a single room, with a limited cast of suspects. While getting […]
Michele's Musings
The Story Behind the Story: “The Taking”
All my life, I had loved reading fairy tales and myths. As a child, some relative (likely one of my grandmothers but I can’t remember now) had bought me the original Grimm’s fairy tales, which I devoured. (I’m not sure if whoever bought it realized how dark some of them were, but quite honestly, it […]
The Story Behind the Story: “Mysteries, Midsummer Sun and Murders”
A few years back, I discovered that if a lake is cold enough, and deep enough, it doesn’t give up its dead. In other words, if someone drowns in that cold, deep lake, their bodies will rarely surface. Needless to day, the mystery author in me was delighted to learn such a morbid fact, especially […]
The Story Behind the Story: “Murder Next Door”
In late 2020 or early 2021 (I can’t remember the exact timing anymore), a fellow author friend of mine approached me about doing a list building mystery anthology featuring female detectives or sleuths. It would be available for the month of October 2021 for free in exchange for an email. After that, the anthology would […]
Twisted Tuna Noodle Salad Recipe
When I was growing up, this was my all-time favorite salad in the world. My grandma used to make it for me. Unfortunately she died before I thought to ask for the recipe, but this is what I recreated based on memory. As part of the reason why I’m writing cozies is because of my […]
The Story Behind the Story: “Ice Cold Murder”
When the concept for The Murder Before Christmas dropped into my head, it didn’t come alone. It brought more ideas with it, including Ice Cold Murder and A Grave Error, which is a novella prequel. So, from the beginning, it was clear this was supposed to be a series. That doesn’t mean I didn’t resist […]
Florence’s Pecan Fingers Cookie Recipe
Let me begin by saying I have no idea who Florence is. This was another Christmas cookie tradition, along with the Merry Christmas Butter Cookies, Mom would also make pecan fingers. Mom didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, and these cookies aren’t as sweet as other Christmas cookies, so they might be a good […]
Merry Christmas Butter Cookie Recipe
My mother would have been delighted with this blog post. Three of her favorite things in life were: Mystery books Baking Christmas She was an avid reader of all things mystery, but she vastly preferred cozy mysteries over the psychological thrillers I was writing at the time. (Although to her credit, and much to my […]