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 […]
Writing Journey
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 […]
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 […]
The Story Behind the Story: “The Murder Before Christmas”
I never dreamed Charlie Kingsley would become such a major force in my life. I was in my twenties when I first had the glimmering of the idea that would eventually become It Began With a Lie. At the time, I thought it was going to be a one-off, standalone book, focused mainly on Becca […]
The Story Behind the Story: “The Third Nanny”
Once I finished the bulk of the work for The Reckoning so it would be ready for a December launch, I found myself at a bit of a loss. I wasn’t sure what my next project would be. I had a couple of ideas but they didn’t feel ready yet. For me at least, once […]
The Story Behind the Story: “The Reckoning”
I never planned to write this book. That isn’t to say the story wouldn’t have been told—it definitely would have. But it would have been wrapped up in one book in my Secrets of Redemption series rather than two. However, the moment the story downloaded into me back in April 2020, I knew Charlie’s story […]