posted by Jeanne Munn Bracken

Sandy was never a satisfactory dog. No dog is perfect, of course, as we well knew from earlier canines we'd taken in.

Our first, Sheba, was hit by a car, and Whiskers, who we loved dearly despite her chewing everything, we had for 15 years.

I thought I wanted a dog, and the kids were sure they had to have one. Ray didn't want one at all. Several years passed before some people showed him the picture of a dog they had to give…

posted by Doranna Durgin

It's taken a long time for this one to sink in, but I'm finally getting there.

When I was younger, I often took people by surprise. I was assertive; by unconscious default I approached situations as though expecting not to be heard, and so I made myself crystal clear from the outset. But others were often taken aback; they felt I was in fact adversarial.

So I worked on that. Over time, I softened my approach. Oh, not…

Posted by Lorraine (L.L.) Bartlett

I wasn't expecting to get the majority of the turkey from last week's Thanksgiving feast. Hoping, but not expecting.

Friday we had a guest and decided not to subject her to leftovers, so out came Leann's marvelously easy top round Swiss steak in the Crockpot recipe. (And it smells sooooo good cooking,…

Posted by Sheila Connolly

Now that we've all slogged through the turkey and the mashed potatoes and the gravy, and the last of the pumpkin pie and whipped cream, it's time to turn back to mysteries. In this case, men.

I'm sure we've all suffered (or enjoyed) the phenomenon of pigging out at a big meal and then dozing off in front of whichever football game is on (I understand that the tryptophan in turkey is especially good for producing that…

by Guest Blogger Felicia Donovan

I’ve created a monster. Four monsters, in fact. It seems the four femme fatales of THE BLACK WIDOW AGENCY have developed a mind of their own and things are getting a bit out of control.

First it started with the idea that the Black Widows should have their own website. Mind you, I already had my own author website (www.feliciadonovan.com) and that was plenty to manage given what little spare…

posted by Guest Blogger Kate Flora

There can be no writing about food on Thanksgiving night. No recipes, no cute ideas about yummy things to make the holiday brighter or suggestions for clever décor that sets off a stunning table for an afternoon and for which storage space must be found the other 364 days of the year. Now that the last platter is washed and put away, the wine glasses are back in their boxes and I’ve made refrigerator space for the tattered remnants of a twenty…

posted by Jeanne Munn Bracken

The holidays are upon us. Instead of blogging, I should be in the kitchen making stuffing for the turkey. I don't use a recipe for that--my stepfather taught me years ago how to saute the onions and celery with a bit of thyme and a lot of sage.

I'm not really a foodie. My family watches the Food Channel, then turn to me in unison and ask what's for dinner. Sheesh!

But you can have 30 Minute Rachel, the South'ren Sweetie Paula, the…

posted by Doranna Durgin

It's been a month now--to the day--since the Giant Schnauzer broke loose from her handler, charged across that considerable open ground, and grabbed up Connery. And a month since Belle and her rehabbing spine returned to careful trialing with that obedience and rally weekend. And a month since my wrist was sprained-no-broken. So it seems about time to aim the looking glass that way. I promised I'd let you know, and I am!

Belle, I…

Posted by Sheila Connolly

I just submitted the draft of One Bad Apple, the first book in my orchard series, to my editor. With Thanksgiving looming, this seems the right time to talk about apples (oh, no, not another food post!).

This series came about in a rather convoluted way. My agent had seen and rejected the…

Posted by guest blogger Clea Simon

Last weekend, I ran into a very nice man I know slightly and he shocked the stuffing out of me. How? He showed me a picture of his 13-month-old son, Declan.

Why was I shocked? I’d actually…

posted by guest blogger, Kate Flora

Long before the turkey goes in the oven or the youngest son gets hauled to the kitchen to make his “signature” cranberry relish, before the squash-haters have finished whining and those who’ve had too much pie are moaning in the corner, our e-mail queues are already bursting with advice about how to simplify the holiday shopping and cooking.

Today, I’m going to be guilty of joining that crowd, but lucky you—this is a blog, so you can…

posted by Jeanne Munn Bracken

I just spent three weeks pet- and house-sitting for friends named Smith--really!--who went to Hawaii. The pets and I all survived. So did the house, more or less. That house had it in for me, though. (Insert evil music here.)

I stocked up on simple food so I would not have to cook. I could (and did) microwave everything. That…

Posted by Doranna Durgin



Once upon a time, I was a pre-teen who spent a lot of time scribbling in a notebook. Although I started with my own characters and my own book (about a seeing-eye dog), I quickly started writing in what was the very first television universe to fascinate me: Star Trek. (Don't even ask if this was the original series. Yes, thank…

Posted by Lorraine (L.L.) Bartlett

It's been almost two years since my first book was published by a small press and given a teeny, tiny print run. The book didn't get a lot of notice, which quite frankly broke my heart. Not surprising, anyone in that position would feel the same. I got some lovely reviews online, but it wasn't enough to get the book into libraries and the hardcover price was also a turnoff to readers unfamiliar with my name.…

I'm happy to announce that two of us blogging buddies from Writers Plot have finally met. More accurately, some of us know each other separately, but we've never crossed paths since we joined forces in these cyberpages. This weekend two of us actually wound up face to face for the first time. I supply the evidence: Jeanne Bracken and Sheila Connolly, at the New England CrimeBake conference this past weekend.…

posted by guest blogger Jessica Conant-Park

I admit it: I’m driven by food. I’m married to a chef, I write culinary mysteries, and nothing delights me more than a visit to Russo’s upscale market in Watertown, MA. The heroine in my Gourmet Girl mysteries, Chloe Carter, jokingly theorizes that she operates under Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, fulfilling basic physiological needs (food, , sleep, breathing) before she can move on to other needs, like love, in order to reach the goal…

Posted by Guest Blogger, Kate Flora

My recipe box is a trip down memory lane. I can thumb through it and find not just food that I associate with special people and special occasions, but also familiar handwriting. There are even some small blue cards with my own early and awkward cursive. I’ve had the box since I was about eight, and over time, the cardboard dividers have disintegrated so that I have to thumb through the whole box whenever I want a recipe.



The other…

posted by Jeanne Munn Bracken

We have these really good friends who have been part of our lives since 1977. So when they said they were going to Hawaii for three weeks and would I like to pet- and house-sit while they were gone, I said sure! I have borrowed their house in the past when they were away, since I can set up my current writing project, leave it spread around, and tackle it whenever I have time without all those pesky home interruptions. What could go wrong?

Evil…

posted by Doranna Durgin

Seems like it's pretty straightforward, really, or it should be: Write the book.

Okay, maybe that's glossing over the whole book-writing process just a teensy bit, but let's go with it: Write the best book you can, follow it through the production process, meet your deadlines along the way. Because being a good writer is not the same as being a good blurb crafter, a typesetter, or a publicist...and there's no reason those skillsets…

Posted by Lorraine (L.L.) Bartlett

"Do you read mysteries?" I innocently asked a library patron at my last signing.

"No," she snarled, giving me a look of disdain. "I only read INTELLECTUAL books."

I stood there, dumbfounded for about five seconds, before I babbled, "Thank you. I'm a mystery author."

The elderly woman instantly backpedaled. "I mean, I have to save my eyesight for SIGNIFICANT books."

I bit my tongue. I didn't say, "Oh,…