So much space, so much to say..........................

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echo echo echo echo

Maybe not so much to say :o)

I know I wish that my baby would go to sleep, she is overdue for one by 3 hours! So you can imagine how happy she is right now. :o)

Thanks for letting me join, particularly as I am not a crime fiction writer. I am actually a true crime…

At this season I'd like to send out best wishes to all my friends in Mysterydom.

It's been a great year for me. My new book, Her Royal Spyness, seems to have taken off and I've acquired a lot of new fans. The second book is already written and due out next summer. It's called A Royal Pain--even funnier, I hope.

And a new Molly book is due out in March. Called Tell me Pretty Maiden. All about the New York theater.

So I wish everyone a happy, healthy, successful new year…

In a former life, I taught communication: reading and writing, of course, but also speaking and listening. One would be hard put to say which is most important, but it always surprised me that schools usually focus on the first two at the expense of the latter two. We assume that because students are sitting before us and talking to us, they are learning to speak and listen. It's true to a degree, but they (and all of us) often do it badly and keep making the same mistakes over and…

Posted by Sheila Connolly

My sister's son produced an heir just over a year ago: Carter Matthew Payne. Since my daughter is a long way from even contemplating offspring, this darling young man (whom I have not yet met) is my sole connection to the…

Friday night was this year's SinC awards for short stories. Even more prizes were awarded this year, proving yet again what a great support this organisation is to writers. Here are the results:

“Kill-dead-garten”, a story of murder and mayhem at a kindergarten, by…

Thanks to those who have 'befriended' me. I am still figuring out my way around this space, and hope to jump in and participate a bit more as time goes on. I'm just getting going on my next WIP, so coming over here and dabbling is a nice distraction ... as long as I don't let it get out of hand!

J

Well, it's great to wake up on a Sunday Morning in good old T.O. with the snow on all of the rooftops and something that looks like freezing rain drizzling against our window. Apparently it snowed all night, and cars stuck in banks are lining the streets. But hey, we don't have to go to work today, so who cares? Other than kids' homework and Christmas tree decorating, no real obligations for the day, just a blank page spreading out in front of me.

Guess I'll begin with a little…

My publisher Karen Syed wanted to do something to help after the devastating fires in California. She asked 20 of her authors to write a short story and donate the royalties to a California charity. We had approximately 2 weeks to write it, and we did.

The anthology aptly named…

My amateur sleuth novel, Avenging Angel has been accepted by Enspiren Press!

I am very excited about this opportunity!

I'm curently editing Intent to Sell for its third edition. Things have changed a lot since I first wrote the book back in 2001. The marketing landscape has changed drastically. I find these days that many authors are already doing many of the babystep things that I suggest in the first chapters of the book. I'm glad to see that. It raises the bar for professionalism in the field.

I'm also amazed at the technology which had developed in 7 years. Book trailers, podcasts, audio, and RSS…

... but where am I? I'll have to read up on how to use this new network. I've got a MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/jayellwilson) and I've got a LiveSpace page (http://jlwilsonauthor.spaces.live.com) and my own blog (…

WHEN WARPED MINDS MEET

One of the things I love best about the writing biz is the ‘author appearance’. Whether it’s a book signing, a lecture, a panel discussion, or a reading, I love either being in the crowd to meet one of my favorite authors or being…

It occurred to me, while I was preparing to send ARCs of “Chasin’ the Wind” to newspapers and other media outlets for reviews, that I am not sure people read much anymore.

As an example, Monroe County, where I live, is considering closing one or two libraries in the Middle Keys. I’ve read in the newspaper that other libraries are closing too. I also read, or hear from friends, about bookstores that are closing. I read a feature, recently, that indicated many newspapers have downsized…

Posted by Guest Blogger Kate Flora

One of the challenging things about growing up and going out on my own was deciding which family traditions I would keep, and what new traditions I would choose for myself. By the time I had children, there was annual Fourth of July picnic at the family farm, a visit to the Union Fair, a family visit over Labor Day. Family Thanksgiving. We had a year punctuated by pleasant annual events.

Now that I’m nearing that point in life where I’m…