Once a Mystery, Always a Mystery? By TG Wolff - Debra H. Goldstein

Did you know “Mystery”, the genre we all know and love, wasn’t a genre in the early 1800s?  There was romance (which did not mean what it does today) and horror (which does mean what it does today), h...

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SETTING BASED ON REAL LIFE by Valerie (V. M.) Burns - Debra H. Goldstein

People often ask me where I get my ideas for my books. A lot of my ideas come from real life. Yes, I write murder mysteries, but that doesn’t mean that I have been involved with murders. Sometimes a b...

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Why There? Because Settings Matter by Mary Lee Ashford - Debra H. Goldstein

Why is “Murder She Wrote” set in Cabot Cove, Maine? Probably first and foremost because the creators of the popular series wanted a charming backdrop that provided a plausible home for a retired teach...

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TERROR IN THE RESEARCH RABBIT HOLE by Anne Louise Bannon - Debra H. Goldstein

“Relax,” said the librarian in the history department at the Los Angeles Public Library. “If you can’t find it, probably no one else can.” Probably. Hmmmmm. Probably doesn’t mean won’t, and knowing my...

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Query, Query, Quite Contrary by Dianna Sinovic - Debra H. Goldstein

Four million books entered the marketplace worldwide last year, and at least some of them entered their path to publication via a query letter, addressed to either a literary agent or a publisher.  A ...

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Why Mysteries? by Saralyn Richard - Debra H. Goldstein

In 2018, I wrote my first mystery novel, MURDER IN THE ONE PERCENT. In the months after the book launched, I took it on a whirlwind tour of ten U.S. cities, where I met with people at bookstores, libr...

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Echoes from Childhood by Lynn Slaughter - Debra H. Goldstein

Years ago, I attended a presentation on young adult fiction at a writer’s conference in which the speaker exhorted us to “get parents out of the way” and relegate them to the periphery of our stories....

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The Short Mystery Fiction Society Celebrates its 30th Anniversary by Josh Pachter - Debra H. Goldstein

This month marks the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Level Best Books is publishing Hot Shots: Celebrating Thirty Years of the Short Mystery Fiction Soc...

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What I’ve Learned Writing Historical Fiction by Kelly Oliver - Debra H. Goldstein

I love reading historical mysteries-Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody, Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins, Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs, Susan Elia MacNeal’s Maggie Hope, Rhys Bowen’s Georgiana Rannoch...

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ONE MOM LIFE…TWO SERIES! by Kathleen Marple Kalb - Debra H. Goldstein

It took me a long time to become brave enough to write about motherhood. The first mystery I tried to sell featured a main character who was a young single woman, a lot like me a couple decades ago. W...

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The Beauty of the Amateur in Solving Crimes by Valerie (V.M.) Burns - Debra H. Goldstein

One of the key components of cozy mysteries is the use of the “amateur sleuth.” Amateur sleuths are usually female, who are not paid to solve crimes. They’re not trained members of law enforcement, no...

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All About Rituals by Joanne Guidoccio - Debra H. Goldstein

Rituals are about creating space in time, in our surroundings, and in our own minds. They give us a sense of predictability while still leaving room for creativity and flexibility. Something I already...

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The Choice I Made by Joanna Campbell Slan - Debra H. Goldstein

Keep breathing. That’s what I told myself despite the immense pain radiating through my chest and shoulders. I hadn’t expected to come out of surgery and feel like I was being crushed alive. The nurse...

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Lessons Learned—and Discovered by James M. Jackson - Debra H. Goldstein

I promised when I created my second series, Niki Undercover Thrillers, that I would make my writing life easier. I particularly wanted to improve ease of marketing the series. Turns out my stories hav...

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KNIFE RIVER: CRIME FICTION & MUSIC - WHEN ARTFORMS INTERSECT by Baron Birtcher - Debra H. Goldstein

In recent months, I have been doing a number of talks and signings in support of the release of the newest installment of the Will Rogers Medallion award-winning Sheriff Ty Dawson crime thriller serie...

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COZY & CO. – The Importance of Surrounding Yourself With Kindred Souls by S. C. Merritt - Debra H. Goldstein

When I began my author adventure in 2020 at the ripe, old age of 58, I decided I may have been ripe, but I wasn’t expired. But I was clueless. And when I say that, I mean I was winging it in every asp...

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The Light Enables Mystery Writers to Explore the Dark by Bobby Mathews - Debra H. Goldstein

Here’s a surprising twist on crime and mystery writers that you might not know: these writers who deal with some of the darkest crimes that the human mind can conjure are also some of the nicest peopl...

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Two Truths and a Lie: What Being a Veterinarian Taught Me About Writing Cozy Mysteries by DL Mitchell - Debra H. Goldstein

When people hear I’m both a veterinarian and a cozy mystery author, their eyes widen. A veterinary career is surprisingly great training for writing about amateur sleuths, quirky characters, and hidde...

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Writing What You Know, Or Writing What You Want to Know by Carl Vonderau - Debra H. Goldstein

You’re supposed to write about what you know. So what do you do if you’re a banker and you write about crime? You have to make up a few things if you want to keep your job. In my first book, Murderabi...

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Keeping Track of Chaos by Lynn Cahoon - Debra H. Goldstein

Author Lynn Cahoon shares her system for taming the chaos of publishing with planning, goals, and organization.

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Will They or Won’t They? By Maddie Day/Edith Maxwell - Debra H. Goldstein

Mac Almeida investigates a Halloween murder in Maddie Day’s 7th Cozy Capers mystery, Murder at Cape Costumers.

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Reading the World by Miranda James - Debra H. Goldstein

Author Miranda James shares how travel and books inspired his new Ireland-set mystery, Something Whiskered.

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Animals in Cozy Mysteries by Sharon Marchisello - Debra H. Goldstein

Cozy mystery with cats—both feral and pet. Trap, Neuter, Die tackles murder, rescue, and flawed animal laws in small-town Georgia.

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A Foolproof Plan by Judy Penz Sheluk - Debra H. Goldstein

Judy Penz Sheluk shares the 5-year journey behind her story A Foolproof Plan, featured in Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers.

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A Foolproof Plan by Judy Penz Sheluk - Debra H. Goldstein

Judy Penz Sheluk shares the 5-year journey behind her story A Foolproof Plan, featured in Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers.

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Curious South – Or Five Weird Things About My Writing by Lexi George - Debra H. Goldstein

Explore Lexi George's quirky writing process: supernatural oddities, hair fetishes, Southern food, and unexpected character appearances.

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Family Ties and Writing Inspiration by Ann Michelle Harris - Debra H. Goldstein

As writers we want to tell compelling stories to keep readers turning the pages. One way to do that is to use universal themes to connect emotionally. Whether your primary story is violently intense o...

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The Times They Are A-Changing by Debra H. Goldstein

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Writing Under The Gun by Cindy Goyette - Debra H. Goldstein

When I wrote my first book, I did so with a gun on my hip. I worked at the New York/Quebec border for ICE (although it wasn't called that then). I routinely volunteered to work the least favorite shif...

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