I’m not a fan of cozy mysteries. For those unfamiliar with the term, a cozy is a mystery with an amateur sleuth, no foul language, the sex and violence off the page. As my friend and cozy-mystery writer Mary Feliz puts it, “There’s a murder, but no one gets hurt.” In my world, it means … Read more
When my husband contemplated coming with me to Left Coast Crime in Vancouver, I said, “It’ll be rainy and cold. It won’t be much fun taking in the sights in March.” Wrong. So wrong. Vancouver was the first highlight of the conference–sunny, abloom and full of wonder. WEDNESDAY HIGHLIGHT: On Wednesday evening, I participated in Hijinx and … Read more
I don’t know that I’ve ever seen further than others, but with my writing, I’ve certainly stood on the shoulders of giants. Unfortunately, two of them slipped away in December. The first was the world famous mystery writer Sue Grafton! I discovered Grafton early in her alphabet series. I’d consumed mysteries since I got to … Read more
Real setting or fictional setting–that is the question. Sue Grafton and Marcia Muller were my gateway drugs into mystery addiction. I had a slight preference for Grafton’s series except for one aspect. Sue Grafton set her stories in Santa Teresa, a thinly disguised Santa Barbara, while Marcia Muller, at least initially, set her tales of … Read more