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On Secret Lives
One of the best parts of being a fiction writer is imagining people’s secret lives. Even before I started writing fiction as an adult I was entranced by other peoples’ interactions in restaurants, and...
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Why Am I a Cozy?
Everyone has a different definition for what a cozy mystery is. But this weekend, I spent some time with my Wicked Cozy sisters, talking about what made a cozy “work” for us as readers. Identifying...
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Muddling Through the Middle
By Sherry Harris Recently my fellow Wicked Cozy Author Barbara Ross posted on Facebook that writing the middle of her book was like pushing a peanut uphill with her nose. At our recent writers retreat...
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It Takes a Decade
By Edith Maxwell North of Boston I am so pleased to have my short crime story, “The Stonecutter,” in the new Fish Nets anthology (Wildside Press, April 2013). I wanted to share how I came to write my...
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Setting as Character: Location, Location
By Edith North of Boston They say that a setting can be a character in a book. I tried for that in Speaking of Murder (Barking Rain Press, September 2012, under pseudonym Tace Baker). Ipswich,...
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Paths to Publication Report
Edith here, hoping for a warmer spring than we’ve had so far. Sisters in Crime New England sponsored an all-day workshop on Saturday about the many paths to publication. Four of the Wickeds were on...
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How to Write a Novel In Nine Months or Less
By Liz, east of Hartford, still wishing for sun and warmth I am (still) working on the third book in the Pawsitively Organic Mysteries. My deadline is May 1. At the time of this writing, that’s exactly...
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Organic Growing, Organic Writing
Edith here, delighted to have ‘Til Dirt Do Us Part - my second Local Foods mystery – out and available! And huge thanks to the Wickeds and so many other fans for helping me celebrate all week. My...
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In the Name of Research – Writer’s Police Academy
Liz here. This month, we’re focusing a lot of our topics on research, so I wanted to share this ultimate research adventure! In September 2012, Edith and I had the pleasure of attending the Writer’s...
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What To Bring With
Edith, writing furiously north of Boston on the Equinox Ya can’t take it with you, isn’t that what they say? Well, I have learned that if I don’t take it with me, I’m in trouble. Specifically, what I...
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Wicked Wednesday- Character Sketches
Jessie: Enjoying the contrast between the snow outside my window and the amaryllis blooming on the windowsill. This month we’ve decided to all chime in on the process of writing proposals for book...
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Seeing a Story
by Sheila Connolly I’ve been trying to remember when I got my first camera—I think was I seven or eight. My father was the picture-taker in the family. He had an SLR (long before I had a clue what that...
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Reading Outside The Box
Jane/Susannah here, so excited to be doing her first post as a Wicked Accomplice! I have a confession to make. Now that I write cozy mysteries, I read fewer of them than I used to. Oh, there are still...
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Setting a Place
Jane/Susannah here, whose dream of spring has finally come true… Hello, my Wicked Lovelies. Or are you Lovely Wickeds? It’s only been a month, but it seems like forever since I’ve posted. This coming...
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Wicked Dealing with Deadlines: Short-Term
Two weeks ago we discussed strategies for dealing with deadlines that are far in the “Double-Bell Alarm Clock” by Anonymous illustrator – Eaton’s Spring and Summer Catalogue, 1917 future. Today we’ll...
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A Writer’s Reference Books
Edith on retreat in Vermont, on a glorious summer morning. Daddy, aka Allan Maxwell, JR, at the dinner table. 1923-1985. I still miss his gentle humor, keen sense of justice, and his devotion to...
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Mythbusting–Cozies Are Not The Shallow End Of The Fiction Pool
Susannah here, enjoying a cup of joe … and avoiding housework... So, my Wicked people, today I thought we’d have a Mythbusting session. No, I’m not going to use a magnifying glass and the sun to start...
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Prioritizing…or Avoiding?
Edith here, trying not to get whiplash from the New England winter weather of the last couple of weeks. I recently faced a conundrum and put it out, as one sometimes does, on Facebook to gather...
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Polish, Deepen, Hone
Edith here, writing from north of Boston, gearing up to ignore the short days and darkness of the coming month. I’m doing that by keeping really, really busy. Today I’m incorporating all the red ink I...
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Being Crafty
Susannah/Sadie/Jane here, taking a break from last minute online shopping… Hello, all. Hope your holidays, however, whatever, and whenever you celebrate, are bringing you much joy. We talk a lot about...
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