Let me start by stating my position very clearly. I am an advocate of using whatever tools and resources you can to make yourself a better and more productive writer (substitute whatever career...

     One of the characteristics of a cozy mystery is the ordinary occupation of the protagonist. The occupation has to be one that allows the heroine the flexibility to solve crimes yet still do a plausible...

     There are many important characters in a mystery story. The most important character is the detective (professional, amateur, or accidental) who solves the crime and brings justice to the villain....

Sally O’Brian…  Ava Storm…  Cynthia Pierson.   My three heroines are very different people. If the people an author writes about are just extensions of her personality, I wonder what...

Every writer goes about her craft in their own personal way. When I first started writing, at a very young age, I had two techniques that I thought served me well. First, I had a picture or image in my...