Evacuating from a Wildfire

By Kathryn Lane

I love the mountains in northern New Mexico. Nature in this area constantly surprises me with beautiful vistas, wildflowers, and above all, the wild animals. We have elk, deer, coyotes, wild turkeys, several varieties of birds, Cooper hawks, and bears. Occasional wild cats and mountain lions also roam the area. I’m mesmerized by the herds of elk and their calves. 

For some writers, the beach inspires them. For me, the mountains clear my brain and let my creativity flow. This year our normally peaceful mountain hideaway proved that nature can also be terrifying. A horrific wildfire started when controlled burns in the Gallinas Canyon in the Santa Fe National Forest near Las Vegas, NM, got out of hand and turned into the most destructive wildfire in the state’s recorded history.

In May, evacuations began very close to where we live. We could see the flames beyond the mountains in front of our cabin and the smoke was so thick, we decided to pack up and leave. What to take with us became an issue. Essential articles that we need for any trip is a given. Emergency items came next. After that, it’s a conflict between sentimental items, such as paintings, and what we could fit into our vehicle.

Two years ago, I’d given my husband, Bob, a bathrobe for the cabin. He lost it after forgetting it on a trip last year. He’d spent at least two months searching online for a replacement. For two months he grumbled about the bad selection, grim colors, wrong fabric, incorrect length, and lack of styling.  He finally ordered one and it arrived two days before we evacuated. A thick, heavy terrycloth robe, I put it in the car.

He immediately asked why we needed to take it.

“We’ll survive the evacuation,” I said, “but I can’t get through two more months of you hunting for another bathrobe.”

Thankfully, we are back in our beloved mountains and our cabin survived just fine.

I’d decided, before the wildfire started, to place my next Nikki Garcia mystery in New Mexico.

Now I’m wondering if I should include a wildfire in the mix to complicate the plot. One thing is for sure, Bob’s bathrobe will not be a part of the story! Or maybe a bear will eat the robe!

***

Postscript: The fire is no longer a threat, but for many families who lost their homes, their struggle is far from over.

***

Kathryn's Nikki Garcia Mystery Series - on Amazon

Amazon Paperback - https://www.amazon.com/dp/173328270X/

Amazon eBook - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084GSGSRX/

ABOUT KATHRYN

Kathryn Lane started out as a painter in oils and quickly became a starving artist. To earn a living, she became a certified public accountant and embarked on a career in international finance with a major multinational corporation. After two decades, she left the corporate world to plunge into writing mystery and suspense thrillers. In her stories, Kathryn draws deeply from her Mexican background as well as her travels in over ninety countries.

Visit my website at https://www.Kathryn-Lane.com

Sign up for my monthly newsletter on my website

Photo credits:

All photographs are used in an editorial and/or educational manner

Elk and their Calves by Kathryn Lane

Firefighter – Taos News

Brown Bear by Kathryn Lane

Covers for the Nikki Garcia Mystery Series – Heidi Dorey designs for Tortuga Publishing, LLC

Photo of Kathryn Lane by Bob Hurt

A Nod to Writers and Artists

By Kathryn Lane

In every novel of my Nikki Garcia mystery series, I’ve mentioned a writer or a visual artist whose work I admire. Since my mysteries are set in foreign countries, this detail adds a touch of that country’s culture.

Waking Up in Medellin takes place in Colombia and I wove in the works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Nobel Laurette in Literature for One Hundred Years of Solitude, and the sculptures of Fernando Botero into the story.

Research on Fernando Botero's sculpture

Danger in the Coyote Zone takes place in Mexico and I mentioned Leonora Carrington, a British woman who lived and worked among the surrealists in Paris and moved to Mexico to escape the ravishes of World War II. She remained in Mexico, married the Hungarian-born photographer Emerico Weisz, and lived in Mexico City for the rest of her life. Leonora infused her surrealist paintings and sculptures with a feminine perspective, and she played an important role in the women’s rights movement in Mexico. In my novel, I only mention that Nikki notices one of her surreal sculptures on a street in San Miguel de Allende. To my amazement, I received an email from Wendy Weisz, Leonora’s daughter-in-law. Wendy had read my first novel in the series and had purchased the second one too. She was pleasantly surprised to find the mention of her late mother-in-law’s sculpture. Hearing from her was thrilling to me, especially since I’ve never met anyone in the Weisz family though I’ve always admired Leonora’s art and sculpture.

Leonora Carrington's Self-Portrait in New York's Metropolitan Museum

Revenge in Barcelona includes action scenes that occur at Gaudi’s architectural sites, such as the world famous Sagrada Familia Basilica. Not only did I research Gaudi’s work, but also I made two trips to Barcelona to make certain I had the facts right. (That Barcelona is my favorite city in the world did not influence my decision to travel there to fact check!)

Author and her husband. She was researching Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain. 

While writing Missing in Miami, I took a slightly different approach. I’d read Klara and the Sun by Ishiguro. Josie, Ishiguro’s character, suffers from an illness that is never fully defined. My character Andrea, the missing girl in my novel, also has an illness. I mentioned Ishiguro’s novel despite his lack of ties to Cuba to subliminally correlate his Josie to my Andrea. I never mention Ishiguro’s character or her illness so I don’t expect many readers to catch the comparison unless they’ve read both novels.

The author loves Ishiguro's novels!

I’m currently writing a novel about a math prodigy. In it I’ve mentioned Miguel de Cervantes and his picaresque novel, Don Quixote de la Mancha. It’s prompted me to reread the adventures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, a novel I love despite the fact it was written in the early 1700s.

Don Quixote and Sancho Panza on their steeds.

***

Do you incorporate allusions, a nod, or direct references in your novels to either writers or their work?

***

Kathryn's Nikki Garcia Thriller Series - on Amazon

About Kathryn

Kathryn Lane started out painting in oils and quickly became a starving artist. To earn a living, she became a certified public accountant and embarked on a career in international finance with a major multinational corporation. After two decades, she left the corporate world to plunge into writing mystery and suspense thrillers. In her stories, Kathryn draws deeply from her Mexican background as well as her travels in over ninety countries.

Visit my website at https://www.Kathryn-Lane.com

Photo credits:

All photographs are used in an editorial and/or educational manner

Botero Sculpture - by Kathryn Lane

Leonora Carrington's Self-Portrait - Pinterest

Sagrada Familia - by Kathryn Lane

Klara and the Sun - Amazon

Don Quijote de la Mancha - Amazon

So You Want to Write a Book

By Sparkle Abbey

Part 2: Old School Research

Welcome back to So You Want to Write a Book!

There’s a book in everyone, right? If you’ve decided that there’s a book in you and you’re ready to embark on that journey, we’re excited for you!

Last month we talked about where to start when writing a book for the first time. We asked you a lot of questions, such as:

• Are you passionate about a particular storyline?
• What type of book are you interested in writing?
• What idea is constantly on your mind?

You may remember there was also an assignment. We hope you took our suggestion to write down ALL your ideas. If so, pull out that notebook where you jotted down them down, and let’s talk about what you wrote. (If you didn’t take that step, there’s still time. Just take that step today.)

By now you should have decided what you’re passionate about and what type of book you’re going to write. You should know if you’re writing fiction or non-fiction. A thriller or a memoir. Romance or a self-help book.  

Okay, are you ready for step two? Step two is what we call Old School Research. And we’re the first to admit, that not everyone agrees on this. We believe to write well in any genre or subject, you need to be well-read in that area. What is currently being written? What type of plot resonates with you? What characters speak to you? How do the best-selling stories unfold? What can you LEARN from books you love as well as books you put down after a few pages?

Back when we first started writing we read over 100 books in our genre. While we aren’t telling you to read 100 books before you start writing, we are telling you to read extensively in the genre or subject in which you’re going to write. There are some who disagree with this approach for various reasons. They may worry about copying another author’s work. Probably not. After 100 books, one thing you’ll notice is there’s really no new plot. And how you write your story is all about what you uniquely bring to the table. However, by reading deeply in your selected subject, you’ll have a better understanding of how to make your book stand out from the crowd. You’ll also begin to understand the importance of reader expectations. (More on that down the road!)

Well, what do you think? Are you onboard to read, read, read for the next few weeks while you’re thinking about your book? As you read, keep your notebook handy. Take notes on what you learn, how you’ll be different, what works, and what doesn’t.

If you’d like, share in the comments what you’ve decided to write and what you’ve learned from reading extensively in your subject, and how you’ll use that to write a book that stands out from the crowd. And as always, if you have questions, feel free to ask us.

Next month we’ll talk about knowing where you’re headed. Sound intriguing? 

Sparkle Abbey's latest story (written in first person) is a short but fun one. If you've not yet
checked out PROJECT DOGWAY, this is a great time to do that. 

Sparkle Abbey is actually two people, Mary Lee Ashford and Anita Carter, who write the national best-selling Pampered Pets cozy mystery series. They are friends as well as neighbors so they often get together and plot ways to commit murder. (But don't tell the other neighbors.) 

They love to hear from readers and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, their favorite social media sites. Also, if you want to make sure you get updates, sign up for their newsletter via the SparkleAbbey.com website

Editing, Updating, and Completing a Manuscript

 

By Kathryn Lane

Technology innovations are accelerating at warp speed. At least that’s what it seems like in my writing world.

A year-and-a-half ago, I started research about a child math prodigy interested in rockets and space travel. The story takes place in the present day. The plot revolves around a family-secret type mystery and a subplot involving the girl’s dream of space exploration.

Then my commitment to write another novel in my Nikki Garcia mystery series shelved the girl-genius project.

Recently I took up the prodigy manuscript again and realized that maybe I should re-do my research since space travel has changed – several ordinary citizens have flown to or near the Kármán line – an imaginary but practical boundary separating mere air travel from space travel. Blue Origin flew 62 miles above the earth’s surface and kissed the Kármán line while Virgin Galactic flew a bit over 50 miles, the altitude where the Federal Aviation Administration awards astronaut wings to crew members.

The real clencher is SpaceX’s flight to the International Space Station. The crew were civilians. These three events impact important details in my young girl’s story.

All of those events were anticipated in the manuscript. Yet now they’ve actually occurred and it’s possibly a game changer for me. I'm wondering if I should make several substantial edits. Not that those space companies will be mentioned specifically, but the accomplishments do impact the story.

I can leave the novel as it was originally conceived and not re-do my research or I can spend time rethinking and rewriting it. You, as writers, might tell me it’s irrelevant to update it since I’d never complete it if I keep revising for the latest space and scientific discoveries. That’s true, but these events have been groundbreaking. To ignore them would be the easy way out. Plus the developments of the past year should make a positive difference in the young girl’s story.

Regardless of whether I update or not, the novel is about three-fourths done. If I’m going to make changes, now is the time.

Has anyone else faced this issue? If you have any advice, please share it!

Kathryn's latest Nikki Garcia Mystery Thriller: Missing in Miami (available on Amazon)

About Kathryn

Kathryn Lane started out painting in oils and quickly became a starving artist. To earn a living, she became a certified public accountant and embarked on a career in international finance with a major multinational corporation. After two decades, she left the corporate world to plunge into writing mystery and suspense thrillers. In her stories, Kathryn draws deeply from her Mexican background as well as her travels in over ninety countries.

Visit my website at https://www.Kathryn-Lane.com

Photo credits:

All photographs are used in an editorial and/or educational manner

Earth Math by NASA 

Rocket Launch - Twitter

SpaceX's Dragon Capsule Docking with the International Space Station by NASA 

Close-up on Gay Yellen

By Kathryn Lane

Texas author Gay Yellen came to writing with an extraordinary background. She began working life as a stage and TV actor, then moved behind the camera at The American Film Institute (AFI) as Assistant to the Director of Production. She moved on to become a magazine editor and national journalism award winner. As contributing book editor for Five Minutes to Midnight (Delacorte), an international thriller, she was convinced writing was in her blood. Her award-winning Samantha Newman Series of romantic mystery novels includes The Body Business and The Body Next Door. Book 3 in the series arrives this summer.   

1.   KL: Early in your career, Gay, you traded your Screen Actors Guild membership in Hollywood to work on the other side of the camera at The American Film Institute (AFI). Part of the AFI mission is to ‘celebrate excellence in the art form’. Your simple yet elegant book cover designs reflect the beauty of simplicity you must have learned at AFI. Is this assumption correct?

GY: I’m glad you like the covers, Kathryn! As Assistant to the Director of Production at AFI, I was involved in almost every facet of filmmaking, from casting to location scouting, to procuring costumes and props from the major studios, acquiring locations for the shoot, organizing transportation to the set, arranging catering services, scheduling, and post-production services, too. That said, it was my magazine career that taught me the importance of a cover. As a managing editor, one of my most critical responsibilities was to oversee the cover design, which can make or break the success of newsstand sales. The same could be said of a book cover, too.

2.   KL: Did AFI influence you as a writer? One of their stated values is ‘A Belief in the Power of Storytelling to Change the World’.

GY: Such a good question, Kathryn! While story can be important in filmmaking, it was my theater background that helped me understand what a good story is made of. Plot structure is important, and character motivation is paramount. As an actor, I learned that our everyday human struggles are universal. Reading stories with characters who are both very different and very much like us can put us in touch with that universality and make us more empathetic. I suppose in that way, storytelling in any form does have the power to change the world.   

3.   KL: In the Samantha Newman Series, set in Houston and the Texas Hill Country, you cleverly use a few Spanish phrases. What prompted you to do this?

GY: Wow, I didn’t realize I had any Spanish words in my books! I may have used a Spanish word or two because in Texas, where I live, people of Spanish heritage are a large segment of the population, and their diverse cultures are integral to the fabric of life here. A Texan saying adios instead of goodbye can be quite natural, even for an English speaker like me.

 4.   KL: In The Body Next Door, the widow of a murdered neighbor is hiding in Samantha’s apartment. I love that plot, but I’d also like to see Sam and Carter stay together. Any chance of that in book three?

GY: I love this question, because it speaks to one of my favorite things about being an author. When Samantha and Carter meet in The Body Business, I wasn’t planning to write a series, and thus, had no plan for their future. While the publisher wanted me to extend that book into a series, it was my readers’ interest and enthusiasm that encouraged me to continue their relationship. Carter is a man of mystery in more ways than one, so he is definitely in Book 3. And Samantha is as headstrong as ever.

5.   KL: You’re launching your third Samantha Newman novel this summer. Can you give us a preview?

GY: As readers may remember, Samantha has trouble staying employed, due to circumstances beyond her control.  As Book 3 opens, she’s starting a new career at a local TV station. But things are not going well with the man who is supposed to be teaching her the ins and outs of investigative journalism. And because Sam’s life never runs in a straight line, complications ensue, with humor and suspense in equal measure. Here are the working titles: The Body in the News, The News Body, The Body Reports, The Body Breaks the News… I’m still taking suggestions, so to anyone who offers a better one, a free copy of the book is yours if I use it.

6.     KL: Besides an historical novel you’ve done research for, have you thought of doing a memoir of your days as an actress? Or autofiction based on your Hollywood experiences?

GY: Actually, the first novel I ever attempted to write was on that subject. Two chapters in, it felt like I was telling the same tired Hollywood show biz tale that had been told too many times already. While I did reach the upper membership echelon in the Screen Actors Guild before I quit, the high points were outstripped by too many frustrating disappointments. However, a few memories have become hilarious in retrospect. Perhaps one will inspire a short story someday.

Thanks, Gay, for sharing your fascinating life with us! I can't wait to read Samantha #3!

***

Places to find Gay Yellen and her Samantha Newman Series:

WEBSITE: https://gayyellen.com/

 AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08Q8P1RNP?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tukn

BOOKBUB: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/gay-yellen

TECHNOLOGIES THAT WILL CHANGE THE WAY STORIES ARE TOLD

By Kathryn Lane

Houston hosted Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience. Not to miss an important event, Bob and I attended with friends from Angel Fire. So many exhibits are hyped up that we did not know what to expect. Then we left talking about what an amazing show we’d witnessed.

First, you glimpse blowups of Vincent’s paintings that come together though electronic enhancement as you watch. Another room provides photo ops were you can sit in Vincent’s bedroom in Arles and have your picture taken. 

Watch as Starry Night comes together electronically

Then comes the exceptional “Immersion” room where you witness, feel, and become part of Vincent’s paintings as 90,000,000 pixels are projected in a 360° space, while you relax in a beach chair.

Immersion Room with waiting beach chairs.

.

In the Immersion room, don't sit where the train will roar through.

The show's real clencher is the interactive historical journey that virtual reality takes you on as you travel through Vincent’s fields, towns, and cafés. This visually fabulous trip takes ten minutes. At times I had to remind myself I was not flying. I was merely sitting on a sturdy chair as we swooped past cafés and buildings, fields, country roads, and chapels. It’s a combination of cinematography, art, music, and history where you are the observer.

The author, her husband, and friends with virtual reality headsets.

Now that I’ve exuberantly told you about the Immersive experience, I must also tell you I’m not getting a commission for tickets sales. But you should definitely attend if it’s showing anywhere near you.

The real reason that I’m recounting the visit is that this show gives you an incredible ride, but where it might fail is to engage your brain actively, where your own imagination, intellect, and creativity work together to connect the dots.

Maybe by experiencing projections of virtual reality in the future, the human brain will be liberated to create even more sensational innovations. At least that is my hope.

At times, it’s easy for negative thoughts to surface. Thoughts that younger generations are not reading much and that the coming metaverse will create a world where people will not have to solve issues; instead they might only passively partake the virtual world placed before them.

Shows like Van Gogh’s Immersive, social media, and virtual meetings using avatars are the beginnings of the metaverse. These phenomena will change the world.

AVATAR

We are on the cusp of changing how people learn, communicate, and interact. These innovations had been on the horizon yet the isolation and social distancing caused by the pandemic sped up the introduction and use of these tools. Similar to the (almost instant) popularity of the world wide web and the massive adaptation of mobile phones a little more than two decades ago, we will soon grapple with metaverse technologies in everyday life.

Harry Potter Book

As a writer, I think the coming technologies are both exciting and scary. The creative opportunities promised by the metaverse seem exciting. On the other hand, the metaverse will deliver powerful tools that will change how stories are told. Will children in the future want to read Harry Potter when they can experience it through virtual reality? Will people know what their co-workers look like when all they see at virtual meetings are avatars? And what about nature lovers? Will they don a headset to enjoy virtual nature or will they commune with nature the old-fashioned way?

***

What do you think about the metaverse?

***

Kathryn’s mysteries – The Nikki Garcia Mystery series:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/bookseries/B08C7V2675/ref=dp_st_1942428944

Kathryn’s short story collection – Backyard Volcano and Other Mysteries of the Heart

https://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Volcano-Other-Mysteries-Heart/dp/1943306044

 All available on Amazon

About Kathryn

Kathryn Lane started out as a starving artist. To earn a living, she became a certified public accountant and embarked on a career in international finance with a major multinational corporation. After two decades, she left the corporate world to plunge into writing mystery and suspense thrillers. In her stories, Kathryn draws deeply from her Mexican background as well as her travels in over ninety countries.

Visit my website at https://www.Kathryn-Lane.com

Photo credits:

All photographs are used in an editorial or educational manner

Starry Night by Van Gogh - public domain

Two Immersion Room photos - taken by the author

Four people with virtual reality headsets - taken with an iPhone

Avatar and Harry Potter book - public domain

 

To Find a Monarch

 By Kathryn Lane

Mexico, my country of origin, is a cultural paradise. I always experience a nostalgic yearning for the traditions I grew up with, especially during the last quarter of the year, which is rich with festivities. Starting in September, we have holidays that spill over into multiple days, like the 15^th and 16^th of September, independence day. Posada time, from December 16^th through the 24^th, brings out families from entire neighborhoods where revelers of all ages gather in candle-lit processions singing Christmas carols along the streets until they arrive at the host house for that evening. At the designated home, the carolers sing “Para Pedir Posada” to reenact Mary and Joseph’s journey into Bethlehem asking for shelter before the birth of Jesus. The hosts, after several stanzas, invite the revelers in for food, drink, and games for the kiddos.

Wonderful as Christmas and Independence celebrations are, it’s Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) on November 1^st and 2^nd, that makes my soul yearn for a trip to the state of Michoacan.

When I was twelve, my mother took me to Lake Pátzcuaro to experience a vigil in a cemetery where townsfolk would commune with their departed loved ones by sharing music, dance, food, and drinks.

I’ve never forgotten the scene when we arrived. Lake Pátzcuaro’s famed butterfly net fishermen, their canoes filled with bright orange cempasúchil, or marigolds, floated on the lake like a colorful flower market. The marigolds, like rays of sun dropped along the way, to lead the ancestors’ spirits into town where ofrendas, or altars, awaited them in the private homes of their earthly relatives.

We climbed into a vividly decorated canoe to navigate to Janitzio, the largest island. On the way, Mother told me Día de los Muertos is a truly Mexican tradition, a legacy of indigenous Aztec practices. The Aztecs recognized that death was part of the continuity of life. Yet Pátzcuaro is P’urhépecha¹ territory, the other powerful Mesoamerican empire, the one the Aztecs never conquered. The two empires fought many battles. Yet, the Purépecha integrated the Day of the Dead as their own.

We were mid-lake when a butterfly brushed its brilliant orange-red wings with black veins on the golden marigolds. The fisherman smiled, saying, “Está perdido este ancestro. Debe tener familia en Rosario o Angangueo.”

Mother agreed the butterfly was lost and had overflown its winter home near mountain villages. She explained that monarchs migrate yearly from Canada and the US to the high elevations of Michoacán where they cluster on oyamel trees to spend the winter. They start arriving at the end of October, coinciding with the Day of the Dead celebrations. The local people believe the butterflies are the spirits of their ancestors returning home.

I remember asking if we would visit the monarchs.

“Another year,” she said.

Yet, we never trekked to the monarch’s overwintering sites. When I see a butterfly, it reminds me of that trip we never took.

My brother, Jorge Lane, is a nature photographer and monarchs are one of his favorite subjects. He’s visited several sanctuaries to photograph them.

Carlos Gottfried, a butterfly conservationist in Mexico, said: “When you stand in a Monarch butterfly sanctuary, your soul is shaken and your life is changed.”

Gottfried’s quote beckons me to find monarchs overwintering on Oyamel firs to fulfill that trip never taken.

¹ Also known as the Tarascan.

For fun articles on Mexican holidays, you can purchase: The Insider's Guide to the Best Mexican Holidays. It will be available in Kindle format on Amazon on December 17, 2021. Nineteen authors, including yours truly, contributed articles. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE AT STILETTO GANG!!!

Photo credits:

Monarca Encantadora© by Jorge J. Lane

Rosario Monarca© by Jorge J. Lane

 

 

Clicking Our Heels: What We Read

Clicking Our Heels: Writers are often asked if they write in a particular genre, if that is the one they read. Here are some of what the Stiletto Gang members read and some of their favorite authors.

Robin Hillyer-Miles – I read many different genres. My favorite authors currently are Jess Loury, Susan Addison Allen, Susan Boyer, and Karen White.

Saralyn Richard – I read everything – mysteries, historical fiction, women’s fiction, biography, blended genres, literary fiction.

Kathleen Kaska – I read mysteries, but I also read anything that catches my eye, especially inspirational nonfiction. When I find an author I really like, I read every book they’ve written.

Dru Ann Love – I prefer reading cozy mysteries. I will read other genres, but cozies are my go-to-read.

Kathryn Lane - I write mystery thrillers, so I tend to read quite a few throughout the year from a whole variety of novelists, such as Harlan Coben, Alice Feeney, Jeffery Deaver, but I also like the books of Donna Tartt, Frederick Forsyth, and Megan Abbott. I read books written by fellow writers who, like me, are not New York Times bestsellers (yet!), whose novels are often as good as or even better than anything else on the market. And Sofía Segovia’s The Murmur of Bees in Magical Realism is a book I love.

Debra Sennefelder - I have a long list of favorite authors that I read in my genre of cozy mysteries. Some of them are a part of The Stiletto Gang. Others include Jenny Kales, VM Burns, Jenn McKinlay, Katherine Hall Page.

T.K. Thorne - I read anything that is well written. Crime fiction is new for me because as a former police officer, it feels more like work than escape.  My favorite author is Sue Monk Kidd. Her writing is beautiful and so powerful.  But I don’t consciously try to mimic it.  It’s important to find your own voice.

Anita Carter - I read mostly mysteries, suspense, and some women’s fiction. I enjoy Lisa Gardner (just bought her latest release!), Laura Levine, Karen White, and Susan Boyer, to name a few.

Barbara Kyle - I write fiction but many of my favorite reads are narrative non-fiction. Anything by Simon Winchester or Erik Larson. Both are incapable of writing a dull book.

Linda Rodriguez - I read everything. I have long lists of authors I recommend on my website. https://lindarodriguezwrites.blogspot.com

Meri Allen/Shari Randall - I write and read mysteries, and I love to go back to the Golden Age authors like Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh when I have some reading time.

Mary Lee Ashford - I write cozy mysteries and also read cozy mysteries but I'm not sure we have space here for all of the favorites. There are currently so many wonderful cozy authors! Instead, I'll share a few of the ones I started reading and that got me interested in the sub-genre of cozies. I avidly read - M.C Beaton, Jill Churchill, Sharon Kahn, and Anne George and once I'd started down that cozy path, thanks to them I was hooked. 

Bethany Maines - I have been reading a fair bit of romance lately, but I've read across several genres.  My favorite recent author is Bethany Bennett (because Bethany's are awesome) who is working on a fun romp of Regency Romance trilogy.

Gay Yellen - I’m omnivorous when it comes to reading. If I weren’t writing mysteries, I’d probably tend toward literary fiction. But I love good writing in any genre, including non-fiction.

Lynn McPherson - I read and write cozy mysteries. They are still my favorite. A few of my favorite authors are Vicki Delany and Jenn McKinlay. I've also read some delicious domestic suspense novels lately by Hannah Mary McKinnon and J.T. Ellison.

Donnell Bell - In the fiction realm, I read across the board. From Sci-fi to historical fiction. Right now, I’m reading a western by D.V. Berkom.  I enjoy cozies, but prefer a substantive plot, such as Cathy Perkins’s Body in the Beaver Pond and Lois Winston’s Anastasia Pollack series. For romantic suspense, there are too many authors to count. My favorite thriller writer is Tess Gerritsen—she’s an autobuy for me.  Mystery writers, again, too many to count. If I want to read mystery and learn something about art forgery, I read Donald Beckwith. I ADORE discovering new authors.

Lois Winston - I write humorous mysteries, but I’m an extremely eclectic reader. Lately I’ve been reading a lot of historical mysteries and women’s fiction.

Debra H. Goldstein – Although I most enjoy cozy mysteries and biographies, I read everything in the crime genre as well as literary fiction.

Cathy Perkins: I read a lot of mysteries, from thriller to cozy, but I also read extensively outside my writing genre.  From a craft perspective, it helps to see, for example, the creative world building of fantasy or the deep character focus of women's fiction. I also think reading books other than mysteries gives me a much needed break, reminding me readers read for story, for escape, for enjoyment - elements authors always keep in the back of their minds as they write.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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